Chapter 90: The Challenge
Kurapika's mind drifted back to that brief meeting with Chrollo in Room 1801. He remembered the question he had hurled at the Spider's Head, and he remembered the answer.
His Scarlet Eyes burned with a terrifying brilliance.
He had never imagined a human being could speak of slaughter with such cold indifference. To Chrollo, the Kurta Clan weren't people; they were merely high-value inventory to be harvested.
Kurapika had asked about the message left in the ruins of the village.
Chrollo had stared at him, offering no explanation.
Kurapika had traced the origin of that phrase to Meteor City—the junkyard wasteland where most of the Spiders were born.
But why leave that message in the village?
Kurapika couldn't grasp it. Even if he found the reason, he would never forgive them. Yet he felt that message held a deeper secret. And more importantly—how did they find the hidden village?
The Kurta settlement wasn't perfectly hidden, but it wasn't a place one stumbled upon by accident.
The clansmen only ventured to nearby cities for supplies at fixed intervals. The rest of the time, they lived in isolation. Even when they traveled, they were strictly forbidden from revealing the Scarlet Eyes. Identifying the village as a Kurta stronghold should have been nearly impossible for outsiders.
But the Troupe had come prepared. They had slaughtered everyone and taken every single eye.
A horrifying thought gnawed at Kurapika's soul.
What if the village was exposed because of me?
He was the last one to leave. He was the one who had accidentally flashed his red eyes in a nearby city before the massacre.
Kurapika's eyes felt as if they were bleeding. If it was my fault...
"What are you thinking about so intensely?" Ronin's hand landed firmly on Kurapika's shoulder. "Go get some sleep. It's late."
Kurapika looked up to see Ronin's calm, concerned smile.
"Oh... right. Okay." He tried to shake off the dark thoughts and stood to head for the bathroom. But halfway there, he stopped and turned. "Brother Ronin... if the Phantom Troupe found the village because of me—"
"Are you really going to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders?" Ronin stood up. From across the room, he made a flicking motion with his fingers toward Kurapika's forehead.
A tiny, pea-sized Nen bullet tapped Kurapika right between the eyes. He didn't dodge.
"Ouch!" Kurapika rubbed the faint red mark.
"When the world decided those eyes were treasures, that night was already written in stone," Ronin said, his voice hard. "If you want to blame something, blame the fact that we weren't strong enough to stop them. Not yourself."
Kurapika stared at him for a moment. The turmoil in his eyes settled into a cold, hard resolve. "I understand."
The Yorknew Auction lasted seven days.
The Troupe's "fake death" had already been exposed. They hadn't stayed quiet for more than a few days before hitting another target.
Kurapika used "Raymond's" funds to add massive bounties to the Phantom Troupe members on the Hunter Association Website. He also leaked higher-tier intelligence.
He packaged their names, faces, abilities, and psychological profiles into different levels of data and sold them to Bounty Hunters and Blacklist Hunters globally.
The basic info—names and faces—was released for free.
The backgrounds of the photos were telling: some were taken at the Adan Hotel, others at Southernpiece.
He also used Mafia channels to set up a private auction for any solid lead on a Spider.
Kurapika was squeezing the Troupe from every angle, hoping to force them into a mistake or thin their ranks before the next clash.
The results, however, were minimal.
Ronin had expected as much. If the Phantom Troupe were easy to kill, they wouldn't have been Class-A bounties for so long.
As Kurapika predicted, Chrollo had ordered the Troupe to withdraw and accumulate strength. The "Head" of the Spider was far too sharp to be baited so easily.
September 7th.
Ronin accompanied Neon to the Southernpiece Auction.
This was a final test arranged by Kurapika. If the Troupe had truly dispersed, this outing would be safe.
Ronin felt no immediate danger as he sat down in the theater. That changed when a red-haired man sat in the seat next to him.
The man wasn't wearing his bizarre jester outfit. His face was clean of makeup.
He wore a sharp, tailored suit. He looked like any other high-society guest.
Hisoka.
He sat down casually. His voice, smooth and laced with hidden excitement, reached Ronin's ear.
"Ronin. Or should I say... Kakashi Hatake. I found you."
Ronin's muscles tensed. He prepared to strike or substitute at a moment's notice.
He wasn't surprised Hisoka had connected the dots. The "Kakashi" who fought him had a familiar aura signature.
"Something on your mind?" Ronin asked, his voice low.
"Don't be so tense," Hisoka said, keeping his eyes on the auction stage. "I think you know why I'm here."
"A partnership?" Ronin guessed.
"Exactly," Hisoka smiled, a look of mock distress on his face. "Your presence has made the Phantom Troupe very... jittery. Chrollo is constantly surrounded. I can't find a way to get him alone unless I start killing the little flies following him."
"And you think I'm going to hand Chrollo over to you?" Ronin countered.
Chrollo was a prime target.
According to Kurapika, Chrollo had left specifically to find a counter for Ronin's eyes. This only made Ronin more eager for their next meeting.
He wanted to see what Chrollo would bring to the table. And he wanted to kill him personally.
Not just for revenge, but for the raw thrill of defeating a master who came prepared.
Hisoka's aura shifted. It became sharp, dangerous, and predatory.
"If that's the case... do we need to have a little talk first? Only the winner gets the privilege of fighting Chrollo," Hisoka proposed.
Chrollo was a great fruit.
But Ronin was looking exceptionally sweet today too.
Hisoka turned his head. His almond-shaped eyes locked onto Ronin. They were filled with greed, excitement, and bloodlust.
"How about Heavens Arena?" Ronin didn't back down. He met Hisoka's gaze with equal aggression, his own hunter instincts flaring.
Chrollo was a masterpiece.
But fighting Hisoka sounded like a hell of a good time too.
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