With the appearance of those red eyes, numerous fragmentary pieces of information were drawn together.
The deaths of Franklin and Shalnark, and the current uncertain status of their companions…
The origin of it all lay with the Kurta Clan.
The agreement Law had mentioned, the decision made that day when the members gathered.
'If, back then, we had stood on Machi's side and resolutely prevented the decision to seize the Scarlet Eyes...'
'Perhaps, it wouldn't have...'
Pakunoda fiercely cast aside the meaningless thought. That was the past, already sunk to the bottom of memory. The most important things were the present and the future.
'I can abandon the present and the future, but Chrollo cannot.'
Pakunoda gripped the handle of her revolver tightly, staring fixedly at the man with Scarlet Eyes emerging from the shadows.
No matter what, even if it cost her her life, she had to eliminate the danger for Chrollo.
Kurapika walked slowly onto the street. The light enveloped his body but could not erase the crimson glow in his eyes.
He retracted the chain, gave it a fierce flick to the side, shaking the blood off onto the ground.
Chrollo watched Kurapika's action of flicking off the blood and said calmly, "A survivor of the Kurta Clan, I see."
Kurapika's face instantly contorted with intense killing intent. The aura around him abruptly erupted, stirring up a strong wind out of nowhere.
He raised his right hand. His scarlet eyes reflected Chrollo's calm and composed figure. His voice seemed squeezed out from between his teeth, just a single word.
"Beast."
Chrollo was unperturbed, but deep in his eyes, it was like a sudden snowstorm in winter.
In this drama of the mantis stalking the cicada, two orioles were hiding.
This was something he hadn't anticipated.
The fate of the other members was unknown, but it was likely leaning towards the latter.
Ninety percent, or over ninety-five percent possibility, only he and Pakunoda remained in the Troupe now, while the other side also had only two people.
Although it was unclear why Law had suddenly withdrawn his hostility, and whether that was good or bad couldn't be judged.
In any case, compared to the unfathomably powerful Law, the more dangerous one was this Kurta Clan's survivor.
Therefore, the priority target to eliminate was the latter.
Kurapika looked coldly at the book in Chrollo's hand, confirming his identity. Suppressing his rage, he asked, "Tell me the whereabouts of the eyes, and I'll make your death easier."
"The eyes..." Chrollo replied evasively in a regretful tone. "Things you desire often seem precious before you obtain them. But once you have them, you quickly grow tired of them."
"It's like constantly replacing toys. Once a new toy takes its place, the old one is gradually forgotten without you realizing it, until you don't even know where you left it in the end."
"Perhaps it's somewhat rude, but the 'old and new toys' analogy applies to the eyes you mentioned as well."
Hearing this, Kurapika's eyes widened in fury. The Aura around him was like a raging sea, showing an extremely unstable state, to the point where even his Ken was almost unmaintainable.
At that moment, if not for the teachings Law had instilled in him over time, he might have lost his reason and attacked recklessly while his Aura was still unstable.
Precisely because he understood clearly how disastrous and irreversible the countless hypothetical consequences could be, he forcibly suppressed the urge to strike.
Watching Kurapika's reaction, Chrollo's eyelids lowered slightly.
'So... obvious weaknesses.'
"I'm curious about one thing. Are you seeking revenge against the Troupe as a whole, or simply against those who participated in the clan's extermination?" Chrollo had been holding the book all along, ready for battle at any moment.
If the opponent attacked in an unstable state, it would be a scenario he'd be happy to see.
Kurapika gritted his teeth, not answering, slowly withdrawing the violently fluctuating Aura caused by his emotional outburst.
Only by stabilizing his Aura could he attack.
Otherwise, he would suffer the consequences.
"Don't want to answer?" Chrollo saw Kurapika's silence and also noticed his aura was stabilizing. "Then, you see no difference between the two, I assume?"
But Kurapika suddenly clenched his fist. The Aura around him finally settled at this moment, tightly covering his body like a layer of hard armor.
Chrollo saw Kurapika's fist-clenching motion and said flatly, "You should have understood, right? In the Troupe, including me, only nine people participated in the operation to seize the Scarlet Eyes."
As soon as the words fell, the book opened.
Kurapika's face changed slightly. Because of Chrollo's words, his newly stabilized Aura became somewhat unstable again.
At the main entrance of the building, Law looked at Kurapika, whose Aura was unstable. He knew that the Scarlet Eyes, to some extent, shared great similarities with the sensitive and delicate emotions of the Buru Tribe.
In the Scarlet Eyes state, although physical strength and Nen power would increase significantly, both positive and negative emotions would be completely amplified.
That was a deeply rooted flaw in their bloodline, impossible to avoid.
Therefore, Chrollo's seemingly innocuous few sentences could affect Kurapika's emotions.
'This guy Chrollo... He must have researched information about the Kurta Clan back when he was interested in the Scarlet Eyes, which is why he deliberately said so much.'
Most Nen Users carefully choose their battlegrounds and opponents, or fight as a team.
In every battle, there are many factors influencing the outcome, one of which is mentality.
To shake an opponent's mentality, sometimes words can also become a sharp blade.
Increasing the win rate, reducing risk.
That was Chrollo's motive for deliberately saying those things.
The book in Chrollo's right hand opened, stopping on a certain page. A mass of Nen appeared on his left hand, quickly materializing into a long strip of paper resembling a wish tag, with a cross drawn on it.
[Double Face]
As Chrollo made his move, Pakunoda raised her revolver, aiming it at Law standing at the main entrance, her face full of vigilance.
Law glanced dismissively at Pakunoda's action, thinking it suited him just fine.
When Kurapika took action and killed Bonolenov, Law had already decided to let Kurapika deal with Chrollo personally.
As the saying goes... the debt has its rightful owner.
That being said, having Kurapika fight one-on-one was the best possible scenario.
Now that Pakunoda was actively trying to restrain him, it was a situation he was willing to see.
'Speaking of that thing that looks like a wish tag, is it one of the abilities Chrollo stole?'
Kurapika had the same thought as Law.
Regarding the information on the Bandit's Secret ability, Kurapika had already learned it from Law.
"My ability has one restriction: I must hold the book in my right hand while using an ability," Chrollo said calmly, holding the book in his right hand and lightly pinching the long tag with his left. "But with this, I can be exempt from this restriction."
Hearing Chrollo's words, Law's eyes changed slightly.
'If it were a stolen ability, it shouldn't have such an effect.'
'Which meant it was another special ability attached to the book.'
'Was it because of my own influence that even Chrollo's Nen had improved...?'