Illumi had actually gotten in touch with Maha, his great-great-grandfather.
It wasn't that he didn't want to call Zigg—his great-grandfather—but he literally couldn't reach the guy. No one had any clue where the old man had disappeared to this time.
That ancestor had always been the restless type who couldn't sit still for five minutes.
Maha had always been pretty fond of his descendant Illumi, so when he heard that his great-great-grandson had taken on a tricky job and needed backup—or even direct help—he happily agreed.
On top of that, Illumi had tracked down Milluki hiding in his own room, busy unboxing a brand-new figure.
He invited the chubby Zoldyck family member along as technical support.
Illumi needed to confirm whether the target he was assassinating was actually Ronin's real body. The best person for the job was Milluki, who lived and breathed tech and gadgets.
Milluki couldn't come up with a single reason to refuse Illumi's invitation.
After all, Illumi's eyes had already locked onto his freshly arrived collectible. He had zero doubt that if he dared say no, the guy would 100% use the figure as blackmail.
And even if he helped out anyway, the figure probably wouldn't survive the experience.
So it was smarter to just join the crew. That way he could protect his figure and pocket some commission money while he was at it.
Illumi was very satisfied with Milluki's reaction.
Before they left home, he also asked about Killua. The butler told him their father had taken the kid out for training.
That left Illumi feeling a little disappointed. He'd finally come home and still couldn't see his beloved little brother. It gave him that hollow feeling in his chest.
Milluki trailed behind Illumi. Even as his younger brother, the icy, gloomy aura rolling off the guy still made him shiver.
The three of them left Kukuroo Mountain and headed straight for Heaven's Arena.
Time slipped by quietly, and September reached its final day.
Ronin arrived at Heaven's Arena. Before he even stepped inside, he already spotted his promotional posters plastered all over the announcement boards.
But in the opponent slot on every poster, there was just one giant question mark.
——
It was more than enough to hook the audience's curiosity, and the hype had been building for a full week already.
Ronin's arrival hit the place like a handful of stones dropped into a calm lake—ripples exploded everywhere in seconds.
Cameras swung toward him from every direction at once.
All of it was Miria's doing on purpose. Even though Ronin rarely gave her much material to work with, he was still by far her most profitable fighter.
It wasn't just his handsome looks and killer presence. Every single victory delivered massive visual impact—especially that fight against Uvogin. People were still talking about it nonstop.
"Flame-Spitter Ronin," "Fire God Ronin"—those nicknames had started spreading the moment he left the Arena last time.
When he came back for his fourth match, the titles blew up even harder.
Because he'd used fire-style again in that battle.
The raw power of those flames created insane visual impact and waves of heat that hit you right in the chest. One of his fights wasn't just hyped through Miria's marketing—it genuinely turned into a spectacular, must-watch performance.
The combo had pushed his popularity to a whole new level.
And the fact that Ronin still hadn't lost a single match made his fame inside the Arena explode.
After finishing the publicity task Miria had assigned him, Ronin pushed through the crowd and headed for his private room inside the Arena.
Miria was already waiting for them inside.
The second they saw each other again, Ronin's eyes instinctively went straight to Miria's perfect hands before moving up to her delicate face.
What surprised him, though, was that Delilah was there too, standing right beside Miria.
Miria obviously noticed where his gaze had landed.
This time she didn't try to hide it like before. Instead, she openly raised her hand and brushed the hair at her temple.
The motion highlighted every bit of her feminine beauty. In that moment, Miria practically glowed in Ronin's eyes.
"Looks like you've picked up quite a few new teammates, Ronin," Miria said softly, her gaze shifting to Shizuku and Neon.
She already knew Neon.
But Shizuku—the girl Ronin had specifically gone all the way to Meteor City to find—definitely caught her interest.
"Yeah, they're solid," Ronin admitted with a grin.
He was actually pretty damn happy with how his current team lineup had turned out.
"This is Shizuku Murasaki, my newest teammate from Meteor City," Ronin introduced her right away.
Shizuku pushed up her big round glasses and stared curiously at Miria, trying to decide whether she counted as part of the team. If she did, then Kurapika's team rules would apply. If not… Shizuku immediately lost interest in getting to know her.
Ronin caught the look in her eyes and knew exactly what she was thinking.
"Miria's part of our team too," he explained. "She usually doesn't roll with us in the field, but she's our biggest source of tech support and our head of logistics."
"You really know how to hand out fancy titles," Miria said, a rare smile breaking across her refined face.
"I'm just telling the truth. Without your help, Kurapika and I would probably still be stuck in the Yorknew mess. We definitely wouldn't have been able to pull off anything in Meteor City," Ronin said sincerely.
Meeting Miria had been one of the luckiest breaks he'd gotten.
Without her, when Uvogin showed up at the Arena, he probably would've bailed temporarily to avoid the fight.
It was Miria who helped him get the Scarlet Eyes, boosted his strength, and lent him Nen so he could wreck Uvogin on the arena floor. That also set up Kurapika's arrival and everything that came after.
Under Ronin's honest gaze, Miria's cheeks turned a faint pink.
She wasn't used to this kind of atmosphere. "Got it. So… you ready for tomorrow's fight against Hisoka?"
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Ronin answered, full of confidence.
He'd already clashed with Hisoka once and knew exactly how the guy's abilities worked. He was actually really curious whether Hisoka could break through Susanoo's defense.
"Be careful. Don't get cocky—Hisoka's strong," Miria warned, dead serious.
Ronin's expression turned solemn too. He understood the rule: even against a rabbit, a lion uses full power.
Especially since tomorrow's opponent was Hisoka—the man who had probably already gathered intel on Susanoo, Amaterasu, and the rest of his techniques.
So in tomorrow's fight, he was going all out.
He only hoped Hisoka wouldn't disappoint him.