As Joey spoke, a door slowly materialized on the wall of the room.
He stepped forward and knocked. The door swung open to reveal two beautiful women: Kacho and Fugetsu, the 10th and 11th princes of Kakin.
"Our disappearance has already attracted the guards' attention," Kacho said, worry in her voice. "It won't be easy to keep using our identities as we did before."
"They'll probably connect our disappearance with the Fourth Prince's, so we shouldn't need to panic just yet," Fugetsu added.
But Joey inwardly shook his head. He knew King Nasubi would be aware of Kacho and Fugetsu's life status. Once their departure from the first deck was confirmed, other princes would also be informed. And in the lower decks, plenty of high-ranking princes' private soldiers were hidden—meaning their escape would trigger pursuit and assassination attempts.
Kacho didn't notice Joey's expression. Instead, she scanned the room and quickly deduced their location. "This is the king's quarters, isn't it?"
She based her deduction on the decor—distinctive symbols of royal identity.
"You're right. Which means you two now need to link to Room 5077 on the fifth floor, the one already prepared," Joey said, citing intel from Mizaistrum.
That same intel confirmed Franklin, of the Phantom Troupe, was currently in the fifth floor's central cafeteria.
He was the first opponent Joey had lined up for Hisoka.
Whether Hisoka won or lost, what happened afterward wasn't Joey's concern.
"By the way," Joey turned to Hisoka, "can I have my item back now?"
Hisoka took a step back. "Nope. I still need it. But I'll offer you a trade."
Joey frowned. He had expected some trouble reclaiming the handkerchief—but had hoped otherwise.
He checked the time again. His En and thorough scan of the room still revealed no hidden doors or secret chambers. That meant Nasubi's escape most likely involved space-type Nen abilities.
Which complicated things.
Was the casket room physically on the ship? Or tucked into some spatial Nen ability like Knov's [4-D Apartment]?
Joey realized he'd need to comb the Black Whale thoroughly to find out.
If it existed physically, it could be destroyed. But if it was a separate space, assassinating Nasubi would be far harder.
As he thought this, Joey ran his hand along the nearby couch and glanced at Hisoka. "Fine. What's your offer?"
"I'll help you once we reach the Dark Continent," Hisoka replied.
"No deal." Joey instantly rejected it. A vague promise like that was worthless.
While speaking, he carefully took a small surveillance camera from his coat—a precious item specially requested from Pyon.
He'd only gotten one—but it was enough for this mission.
Knowing he wouldn't be able to retrieve it, Joey placed it in a well-hidden spot with a clear view of the couch. Still, he hesitated. The device was expensive.
If it didn't yield results, it'd be a waste.
Hisoka pouted. "Then what do you want?"
"You know exactly what I want," Joey said, raising three fingers.
Hisoka paused, then offered, "Twice."
"Deal." Joey smiled faintly.
"By the way, where'd you get that thing? I want one too," Hisoka said, referring to the chimera bug item [鸣] he'd used.
The ability-enhancing tool intrigued him. If it weren't for the risks Joey had mentioned, it would be a perfect training aid.
"I warned you about the risks," Joey reminded. "Want to know more? That'll cost you."
"Forget it. I'd rather figure it out myself. Besides, I know where you've been, what you've done. Just a bit of deduction—though getting that item must be tough, right? It's rare," Hisoka said, twirling a card.
"Time's about up. We leaving?"
Joey wasn't surprised Hisoka had investigated him. They'd crossed paths too many times for that.
Given the sieve-like information leaks of the Hunter Association, it wasn't hard to piece together his connection to [鸣].
Especially since Hisoka seemed to know something unusual about the Dark Continent—he'd even asked about the Gatekeeper.
So Hisoka's earlier questions had likely been a probe—to see if any chimera-type agents were aboard.
Joey knew there were people possessed by [weapons] on the ship—but had no intention of giving up that intel for free.
If Hisoka wanted answers, they'd trade for it.
And if Hisoka could sniff out one of them? All the better.
"Yes. Let's go," Joey said, turning toward the wall.
The portal had changed.
Fugetsu could open the door to the target location, but only Kacho could summon the return portal.
Because neither were Nen users, their daily uses of the ability were limited.
Three to five times max—based on stamina and mental energy.
After all, the ability consumed both.
Joey watched as Hisoka and his clone—still disguised as Phinks—crawled through the portal behind the two princesses. He gave the king's bedroom one last look, then dispelled his En and followed through, closing the door behind him.
Moments later, the door exploded.
The icy blockade was shattered by brute force, and a squad of Royal Guards stormed into the royal quarters.
Leading them was Nugui, short of stature and smiling.
He showed no panic at Nasubi's absence. Instead, he calmly ordered a full search of the quarters.
After several rounds, no intruder was found. Nugui had the team retreat.
But investigations into the Prince Zone would follow. This was no drill—this had been a real infiltration and assassination attempt.
Nugui remained behind, shutting the door.
Minutes later, a translucent figure emerged near the couch—resolving into King Nasubi Hui Guo Rou.
"F—"
Before he could speak, he turned to ash.
Nugui's ever-calm expression finally shifted.
