Is that a Solo Leveling Reference? Hunter x Hunter Chapter 410 Spoilers!!!

In the previous Hunter x Hunter chapter, after two chapters, Morena manages to bring Borksen, one of 4th Prince Tserriednich’s friends and bodyguards, over to her side, just in time for 1st Prince Benjamin’s declaration of special martial law all over the Black Whale.

But the game seems to have just begun.

Hunter x Hunter Chapter 410 is titled, “Negotiation, Part 4”

This chapter has 19 pages.

The Magic of the “Return Card”

Editor’s Note: Borksen chose “Yes”

The chapter begins where we left when Morena asks if Bork will not change her answer.

We now hear Borksen’s own mental voice, denying that she chose the “Yes” card, which means now she is watching her own body being manipulated to give a different response.

As theorized in the last chapter breakdown, Bork had likely cheated the game and the Negotiation game invoked a Nen restriction 

Do recall the rules of Negotiation, as outlined here:

https://www.animeexplained.com/explained/hunter-x-hunter-negotiation-card-game-explained/

Morena is glad with the outcome but has immediately noticed that Bork has cheated the game, which would double her disappointment after being humanized and treated as an equal to another person like Bork.

Morena theorizes that the cheating must have happened after the Deal Card was swapped.

During the shuffle and the 2 cards were checked, Bork marked the R card with some indents with her fingers.

Furthermore when Bork got the R card, she crumpled the card out of excitement and assurance of her victory.

Bork took the risk of cheating, believing that Morena would be too far from being able to see the trick.

We learn more details about the Negotiation aspect of Morena’s Hatsu, Contagion, being embedded into the R Card.

Since the game is part of her Nen ability, Contagion manipulates the player that cheats into making 

This indicates that Contagion also covers Manipulation, on top of its Specialization core.

Morena asks Bork if choosing the Yes Card means that she has fully committed to becoming her ally and Bork says “Yes, I will become your ally”.

It is funny that Bork does not deny cheating without actually able to answer Morena’s inquiry about it at all.

The other Heil-Ly members begin clapping.

Borksen suddenly kneels before Morena.

From here, Morena will explain the full meaning of the “Yes Card”.

Contagion is the Solo Leveling Player System

First, Morena begins to explain what Contagion is.

Essentially, Contagion is a gaming app, like something installed on a computer or mobile phone, except that it is installed into a person through lips to lips contact.

The program of Contagion might as well be as complex as Greed Island but without requiring the Nen output of a literal island of Nen users or the creation of constructs.

Instead, the program makes the infected person into a Player.

The Contagion app tracks the player’s levels, points, positions, and abilities, with Morena herself acting as the “operating system” to manage the gameplay and rules of the Contagion system.

Contagion cannot be stopped or deleted but it will continue until one of three things happens:

1. The goal of the game is achieved. In this case, the destruction of all human life.
2. The “operating system” (Morena) managing it is destroyed.
3. The “smartphone” (Heil-Ly members) running the “app” is broken.

The third condition is interesting. Does this mean that every Heil-Ly member must be killed to stop the spread of the app?

Morena informs Bork that the latter is not yet a Contagion player but instead a “Level 0” because Bork has yet to fulfill the 3 conditions, which were stipulated in the previous chapters.

Those three conditions are:

1. Both she (as the dealer) and the other person (as the player) must play the Negotiation card game, and the Yes Card must be the player’s last card. Because there is a  chance of losing with either the “No”, “Joker”, or “X” Cards, this condition is a Limitation as there is risk on both sides: the player might choose No and die and the dealer provides information about Contagion.
2. Morena must kiss the other person.
3. The other person must be present while Morena or one of her allies commits a murder.

As soon as Borksen witnesses a murder committed by the Heil-Ly, she will become a Level 1 player and from here, Morena explains the levelling system.

One ordinary civilian equals 1 level up, one Nen user equals 10 levels, and one Prince equals 50 levels.

At level 20, the player gains a Nen ability, which grows stronger after Level 21 and at level 100, the player can become Patient Zero and spread Contagion.

