Kurta Massacre Investigation Theory
In this article, I would like to touch upon Kurapika’s story arc and the numerous inconsistencies associated with the conventional perception of the events — specifically, the massacre of the Kurta Clan and who the real culprit is. This is contrary to Kurapika’s own belief, as he functions in the story more as an unreliable narrator than an objective storyteller whose words should be taken as absolute truth.
As we all know from the canonical version of events (because that’s what Kurapika says), 4 years before the start of the main story, the Kurta Clan was wiped out by the Phantom Troupe for the sake of their Scarlet Eyes, which are extremely valuable on the black market. In response, Kurapika swore revenge. However, over time, this version of events appears increasingly implausible and convoluted. The impression that the Spiders did not kill the Kurta Clan formed in me about six years ago, after reading Volume 0 (released in 2014), which contains a detailed report on the Kurta Clan massacre.
After analyzing the manga’s narrative, the canonical interpretation of what happened seems highly questionable, full of holes and contradictions.
Why did Kurapika decide that the Phantom Troupe wiped out his clan?
No one in the world, except Kurapika himself, accuses them of the crime. Nothing in the information available to Kurapika (or anyone else) indicates that the Troupe was responsible. Yet from the very beginning of the story, Kurapika firmly insists that the Phantom Troupe exterminated his clan because of the ‘Scarlet Eyes’ value on the black market.
The fact that the Troupe carried out the Kurta Clan massacre is not common knowledge. This is confirmed by Leorio’s words: the Spider symbol is a well-known emblem of the Phantom Troupe, but the detail that the Kurta Clan was killed by them is described as “less widely known information” that he learned directly from Kurapika.
Let’s examine the information Kurapika could have obtained from the news report on the Kurta Clan massacre. The end of Volume 0 states:
“NEWS OF THE KURTA CLAN’S ANNIHILATION WAS REPORTED TO THE WORLD SIX WEEKS LATER. THE NEWSPAPER ARTICLES AT THE TIME SAID THE FOLLOWING…
A female traveler who wandered into the forest discovered that all 128 villagers had been killed.
Family members were seated facing each other. They had been stabbed multiple times and decapitated while still alive.
It is believed these wounds were not inflicted on Kurta Clan members bound by blood. Both eyes were gouged out from pure-blooded Kurta members. For outsiders who joined the clan through marriage, their eyes remained but were crushed. They suffered more brutal wounds than the other clan members. (Adult men had more wounds, but these were almost certainly sustained while fighting before they were captured by the criminals.)
It is also believed that the criminals particularly frequently and brutally mutilated the children in front of their parents to produce a more vivid scarlet color.
The scarlet color caused by anger is very rich and bright, and is highly prized in the criminal underworld.
Next to the bodies of the slain, a message presumed to have been left by the criminals was found:
‘We will take everything you leave behind, but never take anything from us.’”
Nothing in this news report indicates who committed the crime.
Many people mistakenly cite the message left by the criminals as evidence. It clearly points to the well-known motto associated with Meteor City, as explained by the mafia hacker in Yorknew. One might assume Kurapika concluded that Meteor City — and by extension the Spiders — were involved. However, neither Kurapika nor the general public knew at the time that the Spiders came from Meteor City or had any connection to it. The mafia itself only learned this after analyzing the Troupe’s fake corpses during the Yorknew arc, after which the bounties on their heads were withdrawn.
The connection between the Spiders and Meteor City was not public knowledge before the Yorknew events.
Moreover, the elders of Meteor City themselves are unlikely to have done it. As the mafia explains, Meteor City leaves such messages after acts of revenge against the outside world for injustices committed against one of its residents. For example, ten years earlier, after an innocent Meteor City resident was wrongly imprisoned for a murder he didn’t commit, 31 people involved in the case (police, judges, prosecutors, and lawyers) were killed by 31 Meteor City residents who used themselves as human bombs, leaving the same message behind.
