Ikalgo

Ikalgo (イカルゴ, Ikarugo) is an octopus-like Chimera Ant and a former Captain of Leol's Squad. After befriending Killua Zoldyck, he joins the Extermination Team in their mission to defeat the Chimera Ant King.

Appearance
Ikalgo's body is red and very similar to that of an octopus, except for his face. He has a round mouth and thick lips, round eyes, and thick eyebrows. He has eight tentacles with suction cups.

Personality


Ikalgo is an acute observer, often planning a strategy before fighting an enemy. He has a strong sense of honor, preferring to die rather than betray a comrade, when given these options by Killua Zoldyck. However, the latter's declaration they could have been friends caused him to switch sides and develop a very strong attachment for the Extermination Team members and Killua in particular. This is due to the boy making Ikalgo feel validated, as he developed an inferiority complex due to his appearance. In fact, Ikalgo dislikes his appearance and wishes he were born as a "cool" squid rather than an "ugly" octopus. He finds it touching that someone would call an octopus like him a "cool guy" and finds it impossible to betray that kindness.

While facing off against Killua inside his host, he had a carefree, slightly taunting demeanor and a tendency to hum. Despite being a sniper, Ikalgo was incapable of killing someone, not even enemies that could put his friends in danger, which elicited an emotional breakdown in him. On the other hand, he found it easy to pull the trigger when his life was the only one at stake.

Background
In his former life as a human, Ikalgo served as an NGL soldier alongside Zaiqahal and Gyro and fought against the Chimera Ants. From his octopus component, he inherited memories of self-loathing for his appearance and a profound admiration for the beauty of squids.

Chimera Ant arc


When Killua gives chase to a Captain of Leol's squad, Ikalgo, while inhabiting a corpse, shoots him from a very long distance with his Fleadom ability, relying on the coordinates provided by Flutter. He gets four shots in before Killua manages to dodge. After that, he stands motionless in the forest. Flutter has Ikalgo shoot him again to make him reveal his ability. Killua however expands his aura as much as possible and lets himself be hit, which allows him to determine the direction the sniper is shooting from. Flutter warns Ikalgo, who, thinking everything is going according to the plan, waits for Killua and lures him to the entrance of a cave. He declares it is a trap before jumping him. An instant later, Killua pierces the host's head, causing Ikalgo to acknowledge his courage. He envelops Killua in his tentacles as the two plunge towards the underground lake filled with voracious Chimera Ants. However, Killua frees himself by cutting off his tentacles. Both use the suction cups to adhere to stalactites so as not to fall into the water, while the corpse Ikalgo was inhabiting is devoured by his underlings.



An indignant Ikalgo yells at Killua for mutilating him. He protests vehemently when the boy calls him an octopus. He tries to escape by inflating his head and releasing the inhaled air through his rifle, while thinking that since he cannot raise more fleas without a host, he will let the Ortho Siblings kill the boy. Much to his shock, he is intercepted by Killua, who halts his escape by grabbing his gun-shaped arm and dangles him over the water. Nervous, Ikalgo makes small talk while acting complacently. Killua deduces the Chimera Ants in the water will attack anyone in their feeding frenzy. In the meanwhile, Flutter also contacts him telepathically, causing Ikalgo to say the response that was meant for him out loud. Killua offers to spare his life if he tells him Flutter's ability. On the verge of tears, Ikalgo finds new resolve and begins to narrate his envy for squids.Before the ten seconds given to him by Killua are even up, he cuts off his gun arm and, unwilling to sell out his comrades, lets himself fall towards the water, wishing to be reborn as a squid. Killua, stricken by Ikalgo's loyalty, saves him with one of his yo-yos. When Ikalgo asks him why, Killua says that he is cool and in different circumstances they could have been friends. Ikalgo is deeply moved by these words. Killua flings him towards the shore. Ikalgo gives a start when he sees a shark-like Chimera Ant attack the boy. He looks on from the shore, concerned. When Flutter contacts him again, Ikalgo tells him the fight is not over and lies about the enemy not using any weapons.



