"So you really are a headache... What identity are you using?"
Joey hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Knowing Kurapika's personality, once he found out Hisoka was onboard the ship—and worse, that members of the Phantom Troupe were as well—there's no way he'd continue quietly following the Hunter Association's orders.
After all, the hatred between Kurapika and the Troupe was one of utter blood vengeance.
And now wasn't the time for Kurapika to throw caution to the wind and team up with Hisoka for a vendetta.
Joey, personally, didn't hold any particular grudge against the Troupe.
Even if they were painted as villains, as a former reader of the manga, he had always found their presence charismatic—dangerous, yes, but magnetic.
Now that he was actually in this world, Joey saw no reason to make enemies unless absolutely necessary.
This wasn't a world of good and evil. It was gray, filled with shifting lines and ulterior motives.
Especially now, with the Succession War at its boiling point, there was no benefit in getting tangled in the chaos below deck or the mess involving the Phantom Troupe.
Still—deceiving Kurapika wasn't going to be easy.
A Conjurer's eye for nuance meant even the slightest lie or behavioral quirk could balloon into suspicion and unravel the entire web. Joey had already experienced it once—with Kite.
He wasn't going to repeat that mistake.
Every gesture, every word, had to be measured.
Thankfully, if Hisoka's identity hadn't been exposed yet, it likely meant Hisoka had experience slipping past Kurapika's lie-detection abilities—particularly the use of the Chain of Judgement on his left hand's ring finger.
And the fact that Hisoka hadn't revealed himself immediately also said something—
He, too, had no intention of clashing with the Troupe right now.
He might have another motive entirely for boarding the Black Whale.
"How about this—'A guard from the Second Queen's faction'? Does that work?"
Hisoka smiled slyly, refusing to give a direct answer.
"Is that a cover story you came up with beforehand?" Joey asked seriously.
He couldn't be sure—Hisoka had already killed the other guards before Joey could interrogate them.
This identity issue was no small matter.
Joey needed to know how Hisoka infiltrated the Royal Guard and ended up among the six assigned to protect Prince Momoze.
"No," Hisoka replied simply.
"Then you'd better have a solid explanation. How exactly did you slip into that group?"
"Simple," Hisoka replied, licking his lips with perverse amusement. "After becoming one of the guards, I just made sure Marayam disliked me. And making kids uncomfortable? I've got a million tricks—like, say, radiating just the right amount of ill intent."
Joey's brows twitched.
Now that he thought about it…
Queen Sevanti had mentioned earlier that Prince Marayam had been startled.
At the time, Joey couldn't sense anything unusual or threatening, nor did Marayam show any lingering signs of fear.
He'd just stared around with those big round eyes, clutching a hamster.
But clearly, Joey had misjudged the situation.
Marayam had indeed been frightened.
It was just that Sevanti had calmed him down quickly—and the one who caused that fear... was Hisoka.
That woman really had nerves of steel—willing to plant a monster like Hisoka next to her own daughter just to get him out of the way.
"You'd better make sure your new identity can hold up under Kurapika's scrutiny," Joey warned. "He won't let it slide otherwise."
"If your cover's clean," Joey added, "Kurapika's not the kind of guy to make trouble unnecessarily—so long as you do your job."
Hisoka didn't reply. Instead, his eyes trailed to Joey's phone.
On screen: Kurapika sitting across from Prince Zhang Lei, the Third Prince.
Behind the prince stood two guards—one of them a soldier from Prince Benjamin's private military.
"So, do we go with a regular conscripted guard identity then?" Hisoka shrugged. "Second Queen's man is actually Nipeipei—the one with glasses. I know all their names. Should help make my story stick."
Hisoka's grin sharpened. "Honestly, I'm not that worried about Kurapika. The one who's harder to handle... is you."
"And Kurapika's going to ask about my ability. But I can't reveal it—it's way too recognizable."
He turned to Joey. "Got any good ideas? If not, I may need to disappear again.
Oh—and don't thank me for cleaning up your mess, by the way."
Joey narrowed his eyes.
By "mess," Hisoka obviously meant the corpses Joey had vaporized with Killer Queen.
With only two guards officially assigned to Prince Woble, those captured infiltrators would've been a serious liability.
Letting Hisoka leave now wasn't ideal either. And explaining away the sudden deaths without Hisoka present would be much more difficult.
The best solution was to keep Hisoka in play—
Give him a fake ability he could use to pass scrutiny.
There was only one option Joey could think of.
But he hated to use it—it was a trump card.
Still, as Hisoka said, Kurapika would ask about his Nen.
It was a deadlock.
Joey sighed. Reached into his coat. Pulled out a folded white handkerchief.
"I've got something. You can borrow it temporarily—it'll grant you a Conjuration-type ability. But I need to inscribe a Divine Script onto your body first. Only then will the object respond to you."
Hisoka didn't reach for it.
"What's the cost?" he asked coolly. "An object that lets you use another Nen category is rarely benevolent. So? What's the downside?"
Joey didn't dodge the question.
"Ten years from now, your soul may be... assimilated by another being."
Straightforward. Honest.
Because if Joey lied, Hisoka would probably sniff it out instantly.
No point in pretending otherwise—especially with a Transmuter as unpredictable as him.
"Fair trade. So—is there a way to prevent it?" Hisoka asked.
