At 11:50 PM, Joey arrived at the Deck 3 observatory.
From here, he could see the pitch-black ocean and feel the cool sea breeze.
It was only the second week of the voyage. The B.W. hadn't yet left charted waters, and there was no real danger. Even the moonlit sea looked calm and tranquil.
The starlight overhead sparkled. When Joey looked up, he sensed someone entering his En.
He turned and saw a tall woman in a black dress gracefully approaching.
Morena wasn't exactly sweet-looking—despite the twin scars under her left eye, she still held a certain allure.
Especially her eyes—those deep black orbs under her perpetually sorrowful brows sparked a strange protective instinct.
"You've changed," Morena said, undisturbed by Joey's En, walking right up to him.
"Yeah. I go by Dio Brando now," Joey didn't deny it.
He had no idea what history Kira Yoshikage had with Morena—better to confirm the change outright.
Whether or not Morena understood what "change" meant was her business.
"You dealt with the Fourth Prince?" Morena brushed her sea-blown hair with a pale hand, not dwelling on names.
"I did. But it doesn't matter anymore. Not worth discussing."
After leaving Sector 12, Joey was already off the royal army's radar. The higher decks would soon notice his absence.
His doppelgänger on Deck 12 only needed to do one last thing—then disappear.
"True. He couldn't wait to get rid of either of us," Morena smiled slightly, clearly pleased with Joey's honesty. "Now—let's talk about the Third Prince. And how you got down here from the upper decks."
"Didn't Hisoka tell you?" Joey leaned on the railing.
"We only worked together briefly. He doesn't share useful intel," Morena said casually.
"So what makes you think I will?" Joey raised an eyebrow.
"Want a hand? How about this one?" Morena lifted her hand, waving it near his face. "How did the last one work out? How long did you use it?"
Joey twitched. This line of questioning was… off.
"But I heard that after you returned, NGL was hit by Chimera Ants. My bad. I forgot to warn you."
Joey remembered the hand sitting on his table when he woke up.
It hadn't been fresh, but it was beautiful. Come to think of it, it did resemble Morena's.
So Morena had met Kira before he woke. And gave him a hand?
But her hands were still intact…
Did this relate to her ability? Could she regrow limbs?
Or was it a smokescreen?
Also, the way she said she "forgot to warn him" hinted she already knew Kakin was going to drop Chimera Ants into NGL.
Which meant the info Joey got from Jelarth at Heaven's Arena was legit—Kakin was the force behind NGL's destruction.
"So you know about Chirp?" Joey didn't take the bait and asked a question of his own.
"Of course. They're important partners of Nasubi," Morena's eyes curved in delight. "You want to know where they are on the ship?"
"That's your bargaining chip?"
Just the intel she'd already shared made the trip to the observatory worthwhile.
"You could say that."
"I heard you're planning to go after a prince," Joey shifted topics again, holding back intel and tossing out bait instead.
Morena frowned slightly. "So your interrogation techniques work."
"Decent enough. I can help you—but info about Weapons isn't enough."
"How will you help? You know this stuff's high treason in Kakin?" Morena's tone turned serious.
"I can get people to Deck 1. Tomorrow, I'm escorting Xi-Yu operatives there to protect the Third Prince," Joey said bluntly. "If you're planning a hit on a prince, how about it? Want to go to Deck 1?"
If the Xi-Yu family could go, it wouldn't be fair if the other two couldn't.
But the Cha-R family probably wouldn't rush—given they didn't even know Joey was on Deck 3. Joey was curious about the Seventh Prince too—what choices he'd make without mafia backing.
And maybe that'd help him understand the Second Queen's motives.
That queen, who followed the Second Prince publicly—but sent private soldiers to the Seventh.
"I won't go to Deck 1. But I am interested in the princesses you brought to Deck 3. Can I trade for them?"
That offer was a hard no for Joey.
He shook his head. "No. They're important."
Morena had also contradicted herself—she clearly knew more than Hisoka had shared.
"Fine. What do you want then?" she asked.
"Your ability," Joey said without hesitation.
"You want to kiss me?" Morena mock-gasped, covering her mouth.
Joey wasn't buying it. "Yeah. Is that okay?"
Morena's ability—Love Tune.
By spreading a disease via saliva, including herself, she could create up to 23 "infected."
These infected leveled up by killing, increasing their aura and power.
At level 20, they awakened their own unique Nen ability. At level 100, they became Patient Zero and could start their own infection network.
Level 1—ordinary. Level 10—Nen awakened. Level 20—unique ability.
Beyond that, their powers scaled upward like an RPG.
And in this game, the bosses were the princes.
Killing a prince gave a 50-level boost. Kill two? Immediate Patient Zero.
Joey wanted the level 20 unique ability. It was a shortcut to real power.
As for killing—he already had high-level princes in mind. Some deserved to die.
Morena considered. "Possible. But I need more incentive."
Joey frowned. Morena smiled slyly. "Some of my infected have already leveled up a lot. If they keep going, they'll find ways to assassinate princes on their own. I'm not in a rush to send anyone to Deck 1."
