When the Scarlet Eyes first hit the market, Chrollo had already picked up enough threads to connect the people who once operated in Meteor City to Kakin. The deeper he dug, the more the country's buried irregularities stood out. Everything eventually pointed at the Fourth Prince and his very particular tastes.
After arriving in Kakin, Chrollo and Hisoka split up to dig. Useful information refused to come quickly. The assassination attempt had forced Tserriednich to freeze every public movement. Storming the palace was the only remaining option, and even the Troupe was not arrogant enough to try that lightly.
Ronin had not attempted it either. That fact alone had started to color their decisions. At some point both Chrollo and Hisoka found themselves watching Ronin's movements almost as carefully as their own targets.
The Fourth Prince had not lived inside the royal residences for a long time. Unless a formal ceremony required his presence, he stayed in hotels outside the palace grounds. The most likely place to hide the Scarlet Eyes was therefore one of those hotels.
Chrollo marked the target without hesitation, yet he still refused to move. The entire setup looked too much like a trap.
While circling the Fourth Prince, more fragments about the old disappearances in Meteor City kept surfacing. Every new piece led back to Tserriednich and to the Ai Family—one of Kakin's three great underworld powers, bound to the prince by more than simple business.
Exactly what role the Fourth Prince had played remained unclear. His name, however, had already been written onto Chrollo's death list.
Killing him would not be simple. Ronin's own attempt had already proven that much. The layers of protection around Tserriednich were complicated, but complication also created openings.
"What about the investigation into Xiyou?" Chrollo asked, still turning the Fourth Prince and Ronin over in his mind.
Chrollo himself held no Hunter License. Hisoka did. That professional status gave him a far better chance of getting close to the man in question.
Xiyou was the ability user Chrollo had spent months locating—the only one who might be able to strip another person of their sight. The problem was that Xiyou was not ordinary. He was a professional Hunter and one of the Association's Zodiacs, the Monkey.
Membership in the Zodiacs meant proven contribution on a national scale. Combat ranking was never guaranteed by the title alone, yet when the member in question was also a known bounty hunter and martial artist, the floor of his strength sat at the absolute top. There was a real chance he was stronger than Ronin.
Going after Xiyou before settling Ronin felt like putting the cart before the horse. Chrollo still wanted the attempt. Negotiation or force—if the ability could be secured, his odds against Ronin would jump past ninety percent.
"My advice is leave him alone," Hisoka said. "He's a bounty hunter."
The answer was never going to satisfy Chrollo.
"Other channels, then. All I need is a temporary blackout of Ronin's vision long enough to create an opening. Even if it means Xiyou comes after us afterward, removing Ronin is worth the price."
Chrollo rubbed his temples. The fact that he was asking Hisoka at all showed how little confidence he actually held.
"I can post a request," Hisoka replied, expression serious. "Whether he accepts, when he moves, or whether he even succeeds—none of that is certain. And the moment the request goes live, Ronin may notice."
"I know. Try anyway."
Xiyou was the single hope Chrollo had found after months of searching. He would not walk past it.
As the Monkey of the Zodiacs, Xiyou had already arrived in Kakin. Short yellow hair, a golden headband, martial-arts uniform, and a face that carried more than a little of the monkey about it.
Even he found his presence here unexpected. His identity was poorly suited to Kakin; exposure remained a real risk. The assignment, however, had come directly from Beyond Netero. There was no room to refuse.
If the connection between them ever came to light, that would be Beyond's headache, not his. Xiyou's only job was to follow the given instructions, finish the work, and collect the fee.
The orders themselves were deliberately vague. If an opportunity presented itself, eliminate Ronin. If no clean opening appeared, stay your hand—or even try to build a working relationship with him. Ambiguous tasks always irritated Xiyou the most.
Beyond had at least prepared an exit route in case things went wrong. The same briefing also mentioned the possibility of quietly coordinating with any Phantom Troupe assault, which might raise the odds of success.
What Xiyou had not expected was the high-value bounty that appeared the moment he reached the capital. The target was Ronin. The source was obvious at a glance—only the Troupe would post something like that right now. The bounty gave him perfect cover. He accepted it without hesitation.
At the same time, Kurapika found the same listing online.
"The Phantom Troupe is already in the field," he said, studying the post. "What I don't understand is why they would use this method."
Hiring professional Hunters went against everything the Troupe normally did. At this stage, no one else had reason to put a price on Ronin's head. Whatever the Spider intended, it carried weight.
Were they trying to pin the group down with outside Hunters so the Scarlet Eyes could not be located quickly? Or did they simply want a distraction large enough to create their own window of attack?
"Be careful," Kurapika said.
Ronin nodded. "Shadow clones as bait. We keep fishing."