Chapter 305: Roy's Answer x The Decisive Battle Approaches
Five hours until midnight...
Thirteen hours until eight o'clock tomorrow morning...
The clock hanging on the south wall ticked away the minutes and seconds.
At 7:00 PM, the sun set, its afterglow dyeing Kukuroo Mountain a fiery red...
Silva, bare-backed, was stretching his body. Doing a split, he rested his left and right feet on two separate chairs. The muscles in his thighs, back, chest, and arms were engorged with blood and bulging. The thick veins under his skin were clearly visible, like twisting dragons. A single glance delivered an extremely intense visual impact and oppressive feeling.
At a certain moment, the man turned his head towards the door.
With a creak, the door was pushed open from the outside in. Subsequently... a head of spiky white hair standing on end entered Silva's line of sight. Zeno, having finished dinner with Netero, walked in with his hands behind his back.
In a few steps, he reached the window. Looking out at Kukuroo Mountain winding and crawling on the ground like a massive dragon, he said softly, "You seem to be in a hurry?"
Crack... crack... crack... The joints of Silva's elbows, shoulders, and fingers emitted soft pops as he stretched his body. The man's silver hair spilled onto the floorboards like poured mercury, but he remained silent.
Zeno didn't mind him and continued, "You waited a year, two years, Silva... did you ever think Roy would have a day like this?"
"Did you, Father?" Silva rotated his neck, his gaze bypassing Zeno's shoulder to watch the sunset completely disappear below the horizon. As the night gradually thickened with the rising of the bright moon, he retorted Zeno's question.
Zeno pulled open the window, letting the evening breeze rustle his white hair. He admitted bluntly, "No."
"Initially, I just saw him as a mediocre talent, perhaps with a bit of potential, but his ceiling would barely touch the edge of being an assassin. Who would have known he would become what he is today..."
Zeno turned his head to look at Silva, asking, "When do you think this child began to change?"
"From the day he asked me to open his aura nodes." Silva traced back the past, never forgetting the stubbornness in the boy's eyes that day... that was a look unwilling to accept mediocrity, unwilling to sink, unwilling to be idle, and extremely eager to become stronger!
It was also a gaze full of fighting spirit and ambition!
The man watched the bright moon spill its moonlight, draping Kukuroo Mountain in a thin veil, and said deeply, "He wasn't willing to be an ordinary person."
"And so,"
"He walked step by step to this point!"
"Standing right in front of me!"
"Yes, come to think of it, it hasn't even been three years..." Zeno turned his head to look at the deepening night, his wandering gaze filled with unspeakable emotion.
Silva lowered his eyelids in silence.
He almost forgot. From that day to now, just as his father said, fully calculated, it hadn't even been three years!
As the man's thoughts fluctuated, a gust of wind blew his scattered hair in front of his eyes.
Zeno opportunely turned to look at him again, letting out a meaningful chuckle. "Looking at your state, that boy Roy is far calmer than you."
Silva: "What is he doing right now?"
"Sleeping." Zeno's expression was a bit bizarre. Tucking his hands into his sleeves, he suppressed his voice and cackled, "He's quite carefree. It seems... he hasn't taken you to heart at all."
Expressionless, Silva stretched out his arms. Bringing his palms together into a fist with a smack, the air within his grip was directly crushed, emitting a muffled pop that leisurely echoed out.
The man raised his head again, the corner of his mouth pulling up diagonally into a cold arc. "Tomorrow, he will know how formidable I am."
Zeno narrowed his eyes, giving a non-committal "mm" and said slowly, "Back in the day, I thought the same thing, and the result..."
"There is no result!" Silva interrupted Zeno unquestioningly.
He only said, "I am not you, Father. I am not that weak."
Zeno: "..."
With his back to Silva, the corner of his eye twitched uncontrollably as he sneered, "Then I'll have to watch carefully."
It was just one more night...
He, Zeno, could afford to wait.
His white hair swaying, Zeno hunched his back and left Silva's study with his hands behind his back.
Tick tock... tick tock... The clock on the south wall ticked, its minute hand moving forward another ten minutes. The old man changed into his sleeping robe. From afar, he looked remarkably like Maha as he paced away, muttering, "This child's afternoon nap is certainly long..."
Bang! He slammed the door shut.
The door trembled and groaned; clearly, Zeno had used force, feeling a bit angry.
But Silva didn't care at all. He was just telling the truth as always, just as he firmly believed... he would not lose!
From all angles, there were no reasons or excuses to lose...
On his own, he continued to exercise his body, making preparations for tomorrow.
Hiss~ At eight o'clock in the evening, a full seven hours had passed since Roy's afternoon nap began.
