Connections × Diversion × Private Soldier Kamichi

Joey's expression was tense.

Now was the worst possible time to run into members of the Phantom Troupe.

His prior encounters—via his clone—with Chrollo and the others had already made the antagonism between them clear.

If they met again now, a fight would be inevitable.

And if that happened, his biggest concern was Melody getting caught in the crossfire.

If he were alone, fighting or fleeing would be easy.

But if Melody died here, it would betray Kurapika's trust.

Melody had helped him a lot already. Joey couldn't just abandon her now.

But the Troupe's presence in this area was troubling.

The room on Tier 5 hadn't been exposed before.

If they were heading straight for it, that meant someone had leaked intel.

And there was only one possible source: the Second Prince.

Yet the Second Prince wasn't known to be involved with the mafia.

Joey's brows furrowed.

Then he remembered—during his infiltration of Tier 2, he'd seen the Second Queen beside the prince.

She wasn't just the Second Prince's mother—she was also the mother of the Seventh Prince.

And the Seventh Prince was the backer of the Gashaya Mafia Family, the dominant force on Tier 5.

If Tier 2 had any way of contacting the lower-deck mafia, that was it.

Through the Second Queen to the Seventh Prince, from there to the Gashaya Family—and finally to the Phantom Troupe.

The Troupe, natural enemies of Joey, would be a perfect tool for them.

Even if the Troupe knew they were being used, they wouldn't care.

If this was all true, then the relationship between the Second Prince, Second Queen, and Seventh Prince was deeper than expected.

Joey continued monitoring the Troupe's movements via En, trying to determine if they were heading toward Melody's room or toward him, having sensed his observation.

If it was the former, it confirmed his suspicions.

If it was the latter… maybe it was just coincidence.

But Joey highly doubted that.

Another group of three, also detected within his En, paused slightly after sensing it—then resumed heading directly toward Melody's room.

That confirmed it.

Those three were actively seeking Melody.

As Joey calculated, the Troupe made their choice.

They turned—toward the origin point of Joey's En.

They weren't zeroing in on Melody, but they were still close.

"Seriously? Just happened to run into them passing by?" Joey muttered.

Paper scraps fluttered from his pocket, transforming midair into a swarm of insect-like Nen constructs, scattering quickly.

No matter why the Troupe was here, if he could lure them away, he'd take the chance.

If he could eliminate the other group and relocate Melody before the Troupe figured things out, he'd have more freedom.

With that plan in mind, Joey withdrew his En from the Troupe entirely.

Then he turned and moved swiftly toward the three approaching Melody.

As he moved, a coin appeared in his hand.

Killer Queen emerged at his back.

Golden Experience's aura flowed into the coin—turning it into a fly.

The fly circled Killer Queen once, then flew off and vanished.

At the same moment, the Weather Report beast appeared on Joey's shoulder.

Bjorn had been right—there was tracking Nen on Melody.

And judging by how accurate the enemy's movements were, it was extremely effective.

Which meant his first stop on Tier 3 was likely compromised too.

If they traced that spot back to Kite, it could expose his ties to the Hunter Association.

That was the worst-case scenario.

Hopefully, they lacked solid evidence.

Joey guessed the ones doing the tracking were just private soldiers, so the Association wouldn't feel pressured.

But if it was a joint op with the Royal Army, the Association might be implicated too.

Even if he avoided direct blame, it would be much harder to get support from them in the future.

Joey sighed.

He wanted to destroy the Succession War, not play into the princes' hands.

The Second Prince's coercion was pushing Joey to consider killing him.

And if this really did involve the Seventh Prince, then Joey would be adding his name to the list too.

But to confirm that, he'd need to contact Basho.

Except Joey had lost all contact with Basho days ago.

Which left him blind regarding Tier 7's current state.

Biscuit was missing.

Melody's problem wasn't solved.

Izunavi's case was growing urgent.

And now Basho too?

Everything was spiraling.

How Kurapika was still keeping calm, Joey had no idea.

While thinking, he arrived near Melody's room.

But something unexpected happened.

The three seekers had stopped outside the door—and one of them knocked.

Joey immediately suspected a Nen ability—requiring a knock and reply to trigger.

But he dismissed it after a second.

