After completing the challenge up to the 100th floor, Kurapika received the same news as he stepped down from the arena.
However, his condition clearly wasn't great.
The intensity of Heaven's Arena had exceeded his expectations. After reaching the 100th floor, he could still win his matches, but the gap between him and his opponents had become uncomfortably small.
He couldn't help but wonder how Brother Ronin had managed to climb all the way to the 200th floor.
That had to mean he was truly strong.
But someone that strong had been attacked—who could it have been?
Anxious, Kurapika rushed to the elevator. Yet even if he could go up to the 200th floor, he had no idea where to find Ronin.
The corridor where Room 2333 was located had already been sealed off. A crowd had gathered outside, but no one was allowed inside to check.
Still, word had spread that the room's occupant was unharmed.
Somewhat dejected, Kurapika returned from the 200th floor to his own private room on the 103rd floor. After sitting in silence for a long time, something suddenly seemed to click in his mind.
Could it be that Brother Ronin had been under constant attack from the Phantom Troupe all along?
Kurapika thought of the headless corpse found outside the village. Judging by the clothing, it had likely belonged to Ronin's father.
None of the 128 villagers should have left, yet Ronin's father had appeared outside the village, beheaded—and the fragments of the severed head had been found far away from the body.
What if Brother Ronin had been there at the time?
What if he had escaped from the Phantom Troupe's clutches and then come to Heaven's Arena?
And why was Brother Ronin standing so openly in the spotlight now? Was he deliberately trying to draw the Phantom Troupe's attention?
If so, what was his goal?
Revenge.
That had to be it.
Kurapika's conviction grew stronger. The people tracking Brother Ronin definitely knew what he looked like. With Ronin being this high-profile, there was no way the Troupe wouldn't notice him—unless they were blind.
When that happened, they would inevitably come to deal with him.
In that case, Brother Ronin could lure the Troupe out into the open and kill them one by one, while also drawing all of their attention onto himself.
And that wasn't all.
With Brother Ronin out in the open, Kurapika—another survivor of the Kurta Clan—wouldn't be targeted as long as he didn't expose himself.
Brother Ronin was protecting him.
On top of that, staying hidden gave Kurapika enormous freedom to maneuver, whether it was secretly investigating the Phantom Troupe or waiting for the right moment to strike with an assassination.
No… that wasn't all.
By choosing Heaven's Arena as his battlefield, Brother Ronin was probably also sending him a message—warning him not to act rashly.
Strength was what mattered most.
Kurapika couldn't even reach the 200th floor, yet even someone like Brother Ronin, who dominated the 200th floor, was being hunted by the Phantom Troupe.
If Kurapika ignored the gap in strength and charged in blindly, driven by hatred, all he would accomplish was adding another pair of Scarlet Eyes to the Troupe's collection.
Brother Ronin had really gone to great lengths.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Kurapika's eyes welled with tears once again. He couldn't betray Brother Ronin's expectations. He had to grow stronger—fast.
Strong enough to help Brother Ronin.
Strong enough to kill the Phantom Troupe and avenge his people.
And it would all start by climbing to the 200th floor and finding a chance to reunite with Brother Ronin in private.
With that thought, Kurapika immediately pulled himself together and began doing push-ups right there in his room.
…
Ronin, meanwhile, hadn't thought nearly that far ahead.
All of his actions were based on his understanding of the Phantom Troupe's behavioral patterns, as well as confidence in his own strength.
With the ninjutsu he had mastered, if he truly wanted to escape, it would be extremely difficult for the Troupe to stop him in a place like Heaven's Arena.
And now, with Millia as an external ally, he even had the confidence to go head-to-head with Uvogin in the arena.
Unfortunately, Millia hadn't been able to contact a second person willing to sell a pair of Scarlet Eyes.
It seemed that trying to recover the Scarlet Eyes through more conventional channels really wasn't going to work.
The best approach was still the same as Kurapika's in the manga: find a suitable mafia family, use their network to locate the Scarlet Eyes, and then use underworld methods to acquire them.
That would not only be simpler than his current slow negotiations, but also save him a huge amount of money.
Given his current strength, he naturally wouldn't value a small family like the Nostrade family the way Kurapika had.
However, the Nostrade family's young lady was someone worth bringing under his command.
Neon Nostrade was born with a Specialist-type Nen ability: Lovely Ghostwriter. This ability allowed an invisible spirit to automatically write prophetic poems, predicting events in the target's life over the next month and providing warnings on how to avoid danger.
If he controlled Neon and had her perform one prophecy every month, it would be possible to avoid most major dangers.
With such a practical ability, Ronin had no intention of letting her fall into the hands of the Phantom Troupe's leader, Chrollo.
Recently, Ronin had also looked up information on the Nostrade family online.
The Nostrade family was a completely unremarkable mafia group operating in a small city.
The boss, Light Nostrade, was extremely skilled at winning people over. His businesses mainly involved underground casinos and red-light districts.
According to information Ronin had purchased from professional Hunters, Light was a very ambitious man, but he lacked ruthlessness. Because of that, he wasn't valued by the upper echelons of the mafia and could only be considered a fairly successful low-level boss.
Light did indeed have a daughter named Neon, currently fourteen years old. After her mother's death, she dropped out of school and lived in Light's villa. She rarely went out, and the place she visited most often was the Natural History Museum, where she seemed obsessed with specimens.
Light was extremely strict with her, and their relationship was poor. They often argued whenever he brought other women home.
Those arguments usually ended with Neon getting slapped.
Ronin wasn't surprised by this at all. Light's "love" for Neon existed solely because she had the potential to foresee the future.
In other words, in Light's eyes, Neon was more of a tool than a daughter.
From the information, it was clear that Neon hadn't yet revealed her prophetic ability. That explained why Light didn't value her much at the moment.
Ronin closed the file. The fact that her ability hadn't been exposed yet was perfect for him.
He planned to head to the small city where the Nostrade family was based—Moldin City—after settling his match with Uvogin.
Once he took Neon with him, it would be time to head to Yorknew City.
Before September arrived, he intended to secure a seat as one of the Ten Dons. Only then would he be able to acquire Scarlet Eyes more efficiently and rapidly increase his own strength.
With everything planned out, Ronin's shadow clone reappeared on the 200th floor.
Because today, Uvogin would finish his 190th-floor match and officially become a 200th-floor fighter.
And Ronin's goal was simple.
Meet him face-to-face—and register for the next match at the same time.