Lobster ant: All right, how many are there?
Wolf ant: Right around 5,000,
and that’s only about a fifth of the quota we’re aiming for.
Lobster ant: The king must be pretty ticked off.
Wolf ant: Nope.
Apparently he’s just been playing games in his room.
He plays so much gungi that he barely eats.
lobster ant: Then what about all this food?
Should we take a little bit for ourselves?
Wolf ant: And risk the ire of the king and his royal guard?
( Chuckles ) Don’t make me laugh.
Lobster ant: Yeah. Sometimes you realize what true power is
only after you get a taste yourself.
I’ll do whatever those monsters tell me.
wolf ant: I bet sir shaia anticipated
things would turn out like this when he gave us our abilities.
hagya’s the only one who doesn’t get it! ( Laughs )
He gets mad if you call him by his old name now.
♪
( Singing in Japanese )
( Automatic rifle firing )
Flutter: The man in the suit and glasses
is on high alert and is heading to the palace.
The puppets are useless against him. He’s quite adept.
Leol: And his abilities?
Flutter: Much like the others,
he’s used only physical attacks thus far.
Leol: Okay. Just let me know if he reveals his abilities.
Once welfin and bloster arrive,
we’ll take care of those figures in white.
Hmm. I’ll learn their abilities, too.
( Wings fluttering )
Flutter: Damn! I lost sight of him.
Sir leol, it appears that the man in the suit and glasses
has the ability to teleport.
Narrator: Knov’s ability is called hide-and-seek,
and it does indeed allow him to teleport.
by placing his hand over a wall or on the ground,
he can open a portal to a nen dimension.
What’s more, he can then send people or objects
through that portal to the other side.
hide-and-seek creates a nen dimension
of 21 rooms spread across four floors.
Each room is completely independent from the others.
The entrance closes as one passes through,
so in order to return to the real world, one must exit
by a different door from the one used to enter.
it is possible to create multiple entrances,
but exactly how many depends on the size of the room.
The exit leads directly
back to the portal that was used for entry,
so as a general rule, one can only enter and exit
via the location of the entry portal.
However, the master key in knov’s possession
is able to connect any door to any portal in any location.
( Distant gunfire echoing )
Knov: No change. All in good order.
Narrator: Morel’s deep purple is primarily used for defense.
When a puppet encounters someone who isn’t an ally,
it will keep its distance.
When under attack, it will retreat while fighting back.
The puppets retaliate by throwing nearby objects
or using them as melee weapons.
to hide the fact that they are nen constructs,
the figures in white
avoid direct contact with their opponents,
lest they betray their secret.
♪
Knov: That’s a chimera.
But what’s it doing here?
We’re pretty far from the battlefield.
Is it scouting the area?
There were strange dragonflies around town.
i thought they were a local species,
but could they be products of his nen?
Seems likely.
If it’s a chimera ant that specializes in gathering intel,
I need to neutralize it, and quickly!
Cheetu: Hey! Hey!
Aren’t you gonna tag me?
Come on! Look how close I am.
And I know you’re awake.
Whoa, there!
I knew you were playing possum all along.
You can’t trick me.
Morel: I can’t sleep with all your damn racket!
Just give me some peace and quiet, would you?!
( Cheetu laughs ) Do you really think
i’m gonna be be quiet and let you sleep?
I’m gonna keep bugging you ’til you chase me, you know?
morel: You idiot. If that’s what you wanted,
then you should have enforced rules
that would make people chase you.
Looks like his new ability still needs some work.
Do whatever the hell you want,
but i’m not getting up for the next five hours.
( Cheetu groans )
Morel: He’s obsessed with challenging me to a footrace.
between that and his constant need for attention,
it’s unlikely that he’ll change his strategy any time soon.
( Cheetu growls )
i’m not just gonna let you sleep.
Look! I’m over here! Don’t you wanna get up and grab me?
Sure, you do!
Ooh, now i’m even closer.
Morel: Now it’s just a waiting game.
As soon as he gives up and steps away from me,
I win.
( Thunder rumbling )
King: King, nine-nine-one.
Champion: King, one-five-one.
King: Soldier, seven-nine-one.
champion: Soldier, two-three-one.
King: Shinobi, eight-one-one.
Champion: Cannon, two-three-one.
King: Fort, nine-one-one.
Champion: Mortar, two-seven-two.
( Thinking ) The king is isolated.
King: I’m calling this move "detached castling."
Fort, seven-one-two. Your move.
All right then.
Prince, one-six-two.
