Summary
Hunter X Hunteris experiencing a wonderful revival as it dives even deeper into the most complicated arc yet, that of the Succession Contest. This war between royal children has more characters than ever, a deeply complex story, and some of the most intriguing nen powers the series has ever seen.
Since the manga first entered the Succession War in 2012, seventy chapters have been released. That’s a lot of content stretched across more than a decade, and it can be easy to get a little lost with all the characters and scheming going on. We took a look back at everything that went on in the arc and gathered it all together in one digestible summary for anyone looking to get caught up.
Everything Leading Up To The Succession War
Hot off the heels of the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc, the Succession Contest arc diverges from the past few arcs and focuses on a ton of new characters and a returning one who was absent for a good while, Kurapika. He’s not the only character who is back, asMelody, Leorio, Hisoka, Chrollo, and several other Phantom Troupe membersalso make appearances.
Before the arc takes off, we see the aftermath of the Chimera Ant arc, one of the longest and deadliest stories thatseries creator Yoshihiro Togashihas told in Hunter X Hunter so far. Gon had summoned all the nen he will ever possess in life to the present, prematurely aging him into an adultwhile also making him unbelievably powerful.
However, the side effects were cataclysmic to Gon’s body, and after the war against the Chimera Ants ended, his body was gruesome to behold. He needed to be permanently kept sedated and on life support. The only real look we get of Gon at this time is when Killua holds his shriveled arm, which leads Killua toseek the help of his younger sister Alluka(and Nanika, the mysterious alternate personality that exists within her) to heal Gon.
After some complicated family conflicts, Killua and Alluka/Nanika get Gon back in tip-top shape. However, he has lost his ability to use nen. Gon finallyreunites with his father after years of being apart. A new chairman was elected in the Zodiac Hunter Cheadle Yorkshire, heralding a new era for Hunters.
How Does The Succession War Start?
Immediately following these events, the Zodiacs are gathered by Cheadle for a meeting when it is interrupted by Beans, the Hunter Association Chairman’s personal secretary. They proceed to show the groupa video of King Nasubi of the Kakin Empiremaking a public declaration to travel and stake a claim in the dangerous Dark Continent.
This land exists beyond the massive Lake Mobius, which contains all known lands and countries seen in the manga. Lake Mobius seems torest in the center of the Dark Continentand is protected by the volatile waters between them.
King Nasubi has another surprise to throw in the mix and brings out Beyond Netero,the son of the late Isaac Netero, the former Hunter Association Chairman. Eventually, the pair show off the vessel that will take them across the dangerous lands, the Black Whale, a ship capable of holding 200,000 passengers and where the Succession War begins.
What Is The Succession War?
As a secondary objective, King Nasubi is using the two-month-long trip as a cover for his deathmatch to determine the next ruler of Kakin. The King is pitting allfourteen of his legitimate children against each other, including the infant Woble, in a battle to the death by secretly giving them nen abilities thanks to a relic called the Seed Urn. This ritual gives each child a Guardian Spirit Beast based on that person’s personality and nature.The children are all called princes, no matter their gender, and their numerical ranking is only based on birth order, though some of the older children have clear advantages over the younger ones.
During this time, bothKurapika and Leorio join the Zodiac Huntersafter Ging and Pariston vacate their roles, giving them a place on the Black Whale. All the princes work to gather personal bodyguards for the trip, using spies and other underhanded tactics to plant agents in other princes' parties.
1st Prince
2nd Prince
3rd Prince
4th Prince
5th Prince
6th Prince
7th Prince
8th Prince
9th Prince
10th Prince
11th Prince
12th Prince
13th Prince
14th Prince
Queen Oito
Alive
Kurapika becomes a bodyguard for Prince Woble, and while he is initially disappointed with the assignment, he hopes to use the Queen Mother’s influence to get close to Tserriednich, who has a collection of Scarlet Eyes. So far,the Black Whale is only about two weeks into its journey,and three princes have already been killed, along with dozens of guards and other passengers on the boat. There does seem to be some type of alternative motive behind the King’s actions, however, as a short scene shows the King in the center of a circle of coffins, with Prince Marayam entombed in one of the coffins with what seems like a ritualistic pattern on the floor.
One of the major plot points in the arc revolves around Kurapika revealing to the princes and their associates that nen powers exist. Previously,nen was a closely guarded secret, one known about by Hunters and other powerful individuals but almost entirely unknown to the general public. Kurapika does this to help balance the playing field a bit and secure both his and Prince Woble’s safety by acting as a teacher for those who just learned about the ability. So far, it has worked in Kurapika’s favor since the process of learning even the most basic nen abilities takes ages to learn to even the fastest learner, all but guaranteeing their safety for the foreseeable future.
What Else Is Happening Behind The Scenes?
Remember how the Phantom Troupe snuck on board? Well, initially, they were seeking their fortunes by relieving some of the blue-blooded passengers of their valuables, but as they learned thatthe constant villain Hisoka was on the Black Whale as well, they shifted their goal to disposing of the trickster once and for all. There is much potential for an eventual confrontation with Kurapika as well, since he killed two Phantom Troupe members in the Yorknew Arc and the Troupe likely still harbors resentment to Kurapika for it. Not to mention, the last Kurapika saw Chrollo, he had entirely lost access to his nen, and since restoring it and becoming even stronger, there’s no telling how the young Hunter would react.
While much of the attention of the arc has been on Kurapika and the Princes, there is another faction that is working behind the scenes, sometimes very literally. Three major Kakin Mafia families are onboard the Black Whale, all hoping to carve out a section of the Dark Continent for themselves. You see,the Kakin Mafia is comprised of illegitimate children of King Nasubi, who are disfigured with facial scars at birth to forever brand them as unable to ascend the throne. The three Kakin Mafia families are:
Each of the Mafia families has backing from a different prince, though the Hei-Ly seemsto have gone rogue and started killing civilians and other Mafia membersin an effort toboost their own nen-based abilities, which grow with the more people they kill. The other two Mafia families have teamed up with the Phantom Troupe members to hunt down the rogue Mafia in exchange for their help in tracking down Hisoka.
The Succession War is 70 chapters deep so far and is nowhere near wrapping up, given the number of plots floating around and Princes still alive. With Togashi committing tofinishing 50 chapters in 2025, that will put the Succession War at 120 chapters, close to the longest arc in the series so far, with the Chimera Ant Arc sitting at 132 chapters total. There’s plenty of political intrigue, new nen techniques, and battles to look forward to as the Succession War ramps up.
