Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for just $7 to get early access to all upcoming chapters!
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations
─────
Chapter 125: Shelved Mission
Maha's hand had been reattached, but he also looked quite disheveled right now. No one expected Ronin to leave them such a massive surprise right inside the room.
That instantaneously erupting attack had made even his old bones sense danger.
"I took a loss," Maha grumbled, burying his hands into his jacket pockets. In this mission, he was supposed to play support, but he ended up being the primary damage dealer. Illumi, the main force, hadn't used an ounce of effort.
"Yeah, I didn't expect him to have prepared a teleportation-type ability in advance. He really was fully prepared," Illumi didn't seem too disappointed by this outcome.
"If you encounter him alone, you might not be able to gain the upper hand," Maha's tone was serious.
He actually thought quite highly of Illumi and didn't want him to perish in this mission. Taking a job that far exceeded his capabilities served as a good lesson for Illumi.
It seemed the key was still for Zeno and Silva to make their move. Once Chrollo, that troublesome factor, was dealt with, the matter would naturally be resolved.
"Are you not going to try again?" Illumi asked.
"My old bones can't handle this tossing about," Maha directly refused.
Are you kidding? The boy had clearly held back earlier; otherwise, the hand he took away might not have been preserved. Since the other party had already given him face, chasing after him to cause trouble would make Maha seem rather tactless.
"In that case, this mission can only be temporarily shelved," Illumi said with a hint of pity. He actually had a few other methods to cause trouble for Ronin, but after these two assassination attempts, he realized killing Ronin wouldn't be easy.
That defense, which required Maha's full power to break through, was the biggest hurdle for Illumi at his current stage.
Without a means to break that defense, a successful assassination was basically impossible.
And even if he could break the defense, dealing actual damage to Ronin's main body would be another massive problem. The target seemed extraordinarily prominent in his Enhancement training.
By now, Illumi was certain: Ronin was clearly a Specialist.
However, unlike typical Specialists whose abilities leaned primarily toward support—like Conjuration and Manipulation—Ronin heavily favored combat-oriented Enhancement, Emission, and Transmutation abilities.
He could even utilize these three Nen types to a hundred percent efficiency.
Perhaps this was the change brought about by those special eyes!
Interesting.
Illumi narrowed his eyes. Although as long as someone killed Chrollo, his mission success rate would remain at one hundred percent, he still preferred to complete the assassination himself.
It was several hours later when Hisoka arrived at the estate.
Under Ronin's Mystical Palm Technique, Hisoka's injuries rapidly recovered. However, this only made Hisoka more baffled regarding Ronin's exact abilities.
He seemed to know a little bit of everything.
But one thing was certain: the upper three Nen categories occupied a massive proportion of his usage.
However, this judgment was made because Hisoka hadn't seen Ronin casually manipulate Owl using puppetry.
But strictly speaking, Ronin's attainments in Manipulation and Conjuration truly weren't high.
Most of his ninjutsu abilities could be classified under Transmutation, especially the jutsu involving the five nature transformations.
His use of the Puppet Technique wasn't exceptionally brilliant either, considering Ronin could only control Owl and didn't have true puppets of his own.
"What are your plans next?" Ronin asked after completing the healing.
"Go find Chrollo," Hisoka deeply enjoyed the thrill of battle. Since he couldn't defeat Ronin for the time being, he would go find a new source of amusement.
And Chrollo had always been a premium fruit of his choosing.
Furthermore, Chrollo held quite a few secrets. Hisoka wanted to see if he could obtain some information on how to become stronger from him. He believed Chrollo must have made some discoveries while investigating Ronin.
Ronin nodded. With a persistent pest like Hisoka latching onto him, Chrollo wouldn't have a moment of peace either.
"Then you better hurry. I feel like Chrollo won't live much longer," Ronin said with profound meaning.
"I won't provide his location to you," Hisoka said, as if seeing right through Ronin.
"I don't need it. As long as I proceed step by step, the one who will become anxious will eventually be Chrollo. When the time comes, even if he doesn't have a hundred percent certainty of defeating me, he will definitely come to me," Ronin said with absolute certainty.
He really didn't believe Chrollo could remain indifferent and bide his time looking for a guaranteed victory after all his familiar companions from Meteor City were dead.
"Then let's have a race. If my fight with Chrollo is gone, I'll just find you for another round," Hisoka settled for the next best thing.
"That depends on your strength at that time. If it's the same as now, go fight Kurapika instead," Ronin directly pushed Kurapika forward.
Hisoka's gaze naturally fell upon Kurapika.
Aside from Ronin and Neon, both Kurapika and Shizuku in this room sparked considerable interest in him.
Especially Kurapika.
The boy was from the Kurta Clan just like Ronin. Did he also possess that ultra-fast growth rate and versatile abilities like Ronin?
Judging from the chains on his hand, he was highly likely a Conjurer.
That could mean he possessed quite a few different abilities!
It seemed somewhat tempting.
"Don't look at me. I have zero interest in fighting you," Shizuku stated the very first moment Hisoka turned to look at her.
Hisoka turned his head away, finding her dull, but the look in his eyes showed absolutely no intention of giving up.
Whether the other party was interested or not was never something Hisoka considered. The only thing he cared about was whether fighting them would bring him pleasure.
Clearly, Shizuku wasn't as tempting as Kurapika right now.
But if he attacked Kurapika and Shizuku tried to stop him, he wouldn't mind fighting Shizuku first.
It was just that he figured killing these two would be nearly impossible, because Ronin would absolutely not sit back and let him run wild.
However, if he could enrage Ronin by killing these two, what kind of power would Ronin unleash? That thought alone was thrilling and made him curious!
"I advise you to drop whatever suicidal ideas you have," Ronin warned, roughly guessing what the freak was thinking just by looking at him.
He truly had no fear of death.
Hisoka stretched his arms. Ronin's Mystical Palm Technique hadn't restored his injuries to perfection. According to Ronin, he still needed some time to fully recuperate.
"Alright, I'm off. I look forward to our next meeting where we can both bring surprises to each other," Hisoka's gaze lingered mostly on Ronin.
Although he admitted defeat, that sense of unwillingness still lingered in his heart.
─────
Support this fanfict by leaving Positive Review, Comments, and Power Stones.
For Advance Chapters:
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations