Hunter x Hunter

HUNTER X HUNTER

Gon Freecss grows up on Whale Island believing his father Ging is dead — only to learn he is one of the world's greatest Hunters. Gon resolves to take the Hunter Exam and find his father. He befriends the assassin-trained Killua Zoldyck on the voyage to the exam.

The Hunter Exam begins in a deep forest filled with lethal creatures. Gon, Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika push through the first phases. The examiner Satotz leads the applicants on a murderous marathon that thins the candidates ruthlessly.

The Hunter Exam reaches its most dangerous phases: the Tower of Tricks and brutal one-on-one combat. Gon's instincts and Killua's assassin training are pushed to their limits. Killua kills another examiner and is disqualified — leaving Gon to face the final phase alone.

Gon fails to pass the Hunter Exam alone but earns his license through Satotz's recommendation. He and Leorio travel to Kukuroo Mountain to rescue Killua from his controlling family. The terrifying Zoldyck family estate stands between them and their friend.

Gon and his friends navigate the Zoldyck estate's lethal butler staff and reach Killua, who rejoins them on his own terms. The group heads to Heavens Arena — a massive fighting tower where competitors earn money and power through combat.

At Heavens Arena, Gon and Killua encounter Nen for the first time — the fundamental life energy system that separates elite fighters from everyone else. They train under Wing to open their Nen nodes before facing the next level of opponents.

Gon and Killua master the basics of Nen and begin climbing Heavens Arena's floors. Gon faces the powerful Gido and Riehlvelt, and Killua's own Nen potential is revealed as overwhelmingly prodigious. Hisoka watches with hungry anticipation.

Gon's fight against Hisoka — whom he has long awaited — begins. Hisoka's Nen, Bungee Gum, proves devastatingly versatile, and Gon's determination to land one real hit drives the battle. The fight ends without a definitive conclusion, but Gon earns something more important.

The Yorknew City arc begins. Gon and Killua travel to the underground auction in Yorknew City, aiming to earn enough money to buy the game Greed Island — rumored to be connected to Ging. Kurapika's arc converges as the Phantom Troupe arrives.

The Phantom Troupe — a terrifying group of thieves with Nen abilities — massacres the Mafia's Ten Dons and steals the auction's items. Kurapika's Nen ability, designed entirely to destroy the Troupe's leader Chrollo, is revealed.

Kurapika captures and chains Troupe leader Chrollo, threatening to kill him remotely if any member harms Gon or Killua. The Troupe's internal response is methodical and terrifying. Gon and Killua are captured by the Troupe as leverage.

Gon and Killua are captured by Nobunaga and Phinks of the Troupe. Gon tries to fight Nobunaga and is completely overwhelmed, forcing him to confront the reality of how vast the gap in power still is. Kurapika secures Chrollo and forces a standoff.

The Yorknew City arc concludes as Kurapika releases Chrollo in exchange for Gon and Killua's freedom, but seals Chrollo's Nen — leaving the Troupe leader powerless. The group finally acquires Greed Island and prepares to enter the game.

Gon and Killua enter Greed Island, an actual virtual-reality game that can only be played from inside using a unique device. The game's rules and the goal — collecting 100 specified cards — are explained as they meet other players inside.

Inside Greed Island, Gon and Killua discover other Hunters employed by Ging's associates. They participate in dodgeball against the ruthless Razor — one of the game's masters — and recruit allies for the showdown.

The Greed Island dodgeball match against Razor is one of the most intense collaborative battles in the series. Gon, Killua, and their unlikely allies push their Nen techniques to win. The emotional stakes of reaching Ging through the game grow clearer.

Gon and Killua complete Greed Island and earn rare cards that provide information about Ging. They discover that Ging left a message specifically for Gon within the game — a meeting is finally within reach. The Chimera Ant arc begins.

Chimera Ants — insects that absorb the traits of whatever they devour — emerge in NGL, a nation closed to technology. Their Queen begins producing soldier Ants with human intelligence and extraordinary Nen potential. The Hunter Association responds cautiously.

Gon and Killua enter NGL and witness the horrifying scale of the Chimera Ant Queen's harvest. The most powerful Ant soldiers — Royal Guards and King Meruem — are being prepared. The human cost of the Queen's birth process is staggering.

