Chapter Summaries

Illumi invited Kevin to Kukuroo Mountain to make a custom potion for Killua, and Kevin agreed to visit after completing his current orders. At the Manor, Kevin discussed the Fiery Red Eyes with Pairo and Kurapika, then commissioned Koto to cultivate unusual plants he had brought back from the Dark Continent.

• Illumi asked Kevin to visit the Zoldyck home and customize a potion for Killua, and Kevin agreed to go after finishing two pending orders.
• Kevin asked Pairo and Kurapika whether they had begun collecting the Fiery Red Eyes, and they explained they were waiting until their revenge was complete.
• Kurapika told Kevin that the Fourth Prince of the Kakin Empire possessed many of the eyes, but Kevin considered recovering them a manageable future problem.
• Koto brought Kevin her requests for a plant Nutrient Potion and a potion that improved plants' environmental resistance, and Kevin devised plans for both.
• Kevin asked Koto to build a Plant Greenhouse and cultivate his Dark Continent Seeds and young specimens, and Koto accepted before realizing how strange they were.

Kevin completed Koto’s plant potions and began developing a treatment for Qiduo’s poisoned client, using her medical records and the patient’s blood. After a week of testing, the custom potion was ready, and Kevin and Qiduo returned to the heavily guarded hospital to begin treatment.

• Koto accepted Kevin’s unfamiliar seeds and seedlings, and Kevin suspected she had guessed he had visited the Dark Continent.
• Kevin completed two plant potions for Koto, who became absorbed in cultivating the plants in the Manor’s Back Mountain.
• Qiduo showed Kevin the records of her client, whose brain-body connection had been severed by a toxin delivered through a Nen ability.
• Kevin noticed faint Resentment clinging to the unconscious patient, drew blood, and returned to the Manor with Qiduo to develop a targeted antidote.
• After a week of repeated testing, Kevin finished the treatment potion, and he and Qiduo went to the hospital, where Kevin noticed security had increased.

Kevin assisted Qiduo as she treated a heavily guarded patient, while a coordinated group of Nen users attacked the hospital to prevent the treatment. Kansai fought his way toward the fifth floor as the attackers clashed with the guards, and Kevin injected the patient at Qiduo’s command.

• Kevin noticed hostile intent from the two bodyguards in the next room while Qiduo focused on treating the patient.
• Five armed invaders entered the hospital, and the two bodyguards next door used their Nen abilities to incapacitate guards on several floors.
• The nurse and two close-protection bodyguards prepared for combat as Kevin remained beside Qiduo in the ward.
• Kansai defeated the two traitorous bodyguards outside and charged into the hospital, where the invaders cleared the lower floors with smoke, firearms, and Nen abilities.
• The attackers reached the fifth floor and fought the ward’s defenders while Kansai confronted a blockade on the fourth floor.
• Qiduo shouted for Kevin to inject the patient, and Kevin immediately inserted the needle.

Kevin stayed with Qiduo while Kansai and the bodyguards defeated the attackers trying to reach the hospital room. After the smoke cleared, Kevin and Kansai sized each other up, each recognizing the other as exceptionally strong.

• Blockade recognized Kansai as a Zodiac and fled upstairs, using his Nen ability to stall him while the team fought near the fifth-floor stairwell.
• Hui's smoke could not enter the hospital room, and Qiduo told Kevin to leave the attackers to the people fighting downstairs.
• Echo used sound waves to incapacitate the bodyguards, but Kevin cut through the smoke and wounded Echo with a ranged slash.
• Kansai scattered the smoke, and the Female Nurse, Kansai, and the Hedgehog Bodyguard subdued the attackers.
• Kevin and Kansai met eyes after the corridor was cleared and recognized each other as powerful opponents.

After returning from the Dark Continent, Kevin confirmed that Qiduo had awakened her patient, shared his rare plants with Koto, and began arranging a distant commission. The recovered woman planned her next political moves in the Kakin Empire and ordered an investigation into Kevin without approaching him directly.

• Kevin thanked Kansai for his help, then left the hospital after Qiduo confirmed that her patient had awakened and would need time to recover.
• Back at the Nosra Manor, Kevin told Koto that he had returned from the Dark Continent and gave her a Pattern Steel Fruit and other plants to cultivate.
• Kevin messaged the Zoldyck Family about his upcoming commission and considered asking Melusina to accompany him.
• The recovered woman hired Kansai to escort her home and asked her staff to investigate Kevin while avoiding disturbing him.
• The woman rejected an alliance with Camilla, decided to contact Tsubepa, and considered the Fifth Prince as an ally after learning he did not know about Nen.

