---
Piro lowered his head, carefully sensing the energy coursing through him. His brows furrowed in concentration as he attempted to tap into the newfound power.
After a moment, he raised his right hand and spread his fingers wide. A sharp *crackling* sound filled the air as purple crystals materialized around him, colliding and condensing into a solid form.
In an instant, the crystals morphed into a short knife with an exaggerated, curved blade. Its arc resembled the claws of a wild cat—sleek and menacing. While the weapon's attack range was less than a meter, its curved design extended the effective length of the blade far beyond that. The unique shape also made it perfect for throwing.
Rocky observed the transformation keenly, analyzing the weapon with a critical eye. Suddenly, Piro flung the scimitar-shaped knife. The blade arced through the air, traveling a distance of five or six meters before something remarkable happened. A faint phantom of purple crystal appeared, shimmering in midair.
With practiced precision, Piro reached out and grabbed the phantom. Instantly, the knife rematerialized in his hand, as if it had teleported back to him.
Rocky's eyes lit up at the sight. "It really works!" he exclaimed, unable to hide his excitement.
Piro's face mirrored his enthusiasm. "Rocky, is this your ability? It's incredible! I mean, you can actually teleport!"
Rocky chuckled at Piro's reaction, shaking his head slightly. "It's not true teleportation. The weapon acts as the coordinate for the teleportation."
"But even so, it's amazing!" Piro said, undeterred by Rocky's modest explanation.
Rocky, now curious, asked, "How far can you teleport right now?"
"That was my limit," Piro replied confidently.
Rocky paused, his expression turning contemplative. *Five or six meters?* he thought. *That's far too short.* He remembered his own ability—when using Apparition, he could teleport to any location within a hundred-meter range as long as he could see the weapon. But Piro's range was vastly limited.
"Do you have any other abilities besides this?" Rocky inquired.
Piro shook his head. "No, this is the only thing I've figured out so far. Are there supposed to be more?"
Rocky didn't answer immediately. Instead, he fell deep into thought. From what he observed, it seemed that anyone who accepted this ability link could use Apparition after agreeing to the contract. However, the effectiveness of the ability depended entirely on the user's capabilities.
It was likely that only Apparition could be shared, and no other abilities. This made sense—after all, the cost to Rocky's bloodline power had been minimal, and the effect was already impressive. The rest would have to come from the individual's growth.
"Rocky! Rocky!" Piro's voice snapped him out of his reverie.
"How far can you teleport?" Piro asked again, holding the scimitar-shaped weapon in his hand.
"About a hundred meters," Rocky replied. He stretched his body gently, feeling the strain of the past few days catch up with him. The intense meditation had left him physically and mentally exhausted.
He couldn't help but admire Netero's legendary perseverance. *Training for decades to express his gratitude towards martial arts and to perfect his physical abilities... That's on a whole other level,* he mused.
"Let's rest here for the day," Rocky announced. "You should use the time to familiarize yourself with Apparition. We'll head out tomorrow."
"Where are we going?" Piro asked, attempting another flash.
"To find the other tribesmen."
Rocky clenched his fists as the image of Razor crossed his mind. He had no idea where his fellow Kuruta tribesmen were, but he prayed they were safe. If Razor had harmed them in any way, Rocky vowed not to let him go unpunished.
---
The next day, after a full day of rest, Rocky felt rejuvenated. To his surprise, his Nen capacity had grown significantly during the days of intense meditation. His energy reserves had nearly doubled, bringing his level closer to that of Genthru, the bomber from the original *Greed Island* arc.
This was solely based on his raw Nen power, without factoring in his abilities. With his techniques, Rocky's combat strength would be even more formidable.
Piro had also made progress. By now, he had grown more comfortable with Apparition, summoning and manipulating his weapon with ease. He even seemed to enjoy the convenience of being able to call forth the scimitar at will.
Before leaving, Rocky had Piro perform a Water Divination test.
"Manipulator?" Rocky murmured in surprise as he observed the result.
Piro frowned. "What's a Manipulator? Is that bad?"
Rocky shook his head. "There's no such thing as a good or bad category. What matters is how you develop your ability."
"Develop my ability? But don't I already have one?" Piro asked, confused.
"You're using my ability," Rocky explained. "You still need to develop one of your own."
Standing up, Rocky slung his bag over his shoulder. "Come on, let's get moving. I'll explain more on the way."
Their destination was a city 500 kilometers away. According to the black-market merchant's information, a wealthy collector in the area had purchased several sets of *Greed Island* games.
Rocky, with over 2 billion Jenny left, couldn't afford a complete set of the game. That left him with two options: buy two game slots directly or sneak into the collector's estate to secure the memory cards.
Rocky preferred the latter. With his current level of power—comparable to Genthru—there were few opponents in the game who could pose a real threat to him. Protecting Piro would be a challenge, but even as a beginner, Piro's use of Nen gave him a significant edge.
---
The villa halfway up the mountain loomed into view after several days of travel. Heavily guarded, the estate surprised Rocky with its level of security.
"Something's definitely up," he muttered to himself. "This is far too strict for a simple collector."
Still, it didn't matter. With Piro's Apparition ability, sneaking into the villa would be easy.
The game storage room was located in the basement, behind a password-protected door. For Rocky, such barriers were child's play. Using Apparition, he and Piro infiltrated the room undetected.
Inside, they found what they were looking for—two memory cards and rings from the *Greed Island* game.
The following day, chaos erupted when the wealthy collector discovered the missing items. Furious, he demanded answers from his guards and Nen bodyguards.
Not to mention, two of the original four memory card slots are now suddenly occupied, which clearly indicated that someone used the stolen memory cards and entered the game
"Who did this?" the man roared.
But Rocky and Piro were already long gone by this point.
---