Joey's gaze shifted toward Prince Woble's Nen Beast.
Its belly pouch radiated some strange gravity—drawing the attention of every Nen user in the room.
From this alone, Joey had already pinned down every aura-wielder present, save for one:
Satojubi, the silent guard of the Seventh Prince, who had never openly admitted to knowing Nen.
Meaning, if the assassin truly was among them… it could only be him.
And if not?
Then the enemy was somewhere outside the room—and far harder to identify.
Joey confirmed all of this again, because Kurapika had a plan—
He wanted to test Satojubi directly.
Kurapika's Chain Jail of the Ring Finger wasn't just for restraining; it could guide, track, and detect lies.
Once triggered, Satojubi's answer would become the key evidence.
Granted, even if they caught him lying, it wouldn't be enough for a formal accusation.
But verifying whether the assassin was still in Room 12 was crucial.
Because Kurapika was about to start awakening Nen among the guards.
And once the number of aura users surpassed the non-users, the assassin's targets could shift.
If their power truly attacked the majority, then Nen users would soon be the new prey.
And if Woble became collateral?
Joey had the power to save her—but doing so would trigger Shurikenf's right to retaliate.
Even if Joey handled Shurikenf, the Royal Army would descend.
Which meant he'd have to expose Weather Report, his trump card.
Worse, he'd miss his planned assassination attempt during the banquet.
Kurapika, however, had already "revealed" himself as a multi-ability user.
So even if he revealed another Nen, Benjamin's faction wouldn't be too suspicious.
And this time, he wouldn't act alone.
The one confronting Satojubi would be none other than… Biscuit.
Biscuit, having slipped the listening bug Joey handed her into her pocket, frowned.
"Wouldn't it be better to have the Seventh Queen confront him?"
"No," Joey said firmly.
"That'd end in disaster."
Sevika, the Seventh Queen, was clever at times.
But when it came to Marayam's death, all rationality vanished.
She would hurl blind accusations, derail the interrogation, and ruin everything.
Once they'd finalized the plan, and Biscuit made her way toward Satojubi, Joey brought up a different topic:
"You realize it's already the fourth day the Ninth Prince has tried to meet the King?"
Four days ago, after the deaths of Princes Marayam and Sale-Sale,
Tufdi Nich, the Ninth Prince, had revealed his beast's power inadvertently—during their wake.
That surge of Nen—Joey hadn't seen such raw volume since Youpi.
But unlike Youpi's solo force, this was collective, born from the shared will of his followers.
That told Joey two things:
The Ninth Prince's Nen Beast was collaborative in nature.
Its base was likely Enhancement—but its abilities showed clear signs of Manipulation.
Every follower had a feather sigil, granting them Nen.
It wasn't enhancement—this was pure manipulation.
More worryingly, some intel hinted that the beast might even alter memory.
Joey and Kurapika had learned that bit from one of the Prince's guards…
And memory tampering? That was terrifying.
Benjamin was right to be wary.
Because this wasn't just power—it was unity.
Unity with Nen… was deadly.
But Joey's concern wasn't about fighting the Ninth Prince.
What caught his eye was that, in the original timeline, Tufdi Nich had once tried to assassinate King Nasubi.
Right now, his repeated visits to the royal zone were just conditioning—
Lulling the royal guards into lowering their alert.
All so he could force an audience with the king—and strike.
Which gave Joey his opening too.
He knew bullets wouldn't scratch Nasubi.
But if the Ninth Prince kicked the door open…
Joey could slip his Weather Report in through the chaos.
Of course, Tufdi Nich would never agree to a joint assassination.
He might kill his father in the name of justice, but he wouldn't collaborate with unknowns.
That would taint the purity of his rebellion.
So Joey would act alone—but use the Prince's distraction to gather intel on the King's zone.
"Prince Benjamin's confinement should end tomorrow, right?" Kurapika interjected.
He was right.
On Day Two, Benjamin had entered Zone 8 in disguise and destroyed Sale-Sale's beast.
Returning to his own sector, he and Baluthamilco had analyzed Joey's power—and then…
He handed over Prince Camilla to the Royal Army.
On Day Three, the Supreme Court ruled… nothing.