Meruem is born — the Chimera Ant King, possessing intelligence, physical power, and Nen ability that surpass all humans. He immediately kills several of his own Royal Guards to assert dominance and sets about understanding the world he intends to conquer.

The Palace Invasion begins as a team of elite Hunters and the former chairman Netero launch a coordinated strike on the palace. Gon and Killua fight their way through the Royal Guards, and Netero faces Meruem in the most anticipated fight of the arc.

Netero battles Meruem in a fight that pushes the chairman's 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva technique to its absolute limit. Even Netero's ultimate form cannot defeat Meruem — so he activates his final gambit: the miniature rose, a Nen-infused nuclear bomb.

The miniature rose poisons Meruem with radiation, seemingly killing him. But Meruem survives — and is restored by his Royal Guards Pouf and Youpi at the cost of their own lives, which he consumes, absorbing their abilities. Gon faces Pitou in a confrontation with catastrophic consequences.

Gon, consumed by grief and rage over Kite's fate, forces a forbidden Nen transformation: aging his body to its absolute peak potential to gain enough power to kill Pitou. The price is his own life force. He achieves it — and destroys Pitou utterly.

The aftermath of Gon's sacrifice is devastating. Killua refuses to let his best friend die and uses his last Nen-infused needle — Alluka's wish-granting power — to restore Gon's life. Meruem's final moments with Komugi — a blind board game prodigy he came to love — are shown.

Meruem and Komugi die together, holding hands, as the radiation takes its toll. The arc concludes with one of manga's most emotionally devastating endings. The Chimera Ants are defeated, but the world has changed. The 13th Hunter Chairman election arc begins.

The election for a new Hunter Association chairman begins after Netero's death. The political maneuvering, alliance building, and unexpected results among the Hunters reveal the Association's diverse and eccentric membership. Killua pursues a way to free his sister Alluka.

Killua confronts his family over Alluka — a sibling whose Nen ability can grant any wish but at potentially catastrophic cost to others. The Zoldyck family's ruthless approach to Alluka's power versus Killua's unconditional love for her drives the conflict.

Killua defeats his brother Illumi's manipulation and frees Alluka, using her power to heal Gon. The election concludes with an unexpected winner. Gon, fully healed, finally meets his father Ging at the top of the World Tree.

Gon meets Ging at last — and finds that the reality of his father is both smaller and larger than his dream. Ging offers no apology, no explanation, just the truth: the journey was the point. The Succession Contest arc begins aboard the Kakin royal ship.

The Kakin royal family's succession war begins as the princes compete to claim the throne using their Nen beasts — parasitic Nen entities attached to each prince from birth. The voyage of the ship becomes a floating battlefield of intrigue and assassination.

The Troupe boards the ship in secret, pursued by Hisoka who has sworn to kill every member after his own near-death. Multiple parties — Hunters, princes, the Troupe, and Hisoka — converge in the ship's confined space.

The succession war intensifies on the lower decks. Prince Benjamin's military Hunters clash with other factions. The mechanics of the Nen beasts and their relationship to their hosts' survival become clearer as princes begin dying.

Hisoka hunts the Phantom Troupe inside the ship. The Troupe hunts him back. Their game of cat-and-mouse through the vessel's corridors is a masterclass in tension, strategy, and the horrifying fun both sides take in the violence.

The lower deck passengers are sealed in a Nen barrier — a stranded zone where a serial killer Nen user hunts freely. Kurapika's mission to protect Prince Woble becomes entangled with the wider war aboard the ship.

Kurapika unravels the mystery of the Nen killer in the lower decks through deduction and Nen ability analysis. The princes continue their political and violent maneuvering above. The full rules of the Nen beast succession system are explained.

The succession war's hidden layers are revealed as alliances between princes shift dangerously. Kurapika faces increasingly impossible choices between his mission, his allies, and the survival of everyone in the sealed zone.

The Succession Contest continues with the ship still in motion and no end in sight. Kurapika's mastery of Nen chains is put to the test in elaborate, high-stakes situations. The arc leaves the reader in an ongoing, intricate web of conflict with the finish still ahead.