Th-Thank you very much...
Why did you not call for help?
Here...
And here...
You're covered in blood!
What is this creature?
What do I want
to do with her?
Taking Stock x And x Taking Action
One day remains before the selection.
The capital city, Peijing, wakes to a quiet morning.
Good morning.
You boys are up early.
We have nineteen hours until midnight strikes on selection day.
Tonight, we finally make our move.
Let's do one final check.
Once inside, Gon and I
immediately head up the central stairway, toward the throne room.
Yep.
Ikalgo will take
the northeast elevator down to the basement, to search for Palm.
If you find her, escape without us.
Right.
If the King and his three Royal Guards are in the throne room,
we proceed with the plan.
The problem is, what if they're not there?
You're really hung up on that...
What are the chances of that happening?
Well, it's highly unlikely.
But the unusual happens pretty often.
Aren't you contradicting yourself?
We researched the enemy's behavior extensively before deciding on a day for the attack.
When you're waiting for someone to be in a certain place, at a certain time,
that's typically when the unexpected happens.
In my old job, I saw this all the time.
The unusual always happens on the day you've chosen.
In my old job, I could wait for the next chance,
to ensure my success.
But this time, that isn't an option.
We can't wait.
Once we move, there's no turning back.
A moment's hesitation can mean death!
So we should take time now to decide
how we'll act in different situations.
Even if they aren't in the throne room, if they're still in the palace, it's okay.
Pitou's En is enough to cover the palace and its surrounding courtyards, and then some.
So if we sense that creepy aura when we enter,
we'll know that they're there.
From there, we just follow that sinister aura to where it feels densest,
and they'll be at its center.
The question is what we do if we don't sense Pitou's aura.
In other words, what we do if they aren't in the palace.
Or if they're in the palace, but they aren't using En.
Would they be in the palace,
but not using En to guard the King?
That's what happened when Knov-san infiltrated the palace!
Huh?
Yes, that's what I can't make sense of.
According to Colt, Knov saw Pouf's aura.
The Royal Guard never leaves the King's side.
So if Pouf was there, the other two were also in the palace with the King.
Then, why did Pitou stop using the puppets and En,
leaving Pouf to handle security,
which allowed Knov to infiltrate the palace?
I believe the reason has to do with how Pitou's power works...
Then we should ask Colt.
Yeah.
I'd guess that during that time, Pitou was healing someone.
Healing?
I told you that Pitou was the one who restored Kite, yes?
Thinking back, I don't believe Pitou used En during that period.
Thus, healing must require a great deal of concentration.
So while healing someone,
Pitou cannot use En or the puppets.
Now it makes sense.
Which means that someone,
most likely the King or one of the Royal Guard, was injured and
required healing, so the En and puppets disappeared.
But hold on...
Who would have been able to injure one of those monsters?
True...
An internal dispute?
Maybe the King injured one of the Royal Guard?
No, that's impossible.
There is no chance that Pitou would endanger the King
by removing that En to heal someone else!
I guarantee it.
Which means that the one injured...
...was the King!
I see... What you're saying makes sense.
But then the bigger question is who injured the King.
The Royal Guard wouldn't harm him.
But other soldiers could never put so much as a scratch on him.
Yep, so our conclusion was...
The King injured himself?!
Under what circumstances would that have happened?
We don't know why, but it's the only explanation.
I'll admit that I didn't question our sudden stroke of luck too much...
But that chance was only possible under abnormal circumstances.
Are they starting to lose control?
That isn't good...
I'm starting to think something's going on inside the palace.
We will now begin moving to the palace.
Citizens of sector A-1, assemble in Diego Plaza at once.
The citizens of the other sectors should prepare to move out.
Oh, they're starting to file out.
They've begun their march...
Ten hours until midnight, when the selection starts.
In twenty-five hours, tomorrow afternoon at three,
five million humans will fill the palace grounds.
Has the situation in Peijing changed?
I thought it was only one skilled enemy, but now there are a bunch.
So there are reinforcements.
They may try to use the celebration as cover to approach us.
Then the danger will be greatest during the selection.
Yes, since the King will be participating in the selection.
Our greatest concern is
the King somehow being taken beyond our reach.
Assuming that they have a Nen user capable of translocation,
and that that person can use the ability to isolate the King somewhere else...
That means at least one of us must stay
by the King's side during the selection.
The King won't allow it.
As it is, he's been upset by how close we've stayed to him.
Then we guard him secretly, without his knowledge.
We need someone to stay just close enough to monitor his surroundings
while still carrying out his own role in the selection...
Whose size won't attract attention,
who won't get absorbed in an amusing task...
Very well, I am the best choice for this.
Strictly by process of elimination, of course...
What's wrong?
Their presences have completely disappeared.
I can't sense any residual aura.
They must be using Zetsu to hide among the marching humans.
Hey.
There are so many people...
Around a hundred per building.
They must have been packed inside.
Then if we conceal our presences,
they can only assume that we're hiding among the citizens.
Maybe they'll cancel the march?
No way.
That would mean delaying or even canceling the celebration.
Which would imply the King had accepted defeat and compromised.
The Royal Guard won't let that happen.
The celebration will begin as scheduled, no matter the cost.
Tomorrow morning, at 3 PM!
And that won't change.
