The second Uvogin spotted "Franklin," his whole body practically ignited with rage.
They'd come here today already convinced they'd find some lead on Ronin.
After all, there was no way Ronin would just walk away from those scarlet eyes.
What they never saw coming was Ronin having the sheer balls to target the entire auction's lineup of items—and from the looks of it, he was planning to pin the whole robbery on the Phantom Troupe.
How he pulled off the disguise didn't matter anymore. What mattered was the current situation: it was like stepping in mud while wearing white pants—there was no explaining it away.
Not that Uvogin had any intention of explaining.
His massive frame exploded forward through the hail of bullets, reappearing right in front of Ronin's clone in the blink of an eye.
A gigantic fist came crashing down with overwhelming force.
BOOM!
A crater instantly formed in the floor, but Ronin's figure had already slipped back.
A place name slipped from the clone's moving lips and reached Uvogin's ears.
The shadow clone raised one hand—not unleashing any signature ninja jutsu, but channeling aura into his fingertip to fire off rapid Nen bullets.
He really did look the part of Franklin, at least on the surface.
Except those bullets were pitifully weak. They smacked against Uvogin and did nothing except piss him off even more.
Ronin's version was just a crude imitation he'd copied with the Sharingan after seeing the real Franklin once. The power was naturally limited.
He'd never even bothered developing Emission-type abilities anyway.
The mob's gunfire kept pouring toward Uvogin and the other two, carefully avoiding Ronin's clone—not because they were sparing him, but because Ronin was still carrying the most valuable auction items on his back.
Orders from the top: do NOT damage the important lots.
So a few confident, beefy gangsters stepped forward from the crowd. They clenched their fists, completely blind to the Nen bullets, and marched straight toward the fight like they were ready to beat both guys into paste.
But before they could even get close, those "harmless" Nen bullets slammed into them.
Blood sprayed everywhere. The gangsters didn't even know what hit them before they were screaming and dropping to the floor.
The gruesome scene made the surrounding mobsters instinctively back off.
Meanwhile, Machi and Nobunaga seized the opening to close in on Ronin from both sides.
After what happened last time in the arena, they weren't about to give him a fair one-on-one shot at Uvogin again.
Even without borrowing Nen from Millia this time, they weren't taking any chances.
Upstairs, several more Troupe members were already on the move, sprinting toward the higher floors, searching for Ronin's real body that might still be hiding somewhere in the building.
Others were sweeping the perimeter outside, all based on Hisoka's judgment that Ronin's main body couldn't stray too far from his clones.
But by now, Ronin's true self had already taken to the sky above the Cemetary Building, slowly drifting farther and farther away.
As for the shadow clone—as long as it didn't take damage beyond its limit, it would stick around until its chakra ran dry.
The clone had used Transformation Jutsu to disguise itself, but its eyes stayed locked in the three-tomoe Sharingan state.
Those eyes let him clearly read every single attack trajectory coming his way.
He suddenly yanked the backpack off his shoulders and hurled it high into the air. The precious auction items inside burst apart and scattered in every direction.
Freed from the weight, the clone finally unleashed his true physical prowess.
His fist met Uvogin's Super Destruction Punch head-on. The nearly identical power sent both of them staggering backward.
That backward step perfectly let him dodge Nobunaga's slashing blade and bend his body like rubber to slip free of the Nen threads Machi was trying to wrap around him.
The moment his feet found solid ground again, Ronin formed a finger-gun gesture.
"Bang!"
A real Nen bullet erupted from his fingertip—this one copied straight from Sydney's signature move during their fight in the Heavens Arena.
The shot was aimed at Machi.
But before it could reach her, fine threads sliced the bullet apart mid-air.
The instant Machi blocked, Ronin launched himself forward, closing the gap in a flash.
His aura-coated fist exploded with the same Super Destruction Punch style.
BOOM!
Machi crossed her arms in front of her just in time. The colossal force sent her flying backward, her arms buzzing with painful numbness.
Monster!
But even as she was sent reeling, she saw Nobunaga's long blade and Uvogin's iron fist closing in on Ronin at the same moment.
The Sharingan's insane perception let Ronin react instantly.
One hand flashed to his waist, drawing a dagger that met Nobunaga's descending blade. At the same time, his raised foot shot straight toward Uvogin's incoming punch.
The dagger clashed with the katana—and snapped in half. The broken edge sliced into Ronin's body.
His kick slammed square into Uvogin's chest, but Uvogin's fist smashed into him at the exact same time.
The clone finally reached its limit and burst apart in a puff of smoke.
Uvogin stumbled back several steps, face twisted in fury—especially at the perfect shoe print stamped right over the heart of his suit jacket.
"Slipped away again," Nobunaga muttered, sheathing his sword.
The guy's taijutsu had clearly leveled up massively. He was leagues beyond the version they fought months ago in the Heavens Arena.
"Call the boss," Machi said, rubbing her stinging arms.
That was Uvogin's Super Destruction Punch, yet Ronin had matched it almost perfectly. Proof the guy had serious talent in Enhancement.
Looked like his Specialist ability really did lean toward those rare three-category types.
"No sign of him," Chrollo's calm voice came through the phone. "But witnesses saw someone go upstairs and jump out a window. I found an open window on the fifth floor. Feitan, Phinks, and Pakunoda are already chasing."
Meanwhile, Ronin touched down lightly on the roof of a nearby building.
Kurapika and Neon were waiting.
"I spotted Phantom Troupe members inside the Cemetary Building," Kurapika said quickly, taking the large backpack from Ronin. "Looks like they've pretty much mobilized the whole crew."
They'd booked a room on the 15th floor. From here, binoculars gave them a perfect view of the Cemetary Building.
"Also, right after you jumped, a few others jumped out too and started searching the ground for your trail. Those deliberate tracks you left earlier should come in handy," Neon added.
"I already slipped Uvogin the location," Ronin said. "Whether he shows, and how many come with him… that's the gamble."
Everything the clone experienced had already flowed back to the real body the moment it vanished.
But after getting played so many times, would Uvogin really fall for it and show up alone?
"Worth a shot," Kurapika said with a confident grin. "If he's dumb enough to come by himself, or if the Troupe decides to use him as bait to set a trap… either way, we can just eat him first."