If this message is the well-known signature of Meteor City/the Phantom Troupe, why didn’t the news reports identify the perpetrators or mention who the message is associated with? The news left the criminals anonymous and did not suggest the message pointed to Meteor City or the Troupe.
When Meteor City takes revenge, they always use human bombs, following the rule stated in Chapter 396: “Only life can compensate for life.”
In the case of the homeless man, 31 people involved in his wrongful conviction were killed, along with 31 Meteor City residents who sacrificed their lives — exactly 62 people total. Similarly, over 300 people died in the Chimera Ant attack on Meteor City (victims plus the residents who detonated themselves).
In contrast, the Kurta Clan massacre had a completely different modus operandi: 128 clan members were simply killed with bladed weapons, not bombs. Additionally, Meteor City only takes revenge on those directly responsible for the injustice, yet here everyone was slaughtered indiscriminately. The method is not characteristic of Meteor City.
It also couldn’t have been the Phantom Troupe itself. They never leave such messages. Even when they took revenge on the mafia for Uvogin during the Yorknew Requiem, they didn’t leave one. They simply don’t operate that way and are not directly tied to Meteor City’s actions. Moreover, they don’t take the concept of revenge as seriously as Meteor City’s elders. This is shown by how easily the Spiders (except Nobunaga) wanted to leave Yorknew without avenging Uvogin. Chrollo was very surprised by Nobunaga’s obsession with revenge and told him to forget about it. (Importantly, this scene plays out immediately after the mafia’s story about how important revenge is to Meteor City.) Thus, the narrative clearly separates the Troupe’s actions from those of Meteor City’s elders, indicating they operate independently and do not share the same philosophy.
Phinks openly mocks the philosophy of Meteor City’s elders and how they operate during the Chimera Ant arc.
Not to mention that the level of cold-blooded cruelty toward the victims in the Kurta Clan massacre does not resemble how the Spiders usually act. For such brutal killers, they are actually relatively merciful — they either attack in self-defense or target criminals and mafia members. In Yorknew, for example, they only killed mafia members and never touched Gon and Killua despite having multiple opportunities and justifications to do so.
They showed a certain level of cruelty during the requiem for Uvo because of Chrollo’s order to “make it a big show,” but even that, as Feitan emphasized, was a “very unusual” command. This indicates they normally do not behave this way, except in that special case.
Meanwhile, the Kurta Clan massacre displayed an unprecedented level of cruelty and violence: brutal stab wounds on men, women, and children; eyes crushed; heads severed.
As Togashi emphasizes during the scene of Luini’s meeting with the Spiders, they do not kill people indiscriminately or for no reason, and the public’s opinion of the Spiders (and, from a metatextual perspective, the opinion of manga readers) differs greatly from who they actually are.
Meanwhile, the Kurta Clan massacre displayed an unprecedented level of cruelty and violence: brutal stab wounds on men, women, and children; eyes crushed; heads severed.
Massacre does not resemble the Spiders style, but it fits the mafia perfectly.
Ultimately, anyone could have left that note at the massacre site to divert attention and shift blame onto Meteor City, knowing that the police are wary of getting involved with them after the famous incident with the 31 people killed over the wrongful conviction of a Meteor City resident. The note on the corpse’s leg is the only “evidence” suggesting the killers were from Meteor City. Remember how, early in the manga, Kurapika nearly killed a prisoner in the Trick Tower — one who had given himself a fake Spider tattoo — in a fit of rage. False accusations against Meteor City residents, criminals impersonating Phantom Troupe members, and some people’s awareness of the city’s “calling cards” are all realities in the Hunter x Hunter world.
False flag operations are commonplace even in real life, and this has already happened three times in the story:
Majitani, who fought Kurapika during the Hunter Exam. He was a small-time criminal pretending to be a Phantom Troupe member by using a fake Spider tattoo to gain more respect and instill fear.
