Ron took out his phone and answered.
"Ron, do you have time to drop by?"
Before long, Ron arrived at Mitani Doppo's floor, where a young man stood at Doppo's side.
"Ron, your progress is astonishing. I'm not sure I'd be a match for you now."
The killer of the three AKA floor masters was never identified, but Mitani Doppo strongly suspected it was Ron. Last time they spoke on the phone, Ron made it clear he intended to take care of those three. Even if they were low-level floor masters, it should have not been an easy task. Mitani Doppo himself wasn't particularly strong among the floor masters.
"Senior Doppo, you're too kind. I still have much to learn," Ron said modestly.
In truth, Mitani Doppo was already far weaker than Ron.
They chatted casually for a bit, and then Mitani Doppo pointed to the young man at his side. "Ron, this is my disciple."
"Lake only recently made it above the 200th floor. He hasn't opened his aura nodes yet. Since you need an opponent, and Lake admires you, I was thinking he could challenge you. You'd help teach him, right? Is that all right with you?"
Ron looked at Lake. From his eyes, Ron didn't really sense admiration—more like fighting spirit.
Ron raised his eyebrows slightly. "Sure."
Mitani Doppo smiled. "Thanks, Ron. Then, Lake, go submit the match request."
"Yes, Master." Lake left.
"Ron, if possible, could you give Lake a 'baptism' during the match?" Mitani Doppo asked.
Ron paused. "You mean opening his aura nodes?"
"Has Lake studied Ten yet?"
"Not yet, but even if we open his aura nodes first, it won't be a big problem."
Ron nodded. "All right, no problem."
Soon, Ron received confirmation that the match was scheduled, and his opponent was indeed Lake, with the fight set for the day after tomorrow. Once tickets went on sale, it caught the attention of countless people.
Ron's popularity was no lower than that of some floor masters by now.
He was young, undefeated by direct confrontation (his few losses were forfeits), and on a winning streak. All of that contributed to his rising fame.
Within two hours, every ticket sold out.
Scalpers who managed to buy any were thrilled. The hotter the match, the more profit they could make reselling tickets. (t/N: Even here scalpers exist....)
When the day of the match arrived, Ron entered the arena the moment his name was called.
Most of the spectators were shouting Ron's name. Only a tiny fraction cheered for Lake.
Lake looked at Ron, his eyes wavering briefly.
"Hmph! So what if he's learned Nen? If Master had taught me sooner, I'd be the real 'genius kid' by now. Just wait—once I learn Nen, I'll take that title. I'll catch up to you, I will beat you!"
The referee looked at both fighters.
They answered in unison.
After confirming, the referee announced,
Right away, Lake charged forward.
Ron didn't move; he just stood there.
Lake frowned. "What's this supposed to mean? Does he think so little of me that he won't even budge? Just waiting for me to attack?"
Lake's face darkened. "So what if you're a Nen user? The gap between us can't be that big, can it?"
Letting out a cold snort, Lake rushed at Ron.
Ron still didn't move, merely raising his arm slightly.
Lake's left leg slammed into Ron's forearm, but Lake felt no shift in Ron's stance at all. A tremendous recoil nearly knocked him off balance. Ron's arm felt like steel, and Lake's left leg was throbbing with pain.
Lake realized something was off. Their gap was bigger than he'd anticipated. But he refused to give up and continued launching furious attacks—fists, kicks, palms—everything he knew.
Ron didn't take a single step, blocking every one of Lake's strikes with just one arm.
Even the audience could see the huge difference.
"It's too big a gap!"
"They're not on the same level."
"Ron is way ahead of Lake."
"What a letdown. I was hoping for a decent match, but it turned out ."
"Lake's way too weak."
Lake clenched his teeth hard, overwhelmed by frustration.
He lost himself in rage, eyes going blood red, fighting like a madman.
Mitani Doppo watched and sighed, shaking his head in deep disappointment.
"So full of himself, yet his talent is really nothing special."
Ron glanced at Lake. "That's about enough. Time to end this."