The Ten Dons quickly finished their calculations.
"Only twenty-six? That's not enough. There are six of us here. If they have seven people, that adds up to thirteen—that would trigger the reshuffle condition and we'd temporarily lose our abilities. Given their strength, that's far too dangerous for us."
One of the other Don said, "It's just a risk. I think we should have killed more than twenty-six already. Their own attacks have probably killed quite a few as well."
Another Don turned to look at him. "Do you dare gamble on that?"
After hearing this, the first Don fell silent.
This was exactly the dilemma the Ten Dons faced now. They no longer dared go downstairs. The only thing they could do was wait on the second floor—waiting for Ron and the others to come up, so they could attack them the instant the door opened.
But if the reshuffle condition was triggered, everything would change.
"So what do you propose?"
"Reduce our number—eliminate the possibility of a reshuffle entirely."
"What do you mean?" One of the Dons pupils shrank. "You're suggesting… kill one of us?"
"Yes. That's the best option. This way, at most we lose one more. But if we don't do this, it's possible all of us will die here."
"Then who do we kill?"
They exchanged glances, and as if by agreement, all their gazes fell on a particular Don. This Don had been seriously injured in the battle downstairs.
"What are you doing?" The injured Don grew alert, instinctively stepping back. "I'm one of the Ten Dons! If I die, the area I control will descend into chaos." Original content can be found at novel fire.net
Another Don shrugged. "Who here isn't one of the Ten Dons? You're already injured, and seriously at that. You won't be able to contribute much. Killing you is our best choice. Don't worry, we'll take good care of your wife and daughter."
Five against one. The injured Don had no ability to resist. He was swiftly killed.
The remaining Dons breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Now we can be sure—they won't be able to trigger the reshuffle condition. Their numbers won't be enough. When they come upstairs, that's when they'll die."
Soon, that moment arrived.
Ron, Illumi, and Machi ascended the staircase, along with three needlemen.
Creak—the second-floor door opened.
The Ten Dons stared fixedly at the doorway.
But at that moment, the Dons suddenly realized that their abilities had vanished.
"Reshuffle triggered? How can this be? Impossible!"
Their eyes widened in disbelief.
At the same time, Ron's group had already rushed in—before the reshuffle process had completed—and charged at the Dons.
Even without their abilities, Ron and Illumi were assassins. They had killed countless people even before becoming Nen users, and Nen users were not invincible to them.
Multiple afterimages appeared around Ron. Illumi did the same, but with subtle differences. For a moment, the Ten Dons couldn't tell which were the real Ron and Illumi.
Suddenly—splurt—Ron's hand transformed into a blade, piercing a Don's chest, seizing his heart and ripping it out. Without pause, Ron moved on to the next target.
Illumi was no less efficient. Machi, too, was an experienced combatant—even without Nen, her martial prowess was formidable.
By the time the reshuffle was completed, two Dons were already dead, and a third was severely injured by Machi.
It was only at that moment that the remaining Dons noticed the situation at the doorway: it wasn't just Ron's group of six that had come upstairs—they had also brought two heavily injured Dons from downstairs.
Ron's group had deliberately kept those two alive in order to trigger the reshuffle condition.
The Dons had done their calculations, but they hadn't accounted for this.
It was a mistake they shouldn't have made, but various factors led to it: they had seen their comrades fall, they had indeed seen Ron's group kill several Dons; their combat experience was too limited; and with only six left upstairs, even suggesting killing another of their own would have caused internal chaos before Ron arrived.
These many factors combined to create this outcome.
The two gravely injured Dons, upon receiving the power of their cards, seemed to regain a bit of vitality. But at that moment, Ron's attack arrived.
Ron's drawn card had granted him the ability of the Goat. A bomb appeared in his hand and he hurled it at the two wounded Dons.
The wounded Dons, already in no condition to dodge, were killed outright by the blast.
At the same time, Machi finally killed the Don she had been fighting.
Only two Dons remained. One had drawn the tiger card—his body had transformed into a beastly form. The other had drawn the ox card—his hands wielded sharp blades, and he was armored in durable gear.
Illumi's card was the rooster.
But there was something Illumi had been watching closely: after reaching the second floor, his abilities had been sealed, meaning he could no longer control the needlemen.
The three needlemen who had arrived on the second floor had once been members of the Underworld Mafia.
Whose side would they stand on now?
Illumi decided it didn't matter. Before they could act, he would strike first.
A steel fork stabbed straight into one needleman, killing him before he could react. Illumi immediately attacked another, who was still in the process of digesting the power of his card. Before he could finish, Illumi killed him as well.
Of the three needlemen who reached the second floor, only one remained.
The two surviving Dons quickly moved to ally with this needleman.
The situation on the second floor was now three against three: Ron, Illumi, and Machi on one side; two Dons and the last needleman on the other.
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