The next day, in the afternoon, Killua's match was set to begin.
Wing and Zushi arrived at the arena. Ron also walked into the spectator stands—not heading to the exclusive floor master seats but instead choosing an ordinary spot among the crowd.
To his left sat a young woman. To his right, a middle-aged man. The woman glanced at Ron, her eyes flickering with recognition. She didn't actually recognize him, but upon seeing his appearance, her cheeks flushed slightly.
Just as she was about to greet him, a chilling, oppressive aura suddenly swept through the area.
The woman instinctively looked up to see a red-haired man, dressed eccentrically, approach Ron's right side. His sharp eyes were fixed on the middle-aged man seated next to Ron.
"Mind switching seats?"
The middle-aged man frowned in annoyance but, upon seeing Hisoka's face, imdiately stiffened.
"O-of course… no problem at all." He got up without finishing his sentence and hurried away.
"Hisoka, why are you here watching this match?" Ron asked calmly.
"Because both fighters in this match interest ," Hisoka replied, crossing his arms.
"You're saying that right in front of . Is that really wise?"
"What does it matter?" Hisoka cast a glance at Ron. "Illumi already knows anyway."
Though he spoke nonchalantly, when Ron questioned him like this, Hisoka couldn't help but feel a strange sense of déjà vu.
Back during the Hunter Exam, when Hisoka had shown interest in Killua, Illumi had this very sa attitude. Now, when Hisoka displayed interest in Ron, Illumi reacted the sa way.
And now, it was Ron showing a similar attitude toward Hisoka.
"These families really are troubleso…" Hisoka thought, suppressing a sigh.
"That Kastro—is he connected to you as well?" Hisoka asked.
"He has decent talent," Ron replied. "In a place like Heaven's Arena, it'd be a waste if he ended up like those rookie killers."
"So you were planning to recruit him into your team?"
"I considered it before, but I've since dropped the idea," Ron answered. "Kastro has good talent, but he started too late. He can't quite keep up."
To be exact, Ron now had a better alternative—Misty. He'd known Misty's talent from the start, though he hadn't known what Nen type she would develop or what abilities she would awaken.
Kastro, however, was confird to be Enhancent-type.
Now that Misty had developed her transformation ability, she fully covered the role of direct combatant.
Ron's team operated in two modes: when Ron was present, and when he wasn't.
When Ron wasn't around, the team wouldn't face overly powerful opponents, and Misty alone was sufficient. Adding another close-combat fighter would only strain the rest of the team—Nina, Ponzu, Sally, and the others—who couldn't keep up.
When Ron was present, direct combat roles were already filled by Natsu, Uchiha Sasuke, and Misty.
Kastro's potential might one day reach B or even A rank, but that would take ti—not just a year or two, but much longer.
"So, what's your plan for him now?" Hisoka looked toward Kastro, who was already on the stage.
Before Ron could answer, Hisoka seed to grasp the idea himself.
"You're pairing him with your little cousin? But that's not exactly what Illumi would want to see."
Ron smiled faintly. "Who can say what the future holds?"
Hisoka dropped the topic and asked instead, "So, are you ready?"
"You an for our fight?"
"Yes. I'll be going all out. I've been looking forward to it for a long ti. Don't disappoint —or I might just kill you right there in the ring." Hisoka's voice grew feverish with excitent.
Ron glanced at him calmly. "You won't be able to."
Back during the Hunter Exam, Ron hadn't had the confidence to make such a statent. His base body was only at B rank then, with an overall power around A rank. Plus, he hadn't fought Hisoka directly and didn't have detailed intelligence on his strength, aura level, skill, experience, speed, power, or reaction ti.
Now, things had changed. Ron had a clear understanding of Hisoka's capabilities.
More importantly, his own strength had grown significantly.
His main body: A rank.
Natsu: unranked (beyond standard Nen ranking).
Uchiha Sasuke: A rank.
Killer Queen: B rank.
Aka: B rank.
Lampent: B rank.
His Nen tools: Rotten Life Blade, Nen needles, Six-Harmony Sphere.
His Nen Spirit: Summas.
Ron couldn't imagine any scenario in which Hisoka could kill him.
Instead of being angry, Hisoka's excitent only grew. "Excellent." He licked his lips, unable to contain his anticipation.
Ron shook his head slightly.
anwhile, the woman who had earlier considered striking up a conversation with Ron now sat completely still, not daring to move.
She had overheard the conversation between Ron and Hisoka, and she was doing her utmost to shrink into her seat, terrified of drawing their attention.
The announcer's voice echoed through the arena, introducing the fighters.
"Our first contestant is a newcor who has just arrived at the 200th floor. But don't underestimate him just because he's new. Four years ago, he already qualified for the 200th floor. After returning to Heavens Arena this ti, he's achieved a flawless streak and made it back to the 200th floor without a single loss. He's not even thirteen years old yet. Let's see what Killua has to offer today!"
A smattering of applause and cheers followed. Clearly, not many held high expectations for Killua.
"Our second contestant needs no introduction. Kastro! An elite fighter of the 200th floor! He lost only his first match. Since then, he has won nine consecutive fights. One more victory will earn him the right to challenge the floor master. It's been a long ti since we've seen a floor master challenge—truly sothing to look forward to! Let's see if Kastro can claim that privilege today!"
Compared to Killua's introduction, the applause and cheers for Kastro were much louder and more enthusiastic. The entire arena was abuzz.
Most of the audience was clearly here to see Kastro.
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