Hunter × Hunter Chapter 286: Main Body

The winged Chimera Ant activates an ability with a dramatic burst effect labeled "BEELZEBUB!!" while floating in a dark void. Thought bubbles reveal the figure's assessment that the King will likely find them no more than an annoyance, though they remain at his side. Scattered fragments and debris float through space with motion lines. At the bottom, a chibi-style Killua stands with wide eyes and outstretched arms as massive speech bubbles proclaim it is time to uncover the position and situation of those in the palace and call forth fragments of himself.

Pouf bursts into wild laughter as his body shatters into countless tiny fragments that scatter across the sky. "KYAHA HAHAHA HAAAA AA!!!" he cackles while the pieces fly outward. The fragments swirl around a central platform below. Text explains that Pouf's "Beelzebub" ability lets him break his body into miniscule fragments, and the smaller the pieces, the more he creates. Even when reduced to fragments no larger than a bee, the main body that controls all the others remains intact. "NO MATTER HOW SMALL THE FRAGMENTS, HE CAN NEVER REDUCE THE 'MAIN BODY,' WHICH CONTROLS ALL THE OTHERS, TO SMALLER THAN THE SIZE OF A BEE. ABOUT THIS BIG," a caption states. "HOWEVER..." the page ends on that ominous note.

A muscular clone user stands holding torn fabric while speaking to Pouf. "...THAT THE ABILITY OF SUCH SEPARATE SELVES IS NOWHERE NEAR THAT OF THE ORIGINAL. AS A USER OF CLONES YOURSELF, YOU SHOULD WELL UNDERSTAND..." Pouf replies that he would have been unable to escape without the barrier being released. The clone user warns that Pouf should have taken more care, noting his main body is now freed with no weak points and the battle is lost. Pouf counters that his combat ability is essentially halved. Another scene shows a long-haired fighter with a weapon surrounded by question-mark smoke, realizing the cocoon was empty. Pouf declares that the plan he revealed was only a last resort and that the figure before them is just a fake. "THAT 'THIS GUY IS JUST A FAKE!!'"

A massive figure with long flowing hair and dark sunglasses looms across the top of the page, clutching a much smaller person in one enormous hand while dramatic speed lines radiate outward. The figure speaks of how the opponent could have uncovered the true nature of an ability and sought out the real body beyond the barrier. In smaller panels below, the same speaker continues: once the secret was revealed and the truth learned, the opponent still failed to release their true self from the barrier. A close-up shows a clenched fist releasing something as the words "And Release!! (to hell)" appear. Another panel depicts a man with slicked-back hair swinging a large weapon, declaring that the opponent's splendid aura was the reason he was only ten percent prepared to face the outcome. At the bottom, a text box states that Morau had been in a far-from-perfect physical state ever since the staircase before the invasion. The narration concludes that Morau is now off to see what is happening at the palace, free thanks to the gigantic explosion just before, though his heart wavered because of it.

On the second floor of the west tower, Pitou and Komugi appear while Komugi is being repaired. A young boy sits nearby, described as appearing to be an enemy. Narration explains that due to fatigue and impatience, Morau entrusted his fate to a hasty decision. Below, three figures stand at the entrance to the underground shelter: Hina, a soldier ant, and Bizeff. Welfin lurks behind them. Another panel shows the young boy apparently tailing the group. A small flying character questions why the enemy beside Pitou does not attack, wondering if he is a friend of Komugi's, and notes that Komugi appears to have been damaged by falling dragons.

