Meteor City, the church.
In this land piled high with garbage, the church, with its white walls, golden roof, and a giant cross on top, had undoubtedly become a sanctuary for many children.
In the original story, Chrollo, along with Sheila and Pakunoda, led the young Spiders in performing "Clean-Up Rangers," bringing much joy to these children who were abandoned at birth.
But today, a light rain was falling from the sky. Beneath the overcast clouds, the church had lost its usual laughter and joy, replaced by a bleak and gloomy atmosphere.
*Vroom* A roar—
A dilapidated, unbranded motorcycle drove through the heavy rain curtain and into the main hall.
Phinks and Chrollo leaped off.
The other Spiders gathered around. Not seeing Sarasa, their expressions all turned to disappointment.
"Dammit!" Uvogin, his face dark, slammed a fist into one of the pillars supporting the church. The surface cracked, leaving a deep fist print in the pillar.
"Now you're worried? Why didn't you go with her in the first place?" Nobunaga, his hair long, hands tucked in his sleeves, glanced at Uvogin.
Uvogin, who at ten-plus years old already had the build of a bear-man, was enraged. He grabbed Nobunaga's collar, roaring, "Do you know what you're saying, old man?!"
"Who are you calling old man?!" Nobunaga's narrow eyes stared back without fear. "I'm only one year older than you!"
"One year older is still older..." The former playmates glared at each other, about to fight on the spot.
The silent Chrollo frowned, exploding in a rare burst of anger!
"That's enough! We haven't seen Sarasa's body, so we can't be sure she's dead."
"I agree with Chrollo." Pakunoda, still a large-sized loli, wrinkled her high-bridged nose, casting a cold glance at Uvogin and Nobunaga. "It won't do any good even if you beat each other's brains out. You'd be better off thinking of other ways to find her."
"Hmph." Uvogin let go of Nobunaga, and the two simultaneously turned their faces away.
"Although... people who disappear from here usually end up dead or just gone, you know" Shalnark added, fiddling with a broken-down electronic watch he'd picked up from somewhere.
The hearts of all the Spiders, including Chrollo, sank.
What was this place? Meteor City! What was the cheapest thing here? Human life!
"I heard the priest say that a group of human traffickers of unknown origin recently entered Meteor City, so..." "Big brother" Franklin looked around and said in a gruff voice, "I think we might be able to start with them."
'Human traffickers... those are guys with real knives and guns.'
"I just wanted to dub 'Pot Shadow Ninja', I didn't want to get killed." Machi hopped off a table. "If it's those guys, then sorry, I'm giving up on finding Sarasa."
"You bad woman! I knew you'd badmouth me behind my back!"
*Bang!* The church's main door was kicked open from the outside. Sarasa, her small fists clenched, charged furiously at Machi.
Chrollo, Feitan, Phinks, Pakunoda, and the other young Spiders froze.
Sarasa was already nose-to-nose with Machi, glaring fiercely at her. "Sorry to disappoint you, Machi, but I'm still alive."
"Sarasa! It's really you! Hahaha..." A deafening, wild laugh exploded.
Uvogin was the first to react, appearing by Sarasa's side in a flash and lifting her up.
"Uvogin, let me go! You're messing up my hair!"
"Um... everyone, I'm back!"
'Tsk. The Orange Ranger has returned. Does this mean "Clean-Up Rangers" can go on?'
'No, wait, it seems to have become "Pot Shadow Ninja" now.' Sean, hands in his pockets, followed by Tsubone, walked into the church.
He could clearly feel the atmosphere in the church lighten with Sarasa's appearance.
Sarasa was surrounded by the Spiders, crying and laughing. The tension broke, and she couldn't hold it in anymore.
Unfortunately, the joy of reunion didn't last long. A dissonant voice reached everyone's ears.
"Hey... aren't you guys celebrating a little too early?" Feitan, arms crossed, leaned against a pillar, looking sinisterly at Sean and Tsubone.
The joy paused. The cheer faded. The Spiders, who had been in several groups, all looked over, noticing Sean and Tsubone, their gazes mostly hostile.
"Outsiders... you're not welcome here!" Phinks sneered, rolling his shoulders.
'Aside from Franklin and Uvogin, he's the biggest one of the group... But where's your Arabic headscarf, buddy?'
'I'm not used to seeing you looking like this riffraff.' Sean kept his hands in his pockets, ignored Phinks, and called out to Sarasa, "Little girl, you've seen your friends, you're back 'home', isn't it time to get to work?"
'The bait is in position. The "big fish" are still waiting in the water.'
"What work?" Uvogin slammed his fists together, chuckling. "Sarasa, are these two the human traffickers who kidnapped you?"
"Idiot!" Nobunaga shot him a look, shouldering his katana as he stood by Uvogin's side, subtly shielding Sarasa behind him. "Traffickers wouldn't be nice enough to bring a hostage back. However, Phinks is right. This is Meteor City. I advise you two to go back where you came from."
"No, everyone, listen to me! These two are good people... They're the ones who saved me..." Sarasa, seeing things were going wrong, got anxious.
She ran on her short legs, positioning herself between Sean and the Spiders.
Pakunoda glanced at her but said nothing. Machi played with her hair, pretending to be air.
The temperature in the church dropped to freezing in an instant.
Chrollo, who had founded the Troupe, stood behind the others, taking it all in.
After a moment, he stood up, took two steps forward, and pulled Sarasa back. He looked at Sean and Tsubone with clear eyes. "Thank you both for bringing Sarasa back. As a reward, on behalf of the Troupe, I can pretend we never saw you."
"So... you can leave now."
'A "Place to Belong"? Made by the Troupe, and destroyed by the Troupe... As expected, you, Chrollo, are the soul of the Troupe.'
Sean squinted, looking Chrollo up and down, and let out a suppressed laugh. 'So united against outsiders. How touching.'
"Tsubone, what do you think we should do?"
The boy spread his hands, "pouting." "It seems they're clearly taking the payment but refusing to do the job."
"Rest assured, Young Master."
Tsubone adjusted the glasses on her nose, saying calmly, "No one can default on a debt to the Zoldyck family."
As she spoke, the sixty-year-old butler's muscles bulged. She took a heavy step forward. The floor cracked.
The cracks spread out, rushing to the feet of the Spiders in an instant!
"Come here, Sarasa. This old body will not say it a second time."
"Haha! Old hag! I'm afraid you won't live to say it a second time!" Uvogin shouted, "Just what I was waiting for!"
He grinned widely, told Chrollo to protect Sarasa, then kicked off the ground, launching a punch straight at her head!