'Is this Hisoka?'
Such questions ran through Illumi's mind.
The face, swollen like a pig's head, no longer showed distinct features, but one could barely make out the makeup of tears and stars.
Furthermore, his clothes were torn to pieces, as if he had been violently ravaged not long ago.
"???"
This is Illumi's current reaction.
Fortunately, through Hisoka's wildly erect hairstyle, Illumi could still confirm his identity.
"I was wondering why you didn't answer the phone."
Snapping out of his contemplation, Illumi showed enlightened look. He took out his work phone and opened the call log.
The screen displayed ten missed calls he made to Hisoka.
Of course, the reason for calling Hisoka on his own initiative was not for the boring motive of 'rendezvous', but rather to settle the one billion Jenny reward for completing the assassination mission.
Even though the assassination target commissioned was a 'lucky person' randomly selected by Hisoka from the criminal forces in the Dena Region, and the difficulty was not high, not a single penny of the agreed-upon reward could be omitted.
But as a result, Hisoka didn't answer the call ten times in a row.
Could he be trying to evade payment?
Illumi, who had this suspicion, suddenly remembered that before parting ways, Hisoka casually mentioned going to some underground fighting arena for fun.
So, Illumi came to check, but he never expected to find Hisoka in such a miserable state here.
"Why are you still alive?"
Under normal circumstances, a person witnessing this scene would wonder who had ravaged Hisoka to such a state.
But Illumi's immediate question was why Hisoka was still alive?
Moreover, Illumi noticed that someone had written 'thank you' with blood on the ground next to Hisoka.
'Thank you?'
Illumi tilted her head.
The fog of confusion in his mind thickened even more.
'What happened here before I arrived?'
He still acknowledged Hisoka's strength, otherwise, Hisoka wouldn't have become the first 'Friend A' he encountered in his life.
However, he never expected Hisoka to be in such a pitiful state in a place like this, seemingly ravaged by unknown assailants.
"Forget it, it has nothing to do with me anyway."
Illumi directly dismissed the fog in his mind and squatted down. His pitch-black eyes focused on Hisoka's swollen face, and he said lightly: "You're still alive, fortunately."
As he said that, he took out a round-head needle and prepared to wake Hisoka up.
However, at this moment, Hisoka coughed up blood, and his eyes that were swollen to only a slit, were struggling to open.
Seeing Hisoka waking up on his own, Illumi put away the needle.
"Your words just now... are you concerned about me?"
When Hisoka woke up, he felt that a throbbing pain throughout his swollen face, and speaking caused even more intense pain in his jaw.
However, at this moment, instead of feeling any frustration, he felt an inexplicable sense of pleasure.
"Well, if you were dead, I wouldn't get my reward."
Illumi nodded towards Hisoka, stating the reason for his concern without any emotion.
While answering, he waved his phone, signaling Hisoka to settle the reward as soon as possible.
"So heartless~"
Standing up from the ground, Hisoka suddenly noticed that his clothes were torn to shreds.
"Huuh…"
He looked down at the tattered clothes, his eyes narrowed until they were completely reduced to mere slits.
Illumi quietly observed Hisoka's reaction from the side.
"Even though you got beaten up so badly, you seem strangely happy."
"Ah, because..."
Hisoka raised his head and looked at Illumi, still savoring the moment: "I have encountered a fantastic 'communication partner'."
"Communication partner? Is that the person who ravaged you into such a miserable state? No matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like communication at all. It seems more like a one-sided beating."
Illumi asked casually, simultaneously paying attention to Hisoka's actions, as if waiting for him to take out his phone to settle the reward.
"It was a 'close match,' you know. Meeting him again next time will be quite interesting."
Hisoka raised his index finger and gently stroked his swollen face. Then, under Illumi's scrutinizing gaze, he reluctantly fumbled for his phone.
However, the screen of the phone was already shattered and in an unusable state.
