Joey first messaged Piyon to confirm that his phone wasn't being monitored. Once assured, he sent the string of numbers directly to her. The reply came with a slight delay—just as Joey was about to call the Hunter Association hotline, her message arrived and stayed his hand.
"Kurapika was taken by Mizaistom and is en route to the Association. Some Kakin-affiliated Hunters are involved—mainly coordinated through the Royal Army."
Joey stared at the screen, knowing full well that this message likely held more than just the raw data encoded in that number string. Piyon had probably added intel of her own.
And while Kurapika appeared unharmed in his clash with the Troupe, the situation was far from ideal. With the disappearance of the Twelfth Prince in District 12, Kurapika had now ended up on the Royal Army's wanted list.
The Association and Kakin were in a state of mutual cooperation—one where the dominant hand was undeniably Kakin's official authority. That gave the Royal Army tremendous leverage in negotiations. Despite Kurapika's prestige within the Association, his status as a recent Twelve Zodiacs appointee meant he hadn't gained full recognition yet.
Even with Cheadle mediating, the chances of Kurapika remaining in the lower decks were slim. The Royal Army would almost certainly send agents to escort him to the upper levels. After all, it was common knowledge by now that he and Joey were allies.
And Joey had already made enemies of the ship's most powerful faction.
If they got their hands on Kurapika, they'd undoubtedly try to extract intel about Joey—that alone was more than enough incentive.
Things were getting tangled again. From one trap into another tiger's den.
Still, there was a silver lining: Kurapika was currently in Mizaistom's custody.
With Mizaistom's abilities, they could probably think of a way to escape—even without Joey's help.
Joey chewed on a fingernail, gnawed long out of stress.
If he got involved, his only real window of action would be during the Royal Army's transport of Kurapika. Anything else was off the table. The entire affair would be under surveillance—not just by the Army, but by the Association as well.
Handling just the Royal Army might be within his skill range. But if Association Hunters were involved too… that was a much taller order.
Unless Mizaistom himself wanted to end up on Kakin's wanted list, he'd remain the primary custodian until the transfer. Trying to snatch Kurapika from him—especially if other Hunters were involved—would be nearly impossible.
And if their actions ended up alerting Botobai, preemptive interception would be out of the question.
Joey didn't know Botobai well enough to guess his response in a crisis.
Even post-transfer, the mission wouldn't be simple. The Royal Army wasn't stupid—they'd expect a rescue attempt. It could be a trap from the start.
All things considered, Joey realized that it might be best not to act at all, and to trust Kurapika to handle it himself.
He believed in him. Whether or not Kurapika would factor him into any escape plan—that was a separate matter.
Resolved, Joey passed his conclusion along to Piyon:
"I can't intervene. Best if Mizaistom and Kurapika handle this themselves."
Piyon replied first with a sassy complaint:
"I'm not your damn messenger. Next time I'm charging a fee!"
Joey chuckled at the message.
"No choice," he replied. "There's a hacker onboard. Only Lady Piyon can make sure my messages get through un-sniffed and untampered. If I can't beg you, who can I beg? Please, just help me out, Great Beauty Piyon!"
A few seconds later came her real response:
"They'll manage. Trust them. You've got good instincts~ Also, I'll sniff out that damn little rat hacker soon. I don't have time to waste playing with him."
Joey glanced upward. Kurapika and Mizaistom both had this covered. No need for him to dive in—yet.
And if things did go south, Mizaistom would surely contact him immediately. That'd be time enough to pivot and provide backup.
Joey had full confidence in Kurapika. In ability. In intelligence. In perception and insight. He was top-tier.
So instead, Joey turned his attention to something else—the disappearance of Morel.
As for Hisoka—Joey couldn't care less. That freak wouldn't die so easily. Even if something happened, he'd probably slip through the Troupe's grasp.
And if Hisoka did die? So be it.
That would only mean he was too weak. Joey had no use for cannon fodder or trash on the Dark Continent expedition. He needed warriors, not liabilities.
He stopped walking and turned toward the ship's outer wall. Morel's case couldn't wait.
Every second of delay increased the risk of complications.
Breaking through the wall, Joey stepped once more into the howling sea air. Rain now poured in sheets. Visibility dropped rapidly. Even the black mists that clung to the ship seemed to thin under the storm's fury.
Weather Report materialized on his shoulder, adjusting the local climate. In the altered bubble of air, neither wind nor rain could touch him.
