Morena vs Chrollo Hype!!! Hunter x Hunter Chapter 408 Spoilers!

In the previous Hunter x Hunter chapter, Morena has captured Borksen, one of 4th Prince Tserriednich’s bodyguards and close friend, and forces her into a card game called Negotiation to compel her to join Heil-Ly of her own free will as part of Morena’s plan to assassinate Tserriednich.

Hunter x Hunter Chapter 408 is titled, ““Negotiation (Part 2)”

This chapter has 19 pages.

For those who want an in-depth guide of the game, you can follow this chart:

The “Child” Player’s Deck

The “Parent” Player’s Deck

We have also outlined the rules in our previous Hunter x Hunter chapter spoilers:

Morena Recruits Tserriednich’s Friend With a Card Game. Hunter x Hunter Chapter 407 Spoilers!

The Negotiation Game Begins!

Editor’s note: “The battle of brains begins!”

The chapter begins with the game proper as Borksen first chooses the “Purpose” card, the one with the arrow hitting the target.

Bork asks if casual chatting is okay and does not affect any of the rules.

Morena says it is fine as this is a good opportunity for them to get to know each other better.

Ooooh Morena, is this for making friends or something more?

Or were Bork’s smarts, something Morena probably has not encountered much around her murder-happy crowd, enough to rizz her up?

Are you lonely?

There is a background effect, which might hint that Negotiation has something to do with Morena’s Nen ability.

There is some speculation over whether or not Morena is the original hodler of Contagion or is just another Patient Zero levelled up to 100 by someone else.

After all, she is currently Level 45, which might indicate a level reset upon becoming Patient Zero or it would allow Morena to acquire another Nen ability outside Contagion.

The First Card, the “Purpose Card”: Morena’s Backstory

Bork’s first question is on the number of Heil-Ly members, asking for an estimate as she guesses that there would around 50 people.

However, Morena remarks that this question will not get a response and reminds Bork to pick a card if she wants to ask questions.

Bork points out that since she has chosen the “Purpose Card”, she also will not respond to any of Morena’s questions.

Morena is a bit disappointed, so she offers to have Bork answer one of her questions in exchange for letting Bork ask Morena one question.

Bork reads her reaction from the question, which was her intent with a wasteful line anyway, and noted that based on that stiffened response, Morena has less than 50, possibly about half.

Indeed, the original number of Heil-Ly under Morena is 26.

Morena now explains her purpose: to destroy the Kakin Empire, and then the destruction of humanity, hence why she is recruiting Bork, for her power.

A moment of silence.

And the two women say “huh?”

An Illumi and Hisoka throwback, I see.

Bork is frustrated, saying that Morena did not explain herself enough.

Bork says that if 100 is full understanding, then Bork currently is at 3.

Morena begins by explaining her background, asking Bork about “Second-Track Fakers”, who are royalty that do not have the right to inherit the throne.

Morena explains that the “real Morena Prudo” is that person but Morena herself is not even royalty.

The real Morena died a long time ago…

Bork then asks who is Morena.

Morena gives two clues:

“Carnival” and “Blasphemy.”

“Festival Orphans”: The True Morena Prudo

“Carnival”

The Kakin Royal Festival is held once every few years and it takes place in a randomly selected village.

The Kakin Royal Family and their encourage visit incognito to host a banquet.

The villagers are chosen and divided into: “those who serve” and “others.”

“Blasphemy.”

Any act that disrespects the royal family is strictly forbidden, and those who violate this will be sentenced to the death penalty.

Lese Majeste was strictly implemented in Kakin, such that even before modern times, any offensive speech from lower officials or commoners looking directly at the Royal Family were acts punishable by death.

In spite of the democratization in Kakin, where the people seemingly gain more power and self-determination, acts such as contraception, abortion, or genetic testing related to the royal family are considered acts of rebellion and disrespect toward the royal lineage, resulting in immediate execution.

Borksen recalls something called “Festival Orphans” and Morena goes into detail about her past.

Morena’s mother had been a host for the royal entourage for several days straight and was not even any chance to rest or sleep.

The stress resulted in her death when Morena was two years of age and she was so busy that she was not even aware that she had given birth to a daughter.

