Gon Freecss runs into a Foxbear in the forest. A mysterious stranger named Kite saves Gon by killing the beast. This man tells him that his father Ging is alive. Gon decides to take the Hunter Exam and become a professional Hunter, but can only do this after catching the Master of the Swamp to convince his Aunt Mito to let him do it. Despite her feelings, after Gon catches it, Mito allows him to begin his adventure.

Gon's aunt Mito gives him the go ahead to take the Hunter Exam after he has successfully passed her test, using a special rod from his father. Gon goes to town to catch a ship to the exam. In town, Gon befriends Leorio, after several run-ins with each other through the town. Leorio is also intent on taking the exam, and they take down a cruel animal show. In the end, they almost miss the ship, but through Gon's quick thinking, they manage to board the ship at the last minute.

On the ship to the exam, Gon and Leorio meet Kurapika. The captain asks each for their reason to be a Hunter. Gon wants to find his father, Leorio wants to be rich, and Kurapika wants to be a force for justice.

Gon, Kurapika and Leorio continue on the test, arriving at a cabin in the woods. A husband and wife say they have been attacked by beasts, when a beast shows up and kidnaps the wife. Leorio stays to treat the husband's wounds as Gon and Kurapika help the wife. In the end it turns out the couple and the beasts are a family and they find the group worthy of continuing to the next test.

The group starts stage 2 of the test, which is to satisfy Gourmet Hunters Buhara and Menchi with their cooking. Everyone satisfies Buhara's taste for BBQ pork, but they all fail to make sushi good enough for Menchi. She says all examinees fail.

Leorio goes next. His opponent is Leroute, an attractive woman. He loses ten hours in bet to her so that he can grope her. He then loses the rest of their betting hours to her in a game of rock, paper, scissors. Killua then faces Johness the Dissector, a serial killer responsible for the murder of at least 146 people with his bare hands. Killua rips out his heart, explaining afterwards that Johness is an amateur and he is a pro.

The group works together to separate the battleship/hotel from the island before the second wave of the storm hits. Leorio gets stuck on the bottom of the ocean in a diving suit and Gon helps him escape. Gon is then saved by Hisoka. Kurapika is knocked out but the steering is done by a mysterious examinee who seems to be Hisoka's ally. They separate the ship just in time, and a blimp comes to pick them up.

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.

Gon, Leorio and Kurapika take a train towards Killua's home on Kukuroo Mountain. The last leg of the trip is spent on a tour bus that takes them to the Door to Hades, a giant gate that hides the path to the estate. A beast named Mike waits behind the gate, so Gon asks the security guard, Zebro to call Killua and have him open it from the inside.

Canary and Gon's group arrive at the Butlers' Quarters and are greeted by Gotoh, Zoldyck family manager. He plays a game with the group, with seemingly deadly stakes. It turns out this was just to entertain them until Killua arrives. He does, and they all leave. At the airport, the group splits up but they all agree to meet in six months in Yorknew City.

Some assassins battle Chrollo but in vain. Mafia dons become impatient, and the Zoldycks calm them down. Zeno extends his En to 100 m radius, searching the building to find Chrollo. Other Phantom Troupe members advance, easily slauthering the entire mafia force. Kurapika notices Neon's pictures on Internet (on hunters-only website) and reports this to Nostrado, who also arrives at the auction.

Zeno and Silva injure Chrollo, but do not finish him off because of the call from Illumi who manages to kill the mafia dons. Having no client, the professional assassins have no reason to fight and just leave. Fake bodies of Chrollo and all other Phantom Troupe members are found, calming the mafia community, and the auction takes place as planned. Kurapika calms down a bit and meets with Gon, Killua and Leorio. In the last seconds of the episode Hisoka sends a text message to Kurapika telling him the corpses are fake.

Kurapika, Gon, Killua and Leorio find out that the spiders are still alive and that the bodies were fake. The mafia has given up on chasing the Spiders, but Gon and Killua decide to continue to help Kurapika.

A double chase ensues when the Spiders notice Gon and Kurapika following from behind while they chase after the nen-copy of the scarlet eyes. Three of the Spiders confront Gon and Kurapika who are hiding in the shadows.