Volume 34

Battle to the Death
Volume Information
Release Date	June 26th, 2017
English Release Date	March 6th, 2018
Volume Number	34
Volume Guide
Previous Volume	Threats
Previous Volume	Threats
Next Volume	Ship of Fools
Next Volume	Ship of Fools

Battle to the Death (死(し)闘(とう)()()()()()()()(), Shitō) is the 34^th volume of the Hunter × Hunter manga series. It was released by Shueisha on June 26^th, 2017 in Japan and by Viz Media on March 6^th, 2018 in English.

Chapters

• 351. Battle to the Death (死(し)闘(とう)()()()()()()()(), Shitō)
• 352. Troublesome (厄(やっ)介(かい)()()()()()()()(), Yakkai)
• 353. Cold-Blooded (冷(れい)徹(てつ)()()()()()()()(), Reitetsu)
• 354. Head (頭(とう)部(ぶ)()()()()()()()(), Tōbu)
• 355. Detonation (爆(ばく)破(は)()()()()()()()(), Bakuha)
• 356. Unfortunate: Part 1 (残(ざん)念(ねん)()()()()()()()()①, Zannen (Ichi))
• 357. Unfortunate: Part 2 (残(ざん)念(ねん)()()()()()()()()②, Zannen (Ni))
• 358. Eve (前(ぜん)夜(や)()()()()()()()(), Zen'ya)
• 359. Departure (出(しゅっ)航(こう)()()()()()()()(), Shukkō)
• 360. Parasite (寄(き)生(せい)()()()()()()()(), Kisei)

Summary

At Heavens Arena, Hisoka and Chrollo begin a battle to the death, with the latter using multiple abilities to elude and overwhelm his opponent. Chrollo makes copies of the crowd and turns them into suicide bombers, and although Hisoka does his best to fight them off, he is eventually killed. During the aftermath, Machi, Shalnark, and Kortopi arrive to confirm his death. As Machi is left alone with the body, Hisoka suddenly comes back to life using post-mortem Nen and covers up his wounds with Texture Surprise. He immobilizes Machi with Bungee Gum and tells her that he plans to kill every member of the Phantom Troupe. Chrollo calls Shalnark and tells him that they will be making the journey to the New Continent, but soon after Hisoka easily kills both Shalnark and Kortopi.

Thousands of passengers board the Black Whale, and Kurapika assesses the situation in detail and gathers more information. As the ship sets sail, some Zodiacs discuss their upcoming plan while others keep watch over Beyond sitting in a cell. Kurapika and the other bodyguards discover Woody drained of his blood, and Kurapika learns that the others may not know about the battle for succession among the Princes. After the Royal Family leaves the inaugural banquet, Kurapika and the others discover four more bodyguards drained of their blood. He uses his Dowsing Chain to question them, learning that most are working for higher-ranking Queens and that the battle for succession will be fought among the Princes themselves. As they begin to discuss the Seed Urn Ceremony and parasitic Nen, several Nen beasts suddenly invade the room and Kurapika issues an emergency call. One of the bodyguards, Sayird, is manipulated by a Nen beast and forced to kill two bodyguards with a knife. He begins charging toward Kurapika, who prepares to subdue the threat.

Author's Note

“ A little late to the party... Shin Godzilla was awesome!! Hooray for Japanese cinema!! ” —Yoshihiro Togashi

Extras

Chrollo vs. Hisoka: A Commentary

“	There were several things I wanted to do with this battle. First and foremost, the fight itself. I love stories where the enemies of the protagonists fight each other. One of the most exciting ones was when Tosamaru High School played Benkei High School in the baseball manga Dokaben. I really wanted to do that kind of thing in my manga. I took care to let both of them show their manhood and also portray a clear, decisive outcome—while fun, a tough thing to do. The other thing I wanted to do was have someone say "I'll win 100 percent" and then really do it. The guy who says something like that? generally loses. I referred to the attitude espoused by the swordsman Kogan Iwamoto. Shigurui is awesome!! What I wanted to do most was to have him kill someone in the Troupe. I knew how the story was going to work out, but I hadn't decided who Hisoka would kill at the end. Hisoka wanted to kill Machi then and there, but I vetoed it. To lead into the voyage arc, I needed a messenger to deliver the news to the other Troupe members. He killed Kortopi and Shalnark as part of his post-mortem analysis of his performance in the fight, as well as for revenge, and I also wanted to show how serious Hisoka was through his cold and calculating judgment in reducing Chrollo's roster of abilities...is my excuse after the fact. It was my hunch that letting Machi stick around would make it more interesting later on. This came up in my joint interview with Kishimoto, but I have a blueprint in my head when I'm writing the story, meaning I can put everything into words, and upon actually thinking things through, I often come to the conclusion that following the blueprint is indeed the interesting path. But when the distant future is still murky, who you choose to save or let go relies solely on intuition. I hope I don't come to regret it...	”
— Yoshihiro Togashi, Volume 34 extra (pages 206-7)