Chapter 67: Conjecture and The Ten Dons
Shortly after Ronin's group vanished, Chrollo and the other Spiders appeared on a nearby rooftop.
"We still have to start with the Scarlet Eyes." Shalnark looked down at the chaotic street, noting the mini-volcano crater.
That was definitely Ronin's handiwork.
Ronin seemed to specialize in four elements: Water, Fire, Earth, and Lightning.
A person mastering four different elemental transmutations... Shalnark could only think of one explanation: Specialist.
Even so, it was exaggerated.
It was as if Ronin had dumped all his stat points into the upper three categories of the Nen chart (Enhancement, Transmutation, Emission) despite being a Specialist.
While Specialists could technically master multiple affinities, Ronin's level of proficiency was absurd.
But the more exaggerated the power, the harsher the restriction.
Ronin was hiding it well, but there had to be a cost.
Conditions and Vows were a double-edged sword. To gain power, one must pay an equivalent price.
"Life force," Chrollo said suddenly.
His thought process aligned with Shalnark's. The only thing valuable enough to trade for such rapid, overwhelming power was life itself.
Combining Ronin's tragic backstory and his obsession with revenge, it made sense. He was likely burning his lifespan to achieve vengeance in a short time.
Enemies like this were the hardest to deal with.
The closer they got to the end, the more reckless and dangerous they became.
Excluding life force, there was another possibility, based on a clue Chrollo recently uncovered. But he doubted the Kurta Clan possessed such a thing.
Ronin had fled under pursuit and hadn't returned to the village since.
Chrollo synthesized the intel in his mind and formed a plan.
"I remember you told Uvogin there might be a way to heal his arm," Chrollo said.
"Yes. I saw it on the Pro Hunter forums. Rumor has it there's a game called Greed Island that contains miraculous items," Shalnark explained.
"Powerful healing cards, rejuvenation, gender swapping, astral projection, even male pregnancy..."
Shalnark listed the effects he had researched.
"Rejuvenation... returning to youth?" Chrollo chewed on the word. "Leak this information to Ronin. If his power really comes from burning his lifespan, he will be desperate to enter the game to get that rejuvenation item."
"We can use Greed Island as a trap. His primary goal is the Scarlet Eyes, so he'll prepare heavily for those auctions. But he won't expect a trap around the game."
Shalnark's eyes lit up.
"Even if he enters the game, we can follow him. There are special spell cards inside that make tracking and cornering him easier," Shalnark had done his homework.
Greed Island had been running for a decade. Info leaks were inevitable if you paid enough.
A book materialized in Chrollo's hand: Skill Hunter.
He flipped the pages. One ability caught his eye—something he had stolen from a Shadow Beast during the ambush.
It was an unexpected harvest. But if combined with another ability in his book, it could become a lethal weapon against Ronin.
But how to use two stolen abilities simultaneously?
Chrollo frowned in thought.
In a secret facility in Yorknew, ten people sat around a round table.
Their expressions were grave. These ten represented the pinnacle of the global Mafia underworld: The Ten Dons.
"Only two Shadow Beasts survived. And they're crippled," one Don broke the long silence.
The Ten Dons commanded thousands of soldiers, but true talent was rare.
The Shadow Beasts were their elite unit, handpicked from their respective organizations.
Now, this elite unit was nearly wiped out, leaving the Dons feeling exposed.
"We need to hire real professionals," another Don suggested.
The proposal met with general agreement.
"Are the Shadow Beasts too weak? They were supposed to be the strongest. Yet, according to witnesses, they were annihilated not just by the Phantom Troupe, but by another unknown group," said Raymond, a younger Don with a scar running down his face. Owl was his man.
Until today, he believed the Shadow Beasts were invincible. Now, he realized they were frogs in a well.
He heard from survivors that six Shadow Beasts faced three Spiders and were wiped out in under five minutes, along with the armed support.
To the Spiders, the Shadow Beasts were no different from common thugs.
"The other party isn't unknown," an elderly, authoritative Don named Nico spoke up. Bat was his subordinate. "His name is Ronin."
"A challenger on the 200th floor of Heavens Arena. Four matches, four wins. His penultimate opponent was Spider #11—the same man who caused the massacre at the Cemetery Building tonight."
Photos appeared on the big screen. Most were from the Arena, but a few blurry shots from tonight's chaos were included.
This was enough to give the Ten Dons ideas.
"We need to recruit again. I suggest expanding the Shadow Beasts," another Don proposed.
"Let the reserve members—Rabid Dog, Leech, Porcupine, and Spider (not Phantom Troupe)—form a temporary squad," Raymond laid out his plan. "Then, we expand the unit to 30 members. Each of us provides three."
"Let the reserves go to Heavens Arena. Only those who reach the 200th floor and win a match are qualified to join the Shadow Beasts."
"If someone becomes a Floor Master, they qualify to lead the unit."
"Agreed."
The Ten Dons voted unanimously in favor of Raymond's proposal.
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