Chrollo: [Could the other side have foresight abilities too?]
He never expected that after the "Nan" ability's sound, it turned out to be this.
[When this group's eyes turn red, their power does get stronger. The people coming to surround us now seem like Nen users? Even for me, facing this many is a bit tough...]
Just a bit? One punch from any of them could kill you. Don't underestimate the power of scarlet eyes.
[I'll call them. It works out well to have Phinks and Nobunaga come to Yorknew City to find Paku.] Chrollo reached into his inner pocket and dialed the phone.
Oh man.
Saiki Kusuo floated in mid-air, already hearing the location from the ability's reveal through his mind-reading.
It turned out that among the Kurta clan, there was a prophecy Nen user named Pairo who could predict people's locations, so they knew Saiki Kusuo would bring Chrollo here.
Pairo could probably only predict where one person would be at a certain time, nothing more. But with Killua's help, they figured out how Chrollo would leave Greed Island and prepared ahead of time.
If Saiki Kusuo had chosen somewhere else back then, their prediction would have pointed there too.
So... Saiki Kusuo felt no mental pressure at all.
"The leader of the Phantom Troupe, long time no see."
Kurapika appeared in black clothes. The Kurta had already formed a tight circle around them. There was nothing nearby to block the view, so running away was a bad plan.
Chrollo stayed calm. The other side looked down at him from above the pit, but he adjusted his collar and said with his head lowered: "It's been a while, chain user. You've gotten much smarter, and you have more partners around you now."
"Put your hands out where we can see them, make sure both are empty. Otherwise, I can't promise what we'll do." Kurapika spoke coldly, then used a tone like he was ordering a criminal.
"Quite the bold attitude. Is it this open space with just rocks that makes you feel so sure you'll win?"
"Stalling for time? That just means you'll have to suffer a bit." Kurapika didn't waste words. With a flick of his hand, chains flew from half his arm. Red light appeared in his eyes, turning the blue ones red. He wasn't wearing colored contact lenses like in the comic to hide his eyes.
He had entered the scarlet eye state.
Chrollo immediately spread his palms and held them out: "Here they are."
"..."
So straightforward, how was anyone supposed to vent their anger?
"Digging such a big pit with so many people and still not catching me shows plans can change. Focusing only on anger will just lead to losing sight of the goal." Chrollo said it casually, like he was outside the whole situation.
He had also successfully passed the location and some details to the troupe members over the phone without drawing attention.
"Do you even know what you've done?"
"That depends on what you want to hear. Do I really need to repeat it? Words from someone who hates you won't get through. So what's the punishment next? Seal my Nen again? If you decided to kill me, you wouldn't be so chatty."
Who's the chatty one?
Saiki Kusuo watched with arms crossed. Some past events made his conscience uneasy as he observed the story unfold here.
It was hard not to judge it that way. With Chrollo's showy way of talking, even if the hatred wasn't that deep, anyone would want to punch him.
"You're right. I won't kill you, and I don't need to get my hands dirty with blood for scum like you." Kurapika's red eyes softened a bit. He stepped closer to Chrollo. "I already avenged my clan's direct deaths, but back then, many Kurta hid in the fire, and books that couldn't be saved were lost too. All thanks to you, they turned to unrecoverable ashes. The Kurta and the spiders can never coexist. We'll use our whole clan's strength to take you all down."
"Hmm, truly inspiring." Chrollo watched Kurapika get closer, thinking about many things but staying expressionless as he waited.
The Nen exorcist had said it: contact with Kurapika might remove the Nen beast on him.
But even so, Kurapika wasn't careless. Chains floated around him like extra hands and feet. It was clear that if Chrollo made any move, the Nen would strike without hesitation.
Could he move faster than those chains right next to him?
But getting rid of the heavy Nen beast would restore his power in an instant.
Suddenly, Kurapika grabbed Chrollo's hair and yanked his head up. He then punched Chrollo right in the stomach. The grip on his hair and the contact on his belly stopped Chrollo from teleporting.
In the end, Kurapika couldn't fully hold back the scarlet eyes' effect. He endured his rage and said:
"I've never believed that bad guys can change just by sitting in jail."
"Arresting you might get us some credit, but you'd break out soon, and it could end up costing more than it gains."
"But you have to be dealt with. Only when you're gone can justice be served. How many criminals follow your example of getting away with murder? You trash don't understand how precious other people's lives are!"
Chrollo's hair was pulled back, so he could only look up at Kurapika. Seeing those eyes burning like flames with the fire of life, he stayed silent but couldn't hide his smile again.
[Justice... cleanup?]
"Don't think I don't have the guts to kill you. I'll make you feel ten times, a hundred times the pain of death."
Chrollo didn't care about the angry look he expected from the other side, or his own messy state. Instead, he looked up at Saiki Kusuo still in the sky.
He could understand the other guy's spectator attitude. Illumi was right; Saiki Kusuo was fair.
This fairness was almost scary. No matter what happened or how long they spent together, he seemed able to make choices between two people without any bias.
If it were him seeing this, he probably wouldn't interfere either.
With no other sounds around for a while, Chrollo finally met those piercing eyes in front of him.
"Done talking?" Chrollo asked.
The answer was tightening chains. But this time, they only bound him, blocking his Nen use without piercing his body.
Kurapika hung his head low, looking at Chrollo from the corner of his eyes, but his gaze wasn't really on him. The Nen from his mouth sounded more like a vow. "We Kurta will seal you one by one. As more spider legs can't move and fewer can help each other, you'll know what it's like for your group to fall apart..."
