"Hmm … pretty intense, isn't it?"
"The underworld hasn't been this lively in ages."
"I heard the mafia family we're wiping out this time has two very strong Nen users… I'm curious to see what they've got."
"Don't get your hopes up. They're garbage anyway—get too hyped and you'll just be disappointed."
"Exactly. Even if they have a little skill, once they meet us, it's game over."
…
Few days later, a city on the Yorbian Continent
Night has fallen, and a brutal gun‑battle between rival gangs is raging.
Outside the combat zone a line of police cars and government agents stands ready, but the blood‑crazed mobsters and the frantic battlefield give them no chance to step in. Anyone who gets close is met with mafia‑grade firepower—heads stay down, casualties mount. All the authorities can do is hold the perimeter and keep the fight from spreading.
In stark contrast, a group of oddly dressed people draws every eye. Ten of them—no more, no fewer. Led by a short man, they walk straight through the mafia's "security cordon." The mobsters actually part ranks to let them pass.
These are the Shadow Beasts.
Their leader tonight is Owl.
Off in the distance a high‑rise is already an inferno. The nonstop gunshots and explosions are loud enough to make ears ring, yet the Shadow Beasts remain relaxed, even chatting. A few of them look positively thrilled, their bloodlust kicking in.
Xiang Nan is among them.
Compared with the other Ten Dons' territories, Don Edi's slice of the Republic of Padokea has been unusually quiet—ever since the upheaval that put Mia in charge of the western district.
Edi's instructions to Xiang Nan are simple: accompany the Shadow Beasts and help the other Dons restore order. The Ten Dons act as one; when real trouble erupts in the underworld, none of them can stand by.
"Tsk‑tsk… the Muka Family really pulled out all the stops. Even rolled out one of those?"
Hedgehog spits on the ground as the Shadow Beasts approach the heart of the fight. Down below, an armored tank is lobbing shells at the Ten Dons' troops amid the flames.
The Muka Family is one of tonight's "traitors" slated for extermination. Tanks are military hardware—well beyond what normal mafia can obtain—yet the Mukas got their hands on one, and it's stalling the Dons' advance. The ruined high‑rise isn't even their HQ; the family compound is an entire estate behind it, and the tank's covering fire is keeping the Don's forces out.
"Leave it to you two," Owl says calmly, hands in his pockets.
He hasn't finished speaking before Hedgehog and Bat, itching for blood, shoot forward.
Bat turns into a black arrow, streaks through the air, and lands atop the tank. He unleashes a Nen‑powered sonic blast; the sealed compartment becomes a deathtrap. The crew slump unconscious and blood seeps from the seams.
At the same time Hedgehog charges the Mukas' ground troops, his hands a blur, rending bodies apart and crushing skulls in his jaws. The savagery is chilling. With two Shadow Beasts in action, the Muka front collapses instantly. Even the allied mobsters on the Ten Dons' side feel their scalps prickle.
"Is that… them?"
"Who?"
"The Shadow Beasts—the Ten Dons' trump card!"
"Shadow Beasts?!"
"No wonder…"
Younger mafiosi look blank, but veterans recognize the name, and a wave of shock ripples across the field.
Just then the soil at Xiang Nan's feet flips open. Mule resurfaces halfway and reports: "Plenty more inside. These outside guys are just fodder. Three Nen strike teams are in the estate—two on the east side, one on the west. They also wired the gate with explosives, but I've disarmed them. You can go straight in."
"Got it, thanks."
Owl snaps his fingers, adjusts his shades, and turns to Xiang Nan.
"Those teams are yours. All good?"
"All good," Xiang Nan grins.
"Need backup?" Mule asks. "My scan says seven or eight Nen users across the three squads…"
"No need," Xiang Nan replies—and vanishes.
A few minutes later he's inside the estate. He immediately locates one of the ambush teams—a Nen squad plus nearly twenty long‑range gunners armed with sniper rifles, rocket launchers and grenade rounds. The estate is pitch‑black: clearly they prepared for a Don assault. If the Dons had charged in head‑on, that first salvo would have caused massive casualties and stalled them cold.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Xiang Nan moves like a ghost—from entering the grounds to appearing inside the high‑rise and slipping right up to the squad, not a single enemy senses him, Nen users included. No fancy tricks—just approach, ambush, kill. In moments every enemy in the building is dead, and no one ever knew how.
"These Nen users are built for long‑range support in a setup like this," Xiang Nan muses, eyeing the bodies. "The Muka Family could never plan something this sophisticated; a Player must be pulling the strings."
The Player is smart—staying hidden, because anyone in the underworld knows angering the Ten Dons spells doom.
Still, no Player wants to abandon a painstakingly built power base. Their gamble is the same one the Zatobi Family took: prove tough enough that the Dons, impressed, turn hostility into recruitment. Sacrifice a little to soothe their anger, gain favor, maybe become a Don's right‑hand.
The Mukas actually have the pedigree for a rise—something the Zatobis lacked. If the Player can make the Dons shift from "eradicate" to "absorb", then when the Yorknew City plot unfolds and the Ten Dons die, the Player's chance to take over skyrockets. It's a big bet.
Xiang Nan doesn't dwell on it. As far as he's concerned, the Muka Family is doomed. The fully assembled Shadow Beasts are here; unless the Player produces some wild twist, the gap between game players and story characters will tell.
He's only here to play his part—underworld power struggles don't interest him.
A short while later he eliminates the remaining ambush squads.
He calls Owl. "All clear—come on in."
"That fast?"
"Got it."