Chapter 861
Feitan narrowed his eyes as he looked at the three figures in front of him. He recognized all three—Machi, Misty, and Ponzu. Machi went without saying; she was originally a member of the Phantom Troupe. Misty and Ponzu had both crossed paths with the Troupe during the Yorknew incident. More importantly, both were part of Ron's team.
After their encounters with Ron, the Phantom Troupe had naturally begun gathering information on him. If Shalnark were still alive, he might have been able to collect even more. Unfortunately, Shalnark had died during the Yorknew conflict.
"Machi, I need to speak with Boss," she said.
"Boss? That's not exactly a name a non-Troupe member should be using, is it?" Feitan replied.
"Apologies. Let me rephrase—I have something I want to discuss with Chrollo. Could you lead the way?"
"Not interested."
Even though Chrollo had made it clear that Ron had stepped in during the conflict with Oster because of Machi, Feitan still harbored resentment toward her.
"This matter is beneficial to the Phantom Troupe as well. Are you sure you don't want to hear it out?"
"Besides," Misty added, "it's not really appropriate for you to decide this alone, Feitan. This concerns the entire Phantom Troupe. You know you're not in a position to make that call by yourself."
Feitan stared at Machi in silence for a long moment.
"What's the matter about?" he asked.
"A deal."
"What kind of deal?"
"We need some sparring partners before we reach the Dark Continent."
"Sparring partners?" Feitan let out a cold snort. "Machi, what are you taking the Phantom Troupe for? You leave the Troupe, and now you're treating us like what—training dummies? When did the Phantom Troupe fall so low that we've become someone else's warm-up? We're criminals. Infamous criminals."
Despite the anger in Feitan's eyes, Machi's expression remained calm.
"No matter who we were on the Human World, once we're aboard the Black Whale, we all share one identity—passengers heading for the Dark Continent."
"What I can offer is intelligence on the Dark Continent. I'm sure Chrollo would be very interested."
"Feitan, don't let personal grudges put the Phantom Troupe at a disadvantage in the Dark Continent. We weren't strong enough back then—that's what led to Sarasa's tragedy. You don't want something similar to happen again, do you?"
Feitan's expression faltered. After a long silence, he gave Machi a deep look.
"Come with me."
He turned and began walking toward where the rest of the Troupe was gathered.
Soon, the other members came into view—Chrollo, Nobunaga, Pakunoda, and Hooker.
"Machi?" Chrollo looked up. Nobunaga and Pakunoda turned to look as well, and Hooker's reaction was the most welcoming.
The reason was simple—Ron had saved Hooker's life, and Hooker had joined the Troupe later on. To him, Machi leaving to join Ron wasn't something unforgivable.
"I'm here to propose a deal," Machi said to Chrollo.
"What kind of deal?" Chrollo asked.
"The journey to the Dark Continent aboard the Black Whale will take a long time. We don't want to waste that time. The Dark Continent is extremely dangerous, and we want to strengthen ourselves before we arrive. We need skilled fighters as sparring partners."
"In exchange, we'll provide you with intelligence about the Dark Continent—information you'd never be able to obtain otherwise."
On the Human World, the Phantom Troupe was undoubtedly powerful. An A-rank criminal group, with strong members across the board. But among the teams heading to the Dark Continent, they were far from the top.
The Zodiacs from the Hunter Association. Members of the Kakin royal family. Ron's team. Beyond, Pariston, Ging Freecss—these people were far ahead.
More importantly, the intelligence the Phantom Troupe could access about the Dark Continent was basic public data—things they could buy online. Beyond that, they had no access. The Troupe lacked deep connections, and even more critically, they had no S-rank Nen users.
S-rank was a special circle. Those outside it had little chance of getting in.
Ron, on the other hand, had several channels.
Some information came from Maha Zoldyck. The Zoldyck family had visited the Dark Continent before.
Another source was Rosgell. Ron had encountered Rosgell's consciousness in Minpo and learned much from it.
Then there was Ging Freecss—he had given Ron valuable intelligence as part of a trade, because Ron had looked after Gon.
Now, Ron had even acquired some from Nasubi.
The Phantom Troupe had none of these opportunities.
"Sparring in exchange for Dark Continent intel?" Chrollo asked.
"That's right."
"From Ron?"
"Yes."
Chrollo didn't ask whether it would be all of the intel or just a portion—because anyone with half a brain would know that Ron wouldn't give everything away for something this minor. At best, they'd get a fragment.
Sparring wasn't something Chrollo liked. Nor did the other members of the Phantom Troupe. Even if they had once been simple or earnest people, that was long gone. Years of freedom, crime, and disorder had shaped who they were now.
Still, Chrollo knew their value as sparring partners wasn't as high as they liked to think.
"I'll need to think about it."
"How long?"
"I'll give you an answer tomorrow."
"Alright. I'll come back tomorrow. But if I don't hear from you then, I'll look elsewhere."
After Machi's group left, the rest of the Troupe immediately gathered around Chrollo.
"Boss, are you seriously considering this?" one asked. "We're going to be someone's sparring partners now?"
"What kind of Phantom Troupe does that?"
Pakunoda hesitated. "But intel on the Dark Continent is incredibly important. On the Black Whale, once you eliminate those not actually aiming for the Dark Continent, our Troupe's position is... not great. All the other forces are better prepared than we are."
"And if we go to the Dark Continent, we have to succeed."
"It's the only way we'll be able to achieve the goals we once dreamed of."