This answer left Hisoka feeling somewhat conflicted.
After hanging up, Hisoka, lying in his hospital bed, fell silent.
As for Ron's response—Hisoka believed it, and yet didn't. There was always the possibility that Ron had lied, and that was something Hisoka had no way of verifying. Information worked that way: if the other party didn't speak, you wouldn't know; but even if they did, you couldn't be sure it was the truth.
"But what I can confirm is that right now, I'm indeed no match for Ron. To possess such power at this age, even for a Zoldyck, that's too absurd. Illumi—judging by aura alone—is already no longer Ron's equal."
"It's a little unpleasant to think about. Not even my fight with Chrollo excites me this much anymore."
Still, Hisoka hadn't given up on fighting Chrollo. If his previous interest in Chrollo had been at a full 100, then now it was at 95.
In truth, Ron's statement of "half and half" wasn't far off. At present, Ron could summon six Nen Beasts in total. Natsu and Uchiha Sasuke were the strongest among them, but Killer Queen, Akame, and Lampent also had extremely broken abilities—not A-ranked, perhaps, but still capable of posing tremendous threats.
Of the Nen tools Ron frequently used, there were two. The Six-Harmony Sphere was one of them. And though Ron had acted personally during the match, he had not made use of Sumas's space.
All things considered, what he used amounted to roughly half of his actual strength.
Ron had already departed. Hisoka was hospitalized. Though the match had ended for quite some time, discussion of it in Heavens Arena hadn't died down at all. In fact, it had only become more heated.
Ron's title of young genius was now firmly established. At the same time, no one dared to underestimate Hisoka's strength either. Among the Floor Masters, Ron was now regarded as part of the upper echelon—and even among the upper ranks, he was considered to be near the very top.
As for the mid-and lower-ranked Floor Masters, they had reached a clear consensus: when Hisoka next became eligible for a Floor Master challenge, if his target was one of them, they would simply forfeit the match outright.
There was simply no point in fighting.
Hisoka was too strong—dangerously so, even psychotic—and the chance of being killed on stage by him wasn't small. A Floor Master title might be important, but compared to one's life, it didn't count for much. Those capable of becoming Floor Masters didn't lack for resources or money.
Just opening a dojo somewhere would attract plenty of wealth.
Sadaso returned to the TST training base. Killua and Gon continued training under Wing. High in the skies, their airship sped forward.
Back at Heavens Arena, a figure with long purple hair entered a corner and took out a phone, dialing a number. The call connected quickly.
"Chrollo, I have something to report."
"I just watched a match between Hisoka and Ron at Heavens Arena. Ron won," Machi said. "But the strength Hisoka showed wasn't what he's presented to us before—he hid a lot." Chrollo didn't seem to mind.
Or perhaps, he had already guessed that much beforehand.
"With Ron's strength, Chrollo, I estimate that even if we tried to recruit him into the troupe, he probably wouldn't agree. With his current power, there's no reason for him to join us. In that fight with Hisoka, Ron used two Nen Beasts and one Nen tool. One Beast specialized in flame attacks, and the other could use both fire and lightning. The Nen tool Ron used could generate various types of Nen bullets. Also, Ron's aura reserves are massive. Even after such a fierce battle with Hisoka, he didn't seem overly drained."
Chrollo pondered for a moment.
"In that case, forget it."
Shalnark, sitting beside Chrollo, glanced over. "What's wrong, Chrollo?"
"A call from Machi. She gave a rundown of the match between Hisoka and Ron. Ron's growth has exceeded expectations—he's already beyond the threshold for anyone we could realistically recruit into the troupe."
Shalnark's eyes widened slightly. "Ron's that strong now?"
"Stronger than Hisoka," Chrollo replied. "According to Machi's judgment, in a one-on-one, there might be no one in the troupe aside from myself who can say with certainty they'd defeat Ron."
"And even I would need ample preparation, extensive intelligence gathering, and the right abilities. It can't be a spontaneous fight."
That was Chrollo's own assessment, born of confidence in his abilities. But even if Chrollo made full preparations, Ron wouldn't fear him. What Machi knew about Ron was only a partial profile—his true strength far exceeded what he had shown on the arena stage, especially when it came to insta-kill abilities.
"That strong?" Shalnark was genuinely surprised, instinctively finding it hard to believe. But he knew Chrollo wouldn't lie to him, and Machi's intuition was uncannily accurate. She rarely made mistakes in her assessments.
Shalnark couldn't help but recall the time they had seen Ron aboard the airship years ago. Back then, Ron wasn't particularly strong. Shalnark had thought himself superior. But in just a few short years, Ron's strength had grown to a terrifying level—it was simply unbelievable.
"If that's the case, we'll have to give up."
A Nen user with no Meteor City background and such exceptional talent—Phantom Troupe would find him hard to recruit.
Hisoka was an exception, and many Troupe members had long suspected Hisoka had other motives for joining. Because of this, a number of them disliked him.
Four days later, the airship landed. During the journey, Ron and his group had transferred to another vessel, and after four days of travel, they finally arrived—though not at their final destination. This was a port city.
The Gourmet Paradise was a city built on a small island, reachable only by sea from this port city.
One by one, they boarded a luxurious cruise ship. The Gourmet Paradise, famous for its cuisine, was considered the pinnacle of food culture on the Human Continent. It hosted a dazzling variety of delicacies and thus attracted people from all over the world.
In a way, its atmosphere was quite similar to that of Heavens Arena. The difference was that while the arena drew in fighters and those interested in combat, this place attracted chefs and food lovers—and there were far more of the latter. As a result, the prosperity of Gourmet Paradise far exceeded what most could imagine.
Even before they reached the island, just from a distance, Ron could already feel it.