The Phantom Troupe's Call for a Change of Plans

*Pirated copies differ greatly from the original. The author is only responsible for the official version. Bonus chapters update every other day, but not reliably. The Hisoka story next door is now underway: "I Got Scammed by an Enhancement-Type Nen User."

[Check out the author's completed Phantom Troupe story, "Beware the Spider Boss Who Takes Everything and Gives Nothing Back"]

Shalnark unexpectedly discovered traces of his childhood friend, whose life or death had been unknown.

It was a citizen information change request. The name Ruby Sterling was written on it, but the face in the photo looked unfamiliar.

Ever since awakening her Nen ability as a child, this childhood friend of his had been Meteor City's most notorious little menace. She bossed the children around, picking fights or playing pranks every chance she got.

Fortunately, she left Meteor City at a young age and joined the mafia. After that, they never heard from her again.

So who was this person, submitting an application to update her citizen information, who had the same name as his childhood friend but a different face?

-

Question: Your underling has a new boss ten years later. What would you, as his former boss, do?

Offer your heartfelt congratulations? Part on good terms? Or never speak again?

Ruby had never been that magnanimous. What would she do? Get rid of his current boss, obviously. What? The Phantom Troupe thinks it's a big deal? Stealing her underling means they look down on her. Unforgivable. Just wait to die!

And so she discovered that her childhood friends, the ones she used to chase around and beat up, had all grown into powerful Nen users and serious delinquents.

In this organization called the Spiders, her underling was the second-in-command and the brains of the operation.

So what?

"Their name is cringe, their rules are even weirder, and there's no legal proof they exist. In other words, you're just a bunch of unemployed bums! Shalnark, you... Mmph."

Shalnark could only cover his childhood friend's mouth as she went on a rampage, sighing that they had been apart for far too long. It had been so long that he had nearly forgotten Ruby's awful nature.

She had knocked out his teeth, removed vital parts from Phinks's motorcycle, ambushed Uvogin and framed Franklin, cut Machi's hair, sliced a weapon Feitan had picked up in half and pretended to put it back together, stolen the food assigned to Chrollo, and pulled the wires out of a church...

Compared to all that, Ruby's mouth was still the most likely to get them into trouble.

As a child, Shalnark had been helpless to stop her.

But things were different now.

-

Her underling, who used to do everything she said, seemed just as friendly, clever, and even-tempered as before... but Ruby had a feeling that Shalnark was sneaking around and doing bad things behind her back.

Shalnark argued that the Troupe committed arson, murder, and looting out in the open. There was nothing sneaky about it.

No, she meant that Shalnark seemed to be deliberately ruining her plans.

After all, he had a history of doing so.

[Male lead: We agreed to be bad guys together, so how did my childhood friend become a law-abiding citizen behind my back?]

[Those who pirate this story, and the readers of pirated copies, will steal the author's and official readers' good luck too -v0]

[Important] For specific reading guidance, see the author's note in Chapter One.

This is not a feel-good power fantasy. Before reading, please make sure you are over 18 and have a certain level of reading comprehension. The characters are complex. Please understand that people are shaped by their environments, experiences, and social relationships.

Different readers may interpret the story differently. We recommend checking the comments before deciding whether to read. If it doesn't meet your expectations, please stop reading. ^^

Theme: Live for yourself