This has…really nasty implications.

There is a possibility that Morena’s mother was violated during this period since she was not given any period of rest.

The line here might suggest that she was a hostess in the sense that she would be visited upon by either members of the royal entourage (servants, soldiers, bureaucrats, and some officials) or even the Royal Family but Morena’s line of being “not from the royal family” might indicate that she is either aware her father is not from the Royal Family or that it did not matter how she was born.

Even if Morena was just the daughter of her mother’s husband or lover, who may or may not have been around for the family, she was left alone to be taken by anyone.

The royal entourage would pick her up as one of the “Festival Orphans” at the age of two and had her face immediately slashed to mark her as a “Festival Orphan”.

Then she was sent to a facility, a hideout for a human trafficking organization run and managed by the Heil-Ly Family.

The Heil-Ly were responsible for the underground hospital that handled the mothers of these “Festival Orphans”.

The scientists in the human trafficking facility would categorize the “Festival Orphans” into either “Second-Hand Fakers” or “Meat,” and Morena was classified as “Meat.”

We see a visualization of an actual slab of meat that had a cut in the middle of it, to assert that Morena had no rights to her body.

The clear implication to this is that Morena was a trafficked child sent to please various clients, over and over again.

She was not some protected royal bastard at all.

This explains how she has seen the world as a dung heap.

Because she has lived through the hell of being used by people for sexually exploitative reasons.

Morena also reveals that she is only at least 23 years old, as she says that she has been “Meat” for over 20 years.

In fulfilling her role as “Meat” that “feeds” the pleasures of the elite, Morena became aware of a “certain talent” in herself that she honed overtime, creating the Nen ability that enabled her to plot the downfall of Kakin.

The “Carnival” is an irregularly held festival, so the orphans are categorized based on the last two digits of their Kakin history.

Morena is part of the class of ’98.

This is an intriguing date since the Hunter x Hunter story takes place between 1998 to 2001.

So if the last two digits are part of a year and if Kakin follows the same calendar as the rest of the world, does it mean that Togashi retconned the calendar.

Alternatively, Morena used the term “Kakin history”, which could mean that Kakin uses a different calendar and it is Togashi’s excuse to use contemporary dates or at least the last two digits.

According to Morena, in the 20 years leading up to her becoming the leader of Heil-Ly, there have been seven batches of “Festival Orphans” or seven Kakin Carnivals.

The last batch is from last year, Batch ‘20, which is 22 years after Morena’s batch.

Kakin Year XX21 (or 2021 for modern IRL calendars) is the current year.

In other words, the last batch and “Carnival” happened the year after Kakin’s “Democratization Commemoration Festival”

Another interesting aspect of Kakin history because 30 years ago, Kakin shifted from a “socialist empire” to a parliamentary democracy during the so-called “The Most Silent Revolution in History”.

This is interesting because it means that the “Democratization Commemoration Festival” is just a formality that hides the truth behind Kakin’s governance.

The world thinks Kakin is a democracy with a fair head of state in King Nasubi but in reality, as Morena points out, Kakin has never changed, as the Succession Contest and the Kakin Carnival have proven for Morena and the reader.

The Kakin Carnival is probably inspired by the film “120 Days of Sodom”, a disgusting tale of barbarity under a fictional Italian fascist regime where the four most powerful men in the country retreat into a palace where they purpose the ultimate pleasures that we will not get into.

This in turn is also based on the realities of opulence where orgies and other “pleasures of the flesh” are enjoyed to gross extremes by those in power, as evidenced by the original novel of the “120 Days of Sodom”, the father of sadism himself, Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade.

The Succession Contest is already something based in real politics, particularly the practice of “Sultan fratricide” where the reigning Sultan usually kills his own siblings to prevent revolt or if we apply Nasubi’s logic, “for the good of the nation”, and through the deaths of the Kakin Princes, the King will gain greater power from the Tree of Kakin, where 14 coffins are prepared for the 13 losers.

If we combine these two offensive events, we can see why the kings of Kakin necessitated the messed up pleasure festivals that could potentially be why Kakin characters like Tserriednich became terrible, evil people.

