"Win? This is called being crushed intellectually."
Maha cursed Sean under his breath through the screen. "That brat has the same disposition as that kid from the Nara family."
"'Shadow Imitation Jutsu'? Amazing he could even think of that."
"Zeno, I remember that girl from the Sand Village lost to this move, right?"
"It was Temari." Zeno gave Sean a deep look. "Being able to draw this tactic is one thing, but actually implementing it and getting results is another."
"Looking at Silva's expression, he clearly didn't expect to fall into the trap."
Training room.
The battle was over. Illumi slid down the wall, his deadpan face twitching twice, unable to hold it in.
"Father, why did you go easy on him?" 'He clearly could have erased that bastard's clone with one chop, so why did he stop?'
The damn little brother still hadn't seen the trick. He questioned Silva with a dark face.
Silva glanced at him and shook his head in disappointment. "Look at the ground."
'Two shadows, one large and one small, were stretched and connected... Isn't this that bullshit 'Shadow Imitation Jutsu' from that bastard's crap manga?'
'As expected, your enemy always knows you best. It's confirmed!'
After realizing, Illumi's face burned with pain. He felt like a clown for having said those stupid words.
He couldn't stand the shame. He silently jumped out of the shattered floor-to-ceiling window.
"Be careful not to cut your feet on the glass." 'The little brother is immature, but the big brother still has to show concern.'
Sean's concern arrived, better late than never.
Illumi's face darkened. He nearly got his crotch caught on the window. He snorted, "None of your business."
He left in a huff.
"Sigh... Dad, you saw it. You can't say I'm bullying him." Sean shrugged.
Silva glanced out the window, didn't reply, turned back, moved his foot, and with a powerful surge, snapped the "shadow thread."
'Brute force really is something.' "'Shadow Imitation Jutsu' for a sneak attack from the shadows is indeed a good ninjutsu."
"But it also depends on the user's own strength." Silva looked at Sean coolly. "You won this match. From now on, I will no longer interfere with your training."
After speaking, Silva glanced at the camera, his gaze inscrutable.
In Sean's room, Maha couldn't sit still. He pointed at Silva's nose on the screen and questioned Zeno, "You mutt, what does your son mean?"
"He doesn't think he lost because I, the old man, was pulling strings, does he?"
'If you want to know, go ask him. Why are you dragging me into this?'
Zeno glared at Silva on the screen, inwardly cursing his 'dog son' for always making trouble for him. He put on a smile and helped calm Maha down. "Grandfather, how could Silva think that?"
"He probably didn't expect to lose, so isn't he asking you for instructions?"
'Instructions, my ass!' "If you lose, just beat him back!" Maha roared. "You can't even beat your own son! You trash are disgracing me!"
"Call him! Call him right now! Tell Silva, didn't he want three years? I'll give it to him!"
"Three years from now, if he can't beat Sean, tell him to get the hell out of the house!"
'Heh... tui. The old geezer's got it backward. Is he giving Silva time, or that kid Sean time?'
Zeno's mouth twitched. He met Maha's glaring eyes and reluctantly took out his phone to call Silva.
"Ring ring ring..." The call connected. Silva glanced at the caller ID, raised his eyebrows, and instead of answering, tossed the phone to Sean.
'Done playing the bell game, now we're playing the phone game, huh?' Sean glanced at Silva and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"
"Swoosh." The moment Zeno heard Sean's voice, he shoved the phone into Maha's hand at light speed and turned to flee. The old man: "..."
'What the fuck?' "You mutt, it's bad enough you don't dare to see me, now you don't even dare to answer the phone? How did Zigg spawn such a good-for-nothing?!"
Maha was dumbfounded. He took the phone and roared, "Silva, don't play dumb with me!"
"You can't even beat your own son, do you have any shame left?"
"You want three years, I'll give it to you. If you can't beat Sean in three years, see the Gate of Hell? Just smash your head against it and die!"
"It's for you." Sean tossed the phone back.
Silva: "..."
He caught the phone, his mouth twitching fiercely. He pressed the speakerphone button, a headache coming on.
"Old Master, where is my father?"
"If I'm not mistaken, this is his phone, isn't it?"
"That mutt is dead!" Silva mentioning Zeno just made the old man explode. "Did you hear clearly what I just told you?!"
"You go first. If you die, he goes. If you both die, the Zoldyck family will be spared from raising two good-for-nothings!"
'Not a single one of them makes him happy. The old man was starting to suspect he installed the main gate wrong; it should have faced north, not south.'
'It seems the Old Master is truly not satisfied.' Silva silently took the verbal abuse, then glanced at Sean. "What do you say?"
"What do I say? I want to go straight to the top!" Black lines appeared on Sean's forehead. 'Beat the small one, and the old one comes? What kind of ancient, overused webnovel cliche is this?'
Sean floated to the corner, shaking the bell at the camera. "Old man, let's not make it so troublesome. I'll give you a number."
"Ten years."
"I'll give you ten years... to challenge me."
"If you win, see this bell in my hand?"
"I'll put it around your neck myself."
'With this phone call, even an idiot would know. The old man was one hundred percent behind today's whole show!'
'Since you want to test me so badly, you might as well do it yourself. It'll save us this endless entanglement.'
Huh? Maha was stunned. "Silva, did I hear that right? Is this kid challenging me?"
'I think he might be subtly calling you a dog... Aren't bells for pets?'
Silva gave Sean a deep look. 'The brat's got a big mouth. It almost shocked him, too.' He said in a deep voice, "Grandfather, you heard him right."
"Hahaha!" A burst of wild laughter came from the phone, nearly bursting Silva's eardrums.
Maha put his hands on his hips and laughed. He'd lived for over three hundred years, and aside from Netero, this was the first time someone had challenged him!
And the key point was, this person was his very own great-great-grandson!
'The workings of fate are truly magical. If Zigg and Netero found out, their eyeballs would probably pop out!'
"Unfortunately... Sean, it's not that Grandfather won't give you a chance."
"If you want to challenge me, you first have to prove you're qualified!"
"Get past Silva and Zeno's hurdles, then we'll talk."
"Clack!" The call ended. Zeno, who had reappeared at some point, shot Maha a resentful glare. "What does this have to do with me, Grandfather?"
'I already ran away, how am I still getting dragged into this? Are you sick, old man?'