It turned out that the old saying was true: there are no worn-out fields, only exhausted bulls.
Since Kikyo had become pregnant, Silva had enjoyed a rare period of peace, as she was terrified that intimacy might disturb the unborn child.
The afternoon sun was pleasant, streaming into the second-floor study on the west side that belonged solely to him.
Silva had followed Maha's example and purchased a rocking chair, placing it right in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. With his hands folded over his abdomen, he basked in the warmth of the sun. At a certain moment, the sound of light footsteps echoed in the hallway, followed by the soft click of the door opening.
Without turning his head, Silva spoke. "Years ago, your great-grandfather also told me to hit him once."
Roy stepped inside and closed the door. "Father, did you do it?"
"Mm."
The rocking chair creaked. Silva's silver hair spilled across the carpet like liquid mercury. He opened his eyes to look at the bright sun outside, watching the occasional swift cut through the light with a sharp cry before diving into the forest. "I was beaten miserably," he said, his voice tinged with nostalgia. "He said that from the moment I struck, I was destined to never amount to much. That for my entire life, I could only ever be... an enforcer."
Killing for money, and if a target wouldn't die, it was only because the payment was too low—the Zoldyck family had its own philosophy of assassination, and Silva was the pinnacle of it.
Roy had grown up hearing his stories and knew how powerful his father and grandfather were. These were men who stood at the peak of the world's strength—men who could hold their own against Neferpitou, Youpi, Shaiapouf, or even the Chimera Ant King. To hear such a man defined simply as an "enforcer" by Maha left Roy silent for a moment.
"In the beginning, I wasn't convinced. I killed one target after another to prove my strength."
"In the end, I still couldn't block a single casual punch from your great-grandfather."
Silva sat with his back to Roy, reaching out to catch a green leaf drifting in from the window. He traced the veins of the leaf and spoke in a deep voice. "I didn't understand why. Not until..."
"I asked your grandfather, Zigg, while he was inside the game. Only then did I get an answer."
Silva's hand tightened, and a burst of Nen reduced the leaf to ash, which he allowed to drift away into the mountains. He stood up, turning around to face Roy with the sunlight at his back. His expression was grave. "He said that no matter how strong an individual's martial prowess is, how can they ever be a match for an organization or a nation?"
"Only then did I realize that whether it was Great-grandfather or Grandfather Zigg, from the day they stepped onto the path of [Faith], they were no longer... alone."
Thud... Thud...
As Silva's massive frame moved, he completely blocked out the sunlight from the window.
He came to a stop in front of Roy, looking down at his son as if seeing him for the first time. "The path of [Faith], which takes the Nen of others, is destined to be a rough and winding road. Son... have you truly prepared yourself?"
"Great-grandfather asked, and now Father is asking. Is it Grandfather's turn next?"
Roy gave a self-deprecating smile and looked up, meeting Silva's majestic gaze without fear. "Yes, Father."
"I'm going to walk it."
"Not only that, but I hope to actually achieve something. For example..."
The boy smiled brilliantly. "Killing [God], taking His place, and showing Him just how powerful the sun can be."
A gust of wind blew, lifting the corner of the curtain. A playful sliver of sunlight bypassed Silva and illuminated Roy.
Silva stared at him. The boy was growing so fast; he was already nearly level with Silva's nose. It likely wouldn't be long before he surpassed him.
He remained silent for a long time before letting out a low, suppressed chuckle. "I look forward to that day. However..."
Silva paused, and suddenly, a powerful [Ren] erupted from him. It formed a swirling vortex of Nen that enveloped Roy, blowing the boy's black hair back. Silva took a step forward, exerting immense pressure. "Before that, you have to get past me!"
"Give me a timeframe."
"Three years."
"Too long." Roy's feet were nailed to the floor like a pine tree firmly rooted in the earth. He remained motionless, erupting with his own [Ren] to cancel out Silva's impact. He chuckled. "Father, you know I'm in a hurry. I've always been one to seize the day. So..."
"How about one year?"
