Departing from Heavens Arena to the Kukan'yu Kingdom.
If all had gone smoothly, Morrow should have reached his destination a week ago.
However, an unexpected incident on the airship delayed him until now.
If it weren't for his level skyrocketing from Lv7 to Lv22, causing some changes in his mindset,
And with Argo's intelligence that the Phantom Troupe was still scattered and operating within Kukan'yu's borders, Morrow might have just turned back to Heavens Arena.
At this moment, Morrow saw Hisoka in the café and was surprised, quickly averting his gaze.
The surrounding customers also glanced at Hisoka before looking away.
The reactions of older customers were relatively normal, while some younger ones started discussing Hisoka's teardrop makeup and his extremely eye-catching pointed red boots.
As they talked, they laughed out loud without any attempt to hide it.
Hisoka was not far from them and could certainly hear the mockery.
But he showed no reaction, sitting on a high stool by the floor-to-ceiling window, elbow propped on the table, palm supporting his cheek, his narrow eyes gazing at the passing crowd outside.
Near the glass door.
Morrow glanced at the table of young people laughing increasingly loudly from the corner of his eye.
These youngsters had no idea they were mocking a psychopath who could crush them effortlessly.
Putting aside the urge to help, respecting others' fates.
Morrow heard comments like "Why doesn't he put on a red nose?" coming from that direction, and struggled not to imagine such a scene as he stirred his coffee gently with a spoon.
If he remembered correctly, Hisoka should be joining the Phantom Troupe this year...
And there were normally two ways to join the Phantom Troupe.
One was to kill a current member of the Troupe and take their place.
However, this rule wasn't absolute.
The other way was for Chrollo to actively seek suitable new members when a position in the Troupe became vacant.
Among Chrollo's Skill Hunter abilities was a Nen ability that could "find desired individuals."
With this ability, Chrollo could search for subjects meeting his requirements, allowing him to fill member vacancies selectively.
It was also with this ability that Chrollo, in the original plot, specifically prepared a set of tactics composed of multiple Nen abilities for Hisoka, defeating him utterly.
In a fanfiction called "The Exorcist," he also collected a set of targeted Nen abilities to kill a powerful Nen user.
Unfortunately, in the end, he was thwarted by that powerful Nen user, resulting in the annihilation of the Troupe.
Essentially, the overall composition of the Troupe as a team was not some haphazard assembly.
It had special attack personnel focused on direct combat abilities, information and intelligence personnel to scout ahead, and functional members who could support diverse plans.
And Chrollo's ability to find people ensured that this team division system always existed.
Hisoka joined the Phantom Troupe this year, but not because Chrollo actively sought him out. Instead, he targeted the current No. 4 member of the Troupe.
However, although Hisoka did indeed take the No. 4 position in the original plot, he didn't actually kill the former No. 4 member.
Thinking carefully now, Hisoka's appearance at this time basically confirmed that he would soon target the No. 4 member and then join the Troupe.
Morrow then thought about Silva currently hunting the Troupe's No. 8 member, probably having chased them to Kanda City by now...
Looking at it this way, Hisoka, who was keen on one-on-one battles, might have gotten an opportunity to duel the Troupe's No. 4 member because of Silva's actions.
Morrow lowered his eyelids, stopping the motion of stirring his coffee.
He pieced together the scattered information, arriving at a rough conclusion.
Then he thought about the established plot development where "Hisoka didn't actually kill the Troupe's No. 4 member."
So...
Was there a chance to pick up another opportunity?
And was this potential benefit, whose value was yet unknown, worth the risk?
Morrow involuntarily considered the feasibility of this matter.
It was mainly because the leveling-up experience on the airship had been too enticing.
It allowed him to rise above level 20 in such a short time, and he received the upgraded Nen ability slot reward.
Morrow had a feeling that with this kind of direct and brutal leveling system, he would likely receive at least one more skill enhancement reward as his level increased.
Even if not, the direct increase in aura output and potential aura was equivalent to indirectly enhancing the power of Nen abilities.
So Morrow's desire for level advancement had actually been fully activated.
If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you catch the tiger cub...
Morrow lowered his head, staring into his coffee cup. The spoon lightly touched the cup's side, causing ripples in the dark brown liquid once again.
Benefits and risks coexisted.
This was the essence of Vow and Limitation.
Morrow made his decision.
Sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, then wait patiently for the opportunity to arrive.
If it comes, act decisively; if not, withdraw quickly.
The Phantom Troupe, Silva, Hisoka...
Placing these people on the chessboard was precisely the advantage that the information gap gave Morrow.
As evening approached, customers came and went in the café.
The table of young people who had been mocking Hisoka earlier seemed to have had their fill of laughter and finally stopped focusing their attention on him.
From beginning to end, Hisoka never acknowledged their mockery.
He just kept staring at the crowd on the street outside, as if trying to find his target for this trip among them.
"It's so hard to choose," Hisoka said, his narrow eyes slightly squinting.
The Phantom Troupe...
This new prey that fascinated him immensely.
But he had no interest in team battles; what he always pursued were one-on-one death matches.
So he would only choose a target that met the minimum requirements from among the scattered spiders.
The sun set, and night fell.
The city lights gradually came on.
Hisoka suddenly got up from his chair and walked straight towards the exit.
The young people nearby watched as Hisoka passed in front of them, glancing at the two heart shapes on the front of his clothes, and couldn't help but laugh again.
But Hisoka still ignored their existence, pushing open the glass door and walking out of the café.
Morrow didn't look towards the glass door until the bell stopped ringing, feeling somewhat surprised.
Although he knew Hisoka had no interest in ordinary people, to be mocked like this to his face and still remain unmoved...
This was quite unexpected for Morrow.
Morrow glanced at the group of young people still discussing, shook his head slightly, raised his cup to drink the now cold coffee, and then stood up to walk towards the exit.
Just then, a huge sound suddenly came from the distance.
The noise was so loud that it startled the customers in the store into reflexive silence.
Both Morrow inside the coffee shop and Hisoka on the street outside looked in the direction of the sound.
At that moment, the same gleam flashed in both their eyes.
—--
Meanwhile.
At a fountain square.
Silva slowly stood up; in front of his feet was a corpse with a severely concave back.
Not far in front of Silva were several members of the Phantom Troupe, led by Chrollo.
They looked at Silva, who had descended like a meteor to take the life of their member, their gazes cold and revealing undisguised killing intent.