He instantly cut the sandbag hanging from the ceiling beam in half.
"Swish~" Yellow sand spilled onto the floor, leaving only a lone iron chain swaying mournfully.
This was just the result of Silva's bare-handed chop. If he further attached Nen to his hand-knife, Sean had no doubt that even a steel pillar as thick as a waist would be cut in two by Silva's "Snake Movement."
But... that was about it.
A crimson light spilled from his left eye. Sean instantly activated his Sharingan, imprinting Silva's attack motion—along with the coordination of his arm, elbow, shoulder, and waist—into his mind without missing a single detail.
He handed it over to the "Sage" for analysis. Within a second, he received a notification.
[Congratulations Host, "Snake Movement" copy successful.]
'As expected.' Sean breathed a sigh of relief and quietly deactivated his Sharingan.
Just then, Silva withdrew his hands and exhaled a dragon of air.
"Did you see clearly?" The white-haired Zoldyck patriarch's aura was overwhelming. He crossed his arms and looked down at Sean. "If you didn't, I can give you one more chance to observe."
"No need." Sean smiled. "The problem is, there's only one sandbag in the room."
"Two!" Illumi walked up, having put on a groin guard.
'Good grief, this stinky little brother came prepared~'
Sean glanced at the thin groin guard and shook his head. "I don't have a habit of killing my brothers."
"I can take it." Illumi hit himself twice, "Thump thump~" and looked straight at Sean. "I want to watch you myself."
'I'm just afraid you won't be able to die with your eyes closed~' Sean spread his hands helplessly toward Silva. "Dad, you don't want to be short one son, do you?"
"Illumi, stand down." Silva gave Sean a deep look, then picked Illumi up and moved him aside.
He then faced Sean and opened his arms. "Unleash your skills, Sean."
'Alright~ As you wish... Tousan! If it's you, I'm sure it'll be fine, right?'
'Focus... breathe... mobilize all my strength.' Sean's eyes narrowed, and he moved!
"Swish!" His arms swung out like two winding, spiritual snakes emerging from their cave. The moment Sean attacked, Silva's gaze instantly focused, and then a smile bloomed on his face.
"Nyahahaha~ You really learned it!"
"Of course. I told you, I'm in a hurry~" His voice arrived with his body. His hand-knives rose, bringing two cold glints, flashing past Illumi, slicing off a lock of his hair, and striking Silva square in the chest!
The stinky little brother blinked. He hadn't even seen it clearly when he heard a rip—
The large training uniform Silva was wearing let out a mournful cry, unable to bear the burden. Two ferocious cuts were torn into it, extremely glaring!
'So... He! Really! Did! Learn! It! Again!' Illumi blankly hugged himself, watching...
Smack! The two separated on contact.
When his hand-knife hit Silva, Sean felt as if he had just chopped at a block of tempered steel. Other than tearing the man's uniform, he made no progress. Instead, he was sent flying by a push from Silva's chest.
He forcibly adjusted his posture in mid-air to avoid a messy landing.
"So hard!" Stabilizing himself, Sean looked at his own reddened hands and couldn't help but click his tongue.
He had experienced the "value" of "Unable to View" for the first time. 'But, I've already demonstrated "Snake Movement"...'
"Next up is 'Limb Flex'." He simply rubbed his hands to ease the pain, looked at Silva with bright eyes, and said, "Let's continue."
Silva put his hands in his pockets. "No need. From now on, you set your own training plan."
After speaking, he turned around coolly, pretending to change his uniform, but quickly dispersed the thick mass of "Nen" he had gathered on his chest~
'That brat doesn't know his own strength... With that much force, if he had really hit Illumi...'
'This time next year, we might really be observing his death anniversary.'
"Fine." Sean received Silva's reply and shrugged indifferently.
His goal was achieved. Not having to learn "Limb Flex" also saved him some effort.
'After all, the feeling of fighting for an opportunity through my own hard work is just so exhausting~'
Sean felt like he was about to be moved to tears by his own efforts... He quickly pulled a black cloth from his pocket and blindfolded himself, to prevent Silva and Illumi from seeing his pathetic state.
Then he fumbled for earplugs and blocked his ears. Then a mask, covering his mouth...
He got on the ground and started doing "clapping push-ups."
'In the past, Netero had his gratitude punches. Today, I, Sean, will learn from Guy's training method and create my own "Gratitude Push-ups"... It should have some effect.'
This was also an experiment Sean was trying, referencing Shingen-ryu.
"One, two, three... one hundred, two hundred, three hundred..."
'WTF, are you a bandit? Wrapped up like a zongzi?' Illumi seemed to finally snap out of the shock of "Bastard Big Brother instantly learned 'Snake Movement'."
His eyes widened, staring straight at Sean, who was furiously pumping the floor. Even his expressionless face was about to crack.
Hearing the commotion behind him, Silva, who seemed to have finally changed his uniform, turned around... He noticed Sean had sealed his mouth, eyes, and ears, and was clapping his hands with every push-up.
The current Zoldyck family head's sharp, eagle-like eyes... shone with an extraordinary light!
This was far more shocking than Sean instantly learning "Rhythm Echo" or even "Snake Movement"!
"Illumi, watch closely."
"Memorize Sean's current movements. Don't blink." Silva advised Illumi with a solemn expression.
Countless question marks popped up over the stinky little brother's head. His mind was completely scrambled.
'I don't know if it's my problem or the world's problem... What's so good about watching an idiot dressed as a bandit furiously pumping the floor?'
'The kid is just wild. His perspective is still shallow.' Silva seemed to have expected Illumi's reaction. He asked him, "Do you know why he sealed his five senses?"
Illumi said nothing.
"It's to block out external interference, to let his heart return to tranquility."
'So what?' Illumi pointed at Sean's rising and falling butt. "He quiets his mind... just to do clapping push-ups?"
'I'm crazy... not stupid, Dad!'
"So, this is the key. And it's the gap between you and Sean." Silva looked at Illumi seriously. "You think a push-up is just a push-up."
"But what you think is a clap... is not a clap."
"It's 'prayer,' you foolish boy!"
'Who are you kidding?' Illumi's defense broke. "Prayer? Praying to whom? A ghost?"
Silva shook his head. He could already feel Illumi's confusion. He reached out his large hand and rubbed his forehead. "To the great God of Martial Arts."
"Appreciation, gratitude, and also repayment!"
'Even if Sean has only grasped a tiny fragment of this "feeling," taking this step is the beginning of moving from "technique" to the "Way".'
'The ten-year-old Illumi wouldn't understand this... and the ten-year-old Sean shouldn't understand this, or even be exposed to it...'
'But he was exposed to it, which means... "The brat has someone behind him~"'
"Who is it? The old man?"
"Achoo! Who's talking about this old man behind his back?"
On the rocking chair, Maha sneezed, glanced at the empty desk, and sighed~
"Sigh The first hour my good grandson is gone... I miss him"