Hunter x Hunter: Tonight, Germain joins the hunt

Chapter 142 "Speculations about the Phantom Troupe"

Men Qi looked down and saw that it was indeed the photo of the master and disciple who had just left.

In the photo, they are sitting cross-legged on the grass in the early morning, practicing their mind skills, with the faint light and mist surrounding them harmoniously.

"Why are you taking pictures of them?" Men Qi was very curious.

Bisiji raised his eyebrows proudly: "Keep reading."

Men Qi turned to the next photo.

The second one shows German teaching Kurapika step by step how to use the "Mizumi-style" to test his own system.

The third photo shows Kurapika opening his red eyes and testing the "Water Viewing Style" for the second time. Germain is standing by with a look of expectation on his face.

The fourth one shows German buying a chain from a nearby town and giving it to Kurapika, who takes it with both hands.

The fifth, the sixth...

Most of them were photos of Germain and Kurapika. Other people in the mansion would occasionally appear in the background of the photos, but they only took up a very small part.

Judging from the situation, many of these photos were most likely taken secretly by Bisiji.

Yun Gu, who knew his teacher's habits well, knew what was going on after hearing Xiaodi's voice and taking a glance at the photos.

So Yun Gu covered Zhixi's ears with his hands and took the still innocent him away from the scene.

"Old...teacher?"

"Zhixi, let's go quickly. We still need to continue practicing."

Buhala also ran away with nimble steps, thump thump.

Men Qi was still very surprised: "I still don't understand the meaning of you taking these photos."

"Tsk tsk tsk." Biscuit made a disdainful sound and shook his finger.

"So I say that you young people still don't understand anything... In a few years, when you are thirty or older, you will understand the value of these photos of mine."

Xiaodi and Menqi looked at each other in confusion and shook their heads.

Biscuit would occasionally say something that they couldn't understand, but if they didn't understand, then so be it, there was no need to delve into it further.
-
At the same time on Meteor Street.

Outsiders think of this place as smelly and messy, but locals have a different view.

The stinking garbage is their treasure. The people of Meteor Street wearing heavy protective clothing can often dig out a lot of practical and novel tools from it.

Of course, it is common to occasionally pick up abandoned babies, corpses stuffed in suitcases, and discarded guns and ammunition.

They accepted all of them, sorted them out and sent them to the living area of ​​Meteor Street for the elders to review.

As for the chaos, it is nonsense.

The elders' palace, church, living area and garbage area of ​​Meteor Street are all in good order. People from Meteor Street who have lived here for half their lives can walk from one end to the other with their eyes closed.

The Phantom Troupe, who had made indelible contributions to maintaining this order, now gathered on the desolate plain outside Meteor City.

The crowd split into two groups with cold expressions, two meters apart from each other, but there was no fierce quarrel, just an unspeakable estrangement.

"It's been almost two months," Nobunaga, who had long tresses on his hair, pointed out. "It's pointless to wait any longer. It's as if Germain and Hisoka have completely disappeared from the face of the earth. I don't approve of being so passive."

The long-haired, muscular Wo Jin echoed loudly, "If the two of them continue to hide like this, will we also continue to hide in Meteor Street?"

The rest of the people stood behind Kuroro with clear attitudes.

"They won't disappear forever." Kuroro said calmly, "I admit that I misjudged them at first, but now, their true colors have been fully revealed."

"For them, our coming together is the most difficult situation to resolve. We actually have the upper hand."

"The elders of Meteor Street also support us. They will cooperate with the 'Ten Old Men'. And since Germain is our common enemy, they are happy to help us gather intelligence."

"Whether it's Germain, Xiaodi, or Hisoka, as long as they show up under the gang's noses, there will always be clues passed to us, and then we can move out together."

Ugin was not good at arguing, so he looked at Nobunaga and handed the task of debate to his "partner".

Nobunaga lived up to Wo Jin's expectations: "Captain, you overlooked three points."

Kuroro waited quietly for Nobunaga to continue, without any change in expression, as if he already knew what Nobunaga was going to say.

"First." Nobunaga held up a finger. "Hisoka enjoys the thrill of hunting. The more we cower and show our cowardice, the more excited he becomes."

"He's like a cat torturing a mouse. It's probably not that easy to make him anxious."

"I don't know much about Germain, but his behavior is completely inconsistent. It's obvious that he used some kind of telepathic ability to circumvent Paknotta's "memory exploration."

"He joined the Phantom Troupe and killed Finks, Franklin, and Feitan one after another. It must not be for the so-called 'competition for the position of leader'. He must have some purpose."

"Perhaps, he was sent by a hostile force... Therefore, as long as we don't reveal any flaws, he won't show up." "In summary, Hisoka and German can wait. I wouldn't be surprised if they show up after a year or two."

