Chimera Ant arc

Chimera Ant arc
Arc Info
Manga Chapters	Chapters 186 - 318
Episodes	Episodes 76 - 136
Arc Guide
Previous	← Greed Island arc
Next	13th Hunter Chairman Election arc →

The Chimera Ant arc (キメラ＝アント編(へん)()()()()()()()()(), Kimera Anto-hen) is the fifth story arc of the series, called the "Chimera Ants Arc" by Viz. As the longest arc, it follows Gon and Killua as the former reunites with Kite and their group learns that a species known as Chimera Ants is feasting on humans. The two boys eventually become involved with the Extermination Team from the Hunter Association sent to deal with the unprecedented threat to humanity.

Summary

Reunion with Kite

Kite, Gon, and Killua eating and talking around a campfire

After completing Greed Island, Gon uses an "Accompany" card to transport him and Killua to try and meet "Nigg", who they expect to be Ging, and find themselves transported to Kakin, a country in the Azian Continent. In the anime, Gon and Killua are surprised to see "Nigg" attack, but quickly see it's actually Kite, who once saved Gon's from a Foxbear attack back on Whale Island, now saving them from Chimera Ants that behind them. It's revealed that Kite has also been to Greed Island, and Ging's request that using of "Accompany" instead of "Magnetic Force" to try and find Ging would bring the user to Kite instead, since Ging wanted to make sure Gon and him would be alone if they were to meet.

They enjoy eating dinner while Kite tells stories of his life with Ging. Gon and Killua listen in awe by the revelation that Ging is a Double-Star Hunter who can also qualify to become a Triple-Star Hunter. Kite also tells Gon that he was finally able to find Ging. He explains his mission to do a biological survey and returns to his group. The group then discusses a Chimera Ant leg found on the Balsa Islands. The group surveys a shore to try and find the Ant queen to no avail. Judging by the size of the leg, Killua asserts that the Ant must be over 2m long and capable of eating a human. Returning to Yorknew City, they inspect a map, and theorize that the Queen may be located in NGL, the neo-luddite nation. On the journey there, Kite explains the Chimera Ants' unique way of reproduction, phagogenesis, and ponders in horror the consequences of a Chimera Ant infestation in NGL. Only 5 of them manage to actually enter the country due to the harsh, anti-technological policies (Gon, Kite, Killua, Stick, and Podungo).

A Greater Threat

The Chimera Ant Queen eating a fish

In the south of the Balsa Islands on the Yorbian Continent, an injured Chimera Ant Queen was washes ashore. She finds some temporary shelter, and catches some fish to eat and recover, so she can prepare to give birth to a King. The Queen catches more wildlife to feed herself more, and gives birth to some soldier Ants, ordering them to help her gather food. One crab-like soldier, Chimera Ant, comes across Kurt and Reina, two children from a nearby village, and captures them, feeding them to the Queen. Finding the humans to be delicious and nutritious, she orders her soldiers to hunt more of them, giving birth to Colt, a humanoid Ant, shortly after.

The expanding soldier Ant army hunts more humans and the colony moves inland into a rock formation, where the colony grows faster than ever. This infestation catches the attention of Pokkle, now a Hunter of Fantastic Beasts. Pokkle enters the NGL with Ponzu, Balda, and Pekuba to investigate the Chimera Ants, but are attacked by the Ants on their journey. Realizing they are outclassed, they plan they to retreat to inform the Hunter Association, but are ambushed by Zazan's squad before they can retreat. Balda and Pekuba are killed, and Pokkle is captured alive by Zazan, but Ponzu manages to hide and retreat. Ponzu uses her bees to send a message about their discoveries to the nearest Hunter with a strong aura. Ponzu tries to escape, only to be killed by one of Zazan's officers.

Entering NGL

Gon and Killua facing Rammot in combat

Ponzu's message finds its way to Kite, who realizes that the Ant infestation is already more severe than expected, and orders Podungo and Stick to return and notify the Hunter Association. Gon and Killua accompany him and they head deeper into the NGL. They enter a village, and are confronted by Rammot. Kite orders Gon and Killua to fight Rammot without his help to ensure that they were strong enough to handle other Ants. Gon and Killua struggle, but eventually manage to use their Nen abilities and defeat Rammot. Colt—having watched the fight from the shadows—retrieves Rammot before he is killed. The trio continue forward and reach a D² factory, where Kite senses some malicious intent from tunnels inside the factory. As they ready for battle, Yunju appears and orders his underlings, Centipede and Mosquito, to capture the trio. Gon cleaves Centipede in half using Janken: Scissors, but does not kill him. Kite shoots Centipede in the head, reminding Gon that Chimera Ants can survive with just their head intact. Killua fights Mosquito and destroys her head, and Kite kills Yunju. Heading deeper into the Ant territory, the group is ambushed by Hagya's Squad. The squad demands one-on-one fights, to which Gon, Killua, and Kite agree to. Gon and Killua easily defeat their opponents, and Kite uses Silent Waltz to kill the rest of the squad in one attack.

