12 yaşındaki Gon, Avcı Sınavı'na girmek ve babasının izinden gitmek için önce kendisini yetiştiren kadına, yani Mito-san'a verdiği sözü yerine getirmelidir.

Gon, Leorio ve Kurapika sınav alanına kestirmeden gider. Ancak karşılarına çıkan yaşı ilerlemiş bir kadın, sorduğu soruyu yanıtlamadan geçmelerine izin vermez.

Gon, Kurapika ve Leorio sınav alanına ulaşır. Burada aralarında geveze bir ninja olan Hanzo'nun da yer aldığı çok sayıda katılımcıyla karşılaşırlar.

Avcı Sınavı'nın ilk aşamasında Satotz, bitmek bilmeyen bir uzun mesafe koşusuyla katılımcıların dayanıklılığını ve ruhsal durumlarını değerlendirir.

Yer altındaki uzun bir tüneli aşan katılımcılar, kendilerini puslu bir bataklıkta bulur. Grup burada canavarların saldırısına uğrar.

Hisoka'yla kapışan Gon ve arkadaşları, sınavın ikinci aşamasına sağ salim yetişir. Bu kez yemek pişirme becerileri test edilecektir.

Gon ve Killua sınavın üçüncü aşamasına gitmek için bindikleri hava gemisinde, kendilerini Avcı'ya dönüştürebilecek basit bir oyuna davet edilir.

Hava gemisi, sınavın üçüncü aşamasının yapılacağı yere gelir. Yarışmacılar, sınavı geçmek için 72 saat içinde bir kulenin tepesinden aşağıya inmelidir.

Gon ve arkadaşları, sıradaki dört turun üçünü kazanmalıdır. Üstelik buna Kurapika ile seri katil Majitani arasında yapılacak ölümcül bir dövüş de dâhildir.

Gon ve Kurapika maçlarını kazanıp grubu 2-1 öne geçirir. Ama rakipleri, Majitani'nin yalnızca bayıldığını ve Kurapika'nın maçının bitmediğini iddia eder.

After winning the bet about Majitani, Leroute, as what the prisoner is named, bets with Leorio about her gender. Despite looking conspicuously female, Leorio, much to Killua and Kurapika's annoyance, bets that she is male. Leorio thinks that team wins if he is correct; and if he is wrong, he will be able to touch Leroute to confirm. Leorio is wrong and goes on to check Leroute. Leorio then challenges Leroute in rock, paper, scissors, and loses. Killua then faces the feared mass murderer Johness the Dissector. Killua rips Johness' heart in an instant and even have it covered in a piece of Johness' cloth. The latter pleads for his heart, and Killua returned it after he is dead. The team thus gathers three points and pass the trial, but they are forced to wait the 50 hours that Leorio has lost with his bets in a small room. Meanwhile, applicants Gittarackur and Hanzo become the second and third one to finish the third phase.

The team stays inside a small room for fifty hours and keep themselves from getting bored. Then they spend the remaining time going to a series of traps and tricks. At the last room, they encountered two doors and are forced to either choose the long and hard path (45 hours) in which all of them may use or the shortcut (about 3 minutes) wherein two of them must be left behind. As disputes break out among them, Gon comes up with an ingenious idea of opening the long way and breaking through the wall to go to the shortcut so all five of them pass this phase.

Gon decides to send a letter to his aunt Mito in order to inform her about the events that had happened during his journey. He started to narrate the story on the events starting from the preliminary Hunter exam to the point when he met Leorio, Kurapika, Killua and the other examinees.

Gon learns to master his accuracy with his pole to try and steal Hisoka's number plate.Finally mastering it,He decides to steal it when Hisoka is busy catching his Prey.

Gon is relying on Bloodcrazy Butterflies to find his target, Hisoka, before waiting for the perfect time to use his skill with the fishing rod to snatch Hisoka's tag. Meanwhile, Leorio is tricked by Tonpa and loses his own tag, but Kurapika helps him recover it. Now that Kurapika and Leorio know that neither is the other's target, they decided to form an alliance.