Ikalgo approaches Killua after the boy is severely wounded during the battle against the Ortho Siblings. Disregarding their requests for help, Ikalgo resolves to save him. Asked about his actions, he declares he is turning on his comrades and taking Killua to an unlicensed doctor without knowing the reason. He thinks to himself that he could not let him die after he said they could have been friends. As he jumps into an underground river, he begs him not to die. Ikalgo takes Killua to a back alley hospital and sits by his bedside as he sleeps for two days. He insists Killua rest lest he opens his injuries, but is shocked to see they have already healed. He is initially stumped when Killua invites him to join the Extermination Team and wonders if it is really fine. The boy retorts it is solely up to Ikalgo himself. When the octopus accepts, Killua adds that neither of them will have to thank the other if they save their life again, as that is what friends do. Moved, Ikalgo bursts into tears. Killua warns him that the world he is about to step in is extremely dangerous and points out that risking and throwing away one's life are two completely different things. Ikalgo however is ecstatic and gladly follows him.

The two meet up with Gon, Knuckle, Shoot and Meleoron. They hold a strategy meeting in which it is revealed that Ikalgo will be in the vanguard during the assault on the Royal Palace of East Gorteau, together with Gon and Killua. The six part ways, with Knuckle and Shoot heading off to confuse Neferpitou. 19 hours before the attack, Ikalgo, Killua and Gon are in a shack. They do a final run-through, with Ikalgo being assigned to rescuing Palm in Bizeff's quarters. Gon and Ikalgo pick up on Killua's recurring concern that the Royal Guards will not be in the throne room. Killua suggests thinking of every possible scenario before they storm the palace. He brings up the possibility of Neferpitou being in the palace but not using En, which perplexes Ikalgo until Gon reminds him that it had already happened the day Knov snuck in. They phone Colt to ask for his opinion, and learn that Neferpitou was probably healing someone. Ikalgo rejects the notion of an enemy injuring a Royal Guard or the King and of Neferpitou exposing the latter to danger by rescinding their En to treat someone else, which leads the three to conclude that the King harmed himself.

Six hours before the raid, Ikalgo, Gon and Killua join the rest of the Extermination Team inside Knov's pocket dimension. The octopus chats with Meleoron for a while. At 11:30, he thinks excitedly about his new life. He silently thanks Killua and resolves to complete his mission. The group then moves out. They enter the room connected to the exit near the central staircase of the palace, where Killua and Ikalgo fight over what Killua considers unpredictable scenarios, whereas Ikalgo is confident the Royal Guards will be by the King's side. Ikalgo eventually concedes he has a point. A little over ten seconds before midnight, the Extermination Team gathers in front of the exit. To infiltrate the palace, he enters and manipulates Flutter's corpse with his Living Dead Dolls ability. With the exception of Morel, he is the last to storm the palace.

As soon as they emerge next to the staircase, Ikalgo turns around and heads towards the northwestern elevator leading to the basement to look for Palm. Thanks to Flutter's compound eyes, he manages to survive Dragon Dive. When Menthuthuyoupi brings down the central staircase, Gon and Killua run in the same direction as Ikalgo, overtaking him in the inner courtyard. He spots Killua doubling back at one point, when he kills two Chimera Ant soldiers that Ikalgo was about to run into. When the boy passes him, Ikalgo states Killua is in debt with him. Unbeknownst to both of them, Welfin saw the two soldiers being murdered and Ikalgo pass by their corpses mere moments afterwards, which causes him to believe Flutter to be a traitor. He reaches the elevator just as the two doors at its sides open. Cheetu and Bloster come out simultaneously. Disguised as Flutter, Ikalgo claims he only just returned to the palace. When asked by Bloster, he responds his wings were wounded by Dragon Dive. Cheetu notices "Flutter" was about to take the elevator, which prompts Ikalgo to respond he had been ordered by Hagya to go to the basement. He manages to enter the lift, but Bloster and Welfin do not miss him calling Leol by his old name.