In the soldier ants' waiting room in the east tower, three people—the humans captured a few days ago—react with shock as the birth proceeds imminently. However, the scene shifts to chaos outside where Youpi rampages through enemies. A voice notes a weird little pointy-headed fat thing whose allegiance is uncertain, along with old smokey and a ton of delinquents in the northwestern portion of the palace. Youpi takes them out one by one, counting one, two, three, while another observer exclaims that this is something with so many enemies. The pointy-headed figure is identified as a new ability of Youpi's, with only one delinquent real and the rest smoke clones that aren't replaced because the user cannot activate his ability without his pipe. Youpi should pick out the real one from the clones in around a minute. In terms of the outcome, the timing with which Morali chose to release his smoky jail was perfect. Morali himself calls out to wait up, guys, he'll be with them in a moment, while another voice questions where the king has gone, noting this prevents a one-on-one fight between Youpi and Knuckle and provides much-needed support.

Immediately after the invasion began, Morali witnessed the power of his enemies, weighed it against his comrades, and realized his initial estimates had been too naive. It is not illogical to assume this realization stems from Morali's large amount of experience rather than random chance. Sensing his comrades could hold out longer than expected, he made the decision to attack the cocoon in order to escape the internal conflict driving him to seek his friends' aid even at the cost of releasing his barrier. In the present, Knuckle and another ally react with surprise as someone declares he is gone. A young character with light hair stares in shock with wide eyes and an exclamation mark, reacting to the sudden development.

High above the ruined battlefield, a massive structure erupts in a violent blast. Debris and skulls tumble through the smoke as a small figure plummets downward amid streaking motion lines. Narration notes that it was Morali's cunning battlefield wisdom that saved his comrade from his predicament. Below, the falling figure continues its descent while a sudden surge of aura erupts in a sharp, vertical blast. A voice questions the nature of the technique: a technique that could be used in a situation like that, an aura explosion, Youpi's? In a close-up, Killua stares upward with intense focus, his hair whipping from the force. He thinks that while the explosion intrigues him, his priority should be discovering the King's whereabouts.

Knuckle appears in close-up, sweat flying as he thanks his boss for the save, admitting he was about to go in for a crazy charge. In the next panel, Knuckle leaps through heavy rain and motion lines while large black X-shaped strikes slash across the page. Shoot stands nearby with his pipe weapon, calmly instructing Knuckle to blend in among the clones, take a breath, and think carefully about the best action. Knuckle, now on the ground amid more X strikes, wonders how the enemy could have moved on his own. Shoot reflects that he has cooled down and it makes no sense for Youpi to have carried Shoot off anywhere. In the final panel, a small figure darts away as Knuckle realizes this is not an enemy he can let his guard down against for an instant and must not think about that.

A heavily injured bearded man lies in a hospital bed, connected to tubes and monitors, sweat on his face as his eyes flutter open in confusion. He thinks, 'WHERE .........' A large thought bubble follows with '... AM I ...?' Below, another patient with dark curly hair lies fully bandaged and restrained on a separate bed amid medical equipment. The scene shifts to a close-up of closed eyes with sweat drops. Finally, a panel shows the eyes opening slightly with motion lines and the text 'THAT'S ......' as realization dawns.

A massive cylindrical structure plummets through stormy skies amid dramatic onomatopoeia. On the ground, two figures react in panic amid smoke and debris. One shouts 'OH, CRAP !!' while another screams 'AAAAH HHHHHH !!!!' A girl in a hat yells 'GET THROUGH BEFORE IT'S BLOCKED OFF!!' as a companion adds 'WE'VE GOTTA HURRY!!' In the foreground, a wolf-like creature glares upward and growls 'DAMN YOU...... BIZEF IS MY PREY!!' followed by 'IF I KNEW YOUR ABILITIES, I COULD ATTACK, BUT...' The structure continues to break apart with flying debris and impact effects.

Killua stands against a black background, spiky hair crackling with energy, one fist raised. "You head over to where Knuckle is, okay?" he tells the others. "Once I've finished charging, I'm heading back to Gon." In the next panels Killua's face tightens as he considers the worst-case scenario: a double suicide. "Now that Gon's like that, he's not going to move an inch..." he thinks. Ikalgo and the hooded figure with glasses stand nearby; the hooded man stares silently with a grim expression. Killua continues planning aloud: the two of them will decide what to do without retreating, while Ikalgo pulls Pufu out of the barrier. "With Pufu out of the barrier, the chances are high that the boss has been taken out," he says. Later Killua smiles confidently. "I've got the magic word 'Kaito' on my side, after all! It'll be fine, okay? I'm kidding!" he declares. In the final panels Ikalgo points back the way they came while Killua crouches on the stone floor. "...Back there... But then..." Ikalgo says. "You can leave this to me. Are you sure?" Killua replies.

