"This is the benefit of having multiple women, but without enough strength, one really can't enjoy it." The next morning, Daniel Davis, extricating himself from the four soft arms around him, glanced at Ada and Robin beside him and quietly stood up.
The situation had escalated quickly, catching Daniel a bit by surprise. Originally, the night before, he was merely teaching Ada and Robin about meridians and other related knowledge. However, with the touch of skin and the presence of two beauties surrounding him, things naturally progressed further.
"A royal succession war—fourteen princes fighting for the throne in a battle to the death. But it's a bit too unfair, isn't it?" Daniel, sipping a drink in the living room, couldn't help but recall some intelligence he had gathered from the fourth prince about the Kakin Empire.
As the emperor of the Kakin Empire, naturally, he didn't lack women. In total, he had nearly a hundred, but among them, only eight were considered official wives. The rest were concubines or mistresses, and these women had no right to participate in the royal succession war.
Only the children of the eight official wives could join the fight for the throne. These eight wives had a total of fourteen children, ranging from adults to infants. Even newborns, regardless of their age, were forced into this deadly game, which essentially meant they were being sent to die.
The harem system of the Kakin Empire was quite interesting to Daniel, who had watched his fair share of palace drama series. It wasn't just about the intrigues of the harem; the system essentially legalized the conflict within it.
The eight official wives, including Nasubi Hui Guorou's wives, had varying statuses, much like a hierarchy with the empress and noble consorts. The first wife held the highest position, allowing her to plant spies around the other wives with lower status, a practice sanctioned by the system.
Similarly, the second wife had the same privilege, but she couldn't place spies around the first wife. This hierarchy continued, with the eighth wife being the most unfortunate, as she couldn't plant spies around anyone, while her surroundings were filled with spies from the other wives.
To make matters worse, her newborn daughter was forced to participate in this bloody royal succession war, and with no powerful backing, it was almost certain that both the mother and daughter were doomed to die.
In the Kakin Empire, the succession war did not differentiate between genders; as long as they were legitimate children, they had the right to participate.
"What is Nasubi Hui Guorou really trying to achieve?" Daniel wondered, growing curious about the succession war. If it weren't for his encounter with the fourth prince, he wouldn't have cared. The Kakin royals could bash each other's heads in for all he cared. But now, with the involvement of the fourth prince, Daniel wanted to see what the purpose behind this succession war was.
"Your target this time is the Five Great Hopes." As Daniel was deep in thought, Ada and Robin entered the room and sat down across from him.
"Yes, but be cautious when exploring the Dark Continent. Don't go too deep. We have plenty of time to explore it," Daniel warned, despite fully trusting Ada and Robin.
"Don't worry, we're traveling with the main contingent of the Hunter Association. We won't venture too far." Originally, Daniel had planned to explore the Dark Continent with them, but since Robin had tasks with the Hunter Association, the two declined to join him.
Due to her vast knowledge, Robin was a rare talent within the Hunter Association, which was why even Netero had wanted her to become one of the Twelve Zodiac members.
Although there was already someone with similar expertise in the Twelve Zodiac, there was no such thing as too many skilled people in that area.
"Later on, I'll figure out a way to establish a spatial gate connecting the Six Continents to the Dark Continent. Once we have that, we'll be able to move in and out freely." The exploration of the Dark Continent wasn't something that could be done in a day or two. Based on the current information obtained from the Six Continents about the Dark Continent, it could take decades to fully understand it.
In fact, Daniel was being somewhat optimistic. Even someone who had lived for centuries and had continuously explored the Dark Continent couldn't claim to fully comprehend it.
"It's a rare opportunity. Let's take a stroll." There were still a few days before the Black Whale was set to depart, and since Daniel hadn't taken Ada and Robin shopping, he thought this would be a good chance to spend time with them.
"Not interested."
"No thanks."
"Ask someone else."
Unfortunately, both Ada and Robin flatly refused. Their quick rejection reminded Daniel of their personalities—they weren't the type to enjoy shopping, as they already had plenty of Nami to take care of that.
