In the end, Hisoka was taken away by the Royal Military.
It wouldn't be a long interrogation, and as Slakka had said, this approach would make things more reassuring for everyone involved.
At the very least, once under official custody, Hisoka wouldn't become a weak point for others to exploit in the Twelfth Prince's quarters.
However, the incident revealed an unavoidable issue:
Once the military acknowledged Hisoka's sudden appearance, it would be hard to keep suspicions at bay—rumors of unknown powers onboard would inevitably spread.
Even if the Royal Guard remained silent, the spies planted among them by the upper princes would ensure that intelligence about Hisoka leaked out.
And once that happened, the higher-ranked princes would begin intensively investigating Nen.
The biggest concern?
Prince Tserriednich.
But as long as the term "Nen" wasn't made explicit, there was still room to maneuver—time for the Hunter Association agents around Tserriednich to react.
Still, the thought of Tserriednich's Guardian Beast made Joey uneasy. Things wouldn't be so simple.
Hisoka's appearance marked the emergence of a new power on this ship.
And that power... might very well become the deciding factor in this Succession War.
Joey had thought as much the moment Kurapika returned.
But there was no real solution to this problem. Hisoka's presence had been completely unexpected.
And then there was Slakka—the Second Queen's agent who came along with the returning group.
He was a Nen user.
Unlike Benjamin's man Bicort, Slakka had openly used En, sweeping into the Twelfth Prince's room without hesitation.
His range wasn't impressive, not enough to cover the room, but it didn't matter—what mattered was the intent to probe.
And that meant... Hisoka couldn't hide.
Everything had just gotten more complicated.
Joey's instincts were right—Hisoka was a pain in the ass.
The Third Prince had sent two of his own men as part of the ceasefire agreement—both to monitor the Twelfth Prince and to learn Nen.
This was part of Kurapika's deal with Prince Zhang Lei:
He wouldn't teach the prince himself—not until his men had learned and proven Nen wasn't a threat.
But make no mistake—this wasn't an alliance.
It was a ceasefire at best.
Zhang Lei clearly didn't see himself and Woble as equals.
The tone of their entire conversation had made that abundantly clear.
Later, while the Twelfth Prince was changing clothes, Joey noticed something odd about his Guardian Beast.
Its body didn't shrink this time—a pouch formed at its belly, like a kangaroo's.
One glance at that pocket, and Joey knew it was hiding something.
His eyes lingered.
That thing was special.
But now wasn't the time for that.
They needed to awaken Woble's Nen—and Kurapika insisted on handling it himself.
Joey's method was too rough. Risky.
Kurapika's would be... gentler.
All of this had to happen without Slakka or the others noticing.
Fortunately, thanks to the supposed "alliance," neither of Zhang Lei's men—Sakata and Hasdo—approached too closely.
Slakka also kept his distance.
That gave Joey and Kurapika a chance to speak privately.
The actual Nen awakening would happen later, when Woble was alone with Kurapika.
"I handled the cleanup. Juan broke free and killed the other three.
I talked to him. He was originally hired by the Seventh Queen, but he knows quite a bit about Kakin's secrets. You'll need to speak to him yourself.
What I can confirm is—he's not going anywhere." Joey summarized bluntly.
Kurapika opened his mouth, but Joey kept going.
"Oh—and his ability is cloning. I didn't account for that. Gave him a chance to strike."
Kurapika paused, then nodded.
"In your estimation, you couldn't defeat him alone in the short term?"
"He's strong," Joey said simply.
Kurapika knew Joey.
He knew Joey didn't approve of keeping enemy soldiers alive.
He'd always made that clear.
Which meant... for Joey to let Juan live, he must believe he's valuable.
If Joey had been alone, the logical move would've been to kill them all the moment they tried anything.
Kurapika wasn't thrilled by that—
But with only the two of them guarding Woble, they couldn't afford to fracture.
Kurapika understood Joey's motivations well.
For Joey, the priority was reaching the Dark Continent.
The princes? A distant concern.
If things fell apart, Joey could abandon Woble.
Kurapika couldn't.
If Woble died, they'd be given two choices:
Join the Thirteenth Prince's team, or leave the upper deck entirely.
