Hunter Exam Arc

Gon leaves Whale Island to take the exam that fewer than one in a hundred thousand pass.

Gon Freecss, a twelve-year-old boy, learns from Kite, an apprentice of his father Ging, that Ging is alive and a renowned Hunter. He leaves his home on Whale Island to take the Hunter Examination, the rigorous annual test run by the Hunter Association, which has a success rate of less than one in a hundred thousand.

Lore & Background

During the exam Gon befriends Kurapika, the last survivor of the Kurta clan, who wants revenge on the Phantom Troupe; Leorio, an aspiring doctor after the financial benefits of a licence; and Killua Zoldyck, a former assassin from the infamous Zoldyck family. Hisoka also takes an interest in them and lets them live so they can grow into worthier opponents. The exam is divided into stages, each overseen by an experienced Hunter, under chairman Isaac Netero and his secretary Beans.

In the final test Gon is matched against Hanzo in a fight that one of them must concede. Killua fails his first exam by killing an opponent under his brother Illumi's influence, and passes the following year by eliminating every other applicant in the first trial. After the exam, Kurapika, Leorio and Gon go to the Zoldyck estate to fetch Killua back.