After returning to the Great Serpent Cave, Ronin released everyone he had stored inside the Fun Fun Cloth.
Only then did Ronin finally have the chance to ask Shizuku and the others what had happened earlier.
"We were lured away," Abaki summarized their experience in a single sentence. "Though at the start, I suppose we did it on purpose. After all, you had already warned us about it."
Ronin nodded.
Because he had long predicted that they might be ambushed when retrieving the Scarlet Eyes, Ronin had made arrangements for everyone.
He had even given each of them a scroll. Sealed inside those scrolls were his shadow clones. If necessary, the others could release the clones to turn the situation around.
Or even if the clones couldn't reverse the situation, their abilities could still help everyone escape.
You could say he had given each of them an extra layer of insurance.
"At first, the only one who lured us away was this woman," Shizuku continued after Abaki, kicking Pakunoda, who was still unconscious on the ground. "But her strength was pretty average. We didn't need to use your shadow clones at all. The three of us were enough to capture her."
Ronin's gaze fell on Pakunoda.
He had no interest in Pakunoda whatsoever. Her ability was certainly good, but it wasn't useful to him.
Puppet Technique could let him control Pakunoda, but even then, there was no way he would trust a controlled Pakunoda enough to let her shoot one of her Memory Bullets into his brain.
But if he didn't use that method to obtain the information she had stolen, then what? Control Pakunoda and make her slowly recite the information bit by bit?
In that case, Ronin might as well just use his own ninjutsu, Mind Reading Technique. It would be far more convenient.
So when it came to how to deal with Pakunoda, Ronin had only one thought.
Kill her.
Shizuku continued telling him what had happened. After she knocked Pakunoda unconscious with Blinky, they prepared to return and look for Ronin.
But the sounds coming from the villa made it clear that Ronin had also been attacked.
So Shizuku and the others planned to sneak back and look for a chance to ambush the Phantom Troupe members.
After all, Pakunoda's appearance had already revealed the attackers' identity.
But just as they were preparing to return, they discovered some familiar people in the forest.
"Who?" Ronin was a little surprised, though he already had a faint answer in mind.
"Muherr, Mascher, and Vanessa," Neon, who had been quiet until now, said, naming the three of them.
Ronin thought, As expected.
But this also confirmed something for him: although Beyond had pressured him, he had not pushed things to the point of no return.
Otherwise, the ones who appeared in front of Shizuku and the others would not have been Muherr's team, with whom Ronin had some friendship, but more dangerous people like Marione.
"We didn't clash with them, but our movements were restricted. Although we had a chance to break through by tearing open the sealing scrolls, in my judgment, even if we really broke out and reached your location, we might have become a burden. So we ended up in a standoff with Muherr and the others."
Abaki explained her judgment and decision. "It wasn't until Muherr and the others withdrew on their own that I tore open the scroll and let your shadow clone appear. I suppose that counts as reporting that we were safe?"
"It does." Ronin nodded approvingly.
Abaki's judgment had been correct.
With the team composition they had at the time, even if they released all three shadow clones they carried, whether they could break through Muherr's blockade was still questionable.
Ronin had interacted with Muherr many times, and he knew very well how cautious the man was.
Especially since, from the current situation, wherever Muherr was, Golem was almost certainly nearby too.
If the shadow clones had become Muherr's enemies, then Golem, hiding in the dark, would probably have attacked them.
Against that monster created through a cooperative-type ability, Ronin didn't have much confidence in winning if he only used shadow clones.
After all, shadow clones and the real body had one fundamental difference: shadow clones could not use the Mangekyō Sharingan's abilities.
At least, Ronin's shadow clones could not use Susanoo, Amaterasu, or Amenotokotachi.
Even if, through continuous training, Ronin might one day be able to make his shadow clones use Susanoo, that time was not now.
Looking at it this way, his earlier guess that Saiyu might have helped a little was probably wrong.
After all, Muherr and the others had never actually attacked.
And by the time Saiyu regained his ability, Beyond and the others had already appeared.
But regardless, from the attitude Beyond's team had shown toward Shizuku and the others, Ronin understood a few things.
So when his gaze landed on Pekotero, the killing intent he had shown earlier was gone.
"Do I take it myself, or do you hand it over?" Ronin walked up to Pekotero.
Looking at this strange-looking man, who was no more than one meter twenty tall, Ronin focused mainly on his backpack. The Scarlet Eyes were most likely inside it.
Ronin did not think his judgment was wrong.
Ever since Pekotero appeared, his eyes had been constantly scanning the surroundings. When he saw the two giant trees not far away, he seemed to realize something, and surprise appeared on his animal-like face.
If he wasn't mistaken, this should be the Mahawi Ruins in the Kingdom of Aite.
But this place was at least two thousand kilometers away from Kakin's royal capital, where they had been. For Ronin to cross such a distance in an instant was simply unbelievable.
No wonder Beyond valued Ronin so highly.
Just as Pekotero thought that, his view was blocked. Ronin's figure was standing over him, looking down from above.
Pekotero felt enormous pressure, but he was not afraid.
Because even if he died here, it didn't actually matter much. After all, the version of him Ronin had taken away was still inside the game instance he had entered.
Even if he died, he would only lose one life, a segment of memory, and drop some equipment. To him, the impact would not be significant.
The only thing he needed to weigh was which was more valuable: sacrificing his life to protect part of the Scarlet Eyes, or preserving his life and bringing back information.
Ronin studied Pekotero carefully.
He could not see even the slightest trace of fear in the man's eyes.
That was very wrong.
Surely Pekotero didn't think that just because Muherr and the others hadn't attacked, Ronin would let him go too.
Ronin didn't believe Pekotero was that naive.
Then there was only one possibility.
The reason Pekotero was so fearless was because he believed he would not die.
And by "would not die," it wasn't that he thought Ronin wouldn't attack him.
It was that he thought Ronin couldn't kill him.
Ronin narrowed his eyes. With a thought, he prepared a ninjutsu.
~~~
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