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Hunter x Hunter: The Sun Breathing Zoldyck - 31
🕑 Added 2025-10-06 15:48:12 +0000 UTCChapter 31: Constitution Increase—Sabito and Makomo
Nanno Hiroshi was an ordinary person, the most inconspicuous speck of dust among billions of living beings. Except for his family, no one would care about him. Now there was one more person—Roy.
Roy carried that copper coin, walking through the deep and desolate Mount Sagiri, opening his status panel to add Nanno Hiroshi's "Life Energy" to "Constitution."
[Notification...]
[Constitution: 10.55→11.55]
Heat steamed from the top of his head in wisps. Tanjiro followed behind with uneven steps. At one moment, looking up, he was surprised to discover his brother had suddenly expanded in size. He hurriedly rubbed his eyes and looked again—Roy had "shrunk" back. It seemed the previous "expansion" was just the foolish little brother's blurred vision, seeing wrong.
'Strange... could I not have slept well last night and gotten confused?'
Tanjiro quickened his pace, circling to Roy's front. Looking carefully, he discovered Roy's brow was tightly furrowed, seemingly still not emerged from Uncle Nanno's dispersal, so he asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
Should he say he was alright? Roy couldn't agree. He was in so much pain he wanted to die, barely able to walk, nearly exhausting all his strength.
The instantaneous increase in constitution, directly reflected in his body, meant cells accelerating division, bone density increasing and compressing, cardiovascular thickening and enlarging, and muscle fibers tearing and regenerating. This should have been a "growth" process developing subtly over time—perhaps one year, two years, or even an ordinary person's five or six years—yet Roy forcibly completed it in one breath.
The price paid was that he had to lean against a cedar tree for a brief rest.
"Here, drink some water." Tanjiro took out the flask and gave Roy a sip. Only then did Roy feel somewhat better. He patted his back, checked the sky, and continued advancing deeper into Mount Sagiri.
Mount Sagiri was famous for being covered in thick fog year-round. In winter with heavy snow and temperatures dropping below zero, even ice fog phenomena would occur.
Tanjiro's nose tip froze red. He wiped away ice crystals from his hair strands, finding it hard to imagine what kind of person would choose to live in such bitter cold. At worst, learning from Nanno Hiroshi to settle at the mountain's base would be much more comfortable.
"Would anyone really choose to live here? This mountain never sees sunlight year-round, can't find a single green plant; it's even colder than our home."
Their home mountain had no fog. Building the wooden house facing the sun on a sunny slope, at least daytime wouldn't be too unbearable.
"Hardship creates greatness." Roy tossed Tanjiro a sentence without context, his gaze wandering before glancing at a birch tree diagonally to the right front. On the birch tree's branches stood two figures, one large and one small. Beautiful eyes hidden beneath fox masks flickered slightly, somewhat surprised.
"Hey, Sabito, did he discover us?" The small one was a girl. She wore a kimono printed with flower patterns, about eleven or twelve years old, unseasonably bare-legged. The fox mask sat crookedly atop her head. Noticing Roy's gaze, she froze.
"Unless we actively approach, no one can discover us." The large one was a boy, about fifteen or sixteen years old. He wore white outer garments with an orange-yellow-green tortoiseshell-patterned haori underneath, pink hair draped over his shoulders. One corner of his fox mask bore a scar.
"Right, even Master Urokodaki can't see us." Mentioning her master, the girl's emotions became somewhat downcast. She had stood beside her master many times, watching him eat, sleep, carve, and space out, hoping one day he'd respond, but no matter how she followed, reminded, or even called out, he remained completely unaware.
Perhaps this lifetime would be like this.
"It won't be." Seemingly sensing the girl's abnormality, the boy gently patted her head. "Have faith in master, Makomo. Look, aren't people still persistently coming to learn?"
"But Master doesn't want to accept any disciples anymore." The little girl named Makomo hugged her knees and crouched down, her beautiful green eyes dimming. "Master is heartbroken. He no longer wants to see anyone else die in vain because of him. That guy has eaten so many people and become increasingly difficult to deal with. Even you..."
"Yes, even I was no match for him." The boy picked up the girl's thread, looking down at Roy and Tanjiro passing under the birch tree, falling into silence.
Soon, their figures flashed, disappearing into Mount Sagiri one after the other.
Roy noticed their movements. His ears twitched, causing the sun earrings to sway slightly. While they remained completely unaware, he recorded their words in his heart. This was the purest soul's most genuine cry.
Roy tightened the basket on his back and reached out to pull Tanjiro up. The idiot had carelessly stepped in a snow pit and nearly twisted his ankle.
Fortunately, going deeper, the view became more open. Gradually, through the dense forest, they could see a ray of morning light streaming through thick fog, and illuminated by morning light sat an old man on a tree stump, carving alone.
The old man wore a tengu mask, holding a carving knife and wooden mallet. "Clack, clack, clack," he chipped away wood shavings. Hearing movement behind him, he never turned around, as if completely immersed in the world of art—the only thing that could fill his heart, cracked from injury.
"There's someone."
"I see."
Roy stopped Tanjiro's attempt to disturb the other party. He simply removed his basket, took out the hoe, cleared an open space, and lit a fire for warmth on the spot.
The flask was out of water. Having earlier given Roy a sip, Tanjiro imitated him, grabbing snow to stuff in the flask, then using a branch to thread through the handle, hanging it over the fire. Soon it bubbled with steam.
"Why aren't they going in?"
Just then, the disappeared girl reappeared. She sat with her back to the old man, chin propped, watching Roy and Tanjiro with eyes full of curiosity.
The boy wearing the scarred fox mask stood beside her. In the dense forest behind, many figures vaguely appeared. These figures were blurry and unclear, yet wore uniform fox masks—some watching the old man carve, some leaning against doorframes dozing, some seeing a sparrow fly past and mischievously grabbing at it, and even more so, walking toward Roy and Tanjiro, boldly circling the two.
Result—Roy seemingly casually glanced over, startling one who stumbled back several steps, nearly tumbling headfirst into the fire.
"Haha, stop messing around, Shinsuke. You really think someone can see ghosts?"
"Who's messing around!" The boy named Shinsuke embarrassedly climbed from the ground, unconvinced as he stretched his right hand before Roy's eyes and waved. Seeing him completely unaware, focused on peeling a dumpling, he breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to viciously pounce on the companion who'd mocked him.
"Fukuda, you bastard, I'll tear your mouth apart!"