Neferpitou extracting information from Pokkle's brain

In the nest, Rammot recovers from his injuries and awakens his Nen. Peggy observes Rammot and remarks that interrogating Pokkle, who was also able to use such abilities, would have been convenient. Pokkle, having survived, hides in a heap of skeletons, observing them. The newly-born Royal Guard, Neferpitou, appears while exploring the hideout, and detects Pokkle hiding. Pitou lobotomizes and interrogates Pokkle, and learns about Nen, including Nen types, creating Nen abilities, and how identifying one's Nen type. Satisfied with the information, Pitou discards Pokkle to be turned into a human meatball for the Queen, whose appetite by then had grown to wanting 250 meatballs per day in preparation for the King's birth. Pitou leaves the nest, senses Gon, Killua, and Kite, and jumps towards them. Kite immediately senses Pitou's aura and orders Gon and Killua to retreat. Pitou arrives faster than they can react and cuts off Kite's arm. Gon is enraged and prepares to attack, but Killua quickly knocks him out and flees with Gon, leaving Kite alone to fight Pitou

30 Days Without Nen

The reinforcements arriving in NGL

Killua returns to the border where to regroup with Kite's companions. Isaac Netero appears at the border, together with Morel Mackernasey and Knov, part of an extermination team formed by Netero to deal with the Chimera Ant threat after analyzing Spinner Clow's report. Killua explains the situation with Kite, and Netero gives Killua to warifu pieces as a means for him and Gon to prove their worthiness to rejoin them. Gon and Killua would have to reclaim the other halves of the pieces from Morel's apprentices, temporarily stationed in a nearby town. Palm, Knov's apprentice, invites Biscuit to help train them for one month until the battle against Morel's apprentices. Biscuit's training exercise involves daily repetitions of using Ren for 3 hours before battling Knuckle Bine, one of Morel's apprentices. Palm is skeptical of Gon and Killua's chances against him, but Gon promises to her that he will be victorious.

Biscuit appearing to train Gon and Killua

Gon manages to improve to a point where Knuckle fights him seriously during their penultimate fight, where Knuckle demonstrates his skillfulness and easily defeats Gon. Biscuit and Killua bring gon back to rest, while Biscuit spars with Killua, since Killua did not get a chance to fight. She chides Killua for always attempting to flee, and warns him that one day he would run and leave Gon to die. To force Killua to change, she makes him promise to leave Gon if he lost his fight against Shoot McMahon, Morel's other apprentice.

On the day of their ultimate fight, Killua and Shoot leave to a nearby forest to let Knuckle and Gon right each other without either battle interrupting the other. Knuckle punches Gon, who is confused by why he appears not to have taken as much damage as he expected, and sees Knuckle's Potclean behind his arm. Knuckle explains Potclean's Nen-loaning interest mechanism, to the serious confusion of Gon, and tells Gon that he would run out of Nen in about four and a half minutes. Should Gon run out of Nen, Potclean would transform into Toritaten, and force Gon into a state of Zetsu for 30 days.

Killua versus Shoot

Shoot uses Hotel Rafflesia immediately in his battle with Killua. Shoot uses his three floating hands against Killua's Yo-yos and manages to push Killua back. Killua begins to harbor thoughts of fleeing ingrained in his mind by his brother in case he faced an opponent stronger than himself. Shoot manages to punch Killua in the face, and Killua notices that the left side of his face is gone, disorienting him. Shoot takes advantage of Killua's blind spot and disorientation and overwhelms him. Killua realizes that he was not fighting seriously, and desperately attacks Shoot, forcing himself to confront Shoot head-on. Knuckle and Shoot defeat their opponents, and make their way to the NGL border with Gon and Killua, where Knuckle promises to save Kite. Gon and Killua weep over being too weak, and Killua promises to protect Gon for the 30 days he could not use Nen, before leaving him in acceptance of his promise to Biscuit.

The King and his Royal Guards arriving at the Royal Palace of East Gorteau

In NGL, Netero's group uses guerilla attacks to weaken the colony. Morel uses his smoke to confuse the Ants and separate them from their companions, then Knov uses Hide and Seek to send him into his Fourth Dimensional Mansion, where Netero waits, killing them to regain his combat form. Pitou notices the disappearance of the soldier ants, and cradles Kite's head as he debates leaving to fight and staying to protect the Queen. Knov and Morel make a bet on which group will rejoin them, Morel betting on Knuckle and Shoot coming, and Knov betting on all five coming. The two other Royal Guards, Shaiapouf and Menthuthuyoupi, are born. As the Queen cradles her womb, she begins to feel the King stirring, wanting to be born. She tries to restrain him, but the King tears through her abdomen and forces his premature birth. The Squadron Leaders assemble, hearing the commotion, and are unaware of how to proceed with the new King. The King shows no regard for them or the Queen, killing Peggy for walking past him to attend to her injuries, and killing Turtle for offering to clean the Queen's flesh off him. The Royal Guards meet with their new leader and bring him to have his meal. The Squadron Leaders ask Pitou to save the Queen but are refused. As the King searches for humans to eat, many Squadron Leaders leave the nest, following their instincts as they no longer have a Queen to serve. Colt finds Knov and Morel and surrenders to get their assistance in saving the Queen. Netero assembles a surgeon squad to attempt to heal the Queen in the nest. As the surgeon squad operates on the dying Queen, she tells those present to give the King his name was Meruem, the light that illuminates on all, before dying. Within the remnants of her abdomen, Colt finds an undeveloped fetus, the King's unborn twin. Morel offers to protect Colt and the twin with his life if they promised to never hurt other humans. Meruem and his guards find a castle that catches Meruem's interest in the Republic of East Gorteau.

Gon meeting Kite again

During the 30 days that Gon cannot use Nen, he and Killua continue their training, and Gon fulfills his promise to go on a date with Palm. During the date, Killua stalks them in fulfilment of his promise to himself to defend Gon, and fights a Nen-empowered Rammot who had come across them randomly. Despite his inability to fight stronger opponents due to Illumi's training, Killua forces himself to face Rammot, and eventually discovers a needle implanted in his forehead by Illumi that forces him to want to flee losing battles, and pulls it out. Feeling refreshed, Killua easily defeats and kills Rammot.

