The ability of Holy Chain, while capable of efficiently healing injuries, comes at the cost of consuming Kurapika's own lifespan.
The emaciated old man on the sickbed was suffering from an incurable disease with little time left.
If the Holy Chain ability were used to save him, the price to be paid would inevitably be extremely heavy.
However, this was far from the first time Kurapika had done something like this.
After confirming the upper limits of Holy Chain, he began using this ability to amass wealth and as a bargaining chip to retrieve his clansmen's eyes.
It was a choice without regret.
Clatter.
The crisp sound of chains echoed through the room.
Kurapika wore contact lenses, the edges of his pupils tinged with a faint red glow.
He looked at the old man on the sickbed, and with a slight thought, a green light shimmered on the hanging chains.
Before using his ability, he had already checked the room for the possibility of hidden cameras or other surveillance devices.
Heal.
With a light wave of his arm, Kurapika controlled the chains to fall upon the old man, slowly extending and coiling around him.
The green light emanating from the surface of the chains seemed alive, quietly seeping into the old man's body.
As time passed, the pain etched on the old man's brow gradually faded, and his breathing stabilized.
For Kurapika, it felt as though an invisible hand had brutally plunged into his chest, roughly seizing his vitality and stamina.
An indescribable exhaustion washed over him like a tide, and every inch of his body seemed to cry out in silent agony.
Clatter...
The chains trembled softly. Kurapika staggered, grabbing the edge of the bed to keep from collapsing to the floor.
The Limitation of Emperor Time was the burning of his lifespan, and the Holy Chain ability, derived from it, similarly used life as fuel.
The difference lay in that Emperor Time placed more strain on his spirit, while Holy Chain brutally exhausted his physical body.
When both were activated simultaneously, Kurapika felt as though he were being crushed between two colossal mountains, bearing immense burdens on both his spirit and body.
The first time he healed a high-level investor from quadriplegia, he nearly passed out from the dual strain.
Though he had somewhat adapted by now, each use of his ability left him inevitably weakened.
Leaning against the bed, Kurapika slowly sat on the floor, closing his eyes and enduring the pervasive sense of powerlessness radiating from his body.
He had no idea how much time had passed when he suddenly opened his eyes, rose from the floor, and glanced sideways at the old man on the sickbed.
The torment of illness was gone, replaced by a long-lost flush of color on the old man's face.
Kurapika averted his gaze and walked toward the door.
As soon as he pushed the door open, several pairs of eyes swiftly turned toward him.
The old man's family, who had been waiting anxiously, immediately crowded around him, their faces filled with tension and anticipation.
But Kurapika gave them no chance to speak. He stepped aside, raising a hand to point into the room. "Go confirm the results. I'll stay here until you're satisfied with the 'inspection.'"
They paused for a moment, then understood.
This was no ordinary medical treatment; the outcome was what mattered.
They hurried into the sickroom, leaving Kurapika alone, leaning against the wall by the door.
Despite having rested briefly in the hospital room earlier, the strain from bearing the dual abilities still lingered.
Kurapika closed his eyes to recuperate.
A moment later.
A cry of delight echoed in the room; the elderly man seemed to have regained consciousness.
Kurapika remained calm.
He still had to wait for the old man's medical report before he could receive his due payment.
—--
Two days later.
The now energetic old man personally handed a pair of Scarlet Eyes to Kurapika.
Beside them, the family members looked at Kurapika with unconcealed respect.
For those who already possessed power and wealth, nothing was more terrifying than illness and death.
Kurapika's presence was undoubtedly a safeguard capable of reversing life and death at critical moments.
"My work here is done."
Kurapika carefully took the container holding the Scarlet Eyes, his cool gaze sweeping over the group as he reminded them, "Please ensure you adhere to the confidentiality agreement."
"Rest assured, we will keep our mouths shut."
The old man solemnly promised.
He wasn't foolish; even from differing standpoints, he understood Kurapika's concerns.
After all, an ability that could snatch someone back from the jaws of death was simply too astonishing.
Since Kurapika wished to keep it concealed, as the beneficiaries, they naturally had no desire to let such a "resource" become known.
In truth, had Kurapika not sought them out... today might well have been the old man's funeral.
Kurapika left with the Scarlet Eyes, and the now healthy old man personally saw him off.
