The following contains spoilers for Hunter x Hunter Chapter 399, "Expulsion" by Yoshihiro Togashi, translated by Lillian Olsen available in English from Viz Media.
HunterxHunter continues strong as ever this week and it's as if Togashi never left his fans. Despite being known for its long hiatuses due to the author and illustrator, Yoshihiro Togashi's health, it has now been ongoing for almost 10 chapters - and is likely to continue for 30 more. With each chapter, Togashi has made sure not to disappoint the fans of his series and every bit of the story has been strong and amazingly written.
The end of the Succession Contest arc is nowhere in sight currently, and the last chapter, Hunter x Hunter 398 saw Hinrigh Biganduffno and Nobunaga from the Phantom Troupe jump into Heil-ly's trap to get into their hideout and purge them out. The plan is to act as bait so that the other two Spiders, Feitan and Phinks, can find the hideout from the outside. Hinrigh swallowed a Homing Device that he had turned into an oyster previously. Hunter x Hunter chapter 399 was a direct continuation of what's happening to Hinrigh and Nobunaga.
The Rooms Inside The Hideout
Previously, in chapter 398 of Hunter x Hunter, the story stopped before Hinrigh Biganduffno and Nobunaga could explore what looks like a laundry room. In this Hunter x Hunter 399, they go in to take a closer look. While the room is unmanned and no one seems to be inside, it's clear that the room was in use very recently. In the room, there is a table with a censor over it – perhaps a corpse or organs that are too gruesome to show openly in the manga. Other than that, an active washing machine, showing that others were here recently. While they look at the room, Nobunaga gets the realization that Heil-ly are probably a step ahead of them.
The other two rooms that lead to the trap probably hosted Heil-ly members that alerted their comrades of their presence, meaning their arrival was probably expected. This realization is due to not finding these men's corpses on the autopsy table in the laundry room. Another possibility could be that the men were taken into another room but it certainly seems to be just a hopeful thought from Hinrigh to comfort Nobunaga. Out of all the rooms in the hideout, one remains unopened. Very carefully, Hinrigh decides to open the door and to his and Nobunaga's surprise, quite a lot of members of Heil-ly, eight, to be precise, are sitting there untethered by their appearance.
The Heil-ly Members And Their Nen Abilities
Behind the door that Hinrigh and Nobunaga just opened, the readers see eight recognizable Heil-ly members, notably, Terebellum, Yokotani, Orarge, Gelato, Soufflé, Montblanc, Chiffon, and Perigord. These eight seem to not care about Hinrigh and Nobunaga's arrival, and continue with their activities. Hinrigh and Nobunaga are the ones to jump into action, as acting first and disposing of these members is the best option for them. Hinrigh starts by throwing a knife at Terebellum, which seemingly went through his head. However, Hinrigh soon realizes that the tip of the knife has teleported - instead of being in Terebellum's head, it is in a crushed soda can next to him. After Hinrigh attempts to throw another knife, another member of Heil-ly, Yokotani, intervenes by introducing himself as a legal advisor. While he lists Hinrigh and Nobunaga's crimes, he is treated with Nobunaga's sword to the forehead.
However, just like before, the tip disappears and does not actually kill Yokotani. Nobunaga notices that Terebellum's right arm is bleeding. This was all a part of Nobunaga's plan to figure out Terebellum's nen ability. What he discovers is that Terebellum's nen ability, named "Sweet Home," allows him to displace damage. He takes the damage of what his right hand touches to himself, while he can transfer the damage he receives to someone or something else with his left hand. The readers discover, right after that, Yokotani's ability, called LSDF. This ability only works in Morena's territory after he introduces himself and gives him the ability to conjure guards whose powers depend on the crimes committed by the intruders. With this ability, they manage to kick out both Hinrigh and Nobunaga outside of the Hideout.
Outside The Hideout
After Yokotani activated his LSDF ability, he first managed to capture Nobunaga and strip him of his sword. Seeing that happen, Hinrigh Biganduffno's main goal is now to place the Homing Device in a safe space. Realizing that Yokotani's ability acts on autopilot, he decides to hide the device in the laundry room that they checked earlier. Unfortunately, however, he found himself getting captured by the guards and kicked out of the base as well. On the outside, Hinrigh leaves for the task of finding the base of the Phantom Troupe as Nobunaga decides to rejoin with Phinks and Feitan.
Hinrigh, on the other hand, is set to scour the floor in search of what he already decided upon. However, they both keep in mind that the main threat is Morena's ability, along with the "organ" Heil-ly members mentioned. Hunter x Hunter, while not as solid as the previous few chapters, managed to deliver another outstanding one this week. Nen abilities are something that fans enjoy witnessing every single time and this week was no different. Togashi is certainly ramping up the pace of the arc and from here onwards, things will only get more intense for both Hinrigh and the Phantom Troupe members.