The assassination attempts kept coming one after another, as annoying as a swarm of mosquitoes.
It wasn't just the mafia; obscure assassins and Hunters were taking shots too. As for regular civilians... there were basically none.
That was because the website hosting the bounty information wasn't public. It was buried deep in the dark web. Unless you were a professional involved in the assassination business, you wouldn't have any way to access that kind of intel.
For the first few days, Yuu dealt with wave after wave of hitmen from unknown syndicates until he was thoroughly annoyed. Eventually, he contacted Light Nostrade.
After a brief conversation, the Nostrade Family started pulling strings with other mafia factions.
Ever since the leader of the rival gang—who had hired the Zoldycks—was assassinated, the Nostrade Family's rise in Yorknew had been smooth sailing. They had even cozied up to one of the Ten Dons.
So right now, the Nostrade Family's status in the underworld was skyrocketing. In the eyes of outsiders, it was only a matter of time before they became one of the Ten Dons themselves.
Relying on this connection, the number of assassins from the mafia dropped significantly within a few days. A large portion of the gangs even chose to support Yuu and help investigate the person behind the bounty.
After all, even without the Nostrade Family taking the lead, Yuu had accumulated quite a network and popularity within the underworld. He had plenty of fans, so handling the issue was a breeze.
Once the mafia side was settled, only the freelance Hunters and assassins remained. The numbers dropped sharply, making it easy for Yuu to handle.
However, this made Yuu feel an increasing need to cultivate a team of professionals to help him deal with these trivial matters.
After all, even if he possessed teleportation and could potentially zip from the west side of the continent to the east in an instant in the future, he couldn't handle every little thing by himself.
Yuu set two rough requirements for his team:
First was mindset; second was potential.
Scouting for talent would become a major objective of Yuu's journey, aside from just sightseeing.
...
One month later.
During his travels, Yuu heard rumors about a survivor of the Kurta Clan and arrived in a city called Bordock.
It was hot all year round here, but the region produced a wide variety of exotic fruits. Its fruit wines and juices were world-famous, attracting hordes of tourists and merchants from all over the globe.
The crowds were even denser than he had imagined.
It was noon.
Yuu, wearing a fitted casual outfit and sunglasses, followed the intel he had gathered and walked into a secluded bar in a corner of the city.
Here, he found Toji, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
It had been over a year, but the guy hadn't changed much.
At this moment, Toji was drinking fruit wine and watching a televised ball game with great enthusiasm.
Whenever the players in white jerseys on the screen scored a goal, the corners of Toji's mouth would involuntarily grin, and he would occasionally shout cheers that no one else understood.
But when the team lost points, he would click his tongue in disappointment:
"Tch, they suck."
Listening to the chatter of the patrons, it seemed Toji had bet quite a bit of money.
"Looks like you're living the easy life..."
Yuu walked up to Toji's side, grabbed an empty seat, and sat down. He then asked:
"Do you plan on never going back?"
Hearing Yuu's question, Toji looked lazy. "As long as I can kill time... it doesn't matter where I am."
"I'm alone anyway."
After speaking, Toji picked up his glass, took a sip of wine, and continued after a while:
"Here, I can't feel a speck of Cursed Energy around. No Cursed Spirits, and aside from you... I don't have to see that annoying bunch of sorcerers from the Zenin Clan. It seems all the eyesores are gone."
"I'll probably only think about going back when the money runs out, or if I get bored one day."
"Is that so..."
Yuu responded in a low voice, his tone cold.
He knew that the current Toji was actually just a puppet with copied memories and partial strength, not the original soul truly reincarnated.
So in a sense, he was an entity independent of the original body.
If he died, he died.
Everything he experienced here, as well as his memories, would dissipate with him.
Toji probably figured this out long ago with his brain... but the choice was up to him.
After all, living forever as a puppet... given Toji's personality...
He probably wouldn't want that.
"What are your plans for later?"
Yuu looked up at the TV above and said flatly, "You can't make a living relying on that stuff. You'll lose it all sooner or later..."
"If you don't find some real work, the money you have will run out fast."
Toji said, "Heh, that doesn't matter..."
"For me, as long as the pay is good, I'll do anything. I definitely won't starve. Of course, I usually prioritize jobs that pay well and don't require much effort."
"Like... assassination?" Yuu asked casually.
"Hmph, pretty much."
Toji responded with a smile, then turned his head to look at Yuu beside him and asked:
"You coming to find me on your own initiative... I assume you didn't come just to chat. If you want a hit carried out, just give me the money and the target info."
"I just heard there was an assassin here with no presence but decent skills, so I came to try my luck... didn't expect it to be you."
Yuu recalled the purpose of this trip. It wasn't for Toji, but because he heard news of a Kurta Clan survivor appearing.
He stood up, waved his hand, and prepared to leave.
"Hope I get the chance to see you again."
"Hehe... I actually hope I don't see you again. The scent on you always reminds me of unpleasant things," Toji teased.
After Yuu left, Toji turned his attention back to the game.
Having finally sent the guy away, his phone rang. Intelligence came from the other end of the line.
"We just found the target, but the kid is pretty agile. He slipped away when we weren't paying attention."
"Characteristics?" Toji asked.
"Blond hair, just over fourteen. His eyes turn red when he gets emotional... According to the intel, he's confirmed to be the survivor of the Kurta Clan."
"Anything else?"
"Don't damage the head, especially the eyes."
"Got it."
Toji hung up the phone, downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, and stood up to walk out of the bar. Before he even stepped out, a wave of heat hit him in the face.
Feeling the sweltering weather outside, Toji couldn't help but complain internally. He raised a hand to shield his eyes and walked into the shadows.
Although the fruit wine did taste pretty good.
If it weren't for a rare big ticket job... he would never have come to a place with such a hot climate.
After all, there was no AC.
But thinking that after finishing this job, he could slack off for another few months, Toji felt full of motivation.
Recalling the encounter with Yuu just now, Toji could clearly sense the improvement in the other party's strength. Although he wasn't sure what level Yuu had reached, he knew that without the aid of special Cursed Tools, he had no chance of threatening him.
"Hope that guy doesn't come to crash the party."
Toji said, though the look on his face remained effortless.