Chapter 30: Shalnark's Analysis
BOOM!
The three fire dragons blasted the remaining glass shards of the window into dust. They didn't dissipate upon exiting the room; instead, they twisted in mid-air and dove straight down, chasing the free-falling Nobunaga.
However, their range was limited. After about fifteen meters, the jutsu lost cohesion.
The dragons unraveled, leaving only a wave of scorching heat in the air.
In mid-fall, Nobunaga unbuckled his belt and tied it to the hilt of his katana. His open robe flapped in the wind, exposing his blue boxer shorts patterned with cartoon elephants.
Ignoring the indignity, he hurled his katana toward the building wall.
The blade pierced the concrete. The long white sash snapped taut. Thanks to Nobunaga using Shu (Enfold) to reinforce the fabric, it held his weight without snapping, swinging him safely toward the wall.
Meanwhile, back in the room.
An antenna silently approached Ronin from behind, aimed directly at his lower back.
As the needle pierced his skin, Ronin turned around. His pitch-black eyes met Shalnark's unreadable, smiling face.
But before Shalnark could press a button on his phone to take control, Ronin's body exploded.
Poof.
With a soft pop, Ronin vanished into a puff of white smoke.
Shalnark froze, his thumb hovering over the keypad.
He immediately leaped backward, retreating from the heat-filled room. A second antenna appeared in his hand, ready to stab himself (Autopilot mode) if necessary.
But nothing happened.
His first antenna clattered to the floor. No attack followed. No presence remained in the room.
Frowning, Shalnark cautiously stepped back inside.
Chaotic footsteps echoed in the hallway—security was coming.
Shalnark scanned the room quickly. He saw Nobunaga climbing back in through the window, but Ronin was nowhere to be found.
Shalnark shook his head at Nobunaga, then turned and vanished into the corridor.
Nobunaga was stunned. Shalnark failed? How is that possible?
Without wasting time, he sheathed his sword and sprinted after Shalnark.
The moment the Shadow Clone was pierced by the antenna and dispelled, the real Ronin—currently maintaining Ken inside his hidden room on the 188th floor—snapped his eyes open.
Sweat dripped from his chin onto the floor.
His mind was flooded with the memories of the clone's final moments in Room 2333.
He didn't drop his Ken. Currently, Ronin could maintain Ken for 7 minutes.
Of course, this was with only half his total aura, since the other half had been invested in the Shadow Clone.
Ronin adopted the aura calculation method used by Knuckle Bine in the manga.
Based on his mastery, maintaining Ken consumed roughly 10 aura units per second.
If half his aura could sustain Ken for 7 minutes (420 seconds), that meant half his capacity was roughly 4,200 units.
Therefore, his total POP (Potential Output Power) was accurately around 8,400 units.
Miria's estimate was frighteningly precise.
However, this calculation also revealed a harsh truth: Ronin's aura control was incredibly inefficient.
According to Knuckle, a Nen user in a prepared state consumes about 1 unit per second.
In combat, using advanced techniques like Ryu, Ken, and Gyo spikes consumption to 6-10 units per second.
Masters like Gon or Killua (during the Palace Invasion) could optimize this down to 6 units.
Amateurs like Ronin burned through 10 units.
A difference of 4 units per second might seem small, but over a long fight, it was the difference between life and death.
Ronin realized he needed to improve his efficiency just as much as his capacity.
The clone's destruction was expected. It was a parting gift for the Phantom Troupe.
The clone also served as a live-fire test for the B-Rank Jutsu, Fire Dragon Flame Bullet. While it was a pity it didn't kill Nobunaga, forcing a master swordsman to flee in his underwear was a decent result.
But the cost was steep.
Creating a Shadow Clone split his Chakra evenly. Even though the clone had been active for a while, casting a Fireball Jutsu and then the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet nearly drained it dry.
Ronin estimated that even in his full state, he could only cast a high-level B-Rank jutsu like that maybe 3 or 4 times before running empty.
This is the downside of not having a Tailed Beast inside me, Ronin sighed.
Could I artificially create a Tailed Beast using Nen?
The idea flashed in his mind, but creating a symbiotic Nen Beast with infinite chakra would likely require incredibly harsh Conditions and Vows. He shelved the idea for now.
His priority remained the basics: Increase POP and develop a Hatsu.
At the 7-minute mark, a drenched and exhausted Ronin collapsed onto the floor.
After catching his breath, he didn't immediately create another clone. His phone rang. It was Miria, asking if he was okay.
Ronin gave a brief explanation and hung up.
He trusted Miria to handle the PR fallout better than he could.
The attack on the 200th floor caused quite a stir in Heavens Arena. While sabotage was an open secret among fighters, causing an explosion and blowing out windows was rare.
The victim's identity was quickly leaked: The Supernova, Ronin.
Uvogin heard the news shortly after stepping out of the ring.
He looked at Nobunaga with disdain. "Can't you do anything cleanly? You didn't kill him, and you made a huge mess. It's embarrassing."
Nobunaga, already frustrated by the ambush, looked even darker. "Ronin is growing too fast. Don't slip up in the ring, or you might actually lose."
It was a weak retort, but it was all he had.
Shalnark had been silent on the way back, analyzing the encounter.
"The target we attacked... seemed to be a clone," Shalnark finally said. "Specifically, a Conjured clone."
"Transmutation for the fire, Conjuration for the clone. His Specialist ability is really diverse," Nobunaga agreed.
"Exactly. But the clone has a glaring weakness: It dispels upon taking damage," Shalnark explained his theory.
His antenna attack did negligible physical damage. It was merely a vehicle for his Manipulation ability. Yet, even that tiny prick was enough to make Ronin pop.
"This suggests the clone has zero durability. It's likely a support-type ability created with strict Restrictions to allow for remote operation."
"This fits Ronin's profile perfectly," Shalnark concluded. "He has endless methods for escaping and hiding. He just added some offensive tricks to the mix."