Chapter 306: Slave of Nen x Calamity!
Leisurely echoed in Roy's ears...
As the azure sea of cognition receded, and the colorful dream corridor vanished, at the moment of waking, Roy dazedly detached from the Naruto world and returned to reality. Turning his head, he saw Netero sitting by his desk, teasing Jin-kun with one hand. Annoying the bird, his hand was immediately pecked by Jin-kun...
The old man let out a ho ho ho chuckle, resting one hand on the edge of the chair. He looked back, smiling at Roy, "This Nen beast of yours is quite magical~"
"It actually hurts quite a bit when it pecks..."
Jin-kun dissatisfiedly pecked Netero again. The plump crow opened its beak and spat out a tongue of fire, nearly singeing Netero's hair.
Seeing Roy wake up, it puffed up in anger and flapped its pair of fleshy wings that overflowed with glazed golden light. Flap flap, it flew in front of Roy and plopped its bottom right on top of his head, nesting there to complain.
"Caw!" (That hateful old man bullied me! I didn't let him in, but he forced his way in!)
Jin-kun's complaints drifted leisurely into Roy's mind through their mental connection...
The young boy gently patted its small head and sat up from the bed. His gaze swept over Netero's shoulder, seeing that he was merely sitting properly and hadn't rummaged through his belongings. His expression softened, looking a bit better than when he had just woken up...
"Ho ho ho... This old man didn't mean to intrude,"
"I just saw you sleeping so soundly, I couldn't bear to disturb..."
"But you disturbed me anyway," Roy slipped on his slippers and gave a simple stretch. As his bones and joints loosened, they popped and cracked like roasting beans.
His entire aura swept away the drowsiness and lethargy, returning to clarity and vigorous health...
Netero leaned against his chair and looked at the boy. As his old eyes opened and closed, a trace of brilliant light flashed imperceptibly.
He sized Roy up from top to bottom and praised, "Your body adapted quite fast. It doesn't look like you're spoiling things by excessive enthusiasm. It seems the teacher in your dreams is quite formidable at teaching people!"
As the universally recognized Strongest Human, Netero's discernment was undoubtedly sharp. But one cannot know the true face of Mount Lu without entering it... Did Roy actually have a teacher?
He did, in a way.
But speaking of the kind who taught by precept and example, aside from Master Urokodaki in the Demon Slayer world, it seemed... only Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryusai, whom he had met twice, could count as half a teacher.
The boy simply went to the shower room to wash his face, saying without turning his head, "Speak, what is it?"
Netero was concise and comprehensive, slowly spitting out a few words, "I came on behalf of Zzigg to ask you, do you know what Nen is?"
Roy's footsteps halted.
The old man's large sleeves fluttered as he slowly pushed back his chair and stood up. Standing next to the window lattice, looking at the deep night and the high, bright moon, he said leisurely, "Child, you and I can be considered close friends."
"Living up to now, this old man has seen far too many individuals with peerless talent, and I have asked them this question before. Now,"
"I want to hear your answer."
"Is it you who wants to know, or my grandfather?" Roy washed his face, took a towel to dry the water, and turned around to cast a sidelong glance at Netero. In his mind involuntarily surfaced the silhouette of his grandfather Zzigg, whom he suspected he had seen within the demonic eye. At that time, he heard him leisurely mention... that it was an extremely fortunate thing that he hadn't lost his way...
Roy looked at Netero calmly. As his gaze shifted, he faintly discovered a trace of twilight aura on the old man in front of him, even though he wasn't as old as his great-grandfather.
His body was robust now. Although he was no longer at his peak from back then, in the original story, he could still leap down from ten thousand feet in the air, shocking many Hunter Exam candidates. This showed that his physical strength was extraordinarily tough...
Puff, two great suns subsequently and slowly ignited within Roy's pupils. True Eye activated.
Following that, a string of information surfaced in Roy's mind...
Name: Isaac Netero
Species: Human
Physique: B?
Manifested Nen Aura: B?
Potential Nen Aura: B+ or A-?
Rating: B
Aside from a faint sign of declining blood and qi, there was no will to die. Roy slowly withdrew his gaze and extinguished the great suns in his eyes.
"Ho ho... worthy of the Sun, those eyes of yours are dazzling enough..." Netero narrowed his eyes at Roy. As shrewd and experienced as he was, he noticed the scrutinizing, penetrating gaze fade away... The old man's expression turned serious, "Your grandfather Zzigg wants to know, and this old man wants to know too."
Amidst his silence, Roy spoke, "To have one's wishes come true is Nen."
"How so?"
"Doing whatever one wants, following one's heart's desires without overstepping the boundaries..."
