Aboard the airship heading for Oga City, Joey sent the photos he'd organized to his friends.
Then, after a moment's hesitation, he also forwarded a set of data and images to Sanbika.
Oga City—a small, fading town on the fringe, and the closest stop to the rendezvous point he'd agreed on with Kite. It wasn't a bustling metropolis, just a once-thriving mining town now choking on decline.
In better times, the nearby mines had poured out wealth; now, they barely yielded dust.
Still, Joey was intrigued—after visiting the World Tree, his curiosity about Shiping and Stick's homeland had only grown.
Especially after Shiping had personally invited him to visit the mountainside swan habitat near the mines.
Lesser-billed swans, a bird species unique to that mineral-rich terrain.
Shiping had bought the whole area to protect their breeding grounds, even racking up massive debt to Kite in the process.
According to Shiping, September was their mating season.
Tens of thousands would take to the skies at dawn above mirrored wetlands, painting the sky in feathers and sunlight.
It was a vision Joey couldn't miss.
After finishing his messages, Joey used the airship's onboard terminal to continue researching—reading up on both lesser-billed swans, glowbirds, and current weather patterns.
He wasn't planning to further develop Gold Experience, but its very nature—creating lifeforms based on known biology—meant the more he learned, the more diverse his constructs could become.
The glowbirds were a prime example.
By studying them, he'd successfully replicated light-emitting birds with Gold Experience.
The more exotic creatures he came to understand, the more versatile his power would become.
But beyond that, Joey had finally begun to explore something new: his innate Hatsu as a Transmutation-type Nen user.
When he first learned he was a Transmutation user, one idea had immediately taken root in his mind:
Okuyasu Nijimura's "The Hand" from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
The power to erase space with a swipe of the hand.
Technically achievable for a Transmutation user.
After all, manipulating space aligned with their core strength.
But ripping open space with raw force? Not likely.
Unless Joey was willing to dedicate the next ten or twenty years to it, punching endlessly until he crossed into some spiritual boundary like Netero had.
But that wasn't who Joey was.
He wasn't a monk. He didn't want to trade a decade of freedom and discovery for some cramped, punch-based enlightenment.
Besides, even if he could "erase space," it would be confined to the arc of his fist. Too limited. Not worth the cost.
What Joey truly needed wasn't melee reinforcement—he had Killer Queen for that.
What he needed was a way to bolster his mid- and long-range options, and ideally something that would serve him well in exploration too.
Among all the possible Nen abilities a Transmutation user could develop, only one truly captivated him:
Weather Report.
The stand from JoJo Part 6, belonging to Dominic Pucci—a power that, in simple terms, controlled the weather.
But in practice? The ability was insane. Versatile. Godlike.
Could he mimic that with Nen?
Without a Stand's cheat-code absurdity? Extremely difficult.
But the sheer potential made Joey crave the challenge.
If he could pull it off—even halfway—combined with Killer Queen and Gold Experience, he'd become a six-dimensional fighter.
Close-quarters, ranged, defense—no weaknesses.
To get there, he'd have to invent a completely new ability. One that could reproduce Weather Report's effects through Nen.
And Joey had a plan.
He'd bind it to En.
The Vow: Within Joey's En, he could freely manipulate the atmosphere.
The Restriction: His Nen could only exist within the area covered by his En.
A brutal limitation, yes—but one that offered explosive growth over time.
After all, En could be expanded.
Neferpitou had a huge En. Zeno Zoldyck, one of the best, had a radius of 300 meters.
That wasn't much in the realm of weather control—but it was a start.
And that's why Joey's vow seemed modest. It only restricted Nen usage to within his En, but the payoff would grow with him.
His En currently spanned just 1.5 meters, so yeah—it looked weak.
But as a Transmutation-type, Joey was naturally gifted at expanding his En.
Given time, his range—and power—would climb fast.
The ability structure used only two Nen categories:
Transmutation (En, aura control)
Manipulation (to alter atmospheric particles)
Only two categories meant easier development.
What Joey lacked now was expert knowledge in meteorology.
