Deadlock of Two Camps: The Prince's Despicable Gambit

Red leaves raced backward beneath their feet.

The six-man team moved through the dense forest in a single-file formation.

Saitama walked at the front, looking utterly at ease.

Killua and Gon guarded the flanks on either side, Kurapika held the center, Leorio covered the rear, and Genos hovered overhead, scanning the route.

They were moving quickly.

Yet Kurapika's brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

"Something's wrong."

He suddenly spoke.

The team's pace did not falter, but everyone strained their ears.

"What's wrong?" Gon asked as he ran.

Kurapika's voice was cold.

"The timeline is wrong."

"The Breeder habitat is northwest of the second layer of the Dark Continent. Benjamin's camp is northeast, while Crocodile Lake is southeast."

He rapidly reviewed the map in his mind.

"If the Breeders had been migrating at random, we should have been attacked first, not Benjamin."

Killua caught on.

"You mean..."

"The Breeders didn't happen to run into him," Kurapika said with certainty. "He went looking for them."

Leorio did not understand.

"He went looking for them? Has he lost his mind? Those are one of the Five Great Calamities."

"That's why he needs scapegoats."

Kurapika's voice was like shards of ice.

"He deliberately provoked the Breeder swarm, then retreated all the way toward Crocodile Lake."

"He delivered the entire horde right to Beyond's doorstep."

The air grew heavier.

Genos's voice came from overhead.

"The scan results support that conclusion."

"The traces of Breeder activity along the route form an extremely clear trail of inducement."

"The starting point was the former location of Benjamin's camp, and the endpoint points directly toward Crocodile Lake."

He paused.

"Additionally, I detected large amounts of residual Nen fluctuations from human deaths, concentrated along Benjamin's retreat route."

Killua's pupils contracted slightly.

"A sacrifice."

The two words drifted down lightly.

Everyone understood.