'One year...' Silva's gaze turned dangerous. He took another step forward, his aura like a vast ocean threatening to crush Roy on the spot. He narrowed his eyes. "You gain a little skill and suddenly you're floating."
"Has no one ever told you that you are very... arrogant?"
The clashing [Ren] created a storm of Nen, the friction sounding like the screech of metal on metal. Roy smiled at Silva and took a step forward as well, pushing back against the man. "Above the heavens and below the earth, I alone am the honored one. Father..."
"You should know that arrogance is the true essence of the sun."
A searing red glow surged from the boy's body.
The air ignited. Heatwaves churned and boiled, forming a dragon of steam that lunged straight for Silva's face!
In that moment, Silva caught a familiar scent. It was just like the punch Maha had thrown at him back then—a strike that condensed the power of countless living beings. Within that dragon of steam, Silva could faintly see many faces.
Some he recognized, like Gotoh and Kastro. Others he didn't, like the Nine Hashira led by Gyomei Himejima, the Uchiha led by Uchiha Setsuna, the Nagas led by Vanessa, and the Kobolds led by Old Kohler.
Silva's eyes flashed with intensity. He raised his fist and threw a heavy punch directly at the head of the steam dragon!
For a split second, Roy felt as if he had returned to the day he begged his father to open his pores. The same dominance, the same lack of reason, the same thunderous strike. However, unlike his younger self, he could finally see Silva's [Mental Projection]. It was [Strength]—the kind of strength that creates miracles, the kind that is unyielding and never surrenders. It was cold, brutal, and never bothered with logic, just like Silva himself. He had always believed only in the body he had trained to the limit, aiming directly for the pinnacle of individual martial power!
The punch, wrapped in [Ken], struck the dragon's head, piercing through the boiling steam and slamming into Roy's chest. It shattered the [Hardening] protecting his heart and instantly sent him flying!
With a loud crash, Roy smashed through the door and several walls, finally landing in a storage room deep within the castle filled with various junk. The wall cracked in a spiderweb pattern around a large, human-shaped hole.
The second floor was a mess. Silva held his punching posture, not pulling his hand back immediately. He spoke flatly. "Stop acting."
A sound like a shattering mirror rang out.
A light chuckle came from behind the man as the [Genjutsu] broke.
Within those blood-red eyes, three pitch-black tomoe spun slowly. Silva spun around. The steam dragon and his punch wrapped in [Ken] had been nothing more than an illusion.
They were still standing in the study. The door and walls were perfectly intact. The boy, however, had somehow reached the window and was lying comfortably in Silva's rocking chair. He didn't look like someone who had just coughed up blood from a heavy strike.
"This chair is really comfortable," Roy said. "No wonder you and Great-grandfather like it. I'll have Gotoh get one for me later."
Silva's lip twitched imperceptibly before he returned to his usual stoic, serious self. He walked over and joined Roy in looking out the window, where Milluki was training with Luka in the garden. "The illusion was decent," he said tonelessly.
"But it still didn't fool you, did it?" Roy deactivated his Sharingan and leaned back with his hands behind his head. "Father, honestly, I've wanted to hit you for a long time."
"That is indeed arrogant."
Silva smiled, a fierce and menacing expression. "I feel the same way."
Roy glanced sideways at him. "Since when?"
"Since you started using [Parasitic Dream] to trick me."
Roy remained silent.
"My apologies. I was arrogant," the boy said with a grin. "Next time... I'll make sure you don't even know you're dreaming."
"Mm." Silva shoved his hands into his pockets, the muscles in his thick arms bulging like coiled dragons. "One year. A year from now... pray that I don't beat you to death."
Low, suppressed laughter echoed through the room. On this sunny afternoon, the father and son each calculated their futures. When their eyes met, faint arcs of electricity seemed to spark between them.
Just then, the door opened. Another person entered carrying a dossier. Tsubone, her pink twin-ponytails swaying, looked at Roy and then at Silva. The one who should be lying down was standing, and the one who should be standing was lying down. In that moment, the roles of father and son seemed to have been inverted.
