The Strongest Assassin of the Zoldyck Family!

The next moment, Ron raised his hand toward Lake.

A surge of powerful aura rushed at Lake. 

Before he could even reach Ron, Lake's body flew backward uncontrollably.

Bang!

He landed hard on the floor.

"The winner… Ron!"

The referee announced the result.

Ron hadn't hit him too hard, so Lake was still conscious and could stand. However, along with the points Ron had accumulated earlier, Lake had reached the losing threshold.

In Heavens Arena matches, sometimes the fighters decide a real winner and loser, but sometimes they rely on the rules.

Ron turned and left the ring without another glance at Lake.

Ron knew exactly what Mitani Doppo was thinking: by having Ron open Lake's aura nodes, Mitani Doppo was building a small favor between them, paving the way for deeper connections in the future.

Though Ron spent little time at Heavens Arena, Nina and the others were here regularly. Ron didn't mind such matters. Humans are social creatures: a strong individual naturally attracts many who want to form ties.

Currently, Ron had a few circles of his own:

1. Himself—his body and his Nen beasts—this was the core of his power. 

2. The Zoldyck Family—trustworthy, supportive, including Zeno, Silva, Maha, and others Ron had interacted with many times. 

3. The team built around Nina and the others, which right now included only Nina, Shizuku, and Sally. Later, Miste would join, making four in total. 

4. Ron's friends—Morena, Wendy, and Mitani Doppo. Relationships here weren't set in stone. For example, if Ron ended up with Wendy, she'd become family and be on par with the Zoldycks—like Kikyo is to Silva.

Ron had indeed joined TST, but of everyone there, he was only particularly close to Mitani Doppo. 

As for Lake's intentions, Ron could see right through them. Lake was too inexperienced in comparison. So this match was only about fulfilling Mitani Doppo's request; Ron had no further plans. Lake and Ron had no connection beyond that. After this match, Lake was basically a stranger to him.

"Nina, Shizuku, I still have matters to handle over in the Fiora Kingdom. I'm leaving now."

"Okay, Big Brother, stay safe."

"See you later, Captain."

Ron slung on a backpack and headed downstairs.

Just as Ron stepped out of the elevator, someone stepped in. He had white, spiky hair, both hands in his pockets, a lollipop in his mouth.

Ron's brows lifted slightly, and he gave Killua a brief nod in greeting.

Killua was taken aback, not reacting right away. By the time he looked back, Ron was already gone.

"Ron?"

Killua took out his phone and opened a video sent by Sadaso. It showed the scene of Ron's match with Lake, but only for a few seconds.

Once Sadaso heard Ron was fighting, he bought a ticket immediately. Killua, on the other hand, hadn't—he'd already seen Ron fight last time and wanted to stay focused on his own training.

"Does he know me? Probably not. He was just nodding at some random stranger."

Killua shook his head as the elevator door closed.

Ron hailed a cab to the airship terminal.

Meanwhile, Lake had returned to Mitani Doppo's floor.

"Master!" Lake said excitedly. 

"My aura nodes are open now. I have my own aura; I've become a Nen user!"

A beginner's "baptism" can go two ways: 

One is a straightforward aura beating—if it's too harsh, the recipient can be crippled. 

The other method is much gentler, like how Wing helped Gon open his nodes in the original story.

Ron had used the gentler method on Lake.

"I saw," Mitani Doppo said. "Now I'll teach you Ten. Listen…"

Lake suppressed his excitement, calming himself to hear Mitani Doppo's instructions.

When he finished, Mitani Doppo said, "All right, that's the gist. Practice on your own here. I need to make a quick call."

He went outside, pulled out his phone, and dialed Ron's number.

"Senior Doppo."

"Ron, thank you for your help."

"You're too kind, Senior."

"As for Lake—"

Before Mitani Doppo could finish, Ron cut in, "No need to mention it. It was just a small favor. If that's all, I'll hang up now. I'm already on the airship."

"Understood."

They ended the call. Mitani Doppo glanced back toward where Lake was and shook his head.

He clearly understood: Ron had only done it as a favor to him; it had nothing to do with Lake. There would be no future friendship between Ron and Lake.

Mitani Doppo took out a box of cigarettes, lit one, took a deep drag, and finished it before going back inside.

Lake looked at him eagerly. 

"Master, I've got it down! I'm already a Nen user! Aura is amazing! Master, how long will it take me to reach Ron's level?"

Impatience colored Lake's voice. He still wouldn't accept that Ron was so far ahead. Before, he couldn't use Nen; now he could. He figured catching up to Ron wouldn't be difficult.

"Reach Ron's level?" Mitani Doppo frowned. "I doubt you'll ever have that chance in your lifetime. His talent and ability are far beyond anything you've seen. Even I may not be a match for him now. Let's see if you can beat me first."

Mitani Doppo paused. 

"You have no idea what you missed out on."

"Confidence is fine, Lake, but when it crosses into blind arrogance, that's not so good."

Lake's expression froze.

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Note: I supposed a different form of power is to gain good connections. Does anyone of you know about a fanfiction were the MC doesn't have any powers and just relies on his social skills? 

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