"It seems I can't settle the reward tonight."
Hisoka held up the damaged phone, smiling at Illumi.
That smile gave a hint of ferocity on his swollen face.
"Fine."
Illumi nodded, disregarding Hisoka's mention of a close match, and curiously asked: "What's the name of the person who ravaged you?"
"I don't know."
Hisoka casually used his versatile Bungee Gum to gather the scattered playing cards on the ground.
During the battle, he had suppressed Moses.
In a situation where victory was assured, he had originally intended to ask for Moses's name. However, he didn't expect that Moses, who was wrapped in the Bungee Gum and corpses, would disperse into Nen in an instant.
'It was a Nen clone…'
The moment he realized this, he had already lost the game.
In the end, he only heard the advice, 'Remember to ask for the name next time,' before being knocked unconscious with a punch.
As for his torn clothes and the swelling on his face...
He didn't know the purpose behind the other party's actions.
Illumi lowered his eyelids and said: "Being ravaged like this without even knowing the name, you're truly pitiful."
The eldest son of the Zoldyck Family, born into the family of assassins, used the word 'ravaged' several times in front of Hisoka.
It could be said that, as expected of a man who, after joining the Phantom Troupe, can directly declare in front of the Phantom Troupe, who vowed to kill Hisoka, that he actually joined the troupe after accepting Hisoka's commission.
He was the type who spoke without considering the occasion.
But Hisoka didn't mind Illumi's emphasis on that word, and said regretfully: "Not knowing his name is my biggest regret tonight."
"Don't you at least know what he looks like?"
Illumi put away his phone and said expressionlessly:
"Considering the difficulty of your task, it's not much different from just giving me one billion directly, so as long as you provide some clues, I can help you investigate it for free."
"You are so considerate, hmm…"
Hisoka looked at Illumi and said, "He's a boy around thirteen or fourteen years old."
"Huh?"
Hearing his age, Illumi asked in surprise: "Were you ambushed?"
Based on his understanding of Hisoka's strength, Illumi subconsciously assumed that Hisoka must have been ambushed. Otherwise, it was hard to imagine a boy of thirteen or fourteen could beat Hisoka to this extent.
"No, it was a direct confrontation."
"…"
Hisoka's answer silenced Illumi.
There was something wrong with the way he was looking at Hisoka.
As if saying...
You were ravaged to such a miserable state by a boy of thirteen or fourteen in a head-on confrontation.
Hisoka accepted this fact quite calmly, so he didn't care about Illumi's reaction and continued: "Black hair, light blue eyes."
"Huh?"
Hearing Hisoka's description about the other party's appearance, Illumi was surprised again, and the appearance of a certain person flashed through his mind.
"What is his ability?"
Illumi asked quickly.
Hisoka keenly sensed Illumi's strangeness and replied: "It has something to do with Nen clone."
"I see…"
Illumi immediately understood.
'It turned out that the person who ravaged Hisoka into such state was the young man I met in Spice City.'
'The reason why my Nen needle didn't have the desired effect at that time was that the person it pierced was a Nen clone.'
'It all made sense now.'
"Is it someone you know?"
By observing Illumi's strange reaction, Hisoka made this speculation.
Illumi placed a finger against his lower lip and calmly said: "It should be the same person. I was beaten away by him once."
"Oh?"
Hisoka's gaze towards Illumi suddenly changed significantly.
As if to say: So you too...
"Were you ambushed?"
"No, it's a head-on confrontation."
"…"
Hisoka fell silent for a moment and asked: "So, what is his name?"
"…"
This time, it was Illumi who fell silent.
At this moment, there is a sense of deja vu as the victim identity suddenly shifts from Hisoka to himself.
Hisoka looked at Illumi with a strange gaze and said slowly: "Don't even know his name, huh..."
"…"
Illumi remained silent.
Because the task was already completed, he didn't have any thoughts of revenge back then, so naturally, he didn't bother investigating.