This made Franklin's body tremble slightly.
His movements became sluggish.
Owl flashed to Franklin's side, and with a powerful kick, hit the other party's temple...
This kick directly sent the tall and strong Franklin rolling out.
But at the same time as he was falling, a Nen bullet grazed Owl's cheek, causing his sunglasses to shatter, and almost blew his head off.
Owl's scalp tingled, and cold sweat flowed down his forehead...
This kind of tenacity and reaction speed!
And this was them, five people working together to deal with one...
Not far away, Oboro said indifferently to the group of subordinates standing in front of him, "You don't need to surround me anymore... All of you, take action."
"Yes."
Upon hearing this, a group of Nen users showed their skills one after another, and rushed straight toward Franklin.
Oboro understood the Troupe's strength better than anyone else.
If it was Feitan or Uvogin, five Shadow Beasts might not be enough, but Franklin's ability determined that his upper limit wasn't that high.
His advantage lay in range-based destruction and damage. He needed a fixed point for output, and it was best if someone created an environment and time for him to output... So, five Shadow Beasts were sure to eat him.
However, in terms of body strength, Nen ability, and combat experience... The Shadow Beasts still had a gap. Even if they could kill Franklin, they would have to pay a price.
If he stood by and watched, most likely people would die...
Although Oboro looked down on the Shadow Beasts, they were still the mafia's 'property', and useful thugs. It would be a pity if they died like this...
The ending had already been decided.
Oboro didn't watch the battle anymore. Instead, he looked up at the blue sky.
Today... Was another good day.
Half an hour later, the battle ended.
Franklin had lost his breath, and lay on the ground, covered in wounds.
In addition to him, there were also the corpses of many mafia Nen users. Fortunately, most of them weren't from the Phyllis Family.
They were all subordinates of the other Ten Dons.
A few meters away, Worm covered his bleeding abdomen, his face pale.
A person with healing abilities was helping him recover from his injuries...
Another Shadow Beast, Porcupine, was also injured.
Having to pay such a price to kill a member of the spider didn't seem to make the Shadow Beasts reflect or change their views on the Troupe. The white-haired Shadow Beast spat at Franklin's corpse, and smiled sinisterly: "It's really a bargain for him to die so painlessly."
There was no chance to torture Franklin.
Because they couldn't give him time to breathe. They had to kill him as quickly as possible. Otherwise, there would be even more casualties.
In the field, Owl was still in shock. If it was just the five of them... Without the help of other Nen users, even if they eventually killed Franklin, at least two, or even three of them would have to die!
This was the result that he had calculated based on his experience and insight.
And such a powerful enemy... Oboro could kill him with his own strength.
He looked at Oboro, who was walking over, and his heart stirred.
As for the reactions of a few of his companions... Made Owl feel very ironic.
Before, he had still thought that each of them, the Shadow Beasts, was very strong. Whether they were acting separately or as a team, they could handle everything according to the Ten Dons' requirements! But now, he felt that... The others didn't have brains.
No wonder Oboro looked down on them...
"Handle it as I said." Oboro instructed.
"Yes."
Owl came back to his senses, and nodded in response.
"Contact the Zoldyck Family. Prepare to set off."
Then, Oboro ordered a high-level member of the Phyllis Family.
Following that, with the help of others, he got into a black sedan, and quickly drove away.
...
A few days later, the Hunter Association received the news, and made corresponding adjustments.
The danger level of the mission to capture the Phantom Troupe was raised, and anyone who wanted to accept it had to undergo strict investigation and review.
Moreover, they had to have a professional capture team.
In short, in one sentence, it was... They were forbidden to let the Executive Hunters interfere.
Almost none of the Executive Hunters had reached a star. Although there were some strong characters among them, overall, their comprehensive level was still beyond what they could handle.
More than a dozen people had died this time, and there was no shortage of well-known experts in the team.
On the other side, Chrollo and Feitan had also arrived in the city where the hospital was located, and were hiding under the Association's nose.
In an underground warehouse.
Chrollo, who had bandages wrapped around his body, was sitting quietly on a chair.
On both sides were Machi and Pakunoda.
