"Ronin, Hisoka contacted me first."
The moment Abaki, who had stayed behind alone, opened her mouth, Ronin was genuinely surprised.
After all, judging from what had happened before, Hisoka had no interest in Abaki at all, much less any intention of rekindling their old friendship.
Yet now Hisoka had taken the initiative to contact Abaki. There was no way he had good intentions.
"What does he want?" Ronin asked.
"He wants me to help him arrange a fight with you," Abaki said, mustering her courage.
Ronin frowned. At this point, he no longer had much interest in fighting Hisoka. Hisoka's development of his abilities was impressive, but there was already an enormous gap between them in both aura reserves and ability.
Or, more accurately, Ronin's raw stats now completely crushed Hisoka's.
No matter how rich Hisoka's combat experience was, Ronin did not think he could break through Susanoo alone, let alone deal with the fact that Susanoo was far from Ronin's only method.
As if sensing Ronin's intention to refuse, Abaki quickly continued, "He knows he probably isn't your match now, but he still wants to try. He said it would just be a spar using only the fundamentals of Nen."
Ronin was a little surprised. After thinking it over, he nodded.
"You really want to see him, don't you? Though I feel like even if you do meet him, there's a good chance you'll be disappointed."
"I know." Abaki lowered her head. "But there are still things I want to ask him face-to-face."
"Fine," Ronin said, saying nothing more.
This was no loss for him. He could treat it as helping Abaki out.
Abaki's ability was quite useful. In fact, in Ronin's view, once they reached the Dark Continent, her ability might produce some unexpected effects.
"Thank you." Abaki's gratitude was sincere. "Actually, the reason I dared to bring it up isn't just because I really want to see Hisoka. It's also because I can tell you're looking forward to fighting strong opponents.
"Hisoka, at least in my eyes, is undoubtedly a genius. A genius extremely skilled at battle."
"Mm. Looks like it's not just you. Hisoka understands me pretty well too." Ronin smiled faintly.
"Then let me ask one more question. Do you want this fight to take place at Heaven's Arena, or would you rather keep it low-profile?" Abaki asked.
"Low-profile. If Beyond weren't watching from the shadows like a tiger waiting to pounce, I'd probably prefer stepping into the ring and enjoying the crowd's cheers," Ronin said without hiding anything.
Ever since he had transmigrated into this world, stepped onto the stage of Heaven's Arena, and become a wildly popular fighting celebrity, he had enjoyed the feeling of being admired and celebrated.
After defeating an opponent under the eyes of countless spectators, the cheers and applause from the crowd would magnify the joy of victory.
It was an incredible feeling. At least, it was for Ronin.
"Okay. I'll go tell him. I think he'll come as soon as possible. He's looking forward to this duel even more than you are. Otherwise, he wouldn't have contacted me." Abaki laughed self-mockingly.
Abaki hurried away with her phone. Around that time, Kurapika also returned to the rest room the shipyard had set aside for Ronin.
Pairo was no longer by Kurapika's side.
Instead, in his arms, he held a head that had lost both eyes, along with a glass jar containing a pair of eyes.
Kurapika pushed the jar directly toward Ronin.
"Here. Pairo asked me to give this to you, Ronin-nii."
"Have you really made up your mind?" Ronin had no intention of putting on a false display of politeness. He reached out and accepted Pairo's eyes.
Looking closely, one could indeed tell that Pairo's eyes had an even brighter luster than the Scarlet Eyes of the other clan members. In fact, they radiated a brilliant, jewel-like sheen.
It felt as though these eyes had not lost their vitality even after their owner's death.
No wonder Pairo's eyes had fetched a truly astronomical price at the auction back then. These eyes represented a kind of pinnacle.
A beauty that surpassed even the definition of the Seven Great Beauties.
Ronin forcibly suppressed the urge to merge with them on the spot.
"Mm." Kurapika nodded hard. "It's time for me to look forward too. Later, I'll let Pairo rest in peace."
Ronin nodded heavily.
"Go do it. No matter what, I'll always support you."
"Thank you, Ronin-nii." Kurapika thanked him with complete sincerity. He even bent at the waist and gave Ronin a solemn, formal bow.
Ronin was somewhat surprised.
After straightening up, Kurapika explained, "I'm sorry. Back then, I doubted you. I also let a lot of resentment and dissatisfaction toward you build up inside me."
Kurapika had not explained much before. It had been as though the matter had simply passed.
It had ended with Kurapika being manipulated into saying and doing irrational things.
But now, it was clear that Kurapika had thought much more deeply about it.
"It's all right."
After a thousand words passed through Ronin's mind, they ultimately turned into only that sentence.
In truth, ever since last time, an invisible rift had already appeared between the two of them without either of them realizing it. Now that everything had been said openly, that rift naturally vanished like smoke.
"Let's go to the Dark Continent. I hope we can find more of our people there." Kurapika's eyes were firm.
With Chrollo's death, the Phantom Troupe's collapse, and the Fourth Prince's death, Kurapika had finally vented all the hatred in his heart.
Pairo's recent companionship, along with everything Ronin had done for him without asking for anything in return, had finally allowed Kurapika to step out from the shadow of his clan's massacre.
"Mm." Ronin nodded heavily.
Kurapika left to deal with Pairo's head.
Ronin did not know where he intended to bury Pairo's head, but he assumed Kurapika and Pairo had already discussed it long ago.
Holding Pairo's Scarlet Eyes, Ronin felt a growing sense of anticipation.
Without hesitation, Nen began to cover the jar. No matter how beautiful or valuable Pairo's eyes were, to Ronin, the most important thing was whether they could provide him with energy, or even cause his Sharingan to evolve.
Wrapped in Nen, the Scarlet Eyes began to dissolve and release a dazzling red light.
The red light flowed along Ronin's Nen into his body, then precisely toward the location of his eyes.
Ronin felt a burning sensation in his eyes. He chose to close them.
The heat did not make him uncomfortable. On the contrary, he enjoyed it immensely.
It was as if an invisible pair of hands were soothing his tired eyes. The feeling was unbelievably comfortable.
With his eyes closed, Ronin not only felt the abnormal change in his eyes, but also sensed his own aura reserves rising steadily as Pairo's eyes merged into his body.
That wonderful sensation lasted a full ten minutes.
When Ronin opened his eyes again, a realization emerged in his heart.
His eyes would never again fall into a state of irreversible damage from overuse.
Nor would his vision deteriorate from overusing the Sharingan.
And this should be the legendary Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.