Chapter 43: Planning the Strategy
"Kyle, are those the Phantom Troupe members?" Killua asked, taking one quick glance before snapping his eyes back to the room. A rare look of gravity crossed his blue, cat-like eyes.
He could feel a powerful, chilling threat emanating from the figures in the balloon.
Leorio and Gon, hearing the commotion, started to lean forward to look, but Killua's hand shot out and clamped onto their shoulders. The grip was firm enough to stop them, but not to hurt them.
"Killua, what gives? I didn't even get a good look!" Leorio complained, pushing up his sunglasses.
Gon, though stopped, sensed Killua's tension and remained still, his clear eyes questioning his friend.
"A true master can easily sense a malevolent gaze," Killua explained, lowering his voice and scanning the surroundings. "Staring too long will alert them. Especially you, Leorio."
He looked at Leorio sternly. "You haven't learned Nen yet. Your focus is too intense and exposed. To a Nen user, you light up like a lighthouse in the dark."
Leorio rubbed the back of his neck, chastened. He realized the gap between them wasn't just physical.
"Those are the Phantom Troupe members. If I'm right, they just attacked the auction hall," Kyle said, pointing down. "Look at the Mafia members on the street."
The three looked down. A dozen black cars suddenly roared to life, their headlights cutting through the night. They were racing toward the balloon, tires squealing, the sound mixed with the rough shouts of the mobsters and the clack-clack of weapons being cocked.
"Are they actually going to chase them? They stand no chance," Killua scoffed.
"They have over a hundred men, all armed with heavy weapons!" Leorio argued, disbelief in his voice. "They can't be that strong, Kyle."
Kyle chuckled, his eyes reflecting the distant city lights. "How about this: just think of each of them as... a Hisoka."
Leorio's mind immediately flashed to Hisoka's twisted smile and terrifying fighting style. He shuddered, instantly accepting Kyle's assessment.
"Kyle, what do we do now?" Killua asked, looking at the distant speck of the balloon.
"Nothing yet. We wait for Kurapika's move."
Kyle turned and leaned against the railing. He knew the flow: Kurapika would capture Uvogin. The rest of the Troupe would try to save him, but Uvogin would break free, demand a duel, and die. That was in a few days.
I need to introduce a variable into that predetermined path.
"Kyle, you've already got a plan, don't you?" Killua pressed.
Kyle smiled. "Yes. My plan is to banish the Phantom Troupe... to the Pirate World."
"Banish?!" Killua, Gon, and Leorio yelled in unison.
"That's another function of my [Book of World Resonance]." Kyle explained. "It's a Death Contract. If the banished person dies in the Pirate World, I get between 1% and 10% of the growth they achieved there."
He paused, noting their horrified faces. "Of course, the number of people I can banish is limited, and the conditions for it to work are extremely specific."
"Kyle, that ability is insane!" Killua said, a touch of genuine envy in his voice.
"But that power comes with a risk," Killua observed, his face hardening.
Kyle nodded approvingly. "The risk is that I become their primary target. If I die, they are instantly released and returned to this world. Their only way out is through my death."
"So, they'll be hunting you, but you'll be hunting them to steal their power," Killua said, stepping back playfully. "I'm starting to think you're turning into Hisoka."
Gon, however, just looked excited. This would push them all to get stronger.
Leorio nervously loosened his tie, still reeling from the revelation.
"I'm not," Kyle chuckled. "It's just the nature of the ability."
And that 1% to 10% isn't the whole story, Kyle thought. I might even choose to release them myself when the time is right.
"Killua, Gon, Leorio, you three have one goal for the next few days: make money," Kyle said, his tone turning serious. "The Phantom Troupe is my business, with Kurapika."
He didn't want them involved yet. Despite their growth, the gap in power was still too great.
"We can help!" Gon pouted, determined. Killua and Leorio nodded in agreement.
Kyle looked at their firm faces. "Fine. Let's talk strategy then..."
As the four of them began to huddle and plan, the night deepened, and the neon glow of Yorknew pulsed behind them.