As Nasubi continued absorbing black aura, the range of his En expanded rapidly. But then—thousands of locusts swarmed into his field of vision, surging toward him in a wave.
Through his En, Nasubi sensed an enormous concentration of aura converging.
His expression darkened instantly.
He retracted his dispersed aura, drawing it close in a defensive stance.
But the torrent of locusts dissolved before reaching him.
At that moment, Nasubi noticed it—the locusts were all identical, like perfect copies of a single insect.
He'd been tricked!
A flash of frustration crossed his eyes. His aura surged outward again, blasting the illusionary swarm into nothingness.
Only a rain of coins clinked to the floor below.
Yet Nasubi's aura now expanded so far, even Joey's own En couldn't sense it.
Standing still, frowning, Nasubi's fists clenched involuntarily.
When Joey left, he had flicked several coins, and also released a great deal of aura into the surrounding space.
The coins became locusts, and through Mirage, light distortion created an entire phantom swarm, reflected into Nasubi's vision.
Meanwhile, Joey had already slipped far from the third-deck observation platform.
His next goal: determine what effect the destruction of the Coffin Zone had triggered. Only with that knowledge could he make his next move.
If destroying the Coffin Zone ended the Succession War, then maybe he didn't need to keep hunting Nasubi Hui Guo Rou.
His two biggest concerns had always been: one, that Nasubi's actions could endanger the voyage of the Black Whale; and two, that the Succession War permitted only one surviving prince—but he needed to protect more than one.
If both those threats were neutralized, his job would be simple—go to ground and wait until the ship reached the Provisional Continent. Once they arrived, Kakin's claws wouldn't reach him, no matter how insane things got.
To verify this, he had to return to the upper decks.
And now that he had openly opposed Nasubi, it was likely the king would start targeting anyone connected to him—including Kurapika and the Twelfth Prince.
Which meant he needed to extract the prince as well.
Of course, once freed, Kurapika would probably clash with the Phantom Troupe.
But that couldn't be helped. The Troupe's luck on the Black Whale seemed to be running dry. Not only were the Mafia rejecting them behind the scenes, their enemies had grown from just Hisoka to Hisoka, Kurapika, and Joey.
And with the group's shrinking roster, their advantage was fading fast.
Especially with Zoldyck's Illumi not aboard this time.
Still—Hisoka remained a wildcard. As Joey sprinted toward the tunnel connecting to the lower decks, he mulled it over.
Hisoka's mind was… difficult to grasp.
Still, Joey was sure of one thing—if Hisoka decided the Troupe was no longer interesting, he would turn his sights on Kurapika and Joey without hesitation.
That greedy glint in his eyes whenever he looked at them—it wasn't even subtle.
To Hisoka, they were just ripe fruit, waiting to be plucked.
The sky hadn't yet brightened. Joey reached the tunnel—thankfully, it remained undisturbed.
He exhaled in relief and quickly returned to Deck 1.
There, the royal army presence was thin as well. His sudden incursion into the Coffin Zone had clearly thrown the upper decks into disarray. Most troops had likely rushed down to support Nasubi.
That made things easier.
The Fatty he had brought down earlier was killed by Nasubi. As for the dusky-skinned youth—Joey wasn't sure if he was still alive.
At least, before entering the Coffin Zone, he hadn't seen the kid executed.
But if he wasn't dead, odds were he'd been captured. Survival would depend entirely on luck.
Joey had no intention of rescuing him. Staying invisible, he headed toward the VVIP ward where the princes stayed.
Everything went smoothly. When he reached District 12, he finally relaxed.
Kurapika, ever vigilant, immediately turned his head as Joey slipped into the Twelfth Prince's quarters.
"You're back?" Kurapika asked cautiously.
Joey knocked out the Bureau of Justice agent standing watch, revealing himself. "Yeah. I destroyed the Coffin Zone. Nothing strange happened?"
"Nothing," Kurapika replied.
Joey looked past him to the sleeping Twelfth Prince. Behind her, a massive, Totoro-like Guardian Beast loomed protectively.
But it looked no different than before.
Could it be the destruction of the Coffin Zone didn't affect the war? Or had changes simply not emerged yet? Or… had they occurred elsewhere?
Dozens of possibilities flashed through Joey's mind.
"You're planning to take Princess Momoze out of here?" Kurapika's eyes glinted.
"Yes. You too. Nasubi won't let any of us go." Joey shrugged helplessly. He'd really gone too far this time.
"You really stirred the hornet's nest," Kurapika smirked. "What about Izanavi, Basho, and Hanzo?"
Joey countered, "Didn't you already make up your mind?"
