Machi was never going to let Ronin get away that easily—especially since four of them had taken action from the very start.
The sharp rat-tat-tat of gunfire erupted from the spectator stands.
A dense barrage of rifle bullets poured down wildly toward Ronin's position.
The man firing the gun looked completely ordinary. Even the way he pulled the trigger was eerily calm.
Ronin knew at a glance that the man was under Shalnark's control.
With one hand, he reached into the custom ninja pouch at his waist. A kunai was already in his grip, spinning through the air as he hurled it forward.
As for the bullets flying at him—under the Sharingan's terrifying dynamic vision, there was no chance they could touch Ronin at all.
Even trajectories that were difficult to dodge were intercepted by stone slabs raised through Earth Release: Earth Shore Return, cast by his shadow clones.
It could be said that Ronin's dash toward the corridor was barely hindered at all.
The flames on the arena gradually died down.
Suddenly, an arm burst out of the ground at the center of the ring. A moment later, Uvogin crawled out from beneath the shattered arena floor, looking utterly miserable.
Half of his body was scorched black. One arm dragged across the ground as he pulled himself free, leaving behind a charred trail.
That was proof of carbonization.
"Ronin!"
A hoarse roar filled with boundless rage and killing intent tore from Uvogin's throat as he barely managed to stay on his feet in the arena.
In that moment, Uvogin looked like a demon clawing its way out of hell.
Ronin's heart stirred. When he turned to look back at Uvogin, their gazes collided in midair.
In that instant, all noise vanished from Uvogin's world.
All he felt was a searing heat rising from his legs.
He looked down—flames had somehow ignited on them, licking upward from below.
Agonizing pain spread from his legs, and for the first time in his life, the fearless Uvogin felt fear.
Ronin had already turned away, no longer watching as Uvogin slowly collapsed. He quickened his pace and disappeared into the competitor's passage.
That Great Fire Annihilation hadn't killed Uvogin. It surprised Ronin, yet at the same time, it felt inevitable.
The only real emotion he felt was regret.
Uvogin's reaction speed in the moment had been insane. There was only one way to avoid being engulfed by that technique—burrowing underground as fast as possible.
Even then, he would have had to endure the searing heat transmitted through the arena floor.
The fact that Uvogin hadn't been roasted alive was proof of just how strong he was.
Still, by the time he crawled back out, he was clearly at the end of his rope.
If Ronin hadn't been wary of the other Troupe members surrounding and killing him, he wouldn't have minded finishing Uvogin off right there.
What he hadn't expected was that Uvogin, in that condition, would still dare to lock eyes with him.
When Uvogin was fully maintaining Ken, genjutsu would be partially obstructed.
But now—
Ronin activated his Sharingan genjutsu without hesitation: Unquenchable Flame.
It was a visual genjutsu, the same one Uchiha Itachi had once used on Kakashi. Back then, Kakashi's clone had been the one caught in it, so the technique's full power hadn't been unleashed.
But now, the one ensnared was Uvogin's real body.
Hope he enjoys it, Ronin thought.
He slowed to a stop in the corridor.
Someone was already waiting for him.
The man had short, light-blond hair and was casually fiddling with his phone. It was Shalnark—the Phantom Troupe's resident brain, second only to Chrollo.
Seeing that it was only Shalnark, Ronin finally let out a breath of relief.
The one he had truly been worried about was never Shalnark, but Chrollo himself—the Troupe's leader, who might show up at any moment if he took an interest in Ronin's abilities.
Shalnark appearing alone almost certainly meant that Chrollo wasn't here.
Besides, Ronin had already provided descriptions of Chrollo and those around him. If Chrollo had really shown up, he should've been spotted by Milia's information network.
Since Chrollo hadn't appeared, that meant Ronin probably wouldn't have to spend his biggest chunk of money.
Gunfire rang out again outside the corridor.
This time, though, it wasn't aimed at Ronin's shadow clones blocking the entrance.
Instead, someone else had opened fire on Machi as she rushed toward Ronin's location.
As for the man Shalnark had been controlling earlier, he was already lying dead, taken down by Ronin's thrown kunai.
The newly arrived shooters all shared one trait: they were wearing combat uniforms.
It was as if they had been waiting from the very beginning for Machi and the others to reveal themselves.
These were the mercenaries Ronin had hired with his own money.
Every bullet fired from their submachine guns was a Nen-infused round. They weren't trying to kill Machi—only to lock down her advance with suppressive fire.
Machi's anger flared. When she tried to shift closer to the mercenaries from another angle, a bullet skimmed past her thigh and slammed into the ground.
A warning.
She looked up and spotted a tall figure standing at the very top of the spectator stands, holding a sniper rifle.
The figure had strikingly unusual ears—long and pointed, like an elf's.
When Machi looked over, the sniper even raised the rifle slightly, as if waving hello.
But Machi understood clearly: it was still a warning.
She stopped moving.
The riflemen on the ground didn't concern her much. If she could get close, she could kill them in seconds.
But the sniper posed a very real threat.
If she acted recklessly, she might be the one who died.
While Machi hesitated, Nobunaga finally broke free from the Earth Release technique entangling him.
Instead of running toward the corridor, he leapt onto the still-scorching arena floor and sprinted straight to Uvogin's side.
Uvogin was still alive.
Barely.
Nobunaga hoisted him up without hesitation and bounded off the stage in a few strides, rejoining Machi.
"Get Uvogin treated first," Nobunaga said grimly.
Machi didn't move. Her burning gaze remained fixed on the corridor.
She was worried whether Shalnark could handle Ronin on his own. This Kurta kid's methods were genuinely dangerous—and troublesome.
"You go first," Machi added. "Take Franklin with you. I don't think they'll bother with you if you're trying to leave."
Nobunaga didn't argue. Carrying Uvogin, he rushed toward Franklin's position.
Inside the corridor, Ronin kept his hands poised to form seals at any moment, steadily closing the distance between himself and Shalnark.
Shalnark wasn't a frontline fighter.
As a Manipulator, his strongest move was inserting the antenna into his own body to enter auto-pilot mode.
That state was extremely dangerous. It could grant him combat power comparable to an Enhancer—and he would fight in a relentless, all-or-nothing frenzy.
To Ronin, that spelled serious trouble.
On top of that, he didn't have much chakra left.
After repeatedly casting ninjutsu—and even creating a shadow clone—he had completely burned through the Nen he'd borrowed.
Even his own Nen reserves were nearly half gone.
So his next choice was simple.
Run.
He absolutely could not afford to be trapped in the corridor once Shalnark entered auto-pilot mode.