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Chapter 31: Big Brother Ronin
After clearing the 100th floor, Kurapika came down from the ring and received the same news.
However, his condition wasn't great.
The intensity of Heaven's Arena had exceeded his expectations. Although he could still win on the 100th floor, the gap between him and his opponents was narrowing.
He wondered how Ronin managed to reach the 200th floor.
He must be truly strong!
But even someone as strong as Big Brother Ronin was attacked. Who did it?
Kurapika anxiously boarded the elevator, but even if he reached the 200th floor, he didn't know where to find Ronin.
The corridor leading to Room 2333 had long been sealed off. A crowd had gathered outside, but no one could enter to inspect the scene.
Fortunately, news spread quickly that the room's occupant was unharmed.
Dejected, Kurapika returned from the 200th floor to his private room on the 103rd floor. Sitting in silence for a long time, he suddenly seemed to understand something.
Has Big Brother Ronin been under attack by the Phantom Troupe this whole time?
Kurapika thought of the headless corpse found outside the village. Judging by the clothing, it was Ronin's father.
The 128 villagers were supposed to have stayed within the village, yet Ronin's father appeared outside, beheaded, with fragments of his skull found far away from the body.
Was Big Brother Ronin there too?
Did he escape the Phantom Troupe and flee to Heaven's Arena?
As for why Ronin was standing so boldly in the public eye... was he deliberately attracting the Phantom Troupe's attention?
What is his goal?
Revenge!
Yes!
Kurapika's conviction grew firmer. The people chasing Ronin must know what he looked like. With Ronin appearing so high-profile, unless the Troupe was blind, they couldn't miss him.
They would definitely come to finish him off.
This way, Ronin could lure the Troupe out to kill them, while focusing all their attention on himself.
But that wasn't all.
With Ronin in the spotlight, as long as Kurapika—another Kurta survivor—didn't expose himself, he would be safe.
Big Brother Ronin is protecting me!
And while hiding in the shadows, Kurapika had plenty of room to maneuver, whether investigating the Phantom Troupe or waiting for a chance to assassinate them.
Wait. No.
Big Brother Ronin choosing Heaven's Arena might also be a warning to me. A reminder not to act rashly.
Strength is the key.
Kurapika couldn't even reach the 200th floor, yet Ronin, who was undefeated up there, was the one being hunted by the Phantom Troupe.
If Kurapika ignored the gap in strength and let hatred blind him, rushing in would only result in adding another pair of Scarlet Eyes to the Troupe's collection!
Big Brother Ronin... you really put so much thought into this!
Moved to tears again, Kurapika vowed not to fail Ronin's expectations. He had to get stronger quickly.
Strong enough to help Ronin, strong enough to kill the Phantom Troupe and avenge his clan!
And it all started with reaching the 200th floor and finding a chance to reunite with Ronin in private!
With renewed resolve, Kurapika immediately started doing push-ups in his room.
...
Ronin hadn't thought nearly as much as Kurapika.
His actions were built on his understanding of the Phantom Troupe's patterns and confidence in his own strength.
With his Ninjutsu, if he wanted to run, the Troupe would have a hard time stopping him in a place like Heaven's Arena.
Now, with Milia as support, he even had the confidence to arm-wrestle Uvogin in the ring.
Unfortunately, Milia hadn't been able to contact a second seller for Scarlet Eyes recently.
It seemed collecting eyes through conventional channels wasn't going to work.
The best way was still to find a suitable Mafia family, like Kurapika did in the manga, use their manpower to find the eyes, and then use Mafia methods to acquire them.
That would be simpler than slow negotiations and save him a fortune.
With his current strength, he wouldn't aim for a small family like the Nostrades.
However, the Nostrade daughter was worth recruiting.
Neon Nostrade. She possessed the Specialist ability "Lovely Ghostwriter," which summoned a ghost to write prophecies predicting the future for the next month, complete with warnings to avoid misfortune.
If he controlled Neon and had her write a prophecy every month, he could avoid most dangers.
Ronin wasn't about to let such a useful ability fall into Chrollo's hands.
Recently, he had looked up information on the Nostrade Family online.
They were an insignificant gang from a backwater town.
The boss, Light Nostrade, was skilled at winning people over, managing some underground casinos and red-light districts.
According to intel Ronin bought from a pro Hunter, Light was ambitious but lacked ruthlessness, so he wasn't taken seriously by the Mafia hierarchy. He was just a moderately successful small-time boss.
Light indeed had a daughter named Neon, currently 14 years old. Since her mother's death, she had dropped out of school and lived in Light's mansion, rarely going out. Her favorite place was the natural history museum; she seemed obsessed with specimens.
Light was strict with her, and their relationship was poor. They often fought because Light brought women home, usually ending with Neon getting slapped.
Ronin wasn't surprised. Light's "love" for Neon was entirely dependent on her displaying her prophetic ability.
In other words, to Light, Neon was more tool than daughter.
But judging from the data, Neon hadn't revealed her ability yet, so it was normal for Light to treat her poorly.
Ronin closed the file. The fact that her ability wasn't exposed yet was perfect for him.
He planned to head to Mordin City, the Nostrade Family's base, after dealing with Uvogin.
After kidnapping Neon, he would go to Yorknew City.
He needed to secure a position among the Ten Dons before September. That was the only way to efficiently acquire Scarlet Eyes and boost his power.
With his plans set, Ronin's Shadow Clone appeared on the 200th floor.
Today, Uvogin would complete his 190th-floor match and officially become a 200th-floor fighter.
Ronin intended to meet him face-to-face and declare the next battle!
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