Uvogin's Bad Luck

Inside the solemn, magnificent church, Chrollo spoke with a grave expression.

"Uvogin was captured by the Third Elder's men!"

Everyone, Ian included, was slightly taken aback when they heard this.

"Uvogin... was captured?"

Ian glanced around. Uvogin was indeed absent. His gaze settled on Nobunaga, whose expression was just as grave, and he spoke a little more seriously.

"Nobunaga, where's Uvogin?"

Machi was also somewhat worried. She looked intently at Nobunaga and spoke.

"You heard the news Chrollo brought back too, didn't you? Don't hide anything now. You should know what Uvogin went to do."

Hearing Machi's words, Nobunaga looked embarrassed. Then he gritted his teeth and said,

"That guy probably went looking for revenge on Angsa and got caught..."

At his words, the image of a fat man flashed through Ian's mind.

He still remembered how domineering and arrogant the man had been, ordering everyone around.

The supplies Uvogin, Machi and the others had worked so hard to gather and bring to the inner district had barely fetched any rations after the fat man took his cut.

The hatred and anger in Uvogin's eyes had been real.

And even back then, Ian had already predicted what would become of the man.

Having offended Uvogin, the fat man named Angsa was destined for a miserable end.

He just hadn't expected Uvogin to screw up...

Normally, even if that man had some standing in Meteor City, he was still just an ordinary person.

Uvogin had awakened his Nen. There was no way he could have fallen to Angsa's men.

"Angsa, the man in charge of exchanging supplies in the inner district...?"

"Given what he's like, there's a good chance Uvogin did get into a conflict with him."

After hearing Nobunaga, Chrollo spoke thoughtfully.

Clearly, Chrollo and the others also knew something about the man's nasty character.

Ian turned to him and said,

"That's right. A few days before we came here, Uvogin had a run-in with him. But he's just an ordinary person. With Uvogin's current strength, there's no way he could have fallen into his hands."

"What connection does he have to the Third Elder?"

Since Chrollo had brought news that Uvogin had been captured by the Third Elder's men,

something unexpected must have happened along the way.

After hearing Ian, Chrollo thought for a moment before speaking softly.

"In Meteor City, the Third Elder is in charge of the West District of the inner district and has many men under him. Someone in charge of a single supply exchange point shouldn't have the standing to come into contact with him."

Chrollo's words were brief, but his meaning was clear enough.

Simply dealing with a minor figure like Angsa shouldn't have drawn the Third Elder's attention.

After hearing this, everyone grew anxious.

After all, they couldn't contact Uvogin, and they didn't know what he had done to provoke an elder of Meteor City.

"Whatever happened, our first priority now is still to rescue Uvogin as soon as possible..."

"As for everything else, we can talk after we have him back!"

At that moment, Ian shook his head and spoke to everyone.

"Chrollo, I may have to trouble you to show us the way."

Hearing Ian's words, Chrollo replied calmly.

"It's no trouble. I know something about where the Third Elder holds his prisoners. It's a prison in the West District, where prisoners are often held for death matches put on for the big shots. Uvogin is most likely being held there."

"But are you sure we should charge straight in and rescue him?"

"In Meteor City, the elders have a great deal of power... Perhaps I could go to the First Elder and see if I can ask for his help."

Ian naturally understood what Chrollo meant.

Through his interactions with Chrollo and the others, he had also learned a little about Meteor City.

Meteor City was ruled by the Seven Elders, much like the Ten Dons of the outside world's mafia.

If the Ten Dons controlled ninety percent of the underworld's resources in the outside world,

then,

on this abandoned land, the Seven Elders could be said to hold power over the lives and deaths of nearly eight million people in Meteor City.

If they rashly went straight to an elder's door and offended him,

even if they were a group of Nen users, they might not make it out of Meteor City alive.

After all, even the future Phantom Troupe often had to obey the Elder Council's orders and carry out certain tasks.

That was due both to debts of gratitude and to the deterrent of the council's strength.

And right now, all of them together might not even be as strong as one of an elder's guards.

Ian knew very well that they had only just started on the path of Nen...

Even if he himself was exceptionally talented,

the amount of Nen he currently possessed was still far below that of experts who had practiced Nen Abilities for years.

Not to mention the fighting instincts those experts had developed through countless battles to the death, living on the edge of life and death year after year.