Tsubone had gone straight from preparing lunch to preparing dinner, keeping a close eye on Roy's movements. Taking advantage of this momentary free time, she was holding two infants, one on her left and one on her right, coaxing them.
The infant on the left had snow-white skin, and the one on the right had dark skin...
The head butler moved a small stool and sat near the entrance of the kitchen corridor, absentmindedly watching the children. At a certain moment, she heard footsteps approaching from the other end of the corridor, followed by the appearance of two heads of blond hair... one tied in a high ponytail, the other softly draped over the shoulders.
Kurajin walked over slowly with Kurapika, bowing to her and saying, "Tsubone-sama."
Coaxing the children, Tsubone glanced at Kurapika, nodded slightly to Kurajin, and said, "There is hot food in the kitchen. Serve yourself and eat."
Kurajin nodded embarrassedly.
Noticing that Tsubone was still holding two children, she quickly said, "How about I help you deliver the meal to the Young Master?"
Tsubone gently patted Canary's back, "No need, the Young Master hasn't woken up yet."
Kurajin froze. Beside her, Kurapika's gaze flickered as he looked over...
The young girl returned to her senses and responded respectfully, "Yes."
She turned around and led Kurapika into the kitchen.
"Sister, what's wrong?"
In the back kitchen, there were tables and chairs specifically for the Zoldyck butlers and servants. Kurapika got his food and sat at the table with Kurajin, glancing at his sister and asking softly.
Kurajin didn't speak. She silently finished her dinner and brought Kurapika back to the bedroom Tsubone had arranged for him. It was only when they reached the window, gazing at the Zoldyck family's ancient castle at the mountain peak through the hazy moonlight, with her back to Kurapika, that she spoke leisurely, "Pika, didn't you ask me today exactly how strong the Young Master is?"
"I think, tomorrow you will see."
Kurapika's eyebrows twitched. He wanted to ask, but considering his sister's status and his own situation of living under someone else's roof, it was truly inappropriate to know too much. He just gave a soft "mm."
Raising his head, he joined Kurajin in gazing at the peak of Kukuroo Mountain, silently calculating the time...
Chime... At nine o'clock in the evening, the wooden grandfather clock in the corner chimed the hour.
In Roy's bedroom, the curtains rustled in the wind, giving way to the moonlight. It shone through the bright glass window, adding a touch of tranquility to Roy, who was lying on the soft, large bed.
The young boy remained immersed in his dream, not yet awake.
At that time, in the Naruto world, he was quietly drinking tea with Sakumo Hatake in the Southern Forest, while Shisui and Itachi "danced" (trained) nearby.
Even though there were no tea leaves and it was just boiled plain water, one could still faintly taste a trace of parting sorrow in it.
Minato Namikaze was going to the battlefield, Obito was going to the battlefield, and the White Fang sitting in front of him, along with his son Kakashi and Rin Nohara, were all going to the battlefield... Roy raised a toast to Sakumo Hatake from afar, tilted his head back, and drained the hot tea in his cup completely.
His free and easy demeanor, seen through Sakumo Hatake's eyes, gave him an instant illusion, as if... the boy in front of him was of the same age as him, rather than a half-grown child not even ten years old.
The White Fang of Konoha returned Roy's toast, taking a light sip of the hot tea, smiling, "Then I wish everyone victory in battle..."
Roy smiled, meeting Sakumo Hatake's warm gaze head-on.
Suddenly, he asked, "Uncle White Fang, tell me, which is more important: the mission or comrades?"
Sakumo Hatake froze slightly. Holding the stone cup, he rubbed it in thought, falling into contemplation...
After a long while, he raised his head again, looking at Roy and saying, "Why do you ask?"
Roy spoke bluntly, "I'm just curious and want to know the answer."
Sakumo Hatake frowned, pondered carefully for a while longer, and stared intently at the ripples forming in the tea water from the wind. He muttered, "In terms of duty, everything a ninja does must be predicated on completing the mission. Therefore, the mission is important..."
"In terms of camaraderie, a ninja cannot abandon their comrades to complete a mission, letting them be killed by the enemy. Looking at it this way, comrades are also important..."
"And so?" Roy lifted the stone kettle and added some tea for Sakumo Hatake, looking earnestly at the man. "Does Uncle White Fang lean more towards the mission or towards comrades?"
Sakumo Hatake's frown deepened. After pondering for a long time again, he slowly shook his head: "I don't know either. But if I were to abandon my comrades and ignore them, I think... I couldn't do it."
"Then that means leaning towards comrades." Roy understood.
Konoha's White Fang was still that Konoha's White Fang—a true man who valued bonds more than missions, even heavier than the heavens!
