The members of the Phantom Troupe stood scattered throughout the palace plaza, blending in with the massive crowd that had gathered. All around them, gang leaders mingled and toasted, their social hierarchy on full display as lesser bosses curried favor with more powerful ones. The open-air celebration featured banquet tables laden with food and drink, while musicians played piano in the center, accompanied by waiters who efficiently weaved in and out of the crime lords.
After watching for a while, the Troupe noticed something significant: there was no sign of the Dons.
"They rarely make public appearances," Knight reported after making the rounds. "They're probably in one of the palaces."
The troup kept their distance to avoid drawing attention to themselves.
"Spread out and locate the targets," Chrollo ordered.
"Kill at will?" Feitan asked coldly.
"Whatever you prefer."
Chrollo's casual reply came because he had already noticed that they were being watched. Several dozen meters away, a disheveled man in red-rimmed glasses and flip-flops stood, accompanied by a strangely deformed figure that barely looked human. Their eyes met through the crowd.
"A shadow beast," Chrollo concluded with a faint smile, moving deliberately closer. The other troopers noticed the creatures as well.
"Impressive how quickly you found us," knight remarked, following close behind.
Finding the Dons would be easy, now all they had to do was capture and interrogate the Shadow Beast. The presence of the creatures among so many prominent gang members was telling. They hadn't sounded the alarm, suggesting that they wanted to draw the troupe into battle. Once a fight broke out, the chaos would make it impossible for the gang leaders to escape. Even a fraction of the casualties would devastate the underground's power structure.
The Shadow Beast was baiting them, and Chrollo was happy to play along. Better to settle this away from the crowd.
Chrollo and four companions followed the Shadow Beast's lead through the crowd, while the other Troupe members pursued their own goals. However, two figures had slipped away unnoticed.
"Two missing!"
Owl and Earthworm hadn't looked back after spotting Chrollo. They'd silently moved to another location, surprised by the Troupe's reluctance.
"Should we tell them the truth?" Earthworm asked, glancing at the spiders clinging to his body.
"Tell them?" Owl replied calmly. "You're lucky you know which side to choose. The Dons won't survive tonight, whether at the hands of the Troupe or anyone else. They want to kill spiders? Let them try."
"You noticed their aura, right? Not ordinary at all."
"They seem extremely confident," Earthworm observed. "Being exposed hasn't rattled them. Do they think we're beneath their notice?"
Owl remained silent.
Minutes later, both groups had made their way to the back garden of the palace, where fewer people had gathered. Owl had already summoned Bingquan and the others by communicator.
In the dark night, the sound of footsteps echoed as Owl and Earthworm made their way to their destination. The garden was the only quiet place amidst the palace festivities. The six Sick Dogs looked up as the pair appeared.
"Why are you calling us here all of a sudden? To this place?"
"The bait worked," Owl pushed up his glasses, thumbing behind him. "Big catch."
"Oh?" The Shadow Beasts' interest was piqued.
"They're yours. Earthworm and I have other prey to catch." With that, Owl and Earthworm disappeared into the shadows.
Before the Sick Dogs could process this, their skin prickled with the awareness of powerful auras. They instinctively shifted to a fighting stance, Nen flared.
"Did those two just leave us?"
"These remaining ones are also strong. Only six of them, weren't there ten Shadow Beasts?"
"You think you can defeat us with only six? More arrogant than us." "The other four probably went to warn the Dons. No matter if Feitan is here, they won't escape."
While they were talking, dark figures came into view.
"Phantom Troupe?!
Sick Dog licked his lips and grinned bloodthirsty. Owl's gossip was true after all. Perfect!
"Hahaha! I know that you and two others were guarding the Fells family. We killed one of them!"
The Sick Dogs showed no fear, confronting Chrollo's group with sneering arrogance.
"Three women out of five," Leech Guan eyed Machi, Shizuku and Pakunoda dismissively. "They seem powerful, but they look so weak."
"They are lucky to have their reputation. If they had met us earlier, things might have been different."
"Not too late to show them their weakness," the other Shadow Beasts joined in the mockery.
"Looking down on women?" Machi stepped forward, tightening her Nen threads between her palms. Knight recognized her rising rage.
"Leave one alive," Chrollo ordered.
In an instant, all eleven fighters were in motion, choosing their targets.
Two Sick Dogs attacked Chrollo, while the remaining four Shadow Beasts paired off with the troopers.
Meanwhile, dramatic changes were taking place in the main square. On a giant screen, Cheko, the new head of the Fells family, had just finished speaking to thunderous applause. Congratulations from the other Dons echoed through the loudspeakers as images of royal representatives flashed by.
