Cracks splintered across the dragon-centipede's body.
Moments later, it disintegrated into gray ash, vanishing completely into the air.
It was fast—lightning-fast.
But as it vanished, the giant hamster-like Guardian Beast—seated behind Prince Momozet—turned its head, gaze fixed toward the wall where the centipede had died.
Joey didn't notice that reaction.
Because at the same time, all other external Nen beasts—the worm on the ceiling, the remaining jellyfish, and the note-shaped creatures—suddenly began fading out of existence.
As if reacting to some silent signal.
Joey hesitated for a moment, then retracted Killer Queen and cancelled Afterimage Mirage.
Kurapika and the six restrained guards turned to face him, all their gazes now settling where he stood.
They hadn't seen the dragon-centipede vanish—their line of sight had been manipulated by Joey the entire time.
Their view had been warped into a stitched-together mosaic of false imagery—
the result of Joey bending light by distorting air density and refracting ice crystals.
A trick he'd mastered after his battle with Jeg.
Now, it had proven highly effective.
Joey gave Kurapika a slight nod from afar.
Kurapika holstered his gun.
The room was silent now.
The enemy beasts had disappeared.
Only Momozet's Guardian Beast remained, calmly nestled at her back.
At that moment, a flurry of ladybugs fluttered back into the room, perching themselves onto Joey's clothes.
Each insect was a bugged transmitter, sent out earlier to infiltrate the ship and gather intel.
They'd been transformed using Golden Experience, and released during their return to the prince's chambers.
Now they were back—meaning they carried data Joey needed.
But before checking them, Joey excused himself, stepping out of everyone's line of sight.
Once alone, he retrieved a scalpel, coated it in Shu, and sliced off his left hand.
Then he detonated it with Killer Queen's First Bomb, erasing it completely.
Sheer Heart Attack had been transported to Prince Woble's quarters—
and if he didn't remove the signal anchor soon, it might cause complications.
Which Joey had no intention of cleaning up.
No blood spilled from the stump—Weather Report had already cauterized the wound.
Then, Golden Experience activated:
A series of coin-shaped modules sprouted, assembling a new hand segment by segment.
The process would take time, so Joey tucked the stump into his sleeve and returned to business.
As he reentered the room, Kurapika gave him a knowing glance but didn't ask questions.
He understood:
The missing hand involved Joey's powers—and secrets were best left alone, for now.
Joey retracted the Nen covering his ladybugs, turning them back into conventional transmitters.
From inside his jacket, he pulled out a rhinoceros beetle—and dispelled the transformation.
It reverted into a smartphone.
Using Weather Report to create a stable connection, he linked the bugs and began downloading the audio data.
With a transcription app developed with Pyon, he converted the voice logs into text.
He started sorting through them methodically.
Meanwhile, Kurapika served dinner to Prince Momozet.
"Joey."
Kurapika's call interrupted his review.
He looked up, sensing urgency.
Putting the device away, Joey walked over—
and immediately saw what had caught Kurapika's attention:
Momozet's Guardian Beast had changed.
What had once resembled a giant plush creature had now shrunk—its proportions more compact, even adorable.
But no one could guess what abilities had changed.
Because Prince Momozet couldn't control the beast—
that was one of the rules of the Succession War.
Even if she awakened Nen herself, Hatsu did not apply to the Guardian Beast.
Its autonomy came from the Chimera Egg Ritual alone.
Joey gave Kurapika a small nod. This wasn't entirely unexpected.
He'd suspected Marayam's beast had also evolved earlier.
But Momozet's beast changing now?
There were too many possible triggers.
He'd told her the truth about Nen, her attitude had shifted, her mind had steadied—
and she'd been exposed to his and Kurapika's abilities.
And most importantly—
he had just killed another Guardian Beast right in her room.
Maybe that was enough to influence her own.
Still, no time to dwell.
Joey returned to sorting the bugged data.
Kurapika stepped away, contacting Mizaistom via secure channel.
Momozet, after finishing her food, pulled out her yarn and began knitting.
But her eyes soon drooped.
Within minutes, she was nodding off in her chair.
Joey stepped forward.
"Prince Momozet. You should rest."
"Okay." She looked up groggily—then added: "You'll still be here?"
"Of course. Don't worry."
She smiled faintly, stood, and shuffled to her room.
Joey's En expanded, enclosing her entirely.
Even if he wasn't physically near, he could react instantly to any threat.
Now wasn't the time to worry about privacy.
Survival came first.
After she changed and lay down, Joey exited her chamber, maintaining his 5-meter radius En at all times.
Only two hours had passed since returning to the suite.
And the Black Whale had been at sea for just over an hour.
It had departed ahead of schedule—originally set for August 8th, noon, but launched early at 9 AM sharp.
Kurapika waited for him outside the room.
"There's a problem. Prince Woble's chamber is down to two guards—Hanzo, and another Hunter unfamiliar with the Succession War."
Joey didn't mention it, but Sheer Heart Attack being sent to Woble's chamber had likely contributed.
