Hunter x Hunter 408: Morena’s Backstory Unravels

This article contains spoilers for the Hunter x Hunter manga.

Key Takeaways

• Morena reveals her goal to destroy the Kakin Empire and humanity, recruiting a Specialist like Borksen.
• Borksen discovers she’s an unawakened Specialist, learns about Nen and the danger she faces in the game.
• The card game between Morena and Borksen is interrupted by the declaration of Martial Law on the Black Whale.

Hunter x Hunter has enjoyed a great run of chapters and fans are incredibly excited to see where the story is headed with HxH chapter 408.

The previous chapter of HxH showed Borksen’s meeting with Morena, and finally, fans saw the unfolding of the majority of the card game that was set up in the last chapter. Morena is being built as quite a big character in this arc, with interesting goals and a past. This chapter reveals a lot about Morena, who is not even the real Morena, per se.

The Card Game Begins

Morena Explains Her Purpose and Power

HxH 408 starts with Borksen choosing her very first card. As expected, she starts off with the “Purpose” card. This card has Morena explain her goals and ambitions to Borksen.

Morena tells Borksen that her goal is to destroy the Kakin Empire and, after that, the entirety of humanity. She needs Borksen’s power for that. Borksen was left quite unsatisfied by such a broad and vague answer, so to explain further, Morena reveals some of her background.

Morena speaks of Second Track, royalty of Kakin with no rights to inherit the throne. She reveals that the real Morena was a Second Track, and the Morena we see here is not the real one. The Morena here is actually a festival orphan with no royal blood. Togashi explains what Carne Levare and Lese-Majeste are. The Carne Levare is a Kakin festival held every few years, where royals host a banquet. The Lese-Majeste part refers to anything that disrespects the royal family, and can be punished by death. Before, this could even just include looking at a royal. Morena’s mother died from this very Carne Levare as she was overworked and not allowed to rest. Morena’s face was slashed after that, and sent to a facility where she was classified as flesh and not a Second Track like those with royal blood.

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

For 20 years, that was Morena’s life until she now became the head of the Heil-Ly. What happened to the real Morena isn’t fully clear yet. This same carnival, however, keeps on creating more victims, as Kakin has really not changed much since what happened to her. This concludes her answer to the purpose card.

On Borksen’s side, the Joker card gets discarded. On her next turn, she now chooses the “Power” card to learn more about Morena’s ability. Borksen isn’t 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 nen in general, and then explains that her Nen ability specifically allows her to grant powers to people who share the same goal as her – the common goal here being killing people. Her power has her act as the parent, and her followers her children. She can have up to 22 children who can then level up and become parents themselves. She describes it as similar to a pyramid scheme.

Borksen just wanted to live a normal and calm life, but now this is not an option as she was thrust into this chaos since the expedition was announced, and now, with her kidnapping by Morena and possibly her death. She will do everything in her power to avoid having to help Morena, as she does not support Morena’s goals, even though she might empathize with her to some degree.

Morena’s Hunt for a Specialist

Borksen Is Here Because She’s a Specialist

The reason why Borksen was kidnapped is revealed in this chapter. Morena kidnapped Borksen and is trying to recruit her for one reason – she’s an unawakened Specialist. Morena explains that Specialists are very rare, and she is on the hunt for individuals like them. Currently, Dogman is still searching for more Specialists, meaning Borksen isn’t necessarily a need for them, as they can find replacements for her. This is, in part, what makes this game so dangerous for Borksen.

I’ve done my own research, so there might be some margin of error, but I believe that specialists are about one in every 3000 people. — Morena Prudo

Morena even reveals a pie chart with how common or rare nen types are, with Enhancement at 27%, Emission at 24%, Transmutation at 19%, Conjuration and Manipulation each at 15%, and finally, Specialization at 0.033%. Morena believes there should be 50-60 Specialists on the Black Whale. Morena wants Borksen to develop a specific ability perhaps, but she will not reveal what that is for now.

With this answer, Borksen had to discard one of her cards, and that fell on the Yes card.

This prompts Borksen to pick Morena’s No card, to know what happens if only the No card remains. Morena explains that if only No is left, that is basically death for Borksen. While she won’t join the Heil-Ly, they can’t let her leave alive either, as she knows far too much now. If she manages to end with the X card, however, then the card is void, and while she also doesn’t join, Morena won’t try to harm her, and will try to avoid harming people around her.

Two Cards Remain

The R Card and the No Card

For the next card Borksen chooses at random to be discarded, she pulls the X card. This would be troubling, however, as Borksen still has the R card, which could bring back the X card from the grave.

I think it will get quite real when there are only two cards left, don’t you? Now, go ahead. — Morena Prudo

This means that, right now, Borksen only has 2 cards left on her side, 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 give her the ability to revive any card of her choice. The card game stops here in Hunter x Hunter 408, and fans will have to wait and see what happens in the next chapter.

Martial Law is Declared

The Reason for Why is Unknown

At the very end of Hunter x Hunter 408, the card game between Morena and Borksen is interrupted. Indeed, Morena and Borksen are shocked to hear an announcement that could be a lot of trouble for anyone in the Black Whale. Martial Law has been declared.

Martial Law has been a looming threat over all the characters, and now it has happened but for unknown reasons. Fans will have to wait and see if the reason for this Martial Law is revealed. Hopefully, the card game of Morena and Borksen can continue and finish, but it isn’t a guarantee anymore with what’s going on.

Hunter x Hunter is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of Hunter x Hunter, Hunter x Hunter chapter 409, is set to be Dec 1, 2024.