Feitan was also there. He had taken off his suit, and had returned to his previous attire.
"Chrollo, is it necessary to be so cautious? We can just grab someone, and have Pakunoda use her ability to sense them. Wouldn't we know everything?" The current number 4 in the Troupe, Omokage, who had gray hair, frowned.
He was also from Meteor City.
"The other party is very familiar with us, and it's impossible for them not to be prepared... Taking action rashly will only alert the snake. If we really want to act, it's best to do it together... Without giving him time to react." Chrollo looked at the former, and explained.
"Why does he... Know so much about us? He should have only met Shalnark, and there wasn't much communication between them."
Machi said coldly.
"The only explanation is some kind of ability... Just now, I already had Pakunoda test you. There are no traitors among us." Chrollo said.
This sentence made everyone's faces change slightly.
Although they felt a bit uncomfortable in their hearts... It was undeniable that Chrollo's idea was right.
The first thing that came to mind was that there must be the other party's spy in the Troupe... That was more reasonable.
"He calculated everything... From the beginning, we were exposed. Choosing Franklin, and not me and Feitan... The methods used to deal with Feitan were very superficial, because we were acting separately. And the trap set for me was real. In this process, even the members of the Phyllis Family didn't know until the very end... Now, there are only two possibilities. First, Franklin is still alive. He wants to use Franklin to lure us to show our faces. This is his home ground, and the Association headquarters isn't far away either. He might have found experts from the Association, and prepared to ambush us. As long as we step into the hospital... There's a high chance that we'll be completely annihilated."
The Troupe hadn't been able to contact Franklin all along.
Chrollo's calm words made everyone's hearts skip a beat.
"Tch."
Feitan turned his head away unhappily. Although the leader didn't say it directly, these words undoubtedly meant that Oboro hadn't used much energy when targeting him, and thought that he was a 'reckless man'. On the contrary, the truly tricky person was Chrollo.
"You mean... He already knows we're coming?"
Uvogin looked excited, and smashed his two fists together, "Isn't that even better? Let's just kill our way over there!"
"Didn't you understand? You'll all die..." Machi frowned, and reminded him.
"What's there to be afraid of? Before we really start fighting, who dies isn't certain!" Uvogin widened his eyes, and his pupils glowed red.
"..."
Machi was too lazy to explain anymore.
"The second possibility is that Franklin is already dead... Compared to the first result, the second one is even more terrible."
The only light bulb in the warehouse was flickering, and with his voice, it seemed a bit eerie and sinister.
"Why?" Nobunaga asked.
"The first possibility means that the other party wants to solve us as quickly as possible, and leave no loopholes, indicating that my and Feitan's ability to solve the team sent by the Association exceeded his expectations! And the second one is that he simply doesn't have us in his eyes... He's playing, using us for amusement, and teasing us. Although I'm not sure how much influence and say he has within the Association, judging from the fact that Netero, including some star-level Hunters, are coming and going from the hospital, he should have the ability to drive stronger people to hunt down me and Feitan in this plan. He doesn't even need to find any experts. He can just increase the number of people capturing us..."
In Chrollo's mind, an image appeared.
They were spiders lying on the web, and on the black curtain above their heads, there was a pair of bright eyes, staring at the spiders' every move.
"But he didn't do that..."
Chrollo's words made Nobunaga and the others feel a bit incredulous.
If Chrollo's analysis was correct, how could that Oboro do this?
How could he take them down?
Wasn't he afraid that something would go wrong?
"He can observe every step we take because he understands every foot of the spider, and knows the direction we're moving in... He might be familiar with each of you." Chrollo's gaze swept over the members of the Troupe who were present.
"..."
The warehouse instantly became quiet.
How was this possible?
They had never met that Oboro face to face...
What kind of ability could do this?
"Then are we still going?"
Nobunaga asked.
Chrollo was the brain of the spider, and he was the key to deciding whether the spider would advance or retreat.
According to their previous style, if the danger was too great, they would avoid it... They still needed time to grow.
Franklin was dead. Although everyone would be a bit emotionally affected, they could only give up.
____________________
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