Beyond his cultivation, Luo Ning's objectives included an investigation into the mafia. To recover the Scarlet Eyes more efficiently, a mafia background was the most convenient route, and Kurapika had already set a precedent for this in the original story.
Luo Ning continued to leave this matter in Kurapika's hands. However, contrary to Luo Ning's expectation of starting with the Ten Community Leaders, Kurapika chose to target smaller gangs after gathering intelligence.
"These types of gangs are easier to control," Kurapika explained. "Even if we eliminate the current head of an organization like the Ten Community Leaders, a new leader will simply emerge after a while unless we can control the core members. Furthermore, my investigation revealed that the Ten Community Leaders have a special unit under their command."
"They are called the Shadow Beasts. I suspect every member of the Shadow Beasts is a Nen user. Fighting Nen users is fraught with risk, so I've screened several smaller local gangs. By starting with them, we can also recruit professional Hunters. This will make our goal more attainable and easier to achieve."
Although Luo Ning had given Kurapika free rein, his basic requirement remained the Ten Community Leaders. It wasn't that he looked down on small gangs, but rather that he saw a challenge against the Ten Community Leaders as a perfect trial. More accurately, his target was the Shadow Beasts.
Nen cultivation could involve sequestering oneself deep in the mountains like Netero, but Luo Ning preferred the thrill of battle. Whether it was the tension and excitement of close-quarters combat or the sheer firepower suppression of Ninjutsu, he enjoyed it all. He even relished the cheers of the crowd at Heaven's Arena. If the threat of the Phantom Troupe were ever resolved, he might even return there to challenge a Floor Master or participate in the biennial Battle Olympia.
"I still suggest setting our sights on the Ten Community Leaders," Luo Ning stated his thoughts. "If we can secure a seat at their table, it would provide a massive boost to our future endeavors."
"That would mean clashing with the Shadow Beasts," Kurapika said solemnly.
"Are you afraid?"
"No. In fact, I'm quite eager to try," Kurapika said with a slight smile.
During the cultivation following the awakening of his Nen, Kurapika had confirmed his category through Water Divination. In his normal state, he was a Conjurer; when his eyes turned scarlet, he became a Specialist. Though he didn't have any concrete ideas for his Hatsu yet and was currently just building his foundation alongside Neon, he already had a general concept for his conjured object.
If he were an Enhancer, he might have chosen to become a front-line fighter like Luo Ning, as Enhancement was the most suitable category for direct combat. Unfortunately, he wasn't. Consequently, Kurapika saw his role more as a support specialist. He knew all too well what he lacked to avenge his clan and recover their eyes.
First, raw power. Upon discovering he shared the talent for Specialization with Luo Ning, Kurapika realized what they both lacked most: time. Given enough time, their growth would undoubtedly surpass that of ordinary people. His recent training had also shown him the most time-consuming part of cultivation: recovery.
Cultivating Nen was a painstaking process. Whether it was basic drills or increasing one's aura capacity, it required a constant expenditure of physical strength. After such heavy consumption, beyond the necessary food intake, having supplementary means to shorten recovery time would effectively accelerate their cultivation speed. Thus, the first ability Kurapika needed was one that could help himself and Luo Ning quickly recover stamina and relieve fatigue.
Second, intelligence. Only by mastering more information could he recover the Scarlet Eyes more efficiently and better understand the weaknesses of his enemies. A battle between Nen users was also a war of information. Whoever grasped the opponent's ability first would hold the advantage. Whether it was Luo Ning's fight against Uvogin or his battle against Omokage, Luo Ning had always gained the upper hand by understanding the enemy's abilities in advance.
Third, healing. While Luo Ning's combat prowess was already formidable, injuries were inevitable in battle. Kurapika wanted to handle the logistics as best as possible, so healing was high on his list.
Fourth, self-preservation. He needed the means to protect himself so he wouldn't become a burden to Luo Ning.
Finally, he had a somewhat selfish desire. He wanted those who had stolen his family from him to feel the same agony of having their hope stripped away. For that, he needed a plundering ability.
To satisfy all these greedy requirements simultaneously, Kurapika had found a method within the Nen knowledge Luo Ning provided that would allow him to achieve it all: Covenant and Restriction. If he could conjure chains, could he imbue each of the five chains on his fingers with a different ability? And his Specialist ability could serve as the key to amplifying all five!
Luo Ning was unaware of Kurapika's internal monologue, but he gave a satisfied smile upon hearing Kurapika's eager declaration. The matter was settled.
However, finding the Ten Community Leaders wouldn't be easy. The key was still to start with the mafia. Only by attracting enough attention from the underworld would the Shadow Beasts be deployed. To track down the location of the Ten Community Leaders, the Shadow Beasts were the best lead. As specialists directly serving the Don, they were the members of the mafia most likely to have had contact with them.
"Let's pull off something big," Kurapika said, pulling out a map of the smaller gangs at their wilderness camp. Their training for the day was complete, and the three of them were currently resting and recuperating by the river with a barbecue.
"What do you have in mind?" Luo Ning asked, intrigued.
"We don't have much money, so why don't we just rob the mafia's auction?" Kurapika wrote his line of reasoning on a chalkboard.
Luo Ning felt that Kurapika seemed to be darkening a bit. However, he didn't interrupt, listening patiently instead. If they could obtain the Scarlet Eyes without having to scramble for funds, he didn't mind. But if they actually committed a robbery, they would likely become wanted criminals—not exactly a great identity to have.
"We'll rob them using the identity of the Phantom Troupe."
Kurapika's next sentence made Luo Ning realize his intent.
"The Phantom Troupe will surely guess that we'll come to Yorknew City for the auction on September 1st. I even suspect that the Scarlet Eyes currently in the auction house were submitted by the Troupe themselves. In that case, why shouldn't we use their name to do the dirty work? They already have so many crimes to their name that a few more won't make a difference."
On the chalkboard, Kurapika proceeded to write: Shadow Clone Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu.
[Support the story with Reviews, Power Stones, and Comments—they mean a lot and keep me going! 30+ chapters waiting on patreon.com/elite_reads]