"Master, the intelligence you requested." The old butler calmly adjusted her glasses and bowed to Silva.
"Give it to him," Silva rumbled.
"Yes." Tsubone turned and handed the documents to Roy. "Young Master, this is the information regarding Meteor City. Please look it over."
Roy glanced at Silva, then took the papers and flipped through them. His brow soon furrowed. He realized that Meteor City at this point in time was significantly different from the one in his memories.
In the original story, Meteor City was a dark zone controlled by an Elder Council and later taken over by the Phantom Troupe. Its strongest members were roughly at the level of a mature Spider or a Chimera Ant Squadron Leader like Zazan. But now...
Looking at the dossier, the members of the current Elder Council were anything but simple. In the shadows behind the most powerful ones, he could faintly see the silhouettes of the V5 and Kakin. Roy's expression grew heavy; he realized the waters of Meteor City were far deeper and more complex than he had imagined.
Specifically...
Roy sensed a Nen ability similar to Morena's [Étude of Love]—a type of "proselytizing" ability—coming from several of them. Before he could react, Tsubone spoke from beside him.
"The Great Master recently instructed the Master to investigate several individuals. These people share a common trait: they are all 'spreader-type' Nen users."
"Some spread their influence through drugs. For example, that man, Guzman. He recklessly sells 'Candy,' which is marketed as a stimulant. In reality, it triggers a person's potential at the cost of their lifespan, turning them into targets for Guzman to harvest."
Roy gripped the dossier and saw the image of Guzman. He was a youth with deep green hair and a boyish appearance, his lithe frame adorned with a few freckles. He looked harmless, but beneath that fragile exterior lurked a man-eating beast.
[NAME: Guzman. MEMBER: Meteor City Elder Council (Third Elder). NOTE: Suspected links to the United States of Saherta. Responsible for testing experimental drugs for certain pharmaceutical companies.]
"And then there is..." Tsubone noticed Roy had flipped to the next page. His gaze settled on a voluptuous woman with fiery red hair and a seductive aura, nicknamed the 'Whip of Lust.'
"The Fifth Elder, Selena. Her Nen ability is [Thorned Dopamine]. We suspect she is involved in the flesh trade. A few days ago, she was seen with Punk Malcor, the personal head butler of Odoro Spencer, the Chief Secretary of the Begerose United Nations."
"She frequently kidnaps young girls to export them abroad to curry favor with the upper class."
The list continued...
George Wood, the 'Human Body Collector,' skilled in skinning and bone-taking, backed by the Kingdom of Kukanyu.
Otsuka Yu, the 'Parasite,' backed by the Ochima Federation.
Meyer Willis, the 'Blood Diamond,' backed by Minbo.
And... "Bolton, who was killed by the Young Master recently, was backed by Kakin."
Tsubone listed the various factions of Meteor City. Even the "Ten Dons" who controlled the Shadow Beasts seemed minor by comparison.
When she stopped speaking, the room fell into a long silence between the boy and his father.
"Do you believe in the light?" Roy recalled what he had just said to his great-grandfather. It seemed his simple desire to bring a sliver of light to Meteor City would not be so easily realized.
The world bustles for gain and hustles for profit.
"Roy," Silva broke the silence, looking deeply at the boy. "No one in Meteor City has ever belonged to themselves. That includes... your mother."
'Mother...' The mother who came from Meteor City was also his mother. Roy had never heard Kikyo talk about her past, and he had never heard a word about it from Silva or Zeno. If he hadn't been a transmigrator familiar with the original story, he might never have known.
"This is going to be difficult, Father," the boy said, exhaling slowly as he spoke his mind.
Directly facing the V5 and Kakin was the equivalent of facing the "Evil of the World."
It was a place known as the "World's Junkyard" for a reason—not a single inch of it was holy ground.
"So..." Silva asked. "Are you afraid?"
"Afraid? Of course I am." Roy narrowed his eyes. "I'm terrified that I won't be able to kill them all."