Melody had never told anyone about Sonata of Darkness aboard this ship.
Yet the person before her had clearly figured it out. That could only mean one thing: they knew through some kind of ability.
Still, the real question was—how?
"That's all secondary," Clone No. 3 said, brushing it off. "The main point is, I can save the lives of two princes—ensure they make it through this succession war alive."
Melody hesitated, then cautiously asked, "Why are you doing this? And..."
She glanced at the calm-faced No. 3 and asked softly, "...Can I know who you really are?"
"The reason? I just want to see how the succession war unfolds if the deadline comes and there's still no clear winner."
Clone No. 3 smiled. "That's why I'm protecting a few of them. I want to see what happens in the end."
"As for who I am—it doesn't matter. Just remember this: I have no ill will toward those two princes."
"The Egg in the Pot ceremony binds each guardian spirit beast to its respective prince. The restriction is clear: the winner must be decided while aboard the Black Whale. If any prince leaves the ship, they'll die."
"Which means escape would only hurt them. This is my sincerity laid bare. Whether you believe me or not is your choice. Once you've decided, come find me~"
Without waiting for a reply, Clone No. 3 turned and walked away, leaving Melody behind in quiet contemplation.
...
What No. 3 thought and did was ultimately based on Ronnel's will.
Just as the clone had said—he intervened to shape the outcome of the war in an unpredictable way.
Per the original agreement, the Fourteenth Prince and his mother would survive no matter what.
With Ronnel's help, even Momoze's fate had shifted from what it once was.
One life saved led to another. For Ronnel, saving a prince who caught his attention was no great burden—it was just another part of his plan.
Prince Kacho, Prince Fugetsu, and Prince Luzurus.
Among all the princes, these three stood out for being... relatively normal.
The first two were inseparably close—so much so they'd risked their lives for one another. The seventh prince, Luzurus, had even developed antidotes with Basho to prevent further deaths aboard the ship.
Ronnel admired that.
He respected the affection of Kacho and Fugetsu, and Luzurus's ambition. That alone was enough for him to extend a helping hand.
If they sought his protection, he'd offer it. If they didn't—he wouldn't press. He'd simply shrug it off.
Of course, his protection wasn't free.
Once they reached the Dark Continent, they'd need reliable logistics and support to handle its endless threats.
Even though Beyond's faction was well-prepared, no country—not even Kakin—was truly ready for the horrors that lay ahead.
By ensuring the survival of a prince who ascended the throne, Ronnel could secure stable logistical backing for his future goals.
A win-win—if the princes were smart enough to take the deal.
If they all refused? That was fine, too. His main goal was still to get the Fourteenth Prince to the throne.
Sure, he was just a baby—and winning public support for him would be far harder than for the older, more charismatic heirs—but with Queen Oito and Ronnel backing him, it was possible.
Just… not easy.
...
After Clone No. 3's conversation with Melody, another clone met privately with Luzurus.
After flexing a bit of muscle, he left Luzurus alone to mull things over.
Time ticked by, and two quiet days passed.
Following a skirmish between the Ninth Prince and the First Prince, the entire ship seemed unusually calm.
Too calm.
Everyone knew the storm was coming. The second Sunday dinner—on the seventh day of sailing—was bound to erupt into something dangerous.
...
During those two days, Kurapika continued his Nen lessons.
After exposing his Silent Majority ability, the mysterious hidden Nen user hadn't reappeared.
Kurapika's training sessions ran smoothly, and many examinees had already begun using the water divination method to determine their Nen categories.
Meanwhile, Ronnel continued refining the blueprint for his new ability. He believed he'd be ready to begin actual practice in just a few more days.
Given his status as someone with Ant King-tier talent plus his mastery of martial arts, constructing a Nen ability should have been easy.
But Ronnel's goals were far from ordinary.
He planned to incorporate every commanding-type ability he'd acquired—combining different Nen systems and layers of rules. A massive, complicated project.
Only someone like him could attempt something so bold. For anyone else, it would take years.
...
Speaking of talent, one prince had to be mentioned.
Prince Tserriednich was, simply put, a genius among geniuses.
His rate of progress terrified Theta, the bodyguard tasked with teaching him.
Since first coming into contact with Nen, he had taken less than a week—barely seven days—to fully activate his aura nodes and master the basics of Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu.
He'd even advanced to the more complex applications like Gyo with alarming speed.
Just for comparison—Gon and Killua, both Nen prodigies in their own right, had spent two full months training under Wing's careful instruction to reach the same level.
And Wing had praised them as once-in-a-generation talents.
Tserriednich? He'd done it in under a week.
And that was with Theta—a teacher who didn't even want him to learn Nen and wasn't especially attentive.
Wing had been enthusiastic and devoted; Theta was reluctant and distant.
The difference in instruction only emphasized the raw talent at play.
Tserriednich's aptitude wasn't just above Killua and Gon—it was approaching the terrifying potential of figures like Netero and Zigg Zoldyck.
There was no doubt about it: the Fourth Prince was something else entirely.
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (799 chapters in total)