Hunter x Hunter 403 Preview: The Attempted Prince Assassination  (2024)

Hunter x Hunter is one of the most popular mangas of all time, and for a very good reason. Despite the long breaks Togashi takes due to his worsening health condition, fans are always readily awaiting his return to continue the story. Last week, Togashi dropped the 402nd chapter, with HxH 403 releasing soon later this week.

The story of the Succession War happening on the Black Whale intensifies and more information will be revealed about the Kakin Princes, specifically, the possible son of Beyond Netero among them. A bunch of the Kakin princes are also being targeted, and the next prince to die might fall very soon.

Updated by Rei Penber on 17 Oct, 2024: While Togashi might start releasing HxH chapters irregularly, for now, HxH 403 is still expected to drop this Sunday. The princes of Kakin are starting to feel the heat and many of them are ready to take action to ensure their survival in this succession war.

Halkenburg Will Take Center Stage In Hunter X Hunter Chapter 403

• The Truth About Prince Halkenburg’s Birth Is Revealed
• The Assassination Plan By Balsamilco Might Is In Motion

Prince Halkenburg, the 9th Prince of the Kakin Empire, is quite an interesting character. Starting off as a pacifist, he is slowly losing himself as the Succession War continues. Prince Halkenburg has one of the most interesting abilities seen during this Succession War, Possession Arrow. This ability might come into play very soon.

In HxH 402, fans got to see Balsamilco Might, first Prince Benjamin’s right hand, scheming his plan to take down Halkenburg. He intends to do that by using a silent killer that will take Halkenburg down if he inhales it and leave no trace to be blamed on Benjamin. For this plan to succeed, Balsamilco will have to conduct this plan in a room with little air circulation.

In HxH 403, fans might witness Balsamilco in action as he tries to accomplish just that. However, his plans are likely to fail. In fact, it is theorized that Halkenburg could use his Nen ability, Possession Arrow, to possess the body of Balsamilco when the latter tries to assassinate him. That would be catastrophic for Prince Benjamin if it was true as Balsamilco is his closest man. It could be a major information leak for Benjamin that may even lead to his own demise, or at the very least, the death of his most trusted man, potentially sending the first Prince into a rage. Consequently, the events of the Succession War could quickly start escalating.

Furthermore, this isn’t the only plot line concerning Halkenburg that might be expanded on in Hunter X Hunter Chapter 403. Indeed, in chapter 402 of HxH, some interesting information was dropped in a letter to Halkenburg and Kurapika. There was a mention of the truth about Prince Halkenburg’s birth.

That is quite an interesting detail to be revealed now of all time, after what fans discovered in HxH 401. Longhi exposed her thoughts to Kurapika that she believes Beyond Netero has a son among the Kakin Princes. This reference concerning Halkenburg’s birth could hint at him being this child of Beyond. Halkenburg has always been one of the strongest contenders, but of course, he was, until now, outshined by the 4th Prince Tserriednich. With this information now, however, it makes fans raise their eyebrows more at the 9th Prince.

That said, Halkenburg being revealed as the son of Beyond Netero would be a simple answer to the truth about his birth, and other options are also on the table, as this could simply be a red herring from Togashi. So, fans still await the answer from Togashi. The truth about Halkenburg’s birth could instead have to do with his maternal lineage rather than his paternal one. Indeed, Halkenburg has a striking resemblance to the first Queen Unma, despite what fans know about his mother, the second Queen Duazui. While this may mean nothing, it certainly is an interesting observation. Fans will have to wait and see what Togashi is planning to do with Halkenburg.

The Plan to Assassinate Luzurus is Set In Motion In HxH Chapter 403

Luzurus’s Assassination Might End in Success

As seen in HxH 402, Melody and her group have set a plan in motion to assassinate Luzurus, the 7th Prince of Kakin. The reason for that is to save Fugetsu, who has been suffering from what appears to be a trap set by the enemy that will slowly kill her. If nothing is done, she will succumb soon. While the group aren’t fully certain Luzurus is responsible, it is their best bet and they would rather take out Luzurus than take risks with Fugetsu.

HxH chapter 403 might see these characters start their assassination attempt. The group will have to take Luzurus to the area with the lifeboat. This will require the ability of Fugetsu to allow other people to end and pass through it, something that the spirit beast that took the form of Kacho believes is definitely possible.

The group will definitely attempt to carry Luzurus onto a lifeboat and set him out to sea. This will cause his death, similar to how Kacho died when she tried to escape.

If they do manage to kill Luzurus, however, it’s possible that his death will not stop what’s happening to Fugetsu, and there’s a very good argument for that. Indeed, while Melody’s group believes Luzurus’s Nen beast is behind all of that has been happening to Fugetsu, there could be a case made that Luzurus’s Nen beast can’t do that even if it wanted to.

Nen beasts follow 2 rules:

• They can’t attack other Nen spirit beasts
• They can’t attack someone possessed by a Nen spirit beast.

That would mean that, unless setting a trap isn’t considered a direct attack, then Luzurus’s Nen beast can't possibly have hurt Fugetsu. If Luzurus is confirmed as not being the one behind the declining state of Fugetsu, that could mean quite some trouble for Melody and her group. They would have gone through the trouble of carrying out this assassination for no good reason, and on top of that, they will have to figure out who the real culprit behind all of this is, which could mean that they will have to, yet again, dispose of someone.

Hunter X Hunter Chapter 403 Release Date

Fans can’t wait for the next Hunter x Hunter chapter to be released as the story in the Succession Contest arc heats up. 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 403, is set to be October 20, 2024.

Hunter x Hunter (2011)

Seasons

4

Number of Episodes

148

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix , Crunchyroll , Hulu