He turned around and thrust toward Roy's neck!
The carotid artery in the neck is the most vulnerable part of the human body. Apart from piercing the heart, this was one of Illumi's two favorite moves.
Roy sensed the wind and didn't turn back. He countered with his own hand blade, but...
Unlike Illumi, he infused his hand blade with Nen.
Besides the four basic principles of Nen cultivation—Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu—there were many advanced application techniques.
Such as En for enhanced perception...
Shu for imbuing objects...
In for concealing one's aura...
And Ken for body enhancement...
Currently, Roy hadn't formally learned these application techniques, but this didn't prevent him from mobilizing aura to concentrate in his hand blade, temporarily enhancing its sharpness.
The results were remarkable.
Both using the Snake Awakens technique
As two blade lights flashed alternately, Illumi's strike was blocked, and he quickly retreated into the shadows.
He hid in the darkness at the wall corner, raising his left arm defensively against Roy while his right hand trembled uncontrollably.
Too hard...
The assassin's instincts drove him to instantly make a defensive counterattack, but the one being attacked seemed to have not even a hint of interest in him.
After all, Roy considered himself human, and humans shouldn't stoop to a dog's level—especially not a treacherous dog that only knew how to lurk in shadows and attack from behind.
"Step... step..."
The soft-soled sneakers on his feet made light sounds against the ancient, weathered stone floor.
With his back to Illumi, Roy shook his hand and continued walking, as if he'd casually swatted away a fly during his journey. He soon disappeared from Illumi's view and arrived at the training room.
The afternoon sunlight streamed through the large floor-to-ceiling windows onto the floor, still scorching—perfect timing for practicing "Sun Breathing."
Roy wouldn't let one or two dogs affect his mood, much less delay his training.
He shifted his steps and began to dance.
From then on, strange scenes frequently occurred in the Zoldyck family's training room.
A young man in close-fitting shorts would "dance" day and night, constantly stirring the nerves of everyone in the Zoldyck household.
"He's still dancing?"
"Yes, still..."
"Has he neglected his regular training?"
"No..."
On the tiger-skin sofa, Silva rested his chin on one hand, listening to Tsubone report on Roy's recent training status, lost in thought.
Under Tsubone's shocked gaze, he stood up and mimicked Roy's movements, trying several poses.
First "Dance," then "Clear Blue Sky," followed by "Fake Rainbow," "Fire Wheel," "Burning Bones, Summer Sun"...
After the final dance, "Sun Halo Dragon Head Dance" ended, and Silva stood in place, carefully contemplating for a long time without movement.
Beside him, Tsubone stood with hands at her sides, silent.
Her "good" self-awareness constantly reminded her that as a dog—and an old dog loyal to the Zoldyck family for decades—she absolutely couldn't bark out loud while her master was deep in thought.
But even so, she couldn't hide her surprise. This was the first time she'd seen the family head imitate another person's actions—and crucially, that person was his son, whose potential he'd deemed limited.
"Exhale..."
A breath of stale air was expelled.
About five minutes later, Silva finally moved again.
He sat back down expressionlessly and waved his hand. Tsubone tactfully retreated.
"Creak~" The heavy wooden door closed.
But the voice from inside made the elderly butler who had just exited tremble all over.
"Tell Roy to organize his insights on these movements and send them over."
The tone brooked no argument.
Tsubone: "..."
She stood silently before the door for a moment, placed her right hand over her chest, and bowed.
That evening, she found Roy practicing in the training room.
After learning this news, Roy showed no surprise whatsoever. He simply stopped his movements, paused to glance at the master bedroom on the second floor, and chose to... refuse.
"Sun Breathing" was his trump card, nourishment he'd drawn from his cognitive world using his Nen ability. Whether out of respect for Tanjuro or to protect his own privacy, he couldn't and wouldn't teach it to others.
Moreover, the more he studied "Sun Breathing," the more Roy realized how superficial his understanding of it was.
In one afternoon of four hours, he'd performed it twenty full times but only had one or two moments where he truly immersed himself—the rest of the time was "wasted."
So where would he find the time and energy to teach others?
Besides, this wasn't the attitude for asking a favor—even if the other party was his father.
"I think I should have the right to refuse," Roy said, wiping sweat from his neck and choosing directness.
Tsubone was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting to receive refusal as an answer. After all, this wasn't just anyone—it was Silva, the current head of the Zoldyck family, giving the order.
She subconsciously asked: "Could you give me a reason for refusing?"
Roy smiled. He narrowed his eyes and seriously examined this fellow Conjurer for the first time. Her "Rider's High" could materialize various transportation vehicles for people to ride—it seemed she'd been so well-trained that she'd become confused.
"A reason?" Roy draped the towel over his shoulder and looked up at her mockingly: "Since you consider yourself a dog, you should have the awareness of being a dog..."
"So... it's best not to ask about the master's affairs."
Tsubone: "..."
She froze in place.
Like she was possessed, she could neither leave nor stay, finally slinking away dejectedly.
Like in the original story, she wasn't fond of any of the Zoldyck children except Killua.
Naturally, Roy wouldn't be polite to her either. He mentally prepared for Silva to come knocking.
However, surprisingly, several days passed, and this episode seemed to have no follow-up, as if it had never happened. Not only was there no news from Tsubone, but Silva never brought it up again—they'd even encountered each other during this period.
It wasn't until Gotoh returned from his recovery that Roy vaguely caught wind of something.
"She cut herself three times and is currently recuperating..."
The young butler served Roy dinner while pushing up his gold-rimmed glasses: "She got off easy."
"If it were me, for contradicting the young master, I'd commit suicide directly."
Well... you're even more extreme...
For a moment, Roy didn't know what to say.
He could only sigh—this was very Zoldyck.
After all, in this family, butlers were recognized as property, death warriors, and dogs. Even if Roy naively thought they weren't, they would still consider themselves dogs and even take pride in it.
This could be seen from the group of people living in the butler's villa on Zoldyck property, desperately trying to enter the Zoldyck family.
So Roy simply changed the subject and asked Gotoh:
"Any leads on what I asked you to handle?"
After realizing that "dancing" was becoming less efficient, Roy carefully analyzed three reasons.
First, "Sun Breathing" was essentially "sword dancing"—it needed to be performed with a blade.
Second, he lacked the training method for "Total Concentration."
Third, he had no master to guide him.
The latter two points could only be sought by Roy himself in his cognitive world.
But the first point...
Gotoh drew a katana from his waist with a metallic ring, holding it with both hands and presenting it.
"There's no news yet on the Nen tool the young master requested, but there is one excellent katana in the warehouse."
"What's it called?"
"Yukigakure."