Uvogin was hesitating.
His rational side was screaming at him: don't go meet the guy alone. What's waiting for you is probably death.
The memory of almost being burned alive on that rooftop was still fresh. The pain had taken nearly a month to fade.
But if he backed down now, Uvogin knew this whole thing would become a thorn stuck in his side forever—maybe even turn into some kind of mental block that'd haunt him.
Damn it!
What he didn't realize was that every move he made was being watched by Nobunaga and Machi.
Those two knew Uvogin way too well.
They knew him so well that even if his face got messed up, they could still read his thoughts from the tiniest twitch.
The two of them exchanged a quick glance and instantly came to the same conclusion.
Uvogin was hiding something from them—something that probably went down when he fought Ronin's double, away from everyone else's eyes.
Nobunaga mouthed to Machi: "Follow him."
Machi gave a slight nod. A thin Nen thread had already silently latched onto the bottom of Uvogin's shoe without him noticing a thing.
Meanwhile, Feitan and the others had made it back to the abandoned building on the outskirts of town.
After Ronin's double blew itself up earlier, Uvogin and the rest had taken out all their frustration and rage on the mafia guys.
As for being mistaken for the ones who stole the Scarlet Eyes? That didn't matter at all.
Every single one of the hundred-plus mafia goons who'd gathered at the Cemetary Building got wiped out. Only after that did Chrollo call the three of them with the new meet-up spot.
By the time more mafia reinforcements showed up at the building, all that was left were rows of twisted corpses hanging in the air, plus severed limbs and chunks of flesh scattered across the floor from slashes and tears.
Even battle-hardened soldiers would've felt like throwing up looking at that scene.
The mafia launched a city-wide manhunt. The bounty on the Phantom Troupe in Yorknew City had shot up to an insane amount.
For the next few days, unless they could track down the Troupe, the whole city would probably feel like it was on edge, waiting for the next explosion.
"Gotta admit," Chrollo said, closing the book in his hand once everyone was there, "that Kurta kid who got away is now a serious threat. And taking him out isn't gonna be easy."
"There's still two more pairs of Scarlet Eyes coming up at the underground auction," Nobunaga pointed out. "That's still our best shot at luring Ronin out."
His old plan wasn't gonna work anymore, so his eyes landed on Kortopi. "What if we have Kortopi move early and swap out the real eyes? Could we track Ronin that way?"
"He knows my ability," Kortopi replied, not sounding confident. "He'd probably be on guard."
Back when Ronin escaped from Uvogin, he'd ripped off the sticker Kortopi had copied onto him, dodging the follow-up tracking completely.
That's exactly why they hadn't tried anything like that when they first got to Yorknew.
"So what?" Nobunaga countered. "Even if he spots something off, we make sure he knows the Scarlet Eyes are in our hands. Unless he's really given up on collecting them—which I doubt.
From everything I dug up on him, he's been gathering those eyes nonstop. Even the fight with Omokage? Pretty sure he started that on purpose just to take the pair she had."
The investigation in Moldin City hadn't been a total waste.
Anyone who'd seen Ronin fight could piece together what happened at that church.
It was a combo: that Nen ability that turned the ground into quicksand-like sludge (the same one that dragged Nobunaga and Machi under) plus scorching flames.
Clearly, Ronin had unlocked a new level of his power back then.
"Alright," Kortopi said, convinced.
Even Chrollo didn't object. He just added his own thoughts: "Ronin already hit the mafia auction once. They'll definitely be ready for a second attack. So after Kortopi does the swap, have him make some fake corpses."
"Ours?" Kortopi asked.
"Yeah." Chrollo was getting tired of constantly being chased. "If we fake our deaths for a bit, we can shake the tail and focus everything on hunting Ronin."
"Won't they see through it? My ability's already exposed," Kortopi said, skeptical.
"Twenty-four hours is plenty," Chrollo replied, his eyes glinting. Then he turned to Uvogin. "Uvogin, what do you think?"
The sudden question caught Uvogin off guard. Nobunaga and Machi instantly realized: Chrollo had noticed something was up with Uvogin too.
Uvogin was quiet for a second. "Ten miles west of the city, in the Gode Desert."
"You want a one-on-one?" Chrollo asked, his face blank, like he was just asking about the weather.
Uvogin nodded seriously. "I can't let it go."
"You sure you can win?" Chrollo pressed.
Uvogin thought hard, then slowly shook his head.
That short clash with the double had given him a pretty good read on Ronin's current strength.
Right now, Ronin might still be a little weaker physically, but his aura reserves definitely weren't far behind.
If it was a straight-up fight using only basic Nen techniques, Uvogin was confident.
The problem was Ronin's ability was unpredictable as hell, plus he could make doubles. If the real body and the double teamed up, it'd basically be two-on-one. Uvogin's biggest worry was getting kited.
From their earlier fight, it was clear Ronin excelled at mid-to-long-range area-of-effect attacks.
And the scariest part? Those wide-area attacks actually packed enough punch to hurt him—badly. Enough to kill him.
"So you're planning to go die?" Chrollo finally raised an eyebrow.
Uvogin lowered his head, but the corner of his mouth curved up. "I'm the one who's gonna win. Because I've got the resolve now."
Chrollo was silent for a moment. "Fine. Go."
"Boss," Nobunaga called out.
He'd partnered with Uvogin the longest and genuinely thought they clicked the best out of anyone.
He didn't want to lose his buddy here.
Uvogin grinned wide. "Relax. I'm gonna win!"
Franklin just watched quietly, his gaze occasionally drifting to the arm Machi had sewn back onto Uvogin at his request.
"Don't do anything stupid," Nobunaga said. "I don't wanna have to collect your body. And don't worry about the rest—we've got it covered."
Phinks rolled his shoulder next to Feitan. "This time, if that kid tries using someone else's power again, I'll make him regret it."
"Your morals are really something," Feitan said, narrowing his eyes. "You'd better finish quick. If I kill Ronin's friends before you're done, and you're still fighting, don't blame me if I come chop you too."