Unfortunately, such men were far too rare. Their brilliance was too blinding, making them easy targets for petty people, to be buried in filth. Roy looked deeply at Sakumo Hatake. The ones who hurt him or directly drove him to his death in the original story were none other than... the comrades he had rescued single-handedly!
If his comrades hadn't colluded with the villagers pointing fingers at his back, presumably, he wouldn't have despaired and chosen to take his own life! If only someone had spoken up for him back then—just a single sentence—the tragedy would not have occurred!
Of course, whether the Hokage gave tacit approval, or Danzo, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado were pushing from behind... Roy didn't know, nor did he want to know.
A cup of tea was refilled...
The boy put down the stone kettle in his hand, flashed a bright smile at Sakumo Hatake, and said, "Uncle White Fang, do you want to hear my answer?"
Sakumo Hatake froze slightly, then returned to his senses, looking at Roy with a smile, "Speak, I'm listening."
Roy reached out to pinch a green leaf slowly fluttering down with the wind, playing with it in his palm, and said, "Missions and comrades are both important, and both are unimportant. In my opinion, nothing is more important than 'me staying alive'!"
With a thought from the boy, he rubbed his index finger and thumb together. A cluster of flames suddenly sprouted, instantly igniting the green leaf and burning it to ash. Then he stood up, watching Shisui and Itachi methodically advancing their "Ten Thousand Swings." Narrowing his eyes, he said, "Once a person dies, even if a torrential flood drowns the heavens, it has nothing to do with him anymore. Therefore, only by staying alive, continuing to live, can one truly find the answer to this question."
"What do you think?"
"Uncle White Fang?"
Roy opportunely turned his head to look at Sakumo Hatake.
Sakumo Hatake visibly fell into silence, clearly... shocked by Roy's answer!
Obviously, the young boy's answer was more "selfish," more "egocentric," and slightly more "extreme." It didn't conform to Konoha's current "mainstream cognition," let alone the "Will of Fire" that had been passed down generation by generation since the First Hokage founded Konoha. Yet... a voice in the unseen world constantly told Sakumo Hatake...
Thinking about it from another angle, the boy's answer made sense!
When one's own life is gone, any "mission" or "comrades" are gone too. Just like those ninjas who died in wars, ultimately becoming nothing but a mound of yellow earth, perhaps not even leaving behind an intact corpse to be found!
A bit of light gradually returned to Sakumo Hatake's contemplative eyes.
After a long while, he came back to his senses, looking deeply at Roy and saying, "Sometimes, I really feel you are far too mature for a child of your age..."
Roy shrugged, "Hokage-sama says the same thing."
"Is that so?" Sakumo Hatake chuckled lightly, his brow relaxing. Relieved, he picked up the teacup, imitating Minato Namikaze, tilted his head back, and glug glug drank the tea in his cup completely!
Phew~
In less than a few breaths' time...
The tea was gone.
The cup was empty.
The man exhaled comfortably. In the next glance, he set down the teacup, stood up tall, and looked kindly at Roy, saying, "Jin, I'm leaving too..."
"Wait until I return, and I will drink tea with you again."
Roy extended his right hand, sticking out his pinky finger, and blinked at Sakumo Hatake, "Pinky promise, Uncle."
"If I don't see you when you get back, don't blame me for taking my anger out on Kakashi~"
Sakumo Hatake froze slightly, pointed at Roy, and laughed scolded, "You brat, daring to threaten me! Pinky promise it is!"
Saying that, he extended his pinky and hooked it with Roy's...
Nearby, the peeping Shisui was suddenly distracted. As his sword swung, his force missed the mark, deviating by a millimeter. With a clack, two pebbles uncooperatively fell straight out of the basket.
Subsequently, the boy's body trembled, feeling a gust of cold air blow onto the back of his neck...
"Shisui, add ten thousand!"
"Yes..." Shisui looked dejected, really wanting to slap himself.
He hurriedly reset his stance and earnestly swung his sword. Unknowingly, seeing the sun setting in the west and dyeing half the sky red, the boy finally completed his two sets of "Ten Thousand Swings."
Dragging his sore, swollen arms, he was pulled back to the Uchiha clan compound by his collar by Roy.
Caw~ The night deepened. Occasionally, a crow pierced the night sky, landing on a roof eaves, using its beak to preen its feathers.
Roy sent Shisui home, then led Itachi home. After eating dinner with his mother Mikoto, he went to sleep...
When he opened his eyes again...
A pair of elongated Buddha-like earlobes hazily entered his line of sight...
"Ho ho ho... you're awake..."
☆☆☆
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