Chapter 31: Brother Ronin
After clearing the 100th floor, Kurapika walked off the stage looking surprisingly unwell.
The intensity of Heavens Arena had exceeded his expectations. Although he was still winning after reaching the 100th floor, the gap between him and his opponents was shrinking.
He was intensely curious—how did Brother Ronin make it to the 200th floor?
He must be incredibly strong.
Yet, despite such strength, Ronin had been attacked. Who was the assailant?
Kurapika anxiously rode the elevator up, but even if he reached the 200th floor, he had no idea where to find Ronin.
The corridor leading to Room 2333 was sealed off. A crowd had gathered outside the cordon, but no one was allowed in.
However, news spread quickly that the room's occupant was unharmed.
Dejected, Kurapika returned to his private room on the 103rd floor. As he sat in silence, a realization slowly dawned on him.
Has Brother Ronin been under attack by the Phantom Troupe this whole time?
Kurapika recalled the headless corpse found outside the village. Judging by the clothes, it was Ronin's father.
The 128 villagers were supposed to have stayed within the settlement, yet Ronin's father was found outside, decapitated, with skull fragments discovered far away from the body.
Was Brother Ronin there at the time?
Did he escape the Phantom Troupe and flee here to Heavens Arena?
And why was Ronin standing so boldly in the spotlight now? Was he deliberately attracting the Phantom Troupe's attention?
What was his goal?
Revenge!
Yes! That must be it!
Kurapika's conviction grew stronger. The people tracking Ronin must know what he looked like. By appearing so publicly, as long as the Troupe wasn't blind, they would find him.
They would inevitably come to finish the job.
By doing this, Brother Ronin could lure the Troupe out into the open to kill them, while simultaneously drawing all their attention onto himself.
Not only that.
With Brother Ronin acting as a lightning rod in the light, Kurapika—another Kurta survivor—would remain safe as long as he stayed hidden.
Brother Ronin is protecting me!
Moreover, by remaining in the shadows, Kurapika gained immense operational freedom to investigate the Troupe or strike when the opportunity arose.
No... wait.
Choosing Heavens Arena as the battleground might also be a message to him. A warning not to act rashly.
Strength is the key.
Kurapika couldn't even reach the 200th floor yet. Ronin, who was undefeated on the 200th floor, was still being hunted by the Troupe.
If Kurapika ignored the gap in power and charged in, blinded by hatred, he would just be adding another pair of Scarlet Eyes to the Troupe's collection.
Brother Ronin... you've really thought of everything!
Moved to tears again, Kurapika wiped his eyes and steeled his resolve. He couldn't let Ronin down. He had to get stronger.
Strong enough to help Ronin. Strong enough to slaughter the Phantom Troupe and avenge his people!
I'll start by fighting my way to the 200th floor so I can meet Brother Ronin privately!
With renewed determination, Kurapika dropped to the floor and began doing push-ups.
Ronin had absolutely no idea Kurapika was overthinking things to this extent.
His logic was purely self-serving, built on his knowledge of the Phantom Troupe's behavior and confidence in his own strength.
With his Ninjutsu, escaping the Troupe in a place like Heavens Arena was easy.
And with Miria as his support, he felt confident enough to arm-wrestle Uvogin in the ring.
Unfortunately, Miria hadn't been able to find a second seller for Scarlet Eyes recently.
It seemed the "conventional" way of buying them back was a dead end.
The best method, as demonstrated by Kurapika in the manga, was to find a suitable Mafia family, use their resources to locate the eyes, and then use Mafia methods to acquire them.
That would be simpler than negotiation and save him a fortune.
With his current strength, he wouldn't settle for a small-time family like the Nostrades.
However, the daughter of the Nostrade family was a valuable asset he intended to recruit.
Neon Nostrade.
She possessed a Specialist ability called Lovely Ghostwriter. It allowed her to summon a ghost that wrote prophecies predicting the future for the next month, complete with warnings on how to avoid bad outcomes.
If he controlled Neon and had her write a prophecy for him every month, he could avoid most dangers.
Ronin wasn't about to let such a practical ability fall into Chrollo Lucilfer's hands.
Recently, Ronin had been researching the Nostrade Family online.
They were a minor gang based in a provincial city, completely unremarkable.
The boss, Light Nostrade, was skilled at manipulation but lacked ruthlessness, so he wasn't taken seriously by the Mafia upper echelon. He mostly ran underground casinos and protection rackets.
His daughter, Neon, was currently 14 years old. After her mother died, she dropped out of school and lived in her father's mansion, rarely going out except to visit the Natural History Museum. She had a morbid fascination with taxidermy.
Light was strict with her, and their relationship was strained. They often fought over Light bringing women home, arguments that usually ended with Neon getting slapped.
Ronin wasn't surprised. Light Nostrade only "loved" Neon because she manifested a profitable ability. To him, she was a tool first, a daughter second.
But according to the intel, Neon hadn't revealed her prophecy ability yet. That explained why Light treated her poorly.
Ronin closed the file. Neon's anonymity was perfect for him.
He planned to head to Mordin City, the Nostrade's base of operations, right after dealing with Uvogin.
Once he kidnapped Neon, he would head to Yorknew City.
His goal was to secure a position as one of the Ten Dons before September. Only with that level of authority could he efficiently gather the Scarlet Eyes and boost his power.
Having finalized his plan, Ronin dispatched a Shadow Clone to the 200th floor.
Today was the day Uvogin would clear the 190th floor and officially become a 200th-floor contestant.
Ronin intended to meet him face-to-face and declare the next match right then and there!
☆☆☆
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