I Got Killer Queen in Hunter x Hunter ?!

At 1:50 PM, the Twelfth Prince—actually Joey's clone—used fatigue as an excuse to return to his quarters.

Joey, acting as a bodyguard, entered alongside another guard who couldn't use Nen. They stood behind a screen to "protect" the prince.

At the same time, Joey activated Mirage Mirage to camouflage Kurapika's temporary departure from Tier 1.

Though Sakata had awakened his Nen, he hadn't learned the skill of En—a basic technique that required time and training to master.

At exactly 2:05 PM, the passage reopened. Kurapika returned to Tier 1—bringing Hisoka with him.

Nothing unexpected occurred, which made Joey exhale in relief.

Since it had already been promised, Hisoka didn't delay. He immediately conjured a clone, and Joey disguised it as the Twelfth Prince using Texture Surprise.

Joey then dismissed his own clone and conjured a new one roughly the same height as the Third Prince.

"Next stop: VVIP zone. I got the room number from Sakata. All we have to do is go," Joey said, glancing at Fugetsu to confirm everything was in place.

"Do I really need to come along?" Hisoka suddenly asked, smiling faintly.

It was a fair question. If they didn't plan to interact with Sakata, they could've just shaped Joey's clone to look like the Third Prince—no need for Hisoka at all.

"Knew you'd catch that. I suspect they might try to kill me. I just need a small favor," Joey replied smoothly.

"A small favor, huh?" Hisoka chuckled, offering no objections.

"Shall we head out?" Joey asked.

"By all means. Lead the way."

After one last check, Fugetsu focused on the room number Joey had given her. The door formed on the wall.

Joey's clone and Fugetsu entered first. Then came Kacho and Hisoka.

Hisoka seemed pleased with the arrangement—it meant if there were danger, his clone would be the first to get hit.

"You're really not coming?" Kurapika asked. "If things go south, Hisoka and your clone are expendable, but Fugetsu and Kacho…"

"I know. But they agreed. My clone and Hisoka will protect them. At the very least, they'll escape," Joey replied calmly.

He didn't say the rest—surviving the Succession War meant blood and risk.

There was no such thing as a free lunch.

As soon as Joey's clone heard the knock at the door, he recognized the code.

He gestured for Fugetsu—disguised by Texture Surprise—to step back.

He opened the door.

And a pistol was instantly jammed against his forehead.

But before the trigger could pull—Hisoka's clone moved.

Joey didn't even see it.

One moment the attacker was pressing the gun to his skull—

The next, he'd rolled back, eyes white, slumping to the floor.

Two more assailants fell beside him, both holding weapons.

Joey couldn't confirm if they were dead, but one thing was certain—

This was a setup.

Just as he'd suspected.

The Third Prince had laid a trap.

And Tier 12 was the target.

The ambush was sudden, but Joey didn't hesitate. His clone surged forward, bursting from the portal into the room.

Though clones couldn't create his Weather Report beast, this one had been imbued with a substantial amount of Nen.

It couldn't conjure weather, but it could use En and fire projectiles—a long-range emitter-style Hatsu.

And this was Joey's first time in a while using Nen bullets.

Enemies identified—the soldiers outside the portal were now all targets.

The clone's En only had a 20-meter radius, but that was enough.

Within that circle, Joey sensed over seventy Royal Army soldiers.

For a moment, he even suspected Sakata had given him a room number that led straight into the Royal Army's barracks.

These weren't armed with pistols—they carried 7.62mm assault rifles.

And the moment Joey's clone appeared, the soldiers unleashed a hailstorm of bullets.

But they were met by a swarm of Nen bullets.

Each was the size of a steel marble, released from the clone's opened pores, and each one as lethal as a real bullet.

The barrage collided with the army's gunfire.

But the clone's defense was limited.

Its durability dropped as it released more bullets.

It began to fall apart under the onslaught, riddled with holes like a human sieve.

Still, before vanishing entirely, Joey's clone had slaughtered dozens of soldiers.

Gunfire and screams echoed through the chamber.

Inside the portal, Hisoka pulled Fugetsu and Kacho behind him.

They watched silently as the number of enemies dwindled.

And once the last soldier fell—

Joey's clone disappeared.

Now, it was Hisoka's turn.

He stepped through the portal and took a good look at the room.

This was indeed a VVIP suite—but now it was wrecked beyond recognition.

The door creaked open.

Two burly soldiers entered the ruined room.

Fugetsu and Kacho emerged from the passage behind Hisoka. Kacho acted fast—Fugetsu's door glyphs shifted, transforming into a return portal to Tier 12.

Hisoka placed himself squarely between the two girls and the newcomers.

"Hmm… Royal Army elites? You look a little too plain to be interesting," Hisoka smirked.

"Hisoka?" said one of the soldiers—a mustached man stepping forward.

"You're the ones who infiltrated the King's sector before, right? Now you've barged into the VVIP zone. Do you think this ship belongs to you?"

