"Wonder what the other members of the Captain's team are like..."
A strong sense of urgency surged within Ponzu as she thought about this.
Ron glanced at Ponzu. He noticed the shift in her expression but saw no problem with it. A bit of healthy competition among teammates was a good thing. If everyone just stayed where they were and indulged in comfort, it would defeat the purpose of Ron assembling a team in the first place.
"Ponzu, over here."
Snapping back to reality, Ponzu walked over to Ron.
"What's that?"
She saw a massive white dog.
"That's White Bear," Ron explained. "He belongs to Nina. It's a dog that can use Nen."
Hearing its name, White Bear raised its head and gazed curiously at Ponzu. A moment later, it sniffed the air, probably committing her scent to memory. Dogs, unlike humans, don't rely on sight alone—they often use smell to help them remember people.
"Hello, White Bear."
"Woof!"
Ponzu settled down beside Ron.
"Captain, is that Miste?"
Before them stood Miste, looking drastically different in her transformed state. Still, the features around her eyes made it clear it was indeed Miste.
"Yes," Ron said.
"She's so strong, Captain. How long has she been using Nen?"
"About three or four years," Ron replied.
"Only three or four years, and she's already that powerful?"
"You can reach that level too, Ponzu," Ron assured her.
Even without the Bee Queen condition Ponzu acquired from Oster's research, calculations by Chii suggested she could still hit B-rank—Miste's current tier. But even then, Ponzu probably couldn't beat Miste as she was now. Miste's Nen ability was made purely for combat.
"Really?" Ponzu's eyes lit up.
"Absolutely."
By now, the fight between Miste and Natsu had reached its climax. Fire and fists clashed repeatedly. In some ways, their fighting styles were quite similar, but Natsu remained one level higher. He was handling Miste's onslaught with relative ease, even as she gave everything she had.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
A violent wave of flame surged at Miste. She summoned a shield of white fire in front of herself. But as the seconds ticked by, her white flames were gradually consumed.
Boom!
Miste was sent flying. With a single thought from Ron, Natsu's form vanished. Miste picked herself up off the ground, reverting to her normal human shape.
"Big Brother..."
"Not bad," Ron said.
Miste immediately beamed.
"When does Nina's match start?" Ron asked.
Miste glanced at the time. "In about ten minutes."
"Let's go watch, then," Ron said, getting to his feet.
"But at this point there might not be any tickets left," Miste said hesitantly.
"Don't forget," Ron said with a small smile. "I'm a Floor Master here at Heaven's Arena—there are certain perks that come with that."
Ron didn't even need to look for anyone in particular. He simply spoke with a staff member, and they went through a private passage into the stadium. Their seats weren't in the packed stands; it was a private box.
Ron, Ponzu, and Miste took their seats in order. At the moment, the ring was still empty. A referee stood at the edge of the arena, and the audience had mostly filled in, taking every seat. The announcer was introducing the two fighters set to compete.
Scanning the stands, Ron spotted a few familiar figures: Sadaso, Gido, and Riehlvelt. It looked slightly different from how things went in the original storyline, since Sadaso, Gido, and Riehlvelt weren't sitting together. Their overall aura also felt more stable, not like ordinary rookie fighters.
Years earlier, Ron had encountered Sadaso, who had seemed focused on him. Ron hadn't paid him much mind then, although he'd seen him around Killua before. Undoubtedly, Sadaso's fate had been altered by Ron's presence—how exactly, Ron wasn't sure.
"From the looks of it, he's ended up better off than before," Ron thought. Sadaso's aura now registered at about D-rank Nen user. In the original story, Sadaso was extremely weak. Even the newly trained Killua's aura frightened him so much that he quit as a Heaven's Arena fighter and left the city altogether.
"As for Gido and Riehlvelt, they aren't much different from the original timeline," Ron noted.
At last, the announcer finished. Two silhouettes emerged from the tunnel, stepping onto the ring. One side was Nina. Opposite her was a woman who looked a fair bit older, sporting a musclebound style. Her aura seemed decent. Nina had been a fighter here for years but hadn't yet become a Floor Master. She'd once piled up a thousand victories for a chance to challenge one of them. But back then, instead of picking a weaker Master, Nina chose someone around mid-tier. Both were at the C-rank level at the time. Nina's ability focused on support-based Manipulation, while her opponent specialized in the more combat-oriented Transformation type. Nina lost, and when you lose such a challenge, your Heaven's Arena record resets to zero, putting you back at the same status as someone who has just arrived on the 200th floor.
"Miste is cheering for you Go Nina!"
Miste cheered enthusiastically. Nina glanced over as if she heard the voice. When she saw Ron, her eyes lit up with delight.
"Big Brother!"
Ron grinned and gave her an encouraging gesture. Nina also spotted Ponzu nearby.
"That must be Ponzu—the new teammate Ruco mentioned that Big Brother recruited," Nina thought, studying her. Meanwhile, Ponzu sized up Nina with equal curiosity.
"So Nina is the Captain's very first member," Ponzu mused. "I wonder how strong she is. Probably stronger than me."
The announcer's excited voice boomed over the arena.
"Let the match begin!"
Sadaso noticed Nina looking in Ron's direction and followed her gaze, recognizing him immediately.
"Ron, huh?" Sadaso recalled the first time he'd met him. "I finally made it to the 200th floor, after all these years... but I'm sure the gap between us is even wider now."
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