"How about playing a game?"
Of course, the "game" he referred to wasn't an ordinary one. It was a game involving Nen abilities, designed to train their control over them.
"What a mess," Daniel remarked later that night, after using his Observation Haki to scan the area within several kilometers.
The influx of people from around the world into the capital of the Kakin Empire had made the city extremely bustling. Hotels and inns were all full, and while things remained relatively orderly during the day as various factions restrained themselves, the city turned into a war zone at night. Each night, many people died as they fought to secure a spot aboard the Black Whale.
Although 200,000 spots sounded like a lot, considering the number of people vying for them globally, it was far too few—especially for underground organizations like the Ten Dons.
For these underground forces, a new continent represented the opportunity to rise from the shadows, possibly even establishing their own nation. Given the immense benefits at stake, the current chaos was just the beginning. Without the pressure from the Kakin Empire and the V6, the Ten Dons and other groups might have already begun open warfare during the day.
The V6 had limited the number of spots allocated to these underground forces, but that didn't stop them from trying to obtain more through other means. Even if they couldn't secure more spots, they could still weaken their competitors by reducing their numbers.
Currently, only a few places in the capital could be considered safe, like the hotel where Daniel was staying, which was protected by the Hunter Association. Few dared to cause trouble in such a place.
"Kurapika, Leorio, long time no see." While heading to the second floor of the hotel restaurant for dinner with Ada and Robin, Daniel ran into Kurapika and Leorio.
"Long time no see." Leorio, spotting Ada and Robin beside Daniel, couldn't help but show a face full of envy.
"Leorio, I need to talk to Kurapika about something," Daniel said.
"Got it, I need to use the restroom anyway." Leorio caught on immediately, understanding what Daniel meant. After Leorio left, Ada and Robin nodded at Daniel before heading to another private room.
"What's this about?" Kurapika asked calmly. Out of the four who had originally taken the Hunter exam together—Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio—Kurapika had changed the most. Compared to the person he was back then, he had matured significantly.
This was unsurprising, given that, unlike the others, Kurapika had the heaviest burden. Though he had avenged his people, he had yet to recover all their Scarlet Eyes.
"It's remarkable how he's remained so kind," Daniel thought. Despite Kurapika's many changes, his kindness remained the same. He couldn't bring himself to kill those who collected the Scarlet Eyes, a level of mercy that Daniel knew he didn't possess.
Because of this kindness, Daniel was more than willing to help Kurapika.
Only Kurapika and Leorio were participating in the Hunter Association's mission to the Dark Continent. Gon and Killua had no interest in it at the moment and were likely off exploring the world.
In fact, no one from the Zoldyck family had come to the Kakin Empire, reflecting their complete lack of interest in the Dark Continent.
"I stumbled upon something earlier, and I thought it best to return it to its rightful owner." Daniel led Kurapika away from the restaurant as he spoke. The Scarlet Eyes in the fourth prince's collection were now in Daniel's possession. He had no interest in keeping them and would have destroyed them along with the prince's other collections if not for Kurapika.
Now that he had met Kurapika, it was time to return them.
"These are... the fourth prince's... you did that?" Kurapika was overwhelmed with emotion upon seeing the Scarlet Eyes, but quickly regained his composure, understanding the true cause of the fourth prince's death.
"You don't need to know the details," Daniel said as he handed over the eyes and prepared to leave.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Daniel waved off Kurapika's gratitude, signaling it was no big deal.
"It seems Kurapika knew the Scarlet Eyes were with the fourth prince but restrained himself from taking action." Kurapika was now a One-Star Hunter and a member of the Twelve Zodiac, holding the title once belonging to the former vice-chairman Pariston. Although Kurapika claimed he would do anything to retrieve his people's eyes, he had never crossed his own moral boundaries.
