Chrollo's faint smile, once a sign of his strategic mastery, had been gone for months. Ever since the tragic deaths of the Phantom Troupe members, it hadn't returned.
Now, even Nobunaga couldn't see that smile, and he didn't feel any real sense of relief.
"Nobunaga, who do you think is most likely behind Germain's actions?" Chrollo asked.
Nobunaga rubbed his stubbled chin, thinking carefully before answering.
"The elders of Meteor Street still need us, so they wouldn't turn on us. The Ten Dons… well, no offense, but they don't have the power to pull this off."
"The only ones who could do this—and have a reason to—are either the Hunter Association, powerful groups like V5, or maybe the Kakin Empire."
Nobunaga's logic made Uvogin, Shalnark, Machi, and Pakunoda exchange surprised glances. They were all thinking the same thing, and their eyes showed a shared understanding.
Chrollo, however, stayed silent. His cold eyes were fixed on the horizon, his sharp profile like a statue from Greek mythology.
Nobunaga didn't interrupt his leader's thoughts.
But Uvogin couldn't hold back. Using his massive frame, he shoved Nobunaga aside and stepped in front of Chrollo.
"Uvogin, what are you doing?" Nobunaga asked.
"Nobunaga, move aside and let me handle this. Why are you making things so complicated?" Uvogin snapped.
Chrollo, unfazed by Uvogin's towering presence, turned to face him, his expression unchanged.
Uvogin pulled a gold coin from his pocket, holding it in his large hand, where it seemed tiny.
"Boss, the Phantom Troupe's rule is simple: if we disagree, we let a coin toss decide. Or do you want us to follow the 'absolute obedience to the leader' rule instead?"
Uvogin's imposing tone, tall figure, and intense stare were all intimidating, but they didn't faze Chrollo at all.
Still, Chrollo made a decision that aligned with the Phantom Troupe's future. He sighed and gave in.
"I choose 'heads'."
Uvogin tossed the coin high into the sky, where it glinted brightly under the scorching sun.
"Then I'll choose 'tails'," he said.
The coin dropped, but Uvogin didn't try to catch it. Instead, he let it hit the ground, where it bounced and rolled a short distance before coming to a stop.
Everyone instinctively gathered around to see the result. The "spider web" mark on the back of the coin showed that Uvogin had guessed right.
Chrollo slowly closed his eyes for a moment before opening them, now filled with determination.
"Then, we start the investigation. From the very beginning, we need to uncover everything—Germain's and Hisoka's backgrounds, the forces backing Germain, and their true purpose."
He paused before adding, "I can also introduce you to two new members."
---
July 2nd.
On a train rumbling along icy tracks, the windows of one carriage were rolled down, but the strong wind rushing in suddenly stopped.
After dealing with the wind, Germain lay back on the warm bed, his head resting on a soft white pillow, and flipped through a thick book.
He had borrowed it from Sanbica. There was very little text on each page, with most of the space filled with illustrations, mainly diagrams of human anatomy.
Germain carefully studied the positions of bones, joints, organs, the trachea, bladder, blood vessels, brain, and more. From time to time, he would touch parts of his body to confirm what he read.
It wasn't that he had suddenly developed an interest in medicine. He was more like a butcher inspecting meat than a skilled surgeon.
Matching the pictures in the book with the ones in his memory brought him a strange kind of satisfaction, a fun way to pass the time.
While Germain was deep in thought, mentally constructing a diagram of the human body, he was suddenly startled by a loud "bang" nearby.
Turning his head towards the other bed in the room, his mind still occupied with the anatomy, the first thing he saw was a moving skeleton. But then his vision cleared, and he saw Kurapika, fully formed, with flesh and blood.
He was thankful he hadn't been thinking about Menchi's recipe, or else Kurapika might have briefly appeared as food in his imagination.
Kurapika, still half-immersed in his own training, had been puzzled by something and opened his eyes. He wanted to ask Germain for advice, but in his haste, he didn't notice the position of the bedside table and nearly tripped while getting out of bed.
Steadying himself, Kurapika winced as his toes hit the table hard. Instinctively, he reached up to grasp the cold chain wrapped around his neck.
This chain had become his treasure.
Germain had told him that he needed to stay connected to the purchased chain until he could fully manifest his own "chain" through Nen and maintain it indefinitely.
Whether he was eating or sleeping, he was never to part with it—he had to treat it as if it were his closest lover.
To be honest, Kurapika thought not even lovers were so inseparable. His attachment to the chains had already surpassed any love he'd felt for a partner.
He had kept this promise, and the chain had been with him all the time. It had almost become a part of him now.
When he noticed Germain looking at him, Kurapika felt a bit embarrassed. After quickly putting on his shoes, he walked over to Germain's bed.
"Teacher, I'm sorry to bother you."
Germain set the book he'd been reading to the side, sat up straight, and the bed let out a creak in response.
"It's no bother. What's on your mind?" he asked.
Kurapika clutched the chains on his body, hesitated for a moment, then held out his right hand to show Germain his five long, slender fingers.