( Thunder rumbling )
King: Bow, nine-one-three.
champion: Captain, three-two-two.
King: I’m finished.
Her opening array is just as I expected.
She’s moving toward my king while staying in wing formation.
Champion: Now let us begin to play the game.
king: Her first move will be to position her Archer
on her right flank to threaten a trident attack,
but shifting her pieces to the right
exposes her left flank to attack.
this time, I will disrupt your rhythm.
Champion: New bow, one-nine-three.
King: That’s it.
New shinobi, nine-seven-one.
Champion: Cavalry, two-nine-one.
King: Her trident attack and the movement of her left flank
will cost me two pieces,
but that created an opening in her left flank.
She’ll probably expect me to go all-in from that side,
but instead i’ll do this!
Duke, five-five-one.
♪
shaiapouf: She had been playing with a consistent tempo,
but now she’s paused for the first time.
king: When attacking from this central placement,
the possibilities are infinite.
There are no correct moves.
I have the ability to extend the match with every turn.
Now let me hear you...
Gasp for air!
♪
Champion: New Duke, nine-two-one.
( King gasps )
♪
I resign.
You knew that this was a dead end, didn’t you?
Champion: Yes.
King: Then why did you pause to think before making your move?
You could have made it immediately.
Shaiapouf: The king has moved this match off the board.
A wrong answer could mean her death.
( Thunder rumbling )
Champion: Actually sir, this "detached castling" strategy
you were using is more commonly known as "kokoriko."
It’s one I came up with myself ’bout ten years ago.
♪
Placing the Duke in the center
in response to a trident attack
is also my novelty move, called "central Duke."
At the time, they both drew a lot of attention.
The sequence from "kokoriko" to "central Duke"
was an excellent way to test each other’s level of insight.
It was very popular.
I was so happy that a fool like me could still give birth
to something that was so intelligent.
I even called it "my smart little baby."
But soon after that, I found out how to kill it.
A year after I came up with "kokoriko,"
an opponent used it against me
in the national title tournament,
and I figured out this countermove,
so I was able to win the match.
But then it disappeared.
You didn’t see it in any more matches
or even in textbooks.
To think that you came up with the same strategy I had,
I was so honored and touched,
so much so that my heart trembled.
It felt like...
Seeing my dead baby come back to life.
That’s how it felt.
So when I saw it just now,
I almost didn’t have the heart to snuff out its life again.
That was why I hesitated.
( King scoffs )
Rubbish.
I’ve lost interest. Take a break.
Champion: Huh?
- King: Once we begin again... - Champion: Eh?
king: You will not get any more breaks, so be prepared.
Champion: Uh, yes, sir!
shaiapouf: I’m actually impressed.
The king has never listened to someone else
for that long before, not nearly.
Oh, well. It should have no significance.
Morel: Four hours have passed?
( Cheetu laughs )
Morel: Hmph. He got bored and started reading.
That guy’s way too predictable.
( Cheetu laughs )
Huh?
♪
All right! You ready?
That was a quick five hours.
Wait. It’s only half done.
( Laughs ) Not getting anxious, are you?
( Laughs )
Well? Hmm?
Morel: Didn’t you notice?
It’s not time to begin.
It’s already over.
Just take a look at your ankle.
Cheetu: Eh?
A rope made of smoke?
morel: That took a lot of work, you know.
I had to go all the way around
so you wouldn’t notice what I was doing.
It turned to a pretty long rope.
( Cheetu gasps )
Morel: In any case,
all that’s left is to wind it up.
Won’t be long now.
( Cheetu growls )
( Morel laughs )
Guess it’s your turn to try whatever you can think of,
but don’t expect it to work.
( Cheetu gasps )
( Groans )
Morel: Don’t underestimate the power of smoke.
this rope’s essentially unbreakable.
Struggle all you want.
( Cheetu growling )
Morel: I knew it.
This is a game of tag,
so he won’t attack me.
All I have to do is touch his body,
and it’ll terminate his ability.
He’s the one who chose for this game to last eight hours,
even though he doesn’t have the attention span for it.
I’m not your enemy here.
- You’re your own worst enemy. - ( Cheetu gasps )
Narrator: Cheetu’s ability is still a work in progress,
but now that he finds himself cornered
with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide...
Morel: Huh?
narrator: He creates a new ability.
♪
Morel: A crossbow and claws?
( Cheetu chuckles )
Morel: Something for both close-range
and long-range combat.
( Cheetu laughs )
Thanks a lot!
You just helped me gain an awesome new ability!
See? Got any idea what it is?
