Hunter x Hunter: From Obtaining the World to Beyond Heaven

"Secondly, it has completely dissipated."

"We can only proceed with the first possibility as a hypothetical scenario for now. Before that, we cannot act rashly and expose the fact that we already know he has been exposed."

"We will rescue the eldest prince once we find a suitable method."

Chapter 426 The Ninth Prince's Negotiation × The Last Moment of Clarity

Benjamin, or rather, Halkenbrugge, slowly opened his eyes.

'Have we been exposed...? It's hard to say...'

Halkenbrugge is not confident in his acting skills.

He wasn't born an actor.

Or rather, for the resolute and straightforward Halkenbrugge, acting skills may be his weakest link.

On this point.

Celidonich was completely different from him.

At least until the Eighth Princess handed over those horrifying pieces of evidence to him.

Halkenbrugge always thought of Celidonish as an intelligent, understanding, approachable, and well-rounded heir to the throne.

Even before officially deciding to join the War of the Succession, he had fantasized about supporting Celidonich to become the new king.

But not long ago, it was the Eighth Princess who told him the truth about the succession battle—the poisonous ritual that caused fratricide.

This completely inhumane ritual

This completely enraged Harkenbrugg!

He would not allow a cold-blooded person with his own brothers' hands on his hands to become the king of Kakin; such a person could not possibly lead Kakin onto the right path.

Of course, he believed that every one of his brothers shared the ambition to lead Kakin to the top.

But a great future can never be achieved through dirty tricks.

'The populist party, driven by a desire to protect national interests, used inhumane methods to invade other countries, ultimately leading to its demise. If my eldest or fourth brother becomes king, Kakin will eventually follow the same path…'

Halkenbrugge knew this well—

There are no exceptions; all correct results can only be achieved through correct methods.

Just like in physics, if you use the wrong formula, you will only get the wrong result.

Even if the correct result is obtained, it is only a coincidence. As long as more samples are tested, the truth will be revealed immediately.

He knew that this was science and truth.

Of course, there's no point in mentioning Celidonich now, since he did indeed die in that strange riot.

The killer is unknown, but Halkenbrugg sincerely hopes it wasn't one of his siblings.

If it must be done, then let him bear this bloody mission.

With this resolve in mind, Halkenbrugge was prepared to kill his brother on the very day the riot ended.

Of course, this was not his ultimate goal...

pat.

Suddenly, a crisp footstep rang out in the room that should have been empty except for him!

'!'

Harkenbrug was startled and instantly assumed a defensive stance, looking towards the source of the footsteps—

In the corner of the room, a tall figure had quietly appeared without anyone noticing...

The man was wearing an ordinary, slightly worn black high-end suit, one hand in his pocket, his face calm and composed. He was young and handsome, but the edges of his face appeared somewhat blurred under the direct sunlight.

Despite being an ordinary, slightly somber outfit, it exuded a strong presence on this person, as if this was the very thing that was meant for them to wear.

Or perhaps he actually looks good in anything.

Halkenbrug looked at the man and noticed a mixture of curiosity and certainty in his eyes.

That unwavering certainty that "it's you!"

There were no words spoken.

Halkenbrugge remained frozen in his seat, staring at the strange man.

He walked at a leisurely pace, like an uninvited guest, and sat down on the sofa facing north before speaking:

"Hello, Your Highness Halkenbrugge."

A fine layer of sweat instantly appeared on Halkenbrugg's forehead, his eyes serious and wary.

But he did not act rashly. Instead, after waiting a moment, he slowly asked:

"who are you?"

At this moment, in this place, Halkenbrug was quite certain that his identity was no secret in the eyes of this mysterious person.

There's absolutely no need to say anything more.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that, having already confirmed his identity, the other party didn't expose him in public, but instead had a secret conversation with him at that moment.

This in itself is an act of goodwill.

In this secret military base, buried hundreds of meters underground, not even a rat should be able to sneak in.

But this person appeared naturally in a place where he should never have been.

The conflict between reason and reality often indicates a lack of self-awareness.

Halkenbrugg quickly calmed down, adjusted his mindset, and engaged in self-criticism.

This has always been his habit, and it has helped him many times.

Then he heard the man speak:

“My name is Dia, and I am a hunter.”

"Now you're working for your sister, Mumu Ze. If I'm not mistaken, your goal is probably similar to mine—to destroy the [Egg in the Pot]."

A look of understanding flashed in Halkenbrugge's eyes as he carefully chose his words and said:

“...I know you. The Eighth Princess Consort mentioned me to her. You recommended me to her.”

That happened a few days ago.

The Eighth Princess unexpectedly approached him after he had just suffered a setback in the pandemic-locked-down area and told him everything about Celidonig and the truth about the succession battle.

All for one purpose—to get him to join the War of Succession and to do everything in his power to destroy the [Egg in the Pot] ritual.

In order to gain his trust, the Eighth Princess spent most of her funds on Halkenbrugge, in exchange for a day of "safe time" for him.

That ultimately allowed him to escape unscathed from the riots.

The person who recommended him to the Eighth Princess was a professional hunter named Diya.

If what the person in front of you says is true, then there is no doubt that they are on the same side, which is consistent with the previous well-intentioned judgment.

As for whether the person in front of you is talking nonsense.

Halkenbrugger doesn't think so.

It's meaningless and illogical.

Telling such a lie, which is neither beneficial nor easy to expose, serves no purpose other than to show the ugly side of him being kept in the dark for the time being.

"You entered Benjamin's body?"

Dia asked, feigning curiosity.

He actually knew the truth, but obviously he couldn't just act like he knew everything; that would be too idiotic.

"Um……"

After a moment's hesitation, Harkenbrugg simply spread his hands and began explaining his abilities to the stranger he was meeting for the first time:

"To be precise, it should be called [personality replacement]."

"This is my ability, called 'The Boy Raises the Bow of Cruelty.' By collaborating with like-minded individuals, I infuse my Nen with a fearless will to sacrifice, transforming it into an unstoppable and powerful arrow of Nen."

"The person struck by my telepathic arrow will randomly swap personalities with either me or one of my followers. So after I struck my elder brother, my personality just happened to be swapped with his."

A person with superpowers should keep their abilities a closely guarded secret.

But Halkenbrugge openly revealed it, which was also his accurate assessment of the current situation.

Since Dia is a star-level professional hunter, he is most likely a Nen expert, and he already knows the core of his ability to switch personalities. It's probably only a matter of time before he sees through the remaining details.

Using details of one's abilities that are 100% guaranteed to be revealed in exchange for a sincere and positive first impression and a friendly attitude, this demonstrates Halkenbrugge's emotional intelligence and skillful social skills.

He was more worldly than most princes.

Dia could naturally sense this goodwill.

He couldn't help but nod; the Ninth Prince was indeed much more normal than the other princes.

However, one still has to put on an act.

"According to what you said, you have now swapped souls with Benjamin. So where is Benjamin's current personality?"

Dia pressed for an answer.

Harkenbrugg, adhering to the principle of trusting others without reservation, simply stated:

"Based on my previous experiments, if I activate my ability to swap the souls of any two people, only one of the two souls can be awake at any given time."

"When either of them dies, their souls will be squeezed into the same body, and the principle that only one person can be awakened will still apply."

"In other words, my elder brother's soul is currently inside my body, and he will awaken the next time I fall asleep for any reason."

Dia nodded and said:

"So, if I kill you now, you and Benjamin will both die permanently, right?"

Halkenbrugg said: