Hisoka attacking Ronin was completely a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Even joining this "anti–Phantom Troupe" team was only because he'd once had the good fortune to come into contact with Chrollo—and his curiosity about Chrollo's strength had been sparked.
But Chrollo was always accompanied by at least two members. Finding a chance to fight Chrollo one-on-one was simply too hard.
Hisoka had once planned to join the Troupe.
If he could become one of the members assigned to protect Chrollo, he might be able to restrain the other companion and create an opening to duel Chrollo alone.
And the Troupe's joining rule was simple: if you wanted in, you first killed one of the Troupe members, then you could replace them and become the new member.
Hisoka's original target had been Omokage, but before he could act, Omokage died at the hands of someone named Ronin.
He learned that through someone he knew inside the Troupe.
That person even gave him an instruction: if Hisoka could leak Ronin's information during this operation—or kill Ronin—then that person would recommend him as a new Troupe member.
Unfortunately, Hisoka didn't run into Ronin inside the building.
Instead, he found a fruit that looked incredibly tempting. Unable to resist, he attacked "Kakashi," who was Ronin's disguise.
"Hatake Kakashi, huh? I'll remember you. We'll meet again," Hisoka licked his lips and pulled out his phone.
The call connected quickly.
A slightly low female voice came through the receiver. "So? Did you find Ronin?"
"Nope," Hisoka replied. As he spoke, armed mafia members appeared at the corner ahead.
Their eyes swept over Hisoka and they hurried past, running toward the front.
But as they passed his side, a playing card appeared in Hisoka's hand. With an almost elegant motion, the card lightly sliced open the mafia men's throats.
Blood sprayed across the corridor. Hisoka's expression was pure pleasure.
"After an exciting fight, I can't calm down… so I'll use your lives to help me settle," Hisoka said, voice bright with delight.
"If you called just to show off your freakish hobbies, then I advise you to die as soon as possible," Machi's voice was as cold as ever.
"If there's no news about Ronin, then do I need to challenge a member? What do you think—Phinks? Isri? Or Feitan? Honestly, any of them would be fine."
Since Omokage was already dead, he could just switch targets.
As for "finding Ronin," he wasn't that interested.
Not because he wasn't interested in fighting Ronin—he was—but because, in Hisoka's eyes, getting a fight with Ronin wouldn't be hard.
If the Troupe stopped hunting Ronin, then Hisoka could go to the 200th floor of Heavens Arena and find a chance to duel him.
He'd seen Ronin's Heavens Arena promotions. Ronin enjoyed the arena atmosphere—enjoyed fighting under the gaze of countless spectators.
More importantly, in some photos and videos of Ronin fighting Uvogin, Hisoka saw traces of himself.
That made him think: maybe he wouldn't even need to "challenge" Ronin. If he simply found Ronin and showed decent strength in front of him, they would naturally end up fighting.
Ronin's ability was technically Specialist, but to Hisoka, Ronin felt more like an Enhancer—battle-oriented, simple-minded, direct.
Someone like that being able to outplay the Troupe was only because his abilities were so varied.
Still, from the intel Hisoka had obtained, Ronin's actions after leaving Heavens Arena had become more "brainy."
Probably because he'd gotten teammates.
If the Troupe truly wanted to deal with Ronin, the best approach would be to start with the people around him. Remove the ones doing the planning, and with Chrollo and Shalnark's intelligence, designing a trap for Ronin wouldn't be difficult.
"You're asking to die," Machi answered tersely.
Hearing that, Hisoka's smile only deepened.
"I heard Uvogin died too. That leaves two vacant seats. I think I'm qualified to take one," Hisoka continued, saying things that raised blood pressure.
But as soon as he finished, the call ended—only a dead tone remained.
Omokage's ability had been functional but not that useful; Uvogin was a pure frontline fighter. Hisoka believed he could fill either role.
He only hoped Machi wouldn't let personal feelings interfere with Troupe business.
A message notification pinged. Hisoka opened it. Machi had sent only one question:
"Why do you want to join the Troupe?"
Hisoka hesitated, then replied: "I want to challenge Chrollo."
"Die." Machi replied with two words.
Hisoka then started scrolling on his phone. If he couldn't join the Troupe, he'd have to consider working with Ronin instead.
If he could cut off the Troupe's remaining "spider legs," he could create a chance to duel the spider's head.
But how could he contact Ronin?
Hisoka quickly found a name:
Illumi.
"I need the contact information for Milia, the gold-level agent at Heavens Arena," Hisoka said bluntly the moment the call connected.
"Sure. But on the 17th you need to come to the Azian Continent. There's a job," Illumi said flatly, without emotion.
Hisoka rubbed his forehead. "That's far… fine."
"Wait. Also, transfer 500,000 jenny to me. Intelligence fee. No credit." Illumi hung up without waiting for a reply.
Hisoka paid. Less than three minutes later, a phone number appeared on his screen.
…
After separating from Hisoka, Ronin took another route and went straight up to the building's rooftop.
During the brief fight earlier, he'd noticed something odd.
It seemed more than one person had scanned him and Hisoka with En, but when he followed the sensation, he could only detect Zeno's aura.
That left Ronin somewhat irritated.
Now on the rooftop, he checked the time—less than ten minutes until tonight's auction began.
The Troupe should be moving soon.
Ronin formed a cross-shaped seal and cast Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, splitting into four clones.
After transforming into Kakashi's appearance, the clones left the roof and entered the building.
Then Ronin's phone rang.
The caller ID was… Milia.
Ronin answered. "Hello? Calling me at this time—what's up?"
"Yeah. Someone contacted me and wants to cooperate with you," Milia said briefly. "I'll give you the number. Whether you work with them is your decision."
"Name?" Ronin asked.
"Hisoka," Milia said.
Ronin was surprised. He'd just parted ways with Hisoka, and the guy who wanted to join the Phantom Troupe was already reaching out through Milia to "cooperate" with him.
Was this a trick to extract information from Ronin and sell it to the Troupe?
~~~
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