He needed to understand cloud formation, air pressure, humidity, lightning—everything.
Only then could he push Weather Report to its true limits.
Of course, unexpected problems would crop up as he trained. He was already making mental notes.
If he had more affinity with Emission, maybe he could transform aura into elements directly.
If he had advanced Manipulation, maybe he could filter elements out of the air.
But he had ideas.
Like creating a Nen beast to scan the air for needed components.
Transmutation + Manipulation—that was the key.
The idea had simmered since East Gorteau.
Only recently had it begun to crystallize.
First, Joey practiced constantly releasing his En, keeping it active as a baseline.
Thankfully, with a radius of 1.5 meters, it didn't bother anyone.
Then came the next step: constructing a specialized Weather Control Nen Beast.
It was easy enough—he released aura into a gas-like form and infused it with Manipulation-type Nen.
Soon, a pale-blue, sky-like creature materialized.
As it floated beside him, water molecules gathered overhead—a tiny cloud formed.
The "Weather Nen Beast" perched on his shoulder.
When Joey mentally commanded it to change the atmosphere, static built up inside the cloud.
Crackling. Sparks. Lightning flashed.
Joey watched calmly.
When the beast directed a bolt toward him, Killer Queen appeared in a blink and shattered the bolt with a single hit.
The thunder was weak. The experiment primitive. But it worked.
The cloud dissipated. The beast vanished. Joey smiled.
The foundation was set. The real test would be in live combat.
But for now? Time to train.
Joey's En still barely cleared a meter. That had to grow.
He wasn't neglecting Killer Queen, either.
Its growth stat was A—tons of room to evolve.
He'd been thinking of JoJo Part 8's explosive bubbles, and even the miniaturized Heart Attack tanks that could travel through blood vessels.
But how to trigger Killer Queen's evolution?
That part… was unclear.
All he could do was call it out daily and keep testing new variants of its bombs, new ways to control Sheer Heart Attack.
So far, only the control had improved. The rest? Stagnant.
He wondered if he was going about it wrong.
Stands were reflections of the spirit.
Maybe the key was mental growth—or emotional clarity.
Maybe evolving Killer Queen meant evolving himself.
That would take time.
So Joey built a schedule:
1 hour training Killer Queen
1 hour practicing spatial erasure
2 hours reading
The rest split between physical training, rest, and world study
Every day was full.
And even if Killer Queen grew slow, his stamina and aura were improving visibly.
His muscles, his control—stronger by the day.
—
The luxury cruise-airship would take 7 days to reach Oga City.
It made scenic stops.
Had a gym, entertainment deck, reading room—like a floating town.
Joey spent his afternoons in the gym.
This world wasn't just filled with normies.
There were monsters with Nen and guys built like gorillas—so the gear here? It still challenged him.
Otherwise, his ten-ton strength would've shredded the machines.
Most days, the gym was empty.
Who works out on vacation?
Joey didn't care. He changed clothes, stepped onto his usual treadmill, and began his jog.
He'd barely hit his stride when someone else stepped onto the next treadmill.
A familiar face.
"You've been tailing me, haven't you?"
Joey didn't stop running, but his eyes scanned the room.
No threats in sight.
Only Ed.
"And weren't you expecting me to show up?" Ed smiled, hitting Start.
"Wanna race?"
Joey raised an eyebrow.
"What are the rules?"
"Speed increases over time. Maxes at 70km/h.
Five minutes at full speed.
Whoever lasts longer—wins."
Joey smirked.
That sounded like an episode of Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe.
"Alright. What's the prize?"
He was confident.
All the running he'd done through NGL and East Gorteau—this would be cake.
"If I win, you come meet my boss.
If I lose, I vanish. Two months. No interruptions."
"What if I just kill you now?"
Joey's voice dipped into ice.
"Then he'll hire the Zoldyck family."
Ed's tone turned hard.
Joey frowned. With Gerrard's money, hiring the Zoldycks was very possible.
And they wouldn't care who Joey was. If paid—they killed.
Could he survive an assassination attempt from Killua's family?
