"Condition and Vow?"
'Has this brat gone crazy?'
Maha's eyelids twitched. The H-manga in his hand suddenly lost its appeal. He floated up from the rocking chair and circled Sean.
"No... it doesn't look like a Condition and Vow. It's more like a secret technique. And it looks... familiar?"
Covering his corneas with a layer of pure Nen, the old man finally noticed the difference up close.
The "aura" that had suddenly erupted from Sean didn't seem to be "borrowed" from the future; rather, it seemed to have burst forth from within his body, as if he had broken some kind of shackle.
'That's right, a "shackle"!'
'All illness is gone; ten thousand mountains will welcome spring.'
Sean was immersed in the "Opening Gate" state and glanced at the "Sage" panel.
The three main stats—"Strength," "Speed," and "Aura"—had all doubled, reaching 600.
The drawback was that his heart was beating too fast and pumping too much blood, putting too much load on his body. It was difficult to maintain for long.
'But... it's enough.'
'Once my stats go up, none of this will be a problem.'
'In the future, it might even be possible to make the "Opening Gate" a permanent state.'
The young man, a fierce tiger in his heart, was also smelling the roses. He returned to his senses and manually deactivated the "Opening Gate" state.
Watching as the surging aura receded back into Sean's body... and Sean's face slowly faded from blood-red back to a normal, healthy color...
The old man finally captured what that "sense of familiarity" was all about.
He clapped his hands, a look of sudden realization on his face. "So, you brat, you're using the 'Eight Gates Released Formation'!"
"The Opening, Healing, Life, Harm, Limit, View, Wonder, and Death gates!"
"Isn't that the move Rock Lee used to fight Gaara?"
'In other words... you're a Conjurer?'
'You can conjure the abilities from your own manga?'
'Old and cunning' was truly not just an empty phrase.
Maha instantly made many connections, but then he considered the expansion ability Sean had just shown last week, which was similar to "Enhancement" and "Transmutation."
Even though the old man had lived for over three hundred years, he was momentarily unsure.
'Unless— "Brat, you're a Specialist!"' Maha looked at Sean with a grin.
Sean pouted. "You've got time to come worry about me instead of going to masturbate. It must be so hard for you."
"Looks like I guessed right." Maha put his hands behind his back and sauntered back to his rocking chair, saying smugly, "The moment you brat puckers your ass, this old man knows what shape of shit you're going to take."
'So... "Be nicer to your grandpa in the future. Stop causing me trouble."'
'Heh? You really think you're all that? Old man, am I going to tell you I'm a dual Specialist?'
'If the news that "Manga World" and "Appraisal" fused to create "Sage AI" got out, it would probably shock the entire world.'
Sean sneered, letting the old man's "advice" go in one ear and out the other. He contacted "Sage," asking for the requirements to open the second of the "Eight Gates," the "Healing Gate."
Each of the "Eight Gates" was progressively harder... In Sean's estimation, the requirements would certainly be more demanding.
But when "Sage" gave the three stats—"Strength," "Speed," and "Aura" at 1000...
Sean's face turned green.
This wasn't just "demanding"; this was a four- to five-fold increase!
"Old man, I take back what I said earlier..."
The matter of turning into a mini-giant and smashing the floor was something he, Sean, was now determined to do!
Maha: "..."
"Why don't you just bury me, your old man, first?!" The old man was exasperated.
'This brat takes off his pants to fart... isn't this change of heart a little too fast?'
"You'd have to be able to withstand my big stick..." Sean glanced at Maha's withered little body and pouted. "Fine."
"As compensation, Pot Shadow Ninja will get double chapters starting this week."
'1000 points in "Strength," "Speed," and "Aura" won't be easy to grind...' Sean decided to bite the bullet. He would save up and exchange for the "Shadow Clone Jutsu" first.
'Damn it, I refuse to believe it! "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu" plus "Expansion Jutsu" plus "Nin-Taijutsu"... and I still can't handle one "Healing Gate"?'
'Don't underestimate a hardworking person!'
"Double chapters?"
'Does this brat think this old man can be brushed off with such a small favor?'
'Who does he look down on?'
The old man shot up, walked over to Sean angrily...
...and began to pinch his shoulders with a beaming smile. "My good grandson, you've worked hard."
"From now on, you can do whatever you want with this castle. If anyone dares to say a word against it, see if I don't sort them out!"
"You're the one who said it. I didn't force you." Sean enjoyed the rare "Maha-ssage" from the "World's Number One Assassin" for a moment.
He shed the fatigue of the day, took a shower, and fell into bed, asleep.
As the snores began... Zeno, with his hands behind his back, peeked in through the window. He shook his head and said to Maha, "Grandfather, you're spoiling this child too much."
"You can't put all your eggs in one basket."
"I admit Sean's talent is good, but you can't dote on him so much that you neglect Killua."
"Shh—" Maha glared at Zeno, gently closed the door, and then swung his hand, giving him a big slap.
"Are you blind? It's obvious I'm the one being spoiled."
Zeno: "..."
'Why, judging by your tone, do you sound rather proud of that?'
'Of course I am.' Maha lay back down on his rocking chair and simply closed his eyes. "It's the middle of the night. If you have nothing to do, go back and rest. There's nothing for you here."
'What do you mean, nothing for me?' Zeno said with an apologetic smile, "I'm just following your advice, coming over to see Sean..."
"Then you're coming a bit too frequently," Maha harrumphed. "Is this how you check on your grandson?"
"You don't come openly. You insist on sneaking over. What's the matter, too ashamed to show your face?"
"Grandfather, please don't tease me." Zeno smiled bitterly. "Ever since Sean was born, I've barely paid any attention to this child."
"I'm just... worried he holds a grudge against me."
'Of course... All your attention was on that stupid hair color. If you're not worried, who would be?'
Maha kept his eyes closed, silent. After a long moment, he suddenly asked Zeno, "Zeno, do you know what your problem is?"
"Please tell me, Grandfather." Zeno perked up his ears, waiting.
Maha opened his eyes and looked at him meaningfully, saying word by word, "You and Silva both care too much about face!"
"You're completely unable to let go of your airs."
"On this point, you both need to learn from me, your grandfather."
"When getting along with a kid like Sean, you just have to eat his food, drink his drink, take his stuff, and use his stuff. The main point is to be shameless and just go with the flow."
"Anyway, he can't beat you. What are you afraid of?"
Zeno: "..."
'As expected of you, Grandfather. Truly words of wisdom!'
'But... "What if, one day, we can't beat him?"'
Zeno blurted it out... The air instantly froze.
Maha looked at Zeno as if he were an idiot. "You don't think everyone is as weak as you, do you?"
"Do you?"
T/n:
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