"What do you want then?" Joey wasn't surprised. Morena wasn't out to just wreck the succession war—she wanted to tear down the world.
She was a true madwoman.
Her ability proved it.
Regular people might flinch at killing. But seasoned mafiosos? They wouldn't resist the temptation of getting stronger with every kill.
A flood of Patient Zeros would plunge the ship into chaos.
Assassination. Bloodbaths. Massacres. Uncontainable.
"A prince's life?" Morena tested. When Joey ignored her, she shifted: "Protect me."
Joey frowned. "That's not a real offer. Be serious."
"Let me stay near you. That's not too much, right?" she proposed again.
"I'm meeting with Xi-Yu people. You want to follow me?" Joey squinted.
"Yes," Morena nodded. "I'll disguise myself."
"Want me to swap your head?" Joey rolled his eyes.
"No need."
"You're serious?"
"Absolutely. I can give you a hand as advance payment."
"No thanks."
"You've changed."
"You already said that."
"I won't cling to you. Just stay nearby. You chose Deck 3, right? If I get in trouble, I'll signal you. Help me three times, and we can kiss now."
"That's too many. One."
He wasn't risking himself three times. Morena's enemies would be the top elites from the other mafia families. Even once would be dangerous.
Besides, if he wanted her ability—it had to be a worthwhile deal.
And he added, "Not now. Later."
"Two times," Morena haggled. "If I die, you won't get my ability."
"Deal. But how will you stay close enough for me to find you if something happens?" Joey asked.
Two times was acceptable.
She was right—if she died, the ability was gone. And the mafia conflict wasn't stable enough for her death.
Morena pulled out a small box and handed Joey a ring. "It'll guide you if there's danger."
Joey took the ring—he could feel the aura inside.
A conjured item.
He saw a matching ring on Morena's hand. It was like a tracker—only the wearer could sense her location.
When Joey didn't return the ring, Morena relaxed.
They talked more at the observatory.
To be precise—Joey extracted more mafia intel from her. Around 2 AM, they parted.
Joey wouldn't use his real body to gain Morena's ability—it was too risky.
He'd wait, withdraw the clone, and use that one for the kiss instead.
Meanwhile, he'd find suitable targets.
Level 1 was useless. Level 20 was the goal.
He wouldn't kill civilians. That left princes—or mafia targets.
Back in his room, Joey analyzed the entire interaction. Morena and Kira likely had a good relationship—she kept teasing him throughout.
Kira's identity did have its perks.
Before leaving, Morena had also told him about the "Weapon" hidden on the ship.
According to her, he was somewhere in the VIP zone on Deck 2. If Joey wanted to deal with him, he'd have to go up.
Joey decided to delay that.
He also told Morena he was searching for the Coffin Zone and asked her to help.
She didn't object. She'd lost some internal manpower, but still had plenty of laborers for investigations.
No reason to refuse.
Joey also told her he was looking for a chance to assassinate Nasubi—her father.
Morena said, if there was a way she could help, count her in.
Joey's first question: "Do you remember what happened to the previous Kakin King after Nasubi took over?"
The succession war ends when only one prince remains. But no intel ever mentioned the prior king.
"After the war, Nasubi became king. They said the previous king retired… but no one really knows what happened," Morena replied after thinking.
But she filed it away in her mind.
Back in his room, Joey soon sensed Morena's presence through the ring—she'd settled into a nearby ordinary room.
He figured the previous tenants were probably gone.
Joey used Gold Experience to conjure a sleek panther-like cat and fed it the ring.
The cat swallowed it and curled up near him.
Around 8 AM, Joey got dressed and left the cat behind, heading to fetch Fugetsu.
Without Love Deluxe, Joey used Gold Experience to create a human-skin mask for her disguise.
The result looked a little off—but as long as Fugetsu's identity was hidden, it was fine.
He cloaked her, hooded her, and at 9 sharp, there was a knock at the door.
He opened it to find Hinrigh with five people.
Joey already knew Lynch and Zakuro. The other three were unfamiliar.
But from their aura, they could all use Nen decently.
He'd been warned about the blood delivery last night, so Fugetsu was already briefed.
With Hinrigh's men ready, Joey confirmed again: "Just these three? I'll say it again—I only send people. No return trips."
"Got it," Hinrigh nodded.
Joey turned to Fugetsu. A door slowly appeared on the wall before her.
She stepped up and pulled it open.
Joey addressed the three: "Go through the door. At the end, open it—you'll arrive at Sector 3. I can't say where exactly. That's on you."
Hinrigh looked at them too. "The rest is up to you."
The three nodded solemnly and crawled in.
On Deck 1, Sector 3, the Third Prince sat at his desk. Gobendeba stood silently behind him.
No one noticed when an outline of a door shimmered on the wall behind Gobendeba.
From its appearance to its opening, it took under ten seconds.
The sudden aura spike alerted Gobendeba—but too late.
A dagger stabbed toward his back.
He heard a ringing—his earpiece, connected to the VVIP zone and Baruzamilko.
BOOM!
The earpiece exploded less than a second into the ring.
The blast jolted the Third Prince upright. He turned—Gobendeba had taken defensive stance.
And three intruders now stood in the room.