Psychological warfare?
Aggravate the opponent, make them lose composure in a moment, and seek a sliver of opportunity from the impossible...
"If it weren't Silva, maybe there'd be a chance," Zeno muttered behind Maha.
Old age brought sharp eyes—he wasn't wrong.
Just like Maha and Zeno said, an elephant never cares about the provocation of an ant. If it gets annoyed, it'll simply stomp the ant to death.
Silva was utterly unmoved.
He stood tall and motionless in the training hall, staring at Roy with a cold smirk—mocking and unfiltered.
That scorn stung.
'A clumsy provocation,' Illumi echoed Silva's thoughts perfectly.
The foolish oniichan peeked from behind the wall, spying on Roy.
Roy leaned on his sword, gasping for air. He had already anticipated this result.
If his arrogant father was the kind to lose his cool so easily, he wouldn't have come this far as the head of the world's most elite assassin family.
But wasn't life about trying anyway?
Even if he failed, he'd just try again...
Roy wiped the blood from his face so it wouldn't block his vision. He took a deep breath, unsheathed Yukizashi again, reset his stance—blade aligned with his gaze, pointed at Silva.
'Three seconds from garden to training hall. Shadow Step cuts it to one. Zetsu takes off another half. Striking takes 0.01 seconds...'
'So I only have 0.51 seconds to act.'
'In that time, I must read his aura, dodge the whip, and find the chance to strike…' Roy narrowed his eyes, let out a dry chuckle.
'What a ridiculous mission.'
A breeze stirred the willow behind him. Roy closed his eyes and sealed his aura nodes, regulating his breath...
Zetsu not only diminished one's presence for stealth—it also gathered aura internally, helping to dissipate fatigue.
The weakness from blood loss grew stronger. Roy couldn't ignore it. He did his best to stabilize, then opened his eyes again. One foot forward, one back, into a bow stance—and he launched.
Visible to the naked eye—
A streak of light surged forward. Roy aimed directly at Silva's chest with a thrust!
This time, he abandoned the slash.
Slashing required a raised arm. Thrusting didn't. Roy fully embraced the principle of "maximum arm extension" and closed in silently, stabbing out with no warning.
Whoosh—
The blade pierced the air, dragging a trail of flame...
In Silva's pupils, Roy's reckless, charging figure was reflected. A flicker of approval passed through his eyes—then was obliterated by the whip he snapped out.
Surrender? Dream of freedom? Climb to the top?
Foolish child. The only road ahead of you is—
"Return to the family. Obediently."
CRACK! The air exploded. The whip struck Roy hard.
Yukizashi flew from his hands, and Roy cried out in pain as he collapsed at Silva's feet.
'It's over,' Illumi thought blankly, turning to leave.
Charging in like a mantis at a cart—this was what came from failing to recognize one's limits.
He didn't hesitate. Just as he took his first step—
Whoosh—
A flash of silver streaked past his cheek, clipping a strand of Silva's silver hair with a ringing ding as it embedded in the southern wall.
Illumi froze. He looked up instinctively.
A snow-white katana stuck in the wall, its hilt tied with a thin thread. At the end of the thread—an upraised middle finger.
Cough... cough... not bad, came the voice of its owner, choking on blood. Face down on the floor, he smirked coldly, head flopping sideways along with the finger.
In that instant, the wind seemed to stop, and tension locked the entire training hall in stillness.
'How did he do that?' the boy wondered.
The answer came with a chuckle...
"Heh heh heh... that little punk actually pulled it off."
In the dim little room, Maha pounded the armrest of his chair, laughing as he kicked his feet and gestured for Zeno to hurry up and massage his legs.
Zeno visibly paused. He gathered himself and deactivated En.
"Using a frayed sleeve thread to attach to the hilt... clever little bastard."
He spoke to himself.
Turns out—right by Silva's feet, a strand of Nen lingered on the silk thread, rapidly dissipating. Through the thread, that Nen manipulated Yukizashi midair, veering its path just as both Silva and Illumi had dropped their guard.
After three whip strikes, the test was supposed to be over. And it was exactly then—when everyone would naturally relax.
A sudden strike at that moment would catch even Silva off guard, leaving only instinctive reflexes to dodge—hence, a strand of hair was severed and nailed to the wall.
"Did you get it?" Silva asked Illumi, rolling the strand between his fingers after a pause.
Illumi stiffly nodded.
"Say it."
"Surrender was a feint, to make you raise your guard. Then when the test ended and you really dropped it—that was his one and only chance to strike."
"And?"
"And what?" Illumi looked at Silva in confusion.
A whip struck his head.
Instantly, he followed Roy to the ground.
"And strength."
"He took three of my whips. Can you?"
Silva tossed the whip onto the southern wall next to Yukizashi, hands back in his pockets as he turned and left without a word.
The severed strand of hair fluttered gently in the wind... just as Illumi's consciousness sank into darkness.
"Strength..." the boy murmured before his head lolled and he passed out.
Butler Luke had been waiting outside the door. Seeing Silva exit, he bowed low.
Silva: "Dig a pit. Bury them."
"Yes, sir." Luke knew this job well. Though... young master Roy didn't seem to like sleeping in pits very much...
He muttered this silently, but his hands didn't hesitate. He grabbed a shovel and carried out the order.
A short time later, two heads slowly reawakened in the garden, glaring at each other in mutual disgust.
"Who buried me here?" Roy glanced at Luke.
"The master."
"..."
"Dig me out."
"Yes, sir."
Rustle... rustle...
Roy was pulled from the pit and laid beside the willow. With the shade and a gentle breeze, it actually felt... comfortable.
"Hey~"
An irritating shriek broke the peaceful sunset.
Illumi, eyes blank, stared at Roy. "I won't lose to you."
Roy simply closed his eyes, pretending not to hear.
Illumi insisted, "I won't lose to you."
Roy rolled over to face away from him.
Illumi opened his mouth wide. "Did you hear me?! I said I won't lose to you!"
"Shut up!" Roy snapped, hurling a slipper that smacked Illumi in the head.
Finally—silence.
I'd truly appreciate it if you could leave a Review—Power Stones
patreon.com/Hard_Worker