Ronin had some ideas about clearing the game, but he also knew very well that it wasn't something that could be completed in a short period of time.
So after weighing everything, taking out the three Troupe members already made this trip worthwhile.
He still hadn't told Kurapika about the situation on Muherr's side.
His plan was to go take a look himself first and see what was going on. If necessary, he would have Kurapika rush over afterward.
If it wasn't necessary, then Kurapika could temporarily stay in the game with Shizuku and the others to improve their strength. Ronin really didn't believe the Troupe would choose to enter the game and launch a sneak attack the way they had.
And if the Troupe really did make that decision, Kurapika's abilities would definitely let him prepare countermeasures in advance.
In Ronin's view, if the Troupe actually chose that course of action, it wouldn't be much different from delivering themselves to their deaths.
After all, to confirm whether Troupe members had entered the game, all they had to do was arrange people at the starting point and make sure those people knew what the Troupe members looked like.
As far as Ronin knew, the moment Phinks died, Kurapika had spent money hiring people to go to the starting point.
If the Troupe didn't know Phinks and the others were dead, that was one thing. But once they found out and chose to enter the game, Kurapika would inevitably learn about it immediately.
Even if the Troupe noticed the "observers" as soon as they entered the game and dealt with them, it wouldn't matter.
Because once an observer's name dimmed in the card binder, Kurapika, who checked the binder regularly, would become alert.
Maybe that was the difference between Kurapika and Phinks's group of three.
If Shalnark had been among the people who entered the game back then, he probably would have prepared everything in advance too. There was no way he would have let Ronin get close without them noticing anything.
Or perhaps…
Ronin thought of Feitan's situation. Maybe Shalnark had known from the very beginning what choice Feitan and the others would make.
Among the three dead members, if anyone might have chosen to escape, it was probably Phinks.
While Ronin was thinking about all this and that, Kurapika was busy receiving the seven players who had arrived.
Ronin had already told Kurapika about Genthru in advance, so he wasn't worried at all that Kurapika would be tricked by him.
Kurapika had no intention of leading everyone to clear the game together.
After clearly expressing that point, and explaining that he would not help Battera eliminate players, he sent away some of the relieved players.
Among the three who remained were Nikens and Genthru.
As for the other one, his goal was the same as Nikens's: he wanted to invite Kurapika's group into their organization and proposed a profit-sharing arrangement.
Greed Island was too difficult.
It wasn't a game that one or two people could easily clear, even if they were powerful.
That was the core idea behind his argument.
And the reason he was confident enough to make the invitation was because he knew clearly that Kurapika and the others had also been hired by Battera.
Unfortunately for him, he was destined to fail.
When the other player left, Nikens still wanted to persist a little longer.
"Our team has already collected quite a few designated-slot cards. If we manage to clear the game, we're prepared to split the reward evenly. You don't need to join our team. We just hope that, when the time comes, we won't become enemies and can help each other instead."
Nikens's words sounded a little naive.
That was the first thought Kurapika and Ronin had after hearing him.
Splitting the reward evenly was the kind of plan only an idealist would come up with.
A group gathered together under that kind of arrangement was bound to fracture eventually. Either someone would run off with the cards alone, or small factions would form within the larger team.
Ronin didn't know whether Nikens was truly naive, or whether he had his own plans as well.
But Genthru had clearly joined them with the intention of running off with the cards and eliminating everyone in the team.
And there was nothing wrong with his logic.
After all, once he stole the cards and fled, everyone in the team would stand against him as his enemies. Blowing them all up would naturally be the best way to solve the problem.
"Sorry. If we really decide to clear the game, we'll do it independently. We don't need outside help," Kurapika answered decisively.
That was basically telling Nikens that if their side really decided to clear the game, then the two sides would be competitors.
He shouldn't expect them to show mercy.
Nikens's expression didn't look too good, though there was more helplessness than anything else.
He turned his head to look at Genthru, wanting to see whether this companion—who had strongly insisted on coming along with him—had any better suggestion.
But Genthru only smiled and said nothing.
Because at close range, Genthru had instinctively sensed danger.
It was a warning from his intuition.
If he tried anything, he would die.
Genthru trusted that intuition completely. Especially when he saw the faint trace of amusement flash through Ronin's eyes, he became even less willing to move.
Ronin was strong.
Stronger than anyone Genthru had ever encountered.
Even though Ronin was only maintaining Ten, he still brought Genthru tremendous pressure.
If possible, Genthru did not want to make an enemy of him.
After Nikens and Genthru left, Kurapika turned to Ronin.
"Was he scared off?"
"Yeah." Ronin shrugged. "I deliberately released a bit of unfriendly aura toward him. He was probably frightened. Besides, under the current circumstances, it probably wasn't suitable for him to make a move anyway."
"That makes sense." Kurapika nodded.
"In any case, after I leave, just be careful around him," Ronin reminded him.
Although Ronin had already told Kurapika about going alone to the Kingdom of Aite, Kurapika was still somewhat worried.
"I don't necessarily have to train here," Kurapika said.
"There's no need to rush the collection of the Scarlet Eyes. Under these circumstances, we naturally need to have our own plans too. We can't let everything be dictated by the Phantom Troupe." Ronin shook his head. "You should stay here with them and train properly. If you can lay the groundwork for clearing the game, that would be even better."
He still hadn't decided what cards he wanted to take out of the game, but if he really could achieve the first-clear accomplishment, he wouldn't mind doing it.
"All right," Kurapika agreed.
And in truth, Ronin was also opening up a new path.
After all, the materials Muherr had provided contained information related to the Kurta Clan.
If the remaining Scarlet Eyes really were difficult to collect now, then he also wanted to know whether, apart from their branch of the Kurta, there were still other Kurta villages in the world.
If there were, then he would have a new channel for obtaining Scarlet Eyes.
Of course, he wouldn't slaughter members of the Kurta Clan the way the Troupe had.
But as long as another village existed, there would always be some way to obtain new Scarlet Eyes.
Besides, Ronin also wanted to know where the limit lay when it came to fusing the Scarlet Eyes into both of his own eyes.