Chapter Summaries

Oboro traveled toward East Gorteau while discussing Chairman Netero’s expected death and the Hunter Association’s succession with Biscuit. Near the royal capital, he watched Meruem’s rise and considered whether to save Komugi, whose talent made him want to take her as a disciple despite the danger and his interest in Meruem’s soul.

• Oboro told Biscuit that Netero might die fighting Meruem and asked her to support his succession; Biscuit refused to commit and warned him not to harm the Chairman.
• Oboro traveled with Anthony and Fante through East Gorteau, where he harvested the souls of Chimera Ants they encountered and considered turning the territory and NGL into lands controlled by the Fills Family.
• Oboro and his companions stopped outside the royal capital, where he explained that Meruem was studying humans by challenging the country’s top board-game players.
• Oboro reflected on Komugi’s extraordinary Nen talent and imagined how he could develop her abilities if he took her as his disciple.
• Oboro weighed rescuing Komugi and Meruem, reasoning that saving Komugi would require preserving Meruem and reconstructing her body, while Meruem’s soul remained a prize he coveted.

Oboro prepared to enter the battle at the royal palace while keeping his presence hidden from Meruem. After Netero and Zeno Zoldyck led Meruem away, Oboro unleashed his ghosts across the palace, plunging the area into absolute darkness.

• Oboro decided against reincarnating Komugi as his disciple because the process would take too long and she might not agree to follow him.
• Oboro, Anthony, and Fante watched Shaiapouf gather hypnotized humans and discussed the Royal Guards' strength and Netero's slim chances against Meruem.
• Oboro called Menchi and the others back, then entered the royal capital with Anthony and Fante as Netero's team and Zeno Zoldyck arrived on a golden dragon.
• Netero and Zeno led Meruem away from the palace toward a battlefield, while Oboro remained behind to deal with the ants and soldiers there.
• Oboro concealed his identity by releasing a mass of ghostly souls, which spread through the palace and plunged it into absolute darkness.

Oboro used his Ghost Mist to intervene in the palace battle and attack Shaiapouf. After severing Shaiapouf’s wings and pulverizing his body, Oboro left the scattered ant to the ghosts and turned back toward the palace.

• Oboro spread the Ghost Mist across the palace, restricting the fighters’ vision and En.
• Morel recognized Oboro when he appeared beside him, then Oboro vanished before Morel could question him.
• Shaiapouf tried to escape the mist by flying upward, but a ghost attacked him and contaminated him with negative energy.
• Oboro cut off Shaiapouf’s wings and pulverized his body as he fell.
• Shaiapouf split into fluorescent particles, and Oboro left him to the ghosts before heading toward the palace.

Oboro arrived at the palace and used Ghost Mist and Cursed Grudge to subdue Youpi, revealing Neferpitou’s spirit to him. He took Youpi away, while Gon went to find Komugi and the Hunters were left to verify the threat’s end.

• Killua recognized Oboro’s black mist and told Gon, Knuckle Bine, and Shoot to scatter as Youpi attacked them in the darkness.
• Youpi nearly seized the injured Shoot, but Oboro cut off the ant’s newly grown arm and dispersed the mist.
• Oboro told the group he had come for personal reasons and that Youpi and another ant were useful to him, then trapped Youpi in Ghost Mist.
• Oboro overwhelmed Youpi with ghostly entities and showed him Neferpitou’s spirit, leaving Youpi’s consciousness defeated.
• Oboro enveloped Youpi in Cursed Grudge and led him away, telling Knuckle Bine that the other Chimera Ant soldiers were already dead.
• Oboro sent Gon to find Komugi, and Gon left with Killua while Knuckle Bine and Shoot did not stop Oboro.

Oboro brought Youpi and Shaiapouf to observe Netero’s battle with Meruem, while the Hunters learned that Oboro had killed nearly every other Chimera Ant. Netero unleashed Zero Hand, and Oboro retreated with the controlled Royal Guards as the Poor Man’s Rose exploded, leaving Netero dead.

• Oboro subdued Shaiapouf with Ghost Mist and flew away with him and Youpi toward Netero and Meruem’s battlefield.
• Morel, Knov, Knuckle Bine, Shoot, Palm, and Biscuit gathered at the palace and learned that Oboro had slaughtered nearly all the Chimera Ants.
• Oboro used a ghost to watch Netero and Meruem fight, judging that Netero would eventually lose unless he used Zero Hand.
• Meruem broke through Netero’s defense, severed one of his legs, and offered to spare him if he surrendered.
• Netero rejected Meruem’s offer and unleashed Zero Hand, while the ghost carrying Oboro’s awareness was destroyed by the attack’s aftershock.
• Oboro fled with Youpi and Shaiapouf as the Poor Man’s Rose detonated, and he realized Netero was dead.

