Over time, as he grew more familiar with this world and its people, Joey often found himself wondering—
Should he simply reveal everything he knew about the Chimera Ant arc?
Everything?
In the end, he always made the same choice.
No.
It wasn't that he feared disbelief.
It wasn't even the inevitable follow-up questions — like how he knew what he knew.
The truth was, Joey's mere presence had already skewed the narrative.
If he started handing out spoilers like candy, he'd just sound like a delusional fortune-teller — and worse, some of his intel might be objectively wrong now.
Kite survived.
That alone had already thrown the arc off its rails.
And over the last two months, Joey had noticed something else —
The Chimera Ants were weaker than he remembered.
Less refined in their use of Nen.
More chaotic in their development.
Like they hadn't been taught fundamentals at all — just fumbling their way through brute instinct.
The timeline had shifted.
What's more, Pokkle's survival had likely delayed the ants' mastery of Nen.
And this event had delayed the ants' access to human Nen knowledge.
That single deviation had caused a cascade.
Sure, the Royal Guards might still be monstrous.
But the rest of the army?
They were nowhere near as refined as in the manga.
That was a blessing.
But Joey couldn't exactly share that win with anyone —
Because he was the only one who knew it was a win.
What about the Royal Guards?
Had they been affected too?
He wouldn't know until he saw Neferpitou use their ability.
Without Kite's corpse, would they still develop Doctor Blythe and Puppet Master?
And what about Kite?
He hadn't been eaten by the Queen, which meant there should be no ant born from his remains.
No hybrid carrying his memories, no threat of a Chimera version of Burke emerging.
But that opened another mystery.
From what they'd learned through Colt, not every human devoured by the Queen resulted in a soldier ant —
In fact, many didn't.
So why did some come back with fragments of memory, and others not at all?
The answer eluded Joey —
and ultimately, it didn't matter.
He didn't know those people. He couldn't save them.
His only real concern now was Komugi.
Would she still appear?
Would the King still be drawn to her, addicted to Gungi, softened by her presence?
Without her… would he ever show an opening?
Looking at their current lineup, maybe—just maybe—with the right roles and planning, they could still distract the Royal Guards long enough for Netero to engage the King one-on-one.
But without Komugi, would the King even leave the palace?
And if not… would they need to resort to Miniature Rose?
If that happened, Joey wasn't sure he'd escape the blast zone.
Whichever way he ran the math — Komugi was pivotal.
Not just Komugi —
the King's personality mattered too.
If he wasn't the same as in the manga — if something subtle shifted —
everything could change.
All of it.
So no, blurting out everything he knew would be worse than useless.
Instead, Joey decided to do what he did best —
observe, adapt, guide.
Let Kite and the others figure things out at their own pace.
He would plant clues, steer conversations, and if the timing was right — deliver key insights without looking suspicious.
But for that, he needed free movement.
Autonomy.
If he could just secure some solo time, he'd be able to sow the intel without raising any flags.
Was this war dangerous?
Of course.
But sometimes, life didn't boil down to "safe" or "unsafe."
Sometimes the choice was between worth it and not worth it.
Kite had treated him like a real student —
Had taught him with genuine care.
André had joined this battle partly because of Joey.
He'd trained with Gon and Killua, lived with them, sparred and shared meals.
To abandon those people now?
He couldn't.
He wouldn't.
Besides, this wasn't a suicide mission — not anymore.
They had more manpower. More intel. More options.
Even if they were forced to face the Royal Guards head-on, it wouldn't be without some chance of success.
Joey had decided.
He'd begin leaking intel soon — little by little.
Only what was safe. Only what was plausible.
Not that he had much to share.
The Guards?
Pouf's abilities were his blind spot, but Pitou's and Youpi's?
Kite knew more than he did.
As for the King… well, Joey had an idea.
If they could just capture one of the ants tied to the throne room, he could nudge the others toward the correct conclusions.
Time would tell.
Their train rolled into a small border town.
The team disembarked and found a diner to grab lunch — and scout the local situation via television.
East Gorteau was more open than NGL, but only marginally.
Cellphones were banned.
Public payphones lined the streets.
There were TVs, but most were locked into a single channel.
State propaganda dominated the airwaves, singing endless praise of Supreme Leader Diego and comparing the country's glory to that of its inferior neighbors.
"In foreign nations, half of all children die before age ten.
In our glorious nation, even the poorest live to adulthood!
With hard work, we can banish hunger!"
Reality?
Most citizens were starving.
Malnutrition was rampant, except among the elite.
And the regime's policies were brutal — collective punishment, surveillance, repression.
If you spoke out, you disappeared.
If you fled, your family vanished too.
They called it a republic, but everyone knew —
East Gorteau was a dictatorship.
Still, Joey knew better.
Diego was just a puppet.
The real ruler lived underground — hidden beneath the capital palace:
Gyro.
A man untouched even after the King moved in.
The only human allowed to live in the palace's underground structure —
because his skills were irreplaceable.
A broadcast flickered on.
Diego appeared onscreen — puffed-up and smiling.
But Joey saw something else.
Behind him loomed a massive shadow — a figure composed of dark Nen.
A humanoid shape.
Its bony hand hovered above Diego's head,
and invisible threads of aura tethered the dictator like a marionette.
Each twitch of the fingers matched Diego's gestures on camera.
"Today, Supreme Leader Diego issued a national call for celebration.
Ten days from now, the Founding Festival will be held in the capital of Peijing.
All citizens are required to attend — even infants and the ill.
Unlike past events, which lasted only one day, this one will span three days,
with a near-100% attendance rate expected.
Hospitals, schools, and military units are all preparing for the parade…"
As various analysts appeared on-screen to discuss the absurdity of the policy,
Joey and the others turned away from the screen —
their expressions now tense and somber.