r/HunterXHunter

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What does it formally mean to be part of the Phantom Troupe?

• having the spider tattoo and an assigned number
• being acknowledged by Chrollo as a member (vague)

But if we follow this way of defining membership, Kurapika has no reliable way to verify any of these criteria. For his condition to work, there would need to be some kind of omniscient mechanism checking who qualifies as a Troupe member — something that simply doesn’t exist in HxH.

So if Nen conditions really depend on personal beliefs and perception, then from Kurapika’s perspective, the Spiders would be the people he personally considers responsible for, or at least deeply involved in, the Kurta massacre.
His goal to eliminate the Phantom Troupe originates from his hatred towards them and sense of revenge, by associating the Spiders with those who killed the Kurtas. He doesn't hate them because they commit evil and criminal actions, in general (he's not a punisher).
So his definition of Spiders is based on this fact.

Back in Yorkshin, he saw the tattoo on Uvogin's back and he had no reason to think he wasn’t involved, so the condition works.

So all the members, part of the original formation are in his eyes responsable and therefore fit with his definition of Spiders. Even Suzuku, since Kurapika has no reason to believe otherwise.

But with Illumi and especially Kalluto, he would be certain they had nothing to do with the massacre, so it wouldn’t make sense for him to treat them as Spiders under his own definition.

One could argue that his definition of Spiders might evolve over time, eventually expanding to include anyone who is deeply involved with the brigate in general. But again, he has no way to verify that. And since Nen conditions are bound to the moment they’re imposed, this expanded definition wouldn’t apply anyway.

EDIT: by chains I refer to Chain Jail, thanks to the person who corrected me in the comments. I deleted the part about Pakunoda because it didn't make sense - I apologize for the mistake.

in the election arc Hisoka was grading nen users but how, I heard people say it's their Ren but they weren't using Ren, Hisoka kinda did jt in Greed Island but bcoz Killua and Gon showed their Ren, in the election arc it's safe to assume no one is using Ren

Meruem also did it against Netero but ofc Netero is using Ren

so it's just Ten right? like there's no fluctuation in their Ten = Nen mastery

Against pitou, Gon Freecss temporarily gained terrifying strength by sacrificing essentially all of his future potential and body development. That power was considered something he could have reached eventually, but only after many years. Can he access power beyond meruem if the opponent was meruem instead of pitou.

Here’s my theory…
Gon is basically a clone of Ging.
I say this because of how he parallels his dad in every single way. Passing the hunter exam, his nen potential, his natural ability. Ging came back with baby Gon in arm with no mother. I would like to think that Ging is powerful enough to not leave the mom behind if they were ever in a pickle. Ging mentions his mother in the message he left behind, but Gon cuts it off. So I truly think Ging discovered something on his adventures that allowed him to make a direct copy of himself, that being baby Gon. Thoughts?

I love stories where we explore uncharted areas. I can't get enough of them. So far only Toriko, Made in Abyss and Hell's Paradise have been able to satisfy my interest. There's no way in hell we are actually getting any meaningful time on the actual dark continent. Authors almost always have a huge issue with having supernatural foe being the final villain. They always make humanity is the biggest danger storylines after rushing the supernatural enemies. It's gonna be Gyro, let's be real.

I know this will never happen but I wish Jump or Togashi allowed multiple mangaka he trusts to take over and explore different regions of the dark continent just so we could get more content. Hell, it could be about the past expeditions. We have seen a shorter form of this happening with Tokyo Ghoul mangaka creating the Hisoka origins manga.

I understand the reason DC and Marvel are intimidating to new readers is because a ton of people are writing a lot of stuff and manga industry is doing way better but this is just a fantasy of mine so I could simply get more stuff to read in a genre or trope I love.

Does it mean anybody can simply join it? Maybe the origins of it didn’t start with children. Maybe it started with the leaders of different clans of the region.

I was wondering since pitou has that healing nen, could she have healed radiation poisoning?

Another thread talking about how Shizuku sucked up Pike's blood got me thinking, she was only able to do that because she believed blood wasn't a living thing. Similarily, Kurapika's Chain Jail theoretically performs the same way. As long as he truly believes someone is a Spider, his ability should work without killing him.

But that raises an interesting question. Since Nen restrictions are all based on personal interpretation, not reality, doesn't that give stupid people an advantage?

For instance, what if someone believed in something that clearly wasn't true, but it gave them an insane powerup simply because they believed it was?

Like, say there was a Nen savant who happened to have the mind of a child, and believed that everything was a plaything of some sort. People are plushies, guns and nukes are plastic toys, total childlike view of the world. It's not that they don't believe they can't get hurt, they just believe that they would only get hurt from these things as much as you or I believe we would get hurt from plushies or plastic toys.