But the Thirteenth Prince had no Guardian Beast—
A natural disadvantage.
Wait... was that part of Joey's plan from the beginning?
Kurapika's expression shifted slightly.
Was Joey intentionally setting up all the pieces to maintain control of the board—while never making a move himself?
That... would be dangerously shrewd.
He had underestimated Joey.
Maybe because of Gon and Killua?
Kurapika's fingers brushed his temple, mentally retracing Joey's steps.
"I was starting to doubt your affinity was Emission. But now... I think you might be after all."
"Huh? That supposed to mean something?" Joey raised an eyebrow.
"And don't use personality to judge Hatsu types. That's junk logic."
"If that's true," Kurapika said, "Then it means you've been hiding something from me.
Juan's identity isn't something I'm meant to know, right?"
He'd baited him.
Joey blinked, then gave a sheepish smile.
Kurapika had him.
"If that's the case," Joey said, "then does it matter what his real identity is, so long as you trust me?
I promise—he won't harm you. He'll cooperate fully."
Kurapika stared at him.
"Fine. But I want one guarantee."
"What?"
"That he has no ties to the Phantom Troupe."
Kurapika's tone dropped. Each syllable was ice.
He'd followed the thread.
He knew Joey was hiding something.
And the only reason to hide a person's identity from Kurapika was if they were connected to the spiders.
Joey exhaled—half-relieved.
He could guarantee Hisoka wasn't with the Troupe.
Hell, the Troupe wanted Hisoka dead.
But the other half of Kurapika's deduction was dead on.
Kurapika was too damn sharp.
Too calm.
He could pick apart an entire situation with almost surgical precision.
That was dangerous.
Still, Joey nodded.
"Yes. I can promise that."
But now Joey knew.
When talking to someone like Kurapika, less is more.
A single stray comment could unravel everything.
"Now I'm even more curious about his identity," Kurapika murmured.
"Oh—and Mizai told me you traded the corpses of two Troupe members for a bounty. How did you do it?"
That wasn't a casual question.
Kurapika was testing him.
Was Joey the type to seek vengeance like him?
Was he neutral? Opportunistic?
"I just picked up the reward," Joey said honestly.
"Hisoka did the killing. You know him."
Kurapika blinked, then smiled faintly.
So Hisoka had fulfilled his goal.
Joey's response told him a lot.
He wasn't like Gon—more like Killua.
And Killua had specifically recommended Joey, praising his creativity and unique thinking.
Now Kurapika understood what he meant.
"I see. So the spider lost two legs."
"And some spiders never regrow legs," Joey offered.
Hinting at the Troupe's current fractured state.
Kurapika didn't comment.
"There's something else," he added.
"With Juan's appearance potentially accelerating awareness of Nen, I'm considering publicly revealing it. That way, all the princes could be taught evenly—it might stall the war."
"Aren't you asking the wrong person?" Joey said.
"You should talk to the Third Prince's guards. This isn't a decision I need to weigh in on."
Kurapika nodded.
He needed a trigger.
Something like... the explosion near Zhang Lei's quarters.
If he could claim the blast came from Nen, it might justify revealing it to the public via the Royal Network.
Of course, he could always just announce it anyway.
But that carried risk.
If he did it too soon after their meeting, Zhang Lei might see it as betrayal—withdraw his guards—and declare war.
That would only accelerate the Succession War, not stall it.
And it would make the other princes wary of them.
Joey glanced at his watch.
Only four hours had passed since the Black Whale left port... and already, chaos was rampant.
But maybe... now they'd hit a lull.
Only question was—
When would Benjamin's next men arrive?
He had a feeling—
Soon.
Minutes later, as Kurapika quietly awakened Woble's Nen, the room's phone rang.
It was no ordinary soldier this time.
Balusa Mielko, Captain of Prince Benjamin's private guard.
His message was simple:
"In one hour, new guards from Prince Benjamin will arrive."
To Joey, it sounded like a challenge.
As if to say:
"If you've got the guts—try to kill them too."
Joey didn't know exactly what Barbomaina had reported...
But this felt like a trap.
One he had no intention of stepping into.
Because this time... it wasn't worth it.