Collaboration

From behind, a short-haired passenger stares down a dim hallway where a long-haired woman lies dead in a pool of blood. The passenger recalls stepping aside as ordered. In the corridor, a soldier in full camouflage and helmet stands with two other passengers, one saying 'OUT OF THE WAY.' The passenger thinks, 'I COULDN'T HAVE SPEAK EVEN IF I WANTED TO...' while the soldier grips a knife and warns, 'IF YOU MAKE ANY NOISE, I'LL KILL YOU.' The soldier adds, 'EVEN IF THAT MAN HADN'T TOLD ME THAT...' The passenger focuses on a sign reading '3RD DECK - UPPER STORY SINGLE PASSENGER ROOM' and 'CABINETS & BED' as the soldier declares, 'AND THAT WAS ALL I WAS FOCUSED ON.' The passenger decides, 'I DECIDED THAT IN ORDER TO SURVIVE, I HAD BETTER DO EXACTLY AS HE SAID.'

The short-haired passenger continues praying 'PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE...!!!' while convinced any sound would mean death. The camouflaged soldier reflects that targeting a single passenger room was tidy and had planned to stop at exactly twenty people. The passenger admits having no idea what the soldier meant. The soldier counts '1... 2... 3...' while holding a knife, and a silhouette of another figure appears with the number '20?'. The passenger thinks 'JUST AS I THOUGHT I WAS ABOUT TO BE KILLED...' then hears running footsteps, banging on doors, a shriek, and voices calling for help outside the room. The soldier turns toward the noise as the passenger realizes the man has left.

A man in a long coat stands with hands clasped in a narrow corridor as voices recount the incident. "AND I WAS HERE ALL THE WAY UNTIL THE ROYAL ARMY'S SOLDIERS PRIED THE DOOR OPEN..." "YES..." "FROM THE IN-SIDE...?" "HE LOCKED THE TOILET DOOR FROM THE INSIDE." Flashbacks show soldiers forcing open a bathroom door from outside while another figure inside claims he was present the entire time. "FROM INSIDE THERE." "HE HAD TO HAVE ESCAPED..." The man in the coat listens intently. Further testimony confirms the door remained locked from within according to the royal army, yet the suspect never emerged. "AND THE ROYAL ARMY HAD ALSO CONFIRMED THAT THE DOOR WAS INDEED LOCKED." "BUT THAT MAN NEVER CAME OUT OF THE TOILET." "THE ROYAL SOLDIERS SAID THE EXACT SAME THING TO ME." A helmeted officer concludes that even a rat could not fit through the drainpipes, let alone a human. In a lower panel the same officer analyzes the case: "THESE ARE THE KEYS TO UNRAVELING THIS MYSTERY ...!" noting the words "LEVEL," "NUMBER OF PEOPLE," "20," "21," and "ONE OFF." He reasons that killing the victim would have been instantaneous and questions why the culprit would leave a witness, suspecting a Nen user. Nearby soldiers question a curly-haired individual who admits sitting next to the female victim in the cafeteria. "AND WE JUST HAPPENED TO SIT NEXT TO EACH-OTHER IN THE CAFETERIA..." "BY THE WAY... WHAT IS YOUR RELATION TO THE FEMALE VICTIM?"

A short-haired woman with a tear-streaked face clasps her hands near her mouth. "TO REALLY GET TO KNOW HER... OR BE THERE FOR HER...!" "...BUT I NEVER GOT THE CHANCE..." In the hallway below, the helmeted officer speaks with her while soldiers stand guard. "I'LL PROBABLY COME BY TO QUESTION YOU A FEW MORE TIMES." "...WHY DON'T YOU HEAD BACK TO YOUR ROOM AND REST FOR NOW?" The woman walks away down the corridor past armed personnel. In a wider view she is seen crying in the middle of a crowded hallway filled with soldiers and onlookers. The final panel shows a close-up of her face with a neutral, exhausted expression and the label "HEIL-LY FAMILY MEMBER - CASHEW LEVEL 1" beside her. Small ellipsis marks hover near her head as the scene fades.

