HxH: Noah’s Heart

"My name is Tsubone, starting tomorrow morning, you must wait for me at the entrance of the butler's room every day."

After leaving these words, Tsubone disappeared from Noah's room just as quietly as she had arrived.

It wasn't until Tsubone had been gone for a while that Noah let out a slow breath.

"So, she is Tsubone? No wonder she has such strength."

Noah remembered clearly that in the original story, Tsubone was Silver's personal butler, and it was only when Killua left the Zoldyck Family with the extraordinary Alluka that Silver sent Tsubone out.

Even Gatoh had to address Tsubone as "Teacher Tsubone" with respect. So, Tsubone could be considered the strongest among the butlers of the Zoldyck Family.

"Starting tomorrow morning, I have to wait for her? Is this Silver's command?" According to Noah's understanding, since Tsubone was Silver's personal butler, she would unquestionably follow Silver's orders.

This made the situation a bit unpredictable.

Why did Silver want him to wait for Tsubone? Noah couldn't imagine that he was important enough to attract Silver's attention.

The only explanation might be that Illumi, that little devil, had said something to Silver that prompted her to send Tsubone.

Is it to inquire about something from me? No, if that were the case, there would be no need for me to wait for her every morning. It must be something else.

Noah frowned and continued to ponder why Tsubone had sought him out.

"Good aptitude, insufficient mindset, unqualified." Noah recalled Tsubone's words from earlier. Then, he seemed to grasp something. He raised his head and said, "Could it be related to training? That's why she said I'm unqualified."

But why? What did Illumi say to Silver? Was it really to train me?

Even though Noah was intelligent, he couldn't fathom that he was merely the catalyst that led Silver to start a butler training camp.

…

The next morning, Noah arrived at the entrance of the butler's room as per Tsubone's request.

In no time, with a flicker of movement, Tsubone appeared in front of Noah. Alongside Tsubone was another girl, wearing a swallowtail suit and appearing to be about the same age as Noah.

"Follow me," Tsubone said with a glance at Noah.

Then, she turned and walked towards the nearby forest. The girl by Tsubone's side stared at Noah for a few seconds before hurriedly following Tsubone, taking a step back as if she were looking at a monster.

Despite his curiosity, Noah quickly followed them.

The three of them arrived at an open area in the forest. Tsubone turned around, scrutinizing Noah with a critical gaze, and said, "Let me see your Nen."

It looks like she really intends to train me.

Noah thought to himself and didn't hesitate. With a thought, a powerful aura burst forth from him.

Seeing the aura on Noah's body, Tsubone's originally narrowed eyes widened in amazement. There was a significant expression of astonishment in her pupils. The girl by Tsubone's side stared at Noah, taking a step back as if she were looking at a monster.

"Such a solid aura. This kid, has he really only been practicing Nen for a few months?" Tsubone muttered to herself as she stared at Noah.

At this moment, Noah also kept his gaze on Tsubone. He wanted to understand why Tsubone had come to teach him.

However, at that moment, he suddenly noticed that Tsubone's figure had disappeared from where she stood.

A rushing sound filled his ears, and almost instinctively, Noah raised his left arm to defend himself. At the same time, the aura on his body gathered around his left arm.

Boom!

Noah was slapped to the side by Tsubone's palm, but before he could react, he saw this elderly woman with two braided hair buns abruptly appearing in front of him. Her wrinkled hand was reaching toward his chest.

Boom!

Another muffled sound.

Noah was sent flying by Tsubone, crashing into a nearby tree. The sudden impact caused the leaves of the tree to fall and cover Noah as he lay on the ground.

Is the gap really this big?

Noah, lying on the ground, was well aware that Tsubone probably hadn't even used a third of her strength.

Just her speed alone was significantly slower than what Noah had seen in his room last night.

If Tsubone had attacked him with the same speed as last night, Noah probably wouldn't have been able to react and would have been killed instantly.

"Your mastery of Ken and Ryu is indeed good, but your combat skills are terrible," Tsubone judged as she withdrew her hand.

As expected, just as Master Illumi said, his performance in combat was that of a complete novice. If it weren't for the slight improvement from going out with Master Illumi last time, he would be even worse. How did someone like him qualify for the apprentice butler assessment? How could he survive in a place like that?

Tsubone frowned, her mind filled with doubts. As for the place she was thinking of, it was undoubtedly the cruel Meteor City.

In Tsubone's view, someone like Noah, who didn't even know how to fight, would never survive in Meteor City. Or perhaps, Noah didn't seem like someone who came from Meteor City at all.

"In consideration of your good aptitude, I won't say anything else. From today onwards, I will be your instructor, teaching you not only combat skills but also the attitude and mindset of being a butler of the Zoldyck Family."

With that, an astonishing murderous intent suddenly emanated from Tsubone. She stared at Noah and said with emphasis, "You have only three months. If you are still unqualified after three months, I will kill you directly."

Watching Tsubone and feeling the undisguised killing intent emanating from her, Noah slowly stood up. There was no fear or panic in his gaze, only a determination that even impressed Tsubone.

"Exactly what I wanted."

Since his battle with Cain, Noah had already realized his shortcomings and understood that the fastest and most effective way to improve his strength was through real combat.

Having the pressure of death as motivation would further increase his efficiency.

Facing a formidable opponent like Tsubone, even if there was a risk of death, Noah didn't mind.

In fact, the fear of death was much weaker than his determination to become stronger.

"I want to become stronger. If I end up dying at Tsubone's hands, it just means I was nothing more than that."

"Good look in your eyes. It seems like these three months won't be too boring," Tsubone said with a meaningful smile.