"It's been tough for you to keep pretending all this time. Though the chance is small, I remembered you could turn into a cat before, so turning into a girl isn't that weird, and you look so similar."
Are you some kind of detective? Guessing a gender change is too ridiculous, especially since you don't even know my family well.
"But the most important thing is that the Zoldyck kids just called you Kusuo bro and big bro. Isn't that odd? No matter what, you're a girl, right?"
So it was those two boys who spilled it. Tsk, they're in the middle of a fight, but they notice other people? How many points do you get for that?
Though it's a question, Saiki Kusuo isn't using telepathy right now.
"I've been watching the situation and haven't made a move or been touched by anyone." Chrollo said.
But he got an answer anyway. Saiki Kusuo glanced at Chrollo.
The glance lasted a few seconds, his gaze didn't pass right through the skin of his face like before. Now that he's normal, he can use normal eyes to look closely at other people's faces.
Hm? If you look closely. So that's it. Though his inner thoughts usually sound like a thug's, and he's a total big villain who spends every day either tricking or hurting people, why are others so easy to fool—this question Saiki Kusuo had thought about before, and now he has the answer. This guy's face does have some advantages.
He's twenty-eight or nine years old, but he still has such a young face. You could say he's a high school student without issue. His skincare is surprisingly good.
"I haven't done any special skincare. It's just that practicing Nen well, plus 80% genes, keeps my looks like this."
?!
It was my own secret grumbling, so why did he respond again? Is this a coincidence? Could he read my mind like Kusuke? No way, I don't have any facial expressions.
"Even if you don't have obvious expressions, there are still subtle movements. On a very calm lake, even a small ripple stands out."
Hey, this guy really acts like he has mind reading.
"I do have it. Why don't you believe me?"
?!
"In theory, there's nothing Nen can't do. As long as your heart is sincere, persistent, and firm, a person's Nen can bloom everywhere. Hearing others' thoughts is something Paku has. My ability is a bit different; I can hear thoughts from a distance, but there are other limits... Ah, you've already heard the details, right."
I didn't hear. It's such a shame there's no telepathy now.
"Hm? Really? Why?" Chrollo covered his mouth, his deep black eyes clearly swirling with too much thought.
If he could hear it, it must be noisy. No telepathy is really great, isn't it.
"You really can't hear? Is your ability limited to using only two at a time?"
No, who said you can only use two abilities at once like in your book.
"Then, is it because you just blocked Phinks's comeback and made some vow as a cost?"
No, that was easy to stop; just a barrier would do.
"Then the only thing left is the gender change... Speaking of which, why pay such a high cost for that? Could it be you were born identifying as female, but having a male body made you very frustrated and upset, which led to your shy and introverted personality later? If that's the case, a lot of things make sense, like when you lied to me about the Dark Continent... Um, don't be surprised. I did feel you were lying back then. It was obvious you had no experience lying or even talking to people much. As someone like me who spends every day tricking or hurting others, I can tell by instinct when I'm being fooled."
You were a quiet thing before you knew I lost telepathy.
"I always thought it was a conversation, but it turns out it was just me talking to myself. Realizing that late is embarrassing, so I repeated the thing that bothered me."
Aren't you the one who tricks and hurts people every day?
"Deception can sometimes be a kind lie, sometimes a necessary tool to reach a goal. Haven't you lied too?"
He skips right over the hurting people part.
"Back to the point, you really can't use telepathy? What about your other abilities? Your body's still a girl's, so you probably aren't sealed from Nen. When will you recover? You didn't do surgery for the gender change, right? Um... I don't mean to discriminate. Meteor City is very open."
I can't use the others either. If you think of it as Nen being cleared away, not sealed, I don't know when I'll recover since I haven't tested this kind of thing before. No gender surgery; this is another necessary... With you talking next to me, it feels like telepathy is still there.
Oh man, asking too fast, normal people can't keep up. I mean, don't be so greedy.