"Whose boundaries?" Netero looked deeply at Roy, "Your great-grandfather walked the path of faith, and your grandfather Zzigg also walked the path of faith. Have you ever thought about why your grandfather Zeno and your father Silva didn't walk the path of faith?"
"Is it that they didn't want to? Or they didn't know?"
Roy frowned.
The young boy cast an untraceable glance toward the location of the dim little room...
Separated by heavy walls, in that dim little room, Maha, as usual, rocked his chair to himself, listening to cartoons. His withered fingers gently tapped the armrest, making soft thud... thud... sounds, acting oblivious, as if he had truly fallen asleep... A thin silk blanket covering his body draped diagonally onto the floor...
Whoosh, at this moment, a leisurely evening breeze rolled up a bit of chill, rustling the curtains...
In the second-floor study, Silva was stretching his legs...
In the first-floor garden, Zeno was taking a walk...
A scene of peaceful and quiet times presented itself before his eyes.
Roy remained silent. He raised his eyes to look at Netero again, hearing him slowly exhale and say, "It is because they cannot!"
"It's because their hearts aren't big enough, not broad enough to withstand a stronger visualization, unlike,"
"You, Zzigg, and your great-grandfather..."
Life also has its unbearable weight... "Some people can only fit a small family in their hearts, some can fit a city, and there are even those... who can fit a country, a world..."
"When these increasingly heavy responsibilities press down on your shoulders, do you still think Nen is just about you doing whatever you want, whenever you want, and that you'll be able to shoulder it?"
After finishing his leisurely speech, Netero closed his mouth and fell silent. His hair and beard were completely white. Half of his face was gathered under the soft lighting, while the other half merged into the night. He hadn't brought Beans with him, and since taking office as the Chairman of the Hunter Association, he had never wasted so much breath or spoken so many words to anyone, not even to Ging Freecss back in the day...
Looking silently at the night sky, seemingly lost in reminiscence, within the pitch-blackness of Kukuroo Mountain, he faintly saw Zzigg's shadow... Finally, he said, "These... are what your grandfather Zzigg told this old man to say..."
"You've also seen the demonic eye,"
"Before it completely lost consciousness, I dreamed of Zzigg. He told me to ask you this properly, and so... this old man came..." But...
He wasn't even born at that time!
Roy was struck with horror, abruptly looking at Netero... Amidst the ripples flooding his pupils, he saw him standing with his hands behind his back, looking up at the night sky, and saying meaningfully, "Predicting the future isn't exactly a rare occurrence..."
Roy suddenly realized. He thought of Neon, thought of Riberi Garcia, and her/their Nen abilities, Lovely Ghostwriter and playing card divination...
For a moment, he fell into silence...
Two hazy streams of moonlight shone through the window lattice onto the old and the young, two figures—one burly, one slender, completely distinct...
Amidst his contemplation, Roy gradually grasped something.
He paced over to the window, leaned against the window lattice, and admired the moonlight alongside Netero. He probed, "So, Grandfather wants me to be more cautious, to beware... that my virtue doesn't match my position?"
Netero looked over in surprise, the appreciation in his gaze growing stronger, "This old man truly wants to meet your teacher. 'Virtue not matching the position' is a well-used phrase." This was also Netero's first time hearing it, but judging solely from the literal meaning of those words, it couldn't be more appropriate...
The old man stroked his grizzled beard on his chin and nodded, "Having a 'big heart' isn't just daydreaming, and it definitely can't be 'delusion'. When you cannot control your visualization object, then... you will be controlled by your visualization object, becoming a slave to Nen, which is—a Calamity!"
A Calamity! Roy narrowed his eyes, suddenly thinking of the infamous Five Great Calamities of the World.
The human-keeping beast Pap, signifying the equivalent exchange of pleasure and life,
Brion, the botanical weapon guarding the mysterious ancient ruins' enigmatic sphere,
Hellbell, the murderous intent-infecting monster resembling a two-tailed snake,
Ai, the gaseous lifeform of codependence, desire, curse, and blessing,
Zobae, the immortality disease that masquerades as hope but brings endless despair in reality,
All of these... were enough to chill anyone's heart!
Hearing this, a flash of realization hit Roy... He suddenly understood... exactly what Grandfather Zzigg meant by the words he said to him within the demonic eye back then...
So, he was rejoicing that I hadn't been reversely controlled by my Nen ability, turning into one of those monsters whose reason was swallowed by Nature, or rather... a Calamity!
