The future of "Hunter X Hunter" remains in the dark, as the release date of the manga's chapter 361 is still unannounced.

The fantasy action adventure is currently on hiatus once again after its brief return in April 2016 following a 20-month break due to the health condition of its creator Yoshihiro Togashi.

According to reports, the writer suffered from a worse back ailment that made it hard for him to concentrate on writing the next chapters of the manga. According to a report from RocketNews24, the July issue of Weekly Shonen Jump offered an explanation from Shueisha about the series' absence in the publication in the coming months.

"The last time the series was put on hold, it was because of Togashi-sensei's lower back pain, and once again, his condition has gotten worse, necessitating a break again. At this time, it is not certain when we will be able to resume the series," the publisher claimed.

But after the series resumed this year, Togashi's back pain reportedly returned. This prompted the manga creator to take another break from writing new chapters.

Now, there are also reports claiming that publisher Shueisha is already open to hiring new writers to pen the next installments of "Hunter X Hunter" while Togashi acts as its main consultant. This could help address the problem of the series and avoid the lengthy wait for chapter 361.

On the other hand, reports also claim that the publisher is also considering cancelling the manga series altogether because of Togashi's health condition.

While the publisher has yet to comment on the fate of the series, fans continue to speculate about the plot of "Hunter X Hunter" chapter 361. According to the reports, Kurapika's life will be in danger after he was attacked by a possessed guard at the end of chapter 360.

The character will also have to decide if he can still defend Queen Oito and her child in the next chapter. However, there are no details provided if Kurapika could really protect the queen next season.