Kite's explanation began with a book.
"New World Travelogue—published three hundred years ago. Ever heard of it?"
Gon shook his head. Killua hesitated. "Sounds like a mythical book. The author's imagination was... wild."
But Joey reacted the moment Kite said the title. He knew this book.
In the Dark Continent arc of Hunter x Hunter, it had been mentioned by the V6 and by Ging Freecss himself. The book was published in two volumes, East and West—but only the East Volume had ever been released.
Its contents described the Dark Continent.
And the author? Don Freecss.
So when Kite brought it up now… was he implying that the grotesque insect—the one Joey described—had ties to the Dark Continent?
Joey didn't glance at Gon. His gaze was fixed firmly on Kite, waiting for the next explanation.
"Though most call it a fantasy now," Kite said, "the intel I've acquired confirms the opposite."
"In other words, the book is a factual travel diary. Everything that sounds like wild imagination—was all real."
Kite steered the conversation back on track.
"The insect you described, Joey—it appears in New World Travelogue. It's called the Soul-Tethering Insect: Screech ([鸣])."
"A horrifying parasite. When fatally threatened, it emits a supernatural cry that pulls in a foreign soul—dragging it into the body of the one who endangered it. The souls then engage in a deathmatch inside the host. Whichever soul wins, the insect claims the body."
Joey instantly grasped what Kite meant.
"So you're saying, when Yoshikage Kira threatened that creature, it screamed—and my soul was pulled into his body?"
But in his own mind, Joey pieced it together even more clearly.
The native soul he had consumed had likely been the one who triggered the Screech's cry.
Yet the insect hadn't foreseen what came next.
It had hoped to benefit from the soul battle, playing both sides—but the emergence of Killer Queen and the feral wolf entity ruined everything.
One stripped it of any advantage. The other stripped it of its escape.
Talk about caught between a bomb and a beast.
From there, things unfolded simply—Joey won the soul duel but fell into a sleep from overexertion, and Yoshikage Kira, temporarily dominant, butchered the wolf—and skinned Screech, crafting its hide into a wallet.
Screech never saw that coming. Joey could still recall the overwhelming hatred in its last echo of thought.
"Exactly," Kite nodded. "Clearly, many unexpected things happened in the process. The result was that you claimed the body, and Screech was skinned and turned into a wallet."
"But Screech longed for life. It fed on souls. That hunger for existence let it infuse its corpse with life energy—even in death. I imagine it clung to the hope of eventual resurrection."
That would explain why the wallet was drenched in such thick Nen.
Screech's wish hadn't come true—but its spiritual residue remained, turned into a kind of living grudge, pulsating with power.
Maybe it did revive briefly—but it was still no match for Killer Queen and Kira.
So then, how did Joey end up absorbing that remnant? Could anyone have?
Kite seemed to notice the question forming in Joey's mind and offered a guess.
"Most likely, when you were forcibly dragged in by the Screech's cry, your soul was linked to its own. That link remained even after it died. So its residual aura—the willpower of its death—flowed into you."
"A kind of Vow and Limitation effect. The bug's power bound to certain rules—and you happened to fulfill them."
"I, for one, couldn't absorb its Nen. Just holding the wallet gave me an eerie sensation. Like something inside it… was watching me."
"Vow and Limitation? Watching me?" Joey repeated. This was the second time Kite had used that term.
The first had been when Kite told him his eyes had formed some kind of unknown vow—allowing him to perceive Nen under special circumstances.
That had deeply bothered Joey ever since. Like a splinter under his skin. Something lurking, unresolved.
"A Vow and Limitation is a double-edged sword," Kite explained. "A Nen user sets rules on themselves—and in exchange, gains tremendous power."
"For instance, my ability—Crazy Clown. Each weapon on the roulette wheel has a unique special move. But the price? I can't pick what I get. If I don't use it properly, I can't switch it out, or even dismiss it. Total pain."
Through this, Kite illustrated the concept of Vows and Limitations clearly for the others.
"As for your eyes… maybe there isn't actually a vow at all. It's not that big of a power-up, really. I wouldn't even call it an enhancement. It's just… helpful."
"Now, about your nen beast—only you can figure that out. But it's probably something you inherited, not something you created."
That gave Joey some relief—but then he glanced at the wallet again.
"Yes. I could control it from the start. It felt odd—but without Killer Queen, I wouldn't have survived to meet you."
He didn't elaborate further.
"But the Nen I absorb from the wallet… will it harm me somehow? And this 'watching presence'—why haven't I noticed it?"
"I don't know," Kite answered bluntly. "Who can say what kind of vow a soul-eating bug swore before death? Maybe even a scrap of its skin carries aura."
"But New World Travelogue does mention: after Screech dies, its body retains life energy. That's how it fed. On souls."
"There's probably more to the wallet. Only you can figure it out."
"Anyone else like me? Anyone else survive Screech?"
Kite shook his head. "No human has ever been recorded surviving its cry. Other creatures—yes. But they were all… quarantined."
Quarantined? That set off alarm bells in Joey's mind.
Clearly, the V5 had studied Screech before. But since it wasn't classified as a disaster, it must not be a major threat—at least not by their standards.
"One last thing," Joey said. "How did you know I wasn't Yoshikage Kira anymore?"
Kite smirked for the first time.
"Your slip-ups. Too many. You recovered far too fast for a freshly awakened Nen user. Your soul was unusually strong."
"You didn't understand the Hunter Association. You acted nothing like a serial killer. Your aura, your presence—not even close."
"Your lack of combat training. Your poor attempts at secrecy. Your ignorance of NGL… There were tells everywhere."
"If I hadn't read New World Travelogue, I might've suspected you were faking it—or had multiple personalities."
"The only thing that gave me pause was you knowing NGL's true king, Zaiyro, by name. But once I saw the map… I figured Kira left you that intel before being devoured."
Joey's mouth fell open. He had thought he was hiding things well.
Apparently not.
"So you suspected me the moment you started teaching me Nen?"
"No. I only began to suspect you after you revealed your ability. Everything after that—my offer, my guidance—was to confirm my theory."
Even Killua and Gon looked stunned.
Joey glanced at Gon and read the thought on his face:
"Wait—those were all signs? How did I not see it?"
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