Kurapika had made up his mind—he would ally with the Third Prince.
But in the rules of the Kakin royal system, there was a catch:
Lower-ranked princes aren't permitted to initiate contact with higher-ranked ones.
Even with Gilbu acting as intermediary, they couldn't just call up Prince Zhang Lei.
A connection had to be forged through indirect means.
The only viable option—
Make the Third Prince want to contact the Twelfth Prince.
Only then would Kurapika and the Third Prince engage in talks as equals.
Gilbu had suggested the idea, and he had a method—
He could pass messages through the Third Queen.
From there, she would reach out to her son, the prince.
But Joey had shut it down instantly.
There was no need for risky intermediaries.
If their bargaining chip was Nen, then instead of vague offers—
Why not give the Third Prince a firsthand glimpse of "superpowers"?
Joey tore a piece of paper.
On it, he wrote Gilbu's name and the number 12.
Then he transformed it into a fly,
sent it buzzing into the Third Prince's suite through the ventilation system.
According to Gilbu, Zhang Lei's entourage had no Nen users.
The only threat was his Guardian Beast—
and Joey remembered it: a massive gold coin.
Not nearly as sinister as Tserriednich's grotesque specter.
Besides, previous bugs Joey sent there were left unharmed.
The fly should make it just fine.
He wouldn't rig it with Killer Queen—no bomb.
Because if the Guardian Beast did respond to an "attack,"
it could trigger something wildly unpredictable.
And they needed Zhang Lei as an ally, not collateral.
So the fly simply hovered inside the Third Prince's room, waiting.
As expected, Joey and Kurapika had returned from the banquet far earlier than Prince Zhang Lei.
Lower-ranked princes had left first.
From what the fly transmitted, the Third Prince hadn't returned yet.
Joey waited—until something unexpected happened.
A ladybug—one of the surveillance types he'd sent to Bisky—
flew back to him at full speed.
That only happened in emergencies.
Even Kurapika tensed up.
Joey immediately decrypted its message.
"An assassination attempt was made on Prince Marayam.
Bisky neutralized the attacker, but Queen Seiko was severely injured.
The Guardian Beast did not appear during the attack."
Kurapika narrowed his eyes.
"You eliminated his Guardian Beast."
That was the only reason Bisky would emphasize its absence.
Joey nodded. "Correct. And the fact it didn't respond to an attempt on the prince's life…
Means it was truly destroyed."
"Status on Queen Seiko?" Kurapika asked.
"Critical," Joey replied grimly. "Normal physicians are useless.
Only Hunters with Nen-based medical skills can help now.
The Royal Army already moved her—likely to one of their facilities."
He added: "With her gone, Prince Marayam's survival odds just tanked.
Bisky's intentions are good, but her judgment might be clouded."
Joey could tell—Bisky, like Hanzo, had developed sympathy for her assigned prince.
But that was dangerous.
If the assassin's attack left Nen wounds,
then the killer was almost certainly a Nen user.
Which begged the question—
Who among Marayam's guards had that ability?
Joey racked his brain. He didn't recall any Nen-capable allies around the 13th Prince.
And now, with the Guardian Beast gone and Queen Seiko out of commission,
Marayam was wide open.
Even with the largest guard detail, he was now a prime target for upper princes.
The assassination attempts would keep coming—
and the lingering effects of other Guardian Beasts might spell further disaster.
In Joey's eyes, from the moment he destroyed Marayam's beast,
the 13th Prince had already lost the war.
Cruel? Maybe. But Joey had no regrets.
If he had to do it again, he'd still pull the trigger.
Because in this war, any Nen Beast not aligned with them was a threat.
If lower princes weren't potential winners, they wouldn't have been entered into the Succession War in the first place.
So clearly, there were conditions—even they could rise.
That made every Guardian Beast a possible death sentence.
Yes, even Prince Zhang Lei's.
Joey turned his thoughts toward the rest of their allies.
Hanzo and Bisky were likely now fully committed to defending their respective princes.
That left Basho, Izunavi, and Melody.
Joey wasn't worried about Basho or Izunavi.
But Melody?
She was critical to the plan.
If anything happened to her, especially before the next banquet,
the entire operation might collapse.
And Bisky?
Joey understood her soft heart—
After all, Marayam was just a child, and Woble was a literal infant.
If not for strategic necessity, Joey might have spared Marayam's Beast too.
But Nasubi Hui Guo Rou came to mind—
That bastard wouldn't hesitate to use those kids as meat for the grinder.
Joey suppressed his thoughts, focused again.
He sent the ladybug back to Bisky with a single message:
"Be careful."
