Taking advantage of a bathroom break, Ronin created a shadow clone. After the clone split up with Milia and returned to Room 2333, Ronin himself used a Transformation Technique to conceal his identity before leaving the restaurant and heading back to Room 188.
The next day, Ronin received a file from Milia.
After he'd quickly passed Uvogin and Shalnark's information to her the night before, she had immediately dispatched people to investigate overnight. This was the result.
Ronin inserted the videotape into the player and soon saw footage of battles on the lower floors of the arena.
It was clearly a recording from yesterday's matches on the first floor.
The file had already been carefully marked. All Ronin had to do was fast-forward to the timestamps, and there they were—Uvogin in the middle of a match, and then Shalnark and Nobunaga waiting for him below the stage when he stepped off.
Three of them?!
Ronin's gaze sharpened as he stared at the trio on screen. A possibility occurred to him—had these three been searching for him nonstop ever since they parted ways at the Smoky City airship terminal?
What were they, bloodhounds? This relentless pursuit was insane.
While fast-forwarding, Ronin also noticed a familiar figure.
Kurapika.
He was here too—at Heaven's Arena—and he was actually participating in matches. That genuinely surprised Ronin.
He'd assumed that once Kurapika arrived, he'd try to find him immediately. But judging by Kurapika's current actions, it was obvious he had other plans.
Should he reveal himself to Kurapika now?
Ronin hesitated. If Kurapika came to him at this moment, it would be extremely dangerous.
After thinking it over for a long time, Ronin ultimately decided against contacting Kurapika for now. At the very least, he needed to deal with the three members of the Troupe who had come to Heaven's Arena before approaching him.
Otherwise, if something went wrong on his end, given Kurapika's personality, there was a high chance Kurapika would die right alongside him.
---
Nobunaga didn't participate in the matches. From the beginning, he'd insisted on finding Ronin's room and barging in to cut him down.
Fighting properly in the ring? To him, that was child's play—and deeply irritating.
Uvogin, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. He was even planning to stay on and challenge the Floor Masters after killing Ronin.
It seemed the atmosphere of Heaven's Arena had completely assimilated the big idiot.
What annoyed Nobunaga most was how tightly Uvogin watched him at night, like he was guarding against a thief, refusing to let him go after Ronin.
Still, Nobunaga eventually found his chance.
He stood outside Room 2333, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
He'd gotten Ronin's room number from Shalnark while Uvogin was busy fighting in the arena.
Having crossed paths with Ronin at the Smoky City airship terminal, Nobunaga felt a vague but growing sense of danger regarding Ronin's progress.
And Nobunaga was the type who trusted his instincts.
Before leaving the group, he'd even gone out of his way to ask Machi whether this mission would go smoothly.
Her answer had been simple: it wouldn't.
That woman's mouth was practically blessed—or cursed—so Nobunaga chose to trust her words, and his own judgment.
Worst case, he'd take Ronin's head to Uvogin and then have a proper fight with him.
With a sharp shing, the long blade left its sheath. The door was split open in an instant.
The moment Nobunaga stepped inside, his powerful Nen spread outward into En, allowing him to perceive everything within a little over a four-meter radius.
He wasn't incapable of expanding his En further. But in his opinion, this range—twice the reach of his sword plus his outstretched arm—was perfect.
It was the optimal range for him.
He had even given his En a new name.
Domain.
Within this Domain, his blade could strike in an instant and cut down anything he wished.
What Nobunaga saw upon entering was Ronin casually sitting on the living room sofa.
"Yo. Long time no see," Ronin said calmly, greeting him like an old friend.
His response was Nobunaga vanishing from where he stood.
With a sharp rip, Nobunaga's blade pierced straight into the sofa—but there was no Ronin there anymore. Only a broken piece of wood remained.
A substitution technique!
Nobunaga raised an eyebrow. With a flick of his wrist, his razor-sharp blade sliced through the sofa and the wooden decoy, continuing its arc toward his side.
Splash!
He hit Ronin.
But just like what had happened at the Smoky City airship terminal, the Ronin he struck exploded into a mass of water.
At the same time, a barrage of shuriken shot out from the bathroom toward his position.
Nobunaga lowered his stance slightly. His sword flashed in rapid succession, cutting down every incoming shuriken the instant they drew near.
Clink, clink, clink.
No matter how tricky the angle, each shuriken was cleanly split down the middle.
However, when Nobunaga took a step toward the bathroom, his expression suddenly changed. He hastily retreated.
At that exact moment, the bathroom door burst open. Ronin appeared, lungs full of air.
One hand held a seal at his chest, while the other was already raised to his mouth.
Fire Style · Great Fireball Technique!
A massive fireball erupted from his mouth and shot straight toward Nobunaga.
While retreating, Nobunaga flicked his blade, knocking the coffee table into the path of the incoming fireball. With a quick shift of his footing, he avoided the direction of the flames and moved toward the living room window.
Boom!
The fireball slammed into the table and exploded violently.
Through the spreading flames, Nobunaga's eyes caught Ronin stepping out of the bathroom—and the change in his movements.
Ram – Horse – Snake – Dragon – Rat – Ox – Tiger.
As the final hand seal was completed, Ronin felt nearly all of his chakra drain away in an instant.
But the technique was complete.
This time, it wasn't a C-rank jutsu.
It was a true high-level technique—a B-rank ninjutsu.
Fire Style · Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!
The moment Ronin's chakra erupted, three fire dragons formed simultaneously—one in front of him, and one on each side.
The instant they appeared, they roared and charged straight toward Nobunaga.
The temperature in the room skyrocketed in an instant. The scorching heat was so intense that even the air began to visibly warp.
Facing all of this head-on, Nobunaga felt nothing but frustration.
From the moment he entered the room to the instant he was surrounded by fire dragons, only a few seconds had passed. Ronin had clearly prepared everything in advance, waiting for him to walk straight into the trap.
And Ronin's true strength was clearly far greater than what they'd seen on the arena stage.
The glass behind him shattered in an instant.
It was the only escape route Nobunaga could find.
The way the three fire dragons charged at him even gave him the same feeling he'd had after injuring that monster Feitan.
Still, as he leapt out of the room, Nobunaga shot a sharp, murderous glance at Ronin—whose face behind the fire dragons was deathly pale.
At the same time, he also noticed a figure appearing at the doorway.
Did this guy really think he could just set an ambush instead of focusing on escaping?
Had he seriously forgotten that this time, he hadn't come alone?