Ronin's plan was to hold Feitan back, and leave Phinks and the Troupe member he didn't recognize to the Zoldyck duo.
He wasn't surprised that an unfamiliar Troupe member showed up.
By the timeline, the Troupe's previous No. 8 hadn't died yet.
And the one who would end up killing him was Silva.
So meeting here ahead of time was, in a way, fate.
As for why Ronin chose to stall Feitan—it was because Feitan was the most dangerous in Ronin's eyes.
From what Feitan showed in the manga, if you couldn't kill him instantly and instead inflicted something like a broken arm, it would be enough to trigger Feitan's counterattack—an attack capable of burning down the entire Semetari Building.
Zeno only glanced at Ronin once, then looked away.
Ronin's suggestion wasn't bad, but the issue was simple:
Who the hell are you?
And two minutes?
The Troupe outside wouldn't give you two minutes. If a fight broke out and the members inside sent a signal, it wouldn't take ten seconds for the ones outside to storm into the building.
So in Zeno's judgment, if they wanted to kill the target, they had only one chance—and they had to finish within ten seconds. If it went longer, whether they could kill the target was one question; whether they could leave alive was another.
"Dad, be careful. We strike together," Silva said, expression unusually serious—clearly sharing Zeno's view.
But before the two could move, Feitan lifted a hand and signaled for them to stop.
"Don't rush."
It was useless.
Assassins weren't going to waste time talking.
Zeno and Silva vanished in an instant. Feitan's narrow eyes flashed with annoyance. He muttered something incomprehensible, and his thin sword stabbed sharply to the side as he moved.
Ronin's clone frowned, sensing something off.
When Feitan said "don't rush," his small eyes had clearly shifted toward Ronin's direction.
And Ronin could feel obvious malice in Feitan's aura.
He noticed me? Impossible.
But whether Feitan had noticed anything or not, at the same moment Zeno and Silva moved, Ronin's shadow clone decided to stop hiding—he drove off the second floor and jumped down.
At the same time, he formed seals, and a shrill birdlike chirping exploded through the building.
Zeno and Silva appeared beside Isri at the same time.
Isri's eyes held a flicker of surprise—he hadn't expected the two monsters to choose him as their target.
But he didn't panic.
His slim body held a slightly leaned-back stance, arms hanging naturally at his sides.
Two revolvers hung at his waist.
From the start, Isri had been on alert—his stance was designed for the fastest draw.
So the moment Zeno and Silva appeared, a revolver was already in Isri's hand.
Bang!
The shot fired, the bullet streaking straight toward Silva's face.
At the same time, Phinks—who'd been beside Isri—moved. His fist shot toward Zeno.
And in that same heartbeat, a thin sword stabbed from the side toward Zeno's kidney.
But at the razor's edge, Zeno twisted slightly. The sword stabbed air, and Zeno's hand turned into a knife-hand, stabbing into Phinks' incoming fist.
A boom rang out. Zeno was driven backward by the force—and the thin sword chased him again.
"Tch." Zeno clicked his tongue, but didn't stop moving. He drove his arm down, a wave of aura smashing onto the thin sword, forcing its line off while he lifted a foot to kick Feitan.
But Phinks had already closed in again—and as he approached, Zeno clearly saw Phinks rotate his arm once at his side.
A small motion—yet it made the aura condensed in Phinks' arm spike dramatically.
Interesting.
But just as Phinks' punch crashed toward Zeno, the bird-chirp shrieked behind Phinks.
Lightning flashed, brightening the scene.
Ronin—still disguised as Kakashi—appeared behind Phinks, lightning gathered in his right hand.
Kakashi's classic move:
Lightning Release: Chidori!
Phinks snorted and twisted his waist, turning and punching in one motion.
Boom!
Blood sprayed as Ronin and Phinks passed each other.
Zeno's eyes lit up. As he dodged Feitan's thin sword, he suddenly erupted with a huge burst of aura between his hands.
Aura coalesced—an arrogant dragon head formed, and with a sweep of Zeno's hands, it lunged to bite Phinks.
A sharp howl echoed through the building.
But before the dragon head could reach Phinks, the floor cracked open and a massive sphere rose from below. Zeno's body tilted back with the sudden upheaval, and the dragon's bite missed Phinks' head, tearing away only a chunk of flesh from his shoulder.
At the same time, another enormous boom erupted elsewhere.
It was Silva.
When Zeno was intercepted by Phinks, Silva tilted his head and dodged the bullet.
Then violent aura surged over both his fists, forming two dense spheres that he slammed down at Isri.
But Isri didn't panic—because the bullet that had missed Silva detonated in that instant.
The blast shoved Silva's fall faster toward Isri.
Yet Isri fired a second shot.
This time the bullet exploded less than a meter from the muzzle. The blast wave slammed Silva—and also engulfed Isri himself.
Isri was thrown backward by his own explosion.
Silva, pushing through the shockwave, slammed both fists into the floor.
As Silva tried to move again, Isri let out a piercing screech—and within less than a second of that sound, the floor split and something burst upward.
Ronin landed and watched everything, already knowing who was attacking from below.
Bonolenov—Troupe member No. 12.
What burst from underground was Bonolenov's Nen ability:
Battle Cantabile: Jupiter.
And for Bonolenov to strike this quickly, he must have been prepared beneath them from the start.
With that realization, Ronin's gaze shifted to the window.
Everything happening here was likely being monitored by the Troupe outside.
As he thought that, an arm suddenly shot up from beneath his feet, grabbing for his ankle.
There was a chain on the arm. Before it even reached him, the chain had already snapped into place like shackles.
Not a Nen ability Ronin recognized—meaning the user was likely the Troupe leader himself:
Chrollo.
Ronin formed seals with both hands—no intention of dodging.
Earth Style: Fist Rock Jutsu!
As the seals completed, one of Ronin's arms was rapidly covered in stone, forming a massive rock fist.
He raised the fist. Chakra faded from his body, aura surged—
Enhancement Nen exploded, and he channeled it in the Big Bang Impact-style burst.
He brought the rock fist down in a single crushing strike toward the arm reaching up from below.
~~~
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