Hatsu Week: Manipulation - The 1088 Pearls (Gotta Catch 'Em All)
Ability Name: The 1088 Pearls (Gotta Catch 'Em All)
Nen Type(s): Manipulation (probably with elements of Conjuration and Emission)
Level: 5/5
Summary: exorcise and/or capture Nen spirits and Nen Beasts after a battle of wills (or be possessed)
Medium: The ability requires a specific loop of prayer beads counting 1088 beads exactly. The string connecting them can be repaired or replaced if broken, but if a single bead is lost or shattered, the ability can never be used again, and any captured Nen spirits or Beasts are freed.
Effects: By wrapping the rosary loop around a Nen spirit or Nen Beast and reciting a specific prayer/invocation, I can start a battle of wills with the entity or whoever created it (if alive):
- If my desire to aid the target of the spirit/beast is stronger than the emotions the spirit or creator of the beast felt for the target when they used the ability, I can either exorcise the spirit/beast, dispelling it, or capture it (more on that later).
- If my desire to aid the target of the spirit/beast is weaker than the emotions the spirit or creator of the beast felt for the target when they used the ability, I instead become possessed by the spirit/beast, as if I was manipulated coercively, and I will aid the beast/spirit in whatever way I can until the spirit/beast is dispelled or I die.
The power of the creator of a Nen Beast does not matter for the purposes of the battle of wills, only their emotions: a Nen Beast created by a dispassionate hitman can be overcome easily, while one created by a novice filled with hate is extremely difficult to exorcise. Spirits/Nen Beasts targeting me are more difficult to exorcise, and it is almost impossible to exorcise post-mortem Nen.
After I win the contest, I am forced into a state of Zetsu for a little over 18 hours and 13 minutes (1088 minutes).
Capturing Beasts/Spirits: If I win the battle of wills, instead of exorcising the spirit/beast, I can capture it, trapping it inside one of the rosary beads. Whatever its original essence, a captured spirit/beast becomes a parasitic Nen Beast that feeds off my aura and that is under my control, as if I had stolen the user's ability (who cannot use it again until the beast is released, such as when a bead is destroyed or when I die, unless they would normally be able to create multiple Nen Beasts with that ability).
When I'm not using a captured Nen Beast, the drain on my aura is smaller, but my output is still reduced: for each Nen Beast I have captured, my output decreases (effectively putting a cap on the number of Nen Beasts I can capture that is far lower than the number of beads), but the aura in the rosary loop increases.
Rosary Loop: The rosary loop becomes more powerful the more Nen Beasts it contains, becoming an effective mid-ranged weapon and being potentially able to restrain other Nen users (depending on their power and mine, their Nen type, and the number of Nen Beasts it contains).
When the rosary loop touches a spirit/Nen Beast, which it can do even if the target would normally be incorporeal, I learn the extent of the spirit's or user's feelings towards the target, helping me decide whether it is wise to carry out the exorcism.
Two living beings who are both in contact with the bead can feel and potentially influence each other's emotions in turn.
Posted Aug 4, 2026, 8:54 AM UTC