Chapter 191: Ronin's Plan—Summoning Jutsu
The spiders' primary objective hadn't been Benket's squad after all.
As the unit began their retreat under the cover of the armored SUV, the swarm ignored the vehicle entirely. Instead, the mass of chitin and legs surged past them, heading desperately toward the tunnel exit.
"Are we just going to let them leave with the Golden Throne?" Mashur asked, clearly taken aback.
Based on his assessment of Ronin, there was no logical reason for the boy to cede such a high-value treasure to a group of freelancers. In the cold math of ruins exploration, the strongest person claimed the crown—and Ronin was undeniably the strongest entity in the cavern.
By letting Benket walk away with the throne, Ronin was essentially handing over billions of Jenny in potential revenue.
Ronin simply offered a calm, detached smile.
"It doesn't matter. Let them have it."
His focus was elsewhere. His gaze was fixed on the ancient serpent coiled in the branches of the second Great Tree.
He acknowledged that the creature was powerful.
But if it chose to stay and defend the tree alone, Ronin knew it would end in tragedy. Through his Sharingan and his En, he could sense the sheer volume of the spider swarm still lurking within the cliffside fissures.
They were numbered in the tens of thousands. At that scale, even a master-tier predator would eventually be ground down by attrition. The spiders would trade a thousand lives for every inch of the serpent's hide until it was a hollowed-out husk.
The biological "Fruit" monsters born from the pods were useless in this scenario. They were too fragile to act as a proper defensive line against a swarm of this density.
Before the breach, the balance of power had been maintained by a tripod of forces: two ancient serpents, a thriving Chimera Ant colony, and the alchemical "Fire-Phobic" monsters.
Together, they had kept the spiders contained.
But now, the colony was extinct. The alchemical monsters had just been decimated by Ronin's fire. Most importantly, one of the two serpents was gone.
The balance was shattered.
The Great Trees and the remaining guardian were facing an inevitable deluge.
Should I save them? Ronin calculated the cost-benefit.
As he looked at the serpent, a bold, experimental idea took shape.
His eyes brightened. He didn't hesitate. Standing atop his branch, he began weaving a sequence of seals.
Against a swarm of this size, there was only one solution: Earth Style.
The cavern floor groaned and buckled. Several massive figures erupted from the soil—Golems created via the Golem Technique. They acted like living bulldozers, charging into the center of the spider swarm with mindless, crushing force.
The Golems plowed through the arachnids, dragging a mountain of crushed chitin toward the cliffside.
But they didn't stop at the edge. With a series of thunderous impacts, the massive stone constructs wedged themselves into the gaps between the cliff face and the cavern walls.
Ronin was creating a physical plug. He knew the stone wouldn't hold forever against the acidic mandibles of the swarm, but he didn't need forever.
He jumped from the tree and walked across the gore-slicked floor toward the remaining serpent.
The Golems had cleared a perimeter, crushing both spiders and the fragile alchemical newborns. The floor was now a slurry of nutrient-rich blood and mulch—the perfect fertilizer for the Great Trees.
Ronin stopped at the base of the trunk and looked up, meeting the serpent's vertical pupils.
"I know you can understand me," Ronin said, his voice echoing in the hollow. "I'm offering a trade. I will protect this sanctuary and ensure your lineage continues. In exchange, you will sign a contract with me."
Ronin didn't care if the snake truly grasped the linguistics; he was projecting his intent through his aura.
In his library of Ninjutsu, there was one iconic ability he had never been able to use: Summoning Jutsu (Kuchiyose no Jutsu).
It wasn't a matter of skill or energy. He simply lacked a target to summon.
But seeing this ancient beast with an aura capacity double his own—and hearing Mashur's theory about its sapience—the pieces of a "Contract" began to form.
If he could bind this serpent, he could summon it to the surface as a high-tier combat asset.
Even better, if he mastered the Reverse Summoning Technique, he would have an instantaneous, untraceable way to return to this cavern from anywhere in the world. It would be the ultimate secret base.
He didn't even need the snake's consent. If it refused, he would use Genjutsu to force the submission and then finalize the seal.
But there was a missing physical component.
The Summoning Scroll.
"Vanessa," Ronin called out, not taking his eyes off the snake. "Tell Kurapika I need a blank scroll. High-quality paper, ink, and a brush. Get it to me as fast as possible."
From the cliffside came a series of sharp, rhythmic cracks. The spiders were already beginning to eat through the Golem barricade. The clock was ticking.
Ronin considered using Amaterasu to seal the breach. The spiders would make perfect fuel for a permanent wall of black fire.
But looking at the pit behind the trees and the way the trees were currently absorbing the nutrients from the dead, he reconsidered. He didn't want to accidentally incinerate the trees or the soil.
He needed to maintain the balance, not just win a battle.
He could hire Muherr for the long-term containment. With the Golem mech on standby, holding this chamber against a brainless swarm would be a profitable, low-risk side-hustle for the mercenaries.
Vanessa nodded. She didn't understand what he was building, but she recognized the "Boss Voice." She turned and blurred toward the exit.
Mashur stayed behind. He was too curious to leave now.
The standoff between the boy and the ancient serpent continued. At the breach, the Golems finally crumbled.
Ronin didn't rebuild them. He formed a cross-shaped seal.
Four Shadow Clones appeared at the edge of the cliff. They completed their signs in unison.
A shimmering wall of purple fire erupted across the breach.
Ninjutsu: Four Violet Flames Formation!
This time, it wasn't a cage. It was a linear barrier. Every spider that tried to climb over the edge was instantly reduced to ash.
The serpent watched Ronin's display. Its pupils dilated, a flicker of human-like curiosity—and perhaps respect—appearing in its gaze.
The silence lasted for hours.
True to his word, Kurapika was fast. Vanessa returned with a specialized scroll and a set of calligraphy tools.
But as she handed them to Ronin, she gave him a long, questioning look.
"Kurapika said to tell you: 'Try not to start another war until the ink is dry,'" she muttered.
Ronin took the scroll with a smirk. It was time to sign the contract.
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