"What's that supposed to mean?" It was Killua who asked that question. Still firmly held by Machi, his hands are behind his back.
Harry looked at Killua for a moment before looking at Gon. "What would you do if someone kidnapped or captured one of your friends, Gon?"
"I would save them no matter the cost." Gon replied without a hint of hesitation, with pure conviction.
Every one of them could see in his eyes that he meant it.
"See." Harry said as he turned towards the rest of the Phantom Troupe, "Let me add a bit of context. Have you heard about the Outside World?"
The Outside World was another name for the infamous Dark Continent. Although Dark Continent didn't describe the geography fittingly. It's rather a whole world outside of what is known as the human world, all six continents that compose the 'world' the human race inhabits.
As the members of the Phantom Troupe indicated they had an idea what he was talking about, only Gon and Killua seeming confused, Harry continued.
"His full name is Gon Freecss."
"And what has his name to do with anything?" Phinks grumbled, annoyed.
"Wait… Wasn't there that book we stole once?" Shalnark remembered something, "Journey to the New World—East Edition! It described the shore of the Outside World! And the name of the author was Don Freecs!"
"So his father explored the outside world?" Shizuku asked, as she didn't remember that particular book.
"No, that book was really old. A few centuries old. An ancestor, maybe?" Machi added as she kept her hold on Killua firmly.
"Yes, Don Freecs is his ancestor." Harry confirmed, although he doesn't know that for sure, as that particular theory had never been confirmed during his past lifetime.
"So what if a dead man he is related to explored that place?" Phinks decided unimpressed.
"Oh, it's proof of the talent and potential that lies in the family. Gon's father is considered one of the top 5 Nen users in the world too." Harry added, "And you know. Of the Journey to the New World, only the East Edition has ever been found."
"So?"
It was Shalnark who got his meaning, "You don't want to say—"
"If the book has never been found, there are three possible reasons: first, Don Freecs never managed to finish it. Or it hasn't been found yet. Or he is still writing it."
"That's not possible! 300 years or so?" Nobunaga exclaimed.
"Well, there is an ingredient mentioned in the East Edition called Nitro Rice. It's supposed to be able to prolong life."
"Even if he is still alive. He is in the outside world and unlikely to even know that the brat exists. He won't help or avenge him!" Phinks growled as he was still ready to kill the two of them.
"Oh, that was to point out how talented Gon is. The direct revenge route you would have to be careful of is Killua. Although I wouldn't underestimate Gon's father, Ging Freecs. He is probably the best Hunter alive and capable of hunting down the Troupe if he puts his mind to it." Harry explained how he took care of the other Zodiacs during the Chairman Election Arc, and his games with Pariston were proof of how scared Ging's mind is.
While he wouldn't be able to fight the Troupe in an all-out direct battle, he is most likely stronger than Chrollo. And that isn't his style; he would hunt them and take them out one by one. Under the assumption he did care about avenging Gon, which was just a slight possibility.
After all, Ging was the type to enjoy the journey. If Gon died during his journey, Ging may decide it just was meant to be and leave it alone. But the troupe didn't know that.
"But what I want to truly point out. Gon is scary talented. And he is ready to sacrifice everything to save his friends. If he really did that, I can say with 100% certainty, he would rip all of you apart right here and now. So a peaceful solution is my recommendation. That is, from my perspective, the path with the least losses." Harry pointed out.
For now at least. He never learned what reason the Troupe had for attacking the Kurta Clan. And that reason could matter a lot.
Harry had only learned theories. Some more unlikely than the others, like that the Troupe was there for revenge because the killer of their childhood friend was from the Kurta Clan, or because they found out another friend of theirs who didn't follow their path to revenge and fled from there had been seen at the Kurta Clan, and they somehow assumed that they killed her.
But that didn't really fit. The overall circumstances were quite suspicious.
He personally believed it was related to Chrollo's Nen ability. It's a really powerful one for this world. His own 'Space' was only possible because he used his Sacred Gear as a base, and now thanks to his enhanced talent as a devil, he could accomplish even more with it.
Chrollo Lucifer wasn't a devil, even with his name so close to 'Lucifer.'. Harry had confirmed that himself. While there may be a devil or something out there in this world, there were hints to it. Chrollo was human.
And that made his ability even more impressive. And maybe by fulfilling a Nen condition like accomplishing something really hard, he managed to create it. After all, the Kurta Clan hadn't been weak, according to Uvogin. They were impressive opponents.
