While taking a bathroom break, Ronin created a shadow clone. After splitting up with Milia, the clone returned to Room 2333, while Ronin himself used the Transformation Jutsu to conceal his identity before leaving the restaurant and returning to Room 188.
The next day, Ronin received a file from Milia.
After Ronin had quickly sent Milia information about Uvogin and Shalnark the night before, Milia had immediately dispatched people to investigate—and this was what they found.
Ronin inserted the videotape into the machine, and the screen showed footage of a fight on a lower-floor ring.
It was clearly a recording from the first floor—yesterday's match footage.
The file had already been marked in advance, so Ronin only had to fast-forward according to the timestamps. Soon, he saw Uvogin participating in matches—and after Uvogin stepped off the ring, Shalnark and Nobunaga were waiting for him in the stands.
Three of them came?
Ronin's eyes sharpened as he stared at the trio on screen.
A possibility came to mind: had those three been searching for him nonstop ever since they split up at the Yanshui City airship terminal?
What were they—dogs? So relentless.
During the fast-forwarding, Ronin also spotted a familiar figure.
Kurapika.
He had also come to Heavens Arena—and he was fighting, too. That surprised Ronin.
Ronin had thought Kurapika would come looking for him immediately after arriving. But from what he saw, Kurapika seemed to have other plans.
Should he go and reveal himself to Kurapika now?
Ronin hesitated—because coming near him right now would be dangerous for Kurapika.
After thinking for a long time, Ronin decided not to contact Kurapika yet. At the very least, he needed to deal with the three-member Troupe group that had come to Heavens Arena first—only then would he approach Kurapika.
Otherwise, if something went wrong on Ronin's side, with Kurapika's personality, he would likely die together with him.
…
Nobunaga didn't participate in matches.
Even now, he insisted on simply finding Ronin's room, barging in, and cutting him down.
Fighting on the ring, in his eyes, was like children playing house—ridiculous.
But Uvogin was enjoying it. He was even planning to stay and challenge a Floor Master after killing Ronin.
It seemed the atmosphere of Heavens Arena was already assimilating the big idiot.
What annoyed Nobunaga was how tightly Uvogin watched him at night—like he was guarding against a thief, not letting him go after Ronin.
Still, Nobunaga found an opening.
He stood outside Room 2333, one hand on the hilt of his katana.
He'd gotten Ronin's room number from Shalnark while Uvogin was on the ring.
After facing Ronin at the Yanshui City terminal, Nobunaga felt a faint sense of danger about Ronin's growth.
And Nobunaga trusted his instincts.
Especially since, before they split up, he'd specifically asked Machi whether this operation would go smoothly.
Machi's answer had been: it wouldn't.
That woman's mouth was like it had been blessed—she was always right. So Nobunaga chose to believe her, and to believe himself.
Worst case, he'd carry Ronin's head to Uvogin, and then have a serious fight with Uvogin.
His blade flashed out. The door split in a single instant.
The moment Nobunaga entered, his powerful aura spread into En, letting him clearly perceive everything within about four meters.
It wasn't that he couldn't make his En larger. It was that he believed this distance—about twice the reach of his katana plus a fully extended arm—was the perfect range for his En.
He even gave his En a new name:
"Domain."
Within this Domain, his blade could strike instantly—cutting anything he wanted to cut.
What Nobunaga saw upon entering was Ronin sitting casually on the living-room couch.
"Yo. Long time no see," Ronin said calmly, greeting him like an old friend.
The response was Nobunaga vanishing from where he stood.
With a tearing sound, his blade stabbed into the couch—yet where it pierced, Ronin was gone. Only a section of broken wood remained.
Substitution Jutsu.
Nobunaga raised an eyebrow. His katana lifted slightly; the razor edge sliced through the couch and the log and continued cutting toward the side.
Splash.
He hit Ronin.
But just like what happened back at the Yanshui airship terminal, the Ronin he cut exploded into a spray of water.
At the same time, a storm of shuriken shot out from the bathroom toward him.
Nobunaga lowered his stance slightly. His katana erupted into a rapid blur—so fast that the instant the shuriken came within range, he had already completed the slashes.
Clink clink clink.
No matter how tricky the angles, every shuriken was precisely split in half.
But as Nobunaga took a step toward the bathroom, his expression changed. He retreated in a hurry.
And the moment he retreated, the bathroom door swung open—Ronin stood there, lungs full of air.
Ronin held one hand in a seal at his chest. His other hand was already raised to his mouth.
Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!
A massive fireball burst from his mouth and surged at Nobunaga.
Nobunaga flicked his katana, knocking the coffee table into the fireball's path. With a shift of his feet, he also slipped away from the fireball's sweeping trajectory and repositioned near the living-room window.
Boom!
The fireball struck the table and detonated in a blast of flames.
Through the spreading firelight, Nobunaga saw Ronin stepping out of the bathroom—and he saw Ronin's next movement: hand seals.
Ram – Horse – Snake – Dragon – Rat – Ox – Tiger
The moment the seals completed, Ronin felt nearly all his chakra get drained in an instant.
But the jutsu was complete.
And this time it wasn't a C-rank technique.
It was a true high-level technique—a B-rank jutsu:
Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!
Three fire dragons formed simultaneously—one to each side and one straight ahead—when Ronin released his chakra. They roared and charged at Nobunaga.
In that instant, the room's temperature spiked violently. The heat even warped the air.
Facing it head-on, Nobunaga felt nothing but suffocation and rage.
From barging in to being surrounded by fire dragons—it had taken only a few seconds. Ronin had clearly prepared everything, just waiting for him to walk into the trap.
And Ronin's true strength was obviously greater than what they'd seen on the ring.
Behind Nobunaga, the glass shattered in an instant.
It was the only way out he could find.
Those three dragons rushing him even gave him the same feeling he'd had after injuring the monster Feitan.
But as Nobunaga leapt out of the room, he caught sight of Ronin's pale face behind the fire dragons—and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
And he also saw someone appear in the doorway.
Not thinking about running, daring to set up an ambush—did Ronin really think only Nobunaga had come?