After Uvogin was captured and imprisoned,
Kurapika arrived at the abandoned park designated by Hisoka.
What he didn't expect was that he would see Hyuga Arin here as well.
"Yo."
Hyuga Arin greeted Kurapika casually and tossed a device toward him.
"Everything you want is in there—the full data on all Phantom Troupe members."
Kurapika looked at the information displayed on the device.
It contained the Phantom Troupe's basic profiles: their identities, numbers, and partial details of each member's Nen abilities.
One name, however, was marked in red.
Shalnark — Deceased.
"This person…" Kurapika paused.
"I killed him not long ago," Hyuga Arin shrugged.
"Fast work," Hisoka said, wearing a strange smile—part sickly, part expectant.
Hyuga Arin sat on a railing, his legs swinging idly, and said to the two of them:
"Shalnark was basically the brain of the Phantom Troupe.
He handled intelligence, analysis, and strategic judgment. Losing him means the Troupe has lost its information advantage."
"And they'll naturally shift their hatred onto the Mafia."
"The Mafia isn't a match for the Phantom Troupe—but that's exactly what gives us an opportunity."
He then looked straight at Kurapika.
"So, when are you handing Uvogin over to me?"
Kurapika frowned.
"Right now Uvogin belongs to the Nostrade Family. I can't just move him around freely."
It wasn't that he didn't want to—he was just an employee. He couldn't simply demand a prisoner from his employer.
Besides, Uvogin wasn't giving up any useful information anyway. Handing him over wasn't a big loss.
"Then just don't stop me," Hyuga Arin replied.
"What are you planning to do?"
"Go in and kill him. That's all."
Hyuga Arin said it calmly, completely ignoring the fact that he was now a wanted criminal.
And by killing Shalnark, he had actually saved the Nostrade guards' lives.
Under the original timeline, Shalnark would have already used his intelligence abilities to locate Uvogin by now.
At this point, the Troupe might not even be able to find the Nostrade Family.
Kurapika nodded.
"That's fine."
"As long as you can do it."
Hisoka spoke up at that moment.
"So who's your next target?"
Hyuga Arin pulled out a wanted poster.
A worn, unshaven face stared back from it.
"Nobunaga?" Hisoka's eyes lit up with interest.
"That guy's a front-line combatant."
"To deal with him, I naturally have thorough preparations," Hyuga Arin said.
Then he pointed at Kurapika.
"Kurapika, you're the bait now.
You need to draw the Troupe's attention—but you yourself don't need to show up."
"Hisoka, you keep track of the Phantom Troupe's movements."
"And I'll handle the harvesting."
This plan required using Gon and Killua.
Without Shalnark, the Phantom Troupe no longer had their intelligence advantage.
They would be easily drawn out by Kurapika.
Hyuga Arin was confident that the incident of Gon and Killua being taken to the Troupe's base would still happen.
When the Troupe made their second move, Nobunaga would definitely be left behind to guard them.
That would be Hyuga Arin's chance.
Meanwhile, Kurapika acting as bait would also occupy much of the Troupe's attention, preventing them from calmly analyzing the situation.
As for where the Phantom Troupe's temporary base was—
With Hisoka around, finding that out was easy.
"This makes me very easy to expose," Hisoka objected.
"If I'm exposed, I'll be surrounded by the entire Troupe immediately."
"Battle is art, but being ganged up on is just a tragedy."
"Relax," Hyuga Arin said with a smile.
"They definitely won't suspect you."
He had already prepared for this.
By now, Chrollo should have already received the excuse Hyuga Arin had arranged for him.
"The spiders have set their sights on your treasures, beginning their plunder on September 1st.
Your rage will sever one of the spider's legs.
Beware—spiders lurk in…"
The prophecy ended abruptly, cut off at the most critical point.
Was it exposing their location?
Or revealing their next action?
"Prophecy…?"
Chrollo looked at the man pinned against the wall.
Two pale fish swam through the air, gnawing continuously at the man's flesh.
"Where did this prophecy come from? And where's the second half?"
The man said in terror,
"It was obtained from the Mafia's wanted criminal—Hyuga Arin.
I don't know where the rest is. When it reached me, it was already like this!"
"Hyuga Arin…"
Chrollo frowned.
He opened the window.
As the wind rushed in, the two white fish dissolved into motes of light, and blood burst from the man's body as he died.
"So this is how our information leaked?"
Chrollo fell into deep thought.
Why would Hyuga Arin help the Mafia with a prophecy?
Judging from the paper, it looked like it had been stolen.
Everything felt confusing.
Yet the first two lines had already come true.
They attacked the auction, and the Mafia's Shadow Beasts killed one of their members.
On the surface, everything seemed normal—
They robbed the auction.
The Mafia retaliated.
They lost one member.
But Chrollo felt something crucial had been overlooked.
"What exactly is it…?"
Meanwhile, at the Nostrade Family compound.
Dalzollene was leading several Mafia members into the place where Uvogin was being held.
"Since needles couldn't penetrate his skin, we had to knock him out with gas."
Uvogin looked at the unfamiliar man behind Dalzollene.
"And you—what faction are you from?"
This Mafia member was Hyuga Arin, disguised with the Transformation Technique.
Meanwhile, the Hyuga Arin who had met with Kurapika and Hisoka earlier was merely a shadow clone.
"Which faction I'm from doesn't matter," Hyuga Arin said lightly as he walked up to Uvogin.
"You just need to know I'm here to kill you."
"Aren't you going to interrogate him first?" Dalzollene asked curiously.
"Did you get anything out of him?" Hyuga Arin asked back.
Dalzollene laughed awkwardly.
They hadn't gotten anything at all.
"Our methods are all about the same.
If you couldn't get anything, we won't either.
So of course, the only option left is to kill him."
Hyuga Arin raised his hand.
The Darkness Battle Blade appeared in his grip.
"And we've already issued a bounty on the Phantom Troupe.
It's only a matter of time before they're all captured."
He explained calmly to Dalzollene.
Dalzollene suddenly understood.
The Mafia was now mobilizing at full force to hunt down the Phantom Troupe—
far more intense than their pursuit of Hyuga Arin.
It was a full-scale manhunt.
"Yeah… the Phantom Troupe won't last much longer," Dalzollene agreed with a smile.
Hyuga Arin turned to Uvogin.
"You're about to die. Any last words?"
Uvogin simply closed his eyes.
Dalzollene kindly tried to remind him,
"His body is—"
Extremely hard.
But he never got to finish.
Uvogin's head had already fallen to the ground.
[Experience +12,363]
[Skill: Super Destruction Punch]
[Talent: Monstrous Strength]
[Consumable: Enhancer +1]
"Second one," Hyuga Arin grinned, flashing white teeth.
Dalzollene shuddered.
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