He turned around and lunged at Roy's neck!
The carotid artery in the neck is the most fragile part of the human body, and besides tearing out a heart, it's Illumi's second favorite move.
Roy sensed the wind, didn't turn back, and likewise struck back with a hand chop, but… compared to Illumi, he imbued his hand chop with Nen.
Besides the four basic principles of Nen Ability training—Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu—many advanced application techniques have been derived.
For example, En (Circle) for enhanced perception… Shu (Enchant) for imbuing objects… In (Concealment) for erasing one's presence… and Ken (Hardening) for strengthening the body… Currently, Roy hasn't formally learned these application techniques, but that doesn't stop him from mobilizing his aura and concentrating it on his hand chop, temporarily enhancing its sharpness.
The results were quite significant.
It was Snake Living again… As two streaks of blade light flashed alternately… Illumi's attack was blocked, and he quickly dodged back.
He hid himself in the darkness of the corner, raising his left arm to guard against Roy, but his right hand trembled uncontrollably… It was too hard… A killer's instinct drove him to make a defensive counter-attack in an instant, but the attacked party seemed to have not even the slightest interest in him.
After all… Roy considered himself human, and humans… shouldn't stoop to the level of dogs, especially a dog that doesn't know its place and only hides in the dark to scheme against others.
"Tap… tap…"
The soft-soled sneakers on his feet made light sounds as they stepped on the ancient, mottled stone floor.
With his back to Illumi, he shook his hand and continued walking, as if he had casually swatted away a fly during his journey, disappearing from Illumi's sight in an instant and arriving at the training room.
The afternoon sun, still scorching, streamed through the large French windows onto the floor, making it the perfect time to practice Sun Breathing.
Roy wouldn't let one or two dogs affect his mood, nor would he delay his training.
He shifted his feet and began to dance.
After that, a strange scene often appeared in the Zoldyck Family's training room.
A young man in close-fitting short training attire began to 'dance' day and night, constantly agitating the nerves of everyone in the Zoldyck household.
"Is he still dancing?"
"Yes, he still is…"
"Has his daily training fallen behind?"
"No…"
On a tiger-skin sofa, Silva rested his chin on one hand, listening to Tsubone report on Roy's recent training status, lost in thought… Under Tsubone's astonished gaze… he stood up and mimicked Roy's movements, striking several poses.
First Waltz, then Blue Heaven, followed by Retsujitsu Kōkyō (Scorching Crimson Mirror), Kasha (Fire Wheel), Shakunetsu Yōra (Burning Bones, Summer Sun)… until the last dance, Nichiun Ryū · Enbu (Solar Halo Dragon Dance), ended… Silva stood still, carefully comprehending, remaining motionless for a long time.
Beside him, Tsubone stood with her hands at her sides, silent.
Her "good" self-awareness constantly reminded her that as a dog, and an old dog loyal to the Zoldyck Family for decades, she absolutely could not bark wildly when her master was deep in thought.
But even so, it couldn't hide her surprise. Because this was the first time she had seen the family head imitate someone else's actions… and crucially, this person was his son, whom he had deemed to have limited potential.
"Hoo…"
Exhaling a breath of stale air… Approximately five minutes later, Silva finally moved again.
He sat back down expressionlessly, and with a wave of his hand… Tsubone discreetly retreated… "Creak~" The heavy wooden door closed.
The voice that came from inside, however, made the old butler, who had just exited, tremble all over.
"Tell Roy to compile his insights on these movements and send them over."
The tone was unquestionable… Tsubone: "…"
She stood silently facing the door for a moment, then placed her right hand over her chest and bowed.
That evening, she found Roy immersed in the training room.
Upon hearing the news, Roy showed no surprise. He simply stopped what he was doing, paused, glanced at the master bedroom on the second floor, and chose to… refuse.
Sun Breathing was his trump card, the nourishment he drew from the cognitive world using his Nen Ability. Whether out of respect for Tanjuro or for the protection of his own privacy, he could not and would not pass it on.
Furthermore, the more he studied Sun Breathing, the more Roy realized how superficial his understanding of it was.
In one afternoon, four hours, he danced a full twenty times, but only for one or two moments did he truly immerse himself; the rest of the time he felt he had "wasted."
Therefore, where would he find the time and energy to teach others?
Moreover, this wasn't the attitude of someone asking for a favor… even if the other party was his father.
"I think I should have the right to refuse." Roy wiped the sweat from his neck and chose to be direct.
Tsubone froze for a moment, clearly not expecting to receive a refusal as an answer, after all, this was not just anyone, but Silva, the command of the current Zoldyck Family head.
She instinctively said, "Can you give me a reason for refusing?"
Roy smiled… He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing this Nen Ability user of the same lineage as himself for the first time; her "Yamato Nadeshiko Seven Transformations" could materialize various rideable vehicles, it seemed she had been accustomed to being trained to the point of being a bit muddle-headed… "A reason?" Roy draped the towel over his shoulder and looked up at her, scoffing, "Since you consider yourself a dog, you should have the awareness of being a dog…"
"So… it's best not to ask about your master's affairs."
Tsubone: "…"
She stood stunned on the spot.
She seemed to be under some spell, neither leaving nor staying, and finally slunk away.
Just as in the original story, she felt no affection for any of the Zoldyck Family children except Killua.
Naturally, Roy wouldn't be polite to her either; he simply prepared himself mentally for Silva to come knocking.
However, surprisingly, several days passed, and this interlude simply had no follow-up, as if it had never happened. Not only did Tsubone remain silent, but Silva also never brought it up again; in fact… during this time, father and son had even met.
It wasn't until Gotoh returned, fully recovered, that Roy vaguely caught wind of something.
"She cut herself three times and is now recuperating…"
The young butler, while serving Roy dinner, pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose and said, "She got off easy."
"If it were me, I'd commit suicide for contradicting Young Master."
Well… you're even more unyielding… Roy was momentarily at a loss for words… He could only sigh, thinking, this is very Zoldyck.
After all, in this family, butlers are publicly recognized as property, loyal retainers, dogs… Even if Roy naively believed they weren't, they would consider themselves dogs, and even take pride in it.
This was evident from the group of people who constantly resided in the Zoldyck butler's villa, desperate to join the Zoldyck Family.
So, Roy simply changed the subject and asked Gotoh:
"Is there any progress on the matter I asked you to handle?"
When he noticed that the efficiency of his "dancing" began to decline, Roy carefully considered and analyzed three reasons.
First, Sun Breathing is essentially a "sword dance" and requires dancing with a sword.
Second, he lacked the training method for "Total Concentration."
Third, he had no guidance from a master.
The latter two points could only be found by Roy himself in the cognitive world.
But for the first point… Gotoh, with a clang, drew a katana directly from his waist, held it with both hands, and presented it.
"There's no news yet on the Nen weapon Young Master requested, but… there is a fine katana in the warehouse."
"What's its name?"
"Yukizuri."