After learning everything about Contagion, it seems that every Patient Zero will be able to install the Contagion app into other smartphones but only Morena is the operating system as the original holder of the Hatsu.

This is basically the premise of Solo Leveling, a Korean manwha that happens to have people called Hunters and an arc involving mutated sentient ant-like humanoids.

Solo Leveling’s main protagonist Sung Jinwoo sacrificed himself to save his party inside the Double Dungeon, resulting in the System built by the Architect of the Dungeon as the Player.

The System would provide Jinwoo with various quests, such as slaying monsters or raiding dungeons, and operated like a video game, such that Jinwoo was able to have an infinite inventory in his person to hold magical items and a built-in shop interface that can convert said items into in-game currency, all accessible within Jinwoo’s own person.

Contagion is a simplified version of the System, with Morena acting like the Solo Leveling Architect to moderate but has the double role of Player in the same way that in the Negotiation game, which is part of the Contagion System, 

Contagion is effectively a more self-sustaining video game as there is no console requirement but in a way, it trades high Nen cost and a fixed physical location for a vulnerable operating system that is as easy to break as the other smartphones Contagion is installed in.

Borksen’s Choice

Morena looks down on the kneeling Bork with an intimidating face.

She looks like a dark shadowy figure, much like 4th Prince Tserriednich when he sneaks up to Theta in Chapter 385: “Warning”.

Morena informs Bork that she has free will to do as she pleases, whether to raise her own levels by killing people and stay or to go back to her friends.

However, now that she has chosen the Yes Card and fulfilled two of the three Contagion conditions, the Heil-Ly are free to betray her at any time or if she does prove to be a “useless ally” because their goal is simply to kill people.

Bork worryingly thinks to herself the following:

1. There is an unknown time limit as once another specialist is found, she will be deemed unnecessary.
2. As soon as Contagion fully infects her by fulfilling Condition 3, which is to witness Morena and the other Contagion players commit a murder, Borksen must immediately assume that everything that she sees and hears after that point will be known to Morena.
3. To counter the Heil-Ly, Borksen realizes that she must acquire power as a Nen power and that can only be possible within her time limit by killing people just like the other Contagion players.

This is the ultimate trap of Contagion over the free will of a human being.

Just like the real world, people will be forced to kill each other for the sake of power, which is gained for the sake of security.

Then, getting up from her kneeling position, Bork says that she will go back to where her allies are and Morena reminds her that they are all allies now.

As if submitting to the frightful Morena, Bork states that because she has a purpose, she asks for Morena’s guidance.

It would seem like to Morena, Bork’s goal is to gain power to secure herself.

In reality, Bork’s hidden purpose is to learn more about these allies before returning to her friends.

We are not done yet with the Morena and Bork storyline but Togashi has finally fulfilled the purpose Borksen serves in the narrative.

When she was introduced in Chapter 394: “Hypothesis”, she acted as the character who would counter Morena’s efforts.

This is where the “Negotiation” mini-arc ends.

Although Bork is now trapped as Morena’s subordinate in the Contagion video game, we will still see Bork in action and that will likely be when she gains a Nen ability after 20 kills.

Benjamin’s 12 Hour Martial Law Gambit

In Page 10, we switch perspectives back to Tier 3 and we cut to a spread of the Royal Army soldiers marching across Tier 3 of the Black Whale, making the passengers kneel to inspect their personal belongings.

Martial Law has been fully implemented now.

We will also be seeing three spreads related to the Martial Law plotline.

This is a very timely chapter because on December 5, 2024, South Korea’s President declared Martial Law but it only lasted six hours due to pressure from the Parliament and the protesters, with lawmakers even joining the effort and easily regaining power from the President.

Benjamin’s Special Martial Law will likely not use up the full 12 hours, so we have a nice coincidence to think about.

Can 1st Prince Benjamin’s Martial Law have a more lasting effect if his plans are to transpire?

One of the soldiers informs their Captain, who remarks that this is a “Case S”, an extraordinary case.

Here, they find a Heil-Ly hideout, noting that 3 soldiers had disappeared the moment they entered the room.

This room is connected to Room 125, with the wall of the toilet set up as a concealed door.