Hisoka, who was a genuine member but insincere, and also had a fake tattoo.
Luini, who killed one of the Cha-R family’s men and tried to pin it on the Spiders to spark a war between them.
Togashi does not include such narrative elements for no reason. This hints that the root of the conflict between Kurapika and the Spiders lies in a false perception of who the real perpetrators of the Kurta Clan massacre were — because the actual culprits simply shifted the blame.
Moreover, there is a very amusing irony here: during the auction, the Spiders themselves steal from and kill mafia members while “pretending” to be mafia.
Kurapika firmly claims that the Kurta Clan was killed by the Phantom Troupe for their Scarlet Eyes, which are highly valuable in the criminal world and black market.
However, when he mentions them to Uvogin, Uvogin doesn’t even understand what he’s talking about — he has no idea who the Kurta are or what the Scarlet Eyes are. Strange questions for someone who supposedly participated in the genocide of 128 people specifically for those eyes.
Authors do not make such narrative choices by accident. Togashi is very subtly planting subtext that Uvogin genuinely doesn’t know what Kurapika is referring to, meaning Kurapika is deeply mistaken about the object of his hatred.
Many people point to the later scene where Uvogin finally sees the Scarlet Eyes as proof that the Troupe participated in the genocide, but technically, Uvogin admits nothing. Togashi deliberately uses vague language, especially in the original Japanese text:
「キレると目が赤くなる奴等!!」 “Those guys whose eyes turn red when they get angry!!”
「どっかの奥地でコソコソ暮らしてた」 “They were living in hiding somewhere in the boonies.”
「団長がいたく気に入ってたぜ」 “The Boss was really interested in them.”
「その生き残りか」 “So you’re one of the survivors?”
「あいつら強かったな…」 “They were strong…”
「ありゃあ大仕事だった」 “That was a big job.”
Uvogin says nothing about exterminating the entire clan, including women and children, nor about gouging out their eyes. The wording Togashi uses here is intentionally contextual and ambiguous, as many Japanese fans have long noted. It feels like Togashi deliberately chose very vague phrasing.
Furthermore, Uvogin’s words imply a brutal battle against strong opponents, not the cold-blooded murder of defenseless clan members, women, and children. He likely assumed Kurapika was seeking revenge for the strong Kurta members he fought before the mafia killed the rest and sold their eyes on the black market.
The other Spiders only vaguely recall that such a clan existed and that there was a survivor, without specifying what role they played in the events.
When Kurapika asks Chrollo directly, Chrollo simply stays silent and avoids answering — likely because he knows Melody is in the car and can detect lies, so he avoids saying anything unnecessary.
Thus, none of the Spiders have ever confirmed or denied their involvement in the Kurta Clan massacre.
Kurapika’s belief that they attacked for the value of the Kurta Clan’s eyes makes no sense and completely contradicts the narrative — as do Hisoka’s words.
Hisoka, speaking to Kurapika, described Chrollo as someone who evaluates and enjoys stolen goods before eventually getting bored with them and selling them. This is funny because we have never seen Chrollo enjoying the items they steal. After stealing the auction items, they simply celebrated the success of the operation, drinking beer and using the boxes as chairs.
When Chrollo was discussing with the Spiders who the “Chain Bastard” might be, he wasn’t even aware whether the Scarlet Eyes were among the auction items. The Scarlet Eyes are so unimportant to him that he didn’t even know if they had been at the auction or if the Troupe had stolen them. The only one who knew was Kortopi, simply because he made copies of all the stolen items.
One could argue they simply forgot because there were so many items, but the Scarlet Eyes were literally the last item of the auction. People tend to remember the first and last items, yet their presence went unnoticed by Chrollo.
Chrollo and the Spiders are generally not interested in money, and only mildly interested in the things they steal unless those items have practical value. Machi, for example, when wondering why Chrollo gathered them and what he wanted to steal from the Yorknew auction, first thought of books — because Chrollo loves reading. A very strange motive for a supposedly ruthless gang of thieves who supposedly do it for financial gain.
