Past noon on the day before the Yorknew Dream Auction, all Troupe members had assembled at the abandoned building they'd designated as their base.
No. 1 – Nobunaga, dressed in samurai fashion, carrying a sword
No. 2 – Feitan, short in stature, wrapped in a jet-black coat
No. 3 – Machi, strong-willed in kunoichi style
No. 4 – Hisoka, a towering man in clown makeup
No. 5 – Phinks, wearing Egyptian-style headwear
No. 6 – Shalnark, a handsome man with no distinguishing features at first glance
No. 7 – Franklin, a Frankenstein-like man with multiple scars on his face
No. 8 – Shizuku, the newest member, a woman with glasses
No. 9 – Pakunoda, glamorous, who reads memories
No. 10 – Bonolenov, a man wrapped head to toe in bandages
No. 11 – Uvogin, a muscular giant dressed like a primitive man
No. 12 – Kortopi, a small man buried in long hair
And No. 0, the Spider's head – Chrollo, the ability thief.
Since the Troupe's formation, full-member jobs could be counted on one hand, and with the entire roster present, even these battle-hardened villains showed slight confusion.
"Good of you all to gather. Everyone arriving by the specified time is a pleasant miscalculation. I'll be blunt—our target this time is everything being auctioned at the Underground Auction. We're going to steal it all."
As each member reacted to Chrollo's declaration, the particularly bloodthirsty Uvogin roared a war cry in welcome.
"That's the BEST! Give me orders, Boss! What should I do!?"
"Not just you—this is an order for everyone. ...Kill them. Don't leave a single person who gets in our way."
Though not as exuberant as Uvogin roaring again, each member wore aggressive smiles, their excitement rising for the big job ahead. Chrollo slowly surveyed them once, then let his aura surge and snapped his fingers as a signal.
Shalnark thrust his manipulation antenna toward Hisoka, and Machi restrained him completely with her Nen threads.
"...What kind of attraction is this? I'd rather have Machi restrain me directly with her body instead of these threads. ♥"
"You got captured pretty easily. What are you thinking?"
"No, no, that's my line. ♦ I showed up on schedule and this is how you treat me? How cruel. ♠"
The combatants who hadn't been part of the prior discussion showed surprise at the sudden development, but given the target was Hisoka, they didn't particularly intervene and silently watched events unfold.
"Hisoka, you told Machi you'd fight me at the auction. Is that correct?"
"I didn't say I'd fight—I said if there was a chance, I wanted to make a move. ♣ Obviously I wouldn't invite you with everyone assembled. That'd be embarrassing. ♥"
"Gross."
The word that slipped from Machi was ignored, and Chrollo observed Hisoka directly but couldn't confirm any sign of agitation.
"Then you won't mind if Pakunoda investigates?"
"Be my guest. But if I'm innocent, you'll owe me one. ♠"
Even placed in a situation surrounded almost entirely by enemies, his unshakable mentality radiated an exceptional presence even in this gathering of powerhouses.
When Pakunoda activated her ability and asked, "Are you planning something at this auction?" she made an indescribable expression.
"This is hard to call completely guilty. He's made a request to the Zoldycks, but the request content is... ambiguous."
"Hey, hey, hey—requesting the Zoldycks is totally guilty, isn't it!? If we're eliminating him, let me do it!!"
Setting aside Chrollo, who showed signs of contemplation at Pakunoda's diagnosis, Uvogin—already at peak excitement—shouted again.
"Shut up, muscle ball. Boss decides that."
"Exactly. By Troupe rules and target-wise, the Boss makes the call."
"That's right. Be quiet for a bit."
Feitan glared at the noisy Uvogin with annoyance and hammered the point home, with Franklin and Phinks agreeing.
When Chrollo's thoughts settled and he glanced at Pakunoda, she understood his intent and explained the details of the Zoldyck request.
"The request itself is pretty vague, but the gist is 'help me get a one-on-one with the Boss if there's a chance during the auction period.' The Zoldycks accept requests like this?"
"Non-assassination requests are actually more expensive, but if you become friendly enough with them, they're somewhat flexible."
When Chrollo raised one hand, Machi reluctantly and Shalnark apologetically put away the antenna.
"Huh!? Why are you stopping!?"
"Come on, everyone knows Hisoka wants a one-on-one with the Boss, right? He joined the Troupe with that understood, so a request like that is safe. If he'd requested creating a one-on-one opportunity, that'd be out."
"Really? I was looking forward to fighting Hisoka."
While Uvogin remained reluctant despite Shalnark's explanation, the released Hisoka rolled his shoulders and smiled at Chrollo.
"So you owe me one, right Chrollo? ♥"
"Don't be ridiculous. It's gray at best, not white, so I owe nothing. Let's hurry up and select members to raid the auction."
Completely ignoring Hisoka's provocation, Chrollo began discussing the main event—the auction—and Uvogin's mood, which had been dejected, shot back up.
"Oh! Then I'm first!! To steal everything, you can't transport it all without me!"
"No, you're on standby duty."
"Why!?"
"Uvogin stays behind to monitor Hisoka. If necessary, you can fight Hisoka. Not bad, right?"
At Chrollo's order, Uvogin—who loved fighting strong opponents but also adored crushing weak ones—made a strange face and continued groaning.
"The auction raid team is six: Shal, Machi, Feitan, Phinks, Franklin, and Shizuku. For starters, leave as little evidence as possible."
The six named members each responded, then departed the base to infiltrate while receiving explanations from Shalnark, who'd already done reconnaissance.