Kevin, Melusina, and Pairo traveled to Kukuro Mountain to meet the Zoldyck Family, passing through its tourist-facing entrance and demonstrating their strength at the Trial Gate. They reached the Reception Hall, where Illumi, his mother, and a kimono-clad young family member joined them.

• Kevin, Melusina, and Pairo arrived in the Dentora Region and followed a sightseeing tour to the Zoldyck Family’s gate on Kukuro Mountain.
• A guard invited the three inside, explained the Trial Gate’s escalating weights, and watched Pairo open four gates, Melusina open six, and Kevin push them all open with ease.
• A guard led them through the Sea of Trees, where Pairo sensed someone watching, and Gotoh took over as their guide near the mountain’s base.
• At the Reception Hall, Kevin and Pairo realized that all the Zoldyck Family’s butlers were Nen users.
• Illumi arrived and spoke with Kevin, then his mother entered with a kimono-clad girl whom the staff addressed as Young Master.

Kevin discussed Kikyo’s request for a potion to accelerate Kiy’s growth, but explained that Kiy had likely already reached the limits of what his young body could achieve. After a tense confrontation between Kikyo and Melusina, Kiy arrived and happily reunited with Kevin.

• Kikyo asked Kevin to create a potion that would rapidly bring Kiy’s talent to fruition, and Kevin explained that the potions Kiy had already used may have brought him close to his current limits.
• Kikyo took Kevin’s explanation as an insult to Kiy, while Melusina criticized her extreme expectations as a parent.
• Kikyo and Melusina’s killing intent and Resentment spread through the room until Kevin restrained everyone with his overwhelming Aura.
• Kiy entered, recognized Kevin, and excitedly welcomed him as a guest and friend.
• Kevin introduced Melusina as his girlfriend and teased Kiy into calling her “Sister-in-law,” leaving Pairo unsettled by the family’s strange atmosphere.

Kevin brought Pairo and Melusina to the Zoldyck estate for a commission concerning Kiy, where he noticed the family’s warped relationships and signs of factional conflict. After settling into their villa, Kevin explained his suspicions about the factions and planned to investigate while they waited for Silva.

• Pairo observed Illumi’s jealousy and hostility when Kevin showed affection toward Kiy, and concluded that the Zoldyck family’s emotions were distorted.
• Kiy said his grandfather had summoned him, and Kevin revealed that Silva had commissioned a job concerning Kiy.
• Kevin asked to spend time with Kiy, but Kikyo refused, so Kevin’s group followed Gotoh to guest lodgings.
• After Kiy and Kevin’s group left the Reception Hall, Illumi and Kikyo decided to wait for Silva to return.
• At the villa, Kevin explained to Pairo and Melusina that Kiy’s grandfather had likely sent him to disrupt Kikyo’s plans and that the family was divided into factions.

Kevin met Silva to discuss the Zoldyck Family’s commission and proposed customized medicine to help Kiy realize his potential faster once he learned Nen. Silva agreed to let Kevin examine and care for Kiy, while Kikyo objected to leaving him with an outsider.

• Kevin and Silva assessed each other when they met, and Silva decided that commissions involving Kevin would be too dangerous to accept.
• Kiy arrived with Gotoh and greeted Silva warmly, while Kevin sensed that other Zoldycks were watching them through surveillance.
• Kevin explained that Kiy’s physical foundation was already complete and proposed medicine to help him convert his potential into strength more quickly.
• Silva accepted Kevin’s plan and entrusted Kiy to him temporarily so Kevin could examine him and prepare suitable medicine.
• Kiy celebrated his temporary freedom from intense training, while Kevin asked Gotoh to gather materials and Pairo to send Golden Eggs.
• Kikyo complained that Silva had handed Kiy to an outsider and ordered her sons to keep an eye on him, while Migg grumbled and Illumi watched the monitor.

While waiting for materials to make Killua a Nen-building potion, Kevin spent time with him and told him about the Hunter Association. Melusina sensed a dangerous creature hidden in the Zoldyck estate, and Kevin decided not to investigate it yet.

• Kevin followed Killua through the woods, reassured him that his new potion would not require much training, and explained what Hunters did after Killua admitted he did not know about the Hunter Association.
• When Killua attacked him in frustration, Kevin easily dodged, restrained him, and knocked him unconscious before continuing their conversation about his work as a Hunter.
• Inside a hidden room, the girl changed into an inhuman form and sensed something; Melusina also felt a presence while entering the Zoldyck estate with Pairo.
• Pairo told Kevin he had given Member Cards to the Zoldyck family members he met, but had not seen the fourth child.
• Melusina revealed that Little Wang had sensed a dangerous being inside the mountain, which felt like a competitor rather than a natural enemy; Kevin chose not to investigate it for now and planned to encourage Killua to seek freedom outside.