Knuckle and Morel, having returned from NGL, ambush and try to defeat Cheetu. Knuckle manages to use Potclean on Cheetu, but Cheetu flees before Potclean can transform. The NGL group reunite with Gon and Killua at a castle, having managed to rescue Kite for Gon. Gon approaches "Kite" but is hit by him, his corpse having been transformed into a training partner for the ants. Gon swears to return him back to normal.

The Ants and Spiders

The Spiders returning to their hometown, Meteor City

Meruem and the Royal Guards storm the Royal Palace of East Gorteau and kill the leader Ming Jol-ik and most of the humans inside. They plan for a Selection Day to gather all citizens at the palace under the guise of a celebration, but in reality will attack them all and sacrifice 99% of them in order to force 1% of them to awaken their Nen via Initiation. Morel, Knov, Knuckle, Shoot, Gon, and Killua head there, planning to work with Netero to take down the Ants. Having been unable to confirm Gon's capabilities, Morel invites Gon to attack him to demonstrate his skills, asking Gon to imagine him as the one who attacked Kite. Gon focuses enough power in his Janken for Morel to be convinced without needing to be attacked. The six members decide on their plan for defeating the Chimera ants:

• As agreed, the hunters would invade the Chimera Ants' base in the Royal Palace of East Gorteau in 10 days time on the Selection Day.
• As he instructed, Netero would battle Meruem and leave the Royal Guards and any other matters to the rest of the hunters
  • Gon asks to be assigned Pitou and pairs with Killua
  • Knuckle and Shoot are assigned to manage Pitou
  • Morel and Knov are assigned to manage Pouf

Meanwhile, the Phantom Troupe returns to their hometown, Meteor City. Zazan had taken her squadron in search of new territory to rule after Meruem's birth, found Meteor City, and had begun turning the citizens into Ants with Zazan's Queen Shot. Shalnark, Shizuku, Bonolenov, Phinks, and Kalluto end up defeating Zazan's squadron, and Feitan defeats Zazan herself.

Killua left injured after fighting against Leol's squad

Gon and Killua sneak through the East Gorteau border and enter a small village, only to find it empty. Seeing blood and shallow graves, Killua deduces that the Selection had already begun, and that the Ants had used a celebration as a pretense to disguise the mass disappearance of people. Killua also explains that to select as many as 5 million people, and not have so many Nen-capable Ants, means that they can control them. Killua plans to attack the ones being controlled, while Gon remains in hiding. Killua goes village to village and warns the citizens in an attempts to prevent them from going to their impending doom, but many don't believe him, and he eventually gathers the attention of several Chimera Ants. Killua is attacked by Chimera Ants swarming the forest and Leol's Squad, and defeats Ikalgo, deciding not to kill him in respect for the latter's resolve to never betray his comrades. He quickly finds himself at the brink of death after being caught in the Ortho Siblings's dart game and Ikalgo gets the chance to repay Killua's favor, bringing Killua to a local illegal hospital. Gon wanders in East Gorteau's countryside and is noticed by Meleoron, who takes interest in him. Wanting to test Gon, Meleoron sends his officers and soldiers after him, only for them to be defeated. Meleoron decides he can trust Gon and reveals himself to Gon, joining him to get revenge on the King for killing Meleoron's former self's adoptive father, Peggy. Gon agrees, much to Meleoron's surprise.

Meruem and Komugi playing Gungi

To kill time until the Selection, Meruem plays board games with their champions from the Republic of East Gorteau. Meruem quickly learns the rules and kills the champions after defeating them at their own games, and the next champion, Komugi, the Gungi champion, is brought in. Despite her blindness and seemingly low intellect, she manages to defeat him in every game, earning his respect. After a series of losses, Meruem attempts to throw her off by making Komugi bet on something. Meruem offers to give Komugi anything she desires if she wins, but threatens to take her left arm if she loses. Komugi asks if the terms can be changed so that she loses her life if she loses, sharing about her background and life as an explanation for why Gungi was her life. Hearing this, Meruem realizes that his attempts to throw her off and defeat her then had been disrespectful to their match, and to Pouf's horror, tears off his left arm in recompense for his impudence. Pouf tears off his sleeve to use as a tourniquet and asks for the match to be paused, but Meruem refuses to allow himself to be humiliated more. Komugi convinces Meruem to let Pitou treat him, and Pouf activates his En to take over monitoring and security so Pitou can treat Meruem. Pouf's En does not cover as large an area as Pitou's did, and Morel and Knov notice Pitou's En missing, deciding to use this chance to have Knov set up exits within the palace for the hunters to teleport to on the day of their invasion. Knov manages to enter the main palace building and gets as far as the main staircase on the bottom floor, but sees Pouf's heinous aura in a Zetsu state and retreats after being frightened. He ends up having a mental breakdown due to the aura being so terrible, taking him out of commission.

Morel using a strategy to kill Leol

While fighting Pitou's puppets, Morel once again comes across Cheetu. This time, the latter "tags" him with a new Nen ability and teleports them to a Nen space. To escape, Morel must catch Cheetu before a set timer runs out. Morel takes advantage of Cheetu's immaturity and sneaks a smoke rope around Cheetu's ankle, letting him catch Cheetu and escaping the technique. Cheetu loses his Nen ability and goes in search of a new one, letting Hagya (now Leol) attack Morel. Leol lures Morel into an abandoned church and uses Inamura, a technique the Ant stole from Morel's friend Grachan, to drown Morel. Morel uses his smoke to create breating pipes, and then uses his lung capacity to convert the oxygen in the church into carbon dioxide, poisoning and killing Leol. Killua is discharged from the hospital, and Gon tries to contact Palm, who had infiltrated the palace by acting as a prostitute, without success. Gon, Killua, Knuckle, Shoot, and Meleoron begin to strategize for the infiltration. Their plan is to make it seem as though a rebel would be merged with the crowd. When the Royal Guards focused on the crowd on the Selection Day, the group would intrude the palace and eliminate the King. Killua has a feeling something is amiss.