"What's good about being normal? No matter how fast the questions, Kusuo, you can keep up. Knowing that, it would be a shame not to ask more."
So honest. I don't want to deal with this guy anymore.
Saiki Kusuo turned to watch the fight.
His body was still female, of course. Saiki Kusuo touched his throat; it was flat. The thing on his chest was still there too. The gender change was a result, not a temporary superpower, so even if the superpowers vanished, his body wouldn't go back.
He really became a normal person. It was a wish he had wanted so badly before, and now it came true when he least expected it.
"Superpowers vanished?" Chrollo, who was watching the situation, noticed sharply.
Oh, if the other guy has telepathy, some things can't be hidden anymore. The matter of superpowers—this means everything will be known now.
"—Superpowers is the name of your ability? Simple, rough, and straightforward. Your abilities are indeed varied and all strong; even I have to admit defeat."
He misunderstood?!
Saiki Kusuo was quiet for a moment, and strangely, he felt a bit disappointed. Wait, what I mean is, my ability is superpowers.
"...Yeah, I'm not denying it."
Superpowers and Nen are different. I'm way stronger than you guys.
"I know. You're undoubtedly a genius in Nen."
Saiki Kusuo: ...
No, you basically don't understand. My superpowers are fundamentally not the same as Nen. I can do way more things than Nen, though there are limits, but superpowers themselves are different from normal ones.
"Special system, right? Did you change the whole way Nen is used from the structure? How many vows did that take? Or do you fully believe your ability is superpowers in your mind, which makes your Nen different from others'? I have a lot of guesses about this. Your soul swap last time really surprised me. I've studied this area since then; soul-related Nen is really different from normal methods. Sigh, it's too noisy here. I'd love to chat more about Nen with you sometime."
This guy can't even pass an open-book test, yet he complains about others being noisy. He's the noisiest one.
Tsk, last time: My ability is a unique, one-of-a-kind superpower. Don't lump it with mere Nen.
Chrollo thought about why Saiki Kusuo was annoyed: "I won't say you're being childish."
From my many years of telepathy experience, anyone who says "I won't say you're xx" has definitely thought "xx" in their head already.
"Ah, you caught me. So sharp."
Don't admit it, you idiot.
"Huh?"
"—Boom!" In the arena, a sudden disturbance interrupted their talk.
The sound came from nearby; Uvogin had smashed someone into a wall, and that person was taken away by the transmission belt right away.
Saiki Kusuo got alert.
Yeah, talking to Chrollo is just a waste of time. More importantly, he needs to think seriously: In this reality, without superpowers, can she really survive?
"The score gap is pretty big. The fighting power is a bit short. Kusuo, how about letting Phinks go? He won't touch the Zoldyck kids anymore." Chrollo suggested, while calculating the situation in the field and fiddling with the superpower suppressor in his hand.
Why should I listen to someone with bad intentions?
"Huh?"
What happened? Did the ability get suppressed and vanish? Good riddance.
"So the collar has needles on it. Is it your brother's work? His taste..."
It is my brother's work, but not that brother. Both brothers' tastes are questionable, but calling it my brother is fine.
"How do you store this thing?"
Saiki Kusuo glanced at it, practiced gripping his hand a couple times, then reached out and grabbed the collar from Chrollo's palm.
Right as he grabbed it, a sudden sting in his hand made him toss the collar away on instinct.
Chrollo was quick; he flicked a finger to catch the collar and bring it back, even spinning it on his fingertip twice.
Chrollo: "What happened?"
Saiki Kusuo looked at his palm.
The spot between his thumb and forefinger and the pad of his ring finger had both been pricked by the needles in the collar at the same time. Because of his throwing motion, when the needle left his finger, that thin needle left two bright red dots on his pale palm.
Saiki Kusuo stared at his palm in thought.
Chrollo couldn't figure it out.
