[If Uvogin was here, he'd probably be the first to get knocked out in his female disguise outfit.] Saiki Kusuo grumbled inwardly.
Wait, there are still people who haven't changed gender, so why assume everyone has?
Nobunaga strolled over slowly with his sword in hand and plopped down next to Saiki Kusuo. "Hey, boss."
Who is your boss?
Saiki Kusuo picked up the little Chrollo bear and placed it in Nobunaga's hand.
Nobunaga, not getting it, roughly rubbed the bear's face.
"Boss, you really like bears, huh? Never would have guessed." Phinks scooted over too. "That one before, the guy you're dressed as now said that black bear was his pet, and I didn't believe it."
Saiki Kusuo: Hey, don't spill that secret.
Chrollo: Huh? What black bear?
But for him, the more urgent thing was escaping this weird hand trap. Chrollo twisted his body to climb out of Nobunaga's grasp, but Nobunaga just flipped him over and rubbed his belly.
"Hey, this little guy wants to run? Weren't you snuggling with us yesterday! If you run, no snacks for you!"
Nobunaga's beard scratched the bear's face. Chrollo pressed his paws against Nobunaga's face but couldn't stop the bear-hugging at all.
[Saiki... help!]
Getting close to your team members isn't good?
Suddenly, a "bang" echoed across the field, drawing everyone's eyes and freeing the struggling Chrollo.
Why is it always a bang? Don't question it—their Nen dodgeballs hit like bullets from a special move each time.
During the chat, Hisoka's thrown ball was caught by number 9, but the ball Raz hit back dragged Hisoka backward after he caught it.
Shizuku and Feitan, prepared, pulled the Nen threads connected to Hisoka from both sides. Behind Hisoka, Illumi supported and caught the ball. This combo let them barely handle Raz's ball, but at the cost of Hisoka's hand getting hurt.
"Number nine out on the right!"
What?
Everyone looked closely at the field and saw Illumi's right foot had just barely stepped out.
The spot was calculated, but the female body changed the structure a bit, so Illumi's estimate was off.
Illumi, noticing this, narrowed his eyes, then let go and admitted defeat gracefully, leaving the field.
"Big brother..."
His younger siblings came over. Illumi patted Alluka's head. "What's up?"
Alluka: "Looks like we can't win. Is that okay?"
"It's fine. This isn't our strong suit. Zoldyck excels at assassination, where we must win, but games like this pit us against their strengths. Without any enhancement types left in the combos, our odds are low."
Machi stood with arms crossed nearby and said, "Try again later. Have Phinks stand on the field, and you'll win."
"Yeah, but the Troupe is about to leave soon." Illumi glanced at Razza. "Mr. Razza, is there a cooldown for joining this match?"
Razza: "Everyone in a group can only challenge once a month!"
"Too long." Illumi commented.
Razza was about to explain when suddenly, number 9 got hit!
The invisible ball returned to Hisoka's hand, its shape revealed by the thin fake skin.
"Too bad, I'm actually a magician."
Number 9 left the field, leaving only Razza and number 1 behind him.
This final Razza was the toughest one.
As everyone pondered how to deal with the last Razza, Feitan decided. "Hisoka, lend me your ability."
"Oh? How?"
"Two spots. One connects and fixes to me, the other on your hand. Use your ability to catch the ball. I'll just hold both ends of the Nen thread. Even if we fail at the end, I won't count as hit." Feitan looked at Razza.
Razza nodded, accepting the idea.
"When do you cancel the Nen? If it's not quick enough, the arm breaks. Any later, and you'll get flung too." Hisoka crooked his finger, warning Feitan of the risk. In action, he had already locked Feitan with Nen.
Feitan grinned darkly. "Doesn't matter..."
"Take it and give it back—that's my ability."
Saiki Kusuo suddenly got a headache, then saw the whole field burning in flames. The ball Feitan threw could be called the sun, growing hotter the closer it got—impossible for anyone to catch.
As for how Feitan caught the ball, first, his power combined with Hisoka's. Second, the ball flew out of bounds but was still pulled by Hisoka's Nen. Once out, they'd see the ball's power weaken a lot.
Because it left Razza's field vow.
Oh man, the game's over.
Saiki Kusuo stood up. He didn't want to stick around and get roasted by fire.
He wasn't the only one who noticed—other Troupe members did too.
"Hey! Shizuku, don't stand inside! Get out!"
"Why?"
"You'll get hurt! Leave it to Feitan!"
"Oh."
Shizuku obediently stepped out of the circle, counting as eliminated.
Hisoka: Feels like a bad omen.
But he had to work with Feitan. As a transmuter, his Nen couldn't stay outside long and would weaken without him.
"Next is our two-person world?" Hisoka teased.
"Heh, run after this round. Unless you want to face the blazing sun too."
Outside, the Troupe left trusting Feitan's skills. Illumi brought his siblings out just to relax.
Illumi: [If we don't win, just grab some other cards. Knowing Razza's strength now, Killua and the others won't get this card for a while.]
"Right, where's the boss?" The Troupe realized and looked for their supposed leader but couldn't find him.
Saiki Kusuo had already returned to the villa, swapped the chameleon cat's soul back with Chrollo's, and undone the binding. No one saw this time.
The chameleon cat jumped for its reward, but Chrollo stayed lost in thought, unable to snap out.
"Give the ability... to someone else." Chrollo covered his mouth and sat on the spot, staying in the storage room for a long time.
Saiki Kusuo ignored him. After removing those items from Chrollo, he had gone back to his room to lie down.
Saiki Kusuo returned to normal life.
In Greed Island, he ate, slept, read, teleported to explore NGL for the queen ant that would destroy the world later, ate, slept.
Warm tip: Logged-in users can save bookshelf data forever across devices. Suggest logging in to use.
