When Odo's ability activated, a pair of ancient, weathered eyes slowly opened on the core tree inside the Gold and Silver Ingot.
The ancient tree's gaze fell on Odo. A slit slowly opened on its trunk, forming a mouth. When that mouth opened, a hoarse voice rang out.
"Master."
The moment that word was spoken, it completely proved that Odo's ability had succeeded.
Whether it was Ronin or the others, everyone showed expressions of surprise and joy after hearing the tree's voice.
The golden light from the floating island was still sweeping toward them nonstop. Even the giant eagles that had returned to the island shrieked and flew up the instant the Gold and Silver Ingot ancient tree was subdued.
But still, not a single giant eagle flew into the sea of clouds.
They merely circled continuously above.
Ronin quickly came before Odo. The Mystical Palm Technique, which he had prepared long ago, was immediately used on him.
Although the repair speed was slow, under the effect of the Sharingan's illusion, Odo would not feel any pain.
However, looking at Odo's injuries, which were not only the mangled wound in his abdomen but also the large number of puncture wounds on his arms, Ronin knew that using the Mystical Palm Technique to save him once was fine. But treating injuries like this repeatedly would definitely be impossible.
After all, one of the effects of the Mystical Palm Technique was to activate the target's cellular regeneration.
If Ronin's Enhancement ability had not been developed in the direction of healing, giving him the ability to strengthen the target's body and accelerate wound recovery, then even he might have been somewhat helpless in the face of Odo's severe injuries.
Even so, it was impossible to fully heal Odo in a short time.
According to Ronin's estimate, under the dual effects of Enhancement Nen and the Mystical Palm Technique, Odo would need at least two days to recover completely.
"Let's leave first." Ging also noticed the problem.
Moreover, continuously helping Kurapika intercept the golden light had consumed quite a bit of both his and Kurapika's strength.
In addition, even if Ronin wanted to continue, Abaki's hook had not yet finished attaching Nen to a second Gold and Silver Ingot.
In other words, even if Abaki cast her fishing rod now, she might not be able to bring over a second Gold and Silver Ingot.
"Okay." Ronin nodded, then directly led everyone downward.
During this process, however, the golden light from high above still showed no sign of stopping and continued shooting down with precision.
That made everyone's expressions rather poor as they descended.
But Ronin quickly thought of a way to deal with the golden light.
Odo woke from the Sharingan illusion and then gave an order to the Gold and Silver Ingot that had been controlled as his War Ancient Tree.
A silver spherical barrier reappeared, enveloping the ancient tree within it.
The golden light shooting down was no longer blocked by Kurapika's chains, but instead struck the silver ingot directly.
The next second, the same golden light formed in front of the silver ingot, then vanished and shot straight back toward the floating island above.
With a boom, an explosion sounded from above.
Ronin and the others were finally reassured.
Odo's injury had been worth it.
The golden light from above did not calm down just because it had been reflected back. However, no matter how much golden light shot down afterward, it was quickly reflected back again.
It was not until Ronin's group landed on the ship in the waters below that the beings on the floating island finally suppressed their anger unwillingly, and no more golden light shot down.
After bandaging Odo's wounds somewhat, Ronin and the others gathered again in the dining room.
"The next process should be more or less the same as before. If everything goes smoothly, after a few attempts, we should be able to collect all the Gold and Silver Ingots on the floating island," Kurapika said, his gaze falling on Odo.
Everyone understood that the most important people now were Ronin and Odo.
Ronin would use Amaterasu to break through the Gold and Silver Ingot's defenses, while Odo would use his ability to complete control over it.
The one taking the greatest risk in this process was Odo.
After all, every time the shell of a Gold and Silver Ingot broke open, the tree inside would release golden light capable of destroying everything.
Fortunately, that golden light pierced straight through Odo's body instead of exploding directly. Otherwise, last time, Odo would not have merely been injured. He would have been blown apart instantly, leaving not even bones behind.
Odo still felt lingering fear.
"It would be best if we can deal with that golden light. Otherwise, I can't guarantee I'll be able to save Odo every time. And even this time, Odo will need quite a while to recover fully," Ronin said.
That let everyone understand the current situation.
"What if we use the controlled Gold and Silver Ingot as a shield?" Ging proposed.
The silver ingot's absorption and reflection worked against the golden light.
As long as they used it to directly reflect the burst of golden light after the shell shattered, they could create an opportunity for Odo to touch the tree and activate his ability.
Ronin thought it over carefully and nodded in agreement.
"We can try."
Odo breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Ronin's words.
"But in that case, the people defending against the golden light next time will still have to be you two."
Ging and Kurapika nodded, accepting the task.
"There's another problem," Abaki said.
Her action was the most critical step, because everything Ronin and the others had discussed depended on Abaki successfully fishing over a Gold and Silver Ingot first.
If Abaki could not bring one over from the start, then there was no point discussing the follow-up plan.
So the moment she spoke, everyone's gaze gathered on her.
"Last time, I was able to fish over the Gold and Silver Ingot because the Nen on the hook attached itself to the giant eagle body. If the Gold and Silver Ingot is intelligent, then next time it may abandon the giant eagle body. And once it really does that, I won't be able to fish it over," Abaki said with a serious expression.
This was a possibility she had thought of after careful consideration.
After all, the target of her first hook had actually been the Gold and Silver Ingot's round head.
But the moment her Nen landed on it, it was absorbed.
And when the hook struck it, there was nowhere it could latch on. So the only target she could aim for was the giant eagle's body.
"If that's the case, we may need to take some risks." Ronin tapped his fingers on the dining table. "We won't fish for them. We'll charge straight onto the island!"
Everyone was shocked, but then they all began carefully considering the feasibility of Ronin's words.
Very soon, they found the most important point in the plan.
The number of Gold and Silver Ingots.
If there really were only the four or five Gold and Silver Ingots they had discovered, then Ronin's method was feasible.
Because their side's fighting strength would increase as Odo succeeded, while the Gold and Silver Ingot side would continue to be reduced.
The only question was whether more Gold and Silver Ingots were still hidden on the island, and whether the Gold and Silver Ingots had other powerful abilities.
"No matter what, the existence of the sea of clouds gives us room to attack and retreat. So let's do it!" Kurapika, who was usually steady, rarely showed such a passionate side.