Is there something to pay attention to with this kind of injury? A couple more looks and it could heal, right?
"Does our young master Kusuo need alcohol? Cotton swabs? Disinfectant?"
No, I don't need that stuff.
"Does young master Kusuo just discover a truth today: When people get pricked by needles, they bleed?"
Saiki Kusuo nodded slowly.
Yeah, something this small can actually pierce skin, even my skin, and draw blood!
Chrollo was quiet for a moment, confirming the shock on Saiki Kusuo's face, and the thoughts he heard wouldn't lie to him.
He guessed right, but it made him even more confused.
"Hey, boss, boss, hey!" Phinks shouted from below. "Stop chatting and let me go already!"
"The king's piece is in Kusuo's hand, Phinks." Chrollo waved his hand in front of Saiki Kusuo. "But he seems a bit dumb right now. I suspect Illumi pricked his brain with a needle. Do you think Illumi would do that?"
Who's dumb?
Saiki Kusuo glared, then expressionlessly took out the king's piece.
Phinks was finally freed and stood up to breathe his 1.9-meter-tall share of air.
"Oh, suddenly notice the pink hair and boss are about the same height—both pretty short. Perfect, on the same level, so boss's ability..."
Chrollo quickly: "Phinks! Height is just genes. More importantly, look over there—doesn't that suit you for a group fight?"
"Yes, sir!" Phinks jumped big and rushed over, kicking up a cloud of dust and sand.
Saiki Kusuo covered his mouth and nose to block the dust. Before, he just needed to put up a barrier in front of himself.
"Don't be nervous. We're rooting for the blue team to win too." Chrollo said.
What Phinks said about the boss's ability—what's the deal? Finish what you started; half-talks are annoying.
Chrollo ignored it and continued: "Don't you believe me? Actually, I'm pretty grateful to you. Your timing was spot on. Hisoka becoming king might turn the territory into whatever world he wants, like picking off the troupe one by one first? The king's piece in his hands would be really dangerous."
I believe that last part. Hisoka seriously wants to fight you one-on-one.
As if to prove that seriousness, Hisoka in the field suddenly swung a human hammer.
He grabbed two red team members with his stretchy and shrinky Bungee Gum together. Hitting teammates deducts points, but hitting blue adds more. He spun this human hammer, and the red team's score rose again.
"Normally, I wouldn't want to fight Hisoka. Looks like no choice." Chrollo muttered.
Oh, is today the day for a one-on-one with Hisoka? I support it.
Hisoka seemed to hear the voice here and suddenly scattered cards around, one flying straight at Chrollo.
The card carried Nen that could curve and guide. Chrollo's eyes focused, he thought briefly, and glanced at the self-proclaimed powerless Saiki Kusuo.
"The number of people in the field is dropping. The Hunter Association won't interfere for their own benefit..." Chrollo raised his hand, clapped his palms together, and a white light briefly appeared in his palm with the clap.
This clap successfully caught Hisoka's card.
"White Clap!" He said the skill name like any character in a daily manga.
Hey, isn't that Reborn's skill from the tutor?
Chrollo let go, and the card lost its attached force and Nen, floating down like a fallen leaf.
Wait, doesn't he only use one ability at a time? For a second, he has to open the book? Did he evolve again?
"It's just a basic Nen technique." Chrollo answered quietly.
You gave a basic technique a skill name. You're pretty childish too.
Chrollo's clap was loud, so it had another effect: all the troupe members stopped what they were doing and looked at him.
"Operation 2, partners."
Smiles appeared on the troupe members' faces. Hisoka stopped with a bit of excitement, getting ready, while the two red team members used as weapons were already saved by the Twelve Zodiacs' Dog, Qu Dor.
Even from different teams.
The troupe gradually surrounded Hisoka. The fight was about to break out.
Saiki Kusuo: So Operation 2 is a group beating, huh? Doesn't matter blue or red team—just gang up on Hisoka together.
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