The Heil-Ly family itself is designated with the responsibility of taking care of the mothers of the “Festival Children” who would either become “Second-Track Fakers” or “Meat”.

This responsibility gives this particular Mafia family a lot of power as they essentially distribute the future heads of the different Mafia families or at least give them manpower made from offspring who might potentially be royals.

Since Lese Majeste is enforced even in “democratic Kakin”, no one could call out the Royal Family for this likely established practice.

Even the “Carnival” is permitted because the people are rendered powerless by their customs, military power or even…necessity of a cruel elite class that has protected the nation for centuries with mysterious “holy power” (the Seed Urn and Guardian Spirit Beasts).

Chrollo and Morena Parallel

You can see how Chrollo Lucilfer and Morena share parallels, as shown in this tweet.

We see similar panels but also their roles and backgrounds are similar.

Morena and Chrollo were both orphans, the garbage of the world, whose ultimate goal is to become the greatest evil to rebel against the justified, pre-existing evil of the Hunter x Hunter world.

Both are also connected by Christian symbolisms, with Chrollo’s Reverse Cross pattern to represent the humbling martyrdom of St. Peter and role as the head or Prince of the 12 Apostles, one of which was at one point occupied by a Judas, while Morena wears a Crown of Thorns, representing the Passion of Christ, his suffering from the mockery of this world and a wound that constantly bleeds.

One key difference is that Chrollo lived a more positive life, with the video tape (ironic for Yu Yu Hakusho fans) giving him and his friends fulfillment until a letter and “video material” of one of their friends, Sarasa, would show them the ultimate evil of this world.

Chrollo’s plan is to let criminals come into Meteor City to thrive until they find the culprit, which is exactly what happens and has allowed Chrollo to kill the man responsible for Sarasa’s death, the charity president Risnorth even before the official founding of the Phantom Troupe.

Morena intends to make her devoted followers kill as many people as possible, to “go wild” and bring down the Kakin Empire from the inside.

If we take a look at this image from Morena’s introduction in Chapter 378: “Balance”, we see two birds, one of which is larger and that larger bird species, a cuckoo bird, engages in what is called brood parasitism, where they infiltrate other birds’ nests, drop the eggs and feed there until it grows up and preys on the bird that owns the nest.

Similarly, Morena was able to infiltrate the Kakin Royal Family, take the identity of the original Morena, and seek to devour Kakin from the inside out.

All the other images work like the Chimera Ant arc montage of how we are far worse than the Ants (Chapter 311: “Deadline”) but the bit on the rich man viewing a woman who is served alongside fruits on a dinner table might be part of the Kakin “Carnival”.

However, with the information Morena gave Bork, it seems that half of these are the realities she experienced.

Anyway, the Purpose Card fleshes out Morena Prudo even more than expected and this is just exposition.

It was a lot of valuable information that highlights how messed up yet normalized Kakin’s sadistic practices are and how they directly formed Morena’s desire to destroy the world.

This is why she is recruiting “children”, another aspect of her ability and this game that is rooted in Kakin’s evil practices.

However, given Togashi’s focus on this situation, the choice of Berk given her place as 4th Prince Tserriednich’s friend, and the amount of chapters for one single PoV, this suggests that Bork is an essential part to Morena’s master plan rather than an ordinary recruit.

The Second Card, the Power Card: Purpose and Power Coexist

Bork flips her first card, which is a Joker that can become a “Yes or No”.

As mentioned in the previous chapter, given the explanation of the game regarding the parent cards, the “Joker” as a desirable answer card is a false form of freedom.

Now it is Bork’s turn to pick a card from Morena’s deck and she chooses the “Power Card”, the one with the muscle image.

This makes Morena blush as it feels like Bork is interested to get to know her.

What a cute little psycho!

It has been hinted in the last chapter and throughout this one that Morena has been quite taken by Bork’s charm.

Another way to look at it is that this is the first time any of Morena’s “children” or recruits have ever considered asking about her, rather than willfully saying “yes” or “no” to fulfill their desires.

This could mean that this game has allowed Morena to look for a friend or an equal, even if in the end, she sees only a future of destruction for everyone.

Morena asks Bork if she knows about Nen.

In Chapter 394: “Hypothesis”, where she was introduced, Bork reveals she only knew about Nen very recently and sees it as being used in the Succession War.