Oboro helped revive Meruem after Netero’s sacrifice, then hid while recovering Netero’s soul and unleashing Thresh. Meruem returned to the palace, where Gon transformed into an adult form and challenged him, leading Meruem to agree to follow Gon and fight elsewhere.

• Oboro released Youpi and Shaiapouf, who flew to the battlefield and revived Meruem by feeding him their life essence.
• Meruem sensed Oboro’s scattered souls but chose to return to the palace, while Oboro recovered Netero’s soul and triggered an uncontrolled eruption of Ghost Mist that formed Thresh.
• At the palace, Killua knocked Komugi unconscious and carried her away, but Shaiapouf attacked and Gon stayed behind to confront him.
• Shaiapouf falsely claimed that Netero and Oboro had died, and Gon set out to find Meruem with a fierce, ominous aura.
• Meruem arrived above the palace, ignored the fleeing extermination team, and faced Gon after Gon transformed into an adult form.
• Meruem remembered Komugi upon seeing the Gungi board, then agreed to follow Gon and fight away from the palace.

Gon fought the Chimera Ant King with power drawn from his life, while Biscuit and Morel followed but could not intervene. After the battle ended without a victor, Gon rejected the King’s mercy and prepared to attack again, leaving the King to warn that he would kill Gon if forced to.

• Gon and the Chimera Ant King left the palace to fight, and Biscuit and Morel pursued them while Biscuit ordered the others to evacuate and seek reinforcements.
• Fante found Shaiapouf and Youpi dying from the poison and radiation they had absorbed, then guarded their bodies as Knuckle and the others arrived.
• Gon and the Chimera Ant King fought across a vast area, and Biscuit and Morel realized Gon was spending his life to try to kill the King.
• Biscuit and Morel reached the battlefield and found Gon severely atrophied while the Chimera Ant King remained standing with injuries; the King declared the fight over and offered to let them take Gon away.
• Gon rejected the King’s pity and attacked again, knocking Biscuit away when she tried to stop him.
• The Chimera Ant King turned to face Gon and said that he would kill him if Gon insisted on continuing the fight.

Oboro intervened when Gon’s fight with Meruem threatened to destroy Gon’s soul, suppressing Gon’s obsession long enough for Biscuit and Morel to take him away. He then confronted the dying Meruem, who begged to return to Komugi, and Oboro teleported back to the palace.

• Oboro appeared behind Gon and used Ghost Mist and the souls of the dead to suppress Gon’s obsession and preserve a remnant of his consciousness.
• Gon howled, collapsed unconscious, and was carried away by Biscuit and Morel at Oboro’s instruction.
• Oboro told Meruem that poison was killing him and that he could stall him until it took effect.
• Meruem offered Oboro his soul and knelt, but Oboro said Komugi mattered more to him and told him to return to the palace to see her.
• Oboro teleported away, leaving Meruem hopeful at the prospect of seeing Komugi.

Oboro watched Meruem and Komugi spend their final hours together, then collected Meruem’s soul after the King died. He left Fante and Anthony to bury the pair before V5 arrived, rejecting the idea of handing over Meruem’s body and declaring he would no longer accommodate them.

• Oboro called Killua back and let Komugi play Gungi with Meruem while the King’s poison brought him close to death.
• Anthony asked whether Gon would survive, and Oboro assured him that he would.
• Oboro learned that V5 planned to take the Chimera Ant corpses for research and considered the remaining conflicts with the Association, Kakin, and Beyond.
• Meruem died in Komugi’s arms, and Oboro absorbed his soul while leaving Komugi’s soul untouched.
• Oboro ordered Fante and Anthony to bury Meruem and Komugi together before V5 arrived, saying he was not Netero.

V5 confronted the Hunters after Oboro cremated the Chimera Ant King's body, while Oboro remained away absorbing the King's soul. At the Association, Netero's recording appointed Ging Freecss as successor, and Ging took office as Chairman before Oboro could return; Pariston resigned as Vice Chairman and walked out.

• V5's representative demanded the Chimera Ant King's remains, but Anthony said Oboro had ordered the body cremated and refused to accept V5's authority over the Hunters.
• Yorkshire received V5's ultimatum, while Pariston accused Oboro of outmaneuvering him and urged the Zodiacs to select a new Chairman.
• Ging and Beans presented Netero's recording, in which Netero appointed Ging as his successor.
• Ging declared himself Chairman, outlined his interim leadership terms, and ordered the Association to announce his appointment immediately.
• Pariston resigned as Vice Chairman and left after Ging warned him that Oboro had become exceptionally dangerous.

