"Guys like these, who think they're so strong that they can't wait to cause trouble for us..."
The one with a flippant voice chuckled slightly: "I've met plenty of them."
"But in the end, the ones drinking and singing here will always be us."
As he spoke, the owner of the voice picked up a bottle of liquor and started gulping it down.
The other party, with a deep voice in the corner of the room, remained silent.
He shared the same opinion as the one with the flippant voice.
Violette and Iron Jaw both escaped unscathed, with only Iron Jaw sustaining a minor injury.
However, considering what he mentioned, the foe was strength-oriented, which suggested a power-focused Enhancer who loved attacking and smashing, basically a musclebound brute.
That kind of opponent was actually the easiest to deal with.
Not taking them seriously was entirely reasonable.
As mentioned at the beginning, there were plenty of people in this world who coveted their lives; so, where did this Phantom Troupe rank among them?
"By the way, where's the boss? Hasn't he come back yet?"
Violette looked around before asking as usual.
"The boss went to meditate and practice again..."
The one with a flippant voice hiccuped. "You all know his schedule. He just left a little while ago; he won't be back for a while."
Iron Jaw and Violette nodded in unison.
"But even though we don't take those guys seriously, after the chaos at the casino, it's hard to go there again..."
The one with a flippant voice was thinking of a rather thorny problem.
"Doesn't this contradict our plan?!"
"But it's hard to find another place like the Ambrosio Casino that's good for stealing emotions."
"Ordinary small casinos just don't have this effect at all."
"That's right."
A muffled voice from the corner of the room chimed in: "And casinos in other big cities have already blacklisted us."
"As soon as we show our faces, those casinos, to ensure the experience of other gamblers, will ask us to leave."
"It's only because one of the Ten Mafia Dons has a good relationship with our boss, a life-or-death bond."
"Only then can we get into his casino, but right now..."
The commotion tonight was quite loud; even they, in their dimly lit, dilapidated little bar, could hear it.
Not to mention others, especially those who were there firsthand. And crucially, those people were all of considerable status and rank.
"I think even if that Don has a good relationship with our boss, he would never let us go to his casino again."
The one with a flippant voice sighed: "We disturbed his money-making and caused him trouble, which is understandable..."
"But where else can we find such a perfect place to steal emotions?"
Given their title, the Kute Gang of Thieves undoubtedly prioritizes stealing.
However, compared to the simplest material things, they are more inclined towards the spiritual realm.
"Casinos are where emotional fluctuations are most likely to occur..."
"Greed, pride, frenzy, madness, paranoia, the thin line between heaven and hell..."
Violette sighed softly. "Nothing is easier to collect than the emotional energy that erupts inside a casino."
"Moreover, their emotional fluctuations are significant, and these leaps in emotional outbursts are of exceptionally high quality."
Iron Jaw nodded, his voice tinged with regret.
"We need to collect enough energy to make the Boss's Stone of Seven Emotions and Six Desires even more powerful..."
The group chatted idly.
Just then, suddenly...
"Someone's coming this way..."
A deep voice suddenly spoke from the corner of the room. "Quite a few people, and they're all powerful."
"Huh?!!"
The atmosphere in the room instantly changed upon hearing this.
"Their purpose is clear; if nothing unexpected happens, they're coming for us."
The one with the deep voice continued.
No one in the room doubted his judgment.
The man was the team's specialist in sound detection, the Mute, codenamed the Specimen of Silence.
This man, through his unique physical structure and the Nen ability he developed related to sound, provided the group with an abundance of incredibly accurate intelligence and early warnings.
It could be said that without him, the Kute Gang of Thieves would have faced numerous crises and desperate situations.
Many traps that targeted them would have succeeded if not for him; honestly, the Kute Gang of Thieves might not even exist anymore.
"One of the guys is carrying a katana and wearing wooden clogs..."
After using his Nen ability, Mute said deeply, "He should be one of the two guys who came to cause trouble for you in the casino earlier."
"One of the members of the Phantom Troupe?! How did they find us here?"
Iron Jaw was quite puzzled. "Could it be that they also have Nen abilities for tracking?"
"Whatever their methods, since they dared to come looking for trouble..."
The one with a flippant voice followed with a cold laugh.
"Then they should be prepared to die here."
As he spoke, mirror-like objects began to appear around him.
Then, these mirrors seemed to merge with the ground before rapidly spreading outwards.
In an instant, the entire tavern grounds appeared to have transformed into a mirrored arena.
This was the Nen ability, Mirror Parasitism, used by Kakradi, codename, Reverse Mirror.
Using his Nen ability, he fused the environment with mirrors, creating his own personal mirror domain.
Offense and defense in one, able to move freely within the mirror domain.
This ability allowed Kakradi to bypass countless defenses and steal anything he wanted.
"They're coming."
After the mirror domain was completed, Mute spoke again: "There are seven of them."
"Same as us, seven members?"
Kakradi smirked. "Guess they hate us that much."
"They even matched our number. Did we slaughter their entire family or what?!"
Mute remained silent, finding it strange.
Because in his perception of sound, he didn't detect the tall, muscular man whom Violette and Iron Jaw had mentioned.
Mute didn't doubt his abilities; his sound perception had been tested in countless life-or-death situations.
It was practically infallible.
People could deceive them, but sound couldn't.
Unless...
"Either the other side has a detection-avoidance Nen ability that can even
block sound, but that's almost impossible..."
Having faced so many crises in the past, even with the most targeted measures against him, he'd only failed once.