Bork equates Nen to psychic abilities and Morena notes that this is a correct general observation.

Morena further elaborates that while Nen abilities work similarly to psychic abilities, the difference is that anyone can learn them and that there are also abilities that can awaken Nen, such as Morena’s Hatsu, which skips the need for lengthy formal training.

This entire arc is built on the idea of an increasing number of people being trained in Nen.

Along with the arc having a strong focus on post-mortem Nen, there is a pre-existing group of people with Curse Nen abilities called the Have-Nots under 2nd Prince Camilla.

Kurapika conducts Nen training as a means to create a stalemate in the Succession Contest.

4th Prince Tserriednich shows how geniuses like him exist to acquire Nen at incredibly fast speeds.

3rd Prince Zhang Lei’s Guardian Spirit Beast has the potential to awaken Nen en-masse.

Morena’s Contagion allows for a spreading of Nen users through mass slaughter, akin to the Chimera Ants’ “Selection” process to turn humans into Chimera Ant hybrids.

Without naming her ability, Morena reveals what Contagion is.

Morena’s ability, simply put, allows her to grant powers to those who share the same goal as her and expand that circle.

It allows her, the “parent”, to produce “children” but she is limited to 22.

Notice the number of those affected by Contagion, including Morena herself, is exactly 23, which happens to be Morena’s likely age.

This is either intentional or unintentional on Togashi’s part.

When those “children” mature, they can become their own “parents” and produce more “children”.

Morena humorously compares this ability to a pyramid scheme, which is exactly how it works.

Morena listens to the “goals” of her “children” and considers their characteristics in order to assist in their awakening.

Also notice that Contagion uses the same Mafia initiation and “mother” and “child” dynamic as the Negotiation game, which could mean that the Negotiation game might be a condition for Contagion itself, as theorized by many fans in the last chapter.

Contagion adopts “children” and “marks” them with Nen the same way Morena herself was marked by the system and the cycle is imposed upon the “children”, who become “parents” to infect the social cancer that makes actual children suffer and actual parents miserable.

Bork notices that her explanation is structured in such a way that whether they choose “goal” or “ability”, the “child” player is made to desire the other explanation.

This is similar to Bork’s own insistence of wanting to know the “parent” deck as a way to prevent disadvantages, when it reality, it makes Bork feel as caged as Morena is with the world that she hates.

The longer the game takes, the more dangerous the situation becomes for both of them.

Morena needs an ally before Tserriednich or any of the Princes find out about her plans and prematurely stop them and Bork needs an answer before Morena will force one out of her.

In the same way, the more information is shared, the more powerful the “parent” player becomes but also the more the “child” player is willing to obey and succumb to the “parent’s” desires.

This is also a meta-analytical way for Togashi to say that Morena’s character, background, and motivations are tied to her ability. 

Morena’s Nen ability allows her to fulfill her goal and her goal is necessary information for the “child” player to figure out more about her ability’s strengths and limitations.

This is, after all, how Nen is constructed as a concept.

This also provides the means to communicate with the “parent” player and navigate this perilous game that replicates the cruelty of manufactured consent in society.

A Normal Life: Borksen Does Not Want “Yes” or “No” for a Reason

Bork is surprised by the statement “each goal”, which means that Morena does share an interest in fulfilling other people’s dreams.

This attitude would be quite contradictory to Morena’s overall goal of bringing about the downfall of Kakin.

As Morena explains, Borksen thinks about herself, her own place in this world.

The “child” now wonders why she is made to obey “parents”.

Deep down, Bork reveals her true desires: she does not care about honor or missions or any responsibilities once Kakin is gone, whether through Morena’s plans or the fate of this Dark Continent expedition.

It is a disturbing thought for any normal person to realize that their daily lives, seemingly never ending and with a vague future, would be disrupted by someone else’s grand ambitions.

The reason she is in the military is to have a modest future for herself.

As she grew up, she became more and more aware of her reality and how Kakin is not really the best or most able country in the world at all.

When she was more mature, around 8 or 10 years most likely, Bork was already indoctrinated by the military academy, sent here by her patriotic parents, likely of a military or well-off background, to protect the integrity of Kakin.

