Chapter 286: Scarlet Eyes x Kurapika
A person's race, talent, and bloodline often manifest through the most direct means—such as appearance.
The idea that only those with silver hair can inherit the Zoldyck leadership is far from a mere myth.
Maha noticed Roy's hair color, and at the same time, Zeno, Silva, and Illumi all registered the anomaly in the young boy. Roy, however, seemed to be the last to know. Reaching up to twist a strand of hair before his eyes, he inspected it idly.
The dazzling gold at the very tips of his hair seemed linked to his breakthrough in the deep night, when his swordsmanship reached Level 5 and allowed his consciousness to plunge into the core of the sun. Peering through the photosphere to witness that endless light and heat, his mind turned reflective, faintly grasping a truth.
As he grew stronger and walked further along the path of Faith, the genetic restrictions he would shatter or bound to break would likely multiply.
Right now, it was merely his hair color; in the future, it might encompass other transformations entirely.
Roy recalled the Demonic Eye his grandfather Zzigg had modified upon himself, and thought of Gods. Then, sweeping a glance over the back of his hand, he wondered if his eyes were playing tricks or if it was an illusion cast by the glaring light of the solar halo.
The pointer on the back of his hand—the countdown clock ticking away his life—seemed to be spinning a bit slower.
It shifted from "7 years, 9 months, 13 hours, 33 minutes, 45 seconds" to "7 years, 9 months, 13 hours, 33 minutes, 44 seconds". What should have taken exactly one second felt as though it took a full two seconds to complete. Did this mean—
The unknown existence residing in the Dark Continent was gradually losing its focus or influence over him?
Ripples of light flashed through Roy's eyes, a shallow arc tracing the corners of his mouth. Tilting his head, he smiled at Zeno and Illumi: "It's just hair color, nothing to worry about." With a swift movement, he boarded the chariot. Before Zeno or Illumi could react, he gripped the crimson-gold glazed reins and said softly, "Xiaojin, let's go." Caw~ oh~ The Golden Crow spread its wings with a sharp cry.
Flapping its wings violently against the ground, a fierce wind arose, lifting the solar chariot steadily into the sky. In the next glance, as Xiaojin soared towards the horizon, it dragged Roy along like an arrow of light, tearing through the darkness. Coated in an endless, rugged mystery, it rapidly dwindled into a brilliant speck of light at the edge of the sky. Whoosh~ A faint residual breeze stirred Zeno's white hair and Illumi's ink-black hair, making them sway.
The two generations of Zoldycks stood looking up at the sky, plunged into an absolute silence where neither spoke a word.
After a long while, a shriveled figure walked slowly out of the ancient castle with his hands behind his back. Maha chuckled and remarked, "The brat slips away quite fast, didn't even think to offer his old grandfather a ride."
Only then did Zeno and Illumi snap out of their daze. One fell into deep thought, while the other turned his head to look at Maha and asked, "Grandfather, has blonde hair ever appeared in our ancestry?"
Zeno's gaze was piercing. Illumi followed his gaze with those same hollow, unblinking eyes.
The old man, looking at the few remaining stubborn hairs on his bald head fluttering in the wind, paused his steps and stated leisurely, "No."
"Then what about before your time, Grandfather?"
"I have always possessed silver hair as well."
Zeno's brow furrowed. The words "One Kill a Day, Active for Life" embroidered on his chest swayed with the wind as he fell silent...
The Zoldyck family had only ever known silver hair or black hair. Yet now, there was a visible tendency shifting towards gold.
Zeno looked back towards the horizon, where the speck of light had faded entirely. The boy's casual dismissal of "just hair color" was clearly far from simple! "He is special," Illumi suddenly spoke.
The little brother's mind was completely filled with the image of Roy boarding the chariot and vanishing into the wind alongside the solar halo. He murmured in abstraction, "I've always known he is special." Tilting his head, the young man looked at Zeno and Maha: "Neither of you can compare to him."
Maha looked at the sky, his weathered old face, densely packed with wrinkles and wind, remaining completely expressionless, making it impossible to know what he was thinking.
His white hair swaying, Zeno neither agreed nor disagreed. He merely cast a sidelong glance at Illumi and stated leisurely, "Illumi, do not always fixate your center of gravity on others. Remember to pay attention to yourself once in a while."
Clasping his hands behind his back much like Maha, Zeno paused for a fraction of a second before suddenly adding, "Lest the day comes when you truly cannot even defeat Gotoh, and merely invite laughter."
"You eavesdropped on us?!" Illumi's cat-like eyes narrowed abruptly. His smooth, ink-black hair draped behind his back flared up slightly, as if tensing. However,
Zeno turned away and stopped looking at him, merely stating, "My ears are right here. If they happen to hear something, how is that my fault?"
Illumi: "..."
Staring intently at Zeno for a moment, he eventually turned his head and cast a distant look towards the butler villa halfway down the mountain. He said calmly, "Rest assured, I will not lose. Never, ever will I lose."
