Hunter x Hunter 408: Morena's backstory is revealed

This article contains spoilers for the Hunter x Hunter manga.

Key conclusions

• Morena reveals her goal to destroy the Kakin Empire and humanity by recruiting a specialist like Borxen.
• Borksen discovers that she is an unawakened specialist, learns about Nen and the dangers she faces in the game.
• A card game between Morena and Borxen is interrupted by the declaration of martial law on the black whale.

Hunter x Hunter has enjoyed a great series of chapters and fans are incredibly excited to see where the story goes Enter Chapter 408.

The previous head of Enter showed Borksen meeting Morena, and fans finally got to see the unfolding of much of the card game that was set up in the last chapter. Morena builds up to be a pretty big character in this arc, with interesting goals and a past. This chapter reveals a lot about Morena, who isn't even the real Morena herself.

The card game begins

Moreno explains his purpose and power

HxH 408 begins with Borxen picking his first card. As expected, she starts with the “Goal” card. On this card, Moreno explains her goals and ambitions to Borksen.

Morena tells Borxen that her goal is to destroy the Kakin Empire and, by extension, all of humanity. To do this, she needs Borxen's power. Borksen was completely unsatisfied with such a broad and vague answer, so to explain further, Moreno reveals some of his background.

Moreno speaks of the Second Way, Kakin royalty with no right to inherit the throne. She reveals that the real Morena was the Second Track and the Morena we see here is not the real one. Morena here is actually a festival orphan with no royal blood. Tagashi explains what Carnet Levaret and Lese Majestes are. Carne Levare is a Kakin festival held every few years where royalty hosts a banquet. The Lese-Majeste part refers to anything that disrespects the royal family and can be punished by death. In the past, this could even include a glimpse of royalty. Morena's mother died precisely from Carne Levare, because she was overworked and did not allow her to rest. After that, Morena's face was cut open and she was sent to an institution where she was classified as flesh and not Second Path like those with royal blood.

Here we were scientifically divided into “Second Way” and “Flesh”, and I was classified as “Flesh”. — Morena Prudeau

For 20 years, this was the life of Morena, until she became the manager of Heil-Ly. What happened to the real Morena is still not entirely clear. This same carnival, however, continues to create new victims, as Kakin really hasn't changed much since what happened to her. This concludes her response to the objective card.

On Borxen's side, the Joker card is discarded. Next turn, she chooses a Power card to learn more about Morena's abilities. Borksen is not very familiar with nen, but has a very rough idea of ​​what it is, comparing it to psychic abilities. Morena gives her a brief explanation of Nan in general and then explains that her Nan ability allows her to give powers to people who share the same goal as her – the common goal here is to kill people. Her authority is that of parents, and her followers are that of their children. She can have up to 22 children, who can then progress to a new level and become parents themselves. She describes it as being like a pyramid.

Borxen just wanted to live a normal and peaceful life, but that's not an option now that she's been involved in this chaos ever since the expedition was announced, and now with Morena kidnapping her and possibly her death. She will do anything in her power to avoid having to help Morena, as she does not support Morena's goals, even though she can sympathize with her to some degree.

Morena's hunt for a specialist

Borksen is here because she is an expert

The reason behind Borxen's kidnapping is revealed in this chapter. Morena has kidnapped Borksen and is trying to recruit her for one reason – she is an unawakened specialist. Morena explains that specialists are very rare and she hunts people like them. Currently, Dogman is still looking for specialists, which means they don't necessarily need Borksen as they can find a replacement for her. That's part of what makes this game so dangerous for Borksen.

I've done my own research, so there may be some margin of error, but I believe the experts are about one in every 3,000 people. — Morena Prudeau

Moreno even shows a pie chart with information on how common or rare the nen types are: Enhancement is 27%, Radiate is 24%, Transmutation is 19%, Conjuration and Manipulation are 15% each, and finally Specialization is 0.033%. Moreno believes that there should be 50-60 specialists on the Black Whale. Moreno wants Borxen to develop a certain ability, but she doesn't reveal what it is yet.

With that answer, Borksen had to discard one of her cards, and it fell to the “Yes” card.

This prompts Borxen to pick Morena's No card to find out what would happen if only the No card remained. Moreno explains that if only No is left, it's basically death for Borksen. Even though she won't join Heil-Ly, they can't let her leave alive either, as she knows too much now. However, if she manages to finish off X's card, then the card will be canceled, and although she won't join either, Moreno won't try to harm her and will try to avoid harming the people around her.

Two cards left

R card and no card

For the next card that Borxen randomly chooses to discard, she draws an X. However, this would be frustrating as Borxen still has an R card that can bring X back from the grave.

I think it will become quite real with only two cards left, don't you? Now, go ahead. — Morena Prudeau

This means that Borksen only has 2 cards left at the moment and her fate will be decided very soon. She will either keep the No card, which will be her death, or she will keep the R card, which will allow her to revive any card of her choice. The card game stops here Hunter x Hunter 408 and fans will have to wait and see what happens in the next chapter.

Martial law has been declared

The reason is unknown

At the very end of c Hunter x Hunter 408, card game between Morena and Borxen interrupted. Indeed, Moreno and Borksen were shocked to hear the announcement, which could cause a lot of trouble for everyone in Black Whale. Martial law has been declared.

Martial law was a threat that loomed over all the characters, and now it has happened, but for reasons unknown. Fans will have to wait and see if the reason for martial law becomes known. Let's hope the Morena and Borxen card game can continue and end, but it's no longer a guarantee of what happens.

Hunter x Hunter is available to read through Viz Media. Fans can read the series officially and for free on the Shonen Jump app and Manga Plus. The next Hunter x Hunter chapter, Hunter x Hunter Chapter 409, is scheduled for release on December 1, 2024.