Right! No freedom now.
The call ended. Sean smiled at Silva, "The old man's crazy, his words are like farts."
"Dad, a wise man like you... you won't take him seriously, right?"
Silva put away his phone, glanced at the bell in No. 2's hand, and said flatly, "Whether I take it seriously doesn't matter."
"What matters is that the Old Master takes it seriously."
"Son, same time, same place. See you in three years!"
With that, Silva walked right up to Sean, patted him on the shoulder, and whispered in his ear, "You know, Dad is very pleased you managed to grab the bell."
"But Dad is very unhappy that he failed to protect the bell."
"And if I'm unhappy, you brat, you shouldn't think you're getting off easy."
Leaving those words hanging, Silva ignored the stunned Sean, pushed open the door, and left.
"Creak..." The door closed. The training room, a total wreck, was empty except for Sean.
The youth snapped back to reality, let out a low, suppressed laugh, and looked up, giving the camera the middle finger.
Then, with a shift of his feet, he too disappeared from Maha's sight.
"Heh. That brat is giving me the stink eye..." Maha cursed with a laugh, then turned to glare at Zeno. "See that, you mutt? You'd better step it up."
"He already dares to give me the finger. I can't even imagine how he'll treat you in the future."
The old man casually tossed the phone. It flew in an arc and hit Zeno right in the head. 'An old man in his dotage, still getting encouragement from his grandfather...'
Zeno was almost "moved" to tears. He wished he could send the old man off on his final journey right now!
'Yes... yes... yes...' "I do need to step it up, but Grandfather, don't forget how Hiruzen Sarutobi died."
"That kid called you out by name. He's probably planning to become Orochimaru, oh?"
Zeno snatched the phone, not giving the old man another chance to strike, and greased his soles to slip away.
"Hey!" Maha's raised hand hit empty air. He took off the "surveillance glasses" and tossed them aside.
Without the glasses, the old man's expression was uncertain. He didn't lie back on the rocking chair, nor did he watch his H-manga. Deep in thought, he left Sean's room.
He walked towards the back mountain...
The Zoldyck family occupied the entire Kukuroo Mountain as their private residence. The mountainside was the butlers' estate, the summit was the old castle, and the back mountain was a strictly "forbidden area!"
Legend had it that a giant dragon, famous throughout the continent, was kept in that forbidden place.
Maha appeared on a mountain path, hands behind his back. He glanced at a water curtain standing before him, waved his hand, and walked straight into it.
Surprisingly, in front of the water curtain were green mountains and fragrant flowers, but behind it, a poisonous miasma filled the air, and not a blade of grass grew.
The moment Maha entered, he mobilized his "Nen" to envelop his entire body. The milky-white "Nen" sizzled and sparked as it was eroded by the poisonous miasma.
"Haven't been here in a few days. This poison looks even stronger..."
"Rather than 'poison,' it's more like a curse..." A distant dragon's roar was heard, and a voice that sounded even hoarser than Maha's came from a small cabin not far away.
"Father, it's been a while." The wooden door creaked open.
An old man who looked just like Maha, but even balder, stooped over and leaned against the doorframe, giving Maha a smile.
(Note: In the original work, Zigg has hair, but the author has set it that his hair has all fallen out for certain reasons. Please be aware, esteemed readers.)
"Zigg..." Maha narrowed his eyes. He took a step, and when he reappeared, he was already next to the wooden door.
He pried open Zigg's mouth to look. "Teeth all gone?" Maha asked, his heart aching.
Zigg let Maha do as he pleased and chuckled. "Let's not talk about that."
"Did you bring the latest chapter of Pot Shadow Ninja?"
"How could I forget you?" Maha cursed with a laugh, pulling the line art from his robes and tossing it over.
"That kid Sean has been slacking off lately. Only drew two updates this week. Make do with it."
"Having some is better than none." Zigg invited Maha in. The small wooden cabin was not large, but it was very cozy.
Maha, familiar with the place, acted just like he did in Sean's room, flopping onto the rocking chair by the wall and closing his eyes.
A pot of tea was heating over the fireplace in the corner, steam curling up. Zigg sat on the sofa by the fire, flipping through the line art, and began reading with relish.
A few minutes later, he sighed with lingering enjoyment, "Silva has a good son."
"Ninjutsu, Tailed Beasts, the chakra system... I don't know how that kid Sean's brain works, being able to think of so much new stuff."
"He's truly a pioneer for our family."
"Heh. We can only say that our Zoldyck family's genes are good." Maha opened his eyes and said profoundly, "You have to hold on, Zigg."
"Dad is already trying all sorts of ways to rush Sean..."
"As long as that kid figures out 'Edo Tensei,' you'll be fine. At that time, even if I, this old man, die, I'll have no regrets."
"If he can resurrect me, do you think he'll let you go?" Zigg gave Maha a mischievous wink. "Father, I heard Sean is already plotting against you."
"So... "Don't rush him too much.""
"Using Silva to force a ten-year-old kid to grow up... that's a bit too cruel."
"Hmph! You're just too soft-hearted. Otherwise, how could you have been tricked into going to the Dark Continent by that brat Netero?" Maha glared at Zigg and snorted. "Besides, what you think is 'forcing,' Sean sees as pure joy."
"In the end, it'll probably take me, your old man, to step in to handle him."
"Is it that exaggerated?" Zigg put down the line art and looked at Maha in surprise. "With Silva around, can that kid really flip the heavens?"
'Oh, but he did. The kid didn't flip the heavens, but Silva's car flipped first...'
"Son... you probably don't know yet. Silva lost today!"
Hm? Zigg was stunned. Before he could react, he heard Maha say in an extremely complicated tone, "That brat Sean is hiding too much!"
"Dammit all! He secretly broke his limit behind your dad's back, and he opened the 'Eight Gates' to get close to a 'Second Limit Break'..."
"He went head-on against Silva for a short time without losing. Give him a few more years... forget 'Edo Tensei,' he might just end up taking over as the head of the Zoldyck family!"
!
"Father, that's not a funny joke." Zigg was shocked!
'What head of the Zoldyck family...' "With you here, no matter how out of line that kid gets, he can't flip the heavens."
"You just said that..." Maha rolled his eyes and gave a grim laugh. "Let me put it this way..."
"That brat challenged me today."
"He said that within ten years, I would be challenging him. Tsk. Tell me, is that arrogant enough for you?"
Zigg: "..."
He stared blankly for a moment, then slapped the sofa and burst out laughing.
"Interesting, this is getting more and more interesting."
"Father, hearing you say all this, I really want to meet this kid..."
'Daring to threaten Maha back... If Netero found out, he'd probably ditch his position as Chairman and rush right over.'