Among the five who infiltrated the Ohara Museum in advance, only Shalnark had the ability to communicate. The short message he sent was naturally a call for reinforcements.
Therefore, the call for reinforcements couldn't have been meant for them. It was directed at the theft team, namely Machi and the others
Therefore, the message for help could not have been sent to them, but to the theft team, that is, Machi and others.
If the goal was simply to loot the museum's collections, more people would indeed be necessary to carry away as many artifacts as possible.
The disturbances at both the main entrance and the banquet hall had drawn almost all of Ohara Museum's defensive forces away.
Machi's group of five reached the museum without any resistance, having killed at least a hundred guards and forty or fifty hounds along the way.
As members of the Troupe, they were well aware of Chrollo's fondness for ancient books, so they prioritized collecting those. Unfortunately, they didn't have much time to spare.
Using brute force to break open the museum's doors, the piercing alarm sounded, but none of them cared.
"Shidore, that noise is too loud."
Bonolenov, his body wrapped in bandages, suddenly spoke.
"Understood."
A voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz responded.
Shidore looked up in the direction of the alarm, his severely forked black hair swaying with the movement. He raised his hand, fingers flexing, and a blurry shadow materialized in the air.
Buzz…
An almost imperceptible hum spread through the air. Without any visible action, the alarm devices abruptly exploded, silencing the shrill noise.
After destroying the equipment, Shidore slowly lowered his hand, and the shadow vanished.
"Take anything valuable."
Machi said, pulling a strand of Nen Thread between her hands. When it came to bundling large quantities of items, she was quite skilled… a talent honed in Meteor City.
"I don't know which ones are valuable." Kortopi murmured.
Machi glanced at him and said seriously, "Follow your instincts. If it feels valuable, take it."
"I see." Kortopi replied, as if enlightened.
"Hurry up. We can't afford to drag this out." Machi urged.
The group immediately sprang into action, looting the museum's collections. Their movements, of course, were observed from the control room.
The man in military uniform promptly reported this to Clover, who flew into a rage and ordered him to dispatch a team to protect the artifacts.
Inside the museum, Machi was carefully selecting antiques, aiming to pick out the most expensive ones to give to Law.
Beep beep.
Her phone emitted a short, sharp ringtone.
Machi froze, then pulled the phone from her pocket and checked the screen. It was a message from Shalnark. After reading it, her expression darkened.
"Kirlo, go to the Boss's location. Pakunoda's been taken hostage." Machi said, putting away her phone and looking at Kirlo, whose burned scalp was still visible.
Shalnark had only outlined the situation without mentioning names or other details, so Machi didn't know that the person holding Pakunoda hostage was actually Law.
"Got it."
Kirlo responded indifferently, casually tossing aside the item in his hand. He glanced at Bonolenov and said flatly, "Give me the sword. I'll deliver it to Nobunaga on the way."
Bonolenov wordlessly took the long sword from his back and threw it to Kirlo. Then, turning to Machi, he asked, "Just sending one person?"
"Yeah. Our mission is to loot," Machi affirmed before adding to Kirlo, "Priority is rescuing Pakunoda."
"Okay."
Kirlo gave a brief reply, took Nobunaga's sword, and hurried toward Chrollo's location.
…
On the scene.
Law hadn't noticed Shalnark's subtle actions. With Pakunoda as his hostage, he faced off against Chrollo.
"Will the other Troupe members stand down, or will this continue?"
He eyed the three boxes in Chrollo's hands. These items didn't belong to him, and if Chrollo chose to retreat now, Law wouldn't pursue them.
Boom!
Explosions echoed intermittently in the distance, accompanied by brief flashes of light.
Amid the noise, Chrollo handed the suitcases to Shalnark for safekeeping and said calmly to Law, "I don't have a phone."
The implication was that he couldn't remotely notify the other members. If he wanted to relay orders, he'd have to do it in person.
Chrollo truly didn't own a phone, but Shalnark did. However, Chrollo had no intention of revealing that.
Law's phone had also been confiscated, otherwise, he would have contacted Machi much earlier. Hearing Chrollo's words, he didn't question them.
As for Shalnark's phone, he assumed it was a conjured tool for manipulating targets, not a regular communication device.
Still, something felt off. He subtly glanced at Nobunaga, noticing slight reactions on the man's face.
'Is Chrollo lying?'
'No, the statement 'I don't have a phone' was the truth.'
Chrollo calmly watched the silent Law. His goal was to stall for time… to give Machi and the others more opportunity to loot and to wait for reinforcements to arrive.
Shalnark's decision to notify Machi had been made privately, without informing Chrollo, and Law hadn't noticed it either.
But Chrollo was confident that, given the current situation, Shalnark would independently send a call for reinforcements via his phone.
Chrollo was certain of this judgment, so he intended to maintain this stalemate until backup arrived to break it.
He was right, at least about this.
"Let me rephrase that." Law suddenly said.
A faint glimmer flickered deep in Chrollo's eyes.
"Order the others to stand down." Law stated coolly.
"Fine."
This time, Chrollo agreed readily. He turned his head slightly and said, "Shalnark, go to the main entrance and call them back."
"Got it." Shalnark picked up the boxes and headed toward the main entrance… where Franklin was still fighting the guards.
Once Shalnark left, the only people remaining in the area were Law, Salin, Chrollo, Pakunoda, Nobunaga… and the corpses littering the ground.
Nobunaga glanced between Chrollo and Law, his brow furrowed as if tied in a knot.
One minute passed. Then two.
Since Shalnark's departure, the two sides had been locked in a silent standoff.
Then, abruptly, Chrollo made a natural, fluid motion—raising his hand as Aura surged around him. A crimson book materialized in his grip, held as casually as if he were simply reading.
Yet, the instant fluctuation of Aura carried an unmistakable deliberateness, drawing Law and Sharon's attention.
The air seemed to freeze.
In that moment, a sixth person appeared, seizing the brief opening Chrollo had created.
It was Kirlo, who had arrived as backup. Since his priority was rescuing Pakunoda, he targeted Salin, intending to force a hostage exchange.
"Chrollo-!"
Law's expression darkened. Seeing the figure lunging at Sharon, he decisively released Pakunoda and activated [Instant], moving faster than the attacker to intercept him in front of Salin.
Kirlo had no choice but to engage Law directly.
Bang bang bang!
Their fists clashed in a rapid exchange of over a dozen blows.
Mid-fight, Law instantly discerned the nature of his opponent's Aura. Adjusting his rhythm, he slipped a punch past Kirlo's guard and struck him squarely in the chest.
Kirlo coughed up blood, sent flying dozens of meters before crashing to the ground, temporarily incapacitated. His mind reeled, wondering how had Law's fist remained completely unharmed?
Law had successfully protected Sharon and repelled Kirlo's ambush… but in doing so, he had let Pakunoda go.
"Law."
Salin's eyes flickered. She couldn't help feeling… underestimated.
Meanwhile, Nobunaga, following Chrollo's silent cue, scooped up Pakunoda. His expression was conflicted, and he seemed equally surprised by Kirlo's swift defeat.
Chrollo's reaction is similar Nobunaga's. Kirlo's close-combat skills were formidable, especially when paired with his Nen Ability.
Yet after just a few exchanges, Law had sent him flying with a single punch.
This only confirmed how troublesome Law's physical prowess truly was.
Chrollo still held his book. He had materialized it suddenly to divert Law and Sharon's attention, and though the ploy had worked, he didn't dismiss it.
Kirlo had taken a solid hit and was likely badly injured.
Counting this, two Troupe members had now been wounded by Law.
The question was… should this debt be repaid?