The flight pattern of the ladybug would spell out the message—
A trick Joey had learned from the beekeeper, Penz.
Her book, "The Behavioral Code of Bees: A Guide to Aerial Signals",
had taught him how to use insect flight as a code language.
Normally, it would require talent.
But Joey's insects were crafted by Golden Experience—
blended with Manipulation-type Nen,
allowing full control from range.
That manipulation wasn't his specialty, of course.
But thanks to Golden Experience's flexibility, he could output up to 80% effectiveness in that class.
Even better—he and his allies had practiced this system before departure.
Phones were too limited.
His constructs were precious resources—
he couldn't waste them.
Kurapika returned from his call with Mizaistom.
"Thanks to your intel, we avoided total chaos," he said.
"But rumors still spread.
Someone started circulating fake news before boarding.
Now the lower decks are in disarray."
He sighed.
"Medical staff are stretched thin. Resources delayed.
The Association won't be able to send reinforcements—at least, not yet."
Joey expected as much.
"The real question is—how long will it take for Mizaistom to get leverage over the Royal Army?" Joey asked.
He had no illusions.
There was no way he and Kurapika could handle this alone.
Nasubi had no intention of containing the bloodshed.
The entire Black Whale might become a floating slaughterhouse.
If the Association didn't intervene,
they might not even reach the Dark Continent.
But interference wasn't easy.
Kakin was a V5-recognized nation, not some weakling country like East Gorteau.
To act against the royal family, the Association would need a just cause.
The plan was clear:
If any Hunter died after requesting backup—
That would be enough.
Still, that meant stabilizing the lower decks was a top priority.
The problem?
Aside from the Royal Army, three major crime families also operated below.
From the start, Mizaistom and Botobai had no way to support Joey's mission.
And most of the Zodiacs were already tied up.
Even so—just having the Association's eyes on the war
would force the princes to tread carefully.
Kurapika recited a list:
"Since boarding, we've had cases of ticket fraud, brawling, theft, drunken rioting, fake identities…"
He shook his head.
"Most of it's been planned—fabricated chaos to drain the Association's manpower."
Mizaistom even suspected the underworld was involved.
But so far, they had no hard proof.
And without that, no one could touch the crime syndicates—even though everyone knew they answered to the royal family.
The Army was completely useless.
Kurapika had even used the word "checked out."
At this point, their mere neutrality was a best-case scenario.
Joey exhaled.
"So the lower decks didn't fall apart completely?
That's a miracle. Mizaistom and Botobai are doing their jobs."
Kurapika nodded.
"Botobai's holding the Fourth Level Court.
Even though the Army bailed, the court officials are still detaining instigators."
"Mizaistom's in the Third Level, coordinating with civilian peacekeepers.
It's holding—barely. But if the gangs escalate, it won't last.
Even with Kite's help on logistics and medical supplies… it'll take three days minimum to get everything where it needs to go."
Kurapika actually smiled bitterly.
"So yeah—no reinforcements for three days."
"And after that," he added, "Mizaistom wants us to go help them."
Joey just laughed.
"Not happening. If we don't cut off the head,
the body will keep bleeding out."
He'd expected this—
and after gathering all these reports since boarding…
He knew the true scope of the crisis.
Back on Level One—meanwhile—
Prince Zhang Lei still hadn't returned to his room.
But when he did, he received shocking news.
"All of Prince Woble's Royal Guards were killed?" he asked, eyebrows raised.
"Correct," said his attendant. "Army intelligence confirms it.
Only the two Hunter Association members survived."
Zhang Lei clicked his tongue.
"Starting with the infant, huh? How bold.
But... weren't some of those guards from other Queens?"
He paused.
"Did they kill their own allies to avoid suspicion?"
His bodyguard nodded gravely.
"And the bodies were… bizarre.
Some corpses were completely desiccated,
others had unnatural punctures.
No one understands how it happened."
Zhang Lei narrowed his eyes.
"Then the truth might lie with those two Hunters."
He stepped into his suite, sinking into an ornate chair.
A butler placed a tray of elegant pastries before him.
But just as Zhang Lei reached for one—
A note appeared on the table.
Cleanly torn. Just two words:
Gilbu. Twelve.
Zhang Lei looked up.
"Gilbu?"
"He's your mother's retainer," replied the guard. "Assigned to the Twelfth Prince."
Zhang Lei frowned.
"Has anyone entered this room?"
"No one. Guards have been stationed outside since departure.
Even a fly couldn't sneak in."
"Then this is… something special."
Zhang Lei reached for the room phone.
He was going to call the Twelfth Prince directly.
But before he could—
A knock came at the door.