This integrity happens to be enforced through secrecy and cultural lese majeste practices to prevent anyone from defying the Royal hierarchy, regardless of the presence of democratization.

Deep down, Bornk thought, “If no war breaks out until I die, that’s good enough.”

In high school, Bork received education on the “outside world”, which was considered full of enemies and not allies.

The information on the outside world was often a few months outdated.

This is telling because it is likely that the Kakin government has restricted access to any information of the outside world being proliferated outside upper class institutions or the military since this information would be needed only for combating or preparing for outside threats but when shared without control, said information itself is sa threat to destablize or, rather, empower the public to overthrow their totalitarian government.

As such, listening to popular songs from the outside world was a life-threatening act yet Bork was able to enjoy this music through her privilege.

It is because of this knowledge of the outside world that Bork, and likely many other students around her, began to understand the true nature of Kakin.

A country with the world’s lowest water management rate, yet somehow leading the world in the partial production of satellites and information processing capacity.

These are interesting stats.

Bork aims to live a modest, uneventful life with only a few roles, such as the job of a frontier military prep school instructor or a deputy director in the General Affairs Office of the Ministry of Defense, anything like fourth secretary or below.

Now Bork is worried that her normal life is threatened just by virtue of Beyond Netero’s New Continent declaration.

Now she has heard of Nen abilities and Morena’s desire to exterminate all of humanity.

Although Bork understands Morena’s pain and why she is so angry in the last chapter (and now), Bork does not believe that even if she believes someone should vanish from her life, murdering people as a mere means is not something Bork would ever consider.

Yes, Bork is a completely normal person, an average human in the Hunter x Hunter world.

Just as Morena shares her background and we learn that Kakin is a sadist dehumanizing empire that will never change, through Bork, we learn that there are people like her who are aware that the system is wrong and corrupt, which makes her sympathize for Morena’s background, but it also moves them to secure safer positions in a world they are trapped in.

Borksen kinda reminds me of Annie Leonhart from Attack on Titan, a girl who is just “going with the flow” and views herself as the same weak sinners as every other human.

Both characters only want to exist in a normal safe life, like in the Military Police or in a government or military office like for Bork.

Borksen’s mentality of a comfortable normal life also fits with Jean Kirstein’s original ambitions or Hitch, Annie’s friend.

Bork’s goal is to escape this chaos by any means, to find as many loopholes to the game as she can possibly find.

Now Morena clarifies that the “downfall of Kakin” is only a “small goal” because what unites the Heil-Ly group of 22 that Morena has formed is a “larger purpose”: killing people.

“Small goal” here means a specific objective, a short-term target and that is the entire country of Kakin, which happens to all be in the Black Whale.

But the “larger purpose”, the unifying factor that motivates every single part of Morena’s Contagion is the desire to kill people.

Directly, indirectly, specific or general, it is irrelevant.

Every person has their varying reasons, targets, numbers, or circumstances to motivate them called “small goals” but these “small goals” that define the individual person are motivators or factors behind the “larger purpose” that unites the group, which is killing people. Anyone.

Morena explains that Nen types are defined by an individual’s personality, which makes Bork ask how would she know Bork’s Nen type if Morena barely knew anything about her before meeting up.

Bork also dismisses the rhetoric of everyone being “special”.

Morena reveals to her that Borksen is a Specialist and she knows this because one of her allies, Dogman, is an Enhancer with the Hatsu that can be best described as “Supernatural Smell” that is so powerful that he can even detect the faintest aura from an unawakened person.

Bork’s introduction in Chapter 394: “Hypothesis” lines up all six friends of Tserriednich in the six Nen categories and Bork, in the center bottom, the source of hope and courage for the group, is in the Specialist side.

This diagram could also apply to everyone else among Bork’s friends.

Dogman is currently searching for more Specialists that have yet to awaken.

Morena’s own research has identified a percentage of who would become a certain Nen type.

• Enhancers: 27%
• Emitters: 24%
• Transmuters: 19%
• Manipulators: 15%
• Conjurers: 15%
• Specialists: 0.033% 

Specialists are one in every 3,000 people, which makes them the rarest.