Meruem showing concern for Komugi

At the palace, Meruem breaks his earlier order to play continuously and asks Komugi to rest. Seeing how this was the first time he did such a thing, Pouf and Youpi begin to view the girl as a threat. Komugi awakens her Nen in later matches, enhancing her thinking capacity and letting her be a better Gungi player. She requests to leave so that she can remember these moves, and Meruem allows her to. When she asks for his name, he realizes that he doesn't know. He consults the Royal Guards on the matter, they are unable to give him an answer of which he approves. As he speaks, Pouf, to his disgust, notices that the King was becoming more regretful and saw the value of creatures he deemed inferior. However, he concludes that violence is the most powerful power in the world. Pondering on his little speech, Meruem asserts that she was no longer useful since the Selection was near and she would die in the conditions. He searches for her, intending to kill her, but sees her unable to defend against a crow attacking her and kills the crow instead. He begins to show signs of caring for her by not killing her and asking why she didn't call for help, something that even he himself notices.

While trying to figure out the cause of his hesitation, Killua theorizes that since Knov came into contact with Pouf's En, not Pitou's, Pitou's healing ability could not be used as he was using En, and that one of the Royal Guards or King was injured. After Ikalgo asserts that Pitou would only heal the King, and that no one they knew could have injured the King, Killua concludes that the King injured himself, possibly due to the presence of an unknown third party.

The citizens of East Gorteau begin their march to the palace. Morel strategizes with Knuckle, Shoot, and Meleoron in Knov's dimension. Knov arrives and announces that he would inform the group of any changes prior to the operation. As he does so, he notices that Pouf is releasing scales, which had a hypnotic effect on the citizens. Gon, Killua, and Ikalgo arrive in Knov's dimension so that all the combatants were ready. Seconds before the invasion, Killua is still unsure about the third party, believing that the missing information could ruin all their plans.

Palace Invasion

Netero and Zeno beginning the invasion of the palace

Seconds before the scheduled beginning of the invasion, Zeno Zoldyck flies himself and Netero on his dragon high above the clouds to the skies above the palace. The two men jump off Zeno's dragon and begin a free fall past the clouds toward the palace. Pitou senses something amiss, and reshapes their amoeba-like En to point toward the sky. Pouf notices Pitou's En shifting, and looks towards the skies as well. Falling through the clouds, Zeno uses his Dragon Head, and both parties sense their enemy's capabilities at the moment their Nen came into contact. Immediately, Pitou releases their En, having confirmed the location of the enemy, in order to save it for combat, but Zeno uses Dragon Dive and splits his Nen dragon into a rain of Nen arrows onto the Palace, catching Pitou and Pouf off guard. Pouf immediately disregards Meruem's orders to leave him, and flies towards him. Pitou's honed senses allowed them to easily find Zeno and Netero falling through the sky, and Pitou leaps towards Netero, activating Terpsichora in preparation for battle. Netero easily catches Pitou off guard by with an extremely quick attack, launching him with enough force to send him far away from the battle, but Pitou activates Doctor Blythe, taking advantage of Doctor Blythe's restriction preventing them from leaving a 20m radius centered at its activation, to kill his horizontal momentum and freefall onto the palace. As they falls, Pitou activates their En to cover the palace and find the King, unable to do anything else as they wait to finish landing.

The Extermination Team entering the palace

As the dragons rain down, the invasion squad infiltrated the palace via the doors that Knov set by the staircase. As planned, Ikalgo runs towards the Palace's basement to find Palm, and the rest head toward the stairs leading upward to search for the Royal Guards. There, they unexpectedly encounter Youpi sitting on the stairs, who reflexively adopts an attacking stance as Zeno's dragons break through the palace. Gon immediately switches targets to Youpi, in case Knuckle and Meleoron had been killed by Dragon Dive while God's Accomplice made them invisible, but Knuckle manages to hit Youpi and activate Hakoware before Gon and Youpi fight. The Hunters sense Pitou's En and momentarily pause, and Youpi uses that distraction to destroy the staircase. Gon and Killua manage to run past Youpi, and continue their original plan, but Morel is trapped on the other side of the destroyed staircase, and combines the dust with his Deep Purple to get to the other side. Since Knuckle must remain invisible to ensure Hakoware can take down Youpi, Shoot is forced to face Youpi by himself, and fights valiantly, but is eventually almost killed by Youpi. With Shoot nearly dead, Knuckle is forced to fend for himself.

Netero and Zeno separating the King from the Royal Guards

Pitou jumps towards Meruem as soon as they lands, and sees Meruem, gently cradling Komugi, who had been gravely wounded by Dragon Dive, with Netero and Zeno behind the King. Unsure of how to proceed with the King's sudden display of humanity, the King orders Pitou to heal Komugi. Also, as a sign of respect, Netero and Zeno pause to let Pitou secure Komugi instead of attacking Meruem immediately. Meruem offers to travel farther out in order to not disturb Komugi's treatment, and Netero, not having expected Meruem's cooperation, hesitantly agrees. Pitou activates Doctor Blythe and momentarily distracted Netero and Zeno, allowing Meruem to leisurely cross between them towards the direction of their future battlegrounds. As Netero and Zeno step out to the open air, Netero sees Gon, and points him in the direction of his opponent. Zeno conjures Dragon Head to send Netero and Meruem to their battleground, having completed his contract to separate the King from the Royal Guards, and proceeds to make his way out of East Gorteau. As Gon and Killua pass by Zeno towards Pitou, Zeno asks them to judge what is happening inside for themselves. Gon and Killua enter to see Pitou healing Komugi. Gon is incensed upon seeing Kite's killer, and demands a fight with Pitou, but Killua notices Pitou's stance is protective instead of readying for battle. Gon demands Pitou fight them and heal Kite, but Pitou, unwilling to defy the King's orders, breaks their arm to convince Gon to let them heal Komugi. Gon reluctantly gives Pitou one hour to stabilize Komugi's critical wounds.