Oboro returned to the royal palace after absorbing Meruem’s soul and learned that Ging Freecss had become Chairman through Netero’s final appointment. He rejected attempts to challenge Ging or kill him, then killed the V5 team with overwhelming mental pressure as his status reclassified him as an unrestricted Dark Continent A-Class lifeform and consciousness entity.

• Oboro returned to the royal palace and used Soul Pressure to force the V5 official’s soul from his body, killing him.
• Fante told Oboro that Netero had legally appointed Ging Freecss as Chairman before his death, and Anthony explained that Association members wanted Oboro to take the position instead.
• Oboro said Ging had likely prepared a trap and refused Anthony’s suggestion to kill him, then led Fante and Anthony away without explaining his plan.
• When the V5 team confronted him over the official’s death, Oboro threatened the V5 leadership and released a mental wave that killed nearly a hundred personnel, leaving only the assistant alive.
• Oboro checked his status panel and saw that his classification had changed to an unrestricted Dark Continent A-Class lifeform and consciousness entity, which he attributed to absorbing Meruem’s soul.

V5 leaders discussed eliminating the Fills Family and feared Oboro’s soul-controlling power, but Oboro entered their headquarters and took control of its leadership and staff. He left his allies a one-week opening to exploit while turning his attention to the upheaval in the Kakin Empire.

• V5 leaders reviewed evidence of Oboro’s ghostly form and debated purging spies before moving against the Fills Family.
• The leaders considered Ging Freecss’s warning that Oboro could control souls and had become more dangerous than the Chimera Ant King, but they finalized plans to target the Fills Family.
• A live broadcast showed Nasubi Hui Guo Rou and Beyond addressing Kakin citizens about the Dark Continent, startling the V5 leaders.
• Oboro appeared inside V5 headquarters, aged one leader to death with his soul ability, and possessed the remaining leaders.
• Oboro spread possession through V5 headquarters, then told Fills Family insiders to exploit the week before the five powers reacted.
• Oboro teleported away, intending to settle old scores in the Kakin Empire.

Ging tried to persuade Pariston to leave the Kakin Empire, but Pariston chose to stay and disrupt Oboro’s plans. During Kakin’s worldwide broadcast announcing its expedition to the Dark Continent, Oboro appeared, challenged the royal family and Beyond, and swiftly subdued Beyond.

• Ging confronted Pariston in the palace and asked him to return with him, but Pariston refused to flee his expected death.
• Pariston admitted he had kept Beyond unaware of Oboro’s danger and intended to make the people on the broadcast stage hate him.
• As Nasubi Hui Guo Rou announced Kakin’s plan to travel to the Dark Continent, Oboro interrupted the worldwide broadcast and declared the expedition unauthorized.
• Oboro challenged Kakin to defeat him before attempting to conquer the Dark Continent, while the royal family cut the broadcast signal.
• Beyond confronted Oboro, but Oboro forced him to kneel, rendered him powerless, and smashed him through the ground.

Oboro attacked Nasubi Hui Guo Rou at Kakin’s public event, killing Beyond’s team and the king’s private soldiers through soul deterioration. He overcame Hui Guo Rou’s guardian Nen beast and left the king helpless, with black mist pouring into his body.

• Oboro crushed Beyond beneath shattered earth, then caused Beyond’s team and Kakin’s private soldiers to suffer fatal soul deterioration.
• Will realized his soul was sick before collapsing, while Oboro confronted Nasubi Hui Guo Rou.
• Hui Guo Rou’s tree-shaped Nen beast blocked Oboro’s attacks and protected the king from harm.
• Oboro’s Ghost Mist broke through the Nen beast’s defense, withered and burned it, and weakened Hui Guo Rou.
• Oboro lifted Hui Guo Rou by the throat, mocked the power of his ancestors, and poured black mist into his body.

Oboro slaughtered the fleeing Kakin royals, used Nasubi Hui Guo Rou as a puppet for the Fills Family, and confronted Beyond. After stripping Beyond of Nen, Oboro killed him and revealed that Netero was waiting for him in hell.

• Oboro killed the fleeing Kakin princes, princess consorts, and soldiers, leaving Nasubi Hui Guo Rou alive.
• Nasubi Hui Guo Rou awakened and bowed to Oboro, who planned to use his body to help the Fills Family control Kakin.
• Beyond crawled out of the rubble and discussed Oboro’s soul-manipulating power with him.
• Beyond asked Oboro to let him join his plans, but Oboro rejected him and suppressed his soul until he could no longer use Nen.
• Beyond tried to attack Oboro, but Oboro swiftly severed his head and told him that Netero was waiting for him in hell.

