Togashi Ends His Card Game! Hunter x Hunter Chapter 409 Spoilers!

In the previous Hunter x Hunter chapter, Morena reveals her true origins, the dark truth of Kakin’s Carne Vare, and as we near the outcome of the Negotiation card game, Benjamin declares special Martial Law all over the Black Whale.

Hunter x Hunter Chapter 409 is titled, “Negotiation, Part 3”

This chapter has 19 pages.

Editor’s note: Surprise announcement amidst a complex information battle!!

The Deal Card: Martial Law Pressure

The chapter begins where we left off as the Martial Law announcement is heard all over the Black Whale, including where Borksen and Morena are.

The alarm rings alongside the long announcement.

Passengers of Tier 5 are to act like normal under the instructions of the military police and labor supervisors.

Closure of communication and passageways between the Tiers is done to prevent Tiers 4 and 5 from being affected by the problems of the upper Tiers

This means Tiers 3 and above are directly affected by Martial Law.

However, it is noted that Tiers 4 and 5 have much tighter security and are essentially already under martial (military) rule to begin with.

For Tier 3 passengers, they are called to go to the nearest wall and kneel with their hands on the wall, remaining in position and not moving until the Royal Army gives further instructions.

Anyone disobeying orders will be shot immediately.

In other words, the very first order of Martial Law is to empower the Kakin Royal Military to shoot on sight any suspects without warning.

Borksen mentally explains that this declaration could only happen because the Kakin state itself is directly threatened.

She notes that these announcements are never broadcast to the lower Tiers, which confirms the location of the hideout being somewhere above Tier 3.

Once the announcement continues, she can narrow the location even further.

With a swift move, Bork chooses the “D” Card, the Dealer Card.

Morena is surprised by this, showing yet another cute shy face.

The announcement further continues, saying that Tier 2 citizens must return to their rooms immediately and remain in position without any accessories or belongings in their person.

All doors must be open and the passengers are to sit on a chair with hands spread on the table or raised above their shoulders.

As you may have noticed, the announcements get more “favorable” the higher the Tier.

Tiers 4 and 5 are the lower classes, unaware and ignorant of the chaotic political events because all information and security is much tightly controlled in those areas because the majority of the people of Kakin are located in these classes.

Tier 3 is the middle class with their comforts and perceived sway over national affairs but they are most able to threaten the state due to lax security, which means this is a sudden intrusion on the middle class’ status quo.

Tier 2 is the rich business elites or the upper class and to avoid offending them too much, they are simply told to stay in their rooms but are able to sit while Tier 3 passengers have to stand in uncomfortable positions.

Manga readers of Hunter x Hunter can now see how well-applied the 5-tier structure of the Black Whale is as it is a reflection of the class system, something akin to the Three Estates of France or the “IWW poster” printed 1911, the Pyramid of the Capitalist System.

Morena is impressed at how locked in Bork is in the Negotiation game and confirms they will continue.

Borksen notices Morena being surprised and thinks that Morena is either distracted by the broadcast not to respond to Bork’s request for the “D” Card immediately or she is taking her time to collect her thoughts.

However, this situation does expose the Heil-Ly family’s massacre and will make them easy to pluck out by the other Kakin Princes, making this is an example of how prolonging the game of Negotiation would not benefit anyone.

Bork analyzes Morena’s response and sees that Morena has acknowledged the danger of the broadcast yet still chooses to continue the game, indicating that either she believes the hideout will not be discovered or she is confident that it won’t be subdued in any way even if it is discovered.

This still remains to Bork’s advantage but ideally, she would want the Royal Army to bust in and arrest Morena and the Heil-Ly but that would put Bork in the line of fire or even be mistaken as a Heil-Ly ally and shot dead.

Regardless, if the Royal Army does catch Bork in this place, she will still be subject to interrogation or torture due to the Martial Law protocol and associated pressures.

Bork intends to use the “D Card” to acquire the “X Card” back from the grave to withdraw the game entirely.

