Communication can only connect with people you've met and fought in the game.
"You've met him?" Chrollo asked. It was obvious nonsense, but what Chrollo really wanted to ask was what they had done after meeting.
Hisoka licked his lips with a smile: "Yeah~ I fought him yesterday afternoon."
"As you can see, Hisoka is fine," Illumi said, which meant the troupe side hadn't taken much damage either. He picked up the card and asked, "What do you want to say to contact the troupe?"
"Just tell them I'm here."
[They'll probably fly over to find the person, right?]
"Just tell them not to come."
Chrollo believed his troupe members were all obedient good members.
"Oh. Communication, Nobunaga Hachama." Illumi used the card right after Chrollo finished speaking. "But if they want to meet, why not have the troupe members stand by nearby directly? And why is Chrollo here alone?"
He almost forgot, the details of the vow weren't public info. Illumi had been at the airport back then, but he didn't care much about the situation there and was too lazy to know the vow's details.
Saiki Kusuo hadn't written that detail into the contract either.
[One of Chrollo's vows is that he can't contact the Phantom Troupe members.]
The communication connected as soon as Illumi finished speaking.
After a short silence on the other end, Nobunaga's voice came from the book: "Hey, did you just say Chrollo?"
"I'm not in Zetsu, I couldn't have misheard. It's not Uvogin or anything like Kurumi, it's Chrollo, right!"
This world even has Kurumi.
Hisoka leaned over from the side: "Can communication only pass on what the user says?"
Clearly not, since the troupe heard Hisoka's voice.
"You've seen Chrollo? Where is he?" Nobunaga asked again.
"The boss can only be outside the game." Voices of others came from the background.
"He's right here. Too weak, I broke his leg," Hisoka said happily.
"What!?"
Hisoka, you're so reckless—do you even know about teleport cards in this game?
"That voice is Hisoka, right? He's full of lies, Nobunaga, why believe him?"
"Yeah, we have more important things."
"Alright, alright, time to hang up..."
Nobunaga was a straightforward guy.
The troupe members, gathered somewhere in Greed Island, crowded around Nobunaga. He had his hand on his sword, his intent clear.
He'd wanted to slash Hisoka for a long time.
Hisoka wasn't a troupe member anymore, so he could beat him whenever he wanted. They got away yesterday, but not today.
Feitan nearby showed a creepy smile, while Phinks already had a card out.
Swap F-130: After using the spell, all challengers within a 20-meter radius fly to a specified place (only places you've been to) or to a specified challenger's location (only challengers you've met in the game).
Right after Nobunaga hung up, amid the long tone.
Phinks' low voice followed: "Swap, Illumi Zoldyck!"
Why swap Illumi?
Because Hisoka's game name is the Undefeated Magician, and they didn't want to call him that.
The swap was fast. The card turned into a ball of light that wrapped everyone within 20 meters, and the group flew straight to the target. Phinks' voice had just fallen in the communication when Saiki Kusuo felt something rushing toward them fast.
"Thud!" "Smack!" "Crash!"
The small room wasn't meant to hold so many people, but the card Ko fulfilled its duty and brought them all in.
So crowded, really.
The Phantom Troupe burst in like typical bandit stereotypes, right in the room's center, kicking over tables and chairs violently, weapons in hand, causing some damage the moment they appeared.
Illumi had sensed trouble and moved away from the center instantly, standing by the bed's edge with Hisoka.
Now, the tiny single room was crammed with 11 people. Even Hisoka shared the common thought with everyone.
—If we're going to fight, let's do it outside.
"Hey, pink hair." Feitan, as always, loved picking on Saiki Kusuo.
Tch, spotted anyway.
Saiki Kusuo, who had hidden his presence on purpose, was in the corner now. Strangely, he was pressing down on someone's head, pinning the person against the wall in a reverse wall-slam.
A suspicious move. Feitan approached step by step, but Hisoka was blocking the path ahead.
"Mm~" Before Feitan could act, Hisoka noticed and eagerly stepped aside with a jump.
Feitan: ?
Weren't you blocking on purpose?
Hisoka: Of course not, stepping aside is more fun.
As Feitan passed Hisoka suspiciously, Hisoka spoke meaningfully: "Better not get close to that guy, you might die." [Chrollo will die if a troupe member touches him.]
"Heh. Threatening me?" Feitan sneered dismissively.
Without knowing that person was Chrollo, Feitan naturally thought Hisoka meant he'd die at Saiki Kusuo's hands.
The umbrella tip suddenly pointed at Hisoka's throat, Feitan's voice low and raspy: "Might as well kill you first."
The war was about to start. Chrollo, head pressed and facing away from the troupe, frowned slightly.
He felt something wrong with his body. When the members appeared, his chest tightened, and now, unbearable pain was gradually spreading through his body.
The chain tightened slowly like it was claiming his life, as if punishing him for getting close to his members.
A solid chain sensation appeared at his neck. He instinctively reached to touch it but felt nothing, yet the suffocating feeling came from there. Chrollo gripped his neck, sensing tiny chains under his skin and between his bones somehow.
[Stay away.]
Saiki Kusuo finally warned. [The guy I'm holding is Chrollo.]
The troupe members went silent for a moment.
Nobunaga laughed scornfully: "Hahaha! The joke continues? Don't underestimate us—this is a place only Nen users can enter!"
Little Drop hugged his manifested Nen beast, the convex-eyed fish that looked like a vacuum cleaner. Under those En-framed glasses, he seemed innocent: "But this back really looks like the boss, right, Franklin?"
"If Chrollo had his Nen back, he'd have called us," Nobunaga said.
Machi, who had been standing in the back with her arms crossed, was surprised: "Huh? The boss can't call—you don't know Greed Island has no signal?"
"Huh?! What!"
"So the boss made it to Greed Island?"
"So that's it. The boss entered Greed Island, couldn't find us, and now he's been taken hostage by three people by accident!"
"Hey, let go of the boss."
The spiders all turned sharp gazes at them.
Saiki Kusuo: Can't you seven come up with one brain between you?
If Chrollo had his Nen back, how could he let others hold him down without reacting? Pay attention to his state!
Facing the approaching Feitan, Saiki Kusuo raised his palm to stop him from afar.
[Stop! His vow is still in effect. You'd better believe me, if you get closer, I'll...]
"You'll what?" Feitan's face showed contempt. He raised the umbrella like a weapon, as if saying, get close or not, try your move first.
[...Let big brother fight you all.] Saiki Kusuo knew he only killed when he fought, so the Phantom Troupe was really hard to deal with.
"Hm? I can't beat this many, Little Nan." Illumi, who had been watching as an outsider, answered right away.
Don't refuse so fast.
Feitan focused on Chrollo's back with Gyo. There wasn't much to doubt—the height and build matched Chrollo perfectly.
They'd followed Chrollo for so long that once they considered the possibility, they could recognize him by feel.
But they'd also thought about Greed Island's boundaries—entering should be impossible. What was Chrollo's state now? Was that chain hand vow still on him?
Thinking that, Feitan stepped back several paces.
With him leading, the spiders in the small room backed up more, keeping as much distance from Chrollo as possible.
Chrollo finally caught his breath and released his grip on his neck. Everyone heard his deep breath, all eyes on his bent back.
[As you see, this is the real Chrollo. Believe it or not, you can't afford to gamble. I took the mission to find the Nen exorcist. I contacted you just to tell you he's in Greed Island.]
But he hadn't expected the troupe to slap him in the face by showing up right away.
"Oh." Feitan said flatly. [There are many questions, but with the chain hand vow, is it safe to ask here?]
If he guessed right, the boss had already suffered punishment for getting close.
