Kite stepped into Germain's room.
The first thing that caught his eye were three maps pinned to the gray-white wall with thumbtacks.
Each map showed a different place — an ancient labyrinth, a bleak gray desert, and a Steep Mountain Range.
The map of the mountain range was the roughest.
That was because any electronic device used there became useless scrap — they couldn't take any photos or record anything.
In the end, Germain and the others had to rely on their memories to piece the mountain map together.
Besides the maps, Kite saw a fishing rod placed on a shelf, a few messy sketch papers on the desk, and an old-fashioned record player.
All of that — along with a game console and controller — would soon be swallowed by Shizuku's "Blinky" and delivered to Germain's room inside the ancient labyrinth.
Germain poured Kite a glass of water.
As expected, Kite asked about Ging.
These past few days, Germain had been talking to different people about what he'd experienced over the past few months — naturally, that included stories about Ging.
By now, Germain was pretty skilled at telling which parts Kite cared about and which parts didn't matter.
The conversation flowed easily.
Kite didn't ask much about Gon.
He had quietly gone to check on him once already — saw that Gon was doing well, even had friends now — and that was enough.
Kite had met Gon three years ago, when he traveled to Whale Island searching for clues about Ging, trying to complete the "final test" Ging had given him.
But he didn't find Ging.
Instead, he found Gon, who had wandered into danger.
Kite saved him.
Then, looking into Gon's determined, strangely familiar eyes, he realized Gon and Ging were connected.
After asking, it turned out — just as he suspected — they were father and son.
From then on, Kite and Gon had something to talk about.
Kite shared everything he knew about Ging, little by little, painting a picture for Gon.
You could say Kite was the one who set Gon on the path to becoming a pro Hunter, and to search for Ging.
Back then, Kite even accidentally left Ging's Hunter license behind on Whale Island.
He had no idea — and just left like that.
Gon had picked up that Hunter License a long time ago and kept it with him ever since.
He always thought it belonged to Kite, and he planned to return it to him someday.
That was the connection between Kite and Gon.
Kite, with his usual cold and brief tone, asked a few questions about what Germain planned for Gon, Kurapika, and Killua.
Then he nodded slightly, saying nothing more.
That meant—he was okay with the plan.
After that, Kite began talking about what he'd seen and experienced in the Kakin Empire, especially the tensions between the royal family and the three major mafia families.
"After the Fourth Prince, Tserriednich, died, the Kakin royal family tightened their security across the board. They're investigating and suspecting each other."
"The mafia family that had been working with Tserriednich—the Heil-Ly Family—quickly switched sides and pledged loyalty to the Ninth Prince, Halkenburg. That move helped them solidify their position."
"For this upcoming voyage of colonization, the BW1 ship will carry all the members of the Kakin royal family. The major members of the three mafia families will go with them too."
Tall and thin, Kite sat upright on the single-seater sofa. One leg rested over the other knee, and he slightly lowered his head, fingers supporting his chin as he thought aloud.
"Publicly, they're saying this shows Kakin's confidence and commitment to the colonization journey. But making such a move without holding anything back is really…"
"Strange?" Germain took a sip of warm water and raised his dark eyes. "They're only leaving behind the most basic ruling structure. Yeah, it is strange."
"Yeah." Kite nodded. "Doesn't the royal family worry that during the two-month voyage, a coup back home could flip everything over?"
"Even if they've left behind secret measures and loyal subordinates… it's still a long way from their homeland."
"Apart from internal unrest, there's also the risk of outside forces invading, like the V5. Are they really not concerned about that at all?"
"Unless they never planned to come back in the first place," Germain said.
"They want to move the core of the Empire... completely onto the so-called Dark Continent."
He had once discussed something similar with Chairman Netero, so when Kite brought it up now, it didn't surprise him much.
About thirty years ago, the Kakin Empire underwent what was called "the most peaceful revolution in history," shifting from an imperial system to a so-called parliamentary democracy.
But because of that very "peaceful revolution," true power remained in the hands of the royal family.
The parliament became more of a puppet, merely repeating royal will.
The royal family then collectively left the main empire, sailing out to the imagined Dark Continent— essentially moving the heart of their power far away from the mainland.
Relocating a capital isn't unheard of in history, but doing it across such a vast ocean? Only Kakin has done something like that.
Such a strange, drastic move immediately caught the attention of people like Germain and Chairman Netero.
They believed that unless the former V5 were complete fools,
they too must've noticed how suspicious all this was.
That's one of the reasons why they agreed to send five ships to follow the expedition.
Germain and Kite exchanged their thoughts on the matter.
But then, Kite mentioned something Germain didn't expect.
"I heard Hisoka's still alive," Kite said. "I haven't seen him myself, but I've heard a lot of rumors about him in the cities."
"Apparently, he's formed some kind of shady alliance with Morena from the Heil-Ly family."
"When they lost the support of the Fourth Prince, Tserriednich, the Heil-Ly were attacked by the other two big mafia families, trying to take advantage of their fall."
"That's when Morena and Hisoka started a wild counterattack. Things got so out of control, the chaos only ended when the royal family themselves had to step in."
"Hisoka no longer shows his real face. He's mastered some kind of disguise technique— he can pass as a man, woman, child, or even an old person."
This allowed him to sneak into most parts of the Kakin Empire with ease, committing various crimes.
It also made him the number one villain of the Heil-Ly Family.
Morena and Hisoka, as the heads of the Heil-Ly Family, would very likely appear on the BW1 ship during the colonization voyage.
Kite knew about the strange relationship between Germain and Hisoka, so he made sure to pass this intel to Germain, in case Hisoka tried something shady.
After all, from the intel Kite had gathered, Hisoka's style had changed quite a lot.
The old Hisoka still followed a few principles, satisfying his desire for battle.
But the current Hisoka would stop at nothing, only chasing after pleasure.
Germain knew that Hisoka had a brutal fight with Chrollo, where both were seriously injured and crippled.
In the end, Chrollo lost most of his fighting ability and committed suicide in front of Germain.
As for Hisoka, he could reattach his severed limbs using "Bungee Gum."
For disguise, he used "Texture Surprise."
Having died once and been gravely wounded once, Hisoka's Nen must have evolved as Post mortem Nen from all those accumulated battles—he's stronger now.
Now, both he and Morena are chaotic and evil—two peas in a pod.
As midnight approached, Kite stood up to leave.
After seeing him off, Germain went to wash up, then stood on the balcony, letting the night wind blow as he quietly thought under the sparse starlight.
The next morning, Germain went to ask Knov where Kurapika, Killua, and Gon were—he wanted to check on them.
However, Knov wasn't sure either.
His guidance for the three young ones had already ended. From here on out, it was all up to them.
Knov himself was busy with the Hunter Association's exploration team and didn't have time for anything else.
In the end, Germain got their exact location from the twins Eta and Elena.
So, using his Game Master Card, he flew over.
********
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