Kurapika won, but he also lost.
Chrollo was dead, but after the chain pierced his heart, he showed no fear or panic, just as Uvogin had in the original confrontation. Instead, he said something to Kurapika, but Oboro was too far away to hear it.
He only saw Kurapika's face freeze before the chain-user fell to his knees after executing the leader of the Phantom Troupe.
Even in death, Chrollo had seen through the weakness of the young man's mind. Whatever he'd said to Kurapika had cast a shadow over the Kurta's tragic and painful memories.
This was the Spider. This was the Troupe.
The founding members of the Troupe were too pure in their intentions.
Uvogin had done it, and so had Chrollo.
On the other side of the hall, David had already pacified the Mafia and explained the whole story to them.
The vicious criminal gang, the Phantom Troupe, had infiltrated the banquet and killed the Ten Dons, and the blond boy who killed the troupe leader was named Kurapika, hired by the Fells family. In other words, thanks to the masters of the Fells family, otherwise the Mafia would have lost face today.
The four Shadow Beasts echoed his words, testifying to the truth of David's account.
The Mafia leaders exchanged glances, but didn't argue.
They knew something was wrong, but they couldn't say anything. The beast standing before them was obviously following the lead of the Fells family. If any of them dared to protest, they might not leave alive. Moreover, with the reputation and abilities of the Fells family, they were indeed capable of taking the main responsibility.
Not only had the Ten Dons died, but the group bosses and family leaders under their command had also died.
Once this news spread, the underworld would inevitably change. Although the higher-ups had died, many small families remained. Without leadership, distracting thoughts would inevitably arise.
Who doesn't want to rise higher?
The Republic of Bartochia was the territory of the Fells Family, but outside of this continent, the Fells Family's reach was limited, and even where they could expand their influence, it was diluted.
After today, many new powers would probably appear like mushrooms after rain.
When that happened, it would depend on how the Fells family reacted.
Soon, the gangsters got busy and began to clean up the palace.
Kurapika stared at Chrollo's body with dull eyes. He took no pleasure in killing his enemy. Instead, the pain seemed to intensify.
Several suited Mafia members approached, glanced at him, and without a word carried Chrollo's body away. They planned to take pictures, keep them as souvenirs, and even make the Spider leader's remains public. If he remained in the hands of the gangsters, Chrollo would never know peace, even in death.
They needed to show what happened to those who offended the Mafia, while spreading the Fells' family name.
Kill the chicken to scare the monkey!
"Boss!"
A few other gangsters approached Oboro and Illumi, looked at Hisoka lying on the ground, and greeted them.
They didn't know Oboro; they just assumed that he was a member of the Fells family and addressed him with the usual title.
One of the gangsters signaled to take Hisoka away and burn the body.
"Keep this one for now," Oboro replied.
"Yes, sir."
Immediately, the gang members turned and left to deal with the other corpses.
"Well dead."
"I'm sure he died right in front of my eyes. Would you like me to take a picture and send it to you?"
Next to him, Illumi was talking to someone on his cell phone.
It was undoubtedly Silva and Zeno on the other end. Chrollo had been their employer; once his death was confirmed, there would be no need to return the money.
After exchanging a few more words, Illumi pocketed his phone and looked at Oboro. "The mission is completed. I'm leaving now."
At that moment, Kalluto Zoldyck, who had been hiding nearby without showing himself, the boy wearing a black kimono, holding a paper fan, looking as delicate as a porcelain doll, approached his brother and looked curiously at Oboro.
It was his first meeting with Oboro.
When Oboro had visited Kukuroo Mountain years ago, he hadn't met the youngest member of the Zoldyck family.
"Don't wait any longer?" Oboro smiled.
"Hmm," Illumi thought for a moment before saying bluntly: "To be honest, he's already dead, isn't he? I admit that post-mortem nen can achieve something, but in his condition, if he had a chance to come back to life, he wouldn't have drawn it out until now."
"Bye!"
With that, Illumi waved and left with his brother.
They both jumped quickly, turned into black shadows, and disappeared.
"Swallow."
As soon as Illumi was gone, Oboro heard a strange noise.
Looking down, he saw a small bubble of blood coming out of Hisoka's mouth.
If there was air, that meant there was breathing.
No matter how weak it was, it was still a sign of life.
In the next second, the supposedly dead man rose from the pool of blood like a spring and reached a height of more than a meter.
Hisoka's face was unrecognizable, his body covered in thick blood. He resembled a demon, his eyes fierce and wild, and almost as soon as he regained consciousness, he assumed a fighting stance, his aura violent as if he wanted to destroy everything around him.
Looking at the resurrected Hisoka, Oboro, who was still crouching, yawned without surprise.
He waved his hands nonchalantly and said in a calming tone: "Don't be nervous. There are no enemies here."
Hearing the familiar voice, Hisoka regained his senses, but he couldn't speak because the weapon that had killed him was still stuck in his throat.
He just stared into Oboros eyes.
"It's embarrassing that you were completely outmatched. Made to look like a fool," Oboro teased.
Hisoka smiled too.
But his smile was horrible, the contours of his features had been shattered by Chrollo's attack.
Except for his eyes and mouth, everything else, the bridge of his nose, his cheekbones and more, was broken or dislocated.
Truly grotesque.
Hisoka ignored Oboros sarcasm. He reached for the sharp wooden instrument in his neck and pulled it out under Oboro's watchful gaze with a "pop" sound, no blood gushing out, leaving only a clearly visible hole in his flesh.
He then tore off a piece of clothing and used his Texture Surprise to cover the wound.
It looked indistinguishable from real human skin.
With that done, he lifted his fingertips and used Bungee Gum to form two characters in the air.
Where are the others?
"This is where Chrollo wiped the floor with you. He's dead now and has been taken away. If you want to take out your anger on his corpse, you can look for it," Oboro said lightly.
Really dead?
The thought came from Hisoka's fingertips.
"The way he was killed was different from yours. There is no possibility of resurrection," Oboro replied.
Chrollo's soul and the fallen black mist had been taken by him. Oboro had gained a lot in today's game.
He had also witnessed some interesting developments.
That's good, Hisoka looked at Kurapika, who was still kneeling in the distance.
Machi?
"I let her go. She shouldn't have gone far, probably looking for Uvogin and Nobunaga."
Whoosh.
As soon as Oboro had finished speaking, Hisoka darted away, seemingly unaffected by his severe injuries.
He didn't even thank him.
Oboro couldn't help but laugh.
He realized that Hisoka's relationship with Machi was indeed different from his relationship with the other spiders.
Did he want to kill Uvogin and Nobunaga?
Maybe, but at least this battle had changed Hisoka's attitude, just like when he'd completed the difficult task Netero had given him.
If nothing unexpected happened, after some time, Hisoka would successfully advance to the level of a sub-world class hunter.
But with Chrollo dead, who would be Hisoka's next target?
Oboro slowly got up and walked towards Kurapika.
People like Hisoka could not remain idle Oboro was sure that he would not be the next target, because Hisoka was not that stupid Besides himself, there was another person who had always attracted Hisoka.
It was Illumi.
In the original timeline, the two had an "engagement", which was actually a vow.
An agreement.
They used each other to achieve their own goals.
But in the original work, according to Oboro's memory, the final outcome between the two remained undecided. They had boarded the Black Whale of the Kakin Empire, bound for the Dark Continent.
Judging by all available information and hidden omens, Illumi was more likely to lose.
And losing meant death.
The reason Oboro was still interested was that Hisoka wasn't the only one who had changed now.
Illumi had to have done something.
The fate of both of them had changed, which also meant that everything was heading into the unknown.