Summary
Spoiler alert!This article contains spoilers for theHunter X Huntermanga.
The world ofHunter x Hunterfeatures a wide cast of characters. As such, many of these characters may be wildly important to the thrust of one arc only to be completely downplayed if not outright forgotten in the future. Such is the case of Neon Nostrade, who was introduced in the Yorknew City arc.
In this pivotal arc ofHxH, themain protagonist Gon Freecs, and his best friend Killua plan to fulfill their promise to their Hunter’s Exam companions Kurapika and Leorio to meet in Yorknew City. By this point, Kurapika has mastered his new Nen abilitiesand has been hired as a bodyguard for the prestigious Nostrade crime family as part of his quest for vengeance against the vagrant Phantom Troupe for destroying his clan. Among his duties, he is charged with Neon’s protection. What has become of her now that we’re long past the Yorknew City arc?
Hunter x Hunter,Chapter 70
First Anime Appearance
Hunter x Hunter(2011), Episode 41
Neon is the spoiled daughter of Light Nostrade, head of the eponymous crime family. She has the uncanny Specialist Nen ability to predict the future, though her predictions are often cryptic and often need to be interpreted. It is through her ability that her father is able to establish himself as a wealthy and powerful crime lord. While she was once highly sought after for her abilities, Neon was allbut taken out of the picture by Chrollo, the leader of the Phantom Troupe.
Using his own abilities,Chrollo steals Neon’s power awaywithout her knowledge. He immediately puts the ability to use as he attempts to protect his Phantom Troupe underlings after attempts are made on their lives. However, this left Neon completely powerless. During the Greed Island arc, it is further revealed that the Nostrade family completely fell from grace and that Neon is still none the wiser over what actually happened to her Nen ability.
What happened to Neon Nostrade?
It isn’t until later chapters in the manga that we get a hint as to Neon’s fate. During the fight between Hisoka and Chrollo (Chapters 351-357), Chrollo explains a key aspect of his Nen-stealing abilities to Hisoka. The powers that he steals will only disappear if the original wielder dies. Later in Chapter 377, Chrollo further reveals to his comrades that Neon’s ability to read the future has disappeared from his collection. The most plausible explanation for this is that Neon somehow died, though her death is never explicitly shown. Fans have even come up with multiple theories that may explain her off-screen death. Some believe that the Nostrade family became an easy target after Neon lost her powers, which could have led to them being wiped out by rival families.
The abilities in my book vanish, never to be used again… when the person I stole from dies.
However, another possibility exists that doesn’t involve her death. It may be possible that Neon somehow reclaimed her ability from Chrollo. A feat like this would typically take an immense amount of Nen mastery to achieve, as Chrollo’s abilities are so substantial that they would need vast amounts of aura to undo. However, it could conceivably be done. After all, Kurapikahad placed a powerful Nen sealon Chrollo’s abilities that was meant to be unbreakable, but an incredibly powerful Nen exorcist was able to remove the seal from Chrollo after considerable effort.
As of this writing,Hunter x Hunterfans may never know what happened to Neon Nostrade. With her fate being intrinsically linked to Chrollo, however, the uncertainty of her living status has some troubling implications.
