Morrow's clothes were stained with many people's blood.
Kortopi's, Chrollo's...
And now Machi's.
Morrow withdrew the Poultry Scarlet Knife.
As the blade pulled free from Machi's body, several more spurts of blood splattered onto his clothes.
Unfazed, Morrow calmly watched Machi collapse lifelessly to the ground before flicking the knife to shake off the remaining blood.
Still level 69...
As he sheathed the blade, Morrow glanced at the level numerals on the back of his hand.
When he'd killed Kortopi, he'd noticed the experience gain wasn't particularly substantial.
After killing Chrollo, he'd smoothly leveled up from Lv.68 to Lv.69.
He'd thought eliminating Machi would push him straight to level 70.
Yet he'd only reached 69.
This suggested that after breaking through level 70, the difficulty of leveling up would multiply to unimaginable levels.
After all, Nen users of Chrollo and Illumi's caliber were already rare.
Even those who worked hard to progress far in their training would mostly hit plateaus like Tsezguerra, limited by environmental changes, personal needs, and innate talent.
Among these factors, innate talent was most crucial.
Many Nen users, despite their utmost efforts, would eventually face the harsh reality of being capped by their natural limitations.
Much like wealth gaps and social status...
In this world called Hunter x Hunter, some things were determined from birth.
But viewed differently, everyone possessed the qualification to learn and master Nen, wasn't that fairness in itself?
Uvogin and Nobunaga remain. Eliminating them should get me to level 70.
Morrow lowered his eyelids, silently contemplating.
Starting from the 50s, his leveling had been smooth thanks to prey like the Phantom Troupe and the reset effect from rewind.
Only now, approaching the threshold of level 70, did he truly feel the weight of the experience decay mechanism.
Even with Tree Rings, he could scarcely imagine the difficulty of climbing higher from here.
Which made it even harder to fathom how monsters like Netero had reached the summit through talent and effort.
That process could never be summarized in mere words.
As Morrow pondered, Kanzai's gaze turned toward him.
Regarding Morrow's sudden interference, Kanzai drooped his eyelids with mild exasperation.
He'd nearly finished his opponent when Morrow stole the kill.
But he didn't particularly mind.
He wasn't the battle-crazed type to begin with. Due to his professional nature, most fights he experienced were reactive engagements.
"These guys were quite capable. Being classified as an A-rank criminal group wasn't undeserved."
Kanzai looked at Machi's corpse on the ground.
If nothing else, Machi's exquisite manipulation skills had left a deep impression.
Morrow snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at Kanzai, thinking it was actually well-deserved.
"The Phantom Troupe's bounty is substantial. We'll split it after collection."
Following Kanzai's gaze, Morrow also looked at Machi's corpse. Previously, out of consideration for concealing his own ability information and to delay the Phantom Troupe's investigation, Morrow had ensured that the bodies were disposed of without leaking any ability details after dealing with Feitan, Shalnark, and the others.
Now, with only the final step left to completely annihilate the Troupe, there was naturally no need to dispose of the bodies.
This meant the Troupe's corpses could be exchanged for bounties.
At this thought, Morrow suddenly felt that reducing Chrollo to mincemeat might have been too wasteful.
Was there any ability that could restore those scattered flesh and bone fragments into a corpse?
That would probably require a Specialization-level ability.
Hearing Morrow mention splitting the bounty, Kanzai responded plainly.
He hadn't come to help Morrow for the money; in fact, as both a Bodyguard Hunter and a Treasure Hunter, he was far from short on cash.
But he knew Morrow's style well enough to understand that even if he outright refused the bounty, Morrow would force the money into his hands.
Finding such matters particularly troublesome, he simply agreed.
Morrow's gaze shifted from Machi's corpse to the bodies of Kortopi and the others.
Amanda, who had only recently joined the Troupe, likely had no bounty on her.
That meant only Kortopi, Pakunoda, and Machi could be exchanged for rewards.
He wondered how much would be left after taxes.
Definitely nowhere near 25 billion.
As Morrow mused, he couldn't help but glance at Kalluto, who was making a call not far away.
Once the Troupe was dealt with, he planned to send Kalluto back to Kukuroo Mountain, but he still hadn't gathered the remaining 25 billion for the commission...
Morrow shook his head slightly. There was no point dwelling on that now.
He sent Kanzai over to Kalluto to help take Illumi to a nearby hospital.
Meanwhile, he and Kurapika gathered Machi and the others' bodies together, though they wouldn't be turning them in for bounties just yet.
After all, Uvogin and Nobunaga were still unaccounted for.
If they cashed in the corpses now, the bounty department would likely publicize the news.
If that happened, Uvogin and Nobunaga might catch wind of it.
Once the bodies were collected, Morrow remembered Hisoka, who was still unconscious.
