Turning back, he thrust at Roy's neck!
The carotid artery in the neck was one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body. Aside from ripping out someone's heart, it was the only move Illumi liked.
Roy heard the wind behind him but didn't turn around. He thrust back with a knife hand of his own, except...
Unlike Illumi, he coated his knife hand in Nen.
Besides the four basic principles of Nen—Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu—Nen training also gave rise to many advanced applications.
For example, En, which heightened perception...
For Shu, which imbued objects...
For Kakushi, which concealed one's presence...
And for Ken, which strengthened the body...
Roy hadn't formally learned these applications yet, but that didn't stop him from gathering aura in his knife hand and temporarily sharpening it.
The result was striking.
It was the same Snake Awakening...
As two flashes of light crossed, Illumi's strike was blocked. He quickly dodged away...
He hid in the darkness by the corner, his left arm raised to guard against Roy, while his right hand trembled uncontrollably...
Too hard...
A killer's instincts had driven him to counterattack in an instant, but the one he'd attacked didn't seem the least bit interested in him.
After all... Roy considered himself human, and humans... shouldn't stoop to a dog's level—especially not some ignorant mutt who only knew how to hide in the dark and take cheap shots.
"Tap... tap..."
His soft-soled sneakers made faint sounds as they crossed the ancient, weathered stone floor.
With his back to Illumi, Roy shook out his hand and continued on. It was as if he'd casually swatted away a fly along the way. In an instant, he vanished from Illumi's sight and arrived at the training room.
The afternoon sun poured through the wide French windows onto the floor, still blazing hot. It was the perfect time to practice Sun Breathing.
Roy wouldn't let a couple of dogs ruin his mood, much less interfere with his training.
He shifted his feet and began to dance.
After that, a strange sight could often be seen in the Zoldyck family's training room.
A boy dressed in a snug, short-sleeved outfit danced day and night, constantly getting on the nerves of everyone in the Zoldyck household.
"He's still dancing?"
"Yes, still..."
"Has he been keeping up with his regular training?"
"Yes..."
Seated on a tiger-skin sofa with his chin resting on one hand, Silva listened as Tsubone reported on Roy's recent training and fell into thought...
Under Tsubone's astonished gaze...
He stood up and imitated Roy, striking a few poses.
First Waltz, then Clear Blue Sky, followed by Burning Sun Mirror, Fire Wheel, and Bone-Burning Sun...
When the final dance, Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance, ended, Silva stood still, reflecting on the experience. For a long time, he didn't move.
Beside him, Tsubone stood silently with her hands at her sides.
Her "sound" self-awareness constantly reminded her that, as a dog—and one who had been loyal to the Zoldyck family for decades—she must never bark while her master was deep in thought.
Even so, she couldn't hide her surprise. This was the first time she'd seen the family head imitate someone else... and, of all people, the person in question was his son, whom he'd judged to have limited potential.
"Phew..."
He exhaled a breath of stale air...
About five minutes later, Silva finally moved again.
He sat back down without changing expression and waved a hand... Tsubone tactfully withdrew...
"Creak..." The heavy wooden door shut.
But the voice that came from inside made the old butler, who had just stepped out, shudder.
"Tell Roy to write up his insights into those movements and send them to me."
His tone left no room for argument...
Tsubone: "..."
She stood facing the door for a moment, then placed her right hand over her chest and bowed.
That evening, she found Roy in the training room, practicing.
When Roy heard the news, he wasn't surprised at all. He simply stopped, glanced toward the master bedroom on the second floor, and chose to... refuse.
Sun Breathing was his trump card, the nourishment he'd drawn from the Cognitive World through his Nen Ability. Out of respect for Tanjuro and to protect his privacy, he couldn't—and wouldn't—teach it to anyone else.
Moreover, the more he practiced Sun Breathing, the more he realized how little he truly understood it.
He'd danced twenty times over the course of four hours that afternoon, but he'd only immersed himself in it for a moment or two. The rest of the time had been "wasted."
So how could he have the time or energy to teach anyone else?
Besides, this wasn't how you asked for a favor... even if the person asking was his father.
"I think I have the right to refuse." Roy wiped the sweat from his neck and decided to be direct.
Tsubone froze for a moment. She clearly hadn't expected him to refuse. After all, this wasn't some ordinary person; it was an order from Silva, the current head of the Zoldyck family.
So she instinctively asked, "Can you give me a reason for refusing?"
Roy smiled... He narrowed his eyes and, for the first time, seriously studied the Nen user who shared his type. Her Yamato Nadeshiko Seven Metamorphoses could conjure up all sorts of vehicles for people to ride. It seemed she'd been trained so thoroughly that she'd lost her senses...
"A reason?" Roy draped the towel over his shoulder and looked up at her, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Since you consider yourself a dog, you should know how a dog is supposed to behave..."
"So... it's best not to ask about your master's business."
Tsubone: "..."
She stood there, stunned.
It was as if she'd been bewitched. She didn't know whether to stay or go, and in the end, she left in disgrace.
Just like in the original story, she didn't care for any of the Zoldyck children except Killua.
Roy naturally didn't bother being polite to her. He simply prepared himself for Silva to come looking for him.
Unexpectedly, though, several days passed without another word about the incident. It was as if it had never happened. Tsubone went silent, and Silva never brought it up again. They even crossed paths during that time.
It wasn't until Gotoh recovered and returned that Roy heard a little about what had happened.
"She stabbed herself three times. She's recovering now..."
The young butler served Roy dinner as he spoke, adjusting the gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. "She got off easy."
"If it were me, I'd have killed myself for talking back to the Young Master."
Well... you're even more hard-core...
For a moment, Roy didn't know what to say...
He could only sigh. This was so Zoldyck.
After all, in this family, the butlers were widely regarded as property, death warriors, dogs... Even if Roy naively thought they weren't, they considered themselves dogs and were even proud of it.
That was clear from the people who stayed at the Zoldyck family's Butler Villa, desperately trying to get into the Zoldyck household.
So Roy changed the subject and asked Gotoh:
"Any news about the matter I asked you to handle?"
When he noticed that his progress with "dancing" had begun to slow, Roy thought it over carefully and identified three possible reasons.
First, Sun Breathing was essentially a "sword dance" and needed to be performed with a blade.
Second, he lacked a method for practicing Total Concentration.
Third, he didn't have a skilled teacher.
For the last two, Roy could only rely on himself to search the Cognitive World.
But as for the first...
With a metallic clang, Gotoh drew a katana from his waist and presented it in both hands.
"There's still no news about the Nen Artifact the Young Master asked for, but... there's a fine katana in the storeroom."
"What's it called?"
"Snow Walk."
Before you continue