In a crowded room full of investigators and officials, a voice declares a desire to know how long it will take them to find the criminal after identifying him. Another speaker wants to get a feel for the investigation prowess of the army and the Hunter Association. The boss herself said that if you wish for it strongly enough, your ability will answer you. They note that they won't catch me and if they do, I'll just escape, but if caught you'll be executed—no doubt about it. In a hallway, the scarred man stands with a young figure in a hoodie. He praises the work as excellent and states that like that, he'll weave some truth in with the lies, some lies in with the truth, leaving little hints for them to piece together why he wasn't killed. The scarred man clenches his fist as his power surges with dramatic sound effects. He feels it now, just now, the gift and ability bestowed upon him. He recognizes it as a spatial teleportation ability, not exactly one he cares for at all. As Luini said, he vanished from the toilet. A woman with closed eyes appears, stating she has succeeded in making contact with the investigation team and will go in even deeper next. The scarred man walks away, thinking he'll take it slow, both raising his levels and wishing for his gift, wondering if all that fun rushing forward to get everything done is really worth it.

The scarred man stands alone inside a small, sealed single room with one door, closed in by walls with no means of entering or leaving. He declares these are the requirements to activate his ability. He walks toward the door, which allows travel to another location once activated. He demonstrates opening the walls or floor of that room with a blade. If the door to the original room is opened, it ceases to be a locked room, resetting his ability so it cannot be used on that room again. He can return to his original room at any time, but his destination is also limited to places he has been before. It seems he can even travel back and forth outside the ship, but with the risk of his ability getting reset, he hasn't tested it for now. The scarred man grips his weapon and smiles confidently while explaining the limits.

A figure stands on a high ledge inside a dim storage structure and declares, "WITH THE SPIDERS." Below, another person tumbles through the air with arms outstretched as the first continues, "FOR NOW, I'M GOING TO LOOK FORWARD TO MY COLLABORATION..." The sound effect "Zuuu..." trails after them. The scene shifts to a vast, cluttered warehouse floor littered with overturned boxes, scattered papers, and debris. Three men stand amid the mess: Phinks Magkav, Nobunaga Hazama, and Feitan Pohtoh. Phinks reports, "ONE PERSON ESCAPED." Nobunaga corrects him, "NOT QUITE." Feitan adds, "THEY'VE ALL VANISHED."

Phinks stands in a long, empty corridor and says, "IT'S LIKE THEY'RE JUST SCREAMING 'FOLLOW ME!'" He adds, "I DON'T LIKE THIS ONE BIT." A separate panel shows a bloodied corpse slumped against the wall with the note that the blood has dried and the body disappeared then reappeared. Nobunaga, Phinks, and Feitan examine the scene. Nobunaga suggests whatever happened may have nothing to do with them. Phinks questions the logic of letting another mafia member escape. Feitan wonders what the enemy is trying to accomplish. In a close-up, Phinks asks whether the wounds look like the work of different people. Nobunaga replies, "NOT EXACTLY." The final panel shows Nobunaga's intense close-up as he concludes, "I BELIEVE THE ENEMY IS A HITMAN FROM ANOTHER FAMILY WHO DESIRES A CONFRONTATION TO BREAK OUT BETWEEN US. THE CULPRIT WAS PERFECTLY CONTENT FOR US TO LEAP TO ACTION AFTER SEEING THAT ONE CORPSE AND WIND UP BREAKING INTO A HUGE DISPUTE WITH THE OTHER MAFIA MEMBERS... AT LEAST THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN..."

