Nobunaga's power vastly outclassed the middle-aged man—both in strength and aura.
The result of the man's desperate counterattack was simply his hand being cleanly severed by Nobunaga's katana.
Originally, Nobunaga hadn't intended to kill the trio.
But their behavior reeked of guilt.
With a slight shift in angle, his blade cleaved off the man's legs, dropping him at his feet.
Then, without hesitation, Nobunaga took off after the two who fled.
As he sprinted, the lizardman's tail suddenly detached.
The severed chunk hit the ground—and transformed into a grotesque replica of the lizardman, claws out, lunging at Nobunaga.
Joey watched the whole thing from afar.
When the tail was shed, the lizardman's aura also dropped slightly.
From the aura split, Joey gauged that the clone's strength barely exceeded an average fighter.
Nobunaga drew into his iaijutsu stance mid-run and cleaved the clone in two with a single slash.
But that brief delay was enough—
The fleeing duo vanished.
The middle-aged man's cloaking ability could activate remotely!
Joey's binoculars shifted to where the man had fallen.
Now only a pool of blood remained—his body was gone.
Without En, Joey couldn't catch all the battlefield's details—binoculars only went so far.
Still, Nobunaga didn't slow.
He launched another emission slash at the spot where the pair had disappeared.
Smart.
Joey had observed it earlier—
Though they could cloak and erase aura, they weren't fast.
A wide-area slash might flush them out.
But only one reappeared—the lizardman.
A new tail had regrown—likely saving him from the slash.
Now fully exposed, he stared at Nobunaga in sheer terror.
"I don't know anything! I was forced into this! I'm not with them—I just want to return to the Dark Continent!"
He dropped to his knees, groveling.
But Nobunaga's eyes weren't on him.
They peered past, scanning the area. "Where's the other one?"
If he couldn't pinpoint the escape direction, his 5-meter En and emission slashes would be useless.
If this lizard wanted to live, he had to offer value.
But the lizardman only bowed lower, slamming his head into the floor, silent.
Was it ignorance or fear?
Judging by his trembling, Nobunaga assumed the latter.
He was now genuinely curious about their background.
Still searching for tracks, Nobunaga asked, "Did you see a black-haired youth before I arrived?"
"Yes! Yes, we did! He said two things, then vanished!"
"So you don't know him?"
"No… but he seemed to be looking for something."
"What?" Nobunaga asked, narrowing his eyes. "What were you doing here?"
The lizardman's eyes flickered with helplessness. "Sir… I'm a lizardman. A demi-human. The Kakin Royal Guard would never trust me with anything important. I was only ordered to stay here with the other two and report if anyone was found searching the Guard's restricted areas."
"You mean there are other Guard-restricted zones on this ship?" Nobunaga latched onto the phrasing.
"I… I don't know."
Nobunaga's gaze dropped to the freshly regrown tail.
From its growth rate and the nearly depleted aura the lizardman had left, he estimated six or seven regenerations might be the limit.
Each tail regrowth consumed a massive amount of energy.
Converting a tail into a clone required a substantial aura investment.
The guy was likely a Conjuration-type Nen user.
Not suited for Emission.
So his tail-clones had limited duration.
Nen projected externally weakens over time.
Without maintenance, clones would degrade and vanish.
Harmless. Useless.
That was Nobunaga's assessment.
He knew enough about Kakin to recognize the caste of demi-humans.
These beings ranked below even the unregistered citizens.
They lived at the absolute bottom—barely considered people.
If not for their physical strength, they'd serve no purpose in Kakin society.
Retreating to the mountains didn't help—Kakin paid Hunters annually to scout its wilderness.
Hostile tribes were either absorbed—or annihilated.
So when the lizardman said he didn't know the true mission, or the other restricted zones, Nobunaga believed him.
But that meant he was worthless.
Nobunaga sheathed his blade and walked back toward where he'd maimed the middle-aged man.
Only to find the man gone.
Blood dragged a few meters, then vanished completely.
Nobunaga's face darkened.
He turned to the lizardman—who was frozen in terror.
No words.
Just a flick of the katana.
The lizardman's head tumbled to the floor, tail limp and useless.