Kuroro continued to listen calmly.

"Second." Nobunaga stretched out his second finger, "The way Hisoka killed Kubiki and peeled off Lev was still the way he was best at, 'dancing on the tip of a knife.'"

"German is obviously different. If he won the one-on-one match with Finks, it's barely acceptable, but I can't understand why he won against the combination of Feitan and Franklin."

"We have all seen the scenes of the two battles. Finks left many obvious damages in Stonehenge, but after Germain killed Finks, he was almost unscathed."

"At the World Tree, Feitan must have used "Sunburn", so that Franklin's body was completely gone, only his debris remained, but what about this?"

"Feitan died, but Germain escaped. Some time ago, he even used this 'merit' to become a 'one-star hunter', and the news was announced on the professional hunter website."

This information was discovered by a knight who had been searching for news about Hisoka and Germain on the Internet. The knight has a hunter's license, so it is quite convenient for him to enter and exit the professional hunter website.

Nobunaga held the hilt of the samurai sword at his waist and said, "Think about it, among Finks, Franklin, and Feitan, which one is a wimp?"

"But not only did they all die, but not one of them was able to die with German. This result was either due to a huge gap in strength or he had information about our Nen abilities."

"I tend to lean towards the latter. So the question is, how did our information on telepathy get leaked?"

"Also, not long after we returned to Meteor Street, Xiaodi also completely cut off contact with Meteor Street. What happened?"

"If we stay here without finding out the truth and understanding the source of Germain's information, we will still suffer losses and even fall into the trap like Finks, Franklin, and Feitan."

In fact, everyone present was not a fool. They had all thought of these two points, especially the second one, but they just subconsciously did not think deeply about it.

Because the more you think about it, the more it points to one conclusion, that is, there is a traitor within the Phantom Troupe.

The person with the greatest suspicion is undoubtedly Machi, because Hisoka and Germain are the members of the group she is responsible for contacting, and during the Battle of Stonehenge, Germain let Machi go.

Machi didn't explain, she just stood there with her lips pursed.

Now even Paknotta's "memory exploration" cannot clear her suspicion. After all, Germain successfully avoided it once.

Nobunaga looked at Machi.

"Is it possible that you are being controlled by some kind of telepathic ability, but you yourself are not aware of it? And this telepathic ability can make Paknoda unable to detect it?"

As childhood friends who grew up together, Nobunaga still believed in Machi.

It would make sense if Machi revealed the information unconsciously.

Machi was silent for a while, then finally spoke.

"Germain and I did have a strange encounter. He asked me to come and sew up his wound."

"However, it was in the middle of the night, and I didn't even notice when he went out to fight with others, and when he came back."

"He was seriously injured, and I used the "Thought Suture" on him, and then he passed away. The next time we met was at the Battle of Stonehenge."

"Now that I think about it, this 'commission' was too strange, and he never contacted me again."

"That's it." Nobunaga nodded firmly.

"It seems that the prerequisite for activating this mind ability is to 'see Germain's wound and get his blood on him'."

"After Machi was attacked, Germain or someone else launched a "memory exploration" similar to Paknotta's, and obtained our telepathic information from Machi's mind."

"As for "Restrictions and Oaths", it is probably because Germain's injury is quite serious. Of course, this injury may also be a smokescreen he threw out to confuse Machi."

"The reason they let Machi go was to make us suspicious of her and cause internal divisions."

"As for the information about our return to Meteor Street, it was most likely reported by someone from Meteor Street. Germain is from Meteor Street, so it's quite normal for him to have informants here."

Nobunaga's speculation was quite reasonable, and everyone in the Phantom Troupe nodded repeatedly after hearing it.

Machi frowned, showing an annoyed expression, but quickly concealed it and regained her composure.

Kuroro did not comment on this, and only asked: "Nobunaga, you still have a third point to mention, what is it?"

"Third." Nobunaga glanced at the captain and said slowly, "The power behind German is unknown."

"He and Hisoka acted separately, so they are most likely not accomplices, but just temporary allies."

"It is now known that he has a companion with Nen ability who helped him avoid Paknoda's "Memory Exploration", obtain information from Machi, and meet him at the World Tree."

"If we face him again, I'm afraid we will have to take into account the forces behind him, and we know nothing about it now."

“Even if the Meteor Street elders or the Ten Old Men tell us where he is, who knows if this is a trap set by the organization behind him?”

"Captain, we must take the initiative and investigate thoroughly. We must not completely trust the information given by the elders of Meteor Street and the Ten Old Men. Otherwise, we will die without knowing why."

(End of this chapter)