Chrollo himself says they are not interested in money.
The Spiders have a very unusual attitude toward theft and material possessions. Even when Shizuku really wanted the diamond that Gon, Killua, and Leorio earned by scamming people, instead of simply stealing it, she tried to earn it fairly by arm-wrestling Gon. After losing, she just left. She could have killed everyone in seconds, taken the diamond, and run away, but that never even crossed her mind. Very strange behavior for a group of ruthless thieves and murderers.
Here we have established that Chrollo is not interested in the items they steal (including the Scarlet Eyes) for money, nor as art objects — unlike characters with a clear interest in the Scarlet Eyes, such as Neon Nostrade and Tserriednich. They are collectors of human body parts, and it is their hobby.
Hisoka is most likely simply lying about Chrollo’s interest in the stolen goods, just as he lied about needing to destroy the “head” to stop the Spider.
Based on Uvogin’s words, it is reasonable to assume there was some conflict between the Spiders and the Kurta Clan — most likely occurring in the few weeks between Kurapika leaving the village and the clan being wiped out by unknown criminals. It was probably related to Sheila. After a brief conflict in which several of the clan’s strongest members were killed, the Spiders left. Then the mafia, learning of this, took advantage of the situation, killed the remaining clan members, and harvested their eyes.
Considering how Sarasa was killed in the Troupe’s childhood and how the Kurta Clan members were killed, there are many parallels. It is unlikely the Troupe would have done to the Kurta Clan exactly what happened to Sara in their childhood. I think these parallels are not accidental, and the true culprit behind the Kurta Clan massacre and Sara’s killers are connected.
When Chrollo describes how Sara was killed, he says the crime scene resembled a “theatrical stage” and that the recording of the murder was like a piece of “art” that the killers would want to share on the dark web. This imagery is very similar to Tserriednich, who views murder as a form of art. It is no coincidence that he possesses the last pair of Scarlet Eyes and the head of Pairo, Kurapika’s childhood friend.
There may also be a connection between the tattooed man who was with Riznoth during Sara’s murder and the tattoo artist who gave the childhood friends of Tserriednich their squad tattoos and was apparently with Tserri himself. As Tserri’s friends say, he previously worked for the Hei-Ly Family.
This is precisely why the Spiders are currently on the Black Whale: to find the people or organization responsible for Sara’s murder. We already know that one of them was likely connected to the Kakin Empire — Riznoth, one of Sara’s killers, was so well-known in Kakin that the 10th anniversary of his death was reported on the Black Whale in Chapter 406.
Most likely, Chrollo learned about the connection between Sara’s killers and the Kakin Empire, which is why their next target after the Yorknew mafia auction was the Kakin mafia. The trail of Sara’s killers led them there. They probably found the lead using their dark web site, just as Kurapika previously saw the last Scarlet Eyes in Tserriednich’s possession through the same site.
Speaking of who is truly responsible for the Kurta Clan massacre, suspicion falls on either Tserriednich or the previous head of the Hei-Ly Family. Reasons:
The three main Kakin mafia families have different primary activities on the Black Whale. Cha-R controls the flow of raw materials and goods. Xi-Yu profits from human trafficking and raw material distribution. Hei-Ly earns income as an intermediary between the black market and the wealthy. The Scarlet Eyes were sold precisely through the black market.
The patron of the Hei-Ly Family is the 4th Prince, Tserriednich.
From a narrative standpoint, given the parallels between Sara’s death and the Kurta Clan, it makes sense that Togashi is trying to bring Hei-Ly/Tserriednich together as a common target for the Spiders and Kurapika. Currently, the Spiders are at war with Hei-Ly (after the encounter with Luini), while Kurapika wants to reach Tserriednich.