If Hanzo hadn't quickly analyzed the weapon's behavior, more might've died.
Even now, Joey's left hand hadn't fully regenerated.
Kurapika noticed, but didn't press.
Hanzo's report had already mentioned the Guardian Beast's disappearance and the tank's continued rampage.
Clearly, the man wasn't great at summarizing—
his report included all sorts of speculation about Woble's abilities.
And something else was clear:
Queen Oito had entrusted her life and Woble's to Hanzo,
which gave the ninja a dangerous sense of responsibility.
Joey didn't like it.
Because in his estimation, Oito and Woble had almost no chance of survival.
If things went wrong, Hanzo might crack.
Fortunately, another ally had provided better intel: Bisky.
Stationed as a guard for Prince Marayam, she had reported the following:
"The prince has fallen into a coma. His Guardian Beast has vanished."
Joey immediately relayed a new order to Bisky:
"If the beast returns—report it instantly."
That alone made sticking close to Kurapika worth it.
Bisky also mentioned that none of the guards, servants, or the prince himself could see the beast.
Joey's warning: "Be on alert. Someone near you has Nen. They're hiding it."
From Izunavi, more reports confirmed their earlier suspicion—
The note-shaped beasts were definitely from Sixth Prince Tyson.
But there was silence from Melody and Basho.
Which meant two things:
Either nothing unusual had happened.
Or they'd been prevented from sending any report.
Joey leaned toward the former.
They'd all agreed not to transmit too frequently.
Only at midnight and noon each day—
the safest rhythm to avoid exposing Joey's powers.
If his bug-transformation Nen was revealed, enemies might quickly deduce how to counter it.
Especially those with En or high Nen perception.
Kurapika frowned.
"With what we've seen so far—Prince Woble is in the most danger."
"Not surprising," Joey said. "Hanzo's reports also show the King's army doesn't care about corpses."
Kurapika nodded. "I heard the same from our six 'guests.'"
The six restrained guards.
Each from different Queen factions, first to sixth.
They understood the rules.
"The princes must be protected," Kurapika said. "But the queens are forbidden from issuing direct assassination orders. If caught, they'll be thrown in prison."
"Caught?" Joey smiled faintly.
"Yes," Kurapika confirmed. "These guards are external hires. No one knows which of them might turn."
"Then exclude First, Second, and Third Queens," Joey replied.
"Especially the First Queen—her 'guards' are private troops. If they're sent to spy on lower Princes, it's not surveillance. It's execution."
He continued:
"Second and Third Queens have ties to the Kakin mafia. Their bodyguards won't talk. Period."
Kurapika agreed.
Of the six detained guards, one was from the Third Queen—a man named Blajie.
He didn't know Nen, but he'd offered a deal:
"Introduce you to Third Prince Zhang Lei."
"Do you believe him?" Joey asked. "Or are you testing the waters?"
Kurapika's eyes sharpened.
"Third Queen has only one son—Zhang Lei. And his father isn't King Nasubi—it's Onior, the King's half-brother. A crime lord, boss of the Shu-Wu syndicate."
That intel came from Joey himself—confirmed via Mizaistom.
It was one of their most valuable cards.
An alliance with Prince Zhang Lei was far more strategic than cozying up to lower princes.
And—more importantly—
could open a direct line to Fourth Prince Tserriednich.
Kurapika clenched his fist.
"Our bargaining chip is Nen."
Blajie's ignorance of Nen made him understand its immense power.
"Alright," Joey said. "You call the shots—I'll handle the execution."
Because stalling Tserriednich's awakening was everything.
Joey had calculated since Day One that the real endgame contenders were:
King Nasubi
First Prince Benjamin
Second Prince Camilla
Fourth Prince Tserriednich
Nasubi wasn't a clueless king like Bizeff.
He had his own Guardian Beast—and may even be behind the Chimera Ant outbreak.
A terrifying possibility.
Benjamin had a personal army of Nen users. Camilla had her zombie army brewing.
And Tserriednich… was a monstrous genius.
Joey's plan was simple:
The later Tserriednich learns Nen, the better.
In the manga, Kurapika had revealed Nen too early, and things escalated fast.
Here, with Joey assisting and Momozet under their protection,
there was no need to broadcast the truth.
Without such a reveal, Tserriednich couldn't unlock his Specialization-type monster of an ability.
And Joey was absolutely certain that Tserriednich's guards from the Hunter Association wouldn't say a word.
If they could delay the awakening even one day, their odds of survival would skyrocket.
So Kurapika's plan—partner with Zhang Lei, leverage Nen as a bargaining chip—was sound.
But Joey also had to move faster.
Because his bugs monitoring Tserriednich's chamber had all died.
Something had obliterated them.
His Guardian Beast had already begun eliminating threats.
Unlike other beasts, it seemed to attack proactively, without instruction.
Joey felt it clearly:
Anything that approached Tserriednich,
anything that carried even a whisper of malice,
was destroyed instantly.
"Damn... this one's going to be trouble."