But before he could move, the scattered ash gathered again and reformed into Nasubi.
Behind him, the grotesque Nen Beast with numerous breasts turned to dust and vanished.
"Someone's been here. And they left traps," Nasubi's voice was low and chilling.
Nugui immediately dropped to his knees, slamming his head to the floor. "This is my failure! I deserve death!"
"Get up. What happened?" Nasubi said.
As he spoke, a new Nen Beast appeared behind him—unlike the previous one, but just as monstrous.
A massive female head with upright ears and a torn mouth, stretched to open impossibly wide. Its horse-like body had limbs that resembled a blend of human and beast—and high heels on its hind legs betrayed its identity.
It was once the Fourth Prince's Guardian Beast.
It darted its head toward Nugui, leaving a cut on his face.
Then, sensing something, it turned—its enormous eye locking onto the camera.
Nugui ignored the wound and followed its gaze. "A surveillance device!"
The words had barely left his mouth when the camera morphed—becoming a venomous snake that lunged at the beast.
Nasubi raised a hand, but stopped. The beast had already devoured the snake in one bite.
"Search the room. That wasn't the only device," Nasubi ordered, suppressing his aura. The beast vanished as he entered Zetsu.
Nugui bowed and left, returning with several Royal Guards.
They combed every inch of the room—even a cockroach wouldn't escape.
…
When they emerged from the portal, Joey and the others appeared in a deserted room.
"Kakin's three mafia families—two of them are scouring the lower decks for you," Joey said to Hisoka, pulling out his phone and frowning at the poor signal. "They've probably cleared the fifth deck already. Showing up in front of Franklin should be a nice surprise."
"I'll escort the princes to the third deck's general area," Joey said, handing Hisoka a beetle-shaped bug. "If you need an extraction, crush it. I'll come for you three hours later."
Hisoka took it. "See you then."
With a swipe across his face, Hisoka changed appearance completely.
His clone—still disguised as Phinks—followed him out.
Joey turned to Kacho and Fugetsu.
"Last time today," Kacho said, playfully. She had learned from Melody that Joey and his allies were trying to protect her. After meeting Pyon, she believed it. Her tone had grown softer, more teasing.
Fugetsu smiled at Kacho's behavior.
She seemed to have noticed a little secret about her sister.
"Yes, last time," Joey agreed.
The secret door opened again. The three slipped through—and emerged to find Pyon waiting.
Today, the smartphone girl had ditched her bunny suit for a cute little dinosaur outfit.
"You weren't kidding?" Pyon blinked at Joey. "You're actually leaving? What about Kurapika?"
"I left a clone," Joey answered plainly.
Pyon paused. "A clone? But you're Emission-Type."
"Mm." Joey gave her a glance before refocusing on his phone screen.
It displayed the king's bedroom.
From the guards moving through frame, Joey could tell they were searching the area thoroughly.
He hadn't disguised the camera as a bug or small animal—his insect infiltration plans had all failed miserably before entering the Royal Zone.
So now, he was worried.
"What are you watching?" Pyon asked politely, not peeking at the screen.
"I set some things up before leaving. Waiting for results," Joey said without handing her the phone.
What came next might involve Killer Queen—his trump card. Best not to expose it unnecessarily.
Pyon nodded. She didn't mind his secrecy. The fact he shared info about his clone proved his trust.
No point pushing further.
Seeing Joey busy, she tended to Kacho and Fugetsu instead.
The two girls, familiar with the place, ran off hand-in-hand whispering secrets.
Pyon didn't mind. She was constantly busy, managing a flood of data on her phone—everything from upper deck happenings to lower deck death reports.
She'd need to summarize all of it for Mizaistrum.
And Joey's arrival, too.
"Oh right—Hisoka's on Deck Five now. He'll probably go after Franklin soon, so tell Mizai to keep an eye on the lower decks," Joey said without looking up.
"You two sure love playing with fire. Aren't you afraid it'll blow up in your face?" Pyon muttered. She knew Joey and Mizai were using Hisoka as a wild card.
But the lower decks were chaotic enough already. Throwing the Phantom Troupe and Hisoka into the mix could cause anything.
Best case: the mafia wars cool down.
Worst case: a full-scale brawl that could sink the ship.
And they hadn't even reached the Dark Continent yet. If the ship sank in uncharted waters, who knew how many would survive?
"The mafia war can't be suppressed anymore," Joey replied. "Fourth Prince—the Ayii family's true backer—is dead. Their boss is breaking the rules."
"So why not toss in a grenade? The mafia loves to fight—send in the Troupe and Hisoka, let them grind each other down."
Joey glanced at Pyon. "They all talk tough, but they have goals. Whether it's the Kachou-aligned Gasha, the Shuu-Wuu group, or even the rabid Ayii, none of them want this ship to sink."
"So make Hisoka and the Troupe the biggest bait. Let the three families target outsiders. Whether they ally, exploit, or clash—it'll drag out the chaos."
"You and Mizai always have a reason," Pyon muttered.
At that moment, Killer Queen materialized beside Joey and pressed its right thumb.
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New translation : Naruto : I Got "Return by Death" Kind Of Cheat
New story translated ! This one is interesting, give it a try !