Chrollo's dolls were modeled after regular audience members, but the ones in Ronnel's hands? Those were all puppets imbued with Nen.
For the next month, Ronnel quietly stayed in a remote log cabin, working tirelessly to create various puppets without leaving the place. When he finally emerged, he had completed puppets of several key figures—members of the Phantom Troupe,, Wing, Bisky, and even Baker.
He didn't just make one puppet for each person—he made spares.
Take Baker, for example. His Nen ability, Watcher in the Shadow, allows him to switch places with his shadow, making him nearly untouchable. Having multiple puppets of Baker could save Ronnel a lot of trouble in tight situations.
In fact, Ronnel even crafted a puppet of himself, though there was a peculiar limitation—he could only make one copy. When Hisoka destroyed it, Ronnel found himself unable to create another. It seems his ability restricts him to just one self-replica.
After that incident, Ronnel learned a valuable lesson. He had created the puppet to act as a decoy, but the unsettling sensation of seeing a duplicate of himself—complete with matching memories—roaming freely was something he couldn't shake. So, unless absolutely necessary, Ronnel kept his own puppet stashed away.
During those puppet-making days, Hisoka had returned to Heavens Arena. He had initially teamed up with Ronnel to hunt down Omokage, but Ronnel was the one who landed the finishing blow. Feeling the weight of Ronnel's abilities, Hisoka retreated to Heavens Arena to vent his frustration—by killing. The arena soon descended into chaos, and whether he would eventually clash with Gon remained uncertain.
Meanwhile, word of Ronnel's skirmish with Feitan spread among the Phantom Troupe. The brigade was set to regroup on August 31st after three years apart. As the members reconnected, Feitan's unusual behavior didn't go unnoticed.
The others grew curious, and as usual, much of the brigade's attention shifted to Phinks, who seemed more focused on brawling than explanations. When the truth about Feitan's fight with Ronnel came to light, it left them in stunned silence.
Even Feitan had been bested?
It seemed the new No. 8 was no joke.
Oblivious to the brigade's gossip, Ronnel moved on with his plans. With his collection of corpse poison and death energy nearing completion, he decided to lay low. Pushing too far could attract unwanted attention, so he paused his cemetery operations for the time being. Instead, he set his sights on something else: the mysterious Thousand Ears Society.
(T/N: is an underground agency in a very poor-looking slum. It is very well hidden from the public and is occupied by an agent. This is where Kurapika and eventually Melody go to earn jobs from the Nostrade Family.)
The Thousand Ears Society was one of the most enigmatic organizations in the world. Its operations spanned the six continents, offering jobs to both professional Hunters and regular individuals. The organization maintained deep connections with both legal and underground industries, earning the trust of clients across multiple fields.
Using his Hunter License, Ronnel scoured their network for information. However, the details available to the public were limited—mostly surface-level descriptions. On the surface, the Thousand Ears Society seemed like an ordinary job recruitment agency. But Ronnel knew better. Its apparent simplicity only hinted at the powerful forces lurking behind the scenes.
The Society operated small branches across every region, but finding one was as difficult as locating the hidden venue of the Hunter Exam—if not harder. Kurapika himself had struggled to connect with the Society, getting turned away on his first attempt. Only after six months of dedicated Nen practice was he considered for a second chance.
That's the thing about the Thousand Ears Society—just locating one of their branches proved you had the skills they valued. Anyone capable of finding them was already worthy of a job.
The organization's recruitment process relied on two key criteria: demonstrating mastery of the Four Basic Principles of Nen and locating one of their branches. If both conditions were met, the Society would immediately grant access to job opportunities across its vast network.
Intrigued by the Society's secrets, Ronnel decided it was worth investigating.
After completing his puppets, he reached out to Bisky and Shizuku. The three of them traveled together for a while, their dynamic as chaotic and shameless as ever. But after about a month, in June 1999, Ronnel parted ways with Shizuku, much to Bisky's irritation.
"You two are so annoying!" Bisky pouted, puffing her cheeks in frustration.
Grinning mischievously, Ronnel waved goodbye.
"See you around, Bisky."
His next destination was the northern part of the Azian continent.
In a small, rundown hotel room, Ronnel used his Hunter License to search for clues about the Thousand Ears Society. His searches eventually pointed him to an abandoned building nearby.
"An old, low-rise structure… that sounds like the place," he murmured, jotting down the location on a piece of paper.
Just as Ronnel was about to shut off his laptop and call it a night, a sudden shift in the air made his instincts flare. His hand hovered over the power button, but before he could react—
A brilliant flash of white light erupted from the computer screen, momentarily blinding him.
"What the—!" Ronnel tried to shield his eyes, but it was too late.
The world around him twisted and spun, throwing his senses into disarray. A wave of dizziness hit him like a punch to the gut, and everything went black.
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