Death row prisoner No. 3.
Keke.
Among the five condemned prisoners, Keke was the oldest and had taken the least damage over the years. His only known skill was in combat, and nothing else about him stood out.
"There are two types of aura users," Kaizen muttered to himself.
"One type is like Netero—those whose lifespan has been extended far beyond the norm. They might look ancient, but their strength hasn't faded. In fact, it's even greater than when they were young."
"The other type is your average aura user—the older they appear, the weaker their body becomes."
"This Keke guy... He's most likely the latter."
Kaizen frowned. If I really run into him, I probably won't need to be too concerned.
"The main thing I need to watch out for," Kaizen mused, "is his experience and any hidden abilities he might have." He smiled grimly. "But I'm an assassin myself. The shadows are my home."
Death row prisoner No. 4: Killian.
A Conjurer specializing in manipulating his aura into "mind threads." The name Killian reminded Kaizen of a manga from his previous life, Bleach. In the Bleach universe, there was a stage in the Hollow hierarchy called "Gillian."
"This guy's ability is kind of like Shizuku's from the Phantom Troupe," Kaizen muttered. "Wonder which one of them would come out on top."
Death row prisoner No. 5: Zhengmei.
Despite the feminine name, Zhengmei was a man. A Manipulator-type aura user, he could create various weapons out of aura. Based on the reports so far, Zhengmei was the strongest of the five targets.
"The intel from Milluki gives me the locations of prisoners No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4..." Kaizen thought, tapping his map.
After a brief pause, Kaizen made up his mind.
"I'll start with No. 2. It's the closest."
He marked the spot on the map with a red dot.
According to Milluki, Cole—his next target—was in the city where Heavens Arena was located.
Kaizen suddenly remembered something and pulled out his phone.
"Almost forgot to transfer the money to Milluki," he muttered.
Eight million Jenny. A fortune for an ordinary person, but to Kaizen, it was pocket change.
The real prize was the bounty on Cole's head—100 million jenny. Compared to that, the fee for Milluki's information was trivial.
"Lina, I'm heading out for a bit. Stay here, and don't open the door for anyone, okay?"
"Got it!" Lina chirped cheerfully.
With that, Kaizen left Heavens Arena.
Moving at lightning speed, Kaizen streaked across the city streets.
"Swish!"
Under the dim glow of a streetlamp, a couple stood huddled close together.
Suddenly, the woman's eyes widened.
"Something just sped past us!"
Her partner blinked in confusion.
"Are you sure? I didn't see anything."
"No, I swear it was there! A shadow..."
"You must've imagined it," the man said dismissively. "Come on, let's just—"
"No, I'm going home." The woman's expression hardened, and she pulled her hand free from his grasp, turning to leave.
The man stood there, frozen with regret. After a moment, he ran after her.
"Wait! I'll walk you home—it's too dangerous to go alone."
Kaizen didn't glance back as he sped away.
Soon, Kaizen arrived at a tall building. From the rooftop, he peered across the street toward a nearby hotel.
"According to Milluki's intel, Cole is staying here."
Kaizen crouched down, eyes sharp as he scanned the hotel entrance. "All I need to do is wait."
As the hours passed, the city's lights dimmed one by one, and the streets fell silent. Kaizen remained in a state of Ten, maintaining his aura flow to stay alert without wasting energy. His gaze stayed locked on the hotel doors, watching for any movement.
Then, at last—
"There he is."
A lone figure emerged from the hotel lobby.
Just as Kaizen was about to act, several other figures materialized from the shadows, moving toward Cole.
Kaizen's eyes narrowed. "Assassins?"
It wasn't surprising.
On the dark web of the underworld, anyone could take on a contract. Whoever completed it first would get the reward.
It was the same during the Yorknew Auction incident. World-class crime syndicates had placed bounties on members of the Phantom Troupe, and countless hunters and assassins tried to claim them. Most were weak, though.
Even Gon and Killua had tried their hand at hunting members of the Troupe to gather funds for their entry into Greed Island.
Kaizen wasn't particularly interested in Gon and Killua's actions during the Yorknew incident, though. What mattered to him was the Zoldyck family's involvement.
During that event, the Zoldycks had accepted commissions from both the Mafia and the Phantom Troupe.
Zeno and Silva were hired to go after Chrollo Lucilfer, the Troupe's leader. Meanwhile, Illumi and Maha Zoldyck—Kaizen's great-grandfather—had been tasked with eliminating the Ten Dons, the ruling heads of the underworld.
"It must've been a serious job if even Maha got involved," Kaizen thought. "If Illumi alone wasn't enough, that says a lot."
He smirked. "And Illumi was already a monster back then."
Even within the Phantom Troupe, Illumi would've been one of the strongest.
"According to Hisoka's ranking system, Chrollo and Hisoka himself were probably the only ones above Illumi."
"Not even Feitan could match him."
The Phantom Troupe was a force to be reckoned with. As their leader, Chrollo stood above them all, relying not only on his unique abilities but also on his genius-level tactical mind.
And then there was Feitan—during the events of Yorknew, he was arguably the second-strongest member, just behind Chrollo.
Hisoka's position within the Troupe didn't count—he was only ever a member to amuse himself.
"Zeno and Silva barely even tried against Chrollo," Kaizen thought. "They weren't taking the fight seriously at all."
"There must've been more to the Phantom Troupe's deal with the Zoldycks. It couldn't have been just about money..."
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