Hunter x Hunter: Tonight, Germain joins the hunt

Chapter 143 "Chains and Oaths"

The faint smile on Kuroro's lips has disappeared for several months. It was a symbol of his mastery of strategy, but it has been missing for a long time since the members of the Phantom Troupe died tragically one after another.

Now, Nobunaga still couldn't see his smile, and he didn't have the real feeling of relief.

"Nobunaga, in your opinion, which organization do you think is most likely the force behind German?"

Nobunaga stroked the stubble on his chin, thought for a moment, and then he got the answer.

"The elders of Meteor Street still need us. It's impossible for them to abandon us now. The ten old men... It's not that I look down on them, but they really don't have the ability to do so."

"The only ones who can do this and have enough reason to do this to us are either the Hunter Association, or the higher-ups like V5 or the national power of the Kakin Empire."

Nobunaga's reasoning made Ugin, Xiake, Machi and Paknotta look at each other in surprise. They all had more or less the same idea in their minds, so they saw trust in each other's eyes.

Kuroro did not express his opinion for a long time. His cold eyes looked into the distance at the end of the wilderness, and his profile looked like the perfect shape of a plaster sculpture from Greek mythology.

Nobunaga did not interrupt Kuroro's thoughts.

But Ugin couldn't hold back any longer. He used his strong body to push Nobunaga aside and stood in front of Kuroro.

"Wo Jin, what are you doing?"

"Nobunaga, please step back and let me talk. Why are you making things so complicated?!"

Kuroro was overshadowed by the tall figure, turned around without any change in expression, and looked up at Wogin.

Wo Jin took out a golden coin from his arms with a sharp look in his eyes and placed it on his broad palm, making it look quite small.

"Captain, the rule of the Phantom Troupe is that if we have a disagreement, we have to use the heads and tails of a coin to make a decision... Or do you intend to give us 'absolute obedience to the captain's orders'?"

Wogin's strong tone, tall stature, and compelling gaze were all very oppressive, but they failed to shake Kuroro in the slightest.

However, Kuroro still made a choice that was more suitable for the future direction of the Phantom Troupe. He sighed and made a concession.

"I choose 'front'."

Wo Jin threw the coin into the sky, and it shone brightly in the scorching sun.

"Then I'll choose 'tails'."

The coin fell down, but Wo Jin did not reach out to catch it. He let it fall to the ground, bouncing and rolling about half a meter before falling down.

Everyone gathered around involuntarily and looked down, only to see the "spider web mark" on the reverse side of the coin, which meant that Wo Jin guessed correctly.

Kuroro slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again, his eyes determined and without hesitation.

"Then start the investigation, from the beginning, to find out the backgrounds of Germain and Hisoka, the forces behind Germain, and their purpose."

"Also, I can take you to meet two new members."
-
7 month 2 day.

On a train rumbling along icy tracks, the windows of one of the carriages were rolled down, and the strong wind that was rushing in was suddenly stopped.

After doing all this, German lay back in the warm bed, resting his head on the white, soft pillow, and flipping through a thick book.

This was borrowed from Sambika. There was very little text on each page, and most of the space was occupied by illustrations, which were often human anatomical diagrams.

German calmly confirmed the positions of bones and joints, internal organs, trachea, bladder, blood vessels, brain, etc., and from time to time stretched out his fingers to feel around his body.

It wasn't as if he had suddenly developed an interest in medicine; he was more like a butcher with a meat saw than a hand surgeon.

Just matching the pictures in the book with the pictures in memory one by one will bring a different kind of fun, which is a great way to kill time.

However, when German was concentrating on building his own human anatomy diagram in his mind, he heard a loud "bang" from the side.

He turned his head to look at the other bed in the carriage room. As his mind was still on the anatomical diagram, the first thing he saw was a moving skeleton, and then he saw Kurapika filled with flesh and blood.

Fortunately, he was not looking at Menqi's recipe, otherwise Kurapika might have briefly become a food in his eyes.

Kurapika was still practicing in a trance just now, and when he had some doubts, he opened his eyes.

He wanted to ask Germain for advice, but he didn't notice the location of the bedside table and almost tripped over it when getting out of bed.

Kurapika steadied himself, enduring the pain of his toes hitting the bedside table, and subconsciously grabbed the cold chain wrapped around his neck.

This is his treasure now.

My teacher said that I would have to stay in contact with this purchased chain until I could fully materialize my own "chain" and be able to keep it going.

Whether eating or sleeping, at any time, he can't let it go, just like his closest lover.

Honestly speaking, Kurapika felt that even lovers couldn't be so inseparable. His affinity for chains had already surpassed his love for his partner.

Kurapika kept this promise and has been practicing it until now. He has never been separated from the chains, and the chains have almost become a part of him.

When he saw the teacher looking at him, he couldn't help but look embarrassed. After putting on his shoes, he walked to the teacher's bed.

"Teacher, I'm sorry to bother you." German put the book in his hand beside him, sat up straight, and the bed made a creaking sound.

"Nothing. Any questions?"

Kurapika grasped the chains on his body, hesitated for a moment, and then stretched out his right hand to Germain, showing his five long and slender fingers.

