"So, what do you think?"
After Xiang Nan left, Chrollo turned to Shalnark.
"His ability is pretty much what we suspected. He inflicts some kind of 'illness' through physical contact.
But it's not that straightforward. The two different-colored gloves he wears likely represent separate abilities or modes.
The moment he touched me, my entire upper body went numb—I couldn't move at all.
What's worse is that he had already picked up on my intent to activate Nen. He clearly knows my abilities inside out."
Shalnark frowned.
"What's bothering me is… his power doesn't seem to require immediate contact.
Based on the data we gathered—especially from Machi's fight with him—it all feels like a smokescreen he planted on purpose.
He made us underestimate him."
He rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
"I'm starting to think the contact doesn't have to be recent. As long as he touched someone within a set timeframe, he can activate his power later.
That's why it feels so stealthy—he can trigger it anytime without warning."
"Also, the whole 'inflicting illness' thing… maybe it doesn't need him to actively manipulate the target's body.
As long as the contact condition was met earlier, he can tailor the illness to the target's own biology."
He exhaled slowly.
"Basically, if you want to avoid being affected, you can't interact with him at all.
Even if you keep your distance later, one slip-up—a distracted look, a blank stare, even a twitch—
and he can use that to trace symptoms back to the cause, then make it real through his Nen."
"The only real counter would be having the same level of medical knowledge as him… and honestly, good luck with that."
Shalnark gave a half-joking sigh.
"Might be time I learned some medicine."
"He's a Conjurer with traits from the Transmutation category, maybe more.
Most Nen users can barely mix three systems—his setup shouldn't be possible.
But clearly, the usual Nen rules don't apply to him.
That liquid he used on Uvogin—pretty sure it came from the 'Multiverse.'
If that place can make the impossible possible… we're dealing with something on a completely different level."
Chrollo gave a small smile.
At this point, he fully believed what Xiang Nan had promised.
And now the Multiverse intrigued him deeply.
If the Phantom Troupe could get their hands on that mysterious liquid, their growth would accelerate overnight.
"He's strong. One-on-one, no one in the Troupe could take him down—including me.
To kill him, we'd need at least three members, and we'd need to really understand how his abilities work."
He replayed the earlier skirmish in his head.
"For now… we're not ready to cross him. We don't have the power or the leverage."
"Yeah," Shalnark nodded in agreement.
"If anyone knows the full extent of Xiang Nan's abilities, it's Hisoka.
They've known each other longer than we have, and they seem close.
Honestly, I think Hisoka's hiding something from us."
The Phantom Troupe doesn't bend to anyone.
If they were backing down now, it was temporary—and only because they knew they'd lose.
A reckless move would mean getting wiped out.
But the Spiders were patient.
Just because they couldn't win today didn't mean they'd lose forever.
They trusted no one but each other.
"Then again, knowing Hisoka, even if we asked him, he wouldn't tell us anything.
It's his personal business, and from what we can see, it hasn't threatened the Troupe—yet."
Shalnark smiled slightly.
Still, Uvogin being alive was a win in itself.
"Let's head back…"
Chrollo glanced at Uvogin, who looked completely out of it.
Right now, Uvogin couldn't use Nen at all.
His brain had likely been hit with some kind of illness via Xiang Nan's Nen ability.
And since mental clarity is essential to control Nen, any loss of awareness shuts it down entirely.
"We probably shouldn't tell the others what happened tonight.
Most of them will keep their cool, but someone like Feitan or Nobunaga might lose it and cause unnecessary problems."
"Got it."
Shalnark supported the dazed Uvogin and followed after Chrollo, their conversation fading into the distance.
…
Nen Exorcists: Rarer Than You Think
Nen Exorcists—those who can remove Nen-based abilities—are incredibly rare.
Even among Nen users, they're practically extinct.
Their powers usually fall under Conjuration or Specialist types and follow unique activation conditions.
In the original series, only a few ever appeared:
Abengane, a Greed Island player, who used rituals to separate Nen from its host.
Hina, the Chimera Ant squad leader (the rabbit girl), who digested Nen through consumption.
And a Hunter Association Exorcist who tried to help Gon post-Pitou—but couldn't handle the sheer volume of Nen.
Abengane's process involved rituals to separate Nen from its anchor.
Xiang Nan uses a similar approach—but via surgery, made possible through his own Nen-enhanced medical skills.
1. Surgical Removal
This involves an understanding of the patient's biology and life force.
If his skill isn't perfect, the procedure can cause serious damage or long-term side effects.
He only resorts to this when the Nen is extremely dangerous or stubborn.
2. Organ Replacement
A simpler, lower-risk method.
For example, if Uvogin hadn't had his heart pierced by Kurapika's chain, Xiang Nan could've just replaced it with another.
But Kurapika's chain is spiritual—it binds both soul and body—so replacing the organ wouldn't help.
That's just an example.
But that's the gist of his two approaches.
Exorcism is a deep, energy-based process.
It requires a full understanding of how Nen attaches to the body—and breaking that link is exhausting.
Unlike Abengane or Hina, Xiang Nan can't just "cast" or "consume" the ability away.
He has to analyze and operate, which makes his exorcism methods way more complex.
His power wasn't designed purely for exorcism—it's multi-functional.
That makes it weaker in that specific area, and he relies on medical skill to make up for it.
Sure, the surgery on Uvogin looked quick—but Xiang Nan was drained afterward.
He just didn't show it in front of Chrollo or Shalnark.
Xiang Nan didn't mind exposing more of his abilities to them.
Even if they knew his tricks, they still couldn't outplay him.
As long as he kept participating in the Reincarnation Dimension Game and raking in resources, the power gap between him and the main story's characters would only get wider.
And frankly, no amount of "main world" plot armor or background could help them catch up.
"Next up… the Ten Dons and Greed Island."
On his way back to Yorknew, Xiang Nan didn't feel much interest in Greed Island.
The whole "game" was just something Ging Freecss made for his kid.
The only value in it was observing how the game's creators structured Nen rules and card-based logic.
He wasn't planning on joining that arc.
There just weren't any plot-critical points for him to unlock there.
Pariston, on the other hand?
Now that was a target worth taking down.