Ikalgo starts a truck and, following Marcos's directions, drives towards Bizeff's quarters. He rejoices when one of his Satellite Dragonflies discovers the door was left open. Another dragonfly stationed next to the elevator allows him to see that Bloster has come to the basement and is standing still in front of the elevator, making a confrontation unavoidable. As he drives into Bizeff's quarters, he deduces he must have made some kind of mistake that caused the former Squadron leader to be suspicious of him, but not glaring enough that he killed him on the spot upstairs. Out of caution, he resolves to assume he should be ready for a fight. He calls out Palm's alias, but none of the women come out, interpreting his presence as a test of Bizeff's. After entering the wrong house, he finds a Nen message left by Palm that Ikalgo reads using Gyo, asking them to act under the premise that she has died. Saddened, Ikalgo drives back to proceed with his next task: monitor the situation with Satellite Dragonflies and use telepathy to update Meleoron while confusing the other Chimera Ants in the palace. Since that plan requires them to trust him, he decides to take out Bloster. He stops the truck in front of the former Squadron Leader. When questioned, he responds he finished his job for Hagya. Bloster points out Flutter's superior can no longer stand his former name. Ikalgo manages to escape Flutter's body instants before Bloster blows it up, hiding under the trunk. He realizes that whoever does not know Hagya's new name will be considered an enemy. Much to his relief, Bloster is unable to operate the elevator, which should result in the release of sleeping gas.

Ikalgo considers leaving him locked inside the elevator as well as moving him elsewhere while he is unconscious, but he soon realizes the best course of action would be to kill him and manipulate his corpse. He rushes to the surveillance monitor room. As he enters it, Bloster shoots his way out of the elevator, sleeping gas leaking out. Ikalgo lowers a bulkhead and attempts to lure him down a corridor, but before he can trap him by bringing down another, Bloster propels himself to safety with his ability. He deduces he is being observed, although he cannot reach Ikalgo through bulkheads. The octopus initially assumes Bloster will get knocked out by the sleeping gas due to being in a sealed environment; however, he realizes there is a way out and rapidly comes up with a plan. Just as Bloster figures out there is an escape, Ikalgo raises one of the bulkheads and jumps into a tank.

He drives it through Bloster's bullets and crashes it in front of the elevator, effectively preventing him from climbing up the cable before setting the commands on fire. He slips into the gap between the tank and the top of the elevator without Bloster seeing him. When he hears the former Squadron Leader drop to the ground, he turns his tentacle into an air gun, but finds himself unable to pull the trigger. He agonizes over the decision until he runs out of breath. He crawls under the bulkhead he only barely raised and returns to the monitor room. He lowers it before bursting into tears, calling himself a coward.



He keeps weeping for several minutes. When he lifts his head and looks at the monitor, he sees the gates to the garage and the warehouses are open. Right then, Welfin appears behind him, Missileman already active. He orders the octopus not to move. Determined to protect his friends, Ikalgo turns around and shoots him, hitting him in the arm. Welfin retorts by firing his missiles, which, much to Ikalgo's surprise, explode without injuring him. He soon discovers the attack implanted live centipedes in his head. Ignoring Welfin's warnings, he shoots him in each leg to incapacitate him despite the excruciating pain inflicted by the centipedes, which increases the more he resists. When Welfin surrenders, the pain decreases. Ikalgo demands that he remove the centipedes. Unable to do that, Welfin pretends to pass out to buy time. However, Ikalgo is not fooled and prepares to open fire again. Welfin admits he does not know how to dispel his ability, causing the centipedes to writhe in pain and Ikalgo to understand the cause is Welfin's sincerity. Welfin's personality reminds him of someone he knew as a human. He enquires whether the former Squadron Leader remembers who he used to be. He sees through his attempt to lie. When Welfin talks about Gyro, the centipedes vanish. Ikalgo asks him if he has seen a woman in the palace, to which Welfin replies some human was put into a cocoon. Welfin then starts to laugh, puzzling Ikalgo. The former Squadron Leader states that telling the truth is easy.