In more technical Nen mechanics, this would either apply an area-wide Zetsu effect on everyone else, or greatly increase their Ren, making either everyone around them powerless, or making themselves indestructible.

Now, maybe this exact scenario doesn't hold up under scrutiny (I just thought of it on the fly) but would this general idea technically be a possibility?

I haven't read the manga in a while—has Gon figured out what he wants to do next after returning to Whale Island?

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This is going to be a detailed analysis of the variables surrounding how and why the Kurta massacre was reported.

The main focus will be to answer the question: "who was the female traveler?" And what we can garner from that.

This post will be long, and explore various possibilities to be as unbiased as possible. There will be a tldr at the end. Feel free to disagree with any of my reasoning, and please let me know if and why you do.

~~~~~

According to the news report, the massacre was discovered by a female traveler.

Many fans believe this traveler must be Sheila. After all, she was seen to be traveling through the same forest, and provided with a shelter which couldn't have been too far from the village.

But it's nearly impossible for Sheila to have reported the crime... To understand why we have to consider the timeline of events first.

At the beginning of Vol 0, Kurapika states he met Sheila 1 year ago. That means 1 year before he asks the elder to let him take the exam and leave the village.

Note: this monologue started at the beginning of the chapter when Kurapika argues with the elder.

So let's look at the total amount of time Sheila would have to be lost in the forest before finding the crime scene:

>X amount of time traveling before meeting Pairo and Kurapika + 1 year + a few weeks during Kurapika's test (estimating) + the 6 weeks Kurapika was out of the village.

This should total to at least 14 months spent ("lost") in the Kurta's forest. And this is assuming Sheila was innocently traveling through to begin with.

Personally I find this unbelievable.

Even if we assume she spent almost the entire year being tended to by Pairo and Kurapika (which in itself is extremely suspicious), it's wild to think she would be wandering around the forest, in what couldn't have been too far from the village, for several weeks afterwards with no significant reason.

And if she was being true about her nature, it becomes even more unlikely. With how she was prone to injury, it's more likely after leaving her shelter she would die of an accident.

This is too hard to believe, so I will eliminate the explanation that Sheila stayed in the forest.

That means we have only 2 ways Sheila can be the traveler:

1.) The perpetrators of the massacre told Sheila what they did. She traveled back to the area and reported to the nearest authorities.

2.) Sheila was directly involved with the massacre.

The next detail we need to examine is why the female traveler would report the incident.

1.) This is what anyone would do if they discovered a crime scene. (The traveler is a random character, or Sheila was informed by the culprits.)

2.) The traveler knows the village is hidden and the crime scene will never be discovered. But she wants the world to know this crime occurred, so she reports it to the authorities. (The female traveler was a member of Phantom Troupe.)

Now realistically, what is the likelihood the female traveler is a random character, by chance discovering the village after the massacre? (Too unlikely imo so we can rule this out.)

So lets combine the remaining variables and see the options:

1. Sheila was innocent and reported the crime because that was the moral thing to do, after the perpetrators informed her.

2. A troupe member posed as a traveler to report the crime and sow fear of Meteor City. Potential targets (flesh collectors) then know, based on the description of the crime, scarlet eyes were collected and would be circulating on the black market.

3. Sheila was a member of (or helping out) the Phantom troupe and was directly involved in the crime, same motive as option #2.

The next variable we need to hone in: was Sheila working with the Phantom Troupe.

Well, in their early plans we see her walking away looking rather sad.

Walking away while Chrollo, Uvo, and Shal discuss their strategy to bait criminals.

And 3 years later, when the friends reunite as the birth of the spider, Sheila is nowhere to be seen.

Tbf, Phinks is not here either. BUT he was at least shown to vote Chrollo as leader whereas Sheila had already left.

To me, this suggests Sheila did not become a leg of the spider. So I will eliminate option #3.

Now what is interesting, after eliminating all unlikely variables there seems to be only one thing of certainty: Sheila had to be innocent...or did she?

Let's try to make it work: "evil Sheila." "Sheila is Pariston" or similar theories which suggest she played a part in orchestrating the massacre without doing any of the actual murder.

Based on what we know about Pariston, the Kurta massacre does not seem like a worthwhile investment for him.

Remember, Ging compared Pariston to a "crying baby." Pariston needs drama and attention - and preferrably the negative kind because that makes things more interesting for him.

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So having his wounds tended and talking to kids who barely understand his language for weeks or months....it doesn't align with Pariston's needs.

But Sheila doesn't have to be Pariston to be evil. Maybe she was playing 4D chess, orchestrating the massacre for some other reason. Maybe she really hated the Kurta and wanted them dead.

For this to work, we have to make a lot of assumptions about Sheila and the Kurta. And with what we do know about her, I don't see anything suggesting she wanted to bring misfortune to anyone. If anything, she seems quite optimistic and hopeful for humanity, based on her passion for the book Dino Hunter.

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That said, if you really want evil Sheila to work, you can always make a case all of this was a ruse.

I have a never say never philosphy. And ultimately Togashi will make it happen if he wants. But based on what we know as of now, I think evil mastermind Sheila needs to be discarded.

Something else worth considering: how does mafia involvement influence everything?

I bring this up because there are some theories that the mafia was involved in the massacre.

One theory that comes up occasionally: the mafia committed the crime, the troupe showed up later, left the note, and took the credit for infamy.

This theory can be discarded, not only because Uvo remembers fighting the Kurtas, but the motive for the troupe to take ownership of the crime weakens. At this point, their reputation shouldn't hinge on this one crime. And if the mafia already has all the eyes, then the troupe has no bait to interest a target.

But what about the troupe attacking first and the mafia coming after?

This theory can work in a specific order:

>The troupe kill the strong Kurtas -> the mafia attack next killing the remaining villagers and collect the eyes -> meanwhile the troupe inform Sheila of the fight -> Sheila goes back only to find everyone dead, and reports the crime.

Interestingly, this theory also implies someone on the troupe's side must have been an informant to the mafia, making the massacre a coordinated attack. This could be the MC elders or Sheila.

But this is where the female traveler makes or breaks things.

In this case, the traveler could not be a troupe member - it doesn't make sense to go back after finishing their job.

The traveler also couldn't be a mafia member. The mafia doesn't need to spread a message to the world. They just need to get the goods and get out.

This means Sheila cannot be the spy and the traveler.

The only way Sheila can be an informant for the mafia is if the female traveler was random, which I believe is too unlikely.

However a situation where the informant was the Meteor City elders and the traveler was Sheila could work. This makes the coordinated attack feasible along with the reporting of the crime by an uninvolved party.

So if you're following, we have two options left at this point: 1.) Sheila returned to the village because the troupe informed her of the crime, and reported it or 2.) The crime was reported by a troupe member.

Finally, one last thing to consider: the revenge note ties the massacre to Meteor City. At this point, even those in the criminal world did not know the troupe are from Meteor City.

The big question: how did Kurapika figure this out? He is very set on the troupe after all. Only one person could tell him...that's Sheila. And this means Sheila isn't the person who reported the crime.

For her to do this she would have had to stay near the village after reporting and wait even longer for Kurapika to show up...which she should not be expecting.

This is why I believe Sheila had to have learned about the massacre from the news (or directly from a troupe member), around the same time as Kurapika.

This makes it plausible for them to run into each other. They reacted to the news at the same time and began the travel back to the forest, creating an opportunity to cross paths again.

Now why would Sheila go back there? Maybe she simply went back to get her book. Or maybe something more... While I have a hard time believing she masterminded the whole thing, I don't necessarily believe her intentions were completely innocent. Put a bookmark on this for now, though.

So at this point, I see no other way Kurapika could be so certain the troupe are responsible, without Sheila divulging this. Unless this is a plothole, but that would be surprising.

And this leaves us with only one possibility for the female traveler....she was a member of the Phantom troupe and a perpetrator of the very crime!

Reporting their own crime makes prefect sense. If they hadn't done this, the world would very likely never know the Kurtas were killed, and never know the condition their bodies were in...suggesting valuable body parts were collected.

If the troupe were looking for someone they believed was interested in these parts, they needed to spread the news to draw those criminals out. We know for fact the troupe operates with this mentality in mind: create a web to attract and trap targets. This is their entire modus operandi.

Now I'm not claiming anything I said is 100% correct - I hope that's been obvious. You could make an argument for any of the possibilities I eliminated.

But as of today, not knowing when new chapters will be released...or if these questions will even be adressed in those chapters...this is the conclusion i find the most likely.

And I believe this is an important clue that deserves to be looked at with greater detail. We shouldn't just assume the traveler was Sheila so quickly.

Tldr: It's unlikely Sheila spent over a year in the same area of the forest, making it unlikely she could be the female traveler. There is also no evidence to suggest she was a member of the Phantom troupe, or possessed an evil agenda. Therefore, the most likely scenario is that a member of the troupe posed as a traveler to report the crime and spread the news to the world, as this is at the core of their ideology - creating a web to find and trap criminals, and protect Meteor City.

In Yorknew its specified that she can't suck up living creatures since she couldn't suck up that one guy in the auction and also the leeches in Uvogin's body so how could she suck up blood from within a person?