A man with a topknot strokes his chin thoughtfully while speaking. "THE MORE THEY SEEM ...JUST LIKE US." "IN FACT, THE MORE I THINK ABOUT THIS CULPRIT..." Nearby, the same man stands over a small hooded figure holding a long object, with another person watching from the side. Speech bubbles continue the discussion: "BUT SINCE IT DIDN'T WORK, HE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO CONTINUE ON WITH HIS ORIGINAL PLAN?" "SO THEN WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? HE JUST HAPPENED ACROSS US SO DECIDED HE'D TRY TO USE US..." "THAT'S A STRETCH." "DON'T YOU THINK SO?" Close-up panels show a masked figure with a skull emblem and a stern blond man. The scene shifts to a wide view of scattered papers and debris on the floor. "REGARDLESS, THE FIRST CORPSE..." "PERHAPS THE CULPRIT MADE A MISTAKE AND SOMEONE ESCAPED, AND HE'S GONE TO CHASE AFTER HIM." "IT MAY BE EXACTLY AS YOU SAID, SEPARATE ACTS BY DIFFERENT CULPRITS." "OF COURSE, THIS IS NOTHING MORE THAN MY SPECULATION." A large close-up reveals a scarred, intense man with narrowed eyes. "WITHOUT A DOUBT..." "THAT WAS SOMEONE PLAYING GAMES WITH US..."

A long corridor view shows three figures walking away, with footprints and dark stains trailing behind. A speech bubble explains: "IF HE ATTACHED HIS GUM TO THE CORPSE AND YANKED IT OVER THE TOPS OF OUR HEADS, THAT IS." "WE DEFINITELY WOULD HAVE NOTICED IF IT WAS HISOKA'S BUNGEE GUM." A close-up shows the masked bandana figure looking upward. "THE NECK SEVERED NOT BY CARD, BUT BY LARGE BLADE AND SLOPPILY." "NOT HISOKA." Another panel reveals a blond man in profile. "BUT AT THE CHA-R FAMILY...!" "WHOEVER IT IS, THEIR BLADE ISN'T POINTED AT US..." The final wide panel depicts an empty corridor stretching into the distance, lined with pipes, doors, and a distant cabinet, marked by a trail of dark footprints and stains on the floor.

A man with slicked-back hair glances at a security camera and wonders aloud what might be hidden inside the secured area. Nearby, a man with a topknot in a white robe examines a heavy door and remarks that there is no telling what lurks behind closed doors. In the hallway, a woman with a ponytail and two men approach a reinforced door at the end of the corridor. The topknotted man inserts a tool into the lock mechanism, producing a sharp GCHK sound as he works. The slick-haired man asks if the door is locked. The topknotted man replies that he figured as much. From below, a voice calls out "...Hey..." The group then stands at the entrance to a long, dimly lit basement hallway lined with doors and pipes, staring into the darkness ahead.

A group of armed individuals stands in the hallway facing the intruders. One man in a suit introduces himself as Wang, underboss of the Cha-r family, stating his superiors instructed him to wait. He adds that he hates slow, tedious work and will ask direct questions. Wang questions whether the group attacked their warehouse keepers. The topknotted man and the slick-haired man stand visibly tense as Wang looms in close-up, his eyes narrowed behind glasses.

In a vast, crowded cafeteria filled with inmates and visitors seated at long tables, people eat, talk, and move about under harsh lighting. Murmurs ripple through the room as several figures glance around with wary expressions. A lone man in a light robe sits at a small table in the center of the hall, calmly handling small cards or tokens. Hands carry two metal trays loaded with food: one holds grilled meat, vegetables, rice, and bread rolls, while the other contains packaged items, a canned drink, and a wrapped bar. The trays are presented forward as if being delivered or inspected.

The robed man remains seated at his table while a suited man stands nearby and another figure in a patterned shirt crouches low. Franklin stands with his back partly turned, speaking to a scarred man with an X-mark on his cheek. The scarred man replies with a stern expression. Franklin states he does not take pointless actions and questions whether Franklin intends to search for Hisoka or still has something to say. The scarred man answers that they have already moved seats. He adds that if he waits, Hisoka will eventually come to him on his own because Hisoka is also searching for them to kill them. An elderly woman with long hair, smoking a cigarette, listens and responds with understanding. She is identified as Cha-r Family Vice-Boss Ittoku.