In the end this had been enough to convince the Troupe to follow Kurapika's instructions and return to the Base.
On the way, Harry chatted with Gon and Killua, "So did you get my knife?"
"Huh, is that what you want to talk about right now?" Killua asked him annoyed, "Rather, what was that all about, Gon and that 'outside world'? And my family? Is there something you left out?"
"Are you not Hunters? Find it out yourself? That's the kind of information only the top hunters in the world know about. Well, you could always ask if Gon's dead. But the difficulty of finding him is even harder than learning about the 'outside world'!" Harry smirked towards Killua, "So? Did you get it?"
"Tch."
"Yes, but it's in our room!" Gon replied happily, "Is this Don Freecs really related to me?"
"Then I will get it after this is over." Harry nodded, as he had wanted to add a nice knife to his collection, and there are also tracking spells that could be used to track related objects. So he could find all the Ben's Knives in this world, "Oh, and yes. Maybe your grandma knows about him? After all, your dad had to learn from somewhere about him. I am pretty certain that information was one of the reasons he wanted to be a hunter."
"I should ask her. Is that 'Outside World' why he rather wanted to be a hunter than be with me?" Gon wondered.
"Hmm, it's more the drive for the unknown. The Exploration. That 'Outside World' is just a very big unknown that requires a lot of effort to accomplish." Harry mused not wanting to give too much away. Finding Ging is Gon's big journey.
Inside the temporary hideout, everything was as they left it behind; only one thing had already changed. While Franklin and Bonolenov were still there, Hisoka was gone. Instead of him, Illumi was there disguised as him.
Harry smiled at him as he sat down still beside Gon and Killua, who were now bound by thick steel chains.
The other members also remained calm and waited for Pakunoda to return with further instructions. There was not much to do, so Harry took the opportunity.
"Yo, Kortopi, right?" Harry asked the short figure with his face covered by a thick mane of long blue-grey hair.
"Yes? You are the new member, Harry, right?" The man asked politely.
"That's right. So you can create replicas of objects and track them with your En?"
"That is correct. As long as I touch the original!"
Harry pulled his invisibility Cloak out, "There are a few things I want to confirm about my own ability. Could you create a replica of this?"
"Sure, why not." Kortopi touched his cloak with one hand, and below his other appeared an exact replica of his silvery invisibility cloak.
Grabbing it, he put it around him, only to be disappointed. He remained visible.
"You seem disappointed?" Kortopi asked.
"Ah, I wanted to see if you could reproduce its ability. The Cloak makes one invisible. See?" Harry put the original above himself, making him partially invisible.
"That's cool." Gon said gaining the attention from some of the Spider Members.
Shizuku nodded, "That seems really useful for thieves."
"Right, I had the same thought. But I only have one of them."
"Oh, my ability is unable to reproduce Nen effects." Kortopi clarified as he got what Harry meant to do.
Only that it wasn't a Nen effect. Which is a bit troublesome. Hopefully, Kortopi couldn't replicate Energy with his ability instead of just Nen effects. It meant his future plan would still work out. If other Nen users were unable to affect magic, that would be troublesome.
He himself could make his magic stronger or control it with Nen. So he had assumed others could also interact with Magic. Well, he would know it in a few days.
Storing the Cloak replica inside his inventory, the artificial space created by his Sacred Gear, which is also connected to his Nen now, he handed his original Cloak again to Kortopi. "Here now, try to track the copy."
Kortopi could, while touching the original, track his copies, at least normally. "I can't feel it. Did you destroy it?"
"Nope, see." Harry said as he pulled the copy of his cloak out.
"So you didn't teleport it to another location? I should be able to track it wherever it is." Kortopi wondered as he remembered what Harry had said about his ability.
"It doesn't seem to work for artificial subspaces." Which was another thing Harry had needed to confirm, taking the original Cloak from Kortopi and storing both in his inventory.
"Oh, you have then a hideout that nobody can reach?" Machi asked if interested; it was, after all, a massive strategic advantage.
Harry shook his head. "Sorry, living things can't enter it."
Which was the truth. Letting them assume that this was one of the conditions of his Nen ability, although rather it was an aspect of his Sacred Gear. One that he should be able to overcome one day, as he remembered that its original Balance Breaker was to create a sub-dimension that could be entered.
Having confirmed what he needed to, they returned to waiting until Pakunoda returns.