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

In the previous Hunter x Hunter chapter, we learn of Chrollo’s plan to see the Regalia of the Kakin Empire, all the tools and components of the Succession Contest, including the Seed Urn, in order to power up his Skill Hunter and steal the ability that could permanently kill Hisoka.

Chapter 407 is titled, “Negotiation”

This chapter has 19 pages.

Day 12 (Thursday)

1:00 PM

The chapter begins with the casket holding Halkenburg’s body being led to the Central Staircase to Tier 1.

Meanwhile, Otocin and the group of Tserriednich’s friends (Momolly, another girl, and the two men) note that Borksen is not around, with her communications turned off 30 minutes ago.

The cliche agrees to report anything unusual and to assume the worst if something irregular happened to any one of them.

The conclusion was that Bork had been abducted but without anyone noticing, even though she is a soldier and would normally put up a fight.

Momolly and the two men hypothesize that Bork was kidnapped by more men, one of which might be a fellow soldier like her.

Otocin worries that the Heil-Ly are behind this and that Bork might get hypnotized to attempt an assassination on Tserriednich.

The curly haired girl wonders if they will be fine with the “no contact for negotiations and rescue attempts” rule they have.

Before they could continue discussing, a higher-ranked soldier tells them to keep distant and to their posts.

Borksen was introduced and featured prominently in Chapter 394: “Hypothesis”. 

During this chapter, we learn that Morena plans to infect one of Tserriednich’s bodyguards to make a move against him before he thinks about killing Morena for her treason.

Bork had actually prepared for a contingency plan upon hearing of Morena’s rampage in Tier 3, with Momolly asking about what response they can come up with in the event that one of them gets captured by her somehow.

Borksen is her target now.

Meanwhile, in the Heil-Ly hideout, Bork wakes up and sees Morena in front of her.

Morena explains that she took Bork the same way she would take a “matching organ donor” and wants Bork to join Heil-Ly.

Bork notices that there are only six bodyguards, no restraints and she was brought here…somehow without her knowing anything that happened.

Morena understands that not answering with yes or no is wise but she explains that the longer this goes on, the more chaotic it will be for both sides.

Yes because Morena kidnapped one of Tserri’s friends.

To ensure Morena gets her way while getting it from Bork’s own free will through “Negotiation”, a card game where if she loses, Bork will lose all freedom except the ability to say yes or no if she forfeits.

Negotiation: The Card Game Explained

There are two players: the parent (Morena) and the child (Bork).

Oh yes, Togashi. We immediately have the subtext for Morena’s characterization and maybe some for Bork.

The parent will make a request to the child and the game continues until the child has a final answer (to the question Morena asked, of whether or not Bork would join Heil-Ly).

The parent has seven cards, facing up while Bork has five cards facing down.

The game begins when the child selects a card from the parent, who responds. Then that card goes to the graveyard.

Next, the parent will select a card from the child

It goes on and on until the last card is used by the child to make the final answer.

This game is likely structured to give the child player disadvantages from the start as the parent always has more choices than the child anyway, just like the parental hierarchy.

This could say something about how Morena views parents and authority in general, how the system creates manufactured consent through limited options or the illusion of freedom, which is ultimately given by the system, or rather it also presents Morena’s view that freedom is only a construct and no one has any free will at all.

This is reflective of her mentality during her introduction in Chapter 378: “Balance”, where she expresses her clear disdain for the whole world and the circumstances of her birth taking away her sense of being.

At first, it seems like the child player has four “yes” and one “no” cards but then Morena tells Bork to flip the cards face up, revealing that the third card is an “R card” meant to revive one of the cards that was in the graveyard and return it to the child player’s hand.

If the R card is the last card, it will allow the child player to make the answer that they want.

The fourth card is the Joker card and if this is the last card of the child player, that will also turn into a desired answer but it will also allow the child player to express their intentions.

To note, in Chapter 405: “Masquerade”, Wang from the Xi-Yu family brought up the idea that Morena will eventually use her Joker card.

