Chapter 44

"According to the information provided by Milluki, Cole's base is in this hotel."

"As long as I keep an eye from here, I can catch him off guard."

Time passed slowly. The sky grew darker, and the lights in the surrounding buildings gradually went out. Ron remained on the rooftop, maintaining his *En* state.

His gaze swept back and forth, observing the activity at the hotel entrance and exit.

Suddenly, a figure entered Ron's line of sight.

"He's here!"

But just as Ron was about to make his move, several other figures appeared from the shadows and struck first.

Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Other assassins?"

He understood. On the Assassin website, any contract was open for anyone to accept. Whoever completed the task first would receive the reward.

It was like the bounty set by the world mafia on members of the Phantom Troupe during the *Yorknew City Auction* arc. Anyone could hunt the Troupe members if they had the skill.

Due to the high reward, it attracted a lot of people.

Although most weren't actually strong enough for the job.

Even Gon and Killua were among those attempting it, aiming to earn money to purchase access to *Greed Island*.

In Ron's mind, what mattered in the *Yorknew City* incident wasn't Gon and Killua's involvement, but rather the actions taken by the Zoldyck family.

In this incident, the Zoldyck family had accepted contracts from both the world mafia and the Phantom Troupe.

Specifically, the mafia had hired Zeno and Silva to target Chrollo.

Meanwhile, the Phantom Troupe had hired Illumi and Maha Zoldyck to go after the Ten Dons.

"Even for the Ten Dons, it required great-grandfather Maha to act, proving Illumi alone wasn't enough."

"But Illumi was already incredibly powerful at that point."

"In fact, he could've ranked among the top members of the Phantom Troupe."

"By Hisoka's standards, only Chrollo and Hisoka himself could rank above Illumi."

"Even Feitan wouldn't compare."

The Phantom Troupe was extraordinarily powerful.

As the leader, Chrollo relied on his unique ability and tactical brilliance to lead the group effectively.

Feitan was the second-strongest member of the Troupe during the *Yorknew* period, only after Chrollo.

Not counting Hisoka, of course, as he was only a pretend member.

"Grandpa Zeno and Uncle Silva were clearly holding back against Chrollo."

"They weren't serious at all."

"The Phantom Troupe must have given the Zoldyck family something beyond money—likely a unique form of payment, not just currency."

---

**Chapter 56: One Billion Jenny. Next!**

In terms of raw money, the Phantom Troupe couldn't outbid the world mafia.

And money alone couldn't possibly make Maha Zoldyck intervene.

It's a straightforward calculation.

What's certain is that both the Ten Dons and the Phantom Troupe could be killed by the Zoldyck family.

In the original story, the Ten Dons were all killed.

As for the Phantom Troupe, Chrollo could never have defeated Silva and Zeno.

Even the remaining Troupe members combined would be no match for Maha Zoldyck and Illumi.

Summing it up, the Zoldyck family was definitely stronger than the Phantom Troupe.

Therefore, with both the Ten Dons and the Troupe giving contracts simultaneously…

The Zoldyck family could complete both tasks.

The deciding factor for the Zoldycks' choice would ultimately be the reward.

"Slash!"

Blood splattered, and Cole's face twisted into a manic grin.

An assassin collapsed in front of Cole.

Looking at the corpse before him, Cole sneered.

"When I was doing this stuff back in the day, you lot didn't even know where you were! Just a bunch of rookies!"

But quickly, three more figures appeared, blocking the exit to the alley.

Cole raised an eyebrow.

"What's my bounty worth that makes you all so eager to throw yourselves at me?"

The three assassins didn't reply. Instead, they simply raised their guns and fired. 

They had witnessed Cole's previous fight and were prepared.

They had to admit that in close combat, none of the three assassins would be a match for him.

So they opted to use their guns.

However, with a quick movement, Cole dodged the bullets entirely.

He crouched low, increasing his speed dramatically.

In an instant, he was in front of the three assassins, launching a powerful kick.

"Slash!"

This was no ordinary kick; hidden in Cole's shoes were blades.

As he kicked, the blades cut through the throat of one assassin.

A torrent of blood sprayed out.

Facing another assassin, Cole raised his elbow, which also concealed a blade.

It struck directly at the other's temple.

The last remaining assassin displayed a look of terror and abruptly turned to flee.

Cole opened his mouth, revealing a grenade inside. Using his agile tongue, he flipped the safety pin off and spat it toward the escaping figure.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by a massive explosion, the assassin was thrown backwards.

The surrounding crowd was drawn to the commotion.

Soon, police sirens could be heard in the distance.

However, Cole had already left the scene.

He slipped into another alley.

A young couple strolled by, chatting casually.

As Cole passed them, he flicked his wrist, and two blades sliced through the air, cutting their throats.

The couple's eyes widened in shock as they fell, unwilling to accept their fate.

Cole swiftly changed into the male assassin's clothing.

Ron frowned.

He recognized the couple; they were the same ones he had startled earlier. To his surprise, they had come back to this area, only to be killed by Cole.

Cole donned a hat, obscuring his face, and glanced back with a faint smile.

"Thanks."

He then moved toward the shadows.

Eventually, he reached an abandoned building.

Cole ascended to the attic.

After a quick look around, he settled into a chair behind a window.

His body seemed to relax entirely.

"I wonder how the others are faring."

"This game has only just begun."

However, at that moment, Cole suddenly sensed something amiss.

He darted his gaze to the corner.

There, in the shadows, sat another chair.

A figure was seated in it.

It was a boy.

"Who are you?"

In an instant, Cole's alertness spiked.

Before entering, he had confirmed that no one was there, but now he was face to face with Ron.

Two possibilities crossed Cole's mind.

One was that Ron had been there the whole time without him noticing.

The second was that Ron had just arrived and entered without him realizing.

Regardless of which was true, both warranted caution from Cole.

It meant either Ron was far stronger than him or possessed a very unique ability.

Given the situation, it was highly likely to be the former.

Cole quickly made a decision.

He hurled a blade toward Ron's direction.

At the same time, he lunged toward the window, attempting to escape.

However, just as Cole's body left the chair…

"Bang!"

There was no explosion.

But a tremendous force slammed into Cole, sending him crashing toward the ceiling.

As he flew upward, Cole clearly saw the blade he had thrown come to a halt just before reaching Ron, as if it had collided with some metallic barrier.

"Clang!"

Yet Cole saw that there was nothing in front of Ron.

"What the hell?"

Cole couldn't wrap his head around the situation.

(T/N Yeah it's weird why he doesn't just, you know assassinate him, because he clearly can. But I think it might be because he needs to fill up his orb and he already has one based on assassination.)