The intel Joey handed over to the First Prince was incredibly thorough—only, much of it was fabricated.
After all, Joey himself didn't know the exact abilities of many princes' Guardian Beasts.
But he did know something else: the private soldiers the First Prince had stationed around the other princes didn't know the abilities either.
Especially now, with Benjamin's forces severely reduced, gathering accurate data had become nearly impossible.
So, for the Guardian Beasts whose powers were still unknown, Joey simply took the fragments of known intel and expanded them—relying on deduction and educated guesses. Every sentence in the report sounded definitive, but in truth, it was all hypothesis.
And because it was built on partial truths, it felt utterly convincing.
Even Barosamilko, who had received a great deal of intelligence from Benjamin's surviving agents, couldn't outright refute the data. He could only instruct the remaining soldiers to verify it one point at a time.
He wasn't foolish enough to accept it all as gospel; and besides, this intel required careful analysis before it could be put to use.
After a few more unimportant exchanges, about fifteen minutes passed before the First Prince finally made a dismissive gesture.
Neither side mentioned Babimaina—not once. The entire event had played out far too cleanly: the Twelfth Prince's Guardian Beast attacked Babimaina and triggered his own ability. Joey and Kurapika may have nudged things in that direction, but nothing they did crossed a line. To push the issue would only damage their alliance.
More importantly, with the Fourth Prince confirmed dead, what Benjamin now truly wanted was to expose the imposter in Tier Four.
In fact, by the time Joey and Kurapika were seated across from him, his soldiers had likely already reached Tier Four.
Last time, his men had been returned by the Fourth Prince in pieces. This time, as soon as they knocked, the moment Joey's clone disguised as the Fourth Prince opened the door, they launched an immediate assault.
They struck fast—but Joey struck faster.
As he opened the door, he fired first.
Two 9mm pistols, salvaged from dead private guards. In full auto, even Joey himself would have trouble dodging without injury. The attackers didn't stand a chance.
Gunshots rang through the corridor.
The private soldier was riddled with bullets. But Joey's clone took a hit to the chest, blood soaking through his clothes.
More than that—he felt his aura draining rapidly.
It wasn't normal Nen exhaustion—it was the enemy's ability.
Their power seemed to steal aura through direct hits. The more damage inflicted, the more aura was drained—and the longer the wounds lingered, the more aura would be siphoned away.
A simple, brutal, effective ability.
Joey's clone became increasingly translucent. When other soldiers arrived, his form was already fading, vanishing into the air. All that remained was the corpse of the First Prince's soldier at the door—Tier Four stood empty.
Tita and Salkov had long since been relocated to Tier Three, thanks to coordinated help from Fugetsu and Prince Kacho.
With no more need to maintain the Fourth Prince disguise, Joey planned to return to Tier Twelve and have Biscuit give him a massage—to help transition from Golden Experience back to his Emission-type Nen state.
Benjamin's expression had darkened as Joey and Kurapika left.
Losing another elite soldier over this was a painful blow.
He hadn't expected to be outplayed again.
But since he had initiated the attack, he couldn't demand explanations—he could only let them go.
Yet in his mind, the alliance was hanging by a thread. Unless Joey could provide more useful intel, Benjamin saw no reason to let these two, who already knew far too much, continue living.
The only question was how to eliminate them.
Especially considering the risk of entering Tier Twelve—his troops might be targeted by the Twelfth Prince's Guardian Beast.
Even Barosamilko had rejected the idea of going personally, despite Benjamin's confidence in himself.
"The Second Prince is likely under close watch by the First. We can't say much to her directly, or communicate too openly. But if we subtly signal her guards, we might help her realize her position. That could drag this succession war into a deeper deadlock," Joey whispered to Kurapika as they walked toward Second Prince's quarters.
With the Fourth Prince gone, Kurapika and Joey had to adjust their priorities. Kurapika would now focus on protecting the Twelfth Prince and prolonging the succession battle—ideally until they reached the fake continent.
But even they both knew—that stalemate wouldn't last long.
It had only been two weeks since boarding. Three princes were already dead.
And with Benjamin holding intel on nearly every other prince, he wouldn't wait forever.
Still, until they found a way to break the succession war, a deadlock was the most favorable scenario.
Benjamin's power had been chipped away—now it was time for the Second Prince to rise. She already understood Nen and commanded powerful private soldiers.
"I noticed Izunavi looked off earlier. We need to get him out of the Sixth Prince's grasp quickly, or he might really fall into Tyson's cult," Joey continued as Kurapika nodded.
It was Joey's third time seeing Izunavi since boarding—first after the Fourth Queen's death, then at the banquet, and now in the corridor.
Just one day had passed between the second and third encounters—but Izunavi's gaze had drastically changed.
Due to constant surveillance by Benjamin's agents, Joey hadn't made contact with Izunavi in some time.
He had no idea what was happening inside Tier Six.
Even the disguised bug-cams Joey left behind only picked up on sermons and choir practices.
Lots of art, no real intel.
"True. It seems the Sixth Prince's Guardian Beast has high infiltration potential. Even strong-willed individuals might be affected after extended exposure," Kurapika said, calm as ever. "Still, Izunavi is experienced—he'll signal us if things go wrong. If we barge in now, we'd only make things worse.
And since Izunavi already revealed our alliance over the public channel, nobody would dare make a move against us until the Fourth Tier situation is clarified."
"Religious fanatics are always unstable. Let's hope so," Joey muttered, clearly unimpressed with cultists.
