Halkenburg MIGHT BE Beyond Netero’s Son! Hunter x Hunter Chapter 402 Spoilers!!

In the previous Hunter x Hunter chapter, we learned of Beyond Netero’s insane plan that involves planting his own biological children into the Kakin Empire as Nen Curse weapons to kill the other Princes until his own Prince offspring wins.

Here are Hunter x Hunter spoilers courtesy of Togashi Troupe

Chapter 402 is titled, “Letter”

This chapter has 19 pages.

Day 10 (Tuesday) 1:30 PM.

In Room 1003, we first see 3rd Prince Zhang Lei’s Guardian Spirit Beast

Zhang Lei receives word from one of his bodyguards about Kurapika’s deal with Tubeppa via Longhi: that if only three people remain in the Succession Contest, that is himself, Wobble, and Tubeppa, then Woble and Tubeppa will give up their claim to the throne.

This makes sense for 14th Prince Woble because she is an infant and her mother had no choice but to be involved, so this deal ensures her survival and that of specific candidates.

Only Halkenburg is open to the idea of nearly every candidate surviving, provided he has won the Succession Contest but this route Tubeppa and her bodyguard Longhi have taken is more pragmatic for such a bloody affair.

Zhang Lei is willing to consider this “partial surrender” a step forward but wonders if such a surrender is still valid in the Succession Contest.

In Chapter 382: “Awakening”, we learn that Nasubi has no power or intention to stop the Succession Contest and the nature of the Succession Contest is binding on the nature of Kakin’s tradition. 

For anyone to change the Succession Contest, that is to ensure the survival of one’s siblings, one has to win the Contest itself and change Kakin, which could mean changing the rules of the Succession Contest, maybe even overriding the Nen contract that defines it.

However, Halkenburg is placed within the trolley problem, forcing him to a binary choice: kill his siblings to win or do nothing and the nation remains the same bloody mess.

This means that under the rules of the Succession Contest, if the three candidates are protected, the Contest will impose some sort of risk upon the lives of the candidates to ensure there is only one winner.

Zhang Lei also reflects on why the coin created by his Guardian Spirit Beast has no effect.

If you recall, Zhang Lei’s Nen Guardian has the ability to produce coins that are given to others, who would gain various abilities after fulfilling certain conditions and the value of said coin (From 1 to 10) grows over time, which means that the coins can be given back in exchange of something from the Guardian Spirit Beast.

The 3rd Prince is still figuring out his powers, as he originally guessed in Chapter 390: “Clash, Part 1”, that the coins will only work once he is King.

In Room 1005, we see 5th Prince Tubeppa agreeing to the alliance with Woble (via Kurapika) and believes there will be no issues, seeing that this will allow Rihan (secretly one of Benjamin’s soldiers, which Tubeppa might have noticed) to focus on Zhang Lei instead of her

Tubeppa also assumes that because Tserriednich did not attend the banquet in Chapter 383: “Escape”, he does not see as a threat.

After acknowledging Kurapika’s pact with her, Tubeppa’s Guardian Spirit Beast emerges.

Rihah notices the Guardian Spirit Beast forming behind Tubeppa and thinks that the beast might be a conditional type.

Rihan’s Nen ability is “Predator”, a Conjuration type Hatsu that produces a “Predator” within his own body that would absorb information that Rihan obtains from his target in order to produce a counter towards his target’s ability. This basically means that Rihan’s ability is to produce a natural predator and he intends to use it on Tubeppa in order to destroy her Guardian Spirit Beast.

Meanwhile Balsamilco brings out a toolbox hidden in his right boot, which contains TSK-17, a failed assassination tool that might be better used against 9th Prince Halkenburg.

In Chapter 389: “Curse”, Halkenburg was arrested by Balsamilco after the former attacked Vict, one of Benjamin’s double agents assigned to the 9th Prince, which all happened because Vict attacked his “Tackle Shield” Nen ability on Halkenberg.

Balsamilco was acting in his capacity as Master Sergeant of the Royal Kakin Army and therefore responsible for maintaining peace in the Black Whale but this was also done to get him in a position where he can eliminate the Prince.

The range for the assassination tool is about 3 meters, so Balsamilco has to get close without falling to the unknown fate that Vict faced.

In Room 1004, 4th Prince Tserriednich is working out on a treadmill as Salkov, one of his actual bodyguards, watches over him.

Salkov, who could use Zetsu since birth, is amazed by Tserriednich’s genius while producing another Nen Beast outside the one he was given and all within the first day of understanding Nen.

Salkov hears from Theta that Tserriednich might have used an ability while in Zetsu, a feat that should not be possible given that Zetsu suppresses any aura leakage or Nen ability usage.

Behind Tserriednich is the 666-marked Nen Beast, which looks like a massive beetle, produced by Tserriednich subconsciously.

Vantine, the commander of Tserriednich’s private army, informs the 4th Prince that Benjamin is also targeting Melody. 

In Chapter 400: “Secrecy”, Tserriednich had Vantine invite Melody to come to Tserriednich’s quarters because of Melody’s performance being both beautiful and related to Nen

Tserriednich orders Vantine to make sure Melody does not fall into Benjamin’s hands and figure out what she is thinking so they can bring her over to their side. 

