Hunter x Hunter Chapter 416 raises one of the biggest questions of the Succession Contest so far. After spending much of the arc looking nearly impossible to kill, Second Prince Camilla Hui Guo Rou suddenly finds herself facing a threat unlike anything readers have seen before. By the time the chapter ends, Togashi deliberately avoids confirming whether she survives, leaving her fate open to interpretation.
The uncertainty comes from the nature of Benjamin’s attack. Instead of trying to overpower Camilla in direct combat, the First Prince appears to target the one weakness readers have long debated. Because her Nen ability only activates under very specific conditions, Chapter 416 introduces a situation that may fall outside its rules entirely.
Why Benjamin’s Attack Is Different From Every Previous Threat
Benjamin has always relied on military strength throughout the Succession Contest, but Chapter 416 shows a different side of his strategy. Aware that his own time is running short, he abandons direct confrontation and instead infects Camilla with what appears to be a lethal pathogen, commonly referred to by readers as TSK-17.
The move immediately changes the conversation surrounding Camilla’s survival. Unlike a sword, bullet, or assassination attempt, the pathogen does not kill its victim instantly. It gradually weakens the body, creating a situation where death arrives through illness rather than a conventional attack.
That distinction is important because Benjamin is not simply trying to kill Camilla. He appears to be testing whether her Nen ability can respond to a death that has no clear killer at the moment it occurs.
Why ‘Cat’s Name’ May Not Be Enough
Camilla’s Nen ability, Cat’s Name (A Million Lives), has made her one of the hardest princes to eliminate during the Succession Contest. Whenever someone kills her, a giant Nen cat appears, drains the killer’s life force, and uses that energy to resurrect Camilla with her injuries completely healed.
Chapter 416 introduces a problem that the manga has never answered before.
If Camilla dies because of the pathogen, who exactly counts as the killer? Benjamin initiated the attack, but the disease itself becomes the direct cause of death. The chapter never explains whether Cat’s Name can recognize Benjamin as the target under those circumstances, leaving readers with no clear answer.
Another question involves the resurrection itself. Even if Camilla orders one of her loyal Have-Nots to kill her before the illness does, there is no guarantee the ability would remove the infection. The Nen cat has previously restored fatal injuries, but the manga has never shown whether it can completely reset the body by eliminating poison, disease, or other internal conditions. That uncertainty is exactly what makes Benjamin’s strategy so dangerous.
Related: The Real Reason Why Benjamin Won’t Touch Camilla in ‘Hunter x Hunter’
The Leading Theories About Camilla’s Survival
Because Chapter 416 ends without revealing the outcome, readers have been debating how Camilla could escape a situation that appears carefully designed to bypass her strongest ability. The manga doesn’t confirm any solution, but several possibilities have emerged based on what has already been established during the Succession Contest.
The most common theory centers on Camilla’s loyal followers, the Have-Nots. Since Cat’s Name activates only after her death, some readers believe she could order one of them to kill her before the pathogen does. If the Nen ability completely restores her body, the resurrection might also remove the infection. The problem is that the manga has never shown whether Cat’s Name heals illnesses or simply repairs the fatal injury that triggered the resurrection, leaving that outcome uncertain.
Another possibility involves Camilla’s Guardian Spirit Beast. Unlike her personal Nen ability, the Guardian Spirit Beast has revealed very little about its full range of abilities. It is known to possess Manipulation-type Nen, but Togashi has yet to explain whether it can defend its host against poison, disease, or other indirect attacks. If the beast has another hidden ability, Chapter 416 could be setting up the moment it finally reveals itself.
One popular theory among readers is that Benjamin’s attack may simply be a distraction, with the real danger coming from the curse tied to Beyond Netero’s children. Several fans discussing Chapter 416 have suggested that if the curse is what ultimately kills Camilla, Cat’s Name may not have a clear life force to reclaim. While the manga has not yet supported this possibility, it would explain why Benjamin chose an indirect attack rather than relying on brute force alone.
More speculative discussions have suggested that Camilla could seek medical help from someone aboard the Black Whale, such as Leorio or even Tubeppa, whose own research has focused on medicine and antidotes. The manga has given no indication that this will happen, but it reflects how uncertain readers remain about the limits of her Nen.
Why Togashi Leaves Camilla’s Fate Unanswered
One of the defining strengths of the Succession Contest has been the way Yoshihiro Togashi builds conflicts around Nen rules instead of raw strength. Chapter 416 continues that approach by placing one of the arc’s most powerful princes in a situation where victory depends less on power and more on how her ability actually functions.
The chapter never confirms whether TSK-17 can truly bypass Cat’s Name, nor does it explain whether resurrection would remove the pathogen from Camilla’s body. Those unanswered questions leave Benjamin’s strategy just as uncertain as Camilla’s chances of survival, making the cliffhanger one of the chapter’s biggest talking points.
Until the next chapter provides an answer, Camilla remains in an unusual position. She has survived every direct attempt on her life because of Cat’s Name, but Chapter 416 presents the first attack specifically designed to exploit the unknown limits of that ability. Whether Benjamin has finally found its weakness or whether Camilla still has another way to survive remains one of the Succession Contest’s biggest unresolved mysteries.