Chapter 5: High Risk, High Reward
Ronin felt a gravitational pull toward the pouch at Uvogin's waist.
It wasn't just greed; it was a primal instinct screaming at him to get close, to seize those eyes.
This sensation took Ronin by surprise, but it quickly formed into a theory: Those Scarlet Eyes were the key to evolving his Sharingan.
It was an intuition based on his knowledge of Naruto lore. The Mangekyō Sharingan evolved into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan by transplanting the eyes of a blood relative.
He was becoming more certain by the second. If he could fuse the pure Scarlet Eyes of his "father" with his own mutated Sharingan, evolution was inevitable.
He would become stronger.
Perhaps not instantly jumping to the Eternal Mangekyō, but advancing to a Two-Tomoe or Three-Tomoe state was highly probable.
Since he was in the Hunter x Hunter world, the rules had shifted. His Sharingan was different from the Uchiha clan's. The evolution path might be more akin to how the Byakugan evolves into the Tenseigan—through the fusion of pure bloodline potency.
But the problem remained: How to snatch them from Uvogin?
In his first clash, Ronin had revealed his entire hand.
The Headhunter Jutsu was his best ambush technique. The Clone Jutsu and Substitution Jutsu were his escape routes.
The former couldn't scratch Uvogin's diamond-hard skin. The latter relied on deception; now that Uvogin had seen them, Ronin doubted they would work as effectively a second time.
Most concerning was Uvogin's intuition.
Uvogin was a pure Enhancer. In the world of Nen, Enhancers were simple-minded but possessed terrifying, animalistic instincts in combat. Tricks rarely worked twice on beasts.
However, Ronin had one ability left unused. If he timed it perfectly, he might actually succeed.
But the risk was catastrophic.
Do I run? Or do I gamble everything for power?
Ronin hesitated. As for the severed head Uvogin was holding? Ronin didn't care.
That man wasn't his father. To Ronin, he was just a stranger who had shown him kindness. If the opportunity arose, he would bury the man out of respect. But he wouldn't throw his life away for a corpse.
However, Uvogin was using the head as bait. If Ronin tried to retrieve it, he would die.
The forest was silent, save for Uvogin's foul taunts and the rhythmic patter of rain.
Ronin was soaked to the bone. Maintaining the Sharingan state for this long was taking a heavy toll on his stamina.
Eight minutes had passed since he used the Headhunter Jutsu. Ronin knew this for a fact; he had an internal clock that never failed.
Time was running out.
Suddenly, Uvogin dropped the severed head into the mud. He stepped on it, rolling it under his boot like a soccer ball.
At that moment, Ronin revealed himself.
In the darkness, Uvogin spotted the twin crimson glows. He grinned. This was the mission Shalnark had given him before they left.
He remembered the look in Feitan's eyes—a look of distrust, doubting Uvogin could complete the task delicately.
Hah! Uvogin sneered internally. They just want the Scarlet Eyes to be their brightest red, right? That requires intense rage. What's so hard about that?
Uvogin applied pressure with his foot.
SPLAT.
The head beneath his boot exploded into a gory paste.
In that exact instant, the boy moved.
He surged forward with a speed that defied his previous limits. Before Uvogin could react, a blade pierced his chest.
Uvogin looked down in disbelief.
He saw Ronin standing right in front of him, eyes burning with hatred. But these weren't just Scarlet Eyes. Uvogin saw the single black Tomoe spinning within the crimson iris.
But then, Uvogin's combat logic kicked in.
Impossible.
The gap between them was like a firefly comparing itself to the moon. He had taken the kid's full-force kick earlier; it hadn't even tickled. There was no way this kid had the output to pierce his Ken (defensive aura), let alone manifest a blade strong enough to stab him.
As soon as Uvogin realized the contradiction, the reality before him shattered.
The knife in his chest vanished. The pain vanished. The vengeful boy standing inches away dissolved into nothingness.
It was like waking up from a split-second dream.
Genjutsu: Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique.
As the illusion broke, Uvogin felt his Nen fluctuate wildly, specifically the aura flow around his brain.
He also realized that the mist, which had been slowly building up, had now become a blinding white wall. Visibility was reduced to less than half a meter.
This fog isn't natural.
It was infused with aura.
Connecting this with the boy's ability to hide underground earlier, Uvogin analyzed the situation. This kid's abilities can't be categorized into the standard five types. He's definitely a Specialist. But this fog acts like Transmutation.
Impressive, Uvogin thought, acknowledging the threat. A Kurta who just awakened his Nen, yet he's already this tricky. If I let him grow, he might actually become a problem for the Spiders.
Uvogin flared his Ren, his aura exploding outwards.
It didn't matter what tricks the kid played. Uvogin was absolute power. He would blow this mist away with sheer force.
He prepared to launch a shockwave punch to clear the air.
But before he could throw the punch, he felt a sudden lightness at his waist.
The jar.
The glass jar containing the Scarlet Eyes was gone.
He didn't use the distraction to run? He used it to rob me?
A vein bulged on Uvogin's forehead. He abruptly changed the trajectory of his punch, swinging wildly to his right side.
BOOM!
He didn't hit a person, but the terrifying wind pressure from his fist blasted the fog apart instantly.
Through the clearing mist, he saw a stumbling figure running away, clutching the glass jar tightly to his chest.
"Found you, you little rat!"
Uvogin kicked off the ground, the earth shattering beneath his launch.
He closed the distance instantly, appearing directly behind the fleeing Ronin.
With a roar, Uvogin twisted his hips and unleashed a devastating hook punch aimed at the boy's spine.
Whiff.
The fist passed straight through Ronin's body. The boy's figure didn't break or bleed; it simply puffed into white smoke.
Clone Jutsu.
"DAMMIT!"
Pure, unadulterated rage consumed Uvogin. He was stronger. He was faster. But he was punching smoke and shadows. He felt his blood boiling, his body temperature rising with fury.
The momentum of his punch didn't stop. Since it missed the boy, Uvogin smashed it into the ground out of frustration.
CRASH!
The forest floor disintegrated. Nearby trees were uprooted and toppled by the shockwave.
But amongst the debris, Ronin was nowhere to be found.