We then cut to Benjamin marching with a rifle in hand and looking particularly mad, not semi-comedic mad or annoyed mad but genuinely morbid fury.

The captain informs Benjamin of the situation, telling him of the possibility of other undiscovered hideouts.

Benjamin instructs them to prioritize finding 3rd Prince Zhang-Lei and 7th Prince Luzurus, while the lower Princes come after.

Benjamin tells the soldiers that their priority is to protect every Kakin Prince.

We learn that Zhang-Lei has left Tier 1 for Tier 2 using the Xi-Yu’s connecting bridge.

If you recall, the Xi-Yu are the gang that Zhang-Lei is the benefactor of.

The Royal Army will provide Benjamin a report on Zhang-Lei’s location in 15 minutes and Benjamin informs the soldiers that they should use the intelligence and patrol teams stationed on Tier 2.

Benjamin thinks about the symptoms of his condition.

As it turns out, he was struck by the TSK-17 virus (a subtle reference to the COVID-19 pandemic that struck the world in 2019).

This virus was first shown in Chapter 402: “Letter”, where Balsamilco had plans to use the bioweapon, which is loaded in a syringe box hidden in Balsamilco’s boot, on 9th Prince Halkenburg, who had been confined to the infirmary due to the usage of his Possession Arrow.

TSK-17 particles can only stay airborne for 30 seconds but contracting the virus results in a 100% guaranteed infection and date rate and TSK-17 multiples quickly, which could have caused a pandemic.

The pathogens inside the body then proliferate rapidly, and victims begin experiencing symptoms resembling stomach flu before eventually succumbing to multiple organ failure within 12 hours.

Benjamin remarks that from the onset of symptoms until the coma, he has 10 hours but after that, there are 2 hours until death.

Currently, the ill Benjamin can still keep moving for another 9 and a half hours.

This means 30 minutes have passed since the declaration of Martial Law.

Benjamin uses the Martial Law declaration, pretending in public that he is protecting the Princes, when in reality, he uses this as an opportunity to wipe them all out swiftly.

However, considering Benjamin’s condition, there is a much greater danger than Benjamin himself dying.

He is a walking time bomb holding one of the most dangerous viruses in all of Hunter x Hunter

He could infect anyone all across the first three tiers, meaning we will be seeing tons of potential casualties.

The Black Whale might not need to sink.

If Nasubi does intend to sacrifice every living person onboard for the Succession ritual, Benjamin is the path to realizing it before the Black Whale could reach the New Continent.

In the second Martial Law double-page spread, we learn of the loopholes of the Succession Contest.

Article 1 of Kakin’s emergency provisions is triggered in scenarios where the next monarchy faces the threat of collapse. 

This article grants exceptional powers to stabilize it immediately, which Benjamin plans to use position himself as the next king

However, since he is dying, he intends to pass this role on to someone else more precious to him than his own life.

Benjamin’s Big Secret.

We learn the identity of the baby in 1st Queen Unma’s room in Chapter 403: “Results”

It is Benjamin’s child.

In Kacho’s letter sent in Chapter 402: “Letter”, we learn of three items relating to three Princes: Benjamin’s secrets, Tserriednich’s crimes, and Halkenburg’s birth.

This is Benjamin’s secret.

All three items of the letter have been responded to (in some form):

In Chapter 403, we learn that 9th Prince Halkenburg is the youngest son of 1st Queen Unma.

We already know that 4th Prince Tserriednich has committed a lot of art-related crimes but since Chapter 408: “Negotiation, Part 2” showed that the Kakin Family is indeed as messed up as it would realistically be with the Kakin Carnival, then it means there is one more secret that could shatter the Royal Family itself, rather than crimes that normal people would care about.

Now in Chapter 410, we see Benjamin’s secret: his child hidden away for their safety in the midst of a cruel Succession Contest.

Previously, we have yet to know if the older Princes have had offspring but it is safe to say that Benjamin might be the only one that provided Nasubi with a grandchild, unless Camilla, Zhang-Lei, and even Tserriednich step forward.

With the clock ticking, Benjamin intends to use the Martial Law period to kill every other Prince and hand the crown over to his infant child so they can become King of Kakin in his stead.

This is a surprising move as in Chapter 363: “Nen Beast” , Benjamin promised to protect the Great Tree of Kakin (the royal line) from any impotent or unworthy contenders, which he sees his other siblings to be.

To hand power to an unready infant who would be controlled by a council of regents or his yet-to-be-seen wife and mother might create some instability in the migrating nation of Kakin.

What would Kakin, which is headed for the New Continent, look like with an infant King after the outcome of this hellish Succession Contest?

Benjamin here is shortsighted and is only thinking of his own line but at the same time it makes perfect sense, especially when he is on the verge of dying.

Benjamin’s child can inherit the throne without legal hurdles since the emergency provision will be invoked in case of Benjamin’s death.

However, he will need to kill all the Princes to fulfill this condition and ensure his child’s rule is uncontested.

Benjamin says that “only 4 Princes remain”.

What does this mean?

Is this in reference to the four princes that have already been killed: 8th Prince Sale-Sale, 9th Prince Halkenburg, 10th Prince Kacho, and 12th Prince Momoze.

Later, we get our third Martial Law spread as Benjamin meets with the two Zodiacs, Botobai, who works as the court judge of Tier 3’s Central Courthouse, and Mizaistom, who is the chief of police in the Black Whale.

Surrounded by his forces, Benjamin states that as Military Supreme Advisor and therefore head of national defense, he intends to declare a trial on the integration of the Three Powers of Kakin (the Royal Army, the Justice Bureau, and the Central Police Station).

The Royal Army clearly serves one of the Princes and the King himself to a certain extent.

The Police protect civilians but will likely obey any legitimate authority, including a Hunter like Mizaistom.

The Justice Bureau is neutral to all Kakin and Black Whale politics.

Benjamin declares his intention to take over the Unified Command Headquarters of the Political Ward as commander.

The Three Powers, represented by Mizaistom (Police), Botobai and Kaiser (Justice Bureau) face Benjamin, who requests that the three of them act as witnesses for the trial.

Mizaistom asks Benjamin for the basis of this declaration of Martial Law, as well as the King’s appointment letter that authorized Benjamin to make this move.

Keep in mind that under Martial Law, Benjamin, as head of the military, would still have to answer to the King himself, who is the actual commander-in-chief of the Kakin Royal Army.

Instead, Benjamin insists on his justification: he accuses Halkenburg and Tserreidnich of orchestrating a biological weapon terror attack.

Benjamin explains that many collaborators have brought a sample of the bioweapon onto the ship but his forces have rounded up suspects for questioning.

Some soldiers were left to secure the Princes’ security so to mitigate the low manpower, Benjamin intends to use the Special Martial Law declaration to speed up the process.

Mizaistom analyzes Benjamin’s real intentions and wonders if the 1st Prince has taken the other Princes in Tier 1 hostage to demand the Three Powers to join forces with the Royal Army.

Mizaistom assesses Benjamin as the type of ruler who would rather take the shortest approach.

Now without Balsamilco, who Benjamin likely escaped or eliminated some hours back, there is nothing to stop him from making any reckless moves.

Botobai notices Benjamin looking ill and asks about it but Benjamin remarks that there is no problem at all.

Kaiser wonders if the reason that Benjamin is desperate with this aggression move is due to the infection and notices the symptoms are similar to Halkenburg’s before he died.

This means that Benjamin might only have 24 hours left to live.

Half correct Kaiser. It’s actually 12 hours.

Kaiser concludes the chapter, hoping for one more day so that he can have an escape plan, indicating that Kaiser believes the Martial Law will only last a day.

Interesting. 

Perhaps it has something to do with the execution of his plan with Melody and Guardian Spirit Beast Kacho to eliminate Luzurus.

Why would Kaiser want to escape the boat ride he was assigned to, unless…

Narrator: “Special state of emergency declared, 40 minutes have passed.”

Editor’s note: “The next chapter will be published as soon as it is decided.”

Hunter x Hunter will be on hiatus starting December 9, 2024, with the release of the latest chapter.

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