Tsubone sniffed, a crystalline sheen of tears swirling faintly in her old eyes, quickly hidden as she lifted a hand to adjust her glasses.
Taking advantage of lowering her head, she pulled out a tissue and handed it to Roy. "Young master, wipe your mouth."
Roy only gave a noncommittal little hum, slowly took the tissue, quietly watched her clean up the messy dining table and push the cart toward the door, then suddenly called out, "Tsubone, you've seen Wutong's current state too, right?"
The tall body of the old butler suddenly paused. With her back to Roy, she silently nodded.
Then she saw the boy's face break into a smile as he waved. "If he can, then of course you can too."
Tsubone's body trembled; in her deep muffled voice she said, "Please rest assured, young master. I may be old, but I'm not dead yet. I can still move!"
Putting seniority aside and speaking purely of strength, the old butler did not think she was necessarily any worse than Wutong had once been... Turning back, she dropped to one knee and gave Roy a solemn bow again, then pushed the cart away, brimming with ambition as she disappeared from Roy's field of view…
Just then, a soft chuckle drifted lazily out of the dim little room, sounding almost like sleep-talking…
"Hoho, Maha, this child's knack for winning hearts is not necessarily any worse than yours back then…"
As hazy Nen billowed upward like steam, Maha's hand encircled Betty Zoldyck's slender waist with a gentle squeeze, drawing her into his arms…
The old man rocked his rocking chair by himself, chuckled. "You don't even look at whose seed he is?"
That instantly earned him a roll of the eyes from Betty…
"Hohoho…" Maha didn't mind in the least, reached out and gave Betty Zoldyck's butt a pat,
and in the not‑so‑large room, a coquettish yet merry breathy sound immediately rang out and spread…
"Dong~" One in the afternoon, "dong~" two in the afternoon… On this leisurely afternoon, accompanied by the unending strikes of the wooden mantel clock's hammers on its chime rods in the corner… After about half a day, with Roy having eaten both lunch and dinner in succession, the Nen in his body, which had been drained completely in his battle with Silva, rapidly refilled again, becoming whole…
The boy walked to the window, using the moonlight to look at the willow tree in the garden, its twigs stretching and swaying in the wind, rustling softly,
then turned, paced to the window, and summoned the Three-legged Golden Crow…
"This time, don't sleep so dead again." The boy grabbed the single ahoge on top of the Three-legged Golden Crow's head that shimmered with golden light and rubbed it hard… That earned him an immediate eye-roll from Jinx, who argued strongly, "I didn't. Don't slander me~"
Roy froze for a moment, staring at it in surprise. "You can talk?"
Jinx shook its head to knock away Roy's big hand, puffed out its chest proudly. "Is that so strange? Who can't talk? It's just a matter of sleeping once."
Is that so… Is it really that easy?
How come he didn't know other people's Nen Beasts could talk?
Be it Biscuit's "Miss Quqi"… Razor's "Fourteen Devils," or even Ging's "Feitan Eagle," not one of them came close to Jinx's level of intelligence, even though… [Nen Beast] itself was also a product of [Conjuration] based on the [Heart's Reflection] of a [Nen user]…
Roy shot Jinx an amused glare and, without letting it show on his face, pulled up its status panel—
[Nen Beast: Three-legged Golden Crow]
[Status: Juvenile (10000/1000000) → (20000/1,000,000)]
[Rank: S+]
[Manifested Nen Amount: B- (40,000/1,000,000) → B- (70,000/1,000,000)]
[Potential Qi Amount: ?]
