Uvogin walked toward Urouge with a feral grin.
"Boss, mind if I kill him…?"
Chrollo remained where he was, his expression calm and unreadable.
"Leave him alive," he said flatly. "He still has… value to us."
Before the fight began, Chrollo needed to run one more experiment.
He walked up to Phinks and gave an order.
"Lend me your ability."
Phinks grinned wide, nodded, and placed his hand on Chrollo's palm.
For the revamped Bandit's Secret, the Poaching ability only activates if four conditions are met:
1. The user must touch the target with their hand for over three seconds, during which the target cannot resist.
2. The user must have personally seen and understood the target's ability.
3. The user must ask questions about the ability and receive clear answers—or defeat the target.
4. All three steps must be completed within one hour.
A burst of dazzling light flashed, and in front of Phinks appeared a transparent blue page visible only to Chrollo. Written on it was Phinks' Nen ability: Ripper Cyclotron.
Nen Ability: Ripper Cyclotron (Enhancement)
Effect: Like winding a spring, power is stored by rotating the arm. The more rotations, the greater the amount of aura concentrated in the arm, causing the power of the next punch to increase exponentially.
After borrowing the ability, Chrollo checked his own status panel.
The number of Nen abilities had increased to twenty-four, but the stat point bonus from Poaching hadn't triggered.
As expected…
The Troupe members had already lent him their abilities in the past, so they didn't count toward Poaching anymore.
Chrollo had been hoping to farm a huge batch of free stat points from his own teammates, but clearly that was wishful thinking.
"This e-book system is pretty smart," he muttered. "Looks like bug exploits are off the table…"
Shaking his head, Chrollo raised his palm.
The page representing Ripper Cyclotron turned into a streak of light in midair and shot straight into Uvogin's body.
This was the effect of Chrollo's new ability: Grant.
He could extract a single ability page from Bandit's Secret and temporarily implant it into a Troupe member.
It also had four activation conditions:
First, the recipient must be a Spider—in other words, Grant can't be used on outsiders.
Second, the recipient's aura capacity must be sufficient to handle two abilities at once.
Third, the target must be within Chrollo's line of sight at the time of implantation.
Fourth, the implanted ability must be of the same Nen category as the recipient.
Uvogin was an Enhancer, so he could use Phinks' Ripper Cyclotron without issue.
And with his massive aura reserves, sustaining two abilities at once was no problem.
Once everything was ready, Chrollo spoke.
"The opponent's ability converts incoming attacks into power that reinforces his body. The more damage he takes, the larger his body becomes—and the greater his strength increases."
As he said this, the corners of his mouth slowly lifted.
"This is our first battle in the Dark Continent—a brand-new world. Let's cause some real destruction…"
Uvogin's physical stats were already on par with Urouge's.
And Chrollo had specifically equipped him with a Nen ability designed to counter the enemy's power.
There was no reason they should lose.
Uvogin clenched his fist and stared at his palm, feeling the unfamiliar yet strangely familiar surge of power flowing through him. A savage grin spread across his face as he strode toward Urouge, brimming with excitement.
---
On the other side, the Mad Monk Pirates had watched everything—the Phantom Troupe casually playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who would fight.
To them, this borderline childish behavior was the height of insult and disrespect.
The confident, ever-in-control smile on Urouge's face finally vanished.
His gaze passed over Uvogin and settled on Chrollo.
"So you're the captain…?"
"You send just one subordinate to deal with me? That's some serious disrespect."
"You're nothing more than guards on a passenger ship. Where do you get the nerve to act so arrogant?"
"You really don't know your place…"
He swept his mocking gaze across the Troupe.
"Looks like you don't understand just how vast—and how dangerous—this sea really is."
"Fine. Let me show you…"
"The miraculous power that rules these waters."
Urouge spread his arms wide, veins bulging as he swung his massive pillar. A unique aura radiated from his body—the unmistakable presence of the Karma-Karma Fruit.
"Under this power…"
"I'll make you kneel at my feet, crying and repenting for your ignorance and arrogance!"
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Urouge let out a wild, domineering laugh.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
The monks behind him exchanged looks and burst into laughter as well.
They jeered loudly, making strange noises and hurling insults, trying to crush the Troupe with sheer bravado.
They openly sized up the Troupe members, sneering and making crude remarks.
"Tch, what a bunch of freaks!"
"Look at that short one! He doesn't even come up to my waist—did he run off to become a pirate before he was weaned? Hahahaha!"
A fat monk pointed at Feitan, laughing so hard his rolls of flesh shook.
Feitan's fist clenched.
Hard.
"Oh, and there's one who won't even show his face! Hiding behind his hair—too ugly to be seen? Looks like some half-grown brat!"
A tall, skinny monk mocked Kalluto.
Kalluto lowered his head in silence. His long bangs concealed his expression, but the aura around him darkened.
"Pfft—and that guy wrapped in bandages! What, did you dig him out of a pyramid? Is he gonna fall apart or what?"
Phinks nearly snapped, shouting, "You ignorant moron! That's the battle attire of a proud Jutten clan warrior!"
But the most disgusting comments were aimed at the women of the Troupe.
"Still… those girls aren't bad at all."
The monks' eyes gleamed with naked lust as they ogled Machi, Pakunoda, and Shizuku like merchandise.
The fat monk licked his thick lips, drooling as he stared at Machi's pink hair and petite frame.
"That pink-haired loli's mine! You can tell she's wild!"
Beside him, the tall monk's greedy gaze lingered on Pakunoda's figure and low neckline.
"No taste at all. A sultry office lady like her is the real prize. Dressing like that—she's obviously begging for it. I'll make sure to 'interrogate' her properly later."
Another muscular monk rubbed his hands together, eyes roaming over Shizuku's curves as he chuckled.
"You guys don't know a damn thing! Girls with glasses are the best. And look at that figure… not smaller than the 'mature one,' either!
I'll show you what real 'ultimate pleasure' feels like! Hahahaha!"
The filthy words spread through the air like poisonous insects.
Machi, Pakunoda, and Shizuku remained expressionless. To them, the lust of insects wasn't even worth getting angry over.
But those insults lit a fire in the rest of the Troupe.
Even Phinks—normally loud and unruly—had once silently taken off his jacket to cover Shizuku when her clothes were torn.
The Troupe might be cold among themselves, but they would never tolerate outsiders trampling on their members—especially the women.
The last traces of amusement vanished from Nobunaga, Feitan, and Phinks' faces, replaced by absolute, biting cold.
True killing intent often hides behind a blank expression.
In their eyes, these monks were already dead.
"How long has it been since anyone dared talk to us like this?" Nobunaga asked flatly.
"Looks like we still need more fame," Feitan said. "At least in the human world on Lake Heart Island, no one dares speak to us this way."
"It's fine," Phinks said with a wide grin. "Our name will echo across the Dark Continent soon enough.
Just like before, people will tremble when they hear it—faces pale, legs shaking in fear.
That's the right expression to wear when facing us, don't you think…?"
Under their gazes, Uvogin stepped forward, stopping directly in front of Urouge and locking eyes with him.
Uvogin's grin stretched wider and wider, twisting into something monstrous.
"Only the mouths of the dead…"
"…are truly quiet."
"I'll kill you all."
"Every last one of you."
...…