The remaining members were told to standby for a while, and Chrollo, Pakunoda, and Kortopi moved to a different abandoned building to distance themselves from Hisoka.
"Heheh, I'm not very trusted. ♠"
"Obviously. 'If there's a chance' is practically gray-black. Be grateful the Boss is letting you off this easy."
Admonished even by Nobunaga, who monitored him vigilantly from sword range, Hisoka shrugged as if bored and pulled out a deck of cards.
Then, perhaps having calmed down, Uvogin—despite being ordered to monitor—promptly started napping, while Bonolenov put in earphones and killed time listening to music.
Nobunaga, who'd been cleverly saddled with monitoring duty, didn't notice this and continued earnestly watching Hisoka as he began building a house of cards.
***
"Wow, for a shorty, Killua's pretty impressive, huh? Hey, hey, can I have those fingernails in their extended state?"
"Obviously not, you idiot Neon. Your taste is seriously questionable."
The day before the auction, Gon's group and the Nostrade members spent another day shopping and sightseeing. There was one scene where Neon mass-produced prophecies with Lovely Ghostwriter first thing in the morning, but nothing particular happened otherwise, and Neon returned to the hotel highly satisfied again.
"Okay, tomorrow's finally the auction, so I'm going to bed early. You absolutely better not be late, Killua!!"
"Wait, why are you going to bed early? The Underground Auction you're after doesn't start until tomorrow night."
"I'm playing normally until then!! Stop arguing and just show up!!"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Just go to sleep already."
After Neon headed to the bedroom with the maids, the remaining bodyguard members held a discussion about tomorrow's auction.
First, Dalzollene, who'd reported Neon's prophecies upward, informed them about the Ten Dons' upcoming moves.
"The Ten Dons' policy remains unchanged—let them make the first move. I thought they'd take some countermeasures with all those death prophecies."
"No, they're probably making moves beyond what we can see. While they can't show themselves cowering before a future attack, it would also look bad if they'd done nothing when the raid actually happens."
Against the dejected Dalzollene, Kurapika judged that they were making some moves, even if just speculation.
"...You're absolutely right. So, what about the members going to the auction? Even if you go, we intend to grant full authority."
Perhaps cheered slightly by Kurapika's prediction, they moved to the most important topic—the auction participation team.
"The Underground Auction tomorrow will feature the mummy Miss Neon wants. We absolutely cannot let her go herself, but someone still needs to go or she won't accept it."
"About that—we're considering lying and saying we'll go."
Dalzollene's eyes widened at how nonchalantly Kurapika stated this, but if they were raided, he couldn't imagine the original bodyguard team surviving.
"May I ask your reasons and objectives?"
"First premise: the auction will likely be cancelled. One reason, as you understand, is to avoid needless deaths. The other is to track them and strike at the optimal timing."
Even if there was a raid, they wouldn't have time to exterminate the virtually infinite Mafia underlings, and if they managed to steal the Underground Auction goods, that would become a burden.
"There'll definitely be a pursuit team organized. We'll blend in and abduct one or two Spiders. Considering safe retreat, that's our limit."
"Understood. If Gon's group says they're going, Miss Neon will reluctantly accept. We'll also arrange restraint methods for whoever you abduct."
"Mmm, I don't really like lying though."
"We're definitely going to the auction, and if it gets cancelled, it's natural we can't get anything, so it's fine. This isn't lying—it's called tactfulness."
"As expected of a Transmuter with strong opinions about deception."
"Shut up, Leorio. Come up with some good ideas yourself. Are you worse than a musclehead?"
"Stop, that criticism hits me where it hurts."
Kurapika and Dalzollene sighed watching Gon's group get rowdy and continued discussing the many remaining decisions, including what was needed to infiltrate the auction.
***
Inside an abandoned building replicated by Kortopi's Gallery Fake, Pakunoda spent time with Chrollo and Kortopi while organizing the memory contents she'd read from Hisoka.
(The Zoldyck request was so prominent I didn't notice, but is he thinking this Kurapika kid will make some move?)
Among Hisoka's vast thoughts existed numerous potential situations that could lead to a one-on-one with Chrollo. In just a corner of those, there was the figure of Kurapika, whom he'd met at this year's Hunter Exam.
(He bears a grudge against the Phantom Troupe and became a Hunter for that reason, huh? What does he think he can do when he's barely learned Nen?)
Still, what caught Pakunoda's attention was the single point that Kurapika's name had been remembered by Hisoka. Since Hisoka didn't view him as a threat strength-wise at all, it meant Hisoka was interested in his potential growth.
(Well, just over six months since learning Nen has its limits for growth. Hisoka doesn't have that much "interest" either, which is why it's just left in a corner of his memory.)
After considering various angles, Pakunoda decided against reporting Kurapika to Chrollo. Obviously, a beginner who'd learned Nen less than a year ago couldn't possibly become a threat.
That confidence was half complacency.
In truth, Kurapika was less powerful against the Phantom Troupe than in the original story. His ability, changed from specialized to versatile, was definitely not as threatening as in the original.
This judgment by Pakunoda was also one of the turning points for both Gon's group and the Phantom Troupe.
Here, the Spiders once again overlooked information that should have connected to the muscle.
One could say Hisoka and the Zoldycks' impressions were just that strong, but the fact remained there were obvious oversights, like not investigating Heavens Arena.
As long as no suspicion of cooperating with someone arose, everything in Yorknew City would continue rolling in the palm of the Clown's hand.
***
10 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
https://patreon.com/Well_being