At this moment, the Ten Dons were discussing the recent events in Yorknew City.
"Those people may not have been the real Shadow Beasts, but they claimed to be. And now that they've been completely wiped out, some of the powerful families below us who have designs on our positions are starting to get restless," said an old man with a goatee.
"Hmph, let them try whatever they want. If those idiots really dare covet our positions, then we'll show them what true terror is," said the old man with the scar on his face.
"Still, the annihilation of those Shadow Beasts truly damaged the authority of us Ten Dons," said the man leaning on a cane this time.
"The Phantom Troupe? They really were just as strong as the rumors said, perhaps even stronger. But so what? Weren't they still wiped out clean in the end?"
"But the problem is that the ones who eliminated the Phantom Troupe weren't our people. That only makes it easier for outsiders to see how weak our direct control over force really is."
"The one who brought in the Phantom Troupe's corpses to claim the bounty was a blond, blue-eyed woman. She didn't look especially powerful, but I had my men test the waters a little, and it turned out there really is a rather formidable force backing her."
"Hmph. It was exactly that kind of foolish probing that turned things into this mess. We finally managed to kill that trench-coat masked man yesterday, and then this morning someone provoked that woman, only for it to trigger another round of chaos in Yorknew City."
"An independent organization? They seemed extremely capable. I was actually wondering whether we might recruit them to fill the vacancies left by Owl and the others."
"But the dignity of us Ten Dons cannot be trampled. The successive disturbances in Yorknew City have already become intolerable. If this keeps up, we'll be attacked from all sides!"
"I propose that we send out the real Shadow Beasts to Yorknew City and properly display our strength!"
The Ten Dons spoke one sentence each, and by the time the final proposal was made, all ten of them had spoken.
"As for deploying the Shadow Beasts, I think we can wait a little longer. We've already spent heavily to hire the Zoldyck family, as well as some top operatives drawn from other mafia families, to carry out the assassinations."
"That may only demonstrate the resources and wealth under our control, as well as our resolve to eliminate threats. If we cannot display true strength ourselves, the people below us will still harbor ideas."
"Hmph. So what if they do? At worst, we'll just have to spill a little blood and get rid of some cobbled-together, useless underlings."
Just as they were discussing how to suppress the unrest in Yorknew City, a figure suddenly stepped out from a dark corner behind the scar-faced old man.
He was a middle-aged man with a hooked nose and eyes as sharp as an eagle's.
The hooked-nosed man stepped forward, bringing the Ten Dons' discussion to a halt.
"What is it, Flying Eagle? Have you discovered something?"
The hooked-nosed man was Flying Eagle, a codename within the Shadow Beast unit. He was responsible for vigilance, reconnaissance, pursuit, and similar duties throughout the unit. Naturally, his strength was nothing to scoff at either.
"Someone is coming," Flying Eagle said in a thin, piercing voice. "About seven to nine people. Several of them are releasing a very large amount of aura, even a notch above Rabid Dog and the others."
This was one of Flying Eagle's Nen abilities: Eagle Eye.
It allowed him to roughly gauge the number of approaching people and the amount of aura they possessed. The limitation was that his readings came with a margin of error. For example, if he detected eight people, the true number could actually be anywhere from seven to nine.
The larger the group, the greater the fluctuation in the actual number.
This ability also could not determine how far away the intruders currently were from them.
But for the Ten Dons, simply knowing that someone was approaching with hostile intent was enough.
After all, the Shadow Beasts at their side were not mere decorations.
"Only a notch stronger than Rabid Dog? That should be the strongest force they can field, then. I didn't expect them to have hidden such strength in reserve. We're not even dead yet, and already someone can't wait to remove us from power?" The old man with the cane tapped the floor and sneered.
"Can you determine their approximate direction?" asked the goateed old man.
"At two o'clock? Crocodile, Rhino, the two of you go. Remember to bring one back alive, so we can get a good look at which family is in such a hurry to come here and die."
The scar-faced old man shouted toward two patches of shadow in the two o'clock direction.
The moment his words fell, two figures with strange physiques stepped out.
One of them had grayish-black skin that seemed to be covered in densely packed scales.
The other had two sharp horns protruding from his forehead and the tip of his nose. The horn on his nose looked much larger than the ones on his forehead, and far sharper as well.
These were the true Shadow Beasts under the Ten Dons' command, every one of them named after a ferocious beast.
None of the other Ten Dons spoke up, clearly signaling their approval of the scar-faced old man's decision.
They truly did need a family to make an example of, to reestablish their authority and show those restless monkeys below what happened to anyone who got ideas.
After waiting three seconds and hearing no objections, Crocodile and Rhino withdrew together.
Once Rhino and Crocodile left, the Ten Dons resumed discussing arrangements for the Underground Auction.
Then, ten minutes later, with two wet thuds, something was hurled in through the entrance of the room. It rolled some distance across the floor, and the stench of blood began to spread through the air.
"Hm?!"
"What happened?!"
The Ten Dons' faces darkened, and the Shadow Beasts behind each of them all rushed out from the shadows, shielding the Ten Dons behind them.
As for the two Ten Dons who had originally been guarded by Crocodile and Rhino, the Shadow Beasts nearby protected them as well.
Then they saw what it was that had been rolling across the floor.
Heads.
The expressions of the Ten Dons and all the Shadow Beasts changed.
If they were just severed heads, then these men who stood at fixed points in the underworld had seen more than they could count.
But these two heads were different.
One was covered in dense scales.
The other had two especially conspicuous sharp horns.
They were Rhino's and Crocodile's heads.
(End of Chapter)
[200 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]