Ronin wasn't arrogant enough to step into a match without reviewing Greg's intel first.
So from the very beginning, he already knew what kind of tactics Greg would use.
Bricks. Lime powder.
Those were Greg's go-to tricks. According to the information Millia had gathered, Greg came from a street-thug background and had been fighting like that since he was a kid.
From Greg's match footage, it was clear that while the bricks were created using Conjuration-type abilities, the rest of his tools were things he carried on him at all times.
Like the oversized wrench he pulled from his pocket after all his earlier attacks were blocked by Ronin.
Ronin dodged the wrench as Greg swung it and drove a punch straight toward Greg's face.
Honestly, calling Greg "ugly" wasn't quite accurate.
In Ronin's mind, "sneaky and ugly Greg" fit him much better.
Bang!
Ronin's fist landed—but not on Greg's face.
A brick suddenly materialized in front of Greg, and Ronin's punch smashed straight into it.
Before the brick could be driven back into his own face, Greg crouched and swung the wrench toward Ronin's waist.
The brick shattered instantly under Ronin's punch.
But the explosion of fragments also released a cloud of dust—something Greg had never shown in previous fights.
Ronin reacted immediately. The instant his punch broke the brick, he shut his eyes and drove his knee upward toward Greg's face.
Judging by his posture, he had no intention whatsoever of defending against the wrench.
At that moment, Greg could've retreated and avoided the knee strike.
But fueled by sheer viciousness, he instead conjured another brick right in front of his face just as the knee was about to connect.
Bang!
Ronin's knee smashed into the brick, shattering it under the sheer force, and the impact continued straight into Greg's face.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
At the same time, Greg's wrench slammed into Ronin's lower back.
A trade of injuries?
Ronin raised an eyebrow. As his raised leg came down, he was already bursting forward.
As for the blow to his waist—there was barely any pain.
Enhancers were the best-balanced Nen category when it came to attack, defense, and recovery.
As a Conjurer, Greg could only bring out about 60% of an Enhancer's reinforcement potential in combat.
With both sides releasing roughly the same amount of aura, an Enhancer's punch would naturally hit harder than a Conjurer's.
And on top of that, Ronin could mobilize more aura in an instant than Greg ever could.
That's why Ronin's punch broke through Greg's Ren defense and dealt serious damage.
But Greg's wrench failed to break through Ronin's Ren at all.
That was the Enhancer advantage—pure, overwhelming stats.
Greg's strength lay in his dirty tricks and tools, but once Ronin was fully prepared, those gimmicks couldn't make up for the raw gap in aura.
In a close-quarters fight like this, Greg was destined to lose.
Ronin leapt high into the air, leaving two vivid red streaks across the ring.
His fist—overflowing with both Nen and chakra—came crashing down into Greg's chest as he landed.
BOOM!
An explosion-like roar echoed through the arena.
For a split second, everything went silent.
Then the crowd erupted—thunderous applause and deafening cheers.
As for Greg, whose chest had collapsed inward and whose survival was questionable, no one cared anymore.
At that moment, the man who withdrew and stood calmly at the center of the ring—
Ronin—
was the brightest star in the entire arena.
"Winner—Ronin!"
The referee blew the whistle and made it official.
The commentator shouted at full volume as the arena went wild and medical staff rushed in.
Ronin closed his eyes slightly, savoring the fanatical cheers of the crowd.
When he opened them again, he turned and left behind nothing but a lone, aloof silhouette.
Down by the ring, Millia pushed up her glasses.
She hadn't been wrong—Ronin was absolutely the right choice.
He was born to be a combat star.
The question was… how should she lend him aura?
Wait until he reached ten wins and challenged a Floor Master?
Or deliberately create tougher situations for him?
Millia stood up as well.
If she chose the latter and he found out, it could shatter their partnership.
But if she waited for the former—given Ronin's personality—even if he lost, he probably still wouldn't rely on outside help.
Troublesome, either way.
---
Ronin attended the celebration banquet Millia hosted for him.
The most important part was the photoshoot—images meant to promote his overwhelming strength.
Everything proceeded smoothly. This kind of event had been agreed upon from the start of their partnership—good publicity, minimal time wasted.
And honestly, a first win on the 200th floor really was worth celebrating.
Ronin stayed at the banquet for about half an hour, said his goodbyes to Millia, and left with ease.
The real significance of his fight with Greg wasn't the victory itself—
It was that it confirmed his earlier theory.
He had found an intermediate state between the Sharingan and normal eyesight.
And that intermediate state was—
The Scarlet Eyes.
The Sharingan evolved from the Scarlet Eyes. The transformation normally happened so fast it was almost impossible to notice.
But through repeated experimentation, Ronin had learned how to stretch out that instant.
As a result, his aura changed.
Part of it rapidly converted into chakra, while the rest remained as Nen.
This was exactly the state Ronin had been searching for—
A condition where he wouldn't expose the existence of either the Scarlet Eyes or the Sharingan, yet could briefly wield both chakra and Nen at the same time.
In this state, Ronin began experimenting with reinforcing ninjutsu using Nen.
The results were disappointing.
Ninjutsu didn't actually require Nen at all, and techniques like Fire Style would likely need a change in Nen affinity to see any real enhancement.
While Enhancers could train in Transmutation and reach about 80% of a natural Transmuter's effectiveness, Ronin saw that as a complete waste of his Enhancer talent.
Even if Nen reinforcement boosted ninjutsu, how much could it really add?
It was far simpler—and more efficient—to just pour more chakra into the technique itself.
That alone would increase its power.
The most important benefit of this intermediate state, however, was something else entirely—
For that brief instant, Ronin could use the Sharingan to replicate Uvogin's Nen ability that he had once witnessed.
As for reinforcing taijutsu with Enhancer Nen, the results were exactly as he'd hoped—
One plus one truly became greater than two.
That said, achieving this effect required extreme concentration.
When practicing alone, it was hard for him to unleash that level of power.
But on the battlefield—fully immersed in combat, entering a state of total focus—everything flowed naturally, almost effortlessly.
Just as he'd suspected—
Combat was the fastest path to growth.
Fortunately, Ronin had reined himself in at the very last moment.
Otherwise, with the explosive fusion of both powers in that instant, the ring probably would've been left with nothing but scattered pieces of Greg.
If Greg survived, Ronin felt he should be grateful.
Of course, Ronin hadn't held back out of mercy—
He simply didn't want Greg's gruesome death to damage his public image.