Chapter 75: Ten-Meter Sword Aura x The Fourth Gate Opens!
The year's end was approaching, and the wind and snow grew fiercer.
A thick fog blanketed Sagiri Mountain, dampening Roy's hair and crystallizing into a layer of frost.
Freed from the burden of the gravel, Roy restarted the Ten Thousand Swings. The sword in his hand felt as light as air, almost glued to his palm. It moved like an extension of his own arm, effortless and free.
His master, Sakonji Urokodaki, stood silently behind him, watching.
Ten meters ahead stood the wooden post, wrapped in hemp rope.
The boy closed his eyes and began to regulate his breathing. He spread his feet, centering himself, and fixed his stance. Opening his eyes, he gripped the sword with both hands and slashed forward—the first strike of the day.
Then came the second, the third, the hundredth, the thousandth, the ten thousandth, the twenty thousandth, the thirty thousandth, the thirty-five thousandth... Seeing that he had surpassed his previous limit set during the gravel training, Roy felt his body heat up, his strength still abundant. He tore off his scarf and continued swinging.
Thirty-six thousand, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, forty thousand...
"That Eiichiro guy! He's making me lose count!" Makomo pouted, her big, pretty eyes spinning.
High in the tall birch tree, Sabito watched silently. Below him stood the equally silent Sakonji Urokodaki.
Forty thousand, forty-two, forty-seven, forty-nine, fifty thousand!
At a certain moment, the boy's eyes narrowed. Hand, waist, and foot moved as one. He stepped forward and slashed—
The wind from the blade tore through the air, letting out a teeth-grinding shriek as it formed a crescent-shaped slash, cutting clean through the wooden post ten meters away!
Clack... The post split in two and fell to the ground.
The surroundings fell utterly silent, so quiet that only the boy's heavy gasps echoed through the wind and snow.
"That Eiichiro guy..." Shinsuke, who had been lying down, shot upright. Even though he had braced himself, knowing Roy would break his limits again after the gravel training—perhaps reaching an astonishing forty thousand swings—he hadn't expected this. He had still underestimated him!
"Seriously, I'm numb," Fukuda said, standing beside Shinsuke and looking down at Roy with a self-deprecating laugh. "From now on, if someone tells me Eiichiro chopped up the Demon King, I won't even be surprised."
"He's not freaking human!"
A ten-meter-long slash...
"And the crucial part is, Eiichiro hasn't even learned a Breathing Style yet~"
Makomo finally stopped counting, dizzily leaning on Sabito for support. Sabito, the one being leaned on, stood stiff as a board, as if Roy's last slash had struck him, shattering his resolve in two.
Silence was the theme on Sagiri Mountain today. Giyu, Sabito thought, perhaps the rank of Hashira is your limit, but it cannot possibly be Eiichiro's. Gazing at Roy's back, he could almost imagine the sheer terror that unleashing such a monster upon the world would bring to the demons.
"Eiichiro," Sakonji Urokodaki's shoulders were covered in snow, and his voice, hidden beneath the tengu mask, was somewhat hoarse. He watched the boy quietly. Roy sheathed his sword, exhaled a long dragon of white breath, and shook his head.
"No, I still need to train." The boy's voice was calm. He broke into a smile, revealing his teeth.
If Netero could throw one hundred thousand punches a day, then why couldn't he, Roy, deliver one hundred thousand slashes? There was no reason!
"When I truly reach my limit, I will tell you, Master."
"You... Heh heh heh..." Sakonji Urokodaki's shoulders shook with laughter. The laughter grew louder until he threw his head back and looked at the sky. A rare ray of sunlight broke through the mist, as if dispelling the gloom that hung over the hearts of all mankind—the demons!
"Good." The old man turned, gratified. Tonight, he decided, he would add a pig's leg to the boy's meal.
[Notification: Swordsmanship +40]
[Swordsmanship: lv2(996/1000)→lv3(36/10000)]
Dong~
Kukuroo Mountain.
At four o'clock in the morning, a bell chimed.
In the small room at the easternmost end of the third floor of the butlers' quarters, Kastro opened his eyes as usual, lying in bed and staring blankly at the ceiling.
It had been over two months since he arrived at the Zoldyck estate. He had transformed from a "clueless newbie" into a slightly-less-clueless "veteran newbie," finally realizing the true weight behind the name "Zoldyck."
The 100-kilogram bulletproof vest was worn 24/7. The shoes on his feet were weighted. The cup he drank water from weighed 20 kilograms. Pushing open any random door required at least 500 kilograms of force.
This wasn't the butlers' quarters; it was a freaking gravity training room! Ten times gravity, at that!
When Kastro first reported for duty, he had desperately wanted to curse someone out. But then he realized that all apprentice butlers aspiring to become official butlers went through this. And the weakest among them was actually Zebro, the very man who had kindly coached him to successfully push open the first Testing Gate. The boy calmed down, cut his long hair, and accepted reality.
If for no other reason than to one day punch that detestable man with glasses in the face... to show him that if he could do it, Kastro could too! Right... what was his name again... Gotoh!
At 4:05 AM, Kastro rolled out of bed and began his morning exercises. From 4:00 to 4:30 was the only time in the day he could truly call his own. Usually, he would run to the Testing Gate, practice his Tiger Bite Fist form, and then chat with Zebro for a bit, clinging to the small shred of security he had left.
That's right. Once you entered the Zoldyck domain, it was like diving into the deep sea. Besides being heavy, there was absolutely no safety to speak of. Any random dog that ran past could knock him over with the sheer force of its wind pressure. To this day, Kastro's heart still pounded whenever he heard Mike's bark.
"Heh heh... you'll get used to it." Zebro smiled, handing him a cup of water. He was a genuinely warm old man. In the original story, he was the one who helped Gon and the others. And now, after two months, he had come to greatly appreciate the young man before him. Diligent, driven, good hair, and most importantly... obedient and easy to command. He had the makings of a butler.
"Thank you." Kastro finished his form, nodded his thanks, and brought the water to his lips. Suddenly, he heard familiar footsteps. He looked up. The boy with shoulder-length, thick black hair was running down the mountain as usual. Kastro quickly bowed. "Good morning, Young Master."
Having finished his sword practice last night and enjoyed a hearty meal of braised pork knuckle with Sakonji Urokodaki, Roy had slept unusually well. He passed through the Gate of Cognition and returned to reality. He didn't need the usual minute or two in bed to shake off the mental fatigue. He immediately washed up and went for his run, quickly arriving at the foot of the mountain.
The boy stopped. He had run five kilometers without breaking a sweat. He gave Zebro, who had tipped his hat, a slight nod. His gaze settled on Kastro. "Are you settling in alright?" he asked with a smile.
Kastro immediately stood at attention. "Don't worry, Young Master! I can handle it!"
Roy patted his shoulder. "Good." He walked past him, straight to the Testing Gate, and stopped.
"Young Master, are you going out?" Zebro thought, I don't see Gotoh anywhere. Dutifully, he rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward. "Allow me to open the gate for you."
Roy: "No need." He looked up at the fourth Testing Gate, gently raised a hand, and placed it on the surface.
Seeing this, Zebro froze. Kastro sensed something was about to happen and turned his head—
A tremendous BOOM echoed!
The fourth gate, weighing a colossal thirty-two tons, swung wide open, revealing the dashing boy standing in the middle, bathed in the morning glow, clapping the dust from his hands.
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