"Is that so?" Zeno cast a casual glance towards a second-floor bedroom of the castle, recalling that Silva had once spoken similar words to him. In terms of sheer confidence, this father and son were cut from the exact same cloth... much like himself and Silva in the past. The only question left was whether this was "confidence" or "arrogance"...
Splish-splash... A sudden, rustling sound of a stream being unleashed broke the silence of the moment.
Right before the break of dawn, Maha unzipped his pants and began fertilizing the lawn right on the spot. Amidst the rising wisps of heat blending with the summer air, quite a lot of foam surfaced. Clearly, the old man had been dealing with quite a bit of internal heat lately...
"Hehehe... what are you all staring at me for?" Having finished walking his bird under the fading moon, the old man shook himself, pulled up his pants, and turned to deliver a sharp rap to both Zeno's and Illumi's heads: "Learn well. When you both can act completely according to your own hearts like this old man, I can close my eyes in peace even if I die."
Thud~ The two dull thuds sounded like twin drumsticks...
Striking the crowns of Zeno's and Illumi's heads, it felt like a sudden enlightenment, leaving them frozen on the spot.
The older and younger Zoldyck each covered their heads, instinctively casting another look towards Maha...
With a single step, Maha vanished into the garden, leaving behind only that steaming patch on the ground. Zeno and Illumi stood facing each other in the garden, frozen in absolute silence.
"According to one's heart... who can truly achieve acting completely according to their heart?"
Chime~ At five o'clock in the morning, the grandfather clock struck the hour.
A hazy mist surfaced within that dim, small room. Betty Zoldyck, her hair tied in a ponytail looking exactly as she did in her youth, drifted out from Maha's body. She cast a reproachful look at him and said, "You are too harsh on the children. Not everyone can achieve 'doing exactly as they please,' except for you and Zzigg."
"No, there is also... Roy," Maha lay back onto his rocking chair, reaching out to pull Betty close, cradling her waist as he said, "I only just realized that the child Roy might have undergone a rare 'mental transformation'. Perhaps it's related to the visualization object in his heart, or perhaps..." Maha narrowed his old eyes, his gaze turning profound: "It cannot be separated from whatever person he encountered or whatever events he crossed paths with."
Betty Zoldyck asked in wonder, "He has been right here at home, right under our noses. Who could he possibly have encountered?"
Maha smiled without answering, merely rocking the chair as he murmured, "Thoughts by day become dreams by night. The miraculous thing about dreams is that you can never imagine what will happen..."
"Dreams?" Betty Zoldyck furrowed her brows, chewing on his words. Recalling that her very first meeting with Roy had occurred within a dreamscape, she faintly caught a deeper meaning within Maha's words.
Staring with her beautiful, lake-blue eyes through the window out into the night sky, she watched the five o'clock summer dawn. A sliver of morning glow pierced the firmament, subsequently dragging out a vast expanse of twilight, painting a crimson flush across the horizon... Gradually, a solar chariot could be seen taking a turn, driving slowly back from the edge of the sky. It looked exactly like a rising sun, eager to test its bounds, ready to leap past the horizon at any moment!
"Caw~ oh~" The crow cries drew closer. In the distance, Roy sat upon the solar chariot, having taken a simple lap with Xiaojin to test out the Chariot Driving ability... Hurrying back after a round trip of dozens of kilometers, it felt as though it occurred in a mere flash.
It was not only fast but stable—at the very least, it was significantly superior to the airships he frequently rode, and far better than Tsubone when transformed into various vehicles via her Great Mother Yamato Nadeshiko technique.
The single drawback was... the rate of Nen aura consumption was somewhat rapid. Of course, this was linked to his current Aura Volume and the fact that Xiaojin was still in its juvenile phase, not yet fully grown into a true Three-Legged Golden Crow.
"Master, I'm tired."
Caw~ oh~ Another crow cry sounded.
Xiaojin flapped its wings with heavy gasps, sweat visibly breaking out across its form.
The solar chariot rolled over a cloud alongside its solar halo, its speed noticeably flagging.
Roy cast a helpless yet amused glance at it, simply tugging the reins to begin their descent. Buzz~ The hazy solar halo slowly diffused, radiating across the entirety of Kukuroo Mountain. The closer they drew to the ground, the more the light and heat contained within this solar halo could be felt.
Closer,
Three thousand meters,
Two thousand meters,
One thousand meters,
Five hundred meters,
Until finally,
Touching down,
It came to a steady halt right in front of the butler villa.
Roy released the reins, letting the solar chariot submerge back into the void. Carrying the shrunken Xiaojin upon his head, he stepped down from the vehicle, landing right before Tsubone, Kurajin, and the others.
"I'm going to see Gotoh." The boy smiled and let out a breath, the tips of his beautiful silver hair coated in gold. Having patrolled the heavens and treaded upon the moon via the solar chariot, his breathing showed no signs of disruption, his hair draped lazily behind his head.
Tsubone placed her right hand over her chest, immediately leading Kurajin and several other butlers to bow in salute.
"Good morning, Young Master."
"I will lead the way."