"Teacher, I understand what you said before, 'The chains on each finger give different abilities', 'Restrictions and oaths', and 'The red eyes amplify the ability of Nen'."

"In fact, I already have some preliminary ideas for the "psychic abilities" of the different chains. Let me tell you, is there anything wrong with my allocation?"

German, wearing a bird-beak mask and lying in the shadow of the bed like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, nodded.

Kurapika was not surprised by this. This was his teacher's strange temper. On the contrary, he felt that a teacher with such a temperament was very reliable.

"Teacher, I plan to use my thumb for "healing", my index finger for "plundering", my middle finger for "binding", my ring finger for "discrimination", and my little finger for "judgment."

"As for 'Restrictions and Oaths', it is like this..."

Germain listened quietly to Kurapika's detailed explanation.

The disciple paused from time to time and sought support from the teacher with his eyes, but the teacher's eyes never changed, so he had to bite the bullet and continue speaking.

After Kurapika handed in his "answer sheet", the time waiting for the teacher to "mark" it became long, and the whole room was filled with a suffocating atmosphere.

He himself felt a little regretful. Why did he bring this up now? Was the "Nen ability, restrictions and oaths" he set up lacking in consideration?

Sure enough, after a while, German began to refute each point one by one.

"The 'chain' you have set up now is designed to fight alone, and does not take into account the possibility of others joining the battle."

"The 'Soul-Chasing Chain' on your ring finger is fine, but the 'chains' on your other four fingers have problems."

"Kurapika, in order to speed up the healing process of your "Healing Thumb Chain", I have set a "Restriction and Oath" that is only effective on yourself and your defense will be halved during the healing period."

"You are completely ignoring the existence of your 'comrades'. Perhaps you think that you can defeat the Phantom Troupe without any worries, but this is a wrong idea."

"Don't forget that the Phantom Troupe and I are equally deadlocked. I will not stop until the Phantom Troupe is completely destroyed as an organization."

"Even the Phantom Troupe, each of them has a strong ability of Nen, but they still gather together. I was able to defeat them all by trying to separate them."

"If you want to separate them and fight the enemy one-on-one, you need 'companions'. This is the concept I want you to correct."

"Your 'binding middle finger chain' uses the 'constraints and oaths' that are only effective for members of the Phantom Troupe. This means that after the Phantom Troupe disappears, you will destroy this chain."

"Hisoka and I both quit the Phantom Troupe. My tattoo was removed, and Hisoka's tattoo was a disguise."

"If the two of us are your enemies, you will have to bear the backlash of "Restriction and Oath" after you pierce the "Binding Middle Finger Chain"."

"For this reason, you added a new "restriction and oath", which is a combination of your judgment and the bound person's sense of identity with the Phantom Troupe."

"This way, you can indeed ensure that the "Binding Middle Finger Chain" takes effect and avoid the backlash of "Restrictions and Oaths". This is feasible, but it also limits your future development."

"By the same token, the premise for activating your "Plundering Index Finger Chain" and "Judgment Pinky Chain" is to gamble with your own life."

"This means that you must kill the opponent the first time you display your ability, otherwise there will be endless troubles."

"With such a strong Nen ability, the enemy will definitely want to obtain your "Restrictions and Oaths" at a very high cost, and use it in turn."

"You also have to consider the amplification factor after the "Fire Red Eyes" is activated. The stronger the amplified Nen ability, the stronger the backlash you will face."

"Except for the 'Soul-Chasing Chain on the Ring Finger', all of the five finger chains are for fighting alone and risking one's life, without any consideration for the future."

"If you want to die at the hands of the Phantom Troupe members so badly, and just want to sacrifice everything for revenge and satisfy your own desire for revenge, regardless of the consequences... then I have nothing to say."

"I only know that the Phantom Troupe is not worth the price of your life. The Red Eyes of your people must be recovered, and the future of the Kuruta tribe's revival depends on your decision."

"Your promise to me has not yet been fulfilled. If you insist on this kind of "constraints and oaths", then get out of here immediately. I will regard these months as a waste of time."

Kurapika was sweating profusely and his lips were trembling. He lowered his head for a long time, not knowing what to say.

German is far more powerful than Izenabi, Kurapika's teacher in the original timeline, and his record of killing three members of the Phantom Troupe is more convincing.

Kurapika was powerless to refute. He was eager for quick success and wanted to have the strength to fight against the members of the Phantom Troupe right now, but that would be a letdown to teacher Germain and his dead tribesmen.

As for "whether the Kurta clan can be revived in the future", Kurapika had already silently abandoned this idea. He probably would never get married and have offspring in his lifetime.

After pondering for a long time, he said in a hoarse voice: "Teacher, I was wrong."

German also didn't have the habit of chasing after people and scolding them.

Seeing that Kurapika still knew how to stop before it was too late, he just said, "Revise "Nen Ability, Restrictions and Vows" again" and continued reading his book.

Kurapika took back the "answer sheet" he had handed in, sat on the bed with a sad face, and thought distressedly.

(End of this chapter)