"The Body Knows Everything."
The woman's name was Linch. Her ability allowed her to ask a question, then beat the target—and the target's body would answer, even if the mind resisted.
Unfair in interrogations, ridiculously so.
The catch: only Linch could hear the answer.
Joey thought: if he could master that ability—or at least gain Linch's cooperation—he could abduct Nobunaga and beat answers out of him. And in doing so, uncover a trove of intel about Nasubi.
From what the manga showed, Nasubi shared a lot with Nobunaga, and Nobunaga did plenty in his service.
Even if Nobunaga wasn't an option, the blood-manipulating ability of the other Xi-Yu member was also useful.
Combined with Hinrigh's conjurations, it could stir things up on Deck 1.
With First Prince Benjamin's troops weakened, Second Prince Camilla was bound to grow stronger. If Third Prince Zhang Lei wanted to keep pace, expanding his forces now would increase the chaos up top—and draw less attention to District 12.
Joey and Hisoka's exit had thrust District 12 into the spotlight.
The only reason no one had attacked yet was that Joey had crippled enough of the First Prince's power.
But that didn't mean no one could touch them.
Cooperating with the Xi-Yu family would also give Joey a reason to approach O'niol.
Nasubi's brother hadn't joined the succession war, but he surely held valuable intel.
The only question was: how to get it from him.
"Manipulator-type ability…" Joey touched his chin. If he had something like Neferpitou's control technique, things would be much easier.
Or Pakunoda's memory-reading by touch—also useful.
Thinking of abilities brought to mind the Ai-Ii family boss: Morena.
Maybe he should find a way to approach her too.
But first—he had to secure the safety of the Tenth and Eleventh Princes.
And he needed to investigate the ship for any hidden "coffin chambers."
If Nasubi's power involved spatial displacement, those chambers likely existed somewhere on the ship.
Finding them would give Joey a huge advantage.
There was a lot to do. He reached for his phone, planning to text Piyon about when she'd return—and to suggest moving the Princes.
Then his phone lit up with a new message.
It was from Mizai.
"Hisoka contacted the Ai-Ii family and attacked the Troupe on Deck 5. Things are murkier than ever down here. I need your help."
Joey's eyes lit up.
Hisoka moved fast—already made a connection with Ai-Ii?
In that case, contacting Morena through Hisoka just got easier.
He regretted not giving Hisoka a phone—it would've simplified things.
Mizai added, "Come to the security zone on Deck 3. I'm here."
"I'm not coming," Joey replied. "It's not ideal for me to interact with you. I'm not a pro Hunter."
He was willing to help, but exposing his connection to the Association? Not yet.
"I think your ability suits the assassination cases we're investigating on the ship." Mizai pressed.
"It's the Ai-Ii family's doing. You'll find them eventually. All Nen users—once the fighting starts, the assassinations will probably stop on their own," Joey dismissed.
"You're set on working solo?"
"I already collaborate with Piyon and Kite. I just don't want to get involved with your investigation. Too much trouble, and it's thankless." Joey wasn't like Mizai, who needed solid evidence to act.
If Joey suspected someone, he'd attack immediately.
Cripple the target first—if they were guilty, the truth would come out. If not, he'd patch them up with Golden Experience.
That kind of method would expose his ability. Mizai wouldn't approve. Best to stay out of it.
As for slowly deducing the truth? Joey didn't have the patience.
"Fine. Be careful if you go to Deck 5. Four or five Troupe members are down there."
"Don't worry. I've got no beef with them."
"No—you do. That corpse-selling incident? Easy to trace back to you."
"???"
Joey texted back question marks. "Are you messing with me?"
"No."
"Then what the hell? And what do you mean, 'selling corpses'? I was just collecting bounties."
"Yeah, but the payout was huge. Some folks in the Association are envious," Mizai replied.
"When will the Association stop leaking like a damn sieve? And couldn't you block it?" Joey facepalmed.
"The money had to go through you."
"Fine. Got it. Still, the Troupe wouldn't get petty over two bodies." Joey resigned himself.
"That's not the issue. The issue is that Hisoka might drag you in, now that he's targeted the Troupe," Mizai warned.
Joey paused.
He hadn't considered that.
If Hisoka could drag in the Ai-Ii family, pulling him in too wasn't far-fetched.
It also meant Hisoka's current actions were totally different from how he acted toward Joey up on the upper decks.
Back then, he said bringing Kurapika in would ruin the fun.
Now? He was enjoying himself to the fullest.
Involving Joey was one thing—but if Kurapika got entangled in this war with the Troupe, that would be a real problem.
Fortunately, Joey's clone had kept an eye on Kurapika—no irregularities so far.
"I understand. I'll be careful." He replied.
Then Piyon messaged him.
"I'll bring food in an hour."
"Change the room. The Princes aren't exposed, but I am."
"Already? Come to Room 3036. I'll head there soon," Piyon replied, like she'd expected this.
"I'll send the Princes over. I'll stay here. Got a fish to catch."
"Then solve dinner yourself," Piyon texted back simply.
Joey sent a quick "ok," then returned to move the Princes.
Fifteen minutes later, he was back—alone—and waiting.
But not idle. He conjured cockroaches, sending them crawling through the ship's vents.
He wasn't going to wander BW by foot. Golden Experience's creations were best for that.
Each cockroach had a simple command: return if you see something strange.
In front of him lay a map of BW's lower decks.
Each time a cockroach died, Joey marked the spot.
BW was massive. Mapping a single deck would take ages.
Three hours later, Joey stretched. Only one-fifth of the deck was covered, but over thirty cockroaches had perished.
A knock came.
He tapped the map—it transformed into a white mouse and crawled up his sleeve.
