Hunter × Hunter Chapter 117: 4 Septembre 16

Pakunoda walks forward through a vast, brightly lit industrial corridor with exposed pipes and metal grating overhead. Her black coat and skirt stand out against the bright surroundings. Ahead, three figures stand waiting: a tall person wrapped tightly in chains, a shorter figure in a dark outfit with a bow-like emblem, and a small child-like person further back. A speech bubble questions her identity: "YOU'RE TRULY PAKUNODA FROM THE GENEI RYODAN?" Another warns, "JUST MAKING SURE-". The bottom banner reads "N°117 4 SEPTEMBRE 16".

Pakunoda stares forward with a calm, slightly bruised face and replies, "OF COURSE." In the next panels Gon, wide-eyed under his hat, reassures her with "IT'S OKAY," while Pakunoda and another figure in a helmet-like hat glance sideways. Kurapika, eyes intense, declares from the darkness, "TWO CONDITIONS. I WILL ASSIGN TO EACH OF YOU..." Pakunoda listens with a serious expression. In the lower left, Pakunoda's scarred face with the cross tattoo is shown in profile. The large right panel reveals Kurapika standing before the Phantom Troupe members—Feitan, Machi, Shizuku, and Nobunaga—his back to a brilliant white explosion of light as he states, "IF YOU RESPECT THEM WITHOUT FAIL, I'LL RELEASE YOUR BOSS."

Pakunoda's eyes widen in shock as a massive impact strikes her. The word "SHAT" explodes across the panel with heavy motion lines. A close-up shows her face twisting in pain while a voice commands, "YOU MUST DISCOVER IT!" and "PAKUNODA..." Kurapika's intense eyes appear beside the text "HIS FLAW...!!!" Pakunoda, now chained at the wrists with Judgment Chain, stands before Kurapika and declares, "YOU MUST DISCOVER..." and "LET'S BEGIN..." Kurapika adds, "WITH THOSE OF YOUR BOSS." The chains glow and spark as the ability activates.

Kurapika activates Judgment Chain and declares the first restriction: 'I FORBID ANY USE OF NEN.' Leorio watches tensely from the side while Nobunaga and Pakunoda stand bound by the glowing chain. Kurapika continues with the second condition: 'YOU MUST CUT EVERY LINK WITH THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE RYODAN.' Pakunoda stares back with wide eyes as the chain tightens. Kurapika presses further, asking 'ARE YOU SURE THAT'S WHAT YOU REALLY WANT ...?!' Leorio mutters that everything the hostage has said is true. Pakunoda remains silent, her expression unreadable under the weight of the imposed rules.

Pakunoda internally realizes that even cutting off the head would not stop the Spider from moving. She thinks that depriving the Ryodan of its brain should dissolve the group, but doubts remain. She questions whether there is any result without a miracle to escape the deadlock. She concludes she cannot be sure the result will be the collapse of the organization. A black ink splash panel shows the Ryodan members as replaceable parts. Pakunoda's eyes widen in the darkness as she thinks 'I CAN'T FIND ONE !!' and 'NO ...'

Kurapika's eyes blaze with determination as he declares, "THAT'S MY TOP PRIORITY!! GET GON AND KILLUA BACK....!!" In the next panel his expression softens slightly while he thinks, "YES... IT WILL BE FINE THIS WAY. NOW I KNOW WHAT I SHOULD DO..." A small figure of a child waves in the distance as narration reads, "TO LOSE MY COMRADES ONCE MORE... I REFUSE..." Kurapika's face fills the lower panel, shouting "NEVER AGAIN!!!!" while gripping his Judgment Chain. He continues, "YOU MUST CUT EVERY LINK WITH THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE RYODAN." A speech bubble adds, "SECONDLY ..."

Kurapika continues speaking to Pakunoda: "WHETHER OR NOT YOU AGREE." "PAKUNODA, YOU DECIDE..." "THOSE ARE THE TWO CONDITIONS YOU MUST RESPECT." He warns, "TO FORCE YOU TO RESPECT THEM, I'LL USE MY "JUDGEMENT CHAIN" ON YOU." Pakunoda's face appears in close-up, followed by her saying, "I AGREE." The final panel shows a Ryodan member bound tightly by chains, eyes closed, as massive impact effects explode outward with the sound "KROOM ZOOOM !!!" Kurapika stands over the scene in his black-and-white robe, Judgment Chain glowing in his hand.

A bald figure with a cross tattoo on his forehead is hurled backward by a massive burst of aura, a heart-shaped chain construct tightening around his chest. The words JUDGEMENT CHAIN!! explode in a jagged bubble while metallic CLING and CLING sound effects streak across the panel. Smaller inset frames show distant silhouettes reacting in shock. Kurapika, chains wrapped around his hand, confronts Pakunoda at close range. He declares, "BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, I WANT GON AND KILLUA TO BE RELEASED." Pakunoda, her own wrists bound by the same chain, answers with a sharp "SHING FIRST..." Kurapika continues, "I'LL EXPLAIN LATER HOW THE EXCHANGE WILL BE CONDUCTED," while telling her, "YOUR TURN, PAKUNODA."