Kurapika and Leorio are being stalked by Hisoka, but they managed to negotiate their way out of a fight. However, the encounter leaves Hisoka aroused, so he leaves in search of a new target. Gon is able to use his fishing rod to snatch Hisoka's tag right when Hisoka attacks his target. However, as Gon tries to escape, he is attacked by another applicant and loses his tag...

Killua grows tired of having Imori shadowing him so he challenges Imori to a fight and quickly dispatches him. Meanwhile, Gon has joined up with Leorio and Kurapika. The three of them devise a plan for taking Ponzu's tag and track her down to a suspicious-looking cave. That is when Leorio insists on heading in alone.

Gon and his friends have been trapped inside a cave by poisonous snakes. Bourbon, the person responsible for the trap, is already dead, and nobody knows how to disarm the trap. Meanwhile, Leorio, who was bitten by the snakes, is growing weak. Gon manages to get them out of the sticky situation and through to the final phase of the exam. But first, Netero wants an interview with each of the remaining applicants...

Gon and his friends have advanced to the final phase of the Hunter Exam. The final phase is a tournament where the winners are out and the losers advance. The rule is that if you kill your opponent, you'll be disqualified. The first mach is Gon versus Hanzo. Gon can't do anything against Hanzo, but he refuses to give up. Hanzo is losing his patience and threatens to break Gon's arm.

Gon wakes up, and finds himself being congratulated by Satotz for being the first person to pass the Hunter Exam. Gon asks Satotz if the Exam was still going on, and Satotz tells him that it's over. Satotz reveals what happens after he lost consciousness, and Gon finds out some shocking turn of events.

Gon is upset that Killua was forced to kill. Gon is mad at Illumi and proclaims that he will go to Kukuroo Mountain to rescue Killua. As Gon and his friends depart, Satotz mentions that the Hunter Exam isn't over yet...

Gon, Kurapica, and Leorio arrive at Kukuroo Mountain only to find out that they cannot get close to the Zoldyck family estate. The Zoldyck family owns the mountain and all of the surrounding forest and the entire region is gated shut. There is a guard outpost immediately outside of the gate, but instead of serving as a guard, the man working in there actually cleans up the mess created by the watchdog whenever there are intruders into the grounds. Gon, unwilling to give up on "rescuing" Killua, learns from the gatekeeper that the actual door is the massive stone gate and anyone who enters via that path will not be attacked by the watchdog. Leorio tries to pull and push on the gate, to no avail. The gatekeeper informs them that the gate opens up different amounts of stone slabs based only on the strength of the person; however, the least amount of strength anyone needs to open the smallest portion of the door requires two tons of strength on each side.

Gon and his friends have decided to pass through the Trial Gate to see Killua. First, they must train in the servants' residence until they can open the gate. Meanwhile, Killua has learned that Gon and the others are here to see him. Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika are able to open the gate after completing their training, but the apprentice butler Canary stands in their way.

With help from Canary, who is concerned about Killua, Gon and his friends are getting closer to the mansion. However, Kikyo tells them that Killua cannot see them as he is in solitary confinement. Meanwhile, Killua has been summoned by Silva and asked if he wants to see his friend? Killua answers truthfully, and he is allowed to go see his friends...

Gon, Kurapika and Leorio arrive at the Butler's Quarters, where the Head Butler entertains them while waiting for Killua. But just what game does he have in mind, and what are the stakes?

A letter from Gon arrives at Whale Island for Mito... (A recap of everything that has happened.)

Gon and Killua arrive at the Heavens Arena and begin to work their way up, making a new friend, Zushi, who is trained in the martial arts.

While working to understand Nen and Ren, Gon and Killua run into a familiar acquaintance.

After reaching the 200th floor, Gon and Killua run into Hisoka's barrier of Nen. They ask Wing to use the violent method for activating their Nen potential. As the deadline for registration draws near, they begin training in one of the four major principles of Nen, Ten.

Gon faces the Nen user Gido in his first 200s Heavens Arena match. Gon uses Ten to protect himself, but he soon finds himself on the defense against Gido's Dancing Tops. As Gon desperately tries to find a way to fight back, he makes a bold decision...