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171 HxH: Tombbound Power
🕑 Added 2024-10-30 06:55:42 +0000 UTC"There seems to be a little problem~."
At the entrance of the hall, Uvogin dragged in a pale, trembling man who could barely stand on his own feet. Feitan and Franklin turned to look.
Trailing behind Uvogin were Shalnark, his face neutral as always, and Nobunaga with his arms crossed.
"All the auction items in the vault are gone," Shalnark announced.
"The host claims someone removed them a few hours before the auction began."
Without another word, Uvogin flung the auction host forward, landing him at Feitan's feet.
"Feitan, I'll leave this guy to you. Extract everything useful~."
"I'll handle it," Feitan replied, his voice a low murmur. "This scum won't leave until I know everything."
The host's body convulsed with fear as Feitan slowly approached him.
"I-I'll tell you everything I know! Please—ahhh!!"
Ronnel shifted his gaze away after just a glimpse of Feitan's "interrogation" techniques.
Poor bastard, Ronnel thought, This host is having the worst night of his life.
Soon, the gangsters arrived in their vehicles, though too late to do much good. Upon seeing the empty hall and barren vault, their frustration boiled over. Phones were yanked from pockets, and frantic calls to underworld contacts began immediately.
Meanwhile, in a massive hot air balloon floating far above the city, several Phantom Troupe members gathered.
Uvogin, who was tugging on his chest hair out of habit, was the first to speak. He held up his phone, already connected to Chrollo.
"They took everything," Uvogin reported grimly.
Chrollo, seated far away in an abandoned building, leaned into the call. "The vault's empty?"
"Yeah. Nothing left at the underground auction. The only host we could question said everything had been removed a few hours before the event," Uvogin explained, his voice unusually low and restrained.
"It's almost like someone knew this was going to happen," Uvogin continued, switching the call to speaker mode so everyone could listen in.
Chrollo's voice was as flat and composed as ever. "Oh?"
"There's a traitor in the Phantom Troupe…" Uvogin's eyes flashed with suspicion.
Feitan and Franklin immediately cast sidelong glances at Ronnel, who stood quietly, leaning against the balloon's basket.
Nobunaga scratched his head and shot Ronnel a quick glance but then turned away, unconvinced. Shalnark and Machi remained silent, their expressions unreadable.
Chrollo's calm voice came through the speaker.
"There are no traitors."
"According to the Bible, Judas sold out Jesus for thirty silver coins," Chrollo continued, his tone almost amused. "If someone were to betray us, what would they gain? Money? Fame? Status?"
His smile was barely audible through the call.
"Anyone content with such petty rewards wouldn't have joined the Phantom Troupe in the first place."
Although Chrollo's words were clear, his eyes drifted toward Hisoka, who stood off to the side. While others may not have the heart for betrayal, Hisoka's motives were always a mystery—and not exactly trustworthy.
Chrollo elaborated further. "It seems the information provided wasn't fully accurate, though someone high up in the underworld believed it. They must've acted on that belief."
Uvogin exhaled, somewhat relieved by the reassurance that there were no traitors among them. Franklin looked away, his mind seemingly put at ease.
Feitan, however, didn't seem convinced. His eyes stayed locked on Ronnel.
"Don't you have anything to say?" Feitan's voice was sharp.
The question caused the conversation on both ends of the call to freeze.
Back in the abandoned building, Phinks clenched his fists, sensing that Feitan's shift in attitude could mean trouble.
Ronnel met Feitan's gaze calmly. "You already know I'm not the traitor," Ronnel said with a smirk. "You're just looking for an excuse to mess with me."
Feitan's expression remained cold, but the corners of his mouth twitched. "Still feel like that beating you got from me didn't hurt enough?"
"Yeah?" Feitan challenged, his eyes narrowing.
Before anything more could escalate, Shalnark and Nobunaga moved between the two. Their silent gestures said everything—enough.
After a tense pause, Feitan relaxed slightly, and Shalnark and Nobunaga backed off.
Ronnel thought for a moment, then turned to Franklin.
"Franklin, you remember those two guys Feitan killed earlier?"
Franklin grunted. "Yeah. What about them?"
Everyone turned their attention to Ronnel, curious about where this conversation was headed.
"The fact that they survived your high-intensity bullets means they weren't ordinary thugs."
Ronnel continued, "Their bodies had markings—symbols of the Nostrade family. They were skilled mercenaries, likely on contract."
Nobunaga frowned, rubbing his chin. "Nostrade family, huh? So what?"
"As far as I know," Ronnel said thoughtfully, "the Nostrade family has a daughter with divination abilities. Word is, her predictions have always come true."
"I've heard the same," Franklin added. "The Nostrade family's been building influence across the underworld using that girl's prophecies."
Ronnel nodded. "It makes sense that they saw our attack coming and prepared accordingly."
The conversation grew heavier as the pieces began falling into place.
"If I remember correctly, Chrollo's going to target the Nostrade daughter to steal her Nen ability," Ronnel said, more to himself than anyone else.
He added grimly, "But once her ability is stolen, it won't last. Chrollo's rule is that stolen Nen vanishes if the original user dies."
The group fell into silence, digesting Ronnel's words.
"If that girl dies, the Nostrade family will collapse," Ronnel concluded. "The underworld will eat them alive."
Franklin's brow furrowed. "So... what are you getting at?"
"I'm saying we need to act first. If Chrollo's going to make his move eventually, we might as well beat him to it."
