With Kurapika having calculated most of the possible variables, Ronin's part became simple.
He just had to proceed step by step and find the Third Prince.
Naturally, Kurapika had done his homework as well. He directly handed Ronin a note with the exact time and location written on it.
Ronin was genuinely curious what Kurapika had been doing during the time he was away. How had he investigated Kakin's internal situation so thoroughly?
Third Prince Zhang Lei had seen the news about Tserriednich's assassination attempt early that morning, but he hadn't taken it seriously at all.
In fact, part of him was even disappointed.
Why hadn't that guy just died at the assassin's hands yesterday?
As for the so-called bounty, if Zhang Lei could find the assassin, he might actually reward him. Why would he care about that so-called 100 million Jenny? What was the difference between that and tossing coins to a beggar?
Still, that 100 million was probably the First Prince's doing.
After all, it was far too little. It was basically a slap in the Fourth Prince's face, practically telling everyone that the Fourth Prince's life was worth only 100 million Jenny.
Zhang Lei got into the car that had been prepared for him long ago. Today, the Third Prince was heading to a university celebration event.
But he had no idea that, as the car slowly started moving, Ronin had already taken position on top of a nearby building.
Once again, it was the Shadow Clone Technique.
And the instant the clone appeared, it used the Transformation Technique.
But the shadow clone didn't immediately jump down. Instead, a huge explosion suddenly rang out from the street below.
The piercing screech of brakes sounded at the same time as the blast, and several figures flashed out from the moving vehicles.
The shadow clone swept its gaze over them and immediately realized that every one of them was a Nen user.
But just as the clone's eyes passed over the Nen users below, one of them—who had not entered combat mode and was still maintaining Ten—suddenly raised his head and looked toward the building where the shadow clone was standing.
The image of Deidara entered his eyes.
At the same time, the shadow clone's gaze turned more serious, because this person's ability was exactly the same as the Nen user Ronin had encountered when he attacked the Fourth Prince.
That meant Kurapika's guess had been right.
Kakin had specifically trained Nen users with special sensory abilities.
At the same time, this also meant that the Xi-Yu family, one of the three great Kakin mafia families that the Third Prince was connected to, was likewise still under the kingdom's control.
That made sense.
The leaders of the three great Kakin mafia families were all "second-trackers," meaning illegitimate heirs outside the orthodox succession line.
They were people who had been marked from birth and were forbidden from appearing in public for their entire lives.
The fact that people like that were allowed to live was already the royal family's greatest mercy. How could they possibly be given real power and freedom?
So should he continue probing?
Ronin was standing right behind the shadow clone, so he understood the current situation perfectly.
The shadow clone suddenly took a step forward.
And with that simple step, he dropped rapidly from the rooftop toward the ground below.
The sensory-type Nen user below reacted the instant he detected the shadow clone.
Unlike the person Ronin had encountered before, this man immediately punched himself in the heart.
As the shadow clone fell, the man spat out a mouthful of blood.
From the look of him, he had somehow suffered even heavier injuries than the guy the shadow clone had sent flying with the Four-Finger Nukite last time. But the falling shadow clone also felt a chilling sensation that made his hair stand on end.
Danger.
The shadow clone abruptly stopped in midair.
Earth Release: Ultra-Lightweight Rock Technique.
It was an ability that allowed the shadow clone to enter flight mode at any time.
And the instant that technique activated, a massive beast's head suddenly appeared on the ground beneath the clone.
The ferocious beast opened its mouth, revealing sharp fangs, and snapped upward.
The shadow clone remained motionless in the air.
That savage bite closed less than thirty centimeters beneath his feet.
But in that same instant, the shadow clone had already completed his hand seals.
The chakra gathered in his mouth was not released toward the beast below, because by now, Ronin had already realized something:
this beast was a Nen beast.
It came from the same source as the giant hand that had attacked him last time.
And most importantly, the price for summoning this kind of Nen beast to attack seemed to be life itself.
Last time, Ronin had thought it was an ability based on vows and restrictions. But now it seemed that these uniformly trained Nen users had all been implanted with the same ability.
Then the key issue lay with the owner of the Nen beast.
If he couldn't find and eliminate that person, then the next time he encountered this kind of sensory-type Nen user, they would attack him with the same move again.
Even while thinking that, Ronin's shadow clone sent his attack straight past the Nen beast and toward the Third Prince's convoy.
Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves.
By compressing chakra, he spat out dozens of rotating wind blades in an instant to slice through the enemy.
The biggest feature of this B-rank ninjutsu was that it could be fired continuously, and its cutting power was extremely strong.
But the Nen beast, having failed to bite the shadow clone, reacted again.
Its hound-like head turned, its bloodthirsty crimson eyes glancing at the clone only once before it charged straight toward the wind blades.
Was it really planning to use its own body to block Vacuum Serial Waves?
The shadow clone's thoughts raced, and the hand seals in his hands changed again.
In the next instant, all the wind blades from Vacuum Serial Waves slashed into the massive Nen beast.
Blood sprayed like a fountain, but there was not the slightest trace of pain on the beast's face.
Only when the final wind blade cut into its brain did it let out an unwilling roar before shattering and vanishing.
And the instant it disappeared, the shadow clone noticed that the sensory-type Nen user who had summoned it had already exploded in a spray of blood.
His entire body had withered until it was as flat and shriveled as paper before collapsing to the ground.
His body was also covered in countless cuts.
Those were clearly the injuries the wind blades had inflicted on the Nen beast earlier.
Damage transfer?
That method really squeezed out every last bit of value from the user.
After all, judging from his condition, even without transferring those injuries, he would have died anyway.
Still, against ordinary Nen users, if there was no need to fight to the death, this kind of summoning method should be able to obstruct opponents above the user's level, and might even suppress Enhancers with similar aura capacity.
And that was where the price of damage transfer became clear.
Overall, this ability still fell within the realm of vows and restrictions.
Interesting.
As the shadow clone inwardly sighed, he had already finished gathering even more chakra in his mouth.
The ninjutsu he used changed.
It was still Wind Release, but this time it had become:
Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere.
~~~
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