A scarred man with X marks on his cheek sits in profile, placing something into his mouth as he speaks. "It wasn't us," he states firmly. Across from him, an elderly woman with a headscarf and cigarette replies that she has just received word some of their young troops and two warehouse keepers were killed or abducted. She asks what he makes of that. The scarred man explains they had sent word that three of their members went to the warehouse to retrieve weapons, so there was no reason to provoke their members. He cannot see what is happening. The woman suggests that if they came picking a fight they are not the type to back down, but at least that is what she would like to say if the ones who started it were the ones that started it. A third party must have taken advantage of the situation. The scarred man concludes that in that case it was not them. The scene shifts to debris and broken glass on the floor as the woman asks who knows and the man wonders if it might be him or not. She questions if he thinks it is Hisoka. In close-up the scarred man crunches something between his teeth and affirms once more, "But it wasn't us." The woman responds, "I see."

The scarred man continues speaking with a neutral expression. The elderly woman asks if Hisoka was his only reason for boarding the ship and notes that they are thieves after all. Three figures stand together on an open deck under a cloudy sky: the scarred man, a young man in a jacket, and a man in a checkered coat. The scarred man states that unless someone picks one first they will not be starting any fights and will not move on to any other plans until they kill Hisoka. The elderly woman replies "But..." while holding her cigarette near her mouth. A hand wearing a studded glove adjusts the glove on the other hand with a sharp FWSS sound. The scarred man apologizes for having bothered her. She answers that she understands. The final panel shows a long empty hallway with pipes and windows.

In a dimly lit room, a man in a robe stands beside a hooded figure while a suited man with glasses speaks into a phone. "I believe I've got a vague idea of what happened now," he says. "My apologies." Nearby, another suited man reports, "Two of our idiot men were so shocked that they let him in. That over there is the Cha-r family hideout... and earlier a man came by carrying one of our warehouse keepers who was drenched in blood." In the hallway, several figures stand at a distance as three people walk away down the corridor. "Understood," one replies. "...Yes." The suited man with glasses continues, "The man's face was also covered in blood, so they couldn't identify him, but he kept shouting 'The spiders did this!' According to testimony of those inside the hideout..." A voice responds, "Not exactly. I see. And as soon as he came inside... ka-boom! I take it?" The man with glasses narrows his eyes. "They could manipulate us with a sloppy set-up like this. But what really pisses me off is that someone thinks..." The blond man beside him says, "Yes, I know. After all, that man somehow disappeared at some point... And we've been telling you this whole time that we didn't do anything! This is all his scheme!" The man with glasses concludes, "I believe the enemy is a hitman from another family who desires a confrontation to break out between us. Thankfully you are calm, level-headed people who will listen to reason. And with the warehouse keeper already dead, we've no way to verify his story."

The discussion continues with the man with glasses explaining, "It's a restriction that keeps one from jumping (teleporting) to a place they've never actually visited. So he came to fulfill that requirement! There's a kind of activation requirement for spatial teleportation abilities known as 'marking'." A figure stands in a doorway as another voice asks, "Entering your hideout itself was his true goal. Per-haps... What do you mean by that...?" The man with glasses stares intensely. "Just how dangerous it is now that he's succeeded. If you're a Nen user, then you should well understand..." He adds, "And they have enough power to do as they please and back it up...! They don't hold anything back - Frank and open - without any concern for enemy or ally. They are completely removed from the concept of balance." Adjusting his glasses with a serious expression, the man with glasses declares, "I must crush them before they have the chance to sprout...!! Would you accept...? ...If I proposed we team up... As I thought, they are seeds of danger." The page ends with the chapter number.