Inside the solemn and magnificent church, Chrollo spoke with a rather grave expression.
“Uvogin was taken by the Third Elder’s men!” Hearing this, everyone, including Ian, froze for a moment.
“Uvogin…
was captured?” Ian scanned the room.
Uvogin was indeed missing.
His gaze settled on Nobunaga, who wore an equally grim expression, and he asked seriously.
“Nobunaga, where is Uvogin?” Machi was also worried.
She looked at Nobunaga intently and said, “You heard the news Chrollo brought back.
Don’t hide anything now.
You should know exactly what Uvogin went to do.” Hearing Machi’s words, Nobunaga looked embarrassed.
He gritted his teeth and replied.
“That idiot…
he probably went to get revenge on Ansa and got caught…” At those words, the image of a fat man flashed through Ian’s mind.
He still remembered the man’s bossy, arrogant, and overbearing demeanor.
The supplies Uvogin, Machi, and the others had painstakingly gathered and brought to the Inner City were heavily skimmed by that fat man, leaving them with barely any rations in exchange.
The hatred and anger in Uvogin’s eyes back then were very real.
And Ian had already predicted the man’s fate at that time.
Having offended Uvogin, the fat man named Ansa was doomed to a miserable end.
He just hadn’t expected Uvogin to actually botch the job…
Logically speaking, even if that guy had some status in Meteor City, he was still just an ordinary person.
Uvogin had already awakened his Nen; there was no way he could have been taken down by Ansa’s subordinates.
“Ansa, the person in charge of exchanging supplies in the Inner City…” “Given that guy’s personality, it’s highly likely Uvogin got into a conflict with him,” Chrollo said thoughtfully after hearing Nobunaga’s explanation.
Clearly, Chrollo and the others were also aware of the supervisor’s terrible personality.
Ian turned to him and said, “That’s right.
A few days before we came here, Uvogin had a clash with that guy.
But he’s just an ordinary person.
With Uvogin’s current strength, it’s impossible for him to lose to someone like that.” “Does that guy have some connection to the Third Elder?” Since the news Chrollo brought back was that Uvogin had been captured by the Third Elder’s men, something unexpected must have happened along the way.
Hearing Ian’s words, Chrollo pondered for a moment before speaking softly.
“In Meteor City, the Third Elder is in charge of the West District of the Inner City.
He has many subordinates.
A mere supervisor of a supply exchange point shouldn’t have the qualifications to interact with him.” Chrollo’s words were brief, but the meaning was clear enough.
Simply dealing with a minor character like Ansa shouldn’t have attracted the Third Elder’s attention.
Everyone grew a bit anxious upon hearing this.
After all, they couldn’t contact Uvogin right now, nor did they know what exactly he had done to provoke an elder of Meteor City.
“Regardless, our first priority right now is to rescue Uvogin as soon as possible…” “As for everything else, we can figure it out once we get him back!” At this moment, Ian shook his head and addressed the group.
“Chrollo, I might have to trouble you to lead the way.” Hearing Ian’s request, Chrollo replied in a calm tone.
“It’s no trouble.
I know a bit about the cells where the Third Elder keeps his prisoners.
It’s a prison in the West District.
They often hold inmates there for deathmatch performances to entertain the big shots.
Uvogin is most likely locked up there.” “However, are you sure we should just charge straight in to save him?” “In Meteor City, the elders hold immense power…
Perhaps I could go to the First Elder and try to request his help.” Ian naturally understood what Chrollo meant.
Through his interactions with Chrollo and the others, he had gained some understanding of Meteor City.
Meteor City was ruled by seven elders, much like the Ten Dons of the outside mafia.
If the Ten Dons controlled ninety percent of the underworld resources in the outside world, then, in this forsaken land, the seven elders held the power of life and death over Meteor City’s nearly eight million residents.
Rashly marching up to their door and offending an elder…
Even if they were a group of Nen users, they might not make it out of Meteor City alive.
It was worth noting that even the future Phantom Troupe often had to follow the Council of Elders’ orders to handle certain missions.
This was due to both debts of gratitude and the deterrence of sheer power.
And right now, the combined strength of their group probably wasn’t even a match for a single one of the elders’ guards.
Ian knew very well that they were all just starting out on the path of Nen…
Even with his outstanding talent, his current Aura capacity was still a far cry from that of experts who had honed their Nen for years.
