Looking at the Nen coating his hands, Ronin had an idea. He extended his aura to envelop the bottle.
He knew this technique—it was Shu, the art of shrouding objects with Nen.
As his aura wrapped around the Scarlet Eyes, a warm current flowed from the eyes into his body.
To his shock, the eyes inside the bottle began to dissolve as they were enveloped by his Nen.
A vibrant crimson hue flowed from the melting eyes into Ronin's aura, traveling up toward his own eyes.
There was no pain, only a comforting warmth spreading through his eye sockets.
Simultaneously, Ronin felt a surge of strength return to his body. He knew he had entered the Sharingan state again.
His hypothesis was correct.
Fusing with the Scarlet Eyes was the method for evolving his Sharingan!
He could clearly feel that as the red color in the bottle faded, his stamina recovered significantly. Even his Chakra reserves felt deeper than before.
Does fusing with the Scarlet Eyes not only evolve my vision but also increase my life energy?
Time passed slowly. Ronin remained seated on the branch. The rain had stopped unnoticed, leaving the forest in silence, broken only by the occasional chirp of insects or birds.
Meanwhile, Uvogin had returned to the Kurta Clan's village.
Only a few people remained in the village. Feitan, the short interrogator, was among them. Seeing Uvogin return, his eyes lit up.
"Yo. Where are the eyes?" Feitan narrowed his eyes, his tone dripping with mockery.
Uvogin's face was dark.
He had realized his mistake the moment the phone was destroyed. Failing to catch the boy was a mark of incompetence.
Faced with Feitan's taunts, he could only grit his teeth in silence.
"Kortopi, can you still sense his location?" Uvogin walked past Feitan, heading straight for Kortopi, whose face was almost entirely hidden by long hair, revealing only a single eye.
Kortopi touched the sticker on his own chest. "I can. But he stopped moving a while ago."
"Give me the location." Uvogin bared his white teeth in a savage grin. If he caught the boy, he would personally crush every bone in his body, one by one.
Kortopi shook his head. "We're done here. I'll go with you. I'm curious about the kid who managed to escape from you."
"Two pairs of eyes. Once you find them, go to Nancha City. Don't come back here," Feitan's snide voice drifted over again. "The Boss has already gone ahead with Pakunoda and the others."
Uvogin didn't reply, simply waving his hand dismissively.
But Feitan clearly wasn't going to let this rare opportunity to mock Uvogin slide. "It doesn't matter if you can't get them back. You are a bit weak, after all. You can always beg me, and I might help you."
His only response was Uvogin's middle finger.
...
The red color in the bottle had completely vanished. Ronin felt his condition had not only recovered but surpassed his state during the escape.
He formed the Ram seal again. A clone appeared in front of him.
Looking into the clone's eyes, Ronin saw two comma-shaped marks—two Tomoe—instead of one. A wave of joy washed over him.
Suspecting it was one thing; confirming it was another. The weight in his heart finally lifted.
Knowing that the Scarlet Eyes were the fuel for his evolution, he inevitably thought of the Phantom Troupe.
But the thought only lasted for a second before he suppressed it.
Even though his strength had increased significantly after absorbing his father's eyes, he didn't believe he was a match for the Phantom Troupe yet.
Rather than trying to snatch the eyes from the Troupe, it would be safer to wait until they sold them and then target the buyers.
Of course, he had no intention of letting the Phantom Troupe off the hook.
Ronin was a very vengeful person.
But revenge shouldn't be mindless. He preferred to wait until he had enough power to crush his enemies completely.
So, his priority remained the same: get out of here.
He didn't believe Uvogin would let him go easily. After being humiliated repeatedly, that guy would definitely keep searching.
And this time, Uvogin would likely bring Kortopi, or even other Troupe members.
In his current state, facing Uvogin alone was a struggle. Being surrounded by the Troupe would be a death sentence.
Nancha City was out of the question.
That was the closest city to the hidden village. Judging by the direction the Troupe entered, they likely came from Nancha.
Ronin bet that when they left, they would go back through Nancha, as Yanshui City was much further away.
Riding a Landbird to Nancha took six hours, but Yanshui took ten.
Neither city was large, so there was no reason for the Troupe to choose the further one.
This meant that even if Uvogin wanted to chase him, the most he would bring to Yanshui was a two-man team.
Likely Uvogin and Shalnark, or Uvogin and Kortopi.
Just like in Yorknew City, where Shalnark helped Uvogin hunt the Chain User. As for Nobunaga, Uvogin's usual partner, he was a combatant and would likely stay with Chrollo to guard the loot.
Ronin even suspected Uvogin would have to help transport the goods first and would only come after him during his free time.
So, choosing Yanshui City gave him a fifty percent chance of avoiding pursuit entirely, buying him time to grow.
Even in the worst-case scenario, facing a non-combatant combo like Uvogin plus Shalnark or Kortopi gave him a fighting chance. He knew their abilities.