Given that Morena became the head of Hei-Ly only recently, she was probably not the leader at the time of the Kurta Clan massacre (six years ago). She has already killed the previous leader. In that case, Kurapika is either left without a target for his revenge, or the responsibility still lies with Tserriednich.
Slightly off-topic, but trying to predict the future direction of the narrative, it’s worth noting Togashi’s love for JRPGs and his previous manga Level E. Togashi likes to play with similar ideas and archetypes in his stories.
One of the main probable inspirations for Hunter x Hunter was the JRPG Arc the Lad and Arc the Lad II.
Arc the Lad (1995, PlayStation, developed by G-Craft) has many events that resemble Hunter x Hunter to some degree. Here are some comparisons:
The game begins in the Kingdom of Saryia with Kukuru, a member of the Sacred Clan responsible for guarding a Flame that has burned for centuries atop a mountain. Mount Kukuru is the name of the mountain where the Zoldyck family lives.
Young Ark, living with his mother, is about to set off on a journey, just as his father once did (who was later declared missing). This is very similar to Gon’s journey to find Ging.
The sequel Arc the Lad II starts exactly where the first game ended. It introduces a completely new cast and a new main hero — Elk. Elk is a Hunter (a mercenary who takes jobs at Hunter Guilds for money and fame).
Elk’s family and fellow villagers were killed when he was a child, and the subsequent events were so horrific that he lost almost all his memories. This may have influenced Kurapika’s backstory.
In his childhood, Elk was placed in a facility where children underwent fusions with monsters, turning them into chimeras. This was done by the Romaila Empire, the game’s main evil organization. There is no direct parallel with the Chimera Ants, but I see similarities between the Romaila Empire and NGL.
The second game takes place in a city that strongly resembles New York, where the antagonists are the mafia and you have to protect a girl — lots in common with the Yorknew arc and Neon.
In one image, you can see three characters with design and/or color palette similarities to Kurapika, Gon, and Hanzo. The character similar to Hanzo — Shu — also wears a bandana to emphasize that he is a shinobi.
Elk, the main hero of the second game, also strongly resembles Ging in the Greed Island flashback.
In Arc the Lad, the main hero Elk belongs to an indigenous tribe called the “Piuruka Clan” and has a similar origin to Kurapika. He initially mistakes the main characters from the previous game for those who attacked his native village and swears revenge. Later the misunderstanding is resolved, they reconcile, and fight together to defeat the evil Romaila Empire.
If we follow the pattern of the game, in the future Kurapika should learn that the Phantom Troupe was not actually involved in the murder of his clan, and the blame lies with the Kakin Empire/Tserriednich or the Hei-Ly Family. Kurapika and the Troupe will join forces to defeat them.
Before Hunter x Hunter, Yoshihiro Togashi wrote the manga Level E (1995–1997). In Chapter 14 of Level E (“The Boy Meets the Girl”), there is a specific storyline about a mermaid poacher that echoes Kurapika’s storyline and is likely an early prototype.
A group of two-tailed mermaids (an endangered alien species secretly living on Earth) was captured by a ruthless poacher — a wealthy, long-haired aristocrat with a cruel and sadistic personality (Like Tserriednich). The poacher keeps them as goods for an illegal auction or trade, exploiting their rarity. Later, the Mermaid (Kurapika) is saved from the poacher (Tserriednich) by a group of child Power Rangers (the Phantom Troupe / The Power Cleaners).
Considering the parallels with Hunter x Hunter’s plot, it is clear that in the future Kurapika will team up with the Phantom Troupe to kill Tserriednich.
In the end, their paths are already beginning to converge smoothly. Kurapika needs to stop the Succession Contest ritual, and the most reliable way to do so is by stealing the Kakin regalia — which Chrollo is currently targeting.
I expect that in the upcoming chapters, Chrollo and Kurapika will learn that they have both suffered at the hands of the same people, and they will have no choice but to start working together.