Bork was a target but here, Morena reveals that she is looking for someone who shares the same “larger purpose” of killing everyone, which means that it does not have to be Bork who joins.

However, even on this ship, there might be around 50 to 60 people with Specialization as their Nen type, as proven by Dogman encountering several awakened Specialists.

Dogman is particularly interested in Chrollo Lucilfer, a Floor Master from Heaven’s Arena

Notice in Page 12 that Dogman was able to find Chrollo among the crowd and this comes immediately after Morena revealed that one of her henchmen could find people’s auras through scent.

This is the condition that Morena has imposed to secure the Negotiation game.

If Dogman finds someone like Chrollo, an awakened Specialist who could share their goals, or an unawakened Specialist that might be compatible with the group’s larger purpose, then Bork will not be necessary anymore.

At the same time, however, if Dogman does find someone, it would cause a ruckus and a fight in Tier 2 would be troublesome for everyone, making Morena push for a forceful solution to acquire her “Joker”, a Specialist to help her destroy Kakin.

Bork is curious about the type of ability she would get as a Specialist.

Although these questions are for “Yes” and “No” cards, Morena provides an explanation on the Specialization category.

Specialists Explained

For the sake of improving Bork’s understanding of her Nen type, however, Morena explains that the five categories would struggle to learn abilities from other categories but this is not the case for Specialists.

Specialists are able to learn the other categories without much struggle but the downside is that this would hinder their full potential and end up mastering another category, only to regret later.

This happens to be a common issue among Specialists.

However, if a Specialist is aware, they can master unique abilities that either require mastering multiple categories (think of something like Netero’s “100-type Guanyin Boddhisatva” that combines his natural Enhancement with Emission and Manipulation) or abilities that do not fit in other categories, hence the “unique effect” aspect of Specialization.

Contagion: A Counterpart of Emperor Time

Morena reveals that she is a Specialist as well (which might explain her liking or compatibility with Bork as a person) but even among Specialists, she is exceptional as Contagion, which gives Morena’s targets their own Nen abilities and improving their techniques through a point-based system is a specialized advanced hybrid of the other five Categories.

While it is hard to visualize how the other categories would help, besides awakening those categories in other people, Contagion’s Enhancement effect happens when a Contagion victim gets stronger with each new level acquired.

One death equals one level. One Nen user killed equals 10 levels. One Prince equsl 50 levels.

This makes Contagion a counterpart to Emperor Time:

Emperor Time allows Kurapika to be a Specialist with the Scarlet Eyes active and all six Nen categories are at 100% proficiency, giving him full use of two specialized chains: Holy Chain (Enhancement) and Steal Chain (Specialization).

This chapter reveals that once the “child” player answers finally with the “Yes” card, Morena can actually choose the ability that the person can acquire, though that would still depend on the compatibility with the target’s personality.

However, this is less about the specific ability the target will have but more of their role that they will play in the group once they have confirmed their joining.

Alternatively, this could be similar to Bleach’s Yhwach and his powers as the Father of all Quincy.

Also, it is interesting that the word Contagion can be contained in the word “Negotiation” minus the letter “C”.

Contagion and Soul Distribution feel very similar as Contagion is basically a combination of Yhwach’s Soul Distribution and the Schrift “O: The Overkill” but with more stability and sense.

Yhwach is able to see what Schrift the Quincy target would receive on their soul prior to even giving that power.

This explains why the question on specific abilities is restricted to when the final card on Borksen’s deck is “Yes” or a “No”.

Bork Almost has an Escape: “No” Means Death

After another shuffle from the dealer (Orarge), Bork flips her second card and it is the “Yes Card”, which means that she will no longer be forced to say “Yes”.

This removes a potential risk for Bork.

She has 3 cards left: The “No” card, the “R Card”, and the “X Card”

Morena expresses disappointment, as does everyone else.

Bork realizes that if the Heil-Ly’s reaction of disappointment is natural, then this is the first time that they have played Negotiation with someone who refuses to join.

This also implies that the Negotiation game itself is a condition for Contagion’s use, which makes sense because of the rules being Nen-based.

Still, Morena continues and explains that there is a difference between the “X card” (neither yes or no and cancels the Negotiation game completely) and “No card”.

