"They're tailing too closely..."
Yuu muttered under his breath. Without waiting for Kurito to finish his investigation, he casually gathered "Blue" in front of the tracking vehicles.
An invisible vortex manifested out of thin air.
The exaggerated gravitational force twisted and shredded the front of the cars in an instant.
Accompanied by the ear-piercing screech of grinding metal.
The next moment, a sudden spark ballooned into a fireball, swallowing the vehicles and the armed men inside in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing but shattered glass and burning scrap metal on the ground.
Yuu didn't need to investigate to know these were men sent by the Nostrade Family's rivals. There were a few mediocre Nen users among them, and the cars were loaded with guns and ammo... plus a sniper hiding in the shadows.
They came prepared.
They certainly didn't look like the type here to shake hands and make peace.
Watching the cars suddenly twist and explode on the road, both the Nostrade personnel and the onlookers scouting nearby lost their cool.
But soon, the surroundings quieted down.
"No wonder they were willing to pay such a high price to hire me..."
Yuu roughly understood the Nostrade Family's intention. They wanted to use him to intimidate those hidden hostile forces.
After all, the Nostrade Family was growing at a ferocious pace. Whether it was the resources they had swallowed in the past or the status they might seize in the future, it was bound to incur the hostility of many gangsters.
Add to that the fact that they had now hired him, the famous "White-Haired Hunter."
Even if the rivals didn't know the details of the commission, they definitely wouldn't be sleeping soundly.
...
As for why these people could rush to the scene so quickly... Yuu wasn't surprised. His whereabouts had never been much of a secret.
His white hair was a distinct feature.
Plus, his method of travel was taking civilian airships, and he often appeared in crowded places.
So any gang with a little bit of influence could easily track him down.
However...
Yuu had already planned it out. Once he dealt with the "vermin" known as the Phantom Troupe through this event, he didn't plan to take any more commissions or show his face in public for a while.
He intended to give himself a vacation, maybe travel the world or something...
...
A short while later.
The convoy arrived at the Nostrade Estate.
Inside the imposing mansion, the moment Yuu stepped through the door, he saw an elderly butler waiting there.
"Welcome."
The old butler bowed slightly, then invited him: "Please follow me, the Boss is in his room..."
"No need to show me the way."
Yuu waved his hand. Before his voice even faded, he vanished from the spot.
At this moment, Light Nostrade, who had been waiting all day, was sitting in his room drinking coffee. He hadn't received news of the arrival yet...
The scene before him flickered, and in the blink of an eye, a white-haired boy suddenly appeared.
Light sputtered, choking on his coffee. The two bodyguards responsible for protecting the room realized there was an intruder a beat too late and instinctively moved to attack.
They were hand-picked Nen users, with physical specs and reaction times far above the average person.
But the next moment, both men felt a strong pulling force from behind. They were instantly pinned to the walls on either side by that inexplicable power.
Bang! Bang!
The two slammed into the walls, leaving shallow indentations. From start to finish, they never saw the intruder lift a finger.
After this, everyone finally reacted. Looking at the boy's head of white hair, they realized his identity...
Yuu ignored the others. As he walked forward, he spoke:
"First time meeting you. I'm Yuu."
"I am the boss of the Nostrade Family, Light Nostrade..."
Light stood up solemnly.
Then, he looked at the guards who had slid down from the walls and ordered: "You two, get out."
Receiving the order, the two didn't dare to delay and left the room sheepishly.
Only Yuu and Light remained in the room.
Yuu silently sensed everything in the mansion. Not finding the protection target... meaning Neon's aura... he spoke slowly:
"Seems like you don't trust me enough..."
Hearing this, Light was a bit nervous and explained:
"The Nostrade Family has been growing too fast recently and made a lot of enemies... If I let them find this place easily, it would be dangerous for my daughter, so..."
"I already took care of the guys who tried to follow us..." Yuu said casually.
Hearing this, Light was stunned.
Yuu looked at his reaction and added:
"Is there a problem?"
"No, no problem."
Light hadn't received Kurito's report yet, but based on what he just witnessed, he attached a lot more importance to this boy who looked only fourteen or fifteen.
The subsequent conversation wasn't complicated. Yuu learned the departure time and Neon's specific location... while Light repeatedly emphasized that he must guarantee his daughter's safety.
Due to limited funds, he had only managed to buy three tickets in total. Aside from his daughter and the boy before him, the remaining one would be given to his trusted subordinate.
A powerful Nen user he had managed to hire with great difficulty, named Valtz.
Light himself had other arrangements. It concerned whether he could contact the Ten Dons later. Faced with such a crucial matter, he couldn't get away, so he didn't plan to go with them.
...
The departure date was a few days later.
Yuu quickly found Neon's real residence—a building bought by a Nostrade shell company.
The security here was tight. Every floor was equipped with multiple armed guards. Anyone coming or going had to have their identity checked, or they would be shot on sight.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Yuu followed Kurito all the way through without obstruction and soon arrived at Neon's door.
Even from a distance, Yuu could hear Neon's deafening crying and screaming.
After getting a brief rundown, it seemed that Light hadn't let Neon attend the annual Underground Auction a short while ago for some reason.
So right now, she was throwing a tantrum.
It seemed this was also why Light had paid a premium to buy her tickets to the Kakin Empire Exhibition. Since they were from a later batch, they cost a fortune.
Knock, knock.
After getting permission from the maid who opened the door, Yuu walked into the room alone. Before him lay shattered furniture covering the floor; the room was a mess.
A chair flew straight at him from the front, but the moment it touched the range of the "Limitless," it was bounced away by the effect, crashing to the ground and shattering into pieces.
The direction the chair came from...
In the center of the room was a blue-haired girl with fair skin, crying and shouting. She looked about thirteen or fourteen. On her pretty face, the tip of her nose was red, and teardrops hung from the corners of her eyes.
The girl was wearing a comfortable, casual pink top. Only part of her pale calves were exposed outside her long white skirt, and she wore cute fluffy slippers on her feet.
At this moment, even though Yuu walked into the room, she showed no sign of stopping.
"Miss, a guest is here..." the maid on the side whispered to the girl in the center.
"A guest?"
Hearing this, Neon blinked and raised her hand to wipe away her tears.
Only then did she see the white-haired boy standing at the door in casual black clothes and sunglasses. He looked about fifteen, with handsome features but an exceptionally cold temperament.
Neon observed him carefully. For a moment, she was captivated by his head of snow-white hair and actually stopped crying.
Yuu took a few steps forward.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Neon. I'm the pro hunter your father hired, my name is Yuu."
"I'll be acting as your bodyguard for the upcoming trip to the Kakin Empire. But from now on... please don't cause trouble, understand?"
"Understood..."
As Neon responded, she inadvertently caught a glimpse of the pair of sapphire-like, brilliant blue eyes behind his shades.
She suddenly felt...
That missing the auction didn't seem so important anymore.
...