The person slowly left Roy's line of sight, and a gentle warm breeze blew through the window lattice, dispersing the chill in the bedroom...
Roy wore a faint smile as he watched Silva leave. He casually glanced at the time; there was still half a day and a night before tomorrow. Besides continuing to study his pair of Mangekyo Sharingan, he also needed to clear out the accumulated [Life Energy] and [Faith Power] on his status panel one by one...
Roy's gaze followed Silva's tall back until it disappeared around the corner. He stood up, turned, and entered the bathroom, turning on the showerhead...
"Splash..." Under the sprinkling water, it felt just like the sunlight outside the window shining on his body, warming him until it tickled...
Inside the training room on the easternmost side of the first floor of the Zoldyck family castle,
"Bang, bang..." Several sounds of a ball being hit rang out...
Zeno accompanied Netero, both having changed into neat tracksuits. Across a makeshift volleyball net made from a clothes rack, they were blasting a volleyball back and forth... In a flash of lightning, the volleyball, armed with the Nen aura attached by the two, turned into a "cannonball," specifically aiming for each other's vital spots... Even though neither of the two old men belonged to the [Emission] category, their use of [Shu] was in no way inferior to first-rate Emitters like Razor or Franklin!
This caused Beanman and Luca, who were keeping score on the side, to have their pupils tremble wildly...
"Ho ho ho... Zeno, it seems I came at just the right time." With his white hair tied into a topknot,
His Buddha-like ears following the youth trend with two stylish ear studs,
Netero leaped up, his forehead nearly touching the ceiling. His right hand raised high, faintly manifesting an arm of the 100-Type Guanyin, and aimed a sharp spike right at the incoming volleyball!
"Boom!" The air exploded!
The volleyball was struck with immense force, visibly flattening as it shot backward toward Zeno's face.
It took less than a single breath!
The speed was so fast that it instantly escaped the limits of what human vision could capture!
"Whether you came at the right time or not, I don't know,"
"I only know that this child, Roy, is even faster than I thought!"
Suddenly, a "dragon roar" echoed!
Bursting from Zeno's palm... He had taken off his usual robe printed with "A Kill A Day, Active Duty for Life" and set it aside... but the killing techniques in Zeno's hands were not diminished in the slightest... There was no fear in his eyes, nor the slightest intention to dodge. He simply opened his hands, aimed at the volleyball, and skillfully guided it...
The majestic Nen aura transformed into a winding, roaring Nen dragon. It opened its large mouth and bit down on the volleyball,
Absorbing the impact force while drawing a semi-circle around Zeno, before charging back toward Netero...
To utilize [Transmutation] to such a degree was something Beanman had never seen even in the Hunter Association...
*'The Zoldycks... only they can fight back and forth with the Chairman like this...'* Beanman, wearing a crisp suit that contrasted comically with his green skin, round face, and tiny bean-like eyes, was engrossed in the situation on the court. He didn't forget to split his peripheral vision—one glance toward the dimly lit small room at the corner of the first floor, and another... up the stairs toward the second floor, reportedly the bedroom where the current head of the Zoldyck family, Silva Zoldyck, slept...
Compared to when he was at the Hunter Association, his aura and mindset were noticeably much more restrained...
"Bang!" The Nen dragon roared, struck right in the face by Netero's backhanded punch of gratitude. With a howl of pain, both the dragon and the ball smashed toward Zeno... Netero chuckled "ho ho," glancing sideways at Silva, who had turned and gone up to the second floor after leaving Roy's bedroom. He let out a refreshing breath and said, "You told me before that the two of them made a one-year agreement. I only treated it as a joke at the time, always feeling that Roy was just boasting shamelessly and that a good beating would fix it. But now..."
Netero narrowed his old eyes, leisurely watching as the "Nen dragon" he had punched back was coated with another layer of aura by Zeno. Halting its momentum, it angrily whipped its tail, striking the volleyball and sending it straight toward his heart.
His eyes flashing with sharp light, he said, "It was my poor judgment. The child... has the qualifications!"
"His name is Roy Zoldyck," Zeno said profoundly, his white hair swaying. "The Zoldyck of the Zoldycks!!"
"Ho ho..." Netero raised his right leg high and brought it down heavily, delivering another high whip kick that intercepted the volleyball mid-air and sent it flying back. He cast a sidelong glance at Zeno and said, "You certainly have the right to be proud, but as for you alone... Zeno..."
"I don't recall you, esteemed Zoldyck that you are, being able to exchange blows with your grandfather at Roy's age..."
