Hunter x Hunter chapter 408: Morena’s backstory explains her motivation as the Negotiation game begins

Hunter x Hunter chapter 408, titled Negotiation: Part 2, was released on Monday, November 25, 2024, in Japan. The chapter focuses on Morena and Borksen starting the Negotiation card game, allowing the latter to explore the workings of Morena’s criminal organization. As the game progresses, some of Borksen’s fears come true.

The events follow those of the previous chapter, where Morena explained the rules of the game to Borksen, who had been abducted. It was through the game that Morena sought to recruit her.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers.

Morena and Borksen begin the Negotiation card game in Hunter x Hunter chapter 408

Borksen goes first

Borksen and Morena start playing in Hunter x Hunter chapter 408 (Image via Shueisha/Togashi)

In Hunter x Hunter chapter 408, Borksen selects Morena’s Purpose card, prompting Morena to inquire about her choice. Borksen realizes casual conversation is acceptable and begins asking the Heil-Ly members questions, like whether their organization consists of over 50 members. Although the members remain silent, Morena’s ambiguous response leads Borksen to suspect that the group may have just over twenty members.

Morena then elaborates on her purpose: the complete destruction of the Kakin Royal Family, which she intends to extend to humanity as a whole, for which she seeks Borksen’s cooperation. Unsatisfied, Borksen asks for a detailed explanation, giving Morena the chance to recount her past.

Morena’s backstory revealed

Morena, as a child in Hunter x Hunter chapter 408 (Image via Shueisha/Togashi)

Morena reveals that she is not a royal. The original Morena Prudo was a member of the Kakin Royal Family with no succession rights, referred to as a second-track faker. However, the real Morena is now buried in a grave meant for the current Morena, who is actually a Carnival Orphan.

Hunter x Hunter chapter 408 then discloses the dark tradition of the Kakin Royal Family, called Carne Levare, a secretive ritual conducted every few years in a random village. During this event, villagers are split into two groups: entertainers and others. In the past, even minor offenses, such as making eye contact with royalty, were punishable by death.

Morena’s mother was made to entertain the royal family for several days without a break. She got pregnant, gave birth without realizing it, and died when Morena was just two years old. Morena was sent to an institution that secretly operated as a human trafficking hub run by the Heil-Ly Family. The kids were put into two groups: those who were second-track fakers and those who were flesh. Morena fell into the latter group.

Over the next two decades, Morena refined her skills, driven by hatred for the Carne Levare tradition and the unchanging nature of the Kakin Kingdom even after the Democratization Commemoration Celebration. Witnessing seven generations of orphans created from her childhood to her rise as Heil-Ly boss strengthened her determination to destroy the royal family.

Morena speaks about her own ability

Morena as seen in Hunter x Hunter chapter 408 (Image via Shueisha/Togashi)

Next, in Hunter x Hunter chapter 408, Morena tells Borksen that she requires specific individuals to help achieve her goals, and Borksen’s ability is particularly suited to her needs. Borksen wants to know more, but Morena says she must wait for her next turn. In the meantime, Borksen’s Joker card, which allows both affirmative and negative choices, is discarded. She then chooses the Power card, prompting Morena to explain her ability.

Morena starts with Nen, describing it as a superpower anyone can learn through training. Her unique ability lets her grant Nen powers to others, provided their goals align with hers, without requiring them to undergo the lengthy process of awakening it.

She elaborates further: she is the dealer or mater, who can have up to 22 players or children. These players earn points by completing tasks, and once they accumulate enough, they can become parents, expanding the group by recruiting others. Morena adds that destroying Kakin is her own small goal, but the organization’s bigger goal is killing people in general.

Morena speaks about Borksen’s Nen ability

Borksen and Morena, as seen in Hunter x Hunter chapter 408 (Image via Shueisha/Togashi)

Borksen is seen in Hunter x Hunter chapter 408 and questions why Morena specifically needs her. Morena explains that Nen abilities are divided into six categories, and Borksen’s type, Specialist, is the rarest, occurring in only about one in three thousand people. Morena, however, suspects more Specialists aboard the Black Whale and has enlisted Dogman to locate them, implying Borksen is not indispensable.

Borksen expresses interest in learning more about Specialists and the powers Morena would have her develop, but Morena defers the discussion to the Yes? card. Nonetheless, Morena briefly explains that Specialists are unique Nen users unbound by the limitations faced by other categories, such as Transmuters struggling to learn Manipulative abilities.

Specialists can acquire highly distinctive powers that do not fit neatly into any category or may combine traits from multiple types. Morena herself is a Specialist.

At the end of this exchange, Borksen’s Yes card goes to the graveyard.

Borksen’s final two cards

In Hunter x Hunter chapter 408, Borksen selects the No? card. Thereafter, Morena explains that if the game ends with the No card, it will signify Borksen’s irrevocable rejection of her offer to join the Heil-Ly Family.

In this case, Borksen and those close to her would become targets for the Heil-Ly Family, who aim to strengthen their powers through mass killing. On the other hand, the X card voids the game entirely, allowing Borksen to leave safely without herself or her associates becoming future targets of the Heil-Ly Family.

Intrigued, Borksen asks why the X card, which offers no advantage to Morena and carries significant risks, is even included in the game. Morena explains that high risks bring high rewards. The team’s unity strengthens if the game plays out in her favor and she successfully recruits someone.

Borksen then flips one of her face-down cards and discovers it is the X card, which must now be discarded. This leaves her with two cards: the No card, which means death, and the Return card, which allows her to retrieve a card from the graveyard.

Hunter x Hunter chapter 408 concludes with an alarm interrupting the Negotiation game as Prince Benjamin declares special martial law.

Final thoughts

In Hunter x Hunter chapter 408, after an entire chapter focused on explaining the game, Morena and Borksen finally begin playing. As the game progresses, various pieces of new information emerge, including details about Morena’s past. Readers will be curious to see how the Heil-Ly group reacts to the declaration of martial law, which has the potential to disrupt their plans to orchestrate mass killings aboard the ship.

Hunter x Hunter chapter 405 highlights

Hunter x Hunter chapter 404 highlights

Hunter X Hunter will continue without Gon

Edited by Subhayan Basu