Chapter 114: Escape
Illumi's calculations were correct.
The wall shattered. A massive skeletal hand, cloaked in blood-red Chakra, lunged toward him.
Simultaneously, the Shadow Clone, still in Lightning Style Chakra Mode, manifested a Chidori and appeared less than two meters away.
The lightning chirped like a thousand birds, aimed directly at Illumi's heart. The clone wasn't holding back; this was a kill-strike.
For the first time, a flicker of surprise crossed Illumi's deadpan expression.
He reacted instantly. He expelled a cloud of silver needles to disrupt the clone's path, while his body blurred, leaving behind a trail of rhythmic afterimages.
The Susanoo's hand plowed through the illusions, crushing them one by one as it reached for the "real" Illumi.
The clone, meanwhile, was hammered by nearly a hundred needles. The metal clattered against the lightning armor, unable to pierce the Chakra shield, but the momentum was enough to stall his charge. The clone spun mid-air, his Sharingan locking back onto Illumi's shifting position.
Rhythm Echo.
It was a masterful assassination technique that used variations in walking pace to create clones out of shadows.
But it was useless against the Sharingan.
The eyes saw the flow of aura, distinguishing the solid body from the hollow shadows effortlessly. Ronin realized that by observing this, he could likely replicate the technique himself later.
The Shadow Clone accelerated again, chasing Illumi at a speed that eclipsed the assassin's own.
The Susanoo's arm extended to its limit, then stopped and dissolved into thin air.
The real Ronin stepped out from the adjacent room.
Illumi had already vaulted through the window, landing in the villa's courtyard.
The Shadow Clone was right behind him. The Chidori had vanished, replaced by four fingers held together in a spear hand—the starting position for the Four-Finger Nukite.
Ronin's main body reached the window. He flooded his left eye with Chakra and locked his gaze on Illumi's retreating form.
Amenotokotachi: Celestial Stasis.
Illumi felt a sharp spike of danger. He didn't know the source, but his instincts told him it wasn't the lightning-shrouded clone behind him.
He snapped his head toward the villa. In the second-floor window, he saw Ronin. More importantly, he saw those eyes.
Crimson. Sinister. Inhuman.
In that heartbeat, Illumi instinctively twisted his torso. A split second later, he felt his shoulder lock.
It felt as if a section of the air around his shoulder had turned to solid granite. His body was yanked to a halt by his own momentum.
I missed?
Ronin narrowed his eyes. It wasn't a miss; Illumi had dodged.
Was it predictive analysis? Or just a powerhouse's intuition?
Based on the Sharingan's observation, Illumi's movement had been irregular and chaotic—a pure gut reaction.
Even so, a shoulder is enough.
The Shadow Clone was already upon him. The Four-Finger Nukite thrust forward, aiming for the spot between Illumi's shoulder blades.
Blood sprayed.
The lightning-infused hand pierced Illumi's body, but the impact point shifted. Instead of the heart, it tore through the side of his abdomen.
It wasn't a failure on the clone's part. In the microsecond before contact, Illumi's body had undergone a horrific transformation.
Using his own needles to stimulate his muscles and bone structure, Illumi had physically "shifted" his internal organs and warped his frame.
Illumi ignored the agony in his side. He reached out and grabbed the clone's arm—the one that had just disemboweled him.
Lightning coursed through his body, but Illumi's expression didn't change. Growing up as a Zoldyck meant high-voltage torture was a standard Tuesday.
With his free hand, he slapped a needle into the clone's chest.
The needle pierced the lightning armor, sinking into the clone's physical shell.
Poof.
The Shadow Clone exploded into a puff of smoke.
Illumi didn't linger. He glanced at the real Ronin, who was jumping down from the second floor, and vanished over the estate wall in a blur of motion.
He left behind a pool of blood and a strange, lingering aura at the spot where his shoulder had been briefly frozen in space.
"Interesting," Ronin noted.
He saw the trick. Illumi had used his needles to trigger a near-instantaneous physical mutation, allowing him to dodge a lethal strike at the cost of non-vital flesh.
And the way he literally tore his shoulder through the spatial lock was pure, unadulterated ruthlessness.
Next time, I'll use the Water Prison Jutsu, Ronin mused. Electricity is too familiar to him. Drowning, however, is a universal problem.
He wondered if Illumi would return for a second attempt. And more importantly—was the contract for Ronin, or for Ryan?
"Looks like Chrollo made his move," Kurapika said, appearing from the shadows. The skirmish had been so fast he hadn't found an opening to intervene.
"Why do you say that?" Ronin asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Illumi has no reason to be in Meteor City unless he was hired. And the only one who knows we're here and has the resources to hire a Zoldyck is Chrollo."
"But Chrollo likely set Illumi up," Kurapika continued. "He knows you use clones. He used Illumi to test if 'Elder Ryan' was the real you."
"If I had killed Illumi here, would the Zoldyck family have declared war on me?" Ronin asked curiously.
"Unknown. There's no precedent for a family-wide retaliation. They are professionals, not a street gang," Kurapika shrugged. "The details of the Zoldyck inner circle are a mystery even to the Association. They've held Kukuroo Mountain for a millennium. They have secrets we can't even guess at."
"Do you want to fight them? The elders?" Kurapika asked, sensing Ronin's restlessness.
"A little bit. But not now. And I'd rather it not be a fight to the death," Ronin said.
Silva and Zeno were true monsters.
Based on his encounter with Illumi, Ronin estimated the eldest son was roughly on par with an elite Troupe member. Silva, however, was in a different tier. Silva could likely one-shot a Spider if he caught them clean.
Ronin knew he still had a massive gap in raw Nen capacity compared to Silva. But with his toolbox of Ninjutsu and the Mangekyō, he was confident he was no longer an easy kill for anyone.
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