There were quite a few items listed in the materials.
Most of them were rare corpse remnants. Relying on the Hunter information network, Hyuga Arin quickly obtained the relevant intel.
Some of them were already circulating on the black market.
Find the target.
Make a move.
The black market's strength was nowhere near enough to stop Hyuga Arin from obtaining what he wanted.
Once the items were delivered to the Nostrade Family's head bodyguard, Dalzollene, the mission was considered complete.
"OK. All five of you are officially hired. I'm the captain of the guard team—Dalzollene."
Dalzollene then explained their next schedule to the five of them,
and led everyone to meet their true employer.
They walked down a long corridor. Along the way, a human specimen was displayed, which Dalzollene used as a warning to everyone.
But neither Hyuga Arin nor Kurapika cared.
At the end of the corridor, the door was opened.
Inside the extravagantly decorated room, a large bed was covered in dolls. A blue-haired少女 sat on the bed.
Neon Nostrade—their real employer.
The moment she saw Hyuga Arin, her eyes lit up. She immediately ran over, completely ignoring everyone else.
"Are you my bodyguard too?" Neon stared straight at Hyuga Arin's eyes. "Your eyes are so pretty!"
She'd set her sights on his eyes.
Hyuga Arin forced a polite smile.
"Yes, Young Miss."
"Dalzollene, I want him as my close guard." Neon pointed straight at Hyuga Arin.
"T-this…" Dalzollene looked troubled. "Young Miss, that doesn't follow the rules."
Although Hyuga Arin was young, he was still male—and his loyalty hadn't been fully confirmed yet. Letting him guard Neon at close range… If something happened, Dalzollene wouldn't be able to take responsibility.
"Dalzollene~" Neon whined, dragging out his name.
Dalzollene hesitated, glanced at Hyuga Arin, then gritted his teeth. Hyuga Arin was clearly a prodigy with formidable strength. He didn't look like a spy sent by anyone.
"…Fine. But he can't stay alone in a room with the Young Miss. There must always be someone else present."
"Yes!" Neon struck a triumphant pose.
Hyuga Arin looked up at the ceiling, speechless.
Did anyone ask for his opinion?
That settled the guard arrangement. Hyuga Arin became an indoor guard.
If he were a little older, he might not have minded. Neon was, after all, a pretty girl—albeit with rather unusual hobbies—and her interest in him was clearly focused on his eyes.
He suddenly really wanted to kill her.
If she died, Chrollo wouldn't be able to obtain her ability. That would also drop the ability known as Angel's Automatic Writing.
Of course, if he were older and fully developed, he might've considered a more… intimate relationship.
The classic "young miss and her bodyguard" trope was everywhere.
"Hey, hey, are you from some rare ethnic group?" Neon asked curiously. "I've never heard of eyes like yours before."
Eyes like that—if there were only this pair—might be even more valuable than the Scarlet Eyes.
Couldn't she be a bit more subtle?
Forget "young miss and bodyguard."
He was starting to prefer the version where the bodyguard kills the young miss and runs off with the money.
"Miss Neon," Hyuga Arin said softly, "I heard you can predict the future. How about you give me a prophecy first? Then I'll answer your question."
At the same time, he silently activated Bandit's Secret as a skill.
To use this ability, three conditions had to be met:
He had to see the opponent's Nen ability with his own eyes.He had to ask a question related to that Nen ability and receive an answer.He had to make the opponent place their hand on the handprint on the book's cover.
Chakra gathered in his hand, forming a book.
"Of course, no problem at all." Neon nodded eagerly. For her, aside from appearance, the background information of rare organs was equally important.
"Let me find some paper…"
"If you don't mind, please write here." Hyuga Arin smiled as he placed the book in front of her.
"Mm, okay." Neon showed no suspicion at all. She took out the pen she always carried, picked up the book, and flipped it open to reveal blank pages.
"Your name, birthday, and blood type."
After Hyuga Arin gave his information—
A strange surge of Nen gathered around Neon's right hand. A deformed infant-like shape gradually manifested. Her eyes turned vacant as her hand began writing rapidly on its own.
"All done." Neon handed the book back to Hyuga Arin.
Hyuga Arin took the chakra-formed book and asked curiously,
"Miss Neon, don't you want to see what you wrote?"
Neon replied nonchalantly, "I never read my own prophecies. Only by staying uninvolved can the prophecies remain accurate."
"Is that so?" Hyuga Arin opened the book and read his prophecy.
O traveler from afar, begin your game.
With the clown and the avenger at your side, you shall unveil a grand stage.
Blood and flames shall scorch the spider's body,
And the enraged spider will weave a new web for you.
When the curtain falls, the game will end.
At the game's finale, the spider too shall lose all life.
Give up—
the rebirth you long for will never arrive.
The corners of Hyuga Arin's mouth slowly curled upward.
What an unexpected prophecy.
Such prophecy poems could foretell events within one month.
Based on his understanding, it seemed he did achieve his goal—but he also appeared to perish alongside them.
In other words, while hunting the Phantom Troupe, his trail was exposed, he was counter-plotted, and in the end he wiped out the entire Troupe.
As for that "rebirth"—did it mean he couldn't return to the ninja world, or that he truly had no resurrection mechanism?
"Looks like I really do need to be careful."
"Thank you. This was very useful." Hyuga Arin nodded sincerely at Neon. He placed a card in front of her. "This is my thanks."
"What's this?" Neon picked up the card curiously.
"Crush it and you'll find out." Hyuga Arin smiled.
Neon crushed the card in her hand. Points of starlight merged into her body.
She closed her eyes. Vast knowledge flooded into her mind.
Another version of herself appeared before her. She opened her eyes and looked at that other self, her face full of delight.
"Amazing!"
"If there's anything you don't understand, ask your bodyguards. They'll tell you how to make this ability grow."
"Why don't you just tell me?" Neon hurriedly said. "Oh right, you still haven't answered my question from before!"
"Next time." Hyuga Arin smiled faintly.
Bang.
His body vanished.
Neon's Nen ability was already in his hands.
There was no reason for him to stay here any longer.
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