"Whether it does or not—I go where I want," Hisoka replied.

As he spoke, Fugetsu and Kacho slipped into the return portal.

"Not making your move yet?" Hisoka yawned.

"Surely you prepared some ability to block spatial escape, didn't you?"

Kacho and Fugetsu flinched.

Even they weren't sure if there was a trap.

But when nothing happened, Hisoka sighed.

"Tch. I expected more from the Royal Army."

He vanished.

Then—reappeared behind them, holding two playing cards.

"You…"

The two Nen users never even saw him move.

Then—pain bloomed at their throats.

Too fast.

Their skill levels weren't even close.

"You two go back. Stick to Joey's plan," Hisoka said, flicking the now-clean cards away.

They disappeared.

The two soldiers collapsed in growing pools of blood.

"You knew?" Kacho asked bluntly.

"Nope," Hisoka shrugged. "But if they made a move here, then something must be happening in Tier 12 as well."

"You're not coming with us?" Fugetsu sounded concerned.

"Me? If I went back now, Joey's whole reason for sending me would be wasted. And this room… feels like a perfect place to warm up."

A glint of excitement flashed in his eyes.

"Before the real hunt starts—some exercise is in order."

"Come on, Fugetsu," Kacho said, waving. "He'll be fine."

They disappeared through the glyph door.

Now, the room—meant to be an ambush for Joey's group—was occupied only by Hisoka.

And just as he predicted—

Two minutes after the attack on Joey's clone, the doorbell to Tier 12 rang.

Joey and Kurapika exchanged a glance—reading caution in each other's eyes.

Joey checked the video feed.

Royal Army and Judicial Bureau agents.

He didn't open the door.

Instead, he turned to Sakata.

"I want an explanation."

"Explanation?" Sakata replied.

"The weak dream of becoming strong through underhanded means. Reality just tells them—that's impossible. How's that for an answer?"

"So the Third Prince made his move," Joey said, Nen flickering with killing intent.

"Just the Third Prince?" Sakata asked, calm.

And Joey blinked.

A voice came from the door.

"We're here on behalf of the Judicial Bureau and the Royal Army. Please open the door. We're conducting an investigation. Your cooperation is expected."

Polite words—but not a request.

With sufficient evidence, the Bureau and Army had the right to act.

"Shall we open the door?" Sakata said, smiling faintly. "Is the current Twelfth Prince… really the Twelfth Prince?"

Joey's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"The guardian beast was visible to normal people. And now, the spider behind the prince is gone—just like the one behind the Ninth Prince."

Sakata held up two fingers. "Those two facts, combined with your abilities… let me guess: you swapped the Twelfth Prince to the lower tier."

"And the one who attacked the Ninth Prince—was also your doing. That spider must be the evolved form of the Twelfth Prince's Nen beast, right?"

"But I don't get it. Why target the Ninth Prince? Aren't you allies? Or was he getting too noisy… becoming a threat?"

"You're awfully talkative," Joey said, eyes narrowing.

Sakata's guess wasn't all wrong—but he'd hit too close in places.

The beast issue had flaws—Mirage Mirage could be seen by normal eyes, and Joey's concealment wasn't perfect.

Which meant Sakata noticed.

It showed not just guts—but sharp observation and a knack for manipulation.

Tier 12 had very few ordinary people—and those few were guards loyal to the Twelfth Prince.

Sakata may have overheard them—or deduced from indirect clues.

But either way—Joey had to admit—Sakata had pieced together too much.

And Joey had already decided to silence him.

"You…" Sakata tried to speak.

"You just learned Nen. Dreaming about the future with the Third Prince already?" Joey remained calm, ignoring the knocking.

Sakata frowned. "Killing me will only make things worse for you."

"You already know the Twelfth Prince is fake. You know we've offended more than just the Third Prince. With teleportation, hiding is our best option."

Joey smirked.

"The Succession War doesn't require princes to stay on Tier 1. As long as he survives, even in Tier 5—he can still become king."

Kurapika stepped up beside him.

"Staying on Tier 1 is convenient—but not necessary."

He was speaking directly to Sakata now.

Neither of them intended to see the Succession War through to its end.

"Then go hide. Let's see if you can really win from the shadows," Sakata sneered.

But the mockery didn't bother either of them.

Joey simply raised his hand—and Killer Queen appeared.

A coin flicked through the air.

Sakata tried to dodge—

Too late.

The coin pierced his heart.

No pain.

Only the soft click of the invisible ballpoint pen.

And then—he turned to ash.

"Looks like this whole operation was led by the Third Prince," Joey sighed.

"We saw that coming. We've nearly pissed off every high-tier prince," Kurapika replied dryly.

Joey laughed.

"Too bad the Third Prince's soldiers didn't knock directly on the door. Now I'm curious—how do they plan to prove Hisoka's clone isn't the real Twelfth Prince?"

(End of Chapter)