The Succession Contest is heating up in HUNTER X HUNTER chapter 404 as Ninth Prince Halkenburg attempts to fake his own death using his Nen ability. Kurapika also helps Third Prince Zhang Lei figure out how his powers work, threatening to disrupt the delicate balance of power underpinning both the battle for the crown and the criminal underworld.

When HUNTER X HUNTER burst back onto the scene by revealing that Beyond may have fathered one of the princes following a two-year hiatus, my worry was that series author Yoshihiro Togashi wouldn’t be able to follow up on this any time soon given the spotty release schedule and the sheer amount of plot to get through. Although HUNTER X HUNTER chapter 404 doesn’t feature any mention of Beyond, it must be said that Togashi did choose to address two other plot threads that have been left unresolved for many years now: Halkenburg and Zhang Lei’s abilities.

The function of Zhang Lei’s powers have been surmised for a while, but Kurapika lays out the specifics in HUNTER X HUNTER chapter 404. First of all, as Zhang Lei’s Nen beast produces a coin every day, the value of each coin changes as circulation increases. When the currency is worth around a quintillion, Kurapika theorizes that the holders will have their aura nodes forced open, therefore gaining the ability to use Nen. Given the timeframe, this isn’t an ability to be used right now in the Succession Contest but instead after Zhang Lei becomes King, reflecting his far-sighted point of view.

What Kurapika doesn’t reveal in this explanation is that the coins may also be able to coerce the bearer into some sort of loyalty towards the Third Prince. He chooses not to reveal this as First Prince Halkenburg’s personal guide Coventoba is in the room: he was the one who picked up the first coin all the way back in chapter 374, so seeing if he suddenly changes his behavior will be a good litmus test to see if Kurapika’s hypothesis works. Furthermore, Kurapika is aware that giving Zhang Lei too much information may shift the balance of power in the Succession War too much, as well as in the mafia underground as Zhang Lei is linked to the Xi-Yu Family.

Halkenburg’s powers, on the other hand, have been the subject of intense speculation for many years now as aura would rumble throughout the ship at regular intervals. Last week, Togashi presented a puzzling situation whereby Balsamilco was on the way to assassinate the Ninth Prince, but suddenly found himself halted by a Nen attack from his target. HUNTER X HUNTER chapter 404 finally reveals how this works: when surrounded by loyal supporters, Halkenburg can fire a Nen arrow that causes a random member of the group to swap minds with whoever it hits.

As luck would have it, Halkenburg himself was the one who ended up swapping bodies with Balsamilco after taking a hit from the Nen arrow, but his plan is quickly put into motion anyway. By inserting his mind into another body, the Ninth Prince believes that he can fake his own death by poisoning his original body and taking over again before it fully dies. It’s a risky plan, but one that would pay off greatly in terms of information warfare and freedom of movement if it actually works. 

To be honest, covering HUNTER X HUNTER as it releases weekly has felt like an increasingly daunting task. Part of me doesn’t want to waste an opportunity to talk about one of my favorite series, but so much happens in such a short space of time that condensing it down to a reasonable length seems impossible in a reasonable timeframe. HUNTER X HUNTER chapter 404 sure does have a lot going on (there wasn’t even enough time to talk about Cheadle, Leorio or Tserriednich here) but at least the developments surrounding Halkenburg and Zhang Lei are clear enough to explain. 

Just how the arc continues to develop from here is anyone’s guess.

You can read HUNTER X HUNTER chapter 404 for free via VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump.