Chapter 20: Match Declaration
The registration desk for the 200th floor seemed to have a magical pull on the broken.
There were always a few disabled fighters lingering around, like hyenas.
When Ronin arrived, their green, predatory eyes immediately locked onto him.
However, upon seeing the steady flow of Ten shrouding Ronin's body, two of them wheeled their chairs around and left.
These failures only preyed on rookies who hadn't mastered Nen yet. They lacked the courage to challenge a newcomer who had already awakened.
In Ronin's opinion, these people should just leave the Arena and find a regular job. They were pathetic.
However, the remaining two scrutinized Ronin carefully and then, surprisingly, rolled toward him.
It seemed they had marked him as a soft target.
The receptionist handed Ronin a form. It contained a detailed schedule of available match slots.
He had discussed this with Miria beforehand. She wouldn't interfere with who he fought, but he needed to give her enough lead time to promote the match and generate buzz.
Ronin glanced at the two approaching men. They were mentioned in the dossier Miria gave him. He didn't think he would lose to either of them.
So, he wrote down a date on the declaration form: April 25th.
Five days from now.
He didn't hide his actions. Under the malicious gaze of the two men, he handed the form to the receptionist.
When he turned around, sure enough, the two stalkers were filling out their own forms. Both selected April 25th.
One wore a heavy cloak, but when he moved his arm, it was obvious he was missing a limb.
The other had a horrific, tearing scar across his mouth, and half his skull looked like a melted candle. It was a miracle he was even alive.
Ronin knew exactly how they got these injuries.
They had rashly challenged Nen users upon reaching the 200th floor or were ambushed by veterans.
They survived the malicious "Nen baptism," awakening their own aura in the process, but the price was permanent, crippling damage to their bodies.
"What are you looking at, kid?" Gareg, the one with only a quarter of his face intact, snarled. His remaining eye was filled with anger and malice.
"Have you considered wearing a mask? You're honestly hideous. And you smell," Ronin retorted bluntly.
Since they showed hostility, Ronin wasn't going to be polite.
Gareg's steady Ten instantly flared into an explosive Ren. Rage flooded his system. He stepped forward, his massive body looming over Ronin, and reached out to grab Ronin by the collar.
It was the move of a street thug.
Ronin looked disgusted. He took a single step back, effortlessly dodging the grab. At the same time, he waved his hand in front of his nose, fanning away the imaginary stench.
"Save your energy for the ring. I don't want my first win to die before the match starts."
Ronin walked past the stunned Gareg, his footsteps slightly hurried, leaving behind only that contemptuous remark.
Gareg didn't pursue him.
His provocation had been a test. He wanted to gauge Ronin's reaction speed and strength.
Now that Ronin had dodged, Gareg had a rough estimate. Continuing the fight here would only escalate things unnecessarily.
He had noticed something else. Although the kid dodged, he saw a flash of panic in Ronin's eyes. It wasn't as effortless as the kid pretended.
A cruel smile twisted Gareg's scarred lips. I've got him.
He would make this sharp-tongued brat pay in the ring. Rookies should act like rookies and accept their baptism. Just because they awakened Nen early didn't give them the right to strut around in front of veterans!
Gareg ignored the departing Ronin and handed in his declaration form.
His one-armed companion, Jarred, did the same.
In the elevator, Ronin reviewed his performance.
My acting was mediocre, he thought critically.
Only the hurried exit at the end added a touch of authenticity. Gareg's grab had been comically slow in Ronin's eyes; dodging it was purely instinctual.
If that guy didn't submit the form after all that, Ronin felt he would have wasted his effort.
Leaving the registration desk, Ronin held a key card for Room 2333. This would be his private suite for the foreseeable future.
The room was luxurious, with dedicated staff on standby outside.
Standing by the window, Ronin looked down at the sprawling city. The view was breathtaking.
Inside the room, a large LCD screen lit up with a notification shortly after his arrival.
[Match Confirmed]
Location: 227th Floor Arena
Date: April 25th, 3:00 PM
Opponent: Gareg
The opponent didn't disappoint. Gareg had taken the bait.
Ronin didn't underestimate him. Although he was confident Gareg was weaker, a lion uses full force even when hunting a rabbit. Besides, Ronin planned to win without revealing the Sharingan as his trump card.
Instead, he wanted to test a theory regarding Uvogin's Big Bang Impact.
His fight with Uvogin was short, but every time the giant used his signature punch, the Sharingan had captured it perfectly.
Copying it, however, wasn't straightforward.
The problem wasn't the technique itself, but the energy source. When Ronin activated the Sharingan, his Nen converted into Chakra.
Nen and Chakra operated on fundamentally different principles.
Chakra circulated internally within the meridian system. Nen was the external expression of life energy.
This meant that in Sharingan Mode, Ronin couldn't use the standard Big Bang Impact, which relied on Ko (focusing aura externally).
But what if there's a way to maintain the Sharingan while keeping some Nen unconverted?
Could he fuse Nen abilities with Jutsu?
Ronin envisioned combining Big Bang Impact with Chakra Enhanced Strength (Cherry Blossom Impact).
One was an external explosion of aura. The other was an internal burst of Chakra.
Internal and External. If he could synchronize them, the result would be exponential—far greater than 1+1.
Since his Ninjutsu was currently capped at C-Rank, he couldn't get stronger through new Jutsu. The only path forward was improving his Nen application.
And using Nen to amplify his Jutsu fit his Enhancer nature perfectly.
After notifying Miria of the match schedule, Ronin began his experiment.
The simplest method was to repeatedly activate the Sharingan and try to control the conversion process, attempting to "intercept" a portion of his aura before it became Chakra.
It wasn't easy. But as he toggled his eyes on and off, Ronin sensed it was possible.
He just needed to find the balance point.