"Another prince dead already? We've only been at sea for a few days," Daniel remarked as Ada and Robin left the Black Whale. Though the journey to the hypothetical continent was long, Daniel saw it as an opportunity to spend more time with them, and it didn't interfere with his training.
Meanwhile, on the Black Whale, incidents continued to unfold. The eighth prince had been assassinated by one of the first prince's subordinates. As the oldest prince, with the backing of his mother's powerful family, the first prince held a significant advantage in the royal succession war.
Among all the princes, the first prince had gathered a group of private Nen users with bizarre and varied abilities. The eighth prince's Nen beast was devoured by one of the first prince's subordinates, leaving the eighth prince vulnerable. Without the protection of his Nen beast, the eighth prince was easily assassinated by another Nen user.
The Kakin Empire's succession war was quite peculiar. On one hand, it encouraged ruthless competition, but on the other, it provided the princes with powerful Nen beasts through a contract, making it difficult to kill them while the beasts were still present.
Even the youngest, the fourteenth prince—an infant—had her Nen beast instantly eliminate anyone who posed a threat to her.
The eighth prince's Nen ability was especially intriguing, designed for domination. His Nen beast emitted a mist that, when inhaled, slowly made people more favorable toward the prince, even growing to revere him. Those affected developed small replicas of the Nen beast on their heads, which in turn spread the mist. In conversation, it was almost impossible not to succumb to the influence.
Given time, the eighth prince could have built a loyal, autocratic regime. Unfortunately, the prince was too consumed by his vices. From the moment he boarded the Black Whale, he rarely left his room—more specifically, his bed, spending most of his time engaging in "recreational activities" with women. His powerful Nen ability went to waste, and his demise came as he had wished: dying in bed.
"This kingdom must have terrible feng shui. Why are all the Nen beasts here so ugly?" Daniel initially thought the grotesque forms of the royal Nen beasts were a result of the Egg of the King ritual, but after seeing the first prince's subordinates' equally deformed Nen beasts, he began to suspect there was something wrong with the land itself.
Though the Kakin Empire's Ejun continent was vast, its political, technological, and economic development lagged far behind the other continents.
"The ninth prince, huh? He's quite responsible, but without power, ideals alone won't get him far." After the deaths of two princes, the ninth prince took action.
Among the thirteen remaining princes, the ninth prince was the most vocal opponent of the succession war. He was the first to openly ask Emperor Nasubi Hui Guorou to cancel the war. While many other princes opposed it, none had dared to confront the emperor directly.
From the beginning, the ninth prince had been writing letters to his father, pleading with him to stop the war. However, after witnessing the deaths of two of his siblings, he realized that letters were futile. He launched a full-scale revolution, storming into the emperor's palace with a group of loyalists and pointing a gun at his father, demanding an end to the war.
When his father refused, the ninth prince opened fire, but the bullets had no effect on the emperor, whose Nen ability rendered him impervious. In despair, the ninth prince attempted to end his own life in protest, but his own Nen beast caught the bullet before it could reach him.
The Nen beasts were not only there to protect the princes from external threats but also to prevent them from committing suicide. From the moment the Egg of the King ritual began, the princes had lost control over their own fate.
This ordeal pushed the scholar-like ninth prince to finally awaken his Nen ability. Among the princes, his ability was one of the strongest—a cooperative enhancement type. The more people who gathered around him, the stronger he became, making him the best in single-target attacks.
Perhaps due to their status as royalty, many of the princes had Nen abilities geared toward leadership. The first prince's "Inheritor of the Stars" was a prime example of such an ability.
The eighth prince, fifth prince, sixth prince, and third prince all had abilities focused on building a following.
After all, a prince who became king wouldn't govern a country alone. They would need capable subordinates.
"Attention all passengers: Due to stowaways carrying weapons, we are implementing strict safety measures. For your own security, please do not leave your rooms. If you have any questions, ask the nearest royal guards. Meal times will be staggered, and passengers will be escorted by royal guards. Passengers from the first and second levels are required to return to their designated levels immediately. The passageways between levels will be sealed off."
As Daniel flipped through a magic book in his room, the Black Whale's internal communication system blared out this announcement, repeating it three times before stopping.
"Is it really that serious?" Daniel had used his Observation Haki to occasionally scan the lower levels and knew there was chaos, but it didn't seem bad enough to warrant sealing off the levels and confining passengers from the first and second levels.
For many of the passengers on the upper levels, the long journey on the Black Whale was a rare opportunity for sightseeing. They enjoyed the ocean views, and some even woke up early to catch the sunrise.
For non-Kakin citizens, there was little to worry about on the Black Whale.
As for the stowaways, the official figure was 200,000 passengers, but in reality, many had snuck aboard. Among them were gang members and Nen users who had found ways to slip in, as Kakin's security checks weren't particularly strict. In fact, they barely checked identification when boarding.
"Let me see what's going on." Curious, Daniel called Kite, the current chairwoman of the Hunter Association. Though Netero still held significant influence, Kite had taken over as the official leader.
Daniel and Kite had a good relationship. Although he hadn't joined the Hunter Association for this expedition, it didn't affect their connection. Plenty of licensed hunters didn't participate in association missions—like Hisoka and the Zoldyck family.
