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Chapter 79: September 4th
Kurapika's guess was correct.
The Phantom Troupe was indeed in a bind.
Chrollo shared his hypothesis with the members. Shalnark agreed most strongly. When Machi also agreed, everyone accepted Chrollo's theory as fact.
Machi's intuition had been right since childhood.
But therein lay the problem.
They had sold the Scarlet Eyes, but they didn't know who most of the buyers were.
To Chrollo, the eyes had just been a tool to open a specific information channel. That channel was related to Sarasa's murder in Meteor City. Chrollo had narrowed it down to a specific website.
It appeared to be a network constructed by Nen users using special items—"Sacred Treasures." It stored vast amounts of information, including the video of Sarasa's death.
If not for Ronin, Chrollo's main focus would have been investigating that website. Now, with Ronin's potential possession of another Sacred Treasure, Chrollo decided to swap priorities.
If Ronin really had a Sacred Treasure, acquiring it might help him bypass the website's restrictions.
"Ronin should have collected five pairs by now," Shalnark calculated while tapping on his phone. "His father's, the pair bought at Heaven's Arena, Omokage's, and the one from the Kakin underground auction."
"Yes. There should be two pairs in the Mafia auctions, and another at the Southern Piece auction on the 5th," Chrollo confirmed. "We must secure those three before Ronin does."
"I'll handle negotiations with Southern Piece. If the price is right, we should be able to get them before the auction," Shalnark said confidently. His bank account could support it.
And if not, robbery was always a valid option.
Chrollo nodded. "Machi, Nobunaga, Feitan, and Phinks will go with you. The remaining five will stay with me, ready to provide support."
"You suspect Ronin might ambush us at Southern Piece?" Shalnark asked.
"Better safe than sorry. Also, Isrli needs to be careful. The Zoldycks are likely after you," Chrollo warned. "Try to figure out who hired them. If you can't pinpoint the person, give me a list of suspects."
Chrollo knew the Zoldyck rules. If Isrli provided a list, Chrollo would hire another Zoldyck to assassinate everyone on it. Killing the employer would cancel the contract on Isrli.
Isrli smiled bitterly. "I'll try. You know I've offended a lot of people."
"Think about your disgruntled mistresses. You're more likely to find the one who wants you dead among them," Machi snorted.
"That..." Isrli hesitated. "But they were all true love!"
Machi rolled her eyes.
Chrollo continued thinking. While he didn't know most buyers, he knew the biggest one.
The 4th Prince of Kakin, Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou, a man with a penchant for collecting human organs.
But Kakin's waters ran deep. Retrieving the eyes from him wouldn't be simple.
He would have to go to Kakin eventually, but not now.
By his calculation, including Ronin's father's eyes, there were 35 pairs remaining. Ronin had 5. Yorknew had 3. Tserriednich had 11. That left 16 unaccounted for.
Leaving Tserriednich for last, the race was on for those 16 pairs.
He also needed to investigate the Kurta Clan deeper.
And he had to guard against Ronin turning the tables and hunting them while they searched for the eyes.
The roles of hunter and prey were shifting.
Chrollo took out his phone. He needed some outside help.
...
September 4th.
The biggest news in Yorknew wasn't the annihilation of the Phantom Troupe, but record-breaking auction prices and stories of people striking it rich by picking up treasures for cheap.
The seven-day auction gala was in full swing. Stories about money always captivated people the most.
Ronin had nothing to do today.
Yesterday, he absorbed the 8th pair of Scarlet Eyes. His strength increased slightly, but a mere boost in aura capacity no longer satisfied him.
The key was awakening the eyes.
Until he found the method to unlock the Mangekyou, absorbing eyes just increased his aura and gave him a feeling that power was accumulating within his eyes. Perhaps a surprise awaited him after the awakening.
During his fight with Uvogin, Ronin realized the Third Raikage's strongest lightning jutsu didn't perform ideally in his hands. The power output was far below the original.
If it had been the Third Raikage, Uvogin would have been turned into paste in a single encounter.
The reason lay in his physical durability. It was vastly inferior to the Raikage's. His impression of ninjas as "glass cannons" was a stereotype; high-level Taijutsu specialists were physical monsters.
It was no wonder the Third Raikage could wrestle the Eight Tails to a standstill. His body was practically indestructible.
Ronin needed to train. As his body grew stronger, the power of his Lightning Release Chakra Mode would increase.
Then there was aura capacity.
The greatest benefit of being an Enhancer was recovery.
On September 1st, after two consecutive battles involving multiple Shadow Clones, he recovered to eighty percent capacity in a short time thanks to Kurapika's support and Zetsu. That was proof enough.
Putting on a disguise with Neon, Ronin left the hotel.
He planned to take Neon to some auctions today. They were here; they might as well experience the charm of Yorknew.
"Just so we're clear, this isn't a date," Neon said self-righteously.
"Keep dreaming," Ronin rolled his eyes. "I have zero interest in undeveloped brats."
"Oh! I get it," Neon made a face of realization. "You like Milia-oneesan."
"Since when are you close with her?" Ronin asked, puzzled.
Neon looked smug. She didn't deny it, which meant yes. "Hehe, don't worry about it."
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