This is a bow,
are you sure you want to come closer now?!
There!
Morel: Oh, i’m sure.
( Cheetu gasps )
Morel: Tell me. Why in the hell
would you want a power that’s so much slower than you are?
Cheetu: Uh...
morel: Why don’t you try out those claws already?
It’ll save me the trouble of walking over there.
i’ll tell you why you’re gonna lose, because...
You’re an idiot.
( Cheetu chuckles )
Shut up!
( Laughs )
come on! Just die so tagging me won’t matter!
Huh? This feels like--
no. It can’t be.
Smoke? No way!
Morel: Well, that was easy.
Cheetu: Wait. When did you--
morel: While you read your manga and cackled to yourself,
I created a copy of myself from smoke.
after that, I covered my true self
with smoke that looked like grass.
My copy went one way, and I went the other.
Sleeping doesn’t mean the fight just stops.
You really should have kept your eyes on me.
We’re back safe and sound.
Well? Still wanna fight?
Cheetu: No way. I’m done.
Morel: Yeah, wise decision.
Maybe you’d be willing
to fill me in on a little something, then.
Would you mind telling me what would have happened
if I hadn’t caught you back there, or do you know?
Cheetu: It doesn’t matter anymore.
Once i’ve been caught, I can’t use that ability ever again.
That was the condition i put on it.
Morel: Now I almost feel like I should apologize.
( Cheetu laughs ) Oh, it’s no big deal.
I’ll just ask sir shaia for a new ability!
I won’t lose next time! just you wait!
Morel: All right, then.
So his superior is most likely a royal guard named shaia,
someone who has the power to develop others’ nen abilities,
so if the sorting is carried out,
winning will become much more difficult.
gon and killua made the right choice, it seems.
( Cell phone rings )
Knov: Let’s meet. We’ll talk inside.
Reinforcements have arrived, a lobster and a wolf.
Morel: Are they strong?
Knov: Knowing that would make this easier.
They’re trying to find out the same thing about us.
Morel: A stalemate, huh?
Our goal is to buy time, so it all works out.
Knov: I think it’s because I took out this one here.
Those dragonflies were acting as surveillance cameras.
Leol: Flutter, come in!
Bloster: I don’t think he’s gonna show up.
Welfin: Time for a change of plans.
without flutter, we can’t locate the enemy.
( Leol growls ) Damn it.
he lets me down right when I really need him.
Should I call it off? No.
I can’t ever lose face in front of pitou.
welfin: Well, we’re gonna head back, then.
Leol: Wait. Hold on a second. It’s fine.
I think I can handle it.
( Cash register rings )
Welfin: Now hang on. Is that your ability?
Leol: I can use it to scout around,
but let’s just keep that between us.
at least you’re both trustworthy.
Idiots. As if i’d tell you the truth.
narrator: This is leol’s rental pod.
It’s a device that allows him to temporarily borrow
his targets’ abilities by putting them in his debt.
However there are two conditions which must be met
before he can put it into action.
First, he must have seen the ability
or at the very least know its name.
Second, he must Grant the target a favor
and confirm by saying, "you owe me,"
or, "this isn’t free," something along those lines,
and the target must respond affirmatively,
fulfilling the conditions.
Leol: Got it!
Narrator: Once fulfilled,
the data is automatically saved into the dispenser
with the name, ability, and number of rentals recorded.
However, if the target dies,
the data will be deleted instantly.
Leol: Flutter’s fine.
( Welfin chuckles )
Leol: He’s not responding,
because he’s either unconscious or too far away.
Narrator: A rental can be used for one hour.
During the rental period,
the target cannot use the borrowed power.
Leol: He’s still alive, anyway.
looks like we can stay in touch.
We’ll start once flutter’s satellite dragonflies
confirm they’ve found the suit with glasses.
Bloster: All right. We’ll keep the weaklings at a distance
while you deal with that one.
Welfin: You gonna be okay on your own?
Leol: I wouldn’t give you a job you can’t handle by yourselves.
Besides, I don’t want you two to see my ability.
I’ll do whatever it takes to complete this mission.
Okay.
I can’t waste any more time here,
not until I make the king owe me one.
Narrator: Taking the ticket
and ripping it up activates the ability.
Leol: They’re here.
Time to start scouting.
( Thunder rumbling )
King: I don’t like it.
During our matches, my rhythm is the one being disrupted,
not hers.
By all rights, this should be an unbearable indignity,
and yet, although I find myself frustrated,
I enjoy it at the same time.
♪
What I don’t understand...
Is why.
( Singing in Japanese )