"You're here."
"Yes, I'm here."
"You look very confident."
"What if I'm not confident?" Roy drew his blade, looking intently at Silva. "Would Father hold back because of that?"
"No. I'd only be harder on you." Silva's hand stopped playing with the whip. Standing tall, his killing intent surged toward Roy like a tidal wave.
Roy gripped Yukigakure with both hands, remembering Sakonji Urokodaki's teachings. Both feet planted firmly as though nailed to the floor, completely motionless. His thick black hair whipped backward!
His eyes could barely stay open.
Electric arcs crackled through the air. The camera in the wall corner flashed red, quickly transmitting the scene.
Early morning—Kikyo climbed from bed, supporting her waist, having morning tea while being served by Tsubone. A few meters away outside the window, Milluki wore a Lolita dress, belly exposed, lying unconscious in the garden, with a butler applying ointment.
Several curious butterflies fluttered past, only to strike the training room as though hitting an invisible wall, falling one after another.
Illumi saw clearly—this was what happened when overwhelmed by killing intent.
In one moment, the wind pouring into the room stopped. A whip shadow cracked through the air, abruptly lashing toward Roy's chest.
Fast. Too fast. So fast that Illumi merely glanced distractedly at the butterflies. Snapping back, the whip had already closed in on Roy!
'Snake Awakens?'
After his constitution improved, Roy's Snake Awakens officially entered the proficient level. From the moment he stepped into Silva's killing intent domain, he'd activated Ken, so he vaguely sensed Silva's whip clearly had a trace of Snake Awakens in it.
Or rather, just as Sakonji Urokodaki evaluated swordsmanship—the blade is merely an arm's extension. Similarly, the whip was Silva's arm's extension. A whip strike was a hand blade strike. Being hit wouldn't be as simple as losing skin!
Closer!
Roy could already smell the murderous aura radiating from the whip at close range!
Stay calm, he told himself. Gripping Yukigakure with both hands, just like his daily mandatory ten thousand basic swings in the snow country, one quick draw. Finding the instant the whip head would strike his chest, he furiously slashed down!
The blade tip scraped through air with a piercing shriek. Yukigakure drew an arc, arriving later but striking first, accurately hitting the whip, and deflecting it from his chest.
Overwhelming force crashed into him. The offensive didn't stop even slightly due to Roy's strike, only briefly interrupted for an instant before heavily slamming into Roy's chest again.
Roy felt like he'd been hit by a freight train head-on. Yukigakure nearly flew from his hands. His entire body was sent flying, crossing nearly ten meters of corridor, solidly smashing into the stone wall at the corner!
The stone wall shattered in spiderweb patterns with him as the center!
Intense pain struck. Roy slid down the wall, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Clearly, from just one strike, his internal organs were injured!
"Why didn't you dodge?"
This test's examination subject was Zetsu. Zetsu was best at concealing aura and enhancing the five senses—using Zetsu to evade attacks was what Roy should and must do now.
"Why dodge?" Roy wiped away blood from the corner of his mouth, gripping Yukigakure again, asking Silva back. "Since Father wants to test me, of course I must also measure Father. This is basic courtesy."
'Lying. You just want to fight back.' Illumi tactfully crouched in the corner, retreating deeper. He treated himself like a venomous snake, shrinking into the shadows. Hollow eyes locked firmly on Roy. Seemingly expressionless, his emotions actually rose and fell, far from as calm as he appeared.
From childhood, the family taught them—assassins aren't brutes. Take jobs they can complete; don't take what they can't. Accepting missions beyond their abilities was seeking death!
In Illumi's view, Roy was seeking death!
"Do you think your life is that resilient, or do you think because you're my son, I won't strike to kill?"
Silva likewise detected this, looking at Roy with ice-cold eyes.
Roy didn't speak. Actually, he simply hated the feeling of being hit without fighting back. Facing enemies, even his father, he had to defeat him squarely. Roy had to admit he'd deceived Sakonji Urokodaki. He knew at this stage he was far from Silva's match, but having him dodge around like a frightened mouse—he absolutely couldn't accept that.
"At minimum, I must try touching his clothing."
Not answering Silva's question, directly ignoring Illumi, Roy activated Zetsu. By sealing his aura nodes to strengthen his five senses, his eyes sharpened. Using mastery-level Shadow Step, before Illumi's eyes, he abruptly vanished!
A whirlwind suddenly swept the training room. Reappearing, dozens of Roys gripped Yukigakure, sun and mountain earrings swaying, leaping before Silva with another overhead slash!
"Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance!"
The blade tip's friction ignited the air. Dozens of circular fire rings slashed down.
Silva's nostrils twitched, almost smelling the heat waves rushing toward his face. The corners of his mouth curved in a cold arc.
"Zetsu combined with Shadow Step and Limb Bending is indeed a decent choice. However, only Shadow Step is barely watchable."
The man stood immovable as a mountain, showing no particular movement. Just his wrist flipping, casually another whiplash. This time bringing multiple howling wind sounds—faster and fiercer than the previous strike. Instantly revealing countless whip shadows, dazzling even Illumi's eyes.
One Roy after another dispersed like smoke, leaving only one who flew backward again, crashing through the window into the garden.
"Milluki, previously lying unconscious, was startled awake. Rolling over to sit up, he looked bewildered at Roy lying collapsed on the ground. A snot trail ran from his right nostril.
"Young master!" the butler exclaimed with quick reflexes, hastily carrying Milluki to safety."
In the training room, Silva remained with his back to the broken window, saying deeply, "Continue."
Illumi now looked out again. Under that willow tree witnessing several Zoldyck generations' rise and fall, a figure staggered up, supporting his sword.
His appearance was quite wretched. His forehead had even been cut by glass, bleeding from a gash, blood bursting forth, staining half his face red.
"Cough, cough. That whip was really quite heavy. Father, how about making a deal? You voluntarily admit defeat, and we'll call it here."
"Cunning boy, playing mind games with his old man." In the dim yellow room, the old man rocked his chair, entertaining himself.
Beside him stood Zeno with En activated.