The man outside spoke clearly:

"Is Mr. Dio here? I am Kamichi, a private soldier of the Second Prince. I come on behalf of the Second Prince to propose friendly cooperation."

He wore a plain suit and had an utterly forgettable face—someone who'd vanish in a crowd.

Behind him were a young man and woman.

The guy looked barely out of high school, dressed casually, chewing something, wide-eyed and curious.

The woman looked like a sharp secretary—carrying a handbag, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, lips pressed in a serious frown.

Joey's clone opened the door from inside.

"I expected an assassination attempt. You're surprisingly open about this. Come in."

Joey, watching from afar, wanted to hear what this was about.

Letting them in gave him the advantage—even with unconscious Melody inside.

And if they were serious, maybe they'd help remove the Nen from her.

Time would be wasted on talk, but based on the insect deaths and locations, Joey was now sure—Franklin and Feitan had appeared by coincidence.

Kamichi accepted the invitation and stepped in with the other two.

That attitude earned Joey's private approval.

But even as he shut the door, Joey's mind spun.

What could the Second Prince want from him after burning the bridge?

"Let's skip the small talk. Honestly, I don't see any possibility for cooperation with the Second Prince," Joey's clone blocked the doorway, keeping the trio from going deeper.

He stuck to his usual bluntness.

"No no, Mr. Dio, this is all a big misunderstanding," Kamichi replied. "The Second Prince has never harbored hostility toward you or Kurapika. On the contrary—he respects you both deeply. Things only got messy because the Royal Army got involved."

Joey frowned.

"What do you mean?"

This wasn't just about Melody. There were also their actions in Tier 12.

They couldn't just wave it all away as a "misunderstanding."

He and Kurapika had once shown goodwill to Tier 2—had even warned the Second Prince's soldiers that the First Prince had used a parasitic Nen ability on him.

And now they were repaid with betrayal?

Joey wanted to see how well this guy could spin it.

Meanwhile, a fly entered the room under Joey's remote control.

His En blanketed everything.

If anything went wrong, he'd strike instantly.

The air seemed calm—but even the young boy had lost his curiosity, his eyes now serious.

"Mr. Dio, is the En covering this area yours?" Kamichi asked.

"It is," Joey said flatly.

Kamichi looked surprised, then nodded. "In that case, I'll speak frankly. The Second Prince has always supported Tier 12. But the Royal Army holds hostility toward it. Lord Nugui personally approached the Second Prince and made an offer he couldn't refuse."

"That's why the Second Prince invited Ms. Melody into Tier 2. Her injuries and the Nen on her body were meant to mislead the Royal Army and to create a channel to contact you."

"I brought an Exorcist with me today. She will cleanse Melody of the tracking Nen—and also help remove the curse on the Twelfth Prince."

Joey raised an eyebrow.

He hadn't expected them to say something like that.

But something felt off.

Especially the bit about cleansing the Twelfth Prince—it felt like bait.

If they really had no Exorcist, then without help, the prince would die tonight.

So why reveal this now?

Was it a test?

Joey's mind spun with theories, but outwardly, he said only:

"So what does the Second Prince want out of this 'cooperation'?"

Kamichi's eyes briefly flickered with disappointment—but he covered it quickly.

"Simple. The Second Prince wishes to explore the Coffin Zone with you."

Joey's eye twitched.

He'd intentionally spread rumors of the Coffin Zone within the mafia—but now the Second Prince already knew?

And judging from Kamichi's tone, he might even know more than Joey.

"I—"

Joey started to reply—

—but froze.

His En had detected a small figure moving rapidly toward the room.

Kamichi looked confused, waiting for Joey's answer.

Before he could say anything—

CRASH!

The door burst open behind Kamichi.

A black blur streaked past him and lunged at Joey's clone.

Everything happened so fast that Kamichi only realized it after he felt pain bloom in his back.

He looked in shock toward the woman beside him—only to see fear in her eyes.

Thud!

Kamichi collapsed forward.

But no one was looking at him now.

The black figure was locked in combat with Joey's clone.

The clone already had multiple transparent holes punched through it.

Even with atmospheric resistance slowing the enemy, the clone couldn't match their speed—couldn't even follow their movements.

The woman and the boy tried to bolt—

—but an explosion engulfed the room before they could move.

Flames erupted out of nowhere, consuming everything.

(End of Chapter)