Chapter 47: Psychological Games x Illumi the Innocent Bystander
Psychological warfare?
Provoke your opponent, make them lose their reason in an instant, and find a sliver of possibility where none existed...
"If he weren't facing Silva, he might have had a chance."
Zeno added his own commentary after his grandfather's. As men who had grown old and cunning, their insight was naturally extraordinary.
Just as Maha and Zeno said, an elephant never cares about the provocations of an ant. If it gets annoyed, it simply crushes the ant underfoot.
Silva was completely unmoved.
His towering figure stood within the training room, his face an emotionless mask as he watched Roy. A mocking smirk played on his lips. It was unconcealed and painfully sharp.
A clumsy taunt... Illumi voiced Silva's thoughts in his own mind.
My foolish, dear little brother peeked at Roy from the cover of the corner.
Leaning on his sword, Roy gasped for breath, having already anticipated this outcome. If his invincible father were the type to be easily provoked, he wouldn't have reached his current position as the head of the world's number one family of assassins.
But isn't the meaning of life found in trying?
Even if you fail, you just try again.
Roy wiped the blood from his face to keep it from obscuring his vision. He took a deep breath, raised Snow-Walker, and readjusted his stance. The tip of the blade and his gaze formed a single line, aimed directly at Silva.
From the garden to the training room takes three seconds... Using 'Shadow Step' will shorten that by two seconds. Activating Zetsu will cut it by another 0.5 seconds, and swinging the sword takes 0.01 seconds...
So, I only have 0.51 seconds to attack...
And in that 0.51 seconds, I have to discern his Nen, dodge the whip, and find an opportunity to strike... Roy narrowed his eyes, a self-deprecating smile on his face.
He thought to himself, This is one hell of a task.
At that moment, the wind rustled the willow tree, its thousands of branches swaying like silk threads. With his back to the tree, Roy closed his eyes, sealed all the aura nodes in his body, and began to regulate his breathing.
Besides reducing one's presence, making it ideal for tailing someone, Zetsu also had the effect of gathering aura within the body to eliminate fatigue.
The weakness from blood loss was gradually setting in. Roy couldn't ignore it. He did his best to stabilize his condition. When he opened his eyes again, he lunged forward, his feet shifting into a bow stance.
To the naked eye—
A flash of light streaked forward. Roy aimed a straight thrust at Silva's chest!
This time, he abandoned the slash.
A slash required raising one's arm, but a thrust did not. Roy made full use of the "maximum arm extension" principle. He closed the distance to Silva, and without a sound, shot his blade forward!
Shwiii—
The tip of the blade pierced the air, trailing a plume of fire.
Silva's pupils reflected the boy's relentless charge. A flash of approval glinted in the depths of his eyes, only to be whipped into ashes by his rising lash.
Telling him to surrender?
Dreaming of freedom?
Wanting to walk step by step to the very top?
Rebellious son, there is only one path ahead of you—
"Come back to the family, where you belong!"
CRACK! The air exploded as the whip, moving faster despite starting later, struck Roy's body with immense force.
Snow-Walker flew from his grasp. With a cry of pain, Roy was knocked down by the whip, collapsing in a heap at Silva's feet.
It's over. Illumi watched the scene with a blank expression before turning to leave.
To challenge a force so far beyond one's own... this was the price for not knowing one's place, for daring to fight back.
He turned without the slightest hesitation, but just as he took his first step—
WHOOSH—!
A cold gleam of light flashed past, grazing his cheek. It sliced a single strand of Silva's silver hair in mid-air before embedding itself in the south wall with a sharp thunk!
Illumi froze, his eyes instinctively looking up. He saw—
The pure white katana was pinned to the wall. A thin thread was tied to its hilt, and the other end of that thread was wrapped around a raised middle finger.
"Keh heh heh... not so tough after all." The owner of the finger coughed up blood, his head pressed against the floor. He gave a cold laugh, and then his head slumped down, his middle finger falling with it.
In that instant, the wind seemed to stop. The atmosphere in the training room froze solid.
How did he do that? the boy wondered.
The answer came in the form of a soft chuckle.
"Heh heh heh, the little brat actually managed to land a hit..."
In the dimly lit room, Maha slapped the armrest of his chair, kicking his legs with a grin. He gestured for Zeno to stop staring and get back to massaging his legs.
Zeno was visibly stunned for a moment. When he came to his senses, he shook his head and deactivated his En.
"Using the loose thread from his cuff to connect to the hilt... to think he could come up with something like that," Zeno muttered to himself.
As it turned out, right at Silva's feet, a wisp of Nen attached to the thread quickly dissipated. It was this strand of Nen, channeled through the thread, that had guided Snow-Walker to curve in mid-air. It had taken advantage of the moment when both Silva and Illumi were off guard to fly past their faces.
With three strikes of the whip, the test was over. That precise moment was when anyone would let their guard down. A sudden attack at that time was difficult even for Silva to handle. He could only rely on his superhuman instincts to tilt his head and avoid it. The result... was a single lock of his hair, cut and pinned to the wall.
"Did you understand?" Silva fingered the severed strand of hair. After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked Illumi.
Illumi, having processed what happened, gave a stiff nod.
"Explain it to me."
"Telling you to let him surrender was bait. He deliberately raised your guard, so that when the test was truly over and your guard was down, he would have his one and only chance to strike."
"And?"
"And what?" Illumi looked at Silva, confused.
His answer was a whip lashing down at his head.
Instantly, he joined Roy on the floor, knocked unconscious.
"And strength."
"He could take three of my strikes. Can you?"
Silva tossed the whip, hanging it on the south wall right next to Snow-Walker. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away, his face a cold mask.
The strand of silver hair swayed gently in the breeze... just as Illumi's consciousness faded, plunging into complete darkness.
"Strength..." The boy's head lolled to the side, and his eyes closed.
The butler, Luke, had been waiting outside the door the whole time. Seeing Silva emerge, he bowed deeply.
Silva said, "Dig a hole and bury them."
"Yes, sir." Luke was a professional at this. It was just that... Young Master Roy didn't seem to like sleeping in holes.
Luke grumbled silently but didn't hesitate. He shouldered his shovel and carried out the order.
A short while later, two heads woke up in the garden, looking at each other with mutual disgust.
"Who buried me here?" Roy glanced at Luke.
"It was the Master, sir."
Roy: "..."
"Dig me out."
"Yes, sir."
After some rustling...
Roy was lifted from the pit and laid down next to the willow tree. A gentle breeze blew past, and the shade from the tree made him feel a bit more comfortable.
"Hey~"
At that moment, a deeply unpleasant, ghostly voice shattered the beauty of the sunset.
Illumi stared at Roy with his vacant eyes and said meticulously, "I will not lose to you."
Roy simply closed his eyes, pretending not to hear.
Illumi stubbornly repeated, "I will not lose to you."
Roy rolled over, turning his back to him.
Illumi opened his mouth wide. "Did you hear me? I said, I will not lose to you!"
"So annoying!" Roy exploded, throwing a slipper that smacked Illumi squarely on the head.
Finally, peace and quiet.