"I've decided—I'm flying to NGL right now!"
Netero clapped his hands together and walked straight out of the council room.
"Chairman?!"
The Zodiac Twelve exchanged bewildered glances.
The meeting hadn't even started, and it was already over?
NGL Autonomous Region
Aoki Hiroshi and Biscuit Krueger had returned from the forest back to the town.
Day 7.
"Hey, you're still training?"
Biscuit narrowed her eyes at Hiroshi.
He was seated cross-legged in the hotel room, eyes half-lowered in meditation.
A faint, vacant look passed through his gaze—his aura cold and detached, tinged with killing intent.
Zzzzz!
Streaks of jet-black lightning danced across his body, crackling with sharp, electric shrieks.
These arcs of lightning grew denser and more focused, as if they were starting to form something.
"You're seriously a freak," Biscuit muttered.
"Six days of training, and your aura output is already on par with mine."
"And now you're trying to add Materialization to your Nen? Trying to fuse all five types and enter the Complete State?"
"Next to you, my entire life feels like a waste."
Hiroshi ignored her grumbling and stayed locked in concentration.
"Tch."
Biscuit clicked her tongue, exasperated, and left the room.
Inside the room, Hiroshi remained motionless.
But he wasn't developing Materialization-type abilities to pursue the so-called "Five-in-One" fusion.
He already had Materialization figured out.
The issue was… his materialization ability was unique, and couldn't blend well with the other four Nen types.
So now, he was cultivating something else:
Lightning Release: Chakra Mode.
Specifically, the Black Lightning Form.
Zzzzz...
Dark lightning surged over his body, weaving into a seamless field of energy.
Gradually, a black lightning armor took shape—jagged, sharply contoured, fierce and imposing.
It wrapped around Hiroshi like a battle-hardened samurai suit, radiating raw violence.
Crack!
The very floor beneath him gave way under the intense energy, forming a gaping hole.
Hairline fractures spread outward like spiderwebs, crawling across every corner of the room.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Rapid pops and fissures echoed—the room couldn't withstand the Black Lightning Mode and began collapsing in on itself.
And yet, Hiroshi had done nothing but activate the form.
"It's complete."
He exhaled slowly, eyes regaining focus.
The black lightning dissipated. The killing aura faded.
He had successfully modeled the Lightning Release: Chakra Mode after the Raikage's technique from Naruto.
With this form, he'd completely merged four Nen systems to produce the Black Lightning Mode.
Under this mode, his speed and power surged again.
Simple punches or kicks now carried devastating force—sharp enough to cleave steel like tofu.
"Double amplification…"
Hiroshi murmured with a grin.
Gene Lock + Black Lightning Mode = a double-lever effect.
It had pushed his combat power to terrifying new heights.
"In Round 2 of 'Horror Movie World,' Zheng Zha used First-Stage Gene Lock plus C-grade Vampire enhancement to solo any Alien and co-op the Alien Queen…"
"With my First-Stage Gene Lock and C-grade Nen, I can solo any Chimera Ant."
"Now, with Black Lightning Mode too…"
"I can probably solo the Ant King."
Hiroshi rubbed his chin in thought.
From what he'd seen, the Ant King outclassed the Alien Queen in sheer might.
But Hiroshi was also much stronger than Zheng Zha.
Zheng Zha struggled due to inner conflicts between internal energy and vampire powers,making him the weakest among his peers before Stage 4.
But Hiroshi? No such handicap.
"Yeah... I've got this."
He nodded confidently.
Outside the Hotel
Biscuit had just received a call and was heading toward the NGL border.
"Chairman!"
Soon after, an airship landed nearby. Netero descended with a casual leap.
"Been a while, Biscuit," Netero greeted cheerfully."Where's Hiroshi?"
"Seriously, Chairman?" Biscuit looked at him with disbelief.
She'd been stunned when she got his call.
Netero had jumped on a flight overnight to NGL—just to spar with Aoki Hiroshi.
He claimed it had been ages since anyone had stepped onto the path of the Complete State.
"Hahaha! Even with four types, that brat Ging barely managed it.Only Zeno and Linnea have done it."
Netero laughed excitedly.
"But Linnea's a Gourmet Hunter. She's been off the radar for years."
"Zeno's an assassin. Only takes kill orders. No sparring allowed."
"I haven't had a good fight in forever!"
Biscuit sighed heavily.
No one could argue—Netero in his youth was a battle maniac.
His title as the world's strongest Nen user wasn't earned—it was fought for.
And now, seeing a new talent rise had reawakened that old fire.
"Please don't go overboard, Chairman."
She warned him seriously.
"Hiroshi hasn't actually entered the Complete State yet."
"You've fused all five types into a perfect evolution.Even one step apart is a massive gap—wider than the one between regular people and Triple-Star Hunters!"
But Netero was only half-listening.
With a grin, he pulled out his phone and began dialing Hiroshi.
"Chairman!" Biscuit snapped.
Netero waved her off dismissively.
"Relax, relax. I'll hold back."
"You'd better!" Biscuit muttered under her breath.
"Come on now. I'm not gonna kill my own junior," Netero said with a shrug."And Hiroshi's young. He'll definitely complete the Five-in-One someday."
"Why would I crush his potential early?"
"If anything, I want him to step into the Complete State.So we can finally have a real, glorious showdown!"
Biscuit sighed again, more exhausted than before.
But from that perspective… maybe it wasn't so worrying after all.
Netero genuinely wanted Hiroshi to reach the top.
Until then, he'd only support and nurture him.
"Fine. But I'm going to stand right there and watch the entire match!" Biscuit said firmly.
"Sure, sure," Netero replied with a grin, hitting the dial button.
Brrr—