Against a nighttime city skyline, a small airship hovers while Kurapika's voice declares, "I FORBID YOU FROM DIVULGING THE LEAST BIT OF INFORMATION ABOUT ME." Pakunoda replies, "SE-COND-LY..." In a three-panel sequence, Kurapika says "OK," Shizuku in a bucket hat listens, and Pakunoda states, "THEN I WILL USE THE CHAIN ON YOU AS WELL" and "IF YOU HAVE NO OBJECTIONS TO THAT..." The final splash shows Pakunoda recoiling violently as the Judgment Chain pierces her chest with a loud SHLING, the heart construct forming while speed lines radiate outward.

Kurapika stands with his back to the group, facing the wall as he speaks with Senritsu. "I'll be able to tell if there's a change. I can't guarantee about Gon, but I've heard the sound of Killua's normal heartbeat." Senritsu replies, "If Gon and Killua were ever being controlled by manipulation Nen... you would be able to tell by the melody of their heartbeat, right?" Kurapika confirms, "I can do that, yes." Senritsu acknowledges, "Senritsu." Leorio's voice cuts in from off-panel, "That will do." In the next panel Kurapika turns sharply toward Pakunoda. "Kli-ra-pi-ka..." Pakunoda stands composed with one hand on her chest. "This is how the exchange will take place," she states calmly. The bottom tier shows a close-up of Kurapika's intense face as he processes the situation. "If the Ryodan really is as insensitive as they are believed to be... an exchange like this can't possibly work!!" he thinks. A vertical panel reads "Why Pakunoda came alone..." Pakunoda's voice continues, "No... all the paradoxes I perceive in your heart are only a repercussion of the confusion in your mind...! You don't realize how contradictory the tones of your heart are...!"

Pakunoda continues speaking to Kurapika. "Trying to contain all of your anger, you no longer see her. However, a woman is here, alone." A close-up reveals a small scar on Pakunoda's cheek. "She came here for the same reason you have." Ink-splatter panels emphasize her words: "All the hatred within you may have turned any doubts you had towards them into certainties. I don't know what they did in the past." Pakunoda reasons further, "But among them, at least one is different: Pakunoda...! That's why she came here alone... so that the exchange might take place!! The members of the Ryodan follow firm orders, assigned by their boss." Kurapika reacts violently in the final panel, hair flying as he shouts, "I can't believe it! You don't see that!!" A speech bubble from him adds, "First, you go and meet your comrades, to explain the terms of the exchange." Large vertical text screams "KURAPIKA!!!"

In a dimly lit room overlooking the city at night, Pakunoda stands with a stern expression as she issues her orders. "YES," replies the short-haired girl. Pakunoda continues, "YOU'LL RETURN ALONE, WITHOUT INFORMING THE OTHERS OF WHERE YOU'RE GOING. NEXT, YOU WILL RETURN HERE BEFORE MIDNIGHT, WITH GON AND KILLUA." The girl listens intently. A man with long hair in a ponytail appears in profile, saying, "BRING ME BACK TO THE AIRPORT." The girl asks, "ARE THE NEGOTIATIONS FINISHED?" In a tense close-up, Pakunoda's face is shown as the girl stares back. A black bar separates panels where Pakunoda questions, "AREN'T YOU ASKING ANYTHING?" and the girl responds with "WHY..." The final row of panels shows Pakunoda sweating as she presses, "DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE I'LL FREE YOUR BOSS? DON'T YOU THINK THESE NEGOTIATIONS GOT US NOWHERE?" The girl counters, "DON'T YOU FEEL ANY FEAR... OR UNCERTAINTY? YOU KNOW WHO I AM, RIGHT?"

Pakunoda's face fills the panel as she says, "LET'S HURRY. I HAVE NO TIME TO WASTE." The short-haired girl responds, "YES. BECAUSE IF YOU INTENDED TO TRICK US, YOU WOULDN'T BE ASKING THAT KIND OF THING." A close-up shows the girl's face with a cross-shaped mark and injuries on her cheek. Lightning flashes across a stormy sky with the large SFX "DOOOM" and "ZAAAAT". The scene shifts to a ruined cityscape under heavy rain, with buildings destroyed and debris everywhere. SFX like "ZAAAAAT" and "PLUC" mark the downpour. In the final panels, an unseen voice declares, "WITH THOSE CONDITIONS?!" while another asks, "WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS..."

In the middle of a ruined building filled with rubble and broken wooden planks, several figures stand amid the debris. A large speech bubble from the left reads, "PAKUNODA, TELL US WHERE HE IS." Pakunoda stands with arms crossed near the center, facing forward. Nearby, a tall figure in a long black coat and a bandaged person are visible. Other characters, including a small child in dark clothing and several adults in traditional robes, are scattered across the wreckage. In the lower section, a close-up shows a stern face with narrowed eyes as a voice declares, "AND GO TAKE CARE OF THE CHAIN GUY." Another bubble adds, "WE'LL GET RID OF THE KIDS..." The final panel features a spiky-haired boy with wide eyes looking up and a long-haired person beside him. The boy asks, "ARE YOU SURE THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT TO DO."

A mostly empty white page features a single small illustration in the lower right corner. A young girl with short dark hair and a headband crouches low, wearing a long black robe over light footwear. She looks back over her shoulder with a neutral expression, one hand resting near her knee.