Ronin used reverse summoning to move himself directly from Kakin to the giant snake's nest deep inside the ruins.
The process, however, consumed an enormous amount of chakra.
Especially because before activating reverse summoning, he first had to summon the giant snake, then create a shadow clone and send it into the snake's body, using sealing techniques to ensure the clone wouldn't be repelled into raw energy during the transfer process.
That made his energy consumption even greater.
But now was not the time to rest. Ronin still needed to transfer Shizuku and the others back as quickly as possible.
Otherwise, he didn't believe Shizuku's group could escape from Beyond with only a shadow clone protecting them.
The only thing Ronin found somewhat regrettable was that even before leaving, he still hadn't been able to confirm whether the shadow clone trapped inside the Earthen Prison Hall had managed to kill Machi.
At the time, sealing Machi and the shadow clone together inside the Earthen Prison Hall had been the best method Ronin could think of for dealing with her.
But according to the information sent back when the shadow clone dispersed, Machi had only been struck in the abdomen by the clone's Rasengan and fallen into a state where it was unclear whether she was alive or dead.
When the shadow clone tried to finish her off, the Nen threads on Machi's body automatically defended her.
A massive number of Nen threads wrapped around Machi, forming a cocoon that was not easy to break, while also squeezing the shadow clone against the rocky wall of the Earthen Prison Hall until it shattered.
Now that Beyond's group had gone there, as long as Machi wasn't dead, she would either be taken away by them or left behind in the ruins if they judged her to have no value.
Ronin's shadow clone activated the Summoning Technique. Then the shadow clone inside the giant snake's mouth activated reverse summoning again, bringing Ronin to where Shizuku and the others were.
The whole process was not only troublesome, but also consumed a huge amount of Nen.
Ronin's aura, which had already been nearly depleted in the previous battle, was now close to bottoming out. That forced him to reopen his Yin Seal, which had also used up more than half its stored energy.
With his aura replenished, Ronin saw Shizuku and the other two, all of them injured.
He also noticed that behind Shizuku, someone was tied up on the ground with rope.
The person wore a women's office uniform, had shoulder-length blond hair, and sharply defined features. But at the moment, she looked rather miserable. Half her face was swollen and bloodied, and she had already fallen unconscious.
It was Pakunoda, the Phantom Troupe member with the ability to read other people's memories.
She was also one of the people closest to Chrollo—the kind of person Chrollo almost always brought with him wherever he went.
But Ronin quickly realized something was wrong.
If it had only been Pakunoda, then with her strength, she wouldn't have been able to hold Shizuku's group back for long.
After all, Pakunoda had never been a combatant within the Troupe. Her ability leaned entirely toward support. Even if she pushed herself to the limit, Ronin didn't think she could compare to Shizuku.
Especially since this was Shizuku after more than half a year of training with him in the ruins. That made her even further beyond Pakunoda's level.
So besides Pakunoda, there had to have been someone else.
Now wasn't a good time to ask questions, so Ronin barely said anything. As he nodded to Shizuku and the others, he had already pulled out the Big Cloak.
"Wait."
A sudden voice came from behind Ronin.
Ronin turned and saw someone appear at the edge of the nearby forest, looking casual and carefree.
The man was clearly trying his best to maintain his usual persona, but the messy wounds on his body and the swelling on his face proved that he had definitely suffered some rough treatment earlier.
And the instant Ronin saw him clearly, he recognized who it was.
Saiyu.
The Zodiac member whose ability had been stolen by Chrollo. He should also have been a member of Beyond's team.
From what had happened earlier, it wasn't hard to see that a rift had formed between Saiyu and Beyond's group.
But Ronin couldn't determine whether this was just an act of self-sacrifice to gain his trust.
After all, his opponent was Beyond—
a man who had lived at least fifty years longer than him.
So Ronin's movements didn't pause in the slightest. The Big Cloak directly wrapped up Shizuku, the other two, and Pakunoda on the ground.
"Need something?" Ronin asked in a flat tone.
No matter what purpose Saiyu had in coming here, Ronin wasn't especially interested.
"Leave me a way to contact you," Saiyu said bluntly. "Also, thanks."
The corner of Ronin's mouth lifted slightly. He didn't refuse Saiyu, and he accepted that thanks as well.
After all, he had genuinely killed Chrollo and allowed Saiyu to regain control of his own ability. To Saiyu, that was indeed a tremendous favor.
After saving Ronin's phone number, Saiyu finally raised his head solemnly and looked Ronin straight in the eye.
"Be careful. Beyond is extremely difficult to deal with. And once he sets his sights on you, he absolutely won't let go."
"I know," Ronin replied calmly.
After his brief contact with Beyond, Ronin could confirm that Beyond had not gone all out against him. In fact, he hadn't even really used his own ability.
All he had used were transfer abilities and his personal application of Nen, yet even that had already made Ronin feel how troublesome he was.
Because Beyond's abilities were genuinely somewhat similar to his own.
And Ronin knew better than anyone how difficult he himself was to deal with, thanks to his mastery of ninjutsu.
By comparison, Beyond clearly also possessed some kind of Specialist ability, and when paired with the experience and wisdom he had accumulated over several decades, it wasn't hard to imagine just how troublesome he would be.
Saiyu gave a heavy nod. Then he cupped his hands in farewell, turned around with a carefree air, and disappeared into the forest.
Ronin narrowed his eyes slightly.
He had thought Saiyu might make another request, such as asking Ronin to take him out of Kakin first.
After all, Ronin didn't believe Saiyu had failed to see the way he had appeared earlier.
And he strongly suspected that Saiyu might have secretly helped Shizuku and the others before.
Shaking his head, Ronin stopped thinking too much about it.
The summoned giant snake vanished, and the Reverse Summoning Technique activated again. Ronin quickly disappeared.
At the same time, back in the ruins, Beyond had not left. Instead, he was carefully observing the two people in front of him.
These two were none other than the people who had survived the battle against Ronin earlier.
One was Shalnark, who had always stayed outside the battle zone and only sent out his antennas.
The other was a girl who had been dragged out of the giant cocoon of Nen threads.
Machi.
Compared to Shalnark, who was practically still in peak condition, Machi looked almost broken.
No—
she really was broken.
The Rasengan had dealt an almost devastating blow to her body, but her Nen threads had indiscriminately stitched together the parts that had been damaged. That made her look like a torn-up rag doll now.
The Nen around her body was not ordinary Nen either.
It was black Nen.
Post-mortem Nen.
Machi had been forcibly dragged back from the edge of death by her own Nen threads. But her current state was anything but good, and it would probably take some time before she could recover.
Even so, just from looking at the Nen around her, it was obvious—
she was stronger now than she had been when she teamed up with Chrollo against Ronin.