Placing the Scarlet Eyes into a niche filled with fresh flowers, Kurapika stepped back, sat on a low stool, and a flicker of sorrow passed through his eyes.
Including the pair he had just obtained from the politician, he had now recovered ten pairs of his clansmen's eyes.
It won't be long now...
Kurapika lowered his head, gazing intently at his clasped hands.
As long as he continued following the existing clues, he would soon retrieve all of his clansmen's eyes.
After that, only that bastard from Kakin remained...
Kurapika's clasped hands gradually tightened.
With the ability of Holy Chain, as long as he carefully selected his clients, he could smoothly resolve the crucial issue of funding.
Once that was secured, recovering his clansmen's eyes was only a matter of time.
The most critical and troublesome matter, without a doubt, was that bastard from Kakin, the one he had to save for last.
But no matter the cost, even if it meant his life, he would not hesitate.
—--
Time flew by.
It had been nearly two months since Morrow arrived on Whale Island.
His progress in studying Divine Script had also been steadily improving.
By now, he had thoroughly memorized every foundational module of the Divine Script.
He was also largely familiar with the example Divine Scripts recorded in the books.
But without question, the ones he knew best were the Divine Script with the "recording effects."
In Morrow's view, among those that could integrate with ability systems, recording-type Divine Script held the highest practicality.
Beyond that, there were the Divine Scripts that could enhance the intensity of abilities.
Once he fully mastered these perfected Divine Scripts, the next stage would be researching the most difficult and complex: "compound Divine Script."
In any case, there were no shortcuts on this path.
To achieve results, he could only make progress through time and effort.
During this period, aside from studying Divine Script, he had been teaching Gon and Killua about Nen.
One of the original purposes behind the Zoldyck family implanting a Nen needle in Killua's brain was to prevent him from coming into contact with Nen too early.
Thus, that Nen needle not only altered Killua's perception but also made him forget all memories related to Nen, as well as everything about Alluka.
However, since Silva had agreed to let Killua leave with Gon and made a promise, it was essentially tacit approval of Killua's Nen awakening.
Because of this, Morrow had no psychological burden when teaching Killua.
After more than a month of training, Gon and Killua's progress was astonishing.
It was worth mentioning that although Gon had his Nen awakening half a month earlier than Killua, Killua, with his exceptional talent, quickly caught up.
In Morrow's view, while Gon's talent was remarkable, Killua's performance was clearly superior.
This wasn't hard to understand; after all, even Biscuit had once marveled at Killua's talent in the original story.
"Your fundamentals are solid now. What you need to learn next is the advanced application of these basics."
Morrow sat on a wooden stump, closed the book in his hand, and looked at Gon and Killua, who were drenched in sweat after finishing their Ren training.
He wasn't in a hurry to tell Gon and Killua about the Nen System, nor did he plan to let them start developing their Nen abilities so soon.
Given the current circumstances, the focus was on the basics, and there was no need to face combat... there was no point in aiming too high too soon.
So, now that Gon and Killua had a solid foundation in the basics, the next step was to directly move on to the advanced applications of the Four Major Principles: Shu, Gyo, and In.
These three advanced techniques were equally important.
But if he had to choose the most crucial one, it was undoubtedly Gyo.
Hearing Morrow's words, the exhausted Gon and Killua immediately perked up.
They didn't ask unnecessary questions, merely looking at Morrow with anticipation, waiting for him to continue.
Morrow raised his index finger and said, "There are three advanced techniques of the Four Major Principles: Shu, In, and Gyo. Shu is the advanced application of Ten, where you wrap your aura around an object in contact with your body. In is the advanced application of Zetsu, which can erase aura traces."
As he spoke, Morrow condensed a series of Nen spheres at his fingertip, stacking them steadily and neatly.
Gon and Killua were in a state of Ten, so they could see the small Nen spheres at Morrow's fingertip.
In fact, over this period, they had already seen Morrow's small Nen sphere game. After mastering the basics of the Four Major Principles, they had tried it in private but found it extremely difficult.
Now, seeing Morrow stack ten small Nen spheres neatly while maintaining their stability... Gon and Killua couldn't help but react with amazement.
Morrow paid no attention to their reactions and calmly continued, "The last one, Gyo, is the advanced application of Ren. This technique involves concentrating aura in a specific part of the body. This is the first advanced technique I'm going to teach you."
