Not long after Ronin's group disappeared, the figures of Chrollo and the other Troupe members appeared on a nearby rooftop.
"In the end, we can only start with the Scarlet Eyes," Shalnark said as he looked down at the street in chaos. His gaze also landed on the spot where the ground had bulged up like a mini volcano.
That had to be Ronin's handiwork.
Ronin seemed especially proficient with Water, Fire, Earth, and Lightning abilities.
And for one person to command four kinds of elemental transformation… Shalnark couldn't think of any explanation other than Specialist.
Even so, it was absurd.
Ronin's Specialist ability felt like he'd dumped all his "stat points" into upper-tier categories.
Specialists could train multiple attributes, yes, but Ronin was still ridiculously extreme.
And the more extreme it looked, the more it suggested the limitations behind it were severe.
They just hadn't found the drawbacks yet—because Ronin hid them well, not because they didn't exist.
After all, Vows and Limitations were a double-edged sword.
They brought benefits—but always demanded an equal price.
"Life," Chrollo said suddenly.
His thinking matched Shalnark's. And the only thing precious enough to explain Ronin's short-term leap in power was life itself.
Especially considering Ronin's history and revenge-driven mindset, he likely had the determination to burn his own lifespan if it meant achieving something quickly.
People who fought like that—on the edge of suicide—were the hardest to deal with.
And the later it got, the more such people would gamble their lives. Fighting them only became more dangerous over time.
If not life, Chrollo could think of one other possibility—but it was tied to a lead he'd only recently learned.
Would the Kurta have something like that? Chrollo wasn't sure.
After all, Ronin had fled under pursuit and never returned to the village in the process.
Chrollo folded the intel together in his mind, and a new idea formed.
"I remember you told Uvogin you'd found a way to restore his arm," Chrollo said.
"Yes." Shalnark nodded. "I saw it on a professional Hunter forum. Supposedly, the game Greed Island contains miraculous items.
Not only items that can heal illnesses and injuries, but also things like rejuvenation, sex change, astral projection, even male pregnancy."
Shalnark didn't fully grasp where Chrollo was going, but he shared everything he'd found.
"Rejuvenation…" Chrollo rolled the word around. "Leak that information to Ronin. If Ronin's power truly comes from burning lifespan, he'll definitely try to enter the game and obtain a rejuvenation item.
And we can also use Greed Island as a lever. Scarlet Eyes are Ronin's top priority—he'll prepare heavily to bid for them. But he won't prepare the same way for Greed Island."
Shalnark's eyes lit up.
"And even if he really enters the game, we can enter too," Shalnark added, clearly having done homework. "There are special items in the game that could help us corner him more effectively."
Greed Island had been running for nearly a decade. Information leaking out was normal.
As long as Shalnark paid enough, he could obtain plenty of intel.
Chrollo produced a book—his ability, Bandit's Secret.
Pages flipped. One of the abilities recorded inside was something he'd stolen from a Shadow Beast member.
It was an unexpected gain. But paired with another ability in his book, Chrollo believed it might become a powerful tool against Ronin.
The problem was: how could he use two stolen Nen abilities at the same time?
Chrollo found it irritating.
…
In a secret building in Yorknew, ten men sat around a round table.
Their expressions were grim.
These ten represented the very top of the world's mafia across the six continents.
They had a special name:
The Ten Dons.
"Two Shadow Beast members survived… but they're crippled."
After a long silence, someone finally spoke.
The Ten Dons had tens of thousands of mafia soldiers—but truly capable "talents" were only those ten.
The Shadow Beasts were the Ten Dons' handpicked strongest from their respective organizations.
And now, that "strongest unit" had been reduced to two disabled survivors.
The Ten Dons no longer felt safe.
"Hire real professionals," another suggested.
Most of the Ten Dons agreed.
"Were the Shadow Beasts too weak?" one of the younger Dons said. He had a long scar running down the left side of his face from cheek to chin. "They're the strongest we could find, but witness reports say the killers weren't only Phantom Troupe—they were also another unknown group."
His name was Raymond, a newer Ten Don, and his strongest subordinate had been Owl.
Before today, Raymond believed Owl and the Shadow Beasts were the strongest existences in the world—more than enough to protect the mafia.
Now it seemed the Shadow Beasts weren't as strong as they'd appeared—and against true experts, they looked pitiful.
Raymond had learned from surviving mafia members that six Shadow Beasts fought three Troupe members, and in under five minutes—along with the armed mafia soldiers nearby—the entire force was wiped out.
In the hands of Phantom Troupe members, the Shadow Beasts didn't look much different from ordinary gunmen.
"They weren't an unknown group," an elderly but imposing Don spoke.
He was a longtime Ten Don: Niko.
He had also received reports. Bat had been his man—but one dead Bat didn't matter, because he had more "Bats."
"He's called Ronin," Niko said, as everyone looked at him. "A 200th-floor challenger from Heavens Arena. He's fought four matches so far—undefeated.
And the second-to-last match he fought was against Phantom Troupe member No. 11… one of the same Troupe members involved in the Cemetery massacre."
Photos finally appeared on the meeting room's large screen: Uvogin and Ronin.
Most were Heavens Arena photos. There were very few new photos from tonight, and the ones that existed were blurry.
Still, it was enough to spark new thoughts in the Ten Dons' minds.
"Recruit again—and I suggest we expand the Shadow Beasts unit," one Don proposed.
"Have the reserve Shadow Beast candidates—Rabid Dog, Leech, Porcupine, and Hedgehog—form a temporary team first. Then train new Shadow Beast members and expand the unit to thirty people. Each Don contributes three; that's one full squad." Raymond offered a plan he'd clearly prepared in advance, then adjusted it on the spot.
"Send reserves to Heavens Arena. Only those who reach the 200th floor and have wins qualify to become Shadow Beasts.
If someone becomes a Floor Master, they qualify to become the Shadow Beasts' commander!"
"Agreed."
The Ten Dons approved Raymond's proposal unanimously.
~~~
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