That was a gap he couldn't overcome in a short time.

Even so, he wasn't afraid in the slightest.

He smiled at Chrollo, then glanced at Nobunaga and Machi and said with a smile,

"Once we set foot on the path of Nen, we'll probably run into tricky situations like this often. We can't rely on other people's help to get through every difficulty."

"Besides, I can't just sit back and do nothing while Uvogin is held captive."

"He's the guy who keeps saying he's going to be my strongest shield!"

"So..."

At that, the look in Ian's smiling eyes gradually turned serious, and he spoke word by word.

"I'll bring him back myself!"

Hearing Ian's words, Nobunaga and Machi stepped forward without hesitation to stand behind him.

They were Uvogin's two close companions; naturally, there was no way they wouldn't take part in rescuing him.

Chrollo seemed to have expected him to say that. He simply replied calmly,

"In that case, follow me. I'll show you the way."

Just then, behind Chrollo,

Feitan, his body wrapped in bandages, gave a derisive chuckle, seemingly because he had heard what Ian had just said. Then he slowly stepped forward.

"You're kind of annoying, but I liked what you just said."

"Count me in... I don't want that idiot Uvogin dying at someone else's hands so soon."

Franklin and Pakunoda exchanged a glance and stepped forward as well.

"Uvogin and Nobunaga brought us the plan to leave Meteor City. He thought of us, so naturally we can't just stand by and watch something happen to him," Pakunoda said seriously.

"It wouldn't be good to lose any of our companions..." Franklin scratched his head and spoke with a good-natured simplicity.

Chrollo showed little reaction when he saw everyone step forward. Perhaps he had already guessed this would happen.

Ian, meanwhile, felt warmth in his heart.

He was happy that Uvogin had everyone's friendship, but also reflected that everything that had happened seemed to bear the mark of a kind of plot correction.

Under the guidance of fate, perhaps the members of the Phantom Troupe would still come together, even with his involvement.

The group said little more and soon followed Chrollo out of the church.

Meanwhile,

inside a prison in the West District, Uvogin was being held, his face black and blue.

Just as Chrollo had guessed,

Uvogin had been brought to this prison, where death matches were staged for the entertainment of big shots.

But now,

somewhat unexpectedly, inside the cell where Uvogin was being held,

he was being subjected to a storm of fists. He held both arms tightly in front of him as a burly man attacked him furiously.

"This is Tanik. He already has twenty-seven lives on his hands, and he's even killed two Nen users. Uvogin, boy, do you think you can beat him?"

Off to one side of the cell,

an even larger man, built like a bear and with black hair standing straight up, took a swig of strong liquor and shouted at Uvogin in a rough voice.

"You think a guy like this can... beat me!?"

Although he had been struggling to defend himself the whole time, and his arms were already drenched in blood,

Uvogin still raised his head and shot his opponent a sidelong glance through his swollen, black-and-purple eyes, then roared disdainfully.

The Nen around him seemed to swell another size, as though he grew fiercer the longer he fought.

Now, paying no heed to his injuries, he went beyond simply defending. He seized an opening, dodged the oncoming fist, and gathered strength at his waist before driving a heavy, crescent-shaped punch into the face of the burly man attacking him.

In an instant, the face of the man named Tanik twisted, and blood gushed from his nose. He glared at Uvogin and said angrily,

"Damn brat, how dare you... how dare you..."

Just as he was about to attack again,

"Bang!"

A powerful kick swept into his waist from the side. That single kick sent him flying. He crashed heavily to the ground nearby, dust scattering around him, and lay unable to move.

"Useless trash. Since you got hit, crawl back and be a slave like a good boy!"

With that, the bear-like man put one hand in his pocket, opened a bottle of liquor with the other, and lit himself a cigar. His gaze fell on the panting Uvogin, and a trace of admiration flashed in his eyes.

"That punch just now wasn't bad!"

"Boy, have you thought about what I said before? You should know that working for the Third Elder here has a lot more prospects than continuing to pick through garbage."

Uvogin simply looked at him in silence.

Thinking back on what had happened to him, he couldn't help wanting to shout about how damned unlucky he was.

If he hadn't run into the man in front of him, he should have been back with Ian long ago.

Now things were bad. The thought of his secret outing being discovered left him extremely irritated.