Knov

Knov (ノヴ, Novu) is a Hunter who participated in the Chimera Ant Extermination Mission.

Appearance


Knov is a bespectacled young man, who is typically seen wearing a black suit and blue tie, with a white button-down shirt. He is tall and lean. At the beginning of the Extermination Mission, he had short black hair, but near the day of the assault on the Chimera Ant King's palace, his hair turned white due to having a mental breakdown upon coming into contact with Shaiapouf's heinous En. When he entered the castle secretly to save Morel and Shoot, he was in a bad state, having almost no hair anymore. Eventually, he becomes bald and wears a flat cap to hide his head.

Personality


As an experienced Hunter, Knov is a serious individual, and very reflective. He shows a hint of arrogance upon meeting Killua for the first time, and labels him and Gon children. He is very cautious during missions, almost to the point of being paranoid. However in spite of his usual serious and calculating demeanor, he is also a gambler at heart, as shown when he engages with Morel's wager without hesitation and places his bet for 1 million (Morel starts the bet by putting in 100 thousand), stating that he has an appetite for long shots, which surprises Morel. This risk-taking side of Knov is at its paragon when he exploits the emergency within the King's palace that has forced Neferpitou to undo their En as an opportunity to stealthily enter and place teleportation exits for his Nen ability, Hide and Seek, in order to prepare for an upcoming surprise attack, despite not knowing the nature of the said emergency nor does he know how much time he is allowed to execute the infiltration before the Royal Guard's En is revived; during which he also comments that it is entirely fine to suffer 3 losses out of the 4 planned major battles, as long as the 1 loss of the enemy is the King. He is also shown to be courageous where despite his fear when approaching the palace alone, with many unknown variables still up in the air, he nonetheless can repeatedly convince himself to keep on advancing and eventually reaching the palace to enter and commence his plan. He also commands an air of confidence while handling his student, Palm. However, this confidence, along with the rest of his personality, would later disappear, after he comes face-to-face with Shaiapouf's En, in which Knov then suffers from a brief mental breakdown that left him traumatized throughout the whole mission. However, despite the trauma, Knov is still able to reunite with some of his courage to return to the palace and help his friends. Later, during the elections for the next Hunter Chairman, he is back to his former personality.

Background
Knov is the master of Palm Siberia and the target of her affections. He and Morel are good comrades and both of them are members of the pro-Netero faction in the Hunter Association.

Chimera Ant arc


When the V5 hire Chairman Netero to exterminate the Chimera Ants with any means, the Chairman enlists Morel and Knov's help, despite interference from Pariston. They are tasked with killing Queen before she gives birth to the King, which is estimated to happen in two months at the earliest. As the three accompany Netero to NGL, Knov and Morel leave their disciples in a town near the border.

Knov makes his first appearance when he is about to cross the NGL border with Netero and Morel. They meet a demoralized Killua and an unconscious Gon at a checkpoint. Morel taunts Killua about his weakened confidence but Knov tells him to take it easy on the boy. When Killua says that he thinks the three elite Hunters will stand no chance against Neferpitou because of his aura, he tells him his perspective is warped and to leave everything to them then advances into NGL with Netero and Morel. He chides the latter two more times before they cross the border.

When Netero comments that Neferpitou might be stronger than him, Knov remarks that he must be joking, as otherwise no Hunter would stand a chance. The Chairman claims his power has decreased to the point he is probably evenly matched with the two of them, causing Knov to point out that means he is still plenty strong. Netero's ensuing quip leaves Knov piqued. Because Pitou's En is so large that a surgical attack on the Queen is unworkable, Netero asks Morel and Knov for suggestions. Smirking, Knov asserts the Chairman had already planned to take out their enemies slowly and quietly when he chose them. He retrieves Morel's pipe from his pocket dimension and hands it to him, so he can create an army of Deep Purple bunnies to find out how many enemies they will have to deal with.

Over the course of ten days, hey manage to eliminate two squadrons, starting from the leader. Netero reckons the Ants will use baits and traps, and Knov suggests they intentionally fall in traps at times, both to exterminate some of the more organized troops before they can all band together and to create chaos. He estimates they will be able to take out three or four squadrons before they come up with their next plan, and optimistically states they might complete their mission before their pupils arrive at the end of the month.