He didn't mock them—but he had zero faith in anything Tyson's cult preached. To him, it was pure manipulation.
The Second Prince clearly lacked Benjamin's poise. Though she invited them, the meeting felt more like an interrogation.
Kurapika's usual measured responses only seemed to annoy her more. After five minutes, she stood and left without another word.
Joey didn't speak once—just watched the strikingly beautiful prince with passive interest.
Their escort out was led by Captain Seraheil of the Second Prince's private army.
His lips curved downward, eyebrows like checkmarks. His expression mirrored the Second Prince's—strictly business.
"We'd like to propose a peace agreement with Her Highness. In exchange, we're willing to share a secret. For example, there's a camera in Tier Eight that recorded key intel," Kurapika said just before leaving.
Seraheil's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Isn't that a little late?"
"Not at all. In fact, it's perfect timing," Kurapika shook his head. "Tier Eight may hold intel—but it's also a trap. Whether you believe me or not is your choice. I've provided enough to prove our sincerity. I hope next time, you'll share this directly with Her Highness."
Seraheil's face twitched—then softened slightly. "Let's hope we work well together."
"We'll see. For now, it's too early to say." Kurapika turned and left with Joey.
As they disappeared down the corridor, Seraheil muttered, "Call in Wumanma."
Despite not having agents in Tier Two, Joey still received intel—thanks to the many bugs he'd planted.
With the First Prince's spies there now dead, no one suspected the bugs, and no one monitored insects.
Still, Joey wasn't familiar with the full personnel list. His gathered data was messy and disorganized.
They still had to visit Tier Three.
At exactly nine o'clock, they reached it—and found the calm, composed Third Prince waiting.
The coin-like Guardian Beast stood silently behind him—just as it had during Kurapika's last visit.
Standing alongside him was Gorbendeba, Benjamin's bald soldier with a headset.
Also present was Sakata, newly returned from Tier Twelve.
"We meet again, Kurapika," the Third Prince, Zhang Lei, said with calm gravitas.
"It's my honor," Kurapika replied with practiced ease.
Zhang Lei didn't mind the formality. "While you were en route, something serious occurred. The Fourth Prince vanished—presumably assassinated. Tier Four was found empty, with only a First Prince soldier's corpse left at the door.
I want details. You were the last outsiders to meet him."
"Apologies, Your Highness," Kurapika didn't hesitate. "We're deeply saddened. The Fourth Prince treated us well. If we'd known something would happen, we'd have stayed and aided him.
When the assassination occurred, Dio and I were still attending the First Prince's summons. I assume His Highness may know more than we do."
It was airtight.
Zhang Lei didn't believe it—but the message was clear.
The assassination occurred after their departure. The Fourth Prince was attacked later. Kurapika was hinting that Benjamin might be involved.
Zhang Lei's gaze shifted briefly to Gorbendeba—then he nodded.
"Fair enough. Let's move on to Nen. I want Sakata to be next in line to awaken it."
Kurapika shook his head. "No. Sakata's training is too slow. Forcing a Nen opening now could cause serious harm."
Zhang Lei turned to Sakata. "Is that true?"
Sakata nodded. "Yes, Your Highness. My progress has been sluggish. But Tenfutori is ready—he should take the next slot."
"What do you think?" Zhang Lei asked evenly, though with unmistakable pressure.
Kurapika didn't flinch. "That's acceptable."
Zhang Lei nodded, satisfied.
From there, the conversation grew dull. The prince tried to squeeze more intel from them, but Joey and Kurapika weren't about to give away anything useful.
Without needing Zhang Lei to approach the Fourth Prince anymore, he held no value to them.
And Zhang Lei knew it. His cards were limited. Violence wasn't his style—and probably wouldn't work on these two anyway.
Besides, the mysterious disappearance of the Fourth Prince's guards couldn't be ruled out as Kurapika's doing—he was cautious, perhaps even wary of them now.
At 9:30, Joey and Kurapika exited Tier Three and returned to Tier Twelve.
The lower-ranked princes hadn't sent any invitations. But as they passed Tier Nine, both of them sensed intense Nen fluctuations.
Something big was still happening there.
Until that unrest was quelled, none of the higher princes would feel secure.
No one knew when Tier Nine would clash with the upper tiers—but the death of Shikaku had been the first salvo.
Benjamin, however, had shown remarkable patience. Shikaku's death hadn't fazed him.
But Joey knew—Shikaku had severed ties with Benjamin days ago.
That body was no longer his soul.
So the "death" was both a test by the Ninth Prince, and a chance for Benjamin to study the Ninth's Guardian Beast.
With the intel Joey had passed along, Benjamin wouldn't hold back for long.
Back in Tier Twelve, the Twelfth Prince, Momose, was yawning—clearly sleepy.
But she hadn't gone to bed early. Instead, she sat knitting and waiting for their return.
When she saw them, her smile was genuine.
Joey paused, struck by the purity of it—then noticed two new doll-like Guardian Beasts hopping from her pocket, taking their places on his and Kurapika's shoulders.
They had replaced the ones that had activated earlier.
"Looks like we've become firing platforms," Joey joked as Momose packed up her things and returned to her room.
Kurapika remained serious. "Uncontrolled Nen Beast activation is dangerous. It leaves her open to manipulation—and easily causes misunderstanding."
"Agreed. Even if her Beasts only target Nen users, there are plenty of those onboard," Joey said. "It's just us now, but as the group grows, the activation frequency will rise—putting huge strain on her.
And judging by what happened with Shurikov, using the Q&A method to control targets isn't easy."