Sean glanced at Phinks and chuckled, "Why are you looking at me? Is there a flower on my face?"
Besides... "What do you mean, 'what's the deal'?"
"'Multiple Shadow Clone' and 'Multi-Size Jutsu'... aren't those jutsu you can learn just by watching 'Pot Shadow Ninja' once?"
"You all call him 'Teacher Ben An' and act like you worship him, but you don't even read his actual work?"
"If Teacher Ben An found out about this, he'd be heartbroken, wouldn't he?"
'You're not allowed to defile my torrential admiration for Teacher Ben An!'
"I! Am Teacher Ben An's most loyal believer!" Phinks shrieked, pulling open his vest. The four large characters for "Ben An's Awesomeness" were printed on his chest. Then, other Spiders pulled out homemade headbands, or self-sharpened shuriken. Uvogin was even more absurd.
That guy had stuck two thick eyebrows to his chest... Sean couldn't tell if they were knocked crooked or what. Only upon closer inspection did Sean notice that everyone, including Chrollo, had some element of "Pot Shadow Ninja" on them. It was a real eye-opener.
"Hehe... these children have been preparing for their second performance. So..." The priest smiled and extended a hand to Sean. "It's better to resolve enmity than to create it. Young man, why not give me some face and stay to be our audience, how about it?"
'This old bastard is pretty good at playing peacemaker, huh?'
Sean didn't speak immediately.
Beside him, Sarasa seemed to sniff out the "Seal of Reconciliation". Her eyes darted, and she scrambled up from the floor, pigtails flying.
She struggled to drag over the box of "Pot Shadow Ninja" and opened it. Facing Chrollo, Uvogin, Nobunaga, and the other Spiders, she waved her arms and shouted, "Everyone! Please believe that the Young Master means no harm! He specifically donated one hundred copies of the latest 'Pot Shadow Ninja' chapters to us!"
"And... twenty of them are special signed editions by Teacher Ben An!"
"Haha... Teacher Ben An's signature?!" Uvogin's eyes bulged!
The back of his head didn't hurt anymore. He hooked an arm around Nobunaga's neck, struggling to crawl forward. "Old man, give me a hand! I have to get my hands on Teacher Ben An's signature!"
"Get the hell off me! I told you not to call me old man!" Nobunaga jabbed the hilt of his sword into Uvogin's kidney. Uvogin cried out in pain, watching as Nobunaga strode toward Sarasa. For the first time, the man harder than steel felt what it meant to be weak and helpless.
"Dammit, Feitan, grab one for me! My leg hurts... I hit it on the pillar..." Phinks grabbed Feitan.
Feitan, without a word, moved even faster than Nobunaga, arriving in front of Sarasa in an instant.
At the same time, Machi, Shalnark, even the calm "big brother" type Franklin, and the "rational" Pakunoda, all seemed to forget the unpleasantness of being beaten, and lunged for "Pot Shadow Ninja".
Sean was left standing to the side, completely dumbfounded.
"Ohohoho... In a place like Meteor City, survival itself is difficult enough. Forget entertainment, they don't even get to watch cartoons."
"Zigg, look at that kid Sean's expression. He clearly underestimated the charm of 'Pot Shadow Ninja'. He had no idea what kind of impact a popular manga could have on these children who have been without parents since birth." Netero, through the "monitoring glasses," captured the image of the young Spiders frantically fighting over the manga, his eyes narrowing to slits.
It was just as he said. In the original story, Uvogin and Chrollo would fight to the death over a single ruined videotape of "Clean-Up Rangers," let alone the currently popular, far-more-famous "Pot Shadow Ninja"!
"Everyone has their own dreams in life." Zigg poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and said, "For these children, 'Pot Shadow Ninja' is the door to their understanding of the world. Through it, they fulfill their yearning for the outside world. This... is also a kind of tragedy."
"Heh. A tragedy?" Netero glanced at Sean in the video feed and smiled meaningfully. "The real Teacher Ben An is right in front of them, but this group of kids doesn't know it. That is indeed a tragedy."
"But, to put it another way... This old man is very much looking forward to the shocked expressions they'll have when they finally leave Meteor City and realize that Sean *is* the Teacher Ben An they've always worshiped. Hoho... just thinking about it is exciting."
"Hehe." Zigg also laughed. 'That brat is cunning,' he thought. 'He probably never intended to be forthcoming and reveal his identity from the start. That's for the best. An assassin must be invisible... hide himself, hide his tracks, hide his name. Only by not getting involved in the vortex can one see things through to the end.'
A faint electronic arc flashed. Zigg adjusted the "monitoring glasses" on his nose. The scene changed—
In the church, little Sarasa was buried under the young Spiders.
"Don't grab! Don't grab! Everyone will get one! There are enough!"
Sarasa's dress was almost torn, but she couldn't control the scene at all.
The one hundred copies of "Pot Shadow Ninja" were gone in an instant, making Sean's scalp tingle.
"Tsubone, if we had just brought out the manga earlier, would we have saved ourselves the trouble?"
'Why the hell did we fight? This is something that could have been settled with one "Pot Shadow Ninja". As expected, no matter where you are, in the end, it's all about connections and favors.'
"As you say, Young Master." Tsubone nodded in deep agreement. This was the first time the old butler had ever witnessed "fanaticism" firsthand.
Back at the butler's estate, she had often heard the younger butlers mention words like "fans" and "fandoms". Looking at it now, this group of kids... weren't they all the Young Master's "fandom"?
Tsubone couldn't help but stand up straighter, suddenly feeling proud.
This was a feeling she had never experienced with Zeno or Silva.
'It's just that... "This way, it will be hard for the Young Master to refuse to be their audience."'
"Yeah... a fan's passion is always hard to refuse." Sean, hands in his pockets, glanced at the priest and raised an eyebrow. "If I'm the audience, do I get free food?"
"God above, Father, don't laugh, but I'm actually a very picky eater."
"Hahaha..." The priest let out a visible sigh of relief, his eyes crinkling. "If I neglect a guest, the Lord will send down divine punishment."
"Young man, I, Cooper Jeffrey, on behalf of the Meteor City Church, welcome you."
"Chrollo, I'll leave the rehearsal to you. We absolutely cannot disappoint our guest."
"Yes." Chrollo was the only Spider who hadn't scrambled for the manga. He was about the same age as Sean, but his calm eyes were always exceptionally mature.
He looked deeply at Sean, walked over, and made a "please" gesture.
"Mmm." Sean nodded noncommittally. He led Tsubone and walked straight past him. As the two crossed paths, a small note was passed silently into Sean's hand.