Gon gets Hisoka's number badge while Hisoka kills an examinee crossing his path. Gon is poisoned by Geretta and relieved of his badges. Hisoka kills Geretta easily and returns both badges: Gon's and his own. Gon tries to refuse it, but is unable to. Hisoka tells Gon he will kill him when the time is right, until then he will protect him. He punches him in the face and tells that he can return the badges only after he can return the punch.

Gon and Hisoka continue their fight. Hisoka has attached his "Bungee Gum" to Gon's face and can pull him in to punch him. The referee awards points fast, leading to the quick win for Hisoka. At the end Hisoka is shown to have some connection with the Phantom Troupe; he has a spider tattoo on his back that he can remove. Machi tells them her boss won't be pleased if he doesn't make it to the Phantom Troupe meeting.

Gon and Killua master their Nen abilities and show them in perfection against matches with the other two guys that Killua talked to. Wing talks with them and tells Gon that he has passed the Hunter's Exam. Lastly, Gon and Killua venture out to Whale Island.

Hanzo and Gon continue fighting. Hanzo is easily the better fighter, but when Gon won't concede, Hanzo is forced to accept defeat. Hanzo decides he'd rather lose than kill Gon, because he likes his attitude. Gon is knocked unconscious during the match and wakes up to find the matches are over. Satotz explains to him that he's a Hunter, and that Hisoka defeated Bodoro, Hanzo defeated Pokkle in a match, Killua conceded a match to Pokkle before facing his brother Illumi disguised as Gittarackur.

Satotz explains to Gon that Killua failed the final stage. His opponent turns out to be his older brother Illumi in disguise. Illumi questions Killua and determines him unfit to be a normal person. He believes that Killua has a talent to be an assassin and tells him to return home. Illumi threatens to kill Gon if Killua even attempts to fight him, so Killua gives up and becomes silent for the rest of the exam. Killua murders Bodoro in the middle of his match with Leorio for no reason and is disqualified. Having heard this, Gon confronts Illumi and breaks his arm, deciding to go look for Killua.

After Gon's match, Killua decides that he will compete as well, eager to test his own strength. Gido, Sadaro, and Riehlvelt kidnap Zushi to bribe Killua into forfeiting his matches with the three of them, so they can get easy wins. However, Killua makes sure that they will fight honestly and don't cheat. Sadaro withdraws due to his fear of Killua, who he says, "lived in the darkest corners of the world."

Gon and Killua take a ship to get to Whale Island where Gon grew up. Killua is surprised that there is no bus and they have to walk, and that the house is really small. Mito, Gon's aunt, welcomes them and asks about the exam. When they go camping in the forest, they hear a shot and come running, seeing a bunch of poachers attacking the fox-bear and his cub. Easily beating them, they take the cub home. Gon wants to save him, but Killua insists on stopping his sufferings by killing him. Finally, they heal him with their Nen.

Gon and Killua try to repair an antenna and a computer to set up Internet. Mito tells Gon all she can about his father Ging and hands over a mysterious box Ging left. Gon manages to open the box with his Nen and finds a ring, a tape and some piece of electronic equipment there. He and Killua listen to the tape where Ging introduces himself and welcomes his son to find him if he can.

Kurapika together with five other hunters comes for a job interview. They are given preliminary orders and tested by being attacked by a number of fighters in black. Kurapika quickly understands that it is actually a Nen-based ability of one of the imposters, and counter-attacks him directly. Gon stops his father's tape when Ging tells he recorded a voice of his mother. The tape then destroys itself. Killua explains that the ROM card they found in Ging's box is meant for Joystation video game console.

Gon and Killua order a Joystation and see that the card they have contains data for Greed Island game that cannot be found on Internet. Killua calls his brother who is a devoted gamer, but even he doesn't have that one (however, he provides some information in exchange for the data from Gon's ROM card). Back to Kurapika, they manage to identify two spies: Shachmono Tocino and Squala, who already work for the same boss and were asked to test the four rookies.

Gon and Killua leave Mito and her mother to go to Yorknew. They got even more information about Greed Island from a website available only for hunters. They need a lot of money to buy it, even millions they earned at Heavens Arena are not enough. They try to earn more by getting bargains on-line, but fail miserably, cutting their funds to 10 million jenny. Milluki, Killua's brother, could not decode the game from the card data and goes to Yorknew to buy it too. Hisoka is also showing flying there. After all tests Kurapika got his job and is introduced to his boss who turns out to be a teenager named Neon Nostrade.

