In the future, Neon couldn't foresee her encounter with Chrollo.
She also didn't anticipate Chrollo using his special ability, "Skill Hunter," to steal the "Lovely Ghostwriter."
Germain thought that Neon's current "Vows and Limitations" were just her inability to predict her own future, and the cost seemed too small.
Maybe Neon couldn't learn other Nen techniques and only knew the "Lovely Ghostwriter" which is also a "Vows and Limitations."
But this is a Nen ability that can predict and change the future. Such "Vows and Limitations" don't seem sufficient.
Compared to the "Vows and Limitations" Kurapika made, which were life-threatening, aren't Neon's constraints a joke?
In the original timeline's future, half of the Phantom Troupe would have died at Kurapika's hands.
But after learning key points from a prophecy, the Phantom Troupe avoided that future. In the end, only Uvogin and Pakunoda died, and Chrollo's Nen ability was sealed.
Even someone like Germain, who has known the future, paid the price of "Vows and Limitations" that prevented him from ever returning to his original world and the future was changing more and more from original one.
This made him think about Neon's Nen ability being taken by Chrollo and her mysterious death.
Germain believes there are two possibilities:
One is Neon was murdered. This could be by an enemy of the Nostrade family or an accident. One major suspect is Hisoka. At the time, Chrollo had taken the "Lovely Ghostwriter," and while he couldn't foresee his own future, he could predict the futures of the Phantom Troupe members, which would indirectly show his own future. Hisoka wanted a deadly fight with Chrollo. If Chrollo had the "Lovely Ghostwriter," he could avoid being found by Hisoka. It's possible Hisoka killed Neon to make sure the "Lovely Ghostwriter" were completely removed.
Second is Neon died due to special reasons. This could be a disease, but Germain believes it was more likely due to "Vows and Limitations." The "Lovely Ghostwriter" affects not just the person involved but also a series of related people's futures. It may not be as powerful as Alluka's "wish," but it shouldn't be without cost.
Germain believes that the "Lovely Ghostwriter" has additional "Vows and Limitations," such as a daily limit on how many times the future can be predicted.
Predicting the future requires Nen, and Neon probably doesn't have much. If she makes too many predictions, she will get exhausted and fall asleep.
Also, he predicts that if the number of predictions exceeds a certain fixed limit, there will be serious consequences.
Otherwise, she could use her predictions for her personal guards, like maid Eliza and guard captain Dalzollene.
As long as her personal guards stay safe for the next month, it will show that her situation is secure.
But Light and Neon didn't use it this way.
Because of the usage limit and their lack of concern for the guards' lives, Light and Neon only used the "Lovely Ghostwriter" on Mafia.
However, after Chrollo stole the "Lovely Ghostwriter" and, with the help of the Nen exorcist Abengane, lifted the seal on Kurapika, the usage limit may have been reached.
Ultimately, the "Vows and Limitations" led back to Neon.
This resulted in a disaster as severe as the one that someone would face after making a "wish" to Alluka (Nanika) leading to Neon and everyone around her being killed.
Afterward, Kurapika took over the remaining power of the Nostrade family and became the de facto leader of the family.
However, Kurapika doesn't need to know about these speculations right now.
Kurapika began to understand. He went from standing to sitting across from Germain, and his expression became much calmer.
"So, if we act, as long as we handle those three Nen users, we can recover the Scarlet Eyes on the spot. This is doable."
Germain confirmed, "Yes. So, I suggest you save your energy now. This will be your first battle since you learned Nen abilities."
Kurapika closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened his eyes.
"I understand, Sensei. I will rest now. Tomorrow night, to recover the Scarlet Eyes, I will follow your instructions and won't let you down."
"Alright, go rest."
Kurapika stood up, bowed to Germain, then quickly walked around the glass table and returned to his room. Before closing the door, he nodded respectfully to Germain again.
Germain didn't go to bed right away. He stayed on the balcony for a while, watching the rain finally stop. After that, he turned off the living room lights and went back to his room to rest.
