"Hey, what are you talking about?!"
But Phinks, who walked in right behind them, was clearly not happy.
"If you two hadn't stirred up trouble with the local mafia and caused roadblocks all over the city, how would we have ended up arriving later than you?!"
Phinks grumbled, dissatisfied: "We should've gotten here earlier!"
"It's the mess you guys caused that delayed us!"
Feitan, hands in his pockets, silently walked past everyone.
Obviously, matters like who arrived first were idiotic, petty competitions that only enhancers cared about; Feitan had zero interest in it.
"Well, as long as we arrive before you, it's fine!"
Uvogin kept laughing, then turned to look at the only unfamiliar face present.
"He's the new guy Franklin mentioned, right?"
Uvogin looked the bandage-covered Bonolenov Ndongo up and down with curiosity.
Nobunaga reacted similarly.
But then, both of them looked over at Phinks.
Phinks: "...?"
He was still annoyed... Until he saw Bonolenov Ndongo.
He froze.
Then…
"A newbie?! This newbie is great!"
Seeing those aesthetic bandages covering Bonolenov Ndongo, Phinks' eyes started shining, and he rushed over with enthusiasm.
"Welcome, welcome!"
Phinks said eagerly: "The moment I saw you, I just knew our new member this time has real style!"
Bonolenov Ndongo: "...?"
He had been admiring his new gauntlets… then suddenly a man with no eyebrows rushed toward him with burning interest, a whole row of black-question-mark-icons formed above his head.
"With that, everyone's finally here..."
Luke clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.
"Our new member, Bonolenov Ndongo, was introduced by Franklin."
After a brief introduction, Luke produced a deck of cards.
The Phantom Troupe's unique initiation ritual involves drawing a card to determine their number.
Bonolenov Ndongo already knew about this from Franklin on the way here.
He casually drew a card, number 11.
In cards, that represents the knight or guardian.
In a sense, it happened to match Bonolenov Ndongo's own warrior nature quite well.
"Machi, help him get the tattoo later."
With a simple instruction, the Phantom Troupe's No. 11 was officially assigned.
Currently, the vacant numbers are No. 4, No. 8, No. 12 (Queen), and No. 13 (King).
Besides the two slots reserved from the start for Sheila and Sarasa.
Meaning, they only needed to recruit two more members.
Once the newcomer arrangement was complete, it was time to explain their mission.
"The main objective is to take down the entire Kute Gang of Thieves."
Luke stated bluntly: "We need to deal with them all."
"I need their heads to accomplish certain goals."
No one objected.
Uvogin couldn't wait and asked: "Captain! Do we take them alive or can we kill them?!"
"Either one is fine."
Luke smiled.
"Capturing them is okay, killing them is also okay. But I want their bodies regardless."
"Don't overdo it and destroy the corpses; otherwise, that would trouble me."
"Understood! Hahahahaha!"
Uvogin was practically bursting with excitement.
"This time, we can make a huge mess again!"
"I'm telling you, Uvogin..."
Shalnark helpfully reminded him from the side: "Do you know what kind of people the Kute Gang of Thieves are?"
"Of course I know!"
Uvogin grinned widely. "They're the top-tier S-class criminals in this world."
During his time roaming outside, Uvogin wasn't living like some savage; he kept himself well-informed.
Especially as a member of the Phantom Troupe, aiming to become the number one villain group in the world, it was only natural to keep an eye on criminal organizations even more notorious and powerful than they were.
So when he heard Luke set their target directly on the Kute Gang of Thieves, Uvogin couldn't have been happier.
He had waited for this day far too long!
"First, we will wipe out those Kute Gang of Thieves! Then the Phantom Troupe will officially become the most powerful villain group in this world!"
His eyes burned fiercely with ambition and blazing fighting spirit.
"If it's the Kute Gang of Thieves…"
As the troupe's intelligence database and strategist, Shalnark thought carefully: "They're likely here to participate in underground trafficking or illegal gambling."
"I've heard that their leader loves casino games."
Just like Yorknew City, Ambrossa was filled with underground black markets and casinos.
Criminals who acquired mysterious or illicit items through shady means often came here to trade.
After all, yorknew's underground auction happened only once a year, and for only a few days.
Most of the items there were bid up artificially by mafia families trying to curry favor with the Ten Dons, a yearly spectacle, sure, but nowhere near the consistent flow of Ambrossa's underground market.
In its most prosperous years, this place even boasted arrogantly: "Anything you want, we can get it for you."
From the seven most beautiful colors in the world to weapons like Ben's Knives, one could find and trade for them here.
But later, due to becoming too bold and reckless, the city incurred the wrath of the V5.
After one of the Ten Dons was replaced, the city became significantly more low-key.
Though the only real change was dropping the flashy slogan, all the underground trading still continued in secret, just no longer flaunted openly.
"This is one of the Ten Dons' territories. Anyone coming here to participate in underground dealings is a guest of the Ten Dons."
Shalnark explained the city's special rules: "So local mafias are forbidden from any fighting here."
"Oh, those guys?"
Uvogin picked at his ear carelessly.
"They tried to stop me earlier. I didn't like them, so I killed a few."
"No wonder so many people gathered to deal with me."
"If I weren't rushing to get here on time, so I wouldn't be the last to arrive, I would've already flattened all of them."
Hearing that, Phinks couldn't help shooting him a sideways look.
"If you hadn't stirred up so much trouble, we would've gotten here earlier, too."
He complained first, then agreed with Uvogin: "Those mafias weren't worth looking at anyway, just a bunch of nobodies."
"In short..."
Feitan summed it up bluntly: "It's just a bunch of trash."