"There is," Joey replied. "But it's... tied to other matters. Before I explain, I want to know why you're really on this ship."
"You're not just here to hunt down the Phantom Troupe," Joey continued. "If that's all you wanted, there are better places for it—easier, freer."
Joey had had this suspicion since they last spoke, back at Heaven's Arena.
Boarding the Black Whale just to kill a few Troupe members didn't track.
Hisoka nodded.
"Have you ever heard of the Gatekeepers?"
Joey rolled his eyes.
"Of course. You can't go to the Dark Continent without them."
They were essential guides, according to the Zodiacs.
Without their cooperation, humanity couldn't even reach the edge of the Dark Continent, let alone traverse it.
The whole myth of the V5 exploring it independently?
That was dead wrong.
If the Gatekeepers were truly allies of mankind, the Five Calamities never would've been allowed to return to the human world—where they'd been locked inside Lake Mobius ever since.
Only two had been successfully isolated.
The other three were still out there, their emergence uncertain.
The V5 had been trying to deal with them for years—without success.
Any one of them could exterminate humanity if left unchecked.
Joey never expected Hisoka to mention them.
"That's why I'm here," Hisoka said.
"The Gatekeepers."
Joey frowned.
It was too vague.
Hisoka wasn't lying—he could tell—but it still raised too many questions.
For now, he'd have to wait and see.
"In that case," Joey finally said, "I can block the soul interference from the handkerchief. Temporarily. If you use it in short bursts, it won't harm you."
"But if you want to use it long-term... you'll need to come with me to the Dark Continent. That's where the real solution lies."
It was vague, yes.
But far more generous than expected.
Hisoka narrowed his eyes.
"Can you write the Divine Script with your left hand?"
Joey smirked.
"Of course. Easy."
Actually, he could do it remotely, using the wind. He didn't need hands at all.
"Better to carve it into the skin. Writing it risks fading." Joey pulled out a fine-tipped pen.
"Go ahead," Hisoka said, removing his shirt. "Here—center of the chest. I can see it, and it's easy to hide."
"Don't try using Bungee Gum to fake it," Joey warned.
"Relax."
They both glanced at the phone again—Kurapika's meeting with Prince Zhang Lei was wrapping up.
Soon, he'd be back.
"Better hurry," Hisoka added. "I don't want to be half-naked when they show up."
"I'll even wash you and blow-dry you while I'm at it."
Above Hisoka's head, a rain cloud materialized.
A gentle stream of warm rain washed away the blood.
Then a gust of hot air dried him off.
"Convenient ability," Hisoka murmured. "Still... takes the romance out of a proper post-bath strut."
Joey glanced up.
"I didn't know you were this talkative."
"You just didn't know me well enough. I'm your friend, aren't I? And friends should understand each other~"
Joey's eyebrow twitched.
"If you hadn't tried to probe me with your Nen just now, I might've agreed."
Lightning flashed—crackling through Hisoka's aura and jarring his attempted probe.
Just enough of a zap to be a warning.
"Just saying hi," Hisoka replied, amused.
"Done."
Joey stepped back, handing over the handkerchief.
"The Nen inside will flow into you if you keep it close. But if you fully absorb it, the handkerchief will merge with your body—and convert your affinity to full Conjuration."
Joey listed the caveats while Hisoka studied the aura.
"Oh—need me to craft you a new face? That way even if your Nen changes, your disguise stays intact."
Hisoka shook his head.
"No thanks. I like my face."
Joey shrugged.
"Suit yourself. I made that one, you know."
He turned to the entrance.
Kurapika and Prince Woble were returning—with three additional guards.
Zhang Lei's gesture of protection.
Also a convenient way to shuffle out the excess personnel he didn't trust.
From their uniforms, none of them were Benjamin's men.
A few minutes later, the group arrived.
Kurapika's eyes swept the room—and locked onto Juan, standing beside Joey.
"You gained a man?"
The question came from a voice laced with a thug's edge.
Slakka.
Zhang Lei's guard. But his allegiance wasn't to the Third Prince—it was to Queen Duazul, the Second Queen.
This fact wasn't hidden.
In fact, Kurapika already knew Slakka's identity.
After all, only the First and Second Queens had enough reach to place their men inside Zhang Lei's circle.
And the First Queen hadn't made a move yet—only Benjamin's soldiers had been inserted, and they didn't even bother changing uniforms.
Slakka's role had always been public.
Now, he eyed Juan with hostility.
If Kurapika's answer wasn't satisfactory, he'd act.
Joey stepped forward smoothly.
"He's Juan. One of Woble's assigned guards. He went missing during the earlier incident, then reappeared just before we visited the Third Prince. Probably something to do with the Prince's Guardian Spirit Beast."
It was a half-truth meant for newcomers.
Kurapika would see through it instantly.
But he didn't call it out.
He'd already noticed Joey's En had shrunk.
Partly to avoid conflicting with Slakka's own En... but mostly a signal:
"The others are gone. Juan can be trusted."
Kurapika had no idea what led Joey to that conclusion.
But he trusted Joey's judgment.
Slakka wasn't so easily convinced.
"I still think the kid should be turned over to the Royal Army for questioning. If he checks out, he can return. Also—he needs to explain what happened to the others."
"I don't know where they are," Hisoka replied, stepping forward.
Slakka didn't budge.
"Then explain it... to the Royal Guard."