This was what it meant to stop at nothing.
Everyone else, Machi included, nodded slightly.
Clearly, Chrollo's philosophy truly suited Meteor City.
"What are the specific rules and characteristics of the group?"
As he listened to the team he knew so well gradually taking shape, Morin instead became calmer.
He was not particularly excited. Even now, he was both a witness and a participant.
"I plan to find another five people, in addition to the eight of us."
Chrollo had clearly thought this through beforehand:
"Since we'll be dealing with complicated networks of relationships, we need an expert who understands 'nets.'"
He smiled. "In nature, no animal is better at weaving webs than a spider."
"A spider has twelve legs and one head, so I plan to gather thirteen people for our group."
The idea of forming a group had likely lingered in Chrollo's mind for a very long time.
"Everyone is part of the spider, and a spider must have all of its legs."
He looked at Morin and said calmly:
"And I want to become the spider's brain."
The atmosphere seemed to fall quiet.
When it came to the position of a group's leader, disagreements could easily arise.
"The limbs need to obey the brain's commands, is that it?"
Morin, who had long been mentally prepared, responded calmly.
"In principle,"
U!
"the limbs must faithfully obey the brain's commands?"
Chrollo shook his head. "But that only applies to carrying out missions. It has nothing to do with life or death."
"For example, if I die, someone else only needs to take my place."
"Then can I understand it this way?"
Morin met his gaze and said softly, "The survival of the group is more important than the leader's life."
"If the leader dies, someone else will inherit the position of leader?"
"Yes."
Chrollo nodded without hesitation.
That was indeed how he had envisioned it. It was simply his nature: extremely calm, and incomparably devoted to his group.
He regarded the group's existence as more important than anything else.
"I have no objections."
Morin had never wanted to be the leader anyway. He had no desire to become the head of a bunch of criminals, nor did he have any interest in it.
What was more, this group was Chrollo's labor of love over such a long period.
Only a Phantom Troupe led by Chrollo was the true Phantom Troupe.
If someone else took his place, it simply would not feel the same.
Uvogin and Nobunaga both breathed sighs of relief.
Chrollo was an old acquaintance of theirs, and his abilities were indeed strong enough to earn both of their approval.
They had no problem with him serving as leader.
Likewise, there was even less to say about Morin.
Though they had known him for only a few days, his temperament suited their tastes very well.
He had also helped them open their Aura Nodes, taught them about Nen abilities, and led them into the world of Nen users.
Later, he had personally gone to the elders' house and rescued the two of them.
He had even taken them there to wreak havoc, avenge themselves, and kill their enemies.
With such satisfying vengeance and the debt of saving their lives, they truly could not have had a better impression of Morin.
If Morin and Chrollo had clashed over the position of leader, it would have been a situation neither Uvogin nor Nobunaga wanted to see.
But if the two of them really did come into conflict...
They would probably be more inclined to stand with Morin.
That was what the two of them calculated inwardly.
Machi also glanced at Morin from the corner of her eye, her gaze shifting as no one knew what she was thinking.
Morin had no interest in the Phantom Troupe leader's position, but Chrollo glanced at him and suddenly broke into a smile.
"If you don't mind, Morin, I think you could also become this group's Vice-Leader."
Vice-Leader?
Hearing that term, Morin was instead slightly taken aback.
The Phantom Troupe's Vice-Leader?
That was something he had not expected.
There had been no such position as Vice-Leader in the original story.
But now?
"Vice-Leader? That's great!!"
"I might not be convinced by anyone else, but if it's Morin, I support it with both hands!" Morin glanced at Uvogin and Nobunaga, who were nodding repeatedly.
"I have no objections."
Machi brushed the ends of her pinkish-purple hair and suddenly spoke.
The brain could be divided into a left brain and a right brain, too.
Pakunoda and Franklin also nodded slightly.
Morin had already proven his abilities. Moreover, from his conversations with Chrollo, Uvogin, and the others, they had discovered that Morin possessed powers they did not know about.
In terms of strength, he was certainly stronger than them as well.
They had no reason to object.
As for Feitan—
"Whatever."
His gaze drifted elsewhere, somewhat evasive.
Well, before Morin and the others arrived, he had still been questioning Morin's abilities.
But when Uvogin and Nobunaga stood before him completely unharmed, praised Morin highly, and seemed to have torn down the elders' house...
That doubt had already vanished, replaced by even a faint sense of approval.
Still, he had only just voiced those doubts. Being proven wrong so quickly made Feitan feel a little embarrassed.
After all, he was only a thirteen-year-old, chuunibyou, tsundere teenager.
"What do you think, Morin?"
Chrollo looked around and smiled.
"Everyone approves of you."
Morin fell silent for a moment.
He saw expectation in Uvogin and Nobunaga's eyes, the rippling gaze in Machi's eyes, the curiosity and approval in Franklin and Pakunoda's eyes, and Feitan's discomfort.
"Sure."
He suddenly laughed heartily and accepted the position.
"The Phantom Troupe's Vice-Leader?"
Morin curled his lips slightly. "Looks like I'm completely tied to this pirate ship now."
The Phantom Troupe—an A-Class criminal group that would become infamous throughout the world.
Becoming one of them meant that he would inevitably be wanted by the world and become a criminal.
But?
So what if he became a criminal?
The world of Hunter x Hunter was not so simply divided into black and white.
What did justice matter? What did evil matter?
What did it matter if he became a hero? What did it matter if he became a criminal?
The Zoldyck Family, the world's most formidable family of assassins, openly published their home address.
Those unmistakable underworld figures stood there in plain sight.
Did anyone go and wipe them out?
No~
Did V5 not know of their existence?
Of course they did, yet they simply turned a blind eye.
And it was not just V5. Ordinary people did not have any particular negative opinion of the Zoldyck Family either.
Instead, their Gate of the Underworld had become a famous and striking attraction in the Batoriah Republic.
The reason ultimately came down to one thing:
Strength.
The Zoldyck Family possessed power that even V5 feared, which was why they had stood securely atop Mount Pika until today.
It was precisely because of their strength that the Zoldyck Family could make their name known around the world, while V5 and the Hunter Association ignored them.
The public did not even demand that V5 or righteous figures deal with the Zoldycks. Instead, they happily traveled to the family's doorstep as tourists.
This was a world that appeared to be bound by morality and law on the surface, but was actually one where strength reigned supreme, steeped in shades of gray and darkness.
Strictly speaking, the Phantom Troupe and the Zoldyck Family were alike in certain ways.
One killed for what they wanted, while the other killed for money.
Put plainly, both acted for their own desires, and neither were good people.
They understood that themselves, so even if they died because of it, they would have no complaints. They had even long prepared themselves to die at any time.
From the moment Morin learned that he had come to the world of Hunter x Hunter, he had already steeled himself.
In Morin's eyes, whether it was justice or criminality, there was only one thing he wanted.
To live as he pleased in this world, freely and joyfully.
As for whether it was black or white, did that really matter?
Then what was wrong with becoming the Phantom Troupe's Vice-Leader?
"However, Leader..."
Morin smiled leisurely.
Before you continue