A little over a year later, Kikyo became pregnant.
Despite his busy school life, Saiki Kusuo achieved excellent results by improving a new type of bomb detection technology. Because of this, he was finally given a chance to see his mother.
The butler had said there should be two babies.
But through Saiki Kusuo's newly recovered x-ray vision, he could actually see that there were three. Like his telepathy, this ability was passive and always active once recovered. Just by looking at something for a moment, he could see through it. In other words, in the large courtyard where the Zoldyck family's butlers gathered, a single glance could reveal completely naked people—young or old, male or female.
If a regular person got x-ray vision, they'd probably have a nosebleed, but Saiki Kusuo had gotten bored of seeing naked bodies since he was three in his past life.
He stared at Kikyo's belly and quickly confirmed there was a pair of fraternal twins inside. The third one, slightly larger in size, was most likely Milluki, the one he had pushed out.
All three fetuses were healthy and in the right position. While he was at it, he also checked Kikyo's condition—her body, as a Nen user, was in great shape during pregnancy. In fact, her life energy seemed to be overflowing with strength.
Everyone in the family was taking this pregnancy very seriously.
After all, the last child turned out to be a "failure" like Saiki Kusuo. According to the butler's inner thoughts, even the mother didn't want another weak child in the Zoldyck family.
Honestly, thank you. I truly hope I could have been born into a super ordinary family.
That's what Saiki Kusuo thought.
He couldn't stay long with his mother, so he soon left the room. As he walked out alone, he ran into Illumi.
"...Hi, big bro."
Illumi nodded with quiet satisfaction.
Man, he really loves being called "big brother."
"Here, Kusuo, this is for you."
A limited-edition chocolate—something both Illumi and Kusuo loved.
At Kusuo's age, he was supposed to be eating small amounts of poison regularly. It didn't really affect his body, but it did mess with the taste of sweets.
Only Illumi would bring him real snacks, and not just any snacks, but high-quality, carefully selected ones.
Thanks, big bro. I'll never forget this kindness.
"Every time he sees sweets, he looks so cute." That was Illumi's inner voice.
"Wanna pat his hair."
Illumi reached out his hand, but Saiki Kusuo instinctively dodged.
"Huh? You noticed me? I just learned Zetsu. Even Nen-using targets can't sense me."
…Saiki Kusuo froze for a moment. Who practices stealth skills while trying to pat their little brother's head?
"Maybe this is the natural talent of the Zoldyck family," Illumi said.
Saiki Kusuo let out a small sigh of relief.
"Alright, let's go back inside. It's getting kind of chilly," Illumi said.
After starting school, Saiki Kusuo stopped faking illness on purpose. He used his academic achievements to cover up other impressions, and used his powers to maintain the image of being weak, which wasn't really a big problem.
As for studying, it wasn't hard for him at all.
If he wanted to accomplish something, it was just a matter of moving his fingers.
With his incredible memory, he could easily show talent in research. Combined with a few concepts he picked up from his original older brother, Kusuke, he figured he could keep up the act for another ten years without a problem.
Thanks to his unusual body, Saiki Kusuo was allowed to stay at home most of the time.
Compared to his past life, this kind of living was actually a little comfortable.
Days went by, and just as Kikyo was about to give birth, many people started eyeing the Zoldyck family.
The Zoldycks were an assassin family, but not the kind that hides in the shadows. Their gates didn't even have locks. If someone wanted revenge, they were welcome to come—this was the number one assassin family in the world.
The Zoldyck estate sat on top of Kukuroo Mountain, which itself was a well-known scenic area. There were always tour groups at the base of the mountain, and the guides would openly tell tourists about the Zoldycks.
[Because new siblings were about to be born, the Zoldycks even shut down the tour buses at the foot of the mountain.]
[That just shows how serious things were!]
——That thought came from Illumi.
"It's just the bus service being stopped," Saiki Kusuo commented beside him.
Still, there were people with bad intentions.
As he got older, Saiki Kusuo's telepathy range also increased a bit. With some effort, he could now pick up thoughts from the base of the mountain.
There were Nen users—and plenty of enemies, too.
Actually, every year some enemies would come challenge them. It wasn't really surprising anymore. The butlers could easily take care of them, and the house was full of traps.
But one person seemed a little stronger than the rest...
[Illumi, I think someone's coming to challenge us.]
"Hm? Really." [Might as well run the bus again and make a little money.]
"Is money all you think about, big brother?"
[We've got three new kids in the house. That's a lot of extra costs.]
Fifteen-year-old Illumi was seriously worried about the family's finances.
Soon after, Illumi reported the situation to their father. No one knew why their father trusted that a fifteen-year-old could really tell what was going on, or why Illumi believed the tip from his physically weak little brother. But sure enough, a butler appeared.
It was Tsubone, the family's old butler. She was always very kind to Saiki Kusuo and genuinely cared about him, though she was also pretty strict.
"Wait, Tsubone, I'm coming too."
"No problem, Young Master Illumi," Zebur said with a smile, treating him with great respect.
After they left, Saiki Kusuo still felt something was off.
His X-ray vision had come back recently. He wondered if his clairvoyance would work now too.
He turned around and used his clairvoyance on the wall. The way to activate his Hatsu was to go cross-eyed.
Success! It still worked with some effort.
He quickly spotted a group gathering at the foot of the mountain—a Zoldyck extermination squad. Next to them was a child with blue hair, not very tall, about the same age as Illumi...
That's when Saiki Kusuo realized why he'd felt uneasy. That kid's thoughts still sounded like a child, but the Nen they had was on par with Illumi's.
And Illumi had been training nonstop ever since unlocking Nen—24 hours a day. Even when sleeping, he'd hang a giant boulder over his head on the edge of a cliff. When he first started that training, Saiki Kusuo used to wake up every day afraid his big brother had died in the night, and that he'd have to become the next head of the family.
So how had that kid caught up to training-machine Illumi? And they even wore makeup. Weird.
Still, they were just a kid. With Tsubone there, they should be able to handle it. Saiki Kusuo felt reassured.
Meanwhile, delivering the triplets was a bit tough, but everything went smoothly. The sound of newborn cries echoed from the house.
Black-haired Milluki, white-haired Killua, and black-haired Alluka.
Saiki Kusuo let out a sigh of relief. "Glad Milluki came out okay. Looks like I won't be charged with murder after all."
The moment Killua was born, the whole atmosphere in the house changed.
You could tell from the family heads' hair colors—this family clearly favored white-haired heirs. What, did the "strong gene" and Hatsu color always get passed down together?
If you didn't know better, you might think he was aging too fast...
While Gotoh was excited about all kinds of things and wondering what kind of Nen ability the newborn might have, Saiki Kusuo quietly offered his calm blessings, not expecting much. The little pink-haired boy stood far away in the hallway with his butler Gotoh, rubbing his eyes tired from using his clairvoyance too long, his face showing the usual blank expression.
Anyway, congratulations on the arrival of the new little brothers.