"I couldn't, but could you?" Zeno raised an eyebrow. The Nen dragon extended its claws, grabbing with all five digits. The spinning volleyball was stripped of its force, and then, with a toss, it shot straight back over the clothes rack like lightning...
Seeing this, Netero replied very naturally, "Of course I couldn't either."
The world only knew him as the officially recognized "Strongest Human," but they didn't know that when it came to the so-called "strongest," there was no "strongest," only "stronger"!
The old man preferred quiet over movement. Even though they were both [Enhancement] types, their personalities were different; he didn't like to fight for no reason... But Netero actually knew very well that if Maha wanted to, he could strip him of the title of "Strongest Human" at any time.
It was just that he... disdained to do so!
Just like what Zigg had once told him... [Below the Gods, all are ants]!
The so-called "Strongest Human" was nothing more than a slightly larger ant...
"Bang!" The volleyball arrived, and Netero slapped it back with a backhand... At that moment, the training room door was pushed open, and two pink pigtails came into view...
Tsubone slowly pushed a dining cart into their line of sight.
"Master, it is time to eat."
"Rumble..." The dining cart made soft sounds as it rolled across the floor...
Zeno waved his hand to dispel the Nen dragon. Using the rippling aftershocks of the aura, he smoothly flicked his wrist.
The incoming volleyball immediately lost its force and landed lightly in Luca's arms.
"We're done playing. Time to eat."
The food covers were lifted, revealing several stir-fried dishes on the cart that Netero had never seen before... The old man took the towel Beanman handed him, wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, and glanced at Zeno. "Are these the stir-fried dishes you mentioned that the child Roy invented himself?"
Heavens above... He had known Roy for so long, how had he never noticed that this child... seemed to have the potential to be a Gourmet Hunter?
As expected, is the "God-Slaying Hunter" going to treat [God] like a dish to be cooked?
Startled by the sudden thought that popped into his mind... Netero, seeing Zeno not speaking, picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a slice of twice-cooked pork, and put it in his mouth. His old eyes opened and closed as he savored it carefully... Imitating Zeno, his chopsticks flew like the wind, similarly too busy to speak...
*'Chairman,'* Beanman, standing beside the two, was just about to use his chopsticks when a plate of twice-cooked pork vanished right before his eyes in the blink of an eye... His bean-sized eyes stared blankly at Netero, and in just one glance... another plate of tomato and egg stir-fry was gone... He rolled his eyes weirdly... thinking,
*'No way,'*
*'Is the food at the Zoldyck estate really this delicious?'*
Refusing to believe it,
Considering he, Beanman, had traveled all over with Netero and eaten all sorts of grand feasts,
Taking advantage of the fact that a plate of braised pork hadn't been polished off yet, he quickly grabbed a piece with his chopsticks and tossed it into his mouth... Immediately, his mung-bean-sized eyes widened like brass bells, and he exclaimed in shock in his heart, *'This is simply even more delicious than the gourmet food Linne makes!'*
*'No... no... it's not as good as Linne's,'*
It's just that the dishes are novel, something I've never had at her place, so...
Beanman snapped back to reality and couldn't help but glance toward a certain bedroom on the west side of the first floor again, deeply doubting... Did that child Roy really invent this?
In his daze, before he could use his chopsticks a second time, the braised pork was also gone. He stomped his feet and beat his chest in anger, unable to resist cursing in his heart, *'You just can't eat with [Enhancement] types, every single one of them is a bottomless pit.'*
However, there was absolutely no medicine for regret in this world; otherwise, Beanman would have definitely bought some to eat.
"Clang..." The plates were empty, the bowls were empty. The large dining cart was completely bare, and in an instant, only a few pairs of chopsticks were left tossed on the surface...
Netero contentedly took the tissue Tsubone handed him, smiling as he looked at her and said, "The little girl who always loved to follow behind Zigg's butt has grown up too."
Tsubone remained expressionless, pulling out another tissue and handing it to Zeno as she replied, "You must be joking, Chairman. I haven't just grown up, I've grown old."
"I'm ninety and I don't feel old. You're only fifty, you're still young."
Tsubone smiled politely and began to clear the dishes.
Zeno slowly wiped his mouth, casually tossed the tissue into an empty bowl, and glanced at her. "Why did you come over?"
He clearly remembered that just a few days ago, Tsubone had been sent by Silva to serve Roy, filling the vacancy left by Gotoh's slumber.
No matter who it was, she shouldn't have been the one swapped in to deliver food to him and Netero.
"The Young Master said he wasn't hungry and would eat later."
Zeno raised an eyebrow. This wasn't like Roy's usual style... He could normally forget anything, but he would never forget to eat. Without changing his expression, he deployed [En], quietly extending it toward Roy's bedroom...