"Concentrating aura in a specific part of the body..."
Gon and Killua exchanged glances upon hearing this; wasn't this the same as the Nen sphere game they had tried in private?
Morrow had long known about their attempts, and since Gyo had the highest priority, he had decided to teach it to them first.
"Watch closely."
Morrow suddenly reminded them.
Gon and Killua reflexively followed Morrow's command, looking toward his right hand.
Under their gaze, the Nen sphere at Morrow's fingertip began vanishing one by one from the bottom.
Is that In?
Seeing this, Gon and Killua immediately recalled the In technique Morrow had mentioned earlier.
Morrow said calmly, "Do you still have the energy to use Ren?"
"Yes!"
Though extremely exhausted, Gon and Killua forced themselves to respond.
They each focused their minds, violently reopening the aura nodes they had just closed, quickly releasing torrent-like aura output again.
Seeing this, Morrow instructed, "Try concentrating your aura on your eyes."
"..."
Hearing this, Gon and Killua consciously manipulated more aura, gathering it toward their eyes.
After a moment, small, unstable flames seemed to ignite around their eyes.
It appeared the tiny flames might dissipate at any moment.
But as time passed, the flame-like aura first stabilized, then showed signs of growing stronger.
At this rate, within a few minutes, Gon and Killua would likely succeed in using Gyo.
Morrow remained completely unfazed, showing no surprise.
After all, in the original story, Gon and Killua had learned Gyo in just one night.
Now with their prior experience trying the Nen sphere game, it wouldn't be strange if they learned it immediately.
Just as Morrow predicted, after a few minutes, the aura around Gon and Killua's eyes had grown as strong as torches; this was the state of Gyo.
After successfully using Gyo, the two naturally saw the ten small Nen spheres Morrow had concealed using In.
"We did it!"
Both Gon and Killua felt invigorated, immediately understanding without further explanation that Gyo was used to see through opponents' In.
But this understanding was mistaken, typical of Nen beginners who thought Gyo's function was limited to the eyes.
The advanced technique is so simple.
After finding the feeling of gathering aura, Killua felt like he'd suddenly learned to ride a bicycle; discovering it was incredibly easy.
Morrow glanced at Killua's slightly smug expression.
Simple, huh...
He suddenly smiled seriously. "You have half an hour to rest, then special training begins."
Soon, half an hour passed.
Morrow threw the linked drums before Gon and Killua, then sat back on the tree stump, opening the Divine Script Codex to read while saying, "The training is to dodge attacks. Ready?"
"!!!"
Though unclear what the so-called attacks were, Gon and Killua immediately entered Ren state.
Morrow glanced sideways, nodding imperceptibly.
"Begin."
He called out, then stopped watching Gon and Killua to focus on studying the Divine Script Codex in his hands.
Simultaneously, one Nen mass after another shot out from the linked drums, like stretched rice cakes, crisscrossing as they attacked Gon and Killua.
At this moment, the two understood the training content and reacted swiftly to dodge the attacks.
So fast, but we can see them clearly!
Gon and Killua moved with great agility, continuously dodging among the intersecting Nen masses.
However, the next moment, the Nen clusters, concealed by "In," slammed into the two of them.
Two dull thuds echoed.
Gon and Killua were sent flying backward.
It's In...!
Their hearts jolted in shock.
Yet, from start to finish, Morrow paid no attention to them.
His current mastery of Divine Script had advanced to the point where he could make adjustments to the linked drums, such as incorporating the effects of In, setting up automatic attacks, and even modifying speed, frequency, and combo sequences.
Gon and Killua scrambled to their feet almost simultaneously, their faces filled with astonishment as they stared at the linked drums.
Exchanging a glance, they both moved forward again, this time prepared.
This time, they were ready to use "Gyo" while dodging.
But soon, they were blasted away once more.
The reason was that the number of Nen clusters concealed by "In" had suddenly increased.
What shocked them even more was that Morrow had been engrossed in studying the Divine Script Codex the entire time, not even glancing their way.
Yet, the adjustments to the attacks were incredibly precise, as if he had completely predicted their every move.
How did he do it?
Morrow... is really strong! Gon thought to himself.
Dammit, that's so sneaky! Killua grumbled indignantly.