Shaiapouf creating a cocoon against Morel

Morel heads to the throne room itself where he encounters Shaiapouf. Taking advantage of Pouf's loss of composure, Morel traps Pouf with Smoky Jail. Seeing that he could not escape easily, Pouf turns himself into a chrysalis and uses his Beelzebub ability to split himself into billions of tiny Poufs that can slip through the smoke to create a clone of himself outside the smoke, but leaving his real self inside the chrysalis. Morel attacks the chrysalis, finding that it was empty, and releases Smoky Jail, which ends up releasing the real Pouf. Morel tries to attack Pouf with Deep Purple, but Pouf counters by using Beelzebub once again to split himself up. Trying to catch the clones, Morel is struck by Pouf who ambushed him with his real body from behind. Pouf takes Morel's pipe to strip him of his Nen abilities and throws it into a river. He then heads to the palace where Pitou is in an attempt to kill Gon from behind. Pitou, worried that Gon would get angered and kill Komugi, orders Pouf not to do it. Pouf leaves the situation to Pitou, but when Gon demands that Pouf stay, Pouf uses Beelzebub to send his tiny form out while a clone remained there to keep Gon satisfied. Killua also leaves.

Bloster examining Flutter's corpse

While this was all happening, Ikalgo was in the basement of the palace, searching for Palm while he uses Flutter's body in a truck. He uses Flutter's dragonflies to scout the area, one of them encountering Bloster. After investigating a little, he finds a message from Palm written in Nen, stating that she should be presumed dead should she not return before the mission. While leaving, he encounters Bloster face-to-face, who tricks Ikalgo into revealing that he is not the real Flutter. Ikalgo manages to hide under the truck, while Bloster left, convinced that he had killed the impostor. However, when he enters the elevator, he is trapped in it since he needed a passcode to ascend. He shoots the door, but is trapped once again, this time by Ikalgo closing the shutters from the control room. Bloster just shoots the way out again, but Ikalgo comes up with a plan to use a tank to shoot sleeping gas and kill Bloster. He succeeds in sedating him, but fails to kill him. Welfin then confronts Ikalgo, using his Missile Man Nen ability to interrogate him. However, Ikalgo turns the tables on him by shooting him despite the excruciating pain caused from Missile Man. He questions Welfin on his past life as a human. Welfin admits that he remembered being named Zaiqahal, a friend of Gyro's, and being killed by Yunju's division. He reveals that he wishes to find Gyro. Ikalgo asks him about Palm, and Welfin explains that she was put in a cocoon upstairs after being found by the Royal Guards.

Knuckle taking advantage of Youpi's rage

Knuckle continues his battle with Youpi, with Youpi holding the advantage by far. While fighting, Youpi gets frustrated due to not knowing where the King or other Royal Guards are and accidentally unleashes "Rage Blast" where his feelings of stress were released. Knuckle uses the opportunity to search for Shoot. Finding a puddle of blood, he believes that it was Youpi's doing and confronts him again. In reality, Knov had helped Shoot retreat. Youpi fakes going into the "Rage Blast" ability form to lure Knuckle closer to him. Knuckles does so and Youpi reverts to his main form and is about to kill him when he is suddenly hit by a lightning bolt. Confused by the sudden attack which he did not detect before, Youpi is paralyzed which gives Knuckle the opportunity to attack Youpi, avenging Shoot. Knuckle flees, and Killua begins his attack on Youpi with Godspeed, a Nen ability he had developed after his battle with the Ortho siblings. During this, Youpi is unable to attack Killua back due to his paralysis combined with Killua's sheer speed.

Killua attacking Youpi with his Whirlwind

However, Killua eventually runs out of electricity and is forced to flee. Youpi pursues him but Killua escapes with Meleoron's ability, enlightening Youpi about the opponent's possible ability of invisibility or teleportation. With Killua out of commission, Youpi finds Morel, who has now been deprived of his pipe. Knuckle rushes in to protect his mentor, and Morel uses the last of his smoke to create Knuckle clones. With this, Knuckle is able to land blows on Youpi. Youpi is enraged by this, uses "Rage Blast" again, but this time begins to understand it better. He uses "Rage Incarnate", which allowed him to turn into a centaur, to take out Morel's clones, and injured Morel. Youpi praises Morel and Knuckle for being such amazing warriors, though he must eliminate them for that reason too. He strikes Morel, but Morel disappears. Seeing Morel's blood drip, Youpi realizes that the ability being used was invisibility. He prepares to attack Morel and the pinpointed location, but Knuckle stops him, begging him to fight him alone. Youpi denies the offer as it was, but then agrees to it under the condition that Knuckle releases his Nen ability. Giving into his emotions, Knuckle does so, much to Morel's and Meleoron's disapproval. Surprisingly, Youpi keeps his word and leaves with Pouf to go find the King.

Palm awakening as a Chimera Ant soldier

Palm leaves her cocoon, sporting a somewhat different appearance due to being an experimental soldier. Having no emotions, she encounters Killua, and asks him about Gon's whereabouts and proceeds to attack him with killing intent. However, Killua does not reciprocate this intention and begins to break down while revealing the reason he hid Gon's location from Palm. This sparks the emotions in Palm, and she kills a chibi Pouf, who had been controlling her, alerting Pouf that soldiers should not retain their human memories. Palm and Killua reunite with Ikalgo. He asks Killua whether they would help Gon fight Pitou, but Killua agrees, but notes that they wouldn't be sufficient. They regroup with Meleoron and Knuckle, and Knuckle is insistent on helping Gon. The group returns to the palace.

