"Hmph, that depends on whether you can pull it off." The old man shot Sean an annoyed glance. "Don't underestimate your father, you brat!"
"No matter how much of a waste he is, he's still this old man's grandson. He's at least at the level of a triple limit-break in Nen ability."
Being unable to view it meant there was at least a two-level gap. Sean had just appraised Silva the day before yesterday, so he naturally knew his father was definitely not an opponent to be underestimated.
But. "The time isn't up yet, my dear grandfather." Sean looked at Maha with a half-smile. "What if I break my limit again by then?"
There was still one year until the agreed-upon date. It wasn't long, but it wasn't short. If he worked hard, it wasn't impossible to push his Nen ability to break its limit once more.
"Ho. Zigg, look at this. The brat is trying to run before he's learned to walk. Be careful not to take too big a step and pull something."
"Father is right." Zigg picked up where Maha left off, advising Sean, "Sean, you've just broken your limit. You should focus on stabilizing your current characteristic. Being too eager to catch up to Silva will actually be detrimental to finding your next 'characteristic'."
"After all, if you want to rely on an epiphany in a church in Meteor City to establish a characteristic like last time... it's not an easy thing to do."
Epiphany... epiphany... There are many people who remain lost their entire lives. Many might not even experience one epiphany in their lifetime, let alone... two, three, or four.
But... "I've already found my next 'characteristic'."
Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. Following [Wind], Sean had already decided his next unlock would be—Characteristic [Fire], also known as "Fire Release."
Because of the unique nature of awakening the Sharingan, all powerful Fire Release techniques were inextricably linked to the Sharingan's level. After Sean upgraded to the Mangekyo, "Amaterasu," "Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi," "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation," and "Great Fire Destruction" could all be put on the agenda.
Not to mention the one that transcended Fire Release, the one Sean had been coveting for a long time—Susanoo!
A Gundam! These two old men had probably never seen one in their lives. Sean looked smilingly at Maha and Zigg. The father and son duo had lived for nearly five hundred years combined; what great storms hadn't they seen? Yet, they were completely stunned by his single sentence.
"The brat just broke through, and he's already found his next 'characteristic'?" The rocking chair wasn't appealing anymore, nor was the H-manga in his hands. Maha flew to Sean's side, stood on his tiptoes, and touched his forehead. "This brat was just giggling foolishly. Did something go wrong during his breakthrough? Did he really become stupid?"
"Get lost!" Sean waved his hand, pushing the old man aside, then pushed back his chair and stood up. "I almost forgot, I haven't finished this week's line art. I'm leaving."
Greasing the soles of his feet, a cyclone lifted Sean through the window and into the sky.
The curtains rustled, stirred by the wind, leaving the two old men staring at each other, trading glances, completely bewildered.
He just left? Zigg shook his head and chuckled. "I forgot to ask the kid what happened just now."
Maha pursed his lips. "Do you think he would have said anything?"
Shuffling back, he flopped into the rocking chair and picked up the H-manga again. The old man said faintly, "That brat is cunning. He ran off precisely because he didn't want to talk, what do you think?"
Zigg nodded. "If he doesn't want to say it, fine. But Father, regarding the characteristic... do you think Sean was telling the truth?"
"Who knows?" Maha flipped through the H-manga, not even lifting his head. "A year will pass quickly, Zigg. Whether he's found it or not, we'll know when the time comes."
"True."
Spring passed and autumn came. The turning of the four seasons always brought an involuntary feeling of fleeting youth, of time flying like a shuttle.
Bidding farewell to the vibrancy of spring, the heat of summer, and the bleakness of autumn, Kukuroo Mountain, home of the Zoldyck family, finally welcomed its annual winter snow.
Pushing open the window in the morning, he looked out at a world draped in silver. Sean rolled out of bed, his first act to grab a brush and draw a large red "X" on the calendar hanging on the wall.
One week left until the agreed-upon date. "If you still can't break your limit..." Maha, lying in his rocking chair, his shriveled little body covered by a thick blanket, opened his old eyes to glance at Sean. "Why don't you just give me the 'Edo Tensei' technique now? It'll save me the trouble of having nowhere to go after Silva beats you to death."
A year had passed, and Sean had shot up in height again. He strode over to stand in front of Maha, his shadow falling over the old man, enveloping both him and the rocking chair.
"You should worry about yourself, my dear grandfather." Starting with the sarcasm so early in the morning. Sean, annoyed, blew a puff of air at Maha. "Phht-" A small cluster of flames bizarrely appeared behind the old man's backside, quietly climbing up the blanket and chair.
"Hiss—hot! Hot! You brat, are you trying to murder your own grandfather?"
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. Maha clutched his butt and leaped from the rocking chair, his hand shooting out to grab Sean's ear. Unfortunately, a cold wind blew past. The boy's figure distorted and drifted out with the wind, his mischievous laughter hanging in the air. "The sun's already shining on your butt and you're still sleeping. Be careful you don't actually sleep yourself to death, old man."
The bright laughter was drowned out by a gust of winter snow. Maha, furious, glanced at the howling blizzard outside and stomped his feet, cursing, "What damn sun! You brat, don't be defiant! In one week, this old man will personally watch you cry!"
"Grandfather, you seem to have said that at least a thousand times. If Sean really breaks his limit with Characteristic [Fire], he might not necessarily lose a fight against Silva!"
His white hair flared. After Sean had vanished with the wind, Zeno appeared, hands behind his back, strolling leisurely, wearing the sign "A Kill a Day, Active for Life" on his chest. That dog... he had clearly been practicing his [En] quite a bit these past two years, afraid of being sensed by Sean.
But. "You're afraid of that kid, but you're not afraid of me, is that it?" Maha grabbed the burning rocking chair and hurled it at Zeno, cursing at the top of his lungs, "You're the only one who knows how to make snide remarks, huh? This old man isn't blind yet, I don't need a dog like you to remind me!"
Zeno's mouth twitched. He dodged the rocking chair. "Shoo—" The chair vanished into the mountain forest. Who knows what it hit, but a dog's yelp could be faintly heard from deep within the woods. Awooo... It sounded quite miserable.
'Looks like I came at the wrong time today. The old guy is so testy... he isn't actually worried that the kid Sean is going to thrash Silva, is he?'
Zeno gave an imperceptible pout. He'd learned his lesson this time and didn't walk into Maha's line of fire again. He came from nowhere, and he returned to nowhere, slipping away at high speed. As he left, he dropped one last line that nearly made the old man burst a blood vessel—
"That's why I told you before, Grandfather."
"It's time to consider a different way of getting along with that kid Sean."
"If you keep shamelessly mooching food and drinks off him, be careful. The day will come when you really can't beat him, and won't he just climb on your head and take a dump?"