"Kurapika." Kurapika snapped out of it fully. He kept the scarlet eyes but was completely calm now. "You watch him for a bit. Everyone else, pull back. Sorry, I called you all here and prepared for so many days just in case!"
"Haha, no problem, Kurapika! We really want to take down the Phantom Troupe too!"
"Don't worry about it, Kurapika! We're with you!"
"Where your chains point is our goal!"
Saiki Kusuo watched the scene, then quietly descended. He nodded to the now-calm Kurapika as a greeting, then turned to leave.
He already knew...
"Hisoka put aside old grudges in this election and helped us a lot. That's something money can't buy; it's a key safeguard for our clan. Last time we tricked him in our deal, so this time, we'll give him this one as compensation."
That was Kurapika's last words.
But Kurapika didn't know those were the words that surprised Chrollo the most.
Even so, his mouth was already sealed by Kurapika's chains first.
[Wait, Hisoka?]
As Chrollo processed the surprise, Hisoka appeared from the side, shuffling cards the whole way.
"Oh~ Should I call Kusuo baby back to save you?" Hisoka popped up at the pit's edge.
Saiki Kusuo hurried away on the wind under his feet.
This Chrollo is beyond saving; better run. This situation really has nothing to do with me.
Saiki Kusuo ran, then realized three minutes were up and teleported away.
Greed Island. He never thought he'd want to return to a place like that someday.
Saiki Kusuo arrived at a one-square-mile coastline. The sea view was stunning, open and empty of people.
Except for a guy with dreadlocks nearby.
"Hello." The dreadlocked guy greeted him and walked over slowly, seeming peaceful. Only Saiki Kusuo knew his thoughts.
[The first time I saw him, he seemed very suspicious. He came to this coastline without using any cards. I thought it was an ability tied to a partner, but now he's here alone.]
Razza—turns out he was a careful thinker too.
But wait, didn't I already tell them my identity?
"Friend, can I see your book?"
Oh no! He acts like he doesn't know me at all, and looks ready to settle scores, even with that smile!
Why can't I use illusion to disguise? Come on, Razza was using Gyo. My illusions can't fake Nen; it'd be too obvious.
He couldn't grasp that energy's presence himself, so he couldn't disguise the feeling to fool others.
[Hold on,] Saiki Kusuo decided to be upfront. [I came straight from outside the island!]
Razza's face turned scary in an instant. It went dark, and his squinted eyes opened wide.
[I've been part of the development team before. I could move directly inside the island long ago. You should know that! Ging said you knew more details!]
Razza thought for a moment but looked puzzled.
Ging, you're really unreliable.
Saiki Kusuo had to show some proof from game design.
Razza made a call and checked with some people.
After a while, Razza finally dropped the scary Nen pressure.
Though it didn't scare Saiki Kusuo.
"So you're a guest. But we all have some suggestions about Ging's judgments."
Suggestions, right.
"Can I invite you to a place?"
No choice but to go, huh.
Saiki Kusuo agreed.
Razza was taking Saiki Kusuo to the castle where the GMs lived.
At the fancy castle gate, Razza used magnetism to arrive first. Saiki Kusuo teleported right after.
A shorter GM already stood at the castle door.
"Welcome. Everyone's waiting inside."
[It's him.] Saiki Kusuo recognized him—the monk from before.
Saiki Kusuo followed, walking down the long hallway.
"I'm Dunn. Dr. Saiki, I've heard so much about you. Do you remember me?"
[Not long ago, you were the monk giving blessings, right?]
"Yeah, but what about other times besides that?"
[Did we meet other times?]
"Haha, yeah! Actually, the ice cream grandpa, the pie seller, and even the drunk thug once—those were all me controlling or playing the parts!"
You played all the NPCs in Greed Island.
The three walked on, heading to a room. Saiki Kusuo had already peeked inside with clairvoyance.
"Please clean up sometimes!"
"The floor's full of trash. How do you live like this!"
"I'm looking for stuff. It's easier when it's all on the floor, right? Wait, don't throw that! Those draft papers are important too!!"
"Put it all away for now!"
"Hey, the guy's already in the hallway."
"Have Dunn stall him!"
"Can't we just switch rooms?"
Saiki Kusuo: No need. This messy Kenpo room is the real classic scene. No point hiding.
"Oh. I forgot the room key outside. Can you wait at the door a bit?" Dunn said.
What a lame excuse, but Saiki Kusuo decided to buy it.
"Dr. Saiki, you really helped us out a lot back then. We all still had some ties to the outside world, so we couldn't focus fully on game upkeep. We're grateful and always wanted to see what you really look like. Didn't expect it so soon."
No big deal. By my count, I'm 36 now, middle-aged. My mental age might be old already.
After a while, the door opened.
In that short time, the dirty, messy room was actually cleaned up—thanks to some card labor. A red-clothed table sat in the center, but only Saiki Kusuo knew how much "trash" hid under the cloth.
Well, as long as no Gyo, it's all good.
A woman waved her hand, using cards to bring out a bunch of food on the table.
"Everyone's together for once. Let's have a fun meeting with all eleven of us!"
Greed Island—the English name for Greed Island. Each letter stands for a GM, so eleven total. The eleven in the room included Saiki Kusuo, minus Ging for the starting G.
There were desserts on the table, and Saiki Kusuo was happy to sit and enjoy.
"Like Ging said, we wouldn't mind if Dr. Saiki just plays the game."
"But lately, the phantom beast chameleon cat can't find her son."
Saiki Kusuo: ...
[Oh, can't take them out?]
"So Dr. Saiki took him out!"
"No worries, it's not just that one. If anything, he's the only male. For the species to continue, we wanted him for breeding... but it's fine! Where is he now? Doing okay?"
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