Both princes were confined to the VVIP zone for 72 hours,
supposedly while the military searched for Musser, the missing private guard.
(Who was already dead, killed by Camilla's beast after he pulled a gun.)
To Joey, this was all just Benjamin securing his hideout.
The VVIP zone—protected by army and his guards—was the safest place to sit out his cooldown from using The Stranger.
And tomorrow, Benjamin would be free.
Joey suspected his first move would be to destroy more beasts, then move on to the princes themselves.
The beast dies, the assassins pounce.
Joey could imagine it:
Sharks smelling blood.
Assassins swarming defenseless prey.
But Benjamin wouldn't strike blindly.
First, he'd sweep every beast-capable room for cameras.
Unbeknownst to him—Joey's last camera was already sealed within a book-frog.
All others were decoys.
And even those were meant less to record murder, and more to analyze abilities.
He hadn't expected to get actual assassination footage—but now, he had it.
And his only remaining tools?
Bugs.
Lots of bugs.
But bugs weren't enough anymore.
Joey needed new abilities.
And he had a target—but one that was difficult.
A prince he'd had no real contact with.
If he could recruit her, his operations aboard the B.W. would become far easier.
"So many madmen on this ship," Joey sighed.
"Assassins running wild. Rabid princes tearing each other apart."
"Seal the hall—now!" a voice shouted.
Joey and Kurapika exchanged a glance—and rushed toward the source.
Near the washroom, Sakata stood over a corpse drained of blood.
"Myuhan!" Kurapika identified instantly.
"Wow," said Shurikenf from behind them,
"He looked dumb enough to leave an impression, huh?"
Joey frowned.
He hadn't expected Shurikenf to leave Woble's side.
"He's here to keep me from acting," Joey thought.
"Persistent bastard…"
Still, a quick glance reassured him—Hisoka had taken Shurikenf's place.
Good.
This was the third murder.
And the victim… was a Fourth Prince loyalist—and someone who'd clashed with Kurapika.
"People will start blaming us," Kurapika whispered.
They were right.
Back in the hall, Satojubi and other guards had already begun gathering and glaring.
"From the start, this smelled fishy," one accused.
"All this training crap—it's just a trap."
"Wait," Kurapika raised a hand,
"Nen is real. This is not—"
"Shut it. We're being killed off one by one.
You're just stalling until we're dead.
It's time the army got involved."
"Satojubi," Biscuit cut in,
"As a Nen user yourself… Why are you hiding?
Or are you the one doing the killing?"
Heads turned.
Satojubi didn't flinch.
Instead, he sneered:
"Really? This is your grand tactic, Hunter Association?
A pathetic smear job after being exposed?"
Kurapika frowned.
This timing wasn't ideal.
Biscuit had jumped in too publicly, too suddenly.
But maybe she had a plan?
"Slander?" Biscuit replied,
"Then how do you explain this?"
She transformed in an instant—into her hulking, muscular form.
"So what?" Satojubi said,
"That proves you know Nen—not me."
Before he finished, Biscuit hurled a blast of aura straight at him.
BOOM.
Gasps echoed through the hall.
Satojubi had raised his arms—but they hadn't seen what blocked it.
Only the explosion.
"Assassination attempt!" Shurikenf began.
But Queen Sevika's voice rang out:
"I ordered it!
That man killed my Marayam!
Arrest him now!"
Shurikenf sighed.
He could invoke defense rights, but with a queen's command and no casualties… there wasn't much he could do.
Besides, Biscuit wasn't his target.
"So?" Biscuit pointed.
"Still denying you're a Nen user?
You stirred up this division just to pick us off, one by one!"
She turned to Shurikenf.
"I'm willing to be detained. Bring in the Royal Army."
"Already called," Sakata replied smoothly.
"They're on the way."
Satojubi's fury boiled over:
"Even if I know Nen, that doesn't make me a killer!
I hid it because I don't trust the Association!"
"Don't lump us with fame-chasers," Biscuit spat.
"And if you think this war is for princes alone, think again.
The hired guards are all chasing status too.
Maybe you're the real killer!"
The room rippled with tension.
Biscuit was ripping off the mask—
Tearing down the facade of honor in the Succession War.
And Satojubi…
Finally realized.
This woman was not letting go.