"Oh, right," Ronin said, as if something had just occurred to him. "I forgot to tell you—I've crossed the Phantom Troupe before. If I get too famous, there's a chance they'll come after me. Either assassination attempts, or just taking me out directly in the ring."
The contract had already been signed, so Ronin didn't feel the need to hide everything. As he set the documents down, he told Millia this outright.
Millia's body stiffened for just a split second after she sat down.
Then she shot Ronin a glare. "With how relaxed you look, I'm guessing you've got some kind of survival plan. I'll assign a few guards to you. If anything happens, they can at least serve as an early warning."
"That works," Ronin said, nodding.
Millia thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "If it happens in the ring, are you confident you could win?"
Ronin immediately understood what she was getting at.
The Phantom Troupe were already classified as A-rank wanted criminals. If things were handled properly, Ronin's reputation could explode overnight.
The betting odds would skyrocket, too—an absolute gold mine.
Unfortunately…
Ronin shook his head. "I can't win. If I really had to fight on the stage with my current strength, I'd probably choose to forfeit."
"Is the gap really that big?" Millia pressed. "If I could boost your strength three to five times, would you be able to beat them?"
That question genuinely caught Ronin's interest.
"How long would it last?" he asked, locking eyes with her.
"Three times your power would last seven minutes. Five times would last four," Millia replied honestly. "Of course, we'd need to make preparations in advance. That's also why I'm confident I can help you challenge a floor master."
She didn't explain her Nen ability in detail, but Ronin could roughly guess a few ways she might be able to pull something like that off.
Ronin fell into thought.
If his power increased fivefold, would that be enough to let him use B-rank ninjutsu?
And even if not, with Nen converted into a massive amount of chakra, could he unleash far greater physical strength?
One technique immediately came to mind.
The Eight Gates.
Overall, the Eight Gates could probably be considered S-rank taijutsu. After all, it was a technique powerful enough to nearly kick the Hokage straight into the end credits.
But if you broke it down, opening just one or two gates wasn't nearly as terrifying.
In Ronin's view, opening only the Gate of Opening and the Gate of Rest would probably be about the difficulty of a C-rank ninjutsu.
And even if he couldn't use the Eight Gates, just having overwhelming chakra combined with Cherry Blossom Impact would let him unleash power comparable to Uvogin's Big Bang Impact.
Maybe… just maybe, it was possible.
"We can try," Ronin said, without making any promises.
Uvogin was likely in a rapid growth phase right now, just like Ronin himself. The next time they met, both of them would be stronger.
That said, if Millia could find the Scarlet Eyes during that time, Ronin's odds after powering up would be even better.
"Good." A calculating glint flashed through Millia's eyes.
Then, as if something else occurred to her, she abruptly changed the subject. "I heard the Kurta Clan was massacred recently. Don't tell me you're interested in the Scarlet Eyes—and want me to help you collect them?"
Millia making that connection didn't surprise Ronin at all.
After all, he had practically laid all the clues right in front of her. If she still couldn't figure it out, she wouldn't be worth working with.
"Yes," Ronin admitted directly. "They're known as one of the Seven Great Beauties of the world, after all."
"You also said you've got a history with the Phantom Troupe," Millia said, studying him carefully. "Was it the Phantom Troupe who wiped out the Kurta Clan? Or… are you a member of the Kurta Clan yourself?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Millia shook her head. "No, that doesn't seem right. You're too calm—this doesn't feel like an act. But your desire for the Scarlet Eyes is definitely real. Were you there back then? Trying to get a piece of the pie?"
"Something like that," Ronin replied vaguely, then deliberately steered the conversation away. "They'll probably release some of the Scarlet Eyes onto the black market. That's what I'm targeting. Even if I can't get them all, I want to buy as many as possible."
"The Scarlet Eyes won't be cheap," Millia said, following his lead and analyzing the situation. "By publicizing the Kurta massacre, they're clearly signaling to buyers that the Scarlet Eyes are now a limited commodity.
"That alone will push their already outrageous price even higher. If you want to buy in bulk, you'll need an enormous amount of money."
As she spoke, Millia belatedly realized that Ronin's talk about strength might've been a smokescreen. What he really needed right now was cash.
"Yeah," Ronin nodded. "So the plan is this: you help me find out when they plan to sell the Scarlet Eyes, and I'll keep competing to build my reputation and pull in money as fast as possible."
"Well then, looks like things are about to get busy," Millia said, flexing her hands. But when she noticed Ronin watching her, she quickly lowered them again. "Competing more will boost your fame faster, but don't overdo it."
"Don't worry. I know my limits," Ronin said as he stood up. "I'll take the files with me. If anything comes up, we can talk by phone—or you can just come find me in the residential area on the 200th floor."
After leaving Millia's office, Ronin felt noticeably lighter.
He still couldn't fully trust her yet, but his instincts told him that Millia mostly saw him as a money-making asset.
That was a little uncomfortable—but there wasn't much he could say about it.
Because Ronin was treating Millia as a tool, too.
Right now, it was mutual exploitation.
Still, in Ronin's eyes, a partnership bound by shared interest was extremely solid—at least until something even more profitable appeared.
Ronin took the elevator straight to the 200th floor.
Even though Millia had already given him information on the fighters there, he still needed to register in person.
Starting from the 200th floor, the competition rules changed.
From this point on, fights operated under a declaration system. Each fighter was given a 90-day preparation window, during which they could declare a match date.
Of course, they could also fight every day, fight every other day, or rest however they liked. After each match, the 90-day preparation period reset.
However, if a fighter failed to declare a match within those 90 days, they would lose their eligibility, and their match record would be wiped.
To clear this tier, a fighter had to win ten matches.
But if they lost four matches before reaching ten wins, they would also lose their eligibility.
If someone managed to win ten matches, they earned the right to challenge a floor master. Defeating a floor master meant becoming the new one.
From the 230th floor to the 250th floor, Heaven's Arena had a total of twenty-one floor masters.
And the final, 251st floor was reserved exclusively for the champion of the once-every-two-years martial arts tournament—a symbol of ultimate status and honor.