[Racial Talent: Chasing the Sun (Pending activation)… Control Sunflame: Level 4 (70,000/100,000) → Level 4 (78,000/100,000)… Chariot: Level 1 (37/100) → Level 1 (88/100) (Note: Activated)]
[Language: Continental Tongue activated (Current proficiency: Mastery)]
[Evaluation: Growth-type Nen Beast, unlimited potential]
[Four Major Principles]: [Ten][Zetsu][Ren][Hatsu] all fully [Mastered] along with host
[High-level Applied Techniques]: [Shu][Ken][Ko][Ryu][En] all at [Entry Level]
[Evaluation: B-]
[Note: By ant standards, your Nen Beast "Three-legged Golden Crow" has reached elite ant Master General level]
Roy focused especially on the [Language] line and gradually understood… It wasn't that the Three-legged Golden Crow couldn't speak; it was that it had been limited by its "growth," sealed off… The boy raised a hand and gently patted Jinx's head, his voice warm. "Sorry… I've put you through a lot…"
"Gao~" Jinx tipped back its head and nudged Roy's palm with its beak. "It's not hard on me, Jinx isn't suffering,"
"Master, go to sleep. I'll stand guard for you…"
With that, it flapped its wings over to Roy's pillow, tucked its claws in, and assumed a very proper mother hen squat.
Seeing this, Roy chuckled softly. "No need to be that serious."
With Maha in the house, Roy didn't believe anyone could hurt him, but—
"That stinky old man and that stinky little brother, you really don't need to keep an eye on them?" Jinx tilted its head and stared at Roy.
With a thought, he immediately used the [Soul Corridor] to project Netero and Illumi's faces…
Roy's expression darkened; he straightened his face. "You're right. Those two absolutely cannot be allowed in here."
Jinx nodded solemnly, spread its right wing, and gave Roy a very formal salute. "Leave it to me."
Roy nodded, stepped into the shower, took a quick rinse, then used the [True Meaning of Blazing Heat] to steam-dry the water remaining on his skin. After that he lay down on the bed, hands folded over his lower abdomen, and slowly closed his eyes.
Night. Mountain winds rustled, blowing away a bit of midsummer heat,
and soon, a faint "snore" sounded…
The boy emptied his mind, his consciousness sinking and sinking. As usual, he passed through the [Gate of Cognition] and entered his Cognitive World, where his eyes immediately fell on the familiar dream corridor.
The multicolored dream corridor glowed with a hint of light. From the other end of that light came the faint sound of tides rising and falling, waves lapping the beach—that was the Sea of Cognition calling to him…
Roy's head of silver hair hung down his back; he didn't hurry to go in. Instead he stopped at the mouth of the corridor and looked at the two rotating vortices to his left and right. His Gaze grew deep as it pierced inward… and he saw Wen Nisha and Old Keller, respectively.
"Kept you waiting. Four in the morning tomorrow, before the break of dawn, the meeting starts on time…"
His Will wrapped in Nen, moved by Roy's thought, drifted lightly into the vortices,
and then the vortices shuddered. It was visible to the naked eye… within the whirlpools, the Snake-man and the Kobold's Gaze suddenly shifted, and they clutched their chests in excitement, bowing as they chanted, "Praise the sun."
Two gentle streams of "Power Of Faith" then peeled off from the two of them and slowly drifted onto Roy's body.
[Prompt: Your followers have received your response. Overcome with excitement, their piety has grown. "Power Of Faith" +3 +3]
"It increased?"
Six points of Power Of Faith landed in his pocket.
Roy paused slightly and glanced down at the two threads of causality linking him respectively to Wen Nisha and Old Keller. His Gaze shifted and he understood… It was almost the same principle as with Jinx.
As the bond between him and his followers deepened, the "Power Of Faith" they could offer him grew as well. Of course… the responsibility he had to shoulder invisibly also grew heavier…
Profit and risk coexist; the law of equivalent exchange truly does not lie…
His thoughts drifting, Roy slowly withdrew his Gaze from the vortices, took a step forward into the dream corridor, then followed the light in one go to arrive at the Sea of Cognition. Without hesitation, he flew straight past the [Demon Slayer Gate], stopped for a moment before the [Gate of the Dark Continent] engraved with complex patterns,
then turned and pushed open the [Gate of Naruto] behind him, stepping inside…
"Nissan… Nissan…"
"Wake up, Brother Shisui is here…"
A hazy, indistinct call echoed by his ear,
The door opened, and the familiar falling sensation swept over him…
When Roy temporarily separated from the real world and opened his eyes again, he was already in his house in Konoha, his head cradled in little Itachi's arms…