Bork notes that these extra cards are only for show because the premise of the game is that “you will not leave until you either say ‘yes’ or ‘no’.”

Morena then tells Bork to flip the fifth and final card, revealing…

An “X” card.

It means neither “yes” or “no” and therefore renders the game invalid.

This means that Bork can leave without saying yes or no and will not force her to play the “Negotiation” game again, even if she has the opportunity to do.

Which is anytime she pleases, given the ability that kidnapped Bork…somehow.

However, if the last card leads to a “yes” or “no” decision, Bork will take full responsibility for the answer, whatever it may be.

Bork points out that Morena has yet to give a full explanation, since we also need to know what the parent’s deck holds, implying Bork knows this game or is aware of its implications without full knowledge of its mechanics.

Bork monologues to herself, noticing from the explanation that this game is clearly set up against the child player.

At first glance from this deck, the child seems to have all the advantages because there is only one “Yes” card that would force the child player to submit.

But this is the first trap.

If the “No” card is last, it might seem like an advantage for the child player but without knowing the parent player’s deck of cards at this point, if the game starts, the “No” card might cause trouble even with the “explanations” Morena gave.

Of course, the parent’s seven cards are clearly visible as they are always face up.

These seven cards consist of “Yes” and “No” cards but with a question mark background, instead of a circle and a white “X” with a dark background respectively.

There is also a “QB” card and a “D” card with a reversal symbol, indicating a card switch, akin to an Uno reverse card.

With the “explanation”, Bork will know the devastating consequences on landing a “No”, which means that the “No” and “Joker” are out.

This leaves the R card and X card as valid options, 2 out of the 5 cards for a 40% chance.

Which sounds good on paper but this is the second trap.

It does not matter since the parent chooses what cards the child player has, indicating that these are not the only valid options.

The parent controls the game.

Now it is time for Morena to explain her side of the game, the parent’s side.

This is the third trap.

Parent’s Cards Explanation

There are seven cards on the parent’s deck.

First, the “Purpose Card”, the card that has an arrow hitting a target on it.

If the child (Bork) selects this card, then the parent (Morena) will explain the parent’s purpose to the other player.

The purpose of bringing Bork into Heil-ly and why Morena wants her to be an ally.

Morena will try to be concise and will answer any question asked by the child.

Second, the “Power Card”, the card that has a flexed muscular arm on it.

This will allow Morena to explain her Nen ability.

Although the Nen ability might be hard to understand, Morena is bound by the rules to explain without deception and is willing to even go over it many times.

Third, the “Question A Card”, the card that has the letters “QA” on it.

In choosing this card, the child can make the parent answer as many questions as the child wants but not anything related to Purpose or Ability.

Morena can also only answer with three options: “Yes”, “No”, and “Yes and No”.

Fourth, the “Question B Card”, the card that has the letters “QB” on it.

In choosing this card, the child is allowed to know more about a question raised in “Question A” in more detail.

However, only the last question raised in “Question A” can be asked about so Bork has to be careful in choosing how to end “Question A”.

Confirmation of Rules

Bork mentally notes that she has no use for “Yes” and “No” cards and so she confirms with Morena if Morena will not cheat in the game.

Gelato and Voconte, two of Morena’s bodyguards, look on.

Bork seems to be suggesting a response pattern, which Morena notes is important to check to prevent misunderstandings.

When asked, for example, “Didn’t you do it?”, the response should be “Yes, I didn’t”, which is akin to a unique ethnic group.

Based on the imagery, it is implying that this region is where Nobunaga Hazama is born, even though all people would know about Nobunaga is that he is an orphan from Meteor City and a member of the Phantom Troupe.

This could be a reference to the Kansai region of Japan (such as Osaka), and their dialect.

Normally, the speaker is the subject, so the response to the question, “Didn’t you do it?” is “No, I didn’t.” 

In this explanation by Morena, we learn that this culture views the questioner as the subject instead of the speaker, at least when a question is asked and an answer is expected.

And in the question, “Didn’t you do it?”, the answer is “Yes” because it means “Your question is correct”.