Ikalgo locks him and Bloster in the back of a truck before heading towards the inner courtyard. He is shocked by the devastation he sees there. He is spotted by Killua and a woman he deduces to be Palm. He plans to drive her to Peijin as planned, but she insists on staying until she can talk to Gon. Ikalgo thus learns that Gon is waiting for Neferpitou to heal Komugi so they can go to restore Kite afterwards. Ikalgo is cut off by Killua when he is about to object, and understand that staying means dying with Gon if Neferpitou turns on them. The three go looking for Meleoron and Knuckle, who are also determined to remain in the palace. Gon leaves Komugi in their hands before leaving for Peijin with Neferpitou. Ikalgo shivers when Killua explains that if he went with Gon, he might be taken hostage, eliminating their advantage.

Through Palm, the five remaining Extermination Team members learn the King survived his fight against Isaac Netero. Ikalgo scours the palace for corpses he can control of with his ability. However, the two soldier ants killed by Killua are too mangled for him to do so. Shortly afterward, he is horrified by the King's incommensurably powerful Ren. Upon being enveloped in his En, he runs to the entrance to the underground hangar, where, as expected, he finds Palm, who is wondering whether she should go in and risk trapping herself. Ikalgo urges her to hurry inside before the King uses En again. Palm updates him on Killua's actions and Meleoron and Knuckle's predicament while Ikalgo drives them to Bizeff's quarters. He guesses their two friends were taken alive to set up a hostage exchange and plans to set a trap.

While Palm rounds up and blindfolds the women, Ikalgo asks Welfin at gunpoint to act as a messenger and tell their enemies they want to negotiate and that Komugi is hidden in the warehouse. He accepts Welfin's stipulation that he will let them know it is a trap. He stops Palm when she is about to include Welfin among the targets of her Wink Blue. He claims Welfin will be free after that mission and tells him to go find Gyro. The former Squadron Leader reacts with fury, until Ikalgo calls him by his human name. He remembers the two of them were friends and fought against the Chimera Ants in NGL under Gyro, whom he believes to be still alive on account of his strong willpower. He is stunned by Palm's declaration that everything is going to be all right. Despite his skepticism, she manages to convince him that Komugi is a double-edged sword to the King and that he Royal Guards are divided on what to do with her. She speculates they are still alive because the King was unable to sense Komugi with his En while she was enveloped in her hair. She suggests they hide hire, which Ikalgo interprets as Palm being willing to let Knuckle and Meleoron die. Palm replies they only need to buy time until the King dies. Pressured by Ikalgo, she reveals the King was poisoned by the Poor Man's Rose. Swallowing their feelings, they hide Komugi in a box in the warehouse.

After the end of the battle, Ikalgo goes with the others into the hospital where Gon lies mortally wounded. With Palm, he waits outside the operating room with a large bandage around his head for his injury from Welfin's black centipede attack, hoping for Gon's recovery and sneaking concerned glances at Palm. After some time, he sees her well up. She announces the King is dead.

13th Hunter Chairman Election arc
Being near to Gon, Ikalgo along the others assists from the outside as Gon recovers thanks to Alluka's powers feeling a strange and powerful aura. Ikalgo is seen alongside Palm, Knuckle, Meleoron, and a recovering Shoot looking at Small-billed Swans pictures sent by Gon.

Abilities & Powers
During his time as a Chimera Ant Captain, he had authority over his underlings, although he lost it after he allied himself with the Extermination Team. As a Chimera Ant, he is capable of telepathic communication with other members of the same species. Although not a front line fighter, Ikalgo is a reliable ally. His Nen abilities make him both a good sniper and infiltrator. He is crafty, quick of thought as well as an excellent strategist. While inside his human host, he was capable of making long jumps and land from considerable heights without injury, whereas while controlling Flutter's body he gained access to his compound eyes, which allowed him to survive Dragon Dive unscathed.

Octopus Physiology: Ikalgo, having the genes of an octopus, can swim quickly, breathe underwater and adhere to vertical surfaces using his suction cups. He seems to feel no pain even if several of his tentacles are cut off, and the blood loss is minimal. He can inflate his head to store more air than usual, in order to stay afloat, hold his breath for a prolonged amount of time or to fire his rifle.

Advanced Strength: Although he appears to be largely powerless in close-quarters combat, as Killua effortlessly cut off his tentacles when he attempted to restrain him, Ikalgo has enough strength in his limbs to pierce through a human skull and to break a rifle in two with a simple swiping motion.

Proficient Strategist: Ikalgo has demonstrated a fair amount of intelligence during the infiltration in the Chimera Ants' palace, especially when confronting Bloster from the control room. On that occasion, he came up with a multitude of back-up plans, also showing considerable analytical skills in that they were made in a matter of seconds basing on the resources at his disposal. However, Ikalgo's emotions can cloud his judgement and lead him to lower his guard.

Master Marksman: Ikalgo is an marksman with a tremendous amount of skill. He can hit targets he cannot see provided he is given their position in a three-dimensional coordinate system, as showed when he shoot Killua multiple times despite the latter being very far away and hidden in the thick of a forest. However, due to a mental block, he cannot bring himself to shoot to kill.

Nen
Ikalgo is a Manipulator who, through Nen, can reanimate corpses. He also shows some competence in Conjuration. All his abilities are supported by other qualities, for example his marksmanship or skills as an impersonator. Aside from Hatsu, he is capable of using at least Gyo.

Quotes

 * (To Flutter) "Ooh...kay!!"
 * (To Killua) "It's a trap! ♪ Will you still come in?"
 * (To Killua) "Want to see hell? You're looking at it! ♪"
 * (To Killua) "Why you...! How dare you cut off the great Ikalgo's precious arms?!"
 * (To Killua) "Don't call me an octopus!!!"
 * (To Killua) "I wanted to be born as a squid. I was especially awed by the whiplash squid... Did you think that squids and octopi are alike? Wrong!! An octopus is ugly. A squid is cool. Like how tiny differences in the features of a human face determine beauty. For me, the squid's form is flawless."
 * (To Killua) "I can't sell out one of my own!!"
 * (To Killua) "Looking forward to... ♪ being reborn as a squid! ♬"
 * "This... This is the world I'd always dreamed about. The world I longed to be a part of, but assumed I never would... I didn't think someone like me could be a part of it..."
 * "My new life begins tomorrow. I couldn't even have dreamt it a couple days ago. Thank you, Killua! I swear I'll carry out my mission for your sake!! And celebrate my rebirth!!"
 * (To Killua) "Killua. You owe me one!!"
 * "Go ahead and kill me!! I'd rather die here than sell out my friends!!"
 * "It's so easy to pull the trigger when the only price is my own life!!"

Trivia

 * Ikalgo's name comes from the Japanese word for squid, "Ika," and the latter half belonging to the name of the titular rifleman from the manga series Golgo 13.
 * Ikalgo shares the same voice actor whom also voices Gotoh and Koala in the 2011 anime.
 * Ikalgo's greatest wish is to be a Chiroteuthis imperator.
 * Ikalgo's Living Dead Dolls ability is similar to one of the abilities of YuYu Hakusho character, Elder Toguro.
 * The name of Ikalgo's Fleadom ability and the word "freedom" are pronounced the same way in Japanese.
 * According to the "Hunter × Hunter Manual" section found in the Yu ☆ Yu ☆ Hakusho official character book (Shueisha Jump remix), Ikalgo's stats are: