Morel

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Morel Mackernasey 73
Alias(es)	Old Five (used by Bai Zhu) 98
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Hunter Association 77 98
Occupation/Role	One-Star Sea Hunter; maritime investigator and expedition leader 73 74
Status	Active 311
First Appearance	Chapter 73: An Unexpected Encounter

Appearance

Morel is a tall, broad-shouldered man with messy white hair, a weathered presence, and an oversized smoking pipe that he habitually carries on his shoulder or clenches between his teeth. His untidy clothing reinforces his rough, veteran-seafarer image. 73 74

• Messy white hair. 73 74
• Broad frame and imposing height. 73 74
• Usually carries a large pipe, his primary combat medium. 73 117
• Often wears worn, untidy clothes. 74

Personality

Morel is pragmatic, observant, and difficult to pressure. He prioritizes survival, evidence gathering, and preparation over reckless heroics; when an abandoned ferry’s danger could not be understood, he used remote reconnaissance, recovered a sample, and ordered an immediate return to port rather than gamble with the crew. 77

He is blunt and frequently irritated by Bai Zhu and Milluki’s arguing, but his actions show consistent responsibility toward allies and civilians. He protects ships with his smoke constructs, searches for missing teammates despite injury, rescues Shuto from the black market, and confronts Kakin’s royal family with evidence rather than violence. 87 118 260 311

Morel also has a strong professional pride. His initial plan for the Deep-Sea Pioneer becomes unacceptable to him after seeing Bai Zhu’s Sea Lord horn; he abandons the smaller project in favor of an eight-hundred-meter Titan-class vessel worthy of the material. 233 234

Abilities & Skills

Deep Purple / Purple Smoke

Morel creates and controls purple smoke constructs through his Nen. The smoke can be shaped into soldiers, barriers, restraints, transport, and ship-operating crews. 77 97 119

• Smoke Soldiers can scout remotely, retrieve hazardous material, use weapons, follow commands, and act with limited independence. 77
• Smoke Wall / Smoke Cage / Smoke Prison can defend vessels, restrain threats, establish quarantine zones, and seal contaminated areas. 87 291
• Smoke Rope captures or restrains targets; Morel uses it to apprehend Shuto and to bind the giant salamander. 257 120
• Transportation constructs include a sealed Purple Smoke submarine, a glider, boats, propellers, and an entire crew of smoke sailors for a warship. 97 119 120
• His smoke can be configured for deception, including replicas that concealed Ging, Milluki, and Gela Jiang’s covert departure. 253
• Maintaining large smoke defenses prevents him from entering Zetsu and can attract sea creatures drawn to Nen. 87
• Constructs can be disrupted by contamination or enemies capable of consuming Nen. 117 120

Pipe Medium

Morel’s pipe is an important medium for stabilizing and deploying his smoke, but it is not an absolute requirement for using Deep Purple. Any lit cigarette can serve as a substitute, though his modified pipe and underwater-burning tobacco provide a more reliable medium for sea operations. 117 251

• After his original pipe was swept into an underground waterway, Morel temporarily used a pipe taken from an imitation of himself. 117
• The counterfeit pipe could channel his Nen but delayed smoke formation and introduced black-and-gold contamination into his constructs. 117
• Recovering his real pipe restored the smoothness of his Nen flow. 120
• The recovered pipe later showed damage and required repair or treatment. 128

Maritime Operations and Investigation

Morel is an experienced Sea Hunter with strong judgment in abnormal maritime environments.

• Evaluates candidates on practical sea survival, not merely combat ability. 74
• Establishes cautious procedures for the Old Trench, including daylight travel, stopping in poor visibility, using Zetsu, and avoiding responses to Door Resonance. 98
• Uses remote scouting and sample collection before committing personnel to unknown threats. 77
• Can generate powerful wind by blowing into sails, supplementing his smoke-powered propulsion during an emergency escape. 89
• Conducts undercover investigations through disguises, counter-surveillance, false cover stories, negotiation, and technical knowledge of maritime equipment. 255 256

Tactical Leadership

Morel coordinates specialists without trying to dominate every role.