Meruem fighting Netero inside the underground tomb

Meanwhile, Meruem and Netero land at the spot that will be their battleground, a weapons-testing ground. Meruem tries to avoid fighting by reasoning with Netero. He reveals his plans to create a world where inequality is so nonexistent that the word itself is forgotten. A select few humans would be spared. However, Netero demands a fight. He uses the King's name—which the King is not aware of—to entice him to fight. Meruem agrees to the conditions, and Netero uses 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva to make a hole to the underground area where their fight begins. Meruem takes a simple strategy of experimenting with arbitrary offensives to determine Netero's attack pattern since Netero's attacks virtually did nothing to him. As the battle rages on, Netero is forced to use stronger moves against him, but ultimately they are proven to be futile since Meruem manages to dismember his right leg and left arm. Netero uses his strongest attack, Zero Hand.

Netero on the verge of death

While doing more damage than his previous attacks, the attack was barely effective, and Meruem is still far stronger than Netero. With all of his aura drained, and barely standing, Netero is seemingly defeated. Meruem tries once again to reason with him, stating that Netero's passion had moved him such that when he rules the world, he will now allow humans to survive within a special zone. Netero refuses to accept this, and activates his last resort, a Poor Man's Rose, right after revealing the King's name—Meruem. The bomb detonates, incinerating the surrounding region, including Meruem. Pouf and Youpi see the explosion and rush toward the scene, finding a badly maimed but alive Meruem. To save his life, they feed him their bodies such that they are reduced to miniature forms with Meruem emerging more powerful than before but suffering from amnesia. Now sporting wings, he returns to the palace with Youpi and Pouf, the latter of which is determined to prevent him from remembering Komugi.

Meanwhile, Pitou's time is up healing Komugi, and Gon demands to leave, threatening to kill Komugi. Pitou is forced to obey. The group arrives, and Knuckle offers to use A.P.R. on Pitou, but Gon refuses. He orders them to watch Komugi as a hostage, as they head to Peijin alone to fix Kite. Killua takes Komugi while Palm uses her Wink Blue ability to see Pouf's clone coming. Knuckle punches the clone and activates A.P.R. on it, which is transferred to Pouf's main body, which is with Meruem. Palm announces that Meruem is still alive.

Pouf's clone spots Killua, who is running away with Komugi. Pouf attempts to kill her but fails due to Killua's vastly superior speed and power in Godspeed. Meruem approaches the palace which Palm can sense. Being unable to take Komugi before Meruem arrives, Pouf's clones then try to clear away the Gungi board in the palace so that Meruem would have no recollection of the game, and by extension, her. With Pouf now gone, Killua takes Komugi to Palm, who with her ability, tells Killua that Gon and Pitou are in Peijin. She also explains her ability, and Pouf's clone eavesdrops on this, coming up with a plan.

Gon preparing to fight Neferpitou

Gon and Pitou reach the castle where Kite's broken body is. While heading to the room, Pitou receives a mobile phone call in their pocket, something Gon is oblivious to, saying Komugi is alright; Pouf used his abilities to imitate her voice. Believing that it is no longer in a hostage situation, Pitou tells Gon that Kite is beyond saving; Kite died in his battle with them, and Pitou's Nen abilities can only prevent corpses from deteriorating. Gon begins to weep, vacillating between emotions of deep despair and anger. Palm watches this but is confused as to what is happening since she can't hear what is being said. Pouf's clone suddenly appears in front of Palm and Killua, telling them that if Komugi is not returned, Pitou will kill Gon. Killua crushes the clone, then rushes to Peijin, leaving Komugi with Palm.

Pitou calls forth Doctor Blythe. When Gon sees her, he thinks Pitou is going to heal Kite, but then Doctor Blythe begins healing their broken arm, which confuses Gon, but he's still hopeful Pitou will heal Kite once finished with its own arm. However, once healed, Pitou tells Gon they're going to kill him now. Gon finally comes to the realization that Pitou isn't going to heal Kite and accuses Pitou of being a liar. All of his bottled-up emotions are released in the form of a dark aura, which transforms him into an older, taller, and more muscular version of himself. He demands to fight Pitou outside, to which Pitou complies. Pitou uses Terpsichora to its fullest extent to try to match Gon, but the strengthened Gon easily pulverizes it, and kills it. Killua arrives, shocked at the immense power Gon was harnessing. Due to its extreme loyalty to the King, Pitou's body is manipulated by Terpsichora past death and rips off Gon's arm. Gon simply uses the arm to pin Pitou and uses a giant Jajanken to destroy the body, and the surrounding forest.

Meruem using his En

Simultaneously, Meruem is in the palace. Pouf realizes that Meruem can regain memories through images and words. Youpi goes to search for Pitou. The name Neferpitou causes Meruem to remember that he asked it to do him a favor. Meruem orders Youpi to bring Pitou at once, while he goes to hunt down the intruders himself. Pouf attempts to dissuade him; not only does this fail, it arouses Meruem's suspicions. Meruem uses En to search the area for the enemies; the En leaves all those nearby in shock. He finds Knuckle and Meleoron in an instant and knocks them out before they know it. As Meruem is about to hunt down Ikalgo and Palm, Pouf challenges him to a contest in an attempt to prevent him from discovering Komugi. The contest is to see whether Pouf and Youpi could find Pitou before Meruem could find the other two intruders. Meruem may only use his En once, and if he loses, Pouf may hide the secret he has, but if he wins, Pouf must reveal it. Accepting the challenge, both parties race off.

