King: What is that?
shaiapouf: Tournaments have been held
in each of the last 15 years,
and, in all that time, east gorteau has yet to lose.
they are now on their third representative,
who is a five-time reigning champion.
King: Hmm.
So then if I defeat this champion,
i’ll be the best in the world?
A fitting end to this diversion.
Call them.
♪
( Singing in Japanese )
♪
Narrator: Six days remain before neferpitou begins the sorting.
The king has spent this time in his palace,
defeating masters of shogi, go, and other board games.
His last opponent, the reigning gungi world champion,
has just been summoned.
( Champion sniffs )
( Cane tapping )
U-um, the honor--
I-I mean, i’m honored to be in your presence.
King: No need for small talk.
You and I will play gungi,
but i’m learning the rules now, so you must wait.
Champion: Um...
You don’t sound like the dear leader.
King: That fool is long dead.
I am your sovereign now.
Champion: Oh! I’m s-so sorry.
Please forgive me.
you see, sir, i’m really quite stupid,
and i’m ignorant about what’s going on,
and i’m always saying the wrong thing.
King: Shut your mouth. You’re distracting.
Or you’ll die.
( Champion grunts )
( Wind blowing )
king: Okay, I got the gist of it.
Let’s start.
Eh?
♪
What’s the matter now?
shaiapouf: It seems she passed out.
She shut her mouth just as you instructed,
but with her nose stuffed up,
it seems that she was completely unable to breathe.
king: Well, she’s uncommonly stupid, then.
champion: Gosh. That was pretty embarrassing.
Like I said, i’m not that smart.
i can’t even do things a baby can.
my folks are always yelling at me. ( Sniffles )
King: Just start.
Champion: Right!
It’s a real honor to play against you.
King: Hold on.
You can’t see, can you?
Champion: No, not at all.
so would you please announce your moves for me?
I can’t help but keep them open, not while i’m playing,
but if that’s unacceptable, I can try...
King: It’s fine.
♪
( Thinking ) The atmosphere has suddenly changed.
Champion: Soldier four-four-one.
( Wind blowing )
knuckle: So you can’t reach him at all?
Gon: No. His phone must be off.
I guess we did agree that he’d always initiate contact,
so it’s not all that surprising.
( Knuckle scoffs ) Are you saying
that we have to wait around for him to call us?
Meleoron: The hell?
Why does that guy look like he was born in the wrong decade?
By the look on his face,
he’s the kind of guy who’s always looking for a fight.
the other one doesn’t have any eyebrows,
and that expression of his
makes it look like he’s scared and suspicious of everything.
I doubt he’ll ever give me a chance to explain myself.
whatever I say will probably just go in one ear
and come out the other.
I hate to say it, gon,
but my first impressions are super bad.
If I don’t see something that changes my mind soon,
there’s no way i’m ever gonna be able to trust these guys.
There’s not a chance in hell.
( Dog whimpers )
Meleoron: Eh?
( Dogs whimpering )
Gon: Hey, what’s going on?
Knuckle: Beats me. It’s just a pack of strays, I guess.
Gon: But they’re all wearing collars.
Shoot: What he’s not telling you is that he’s been feeding
all the animals left behind due to the sorting,
even though it cuts into his sleep.
Knuckle: Eh, shut up! Not all of ’em.
We don’t have time to waste on that crap.
Don’t you think I know that?
So I gave up on the ones that had no chance.
Aren’t you proud of me?
Some were just skin and bones
and refused to eat what I offered ’em.
And then there were the stupid, loyal ones
who refused to leave their homes even after I unchained ’em.
What’s so bad about saving the ones that want the help?
Tell me that!
Shoot: There’s no need to cry about it, knuckle.
( Knuckle sputters ) I’m not crying, idiot!
you wanna get smacked in the head?
Meleoron: Hmph.
that’s not enough to change my opinion of him.
Well, maybe a little.
And now shinobi, seven-eight-two.
That’s checkmate.
King: A strategy to stack a bow
as a basis for attack and defense,
a typical yagura castle.
Nothing particularly striking in that strategy.
the opening array was by the book as well...
Which means that, to her,
i’m not good enough for a serious game yet.