"I see, thanks for the info." Daniel soon learned the cause of the commotion. On the fourth and fifth levels, someone had been killing indiscriminately. The death toll had already reached the hundreds.
If the situation continued unchecked, it could lead to widespread panic, and the worst-case scenario might be the Black Whale sinking in the middle of the ocean.
The fourth and fifth levels were home to over two-thirds of the passengers. If panic erupted into a riot, no one on board would be able to control the situation.
Tolerating exploitation from gangs was one thing, but when survival was at stake, the situation became like a powder keg, ready to explode with the smallest spark.
Those indiscriminately killing people were undoubtedly that spark, already on the verge of causing a full-blown riot.
Most of the passengers on the lower levels were adults. Few children had been brought along, as this was no mere vacation but an expedition to a new continent. Only the wealthiest on the upper levels could afford to bring their children.
The royal guards were concentrated on the first and second levels, leaving the lower three levels with a sparse security presence. This vacuum had allowed the three great families of Kakin to take control, seizing the opportunity to exploit passengers while also supporting their allied princes.
Daniel was aware of these families thanks to Ada's intelligence network. They had risen to prominence after the Ten Dons were wiped out in Yorknew City, leading to a major reshuffling of underground power on the Six Continents.
Initially, Daniel hadn't paid much attention to the Ten Dons' former organizations, as they had been so easily eliminated. But after learning more about the situation in Kakin, he realized just how powerful the Ten Dons had been. The reason they were wiped out so easily was not because they were weak, but because their opponents—the Phantom Troupe—were far too strong.
The Shadow Beasts under the Ten Dons were not weak, but the Phantom Troupe had simply been overwhelming. Now, the individuals emerging from Meteor City wouldn't stand a chance against the previous Troupe, who could easily wipe them out single-handedly.
The leaders of Kakin's three great families were all illegitimate children of the royal family—hidden figures known as "Double-Lined Ones."
In Kakin, royal bastards were branded with two scars across their faces to mark them as Double-Lined Ones, who were forbidden from living openly but could enjoy a luxurious life in the underworld as long as they remained loyal to the royal family and lived in the shadows. The current leaders of the three great families were two of Emperor Nasubi Hui Guorou's half-brothers and his illegitimate daughter with a mistress.
"The killings are strange. Even though Nen users are involved, the methods seem odd." With the intel he obtained from Kite, Daniel began to ponder.
The criminal investigation was being led by Mizaistom, a crime hunter. Although the lower levels were controlled by the three great families behind the scenes, the Hunter Association and the royal guards officially maintained control.
Daniel had always found detective work interesting, having watched over a thousand episodes of Detective Conan. Though the solutions usually boiled down to "you know who," he enjoyed the mysteries nonetheless.
"If Han Fei were here, he'd probably be thrilled. He'd make a great detective." With this thought in mind, Daniel activated his Observation Haki, monitoring the fifth level.
When wisdom fails, power prevails. In this situation, En—the aura expansion technique—would have
been useful, but it was too conspicuous and easily detectable by other Nen users, so Daniel refrained from using it.
"Three lives just disappeared." Using Observation Haki to sense the life force of those around him, Daniel detected a sudden cessation of three life signatures. He immediately used his teleportation ability to appear at the crime scene.
His sudden arrival startled the killer, who quickly sank into the ground and vanished.
"A space manipulation ability?" Observing the traces of the vanishing figure, Daniel quickly realized why Mizaistom had struggled to catch the killer. Space manipulation was notoriously difficult to deal with, especially when used for escape.
"I've got you now." While others might struggle with this ability, Daniel wasn't impressed. Trying to manipulate space in front of him was like showing off carpentry skills to a master. Moreover, the killer's use of Nen was crude, even worse than a beginner's.
Daniel quickly pinpointed the killer, hiding in the ceiling, and pulled him out. The killer was so shocked by the sudden turn of events that he froze, unable to put up any resistance.
"Let's see what's going on with you." Using hypnosis, Daniel soon extracted the killer's identity and the nature of his Nen ability.
"This is insane. There really is every kind of ability imaginable in Nen, but this one's beyond twisted." From the killer's memories, Daniel learned the truth and understood why Mizaistom had found the situation so strange.
It turned out that by killing people, the killer could "level up" like in a game. Once he reached a certain level, he would gain a Nen ability. This killer, named Ruini, had already killed more than thirty people, raising his level accordingly.
No wonder his use of Nen was so crude—he had gained the power without training, similar to the artificial Nen users created by Ma Xianhong, but far more brutal.
Daniel considered the temptation. For ordinary people, given the chance to gain great power, how many could resist, especially those living at the bottom of society?
This twisted system originated from one of the three great families, specifically from the leader of the Ai Ai family, Molena, Emperor Nasubi Hui Guorou's illegitimate daughter.
In total, twenty-three people had received this power. While a few were clever enough to kill discreetly, most had been recklessly murdering to gain power.
Mizaistom hadn't caught them yet because of spies within the ranks, who were feeding the killers information. Additionally, the involvement of the Ai Ai family and the use of space manipulation abilities had allowed them to evade capture.
"Such a pointless space ability." At first, Daniel had been interested in Ruini's space manipulation ability, but after learning its activation conditions, he quickly lost interest. It was useless to him.
"Looks like it's time to find Molena."
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