Assassins have no emotions.
'Since I've chosen "From Konoha, Let the World Know Pain," then I shouldn't hesitate. I'll see the villainy through to the end!'
Maha: "..."
'Did this old man just hear something he shouldn't have?'
"You brat, have you lost every last bit of your kindness?" Maha glared at Sean.
Sean gave a wicked smile. "Weren't you the one who always taught me that assassins don't have friends?"
"I..." The old man's words caught in his throat, nearly choking him. He said, exasperated, "I was teaching you not to trust anyone easily!"
"If you don't trust, how can you open your heart? If you don't open your heart, how can you make friends? Is there a difference?" Sean pouted. "Alright, old man, I'm busy. I don't have time to bicker with you."
[Detecting Host's "Strength," "Speed," and "Aura" have reached the limit-breaking standard.]
[Initiate the second-layer limit break immediately?]
'It's been two years.' Sean had finally grinded his attribute points. As the shadow clones returned to his main body, the "Sage's" prompt promptly entered Sean's mind. The young man pushed back his chair, stood up, and strode out of the room, leaving Maha with his broad, mountain-like back.
'Two years.' The brat had grown into the shape of an adult in an instant. His thick, shining black hair fell to his waist like a waterfall. His frame was almost catching up to Silva's. The old man's eyes shifted as he watched Sean leave, sighing inwardly. After a long moment, he said faintly, "He's long gone. Come out."
The curtain moved. Zeno, with his flashy white hair, appeared with his hands behind his back. He had been counting the time and couldn't help but sigh. "That kid Sean is getting harder and harder to deal with. It's getting more and more difficult to escape his perception."
'Two years.' It had gone from ten seconds after Sean left... to thirty seconds... then one minute... three minutes... five minutes... and gradually progressed to the current ten minutes. Zeno had no doubt that, given a little more time, Sean's "Wind" characteristic would make it impossible for anyone in the entire Zoldyck estate, or even the whole of Kukuroo Mountain, to escape his senses.
"In other words, you bastard, you don't have much time left." Maha glanced at Zeno and sneered. "After this kid breaks his attribute limit today, the next step is his Nen ability limit break."
"When his [Wind] characteristic is mastered... heh heh. Unless you never come home again, if you want to hide, there won't be a place for you here."
'He's right, but...' Zeno grabbed his beard, smiling bitterly. "The plan just couldn't keep up with the changes, Grandfather."
"Last year, we were calculating that this kid would need at least another two years to break the limit. Now, it looks like he'll break it this year."
"To be honest with you, sometimes I even wonder... if Kikyo gave birth to the wrong child?"
"The one with the silver hair should have been Sean, not Killua!"
As the designated next head of the Zoldyck family, Killua was highly valued by everyone, from top to bottom. Even... Zeno had personally trained him for two years, and in his senses, Killua was nowhere near as outrageous as Sean.
Although he could intuitively feel Killua's talent, compared to Sean—they just weren't in the same league!
"So... this old man told you long ago not to use outdated concepts to measure the current society." Maha snorted coldly. He walked to the window with his hands behind his back, gazed at the verdant forest, and said faintly, "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice."
"Hair color? *You* care, Silva cares, Kikyo cares. But ask Sean... does *he* care?"
"That brat has even come up with monstrous things like the Rinnegan. Do you think he gives a damn about the position of family head?"
"Don't make this old man laugh."
"Er... what Rinnegan?" Zeno frowned. "Grandfather, there's no need to scare yourself. The kid dares to think it and draw it, but that doesn't necessarily mean he can actually materialize it. If it's really like Pain vs. the Nine-Tails, tearing the earth and shattering rivers at every turn..."
"He probably wouldn't even need an enemy to finish him. He himself would explode and die first from being unable to withstand that power!"
'In the Hunter world, "one part power, one part price" is no joke.'
"But... a 13-year-old at the second-layer limit break..." A thin layer of Nen coated Maha's old, cloudy eyes. His gaze pierced through the forest and fixed on Sean in the depths. He said faintly, "Then let's just wait and see."
Zeno: "..."
He was speechless. He didn't know why, but his heart suddenly leaped. His thoughts were a mess.
Silence was not the Zoldyck way tonight. With his back to the Zoldyck castle, the evening breeze blew, telling Sean every single movement in the surrounding forest.
Two years had passed. Sean had already redeemed most of the "Wind Style" jutsu, from C-Rank to A-Rank. The Wind characteristic progress had also been unlocked to 90%. He was just one meeting away from a certain "old bastard" who liked to tattoo Sharingan all over his body, and he should be able to completely unlock it, pushing the [Wind] characteristic to mastery!
At that moment, the sun was setting, the evening clouds tragic and beautiful. On the familiar mountain lake, Sean took a step, and supported by the gentle breeze, stood steadily on the water's surface.
A few crows cawed as they flew by. Sean chuckled. "Begin, Sage."
The familiar prompt entered his mind, followed by a [Yes]—
Immediately, Sean's body trembled visibly!
It was as if a heavy hammer had emerged from the void and struck him, crushing him with such force that he almost lost his composure, his defenses nearly breaking!
Pain. Heart-wrenching pain. The first-layer limit break forged a furnace of flesh and blood, forcibly widening the meridians and supplementing the power of *qi* and blood.
The second-layer limit break built steel-like muscles and bones, shattering the shackles of his physique, reshaping his bone structure, and enhancing his regenerative power.
Sean's foot slipped. He staggered, the pain so intense he almost fell into the lake. He felt like a crude iron ingot being struck again and again by a heavy hammer. 'Be forged, or be broken!'
"Clang Clang Clang" Sparks flew from his very marrow. A dark golden hue quietly crept over every bone in his body. His whole being seemed to glow faintly. The light wasn't bright, melting into the sunset, almost invisible. But when it brushed past the crows flying over Sean's head—
*Pop! Pop! Pop!* With several strange sounds, the crows' eyes bulged. Before they could even understand what was happening, their bodies suddenly swelled and then exploded into a bloody mist!
'An overflow of *qi* and blood... not something a few small birds can withstand.'
"The brat... succeeded in the second-layer limit break!" Maha stared from the window, the *Gyo* in his eyes so "condensed" it was almost tangible!
He said this faintly. Zeno, who had been silent, afraid of being sensed by Sean, sucked in a breath. He suddenly understood the reason for his chaotic thoughts—
'One part power, one part price... that's correct. But when a body is strong enough, *freakishly* strong enough, to ignore the backlash of power... then even the monstrously unbelievable Rinnegan... might not be impossible for that kid to materialize.'
'Perhaps this is what Grandfather meant by... wait and see.'