We will play another.
Champion: Yes! I would be happy to.
♪
( Gungi piece clatters )
Cavalry, eight-eight-one.
King: That’s checkmate.
Champion: I’m surprised. You’re such a fast learner.
Congratulations, supreme leader.
If I don’t step up my game soon,
you’ll get the jump on me before too long.
King: That’s enough. Go get some rest.
Champion: Huh?
( Sniffles ) There’s no need.
I’m fine to keep playing if you want to.
I’ve played gungi for three days without sleep before.
King: I have a rematch.
Once i’ve finished with him, you’ll have your turn.
Champion: Oh.
then I will rest. I’m sure it will do me good.
Shaiapouf: How is it?
King: It’s only a matter of time.
There are several strategies,
but it’s basically the same as all the other games.
A few more rounds, and i’ll be able to make her play for real.
Once I do, i’ll be able to observe her rhythm.
It’s all the same.
Menthuthuyoupi, sire. It seems that the go player hung himself.
♪
( King laughing )
Call that simpleton back in here.
♪
Narrator: In the palace, the king continues to play
against the gungi master, hoping to hone his skills.
meanwhile, only a short distance away,
morel has been using his power
to surround the capital city of peijing.
Morel: Deep purple.
( Inhales )
( Grunts )
Narrator: He first releases a ball of aura as a nucleus.
He then envelops it with smoke aura,
creating a free-moving smoke puppet,
one that he can command
through programmed nen within the nucleus.
His ability allows him
to sustain 216 puppets at a single time.
Morel: I’ve made my soldiers more responsive,
so in the event that the enemy retaliates,
I can maintain 50 of them at once,
and they’re highly effective.
One big advantage to doing it this way
is that en can’t differentiate
between one of these and a human being.
But chimera ants are still ants,
so neferpitou won’t leave the king’s side.
He’s recalled the controlled humans to the capital
for defensive positions, as expected.
that tells me they’ve made a decision
about their priorities,
and the king’s safety is number one.
So restricting the movement of the royal guard
should be a piece of cake.
The only question is, how will the king respond?
If he’s impulsive,
it’ll be harder to anticipate his actions.
That’d make it risky.
But as long as they keep these coming, we’re fine.
( Gasps )
♪
Cheetu: Hey, it’s been a while.
It’s really good to see you.
( Morel gasps ) He’s leveled up.
The air around him feels totally different.
Knuckle’s a.P.R. Is gone.
It doesn’t appear to have changed into I.R.S., either.
I’m sure knuckle and the others would have called me
if something bad had happened.
If a.P.R. Is gone,
that means they have someone who can exorcise nen.
Unless, is he the exorcist?
Leol: Let’s see what they’ve got.
It doesn’t matter who wins,
because in the end, i’ll reap the benefits.
Cheetu: I owe you one.
I’ll beat you down first...
And then the pompadour will be next.
Morel: There must be a reason he’s so confident.
He must have gained a new ability.
We’ll see about that.
If that ability is to exorcise nen,
we’re in big trouble.
Knuckle and shoot complement each other
with their hit-and-retreat strategy.
since our strategy is to seal their nen with ours,
it will be totally meaningless
if they have an exorcist working on their side.
All of our hard work will have been for nothing.
I was really hoping that our strategy
would be effective against the king.
However, if he can exorcise nen,
this is a golden opportunity.
If I neutralize him now,
knuckle and shoot’s strategy could still work.
i have to do it. I can’t deactivate deep purple,
so i’ll have to get by on my remaining aura.
Wait. What the hell?
That was the same old speed-based attack.
There are lots of ways to deal
with someone who only uses speed.
Cheetu: Now you’re the one who’s it for a change.
Morel: I’m what? What are you saying?
♪
Huh?
Where the hell am I?
Looks like a Savannah.
Did he teleport me?
If this is his new ability,
a different chimera ant is the nen exorcist.
That’s bad.
Cheetu: What? Not dazed, are you?
Let’s start.
We’re gonna play tag.
Morel: Tag, huh?
cheetu: We’re in a field I created,
and you won’t be able to leave,
not until you touch me.
You have eight hours.
All right. Now let’s begin.
