While Harry was analyzing the Nen bullets he had caught from Franklin, he also kept an eye on the events outside. After all, the Troupe Members remaining here were not really the talkative type.
Instead, he kept observing a chase through half of Yorknew City after the copy of the Scarlet Eyes, which Squala kept guarding. It ended up with Squala dying and the Troupe finding the true identity of the Chain User, aka Kurapika.
At the same time, they also split up and confronted Kurapika, who had been following them, ending up with Gon and Killua captured again by the Phantom Troupe just like a few days ago. Luckily they didn't know Gon and Killua knew Kurapika.
Harry kept observing the events from his spot inside the temporary hideout of the troupe; being able to form portals wherever he had been before, or his aura had left a mark, was a damn useful ability, even better since he could move them around. Since no one was using Gyo on him, nobody did notice what he was doing, since he could hide his portals with In.
It was hilarious watching Gon and Killua trying to escape from the Phantom Troupe, using a trap Kurapika and Leorio had set up to cause the light to go out in the middle of a hotel lobby.
Only in the end to actually act as a distraction, while Chrollo had been captured by Kurapika using his Chain Jail. How he had got pulled through the air out of the hotel lobby while the other troupe members were busy with the sudden light out and the two superpowered kids.
And Chrollo was unable to escape Chain Jail; the only one with a chance to break out of that ability had been Uvogin as the physically strongest member. If the muscular Giant had been unable to break out of it, then everyone else was fucked since the chains suppress Nen and force the target into Zetsu, the most defenseless state for a Nen user. Even weaker than an unawakened person who had their natural aura flowing around them.
Even if Pakunoda knew now that Gon and Killua were related to Kurapika thanks to reading their minds again, after they had learned that Kurapika was the Chain User, it was now a hostage situation.
Losing the two of them meant the death of their boss. And Kurapika had left them a message with his clear conditions. Pakunoda couldn't say anything.
This is also the clean proof that the members of the Spider are humans and have weaknesses. Each other, especially their boss, Chrollo.
While on paper the rules Chrollo had come up with were flawless, they didn't consider the human component. And humans they were, not cold and emotionless but perfect machines.
Humans were the weakness of any system, from their good emotions like empathy and love to their most basest desires like greed, hate, and corruption. Any system with humans in it would reach its limits sooner or later. That was the simple truth for mankind.
Not only in this reality. Thinking back to the corruption of the Ministry of Magic, the Death Eaters, and Voldemort, Dumbledore proved to him that this was a simple fact in any reality.
Why should he follow their systems? Their Rules?
"Oy, get up!" Phinks yelled at him, annoyed.
"Sorry, I've been distracted." Harry replied politely, "What's up?"
"The Others called. Chrollo has been kidnapped." The man with the piercing eyes explained to him, "We are going to join them. Hisoka stays here because he doesn't want to die from what his fortune says. Franklin and Bonolenov will remain with him. You are going with us. Do you have any markers at the Beitacle Hotel?"
"I see, that is unfortunate. Yes, I left one outside of the hotel in a side alley." Harry said with a small smile, slightly impressed that Phinks already had figured out that it wasn't his knives he was using to instantly teleport, but his space-type Nen he left as markers.
He was still working on being able to teleport to any of his Nen, like the knives that he conjured as Nen Constructs, but this was a bit more advanced application of his Hatsu that he hadn't had the chance to work on yet.
But you couldn't underestimate the Phantom Troupe. Any of their members were observant and experienced fighters.
———
As they entered the lobby of the Beitacle Hotel, they immediately got noticed by the other members of the Phantom Troupe.
"Hey, that was fast." Shizuku exclaimed neutrally.
"The new Guy teleported us." Phinks replied gruffly, as he strode in followed by Harry, Shalnark, and Feitan, "What happened?"
While the other Troupe Members gave the newcomers a short summary, Gon and Killua were staring at Harry with wide eyes. "Yo, Gon and Killua! You got captured by the Troupe?"
"What are you doing here?" Killua asked annoyed.
"You know them? Wait, right, you are a friend of Kurapika!" Nobunaga realized that the two of them obviously were related to Kurapika, and that attack was far too coordinated for the two kids not to be working with him.
"Oh, you found his true identity."
Before he could say anything else, he got interrupted by Gon, who was staring at him with his intense and straight-minded eyes. "You joined the Troupe, Harry?"
Harry nodded.
"Did they force you?" Gon asked, his eyes not leaving Harry's.
Of course he would be more worried about his friend than the Phantom Troupe.
"No, I choose to join them."
"Why? Aren't you friends with Kurapika?" This time it was Killua who asked with interest.
