Strongest Kakin Princes Ranked After HUNTER×HUNTER Chapter 419

The ranking explained

Halkenburg — the ceiling nobody has reached

His Guardian Spirit Beast knocks targets out and leaves a pinion mark on the back of the left hand, rewriting their memory of the blackout so they do not panic. People without loyalty to him do not keep the mark. Those who do keep it become part of a pool, and the description of what that pool does is one of the strongest statements made about any prince's ability in the arc: the more of them gather around him, the more their aura can grow; when everyone in the group shares the same will, the force released rises to the top tier of all Nen abilities.

That wording matters, and we have kept it exactly. Top tier of all Nen abilities places him among the strongest — it does not say he beats every one of them. It is why he is first here by a narrow margin rather than a decisive one, and why his confidence is Medium.

There is a demonstrated data point underneath the statement, too. When one of Benjamin's men activated Culdcept, an ability built to capture another user's Nen ability, Halkenburg's arrow went straight through it — the arrow is described as piercing any and all defences, Nen abilities included, until it reaches its target. Benjamin has since inherited that same Culdcept.

The complication is his condition, and it deserves stating precisely rather than flattening into "dead". On day eleven he aimed Grimmel the Dissonance at Benjamin's right-hand man and, by chance, was the one swapped — putting Balsamilco in Halkenburg's body and Halkenburg in Balsamilco's. Rather than let Balsamilco use it, he gave his own body up: it deteriorated through day eleven and died in the early hours of day twelve, while he, in Balsamilco's body, reported the death to Benjamin himself. He accepted that Balsamilco would recover control of the body he now occupies, in service of a plan the manga has not revealed. Alive (Soul) / Deceased (Body) is not a technicality here; it is the state he chose.

Tserriednich — the best-measured ability in the contest

Chapter 419 is the reason he is second rather than fourth. Before it, his ability had a name in kanji and no reading and no numbers. The chapter gives it all three: 刹那の10秒 carries the furigana ラプラスデビル, VIZ renders it Laplace's Demon, and he field-tests it on a corridor of King's Army soldiers until he can state the shape of it — a radius of roughly 36 metres, and a snapshot rule, where anyone outside the radius at the moment of activation stays unaffected even if they walk in afterwards. Dropping Zetsu clears the field.

No other prince's ability has been measured to that resolution. It is also the reason his confidence is High while his rank is second: we know exactly what it does, and exactly what it has not been tested against. The corridor was full of non-Nen soldiers. Whether the radius and the snapshot behave the same way against a Nen user is unestablished — and 419 has him name a gap in his own power out loud, which is a strange thing for the story to do to a character it intends as the ceiling.

Updated after chapter 420. 420 ran that untested case: he uses the ability on Hisoka in the casino, and walks away without a kill and without a wound. It also attaches two limits nothing had indicated before — a spend-to-recharge ratio he estimates at roughly 23:1, with almost no reserve left, and a stated need to reach Zetsu in under a tenth of a second before the ability can be triggered once a fight has started. His second place stands: 420 says nothing about any other prince, so there is no basis in it for reordering anyone. What it moves is confidence rather than position, and his contradictions score rises accordingly. The chapter is covered in Tserriednich appears to meet Hisoka.

We have gone through the ability in full in HUNTER×HUNTER finally names Tserriednich's ability, and tested it against the worst possible opponent in can Tserriednich beat Hisoka?.

Camilla — invincible, conditionally

Cat's Name activates after Camilla is killed. A cat-like Nen beast appears behind whoever did it, crushes them, drains their life force, and pours it into her — healing her completely and bringing her back. It runs on post-mortem Nen, which is why it is powerful enough to make Benjamin hesitant about killing her at all.

The condition is the whole story. Death is the trigger, so she cannot use it to prevent damage short of dying, and she is powerless against an opponent who simply does not attack her directly. Third place is what "unkillable, if you play into it" is worth.

