Hunter x Hunter 408: Morena's backstory is revealed

This article contains spoilers for the Hunter x Hunter manga.

Key Takeaways

• Morena reveals his goal to destroy the Kakin Empire and humanity while recruiting specialists like Borksen.
• Borksen discovers that she is an unawakened expert and learns about Nen and the dangers she faces in the game.
• A card game between Morena and Borksen is interrupted when martial law is declared against the Humpback Whale.

Hunter × Hunter I enjoyed the various chapters and fans are very excited to see where the story goes. heightxheight Chapter 408

previous chapter heightxheight showed the meeting between Borksen and Morena, and finally, fans saw most of the card game set up in the last chapter play out. Morena grows into a pretty big character in this arc, with interesting goals and a past. This chapter reveals a lot about Morena that is not the actual Morena per se.

The card game begins

Morena explains her purpose and power

HxH 408 begins with Borksen selecting the first card. As expected, she starts with the ‘Purpose’ card. This card allows Morena to explain his goals and ambitions to Borksen.

Morena tells Borksen that his goal is to destroy the Kakin Empire and subsequently all of humanity. For that, you need the power of Bocksen. Borksen was quite unsatisfied with such a broad and vague answer, so for further clarification, Morena reveals some of his own background.

Morena speaks of the Second Track, the royal family of Kakin who have no right to inherit the throne. She revealed that the real Morena was the second track and the Morena you see here is not real. Morena here is actually a festival orphan with no royal blood. Togashi explains what Carne Levare and Lese-Majeste are. Carne Levare is a Kakin festival held every few years where the royal family hosts a banquet. The Lese-Majeste part refers to anything that disrespects royalty and is punishable by death. Previously, just seeing royalty was enough. Morena's mother died of Carne Levare soon after, due to overwork and lack of rest. Morena's face was then slashed and she was sent to a facility classified as a body rather than a secondary track like those of royal blood.

Here we were scientifically categorized into 'Second Track' and 'Flesh', and I was categorized as 'Flesh'. — Morena Prudo

For twenty years this has been Morena's life, until she is now the head of Heil-Ly. What actually happened to Morena is not yet fully known. But Kakin hasn't changed much since what happened to her, so the same carnival continues to create more victims. This concludes her response to the Purpose card.

On Borksen's side, a joker card is discarded. On her next turn, she now chooses the “Power” card to learn more about Morena's abilities. Borksen doesn't know much about nen, but he has a very rough idea of ​​what it is, comparing it to psychic abilities. Morena briefs her about Nen in general, and explains that her Nen abilities allow her to empower people, especially those who share the same goals as her. The common goal here is to kill people. Her powers allow her to act as a parent and follow her children. She can have up to 22 children, who can level up to become parents themselves. She describes it as similar to a pyramid scheme.

Borksen wanted to live a normal, calm life, but this is not an option, as she has been thrown into turmoil since the expedition was announced and is now kidnapped by Morena and possibly dead. She will do her best to avoid having to help Morena, as she does not support Morena's goals, even if she sympathizes with her to some extent.

Find an expert in Morena

Borksen is here because he's an expert

In this chapter, the reason why Borksen was kidnapped is revealed. Morena kidnaps Borksen and tries to recruit her for one reason: Because she is an unawakened expert. Morena explains that experts are very rare and they are looking for people like them. Currently, Dogman is still looking for more specialists, which means she doesn't necessarily need one, as Borksen may be able to find a replacement for her. This is partly what makes this game so dangerous for Borksen.

Since I did my own research, there may be a margin of error, but experts believe it is about 1 in 3,000 people. — Morena Prudo

Morena also reveals a pie chart showing how common or rare the Nen types are, with Enhancement at 27%, Emission at 24%, Transformation at 19%, Creation and Manipulation at 15% each, and finally Specialization at 0.033%. Morena believes Black Whale should have 50 to 60 experts. Morena wants Borksen to develop certain abilities, but he won't reveal what those are at this time.

With this answer Borksen had to discard one of his cards and it belonged to the Yes card.

This leads Borksen to pick Morena's No card to see what happens when only the No card remains. Morena explains that if only No remains, it's basically Borksen's death. She won't join Heil-Ly, but they can't let her leave alive because she knows too much now. However, if she ends up with an

Two cards remain

R card and No card

Borksen draws X cards for the next card he randomly chooses to discard. However, this could be problematic as Borksen still has the R card, allowing him to bring back the X card from the graveyard.

I think it gets really real when there are only two cards left, right? Now, go ahead. — Morena Prudo

That means there are currently only two cards left at Borksen's side, and her fate will soon be decided. She keeps either a No card, which will be her death, or an R card, which can resurrect a card of her choice. The card game stops here Hunter × Hunter 408 and fans will have to wait and see what happens in the next chapter.

martial law is declared

The reason is unknown

At the very end Hunter × Hunter 408, a card game between Morena and Borksen was stopped. In fact, Morena and Borksen were shocked to hear the announcement, which could be very problematic for anyone at Black Whale. Martial law was declared.

Martial law has been a looming threat to all characters, and it has occurred for reasons now unknown. Fans will have to wait and see whether the reason for this martial law will be revealed. Let's hope that Morena and Borksen's card game can still end, but there are no longer any guarantees about what will happen next.

Hunter x Hunter is available to read via Viz Media. The series is officially available for fans to read for free through Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of Hunter x Hunter, Hunter x Hunter Episode 409, has been set for December 1, 2024.