Chapter 13: Gunfire
The airship landed not far from where Uvogin had crashed.
Since the battle had erupted shortly after takeoff, the ship hadn't traveled far.
Ronin didn't wait for the ship to touch down completely. When it was still about ten meters off the ground, he jumped.
With a heavy thud, he landed safely, his reinforced legs absorbing the impact.
Sirens were already wailing in the distance. Uvogin's fall had alerted the airport staff.
However, the first responders weren't paramedics, but police officers. This confirmed that the news of Uvogin killing a crew member had been radioed ahead to the ground.
Airport police were rushing to the scene along with the ground security team, likely intending to secure the suspect once they confirmed he wasn't dead.
But Ronin knew better. Even gravely injured, Uvogin was not someone ordinary police could handle.
Their guns were useless.
Ronin moved discreetly, blending into the gathering crowd. He slowed his pace, pushing his way toward the center of the commotion.
He needed to assess Uvogin's condition.
If the injuries were critical—shattered organs, complete immobility—then this was the perfect opportunity to kill him.
If the injuries were merely concussive and Uvogin could still fight, Ronin had to consider the danger of cornering a wounded beast.
The adrenaline from the fall began to fade, replaced by cold calculation.
Doubts crept in. If he killed Uvogin here, would the entire Phantom Troupe hunt him down?
Facing just Uvogin was manageable; he could use guerrilla tactics to survive. But facing the full wrath of the Spiders? Could he handle Chrollo, Feitan, or Nobunaga all coming for his head?
The thought lingered for only a second before Ronin discarded it.
They are already hunting me.
The grudge was set. If he hesitated now and let Uvogin live, he was just releasing a tiger back into the mountains. Uvogin would return, healed and armed with intel on Ronin's abilities, making the next encounter fatal.
Do not hesitate. Kill him.
The police and security were cordoning off the area, but a crowd had already formed. Some were reporters; most were just gawkers.
Ronin slipped through the gaps, his eyes piercing through the mass of people to see Uvogin lying on the tarmac.
The police had him surrounded, but from their chatter, they were waiting for an ambulance. They planned to hospitalize him first.
How humanitarian of them.
Ronin's eyes subtly shifted into the Sharingan. He needed to see Uvogin's aura.
Uvogin's physical durability made it hard to judge internal damage visually, but Nen didn't lie.
Under the Sharingan's insight, Ronin saw Uvogin's aura was weak and flickering. It wasn't a feint using In (Concealment); the flow of aura inside his body was chaotic and disrupted.
The fall from dozens of meters had indeed dealt significant damage.
This is it. The best chance I'll ever get.
Ronin scanned the surroundings, plotting the kill. Uvogin's defense was still formidable. Ronin would need a full-power strike to a vital point to guarantee a kill.
To prevent a desperate counterattack, the best move was to hit him with another Genjutsu first. While Uvogin was paralyzed by the illusion, his defense would drop further.
If only I had a kunai or a proper knife, Ronin thought with regret.
He prepared to step out, to make eye contact. Once their gazes locked, the Genjutsu would trigger.
But in the next second, Ronin's pupils contracted.
He saw Nen on a police officer nearby.
Specifically, he saw aura wrapping around a small antenna stuck into the back of the officer's neck.
The officer's hand was resting on his holstered gun, and he was walking straight toward the crowd—straight toward Ronin. Although his movements looked casual, Ronin felt a sharp spike of danger.
I've been spotted.
Shalnark.
Ronin recognized the ability instantly. Black Voice (Autopilot).
Shalnark was the Spider most likely to be paired with Uvogin, the one with the brains. His ability allowed him to manipulate people by sticking an antenna into them and controlling them via his phone.
But why is Shalnark here?
If he was working with Uvogin, he should have been on the airship.
His sudden appearance on the ground complicated things. It paused Ronin's assassination plan and flooded his mind with new variables.
Ronin scanned the perimeter again, looking for the real Shalnark or other hidden Spiders.
The Troupe usually operated in two-man cells. Uvogin being alone on the airship was already an anomaly. Shalnark appearing here made sense, but was he alone? Or was there a third member?
The puppet-cop was moving directly toward him. Shalnark definitely knew where he was.
Did he spot me the moment I jumped from the ship?
Probably.
But Shalnark hadn't attacked immediately. This meant Uvogin had likely debriefed the team on Ronin's abilities—the clones, the substitutions, the slippery escapes. Shalnark wasn't confident he could catch Ronin easily, so he was biding his time.
Or perhaps he was waiting to stick his second antenna into Ronin when his guard was down.
Ronin's heart went cold. He didn't see another antenna flying at him, but he wasn't taking chances.
His hands blurred into seals.
Hidden Mist Jutsu.
The moment his fingers locked into the seal, the puppet-cop drew his gun.
Without hesitation or regard for the civilians around him, the cop opened fire.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
He emptied the clip into the crowd.
Blood sprayed. Screams erupted. No one expected a police officer to start mass shooting.
Chaos exploded instantly, perfectly timed with the rising mist Ronin summoned.
Ronin wasn't hit. The Sharingan allowed him to see the trajectory of the bullets, and he had plenty of human shields in front of him.
The sudden gunfire also drew Uvogin's attention. The giant turned his head, looking toward the source of the noise.
For a brief moment, their eyes met across the chaos.
Ronin held the seal for the mist with one hand. With the other, he slowly drew a thumb across his throat in a slitting motion.
I can't kill you today. But you're marked.
Uvogin's chaotic aura flared violently. He roared, trying to force his broken body to sit up.
But the thick fog rolled in rapidly, swallowing Ronin's figure.
Uvogin watched his prey vanish into the white nothingness. He coughed again, blood spilling from his lips. This time, the blood wasn't from the injury. It was from pure rage.