( Morel sighs )
Cheetu: Eh?
Hey!
Hey, didn’t you hear what I just said to you?!
You can’t leave here without touching me first!
Those are the rules!
Morel: I guess I could chase you,
but i’d still never be able to catch you,
so might as well take my time.
( Cheetu groans )
Knov: Morel disappeared with the enemy.
( Footsteps )
Leol: Cheetu activated his ability.
I don’t know what it does,
but they won’t be back for another eight hours.
♪
Morel: The backdrop’s a wall.
It looks like i’m in some kind of space
separated from the real world, just like he said.
Seems to be about the size of a baseball field.
If I recall deep purple, i should be able
to break out of here without too much trouble.
But first, is it even possible
for me to deactivate deep purple from within this space?
and second, even if I could pull it off,
will that aura return to me through the barrier,
wherever the hell this is?
The worst scenario I can imagine
would be one in which I deactivate deep purple,
but the aura can’t reach me while i’m here.
Once deep purple is deactivated,
it can’t be reactivated until i’ve recovered the aura.
It’s too risky to try.
Cheetu: Huh?
morel: I can’t deactivate deep purple,
at least, not yet.
cheetu: Well, well. Are you finally ready to start?
Yeah, that’s right.
this way. Just follow my lead, okay?
Uh, hold on.
You’re not gonna try to...
Morel: Yeah. You bet I am!
Cheetu: You’re just wasting time.
You can’t destroy the hourglass or wall.
it’s like I said. There’s only one way out,
and if you don’t catch me, you’re gonna be stuck here.
♪
Morel: His ability was clearly influenced
by knuckle’s hakoware: Chapter seven bankruptcy,
so...
Hey. What happens if time runs out
and I haven’t touched you yet?
Cheetu: Who knows?
I have no obligation to answer that.
Morel: Of course you don’t.
Looks like there’s more to this ability.
This might take a while.
Cheetu: Oh?
Morel: Just wake me up in five hours, would you?
( Cheetu groans ) Are you messing with me?
( Morel snoring )
( Cheetu growls )
( Morel chuckles )
( Thinking ) Go ahead. Lose your temper.
It’s starting to look
like you don’t understand your own ability.
This is not a battle of speed.
This is a contest of wills.
( Running footsteps )
Knov: Deep purple is still activated...
So the plan continues.
♪
flutter: Are you there, sir leol?
I’ve found another enemy you should know about...
a man in a suit with black hair and glasses.
Leol: Anyone else?
Flutter: No. Just him,
along with the figures in white.
Leol: Those white figures
are probably nothing but ordinary soldiers,
but it is possible
that the true leader is concealed among them.
No matter what,
I can’t let anyone see my ability,
and hirin can’t go out after exorcising the nen from cheetu.
Damn. I’m gonna need at least two more pawns.
Neferpitou: Oh, very well. You’ll have them,
but in return, you have to defeat him.
The king is nearly finished playing games,
and after that, he might even decide
to come out there and play himself.
We’ll be there to protect him, of course,
but you never really know what might happen.
Our preference is for the king to remain inside
until the sorting is all over.
lobster ant: Do you need something?
Neferpitou: Go give leol a hand.
Wolf ant: Right.
Lobster ant: As you wish.
Neferpitou: How’s it going?
shaiapouf: Poorly. I am becoming quite worried.
Neferpitou: Meow?
Shaiapouf: All these games,
and the king has yet to win.
Neferpitou: Hmm.
Shaiapouf: This player is a true master.
King: I should have been able
to whittle away her defenses from the left,
but she used a peculiar move sequence
to turn the tables.
Four-five-one, Cannon.
Champion: Two-eight-two, fort.
king: What?! The shinobi’s been useless
since its first placement,
but one move gave it full control.
My right side’s been neutralized.
There. I resign.
( Thinking ) Impossible.
There were only 144 moves, start to finish.
This could only have happened
if she predicted my game from the start.
Again.
Champion: Okay.
King: That’s impossible.
( Thunder rumbling )
Neferpitou: A storm is brewing.
♪
Narrator: The girl’s strength upsets the king,
and all the while, a storm draws close to the palace.
( Singing in Japanese )