"Ron-sama!"
Kurapika had learned of Ron's connection from Hooker. Likewise, Hooker had learned from Kurapika about Kurapika's connection to Ron. At this mont, Kurapika unexpectedly called Ron over, leaving Hooker unsure of Kurapika's intentions.
"Hooker." Ron nodded slightly.
Kurapika looked at Ron, his expression conflicted. "Ron, what do you think I should do now?"
"What about your own thoughts?" Ron asked.
"I don't know," Kurapika replied. "Hooker wasn't involved in the massacre of the Kurta clan. I can't bring myself to kill him. But I can't let him go either. If I release him, he'll surely report everything about to the rest of the Phantom Troupe. Right now I have him detained here… but I can't keep him locked up forever. Nor can I keep him by my side. Ron, can you help ?"
Kurapika couldn't think of a solution. Ron was the only person he could turn to—the strongest and most reliable among those he knew, at least in Kurapika's view.
Ron glanced at Hooker, then at Kurapika, falling silent for a mont. "Kurapika, do you trust ?"
"I do."
"No matter what I say, you'll trust ?"
"To , Ron, you are my friend, so yes—I trust you. Even if what you tell contradicts what I've learned before, even if it sounds unbelievable, I'll still trust your words."
Kurapika hesitated briefly but nodded firmly. "I trust you."
"Alright then," Ron said, "there are things I'll tell you now. Long ago, I had dealings with the Phantom Troupe. Even earlier, I visited teor City. Back then, what I saw in teor City exceeded my understanding of the human world. Many people there lived like the walking dead. During the recent Yorknew events, I also took on three commissions from the Phantom Troupe. If I hadn't intervened, they might have already been wiped out."
Once was Machi's commission, another was from the Phantom Troupe itself, and the third was together with Illumi. In the first two cases, both the biological experint squad and Oster had inflicted severe damage on the Phantom Troupe and would have wiped them out, given their unprepared state. One could argue that only Crhollo might have escaped with his life.
Kurapika's gaze flickered. Ever since he had witnessed his clan's slaughter and the devastation of his village, his hatred for the Phantom Troupe had run deep—he had wished for their deaths at every mont. Yet the Troupe, which should have perished, had survived because of Ron's actions.
Kurapika's feelings were conflicted, but when he put himself in Ron's shoes, he found himself able to understand. "Ron, you're an assassin. It's normal for you to accept commissions."
Ron continued, "Now, a forr mber of the Phantom Troupe has left and joined my team. What do you think about that?"
Kurapika fell silent again. "If he left the Troupe, that shows he no longer shares their ideology. Even if he stood before now, I wouldn't be able to kill him."
Ron sat down. "Kurapika… the truth is, I was there the day your clan was massacred."
Kurapika's pupils contracted sharply, his eyes widening in shock, disbelief written all over his face. "What do you an?"
Ron said, "I've long hesitated about whether to tell you this and whether now was the right ti. That's why I asked you those questions earlier. Your answers convinced that you deserve to know what really happened back then.
I'm about your age. At that ti, I wasn't very strong—perhaps comparable to an upper-tier Shadow Beast, maybe a bit stronger but not by much. I took on a commission then. The specific details weren't revealed in advance, but the pay was decent, so I accepted. Only after arriving did I discover that many others had accepted the sa commission—hundreds of people in total."
"After a difficult series of trials, we entered your clan's settlent. The people there could be divided into two groups: those orchestrating the operation, and those hired as rcenaries. Only then did the orchestrators reveal the true commission—one pair of Scarlet Eyes, five hundred million jeni. For most of the hired rcenaries, that was a very tempting offer. But for at that ti, it wasn't enough. So I didn't participate in the killing. But many others did."
"Kurapika, now that you're a Hunter and a nen user, you should understand that many in this world are indifferent to life itself. The Kurta clan was wiped out—and many of the attackers died as well."
What Ron described was overwhelming and utterly different from everything Kurapika had believed until now. It took a long ti for him to process it.
"Then… if the Phantom Troupe weren't the ones who exterminated my clan… who was it? Ron, can you tell ? Whatever the conditions, I'll accept them. I just want to know the truth."
Ron replied, "The Phantom Troupe was one of those involved. At that ti, the orchestrators ca from three sides: teor City, Kakin, and the Minbo Republic. The Phantom Troupe was only part of the force. As for all the hired rcenaries… there were too many to na."
Kurapika froze. Then, slowly, his brow furrowed deeply. "teor City? Kakin? Minbo?"
These were all colossal powers—even teor City was far larger than the Phantom Troupe alone, and Kakin and Minbo were even more formidable. Both were major nations, and Minbo was one of the V5.
Kurapika couldn't understand why these forces would attack the Kurta clan. Was it really just for the Scarlet Eyes? That seed utterly absurd. A single pair of Scarlet Eyes fetched a decent price, but not enough to justify this level of mobilization. Why would these three great powers target his people?
"Why?" Kurapika looked at Ron. "Ron, I can't understand it."
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