To explore Deck 5, Joey naturally didn't rush in right away. Instead, he remained in the ordinary room where he and Hisoka had previously appeared on Deck 5.
This time, to save time, he used Fugetsu's ability to jump directly from Deck 3 to Deck 5—otherwise, he would've had to pass through Deck 4.
Currently, all the deck access points were guarded by Kakin Royal Army soldiers. Without proper ID or authorization, moving between levels was no easy feat.
Especially since some of the Kakin guards were Nen users. Even using Mirage-type abilities carried the risk of being discovered.
But Joey hadn't brought Fugetsu or Kajol with him this time, so going back up would require him to return manually, level by level.
His departure also dashed Piyon's earlier plans. According to Joey, she'd now need to look after the two girls for at least another two or three days.
Since he was searching for the Coffin Zone, Kaito couldn't exactly blame him. She could only push back Piyon's schedule.
Hiding out in the room, Joey continued using his old method—sending out Gold Experience constructs to scout and gather intel. Meanwhile, he marked strategic zones on a map inside.
It was a slow process, one that couldn't be rushed.
Joey had the patience. The pace also made it easier to control his clone remotely.
Thankfully, the clone created using "Chirping Aura" had no distance limitations, allowing him precise and responsive control.
Sakata had returned from the VVIP zone and immediately found Joey's clone.
"The Third Prince wishes to make a deal with you."
Joey couldn't read anything from Sakata's stone-faced expression, but his heart leapt. He noticed!
"What kind of deal?"
"The Third Prince wants you to impersonate him."
Joey's eyes lit up—just as expected!
"Don't reject it so fast. The prince already knows you're a clone." Sakata laid it all out. "The timing of the Fourth Prince's disappearance is a mystery. When the First Prince's private guards exposed the issue, not even a corpse was found in the royal zone.
Before that, the Royal Army had already been in the Fourth Zone collecting bodies. Back then, the Fourth Prince was still present. But then our informants within the army learned from Nguigui that the prince vanished—possibly even dead.
There's a discrepancy in the timeline. Combine that with your clone ability and Hisoka's disguise talent, and the deduction becomes obvious:
You two successfully assassinated the Fourth Prince. Then, using Hisoka's disguise, made your clone impersonate him.
But you didn't expect that the problem would be exposed from within the royal zone, which is how your cover was blown by the First Prince."
Sakata wasn't wrong. Joey hadn't expected the news of the Fourth Prince's death to leak from inside the royal quarters.
"Nice deduction," Joey praised. "So what's your offer?"
He didn't ask where the Third Prince planned to go or what he intended to do. He knew better than to pry—especially in such dangerous times.
Even though Joey's main goal was to use the Third Prince's identity to explore the VVIP zone, that didn't mean he couldn't squeeze some extra benefit from the deal.
In fact, the more he demanded, the more assured the Third Prince would feel. If Joey didn't ask for anything, that would only make him seem suspicious.
Even for a prince, every move carried danger now. Joey knew the Third Prince must be planning something serious if he was willing to be replaced.
So the real question was: What's the prince planning to do while Joey impersonates him?
Or more ominously—what might happen inside the VVIP zone while he's away?
If it's the former, Joey had no clue. If it's the latter—then whatever goes down will definitely involve the First Prince.
Joey had his own theories, thinking perhaps the Third Prince would cooperate with him to target other princes.
After all, disguise-based infiltration and assassination could have devastating effects.
But now it was clear—the prince's information network far exceeded Joey's.
Their perspectives were different. Despite all Joey's reincarnation experience and fighting Chimera Ants, when it came to the rules-heavy succession war and Kakin's inner workings, his experience meant little.
Fortunately, Joey didn't care about helping any one prince win. His goal was to sabotage the entire succession war.
As long as his direction was intact, he'd carry out his plan his way.
"We'll give you intelligence on the Royal Army and Nguigui. Plus, this is your best chance to investigate the VVIP zone. Surely you won't turn it down, ally?" Sakata laid down the offer.
Joey furrowed his brow.
The Third Prince's offer hit exactly where Joey needed support.
Could the prince have guessed Joey's true goal—disrupting the succession war?
Maybe. Especially if the prince had intel on the Coffin Zone.
If he knew about it, he might've deduced its importance—and therefore, Joey's real motive.
If not, then this whole negotiation was a test—to see whether Joey was after the Coffin Zone or targeting King Nasubi himself.
Few would guess Joey aimed to disrupt the war entirely—it seemed pointless and thankless.
