Chương 41: The Hand

Once a person's aura reserves reached a certain level, malice could function almost like Conqueror's Haki. Knov had been a capable Nen user even among professional Hunters. Yet in the future Aren remembered, merely sensing the unconscious aura of Shaiapouf, one of the Chimera Ant King's Royal Guards, had broken his courage and turned his hair white almost overnight. Nen could intimidate as effectively as it could kill.

An ordinary man had no chance against the malice Aren was becoming increasingly comfortable using. The others looked at him with visible envy. They had malice of their own. The difference was aura. Aren's reserves grew at a speed that did not feel human. The two bouncers at the entrance noticed what happened to the driver and looked the group over. Once they saw only unfamiliar children, they dismissed the matter. Years at the door had trained them to recognize the sons and daughters of local bosses.

If one of those valuable young people had been hiding among the group, they would have noticed. Since none were present, there was nothing to worry about. Just street kids from some neighborhood.

"Hey, brats," one bouncer called.

"What do you think you're doing? This isn't a place for you." Then he noticed Machi and Pakunoda. His look turned ugly.

"Actually, fine. You boys can go down and take a look." He smiled unpleasantly.

"The two girls stay here." Machi and Pakunoda narrowed their eyes at the same time. Killing intent leaked from them. Machi's fingers shifted as she prepared Nen threads. Before she could act, space rippled. Aren, who had been at the rear of the group after knocking out the driver, appeared between the two bouncers. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. No one saw him move. There was no visible path from one point to the other. He simply appeared.

Even the Troupe reacted. Their eyes widened as they realized they had completely lost track of him. Machi and Pakunoda both paused. The bouncers had even less time to understand what was happening. Distorted space wrapped both of Aren's hands. He swept them across the men's faces. The air itself warped along the path of his palms. The bouncers' heads disappeared. They were not cut off. They were not crushed. They simply ceased to exist without leaving a trace.

Blood burst from the smooth openings at their necks, rising like twin fountains before gravity turned the spray into rain.

"Keep your filthy mouths shut, creeps." Limitless Technique stopped every drop three or four centimeters from Aren's clothes. He had no intention of getting dirty. To the people on the street, the sight of him standing untouched beneath the blood rain was horrifying. To Machi, the gesture felt strangely warm. She knew why he had acted. Pakunoda looked at Machi with faint envy, then sent a resentful glance toward Chrollo's back. Chrollo noticed none of it. He was thirteen.

Expecting him to understand that kind of gaze would have been unreasonable. His attention was entirely on Aren. The Hand. That was the name Aren used for the new ability in his mind. After developing the Undying's regeneration and Limitless Technique's defense, he had begun considering what he still lacked. Attack power. Speed. The answer came from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Okuyasu Nijimura's Stand, The Hand. The Hand could erase space itself.

Its right hand deleted anything occupying the space it crossed: water, fire, stone, flesh, and matter of any hardness. Even Okuyasu did not know where the erased material went. Once removed, it could not be restored. Erasing part of space also created a gap. As the surrounding space closed in to repair that gap, nearby objects were pulled closer. By repeatedly swiping his hand, Okuyasu could displace himself or drag a target toward him. Aren's Nen ability did not inherit the original restriction to the right hand.

Both hands. Both feet. Even a weapon wrapped in Shu. In theory, anything covered in his aura could carry The Hand's effect, just as anything within his folded spatial field could be protected by Limitless Technique. Aren had expected development to take at least another month. Instead, the prototype had formed with surprising ease. His soul already carried a spatial trait from crossing between worlds.

The Hand's core principle was also a spatial displacement: carve out a section of space and send it somewhere unknown. That affinity had accelerated everything. Within days, he completed the first version. The next step would be strengthening it through Restrictions and Pledges, as he had done with Limitless Technique. He had not hidden the ability before this. He simply lacked an opportunity to use it. The Hand was too lethal for sparring. Its damage was irreversible.

Aren could not test it casually against Uvogin, Nobunaga, or the others. He had not originally planned to kill Jack during the test with the elders either. Jack changed that by attacking with murderous intent, and Aren decided to return the man's own Nen Cannons instead. Now, at last, The Hand had found a suitable target. The people on the street noticed the two bodies. Most stepped away cautiously and did nothing more. Violence was common in a town ruled by gangs.

The residents had learned to protect themselves through indifference. Not everyone was willing to look away. An old woman hid in an alley, anxiously tapping at her phone. Aren caught the movement from the corner of his eye.

"It isn't time for us to be exposed yet." Space gathered around his right hand. He raised it toward the alley and swiped.