He saw the lights in the distance go out and noticed a man in a wet black raincoat putting down a telescope.
The strong wind on the rooftop howled like a giant beast.
The man held out his hand to make sure no raindrops were falling on it before removing his hood. He had a rugged face with a thin complexion, pointed mouth, and hollow cheeks.
He stepped onto a water stain at the edge of the rooftop, took out his cell phone, and made a call.
"Hello? Is this Pariston? It's me."
He adjusted the gold hoop on his forehead, then used his pinky to clear out his other ear, which wasn't responding.
After a moment, a sweet, annoying voice answered.
"Ah... Saiyu, what a surprise to get a call from you so late."
"You already know why I'm calling," said Saiyu, one of the twelve zodiac signs in the association. "I'm sure it's him. There's no mistake."
"Have you had any contact with him?" Pariston asked with interest, dropping his playful tone.
"Of course not," Saiyu replied with irritation. "The radius of that bastard's 'En' is over 20 meters. That's probably not even his limit. If we get any closer, we'll be exposed."
"I'm more than a hundred meters away, watching them through a telescope. They're staying in the same luxury hotel as the Nostrade family's daughter."
"Well, that's a coincidence," Pariston chuckled. "Our bait caught two fish."
"Damn it—" Saiyu cursed angrily. "You gave out the locations of five Scarlet Eyes and sent different people to guard them, but I'm the one who got caught."
"How did you know that the missing Germain and Kurapika would track down the Scarlet Eyes' information and show up after two months?"
"Ah... I'd really rather not say."
"Then don't."
Saiyu was so angry that he almost hung up the phone.
He knew well about Pariston's devious nature and didn't want to deal with him in the same unpleasant way that Netero did.
Pariston seemed to notice Saiyu's actions and spoke up first, "Hold on, haha, how could I let my good friend approach the target without being aware of it?"
"Cut."
Saiyu fell silent and listened closely.
"After Germain received the title of 'One-Star Hunter,' he was involved in the 'Mercenary Hijacking Incident' and then vanished without a trace."
"However, I reviewed the surveillance footage from that day and found a photo of the young man traveling with Germain."
"I saw that the young man's clothing was quite unique, so I investigated further. Guess what I discovered?"
Saiyu quickly responded, "He's... from the Kurta Clan? Are there still survivors from the Kurta Clan? No wonder you used the Scarlet Eyes to lure them out."
Pariston chuckled a few more times.
"This young man is named Kurapika. He's likely the last of the Kurta clan. If this information got out, it would definitely cause a stir and attract a lot of attention, right?"
"However, what really surprised me was that they waited almost two months to come after I released the news... Germain is certainly impressive."
"Anyway, you know what your mission is, right?"
"I do." Saiyu exhaled and then gave a sly smile, "It's my specialty. I do it almost every day..."
"First, I'll create some trouble for Germain and Kurapika, then I'll appear as the 'Monkey' of the Twelve Zodiac and a senior hunter to help them out of their crisis."
"After that, we'll build mutual respect. Through constant interaction, I'll gradually become their ally. They'll trust me a lot and share all their secrets with me..."
"This is what I do every day, don't worry, I can hide it better than your lousy acting skills."
Hearing this, Pariston laughed for a while and said, "After all, my role is to be a pawn on the chessboard, drawing attention."
"Chairman Netero probably already knows who I am. I don't need to hide it. I can just openly play games with him. That way, your and Beyond's tricks won't stand out as much."
"However, I feel the old man probably knows there's a traitor among the Twelve Zodiacs, but he doesn't care. He knows very well that as long as he's alive, we can't cause any real trouble."
Saiyu's expression hardened, and he thought of the cunning old man making a scissor gesture, which gave him a chill.
Then, Pariston's voice was heard.
"But now, the chance to break through might come sooner than expected. We just need to figure out how Germain did it, and then we can outmaneuver that old man more quickly."
"I understand," Saiyu said flatly. "As a Blacklist Hunter, it makes sense for me to show up at their most critical moment."
"Yes, that makes sense," Pariston replied with a smile.
********
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