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Sergei and Pietro returned to the manor, only to face Wanda's inevitable criticism.
Seeing Sergei sprawled on the sofa, looking utterly defeated, Wanda's anger flared. "You two idiots! You both said you will not be underestimating the magic side of the world, yet here you are, having suffered a loss."
In Wanda's eyes, they had indeed lost. Despite defeating the Blood God, Sergei and Pietro had left themselves in a vulnerable state, which was unacceptable by the standards of their family. Leon never cared for honor in battle—his goal was to win without taking any unnecessary risks. What Sergei and Pietro had done ran completely counter to that philosophy, and they deserved to be chastised for it.
Pietro casually grabbed two glasses of juice from the fridge, handed one to Wanda, and drank the other himself. He made no effort to offer Sergei a drink. Sergei, already enduring Wanda's verbal barrage, looked incredulous. "What about me?" he shouted at Pietro.
Pietro simply shrugged with a "take it yourself" expression, clearly enjoying the moment. He wasn't feeling guilty, as he considered himself in the clear, having just been along for the ride.
Wanda, however, wasn't about to let him off so easily. She turned her attention to Pietro. "And what about you? What were you doing, huh?" she demanded, her tone sharp.
Pietro took a confident sip of his juice. "I saved them."
Wanda wasn't impressed. "That's no excuse to cover up your mistake. When that witch was casting blood magic, you had plenty of time to use your high-speed movement and interrupt her. But instead, you just stood there and watched! This is not what Leon taught you."
Pietro was momentarily lost for words. Wanda pressed on, not holding back. "I can't believe how reckless you both were. We must give it our all in any battle, and our safety must always come first."
Sergei and Pietro were now reduced to silence, unable to argue back after Wanda's fiery reprimand.
Pushkin and Alina sat quietly to the side, seemingly focused on the TV, but in reality, they were holding their little ones and eavesdropping on the conversation. In the end, Wanda handed down her harsh sentence for Sergei and Pietro's disobedience.
"You'll both undergo three months of training. Leon will personally oversee it. It'll be pure hell waiting for you, so congratulations. Try not to die," she declared.
"What?!" Both Pietro and Sergei blurted out. Sergei, who had been lounging lazily, suddenly sat up, his face stricken as if he'd been sentenced to hell.
The punishment was too severe. Training under Leon was nothing short of brutal. He was known for beating them senseless with iron fists, then forcing them to drink nutrient solutions to recover, only to do it all over again the next day. Three months of that, and they'd be lucky to survive without shedding their skin.
But Wanda had already shifted into a cold, resolute mode, completely ignoring their pitiful looks. It was clear she had no intention of changing her mind. Defeated, both of them slumped back onto the sofa, looking as if all their dreams had been crushed. They seemed okay on the surface, but inside, they were already dead.
Wanda's lips curved into a slight smile. Just then, footsteps were heard outside the door as Leon and Natasha entered. The kids cheered and rushed to greet them.
"Leon! Natasha!"
"Alright, it's time for our little princesses to head to bed," Leon announced.
"Aww, do we have to? Can't we stay up a little longer?" one of them pleaded.
"Trust me, it's non-negotiable," Natasha responded with a smile.
"Okay..." The three little ones sighed but obediently walked hand in hand toward their room upstairs. Pushkin followed, being the good boy he was, under Natasha's watchful eye.
Leon settled onto the sofa, glancing knowingly at Sergei and Pietro. "Hmm, looks like you two are out of favor?"
The pair of them, who felt utterly defeated, looked like they were about to cry. Pietro, clinging to a shred of hope, asked, "Wanda said three months…?"
"Yes, that's right," Leon confirmed, crushing any last vestige of hope.
Pietro gave up entirely, shutting his eyes and sinking into the sofa, resigned to his fate. Their expressions were so comically despairing that Leon, Wanda, and Natasha couldn't help but laugh.
Then Leon dropped the real bombshell. "Well, it's not just you two. Everyone's entering a training period for three months to half a year."
The laughter died down as reality set in. Once everyone was back together, the real challenge would begin.
"Well, I don't know why, but I feel much better now," Pietro said weakly as he opened his eyes.
Sergei, puzzled, asked, "Why so sudden?"
Leon smiled softly. "Because I want to teach you something new."
"Something new?" Sergei asked.
"Yes," Leon continued. "Your Observation Haki and Armament Haki have been cultivated to a considerable level, but you're still just short of reaching the high level. None of you have awakened Conqueror's Haki yet. I plan to use these three months to stimulate that awakening."
"Didn't you say that only one in eight million people can awaken Conqueror's Haki?" Sergei asked, still confused.
Leon nodded. "That's true. I don't fully know how to awaken Conqueror's Haki myself. Except for me, no one—whether it be you, Pietro, or anyone else—has successfully awakened it. People often think it means they don't have the conditions for it."
He paused, then added, "Conqueror's Haki is innate. It can't be acquired or inherited from previous generations; it's determined by fate."
Taking a sip of the juice Natasha had poured for him, Leon smiled confidently at the curious faces around him. "But I've found a way to help you awaken it."
Although they didn't fully understand why Leon was so confident, both Sergei and Wanda were excited. After all, Conqueror's Haki is incredibly powerful, and not everyone has the potential to handle it.
"Take tonight, for example," Leon explained. "If Sergei and Pietro had Conqueror's Haki when facing the Blood God, he wouldn't have had a chance to release his blood magic. Conqueror's Haki shocks the spirit and soul directly—it can't be resisted by normal means."
Leon's confidence came from one simple reason. He had Sky Blade.
With its calculation matrix mode, he completely analyzed the core of his Conqueror's Haki.