The man holding the blade was wrapped in Ren.
An Enhancer?
Ronin made a split-second judgment. At the same time, he fired the remaining bullets in his hand, the projectiles slamming into the descending blade.
Sparks flew. The impact knocked the blade off course. Ronin immediately aimed his second volley at the attacker's hand.
Suddenly, the long sword vanished into thin air. The attacker retreated rapidly, dodging the second wave of bullets.
A Conjurer.
Ronin took a step forward, fully entering the house. Since he was out of bullets, he simply raised his hand and pointed his fingers like a gun, aiming at the man.
A Conjurer relying on a summoned weapon to fight an Enhancer in close quarters? Don't make me laugh.
"Bang!"
As he mimicked the sound of a gunshot, a blast of aura erupted from his fingertips, shooting straight toward the target.
The retreating man realized the gap in their strength the moment his sword was knocked away by mere thrown bullets.
Seeing Ronin take a shooting stance, he instantly re-conjured his sword to block. The Nen bullet slammed into the blade, knocking it aside effortlessly. But before the man could feel relieved, a large hand bypassed the sword entirely and clamped onto his throat.
Emission attacks were always just a feint.
Enhancement was Ronin's foundation. While the enemy's attention was drawn to the bullet, Ronin had already exploded into motion, closing the distance instantly.
He didn't need to interrogate this guy.
His arm flexed, snapping the man's neck. He tossed the corpse casually toward the doorway.
Just then, members of the Cleaning Squad appeared at the entrance, guns drawn.
Before they could even raise their weapons, the flying corpse slammed into them like a bowling ball, sending the entire group tumbling backward.
Ronin expanded his aura, forming an En circle that instantly covered the entire clinic. Confirming there was no one else inside, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a twisted, shrunken cloth.
He shook it open, and piles of snacks materialized on the room's table.
Ronin sat down on a chair, grabbed a bag of snacks, and pulled out a manga he had been reading recently.
This was the beauty of Owl's ability. Once activated, even someone other than Owl could open the "Fun Fun Cloth" and retrieve the items inside.
However, this makeshift backpack had a time limit—about a week.
It wasn't that the ability itself had a timer, but rather that maintaining the cloth required a constant, slow drain on Owl's aura. While the consumption was low, it would eventually deplete Owl's stamina completely.
Fortunately, Ronin had Kurapika.
Every three days, Kurapika used his Holy Chain to "recharge" Owl, accelerating his aura recovery. This allowed the cloth to exist indefinitely.
However, this method meant Ronin could only maintain about three fully loaded cloths at any given time.
If he exceeded that number, the energy drain would outpace even Kurapika's assisted recovery.
Another head poked out from the clinic entrance.
It was greeted by a sunflower seed shooting through the air.
Even a common seed, when enhanced with Nen, easily pierced the man's skull. He collapsed, twitched a few times, and went silent.
The Cleaning Squad members and the Spence family's private soldiers looked at each other outside the clinic, hesitating. No one wanted to be the next to rush in.
But soon, a heavy rumbling echoed from the street. Slowly, a dilapidated tank rolled into view.
Behind the tank, the Cleaning Squad members began deploying heavy weaponry: assault rifles, RPGs, and crates of grenades.
There was also a Nen user among them, maintaining a steady state of Ten.
"That direct approach... it really suits Ronin," Neon commented from the roof of a nearby building, looking down at the escalating war zone.
"It's effective, though." A smile touched the corners of Kurapika's lips.
It seemed that with Kurapika around to handle the thinking, Big Brother Ronin was becoming increasingly unbridled.
To Kurapika, this was a sign of trust. He knew that if he had told Ronin to stop as he walked toward the clinic, Ronin would have halted immediately and waited for a plan.
But Kurapika hadn't stopped him. Because he trusted Ronin, too.
He knew Ronin loved a fight. He also knew that while Ronin was powerful, his greatest talent was actually his ability to escape.
For example...
Kurapika touched his jacket pocket. Inside was a kunai wrapped with a seal bearing special writing.
According to Ronin, the characters on the seal read: Sword of Shinobi Love.
As long as Kurapika held this kunai, and as long as they weren't countries apart, Ronin could teleport to his side instantly.
"You just spoil him," Neon pouted.
"It's also because I trust you. The prophecy you wrote for Big Brother Ronin mentioned this place. As long as he's in that house, he will get his wish and meet the person he's looking for," Kurapika explained.
Neon didn't say anything, but a pleased curve appeared on her lips.
"Is this Shizuku girl really that important? Is she going to be our companion?" Neon asked, her tone turning serious.
She could accept Ronin and Kurapika, but that didn't mean she could easily accept outsiders.
"Trust Big Brother Ronin's judgment," Kurapika replied. "And even if his judgment is off, his intuition is trustworthy."
"That's true." Neon nodded in agreement.
---
Meanwhile, inside the clinic below. The tank hadn't even gotten into position when a cold voice spoke from behind Ronin.
"Who are you?"
Ronin turned around.
Standing there was a girl with short black hair, large-framed glasses, a black top, and blue jeans. She looked like a typical girl next door.
"Ronin," he introduced himself.
"Did you do this on purpose?" Shizuku didn't step closer, her eyes filled with caution.
"Yes. To find you." Ronin admitted it honestly.
"Why?" Shizuku asked.
"First, your ability is very useful. Second, I have a feeling you're a decent person. Third, I don't want to become enemies with you and have to kill you."
Ronin gave her a straight answer.
Shizuku frowned slightly. "I don't think I know you. How do you know my ability? Or what kind of person I am?"
"Fair point," Ronin admitted. "But I know of you. Someone showed me the changes in this clinic, which let me guess your ability.
"Most importantly, if I didn't come to recruit you to my team, someone else would have. And if you joined them, we would eventually become enemies. In that scenario, I would have no choice but to find an opportunity to kill you."