Benjamin Hui Guo Rou

Benjamin Hui Guo Rou (ベンジャミン＝ホイコーロ, Benjamin Hoikōro) is the First Prince of the Kakin Empire, the eldest son of his father's first wife, Unma, and the Deputy Military Adviser of the Royal Army of the Kakin Empire.

Appearance


Benjamin is a large, heavily muscled man with spiky hair. He has a large nose and lines across his cheeks.

Personality
Benjamin is a very aggressive man, as seen when he easily becomes riled from his younger brother's taunting. He is also extremely self-confident, causing Tubeppa to view him as arrogant. Despite that, he is sociable as he is seen amiably talking with two elderly guests at the formal party. He treats his soldiers with respect and honors the memory of the deceased ones.

His ultimate goal is not only the throne of Kakin, but the unification of the world under Kakin rule. To achieve it, he has no qualms about killing his own siblings, which he in fact sees as a duty in order to maintain the "tree" of the royal family healthy. In particular, he seems to hate Tserriednich, while also having a sort of rivalry with him, and is determined to kill him with his own hands. Despite Tserriednich thinking lightly of Benjamin's intelligence, Balsamilco believes this to be a byproduct of his impulsiveness and tendency to take the shortest route to a goal, but regards him as flexible and logical once he has been supplied the necessary information to act upon.

Dark Continent Expedition arc


Benjamin contacts his biological younger brother Tserriednich with an adult male lion restrained by his bare arms and legs, to inform him that their father has accepted their plan. Their father was apparently quite clear when he said, "Whomever survives the voyage to the Dark Continent, will become the next King." Tserriednich overcome with bliss is overjoyed by their father's decision, then declares he will become King and wipe out all of the trash (other siblings).

Benjamin, unfazed by his younger brother's declaration taunts Tserriednich and after his brother inquires, informs him that none of the other siblings aside from themselves know about the plan yet, but they all will be informed by their father's messenger soon. He then declares that he'll personally deal with Tserriednich by breaking every bone in his body with his bare hands. Tserriednich on the other hand sarcastically claims that he just soiled himself and that he's so terrified that he doesn't want him calling him anymore and hangs up on Benjamin. Aggravated by his younger brother's taunt, he kills his restrained lion.

Succession Contest arc
Benjamin is briefly shown dressed in a military style outfit, with ribbons and various decorations on his jacket's left breast, while saluting.



Sometime later, he participates to the ceremony on the eve of the voyage. He waves to the crowd while wondering how many of his siblings will be left by the next ceremony. He then participates to a formal party. Like the rest of his family, he will reside in the 1st deck of the Black Whale 1. He has also ordered his soldiers to begin an assault on his mark. The next day Benjamin participates to another ceremony, noting all his siblings are present and thinking to himself he will survive. Benjamin's Guardian Spirit Beast is revealed during the party he attends. Minutes later, he ridicules 2nd Prince Camilla for inquiring about the exact meaning of "dropping out" from the Succession War. He vows to purge her and all other princes. After leaving the hall, he orders Coventoba to get in contact with Balsamilco and have him bring Tserriednich to him alive, so he can kill him with his own hands. However When he meets with Balsamilco, he convinces the Prince to desist because of his inability to see the Guardian Spirit Beast despite being a Nen user. Another reason being since the other princes have learned about the Guardian Spirit Beasts thanks to Kurapika's announcement, while their Hunter bodyguards are bound to be better at Nen than Benjamin's men. Benjamin thus changes his plan, ordering his men to infiltrate the quarters of the other princes under official pretenses to study the abilities of their 'Guardian Spirit Beasts and the Hunters', and kill should they feel threatened in the slightest.

After Vincent's confrontation with Prince Woble's bodyguards Kurapika and Bill and his subsequent death, Prince Benjamin sends Babimyna as Vincent's replacement, telling him failure would not be tolerated. Instead of talking to Kurapika himself, Benjamin may have had Balsamilco talk with Kurapika as revealed by Shimano, one of Queen Oito's maids, who sees Benjamin as a cold-hearted and ruthless man. Right after Kurapika rejects their call Balsamilco and Benjamin plot on how they should deal with Kurapika with the help of Furykov. Benjamin sends him to Kurapika's lessons to keep tab on him.