For their next plan, Morel creates a thick fog that covers an entire forest near the Ant Queen's colony while Knov places portals all over the ground. When a Chimera Ant falls into one, they find themselves in a large room conjured by Knov, where they are killed by the Chairman. Using this method, they manage to decimate 14 more squadrons. Morel feels their plan is unfair, to which Knov replies it is foolproof since, despite hsi modesty, Netero is still stronger than them and eager to fight. The Ants eventually wise up, and by the end of the fourth week they hole up inside the nest. Knov contacts Netero and asks him of they should take action. The Chairman insists on waiting for their disciples. When Morel objects they would not be not useful in a fight of that magnitude, Knov comments Netero likes to gamble and the two make a bet on whose pupils will show up the following day. Morel wagers 100,000 jenny on Knuckle and Shoot, adding the clause that if they both lose, the pot goes to the Chairman. Knov bets for 1 million, on Gon, Killua, and Palm will come along too.

The following day, they see Colt flying towards them. Knov opens a portal, but they stay when they notice the Ant is carrying a white flag. He comes to them with the intention of surrendering, telling them about the premature birth of the King and begging them to save the the Queen. He warns them that should the Queen die, the Squadron Leaders will leave the nest and try to spread their seed. Knov confirms it is possible. They accept to take Colt to the Chairman. The four relocate to a sumptuous room where Netero requests the Hunter Association to send Dr. Lee, her best surgeons and artificial organ specialists to the Queen's nest. Knov and Morel are worried to see him don his "heart" t-shirts, which he reserves for serious fights. They are even more astonished by Colt's assessment of Netero's aura, according to which he will be killed by one of the Royal Guards before he can reach the King. Knov is disquieted by the Chairman's enthusiasm. They return to the colony with the surgeons. Knov is surprised to discover some Ants retain memories from their life as humans. Despite the doctors' efforts, all they can do is to prolong the dying moment of the Queen for a few minutes. When Morel threatens Colt with his pipe after the latter finds a baby in the Queen's body, Knov, befuddled, wonders what he is doing.

After Knuckle and Shoot find and capture Kite's manipulated body in the nest. Knov returns to the border town two days before the date he communicated to Palm to ensure Gon and Killua will be able to handle seeing Kite. He chastises Palm for using her ability without his permission. He adds that she should spill her blood only for him, causing her to fall for him again. He then enquires about her getup. He has Shoot spy on the boys. The Hunters gather at a castle where Shoot releases Kite from Hotel Rafflesia. Gon approaches him and lets himself be struck, as Killua and Knov realize.

Through Colt, the Extermination Team becomes aware of the Sorting and that the Royal Guards know how to awaken Nen by force. Netero infiltrates the Republic of East Gorteau and warns the Extermination Team to assume the worst if they do not hear from him by the appointed day. Ten days before the rally announced by Ming Jol-ik takes place, Knov, Morel, Knuckle, Shoot, Gon and Killua take a train to East Gorteau. Morel remarks taking all of them breaks their promise to Netero, but Knov points out their agreement was for NGL, not East Gorteau. He then starts reading a book. While they eat in a restaurant, Knov updates the others on the Selection and Netero's movements. He receives a text from Netero, which brings a smile to his lips because he was already aware that Gon, Killua and Palm would join the team and of a comment Morel only just made. When Morel tests Gon, Knov shivers upon sensing the boy's aura. Following the Chairman's instructions, the Extermination Team divides in three groups of two — Morel and Knov versus Shaiapouf, Knuckle and Shoot versus Menthuthuyoupi, Gon and Killua versus Neferpitou — and separate the Royal Guards from the King.

Nine days prior to the planned attack, in the evening, Knov and Morel talk to Marcos, a military leader in Ming Jol-ik's government, persuading him to sign an agreement whereby he shall disclose all military information in exchange for the protection of him and his family in a third country. He senses Morel's irritation at his hypocrisy and warns him with a look. Killua or Gon informs them that the "Selection" already began. At Marcos's place, Knov asks Morel what is wrong when he starts screaming on the phone. They discuss the corruption of the Hunter Association, and Knov's impassivity vexes Morel. He reminds him that the Chairman took everything into account to kill the King for sure, including the possible casualties. Shortly afterwards, they discover Killua and Gon sprung into action to stop the Selection. Although Morel is relieved, Knov observes overt hostilities will allow the Royal Guards to seal off the country and place it under martial law. To prevent them from slaughtering the 5,000,000 citizens, Morel puts the capital city Peijin under siege using his Smoke Troopers, with Knov's assistance.

Six days before the attack on the King, Morel encounters Cheetu and is teleported away due to his ability. Knov notices Morel's disappearance, but infers the plan is still on, as Deep Purple is still active. Unbeknownst to him, he is spotted by Flutter, who communicates his position to Leol. He effortlessly defeats Neferpitou's puppets and cautiously heads towards the palace. He evades more puppets by retreating into his conjured room. When he comes out again, he spots Flutter. He speculates the Ant specializes in reconnaissance and that the dragonflies he saw around the capital are his Nen ability. He runs towards him to take him down. He successfully cuts off Flutter's wings and incapacitates him, then drags him into his room. He sees Welfin and Bloster. When Morel returns from his fight with Cheetu, Knov briefs him. When Neferpitou cancels all of their dolls and retreats their En to treat the King's self-inflicted injury, Morel and Knov make conjectures about the reason. Knov is convinced it is not a trap, and states that in any case he needs to plant a portal near the palace. The two split up, with Morel staying in Peijin.



Exploiting the rain and the darkness, Knov crawls close to the palace, struggling but managing to keep his fear in check. He manages to sneak into the meat orchard, where 5,000 humans are kept into cocoons from which they will hatch as Nen-using soldiers for Neferpitou to control and invade the rest of the world with. Knov plants an exit there and runs towards the palace. He places another near the entrance. As he runs towards the central staircase to the second floor, he runs into Taragetter, whom he decapitates with Scream. He prepares to flee, but no other Ants come. He steps into Taragetter's blood, which forces him to discard his shoes. Just as he reaches the staircase, Shaiapouf activates his En; his aura terrorizes Knov to the point he would comment that it is not death that scares him to such a degree but rather it is the kind of torture he may be cruely subjected to by the Royal Guards to force the information out of him in ways he can never resist if he were to be caught, which would also ultimately bring about the failure of the entire operation. Knov then plants the portal at the bottom of the stairs as the last entry point into the palance and flees the scene. As he leaves, he hears trucks approaching. He surmises those are the women Marcos prepared for Bizeff, among whom should be Palm who is in an undercover mission. As his objective has been achieved, Knov then hurries away from the palace before being detected, with his mental health quickly deteriating in the process and has later suffered a mental breakdown upon leaving the maximum range of Neferpitou's En; he wonders how Gon and Killua can keep going despite the overwhelming strength of the Royal Guards, and silently prays Palm to remain safe. His hair turns completely white as a result of his mental breakdown, and, with his spirit destroyed, he withdraws from the Extermination Team.

On the day of the assault on the palace, Knov volunteers to keep tabs on the Royal Guards. He reassures the other Hunters that he will not take any risks, since he fears the Ants more than any of them. At sunset, he sees Shaiapouf spread butterfly scales on the crowd of citizens marching towards the palace. He reports to the team that the scales have a hypnotic effect, which they interpret as a good sign, as the crowd will not fly into a panic once the battles begin. At 18:00, Knov leaves the room again to check on the Ants, oppressed by the sense of guilt. He then takes the rest of the team to the entrances he has set up inside the palace. Seven minutes before the blitz, relays the actions and positions of the Royal Guards to his teammates and heads back out, promising to update them if anything should change. Shortly afterwards, they storm the palace through his ability.



Knov rescues Shoot after he is severely injured in his fight with Menthuthuyoupi, taking him to a room with surgeons and medical equipment where he receives treatment. Knov is notified that Netero has taken the King to the appointed place. In spite of his mental trauma, he returns to the palace to inform the Extermination Team. He hears Knuckle state that he can no longer see Menthuthuyoupi as an enemy and warns him that he could change again at the King's orders. He asks if there have been any news from Palm, but Ikalgo could not find her. Stating he will likely be unable to come back to the palace again, Knov then asks the members of the Extermination Team what they want to do. He compliments them for deciding to keep fighting even after the King has been separated from the Royal Guards and takes a wounded Morel to get treatment.

13th Hunter Chairman Election arc


After the death of Meruem is confirmed, Knov is seen again in the hospital where Gon, Morel, and Shoot are being treated, along with the other members of the invasion team. When a senior doctor tells him and Knuckle that Gon is in an extremely dangerous state, Knov says he will do everything to save his life, even if it means having to rebuild the entire hospital. He then tells Killua that he will use Hide and Seek to bring all the necessary people and equipment to the hospital. In the First Election for the 13th Hunter Chairman, he places in the 19th place with Loupe Highland, and 16th place with Kanzai Second Election for the 13th Hunter Chairman and Third Election for the 13th Hunter Chairman. Later, after Morel reaches an agreement with Gotoh on the conditions for saving Gon, he calls Knov and tells him to prepare an isolated windowless room with nothing but Gon. In the Fourth Election for the 13th Hunter Chairman, Knov places in 18th along with Kite and Gon and is eliminated from the election for not making the top 16. Later he hands Morel the money of their past bet, since Morel's students were the ones who arrived on the agreed date. Morel uses the money they had both waged to buy an expensive bottle of wine and drink to Netero's memory, placing a glass in front of a picture of the late chairman.