Once the humans began to move,
my puppets could no longer tell them apart...
Should I recall them?
No, giving the enemy free rein would be dangerous.
Have the puppets join the soldiers that are guiding the citizens, as a deterrent.
'Sup?
As expected, the puppets have joined the march.
In another hour, those sectors will be deserted.
There are six entrances to the rooms that lead to the palace.
We'll avoid the entrances in front of the palace, where security will be tighter,
and wait by entrances A, B, and C, behind the palace.
Once we've entered the rooms,
the only exit will lead inside the palace.
What? You scared?
Don't be absurd.
I merely want to be sure we're prepared.
Waiting by the entrances involves quite a lot of risk.
But if we enter the rooms too early, we won't be able to exit until midnight.
True...
If we receive any useful information,
we want to be free to act on it...
And we can't use cell phones near the palace,
since the Ants will pick up on the signal.
I think it's dangerous to spend hours waiting inside the rooms,
not knowing if there have been accidents or changes in the situation.
But you're the one who said it was risky to wait outside the palace.
Yes...
You shouldn't take their security net lightly.
I'll take care of it.
I'm the only one who can freely enter and exit these rooms.
If anything happens, I'll tell you.
For now, you should rest here.
Will you be okay?
I shouldn't have any problem investigating the area...
Even if I'm right beside the palace, as long as I'm out of range of Pitou's En...
But you should be careful.
Pitou doesn't use a standard circular En.
It changes shape like an amoeba, giving it extended range.
That's what Kite came in contact with.
And it was probably deliberate...
It's a fighter's instinct to want to know how strong the opponent is.
And his instinct led him to misjudge their strength.
In some areas, that En can stretch two kilometers.
Make sure you stay out of range.
Don't worry about it.
In this room, I'm the one who most fears them.
I won't do anything crazy.
I promise you that.
We will now head to the palace.
Any person who leaves their line will be shot on the spot.
Move out!
Pitou...
You knew that Komugi was being attacked?
Yes, I was monitoring the area with En.
However,
I determined that there was no threat to Your Majesty, so I ignored it.
From now on, monitor Komugi's surroundings,
and deal with any threats at once.
Yes, as you command.
Tens of thousands of people are marching
in a line toward the King.
Like ants... No, lemmings.
A march of death.
It will be dark soon.
I can tell Morel and the others to come out...
What is
that?
Wing scales?
The wind is carrying the scales of his wings toward the citizens...
That means...
As I thought...
They all look completely vacant and dazed.
Those scales have a hypnotic effect.
Stay in line as you advance!
Stay in line!
Once you reach your position, wait for orders.
Do not move!
Simple orders delivered repeatedly, while tanks roll in the background
can easily seep into a mind exhausted from hours of marching...
It's the perfect situation for using hypnosis!
Once the selection begins, and blood starts to fly,
they will continue to quietly stand in place.
Until it's their turn.
Hypnosis? I see...
If they're brainwashed, the citizens won't run.
But this works out for us.
Eh?
If we make a lot of noise,
we won't have to worry about citizens panicking.
Ah!
There won't be any stampede of humans falling over each other to escape.
That's a big boon.
Assuming that over half of the people will be in place at midnight,
we would have expected a stampede to leave tens of thousands of casualties.
Our biggest concern has been addressed.
We can go crazy.
Six hours to go.
Everyone's here.
Have you heard from Palm?
No.
Oh...
We'll keep waiting until half an hour before go time.
If we knew what's inside before going in, it'd be very different...
Yeah.
They both look composed.
Killua, in particular, shows
none of the mental weakness he displayed when we fought.
I'd almost say he's brimming with confidence.
But for some reason,
he seems on the verge of fading away.
No, I don't have time to worry about others.
I'm the one suffering from the most anxiety.
The fate of humanity rests on me...
Colt is a good guy...
Meleoron and Ikalgo both have good hearts.
It doesn't matter if they're humans or Ants. Everyone has a heart.
That's what I want to believe.
Hopefully, the King also has one.
But some of them must be killed...
If we don't kill them, we'll be killed!
Kite, it's almost time.
I promise to turn you back...
By defeating that Ant.
He's fired up...
I'll focus on providing support.
So no one can interfere in your battle...
Using my new Kanmuru technique.
My body feels heavy.
I'm suffering from days without rest...
On a scale of 1 to 100, my current condition would be 40...
No, 35...
But I can't be whining now.
With Knov out, I'm the only one left.
I was hoping to fight at full strength,
but it's easier to accept my fate this way.
I'll focus on playing the decoy and drawing my target from the King.
I'm sorry, Morel and everyone...
But I can't bring myself to go.
I'll take a look outside.
So two minutes is the longest I can hold my breath...
Given how tense I'll be inside, my limit will probably be, at most, half that.
Good enough...
One minute is more than enough time!
Tomorrow, at midnight, I will be reborn.
A few days ago, I couldn't have dreamed of such a life.
Thank you, Killua.
I promise to carry out my mission for you!
Tomorrow will be my birthday!
I am the King.
But who am I?
Why was I brought into this world?
Time's up... Let's go!
Palm...
Ten minutes remain until they enter the palace.
Next time: Confusion x And x Expectation.
It's so cold, Gon...
They said Admiral Winter is coming!
I think you mean General Winter.