The Strongest Assassin of the Zoldyck Family!

"Alright, then we'll give you one more chance, Park."

"Thank you, sir."

................

A vehicle departed from Aurean—a massive transport truck.

A black-haired youth sat in the driver's seat, Oster beside him in the passenger seat. In the rear cargo bay sat an enormous iron cage.

Inside the cage was a creature. It had partially human features, but could no longer be called human.

The youth was Oster's most successful experiment.

The being in the cage was his greatest failure.

Oster's strength had also improved since his time in the Saherta Federation. He was now even closer to S-rank than any time before.

"The Phantom Troupe… interesting." He looked thoughtful. "If you're that strong and talented, then you'll make excellent raw material. I'll turn you into weapons—tools to serve me."

"I'll use the Underworld Mafia as my starting point."

"Saherta Federation—I'll return there eventually."

"You stood so high above me before… but one day, I'll make you look up to me."

"And the Hunter Association… and the Zoldyck family…"

"For daring to interfere with my plans—"

"You'll all pay tenfold."

Not even the total annihilation of the biological experiment squad had made Oster truly fear the Phantom Troupe.

............

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Knocks rang out at the door.

Ron opened it.

Standing outside was Machi.

Her attire was different from when she was in the Phantom Troupe.

Now she wore a soft pink classical dress. Her long purple hair was tied into a high ponytail, revealing her pale neck. The sharp air of a Nen user was gone—replaced by a gentler femininity.

"Ron, I'm here."

"Come in."

Ron stepped aside to let her in. Once she entered, he closed and locked the door.

"Sit."

He gestured to the sofa.

Machi sat down.

"Ron, how's the Phantom Troupe?"

She looked nervous.

Even though she had left the group, she still cared about them.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have asked Ron. They were no longer teammates—but they were still friends. At least, some of them were.

"When I arrived, I saw two corpses…"

Machi's pupils shrank.

"Uvogin and Nobunaga…?"

Her voice grew quiet, heavy with dread. If anyone were to die in battle, she figured it would be them. Both were frontliners, prone to injury and death—and both had the personalities to match.

"Uvogin and Kortopi."

Ron's answer surprised her. It wasn't what she expected—but it didn't lift her spirits.

"Ron, can you tell me what happened in detail?"

"I can."

Ron nodded.

"When I arrived, the Phantom Troupe was at a disadvantage. Their opponents numbered six. Uvogin and Kortopi were killed. But the enemy also suffered losses—three of them were killed."

"There was only one among them who truly posed a lethal threat to the Troupe. That man could endlessly produce bones and use them as weapons."

"As for the other members, they were mostly fine. Only Phinks was seriously injured. Chrollo, surprisingly, didn't appear to be hurt at all."

Ron gave a full recount.

Machi listened intently, her expression solemn.

"Thank you, Ron."

"No need to thank me. This was a transaction. I upheld my part, and now you've come to fulfill yours. A fair trade."

Ron continued, "From today, you're a member of my team."

"Let me give you a quick rundown."

"There are currently five core members."

"First, me."

"Second, Nina—an Manipulation-type Nen user."

"Third, Misty—an Enhancement-type."

"Fourth, Ponzu—also Manipulation-type."

"Fifth, Shizuku—a Conjuration-type."

"With you added, we now have six."

"Misty and I handle frontline combat."

"Ponzu and Nina specialize in intelligence."

"Shizuku takes care of cleanup."

"Now Machi, tell me about your abilities."

Machi nodded.

"Alright."

After a moment's thought, she began explaining.

"My Nen ability is Nen Thread. I transmute aura into thread—so I'm a Transmutation-type."

"But different threads have different functions."

"One type is for healing—it can stitch wounds and speed up recovery. Once the wound heals, the thread disappears automatically. Another type is for combat—emphasizing toughness and sharpness."

"The last type is for tracking. You tie it to the target, and it can stretch extremely far. But it's ineffective against anyone using Gyo."

This matched what Ron already knew.

He had seen these abilities in the original storyline.

From his perspective, only the first and second threads had real value.

The third for tracking was almost useless.

A tracking thread that could be exposed by Gyo? There was no practical use for it. Any serious Nen user could use Gyo. Anyone who couldn't, wasn't worth tracking in the first place.

"Machi, show me the second thread—the combat one."

"Okay."

She raised her hand. A thread of aura extended from her fingertip. Ron picked up a metal chopstick and swung it against the thread.

Clang!

Metal clashed with Nen.

"Machi, can you make this thread sharper?"

Machi hesitated.

"If I make it sharper, its toughness drops. Right now, this is the best balance I can manage."

"Can you give the thread additional properties?"

"What kind of properties?"

"For example, make it sticky."

Machi frowned.

"Like Hisoka's ability?"

"Exactly."

Ron nodded.

"With this thread's characteristics, it's not well-suited for direct combat. But as a trap, it could be far more effective."

"If you could weave it into a web, it might work better than simple lines."

"These abilities—you've developed them for quite a while, haven't you?"

"With your current level, I think it's time you restructured them."

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