At the very mont the Ten Dons descended, Ron, Illumi, and Machi all struck at once. The needlen moved to block the front, while two figures appeared beside Ron. Illumi flicked his wrist, sending over a dozen Nen needles flying. Machi moved swiftly to one of the Ten Dons.
"Nen thread!" A thread shot toward her target. The Don reacted the mont he was entangled, but at that instant, a figure appeared behind him.
With a wet slicing sound, a blade cut through the Don's body. A look of shock crossed his face as his life rapidly drained away.
Machi hesitated for a mont.
"Smog!" Thick clouds of murky mist erupted, quickly filling the area.
Under Ron's command, Natsu lunged at the Don who wielded fire, while Sasuke took position in front of Ron, ready to shield him.
After all, there were still ten Dons. One fell near Machi, one near Illumi, and one was engaged by Natsu—but seven remained. If all seven attacked at once, even Ron couldn't block them all, especially since the Dons strength was greatly enhanced by card buffs, making them comparable to top-tier Nen users.
The most reliable tactic was to rely on Sasuke's Susanoo defense to withstand their assault.
Facing the incoming flas, Natsu simply opened his mouth wide and swallowed them whole.
The next instant, flas appeared in both his hands. "Brilliant Fla of the Fire Dragon!" A golden fireball exploded, engulfing the entire area in a large-scale, indiscriminate attack that effectively pinned down the Ten Dons.
Illumi swiftly killed one of the Dons—his Nen needles were coated in deadly poison, and this opponent lacked the ability to dodge or resist it.
"The situation is bad! Retreat to the second floor! Hurry!" The remaining Dons imdiately panicked. Without hesitation, their first instinct was to fall back to the second floor and regroup.
In truth, the Ten Dons were not particularly skilled at combat; they relied entirely on the power granted by the ark's card system. What they excelled at was scheming and manipulation—sothing entirely different from actual fighting.
One after another, the Dons rushed toward the entrance to the second floor. But Ron's group had anticipated this. They wouldn't allow them all to escape so easily.
Machi's and Illumi's needles, and Ron's Nen bullets flew continuously. Though so Dons managed to slip away back to the second floor, not all succeeded—and that was exactly what Ron wanted. The remaining few left below would no longer pose a threat.
With a loud bang, the door to the second floor slamd shut. Since the elimination process on the first floor wasn't complete, Ron's team hadn't yet earned the right to pass through. The Dons who made it back to the second floor were temporarily safe.
But how long could that safety last? Even the Dons themselves weren't sure.
"Damn it! Who the hell are these people? Could they also be mbers of the Phantom Troupe? Why are they so strong? We were supposed to have the advantage with these card powers! And there were ten of us! Even the Shadow Beasts were no match for us—they were crushed easily."
A portion of the Dons confidence had co from their previous victory over the Shadow Beasts. But now, that confidence was shattered by Ron's group's overwhelming strength.
"What do we do next?" one of them asked.
"We absolutely can't return to the first floor. Their strength is too much, and the environnt down there doesn't favor us. Fighting them below would put us at a clear disadvantage."
"Our best chance is when they co up to us. As soon as they open the door, we ambush them. On the second floor, they won't be able to use their abilities like before. As long as we don't reshuffle, we have an absolute advantage."
One Don's eyes glead. "Right, right. They brought many people with them, but in that last fight, many died. If the elimination continues, at most three or four more will qualify to co up. No more than that."
"There are six of us here now. Four were delayed below and probably killed by them… So we're six, and they might have three or four at most—just ten or so people altogether. If the number of people on the second floor doesn't reach seven, then there won't be a reshuffle. Unless they can withdraw and co back again—but since they're trapped on the first floor now, they can't leave. Only we have a way out from the second floor."
"So they can't attempt a second elimination cycle. They're locked in. Elimination has begun—it can't be stopped, ended, or be modified."
"Even if they send more people in from outside, the results of the previous elimination phase won't be affected by those who enter later. And they can't wait for the result of a second elimination either."
"If they earn the qualification to enter the second floor but don't proceed, they'll be killed as well."
The Don, analysing the situation, finally let out a sigh of relief. "All things considered, the situation is acceptable. Even if they do co up here, we can handle them. Only a handful will make it through—and we all still retain our card powers. As soon as they open that door, we can kill them instantly. Without their abilities, they won't stand a chance."
Suddenly, one of the Dons hesitated. "But… are you sure about the count? What if the number of people who qualify reaches the reshuffle condition? What then?"
The room fell silent. After a while, one of them spoke up. "I rember clearly—during that last fight, more than half of them died. Even if fifty… no, sixty of them remained, at most six would qualify after elimination. We're six, they're six—just twelve total. Still below the reshuffle threshold."
But doubt lingered. "Did you see dead bodies, or just people falling down? If they just fell but didn't die, they might still count toward elimination. Are you absolutely sure?"
The Don who had spoken earlier couldn't answer with confidence. "I… can't say for certain."
"Then let's count. We need to calculate exactly how many we killed ourselves—only that number is reliable."
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