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Chapter 503
🕑 Added 2025-04-21 15:08:21 +0000 UTCChapter 503
Machi narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Hisoka, what are you trying to say?"
Hisoka spread his hands and said, "Nothing really.
Since it's a battle, isn't it perfectly normal for there to be danger?"
"If I made a mistake and accidentally killed Ron, or if I overreacted in the heat of the moment and ended up killing him— maybe I'd even be killed by Ron in the ring.
Wouldn't that all be completely reasonable?"
"And since when did you all start caring so much about a member’s life?
Didn’t I join the Phantom Troupe after killing your Number 4? You were the ones who said, 'Kill a member, and you can take their place.'
"Besides, Ron isn’t even part of the Phantom Troupe yet."
This indeed was the rule the Phantom Troupe had made public. In doing so, they had reinforced their fearsome reputation, letting the world know their members had no fear of death. The Phantom Troupe became more feared as a result.
But in truth, this rule had only been acted upon once— that single time when Hisoka killed Omokage and replaced him as the new Number 4.
Aside from that, there had been no other cases.
And even that one had a flaw: Omokage hadn’t actually died— he had faked his death and used the opportunity to leave the Troupe entirely.
Machi remained silent for a moment.
"The Phantom Troupe needs strength. Ron has good potential.
As for Nen users, you and I both understand the situation. Most powerful Nen users are under the control of major nations. Very few independent Nen users can reach our level."
"If you're not confident, Hisoka, then let me be the one to test Ron’s strength."
With that, Machi stood up.
Hisoka smiled.
"Don't be so serious. I was just joking. I definitely wouldn’t go so far as to kill Ron."
Machi gave Hisoka a glance, then turned and left.
Once she was completely gone, a look of anticipation surfaced in Hisoka’s eyes.
"If they found out that Ron was actually a member of the Zoldyck family,
what kind of faces would they make?" Their Number 8 died at the hands of Silva Zoldyck."
"This is going to be so entertaining."
Hisoka couldn’t help but recall the moment he first marked Ron as a target and wanted to fight him in the Wetlands— only to suddenly learn that Ron was Illumi’s cousin.
At that moment, Hisoka’s emotions had been incredibly complicated.
Now, someone else would get to experience that same feeling—and he was looking forward to it.
---
*One day later.*
Ron arrived at a nearby small town, paused there briefly to resupply,
and then headed in the direction of his target destination.
It was a vast region of desert and rocky wasteland. But contrary to appearances, many people came and went here. This was the border zone between two countries.
Countless transactions took place in secret— illegal ones that avoided all taxes and customs inspections, which meant the potential for enormous profit.
Though the surface appeared desolate, the border was dotted
with scattered small buildings.
People constantly came and went— most of them dusty and ordinary in appearance. But the wealth they carried might far exceed that of a town’s richest resident.
Given the region’s complexity, it was also filled with criminals— some of them extremely powerful, even Nen users.
Kroll was hiding somewhere in this kind of place.
No one knew his exact location.
As they approached the border, Ron stored the car inside Sumas’s spatial ability. The group of seven proceeded on foot.
"For the next round of intel gathering—Ponzu, Nina, it's up to you two."
"Understood."
Ron didn’t possess any Nen abilities suited to intelligence gathering.
And Chii’s capabilities didn’t work well in a place like this, where networks and surveillance were nearly nonexistent.
So he could only rely on Ponzu and Nina.
This was exactly why Ron had built a team— because no single Nen user could do everything. Even someone like Ron, who specialized in Nen beasts, had limits.
A large swarm of bees flew out from Ponzu’s equipment— hundreds of them—scattering in all directions.
They arrived at a large, rundown tent. The seven of them sat in a loose circle inside.
They were all unfamiliar faces in this place, but that didn’t draw much attention.
This area saw a constant influx of strangers. People showed up one day and disappeared the next. No one asked where you came from, and no one cared where you were going.
Ron pulled out a laptop.
"This is the information I’ve gathered so far. It includes Kroll’s photo and a brief background. Below that are the names and photos of several of his subordinates."
"There are six identified— three men and three women.
All likely to be Nen users."
"Ponzu, Nina—you can use this as a reference during intel gathering."
"Understood."
Soon night fell.
The seven of them rested inside the tent, rotating shifts for keeping watch. Ponzu’s bees were still out, working tirelessly. Until they found their targets, they wouldn’t return.
Ron entrusted all intel-gathering duties to Ponzu and Nina. As for himself, he logged into the Togashi Yoshihiro platform to check on Baki’s current performance.
Pageviews, bookmarks… all the stats had shot up significantly.
In terms of quality, Baki easily ranked among the top works on the platform. And even more importantly, the update speed was extremely fast.
That quickly drew a large following.
Ron clicked into the comments section at random.
"This is exhilarating!"
"The art style is explosive!"
"This is what a true martial artist looks like!"
"Update faster!"
"Author must be an octopus with all these updates!"
Ron nodded.
"Seems like this path is working well—and the results are solid. In that case, it’s time to start uploading Bungou Stray Dogs too.
Uchiha Sasuke’s power will also see a boost through it."
He logged into a different account.
The two manga had very different art styles. Since both updated at lightning speed, many readers were starting to suspect it wasn’t the work of a single author but rather a studio team.
Some readers didn’t mind. As long as the content was good, that was all that mattered. But others disliked that idea.
---
*The next day.*
Nina came to Ron, her expression somewhat strange.
“Big brother…”
