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Chapter 128: Abaki
Abaki was a performer who joined the Freak Show Troupe following the disbandment of the Moritonio Troupe.
However, her body was neither disabled nor deformed.
The only reason the Freak Show Troupe took her in was because the troupe leader had been close friends with Moritonio and knew that Abaki was a Nen user.
Nen users could always put on breathtaking, mind-bending spectacles, making them absolute cash cows for any circus.
Abaki's specialty was her fishing rod, which allowed her to hook absolutely anything she desired.
Aside from the troupe leader's own act, her miraculous performance was the most highly praised show in the entire circus.
The last time Abaki performed at the Royal Glam Theater with the Moritonio Troupe was before Moritonio and Hisoka disappeared.
But after that very performance, her world turned upside down. The troupe broke apart, and the people she cherished the most vanished without a trace.
That was why, when the invitation arrived from Petter Glam this time, she couldn't shake an ominous feeling in her gut.
Standing on the rooftop and gazing at the starry night sky, she absentmindedly pulled a crumpled promotional poster from her pocket.
The person on the poster was the familiar red-haired boy—no, he was a young man now.
The Magician, Hisoka.
So he didn't die! Thank goodness.
Abaki hesitated. She wanted to track Hisoka down and ask him where Troupe Leader Moritonio went, but she was terrified her darkest suspicions might be confirmed.
Was she truly ready to face the truth?
Abaki folded the poster back up, crumpling it just as before, and shoved it back into her pocket—a perfect reflection of her tangled, conflicted emotions.
Sighing, she turned and walked off the rooftop.
But she failed to notice the hidden eyes that had already locked onto her from the shadows.
.....
Kurapika hadn't found an opportunity to contact Petter Glam in advance, but he did manage to get his hands on viewing tickets for the Freak Show.
The performance was being held at the Royal Glam Theater, and many VIPs would be in attendance. As the host, Petter Glam would undoubtedly be there.
To Kurapika, this presented the perfect chance to make contact.
As for his investigation into Ryan, progress had hit a dead end.
In Gas Land, the Glam Clan ruled as absolute emperors. All information concerning them was classified as top secret.
However, their operations left a few clues. Controlling both the criminal underworld and the legitimate authorities, the Glam Clan acted exactly like the mafia, just with a thin veneer of respectability.
It was hard to definitively label them as 'black' or 'white'; they operated deeply within the 'gray.'
That made things complicated.
At least, it did for Kurapika.
But for Ronin, things were simple. When he used his [Ninja Art: Mind Reading Technique] to dive into the memories of a Glam Clan bodyguard, he uncovered plenty of hidden secrets.
The members of the Glam Clan were by no means good people.
In his view, while he wouldn't go so far as to say they deserved death, he certainly wouldn't shed a tear for them either.
So, to Ronin, the next steps were crystal clear. If Petter refused to hand over the Scarlet Eyes, Ronin had no qualms about taking them by force. The only variable was whether Petter would tell them the location willingly, or if Ronin would have to rip the information straight from his brain.
"There seem to be far more Nen users out there than we initially imagined," Kurapika mused, strategizing.
What stood out the most during his investigation of the Glam Clan was the sheer number of Nen users they employed.
The bodyguard Ronin had captured was a Nen user.
Ronin hadn't killed him, though; he just knocked the man out and sifted through his memories to avoid alerting the enemy unnecessarily.
The guard might wake up suspicious, but it wouldn't completely blow their cover.
"The V5 nations probably all have their own Nen training institutions. Just look at Kakin; they have a squad composed entirely of Nen users," Ronin said, recalling the 1st Prince of Kakin, Benjamin, and his private guard.
Every single one of those guards was a Nen user!
And that was just one squad under Benjamin. How many similar units existed across the entire Kakin Empire?
There was no telling.
But if there was one thing to be learned from Kakin, it was that while the spread of Nen was restricted among the general public, the upper echelons of society had always utilized it as a weapon.
The Glam Clan had a long, established history. For them to fully seize control of Gas Land after discovering natural gas proved they were no ordinary family.
Training Nen users within their ranks to act as bodyguards for family members was only to be expected.
It also led to the highly probable conclusion that Petter was a Nen user himself.
As for what kind of ability he had developed? They would only find out upon making contact.
"Looking at it that way, I definitely underestimated Kakin," Kurapika noted, internally raising the empire's threat level.
"But the number of truly masterful Nen users is still incredibly low," Ronin added. "What we need to watch out for are specialized abilities—particularly those from the Manipulation and Conjuration categories.
Their abilities usually come with strict rules and conditions. If they manage to subtly fulfill those activation requirements, we could get dragged into their pace, leading to unpredictable outcomes."
This was the most dangerous aspect of Nen combat.
No matter how powerful a Nen user was, if their opponent figured out their ability, there was always a chance they could be defeated. A combination of diverse Nen abilities could even produce astonishing, synergistic effects that completely flipped the script.
Just like in the Chimera Ant extermination mission, Morel, teaming up with Knuckle and Meleoron, managed to create an inescapable trap and mechanic-kill scenario.
In Ronin's battles against the Spiders, the only abilities he truly needed to be wary of were the unknown skills hidden within Chrollo's [Skill Hunter] and Shalnark's [Black Voice], where a single antenna prick meant total control.
The others—even Pakunoda and a heavily injured Feitan—couldn't pose a lethal threat to him.
"Right, I understand," Kurapika nodded in agreement.
The Freak Show was scheduled from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM. So, at 7:00 PM, Ronin's group of four left the hotel and headed to the Royal Glam Theater.
The theater was located inside Gas Land's largest hotel, though the performance was taking place in a smaller hall meant to accommodate only a thousand people.
Following the crowd inside, they saw clowns in heavy makeup riding unicycles on the center stage, warming up the audience.
The atmosphere was lively, but Ronin and his team kept their focus firmly locked on the VIP seating area. Sitting there was a middle-aged man with short brown hair, a cigar clamped between his teeth, and a distinctly thuggish aura.
The man staring eagerly at the stage was none other than Petter Glam!
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