Not long after.
Illumi regained consciousness. He came back to life much sooner than everyone expected, and after a short period of adjustment, he was able to get out of bed and walk around.
That same day, Silva met with Illumi. Both were seasoned assassins, and they knew the family rules by heart.
Since the incident started with Illumi's ambush, according to the rules, this was a personal grudge between him and Yuu. The family would not intervene.
And dealing with the opponent alone—that was also Illumi's own wish.
"But that guy is stronger than I imagined..."
Recalling the previous scene, Illumi couldn't help but dwell on that feeling of utter helplessness.
"His ability is an invisible barrier... once touched, it's as if time stops. You can't move at all."
"Assassination techniques and needles can't get close to him. It's truly a headache-inducing ability."
It was rare for Illumi to find someone's ability so troublesome.
However, this wasn't the first time Illumi had encountered such an incomprehensible power.
After all, locked away in the Zoldyck estate was a younger brother tainted by an existence from the Dark Continent—
Alluka.
Because of this incident, Illumi couldn't help but think of that long-hidden sibling... though he didn't have any sinister plans at the moment.
After all, based on current intelligence, he still couldn't find a way to turn Alluka into a controllable power.
Reaching out rashly might only get him burned.
...
As for Killua.
In the days that followed... under his father's personal guidance, he officially began an even harsher assassin training regimen than before.
...
Meanwhile, in Shangha City.
Yuu stood atop a high tower in the city center, silently using "Gyo" to scan a radius of about one kilometer around him, carefully monitoring every movement.
Several days had passed since the mission began.
During this period, Yuu had used this method to search this main urban area almost completely, but he hadn't found any trace of Omokage or his puppets.
"If the target were a Nen user, it would be easy to track their trail..."
"But if he's deliberately disguised as an ordinary person and shows no malice, searching for him becomes quite exhausting."
Thinking of this, Yuu felt that Omokage was even more cautious than he had imagined...
Not only did he not appear in the city himself, but he hadn't even sent out puppets to search.
To put it bluntly, he was hiding like a rat.
"It seems he discovered me or Satchi early on... so he took precautions in advance."
Yuu muttered to himself. Finding nothing, he took a step forward from the top of the tower.
Just before he started to fall.
The next moment, he activated his technique and teleported back to the ground.
"I can't find Omokage... and even his sister doesn't seem to be in this city."
Yuu pondered...
"Logically speaking, since Omokage is active nearby... his sister should be here too. After all, she is his cherished puppet; he wouldn't let her leave his side..."
Lost in thought, Yuu suddenly noticed a girl without eyes entering his field of vision.
He sensed carefully.
He soon confirmed that the newcomer was Omokage's sister, Retz.
"I didn't expect her to come to me..."
Yuu pretended not to notice, deliberately slowing his pace and stopping at a certain spot.
According to the plan he and Satchi had agreed on beforehand,
Yuu was responsible for searching for suspicious targets in the city, while Satchi was responsible for exploring the outskirts for traces left by the criminal and potential victims.
They agreed to meet under the clock tower around 10 PM.
Yuu understood... Retz's appearance meant that Omokage had been watching the two of them all along.
Soon...
A blonde girl with bandages wrapped around her face, holding a blind cane and cradling a doll, struggled her way to a spot not far from Yuu.
Although she looked pitiful, Yuu knew... this girl had already accepted Omokage's instructions.
Her purpose was nothing more than—
To gather information and steal eyes.
Regarding the latter, Yuu also knew the flaw of this ability—as long as he didn't make "eye contact" with the doll, the ability couldn't be activated.
So, Yuu closed his eyes early.
He kept the "Limitless" active around his body at all times, waiting for the girl to approach.
...
The girl named Retz, although eyeless, relied on sharing vision with the doll in her arms, so her movements weren't greatly affected.
Holding the doll, she spotted the target's location early on, then hugged the wall and slowly approached Yuu's position...
At the same time, she began to think about... how to extract the necessary intelligence.
Retz intended to use her cane to attract the other party's attention, but while she was thinking...
The target suddenly vanished from the spot.
"Gone?"
Retz didn't react for a moment.
She looked around but couldn't see the boy anywhere.
Meanwhile, Yuu was standing on the roof of the building directly above Retz, silently observing the puppet girl...
If he didn't possess the Six Eyes and see it with his own eyes, Yuu would find it hard to believe that a girl with a heartbeat, breath, and normal body temperature could be a puppet.
Yuu watched Retz's movements closely.
Originally, she was tracking him, but now the situation had flipped... he was tracking her.
"I reckon by tonight at the latest, she'll lead me to that guy Omokage..."
Thinking of this, Yuu couldn't help but feel the mission was easier than expected. He used the contact phone provided by Satchi to dial his number.
"Hey, Satchi. I've made progress here... Come back to the city and meet me. We should be able to find that guy tonight," Yuu said.
"What a coincidence," Satchi replied.
"I found a clue here too..."
"It looks like I've found that guy's hideout. I'll send you the location in a bit. I'll stake out the place for a while... we'll meet up later."
Hearing Satchi's words, Yuu frowned.
Finding a clue after so long... wasn't it obvious that it was a trap?
That guy Satchi...
Didn't he realize?
Just as Yuu was about to speak, Satchi hung up.
The next moment, his phone received the location message from Satchi... it wasn't too far from here.
But even so, it would take Yuu at least ten minutes to get there.
When he dialed the number again, the call was hung up after just a few beeps.
"A trap?"
Yuu couldn't help but consider the possibility.
For example, Satchi might have already been controlled, and the person on the phone just now was merely a puppet with Satchi's voice.
But even so, Yuu had to go.
He had originally planned to stay in the shadows and wait for Retz to lead him there, but now there was no time to spare.
He glanced at the bewildered girl below.
Without thinking too much,
The next moment, he teleported to Retz's side.
Then, before she could react, Yuu grabbed Retz and rushed toward the location Satchi had sent.
"Hope that guy Satchi is okay..."
"After all, if only his eyes were stolen, I can restore them by defeating the puppet."
Thinking this, Yuu quickened his pace.
...
---