Ignoring the hole in the wall, Joey began climbing the pitch-black steel hull.
The BW was massive—and slick with rain.
Unlike the third level's limited vantage points, the upper levels featured an enormous observation deck. Specifically, on Level One, the topmost layer, which Joey now reached.
But instead of facing open sea, the ship's edge looked inward—toward the gigantic luxury cruise ship housed within the BW's internal basin.
Lights glimmered across the ship. Exhaust hissed upward from its towering chimneys.
The cruise ship's deck was empty—understandably so, given the storm. No idiot would be out there just for a breeze.
Joey looked down at the BW's exterior edge. It wasn't just metal.
Once they left the final resupply point and entered uncharted waters, the upper layer would seal off completely, enclosing the ship and eliminating all external visibility.
The BW would become a true black leviathan with no upper gaps.
According to the data Joey had seen, the real threats in the unknown sea weren't weather.
They were creatures—lurking in the sea and the sky.
That only made Joey more excited.
The storm winds, manipulated by Weather Report, lifted him from the steel and carried him toward the cruise ship.
Not because he wanted to explore Level One, but because it was the only structure within the BW aside from the hull itself.
The entire ship was airtight, save for a few drainage channels used to expel the seawater that allowed the inner cruise ship to float.
More importantly, though, Joey had a specific target in mind.
The control room of the BW was housed inside that cruise ship.
It was the core nerve center of the entire vessel.
Another potential lead was below—near the stern, deep undersea, in a special sector where Morel might be held.
But reaching that area meant passing through the fifth level—an internal route.
So Joey chose to start with the upper floors of the cruise ship.
If no clues turned up, he could always head down.
He doubted Morel would disappear without leaving a trace.
The man wasn't that kind of fool.
Besides, Joey didn't know much about the cruise ship itself.
He'd never managed to breach its submerged hull or hit seawater when tunneling upward from below.
That, too, was strange.
A floating ship… yet it didn't leak or even allow entry from below.
Maybe some hidden architecture connected it to the lower decks?
If this cruise ship did set sail independently, Joey wondered—would his own tunnel breaches cause flooding? Would seawater flood the interior?
The princes' suites were located on the ship's mid-level.
Upper levels held the control room and observation deck.
Lower levels were mostly storage and kitchens.
Joey had seen stockpiles—enough food and supplies to sustain a thousand people for months at sea.
That alone proved Nasubi had long planned to abandon the lower decks, or even the BW entirely, and send only the cruise ship to its final destination.
Especially after what he'd heard from Mu Muze, that theory felt more and more likely.
In Joey's view, the cruise ship wasn't just a lifeboat.
It was Nasubi's tool for reaching the Dark Continent.
Whether it could actually survive the journey, or end up stranded on the fake continent, was another matter.
The clues Joey sought lay in the upper levels.
Landing on the deck, he moved toward the cabins, releasing his En to sweep forward freely.
The moment his feet touched the deck, Joey felt a prickle—someone was watching him.
That was reason enough to expand his En rather than proceed stealthily.
An irregular wave of En spread outward.
Within a hundred meters, he sensed every living thing.
Three anomalous auras stood out.
Ability users.
They sensed him too—almost instantly.
The alarm blared, piercing through the rain and wind.
Soldiers poured from doors and spread across the deck.
It wasn't that they'd pinpointed Joey's location through En.
They were just following a pre-established alert protocol.
But the eerie sensation of being watched hadn't vanished.
Which meant… maybe it was about him.
Either way, Joey had a plan.
If they shot at the space he occupied under Weather Report's cloaking, then they'd been alerted.
If not—then they were just responding to a general alert.
He braced for battle.
Moving fast, Joey knew he had to use this chaos to explore a wider area before things got worse.
The soldiers passed him.
One or two noticed strange rain patterns nearby, but dismissed it.
As Joey slipped into the ship's interior, the deck was already under heavy lockdown.
He glanced back once, then dove into the cruise ship.
The sirens screamed—
but Joey's lips curled upward in a slow grin.
"Found him."
He'd sensed a familiar presence—Nakuru.
The aura was weak, like he'd been tortured recently—likely before the alarm even sounded.
Joey moved.
Less than twenty seconds later, he was outside Nakuru's room.
But he didn't rush in.
His En had picked up another Nen user inside.
And they weren't using En themselves.
The perfect ambush opportunity.
Coins dropped from Joey's hand, transforming midair—
into flies and roaches, scurrying under the door.
(End of Chapter)