Chapter 198: The Jokester Kakin Mafia
The Phantom Troupe was not so easily dealt with.
Franklin clearly wasn't buying the young glasses-wearing leader's act and said bluntly, "Cut the crap. Give me a proper explanation."
The middle-aged man directly took the main seat, leisurely lit a cigarette, and watched the young glasses-wearing leader's fire-playing style of probing.
His true identity was Basho, military advisor to the private forces assisting the Seventh Prince of the Cha-R family.
In other words, aside from the Seventh Prince himself, he held the most authority within the Seventh Prince's faction.
After the young glasses-wearing leader finished explaining his interactions with the Troupe, Basho, the Seventh Prince's military advisor, spoke: "I see. So the Heil-Ly family's assassins use that supernatural ability... meaning they're Nen users?"
The young glasses-wearing leader replied: "Over the past few days, eight members of our gang have gone missing. The Xi-Yu family seems to have experienced similar incidents."
At this moment, Feitan, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
Looking at military advisor Basho, he said: "You came from the upper level, right? The assassins' true target is the direct passage to the upper level."
"Is that so?" Basho continued asking. "The Heil-Ly family should also have access to the Fourth Prince's passage. Why would the assassins specifically target our passage?"
"Who knows? Maybe they want your leader's life?" Shalnark shrugged from the side.
"After all, Morena just recently inherited the Heil-Ly family leadership position. The Fourth Prince might not fully trust her yet. We should verify whether she's currently on the first level," the young glasses-wearing leader interjected.
Though the words seemed inexplicable, Basho understood the underlying meaning in the young leader's statement and nodded slightly.
"I understand. So depending on Morena's current location, the nature of this incident could be vastly different. If Morena isn't in the upper level right now, you people won't be able to extricate yourselves," Basho said, looking at the three Troupe members.
"What do you mean by that?" Franklin asked in a deep voice.
Basho's smile faded as he solemnly stated: "It could very well escalate into all-out warfare—a conflict where no reconciliation exists, one that won't end until one side is completely defeated."
All three Troupe members showed puzzled expressions.
Seeing this, the young glasses-wearing leader explained: "In Kakin Kingdom's underworld conflicts, there's an unwritten rule. When gang members decide to take action against rival organization members based on personal judgment, they must first notify their leader. The leaders will then communicate with each other."
Shalnark and the others reacted as if they'd heard something unbelievable, as this completely contradicted common sense as they knew it.
"Hah? What kind of rule is that?" Shalnark shrugged.
Franklin also expressed complete incomprehension.
This rule was somewhat ridiculous—following procedural correctness in the underworld was really something else.
Simply put, if a member from Group A wants to kill a member from Group B, they need to seek permission from their own leader. If Group A's leader finds the situation cannot be peacefully resolved, they can only authorize the member to proceed.
But before taking action, they must call and notify Group B's leader.
To normal people, this would be equivalent to selling out your own subordinate.
Then assuming a member of Group A kills a member of Group B, the leader of Group A needs to contact the leader of Group B, probably saying something like, "My apologies, my subordinate has offended you."
The leader of Group B would then respond, "They're still young after all, it's understandable," and propose a resolution to the matter.
Generally, the party that took action needs to offer some compensation to the other side to settle the matter. The terms of reconciliation could be money, a life, or some other benefit.
Basho looked at the three Phantom Troupe members and said, "But the leader of the victim's group will typically make demands based on maintaining balance—this demonstrates the leader's magnanimity and decision-making ability."
"There are many cases where group leaders contact each other afterward to secure a promise of reconciliation. In such situations where action has already been taken, the unwritten rule is that contact must be made with the other leader within 24 hours."
Basho extinguished his cigarette and continued, "In the subsequent report, the most crucial point is whether the leader was outside their territory when the incident occurred."
"Being outside their territory means being on the 1st or 2nd floor of this ship," Shalnark interjected.
Basho nodded, "Exactly. Although two days have passed since the initial killing, this isn't too big of a problem yet. After all, the other party might not have made contact precisely because their leader was outside their territory."
Basho paused briefly.
"However, if the other leader is on the third floor and still hasn't made immediate contact, then all-out war becomes inevitable. This would be equivalent to another gang leader being shot—no one could prevent the conflict from erupting."
Basho looked at the three Troupe members and said, "If it comes to that, once you Troupe members kill the assassin, you'll simultaneously be at war with the Heil-Ly family. The war will continue until one side is completely defeated."
Originally, Basho and his companions thought the three Troupe members would hesitate upon hearing this.
Instead, Shalnark directly responded, "Whatever, we don't care. As long as you keep your promise to take us to see Mord."
"If they don't trouble us, we won't trouble them. If the Heil-Ly family really comes looking for trouble, we'll just eliminate them," Franklin added.
"Alright, we'll bring you the assassin's head immediately. Don't forget your promise when we do," the short Feitan jumped down from the table and turned to leave without another word.
Shalnark and Franklin followed him out.
Basho was completely stunned by the Troupe members' reaction.
The young glasses-wearing heir watched Feitan's departing figure and said, "So, quite dangerous, aren't they?"
Basho reached up and stroked his chin.
"Indeed dangerous, but given the current critical situation, we can't afford to be too cautious. I've just received intelligence that a prince plans to make a move at the next banquet. If we can use these Troupe members effectively, they could become valuable assets for the Seventh Prince."
In the eyes of the Phantom Troupe, the behavior of Kakin's three major crime syndicates was like child's play—gangsters still playing by the rules of civility and propriety.
If this were Meteor City, they would have been dead countless times over.
Morena of the Heil-Ly family operated in a style much closer to the Troupe's own approach.
At this moment, the room where Morena, the leader of the Heil-Ly family, resided on the upper deck of the Black Whale was empty.
The news that Morena was not in her room was clearly impossible to conceal.
Simultaneously, this information also reached the ears of the Fourth Prince.