• Accepts Milluki’s technical warnings and reroutes Smoke Soldiers to avoid a possible trigger zone. 77
• Combines his smoke support with Bai Zhu’s attacks and Gela Jiang’s water control during the Lighthouse and underground-cavern incidents. 119 120
• Organizes quarantine, rescue, and containment operations during the Caspian Sea contamination crisis. 290 291
• Uses hidden smoke constructs, false evidence, and seventeen backup copies of incriminating data to negotiate against Princess Unma. 311

Equipment

• Oversized smoking pipe — primary medium for Deep Purple; modified for stable use during sea missions. 73 251
• Cigars and tobacco — used for smoke production, tracking, cover, and investigative work. 255 256
• Concealed cash reserves — distributed across his clothing before entering Kakin’s underground market. 255
• Deep-Sea Incubation Chamber modification list — damaged document purchased during his black-market investigation. 255 263

Relationships

• Bai Zhu — Initially evaluates him as a Hunter Exam candidate, then becomes his expedition leader, ally, and frequent target of Bai Zhu’s jokes. Morel relies on Bai Zhu’s combat power and healing, while Bai Zhu respects Morel’s caution and experience. 74 77 117 234
• Milluki Zoldyck — Technical collaborator whose reconnaissance and analysis Morel takes seriously. Morel also recognizes Milluki as indispensable for integrating conflicting underwater systems. 77 253
• Gela Jiang — Maritime companion and water-using ally. Morel repeatedly attempts to locate and rescue him after he is swept into the Lighthouse waterways. 116 118 120
• Ging Freecss — Fellow Hunter and investigator. They cooperate on the Caspian Sea crisis, divide assignments strategically, and work together on the Chimera Ruins investigation. 234 252 253
• Piyu — Investigative ally who coordinates records, surveillance, and political evidence with Morel during the Kakin operation. 252 263 311
• Shuto — A gifted young thief Morel rescues after the black market mutilates him. Morel recognizes his instinctive Nen potential and informally accepts him as an apprentice. 258 260 263
• Princess Unma — Political adversary. Morel confronts her with evidence of Kakin’s human experimentation and forces her into a high-stakes negotiation. 311

Story Role

Hunter Exam and Old Trench Investigation

Morel first appears while arguing with Captain Nishimatsu over whether unqualified Hunter Exam candidates should accompany his investigation of a maritime anomaly. He refuses to carry helpless candidates but permits Bai Zhu and Milluki to prove themselves through practical work. 73 74

He leads the investigation of an abandoned ferry whose passengers vanished without signs of combat. After identifying corrosive living slime and finding no explanation through sonar, Morel orders a retreat, choosing reassessment over unnecessary risk. 76 77

As the Old Trench crisis worsens, Morel directs the expedition’s safety rules, deploys smoke defenses against mutated sea life, and helps Bai Zhu create an escape route from the fish swarm. 80 87 98

Lighthouse and Underground Cavern

After the expedition is drawn into the Lighthouse region, Morel is separated from the others, loses his original pipe, and becomes contaminated while resisting increasingly realistic copies created by the Lighthouse beam. 116 117

Bai Zhu and Milluki eventually locate him within a Purple Smoke defensive barrier. Bai Zhu heals his contamination, allowing Morel’s Smoke Soldiers to stabilize, and the group uses Morel’s smoke submarine and glider to reach the underground cavern. 117 119

During the rescue of Gela Jiang, Bai Zhu recovers Morel’s original pipe from black-and-gold aquatic vegetation. With his Nen flow restored, Morel provides restraints, pathways, barriers, and containment support against the giant salamander. 120

Sea Lord Horn and Mobile-Nation Project

After the Old Trench events, Morel builds the Deep-Sea Pioneer, a hundred-meter exploration vessel. Bai Zhu’s gift of a complete Sea Lord horn convinces him that the ship is too small for the material’s potential. 233

Morel cancels the original project and purchases an approximately eight-hundred-meter Titan-class battleship. He envisions the vessel as a self-sustaining “steel continent” capable of exploring unknown waters and eventually reaching the Dark Continent. 234

He grants Bai Zhu a forty-percent stake in the project, formally establishing their alliance around maritime exploration and the sealed locations recorded in Zhang Ye’s diary. 234

Kakin Investigation and Shuto’s Mentorship

During the Caspian Sea and Kakin investigations, Morel conducts an undercover operation through Old City’s black market. He uncovers evidence that a Deep-Sea Incubation Chamber was designed to feed, isolate, and incinerate an unstable organism, then traces its route to the Royal Charity Hospital. 255 256

He encounters Shuto while investigating the market, recognizes the boy’s instinctive Nen and exceptional evasive talent, and later rescues him after his arm is severed. Morel chooses to mentor Shuto rather than abandon him. 258 260 263

Negotiation with Unma

Following the Chimera Ruins confrontation, Morel enters Princess Unma’s embassy alone to negotiate. He counters her attempt to blame Bai Zhu for Kakin’s losses by presenting evidence of royal human experimentation, contaminated-sample transport, and unauthorized blood collection. 311

With concealed Smoke Soldiers, a fake memory card, and seventeen backup copies held by Milluki, Morel forces Unma to recognize that attacking him would trigger an international political scandal. 311

Notable Quotes

“Return to port.” 77

“Don't die too fast. I've got your back.” 120

“You can have it attack. But once it does, negotiations are over.” 311