The young boy's expression fluctuated gloomily, figuring out many things in a single instant... Netero stood right beside him, tilted his head to look at him. After a long while, looking far into the deep night, he gave a self-deprecating smile and said, "It seems you have understood,"
"It's not that your grandfather and father didn't want to, it's because compared to you, your grandfather Zzigg, and the old man... their talent is too poor to bear such a heavy responsibility. Of course,"
"Among them, there's also... me..."
"...Time..." In that dim little room belonging to Maha on the first floor, the old man rolled over. The thin blanket completely slipped off him and pooled on the floor.
Only to hear the old man murmur, seemingly muttering, or perhaps talking in his sleep, "At least you have some self-awareness."
Amidst his silence, Roy returned to his senses. Staring fixedly at Netero, he suddenly understood... exactly where the twilight aura exuding from this Strongest Human originated. It was the dejection and despair of having already reached the absolute peak, limited by his innate talent and heart, unable to see the path forward anymore. When everyone said he was the strongest human, it meant... he had hit the ceiling, with absolutely no possibility of rising and growing stronger!
"So, you want to..." Roy didn't know what it felt like in his heart. After a long while, he spoke with a heavy tone.
Netero tilted his head and smiled at the boy, waving his hand and letting out a laugh, "Ho ho ho... As expected, I've still been seen through by you, brat. But..." Netero's old eyes suddenly shot out two divine beams of light. His gaze burned brightly with fighting spirit as he said, "Even if this old man dies, I will die with a vigorous bang! No matter what, I must bring a little shock to this boring world..."
Roy watched the fighting spirit naturally escaping from the top of his head take on a magnificent red hue. Thinking back to the original story, where he planted a nuclear bomb in his heart and dragged the Ant King Meruem down to hell with him, having a vigorous and exhilarating battle until the sky went dark before his death... Feeling a sense of melancholy, he realized that he had already achieved it...
The boy, with his beautiful silver hair trailing glazed golden light at the tips, withdrew his gaze. Leaning forward and resting on the windowsill, he looked up at the high, bright moon along with the old man, saying leisurely, "Tell me in advance what I can do for you."
Netero's old eyes lowered slightly, his weathered gaze filled entirely with gentleness.
He thought carefully for a long while before finally saying, "I don't really have any other hobbies. Living to this age, if I were an ordinary person, I should have died long ago. If I had to say something..."
Netero narrowed his eyes and smiled at Roy, "When I die, compile a copy of your Buddhist teachings and burn it for this old man. Let this old man broaden his horizons and see the world."
"Ah~ hum~" In the dim little room, Maha, who had rolled over to sleep on his side, suddenly dozed off. Groggily smacking his lips, he said, "Burn a copy for this old man too..."
Roy's mouth twitched.
He turned his head to gaze at the dim little room, then turned back, hearing Netero stroke his beard and laugh with a ho ho ho...
These... wretched old men... Every single one of them sure knows how to trouble young people~ It should be known, he still had to fight tomorrow!
"No time!"
Roy gave a cold snort, shoved his hands into his pockets, and ignored Netero. He headed out to forage for food, making a beeline for the butler's villa... As for Buddhism...
As it happened... he also had a move called True Several Thousand Hands, waiting to be unlocked...
With his back to Netero, Roy opened the panel and casually glanced at his Wood Release. After tomorrow, it would be time to properly visit Hiruzen Sarutobi, properly learn those forbidden jutsu in the Scroll of Seals, and replenish some experience points... The boy blinked out of the ancient castle. In the next glance, utilizing a trace of moonlight, he merged into it, drifting and flying down the mountain...
Chime~ At that time, late into the night.
The wooden grandfather clock placed in the corner chimed the hour...
In no more than a few breaths' time, Roy stepped out of the moonlight once more, appearing right inside Gotoh's bedroom.
Thump... thump... thump... A heartbeat exploded like muffled thunder.
Seemingly smelling Roy's aura, Gotoh lay peacefully within the blood cocoon, his heartbeat suddenly accelerating...
The sound was so loud it alarmed Tsubone, who had just coaxed Amane and Canary to sleep...
The head butler, swinging her two pink pigtails, hurried to the door of Gotoh's bedroom to look. Seeing it was Roy, she placed her right hand over her chest and hurriedly gave him a respectful bow, "Young Master, dinner has been prepared."
Tsubone had been just about to deliver it, not expecting Roy to beat her to it using Light Release...
The old butler bowed, raising her eyes slightly to cast a sidelong glance at Roy. She saw...
The young boy's beautiful hair, half silver and half golden, swaying with the wind.
Parting his lips, he reached out a hand and gently patted the blood cocoon, saying, "Don't be in a hurry. It's agreed, tomorrow,"
"I will set an example for you first!"
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