Neon with all her bodyguards arrives at Yorknew. Her Nen ability is shown: Lovely Ghost Writer that predicts the future. Four members of the Phantom Troupe are shown walking to Yorknew: Feitan, Machi, Franklin, and Nobunaga. The last two are having a quarrel. Gon wants to buy a mobile phone and is unexpectedly helped by an old friend, Leorio. Later he also helps to raise funds by allowing people to pay for arm wrestling with Gon who easily beats everyone and has some trouble defeating Shizuku.

Leorio helps Gon to buy a complete catalogue to find Greed Island game there. To collect 8.9 billion they go to a flea market and use gyo to buy only items that have Nen aura on them. They make some money and befriend Zepile, a professional seller. Now they have money to pay for information, and Leorio calls them to tell that two Phantom Troupe members are located in the city.

Gon, Killua and Leorio arrive at a place where Nobunaga and Machi pretend to be a couple sitting in a cafe, but they do not attack understanding that they are not strong enough. Leorio, who is unable to use Zetsu to hide his aura, returns home, but Gon and Killua try to follow them and are captured instead. Light Nostrade arrives, giving orders to Neon, Kurapika and others. Mafia hires several professional assassins, including Silva and Zeno from the Zoldyck family.

Gon stalks Hisoka, and observes Hisoka's friend transform into his real appearance. Then Hisoka decides to hunt other participants for two more points.

Kurapika's flashbacks with his master are seen here. The flashbacks tell how Kurapika passed his hidden Hunter exam and got his chains, what Nen type he has, and how he's changed. After he got his first job, Kurapika gets on the train where he meets someone that might become a future ally.

Chrollo Lucilfer, the boss of the Phantom Troupe, gives them orders to go to the underground auction and kill everyone there, and they proceed. Franklin uses a machine gun hidden in his fingers to fire Nen bullets, and Shizuku cleans up so that no traces of the massacre are left visible. Melody and Kurapika are talking more openly to each other while waiting on the roof. The mafia community sends the group of its best fighters called Shadow Beasts to deal with the Phantom Troupe.

Mafia people attack the Phantom Troupe, but in vain: they are not Nen users, and Uvogin is able to catch a bullet with his teeth and withstand a point blank shot from a bazooka. Four members of the Shadow Beasts arrive, they are noticeably stronger than Kurapika companions, but even they are defeated by just one Phantom Troupe member.

Kurapika captures Uvogin with his chains and they quickly run away. Leaving him in hands of Dalzollene, the leader of Neon's bodyguards, Kurapika leaves to meet with Hisoka who promises to give some information on other members of the Phantom Troupe. Dalzollene asks people from mafia community to come to pick up, but instead Phantom Troupe members arrive, killing him and freeing Uvogin. Leorio shows Gon and Killua his Ten and it turns out to be the only Nen technique he is aware of.

Kurapika contacts his boss (Neon's father) and is told that he should be in charge after Dalzollene's death. Raging Uvogin searches for "the chain guy", and finds him alone with Neon and the others moved to another room. They decide to go out of the city to be able to fight with full strength. Leorio gets Gon's strength so popular with arm wrestling contest that they are invited to an underground auction where everyone is given pictures of the Phantom Troupe with a bounty of 2 billion jenny on each head.

Killua remembers that his father once was paid to kill a Phantom Troupe member: he succeeded but said it was too hard and advised his sons to stay away from them. Gon, Killua and Leorio spend four hours searching with no results, and Gon decides to get a loan of 100 million jenny for his Hunter License. Kurapika and Uvogin fight with the latter going from 20% of his strength to 50% and finally to 100%, yet Kurapika has the upper hand due to a deadly oath and finally kills him.

Hisoka determines the real examiner by flinging deadly playing cards at each man, reasoning the true Hunter will live, and it's Satotz. Later, he plays at being an examiner and kills many examinees. Although Hisoka is able to kill all of his intended victims, he recognizes that Gon and Leorio are special and lets them live.

The last test to get out of the tower has two paths: one is too long and the other will only allow three of the five to enter. Leorio and Tonpa start fighting to see who will stay, when Gon thinks outside the box. They choose the longer path, destroy the wall between the paths with axes provided so they could fight, and all five make it.

The group meets a butlers' apprentice while walking closer to their target. She has Killua's skateboard, and refuses to let them pass. Repeatedly Gon walks over a line she drew, and each time she sends him flying with her mace. Eventually, she explains that she is Canary, a servant of Killua. Canary tells her Killua gave the skateboard to her because they're friends, so she should let Killua's other friends pass. She lets them pass, but is immediately hit by an unknown projectile.

Gon and Killua learn their types of Hatsu; Gon is an Enhancer and Killua is a Transmuter. Gon fights Hisoka, and while over-matched, gets a punch in and gives back the number badge that Hisoka gave him during the exam. After that, Hisoka fights with his full power.