The “No card” is a firm declaration of the “child” player’s intent to not join the group, a complete separation from the group.

But by being outside the Heil-Ly, in other words, the Players of the game, of the System of society, this makes Bork and everyone affiliated with her as “outsiders”, those who are “not us”, and thus only serve as enemies and people to acquire points from to improve Morena’s Contagion.

In other words, “No card” individuals exist to fulfill the “Yes card” players’ “Purpose card” and enhance their “Ability card”.

This is sheer thematic brilliance on Togashi’s part.

The card game illustrates the whole game of society: Join us, because you know how the world works, or die and become fodder or a threat to the system.

Morena was treated this way, mere “Meat” to feed someone else’s hunger for “points” or enhance their “power” and now her Contagion allows her to build her own circle, her own nation.

Indeed, Morena is the cuckoo bird that has infiltrated the Kakin nest to build her own nation of birds that will devour and spread their Contagion across the world.

The third trap of the Negotiation game: every single explanation and card is set up by the “parent”  player so that the “child” player has to say “Yes”.

The full information from “Purpose” and “Power” combined allows Bork to learn the full meaning of Contagion.

If she only had interest in “Power”, she may not know that those who say “No” will be part of the extermination process

However, the “X”card” changes everything.

While being a “No card” individual makes Bork a target, the “X card” will make Bork a unique existence.

Morena and Heil-Ly will treat Bork as if “nothing happened” between them but this does not mean erasing Bork’s memory.

Morena has stipulated that Heil-Ly will do everything in their power to avoid contact with Bork or her own circle or tribe.

Seeing how the “X card” offers the fewest benefits and the most risks on Morena’s side, Bork asks if the “X card” offers any advantages.

Morena responds, saying that because the “risks are high” that the “X card” provides Morena an advantage.

This is the principle of “Vows and Limitations”. High risk, high reward.

By preparing herself to take on this huge risk, Morena’s Contagion will grow stronger and improve her own allies in turn.

The End of “X Card” and the Announcement

We enter the last page and it is indeed the end of the “X Card”

Bork’s last hurrah is gone.

With the “X Card” out of the table, Bork has only two options left:

The “No Card” for Death or the “R Card” for Survival.

However, before any of this goes down, the Black Whale announces a sudden emergency declaration:

“Martial Law Declared!!! This is not a drill!!!”

At long last, 1st Prince Benjamin’s plans have borne fruit, the plan to declare Special Martial Law and give the Kakin Royal Army under his control full administrative and military powers over the entire Black Whale without habeas corpus or any form of checks and balances from the Kakin Government, represented by the Justice Bureau (which Kaiser is a part of).

This means that movements around the Black Whale will be restricted but it will also mean more opportunities for Benjamin and the other Princes to hasten the Succession Contest and kill more of their rivals. 

But how exactly?

What were the events that took place

So far:

• 9th Prince Halkenburg’s funeral is ongoing yet Chrollo is still walking around while Dogman is taking special notice of him. Yet the funeral is the most likely cause for Special Martial Law
• Today, Day 12 (Thursday) is the day for Kaiser, Melody and Guardian Spirit Beast Kacho’s plot to stop Luzurus’ possible role in harming 11th Prince Fugetsu with his Guardian Spirit Beast. This might be the easiest to visualize as Melody might have succeeded, get herself framed (possibly betrayed by Kaiser for some reason), and alter the entire ship of an immediate threat to the Royal Family.
• The Phantom Troupe are slowly in a tense situation as the Xi-Yu underboss Hinrigh is determined to avenge the death of his fellow Xi-Yu Family member Lynch after she was…lynched (pun intended) by Bonolenov. This could also provoke a breakdown with the supposed alliance (ceasefire) with the Cha-R family that are protecting the Phantom Troupe.

Either way, we are headed into the first true climax of the Succession Contest and the arc as a whole.

From this point on, there will be inevitable battles and more bloodshed than ever before rather than the sudden assaults that have claimed 3 of the 14 Princes (publicly 4) and some soldiers and attendants.

Editor’s note: Onboard the ship, descending into deeper chaos!

Hunter x Hunter Chapter 409 will be released on December 1, 2024.

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