Palm and Ikalgo meet up with Welfin and an unconscious Bloster, inside of Bizeff's place. Ikalgo orders Welfin to act as an intermediary between them and the King, and offer Komugi in exchange for Knuckle and Meleoron, to which Welfin reluctantly agrees. Ikalgo reveals that he knew Welfin's past as a human and that he was a friend of Welfin (Zaiqahal) in their human life, and reminds him that the Ants were enemies of NGL. Welfin drives out and meets Youpi, with whom he shares the bargain. Youpi agrees to tell the King but in actuality plans on telling only Pouf. Youpi returns, only to be threatened by Welfin to reveal his human memories. Before he can respond, he suddenly bleeds and dies. Meruem demands to know Pouf's secret. Palm and Ikalgo debrief on the facts, theorizing that the Royal Guards were split on protecting or killing Komugi. Palm deduces that hiding Komugi would prevent the King from finding her. Meruem and Pouf begin to bleed as Youpi did.

Welfin's fear of Meruem causing him to age instantly

It is revealed that this is because of the Rose's trump card: a poison. Curious about the secret Pouf was hiding, Meruem uses En one last time and spots Welfin and immediately teleports to him. He asks Welfin if he killed Youpi, and Welfin denies this, stating that Youpi had begun to cough up blood and died. Pouf insists on killing Welfin, but Meruem continues the interrogation, stating that he could sense Welfin's hostility to him (as a result of inheriting Pouf's Spiritual Message). Pouf interrupts Meruem to reveal that Welfin knew the secret he was hiding. Meruem is enraged by this, releasing murderous aura. Welfin, seeing this aura, ages 100 years due to fear and utters the name Komugi as a reflexive action. Meruem regains all his memories about Komugi and Gungi, which leaves Pouf shattered. Pouf later dies due to the poison.

Palm revealing Komugi's location to Meruem

Meruem finds Palm and asks her where Komugi is. He reveals he knows his fate and admits defeat to humanity. Palm, now partly Chimera Ant, reveals the location under the condition that she can watch him. Meruem finds Komugi, and they share their final moments together playing Gungi. Komugi is adamant about staying with Meruem despite the fact that the poison will spread to her body by doing so. Meruem finally passes away in Komugi's arms, having never been able to defeat her even once, and she follows thereafter.

Conclusion

Shidore inviting Bloster back to the village

With the defeat of the Chimera Ants, NGL and East Gorteau are taken over by international peacekeepers. The five million citizens of the countries are declared refugees, and the wealth of East Gorteau is spread among the three remaining nations of the Mitene Union. NGL is turned into a nature reserve and placed under the jurisdiction of the Hunter Association.

Welfin and Bloster part ways. Welfin heads off with Hina and Bizeff to Meteor City in search of Gyro, his former self's friend. Bloster escorts Shidore back to a village. The villagers are at first afraid of the two, but are willing to believe Bloster's claim to come without malicious intent. Haruna, who lost her children Kurt and Reina at the start of the Chimera Ant infestation, is watched from behind a door by Shidore, who Haruna recognizes as Reina in her previous life. Haruna is overjoyed, and the villagers invite Bloster to stay with them.

Gon lying comatose in a hospital

Gon is on life support at the hospital following his transformation, in an extremely gruesome state. Knov finds Killua and explains his plan to have specialists and expert doctors come in and treat Gon, asking Killua to help him with logistics. Killua refuses, explaining his plans to help Gon in his own way, and leaves. Morel receives a phone call from Colt, who reveals that the King's twin sister has demanded to be called Kite, which surprises Morel.

In the Hunter Association building, 12 people known as the Zodiacs appear, following Netero's pre-recorded instructions to decide the next chairman of the association via an election.

Notable Characters

• Gon Freecss
• Killua Zoldyck
• Kite
• Isaac Netero
• Meruem
• Komugi
• Neferpitou
• Shaiapouf
• Menthuthuyoupi
• Knuckle Bine
• Shoot McMahon
• Morel Mackernasey
• Knov
• Palm Siberia
• Meleoron
• Ikalgo
• Biscuit Krueger
• Zeno Zoldyck
• Feitan Portor
• Phinks Magcub
• Bonolenov Ndongo
• Shalnark
• Kalluto Zoldyck
• Shizuku Murasaki
• Pokkle
• Ponzu
• Chimera Ant Queen
• Colt (formerly Kurt)
• Zazan
• Rammot
• Leol (earlier known as *Hagya*)
• Hina
• Cheetu
• Welfin
• Bloster