"Mhh, yes, I am. That's why I don't join in the conflict between him and the troupe; neither do I share any information about the other side. I also used the opportunity to complete the contract with my previous employer, protecting her for the duration of the auction." And it was the truth; if Neon had lost her Nen ability, she would have died. Now that she had it back, he had done his job. "As for why I joined the Troupe? It makes it easier to get the things I want."
"As long as you choose it yourself, I am fine with it!" Gon nodded honestly.
"Oy, you are hostages. Act like it! And you don't dare to free them, or I will kill you personally!" Phinks threatened as he saw them get all cozy.
Brring
Phinks looked at his phone. "It's Chrollo."
"Hello?"
As Phinks listened to the conditions Kurapika gave him over the phone—not to follow them, not to harm the hostages, and to give Pakunoda the phone—he asked, "About your second condition, the hostages tried to escape, and we had to break some bones."
He threw a nasty grin at Gon and Killua. Then he froze. Kurapika had ended the call.
Phinks quickly called back, "Sorry I lied."
As he handed the phone over to Pakunoda as ordered, he got hit by both Pakunoda and Nobunaga. "Oy, what was that for?"
"You idiot. This is Chrollo's life we are talking about."
Chrollo is the Troupe's weakness, the same as the Troupe is his weakness.
While some members, like Phinks, are ready to act according to their rules, not valuing the lives of individual members but rather putting the lives of the troupe above them. Not all of them are, and that causes a rift in the spider.
As Pakunoda and Nobunaga followed according to Kurapika's instruction, Phinks, Feitan, and Shalnark, rather, want to act according to the Spider.
When Pakunoda should go to meet Kurapika, the three of them wanted to follow her instead of returning to the temporary hideout, as ordered by Kurapika. Causing the first standoff between members of the Phantom Troupe tonight.
"Wait!" Nobunaga called out to the three, "The Chain Guy said we had to let Paku go alone and return to the Hideout!"
The three were not agreeing with him; after all, if they kill Kurapika now, at most Chrollo will die, but the Spider lives on. That is the correct path for them according to the philosophy of the spider.
"Yeah, there is no point in letting her go alone!" Shalnark argued against Nobunaga, "If we let the Chain guy dictate our actions, the fortunes will turn out to be true!"
"I wouldn't say so." Harry mused, deciding to interfere, trying to win the trust of the other Spider Members. "If you had never read your fortunes, you would have acted similarly. Meaning that half of you would die over the next few days. But what is the worst that could happen if you, along with negotiations, right now?"
"Mhhh, Chrollo and Pakunoda could be dead because he picked them out one by one. And we would kill the Chain User afterwards together!" Shalnark replied thoughtfully.
"Exactly, in the worst-case scenario out of these events, two members die, maybe a third one while fighting him. Not half the members. But you forget that he wants Killua and Gon back. He won't kill Chrollo or Pakunoda." Harry reasoned.
"You are just saying that because you want the kids to live too." Phinks pointed out, annoyed.
"Not only, but yes, I want them to live. If you kill them, the spider would die too."
"What? How would killing the two brats end the Spider?" Phinks scoffed disbelievingly.
"Well, let's start with the less troublesome of the two. By killing Killua, you would make some powerful enemies, but you still have a chance to survive. Killua, tell them your last name."
The silver-haired boy just looked at Harry for a moment before answering, "I am Killua Zoldyck."
All of the members of the Phantom Troupe were aware of what the last name Zoldyck meant; after all, they had worked with members of the family before, particularly Killua's older brother, Illumi.
"So what? Then we have some Assassins as enemies." Phinks pointed out, after all, it wasn't more dangerous than before. The Zoldycks were hired to kill them just yesterday until their original clients died.
"The Zoldyck family runs deeper than what you know. And Killua is loved by all members." Harry just replied as all of them looked at him, unsure what exactly he meant; even Killua was confused.
After all, he had a Nen needle inside his head right now, put there by his older brother Illumi, making him forget about one member of the Zoldyck family. Alluka and Nanika, Killua's little sister with a parasite from the Dark Continent that had for this world godlike powers.
And that Parasite was also considering Killua, it's beloved older Brother. Killing Killua would not only mean the end of the Phantom Troupe, but maybe even Mankind, as something called a Calamity would go on a Rampage.
"And Gon is even more troublesome. If you want to kill them, you have to kill Gon first."
--- Author Note ---
Sorry by the delay in Chapters. My Laptop with all my advanced Preparations got stolen, and it doesn't seem like I will ever see it again. I got my replacement today.
Anyways, I will release more Chapters over the week in addition to the normal ones to catch up with my original Chapter Count, before I build my private Chapter buffer again.
Thanks for your patience.