The atmosphere of the celebration was shattered when the gang leaders inexplicably turned on each other. The Fells' security team rushed to contain the situation, but even their telepaths went berserk, massacring gang members at random.
Tables overturned, expensive liquor shattered, and the elegant music died amid screams and shouts.
At the center of the chaos stood Troupe member #7, Gabwich, expressionless amidst the carnage. Though the battle raged around him, the blood spurting and the roars continuing, no one attacked or even seemed to notice him.
Soon, another group of Nen Users appeared, not members of Fell's family, but the personal bodyguards of the Dons, thirty or forty strong.
Gabwich glanced at them grimly before using nearby shadows to hide himself as he retreated. These gangsters and weak Nen users were perfect targets for him and Quick. Though outnumbered, the situation played perfectly to his Nen ability.
His power, Lone Hypnotist, worked exactly as its name suggested. The larger the crowd, the more effective it became.
After confirming that all key targets were present, Hisoka, Feitan, Shalnark, and Franklin began searching palaces and buildings, eliminating smaller groups as they went. Shalnark and Franklin paired up while Hisoka and Feitan worked alone.
Under the guise of searching, Hisoka contacted Illumi directly and joined them. He was now certain that Chrollo had dropped his guard.
Soon, Hisoka found several people in a hidden room: David and Fils Lily, Illumi's brother Kalluto and Kurapika.
"Well, you're here already." Hisoka gave Kurapika an evil smile. "Not bad, your eyes look different. It seems Oboro has taken quite an interest in you."
Kurapika leaned silently against the wall, conserving energy. His emotions were mixed, nervous that the Phantom Troupe might sense the trap and flee, yet excited at the prospect of imminent revenge.
"What's happening outside?" Illumi asked.
The room's surveillance showed incomplete footage of Gabwich and Quick attacking the Dons' private Nen users in the plaza. Gabwich had hypnotized some of them while hiding to watch them destroy each other, a devilishly effective mind ability.
"Some went after the Dons. Chrollo's group is playing with the Shadow Beasts," Hisoka reported, studying the screens before turning to David. "Your Fells family seems light on Nen users, despite appearances."
"Most of the victims were the men of the Dons. These gang leaders come from all over the world. Most who are not in our territory serve the Dons. Once they're dead, the entire underground will be restructured. Controlling the gangs of the six continents will be easier, the Fells family will rule unopposed." Pride colored David's calm voice.
"I'm curious how he got here," Hisoka mused meaningfully, referring to Oboro, now occupied by the Zoldycks.
Although Hisoka believed that Oboro would somehow appear, David and Lily remained silent at his implicit question.
"The Dons have been found," Illumi suddenly announced.
A zoomed-in surveillance feed showed intense gunfire and fighting. A body burst through a hall door, followed by Feitan's small figure.
Inside, ten people, including the newly announced Cheko of the Fells family, sat at a round table laden with untouched food and wine. More than a dozen Nen-using bodyguards stood guard.
As Feitan entered, several old men berated the sweating Cheko, who frantically dialed his phone. At the same time, David's phone rang unanswered in his pocket.
Illumi, Kurapika, and Hisoka watched as Feitan drew his umbrella sword and attacked the Nen users shielding the Dons. His ghostly movements and pure killing skill overwhelmed the guards' inferior strength. Like a cat among rats, he created a lopsided massacre.
Within minutes, the hall was littered with corpses. The Dons tried to speak, but Feitan's notorious temper showed as he struck, instantly decapitating all but Cheko of the Fells family.
Standing before the survivor, Feitan's bloody umbrella sword glowed. In a flash, it sliced through Cheko's legs, bringing him to his knees with a scream.
Under the gaze of the observers, Feitan grabbed Cheko's hair, apparently interrogating him. Despite inhuman torture, including the methodical breaking of his arms, Cheko revealed nothing.
Seemingly disappointed, Feitan executed Cheko, then looked directly into the wall-mounted camera, meeting the eyes of those watching from the darkened room.
The feed went black.
"Impressive," Illumi said appreciatively, clapping his hands with his characteristic blank expression. His keen eye had recognized Feitan's extreme abilities.
"Where does he stand in the troupe?" he asked Hisoka.
"Including myself, about fourth, in my opinion," Hisoka smiled.
"So you're in the top three?"
"In raw power, several members of the troupe are almost equal to me. But in other aspects, they're weaker. All in all, except for the interesting Chrollo, they're average."
Unusually honest for Hisoka. Thanks to Oboro's influence, Hisoka's fighting ability was now far beyond his original level.
"Chrollo," came a murmur behind them. Hisoka looked back to see Kurapika's cold expression, the chains on his right hand trembling slightly.
"Hehehe" Hisoka's eyes held a warning. "In this game, we each have our role, but don't steal what is mine."
Kurapika remained silent.