Following Musse's death, Benjamin receives ownership of Secret Window, through which he discovers the nature of Camilla's own Hatsu ability. When she approaches his quarters, he gives Furykov the order to let her through and to not attack her under any circumstances. He welcomes her while sitting in a chair, mocking her for her supposed decision to die honorably instead of surrendering, and commenting that patience was a virtue she always lacked. When she pretends to have come in pursuit of her assailant, Benjamin declares he has no intention of playing along and orders his guards to restrain her. She empties the clip into him, but he deflects all the bullets with Ken. Camilla is then arrested and imprisoned.

While working out, Benjamin looks at the palm of his hand and thanks Musse and Vincent for their abilities, swearing to carry on their will and to ensure the prosperity of his nation.

Abilities & Powers


Benjamin's status as one of the Senior Princes of Kakin grants him significant political influences and assets that give him benefits to win the throne. Being the Supreme Vice Counselor of the nation's military, he holds immense military power, which allowed him to override the decision made by other princes in regards to their own bodyguards. In the context of the succession war, his position serves as a deterrent ensuring that no guard from Kakin will attack him, as he has the power to kill their families should they do so. His rank suggests he received military training. He is also endowed with a squad of personal bodyguards, all of whom are Nen users. His brother Tserriednich belittles his intellect, although this might be due to his own extraordinary intelligence, and in fact Balsamilco regards him as a good leader and tactician once he's provided with enough information. He has tremendous charisma, inspiring undivided loyalty and even affection from his subordinates, to the point some even view him as their father figure.

Enhanced Strength: Benjamin has superhuman levels of brawn. He has proven himself capable of restraining an adult male lion while casually speaking on the phone, and then tear off his head with no effort. He can lift a dumbbell weighing at least a hundred kilos with only one hand and no apparent effort.

Nen
Benjamin is capable of using Nen. His skin might be strengthened with Enhancement, due to the fact that it was apparently left intact despite a lion desperately attempting to scratch him. He further proved his proficiency in this Nen type when his Ken allowed him to remain completely unscathed after being shot at several times, whereas a single bullet from the same gun drew blood from Furykov.

Like the rest of his siblings, Benjamin received an egg from which a Nen beast hatched to protect him. Since it is a parasitic-type ability, he has no control over it, and despite being a Nen user, he is unable to see his Guardian Spirit Beast or anyone else's, while his bodyguards are able to. Balsamilco suspects this is due to a condition of the Guardian Spirit Beast themselves rather than Benjamin's lack of skill. The Nen beast is subjected to two rule-like instincts: it is unable to fight other Guardian Spirit Beasts as well as to directly attack the host of one. Its abilities are currently unknown. When Benjamin asks whether all of his bodyguards are able to see his Guardian Spirit Beast, Balsamilco affirms it and tells him that it is worthy of the next king of Kakin.

Quotes

 * "It's an act of folly to reach past me, the First Prince, for the crown! They must be put to death!!! If you end up killed by another prince... consider yourselves lucky!!"
 * (To Camilla) "If you believe you will be king, there's no need to bother with how others define things!!"
 * (To Camilla) "What conceit...!! Giving you the throne is like having a rabid dog for a babysitter!!"
 * "I'll kill them!!!!! I'll kill them right now!!! I'll kill them all!!!! I can't wait until we disembark!!!!"
 * (To Coventoba) "Bring Fourth Prince Tserriednich to me!! I don't care how!! But I want him alive!! I will kill him myself!! Tell him that!!"
 * "Vincent. Musse. Live on through me...! I will carry out your purpose...!! I swear to unify the world under Kakin rule by my hands!!"

Trivia

 * The katakana in the name of Benjamin's ability can be romanized as either "Benjamin Baton" or "Benjamin Button", forming an obvious reference to the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
 * In the Japanese original, the second name of the ability is also the title of the first book in James P. Hogan's Giants series.

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