Dark Continent Expedition arc
Knov has agreed to participate in the expedition, but he will not go any farther than the borders of the New Continent, as announced by Ginta.

Abilities & Powers
Knov has all the benefits granted by his status as a Hunter. He rarely engages in combat, favoring stealth and scheming over direct confrontation. He mainly works as a support, but is fairly skilled in infiltration and gathering information. Netero, who in the past was considered the best Nen user in the world, said Knov was on the same level of skill as him, although Knov denied it. Since he managed to take down Flutter, despite the Chimera Ant's Super Eye and ability to fly, it can be inferred that he is at least strong enough to battle a squad officer without suffering injuries. He was also shown to one-hit some of Neferpitou's puppets with his bare hands. Knov is also a good tactician and a fast thinker, but these gifts were obfuscated by trauma after he ran into Shaiapouf's En, which led to his mental breakdown and retiring him from the rest of the operation. From that point on, he was unable to enter the Ant's castle unless the king and the Royal Guards were gone (and even so, he only managed to stay around for a very short while). Nevertheless, he's mentally strong enough to make a full recovery from that intense mental trauma shortly after the Chimera Ant extermination operation.

Enhanced Speed: Knov can cover long distances in a short time and dodge a gatling gun's bullets. When he ran into Taragetter, he carried out a lethal attack before it could raise the alarm.

Enhanced Agility: He can run on rooftops and jump from one another, while avoiding bullets at the same time.

High Intelligence: Knov is good at concocting schemes and organizing actions. He can also predict the course of action of some people, as seen when he wagered that Knuckle, Shoot, Gon, and Killua would all come to NGL.

Master of Stealth: Knov has shown himself to be able to sneak deep inside the castle that served as the Chimera Ants' nest and plant his portals totally undetected. He can take advantage of the low visibility granted by the rain and camouflage himself with twigs.

Nen
Knov is a professional Hunter, thus he is well versed in the usage of Nen. His Hide and Seek was crucial to the team both to watch and penetrate the King's residence, and earned him Ginta's praise. Despite being a Conjurer, Knov may also be able to use Emission, the type opposite to his, to a certain degree, as his portals are made out of pure aura detached from his body. He might have used a combination of Zetsu and In to sneak into the palace in a low profile and to kill Taragette with his Nen ability, going completely unnoticed by the all of the other occupants within.

Quotes

 * (To Killua) "People tend to overrate things they don't comprehend."
 * (To Netero) "We'll take them out quietly, one by one."
 * (To Morel) "I like to gamble, too. Especially on long shots..."
 * (To Palm) "Your blood is a precious, limited resource. Use your ability only for me."
 * "We only need to win one battle. We can sacrifice three, as long as we kill the King...!!"
 * "Even if I fail... there will be other ways!! Go without fear...!! Closer!!"
 * "My spirit was broken just by seeing the aura...!! Gon... Killua... you've seen it too. You were even closer than I was... even touched it. Then how... how are you able to face it again?! How can you still fight?! To save Kite?! To save humanity?! How do you kep going?"
 * "Palm...!! Please... Don't push your luck. Don't get in over your head!! If you're caught... it's all over!! I can't... I can't go back there again!!"
 * (To Knuckle) "It's not about the individual soldiers. The King can wave his magic wand and turn them all into mindless spawn!"

Trivia

 * Knov's name is probably based upon the idea of the door knob, since his ability allows him to create portal/doors into his own dimension.
 * Knov taunted Killua after hearing of his reaction to Neferpitou's aura, commenting that people tend to become fearful and irrational when facing the unknown; ironically, he later had a mental breakdown from seeing the En of another guard, Shaiapouf, in a turn of events that mirrors the advice and warning he had previously given to Killua then.
 * However, it is likely that his mental breakdown may be attributed to or contributed by the prolonged and extreme pressure he was under during the entire endeavour of his solitary infiltration into the palace, where the King, his Royal Guards, and many followers reside, as well as the realization that it may spell the failure of the operation if he were to be caught, that had pushed the mental fortitude of even well regarded Hunter such as Knov to and beyond its limits.
 * Knov was allowed to enter NGL despite wearing glasses, although it is possible he smuggled them in via the fourth dimensional mansion.
 * Knov read the book "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
 * According to the "Hunter × Hunter Manual" section found in the Yu ☆ Yu ☆ Hakusho official character book (Shueisha Jump remix), Knov's stats are:

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