He walked over and saw Hisoka lying peacefully on the ground, a large purple bruise swelling near his brow.
Really never learns, does he?
Morrow crouched down, examining Hisoka's injuries up close.
Clearly, Chrollo's carefully plotted attack could have outright killed Hisoka.
But Hisoka's reflexes weren't slow; he'd managed to create some room to react.
Even so, Chrollo had knocked him out in one hit.
This outcome was nothing less than what Hisoka deserved.
Morrow had warned him last time to pay more attention to environmental factors; if his ability wasn't suited for the situation, he should've focused even more on the fight.
Yet he'd lost the will to fight seriously over some "trivial" external factor.
Morrow felt no guilt shifting the blame entirely onto him.
"Kurapika, I'll take this guy to the hospital first."
Casually grabbing Hisoka by the collar, Morrow called out to Kurapika, who stood near the bodies.
"Alright."
Kurapika responded.
Morrow then dragged Hisoka toward the nearby hospital. After settling Hisoka and dealing with the bodies with Kurapika, they arrived outside the intensive care unit together.
Illumi, who had sustained extremely severe injuries, had been brought here by Kalluto and was now temporarily out of life-threatening danger.
However, given Illumi's sensitive status, he would likely be transferred immediately once Tsubone arrived.
Morrow found Illumi unpleasant to look at and didn't enter, choosing instead to wait outside for Kalluto.
Nearby.
Even Kanzai, let alone Kurapika, could sense Morrow's disdain for Illumi.
Suddenly, the door to the intensive care unit opened.
Kalluto stepped out.
Perhaps because Illumi was no longer in immediate danger, Kalluto no longer seemed as panicked.
"Morrow..."
Kalluto quickly approached Morrow, as if wanting to say something but hesitating.
Not wanting to discuss Illumi, Morrow stated his purpose first: "Kalluto, I need Uvogin and Nobunaga's living paper dolls. They could arrive here at any moment. With the dolls, we can roughly track their movements and distance."
"Mm, I'll prepare them right away."
Kalluto could sense Morrow's attitude and felt a pang of disappointment but quickly composed himself.
Morrow looked at Kalluto's slightly drooping head and asked, "After Tsubone arrives, what are your plans? Will you go back with her, or...?"
"I'm not going back."
Kalluto lifted his head, cutting Morrow off without hesitation.
Morrow hesitated inwardly.
He had already decided to send Kalluto home after dealing with Uvogin and Nobunaga.
If Kalluto could return with Tsubone, that would naturally be the best outcome.
But Kalluto clearly wasn't willing.
"Alright."
After a pause, Morrow didn't try to persuade him, nor did he reveal his decision.
—--
The next day.
Kalluto prepared the living paper dolls for Uvogin and Nobunaga for Morrow.
Judging by the dolls' reactions, Uvogin and Nobunaga weren't too far away at the moment.
What surprised Morrow was that Tsubone arrived at the hospital by evening.
Upon seeing Amane and Gotoh accompanying Tsubone, Morrow immediately understood.
They must have taken turns driving nonstop to get here so quickly.
This also showed just how seriously the Zoldyck Family was taking the situation.
"Tsubone, you're here."
Kalluto went to greet them.
Tsubone nodded at Kalluto, but her gaze lingered on Morrow, who stood not far behind.
Though he was only maintaining Ten, she could vaguely discern that Morrow's mastery of aura had grown even more refined.
How remarkable...
Recalling her first encounter with Morrow, Tsubone couldn't help but sigh inwardly before asking, "How is Master Illumi?"
"He's out of immediate danger."
Kalluto replied.
Tsubone responded succinctly, "Good, lead the way."
Kalluto immediately took the lead.
Amane and Gotoh followed behind, their eyes subtly sweeping over Morrow.
They didn't have Tsubone's sharp insight or seasoned experience, but they could still sense the steady, enduring aura emanating from Morrow.
Just this presence alone was enough to make them take notice.
Especially Amane, who was inwardly astonished. She had personally experienced Morrow's prowess before, but back then, Morrow had given her the impression of a weapon with its edge fully exposed.
Now, seeing him again...
Restrained, composed.
And undoubtedly...
Even stronger.
Tsubone and the others followed Kalluto into the intensive care unit, where they witnessed Illumi's pitiful state.
Although Kalluto had already reported to the family yesterday about the severity of Illumi's injuries, seeing it firsthand now made it clear that the situation was worse than expected.
"Little Kalluto, was it really you who 'accidentally' injured Young Master Illumi this badly?"
Tsubone's gaze shifted to Kalluto beside her.
Kalluto's eyes darted around as he nodded. "Yes, it's all my fault."
"..."
Tsubone fell silent. After seeing Illumi's injuries with her own eyes, there was no way she could believe such an explanation. She had already guessed roughly what had happened.
The real culprit... was that young man, wasn't it?