Silence fell.
Maha looked at Roy with a distant gaze, seemingly indifferent, and simply said, "Existence is reasonable; if the child doesn't want to speak, you don't need to ask... He has his own opinions."
"...More opinionated than you."
Silva: "...Yes."
The grandfather and grandson... one tall and one short, one burly, one slender, fell silent at the same time.
Not far from the window, Tsubone helped Killua to rest. In the vast garden, only Roy remained, dazed, holding his sword, his consciousness immersing in the scenery, observing the old man not far away, with his long beard carefully groomed and woven, trailing on the ground, nodding courteously, maintaining etiquette.
"Roy Zoldyck," he said.
"Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni," he replied.
"Are you practicing the sword?" Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni squinted his eyes, examining the "Eclipse," and asked, "What's its name?"
Roy felt the "light" and "heat," and at this moment, he no longer regarded the sword as an extension of his arm. Instead, he considered it as an extension of his "life," reflecting the extension of his "meditative vision," and calmly said, "Eclipse."
Eclipse?
What a... grandiose name!
Listening to the call of Shallow Strike, learning the true name of Shallow Strike... It seems the young man before him has fully mastered the "Shikai," and even the... "Bankai"!
A flash of light suddenly appeared deep in Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni's old eyes. With a flick of his clog, his figure vanished and reappeared beside Roy, facing the scorching heat directly, as if it were nothing, and rarely praised, "Just as the name suggests, but... the temperature is slightly lacking."
Slashing, punching, walking, ghost... 'Was that a Flash Step just now?' Roy noticed the ethereal step of Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni, wondering at his swift movements, living up to the name "Flash Step."
The young man's gaze shifted, and he smiled, "Compared to you, of course, it pales into insignificance."
Flowing Blade-like Flame, cremating with one swing, turning the world into ashes, reaching extremes... with temperatures near a billion degrees, almost like the sun's surface... not just an empty boast.
Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni's eyes moved as he looked towards Roy, "You know me?"
The old man approached, clearly sensing the vitality emanating from the depths of Roy's soul, instantly deducing... his actual age couldn't be very old, perhaps... very young.
Perhaps due to his own age, or maybe the unique nature of a death god, being a hundred or two hundred years old in Soul Society is only considered... young.
While the young man beside him couldn't be more than 13 years old, so young... extremely young... young enough to lack experience, lacking the opportunity to come across him, let alone... know of his existence in Soul Court...
"I guess you could say that." He hadn't seen him before, but now that they've met, it counts as knowing him.
Roy didn't wait for the old man to speak, allowing "Eclipse" to bask in sunlight, honestly saying, "I didn't expect you to come. Earlier... I was just contemplating on what would be a true gratitude towards swordsmanship."
Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni was taken aback, slowly shaking his lean, withered hand holding his cane, carefully observing the young man, "So, this is your understanding?"
Roy also paused, "Is there a problem?"
Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni remained silent, he simply drew his sword, his Flowing Blade-like Flame... "Boom!" A surge of flame shot skyward!
A matchlessly powerful spiritual pressure poured down!
In just an instant, Roy and Eclipse were overwhelmed!
It was like a firefly crashing into the sun, an ant meeting an elephant... Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni didn't even use his Bankai, looking deeply at his Flowing Blade-like Flame, he quietly said, "My sword may not have a grand name like yours, but in one aspect, it's stronger."
"Ah—" A desperate cry and scream suddenly echoed from Flowing Blade-like Flame... Roy momentarily dazed, seemed to see countless spirits struggling to crawl out of Flowing Blade-like Flame, the direct visual impact rattled his heart, starting to gasp for air....
Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni stood close by, holding his sword, wiping away the spirits with one stroke, then turned to Roy, calmly said, "It's more capable of killing than yours!"
"Slaughter!" A clap of thunder from flat ground.