Kurapika had initially joined the Hunter Association because it provided him with intelligence regarding the Scarlet Eyes. Despite making considerable progress with the help of the Nostrade family, there were still some pieces of information beyond his reach—like the fact that the fourth prince of the Kakin Empire held some of the Scarlet Eyes.
Leorio had also become a member of the Twelve Zodiac.
The Hunter Association was much weaker than before, which was why Leorio had managed to secure such a position. It wasn't that Daniel looked down on Leorio, but the fact was that Leorio's strength was still lacking.
The reason the Hunter Association was in this state was largely due to Pariston. After resigning from his position as vice-chairman and leaving the Twelve Zodiac, Pariston had taken many of the Hunter Association's specialists and powerful hunters with him.
In many ways, the specialists weren't really part of the Hunter Association but rather subordinates of Beyond Netero, the son of Isaac Netero. Beyond was no ordinary individual; not only was he incredibly strong, but he was also highly intelligent.
After years of working behind the scenes, Beyond wasn't just helping the Kakin Empire but had also planted many spies within the Hunter Association. In some ways, the association was starting to resemble S.H.I.E.L.D., with members on the payroll of both the association and Beyond, much like Hydra agents.
In the original story, with Netero already dead, Beyond didn't act this way. But now, with Netero still alive, Beyond had adjusted his tactics accordingly.
To explore the Dark Continent once again, Beyond had spared no expense. Based on the current situation, his forces included hundreds of Nen users, second only to the Hunter Association in strength.
As time passed, the day of departure for the Dark Continent finally arrived. On the large screen, Nasubi Hui Guorou delivered a passionate and grand speech before boarding an airship to the Black Whale. As he boarded, others began heading for the massive ship as well.
In the sky, numerous airships appeared, carrying members of the Kakin royal family, officials from the V6, and prominent figures and wealthy individuals from around the world, all heading toward the Black Whale.
On the ground, near the port, a large number of ships began checking passengers' tickets before ferrying them to the Black Whale.
The Black Whale was so massive—it was designed to carry 200,000 people—that it couldn't dock near the port and had to remain anchored offshore.
"The eighth queen and the fourteenth prince are lucky to have recruited Kurapika as their bodyguard." The royal succession war would begin when the Black Whale set sail. Before that, many hunters, in an effort to secure spots on the ship, had taken on various roles, with bodyguards being the most common.
The Kakin Empire had granted the Hunter Association some spots, but they weren't nearly enough. As a result, even members of the Twelve Zodiac had to take on bodyguard roles to secure a place on the ship.
Though the princes already had their own bodyguards, they used this time to recruit even more, allowing many hunters to slip in.
This time, Netero was determined to capture his son Beyond, sending out the entire Twelve Zodiac and recruiting many top hunters, including Biscuit.
"Even people from Meteor City have come. Are they planning to reform the Phantom Troupe?" Daniel laughed as he read the information Ada had provided.
At that moment, he, Ada, and Robin were on the second level of the Black Whale, posing as the entourage and bodyguards of a world-renowned pop singer.
The Black Whale had five levels. The first level was reserved for the Kakin royal family and high-ranking officials from the V6. The second level housed famous people, wealthy individuals, and families like the Ten Dons.
The third level marked the beginning of the ordinary areas. Which level you were on depended on how much you paid for your ticket. The Black Whale's tickets weren't free—on the contrary, they were extremely expensive.
The so-called "fair and just" selection process and Kakin's claim of being fully prepared for the Dark Continent expedition were complete lies.
Of the lower three levels, the third level was the best. Starting from the fourth level, especially the fifth, conditions were similar to the cramped conditions of slave ships during the Age of Exploration.
With 200,000 people aboard, the Black Whale, though enormous, was still too small to comfortably accommodate everyone. From the fourth level down, passengers didn't even have proper beds.
The living conditions were terrible, and to make matters worse, there were too few security personnel and doctors.
The journey to the Dark Continent, even if it was just to a hypothetical continent, would take a considerable amount of time aboard the Black Whale.
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