Chương 30: Poor Man's Rose

"I knew a man like you would never choose to submit to the people outside," Chrollo said. It was a small compliment, offered with perfect timing.

"I'm the same. I don't want to leave Meteor City just to become someone else's slave. If I can't live according to my own will, I'd rather die." His voice was calm.

"The problem is that compared with the entire world, individual strength is too limited."

"So you plan to form a team," Aren said, finishing the thought for him. Chrollo nodded.

"Exactly. You know as well as I do that individual strength has limits. That's true even in a corner like Meteor City, let alone the outside world."

"So I want to create a larger team. With a team, we won't be so passive outside."

"That is why I invited you here." Chrollo looked directly into Aren's eyes.

"What do you think?" Aren's expression had barely changed since the conversation began.

"A team," he said slowly.

"In principle, I agree. The problem is..." He raised three fingers.

"Purpose. Rules. Leadership." Chrollo had expected sharp questions from the start.

"As for our purpose, I've thought about it for a long time. After considering how people from Meteor City live, I think one word fits us best."

"Thieves."

"Take what we want. Do what we decide to do. We reject no one..." The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"... so take nothing from us," Aren finished at the same time. The two looked at each other and smiled.

"I have to admit," Aren said, "thieves suits people from Meteor City very well. Then the next issue. Rules."

"In my idea, the team has almost no rules," Chrollo said.

"I don't want members to become subordinates who act only according to my will. The team exists so that when individual strength is not enough, we can use collective strength to accomplish what we want."

"So the team has only one rule. Members cannot attack one another." Aren shook his head.

"The idea isn't wrong. But what happens when members clash over a decision? Have you thought about that?"

"I have. The usual answers are force or voting. Force breaks the first rule. Voting can split the team into factions. Neither result is what I want." Aren smiled faintly. Chrollo had not yet thought of the coin toss. Or perhaps that method had not originally come from him.

"I have a suggestion."

"I'm listening."

"When members disagree, settle the decision with a coin toss. Pure luck. No one has grounds to complain afterward." Chrollo's eyes brightened.

"That is a good method." Luck could still make people unwilling, but the resentment had nowhere useful to go.

"Then if we form the team, the rules are these two," Chrollo said.

"Good. Then only one issue remains." Aren looked directly at him.

"Leadership." Chrollo's previous behavior had shown his desire for Aren clearly. He had even lowered his posture enough to feel like he was courting him. But Aren did not believe Chrollo would give up leadership of the Troupe without a price. For the first time, Chrollo did not answer immediately. After a long silence, he said, "Before answering that, let me explain how I obtained Nen and the exit permit." Aren spread one hand. Go on.

"I made a deal with the Second Elder." Feitan's eyes turned sharp at once.

"Chrollo. You never told me that." Feitan had always hated authority. Even in a place with as few formal layers as Meteor City, the elders still counted as a ruling class. Chrollo gave him a calming look, then continued.

"Have any of you heard of a weapon called the Poor Man's Rose?" Aren's relaxed posture changed immediately. Why was Chrollo bringing up the weapon that killed the Chimera Ant King?

"The Poor Man's Rose is cheap to produce and devastatingly efficient," Chrollo said.

"Its explosion alone can destroy almost anything nearby, but the truly terrifying part is the poison it releases afterward."

"A single Rose once caused a recorded death toll of one hundred and twenty thousand."

"After the Rose appeared, outside nations began developing stronger weapons built around radiation and mass toxins. So here is the question." His voice stayed calm.

"Where do you think the nuclear waste and contaminated materials from that research are dumped?" Everyone's eyes narrowed. Even Aren's expression changed. This was information the future he remembered had never revealed. His voice came out low.

"Meteor City."