Day 11 (Wednesday) 6:00 AM

On a mobile phone photo, Melody and “Kacho” (the Guardian Spirit Beast of Kacho assuming her form, since the real 10th Prince passed away due to the escape attempt in Chapter 383) notice a new mark has appeared on 11th Prince Fugetsu’s back that was not there before.

Melody notes that this is a Nen mark and warns “Kacho” that if Fugetsu will use her ability again, two doors will appear, one of which will be a trap set upon Fugetsu by an enemy.

“Kacho” theorizes that this could be the work of 7th Prince Luzurus’s Guardian Spirit Beast, which has the ability to manifest traps depending on the target’s desire.

If the target, Fugetsu, will produce a Door using her Guardian Spirit Beast’s ability, “Magical Worm”, then Luzurus’ Beast will produce a second Door to act as a trap.

Melody, Kaiser, and “Kacho” discuss ways to deal with Luzurus.

Kaiser suggests making it look like an overdose, since Melody’s abilities can induce hallucinations that can somehow allow drugs to seep into the target’s system, so if Luzurus does escape, it will be made to look like Luzuru had a heart attack from the drug overdose.

Melody points out that to create a Door, Fugetsu needs to have visited the location in advance.

The trio form a plan to save Fugetsu and trap the Prince responsible for the Nen mark.

With Kaiser’s help, Kacho intends to leave a “last will” or farewell letter to each of the Princes that will pique their interest.

Melody is still untrusting towards Kaiser, who was forward about his love for Melody and her music, but believes that the Prince twins will benefit from their alliance with Kaiser, who is a Kakin Justice Bureau investigator, 

So Kaiser, Fugetsu and the Justice Bureau staff head for Room 1001, where they deliver Kacho’s letter to 1st Prince Benjamin, with the letter stating that if she dies, the letter should be given directly to each Prince. 

The Justice Bureau verifies that the letter contains no explosives or poison. When Fugetsu approaches Benjamin, his Guardian Spirit Beast screams, and the low-level evil spirits attached to Fugetsu temporarily vanish. 

While Fugetsu’s low aura could certainly attract wicked spirits in a vessel of malice and death, there might be a link between these spirits and Prince Benjamin

Kaiser also learns that Benjamin intends to enforce special martial law on the entire vessel, giving more power to the Royal Army, which in turn gives Benjamin, the Deputy Military Adviser of the Kakin Royal Army, more power over the Succession Contest.

Next, Fugetsu and Kaiser deliver Kacho’s letters to Tubeppa, Tyson, and Luzurus.

This means that Kacho has different letters for each of her half-siblings.

However, Luzurus is more cautious than anticipated and so he does not trust the letter, handing it over to the Justice Bureau.

This might be the confirmation “Kacho” needed to figure out if Luzurus might have a plan against Fugetsu or this is general paranoia.

Basho, one of Kurapika’s men from the Yorknew City Arc, produces a protective charm using his Haiku Nen ability to ward off the low-level evil spirits surrounding Fugetsu.

Although the charm is effective, Basho warns the 11th Prince that this is not a permanent solution.

Day 11 (Wednesday) 8:50 AM.

The Justice Bureau investigate all the letters and confirm that each of the Prince’s letters are different, which means they contain full truths that are only relevant in dictating that specific Prince’s actions.

However, Kacho’s letter to Halkenburg is different as it contains ALL the truths: “Benjamin’s secrets, Tserriednich’s crimes, and Halkenburg’s true birth.” 

Halkenburg has yet to wake up and he has not read the letter.

Melody hopes this information will be used wisely by the 9th Prince to benefit their cause.

Melody also counts on Kurapika, asking him to come up with a plan since they can’t escape the Black Whale as long as the Succession Contest continues. 

It seems Kurapika has received Woble’s letter, perhaps with hidden messages only Kurapika could see to ensure they all have a plan in the works.

This is quite a compelling move and development in relation to Kacho, one of the youngest of the 14 Kakin Princes.

How exactly did she come across all this information? Was she able to gather them before the Contest in preparation or was this always known to her considering court politics?

The first two of the three key intel are obvious but they could point to other directions.

Benjamin’s secrets could be

Tserriednich’s crimes are easier to see because the man has killed so many people for his art or his displeasure at their existence.

However, it is possible these crimes may include his initial or even still existing support for Morena Prudo’s Heil-l mafia family or any involvement with the Kurta Clan Massacre.

We might even speculate in his role in Sarasa’s death or any crimes in Meteor City, something we learned in Chapter 396 to be a grim reality for the locale.

There is a lot to ponder on but out of all the letters to the remaining nine princes, only Halkenburg is trusted with complete information, including his own birth.

This last part is intriguing because last chapter, we were speculating about who Beyond Netero’s Prince could be and it could be Halkenburg.

However, this might go against Kurapika’s deal with Longhi, who intends to kill the Prince.

Killing Halkenburg, the only prince with the conviction to save the other Princes, would make the Contest more difficult for Kurapika.

On the other side, Halkenburg’s origins could explain his proficiency for Nen.
All we have is speculation.

Editor’s Note: “Discover the key to ending the Succession Contest!!” 

Chapter 403 will be released on October 21, 2024.