Chapter 150: There's Always Something Strange in the Sewers of "New York City"
"This is a black-market auction run by criminal organizations. Is anyone actually going to try something against it?"
Kuwabara looked genuinely baffled.
He had checked the Dream Auction's background through his Hunter license before agreeing to come, and knew it was a crime-syndicate operation. Even after going through various experiences under Wing's guidance, Kuwabara's thinking still had the straightforward quality of an ordinary person. Being from the island nation, he also had enough cultural exposure to the yakuza world to carry a certain view of criminal organizations that softened the edges.
"There is. And the people who have their eye on it have a lot of nerve."
Ross paused.
"The Phantom Troupe. You've all heard of them."
Everyone except Yusuke, who still looked blank, visibly sobered when that name came out.
They all had some knowledge of the Phantom Troupe.
"You're saying that A-class criminal organization behind dozens of major cases is planning to hit this auction?"
Hanzou, who had been approaching this job with a fairly relaxed mindset, finally understood why Ross needed their "mature bodyguard experience."
"That's my read, from a source I can't name. The probability of the Phantom Troupe showing up on auction day is very high. Full team."
Ross's reasoning was simple: even just from the standpoint of trying to recover some face after everything they had been through, the Troupe should still proceed with the original plan, unless something more important came up to stop them.
"Your sources have never been wrong before. That means this auction is genuinely dangerous. That group operates without any restraint whatsoever. Most of the ordinary attendees probably won't walk out."
Kurama's expression shifted to something between contempt and revulsion.
As a former Demon World thief who had fully integrated into the human world, his knowledge in this area hadn't dulled. The Spirit World's ongoing close attention to him was a direct consequence of his previous theft of a Spirit World treasure. He hadn't lifted anything from the human world yet, or more precisely, after learning that Yusuke and the others were professional Hunters, he had concluded that was a legitimate path and was planning to sit the Hunter Exam the following year and operate as a licensed Treasure Hunter.
With that consideration in mind, the Phantom Troupe, the largest criminal entity in the thief world by volume, was something he had researched thoroughly using Yusuke's license on multiple occasions.
The research had made Kurama angry. Beyond the entirely normal empathy for victims that most people would feel, he was angrier about something specific: the Phantom Troupe operated under the name "thieves" but functioned in practice as killers and robbers. Nothing to do with theft. Just take whatever they wanted and casually kill anyone in the way.
As a former Demon World thief, this felt like a desecration of the profession.
"That said, my voice doesn't carry much weight. Even if I reported this to the Ten Dons directly, the likely outcome is that they wouldn't take it seriously."
"You know how criminal organizations operate. They tend to refuse to believe they're in real danger until it's too late. And the Ten Dons have their Shadow Beasts, a special Nen ability user unit they're proud of. I'd guess they genuinely believe they can handle the Troupe."
Ross pressed his lips together, idly wondering whether the Ten Dons would once again be wiped out by a Zoldyck family hired to take them down.
"Then why did we come at all?"
Hanzou was more confused than before. If they knew in advance that a criminal organization was going to move, wasn't coming here voluntarily the same as walking straight into the trap?
"That's why we don't go to the auction. We wait outside."
"Wait?"
Both of the delinquents with the good hearts and the straightforward brains tilted their heads at Ross, equally lost.
But Kurama and the two bald men understood immediately.
"You're planning to rob the robbers!"
Hanzou pointed at his employer and announced it on the spot.
"That's a harsh way to put it."
Ross was entirely unbothered about having his intentions exposed.
"At its core, it's just a question of probability. If they don't show up, that's ideal. I'm just here to watch the spectacle anyway. Everything in that auction starts at a few hundred million and casually drifts into the tens of billions. I can't afford any of it."
He paused.
"But if they do show up and make their move, then afterward it's everyone operating on their own capability. Right?"
Ross's smile had a slight sharpness to it.
It was a stretch of logic, technically. But in the current social environment it was hard to argue with.
A criminal organization could openly run an auction of this scale in full daylight. Anyone who claimed there wasn't state-level tacit approval behind it was lying to themselves.
And when even the state was willing to turn a blind eye to criminal organizations operating this openly, the social atmosphere required no further explanation.
Strength is justice.
"Ross's reasoning is sound. There's no way an auction at this scale can simply be cancelled. Even if senior auction organizers received confirmed intelligence, they would almost certainly just upgrade security. And if the Phantom Troupe actually showed up, it might actually suit the organizers' needs."
After a moment of thought, Kurama had to concede the point.
"What do you mean?"
Yusuke felt his mental capacity running dry. He was almost certain he could see steam starting to rise from his own head.
"What it means is that this entire Dream Auction is already an arrow that has to be fired. They can't and won't cancel it voluntarily. Doing so would bring the anger of every powerful and wealthy person from around the world down on them, and even the Ten Dons have no interest in fighting the entire global elite simultaneously. But if the Phantom Troupe attacks, then the organizers have every justification to push the blame entirely onto the Troupe, redirect the anger of all parties in that direction, and then reschedule the auction at a later date without anyone complaining. As for the dead, to criminal organizations, casualties are roughly equivalent to having breakfast."
Hanzou arrived at the conclusion through his own experience and his years in the bodyguard business, and his expression as he said it was one of someone who had made peace with an unpleasant truth.
Of course, being about to be pulled into an event of this scale was not exactly ideal from a bodyguard perspective. But from the perspective of a Nen ability user, Hanzou, along with everyone else, felt a certain restlessness beginning to stir.
As for Ross, he genuinely wanted to rob the robbers. And if possible, he wanted to take out a few of the members with unique abilities himself and see what items dropped.
By this point, as long as it wasn't Chrollo with his unknown and numerous ability count, Ross was willing to try touching even Uvogin. An opportunity to run into nearly all of the Troupe in one place wouldn't come around often.
There was a saying about not taking the first step of a long journey lightly. The auction was still two days away, which meant Ross had his own business to handle first. But the first step of that business was...
"Boss. I'm requesting permission to keep calling you boss in this particular moment, but. Are you really going to do this?"
Kazemaru's eye was twitching as he stared at Ross.
"Yeah."
Ross's own answer wasn't particularly enthusiastic, but there was nothing to be done.
Because the navigation arrow, loaded with three keywords, was pointing in a direction that corresponded to an aged, weathered, thoroughly rain-and-time-worn object sitting at his feet.
A sewer manhole cover.