"However, from Heaven's Arena to the Underworld Mafia, it's already quite clear.
Both of these have undergone many changes because of Ron's appearance.
'Could it be that previous experience I had in Meteor City?'
'That's unlikely. At that time, the Phantom Troupe hadn't grown at all.'
'The ones controlling Meteor City were the Elders and Gluttony.'
'The KUTO Thieves dealt a huge blow to both the Elders and the wild beast, which allowed the Phantom Troupe to rise so quickly. Otherwise, they would definitely have been obstructed.'
'So, was it during the Kurta Clan massacre?'
'Because of my collaboration with Machi?'
'But Machi and I never had any conflict—no disagreements.'
'Even given how the Phantom Troupe operates, there's no reason they would fixate on me for that.'
'As for the matter with Sumas, not even Kakin or Mingbo know about it, so there's no way the Phantom Troupe would.'
'Among the three factions, Meteor City is the weakest.'
Back then, after Ron took control of Sumas and came out, the two people he ran into were from the Republic of Mingbo.
'Or is it because Uncle Silva killed the Phantom Troupe's Number Eight?'
'That's even more impossible.'
'First, the Phantom Troupe knows about my relationship with Uncle Silva.'
'Second, Uncle Silva has so many children. It makes no sense for them to ignore his sons and instead target me, his nephew.'
Ron couldn't figure out what the Phantom Troupe's reason was for focusing on him.
Ron looked at Hisoka.
"How do you want to cooperate?"
Hisoka smiled.
"Wait for the right opportunity."
"When the time comes, I'll let you know, Ron. All you need to do is keep one or two Phantom Troupe members busy. With your strength, that's no problem at all."
"Within the Phantom Troupe, there are only a few whose power rivals yours and mine."
Ron didn't agree immediately.
"I'll think about it."
"Alright. Once you've decided, let me know anytime."
With a flicker of movement, Hisoka left. By the time he reappeared, he was already on the deck of a dilapidated ship.
Ron cast a deep glance in Hisoka's direction.
'The Phantom Troupe…'
Several years earlier, Ron had come into contact with some members of the Phantom Troupe.
Back then, most of them were around a B-rank level. Given their ages, crossing that threshold in just a few years would be very difficult.
So most of them should still be B-rank.
'Wait, actually I can use Shizuku's strength as a reference.'
'In the original story, Shizuku was a member of the Phantom Troupe who ranked on the lower side in terms of power, but she still serves as a gauge.'
'In this world, Shizuku won't be any weaker than she was in the original story.'
'The training plan drawn up by Chii.'
'My teaching of Nen techniques, which shares the same lineage as the Zoldyck Family.'
'Plus, plentiful resources. All of this can bring out every bit of Shizuku's potential.'
'I don't really need to fear the Phantom Troupe.'
'If the Phantom Troupe truly dared to strike at the Zoldyck Family, they wouldn't have responded with just one move from Chrollo after Uncle Silva killed one of their members.'
'When that operation failed, they simply gave up.'
Ron flickered into motion as well, heading to the shipwreck area.
'En!'
Centering on Ron, his En Circle expanded outward in all directions.
Anything within that radius fell under Ron's perception.
After that, Ron had another thought.
A figure appeared—it was Sasuke Uchiha.
Following Ron's orders, Sasuke dived into the water and searched the cabin of the sunken ship.
These so-called treasures meant little to Ron.
Still, since he was here, he had to play along.
A short while later, Sasuke Uchiha brought up a golden jar.
'This should be good enough.'
The two elderly folk were sitting at a table.
Some examinees had already brought over items they'd salvaged.
"This one's not bad. Worth 8,000,000 Jenny. You can stay in a second-class cabin."
"This won't do—no real value. Go look again."
"This is excellent, worth thirteen million Jenny. You can stay in a first-class cabin."
Ron approached the two old men.
"Not bad—worth 4,000,000 Jenny. You can stay in a second-class cabin. Here's the key."
"Thank you."
Ron took the key and headed in the direction of the cabins.
Once inside, he saw two beds, neither of which was occupied yet.
He chose the one near the window, put his luggage by the bed, then lay down, half-sitting, resting. A crystal ball hovered in his line of sight.
Its progress bar read nearly forty percent.
'Battleship Island, the battle royale, and finally the last round.'
'That's all that's left of the Hunter Exam.'
'Because of Netero's request, I also have the job of teaching the examinees. That job will provide me with a bit of progress too.'
Time passed bit by bit.
Footsteps sounded outside the door.
Ron glanced over and calmly sent a few items in front of him into Sumas's space.
These were foods he'd taken out from Sumas's space.
A figure approached.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Knocking sounds came from the door.
"Come in."
Someone stepped inside and paused upon seeing Ron.
"Ron?"
Ron noticed that Kurapika's smile looked forced. After saying hello, Kurapika's mood sank again, as though something was weighing on his mind.
In Kurapika's hand was a golden pendant shaped like a gecko.
He put down his luggage, sat on the bed, and fell silent for a long time.
Before long, another knock came at the door.
"Kurapika, you in there?"
Leorio's voice sounded.
Ron glanced at Kurapika.
Kurapika didn't reply.
"Leorio, come on in."
Only then did Leorio push the door open.
"Ron? I didn't expect you two to be in the same room. It's pretty decent. My room's bigger, but it's hot as hell."
Then he turned to Kurapika.
"Kurapika, are you alright?"
Kurapika shook his head without speaking.
"Leorio, what happened?" Ron asked.
Leorio pointed at the pendant in Kurapika's hand. "That's related to the Kurta clan. He's probably remembering some painful things again."
Kurapika squeezed the pendant tightly, knuckles going pale.
A trickle of blood ran from his palm.
"I'm fine."
Kurapika raised his head.
"Thanks."
"What happened back then is done. There's no point in dwelling on it. I just need to focus on my responsibilities. I'm going to gather all of my people's eyes and return them to where they belong."
"I'll kill every last person who persecuted the Kurta clan."
"Getting stuck in the past doesn't help me at all. I know exactly what I need to do."
"Right now, I have to put all my effort into passing the Hunter Exam and becoming a real Hunter."
"Only as a Hunter can I more easily do what I set out to do."
"Leorio, go back. I'll be fine."
Leorio nodded and stood.
"Alright. Just take care of yourself. If you need any help, let me know anytime."
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