Phinks said, "Did you hear the elders are recruiting now?"
"They’ve distributed a ton of tokens all over teor City," he continued. "Now, everyone’s fighting to get their hands on them."
Chrollo nodded thoughtfully. "I know. Let them scramble for it first."
At Shalnark’s suggestion, the Phantom Troupe split into three groups, each handling a different task.
"The leader’s expression just now... ?"
Machi stepped out of the ruins, glancing back with a knowing look.
Nobunaga caught her gaze and asked, "Machi, what’s on your mind?"
She paused. "I was just... thinking of soone."
"Who?"
"Sarasa."
Machi’s voice softened. "If only Sarasa was still around..."
(T/N: Sarasa originated from teor City, a junkyard city inhabited by outcasts. One day et up with Pakunoda. Then together et with Chrollo to do the voiceovers to the Power Cleaners videotape he found.)
At the ntion of Sarasa’s na, both Uvogin and Franklin fell into heavy silence.
Many years ago, there was no Phantom Troupe—just a group of kids playing together. They loved drama, acting, dubbing... ordinary things, really, just like any other kids.
teor City back then was a different place from what it is now. There were small villages, even a church. Life had more to it than just surviving. That’s what brought them together. They didn’t form a troupe to fight or commit cris. They did it to perform, to travel.
Of the first mbers, Chrollo might have been the most driven, but it was the youngest, Sarasa, who held everyone together. She was the heart of it all.
Then, not long after the brigade ca together, Sarasa disappeared. When they found her... she was gone. She’d been hung from a tree, stuffed into a bag—likely tortured before her death. The murderer left her there, with a note pinned to her face.
After that, everything changed. The only thing on everyone’s mind was avenging Sarasa. The troupe they’d dread of was gone, replaced by the Phantom Troupe that erged years later, with Chrollo at its helm.
Back then, Chrollo had actually wanted Uvogin to lead, but everyone—including Uvogin—chose Chrollo.
"Those were good tis," Nobunaga muttered, staring up at the sky. "If only we really had a ’Power Cleaners’..."
The "Power Cleaners" was a show they loved to dub, a favorite among the kids in teor City.
"Even now," Nobunaga’s voice cracked, "no one’s found the bastard who killed Sarasa."
A tear rolled down his cheek, falling onto his chest, dampening his shirt. Covering his face with one hand, Nobunaga’s aura flared with fury.
Beside him, Uvogin clenched his fist and smashed it into a nearby rock.
"Boom!" The stone shattered into powder.
"That bastard... I’ll find him. I’ll kill him!"
anwhile, Phinks and Feitan walked in silence.
"If only we hadn’t let Sarasa go alone," Phinks muttered.
"Even if we’d gone with her," Feitan said, shaking his head, "the outco wouldn’t have changed. We were weak back then. That’s why we’re trying to get stronger, right?"
Shalnark looked from Chrollo to the ruins outside. After a mont, he sat down near Chrollo, reminiscing. This place used to be their stage. They’d hang a big curtain, play the video, and villagers would gather below, watching them. Back then, teor City wasn’t nearly as chaotic as it is now.
In those days, people sorted through garbage for food and materials, sending what they found to the factories to be processed. The won took care of the children—not coldly, but warmly, like a family.
When the Kute Gang started showing up, though, everything changed. Kids started disappearing, trafficked or worse. After Sarasa disappeared, Shalnark had hoped she’d just been taken. At least then she’d be alive.
But Sarasa was dead.
"Why do people like that even exist?" Shalnark whispered. "What did teor City do to deserve this? It was like this back then... and it’s still like this now."
He sighed, looking back at Chrollo. "Will the leader’s plan even work?"
Elsewhere, a figure appeared near the Elder district, eyeing Kaizen—or more precisely, the token matrix he held. Kaizen noticed the gaze and nodded, signaling the figure to enter Elder distrcit first.
Inside, the elders had set aside a section for Kaizen.
"Grandfather Zeno, co help with the screening."
Zeno nodded, scanning each applicant with impressive speed. No need for lengthy testing—he could tell just by looking. Most didn’t et his standards and were quickly excluded, sent to compete for a chance to earn a place in the Heavens Arena instead.
Those who passed Zeno’s scrutiny were granted a shot at training at Zoldyck Manor as trainee butlers. But joining Elder district ca with its own risks, and at Zoldyck Manor, the training was rigorous—survival wasn’t guaranteed.
Just then, Kaizen sensed a new token had been found. He connected with the token matrix, and an image ford in his mind: two familiar figures.
"Feitan? Phinks?"
He frowned. "So, Feitan found a token this ti?"
"But just a mont ago, Phinks and Feitan were apart. Could it be that the Phantom Troupe is gathering?"
Kaizen glanced toward Zeno. "With Grandfather here, a single Phantom Troupe mber isn’t much of a threat. But if the whole Troupe assembles... then things could get tricky."
But he relaxed, knowing that, for now, no conflict had sparked between the Zoldycks and the Phantom Troupe.
------------
135 Chapters on patreon/FanficsHub
Reviews
All reviews (0)