"…Alright, nothing gets past you." Kurapika sighed. "But we need a plan. Before, we could move freely thanks to the Tenth and Eleventh Princes' Guardian Beasts. Now, it'll be much harder."
He looked at Joey pointedly—clearly passing the burden of planning to him.
Joey scratched his head. "Let's get Princess Momoze to the lower decks. If we're abandoning District 12, we can dig a tunnel from here. Once we reach Deck 2, escape will be easier."
He pulled out a floorplan and scanned it rapidly. "The only issue is most of the royal army's elite has moved to Decks 2 and 3. So we'll need to pick our next destination carefully after extraction."
"We only need to extract one person—Izanavi," Kurapika said.
Joey frowned. "Shouldn't we grab everyone at risk? Basho might be in danger too."
Basho had been out of contact for a while. Joey had no clue what was happening in District 7.
He wasn't planning to just rescue Izanavi—he had even considered evacuating District 14.
Kurapika shook his head. "It's not that simple. Even Izanavi might not come."
Joey blinked.
If Nasubi returned to Deck 1, anyone associated with them could face retribution.
"Orders," Kurapika raised a hand. "They didn't just take orders from me—they're tasked with protecting the princes. Unless that mission becomes truly impossible, they'll keep going.
"Our job is to present the facts, and let them decide."
Typical Netero-faction mentality—treating missions as sacred.
If this had been a Pariston-backed operation, those agents would've vanished without a trace by now.
Still, Joey felt uneasy.
This mission might end up accomplishing nothing.
But Kurapika was right—at least they could relay critical intel. If things worsened, they'd be better prepared.
"So… my plan was wrong," Joey admitted. He had intended to brute-force an extraction.
The simplest, cleanest method.
But Kurapika's logic made it clear—this had to be stealth.
Joey scratched his head again. Great, now it was more work and more delicate.
"You're not supposed to expose yourself anyway," Kurapika added. Their earlier sync had slipped.
"In that case, I'll take Princess Momoze to the VVIP zone. I left a hidden passage there—should simplify things."
He rolled up the map again.
He'd searched thoroughly, but District 12 didn't have any optimal tunneling points below. Going covert actually saved him effort.
As the two spoke, Princess Momoze stirred. Though still weak, she was mobile.
"Wanna use my ability?" she asked, eager.
Joey and Kurapika exchanged glances. For short-range reconnaissance, her power was perfect.
Even if it couldn't deliver messages, the feedback would yield valuable info. It could even be used as bait.
They agreed immediately.
Time was short. With the plan set, they moved quickly.
Momoze lay back down and closed her eyes. Her large-eyed creature reappeared and wobbled into the hallway, drifting toward District 6.
Meanwhile, Joey transformed coins into insects and sent them crawling into the air ducts.
Kurapika, whose ability wasn't suited for recon or messaging, remained idle for now.
As they moved, the passage between Decks 2 and 3 remained open.
On the observation deck, Nasubi Hui Guo Rou stood before the vast glass pane, watching the dawn creep across the horizon—expression unreadable.
Nugui knelt behind him, head bowed low.
Elite royal guards stood silently in rows behind them.
"Contact the upper-deck army. Seal off District 12. Let no one escape," Nasubi said coldly—exactly as Joey had predicted.
"Yes." Nugui's body shimmered, and his phantom vanished into the air.
"He'll probably expect this," Nasubi murmured. "But I'm still dancing to his tune. What a troublesome opponent."
He turned away.
"Let's return. Those people won't go quietly. Have the soldiers clean the battlefield. That place is worthless now—let it sink into the ocean."
He passed Nugui without looking. "Oh, and bring the urn back."
"Yes!" Nugui pressed his face to the floor.
…
Elsewhere, the First Prince in the VVIP zone also hadn't slept.
He'd stayed up all night—ever since the noisy stomping of royal soldiers had woken him.
Through spies planted in the army, Prince Benjamin had learned roughly what happened during the chaos.
"The King himself took action?" he growled.
With a crunch, his glass shattered in his hand—yet his coarse skin bore no cuts.
But his fury was evident.
No king had ever personally joined the Succession War.
Nasubi's move defied all tradition—and all of Benjamin's expectations.
"If you count carefully, this is the second time," Balasamilko said, raising a finger. "Not long ago, something happened in District 2. That also involved the King's troops, and even offended the Second Prince. Dio must've crossed a real taboo.
"The Succession War may shift course now. But with His Majesty leading the charge, it might not be a bad thing for us.
"Our priority should be figuring out Dio's true goal in the VVIP zone. Only then can we understand the King's motives—and position ourselves accordingly."
(End of Chapter)