Roy's nose twitched, though standing in the garden, his consciousness drifted away, as if being in a sea of corpses and blood, with scorched bodies lying beneath, faces so charred, it was impossible to distinguish features.
Fortunately... Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni seemingly had no intention to trouble him further, retracting his sword back to an ordinary unremarkable old cane, as the door branded with "Formidable Corpse Demon" closed in Roy's Sea of Cognition... his figure became mere spots, slowly dissipating....
In the end, only leaving a deep gaze and an echoed statement that lingered in Roy's ears, vibrating for days, unceasing....
"This old man knows not gratitude, only slaughter... If one day, the boy named Roy meets me again, perhaps you can show me..."
"Creak~"
The light door vanished....
Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni's awareness returned, he opened his eyes again, finding himself back in Soul Court, in that familiar small courtyard....
"Meow~" Under the long corridor, a tabby cat and a raccoon cat sat side by side, curiously observing him, with the alert Jaku Minister Choujirou beside....
The old man pondered Roy's image, his white beard trailing over the floor of the corridor, returning to his senses, he quietly said to Jaku Minister Choujirou, "You are right, this old man... should take an apprentice."
Choujirou: "......"
He hesitated for a moment,
His previous mention of this was, in truth... vaguely a jest, now curious, asked, "What did you see inside?"
Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni looked up at the sky, the bright sun shining warmly, he quietly said, "Light... such a bright beam of light...."
Then he shut his old eyes, keeping silent.
Jaku Minister Choujirou, lost in clouds and mist, seeing his state... asked nothing further, resumed picking up the flower basket, began watering plants again, much like the Zoldyck Family's butler, after Roy sheathed his sword, gathered his wits, entered the garden, starting to remodel the lawn, tended to flowers.
[Hint: You've triggered the understanding of swordsmanship through "gratitude," attracting the attention of "Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni," having the fortune to discuss Dao with him, witnessing Flowing Blade-like Flame, "Swordsmanship +1000"]
[Current "Swordsmanship": LV4 (41570/100,000)]
The panel popped up... as the notification sound faded,
Roy, bathing in sunlight, reversed his hand using [Anti-Conjuration] to deconstruct [Eclipse] back into a strand of nen, returning to himself, carefully savoring the words spoken by Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni, after a moment, looked up, took a deep breath,
A stretch of land appeared underfoot, reappearing in the corridor,
Maha glanced over: "Have you found the answer?"
Roy's gaze went beyond the old man, slightly nodding at Silva, contemplating for a moment, replied, "I initially thought 'gratitude' should be directed towards my inner 'meditative vision', but later..."
"I realized I might have overlooked a very serious issue."
Silva: "What issue?"
"Slaughter!" Roy looked solemn, "Swordsmanship involves not just gratitude, but also slaughter... Or rather... slaying, is the essence of swordsmanship!"
Flowing Blade-like Flame is just one sword, yet it can bury a billion spirits... Roy felt that since he was born and gained consciousness, he hasn't killed enough people... too few... few enough that although Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni mentioned nothing, merely by drawing his sword he was overshadowed....
Roy thought, if there is a next encounter, at least... he can't lose so miserably, at the very least... he should have some longer reach!
"Hmm... as an assassin, you sure are unqualified." Maha agreed.
"Then more killing it is." Silva wiped Roy's shoulder as he passed by, heading upstairs to check on Killua: "Once Killua is born, wherever you want to go, whoever you want to kill, it's up to you."
"Alright." Roy watched Silva leave, resumed his steps, heading towards the training room.
"Tap... Tap...." The young boy visibly grew much taller, his shadow laying across the ground, overshadowing even Maha's.
The old man, hands at his back, continued watching him leave, dazing for a moment, seemingly seeing... the former Jager, bulldozing into the Dark Continent, his head unwavering like a stubborn mule, softly called after the young man: "Once you return, go and see Jager."
Roy paused his steps, nodded earnestly.
Needless to say,
He too must go~!
Along the way... to kill... until, slay... a god!