Kevin made a Nen-enhancing potion for Kiy while uncovering Illumi’s influence over the boy and the Zoldyck Family’s hidden monster. After Kiy safely took the first dose, Kevin left with his commission payment and an idea for a potion that could let ordinary people undergo Initiation painlessly.

• Kevin collected Kiy’s blood under strict safeguards, then encouraged Kiy to seek freedom and friends beyond the Zoldyck Family.
• Kevin discovered a Nen needle from Illumi in Kiy’s brain and realized the family was closely monitoring his attempts to influence the boy.
• At the surveillance base, Silva and Zeno decided not to target Kevin or his companions over what they might know, as long as they did not threaten the family’s survival.
• Kevin completed the Sedimentation Potion, which gradually increased Kiy’s Nen Aura and could cause a dangerous eruption during Initiation if he took too many doses.
• Kiy took a dose in front of his family, and examinations found no immediate problems; Kevin gave Silva the remaining potions and left the same day.
• On the drive away, Kevin told Melusina that the commission had inspired an idea for a potion that could make Initiation painless for ordinary people.

Men Qi and Xiahara returned to Nosra Manor, where they learned Kevin and Melusina had gone to work, then reunited with them after the New Year. Men Qi celebrated her One-star Hunter promotion and asked Pairo whether he planned to become a Hunter; he said he had prepared for it.

• Men Qi and Xiahara arrived at Nosra Manor, where Kurapika, Nion, and Rosana welcomed them and told them Kevin and Melusina were out on a custom medicine commission.
• Men Qi asked where Pairo was and said she had something important to tell him, but he had gone out with Kevin.
• After the New Year, Kevin and Melusina returned, and Men Qi greeted them warmly while Xiahara praised Kevin for bringing Melusina back safely.
• Men Qi showed Kevin her One-star Hunter's License and revealed that Xiahara had also advanced to One-star Hunter.
• Men Qi showed off her license to Pairo, then asked whether he had considered becoming a Hunter; Pairo replied that he had prepared.

Pairo decided to take the Hunter Exam next year, unaware that Men Qi hoped to examine him. While Kevin developed Dark Continent materials, he discussed forming and training a team for a future expedition, ending with a hint that his pharmaceutical expertise might help awaken Nen users.

• Pairo told Men Qi he planned to take the Hunter Exam next year, and Men Qi revealed she hoped to be an examiner and make him run around.
• Kevin worked with Melusina to refine Skull Beast materials into potions while they shared tea, desserts, and affectionate banter with Men Qi and Biscuit.
• Kevin said he wanted to reach the Dark Continent legally and organize a team of roughly twenty to thirty Nen users divided between logistics and operations.
• Biscuit warned Kevin that training Nen users was difficult and explained assisted awakening and special Nen abilities as ways to awaken Nen.
• Kevin smiled and produced a vial of medicine after asking how many methods could awaken Nen quickly.

Kevin explained how his Nen Awakening Potion could safely awaken ordinary people, but warned that making it widely available would destabilize society. He planned to use the potion to train selected talent for a future settlement and considered Men Qi’s offer to become a Hunter Exam examiner.

• Kevin described how a temporary Nen ability could open an ordinary person's Aura Nodes and let them learn to control Aura, then demonstrated his potion by using a simple Enhancement ability.
• Biscuit and Kevin explained that freely spreading the potion could create too many dangerous Nen users and threaten social stability.
• Kevin said he would use the potion and his other resources to train suitable people for a settlement connected to the Dark Continent.
• Men Qi proposed that Kevin become an examiner for the next Hunter Exam to find promising candidates, and Kevin considered the opportunity.

As the 1999 Hunter Exam approached, Kevin left Nosra Manor with Men Qi and Buhara to prepare as an examiner, while several Manor residents decided whether to take the exam. Melusina joined the confirmed applicants, and the story ended with her wondering what kind of test Kevin would set.

• On Whale Island, Gon caught the King of the Swamp and persuaded Mito to sign his Hunter application form.
• Men Qi and Buhara urged Kevin to leave Nosra Manor for Hunter Exam preparations, and he departed after reminding the residents to register if they wished to take the exam.
• Melusina decided to take the exam, while Nion, Rosana, and Squala declined; Squala said he wanted to marry Alisa and avoid unnecessary danger.
• Kurapika confirmed that he, Pairo, Melusina, and Shalnark would take the exam, while Basho criticized Squala for refusing.
• Melusina wondered what kind of exam Kevin would create.

