Kaizen scanned the battlefield, taking in the familiar faces around him.
Larkin from the Aiyi family stood nearby, his hands gripping a pair of stolen Scarlet Eyes, their eerie red glow pulsing ominously.
Not far from him was Machi, someone Kaizen had once worked with. However, she hadn't joined the fight, standing slightly apart as the rest of the Phantom Troupe assembled.
Their formation was clear.
Uvogin and Phinks stood at the front, leading the charge, with Nobunaga close at their side. Franklin, positioned at the rear, covered them with long-range firepower.
At the center of it all stood Chrollo, his expression unreadable as he held his book open, calmly surveying the battlefield. Pakunoda stood beside him, while Shalnark lingered a few steps away, calculating their next moves.
Machi remained behind Uvogin and Nobunaga, ready to provide support. Meanwhile, Kortopi controlled several conjured puppets, directing them against the Kurta clan warriors. Feitan, moving independently, roamed freely across the battlefield, while Shizuku was nowhere in sight—this was before she had joined the group.
Kaizen's gaze landed on a familiar face.
"Kortopi's already here?" he murmured to himself, narrowing his eyes.
Thirteen members—every one of them present.
Leader: Chrollo
Frontline Fighters: Uvogin, Phinks
Close Combat: Nobunaga, Bonolenov
Support: Machi (healing), Shalnark, Pakunoda, Kortopi
Independent Combatants: Feitan
Long-range and Defense: Franklin, and the mysterious eighth member
The original eighth member of the Troupe—barely mentioned in the canon timeline—was still alive. His eventual fate at the hands of Silva Zoldyck had not yet come to pass.
But in this world, things might play out differently. If Silva killed him again, the Troupe wouldn't recruit Shizuku as his replacement—someone else would take his place.
Kaizen couldn't deny it—Phantom Troupe was formidable.
Especially Chrollo and Feitan. Their presence alone set them apart from the others. The rest, though strong, had varying degrees of power.
Even so…
His gaze drifted beyond the Troupe to the Kurta warriors.
"Facing the Phantom Troupe with so few numbers—this means the Kurta clan must be incredibly strong."
At this stage, the weaker Kurta had already fallen. The survivors were elite warriors, masters of Nen, each at least an A-rank fighter.
One such warrior caught Kaizen's attention—a young man with spiky black hair. One eye glowed a fierce red while the other remained dark. Surrounded by a swarm of attackers, he inhaled deeply.
A moment later, a torrent of flames erupted from his mouth, engulfing a vast area.
Several attackers screamed as they were consumed, their bodies charred within seconds.
Another enemy attempted a sneak attack, lunging at the young man with a blade. The weapon should have struck home—should have pierced his back—but it phased straight through his body as if he were an illusion.
The young man turned his head slowly, his expression cold.
With a sudden movement, he drove his fist forward.
CRACK!
The attacker's skull shattered on impact. Blood and bone fragments sprayed outward, his face caving in entirely. He barely had time to scream before his throat was crushed in an instant.
Kaizen frowned, recognizing the technique.
"This… this is similar to Kamui from Uchiha Obito."
An ability allowing partial intangibility—it wasn't impossible within the world of Nen. He'd seen stranger things. A guy, whom he encountered in the Republic of Fiora, had a body composed entirely of flames, rendering physical attacks useless. It wasn't shocking that a Nen user had developed a similar phasing technique.
Across the battlefield, another figure moved with inhuman speed—a Kurta warrior dressed in black, weaving through the chaos like a shadow.
Kaizen's sharp eyes tracked him. The warrior was methodical, targeting weaker enemies and eliminating them efficiently. Each step left an afterimage, making it nearly impossible to pinpoint his real location.
A high-ranking member of the Aiyi family noticed this too, his expression darkening.
"This movement technique… it's just like the Zoldyck family's assassination arts."
The words sent ripples through the battlefield.
"Could he be one of the Zoldycks?"
"Or maybe the Kurta and the Zoldycks have some kind of connection?"
A hushed murmur spread among the outsiders. Fear crept into their ranks.
"The Kurta are strong… but the Zoldyck name? That's another level entirely."
"Should we really be involved in this? If the Zoldycks get wind of it—"
"So what?" another scoffed. "We've already been paid. You think we'll just give the money back?"
"You think the Zoldycks can take on this many of us?"
"We've got fighters from Kakin and Mimbo. Compared to them, what's a single family of assassins?"
At that moment, Kaizen caught movement nearby.
An outsider stood just a few feet away, his arrogant smirk grating on Kaizen's nerves.
"Zoldyck? Pfft. Just a name," the man sneered. "I don't care about them. If I see one, I'll kill them."
Kaizen's lips curled into a smirk. He didn't have to act—something else had already moved.
A sharp claw, dark as night, pierced through the man's back. It emerged from his chest, clutching a still-beating heart.
The man's breath hitched, his body convulsing. Blood poured from his mouth as his fading eyes landed on his killer—Natsu, Kaizen's Nen beast.
The realization hit too late.
"Wh-who are you?" he choked out.
Kaizen tilted his head. "Oh, nothing special. Just the Zoldyck you were talking about."
The man's pupils dilated in shock before he collapsed, lifeless.
Natsu vanished back into the shadows.
Meanwhile, Larkin's voice boomed across the battlefield, cutting through the chaos.
"The Kurta clan has no connection to the Zoldycks! Any similarities are purely coincidental. Focus on the fight—don't let fear hold you back!"
His declaration rippled through his allies, reinforcing their resolve.
"Our Aiyi family stands firm!"
------------
+350 chapters on patreon.com/FanficsHub