Chapter 878
The Phantom Troupe had gathered.
Kurapika looked across at Chrollo.
"Kurapika, go ahead. What do you need us to do? But this is a one-time offer. After this, we'll owe each other nothing. If you want to leave the Troupe after that, that's your choice. If you want to stay, then you'll be one of us—no different from anyone else."
Kurapika nodded. "Fine. I've already investigated most of what I needed to. The massacre of the Kurta Clan can be traced to three main parties: the Minpo Republic, Kakin, and Meteor City."
"I've already eliminated the elders from Meteor City—those who needed to die are dead. As for the Troupe, we've already come to terms. I'll consider the Meteor City side of things settled. You weren't the masterminds—just hired by others."
"As for the Minpo side, it's complicated. Ron told me before—there's no point in seeking revenge there."
"That leaves only Kakin."
"Based on my investigation, the culprit is likely Tserriednich. The scarlet eyes and the head of one of my clansmen are both in his possession. That man has collected many such things."
Chrollo said calmly, "Among the princes still alive, the First Prince is arrogant and distrustful of outsiders, so the chance of us working with him is almost nonexistent. The Second Princess is still being detained by the First Prince. Her ability is unusual, but she's not relevant to us. The Ninth Prince doesn't believe in the infighting among the princes. Which means our only viable option for cooperation… is the Third Prince."
"Then we work with the Third Prince. Pakunoda, get in touch."
Pakunoda nodded. "Understood, Boss."
If Ron had been there, he would've disagreed with the idea of working with the Third Prince—because based on his judgment, the Third Prince likely wasn't Nasubi's biological son. According to Ron's theory, the Egg of Kings ritual didn't require the death of every other prince to produce the Sealed Object. Which meant at least one prince could survive.
While Nasubi didn't particularly care for his children, he surely wouldn't want the last one standing to be someone else's child. No one wants to be made a fool of in their own palace.
Not long after, Pakunoda successfully contacted someone from the Third Prince's camp—a woman.
Pakunoda stated their intent plainly, without pretense. No lofty claims. She didn't pretend they were there just to help the Third Prince out of goodwill. Both sides were smart enough to know that lying would be easily exposed. Besides, there was no need to lie—only mutual interest could bring them together in the first place.
To have such powerful allies fall into her lap, Hui Guo Rou was naturally thrilled.
"Welcome aboard. But how do you intend to act?"
Pakunoda replied, "Given our combined strength, there's no need for an elaborate plan. We go straight to the Fourth Prince's location and attack."
The Phantom Troupe members were all confident in their own abilities. The princes might be talented, but the time since the start of the succession war had been too short. It wasn't easy to grow into powerful Nen users so quickly. There were bound to be weaknesses.
And on top of that, they had the advantage in numbers.
Hui Guo Rou asked, "And what happens after the Fourth Prince is dead?"
Pakunoda frowned slightly. "What do you mean? Once the Fourth Prince is dead, our goal is achieved."
"Right. But I'll definitely suffer losses. After that, when I face the other princes, I'll be at a disadvantage," Hui Guo Rou replied without hesitation. "You benefit more from this than I do. I'll need compensation."
"Compensation?" Pakunoda's eyes narrowed slightly. "Killing the Fourth Prince is your goal too, isn't it? He's your competitor."
Hui Guo Rou his head. "Not the same. Yes, he's one of my rivals. But right now, the First, Second, Fourth, and Ninth Princes are all still alive. If conflict breaks out between them first, I stand to gain more. One might die, the other would be badly weakened. I'd be left with two and a half competitors, so to speak."
"But if I work with you, the Fourth Prince might die—but I'll lose forces too. Then I'll still have three enemies left, and I'll only be half myself. The pressure on me would be more than twice what it would've been. So yes, I want compensation."
Pakunoda fell into thought. As unreasonable as Hui Guo Rou's words sounded, they weren't entirely without merit.
"I'll go back and discuss it with the Boss."
"Go ahead."
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Pakunoda returned to the group and relayed Hui Guo Rou's demands.
Phinks scowled. "He's really overstepping. Just agreeing to work with him was already a favor. Now he's making demands? And outrageous ones at that. Who does he think he is?"
Feitan was equally displeased. "Boss, why don't we just kill this Third Prince first?"
Chrollo closed his book and scanned the group. "What Hui Guo Rou said isn't completely wrong. We're trying to use him—naturally, he'll try to use us. But you're also right. He doesn't have the qualifications to make demands of us. We're the Phantom Troupe."
Then Chrollo turned to Kurapika.
"Kurapika, from now on, this isn't just your business. We're not just helping you—this is now the business of the entire Troupe."
With that, Chrollo stood.
"Let's go now. Head to the Fourth Prince's area and fight to our hearts' content."
"It's been a long time since we cut loose."
"The situation in Yorknew was my miscalculation. I didn't expect things to go sideways like that, which led to Uvogin and the others dying. This time, we'll unleash everything."
Phinks and Feitan both grinned.
"Now that's more like it. We're the Phantom Troupe, after all."
Franklin, Pakunoda, Nobunaga—all stood up.
Hooker moved to Kurapika's side and threw an arm around his shoulder.
"Kurapika, you ready?"
"This will be your first real team battle as a full member of the Troupe."
Kurapika's expression shifted slightly, but then he nodded.