The phone rang a few times before it was picked up.
Heinrich's voice came through the receiver.
"What is it?"
From the tone of his voice alone, it was impossible to infer anything.
Ivan wasn't surprised.
Combining what he knew from his predecessor's memories and the manga, Ivan's judgment of Heinrich was simple:
Meticulous.
Emotionless on the surface.
And utterly ruthless when necessary.
"Did the Phantom Troupe come looking for trouble?" Ivan asked directly.
There was no point beating around the bush.
With someone like Heinrich, indirect questioning would only expose his own intentions.
The line fell silent.
A long moment passed.
Just when Ivan was about to lose patience and hang up, Heinrich finally spoke again.
"Will you fulfill the terms of our deal?"
Instead of answering Ivan's question, he posed another.
"If I hadn't called you," Ivan replied calmly, "would you have called me?"
He answered a question with a question.
Heinrich's earlier response had already confirmed something—
Heinrich had guessed Ivan's intentions.
So there was no harm in continuing this exchange.
"The ones who came were a large man," Heinrich said at last,
"and another carrying a sword."
"Thanks," Ivan replied, his expression growing serious.
"I owe you a favor."
"I'll collect it eventually."
Heinrich ended the call.
Ivan stared at the phone for a moment.
He already knew who had visited Heinrich.
Uvogin and Nobunaga.
The combination was unmistakable.
Which meant something else—
They had already left Heinrich's place.
Otherwise Heinrich would never have spoken so openly on the phone.
The question now was where they had gone.
Had they returned to regroup with Chrollo?
Or had they headed to the Gashaya Family, planning to lie in wait?
There was no way to know.
Still—
As long as Ivan could establish contact with the Seventh Prince, he could determine the situation within the Gashaya Family.
If there were no Phantom Troupe members there…
then the current Troupe presence in Kakin was likely at least five people.
Possibly more.
If that was the case—and if he were ever caught—
Ivan doubted he would survive.
He raised his hand and lightly bit his thumbnail.
Yet the corner of his mouth had already curved upward in thought.
Sharp teeth gleamed faintly in the sunlight.
Wilge glanced at Ivan by chance.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
But when he looked again, Ivan appeared perfectly normal, smiling and nodding toward him.
The car stopped outside a luxurious club in the western district.
Guards verified Wilge's and Ivan's identities before allowing them through.
Ivan noticed something.
The guards were all armed with firearms—
but they were ordinary people.
That made him curious.
Kakin possessed no shortage of Nen users.
Yet even by the time of the Succession War, only a handful of princes knew Nen existed.
Among them were the Third, Fourth, and Seventh Princes—none of whom knew about Nen before the voyage began.
And yet the forces under their command—the three great Kakin mafia families—contained numerous Nen users.
The Hunter Association placed restrictions on the spread of Nen knowledge.
But Ivan doubted those restrictions would stop Kakin royalty.
So what exactly had prevented the princes from learning about Nen earlier?
The thought lingered in Ivan's mind as he followed Wilge into an opulent room.
At the center sat a man with a large afro hairstyle, lazily blowing clouds of smoke.
This was Luzurus Hui Guo Rou—
the Seventh Prince of Kakin.
Several guards dressed in black stood behind him.
Their eyes were fixed on Ivan with intense caution.
They looked ready to react the moment Ivan made a sudden move.
"Ivan Zeppeli," Luzurus spoke first.
His tone sounded casual.
"You know your current situation, right?"
"And yet you still dared to come here."
A very direct approach.
Almost reckless.
That was Ivan's first impression.
But he immediately dismissed it.
He knew why Luzurus could act so confidently.
Because Ivan was the one asking for help.
"I know," Ivan replied calmly.
Luzurus took a deep drag from his cigarette.
Smoke drifted from his mouth as he shook his head.
"No," he said.
"You don't."
"I can guarantee one thing."
"If you leave here today without my protection…"
"You won't live another twenty-four hours."
Luzurus sounded extremely confident.
Ivan wanted to ask, And then what?
But he restrained himself.
Instead he said,
"That's why I've come to seek your protection, Your Highness."
At that moment, Ivan couldn't shake the feeling that the Seventh Prince might not actually be very sharp.
Threats like that meant nothing to him now.
But that was also one of the reasons Ivan had chosen to approach him in the first place.
In the manga, Luzurus's behavior during the Succession War—his naive interpretations of the rules and his poor judgment of the situation—had already proven something.
Despite possessing strong patience and restraint, he simply wasn't particularly skilled at strategy.
For Ivan, that made him the best possible partner.
The Third Prince was a master manipulator.
The Fourth Prince was a complete psychopath.
Only the Seventh Prince seemed like someone who could be cooperated with… or used.
And Luzurus's reaction confirmed Ivan's judgment.
Luzurus smiled in satisfaction at Ivan's attitude.
"A wise choice."
"In that case… hand it over."
Ivan blinked in confusion before giving a bitter smile.
"Sorry, Your Highness."
"I only have some leads."
"That extremely important document… isn't in my hands right now."
Luzurus's eyes lit up.
"What are the chances you can find it?"
"I can send people to help."
There it was.
The real motive revealed.
Ivan sneered inwardly.
Help?
More like planting spies to monitor me.
But his expression remained calm.
"As long as I follow the clues, I'm about eighty percent certain I can find what my father uncovered… and deliver it to Your Highness."
Luzurus exhaled another cloud of smoke.
His addiction seemed quite serious.
"Good."
"I'll give you three days."
Luzurus spoke decisively.
As he said it, he clapped his hands.
The door opened.
Two men walked into the room with their hands in their pockets.
The moment Ivan saw them—
his pupils shrank slightly.
Because he could clearly see the Ten surrounding their bodies.
They weren't hiding their Nen at all.
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