"Hum..."
The transparent "Nen shroud" swept past Netero, enveloping him as well,
Causing him to pause slightly.
He cast a glance at Zeno,
And without showing any reaction,
His Nen rose with his thoughts. Following Zeno's lead, he deployed his own [En], wanting to see what the boy was doing... Unexpectedly,
A cold snort echoed!
Exploding like thunder!
It directly rebounded both his and Zeno's [En] that were spreading toward Roy's bedroom!
The corners of both their eyes twitched simultaneously, and then they heard an angry scolding: "Even eating can't plug up your eyes!"
"Don't go randomly looking at things you shouldn't be looking at!"
"That's my precious grandson, not that Beyond from your family!"
*'It's Grandpa!'* / *'It's the old man!'*
With their [En] forced back... Netero and Zeno exchanged a glance, looking at each other in dismay...
Maha's words were laced with Nen aura, shaking them so much their scalps tingled.
Although he hadn't explicitly said anything, it... also felt like he had said everything... In just an instant, it made Zeno and Netero realize—
Something must have happened to Roy!
Zeno silently withdrew his [En]. Looking at Tsubone again, he narrowed his eyes and asked, "What was Roy doing when you delivered his food?"
With her two pink pigtails draped behind her head, Tsubone quietly glanced toward the dimly lit small room and answered truthfully, "I didn't see either. At the time... I only remember that the Young Master was in the bathroom."
The bathroom?!!!
Zeno's expression suddenly changed, and in an instant, he fell silent...
On the side, Netero noticed this scene and feigned nonchalance as he said, "Perhaps the child just has an upset stomach."
As his words fell,
He was met with a bizarre glare from Zeno, leaving Netero completely baffled.
"Ho ho, it seems I've said the wrong thing,"
"Not entirely wrong," Zeno said faintly, taking a deep look toward Roy's bedroom. "Expelling filth to welcome a new life, who can say that evolution isn't just having diarrhea?"
"Hum—" Suddenly, a towering pillar of blood energy abruptly bloomed between heaven and earth...
Activating [Gyo],
Netero's expression changed, and he abruptly pushed his chair back and stood up!
This Strongest Human, his old eyes—weathered by time and hardship—flashed with a brilliant light. His gaze, sharp as a sword, pierced straight through the thick, heavy walls to look at Roy's bedroom.
That was the center where the "pillar of blood energy" bloomed, and also... its starting point!
Inside Roy's bedroom on the first floor of the Zoldyck family castle,
Ever since making the agreement with Silva for tomorrow, Roy hadn't waited a single moment and had gone straight into the bathroom.
The young man's beautiful silver hair, its ends flowing with a glazed golden light, was placed under the showerhead. As the water trickled down, it draped wetly behind his head. He opened his status panel, received the panel's notification, and merely gave it a faint glance
Before immediately beginning to allocate his stat points.
This time was different from the past.
This time, Roy had learned his lesson from his previous rashness, slowly warning himself, "No rush, take it one wave at a time."
A total of 795 points of [Life Energy] and [Faith Power] were divided into four waves by him, two hundred points per wave, added one wave at a time. And so...
While the young man endured the pain of the stat allocation,
One pillar of blood energy after another bloomed perfectly on cue in the sky above the castle...
"....."
"....."
"....."
He lost count,
One wave rose before the previous one had even settled.
Feeling that he could withstand it,
Roy continued to add points... He was selflessly immersed in observing his physical condition, listening to the panel's notification sounds ringing continuously in his ears like bells... He suddenly forgot that at home,
There were still guests present!
One pillar, two pillars, three pillars... The pillars of blood energy bloomed one after another at intervals...
Others were unaware. The Zoldyck butlers and maids, such as Luca and the rest, only felt that there seemed to be a bit more wind today, blowing in gusts, which was actually quite cooling...
Little did they know,
Decades after Zigg's death, Netero, who had finally gotten a rare opportunity to visit the Zoldycks, wore a solemn expression. With the corners of his eyes twitching madly and imperceptibly, he sniffed the pillar of blood energy and looked deeply toward Roy's bedroom. Finally,
After the fourth "pillar of blood energy" bloomed, and the fifth one did not arrive,
This Chairman of the Hunter Association, the supreme boss of all Hunters worldwide, the officially and publicly recognized "Strongest Human," quietly breathed a sigh of relief while simultaneously
Casting a sidelong glance at Zeno. He slightly raised his chin, pouted toward Roy's bedroom, and asked, "Is this how he usually trains?"
Zeno: "....."
For a moment,
Silence fell...