Ronin temporarily pushed the matter of the Zoldyck family to the back of his mind. Illumi simply no longer interested him that much.
If he had to choose someone from that family to fight, Ronin would rather test himself against Silva.
So after seeing Hisoka off, Ronin and the others, who had already finished their preparations, simply boarded the ship and began heading toward the unexplored waters.
On February 5th, 1997, Ronin stood on the deck, enjoying a quiet fishing session as the sea breeze brushed against his face.
The ship continued forward under Kurapika's control, while Shizuku and the other two women had moved lounge chairs onto the deck and were enjoying the sun.
Ronin occasionally turned his head to look and certainly got an eyeful. Especially Shizuku. Only in a bikini did her perfect figure truly reveal itself, especially those snow-white curves that made it hard to look away.
Because of that, Neon happily awarded Ronin the title of "pervert."
Ronin's response was to shake his head and say he had no interest in washboards, which only made Neon even more furious.
While fishing during the voyage, the thing easiest to catch was the octopus, and several of them were already sitting in the bucket beside Ronin.
He had already caught seven or eight along the way. At noon, when he made noodles, he planned to clean the octopus, cut them up, and add them in to make a bowl of seafood noodles.
Thanks to the ample supplies Shizuku carried, this part of the journey toward the unexplored waters felt as relaxed and pleasant as a vacation.
Although their small boat was likely much slower than the Black Whale that Kakin would build in the future, this atmosphere free of schemes and deception was exactly what Ronin liked most.
Kakin hid far too many conspiracies. If possible, Ronin did not want to get involved at all.
Whether it was the preparations made by Kakin's royal family or the various arrangements left behind by Beyond, all of it was filled with danger.
After the ship sailed for two days, all they could see was the deep, endless sea. When one stood by the railing and looked down, a faint sense of fear would always begin to grow from the bottom of the heart.
The phone signal was still fairly good. Even in such an uninhabited place, messages and calls could still come through.
"Hello."
Ronin politely answered the phone, having no idea who would be calling him.
After all, only close friends knew this number.
"Hello."
The voice on the other end was that of a polite man. After returning the greeting, he introduced himself.
"I'm Ging Freecss."
Just that name alone made Ronin's eyes widen.
But then, after thinking about his current route, he quickly understood the purpose behind this call from Ging—the man the manga's protagonist had always been searching for.
"Ronin," Ronin said, giving his own name as well. "I know you. One of the Hunter Association's Twelve Zodiacs."
"That's right. That's me." Ging's tone carried a hint of amusement. "With your intelligence, I assume that since you know who I am, you should already be able to guess the purpose of this call."
"Yes." Ronin did not pretend otherwise. "You want to go to the Dark Continent too?"
"Correct," Ging answered without hiding it.
"I thought you would choose to go through the official process," Ronin said, voicing his thoughts.
"Why?" Ging did not quite understand, but immediately seemed to make a judgment. "You've looked into me. Why?"
Sharp guy, Ronin silently complained before continuing.
"I've had contact with Saiyu, and I also found traces of Pariston in Beyond's team. So I figured I should learn a bit about the members of the Twelve Zodiacs."
"A perfectly sufficient reason," Ging said, accepting it. "But I don't understand why you would think I'd choose the official process. You should know how difficult that route is."
"Yes. But based on my investigation, you seem to enjoy the process of completing something," Ronin said. "Oh, right. I cleared Greed Island."
"Fine, your judgment isn't wrong." There was a trace of approval in Ging's voice. "But you seem to have overlooked one thing. The process of stowing away can be pretty interesting too."
"What can you offer me?" Ronin asked directly.
The person who wanted to board his ship was Ging, one of the Twelve Zodiacs, Gon's father, the man closest to becoming a Triple-Star Hunter, and someone who could almost instantly imitate and surpass an Emitter's ability after seeing it once.
But Ronin still had to ask what kind of help Ging could bring to the team if he allowed him aboard.
From this moment on, this would be an interview for Ging.
After all, every additional member aboard would bring a certain amount of risk. One of the most important issues was trust.
Ronin knew Ging's character was not a problem.
But what about his companions?
That was the issue.
If Ging could not provide a reason convincing enough, Ronin did not want to invite him onto the ship.
"Let's meet. I think I should be able to convince you," Ging said, his tone full of confidence.
"I'm at sea," Ronin said. "I can wait for you for one day."
"Is this a test? Interesting. Wait for me."
Ging's laughter came through the receiver, and then the call ended.
Ronin put the phone back into his pocket, called Kurapika over, and told him to stop the ship temporarily. They would wait for one day. If no one boarded by then, they would continue sailing.
Ronin baited the hook again and cast the rod in one smooth motion.
A few minutes later, what came up was no longer an octopus, but a grouper.
At that moment, Abaki also walked over. Since she was skilled with a fishing rod, she was naturally an expert at fishing as well.
"Haah."
After casting her line, Abaki sighed first.
That sigh seemed to serve as an opening. Before Ronin could ask anything, she started speaking on her own.
"He told me he was the one who killed the troupe leader, but he didn't say why." A trace of bitterness appeared on Abaki's face. "Actually, I know. The troupe leader was the killer back then. And it was precisely because of that that Hisoka chose to kill him, wasn't it?"
Ronin looked at Abaki.
"Is it possible that Hisoka isn't as good as you think?"
"Are you saying he enjoyed the thrill of the fight?" Abaki also turned to look at him.
"Yes."
"He's a genius." Abaki turned her gaze back toward the sea. "Maybe that was part of the reason. But if you ask where he noticed something was wrong with the troupe leader, I think it was probably when I was attacked back then.
"So I'd rather beautify my memories of the past. At least, the Hisoka back then was a good person.
"As for the Hisoka now, we haven't interacted much. But I feel like he hasn't changed that much. Deep down, he's still a good person."
Ronin shrugged.
He did not care whether Hisoka was a good person or not.
If Abaki was willing to preserve a beautiful memory and put a filter over the person in that memory, that was her own choice.
He only hoped she would not sink too deeply into it.
"If I gain something on the Dark Continent, then maybe the next time we meet, I'll challenge him," Abaki said, anticipation in her eyes.
"That sounds pretty good. And I can help you," Ronin said, feeling some anticipation as well.
~~~
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