Chapter 114: Water Breathing, Eleventh Form × Phantom Blade: Water-Mirror Heat Haze
The points scramble was forced to a halt.
Faced with a storm, the human back-and-forth of killing and stealing was not worth mentioning.
In a dark corner belowdecks, a face studded with nails slowly surfaced from the gloom as the freak opened his eyes, searching for a particular figure.
He had dozed for a moment after draining too much Nen, and when he looked again, big brother was gone.
Illumi did not find Roy in the captain's room. His empty eyes swung toward the window, and he did not hesitate a second.
He flashed a hand blade and carved through the deck. Under startled stares, he dove into the water and then abruptly reappeared at Gotoh's feet, cracking the planks and lifting his head to stare silently at the storm ahead.
"Young Master Illumi?" Gotoh jolted so hard he nearly stepped on him. Good thing he had sharp eyes; otherwise, on this day next year, it would be his memorial service.
The wind tightened. The sea heaved. The Sea God creaked and groaned.
Roy danced under the storm, as if a mountain weighed on his back. Every strike dragged out of him—nothing like the child's play of a waterfall.
"Fourth Form: Striking Tide."
Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought."
"Sixth Form: Whirlpool."
Sea water drew to his blade tip and gathered into spearing pillars, resisting the storm's erosion. Flashes of blade light burst here and there, casting brilliance in the special darkness of the squall.
Even through the window, it could be seen.
"Where did that blade light come from?" Yusuke and Kite had barely stepped into the cabin for two minutes when they rushed back out. They leapt up to the cargo roof, stared, and saw the boy standing alone with a blade in one hand, facing down the storm without fear. It was too much to take in.
"Is that still a person?"
"So this is how he hones his swordsmanship."
Yusuke's mouth hung open. Kite quietly tightened his grip on his katana.
He had listened to Ging's teaching and remembered it clearly: "Humans are born of nature. No matter how strong, they can hardly challenge nature's might.
"A flood… a drought… an earthquake… each will deal unimaginable calamity to humankind.
"So we should respect nature. Do not imagine you can defeat it. Only then can you find your place in the world."
And yet… Master, there are always some who refuse to accept it.
Kite's gaze locked deep on Roy. He could not help wondering—if he had heard those words at the time, what would he have thought? Most likely, he would have scoffed.
Blade light lashed the water and hammered the storm. The driving rain raised welts on the skin. Roy, forever at the storm's edge, took the pummeling head-on.
His stamina plunged. His breathing grew heavy. Each lift of the sword weighed more than the last. But his spirit burned higher. Two suns shone brighter and brighter in his eyes. His mouth opened and closed without thought, murmuring, "A little more… just a little more."
As he flowed through "Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust."
"Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin."
"Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow."
Forms rolled out one after another. He could feel himself catching something. His fingers clenched—and the spark slipped through them again. He refused to accept it.
He drew once more—"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux." He drew water where he stood and hurled a dragon roaring for the sky.
A roar. The endless black cloud churned and cracked. A hole opened.
A band of dawn spilled through. The red sun lifted from the horizon, half above, half below, a mirrored twin. The rays washed Roy's face. The boy's mouth curved. "Got it."
He let go and sent the cane-sword straight down into the sea. The instant the tip touched water, ripples spread from his center.
In a blink they radiated in every direction. Wherever they passed, all things paused, as if a stop key had been pressed and life itself had gone still.
[Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Phantom Blade—Water-Mirror Heat Haze]
A hum.
Wind and rain held. The shuddering Sea God went quiet as the ripples swept her hull.
Gotoh and Illumi at the bow, Yusuke and Kite on the cargo roof, old Captain Mark Seam staring from the deck, Rika, the bandaged man, the snake handler, the bow-backed boy—even the rats in the bilge—all froze in that instant.
The world flickered, then drained of color. Only a red sun and a sea like a mirror remained, refusing to fade.
[Note: Phantom Blade—Water-Mirror Heat Haze. Upon witnessing the fusion of sun and water, the user creates a self-made illusion domain. A single strike can paralyze foes for 0.1 seconds and drag them into a "sea-and-sun" mirage, briefly stripping thought.]
Pop.
After 0.1 seconds, the ripples receded, the mirage shattered, and the world returned. Wind and rain lashed again.
A sudden wave slammed in. The Sea God listed hard and threw several candidates overboard.
Everyone snapped back and felt something was wrong.
"What was that?"
"I think I blacked out for a moment!"
"You too? I thought it was just me… scared me half to death. I almost saw my great-great-grandma!"
"Great-great-grandma? Wasn't it the sun and the sea?"
Noise rose again. Rika crouched in a quiet corner and frowned out the window.
The storm still raged, but a hole had opened in the clouds and a hint of light streamed down. Manufactured?
"No doubt about it—it was him!" Yusuke said, eyes locked on Roy.
Raised as a ninja, he came to the Hunter Exam seeking the Dream Scroll after years of training.
The elders said the scroll recorded jutsu beyond belief, including Genjutsu that could ensnare minds.
Yusuke suspected that his brief loss of consciousness, despite his skill, could only be Genjutsu.
Roy sheathed his blade and stepped back across the wave crests at an unhurried pace.
The storm whipped his black hair into a tangled mane that made him look rough, but no one dared belittle him for it.
Gotoh, Illumi, and Kite—their gazes all converged on him.
Roy landed lightly on the bow and tipped his head at Mark Seam. "Keep staring and you'll be driving straight into the storm."
"Oh—oh…" The old captain jolted and howled, "Gus, hard over!"
"Everyone else, to the sheets!"
"Aye!"
The Sea God's canvas cracked full. She slid right, shaved the winds, and skirted the squall.
After a time, the wind and rain slackened. Illumi tilted up his chin in silence, watching Roy. When Roy's gaze slid his way, he ducked and slipped under the deck and vanished.
With no land in sight, maybe only the beam's shadow could offer the faintest sense of safety.
Roy noticed and did not care. He took the branch Gotoh passed him, went back to fishing, and worked his Nen while the panel ticked:
[Swordsmanship +70. Water Breathing +50.]
[Current]
[Swordsmanship: Lv3 (160/10000 → 230/10000)]
[Water Breathing: Mastered Entry (78/100) → Proficiency (28/1000)]
A small but real gain.