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Chapter 68: Dealing with Owl
When Owl woke up, he found himself tied to a hotel chair.
In front of him was a pink-haired girl, sizing him up with the critical eye of someone inspecting goods.
It felt like she might harvest his kidneys at any moment, sending a chill down Owl's spine.
"He's awake," Neon called outside the room.
Ronin and Kurapika pushed the door open and walked in simultaneously. Ronin held a sandwich, while Kurapika's chain floated beside him.
Until Owl's ability was returned or transferred, Kurapika couldn't retract the Steal Chain on his index finger.
The two had been outside discussing how to deal with Owl.
Owl's ability was excellent, but Kurapika's ability didn't support long-term possession of it.
To utilize Owl's ability, they either had to make him serve them willingly or force him.
Of course, Ronin proposed another method of using Owl, but Kurapika felt it was too cruel and villainous. He didn't want Ronin to use it unless absolutely necessary.
Owl didn't know what Kurapika was thinking, but he read pity in his eyes.
Ronin's thought process was simple.
He didn't trust Owl.
Since he didn't have the Rinnegan to turn Owl into a "Path of Pain," the best option he could think of was to learn from Sasori and use Puppet Technique to control him.
After fusing the fifth Sharingan, Ronin could call himself an otherworldly "Professor of Ninjutsu."
S-Rank was the highest difficulty rating for Ninjutsu. Being able to cast S-Rank Jutsu meant Ronin had mastered most Ninjutsu.
Excluding Kekkei Genkai (besides Sharingan), Summoning Jutsu, techniques requiring specific body modifications, Kinjutsu (Forbidden Jutsu), and Jutsu requiring external items, he could cast almost everything else.
Even for those requiring items, he could prepare the necessary components to meet the casting standards.
Unfortunately, this didn't include human puppet creation.
Human puppetry was a unique talent of Sasori's; he was the only one in the ninja world who could turn people into puppets.
So Ronin had to settle for the next best thing: "Performance: Human Body Manipulation." This was a Jutsu Sasori used during the Fourth Great Ninja War when he lacked puppets, using Allied Shinobi Forces ninja as makeshift puppets.
With this, he wouldn't need Owl's consent to manipulate him like a marionette.
This control ability reminded him of Neferpitou. If Pitou did it, she could probably turn Owl into a human puppet that retained some of its own Nen, making it even easier to use.
But Ronin also thought of how to use and transport Owl.
He could use Owl's own ability to wrap him in the Fun Fun Cloth and carry him around. He could leave food in the cloth like feeding a pet to ensure Owl didn't die, then release him when needed.
In Ronin's view, this plan was perfect.
It was just that this method, as Kurapika thought, was a bit villainous.
And it treated Owl too inhumanely.
But did they really need to treat Owl like a human?
Ronin had no goodwill towards the Mafia. If Kurapika's way didn't work, Owl would end up as his "puppet toy."
He could even test many Ninjutsu he'd wanted to try on Owl, like Sealing Jutsu or Cursed Seals—such as the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, the Caged Bird Seal, or maybe Orochimaru's Cursed Seal!
But Ronin doubted if Orochimaru's Cursed Seal would succeed because...
In just a short moment, countless ideas flooded Ronin's mind.
Meanwhile, Kurapika initiated conversation with Owl.
"Do you know where the Ten Dons are?" Kurapika asked straight to the point.
Simultaneously, the chain on his ring finger lowered.
Owl guessed Kurapika's intent but still took a chance: "I don't know."
The response was a heavy punch to his gut from Kurapika.
"Wow," Neon was surprised.
She didn't expect the usually gentle Kurapika to show such a ruthless side in interrogation.
"You'd better tell the truth and cooperate, otherwise what awaits you is likely a fate worse than death," Kurapika kindly reminded him.
A low cough came from Ronin behind him.
It was a reminder for Kurapika.
Owl smiled faintly: "Is this all you've got?"
Arrogant guy.
The corner of Ronin's mouth tilted up. He knew that in the manga, Owl was interrogated, but not by the gentle Kurapika.
It was Feitan.
Under Feitan's torture, Owl likely spilled everything he knew and didn't know.
As for whether he died...
Well, after the Yorknew arc, Chrollo never used Owl's ability again, so Owl's state was a bit Schrödinger's Cat.
But at least judging by Feitan's results, this guy wasn't as tough as he acted.
However, Ronin didn't plan to remind Kurapika of anything.
He quietly watched Kurapika fuss. If he really couldn't get anything, Ronin would step in.
Ninja Art: Mind Reading Technique.
An ability to read thoughts without any equipment.
In Naruto, Inoichi Yamanaka used it successfully to get crucial intel from a Rain ninja, and Aoba Yamashiro also tried using it on Kisame Hoshigaki, though he failed.
Regardless, this ability to directly read others' memories was powerful.
It was practically identical to the memory-reading ability of the Phantom Troupe's Pakunoda.
The interrogation lasted over an hour, but Kurapika got very little.
Finally, Ronin stepped in himself.
After forming seals, he placed one hand on Owl's forehead and the other on his own.
The next second, everything before his eyes changed. He began flipping through the memories in Owl's mind from a third-person perspective.
From the Shadow Beasts gathering—seeing many members he hadn't met—rewinding to Owl meeting a scarred man in a hotel. The man's name was Raymond, one of the Ten Dons who summoned the Shadow Beasts.
Also Owl's direct superior!
Memory rewound further. The hotel name appeared in Ronin's vision.
Floor, room number, even the number of guards along the way—all emerged in Owl's memory and were viewed by Ronin one by one.
Opening his eyes again, fine sweat beaded on Ronin's forehead, but the Chakra consumption was less than expected.
"Let's go. Yadan Hotel, Room 1801," Ronin said. Chakra transformed into threads, piercing into Owl's body.
Terror finally dawned in Owl's eyes!
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