A small cut opened across his palm.
A few beads of blood seeped out—and under the dawn light, each droplet wore a halo like a tiny sun.
Gotoh froze, staring up at Roy.
Roy—silver hair draped down his back—watched the wound seal shut in an instant. He turned his hand palm-up, casually letting the blood hover there, and smiled at Gotoh.
"Do you remember what I told you the day before yesterday?"
"Young Master told me to get ready… to defeat Netero…"
"Exactly." Roy's gaze lingered on the blood beads, rich with life, pulsing like miniature hearts. "I said you can go challenge Netero and I'll handle the rest. So…"
He looked straight at Gotoh, voice steady.
"Are you ready?"
The young butler—beard starting to come in, brows lifting, already carrying that steady, loyal intelligence he would later have in full—drew a deep breath and smiled with clean ease.
"Whoever Young Master tells me to hit, I'll hit."
"If Young Master tells me to die, I'll die."
"And you know this, Young Master."
Gotoh pushed his glasses up with a finger.
"I don't need to prepare. I'm always—and have always—been preparing."
The sun needs a sky full of stars to guard it. Gotoh knew he didn't have the talent to be a permanent star at Roy's side—but if not a star, then a meteor: burning himself out for one purpose, backed by his Vow and Restriction.
He stared at the single blood bead floating above Roy's palm, and something in him clicked. He swallowed.
Roy's satisfied look answered him before words could.
"Good."
Roy flicked his finger lightly.
"Go."
The blood bead shot forward—caught Gotoh right as he swallowed—and slipped into his mouth. It slid down his throat, smooth as oil, and sank into his stomach.
Hot… so hot…
The moment it settled, Gotoh felt as if he'd swallowed the sun.
His skin flushed visibly red. His organs ignited—lungs, liver, heart—everything burning at once. A groan tore out of him; his consciousness sank; and he toppled backward, rigid, like a felled tree.
[Notice: "First Embrace" activated]
[Target: Gotoh]
[Scan: Low innate talent — requires longer remodeling]
[Estimated remodeling time: 7 days]
[Note: Remodeling time varies by talent. The higher the talent, the shorter the time. The lower the talent, the longer.]
The panel chime echoed in Roy's head as Gotoh fell into deep sleep.
Roy lifted a hand and, using magnetism, gently floated him up and laid him on the bed.
Then, without turning around, Roy called out, "Great-Grandfather—sorry. I ate all the food. Not a drop left."
A cool gust slipped through the open window.
Maha appeared at the table like a ghost, pulled out a chair, and sat down. His old eyes—heavy with years—flickered, restless and unsettled as he watched Roy's work.
Inside Maha's head, a startled voice rang out:
"Maha—his aura… that butler's aura is getting stronger!"
A misty nen stirred, straining to emerge.
Maha said calmly, "Stop hiding from the kid. If you want out, come out."
Nen surged.
In midair, it condensed into a woman—Betty Zoldyck—drifting down as if on an invisible current.
That face, that golden braided ponytail, those emerald-green eyes… almost identical to the woman Roy had seen on the gravestone in Maha's dream-domain.
Roy finished settling Gotoh. The butler was already wrapped in a blood-and-aura cocoon, sleeping steadily—his heartbeat building like a drum.
Roy turned back, smiled softly at the woman, and bowed with solemn respect.
"Grandson greets Great-Grandmother."
Roy was so tall now that even bowing he still seemed to tower over her. He was nearly as tall as Silva—his forehead was close to Silva's brow.
"Good child, get up," Betty said warmly. Then she glared at Maha. "Maha, look—if we're talking manners, Zigg couldn't compete with him."
She took two steps forward, clearly wanting to lift Roy up herself—but she had no body. She couldn't leave Maha's support. She could only shoot Maha a helpless glare.
Maha patted her hand, guiding her to sit, and looked past Roy to Gotoh's cocoon on the bed.
"So this isn't just manners." His eyes narrowed. "You really intend to make sure neither me nor your great-grandmother gets any peace today, huh?"
Gotoh's heartbeat thudded from the bed—strong, steady, growing louder—like Roy's own had during his last transformation. Anyone could tell what kind of metamorphosis was happening.
"It's all an accident," Roy said innocently, hands spread. "I didn't want this."
He spoke as if to Maha and Betty… and also as if to the shadows—where, upstairs, Zeno and Silva were clearly eavesdropping.
The "answer" didn't satisfy anyone.
Upstairs, in the second-floor master room corridor—while Kikyō slept with newborn Killua—Zeno stepped out of shadow beside Silva at the window, both watching the morning light and listening to the commotion below.
Zeno glanced at Silva and asked, "You know what Roy once said to me, don't you?"
Silva said nothing.
Zeno continued, voice cool: "He said he'd climb, step by step, all the way to the top."
Silva's eyes burned with heat. He laughed low.
"Good."
"I like it."
"I like taking people who stand high—"
"—and slapping them down."
Zeno's mouth twitched. He'd said those exact words to Silva once.
And Silva had beaten him for it.
Zeno turned back to the window, expression sharpening. "Looks like Roy isn't the only one who wants to stand up high."
Then he looked at Silva seriously.
"If one day that kid has Gotoh beat you… what would you think?"
Silva yanked the window open. The endless green of Kukuroo Mountain rolled out beneath the sky.
Arms crossed, Silva stared into the distance and answered evenly:
"Then let them try."
"One comes, I slap one."
"Two come, I slap two."
"Just like I once beat my father."
Zeno stared at him a long moment, then sighed with a face that said fine—stay stubborn.
And downstairs, Roy—now alone again—pulled on training clothes that were already too tight, swept his long silver hair back, and headed for the training room.
Behind him, somewhere deep in his system panel—
Yin Release was still only a step away from blooming into something darker.
And Roy, with a faintly amused, faintly resigned breath, muttered to himself:
"Guess it really is true…"
"An Uchiha is born evil."
~~~
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