…No.
But maybe Ed was bluffing.
Maybe Gerrard needed Joey alive.
Still, two months of peace was tempting.
"How do I know you're not lying?"
Joey kept running.
Ed gestured behind him.
"I came here while using Zetsu, didn't I? That's trust."
Joey considered.
"Alright. I'll bite.
But what makes you think you can win?"
He increased his speed.
Ed smiled and matched pace.
"Joey, my boss isn't your enemy. He just wants to talk."
"Funny way of showing it. His sincerity nearly got me killed." Joey scoffed.
"Maybe I'm not important enough to warrant better treatment."
"So you've already dug into his identity."
Ed chuckled.
"Then you should know—he's no ordinary merchant.
He runs Heaven's Arena. He values Nen more than gold."
Joey said nothing.
But his eyes were locked on Ed's shoes—glowing faintly with aura.
"Little tricks, huh?"
Ed gave a coy shrug.
The shoes were clearly conjured—and they likely had special properties.
But even with enhancements, could Ed actually win?
Joey doubted it.
70km/h wasn't a problem for him.
And Ed, while strong, wasn't miles ahead in aura capacity.
Joey's potential aura, according to Nakuru's formula, was around 14,000. Ed's? Maybe 12,000.
But Ed couldn't use Nen while Zetsu was active.
So his only tool was his raw stamina.
He must be very confident in it.
Unless… he had outside help.
Which turned out to be true.
When Joey flicked a coin toward Ed, a muscular figure intercepted it mid-air.
Boom. Explosion.
Gone in a flash.
Then—reappeared, coin still in hand.
A cold robotic voice spoke:
"Challenger violates rule—second offense.
Penalty: +2 tons weight."
Joey grunted as his body grew heavier.
A Nen beast?
From behind, a man in a tracksuit stepped forward.
"Maintaining fairness is my ability—Fair Play."
"I am the referee."
Joey blinked.
"...Coach?"
This was the gym coach from the start of the trip.
But now he was clearly one of Ed's team.
Joey had scanned him with Gyo before—no aura, no hint of Ten.
A professional disguise.
Most real Nen users habitually used Ten to suppress their aura leakage.
This guy had trained to fake it.
"That's right. Your physical stats are impressive, Joey.
But how long can you keep up now?"
Joey glanced at Ed—at those shoes.
So… another Nen user must be hiding too.
Ed's boss wasn't just rich. He was serious.
But Joey still wasn't worried.
"This race? It's not about endurance.
We're not testing stamina.
We're testing cheating."
"To win, one of us must finish while the other drops out.
That's the only path."
He kept his breathing steady.
"But if I cheat, I get shackled.
So the only way is a one-shot kill."
"You have that kind of trick up your sleeve?"
Ed just smiled.
"Maybe. Maybe I'm waiting for you to screw up and lose.
Either way—this is only 51km/h. It gets faster."
Joey cracked his knuckles.
"Then let's settle this."
In a blur, Killer Queen appeared.
While the ref beast charged, Killer Queen tapped Ed's treadmill.
Then vanished.
Joey's weight increased again—another ton.
But another figure darted toward the treadmill's power supply.
"Touch that, and Ed dies."
Joey's tone was calm, but deadly.
The others flinched.
Ed's treadmill began to morph—its handle turning into a hissing snake.
"You know what happens next." Joey's stare was icy.
"I activate my ability—this whole machine goes up.
Your call."
Ed sighed.
"Looks like I was too slow.
But I'll concede this round."
He stopped running.
"I lose. You win.
Two months, no one from my boss will bother you."
"You sure I can't change your mind?" he added.
"He wants to meet you for a reason."
Joey exhaled, slowing.
"Not interested. For now."
The ref beast disappeared. Joey halted.
"That's a shame." Ed waved the others away.
Alone now, he stepped closer.
"But he won't give up.
And let me leave you with this—"
"If you want to learn the truth behind '鸣'—
If you want to know the real danger it poses—
Come see him."
"Also…
you're not the first soul to awaken inside someone else's body and survive."