Major Battles

• Pokkle vs. Pike
• Gon Freecss & Killua Zoldyck vs. Rammot
• Gon Freecss, Killua Zoldyck, & Kite vs. Yunju, Centipede, & Mosquito
  • Gon Freecss vs. Centipede
  • Killua Zoldyck vs. Mosquito
  • Kite vs. Yunju
• Gon Freecss, Killua Zoldyck, & Kite vs. Hagya's squad
  • Gon Freecss vs. Baro
  • Killua Zoldyck vs. Rhino
  • Kite vs. Frog & the rest of Hagya's squad
• Kite vs. Neferpitou
• Gon Freecss & Killua Zoldyck vs. Knuckle Bine & Shoot McMahon
  • Gon Freecss & Killua Zoldyck vs. Knuckle Bine
  • Gon Freecss vs. Knuckle Bine
  • Killua Zoldyck vs. Biscuit Krueger
  • Gon Freecss vs. Knuckle Bine (Rematch)
  • Killua Zoldyck vs. Shoot McMahon
• Killua Zoldyck vs. Rammot
• Morel Mackernasey & Knuckle Bine vs. Cheetu
• Phantom Troupe vs. Zazan & her squad
  • Bonolenov Ndongo vs. Gun-toting Ant
  • Kalluto Zoldyck vs. Small Beetle
  • Phinks Magcub vs. Gorilla
  • Shalnark vs. Boki & Pell
  • Shizuku Murasaki vs. Pike
  • Feitan Portor vs. Zazan
• Gon Freecss vs. Snake
• Gon Freecss vs. Bat & Hollow
• Killua Zoldyck vs. Flutter's Corps
• Killua Zoldyck vs. Ikalgo (Living Dead Doll)
• Killua Zoldyck vs. Ortho Siblings
• Morel Mackernasey vs. Cheetu
• Morel Mackernasey vs. Leol
• Isaac Netero, Morel Mackernasey, Knuckle Bine, Shoot McMahon, Gon Freecss, Killua Zoldyck, Ikalgo, & Meleoron vs. Meruem, Neferpitou, Shaiapouf, Menthuthuyoupi, Palm Siberia, Bloster, & Welfin
  • Isaac Netero vs. Neferpitou
  • Knuckle Bine & Meleoron vs. Menthuthuyoupi
  • Shoot McMahon vs. Menthuthuyoupi
  • Morel Mackernasey vs. Shaiapouf
  • Ikalgo vs. Bloster
  • Killua Zoldyck & Meleoron vs. Menthuthuyoupi
  • Knuckle Bine & Morel Mackernasey vs. Menthuthuyoupi
  • Isaac Netero vs. Meruem
  • Killua Zoldyck vs. Palm Siberia
  • Ikalgo vs. Welfin
  • Killua Zoldyck vs. Shaiapouf's clone
  • Gon Freecss vs. Neferpitou

Story Impact

• The Chimera Ants species is introduced.
  • The Dark Continent is mentioned for the first time as the source of the Chimera Ants
• Ponzu and Pokkle are killed by Chimera Ants.
• It is revealed that non-humans, specifically Chimera Ants, can use Nen.
• Kite dies and is reborn as a Chimera Ant.
• Gyro is introduced and is implied to play a larger role in the future.
• Killua removes the needle implanted by Illumi that put him under a hypnotic spell.
• Palm is reborn as a Chimera Ant.
• The 12th Chairman of the Hunter Association, Isaac Netero, dies. His death is a major contributor to the events of the next arc.
• Gon is left in a comatose state after "using everything" against Neferpitou.

Trivia

• This is the longest arc in the manga to date, surpassing the Greed Island arc with 133 chapters, as well as being the longest in the 2011 anime adaptation, surpassing the Yorknew City arc with 61 episodes. This makes the Chimera Ant arc the longest story arc in the series overall.
• Unlike previous story arcs in the series, this is the first in which neither Gon nor any of the other three main characters have any interaction with the main antagonist (Meruem).
• It was never explained how the Hunters knew Meruem and the Royal Guards had relocated to East Gorteau. It seems likely that the Royal Guards had planned to invade the Royal Palace of East Gorteau before the King's birth and that they had told the Squadron Leaders where they were headed, allowing the Extermination Team to find out through Colt. This would also explain how Leol, Welfin, and Bloster were able to find them, and why Knuckle feared that Cheetu would become stronger by making contact with the King.
• A recurrent feature of this arc is also the repetition of events that have occurred to one character, either as a parallel or as a reversal.
  • When the two first met, Kite punched Gon in the face. The latter is reminded of that moment when a manipulated Kite attacks him.
  • Knov judges Killua and dismisses his capabilities for his terror upon feeling a Royal Guard's aura. Later on, however, he suffers an incapacitating mental breakdown upon seeing another Royal Guard's En.
  • During the Hunter Exam arc, Netero used his Ren to put Gon and Killua on edge and slip past them. The same occurred to him and Zeno when Neferpitou's activation of Doctor Blythe momentarily distracted them, allowing Meruem to walk between them more swiftly than they could react.
  • Impressed by their earnestness and goodwill, Knuckle agrees to let Gon and Killua fight him as training for the twenty remaining days before the meeting in NGL, stating that they will never pose a threat to him. During the palace invasion, Menthuthuyoupi, having acknowledged the Hunters' efforts, makes a very similar proposition to Knuckle with the same excuse.
  • During the Hunter Exam, while unofficially testing Gon and Killua on the airship, Netero was able to fend them both off while using only his right arm and left leg. In his final battle against Meruem and prior to activating the Miniature Rose, Meruem's assault leaves Netero with only his right arm and left leg.
  • Kite and Gon both lost their right arms to Neferpitou. Gon openly acknowledges the parallel, stating that he is glad his final moments will be like Kite's.
• The above-mentioned repetitions could be construed as being in keeping with the themes of metempsychosis and Karma that run through the arc, which also find their physical counterpart in the Chimera Ant Queen's Phagogenesis.

Intertextuality and References

• There are many references to baseball in this arc: Cheetu, Morel Mackernasey, Knuckle Bine, and Killua Zoldyck often use figures of speech related to this sport, and the names of four characters (Knuckle Bine, Shoot McMahon, Palm Siberia, and Gyro) are derived from types of pitches. In addition, the cover page for Chapter 196 shows the four main characters dressed in baseball uniforms and performing various aspects of the sport. The uniforms and hat of the real-life Hanshin Tigers are also shown, a team which Togashi has mentioned in the author comments for both Hunter × Hunter and his previous series, Yu Yu Hakusho.
• In Chapter 216, Cheetu calls himself the "Speed King” (スピードキング), which is the title of a 1970 song by the band Deep Purple. Not only is Morel's Deep Purple his main Nen ability, the two characters also eventually end up fighting each other.

Arc Navigation

Greed Island arc

Chimera Ant arc

13th Hunter Chairman Election arc