Now time had a measure in his mind because he had a countdown to go home.
January 20th, an ordinary day. The weather turned much colder, with snow in parts of the continent. Greed Island had a special snow-covered town too.
"Brother! Come with us to Snow Town for the mission! Killua's back today, Gon's there too. It's super fun!" Alluka invited Saiki Kusuo.
Brother isn't a kid. What's fun about snow? If you want white, you can hang in the clouds every day.
"Play snowball fights! Big bro!" Milluki encouraged. "Don't stay home all day. We're here on vacation!"
[Staying in the room isn't part of vacation?]
Oh man, why don't they get how great staying in is?
A snowball hit the window. Saiki Kusuo looked outside.
In the white snowy ground, white-haired Killua waved a white snowball at Saiki Kusuo.
Killua's thoughts: [When big bro opens the window, smash a snowball in!]
You rascal.
Saiki Kusuo drew an X in front of the window.
Suddenly, Killua seemed to see something outside the room and looked shocked.
Chrollo slid in like a pro and landed on the Zoldyck villa's roof.
"Whew, close call." Chrollo took off the gear under his feet on the roof.
Saiki Kusuo then noticed the neighbor house couldn't even be called a house anymore. Remodeled by Chrollo's will, the next door was a fake ski slope.
"Big bro! There's something on your roof! Watch out! Why is this guy still..."
"Still what?"
Chrollo teleported, pulling Killua to his side.
Move yourself by swapping with others; moving others doesn't need to. An old teleport skill from the book, unused for ages.
Killua bristled and leaped to the roof's edge.
Now both guys wanting in were on the roof.
Saiki Kusuo: [What are you doing? Windows aren't doors. Get down and use the door.]
"This way's faster." Chrollo jumped down, squatting on the balcony by the window and knocking. "I want to leave Greed Island. Before going out to play with your siblings, can you send me off in three minutes? The team members have left one by one already."
Looks like it. Finally, the hassle is clearing out.
Saiki Kusuo agreed eagerly and greeted his siblings: [I'm off on business. Sorry I can't play.]
Little Zoldycks: [It's only three minutes!]
But the kids wouldn't complain.
"Alright! Since Kusuo bro isn't coming, everyone meet downstairs now! Then use Partner to Snow Town! Gon's waiting!" Killua shouted, and Alluka and the others ran down to gather.
Saiki Kusuo opened the window but didn't let the thief in. He just reached out a hand.
Killua glanced extra at Chrollo's figure while jumping down.
[It's winter, but he's dressed so lightly. Clearly Nen-made. When I left Greed Island to tell Kurapika, he said Chrollo still had Nen on. But after the Hunter Exam, he said the guy removed it.]
[Coming to find Kusuo bro now to leave—must be teleported in, right? If possible, go out once more to tell Kurapika, but Kusuo bro's teleport... we're outside in an instant.]
[No idea what Kurapika meant by preparations.]
"Brother? What're you thinking?" Alluka was in front of Killua now, waving to snap him out of it.
"Oh, nothing. Ready? Here I go with Partner!"
"Yeah!!"
"Partner, Snow Town!"
Taking just the kids away, Saiki Kusuo looked up at Chrollo and the Nen beast on his shoulder steaming in the snowy winter.
"Watching this Nen beast? It's much smaller now. I can use it with the bookmark ability, steal too, but can't just open and use it yet." [Even with all these limits to use two abilities at once, back to pre-freedom state, still a hassle. That idea needs the Nen beast gone completely. Takes so much time.]
Go into seclusion. Hope the Phantom Troupe stays off the news for two years.
Chrollo reached out, shook Saiki Kusuo's hand, and held it. "Do you know your bounty outside? Is that money really worth earning... Based on that, for all these days, thanks for the care. I'll cover for any abilities you showed to anyone."
Better not hand me that book someday.
Where to leave him? He wouldn't take Chrollo to Zoldyck turf. Meteor City? With Saiki Kusuo's new take—it accepts everything, even after reform, still a dump spot. He wouldn't go.
Head to the town before Heaven's Arena? Alluka's doll is there. Or some remote area? No... a convenient spot with easy access would be better.
These thoughts flashed in Saiki Kusuo's mind, finally settling randomly.
Close to convenient places, far suburbs of Yorknew City once visited—a rocky wasteland everywhere.
Teleport*
Saiki Kusuo teleported with Chrollo, but on landing, he realized the ground was gone. Saiki Kusuo grabbed Chrollo's arm quick.
Not a power glitch, but the flat ground now had a huge pit.
[It really appeared!]
[Two people. Pink hair is Killua's brother. The other is...]
[The one who destroyed our home!]
[Made Kurapika's mom...]
[And my grandma.]
[Don't get mad. We have a mission.]
[The best way to deal isn't revenge killing. Stay calm, don't turn eyes red!]
[...]
Their fall had just stopped when Saiki Kusuo recognized the voices below and knew this pit was no accident.
How was his move spotted? But more important, this wasn't Saiki Kusuo's business to meddle in.
Saiki Kusuo let go, dropping with Chrollo into the pit.
Chrollo's brief relaxation tensed up again. He looked down sharply, spotting the traps below, then at Saiki Kusuo and the pit's edge.
His senses were sharp, plus the bookmark-held ability.
The teleport one.
Chrollo swapped spots with someone at the pit mouth, looking up into two pairs of red eyes.
The Kurta clan members who had surrounded the edge rushed over too.
Chrollo glanced around: [Why know I'm here? Planned? That white-haired Killua is Kurapika's friend, just back to Greed Island and connected with Saiki Kusuo. This odd feeling is familiar—once exposed my spot without guard, everyone there... Can't help suspecting, Nan...]
Hey.
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