His slit-pupil eyes locked in eternal frustration.
Joey, observing from afar, sighed.
The big lizard had potential.
Joey knew how demi-humans were treated in Kakin.
He'd thought he might recruit the guy—extra clones could've given him serious tactical options.
But he'd also noticed the limitations—short clone durations.
Oh well. Dead was dead.
He'd already intercepted the important one—the middle-aged man.
While Nobunaga was busy chasing, Joey had set his sights on the disabled man.
Unlike the others, he wasn't going anywhere.
Even invisible, his blood trail gave him away.
Joey had to stop the bleeding.
Fortunately, he specialized in this sort of thing.
With Golden Experience, he could generate organic prosthetics to seal the wounds.
Silently, he patched up the man and whisked him away.
To be safe, Joey activated En and used Mirage.
He didn't sense Phinks' En.
And Nobunaga's En? He could ignore that—only five meters.
As long as he stayed out of range, he wouldn't trigger it.
With the captive secured, Joey pocketed the binoculars and moved deeper into the warehouse.
He began interrogating the man on the way—
But Joey wasn't good at that.
Best to hand him over to Mizaistom on Tier 5.
Let the pros handle it.
He knocked the man out with a karate chop.
The moment the man lost consciousness, his invisibility dropped.
Joey carried him and pressed on.
Now unguarded, the previously off-limits storeroom—impenetrable even to cockroaches—finally lay ahead.
Guards were still posted nearby.
But Joey didn't call for Nobunaga.
He handled them himself.
No Nen.
Just raw speed and hand-to-hand skill.
Within seconds, every guard lay unconscious.
There were no other Nen users.
His En spread easily into the room.
Joey frowned.
Something felt… off.
Before, not even a mosquito could enter.
Now the room felt open, like it was inviting guests.
He stopped just shy of touching the door.
Weather Report appeared on his shoulder.
Killer Queen stood beside him.
Wind blasted the door open.
But Joey didn't enter.
Instead, he sent in a fresh Withered Heart Piercer Carriage.
He stayed outside—waiting.
Sensing.
Three seconds later—connection lost.
"Spatial-type ability…" Joey licked his lips.
Only spatial separation could explain the sudden severance.
His previous bugs? Likely transported, then destroyed.
But the Piercer…
Its feedback indicated it wasn't destroyed.
Just out of range.
The Carriage was built tough.
Standard attacks couldn't break it.
Joey still wasn't sure of its status—
Or whether the other side of that room was the coffin zone.
But just finding this space was huge.
He didn't need to enter himself—he had clones.
A clone could scout it for him.
He marked the location in his mind and turned away.
It was time to leave.
His clone was still on Tier 1.
And the 20-hour deadline he'd set with Kurapika was approaching.
So far, Belient hadn't shown signs of losing control.
That surprised Joey.
According to Bisky, Belient's condition had even improved.
It led both Joey and Kurapika to suspect the twelfth prince's Nen beast had been exorcised.
Doing that was no small feat.
One method: use an Exorcist.
Another: let the beast initiate its pact, then have a third party subdue the host—causing the beast to possibly flee.
That second option was risky—and unconfirmed.
Just a theory of Joey's.
But with Kurapika's help, a third method was viable:
Kurapika could steal the host's Nen ability, rendering them a civilian.
The Nen beast would abandon a powerless vessel.
The twelfth prince's beast only affected Nen users.
Joey suspected Belient had received Exorcist aid.
But when? Who? Where were they hiding?
Too many questions.
He shook them off.
For now, he had to escape the Phantom Troupe's encirclement.
There were two exits.
The one he entered from—where Phinks and the others came.
Or the one Nobunaga was heading toward.
The former was suicide.
That left Nobunaga.
Joey had practically mapped out his Hatsu.
Enhancers like him had no edge against Joey's setup.
If Nobunaga tried to block him—Joey wouldn't mind a rematch.
He might even kill him.
That'd be a nice payday.
He didn't care about offending the Troupe.
His ties were with the Hunter Association.
He and the Troupe had been on opposite paths from the start.
And they already saw him as Hisoka's ally.
They were clearly trying to use him to locate Hisoka.
So why show mercy?
(End of Chapter)