Oboro killed Beyond and Pariston, took control of Kakin and V5, and became chairman of the Hunter Association. As he prepared to leave for the Dark Continent, he forced V5’s leaders to accept the Fills Family as an equal and the Hunter Association as an independent power.

• Oboro sensed Pariston and Ging at the palace, then killed Pariston before he could speak while sparing Ging to preserve balance among Hunters.
• Oboro told Ging that the Hunter Association would be eclipsed by a new organization, and Ging later stepped down as chairman as Oboro was elected in his place.
• Kakin halted its Dark Continent expedition and revealed past expedition records, while its cooperation agreement with the Fills Group signaled Oboro’s influence over the kingdom.
• V5’s leaders lost control amid resignations and political unrest, then came to Oboro seeking an agreement with the Fills Family.
• Oboro demanded that the Fills Family be treated as one of V5 and declared the Hunter Association an independent force that answered only to its chairman.

Oboro consolidated the Fills Family’s influence, prepared for a staged expedition to the Dark Continent, and agreed with Hisoka to meet there if Hisoka could prove himself. Oboro remained in the human world for now, while Hisoka left determined to pursue him.

• V5 recognized the Hunter Association as an official department, while the Fills Family joined the new V6 and led the creation of the World Trade Organization under Oboro’s control.
• Gon recovered and returned to Whale Island, while Kurapika failed to avenge himself on Tserriednich but received the collected Scarlet Eyes from David.
• Yorkshire confronted Oboro about leaving the Association’s work to the Zodiacs, and the Zodiacs arranged for Yorkshire to replace Oboro as Chairman if Oboro died or failed to return.
• Hisoka visited Oboro and asked to settle their promised death match, but Oboro told him to find him on the Dark Continent after gaining enough strength.
• Hisoka left a card for Oboro and departed determined to reach the Dark Continent, while Oboro doubted Hisoka would survive the journey.

As Oboro prepared to leave for the Dark Continent, Gon and Ging visited him atop the World Tree. Oboro explained that Gon might regain his Nen through a dangerous recovery process, leaving the choice to Gon as Ging took him away.

• Oboro stood atop the World Tree before his departure and welcomed Ging and Gon, who had arrived on a magical beast.
• Gon told Oboro that he had accepted returning to an ordinary life, then delivered a lunchbox made by Mito and thanked Oboro for saving him.
• Oboro explained that Gon could try to rebuild his strength through breath control, but his fragile body made the process potentially fatal and his former potential might be gone.
• Oboro told Gon that the decision was his and noted that the Dark Continent might hold something capable of restoring him.
• Ging took Gon away on the magical beast, and Oboro watched them disappear into the distance.

Oboro led a twenty-three-person expedition into the unknown waters near the Dark Continent, where the crew discovered a vast sea of energy liquid. Their ship became trapped by the strange waters and currents, forcing them onward despite signs that a calamity had already begun.

• Oboro departed with Menchi, his other teammates, and seventeen V5-selected passengers aboard a technologically advanced ship.
• After several months at sea, the ship entered the unexplored waters, and Oboro ordered everyone to remain on high alert.
• The crew spotted pitch-black water, and a scientist discovered that it was an energy liquid similar to petroleum.
• Oboro ordered the crew into combat readiness when he realized the discovery meant danger was nearby, but the energy liquid slowed the ship and threatened to cut its power.
• After a day and night of trying to retreat, the crew found itself unable to escape the Black Sea as the currents changed, leaving onward travel as their only option.

Oboro’s group was trapped in the black sea until he killed a colossal octopus that attacked their ship. After rescuing his teammates, Oboro sensed that the Dark Continent was making him stronger and urged the survivors to try conquering it.

• Oboro let the seventeen expedition members leave, but a sea creature destroyed their aircraft and killed them soon after takeoff.
• Oboro ordered the ship’s lights on and revealed a gigantic octopus rising from the sea, which had produced the energy substance and controlled the water.
• When the octopus attacked, Oboro struck its soul and killed it, though its falling tentacle shattered the ship.
• Oboro found and brought Menchi, Anthony, Rita, Fante, Gabe Vich, and the others onto the octopus’s corpse, where they rested and checked their equipment.
• Gabe Vich collected and documented the energy substance, while Oboro noticed his status panel had changed and felt himself growing stronger.