Ronin's eyes changed in an instant—from ordinary black to a crimson red marked with tomoe.
They were eyes completely different from the Scarlet Eyes!
Kurapika stared at Ronin in shock, unable to understand why this transformation had happened.
"My eyes changed when I wanted the power to take revenge," Ronin said slowly.
"Th-this… how could that… then…" Kurapika stammered, words failing him.
"It's nothing," Ronin said calmly, as if he were talking about someone else. "Even though they don't look like Scarlet Eyes anymore, every bit of strength in these eyes comes from Scarlet Eyes."
"The first tomoe is mine. The second tomoe… is my father's."
Ronin's voice was light, but to Kurapika it hit like thunder.
"You absorbed Uncle's eyes?" Tears shimmered in Kurapika's eyes.
He couldn't even imagine what kind of resolve nii-san Ronin must have had to make such a choice!
"Yes. I took back my father's gouged-out eyes from Uvogin." Ronin looked down at his hands. "I wanted the power for revenge—the power to kill Uvogin, to kill every member of the Troupe.
And my father's eyes answered me. They melted into my eyes with warmth—becoming my strength, and becoming part of me."
This was the explanation Ronin had prepared long ago.
And it matched reality closely enough: every pair of Scarlet Eyes gave him a portion of power.
Whether it was the karmic debt created by taking that power, or Ronin's own reasons, killing the Phantom Troupe was something Ronin would do no matter what.
So to Ronin, saying it this way was perfectly fine.
Kurapika was shaken to the core.
After a long silence, he finally asked softly, "So… the clan's eyes will all become your strength?"
"Yes." Ronin admitted it directly. "After my father, I absorbed another pair. That's what gave me the capital to fight Uvogin on the ring."
Then, with a careful, apologetic tone, he asked, "Kurapika… do you blame me?"
"How could I?" Kurapika shook his head quickly. "This is the will of our people. I'm happy!
nii-san Ronin has been acknowledged by the clan. They're willing to give you their power. I think that's their trust in you—and their hope that you'll carry that power and live on."
By the time he said that, Kurapika was already crying hard.
Ronin stood and handed him tissues, patting his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll live—and I'll make the butchers pay the price they deserve."
The image of clan members bound in the plaza and tortured to death was the clearest scene Ronin had inherited from the previous owner's memories.
Even late at night, in half-dreams, he'd relived that hell more than once.
Elders. Children. Women.
No one escaped the demons' torture and death.
And the greatest demon of them all—the one who delighted in torment—was that short, devilish Troupe beast:
Feitan.
"We'll take back all of our people's eyes—and let them complete their revenge through my eyes!" Ronin swore.
Kurapika stood firmly at Ronin's side.
He felt that nii-san Ronin, carrying the will of the whole clan, shouldn't have only revenge in his heart—but when he thought of what Ronin had endured, the words stuck in his throat.
And besides… did he really want to persuade him?
Kurapika asked himself.
The answer was: he wanted revenge too—he wanted every executioner erased.
So for now… let it be this way.
Let everything restart after revenge is done.
"By the way," Kurapika asked, "we came here to…?"
"To find someone." Ronin explained. "Her ability should help us. And she's especially interested in collecting human organs—maybe we can get information about Scarlet Eyes from her."
Kurapika didn't react much.
That surprised Ronin a little.
"Scarlet Eyes were ranked among the Seven Most Beautiful Colors. The person who made that evaluation is the one who should die. Most collectors are just following the trend.
And realistically, there's no way to completely stop people from coveting Scarlet Eyes right now," Kurapika said, helpless but rational.
It was a level-headed view.
Ronin had underestimated Kurapika's mental toughness.
But that was understandable—Kurapika was still much younger than the Kurapika Ronin knew from the manga. It was easy to forget he wasn't even fourteen yet.
"But for people who have twisted intentions toward Scarlet Eyes…" Kurapika's voice hardened. "I won't show mercy."
Ronin nodded. That kind of resolve was good.
"Then when do we start training Nen?" Kurapika asked, eyes full of anticipation.
"No rush," Ronin said, understanding that haste made waste. "For you, it's best to awaken Nen on your own. That builds a stronger foundation—and lets you go further."
Right now, when Kurapika didn't activate Scarlet Eyes, he already struggled after climbing past the 150th floor of Heavens Arena.
In Ronin's view, to "open Nen," Kurapika should at least have the ability to push up to the 190th floor.
So Kurapika still needed training.
Perfect—Ronin needed training too.
They'd start with weighted conditioning.
…
That morning, Neon slipped out of the house again.
She loved "still" organs—organs that "couldn't breathe."
To her, once an organ was removed from a living body and turned into a specimen, it gained a new life, a new meaning.
But in Molding City, places that displayed large numbers of human organs were rare.
As for corpses preserved in formalin, Neon had no interest—even though they contained organs as well.
Molding City's Natural History Museum was the place she went most often. It had many animal specimens, and also some animal organs preserved in jars.
But Neon knew those weren't really animal organs.
They were human.
Someone had killed people and hidden their organs inside the museum. Visitors came every day, but Neon still hadn't seen anyone notice that the "disguised" organs were actually human.
Today was the same as always.
Neon stood before the display case holding a heart.
Maybe it was precisely because the heart had been disguised that it seemed to possess a strange kind of magic—drawing Neon in.
She desperately wanted to take that human heart—labeled as a "monkey heart"—home with her.
But the money her father gave her wasn't enough to buy it.
Some like-minded people she met online became curious after hearing about it, and kept asking her questions about the heart.
Neon felt a twinge of regret.
She was afraid that one day, she'd come to the museum—and never see that beautiful heart again.
~~~
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