He opened the door.
No surprise: it was the three from the Xi-Yu family.
"Come in."
They weren't surprised either—they'd sensed his En before entering.
Hinrigh entered first, followed by the blood-user Zakuro, then Linch, who shut the door behind her.
"Hello. I'm Hinrigh of the Xi-Yu family," said the long-haired man with a rebellious fringe.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Dio—Dio Brando," Joey replied. "I assume you already know who I am."
"Yes," Hinrigh nodded. "We're here to make a deal."
"Oh?"
Hinrigh's directness earned him points in Joey's mind.
"We want to reach Deck 1 and replace the Third Prince's private guards. What's the price?" Hinrigh asked, clearly expecting extortion.
But Joey knew—they had no choice.
The Third Prince had nothing that interested him.
And Joey had never even shown himself before the prince.
His sudden appearance below must've caught the prince off guard.
Then again, showing up so openly also sent a message—he was here for something.
Better to ask directly than to speculate. That's how deals are made—or not.
And part of this meeting was surely a test.
When Joey opened the door, he'd noticed their positions and aura—they were ready to fight at any moment.
But Joey didn't seem weak.
Without knowing his ability, they wouldn't act rashly.
Having concluded that, Joey spoke: "I want to meet O'niol."
Hinrigh shook his head. "Phone call. The boss is in the VVIP zone. Meeting's not possible."
Hinrigh knew O'niol wasn't a Nen user. If Joey had a Manipulation ability, meeting him could mean being controlled.
"Alright." Joey nodded.
Hinrigh handed him the phone.
Joey didn't take it—just looked at him.
Hinrigh didn't react. He tapped the speaker button.
The call had been active the whole time—O'niol had heard everything.
"Say it. What's your demand?"
"Crush the Gasha family," Joey said calmly.
"Why?" O'niol asked.
"Because we've allied with the Ai-Ii family," Joey replied.
"You and Hisoka, huh? You're targeting the Troupe?" O'niol guessed.
No answer came.
He continued, unfazed: "That's tough. Before we contacted you, we already took out some Ai-Ii people. The gang war's started.
If we turn on the Gasha now, both sides might hit us."
Joey wasn't surprised. He frowned slightly. "Then trade info. I'm looking for a room that stores coffins. Got a lead?"
"No. But if it's on the ship, I can investigate." O'niol promised.
"Not enough. I need Gasha intel."
Of Kakin's three major mafia families, Joey knew the least about the Gasha.
Without asking about the succession war directly, this info would be enough for now.
He also wanted to use the Xi-Yu family as his vanguard to find the coffin zone.
The royal sector's heavy defenses made him suspect that was where the coffins lay.
Nasubi's power made him notoriously hard to kill.
If the coffin area was more important, his elite troops would guard that, not the royal zone.
Asking O'niol about the coffins was also a test—how much did O'niol know about the war?
But his calm tone implied he knew nothing.
He could be pretending. Either way, Joey had planted a seed of curiosity—or suspicion.
"Deal," O'niol accepted instantly.
"Good. Tomorrow at noon, have your people ready. I'll send them to Zone 8 on Deck 1."
Now that terms were clear, Joey gave his commitment.
"Zone 8?" O'niol sounded puzzled.
"Yes."
"Not Zone 3?" he asked.
"I can—if you can handle Gobendeba," Joey said, glancing at Hinrigh.
"Zone 8's fine. But we'll discuss it internally," Hinrigh replied.
"Sure. Just tell me the destination in advance."
"Alright," Hinrigh nodded.
"Then it's settled. My people will bring the intel tomorrow. Let's hope it's a smooth deal," O'niol concluded.
Trap or not, if you make a deal, you accept the risks.
"I'll start investigating the coffin zone right away. But I can't promise when I'll find anything," Hinrigh said, pocketing the phone.
"Of course," Joey nodded.
Whether it was down here or not was still unclear. He could wait.
And if Xi-Yu started digging, the other families wouldn't lag far behind—even if they didn't know why it mattered.
Deal done, the three left without lingering.
Joey pulled out the map again, resuming his Deck 3 survey.
By 5 PM, he stepped out, heading toward the locations where his cockroaches had died.
He'd never sent just one roach per area—but all had perished.
So these spots needed checking in person.
But now wasn't the time to activate En. Too risky.
At the fourth location, Joey froze.
Only one person was there.
Someone he didn't want to meet—yet.
Jaguar Zoldyck.
"Yo. Busy?" said the man inside the open door, sitting beside a large fish tank, fishing rod in hand.
"Nice mood," Joey noted, giving a thumbs-up at the bucket of caught fish.
"Not bad. Wanna join?" Jaguar offered him a rod.
"I'll pass. Got business," Joey waved it off. "Hey, I heard your boy joined the Troupe."
"Did he? I wouldn't know," Jaguar said, picking his ear.
"Yeah, he did. What, you interested in Kortopi?" came Illumi's familiar voice behind Joey.
"No, just asking. This ship's a mess. Better to lay low. Organizations like the Troupe are magnets for trouble," Joey warned.
Illumi didn't care. "He has his mission."
"Taking out Hisoka?" Joey asked directly.
"No idea~" Illumi said, sitting beside Jaguar and staring at the fish.
"He's not joining us, is he?" Joey also sat.
Jaguar answered, "No. When the ship docks, his job's done."
Joey nodded. Then Illumi turned to him, suddenly alert.
"You working with Hisoka?"
"Yeah. Sort of," Joey admitted.
"Careful. The Troupe's not easy. I don't want the key artifact for the Dark Continent mission broken before we even arrive," Illumi warned.
"…What?" Joey blinked at him, confused.