Chapter 196: Closing in on the truth × Franklin vs. Hisoka
"Victor's death wasn't entirely meaningless." Balsamilco knew very well how frustrated the First Prince felt.
Although quite a few lower-ranking princes had already been eliminated, the First Prince's Personal Guard had also suffered far too many casualties. This did not match their original plan.
And the key to this situation lay in Room 12.
Whether it was the Personal Guards who had died in Rooms 12 and 14 early on, or the advantage they had subsequently lost after Nen abilities were made public, both were connected to Kurapika and DIO.
Now, even without clear evidence pointing to those two in Victor's death, Balsamilco's instincts told him they were still involved.
"First, Phinks's appearance was full of suspicious details." Seeing that he had caught the First Prince's attention, Balsamilco moved on to familiar territory: analysis!
"When Victor went after Phinks, I contacted Tsungidori, who was closest. After the thick fog appeared, Tsungidori used En to inspect the corridor and found nothing unusual there.
"At the same time, the King's Army reported that no one from the lower tiers had appeared in the VVIP Area.
"No, more precisely, no one was detected appearing in the sealed passage between the Second Floor and the Third Tier.
"To verify this further, I contacted our Personal Guards below and had them make some contact with the Phantom Troupe and investigate. It will take a while for their findings to come back, but regardless, Phinks's sudden appearance and disappearance are highly suspicious.
"Especially his fight with Hisoka. It looked more like a staged performance!
"Even though we already knew the Phantom Troupe was investigating someone named Hisoka down below, we can hardly treat their fighting their way into the King's Area and then disappearing from