Chapter 196: Preparations Complete, Move Out
Kurapika didn't set a departure date immediately. He still had several threads to pull regarding his investigation into the Empire's borders.
Ronin waited patiently.
He didn't find the downtime boring. He spent his days in the ruins studying the journals left by the Association's archaeological teams, absorbing every scrap of knowledge regarding prehistoric traversal and survival.
However, as the months passed, the data yield from the Kurta sector began to dwindle. With the primary archives digitized and sent to the surface, Ronin spent less time in the tents and more time in the central "Den" training with his new summon, the Giant Serpent.
During one of their "sparring" sessions, Ronin discovered a hidden nursery within the branches of the Great Trees. Clutches of oversized, leathery eggs were tucked away in the high canopy.
He wondered if these eggs would hatch into new serpents. He watched the guardian closely, but the beast remained protective and wary. Ronin didn't press his luck; he had spent too long building a baseline of trust with the creature to shatter it over an unhatched egg.
Still, a secondary plan began to form in his mind.
If these hatchlings can survive on the surface... I could raise an entire army of combat summons.
In his mind, the Mahavi cavern was starting to feel less like a tomb and more like Ryūchi Cave—a hidden sanctuary of reptilian power.
Ronin was also curious about the "Void" below the cliffs. The ecosystem of the ruins was a self-sustaining cycle: the trees fed the serpents, the spiders fed the trees, and the "Fire-Phobic" monsters culled the spiders. But what lived in the deepest shadows? Were there "Spider Kings" lurking in the dark?
To find out, he attempted a deep-level sweep using Shadow Clones.
The reconnaissance mission was a failure.
The moment a clone reached the lower fissures, it was swarmed by a literal wall of silk and chitin. The spider population in the depths was so dense that a single intruder was webbed and immobilized within seconds.
His clones reported a sea of arachnids and piles of eggs, but he detected no Nen-using spiders. He tried several more times, exploring different angles, before losing interest. The "Basement" was just a biological landfill. There was nothing worth his time down there.
May.
Muherr finally returned to the base camp. After a grueling five-month mission securing the V5's researchers in the skyscraper city, the mercenary leader finally found a window to meet with Ronin.
This time, the meeting was formal.
"We're moving into the planning phase for a future voyage," Muherr said, his tone incredibly grave. "I want to extend an official invitation for you to join the unit."
Muherr had seen Ronin dismantle a Chimera Ant King and provide aerial support with Jutsu. He was a master of combat and versatility—the exact kind of wildcard a team needed when facing the unknown "Calamities" of the Forbidden Continent.
Furthermore, he had witnessed the synergy between Ronin and Vanessa. A Shadow-walker paired with a high-output Emitter/Enhancer was a combo that could clear almost any obstacle.
Muherr wasn't just asking for Ronin, though. He wanted the whole team: Kurapika and Shizuku were included in the draft.
Ronin fell silent. He didn't answer immediately.
If Muherr were the supreme commander, Ronin would have accepted in a heartbeat. He respected the man's professionalism.
The problem was that Muherr was just a middle-manager. The true "Head" of the unit was Beyond Netero, and pulling the strings beneath him was Pariston Hill.
One was a man of unknown, world-altering ambition. The other was a sociopath who found joy in the destruction of others' dreams.
In Ronin's assessment, that was a team for people with a death wish or a god complex. Only the Netero family had the madness required to manage a snake like Pariston. If Ronin joined now, his first act would probably be to kill the "Rat" of the Zodiacs just to simplify the logistics.
"Do you have total authority over the roster?" Ronin asked, cutting to the heart of the matter.
Muherr raised an eyebrow. "You're sharp. I don't have the final say, but I can guarantee you a seat at the table. We can give each other a chance to see if we fit."
"What does that mean?" Ronin asked, though he already suspected.
"You're heading to the Kakin Empire, aren't you? Someone will contact you there to renew the offer. You can decide your allegiance once you've met the rest of the leadership. Just remember: if we can't be allies, let's at least avoid being enemies." Muherr smiled, but it was the smile of a man holding a detonator.
"Agreed," Ronin said. "Being enemies sounds like a terrible waste of everyone's time."
Ronin was curious. Who was waiting for him in Kakin? Beyond himself? Or one of the Princes?
June.
Kurapika finally delivered the news Ronin had been waiting for: the bypass for the cognitive lock had been found. They could finally enter Kakin.
Ronin had been "farming" the ruins for six months. He was done with the dust and the dark.
The exploration had been exciting at first, full of ancient secrets and unexpected battles. But once they hit the plateau of methodical excavation, it became a repetitive grind.
As they emerged from the forest and breathed the fresh surface air, Ronin felt a massive weight lift from his chest. Neon and Shizuku looked equally relieved—they were done with "camping."
Only Kurapika and Abaki remained stoic.
Kurapika had spent every waking hour obsessively tracing the Kurta diaspora. While he knew that any other survivors wouldn't be "his" family, the thought of his bloodline still existing in the world was his only comfort.
He had even told Ronin in private: "If the opportunity arises... I want to see what lies beyond the Lake. I want to see where the ancestors who turned back ended up."
Ronin shared that curiosity.
But leaving Lake Mobius was a feat of high-level politics and supernatural power.
There were only two ways out:
Ask the legends who had done it before: Chairman Netero, Linne Hors-d'oeuvre, or the ancient Zigg Zoldyck.
Wait for Kakin to finish the Black Whale and hitch a ride on the Imperial voyage.
The first option was a long shot. The second required Ronin to play along with the manga's timeline.
But Ronin suspected the "Canon" timeline was already falling apart. Kurapika wasn't a bodyguard for the Mafia; he was a leader of his own faction. The Phantom Troupe was on the verge of extinction.
The only variable worth monitoring was the Chimera Ant arrival in the NGL.
That event is still two years away, Ronin calculated. By then, I'll be ready for them.
The Kingdom of Aitli was just a short drive from the Kakin border.
Driving a luxury SUV through the checkpoint, Team Ronin—now a unit of five—officially crossed into the territory of the most mysterious Empire in the world.
The hunt for the final Scarlet Eyes had reached its endgame.
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