"No need," Roy raised his hand slightly, a cool, refreshing breeze generated by Wind Breathing gently lifting the group to their feet. He then spoke warmly: "I know where he is. Go about your respective duties."
Tsubone lowered her head slightly, responding respectfully.
Casting another glance, she split a sliver of her focus to quietly spy on Xiaojin, who was perched on Roy's head, nodding off in exhaustion as it drifted into sleep. Her emotions fluctuated, turning complex and difficult to voice. In a single instant... a crisis of being "replaced" surfaced within her heart!
When the Young Master possessed his own means of transportation, would he still have any need for her?
Tsubone let out a quiet sigh before straightening her back. Watching Kurajin—who wore her golden hair tied into a high ponytail draping behind her—step closer to Roy and begin whispering something to him, an unprompted wave of appreciation washed over her once more...
Fortunately, the Young Master was magnanimous and far from narrow-minded. Past unpleasantries had long since been buried by time, showing no intention of holding her accountable.
To her, this was undoubtedly a stroke of fortune.
"Young Master, may I make a request of you?" In the morning, as tens of thousands of rays of dawn pierced through the night, Kurajin gathered her courage upon Roy's appearance, asking abruptly before she went to guard the mountain.
Having just brushed past Tsubone's shoulder, Roy paused his steps just as one foot had already stepped into the butler villa. Turning his head to look at the young girl's anxious face, the Nen aura naturally escaping from the top of her head simultaneously presented a shade of blue reflecting her hesitation and vacillation.
In a single flash of a second, he immediately thought of the Kurta clan!
In the original story, the Kurta clan was annihilated right around this timeline.
But due to his interference, the Spiders at this point had not completely set off on the path of darkening due to Sarasa's death. On the contrary... the young ones led by Chrollo, Uvogin, and Nobunaga had all converted to become his own believers.
Right now, they were currently beginning to learn Meditation under Taiyi, attempting to guide the Nen aura within their bodies to autonomously burst open their aura nodes and awaken as Nen users. Logically speaking, there was absolutely no reason for them to choose to attack the Kurta clan at this time.
But turning his thoughts around... as one of the World's Seven Most Beautiful Colors, the Scarlet Eyes were not only rare but heavily sought after and pursued by depraved human body collectors. Among them was the notoriously evil Fourth Prince of Kakin, Tserriednich Hoikoro...
As well as Guzman, whom he had seen inside the temporary palace of Kakin's First Prince, Benjamin Hoikoro...
The world was changing because of him, and moving because of him. The premature appearance of certain unexpected circumstances was entirely within reason.
Roy's thoughts raced like lightning as he cast a gentle look at Kurajin: "Don't be nervous. If something is on your mind, speak freely."
Kurajin wrung her hands together, hastily responding, "Yes."
Casting a shy glance at Roy, she said, "Young Master, my little brother is coming... I haven't been home in a very long time, and I worry about him being bullied at home all by himself. I was thinking of bringing him over to live here, and incidentally take him on a tour around Kukuroo Mountain."
"Your little brother?"
"Yes."
"What is his name?"
"Pika... his name is Kurapika." Kurajin beamed a smile as she thought of her little brother.
Roy's gaze shifted immediately... As expected, it was that Kurapika. The Chain User who, from beginning to end across the original story—save for his lack of participation in Greed Island—nearly spanned the entirety of Hunter x Hunter!
The Chain User: one hand operating five distinct chains.
Thumb, also known as Holy Chain: Shaped like a crucifix attached to the end of the thumb chain, it can activate an ability to accelerate wound healing when placed over an injury.
Index Finger, also known as Steal Chain: The tip of the index finger chain is attached to a syringe needle, the exterior of the barrel bearing a dolphin-like relief. Piercing it into an opponent's body can temporarily extract and store their Nen ability; continuous extraction of Nen will also force the opponent into a state identical to Zetsu.
Middle Finger, also known as Chain Jail: The end of the middle finger chain is attached to a small hook claw. It is an ability birthed specifically to deal with the Phantom Troupe. Due to the Limitation and Vow, this ability can only be used against members of the Troupe. Members ensnared by it are forced into a state of Zetsu, rendered unable to utilize Nen.
Ring Finger, also known as Dowsing Chain: The end of the ring finger chain is attached to a small ball. The ball naturally hangs roughly ten centimeters above a map. When activating the ability, the direction of the ball's movement can be used to track down a target.
Little Finger, also known as Judgment Chain: The end of the little finger chain is attached to a sharp blade. Piercing it into an opponent's heart forces them to follow a designated rule, failing which results in death. Kurapika's own heart is wrapped in this chain, and it is used in tandem with Chain Jail during actual combat.
Five fingers equating to five distinct Nen abilities, and crucially... complemented by the amplification of the Scarlet Eyes.
In Roy's mind spontaneously surfaced the image of a young boy wearing traditional tribal clothing, with a head of golden bangs. He cast a deep look at Kurajin and said, "Tsubone, once the person is brought over, arrange a place for him to stay."
Following that, he gave a slight nod to the overjoyed Kurajin, turned around, and vanished into the butler villa.
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you