Ronin's waist injury healed quickly. Even his broken arm would probably be completely fine in another week.
That likely had something to do with him being an Enhancer—his natural recovery was greatly boosted. Unfortunately, his Sharingan hadn't evolved far enough; if he could use A-rank ninjutsu, he probably would've healed even faster.
His first fight after arriving at Heavens Arena didn't interest him much, because the opponent was simply too weak.
Ronin barely had to move, and the other guy was already flying off the ring.
Winning so easily put him in a noticeably lighter, more relaxed mood.
"Contestant number 2025."
The referee's voice came from the side.
Ronin turned his head and got the message: he would advance straight to the 50th floor.
On the way up, Ronin collected the prize money for his first win—152 jenny.
Enough for a bottle of soda.
Also, since he'd won, he was allowed to fight one more match today.
Heavens Arena's match scheduling worked like this: if a fighter won, then as long as the fighter agreed, they could be assigned another match the same day.
In other words, a fighter could fight at most two matches per day.
That meant Ronin could reach at most the 60th floor today. To climb to the 200th floor, it would take exactly a week from now—assuming he didn't slip up along the way.
Ronin planned to use this place to seriously sharpen his combat experience.
The fights on the 50th floor were just as uneventful. Unfortunately, he didn't reach the 100th floor that day, so he had to rent a room inside the Arena himself.
He didn't have much cash left.
Fortunately, winning on the 50th floor earned him a 50,000 jenny prize.
Ronin didn't bother trying to save money. When you could easily make hundreds of millions, there was no point penny-pinching over a few tens of thousands.
Over the next few days, Ronin browsed the internet to learn the world more clearly while rapidly climbing floors.
Little by little, he became a rising star in the Arena.
After all, in just a few days he'd reached the 170th floor without losing a single match. He didn't always one-shot his opponents, but he won cleanly and decisively every time.
As the floors increased, Ronin found that his opponents had solid combat experience.
That was exactly why he didn't always go for instant knockouts—he wanted to exchange blows and absorb more fighting techniques.
When he reached the 150th floor, he even considered joining a martial arts gym to learn more formal skills.
In the end, he rejected the idea.
If the instructors were Nen users, maybe. But after checking a few places, he found they were just ordinary people running classes, and he lost interest.
That afternoon, Ronin arrived at the 170th-floor waiting room.
When he received his match notice, he couldn't hide his surprise—because his opponent was someone he recognized.
"Ronin-san, Killua-san—please proceed to Floor 173, Arena A for your match."
Hearing that name, Ronin clearly froze for a moment.
Because by this timeline, Killua should be only eight years old.
But then Ronin remembered something Killua had once said.
When Killua traveled with Gon to Heavens Arena, he mentioned that he'd come here when he was six and spent two years clearing it.
And back then, he reached the 190th floor.
That all lined up.
However, as Ronin walked toward the ring, he saw someone waiting in the corridor—as if he'd been there specifically for him.
The man wore a neat tailcoat. A small tuft of mustache sat under his lower lip. On his nose were inverted-triangle glasses.
When he saw Ronin approach, he offered a perfectly measured smile.
"Hello, Ronin-san. I am Gotoh, the butler of young master Killua's family."
Ronin narrowed his eyes slightly. "What do you want?"
"Yes." Gotoh maintained that harmless, polite expression. "In the upcoming match, I hope you will not use Nen. As a token of sincerity, I will give you 10 million jenny as compensation."
Ronin didn't even think about it. He nodded. "Fine."
Free ten million—there was no reason to refuse.
And Gotoh appearing here also confirmed Ronin's suspicion: the Zoldyck family had a plan for Killua's training.
Otherwise, Ronin didn't believe that a Killua who stayed at Heavens Arena for two years would never come into contact with Nen even once.
Gotoh smiled in satisfaction. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a card, and bowed slightly as he stepped aside.
As Ronin passed him, he casually accepted the card and gave Gotoh a small nod.
When Ronin actually stepped onto the ring and looked at the tiny Killua across from him, he felt a strange sensation.
Eight-year-old Killua was only a little over a meter tall. The moment Ronin climbed up, Killua's whole body bristled and snapped into a fighting stance.
Clearly, even without attacking, Ronin's Ten alone was already putting immense pressure on Killua.
Ronin had no intention of losing—and no intention of breaking the deal.
Even without using Nen, he was confident he could beat Killua.
So the instant the referee declared the start, Ronin exploded forward and appeared behind Killua.
But Killua's reaction was lightning-fast. The moment Ronin closed in, Killua spun around and crossed his forearms in front of him.
Thud.
Ronin's knife-hand chop struck Killua's arms. The force sent Killua skidding back several steps.
At the instant Killua steadied himself, Ronin saw Killua's hands subtly change—and a fierce killing intent rose in his eyes.
In the next second, Killua accelerated toward Ronin.
But every move was transparent to Ronin.
Ronin shifted slightly, and as Killua swept past him, Ronin chopped again—this time aiming for Killua's neck.
But the strike missed.
Killua burst forward at explosive speed, dodged the chop, and reached for Ronin's heart.
Ronin simply angled his body and avoided the lethal grab.
Then he snapped his leg up and kicked Killua squarely, sending him flying.
And it wasn't over.
At the apex of Killua's flight, Ronin's fist hammered into Killua's back, slamming him down onto the ring.
Killua hit hard.
The referee immediately began counting.
The crowd erupted with cheers.
But Ronin saw Killua's body twitch—he was trying to get up.
Ronin thought for a moment, then retreated a few steps. And in that same moment, he sensed a trace of killing intent—not from Killua, but from below the ring.
Ronin turned toward it and saw a stiff-faced young man whose face was decorated with countless pins.
Illumi.
Ronin murmured it silently in his mind, then quickly returned his gaze to Killua.
Killua got back up on the referee's count of five. His face now carried stubborn frustration—and his killing intent thickened.
His dark eyes looked at Ronin with no emotion at all, only coldness.
So this is how insane assassin-family training is…
While that thought passed through Ronin's mind, he spoke calmly as the referee announced the fight would continue:
"Give up. You're not my opponent."
If Killua lost this match, he'd only drop to the 160th floor. With his strength, as long as he didn't run into Ronin again, he could easily climb back to the 170s.
And losing one match shouldn't matter to Killua at this stage.
After all, if it took him two years to reach the 190th floor, that meant he'd lost plenty of times along the way.
Killua stared at Ronin for a long moment before finally reining in his killing intent. He shoved his hands into his pockets, striking a cool pose.
"Fine. You really are stronger than me. I forfeit."
Ronin nodded. He had no intention of getting friendly with Killua. He turned, ready to leave the ring.
But Killua's voice came again from behind him:
"I can smell a disgusting aura on you that I really hate. I'll challenge you again. Next time, I'm going to figure out what it is."
Ronin waved a hand. "If you can make it up here, I don't mind."
At Killua's current level, he wasn't reaching the 200th floor.
So Ronin wasn't worried at all.
Still… he could sense that the moment he said that, the killing intent from below the ring became even heavier.
~~~
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