Machi had been using her own ability the entire time.
In other words, Chrollo's "Nen thread" ability had nothing to do with Machi. But could two identical abilities really exist in this world?
Ronin felt the answer was no.
The creation of a Nen ability—one's Hatsu—was tied to a person's experiences and thoughts. And since no two people's experiences and thoughts were exactly the same, the abilities they created would inevitably be different as well.
So what exactly was this ability that resembled "Nen threads"?
And that Nen beast currently pulling open the zipper on its mouth—could it really directly strip him of his ability to speak just by talking?
But even if it really could take that away, so what?
Countless thoughts flashed through Ronin's mind, but when his gaze swept over Chrollo at that moment, he froze slightly.
Because Chrollo's mouth had disappeared from his face.
And just then, before Ronin had any more time to think, the zipper on Speak-No-Evil Monkey's mouth was pulled completely open.
"Do not move!"
The instant those three words were spoken, Ronin's entire body froze in place.
So that's how it works?
Although Ronin's body could no longer move, he had already figured out what ability Chrollo was using.
Chrollo's eyes had not disappeared. That meant if See-No-Evil Monkey wanted to pose a threat to him, it could only complete its attack while Speak-No-Evil Monkey had him immobilized.
It wasn't an ability like Omokage's, which stole someone else's eyes. It was merely an ability that sealed vision.
Just as Ronin had thought.
The moment Speak-No-Evil Monkey's voice fell, the final hidden monkey, See-No-Evil Monkey, shot out as well. It rapidly closed in on Ronin and kicked toward him.
Combined with the red cloth wrapped over See-No-Evil Monkey's eyes, the sight actually gave Ronin the strange impression that he was looking at a blind monk.
But when See-No-Evil Monkey got within two meters of him, its movements suddenly slowed.
Being unable to move did not mean he was helpless.
The Mangekyō Sharingan's Ame-no-Tokotachi did not require Ronin to move at all. And as Ame-no-Tokotachi activated, Amaterasu descended directly onto both See-No-Evil Monkey and Speak-No-Evil Monkey.
However, Ronin knew very well that both of these monkeys might just be feints.
The "Nen thread" sneaking in right behind See-No-Evil Monkey might be Chrollo's true killing move.
But so what?
The circle formed by Ame-no-Tokotachi had already completely wrapped around him.
As long as there was no spatial teleportation ability involved, that Nen thread could never possibly—
Ronin froze for the briefest instant.
Because he suddenly realized that Chrollo did, in fact, possess a spatial ability.
Just as that thought appeared, the two monkeys in front of him vanished at the same time.
At the same moment, the Nen thread that had already drawn close abruptly disappeared from where it was. When it reappeared, it had indeed crossed past Ame-no-Tokotachi's blockade.
But with Speak-No-Evil Monkey gone, Ronin's body had also regained the ability to move.
The Nen thread was already pressed close to his body. Ronin swiftly brought his hands together in front of him, and Nen erupted from his body, forming a powerful defense.
The Nen thread touched him.
It did not cause any damage.
But Ronin could see the thread moving, as if it was trying to form a circle on his body.
He couldn't let it succeed.
His hands, which had been about to meet, abruptly separated. The Flying Thunder God Technique he had been planning to use stopped mid-activation, and Ronin reached out with one hand directly toward the Nen thread touching him.
If the Nen thread had only carried a normal attack effect, he wouldn't have cared at all.
Even if that thread could instantly pierce through his body and lock onto his heart, he still wouldn't have been afraid.
Because he had already released the Yin Seal. With the Strength of a Hundred Technique supporting him, even if his heart was destroyed, Ronin could still keep himself alive.
But this Nen thread did not attack that way.
That left only one possibility.
This thread carried some kind of rule.
Before the Nen thread could fully close into a circle, Ronin's hand grabbed the spot where it was.
But at that moment, he sensed a sticky force from the thread.
A thought flashed through his mind, and Ronin instantly understood that simply tearing the thread away was impossible. So instead, his hand not only wrapped around the Nen thread, but plunged directly into his own body.
The Nen thread was attached to the left side of his abdomen. The instant his fingers dug into his flesh, tremendous power erupted. Ignoring the sharp pain in his body, Ronin actually tore away the chunk of flesh on his abdomen where the Nen thread had attached.
And during that process, he saw the Nen thread finish closing, forming a complete circle.
At that very instant, Ronin suddenly raised his eyes and saw that a blowgun had appeared where Chrollo's mouth should have been.
The phone Chrollo had used earlier to photograph him was long gone.
Ronin's eyes sharpened. His other hand had already grabbed the arm holding the torn flesh and Nen thread.
A burst of overwhelming strength erupted, and Ronin forcibly ripped off his own right wrist, then hurled it away with all his might.
When his right hand touched the flesh where the Nen thread was attached, the thread had already stuck to his right palm.
Simply throwing away the chunk of flesh he had torn out was impossible.
And while that severed, blood-spraying left hand was still in midair, an antenna suddenly appeared in it.
It was Shalnark's antenna.
Ronin recognized it at a single glance, and a wave of lingering fear rose in his heart.
If his reaction and movements had been even a fraction of a second slower, that antenna would have pierced straight into his body.
At that point, no matter what abilities he had, he would have become a puppet under Shalnark's control.
Chrollo, that bastard.
Feeling the pain coming from his left wrist, the way Ronin looked at Chrollo changed completely.
Chrollo was far too dangerous.
In the distance, Chrollo had activated the blowgun ability. As he watched Ronin now missing a hand, a strange feeling rose in his heart as well.
That had been a killing opportunity he had created.
Speak-No-Evil Monkey's method of attack was meant to make Ronin underestimate See-No-Evil Monkey. And once See-No-Evil Monkey's attack landed, Ronin, stripped of his sight, would fall into an absolute disadvantage.
Even if Ronin was cautious enough to block See-No-Evil Monkey's attack and prevent it from getting close, that would still create an opening for the "spider thread" Chrollo had shot out to approach Ronin.
As long as the spider thread stuck to Ronin's body and left a circle on it, the Blowgun That Always Hits the Circle would fire the antenna Shalnark had left him straight into Ronin's body, completing the kill.
Everything had gone exactly as he had calculated.
The only thing he hadn't expected was Ronin's decisiveness.
Without the slightest warning, Ronin had torn off his own left hand along with the flesh from the left side of his abdomen.
Was it an Enhancer's intuition?
Or had he noticed the danger?
Chrollo narrowed his eyes. Bandit's Secret flipped open to a new page, and the blowgun in his hand disappeared with it.
In that instant just now, he had already used the bookmark to its absolute limit. The transitions between abilities had been perfect—so seamless that it almost looked as if he could use four abilities at the same time.
And yet even that had failed to secure the kill.
A trace of unwillingness rose in Chrollo's heart.
~~~
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