After all, to the princes, the succession war couldn't be destroyed. Even without Nen Beasts, someone would still inherit the throne.
The only question was how many princes would survive.
And that was when it hit Joey.
If survival numbers were key, then the Third Prince may have truly figured it out.
So far, Joey wasn't just protecting the Twelfth Prince—he'd also hidden the Tenth and Eleventh.
Protecting all three? The only way would be to sabotage the succession war itself.
As for promises of pardons—that was nonsense. After meeting Onior, the Third Prince would've realized that.
In Kakin's history, only one prince ever survived—and that one would take the throne.
"I accept. When do we move?" Joey didn't bother hiding anymore.
Since they both needed something, no point playing coy.
"Two days from now," Sakata said.
And that told Joey everything.
Two days from now would be Day 14 of the journey. Day 15—the day of the second royal banquet.
That's when the Third Prince intended to act.
The timing worked for Joey, too. He needed setup—not just for the clone, but for Hisoka.
He'd need Hisoka's help this time.
He also had plans involving the intel from Morena about the [Weapon]. If he could get another artifact, they could field another clone.
Now that he'd tasted the strategic value of clones, Joey found them hard to resist.
Besides, if the [Weapon] wasn't secured, it remained a threat.
But locating it would probably have to wait until after the second banquet.
"Alright. Two days, then." Joey agreed with a nod.
The precise entry time and action plan still needed hashing out with Sakata.
But the infiltration method was simple: Fugetsu would open the door. As long as they identified the exact room, it would work.
That part fell to Sakata—but Joey wouldn't stake his life entirely on him. He'd run his own investigations, too.
The VVIP zone wasn't the royal quarter—Nen users didn't keep En fields up at all times. That made it easier to use insects spawned by Gold Experience for recon.
But that ability had to remain hidden from the Third Prince. As far as he knew, Joey's only power was cloning.
Sakata had recently awakened Nen, but developing his own ability would take time. In the meantime, Kurapika was collecting "interest."
He was recording everyone's aura type using Water Divination.
Some people might refuse—but doing so would exclude them from Nen training.
And without public Nen instruction, self-teaching was pure fantasy.
Sakata was among the few who hadn't revealed his type—since Joey had already sent a Nen user to support Area 3.
A slight shame—but not a big problem.
Even geniuses (except freaks like the Fourth Prince) couldn't develop a personal Nen ability overnight.
And if someone rushed to craft an ability purely using Vows and Limitations, the result often had fatal weaknesses.
Exploiting those weaknesses was easy—if you knew where to look.
Plus, not everyone had the talent to build such abilities. It wasn't a universal shortcut.
Those newly awakened to Nen often lacked basic control. They'd get steamrolled in the 200th floor of Heavens Arena.
Still, both Joey and Kurapika had a lingering fear—that surges in power could awaken dark desires.
New Nen users might do unpredictable things. Even among licensed Hunters, this wasn't uncommon.
Arrogance could drive people into the abyss.
As Sakata parted from Joey's clone, over in Area 2, Second Prince Camilla sat at a dining table opposite her mother, the Second Queen.
"Mother, are you listening? It's been over a week. Why is the Ninth Prince still alive? He's making noise. I'm sick of it," Camilla's tone was irritable.
Recently, she'd used exorcist Wumama to purge a Nen curse—that alone had soured her mood. Now Area 9 kept rumbling, making things worse.
"I'm listening," the Queen said softly. "But the First Prince is also still alive."
"Are you mocking me?" Camilla's eyes turned icy.
Sure, she'd told the Queen she wanted to handle the First Prince first. But that wasn't an excuse to spare the Ninth.
"That's not what I meant. I'm saying this should be resolved between you princes," the Queen replied calmly, like stating an obvious fact.
"Are you planning to leave?" Camilla narrowed her eyes, radiating danger.
"No," the Queen shook her head.
"Then carry out my orders. You should have no problem getting close to the Ninth Prince."
"I can't. Our relationship is poor—you know that," the Queen replied. "He doesn't get along with any of his siblings."
"So you refuse to obey?" Camilla set down her utensils.
"With your strength, defeating him should be trivial," the Queen said, meeting her gaze.
"You're right. I just prefer easier methods." Camilla relaxed her brow.
"Halkenburg is targeting the First Prince," the Queen added.
"Let them tear each other apart, then." Camilla resumed eating, then casually asked, "Is there an exorcist in Area 12?"
"Slaka's reports say no," the Queen shook her head.
Camilla turned to her personal guard captain, Sarahiel.
Sarahiel nodded and left the room in silence.