"It's over," Ronin said softly.
Beyond dropped down from the air. There was no dissatisfaction or negativity in the way he looked at Ronin. Instead, his eyes were full of appreciation and pleasant surprise.
That made Ronin raise an eyebrow slightly. But no matter what tricks Beyond might still have up his sleeve, Ronin no longer cared.
Because at that instant, he sensed that his shadow clone had finally been released.
Not the silent shadow clone trapped together with Machi inside the Earthen Prison Hall, but the shadow clone he had given to Shizuku and the others long ago.
He had no idea what Shizuku's group had gone through to only now use the shadow clone he had sealed inside the scroll, but as long as that shadow clone appeared, he could guarantee their safety.
That was why, facing Beyond now, Ronin finally felt truly confident.
Beyond naturally noticed the change in Ronin.
He didn't know exactly what had happened, but a faint bad premonition rose in his heart.
Yet the worse the feeling became, the wider his smile grew, as if that only made things more interesting.
The enormous Curse Eye behind him suddenly vanished. Beyond seemed to have given up on rescuing Pekotero.
"Before coming here, I already made the most generous guesses I could about your abilities," Beyond said, his tone carrying admiration. "But judging by the current situation, it seems I still underestimated you."
Ronin studied Beyond seriously.
He didn't know what Beyond was really planning, but he knew one thing for sure: he absolutely could not underestimate him.
Sensing Ronin's caution—and the restless impulse beneath it—Beyond suddenly changed the subject. "Cooperation isn't impossible, you know."
"Sorry. I'm no longer interested," Ronin cut him off.
If Beyond had possessed strength that could completely overwhelm him, Ronin would have chosen to join Beyond's team directly in order to preserve his own life.
If Beyond had possessed leverage that could threaten him, Ronin also wouldn't have minded cooperating after displaying enough strength of his own.
But now, Beyond had neither the power to crush him nor enough leverage to coerce him.
So staying far away from Beyond was Ronin's best choice.
Of course, he also knew perfectly well that Beyond would definitely keep targeting him. So distance was only the first step.
Counterattack was the real key.
But how exactly he would counterattack was something to consider after leaving.
The corner of Beyond's mouth lifted. "That isn't something you get to decide. And I believe that even if you manage to leave here safely today, you'll eventually come looking for me to cooperate. Haha. I'm already looking forward to that day."
Ronin raised an eyebrow.
Beyond's confidence gave him a bad feeling.
And as an Enhancer, Ronin trusted his instincts.
So this bastard had probably prepared some other backup plan.
Today's contact might only have been a test—and a setup.
Still, no matter what, he had captured Pekotero. Perhaps he could obtain a lot of useful information from the man's mind.
With that thought, Ronin no longer intended to waste words with Beyond, because he wasn't sure whether Beyond had any other arrangements in place.
So he raised his hand, bit his finger, and activated the setup he had left behind in the ruins.
Summoning Technique.
As a massive amount of chakra surged out, a huge creature appeared out of thin air in front of Ronin.
It was the giant snake he had formed a contract with back in the ruins.
The instant the giant snake appeared, it locked onto Beyond. Without waiting for Ronin to give it an order, its thick tail had already swept toward him.
At the same time, Ronin activated the Shadow Clone Technique. The clone quickly rushed toward the giant snake's mouth.
As Beyond raised his hand to block the tail swipe and was sent flying by its tremendous force, the shadow clone had already disappeared into the snake's mouth.
Beyond never expected Ronin to be able to summon a real, physical giant snake out of thin air.
That was the judgment he made the moment he came into contact with the snake's tail.
This thing wasn't a Nen beast.
It was a real living creature, and one that had even mastered Nen.
Blood marks appeared on the arm he had used to block the snake's tail. They had been left by some strange cutting force. Though they weren't deep enough to expose bone, they were still enough to surprise Beyond.
But before he could counterattack the giant snake, the massive creature that had knocked him away suddenly turned into white smoke and vanished on the spot.
Yet Beyond saw that Ronin had not disappeared together with the snake.
While being knocked back, he had noticed Ronin create a clone and send it into the snake's mouth.
Was that the key?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Ronin's figure faded and vanished in the next second.
Beyond's En instantly spread outward.
After carefully sensing the area, he found that Ronin's presence was completely gone from the surroundings.
That made him start thinking about the nature of Ronin's escape ability.
Then the Curse Eye reappeared behind Beyond. The eye turned, staring directly north.
Beyond froze slightly.
He could sense that the curse he had left on Pekotero was now incredibly far away from him—seemingly more than several hundred kilometers.
In other words, Ronin had taken Pekotero and crossed several hundred kilometers in a single instant.
What a powerful escape ability. Is it the giant snake's ability? Interesting.
Beyond raised a hand and stroked his long beard, his gaze toward the north deep and unreadable, as if he were calculating something.
Only then did Curley and the doll-like girl Marione, who had come here with him, approach.
When Marione spoke, her voice carried a mechanical quality. "Will Pekotero be all right?"
"At worst, he loses one life. He has a backup," Beyond said with an indifferent shrug. "And if he doesn't have to lose that life, then he'll be able to obtain even more information."
Marione nodded and said nothing more.
Curley, however, spoke from the side. "If we just let Ronin leave like this, there's a very high chance Saiyu will end up working with him later, isn't there? He knows quite a few secrets."
"Don't worry. He won't tell anyone. And even if he does, the old man will still go there anyway," Beyond said. "After all, when the time comes, I'll personally write him a letter—the first one in thirty years."
A confident, flamboyant smile appeared on Beyond's face.
"It's almost time. It's been far too long."
Usamen walked over as well. Alongside him appeared a pink-haired young woman in a kimono.
"He's very strong. My suggestion effect doesn't seem to have worked on him at all," the pink-haired young woman said.
She was Izumi Aya.
She was the one who had previously taken the prop box to the ruins and brought the Chimera Ants away from Muherr.
The reason Kurapika had suddenly gone berserk earlier was also because she had secretly used her ability to place a subtle influence on him.
However, in Izumi Aya's view, that influence had still been far too weak.
If she had been able to face Kurapika directly, and then send him to Ronin afterward, she was confident she could have made Kurapika suddenly lash out and attack Ronin on the spot.