If they encountered many unfamiliar individuals with not-weak strength among a crowd at an airport elsewhere, the probability might be quite low.
But if it was at this airport, it wasn't strange at all.
Because, this is the city where the Hunter Association is located.
Not to mention Pro Hunters, many amateur hunters choose to open agencies serving the public in the city.
Since the Hunter community covers almost all professions, they can take on any kind of 'hard-to-solve' commission.
The airport was really too crowded. Machi's group didn't linger long, withdrawing their gazes and walking towards the exit of the airport terminal.
"Tough to deal with, right?"
Menchi was still in a cool outfit, though compared to her initial look during the Hunter Exam, it was somewhat toned down.
Maybe she thought Law didn't like girls who dressed too revealingly.
Hearing Menchi's words, Machi and the other three didn't say anything.
The 'tough to deal with' team Menchi mentioned could be Blacklist Hunters, but so what?
Ever since the Troupe began doing as they pleased, life-and-death battles had long become commonplace.
Countless Blacklist Hunters who wanted their lives had ended up losing their own.
As long as the other side didn't bother them, they wouldn't actively pick a fight.
Seeing that Machi and the other two didn't care at all, Menchi curled her lip, then suddenly said seriously, "Law is now a member of the Zodiacs."
"And then?"
Seeming to detect the implication in Menchi's words, Machi turned her head to look at Menchi.
Uvogin looked listless, yawning… it had been too boring lately.
Nobunaga held his long katana wrapped in old white cloth, looking straight ahead.
Buhara was focused on devouring a pile of snacks he'd packed from a fast-food shop in the airport.
Menchi met Machi's gaze, serious. "Do I need to remind you again? The issue of your identities."
As a quite eye-catching 'rising star' Hunter within the Association, if not for Law, she would have basically no interaction with Machi, Uvogin, and Nobunaga.
As A-class wanted criminals, remnants of the Phantom Troupe, if they were seen interacting intimately with Law, what would outsiders think?
Menchi's reminder was quite tactful, clearly indicating that even if Machi and the others were going to find Law, they should try to keep a low profile.
Recognizing the warning in Menchi's words, Machi seemed to think of something interesting, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly into a faint smile.
"What are you smiling about?" Menchi asked, puzzled.
Machi walked out of the terminal, feeling the moisture in the outside air, and calmly said, "Do you think Law would care about that?"
Honestly, Menchi seemed like a little fangirl of Law, but Machi didn't feel the slightest hostility towards her.
Why? Maybe it was a kind of mysterious confidence, believing Law couldn't possibly develop a relationship with Menchi that went beyond friendship.
Compared to the rough-and-tumble Menchi, the person Machi was probably more concerned about was only... maybe... Sanbica.
"Of course he would."
Menchi's cheeks puffed out slightly.
Joining the Zodiacs, fame is one of the factors, right?
Before Machi could rebut Menchi, Nobunaga chuckled lazily, "You really know nothing about Law, huh? With that, how can you be Law's little fangirl?"
Menchi's brows furrowed slightly. Buhara was still focused on eating, replenishing some energy.
"What's a 'little fangirl'?" Uvogin, hearing this recently popular online term, had his attention immediately captured and asked curiously.
Nobunaga looked at Uvogin's puzzled face. Considering the other's head was full of nothing but fighting and eating, a look of difficulty appeared on his face as he thought about how to find an explanation Uvogin could easily understand.
Pausing for a moment, he asked somewhat hesitantly, "Do you know what a concert is?"
"No."
"Movie stars?"
"What's that?"
"Then do you know internet celebrities... forget it."
Nobunaga's face darkened slightly. Using the dumbest method, he explained, "'Little' means young, 'fan' means infatuated, 'girl' means female. Got it?"
"..." Uvogin fell into a mysterious silence.
"????"
Looking at the silent Uvogin, Nobunaga's face was full of question marks, 'I even broke the word down to explain… what more do you want from me?'
"Anyway..."
Nobunaga wanted to explain further but was shut up by Machi's one-word command, "Stop."
"Figure it out slowly on your own," Nobunaga said, feeling helpless.
Menchi looked at the two of them, silently withdrew her gaze.
'It seemed I really didn't know Law well enough.'
Like Machi said, did Law really not care about these things?
The group haphazardly flagged down two taxis.
Machi and Menchi shared one.
Right after getting in the car, Menchi heard Machi give the driver the Hunter Association's name and couldn't help asking, "You're going directly to the Association?"
Machi retorted, "Didn't Law tell you?"
"No!"
Menchi practically gritted her teeth to reply.
That retort felt like an arrow shot into the back of her head.
"He told us to go to the Lawlin Museum first and wait for him there," Machi said.
'The Lawlin Museum, that was Law's asset, renting the 16th floor of the Hunter Association's building.'
'But to just boldly enter the Association building like that?'
'You know, many floors of the Association building are workplaces for Pro Hunters. This is too...'
Menchi was speechless.
...
After Machi's group got into the taxis, a team walked out from the terminal doors, eleven people in total.
Monma was clearly in the team, though he was somewhat disguised, transformed into a sharp-dressed elderly man in a suit, but still smoking a slender cigarette.
His position in the team was basically towards the back. The one leading was a burly man whose height was no less than Uvogin's. He wore a white T-shirt, a blue jacket over it, and tight blue jeans below.
The burly man had a thick white beard on his face, and his hair was also white, though it was dyed.
Compared to the conspicuous hair color, the cross-shaped scar on his nose, like a dart, was also eye-catching.
The burly man was the number one ranked assassin of the Blackstone Family, codenamed Beard.
A young man with an afro and thick eyebrows chewing gum asked, "Go straight for the kill?"
He was the ninth-ranked assassin, codenamed Afro.
"Hehe, we're assassins, not soldiers," said a petite, delicate woman with a white eye patch over her right eye and a baseball cap.
Fifth-ranked, codenamed Candy.
"Ah, true, but I just like efficiency," Afro said seriously.
The other assassins didn't speak, just looked at Beard.
For mission difficulty, teaming up was common for Blackstone Family's assassins. And for every team-up, the team leader was decided by rank.
The family attached extraordinary importance to this commission, even sending the number one ranked Beard. Naturally, Beard was the team leader.
Noticing his teammates' gazes, Beard glanced at the traffic outside and said flatly, "Once we locate the target, act directly. Since our operational scope rarely touches this area, it's best to resolve it quickly and withdraw."
Afro whistled upon hearing this, seemingly expressing agreement.