There was someone hiding within a passenger's shadow.
It might sound unbelievable, but Nen made such a possibility real.
Kanzai had sharp enough eyes to see through Morrow's disguise, yet he couldn't detect the person concealed in the shadows.
This wasn't due to negligence.
Rather, this ability could evade detection even from Gyo.
The Nen user hiding in the passenger's shadow was none other than Luyuan from Jappon.
According to the original plan, after obtaining the legendary sword Senro, he should have returned to his homeland with his companions.
However, their leader had assigned him a mission: to uncover the reason and method behind the disappearance of Senro Nen.
Thus, he set his sights on Morrow and finally found an enclosed environment suitable for action.
Nowhere to Return From Shadows
This was Luyuan's Secret Art.
In truth, it was simply a Nen ability, but in Jappon, unique abilities were referred to as Secret Arts or Ninjutsu.
The effect of Nowhere to Return From Shadows allowed Luyuan to freely traverse the shadows of "non-Nen users within a certain range."
The limitation of this range was more about volume.
And the entire airship's volume just happened to fall within the scope of Luyuan's Shadow Traversal Ability.
Beyond this shadow traversal, Luyuan possessed another ability leaning toward Manipulation.
Once he infiltrated a target's shadow, as long as he fulfilled the condition of "meeting the required invasion time," he could gain control over the target, achieving two methods of manipulation.
The first was to remain hidden within the target's shadow, manipulating them, or rather, possessing their body, through Soul Invasion.
The second was to take away the target's shadow, turning them into a humanoid puppet that obeyed commands.
For now, Luyuan lurked within a passenger's shadow, in no hurry to act.
The airship would take three days to reach the Kukan'yu Kingdom.
Although it would land midway to refuel, passengers weren't permitted to disembark during the process.
In other words, Luyuan had three full days to complete his mission.
With ample time, he could first invade more passengers' shadows, quietly amassing an army of puppets.
This was the very reason he had waited for such an enclosed space.
It allowed him to safely gather puppets while ensuring Morrow couldn't escape midway.
Within a viscous, pitch-black shadow space, Luyuan's body remained motionless, his expression blank as he patiently awaited the right moment.
—--
Inside a VIP cabin.
Standing by the door, Kanzai answered the burly female bodyguard's question: "That boy is a Nen user. He's using a disguise."
"Huh?!"
The bodyguard, Taliya, narrowed her eyes at his words.
She had sensed something off about Morrow due to Kanzai's influence but hadn't seen through his disguise.
Kanzai crossed his arms, his tone indifferent. "I didn't sense any hostility, but we shouldn't let our guard down. Among all the passengers, he's the only Nen user. Being overly cautious never hurts."
"..."
Taliya stared at Kanzai, hesitating to speak.
On the sofa inside the cabin, the woman who had already removed her mask and sunglasses cast a fleeting glance their way.
"What?"
Kanzai raised an eyebrow, puzzled by the bodyguard's reaction.
After a brief hesitation, Taliya ultimately chose not to correct his misuse of the idiom and simply shook her head. "It's nothing."
Kanzai felt inexplicably confused. This Pro Hunter, who was unusually sensitive to "potential threats," seemed only exceptionally slow when it came to math and language.
Not paying much attention to Taliya's odd reaction, Kanzai shifted his gaze to the employer on the sofa, who had long, silky silver hair.
This employer was a princess of the Kukan'yu Kingdom.
At first, Kanzai hadn't thought much of accepting this escort mission.
He had taken similar jobs protecting nobles before, usually just transporting them from one country to another.
The biggest risk he ever faced during such missions was encountering attacks from fellow Nen users.
But this time was completely different.
Had he known this escort mission would involve messy power struggles within the royal family, he would have refused even if Chairman Netero himself had assigned it.
He had the worst headache for these convoluted, scheming power games...
But since he had already accepted the job, professionalism demanded that he treat it with full dedication, no matter how reluctant he felt.
Fortunately, this female employer was reasonable; she lacked the usual arrogance and entitlement of nobility and even had a clear grasp of their current situation, cooperating fully throughout the journey.
However...
When facing attacks, this woman was as calm as a robot.
The dangers coming at her seemed like trivial matters in her eyes.
Kanzai could sense a contradiction in her.
She seemed to believe that dying "on the path forward" was an inevitable outcome.
So when faced with mortal danger, she displayed an almost indifferent composure, making it impossible for Kanzai to detect even the slightest will to resist.
And yet, she firmly believed that if she survived to the end, she would inevitably unleash immense value.
Beneath this contradiction, some of her thoughts and convictions felt like those of a pure bystander, detached, watching herself walk a thorny path.
After spending some time with her, Kanzai felt this woman possessed some indescribable quality.
Whether from a professional or personal standpoint, he wanted her to survive.
Knock, knock.
The door was rapped.
Taliya immediately positioned herself in front of the silver-haired woman.
Kanzai, meanwhile, walked to the door and opened it just enough to peer through a three-finger-wide gap.
Outside stood a waiter in work attire, pushing a dining cart with a smile.
"Good evening, your meal is ready..."
"Leave it there."
Kanzai's tone was flat.
The waiter remained unfazed, still smiling. "Understood. If you need anything else, you may contact the front desk via the room phone."
"Got it."
Kanzai stared expressionlessly at the waiter outside.
The waiter, seemingly accustomed to all kinds of guest reactions, left with a polite nod.
Once he was gone, Kanzai wheeled the dinner cart into the room.
The silver-haired woman moved to the table.
Taliya began arranging the elegant dishes on the table, then glanced at the woman, who gave a slight nod.
Taliya promptly picked a portion of the food and placed it in her mouth.
As she chewed, her entire mouth was enveloped in steam-like aura.
"Normal."
After swallowing, she tested the next dish.
"Normal, normal..." They tested every dish until the last one without any issues.
But when Taliya picked up a flute-shaped glass, she detected a colorless, odorless lethal poison from its rim.
"There's a problem."
Taliya set down the flute glass, her expression unchanged.
The silver-haired woman remained unfazed upon seeing this.
Kanzai glanced at the silver-haired woman and couldn't help but sigh.
Before deciding to board this airship, they had laid down numerous smokescreens.
All to conceal their tracks, yet none of it proved useful.
This is never-ending...
Kanzai raised his hand to ruffle his spiky Hatsu hairstyle.