"The strongest Shadow Beasts under the command of the Ten Dons have been wiped out?!!"
Leiert stood abruptly, grabbed the goblet from the table beside him, and downed the luxurious red wine in a single gulp.
"Yes. It's said the ones responsible are the legendary Phantom Troupe."
"The Phantom Troupe? That notorious group of wanted criminals?! They actually dared to come here and cause trouble—what are the Hunters from the Hunter Association even doing?!"
Leiert's chest rose and fell rapidly, unsure whether to feel relieved he'd survived the catastrophe last night or terrified about what was to come.
After hearing the news of the Shadow Beasts' demise, his calm demeanor shattered. Anyone would feel unsettled knowing such dangerous criminals were active in their city. What's worse, Leiert had even sent his own people to join the assault. He shuddered at the thought that the Phantom Troupe might come after him next.
The higher someone climbs, the more they cling to their lives and worry about every possible threat.
"Where's Kay Taylor? Are the others on guard here?" he demanded. Right now, his only hopes were his hired bodyguards and their loyalty.
(T/N: Kay Taylor is Ronnell's fictitious name)
While most of these underworld families knew little about Nen, they did know it made their users exceptionally powerful.
Light Nostrade, shocked by the death of his bodyguards.
"Uh, you mentioned earlier that only essential guards should stay, and the rest could go gather intel freely and bring rewards based on what they learned. The information about the Shadow Beasts' deaths was gathered by them, so…"
"They're all out right now?!!"
Leiert's face twitched as he remembered his earlier orders, meant to help him get ahead with the Ten Dons. But now he didn't care about information—he just wanted to save his own skin.
"Who's still here?!"
"Only Lisa and Ross."
Lisa was the eighteen-year-old girl with sonic attack abilities, and Ross was the yellow-haired guy obsessed with origami. Meanwhile, the middle-aged martial artist, and gunman Kay Taylor were out gathering information.
"So, my strongest people are out there?" Leiert massaged his temples in frustration. "Tell them to return immediately. They need to protect me!"
"Yes, sir!"
The elderly attendant bowed and hurried out to make a call.
At the same time, in a dimly lit but bustling underground venue...
Ronnel's puppet, looked around, bored, at the noisy crowd. If not for his orders, he would've been drinking and relaxing instead of gathering information at Leiert's behest.
This was yet another underground auction house—where anything, from antiques to intelligence, was for sale to those who could pay. It was the perfect place to dig up information.
"Hey, Leorio," Gon said, "you said wrist strength contests are used to reel in big fish, so why bring us here? This is just another underground auction house."
Leorio nodded. "Well, this is where the underworld trades its black-market goods. Every item here is worth a fortune, and every night, there are fighting events—arm wrestling, boxing, and betting. I figured it was the best spot to score cash and maybe gather some info."
"So because there's a mix of all sorts here, it's easier to make money through bets and pick up on rumors?"
Just then, as Kay Taylor continued his search for information, three voices drifted into his ears.
"Another newcomer trying his luck?"
Kay Taylor cast a casual glance, then looked away. Suddenly, the venue lights dimmed.
"We're temporarily pausing the arm-wrestling match for today's special auction!" A sharply dressed man leapt onto the stage, shouting enthusiastically.
As he spoke, a man in black raised a photograph for the crowd to see.
"If you can find and capture any of the seven people in this photo, each one is worth a 2 billion Jenny reward!"
The crowd erupted in astonishment.
"Two billion Jenny per person?!"
Leorio, initially irritated by the delay, couldn't help but exclaim. Gon, eager to earn cash for his plans, grabbed the photo—and his eyes widened in shock.
"Wait…what?!"
"What's up, Gon?" Killua asked, noticing Gon's surprise and quickly peeking over his shoulder. He too froze, stunned, at the sight.
"Ronnel?!" Killua exclaimed, but quickly suppressed his shock. Even though the image was disguised to be unrecognizable to most, Killua knew Ronnel's face well enough to see through it.
"This picture… it's definitely Ronnel. If he's wanted by criminals, it must be because of the underground auction raid last night."
The whole of Yorknew City was buzzing after last night's attack, and Killua and his friends had certainly heard bits of it.
"If he attacked the underground auction…that sounds exactly like the Phantom Troupe's style. And if Ronnel was involved, that must mean…"
"Phantom Troupe!" Gon muttered, his face serious.
"The Phantom Troupe? What's that?"
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