Bork sees the situation as a perfect chance to escape her fate but since Martial Law would limit the movements of both Bork and Morena, Bork fears she might get caught in the crossfire.

However, this is more of an advantage for Bork than for Morena since Martial Law will enable the Kakin Royal Army to actually arrest Morena and the Heil-Ly.

Morena reminds Bork that the “D Card” is her most important piece as it will allow Morena to bring back one card for Bork from the grave if Bork does Morena a small favor.

As expected, Morena’s small favor is for Bork to kiss her.

If you can recall from Morena’s introduction in Chapter 378: “Balance”, Contagion spreads through kissing, which would allow Morena to include Bork into the player system.

This is why the “D Card” is so important for Morena as it traps her opponent in a situation where refusal is impossible.

By accepting the D Card, Bork has already become a player of the game of Contagion, moving from the Negotiation card game that holds an illusion of freedom to the true game of Contagion, where she becomes a minion of Morena that kills anyone to gain power.

Morena indeed explains that Bork will receive her powers through lip contact and thus this will make her Morena’s subordinate.

Morena also does clarify that she will kiss Bork lips to lips, a French kiss, with only Morena herself deciding when to end it.

However, Morena clarifies that Bork will only gain Nen abilities, and therefore become a Contagion Player, if she fulfills all three of the following conditions:

1. The conclusion of the Negotiation game must be ‘Yes.’
2. Bork must kiss Morena to transmit her abilities.
3. Bork must be present at the scene where either Morena or her comrades commit murder.

This confirms that the Negotiation game itself is a prerequisite for Morena’s ability to fully work, the level of complexity being another similarity with Chrollo and his Skill Hunter, which requires an entire hour where the target must show their Nen ability and touch the palm print on his book.

Morena assures Bork that she will naturally fall in line since Morena already has the plot against Kakin laid out.

The announcement is now directed to Tier 1, a simple call to return to their rooms and await the conclusion of the Royal Army’s investigation, emphasizing that the Tier 1 passengers can still enjoy their freedoms once the investigation concludes.

Tier 1 is the luxury liner on top of the Black Whale.

Being comprised of Kakin’s nobility, billionaires and other people able to meet the untouchable Kakin Royal Family, it makes sense why the Tier 1 broadcast would be much softer for them.

Hearing the Tier 1 broadcast, something that none of the other Tiers will ever receive, Bork is confused as to where the hideout is actually located.

Borksen wonders how someone would be able to move a person from Tier 3 all the way to the luxury liner at the top of the Black Whale.

This does make sense because Morena is a “Flesh”-designated Festival Orphan who pretended to be a “Second-Track Faker” like the other Mafia bosses, meaning she has access to royal facilities.

She needs to know where the hideout is to make an escape from both Morena and the Royal Army, so she bites the bullet.

We see a panel closing it to Bork’s puckered, panicked lips, which Morena notices.

Morena assures Bork that she and Heil-Ly will be able to protect her even amidst the chaos happening now.

Bork takes on the position of vulnerability, saying that if Morena is the key to her safety, she will accept her conditions.

Morena requests that Bork come close for a kiss.

Return of the X Card: The Kiss Reaction

After a shot of the Black Whale is shown, Morena is surprised and blushes, apologizing to Bork as she notes that it was Bork’s first kiss ever.

Bork shyly asks Morena how did she know about it

After some bickering, Bork requests for the “X” Card to be revived from the graveyard.

However, before she finalizes the decision, she asks Morena if she can flip over her last two cards to examine their contents, concerned about cheating since she took her eyes off the two cards on her deck when fulfilling the kiss request.

Once again, Morena insists on her honesty and is offended by Bork’s suggestion that she has it in her to cheat.

Morena compares this to when people ask to peep into another person’s phone even if this is an invasion of privacy, saying that if there is nothing to hide, it is fine but to Morena, this is strange logic as it is telling her that she is not trustworthy and should be looked down upon, thus her right to privacy invalidated.