Not to mention the combat instincts those experts had cultivated through countless deathmatches, constantly walking the line between life and death.
That was a gap he couldn’t bridge in a short amount of time.
However, despite all this, he felt no fear whatsoever.
He simply smiled at Chrollo, then glanced at Nobunaga and Machi, chuckling.
“Once we step onto the path of Nen, we’ll probably encounter tricky situations like this frequently in the future.
We can’t rely on others’ help to overcome every hurdle.” “Besides, I can’t just sit back and do nothing while that idiot Uvogin gets taken away.” “After all, he kept claiming he was going to be my ultimate shield!” “So…” At this point, Ian’s smiling eyes gradually turned serious, and he enunciated every word clearly.
“I will personally bring him back!” Hearing Ian’s declaration, Nobunaga and Machi stepped up to stand firmly behind him without hesitation.
As Uvogin’s close friends, there was no way they wouldn’t participate in rescuing him.
Chrollo seemed to have anticipated this response and simply said calmly, “In that case, follow me.
I’ll lead the way.” Just then, from behind Chrollo.
Seemingly moved by Ian’s words, the bandage-wrapped Feitan scoffed and slowly stepped forward.
“Even though you’re kind of annoying, I actually 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 also stepped forward.
“The plan to leave Meteor City was brought to us by Uvogin and Nobunaga.
Since he thought of us, we naturally can’t just watch him get into trouble,” Pakunoda said earnestly.
“When it comes to companions, it’s not good to be missing anyone…” Franklin rubbed his head and said with a simple, honest tone.
Seeing everyone step up, Chrollo didn’t show much reaction, perhaps having guessed this outcome long ago.
Ian, however, felt a warmth in his heart.
He was both happy for the friendship Uvogin shared with everyone and struck by the feeling that all of this seemed like some sort of plot correction.
Under the guidance of fate, even with his involvement, perhaps the Troupe members were destined to come together anyway.
Without another word, the group quickly followed Chrollo out of the church.
Meanwhile.
Inside a prison located in the West District, a battered and bruised Uvogin was currently locked up.
Just as Chrollo had guessed.
Uvogin had been brought to this prison where deathmatches were performed for the entertainment of big shots.
However, at this moment.
Surprisingly, inside Uvogin’s cell, he was enduring a storm of punches.
He kept his arms tightly raised in front of him to guard as a burly, muscular man relentlessly attacked him.
“This is Tanik.
He already has twenty-seven lives on his hands.
He’s even killed two Nen users.
Uvogin, kid, do you really think you can beat him?” Off to the side of the cell.
An even more massive man, built like a bear with spiky black hair shooting straight up, took a swig of strong liquor and shouted at Uvogin in a gruff voice.
“You think a guy like this…
can defeat me!?” Despite struggling to defend himself, his arms already dripping with blood, Uvogin still raised his head.
He shot a disdainful glare at the man through his swollen, purple-bruised eyes and roared loudly.
Following that, the Aura around his body seemed to expand even further, as if he grew stronger the more he fought.
Completely ignoring his own injuries, he stopped limiting himself to defense.
Seizing an opening, he dodged a fist, gathered power from his waist, and delivered a heavy, crescent-like punch squarely into the face of his attacker.
Instantly, the burly man named Tanik’s face twisted in pain.
Blood gushed from his nose as he glared fiercely at Uvogin and spat angrily, “You damn brat, how dare you…
how dare you…” But just as he was about to strike again.
Bang!
A heavy, powerful kick swept swiftly into his waist from the side.
With just one kick, he was sent flying, crashing heavily to the side amid a cloud of dust, unable to move.
“Useless trash.
Since you got hit, obediently crawl back and continue being a slave!” As the words fell, the bear-like man stood with one hand in his pocket and the other opening another bottle of liquor.
He casually lit a cigar for himself, his eyes landing on the panting Uvogin with a flash of appreciation.
“That punch just now wasn’t bad!” “Kid, have you thought about what I said earlier?
You should know that working for the Third Elder here has a much brighter future than continuing to pick up trash.” Uvogin just looked at him, remaining silent.
Recalling his recent encounters, he couldn’t help but want to scream about his terrible luck.
If he hadn’t run into the man standing before him, he would have returned to Ian’s side long ago.
This was bad.
The thought of his secret sneak-out being discovered made him incredibly frustrated.