According to Morena, this tendency could be attributed to a warrior society from the past or a virtue of their hospitable culture.

In some areas where this culture is, they even call others “My own-self”.

Vocante notes that this dialect is strange but Yokotani is surprised this is considered strange.

This indicates that Yokotani is from this region, implying he might be related to Nobunaga in some way too.

Bork observes that this entire game is a rite of passage and an interview at the same time.

Morena is using the game to test the capabilities of her allies and how suited they are to being her ally, hence the “matching organ donor” comparison from the start.

Morena’s answer to the question “you won’t cheat at all in this game, yes or no?” is:

“NO, I won’t cheat at all. I am MY own subject.”

Morena’s Answer Says EVERYTHING About Her

Remember the culture they talked about earlier?

Morena here is insisting, in very specific terms, that the “No” is a response to saying the question is wrong but it could have a different but related meaning.

It is more like “how dare you ask that?”

The line, “I am my own subject” here suggests that she is being even more specific about the use of “I” in the sentence, as well as insistence of a sense of control over the mechanics of the game.

Bork then expresses surprise from this response.

Morena expresses a smile but it is very clear from her answer that she is so angry about something.

I think this response is Morena allowing herself to let out a portion of her anger towards the world.

Right now, Morena has absolute control over this game, this means of recruiting her allies outside of the 22 who have allied with her to topple the old Heil-Ly family, as indicated in Chapter 378, in her introduction.

Here, Morena is directing that world-encompassing anger towards Bork, who seems to be commanding the situation for a moment, as a child and a hostage.

As if this insistence that “cheating” exists in this game and to view it as wrong is an act of defiance.

However, there is another reading of Morena being offended at the idea of “cheating”.

Morena views the dung heap of the world as nonsense, a world full of hypocrisy where value and morals are decided on the whims of the powerful.

Now Morena is the master in this situation, the one who decides life and value.

For her, a victim of injustice, to be perceived as “cheating” a system is insulting to Morena in two ways: first, it implies that there is any honest value at all when the system is clearly rigged against the child, and second, it implies that Morena’s own dignity, even if she does not care for it, can be compromised through the assumption of the same corruption as this cruel world.

Here, Morena is projecting herself over to Bork but when her child self via Bork looks at the parent in Morena with doubt over the system, it feels like Morena is seeing someone defy the logic she has grown up with, the idea that no one has any true free will.

And with her in the position of power, she refuses any defiance, especially from an outsider she considers part of the dung heap.

A moment of vulnerability but also something that makes Bork afraid of dealing with a woman like Morena Prudo.

Concluding Explanation

Morena continues the explanation, saying that when Bork is down to her last “Yes” card, she will explain the details of what will happen next.

While Morena explains, Bork notes that Morena is the absolute master among the Heil-Ly and the way Morena talks with respect towards Bork suggests that the group will also not cheat.

The fifth card is the “Deal card”, the card with the letter “D” that resembles an Uno Reverse card.

In choosing this card, the child player can revive any card on their deck provided that they fulfill a “small request” from the parent.

After hearing the details of the “small request”, the child player can decline it if they cannot fulfill it but this means the “Deal card” will not be used and the parent.

The game ends when the child player has only one card left, so the child player has to choose their final card wisely.

Now that Morena has given the full explanation, she asks if Bork is ready to play.

Bork says she will play under one condition: Bork will pick from the face-down cards of the child player.

Morena agrees but asks if she will handle the shuffling of the cards.

The chapter ends with the beginning of the game.

This is an interesting chapter.

Not too often do we have a full chapter dedicated to the mechanics of a single game that will likely not be played again.

What this means is that this card game will be one of the most important events, at least for this batch of chapters.

The chapter already provides us a psychoanalytical lens into Morena Prudo’s disturbing mentality, how she sees zero freedom yet holds all the cards as the “authority”, and how the game ironically brings both players to the idea of responsibility in spite of the limited choices given unto them by either the parent or the system itself.

Editor’s note: Borksen and Morena start their game of “Negotiation”

Hunter x Hunter Chapter 408 will be released on November 24, 2024.

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