Bork still insists on flipping the cards to be sure 

Morena reminds Bork that they shared a passionate kiss just now, which makes Bork flustered as she flips the cards to reveal that indeed the “No card” and “R card” are what she has..

Some might notice (or assume given how the detail would not be distinct enough) that Bork might have marked the two cards when she flipped them

Leave that thought behind for now.

Orarge, Morena’s goon, shuffles the cards and puts them face down.

Bork chooses one of the cards and it turns out to be the “X” Card.

The option to leave and forget everything is gone…again!

Bork prepares to choose one of the two question cards.

The “Question A” card allows Bork to ask any question but is limited to responses “Yes”, “No”, or “Yes and No”

Morena reminds Bork that if she only has one question, she can skip the “Question” A card and proceed to the “Question B” card for one question with one full specific answer.

Bork chooses the “Question A” Card.

The Pressure of Question A:

Bork asks if this place, the hideout, is on Tier 5, which Morena answers with “No”. Same response for Tier 4 and, surprisingly, every other tier.

Morena does confirm the hideout is inside the Black Whale.

Bork asks if the hideout is made with Nen, which Morena answers with “Yes and No”.

Bork realizes that the hideout is sandwiched between Tier 2 and Tier 3, within the manufacturing area, which Morena confirms.

Bork asks if the entrance and exit can be accessed by the general public, to which Morena answers with “Yes and No”.

Bork also confirms the existence of multiple exits and entrances, around five.

Morena seemed to hesitate to confirm if the number of entry and exit points was between four and five because she wanted to be correct, so 5 is correct.

Bork figures out how many people does Morena have left and as it turns out, counting Morena, there are 21 left out of the 23 players of Contagion.

Padaille was killed by Hinrigh in Chapter 391: “Clash: Part 2” while Luini was killed by Nobunaga in Chapter 393: “Plea”.

Bork confirms with Morena that choosing “No” equals death.

Bork asks if Morena knows the ability of her 20 comrades or any Reinforcement types but Morena says “No” to both questions.

After extracting much information about Morena, her hideout, her comrades’ abilities, Bork delivers her final question and expresses delight in talking to Morena and learning so many things.

So, Bork states that if any card that would let Bork leave is left for last, Bork promises to change Kakin her own way but asks Morena if she has no intention of changing her “Purpose”, even if there is any opportunity to meet halfway.

Morena resolutely says “No” and that she will maintain her “Purpose”

The Game’s Conclusion

Now Bork has only two cards left, the “No” Card and “R” Card.

Bork tells Morena that the two open at the same time, with Morena having the second card and Bork the last and winning card, saying that if it is “R”, then Bork dies but if her card is “R”, then Bork intends to forget everything that happened here and leave.

The two girls count down and the card on Morena’s side is…

The “No” Card.

That means the final card in Bork’s hand is the “R” card.

Morena congratulates Bork even if it is a pity on her side to lose Bork.

Bork seems to have gripped the “R” card tightly that it crumpled.

Now the trade is made for the card to be revived.

Morena asks Bork if she has made the correct decision, surprised by the card Bork’s finger is pointing at.

It was the “Yes” Card.

What motivated Bork to say yes?

Could it be that the kiss had already made Bork completely dependent on Morena?

It is possible that Bork could have cheated and the Restrictions and Limitations of Nen enforced by Contagion make those who cheat choose “Yes” without knowing it.

Considering Morena’s surprise, this is yet another first time experience that she has gained an ally without her really in control.

…Or is it?

Not to mention that we still do not know the cause of the Martial Law’s implementation.

Was it Chrollo causing trouble during 9th Prince Halkenburg’s funeral, especially with Dogman on his trail?

Was it Melody and Kaiser’s plan to dispatch 7th Prince Luzurus for cursing Fugetsu?

Was it another Phantom Troupe or a conflict with Hinrigh, who swore revenge on Lynch’s death at Bonolenov’s hands?

We have only one chapter to finish the 2024 batch of Hunter x Hunter chapters before another hiatus comes.

Hunter x Hunter Chapter 410 will be released on December 8, 2024.

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