April 20th, 8:00 PM.
The outskirts of Niujiala City.
This area was originally planned as a new commercial district, but the developers ran out of funds, leaving behind a cluster of unfinished buildings.
The abandoned structures stood in the night like silent tombstones, and moonlight filtered through window frames without glass, casting eerie shadows upon the ground.
Inside one of the five-story unfinished buildings, several figures were scattered in various corners.
Chrollo Lucilfer stood on the edge of a broken staircase on the second floor, holding a book in his hands, reading quietly by the moonlight.
His posture was composed, as if he were not waiting for a gathering that might change his destiny, but rather whiling away the time in his own study.
Pakunoda paced back and forth in the open space on the first floor.
Her face betrayed undisguised anxiety, her footsteps were hurried, and her high heels made faint clicking sounds as they stepped on the rubble.
"Stop pacing."
Machi leaned against a concrete pillar, her voice cold.
"You're making me dizzy."
Pakunoda stopped and looked at her.
"Machi, aren't you worried at all?"
Machi didn't answer, just kept gazing toward the entrance.
Chrollo, on the stairs, turned a page of his book, his tone calm without a ripple.
"Worrying won't solve anything. When they arrive, we will naturally know the outcome."
No sooner had he finished speaking than footsteps came from the entrance.
Nobunaga walked in.
He was wearing that familiar kimono, a new long sword tucked at his waist, his face so gloomy it seemed like it could drip water.
Behind him followed a yellow-haired youth—Caesar, a newly joined member, an Enhancer.
He was someone Nobunaga had discovered by chance and invited to join.
Caesar was wearing a black jacket, his eyes filled with curiosity and scrutiny.
Caesar nodded at Machi and Pakunoda.
"Good evening."
Machi gave a faint "Mm."
Pakunoda managed a forced smile in response.
Nobunaga didn't greet anyone.
He walked straight to the center of the open space, looked up at Chrollo on the stairs, his voice suppressing anger.
"Uvogin and the others... are they really dead?"
Machi frowned.
"Nobunaga, watch your attitude."
"Can't I even ask?!"
Nobunaga turned his head sharply, his eyes bloodshot.
"Uvogin and the others are dead! And you're just standing here waiting so calmly? Waiting for what? Waiting for the enemy to deliver themselves to our doorstep?!"
His voice echoed through the empty building, filled with irrepressible anger and sorrow.
Caesar retreated to the side, watching all of this with great interest.
He had only recently joined the Phantom Troupe and had no feelings for Uvogin and the others, but this internal conflict actually struck him as interesting.
Pakunoda opened her mouth: "Nobunaga..."
"Enough."
Chrollo's voice came from the stairs, not loud, but it instantly suppressed Nobunaga's anger.
He closed the book and walked slowly down the stairs.
The moonlight shone on his face; those black eyes were so deep they seemed bottomless, yet they carried a sense of oppression that made one afraid to look directly at him.
"Nobunaga."
Chrollo walked up to him, looking directly into his eyes.
"We will definitely find the killer who murdered Uvogin. From the time we formed the group in Meteor City until now, we have never abandoned a single partner!"
He paused, his tone softening slightly.
"Calm down. The most important thing now is to wait for Feitan and Phinks to arrive, then I will explain it to you."
Nobunaga stared at him for a few seconds, finally looked away, walked to a slab of stone in the corner, sat down, and said nothing.
Pakunoda breathed a sigh of relief.
Machi was still leaning against the pillar, her gaze never leaving the entrance.
Caesar found a spot by the window, took out his phone to check it—then put it away.
Time ticked away, second by second.
9:20 PM.
A figure appeared at the entrance.
Hisoka walked in with his signature flamboyant gait, wearing that uncomfortable smile on his face.
He looked around, and seeing that everyone had arrived, his mouth curled even wider.
"Hmm~ Looks like I'm not late."
"Tsk tsk, why is everyone looking so gloomy!"
The air suddenly fell into dead silence...
Unfortunately, no one paid him any mind.
Hisoka didn't care; he walked over to another window on his own, sat down against the wall, and flipped a playing card between his fingers.
His gaze swept over the group, lingered on Chrollo for a moment, and then shifted to the pitch-black night outside the window.
No one noticed that he lightly brushed the wall outside the window, leaving a mark condensed from Nen and a line of text—invisible to ordinary people, but Leo would certainly be able to spot it.
Everyone was waiting.
Waiting for Feitan.
Waiting for Phinks.
They didn't know that these two would never arrive.
Three hundred meters away, in the shadows of another abandoned building.
Leo withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the three people behind him.
"They have all arrived."
He said.
"Six people. Chrollo, Machi, Pakunoda, Nobunaga, Hisoka, and a newly joined member."
Biscuit flexed her wrists.
"Then let's go."
Leo nodded and looked at Sophia and Shizuku.
"Proceed according to plan. I'll take the lead, you follow behind to divide the battlefield."
Both nodded.
Leo took a deep breath, turned around, and gazed at the distant unfinished building illuminated by the faint moonlight.
The ground beneath his feet suddenly exploded!
Spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly in all directions, centered on where he stood!
Amidst the flying rubble, his figure was like a streak of white light, shooting straight toward the target three hundred meters away!
In the night, his speed was so fast that only an afterimage remained; the air was torn apart, exploding in a series of low sonic booms!
At the same time, he pulled both fists back to their limit.
The muscles in his arms tightened like steel cables, veins bulging.
Nen gathered and compressed frantically toward his fists—the light shifting from white to incandescent, and finally to a blinding gold!
Two orbs of light nearly half a meter in diameter formed in front of his fists, the energy inside spinning and colliding frantically, emitting a low thunder!
Leo did not notify Hisoka to evacuate.
If Hisoka died from this blow, then it was just his bad luck.
If he survived, then it would fulfill his one-on-one with Chrollo.
Regardless—
This is the "respect" the Phantom Troupe deserves.
Inside the unfinished building, the smile on Hisoka's face froze in an instant.
His combat intuition far exceeded that of ordinary people—a deadly sense of crisis washed over him like ice water, making the hairs on his body stand on end!
Without thought, without hesitation, his body's instincts had already reacted!
"Ken" instantly covered his entire body!
He violently smashed through the window behind him, rolling as he rushed out of the building!
Chrollo's eyes widened abruptly.
Machi's body instantly tensed up.
Pakunoda's pacing came to an abrupt halt.
Nobunaga stood up abruptly.
Caesar's smile froze on his face.
Hisoka's abnormal, almost desperate escape maneuver.
Instantly exploded in their minds like a bomb!
Danger!!
Chrollo, Machi, Nobunaga, and Caesar subconsciously erupted with full-power "Ken" to protect themselves!
Pakunoda only had time to turn her head toward the window, and that blinding golden light had already filled her entire field of vision.
Leo's fists, carrying two golden orbs of light, smashed heavily into the outer wall of the unfinished building!
Super Destruction Fist—Enhanced Version!!!
BOOM——!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The golden light instantly engulfed the entire building!
The shockwave spread rapidly in all directions like a ring of destruction!
Within a seventy-meter radius, everything was collapsing—walls shattered, floors cracked, steel bars twisted!
Concrete fragments, broken glass, and twisted metal mixed together, carried by the shockwave and shot in all directions!
The ground was overturned layer by layer, as if plowed by a giant plow!
Dust and smoke rose into the sky, forming a small mushroom cloud!