He glanced at Phinks, who had used the card to bring everyone here—the book was still open beside him.
A look was enough to understand. Phinks grinned mischievously and drew a card: "Swap, Masadora!"
Swap doesn't care about teams—as long as they're players within 20 meters, they'll be taken.
There were defensive cards to block card use, but Illumi and the others needed time to call "book."
They had no choice but to be taken!
The light spread, and everyone had their thoughts.
Phinks & Feitan: Better to chat/interrogate in an open space.
Nobunaga: Hey, feels like things are back on track.
Shizuku: Really missed seeing the boss.
Shalnark & Franklin: (As background)
Machi: Doesn't anyone notice Chrollo's leg? Why not find a healing Nen user to fix it? It should be easy!
Saiki Kusuo: ...
Sorry, didn't think of it. Chrollo's attitude was just to wait a few days for it to heal, completely forgot about Nen users.
Phinks' card took all the players present away. Saiki Kusuo let go, and Chrollo seemed to notice, turning to look at the empty room.
Yeah, there were two non-players here. Kikyo couldn't be taken.
"Was that Phinks' swap card?"
Saiki Kusuo then explained swap to Chrollo.
"Pfft, wonder if they'll give Illumi and Hisoka trouble. Maybe next second, they'll swap back to this town and climb through the window."
[Why not use the door?]
"Door's slower. We climb windows even to get back to base." Chrollo picked up his crutches and slowly walked to sit on the bed. "Didn't expect my vow to be this strong. Back then, Shalnark and Paku were standing really close."
[You got extra love on it.] The vow's strength seemed heavier for him than others.
"Wonder if wearing a mask would work next time we meet."
[Safer to meet after Nen exorcism.]
"That'll take at least a year, right? If the members live here, we'll run into each other sometimes."
[With me here, no meetings.]
"Oh."
Chrollo set the crutches aside and replayed the members' voices in his head, feeling some indescribable emotion.
The always free thief from Meteor City now felt a bit uncomfortable being restricted in his actions.
"Like a curse."
[That's the curse you brought on yourself.] You deserve it for your sins.
"Like rich parents in a cheesy drama who won't let their kid date commoners."
So he's saying I'm the one stopping him from seeing members.
[You really want to touch those 'commoners'?] Saiki Kusuo questioned Chrollo.
"Like the old king who, upon learning spindles kill kids, makes all spindles vanish from the child."
[No more metaphors.]
After waiting a bit, neither the Phantom Troupe nor Hisoka and Illumi swapped back to the reward town right away.
Saiki Kusuo left Chrollo behind and went out to look for clues, occasionally running into kids full of curiosity about the game.
"Boss, can I ask how to get this dream ice cream?"
"Oh, dear children, cold drinks only appear in their proper season."
"Liar! I saw an adult eating one on the road, that's why I asked!"
"Well, if you insist on eating..."
Milluki's eyes were full of hope.
The NPC said slowly: "Nearby, there's a popular flying pie shop. The owner can throw pies 20 meters and have them fly back themselves!"
"So then I can get the ice cream?" Milluki stayed on track.
"Oh, dear children, cold drinks only appear in..."
"Same thing!!"
"Milluki brother, big brother said you're here to lose weight..." Kort chimed in from behind. "Ice cream has cream, fat, obesity..."
"No no no." The NPC suddenly defended his food. "My ice cream isn't like those factory products outside. It uses pure natural milk fruit juice, mixed with powder from ground Lululan grass... Have to mention, grinding Lululan grass dried in winter is way more trouble than in summer."
"You make it in winter too! Sell me some, I have money!"
"Oh, dear children, cold drinks only..."
"Shut up! Why is it always this line!" Milluki fumed.
Saiki Kusuo stared at the NPC a couple extra times.
This guy... no inner voice, but his speech seems a bit flexible? He even skips in the middle of talking to change topics.
Whatever, probably just the setting.
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