Benjamin — first on the wrong table

He is a genuinely strong Nen user in person: his Ken held against gunfire that drew blood from a trained subordinate hit by the same weapon. Benjamin Baton then lets him inherit the Nen ability of any sworn subordinate who dies, provided they graduated from Kakin's Royal Military Academy and served in his private army. He has picked up at least three so far.

Read that mechanism carefully and the reason he is fourth here becomes obvious. Benjamin Baton converts his faction into his personal power — it is his own ability, but the fuel is a standing army that fights whether or not his Hatsu ever fires. Under the rule above, that army sits in the faction table, not here.

What does count here is everything he has already banked. Air Blow, Secret Window and Culdcept are his now, unconditionally, and no further death is required for him to use them. That is the difference between Benjamin and Halkenburg in one line: Halkenburg's followers have to be present for his ability to exist at all, while Benjamin's soldiers only have to have been there, once, and then died. So Halkenburg's people are inside his Nen package and Benjamin's are not — and Benjamin still keeps every ability he has taken from them.

He is first on the second table by a wide margin. On his own package he is fourth, and that is not a criticism of him so much as a description of what kind of prince he is.

The dead princes, and why they are still here

Three princes are dead outright, and each death says something about the contest's mechanics.

Momoze was the first to die, on day one, and her own Guardian Spirit Beast caused it — it wandered off to attack a neighbouring room without her knowledge, drained her, and she was suffocated with a pillow in her sleep while exhausted. Her beast's actual ability, taking control of a target's body through a copy hidden in their ear, is respectable. It never protected her.

Salé-salé was removed by Benjamin's guard-detail arrangement in two moves: one man eliminated his Guardian Spirit Beast, another swapped onto the roster and killed him the next day. His beast's goodwill-smoke was broad and weak, and losing it first is what made him killable.

Kacho died during the escape attempt with her twin. Her Without You was designed to activate only after one twin died — so it began working the moment it could no longer help her. Fugetsu's teleportation improved as a direct result, which is the cruellest mechanic in the arc.

Frequently asked

Who is the strongest Kakin prince? On their own Nen package — their Nen, their Guardian Spirit Beast and anyone the ability needs to function: Halkenburg, whose marked followers are stated to reach the top tier of all Nen abilities. On total faction strength: Benjamin, who commands the military. They are different questions.

Is Benjamin the strongest prince? He is the strongest faction. On personal Nen we rank him fourth — he is a strong Enhancer, but Benjamin Baton only produces abilities when his own soldiers die, so ranking him first on his own Nen package would mean importing a standing army that fights with or without his Hatsu.

How strong is Tserriednich after chapter 419? Second on his own Nen package, with the best-measured ability in the contest: Laplace's Demon, roughly a 36-metre radius, applied as a snapshot at the moment of activation. Chapter 420 then tested it on a Nen user for the first time and added two limits: a spend-to-recharge ratio he puts near 23:1 with almost no reserve left, and a sub-0.1-second Zetsu he does not have. His placement here does not move, because 420 says nothing about any other prince.

Is Halkenburg dead? His body is; his soul is not. He was swapped into Balsamilco Might's body on day eleven and gave his own up; it died in the early hours of day twelve, for a plan the manga has not yet revealed. We list him as Alive (Soul) / Deceased (Body) rather than picking one.

Can Camilla be killed? Only by someone who does not attack her directly. Cat's Name triggers on her death, destroys the killer and revives her — but it does nothing against indirect methods, and nothing at all if she is simply left alone.

Which princes are dead? Momoze (12th, day 1), Salé-salé (8th, day 6) and Kacho (10th, day 8). Halkenburg (9th) is the fourth casualty and the complicated one.

Why is Woble not ranked last? Because nothing has been revealed about her Guardian Spirit Beast. "Unrevealed" is not "weak", and rating her would be inventing evidence. She is also, on faction size, dead last — and still alive, because Kurapika is her bodyguard.