"Teacher, I understand what you explained before—the idea that 'each finger's chain has a different ability,' and how 'Vows and Limitations' work, as well as how my Scarlet Eyes amplify my Nen abilities."
"In fact, I've already started to form some ideas about the different abilities for each chain. I'd like to share them with you and see if there's anything wrong with my plan."
Germain, wearing his usual bird-beak mask, lay in the shadow of the bed, looking almost like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. He nodded in acknowledgment.
Kurapika wasn't surprised by this reaction. His teacher had a strange temper, but Kurapika found that reassuring—it made him seem reliable.
"Teacher, I'm thinking of assigning 'healing' to my thumb, 'plundering' to my index finger, 'binding' to my middle finger, 'guiding' to my ring finger, and 'judgment' to my pinky."
"As for 'Vows and Limitations,' it goes like this..."
Kurapika explained everything carefully, while Germain listened in silence. Kurapika paused now and then, glancing at his teacher for reassurance, but Germain's expression remained unchanged. Left with no choice, Kurapika pressed on.
Once Kurapika finished presenting his "answer," the wait for Germain to give his judgment felt agonizingly long. The air in the room grew heavy, filled with tension. Kurapika started to regret bringing it up in the first place. Was the "Nen ability and Vows and Limitations" he had devised flawed or missing something?
Sure enough, after a short silence, Germain began to critique his points one by one.
"The 'chains' you've created are set up for solo combat, and you haven't considered the possibility of fighting alongside others," Germain pointed out.
"The 'Dowsing Chain' on your ring finger works well enough, but the chains on your other four fingers have issues."
"For example, with your 'Healing Chain' on your thumb, I understand why you set a 'Vows and Limitations' to double the healing speed at the cost of halving your defense during the process. But you've made it so that this only affects yourself."
"You're ignoring the role your comrades might play. Perhaps you believe you can defeat the Phantom Troupe on your own without needing help. But that's a dangerous assumption."
"Don't forget that the Phantom Troupe and I are caught in a long struggle. I won't rest until the Phantom Troupe is completely wiped out."
"Even the Phantom Troupe members, despite their individual strength, stick together as a group. When I fought them, I succeeded by separating them."
"If you plan to take them down one-on-one, you'll need allies. This is the mindset I want you to adjust to."
"Your 'Chain Jail' on your middle finger is bound by the 'Vows and Limitations' that it only works on Phantom Troupe members. This means that once the Phantom Troupe is gone, the chain will become useless."
"Both Hisoka and I have left the Troupe. My tattoo has been removed, and Hisoka's was a fake."
"If you were to target either of us with the 'Chain Jail,' you'd suffer the backlash from your 'Vows and Limitations'."
"To avoid that, you've added a new 'Vows and Limitations,' one that's tied to your own judgment and the target's sense of identity with the Troupe."
"While this ensures that the 'Chain Jail' will work without triggering a backlash, it also limits your potential going forward."
"The condition for activating your 'Steal Chain' and 'Judgment Chain' is that you must gamble with your life."
"This means you have to kill your opponent the very first time you use these abilities. Otherwise, there will be endless problems."
"With such powerful Nen abilities, your enemies will be desperate to learn the secrets behind your 'Vows and Limitations' and use them against you."
"You also need to think about how much stronger your Nen becomes when you activate your 'Scarlet Eyes.' The stronger your Nen gets, the harsher the backlash you'll face."
"Aside from the 'Dowsing Chain' on your ring finger, all of your five chains are designed for solo fights where you're risking your life, with no thought of the future."
"If you're that eager to die fighting the Phantom Troupe, if you're willing to throw everything away just for revenge, without thinking about the consequences... then I have nothing more to say."
"But I'll tell you this: the Phantom Troupe isn't worth your life. You need to recover the Scarlet Eyes stolen from your people, and the future of the Kurta clan depends on your choices."
"You still haven't fulfilled the promise you made to me. If you're going to stick to these 'Vows and Limitations,' then leave right now. I'll consider these months spent training you a waste of time."
Kurapika broke into a sweat, his lips trembling. He looked down for a long time, unsure of how to respond.
Germain was far more powerful than Izunavi, Kurapika's teacher in the original story, and the fact that he'd killed three members of the Phantom Troupe was even more convincing.
Kurapika couldn't argue. He wanted quick results, to gain the strength to fight the Troupe immediately, but doing so would only disappoint his teacher Germain—and dishonor his fallen clan.
As for whether the Kurta clan could ever be revived, Kurapika had long since given up on that dream. He knew he would never marry or have children.
After a long pause, Kurapika finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "Teacher, I was wrong."
Germain wasn't the type to keep scolding someone once they admitted their mistake.
Seeing that Kurapika had come to his senses, Germain just said, "Revise your 'Nen Ability's Vows and Limitations,' and get it right this time," before returning to his book.
Kurapika took back the "answer sheet" he had submitted, sat on his bed with a heavy heart, and began to think over everything again.
********
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