"You should go back too,"
The young Spiders still need guidance. People like Kuroro, Uvogin, and Nobunaga are rare talents...
"In the past, they had no choices, but now...since you are here, you must guide them onto the right path..."
Roy patted [Taiyi] on the shoulder. Unlike [Multi-Shadow Clone], the young priest was his true [flesh and blood clone], inheriting nearly 80% of his full strength. Now, he has already broken through the limitations of C-level and reached B-level.
[Taiyi] nodded, holding a book of scriptures in his hand, and seemed to remember something before leaving. He turned his head and asked, "The Council of Elders in Meteor Street, which is held once a month, is about to convene. The neighbor reminded me that someone will probably come looking for us these days..."
"Is it that boss Kuroro mentioned...Berus?"
"Yes,"
He's quite the fool, dreaming of changing Meteor Street through business ventures. Roy's gaze shimmered, and he smiled and asked [Taiyi], "What do you think?"
"I think it's worth meeting."
"Then meet him."
"Yes." [Taiyi] responded respectfully, finally nodding slightly towards Roy. In an instant, he transformed into a stream of light and returned to Meteor Street through the "Gate of Cognition"...
"Swoosh~" The seawater lapped at the beach... In the vast Cognitive World, only Roy remained, enjoying a rare moment of peace in the sea breeze before following [Taiyi]. He lifted his foot and entered the Dream Passage, heading toward reality...
"Buzz..." The familiar sensation of falling hit him...
At four in the morning, accompanied by the chime of the corner clock striking the hour...
Roy, as usual, left the dream, returning to the Hunter World. He slowly opened his eyes, lying spread-eagled on the bed, and stared at the ceiling for a while before flipping over to sit up.
"Gah~" A raven's cry... Jinx's plump little body lay sprawled next to Roy's pillow, drooling, sleeping like a dead pig... Roy gave it a sidelong glance. His hope of it standing guard was completely dashed, so he simply didn't bother to wake it and got out of bed, slipping into his tracksuit to start his morning run.
"Cicada... Cicada..." The cicadas chirped incessantly on a midsummer morning...
At that time, dawn had not yet broken. The cool breeze rustled, sending the silver hair of the young boy flowing like golden light in the air...
Roy moved at an even pace, maintaining his rhythm, stepping into his sneakers, closing the door behind him, and swept across the corridor, the front door, and the garden, heading down the mountain. Midway, he saw under the light in a corner of the training room, two shadows and a volleyball flying to and fro, mingling with some fluttering Nen...
The young boy glanced briefly at Netero and Grandpa Zeno, then dived into the forest, disappearing from sight...
"Boom... Boom... Boom..." The volleyball flew like a cannonball, chaotically flying around the training room...
Netero rarely found a matching opponent, and over the past few days, he hadn't stopped pestering Zeno.
The old man with a sky-high braid punched the volleyball center, hitting it back with force. His old eyes glanced aside, witnessing Roy disappearing into Kukuroo Mountain, running down the steps toward the mountain gate. He chuckled and asked Zeno, "Is he diligent every day like this?"
At four in the morning, running, it reminded Netero of the day during the Hunter Exam when he raced with the young boy against the wind along the riverside in Saba City... It had been two years since the youthful boy had transformed into a powerful Nen user who could defeat Silva... Netero felt deeply, remembering a quote he saw yesterday on a corner of the boy's bookshelf...
It truly is... "The things remain but the people have changed"...
"Boom~" The volleyball flew, only to be sliced back diagonally by Zeno's hand blade, spinning and tearing through the air...
Zeno, his white hair waving, tossed with a hand, "You know better than I do, effort... is also a kind of talent."
"Hohoho... That's true, but unfortunately..." Netero raised his hand, conjuring a Buddha's Hand, catching the volleyball and placing it on the old man's fingertip... Netero, with one hand on his waist, spun the volleyball with one finger, "You know as well as I do, effort alone can't create a child like Roy..."
Not to mention the Hunter Association, Netero has seen many hardworking Hunters,
In the eyes of ordinary people, awakening their Nenryoku, becoming a Nen user, is already one in a million, one in ten thousand geniuses... But even so, throughout their lives, they could never reach the heights of Ging, Botobai, or even... that little fellow Pariston who has recently emerged!
This is talent, predetermined at birth...
Silva watched helplessly. What Netero said was undeniable, but before this... as a grandfather, he knew more clearly. Before Roy unlocked his acupoints and took that definitive step, his talent, among the Zoldycks, was even less than his brothers Illumi and Milluki,
And the reason for the current situation began the moment he himself requested to open his acupoints...
Zeno fittingly glanced at the door,
"Creak~" the training room door pushed open from the outside, following quickly... Silva's tall and broad figure intruded into Netero and Zeno's line of sight...
"Count me in," the man said expressionlessly, rolling up his sleeves, "Let's stop playing games and have a real match."
Netero and Zeno exchanged a glance. Lost in mutual gaze, the former suddenly burst into hearty laughter: "Hohoho... Does the old man need to work hard at such an age?"
Zeno crossed his arms and snorted coolly, "It's hard to say. I remember... someone's next target is you..."
"Hohoho... Feared of the claw (how terrifying)..." Netero's white eyebrows fluttered, and his figure sprawled, crashing through the window, darting into the night, "Space is too cramped, not ideal for a fight. If you want to battle, come with the old man!"
"Rustle~" The window opened, the curtains swayed...
Silva paced, expressionless, towards the window. Passing Zeno, he suddenly heard him say, "Are you dissatisfied?"
The man, with mercury-like silver hair, paused his steps, remained silent for a moment, and replied in a gruff voice, "Yes, and no."
"What do you mean?" Zeno frowned and looked over... Silva, his gaze sharp and serious as an eagle and wolf, searched the night, chased Netero's silhouette, and after a moment, answered, "I don't know,"
"I only know that I feel both comforted and angered."
"Comfort in what? Anger in what?"
"Comfort in Roy, anger in myself," Silva tilted his head, looking down at Zeno, and for a rare moment, smiled, "Father~ I think you felt the same back then."
Zeno, momentarily lost, had watched Silva grow from a young age. He rarely saw him smile. At this moment, confronting Silva's gentle gaze, the old man hunched over, raised on his tiptoes, said nothing more, and merely patted Silva on the shoulder, telling him, "Go."
Then, watching Silva leap, pursuing Netero into Kukuroo Mountain...
A trace of comfort flickered in his eyes...
"Whoosh~" A gust of wind rose, swaying shadows of trees, rustling leaves...
On this ordinary morning, someone stood before the mirror dressing up, disguised as a Nissan figure... someone else lay with their belly exposed, like a dead pig on the bed, with shredded potato chip bags piled around... another reluctantly gave timely feeding to a baby, afraid it might go hungry...
And yet another smelled the fragrance of the earth, embraced the mountain wind, breathing fresh air, dancing with life, stepping one stair at a time, unhurriedly moving toward the mountain gate, also toward the dawn...
"Young Master," halfway down the mountain, the butler's villa flashed by... Arriving at the mountain path entrance,
From afar, a golden ponytail owner could be seen, holding a cane, bending to greet him,
Roy gradually slowed his pace, smiled, and nodded towards Kurajing, a symbolic greeting, saying, "Where's Pika?"
Kurajing helplessly sighed, "He had insomnia last night and couldn't get up this morning."
"Why? Homesick?" Roy smiled in surprise,
Kurajing's expression turned solemn, slowly shook his head, "Yes and no, he was mumbling all night yesterday..."
"About what?"
"Hiding from the world won't save the Kuluta!"