1. Day 1Momoze dies firstThe 12th prince is suffocated with a pillow in her sleep by a queen's guard after her own Guardian Spirit Beast exhausts her by attacking a neighbouring room without her knowledge. The first death of the contest is caused, indirectly, by the prince's own protection.
2. Day 5–6Salé-salé is removed in two movesBenjamin had used his authority to force his own men into every rival's guard detail. One of them eliminates Salé-salé's Guardian Spirit Beast; another swaps onto the roster and assassinates the 8th prince the next day.
3. Day 8Kacho dies escapingThe 10th prince dies during an attempted escape with Fugetsu. Her Guardian Spirit Beast, Without You, was designed to activate only after one twin died — and Fugetsu's teleportation improves as a result.
4. Day 11–12Halkenburg loses his bodyHe targets Benjamin's right hand with Grimmel the Dissonance and, by chance, is the one swapped. Rather than let Balsamilco use his body, he lets it go: it deteriorates through day eleven and dies in the early hours of day twelve, leaving his soul in an enemy officer and his marked followers still alive.
5. Chapter 419Tserriednich measures himselfThe 4th prince walks a corridor of King's Army soldiers testing his newly named ability, arrives at a radius of roughly 36 metres and a snapshot rule, and states out loud where his own power falls short. Then he enters the casino area.

Ratings

What could change this ranking

• Halkenburg's plan surfacing. He killed his own body for a reason. If that reason works, first place stops being contested.
• Laplace's Demon meeting a Nen user. Every number in chapter 419 came from non-Nen soldiers. The first real test rewrites his entry either way.
• Marayam's barrier being explained. He is fifth on a suspicion. Confirm the beast produced that alternate space and he is arguably top three.
• Woble's Guardian Spirit Beast appearing. The only genuinely blank entry on the board.
• Benjamin inheriting something decisive. Benjamin Baton grows every time one of his own dies, which means a bad day for his army is a good day for him personally.

Our call

The reason most Kakin rankings put Benjamin first is not that they are careless. It is that "strongest" is genuinely ambiguous in a story built around a battle royale where almost none of the contestants fight. Benjamin has the army, the position and an ability that converts both into personal power. That is a real answer to a real question.

It is just not the same question as "whose own Nen package is the most powerful", and on that one the answer is a man who gave up his own body and let it die, whose ability lives in the left hands of people who do not remember being marked.

Kakin is the arc where the two answers came apart. Running one table would have meant picking which reader to disappoint.

For the chapter that made this ranking possible, see HUNTER×HUNTER finally names Tserriednich's ability and can Tserriednich beat Hisoka?. For the same method applied to ONE PIECE, see the strongest Elbaf characters and the God's Knights ranked.

Change log

• 5 October 2026 — Correction. Momoze was suffocated with a pillow, not strangled, and Kacho is now described only as dying during the escape attempt; the earlier wording asserted a mechanism for her death that the chapter does not establish. Both checked against the chapters themselves. No placements changed. Current status for every prince is in which Kakin princes are dead.

• 2 September 2026 — Corrections. Halkenburg's massed followers are stated to reach the top tier of all Nen abilities; an earlier version of this page wrote that they surpass all Nen abilities, which is a stronger claim than the source makes. His evidence rating drops from 8 to 7 accordingly, and his first place is now described as narrow. His body dies in the early hours of day twelve, not day eleven — day eleven is the swap. The ability his arrow pierced is Culdcept, which captures other abilities. Added the source-scope note above.

• 2 September 2026 (revised) — Rewrote the definition behind Ranking 1. It previously read "own Nen plus Guardian Spirit Beast, nothing else: no bodyguards, no soldiers, no money", which contradicted its own first place, since Halkenburg's ability cannot fire without his marked followers. The measure is now the prince's Nen package — their Nen and Guardian Spirit Beast including anyone the ability itself requires, but excluding independent military, guards, money and position — stated as a general rule that also covers Tubeppa, Tyson, Zhang Lei and Salé-salé, whose abilities run through other people too. Benjamin's already-inherited abilities are explicitly inside his package; his standing army is not. No placements changed.

• 2 September 2026 — First published, current after chapter 419.