But Mitani Doppo hadn't anticipated that TST would so quickly become irrelevant to Ron.
From now on, it would be TST needing Ron, not the other way around.
Shizuku and Nina continued their routine training and competitions, rapidly improving their skills and climbing the ranks.
Killua immersed himself in training, while Sadaso had to confront a sad truth: the gap between him and Killua was widening significantly.
"I'm really too weak," Sadaso sighed.
Initially, he had set his sights on Ron, but Ron quickly outpaced him.
Then he noticed Nina, but she too quickly surpassed him.
And now, it was the same with Killua.
"They're all geniuses."
"And I'm just an ordinary person."
"Ordinary people have to follow an ordinary path."
"I just have to endure and take my time."
"Let's take it slow," Sadaso exhaled deeply.
Sadaso's lack of innate talent was something Ron had realized the first time they met at the Sky Arena.
He had arrived at the Sky Arena even a year before Killua.
When Killua came back to the Sky Arena for the second time, Sadaso was still just a rookie killer.
How many years had that been?
It took Sadaso seven long years to barely qualify for the 200th floor of the Sky Arena and that too just to become a rookie killer.
Ron achieved this qualification with little to no resistance.
Killua managed it in just two years.
------------------------------
More wind blades erupted, swirling in all directions.
Akutagawa Ryunosuke could block some of the wind blades, but not all of them. After all, Akutagawa was an offensive Nen beast, not a defensive one.
Thus, Ron had to supplement it with his own movements, dodging most of the wind blades.
After unleashing the Sword Storm, Wendy didn't stop; she continued her assault on Ron, targeting him with her previous tactics.
Ron drew his Rotten Life Sword.
He blocked the wind blades.
At this time, the Rotten Life Sword had not yet awakened, but even just its inherent toughness was remarkably formidable.
Seeing that her attacks were all blocked, Wendy shook her head, slightly disappointed in herself but even more impressed with Ron's strength.
As soon as Dominica finished speaking, Wendy attacked with full force.
On one hand, it was Dominica's request.
On the other, Wendy wanted Ron to see the effect of the Nen artifact.
Dominica had given Ron a defensive-type Nen artifact that Wendy recognized.
It was a defensive Nen artifact that could automatically deploy a protective shield when under attack.
It was Spherical. Thus it could block attacks from all directions.
While not the strongest defense, it could still block many attacks and be very effective in critical moments.
For Nen users, when the gap in strength between two fighters isn't particularly large, a momentary advantage can determine the outcome of a battle.
But Wendy hadn't expected that her attacks wouldn't even force the Nen artifact to activate.
"That means I'll have to try that," Wendy noted, looking at Ron.
"Ron, be careful," she warned.
"My next attack won't be like the previous ones."
Wendy suddenly took a deep breath, pulling in a massive amount of air into her lungs. The air around her visibly thinned.
She then looked towards Ron and opened her mouth.
A powerful gust of wind erupted from in front of her, spiraling into a tornado as it swept towards Ron. The force was immense, resembling a real tornado.
Dominica's eyes lit up, pleasantly surprised.
"Wendy has developed such a powerful ability?"
Ron's expression turned serious.
"Truly worthy of being the Fiore Royal Family's Dragon Child. I definitely can't block such an attack with my usual defenses."
"Talent isn't just in me alone."
A figure stepped forward to intercept.
"Akutagawa Ryunosuke!"
Dark red claws materialized, clashing with the force of the tornado.
Akutagawa Ryunosuke was sent flying backward.
Another figure immediately appeared, identified as Hanma Baki.
Hanma Baki braced himself in a horse stance, firmly facing the hurricane.
Hanma Baki's form also began to retreat.
Two massive trenches formed in the ground beneath him.
But Dominica could see that the speed of Hanma Baki's retreat was slowing down.
A lot of energy was concentrated in Hanma Baki's legs.
Wendy's attack was strong, but Akutagawa Ryunosuke's block was not meaningless. It had significantly reduced the power of the hurricane.
The force Hanma Baki needed to endure wasn't as strong as it might have been.
A hand landed on Hanma Baki's back.
Hanma Baki stopped retreating.
Disappointment flashed in Wendy's eyes as she looked at Ron and gave a bitter smile.
She had given her all in that attack, but it posed only limited threat to Ron.
Ron looked at Akutagawa Ryunosuke, who had been sent flying.
"Wendy, now it's my turn."
Ron commanded Akutagawa Ryunosuke and Hanma Baki.
Both Nen beasts charged at Wendy with incredible speed.
One launched a full-on attack while the other supported from the side.
Not aiming to win immediately, but to maximize pressure.
This was the most rational way to outmanoeuvre and overpower your opponent without taking too much risk. After all why take a risk if you didn't need to?
Dominica watched the battle, recalling the recent scene, and sighed.
"Wendy surprised me by quietly developing such a strong offensive ability."
"But that ability was blocked by just Ron's two Nen beasts?"
"I saw Ron's serious expression earlier and thought he would struggle to handle it."
"I didn't expect it to be just this."
"Was that expression really necessary?"
Suddenly, Dominica had a thought that made his heart skip a beat.
"Last time, when Ron faced Shusuke Ito, did he really show his full strength?"
Dominica had believed Ron used his full power then, considering Shusuke Ito was an A-grade Nen user.
Even if Shusuke Ito was severely injured.
But now, Dominica began to doubt.
Knowing that Ron has more than two Nen beasts, could the fact that two beasts could block the attack imply that Ron is hiding deeper strength than Dominica had imagined?
Dominica couldn't help but speculate.
In reality, Ron had indeed not displayed his full capabilities at that time.
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