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Chapter 89: Muhuell's Invitation
Firstly, the Ten Dons invested in too many industries, and their gangs were bloated, consuming massive amounts of money daily to maintain. Secondly, solidifying the position of a Ten Don required bribes up the chain of command—another significant expense. Thirdly, Raymond had invested a huge portion of his funds into this auction. Since the Underground Auction hadn't officially started and the items hadn't sold, the capital hadn't flowed back yet.
The Yorknew Auction was essentially a tool for the Ten Dons to launder their black money. Once the goods were sold, the funds would appear.
But the problem was, Ronin could only scrape together about 20 billion right now. That wasn't even enough to snatch a single copy of Greed Island from the billionaire Battera. That man was inhumanely rich; he wouldn't blink at raising the bid to tens of billions for a copy. If there were many copies at the auction, they might have snatched one. But the Southern Piece catalog listed only two. Taking one from Battera was impossible.
Using their status to pressure Southern Piece beforehand was also difficult. The value of Greed Island was in a different league than the Scarlet Eyes. And Ronin and Kurapika wouldn't resort to banditry like the Phantom Troupe to get the game.
So when Kurapika mentioned entering the game, the only possibility Ronin could think of was contacting Battera and obtaining a qualification slot from him.
"Are you interested in Greed Island?" Ronin asked, curious. In the manga, Kurapika hadn't shown any interest in the game.
"Yes, a little." Kurapika finally stopped his push-ups and ceased his Ren, dripping with sweat. The chain on his little finger floated out, a silver needle emerging from it to pierce into his acupuncture points. There was no pain, only a wave of comfort and relaxation. Retracting his aura, Kurapika grabbed a bottle of water and entered a state of Zetsu.
"Neon and I have very limited combat experience." Kurapika was dissatisfied with his strength. Aura capacity could be increased methodically. But combat prowess required actual fighting. In Greed Island, as Ronin described, there were monsters to hone skills on and players focused on collecting cards. These players were all Nen users. Even if they weren't all combat experts, interacting with them would broaden Kurapika's horizons and deepen his understanding of Nen. To him, they were the perfect training partners.
Plus, the game had magical items. If used correctly, they might make finding and killing the Troupe members inside much easier. Entering the game to hunt the Troupe was a highly cost-effective move. Even if the Troupe left early, they could use cards brought out of Greed Island to track them down by using people the Troupe had interacted with as anchors. But to do that, they needed to clear the game.
Kurapika glanced at Ronin. If it's Big Brother Ronin, he can do it!
After hearing Kurapika's analysis, Ronin shared the easiest way he knew to enter the game.
"As far as I know, the billionaire Battera has a sick lover. He wants someone to clear Greed Island to obtain a critical card: Breath of Archangel. It is said that a single breath from the angel can heal heavily injured or terminally ill people."
"If we use your medical ability combined with my Recovery Chain, could we achieve the effect of that card?" Kurapika proposed.
Ronin shook his head. "My medical abilities are focused on accelerating wound healing, extracting poison, organ transplants, and simple surgery. Their effect on diseases and terminal illnesses is limited." Ronin didn't mention that he wasn't even that good at surgery, as it required extensive medical knowledge to support the jutsu.
"My ability is similar." Kurapika's ability overlapped slightly with Ronin's medical ninjutsu. That was mostly because Ronin hadn't shown healing abilities earlier, so Kurapika had developed his own out of concern for Ronin getting hurt. Now, it seemed his Recovery Chain was best suited for self-healing. Fortunately, healing was a rare category, so Kurapika didn't regret learning it.
"Let's speak with strength," Ronin said. "As long as we can contact him, given our power, we can make Battera see hope in us clearing the game. He will hire us."
Kurapika was curious. Since the massacre, Big Brother Ronin had become not only strong but also mysterious. He remembered Ronin had left the village to see the outside world once. But after returning, he never left again. He wondered what Ronin had experienced during that time.
Neon joined the conversation, intrigued. "Does that Greed Island really have a lot of magical items?"
"Of course," Ronin said matter-of-factly. A question formed in his mind: if he could bring one item back to reality, what would he choose? He didn't explain much to Neon. If they went, the three of them would go together. She would learn about the items in the game.
With the general direction set, Kurapika mentioned something that caught Ronin's attention.
"When Muhuell left, he said that if you have time, he hopes to have a private chat with you," Kurapika said. Muhuell was the leader of the Rock Mercenary Group, the man who had blocked Machi for Ronin at Heaven's Arena. Ronin had a strong impression of him. But what did he want to talk about?
"Sure," Ronin agreed. "When?"
"I'll reply to him. Probably in the next two days; he's also here for the auction," Kurapika said. "We really owe him this time. If it weren't for the mercenaries and Delilah, whom Milia introduced, my plan to face the Troupe alone would have been suicide."
"At least you know that," Ronin grumbled.
Kurapika sank into the soft sofa, exhaling comfortably. "Without truly facing the Troupe—even after watching your fights from a distance—you can't understand the gap between yourself and them. And without personally contacting them, I would never have imagined that a person's malice could be so bottomless."
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