From behind, Killua's wild spiky hair fills the upper frame. Internal narration wonders why he had such an incredibly sad look on his face. Below, Ikalgo stands with his back to the viewer, tail curled, one hand raised. "...It's okay, right......?" he asks quietly. Killua, now facing Ikalgo, raises a hand in a stopping gesture. "You're not telling me because you can't, right?" he says. Ikalgo continues, "......So I won't ask, because I can't, okay?" The two stand in a grassy, ruined area with scattered debris around them.

Under a vast starry night sky, a shooting star streaks across the darkness. The view shifts to a close-up of a spiky-haired boy leaning forward with a fierce, angry glare, his arms crossed tightly as bold SFX 'ズ' erupts beside him amid scattered black impact marks. Below, a curly-haired girl stares upward with wide, glistening eyes and a worried expression, sweat drops visible on her face as small debris and motion lines surround her.

A long-haired figure with a cross on their back leans over a ruined, smoky battlefield, dripping liquid from extended limbs while bold SFX 'ズズ' appears. In the distance, the spiky-haired boy crouches amid rubble and smoke. The scene cuts to a close-up split: the spiky-haired boy's profile on the left and the curly-haired girl on the right, her eyes wide with fear as she shouts from speech bubbles, 'DON'T COME...' and '...ANY CLOSER THAN THAT.'

In the rubble-strewn ruins, Killua sits on the cracked ground with arms crossed and a stern gaze. Before him kneels a curly-haired girl in a black outfit. A massive sound effect "PUFU ...!!" bursts from off-panel near a broken wooden hatch. In the background, a silhouetted figure stands framed in a dark doorway beside a metal gate marked with the numbers 3 and 8. The scene shifts to a close-up of a long-haired young man whose face fills the panel as he asks, "WHY?"

The long-haired young man continues speaking while the curly-haired girl listens. He states, "I DON'T WANT A SINK-OR-SWIM SITUATION LIKE THAT." He explains, "IF YOU HAD APPROACHED WITH INTENT TO KILL, HE WOULD HAVE DIVED FOR KOMUGI WITHOUT HESITATION." A small panel shows the long-haired man's intense eyes. In a wider view, a tall figure stands opposite a small crouched silhouette and the girl as the long-haired man says, "THIS BOY KNEW YOU WERE THERE," "WHAT ARE YOU SO UNNECESSARILY AFRAID OF?" and "IF YOU HAD NOT SAID A WORD, THEN I COULD HAVE ELIMINATED THE BOY." The long-haired man lies back with eyes closed, thinking, "SURELY HE IS HERE BECAUSE HE WANTS THAT GIRL SAVED?" while a hand reaches upward declaring, "...I CAN'T SAY I UNDERSTAND." The tall figure replies, "THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU," and adds, "YET THE WAY YOU SPEAK, IT IS AS THOUGH YOU THINK HE WOULD DO HER HARM..." while the long-haired man questions, "WHAT EXACTLY-"

A small figure stands alone in the distance against a black background. In the foreground, the back of a spiky-haired head is visible as a large speech bubble erupts: "SO SHUT UP ...!!!" The scene shifts to a dramatic side profile of the same character, mouth open in a furious shout, with heavy shading and motion lines emphasizing the intensity. Below, a close-up reveals Gon's face, eyes narrowed and expression resolute. Narration text beside him reads: "PUFU, FACED WITH AN UNWAVERING GON...!!!" The Hunter × Hunter logo and chapter number appear at the bottom.