The Phantom Troupe consists of thirteen members, divided into three roles: the Assault Team, the Intelligence Team, and the Logistics Team.
As the names suggest, the Assault Team's main tasks are offense and necessary sacrifices. Thus, those assigned to the Assault Team are members with high offensive capabilities, such as Uvogin, Nobunaga, Feitan, Phinks and Franklin.
Setting aside Chrollo's defeat, just moments ago, Feitan, Uvogin, Phinks, and Franklin, all members of the Assault Team, took turns attacking Law, only to be repelled one after another.
After leaving Meteor City, the first thing the Phantom Troupe did was seek out targets with advanced Nen Techniques, capture them alive, and then extract information on high-level techniques through torture or by leveraging Pakunoda's Nen Ability.
They then spent years refining their skills in seclusion.
Since truly embarking on their life of crime, the Troupe has been classified as an A-Class criminal group, with each member carrying an exorbitant bounty. Their numerous crimes have also earned them many enemies.
Yet, whether acting as a group or individually, the Phantom Troupe has always remained at large. Countless Blacklist Hunters have tried to take them down, only to never return, becoming mere whetstones for the Troupe's blades.
Their journey hasn't been entirely smooth and they've encountered formidable opponents along the way, but over all these years, they've never faced a Nen User like Law, who exerts such overwhelming pressure on them.
'Completely unscathed… What kind of Nen is that?'
Franklin's expression remained stoic, but his heart was anything but calm. After all, the barrage of Nen Bullets he'd unleashed at full power hadn't even made a ripple.
He knew Law and had seen his abilities before, yet he couldn't accept that his attacks had been so utterly ineffective. Worse still, their leader had lost an arm to him.
After being forced back by Law, Phinks raised his arm to inspect it, now slightly swollen and red, his eyes flickering with unease.
'I'd clearly reinforced my defense with Aura at the last moment, yet I'd still suffered minor injuries. Only an Enhancer could achieve that, but the elongated staff was a conjured object, as was that book.'
'Moreover, this guy had just diverted his Nen to block Franklin's Nen Bullets. How was he managing all of this simultaneously?'
At this moment, Phinks was the closest to Law, but he'd already developed a deep wariness toward him. Instead of rashly pressing the attack, he retreated, moving closer to Chrollo and the others.
'We severely underestimated him.'
Chrollo sighed inwardly.
If he'd had an accurate assessment from the start, he wouldn't have pushed Law to his limits, and things wouldn't have escalated to this troublesome and precarious situation.
If there was anything to be grateful for, it was that Uvogin and Nobunaga were present.
Shalnark frowned, also regretting his actions. If he hadn't left earlier, perhaps their leader wouldn't have lost an arm.
He knew regret was pointless. Surveying the situation, he decisively moved to Nobunaga's side and took over caring for Pakunoda.
Among the present members, his combat ability was the weakest. Taking charge of Pakunoda so Nobunaga could free his hands and assist was the most he could do right now.
Nobunaga handed Pakunoda over to Shalnark and walked toward Uvogin, his expression grim.
After that series of attacks, neither side made any further moves.
"Law, what the hell is going on?"
Uvogin glared at Law, his voice charged with agitation.
'Law?'
Kirlo, who didn't dare to act rashly, was suddenly shocked when he heard the name.
'Years ago, Meteor City had suffered its most devastating loss at the hands of someone named Law. Could this be the same person?'
At that thought, fury surged in his chest, but given his current predicament, he could only suppress it, unable to act on it.
"Where's Machi?" Law countered, though he already knew the answer.
Uvogin didn't overthink it and replied bluntly, "Machi and the others are handling the looting of the museum."
The moment these words left his mouth, Chrollo, Shalnark, Phinks, and Franklin all shot Uvogin an exasperated look.
Hearing this, Law walked over to Salin, picked up Kiro, who had been shaved into a human stick, with his left hand. He then stretched out his right hand, conjuring a book, and glanced at Uvogin and Nobunaga, half-jokingly saying: "Uvogin, Nobunaga, we're enemies now."
The expressions of Uvogin and Nobunaga shifted.
"That's not a very funny joke." Uvogin muttered.
Nobunaga scratched his cheek, deeply troubled, and turned to Chrollo, wanting to know what their leader was thinking.
"It's not a joke. You saw it yourself… this grudge is already set in stone." Law shook the book in his hand, which contained Chrollo's severed right arm.
One of the activation conditions for Bandit's Secret was that the conjured book had to be held in the user's right hand. Now that Chrollo had lost his right arm, his Nen Ability was effectively crippled.
To take a step back, even if he modified the restriction to accommodate left-handed use, Bandit's Secret would never function at its full capacity again.
Uvogin glanced at Chrollo's impassive face, then at Law's calm expression, frowning, "There must be some misunderstanding here."
Law didn't respond, instead turning his gaze to Nobunaga.
Nobunaga had remained neutral throughout the entire conflict, making him perhaps the most impartial person present. Sensing Law's look, he turned to Chrollo and said, "Leader, let's settle this peacefully."
The word 'settle', when applied to the Phantom Troupe, was truly a rare occurrence.
"Boss, I won't accept a peaceful resolution!"
Phinks's browless forehead bulged with veins. Even if Law was strong, nearly all the Assault Team's members were present. If they attacked together, they could surely take him down.
After voicing his displeasure, Phinks glared at Uvogin and Nobunaga and demanded sharply, "Whose side are you on… ours or his?"
Uvogin and Nobunaga's expressions darkened at his words, their eyes burning with anger. Yet, unusually, they didn't retort… after all, they were the ones caught in a dilemma.
Franklin didn't voice an opinion. Within the Troupe, he was the type to go with the flow. But given the circumstances, he privately leaned toward reconciliation, especially since Law possessed the strength to threaten them all.
Shalnark felt the same. He typically deferred to Chrollo's decisions.
'A peaceful resolution, huh…'
Chrollo remained silent. He could accept the loss of his right arm, but he couldn't ignore the potential losses the Troupe might suffer.
As Nobunaga had said, reconciliation was likely the best option right now. And with Nobunaga and Uvogin present, Law would probably agree.
However, even as he thought this, he didn't believe they could settle this without conditions.
With that in mind, he looked at Law and said, "Kirlo and my arm… state your terms."
The moment these words were spoken, it was tantamount to surrender.
"Boss!"
Phinks clenched his fists. The reason he opposed reconciliation was precisely because this move carried the implicit weight of surrender.
Law smiled faintly. This outcome was acceptable to him… it wouldn't leave Machi and the others in an awkward position later.
Moreover, Chrollo's surrender-like offer to negotiate terms aligned perfectly with his own intentions.
As for the terms, he had already decided on them from the start. They had to be entirely in his favor… otherwise, all the effort he'd expended tonight would have been for nothing.
Just as he was about to state his conditions, an individual who had been overlooked until now suddenly erupted with an overwhelming surge of emotional Nen.
The sheer, boundless fury radiating from it was unmistakable.
Everyone turned toward the source of the Nen Fluctuation… only to see Feitan enveloped in a dark, curse-like Aura.