Kevin visited Hunter Association headquarters with Men Qi and Buhara to meet Chairman Isaac Netero and help arrange the 287th Hunter Professional Exam. After discussing the examiners’ plans, Kevin took responsibility for the fourth phase and chose a survival journey to assess applicants’ nerve, courage, and caution.

• Kevin entered Hunter Association headquarters with Men Qi and Buhara and encountered Vice Chairman Pariston in the elevator.
• Kevin silenced the elevator with Nen Aura rather than speak with Pariston, then called him malicious and questioned what would happen if Chairman Netero died.
• Isaac Netero invited Kevin, Men Qi, Buhara, Qiduo, and Satotz to serve as examiners for the 287th Hunter Professional Exam.
• Satotz volunteered to handle the first phase, while Men Qi and Buhara proposed a hunting-and-cooking test at Smiler Wetland.
• Kevin warned that Men Qi’s test could eliminate every applicant, and Netero assigned her the second phase instead.
• Kevin chose to oversee the fourth phase with a survival journey designed to test applicants’ nerve, courage, and caution for the dangers of the Dark Continent.

Kurapika, Pairo, Melusina, and Shalnark followed Gon and Leorio through the Hunter Exam’s preliminary trials and reached the exam site, where they encountered Hisoka, Illumi, and Kiy. Satotz began the first test, while Kevin waited with Men Qi at the second test’s grounds, eager to see what the examinees could do.

• Kurapika’s group followed Gon’s directions through the silent town, passed the old woman’s quiz, and persuaded the Fierce Fox Guides to take everyone to the exam site.
• At the exam site, Pairo unsettled Donpa by mentioning Gowen, and Hisoka greeted the group after maiming another examinee.
• Pairo recognized Illumi among the candidates, while Melusina found Kiy and learned he had not run away from home.
• Satotz announced the start of the Hunter Exam and led the 408 examinees toward the second test, making the first test a race to keep up with him.
• Kevin joined Men Qi at the second test’s grounds and said he was looking forward to the food she would prepare.

The candidates reached the second phase of the Hunter Exam after Hisoka attacked them in the wetland and Melusina struck him down. Men Qi and Buhaci set a cooking test, and Kevin privately persuaded Men Qi to reconsider her demanding standard as the exam began.

• Kevin, Men Qi, and Buhaci waited at the exam site while the candidates crossed the dangerous wetland.
• Kurapika stopped Hisoka from attacking candidates, but Melusina kicked Hisoka away when he provoked the group.
• Satotz brought 186 candidates to the second exam site, where Men Qi and Buhaci announced a cooking test judged by whether they found the food delicious.
• Buhaci asked the candidates to prepare a whole roasted pig, and Satotz joined Kevin and the examiners after recognizing him.
• Kevin guessed that Men Qi's test was sushi and privately spoke to her until she stopped arguing about her strict standard.

Kevin watched the examinees complete the Hunter Exam’s cooking tests, while Men Qi challenged them to make sushi. Melusina’s excellent dish calmed Men Qi and helped the second round end with 51 examinees passing.

• The examinees returned with Fierce-nosed Mad Boars, and Buhaci ate more than seventy of their roasted pigs to finish the first stage.
• Kevin explained to Satotz that Nen users from Food Village had raised the quality of recent examinees, and Satotz noticed nine Nen users among the group.
• Men Qi set sushi as the second-stage dish, and Shalnark recalled that Pairo had once wanted to eat sushi again.
• Melusina served Men Qi a beautifully presented dish, passed the test, and restored Men Qi’s calm with its flavor.
• Men Qi judged the remaining dishes more fairly after berating Pairo and reluctantly passing Kurapika, bringing the total number of second-round passes to 51.

Kevin prepared the fourth Hunter Exam on Labyrinth Island, a forbidden ruin inhabited by terrifying monsters. The examinees arrived aboard his luxury cruise ship and learned the island’s dangers before Kevin welcomed them as their examiner.

• On the airship, Kevin told the other examiners that he would decide the fourth test’s rules based on the Nen users who passed, and he hinted that he had a program planned for them.
• Thirty-one examinees passed the three-day Trap Tower test, and Lieber told them that Kevin had asked them to rest before the fourth exam.
• The examinees traveled aboard a luxury cruise ship sponsored by Kevin, while Kurapika assured Leorio that the test would be difficult but would not cost him his life.
• At sea, Pakunoda recognized their destination as Labyrinth Island, a forbidden ancient maze said to contain terrifying monsters.
• Kevin killed a Minotaur that had tried to escape the maze, then introduced himself as the fourth test’s examiner and a one-star Phantom Beast Hunter.