Mount Kans Serpentine Road
—137 kilometers of steep switchbacks and cliffside curves.
The team didn't run it on foot.
Right after disembarking from the airship, they'd rented two vehicles and sped down the mountain road.
In the backseat, Palm had already activated her ability.
A drop of her blood fell onto the crystal skull inside the Mermaid Skeleton Ball,
causing a faint image to ripple through the liquid.
It was Killua—sitting inside a shaded black sedan.
The window showed only flashes of passing trees. No landmarks, no GPS signals, no context.
Palm's crystal ball couldn't change viewing angles, so they had no clue where the car actually was.
Still, no one complained.
They were on Hisoka's trail, and by extension—Killua's.
That was enough.
In the passenger seat, Joey tapped his fingers against his lips.
Not a nervous tic. Just waiting.
Waiting for Knuckle, Shoot, and Meleoron to report in.
Waiting for the enemy to appear.
There weren't many people on the mountainside this late.
Eight minutes into the climb, Joey's phone vibrated.
At the same time—
a distant explosion shattered the silence along the road.
Joey didn't flinch.
He answered the call calmly.
"Three mafia cars headed up the slope," Knuckle reported.
"Can't say for sure if they're after you, but they're all armed."
"Before them was a jeep with a guy and a girl—looked like tourists.
And one big logging truck."
"Got it," Joey replied, already hopping out of the vehicle with the others.
"Time to move."
Phones away.
Eyes locked forward.
Thick smoke bloomed over the treetops.
Without a word, the team split as planned.
Group One: Kite and Joey, heading toward the explosion site through the woods.
Group Two: Palm, Gon, and Ikalgo—back in the car, continuing down the road.
Kite turned toward Joey as they sprinted side by side:
"Don't get cocky. Your target isn't Hisoka or Illumi.
Once we're in the trees, fall back and wait for Knuckle's support."
Then it hit them—
a surge of malice so sharp it made Joey's skin crawl.
"Illumi!" Joey stopped dead, snapping his head to the right.
That killing intent… unmistakable.
In the same instant, he spotted Killua nearby—
flanked by three Zoldyck butlers in black suits.
"Friends of yours?" one of them asked sharply, surrounding Killua protectively.
"They are," Killua said, frowning. "Back off."
"How'd they track us?" asked Gotoh, the lone male butler.
"Are we compromised?"
Gotoh's tone was cold.
If Killua didn't give a valid explanation, they might abort the entire mission and return home.
That's when Kite stepped forward—
and tossed a voice recorder at Gotoh's feet.
"Illumi's compromised," he said plainly.
The tape played:
"We have another little brother. I plan to eliminate him."
Illumi's voice echoed crystal clear.
Killua's face turned dark.
Gotoh's eyes narrowed.
"Tracking him was easy. Especially with Hisoka by his side," Kite added.
Then came the voice—
smooth as velvet, laced with menace:
"Fascinating. I don't recall any bugs or transmitters nearby…
So this was a Nen-based surveillance, wasn't it?"
From the forest, Hisoka stepped out—
a grin playing at his lips, and murder dancing in his aura.
"Master Killua…" said Amane, one of the butlers.
But Killua had already burst into motion, lightning sparking across his body.
"Godspeed: Thunderbolt."
In a flash, he vanished down the road.
At the same moment—
Kite moved to intercept Hisoka.
"Bungee Gum" already humming through the air.
Kite's Crazy Slots spun—landing on the Magic Wand.
Not ideal, but workable.
"Didn't get the weapon I wanted," he muttered, still stepping forward.
Joey wisely retreated.
Hisoka was not his fight.
Besides, he didn't want to risk Hisoka noticing that he had been the one recording Illumi.
The last thing he needed was to be marked as a "juicy fruit" in Hisoka's twisted orchard.
Still, he wasn't sure how much Hisoka had seen.
Hisoka's gaze brushed over him, head tilting slightly.
"Ah, I remember you… From the election.
That was your ability, wasn't it?"
One hand casually raised.
In that moment, Joey's instincts screamed.
Thanks to Ren and Gyo, he saw it—
a playing card spinning through the air behind him. Silent. Deadly.
He responded instantly.
Killer Queen manifested behind him, lifting the Heart Piercing Chariot like a shield.
CLANG!
The card bounced off.
It didn't stop.
Joey's eyes narrowed—he could see it, clear as day:
A strand of pink aura connecting the card to Hisoka's fingers.
"Bungee Gum."
Joey didn't wait.
A Nen bullet formed in his palm—
and he blasted the card to pieces midair.
"Tsk~" Hisoka hissed.
Kite lunged.
From Gotoh's side, gold coins flared with Nen and fired like bullets.
Joey dropped a coin of his own and slipped deeper into the trees.
"Go after Master Killua!" Gotoh ordered his team.
Kite and Hisoka clashed behind him—
and Joey's mission resumed.
He wasn't here for Hisoka.
He was here for the ones who had hunted him for weeks.
Back near the road, Gotoh was suddenly under fire—
coins shot from the trees.
He retaliated instantly.
"Amane, Canary—report to Silva and Zeno at once!"
Behind him, an explosion rocked the forest floor.
One of Joey's remote snakes had been struck by a coin—
and Killer Queen's first bomb triggered, vaporizing the coin entirely.
Joey didn't press the attack.
Too risky.
This wasn't his war.
Besides, from the tempo of the fight, he could tell—
Hisoka and Kite weren't trying to kill each other.
It was all a game. A test. A warm-up.
Joey didn't have time for games.
He broke from the others and vanished into the woods,
leaving behind a coded trail marker for Kite.
Amane and Canary let him go.
They had their own orders now.
Joey checked his phone.
A message from Knuckle.
"Target located."
(Attached: map with red circle + arrow.)
The red circle marked the enemy location.
The arrow? Illumi's trajectory, chasing Killua.
Joey exhaled slowly.
Illumi was out of the picture.
Zoldycks didn't kill for fun.
Every assassination was a calculated deal.
Unless paid to do so, Illumi wouldn't waste the energy targeting Joey.
And Hisoka?
Kite had him locked up for now.
"As long as they stay occupied… it's my move next."
Joey's real enemies weren't assassins or psychopaths.
They were mercenaries.
Contract killers sent by someone who wanted him captured alive.
That was who Joey was after now.
His mission had finally begun.