Chapter 241

The emaciated middle-aged man had a peculiar obsession with women.

Spending a night indulging with over a dozen individuals was nothing out of the ordinary for him.

And now, the content of the phone call was very likely related to this.

This kind of expression had been seen on his face countless times before by the other two.

"I'm heading out for a while. I won't be participating in tonight's training."

After saying this, the emaciated middle-aged man stood up and left.

The two watched him depart.

Once his figure completely disappeared, one of the middle-aged men let out a cold snort.

A lone figure staggered out of Heaven's Arena. As a Floor Master—even if he was a lower-ranked one—he was recognized by many in the arena. His appearance immediately attracted the attention of countless onlookers.

The emaciated middle-aged man relished this attention.

Roy approached Ron.

"My lord, my teacher will pass through here shortly. This area is secluded, making it ideal for an ambush. You can start making arrangements now."

Ron nodded.

Even without Roy's reminder, Ron would have already prepared.

A single successful strike was the best approach.

Ron had no intention of wasting too much time on these people.

Before long, a figure appeared in Ron's line of sight.

"He's here."

Ron remained on the phone with Sally.

"Sally, can you see him?"

"Captain, I see him."

"Good. Attack when he reaches the corner."

"Understood, Captain!"

At that moment, Sally was positioned at a vantage point, overlooking the entire area with an unobstructed view.

For a sniper, it was the perfect spot.

A conjured sniper rifle appeared in Sally's hands.

It was one of Sally's abilities—**Barrett**.

Sally took aim with the rifle.

The next moment, the emaciated middle-aged man entered her scope.

Without hesitation, Sally pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

A bullet shot out at incredible speed toward the emaciated man.

Completely unprepared, he only sensed something was wrong when the bullet was dangerously close. But by then, it was too late to react.

The bullet struck directly.

"Boom!"

A loud, explosive sound echoed.

Blood sprayed from the emaciated middle-aged man's body.

His figure was flung backward at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

"Bang!"

He crashed into a nearby wall before rebounding to the ground.

Roy's pupils contracted sharply.

The emaciated middle-aged man's fate was something Roy had already foreseen when he betrayed him. With Ron's strength, ambushing the man made it nearly impossible for him to survive.

It was already widely acknowledged that Ron's power had reached the level of a Floor Master.

But what Roy hadn't expected was that Ron didn't even need to act personally.

A young girl accompanying Ron had taken him down.

"The girl… possesses such strength? She doesn't look like a fighter at all."

Roy glanced at Ron, his apprehension toward him growing even stronger.

"Does Ron have hidden strength as well?"

"What kind of power stands behind him?"

At that realization, Roy understood something crucial: for Ron to possess such strength at his age, he wasn't relying solely on himself.

There had to be someone—or something—supporting him.

It couldn't be as simple as merely joining TST.

------

The emaciated middle-aged man was furious.

"Even though I was so far away."

"What gave me away?"

Roy finally realized the critical issue.

But there was no way Roy could have known.

Ron's ability to pinpoint Roy's location had little to do with Nen. Instead, it relied on Chii's computing technology. However, since Chii was Ron's Nen Beast, it did have a connection to Nen abilities. 

Still, it was a connection others would find difficult to deduce.

A figure appeared behind the emaciated middle-aged man.

"Shlunk!"

Akutagawa Ryūnosuke's ability pierced through the man's limbs, binding them.

In the blink of an eye, he was brought before Ron.

"Roy!"

The emaciated middle-aged man's eyes snapped open and immediately locked onto Roy.

Even though Ron was right beside him.

Ron glanced at Roy.

"Roy, it's up to you now. You claimed that as long as we had one of them, you could get the other two."

Roy hesitated for a moment but quickly made up his mind.

"Teacher."

"Teacher? After everything you've done, do you still have the right to call me that?"

The emaciated man glared at Roy.

"I don't have a disciple like you!"

"Betraying your teacher—you deserve death!"

Roy gave a bitter smile and said, "Teacher, I had no choice. If I want to live, I have to follow Lord Ron's orders. All I want is to survive—what's wrong with that?"

"Teacher, you should cooperate now."

"Why sacrifice yourself for the lives of those two people?"

Hearing this, the emaciated man froze for a moment before suddenly latching onto the idea like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline.

"If I bring the two of them out, you'll spare me?"

Both Roy and the emaciated man looked toward Ron.

Hope flickered in the emaciated man's eyes.

Ron gave him a cold glance and then turned to Roy. "Roy, don't pass the problem to me. You made the promise, so you'd better figure out how to fulfill it."

"If you can't, why should I spare you?"

"All three of them must die."

The emaciated man's face went pale.

Hearing Ron's words, the emaciated man knew there was no chance for negotiation.

Ron would never let him go.

"You brat, don't think you can control everything! If you kill me, you'll die as well!"

"AKA will never let you off!"

"Heaven's Arena won't let you off either!"

"The Floor Master will avenge me!"

The emaciated man's face twisted with rage as he shouted at Ron.

But Ron knew these claims were baseless.

AKA was no match for Ron.

As for Heaven's Arena and the Floor Master taking revenge on his behalf? 

Judging by common sense, that was impossible.

Before this, Ron had already consulted Mitani Doppo.

Doppo had stated that as long as nothing major happened within the arena itself, everything would be fine.

In other words, as long as the emaciated man and the other two were outside Heaven's Arena, Ron could deal with them however he wanted, and neither the arena nor the Floor Master would interfere.

Even within the arena, as long as the disturbance wasn't too significant, they wouldn't interfere either.

"Teacher, you wouldn't want anything to happen to your wife, would you~?"

"And those adorable junior disciples of mine."

Roy's tone sounded calm, but the threatening undertone was unmistakable.

The emaciated man's expression stiffened.

"Roy, what do you mean?"

The emaciated man glared at Roy.

But by now, Roy was no longer afraid.

He had already made up his mind.

Roy said calmly, "It's exactly as it sounds. Teacher, you can understand, can't you? Don't blame me. I just want to live. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself."

The emaciated man glared coldly at Roy.

"Roy, do you really have to go this far? Family should be off-limits!"