Chapter Summaries

Kevin endured Netero’s invisible palm strikes, analyzed how they worked, and chose to test his high-temperature radiation rather than reveal his Time Stop trump card. Netero countered Kevin’s close-range attack by blasting him away, then canceled his Nen ability, leaving the spar at a break.

• Netero’s invisible palm strikes battered Kevin, who relied on his Nen barriers and Snake Scale to withstand them while studying the attack.
• Kevin decided not to use Time Stop and charged Netero to test whether his high-temperature radiation could force an opening.
• Netero abandoned his block when Kevin’s heat began piercing his Nen defense and tried to retreat.
• Netero used an invisible palm strike to send Kevin crashing through trees and restore a safe distance.
• Kevin extinguished the sparks around him, recognized that Netero had held back, and watched Netero cancel his Nen ability.

Netero explained to Kevin that his invisible attacks came from decades of training and a heart filled with gratitude, then advised him to focus on growing his raw strength rather than mastering technique. Their discussion turned to the coming battle against the Ant King, and Kevin challenged Netero’s confidence in winning.

• Netero told Kevin how daily punches made gratitude an instinct and became the source of his immense Nen ability.
• Kevin admitted that combat technique was a weakness, and Netero said Kevin’s youth and potential for further growth made technique less important.
• Kevin considered how their sparring had reached a stalemate and concluded that his endurance could eventually win a drawn-out battle.
• Kevin asked whether Netero could damage the Ant King, and Netero replied that battle alone would reveal the outcome.
• Kevin accused Netero of knowing his chances were poor, prompting Netero to glare at him and protest that Kevin was lecturing him.

Kevin confronted Netero about his plan to fight the Ant King and learned that Netero had planted a Poor Man’s Rose in his heart as a final measure. After weighing the consequences of Netero’s death, Kevin asked why Netero had blocked large-scale official expeditions to the Dark Continent, and Netero began explaining that the cost outweighed the gains.

• Kevin accused Netero of seeking a personal fight and asked whether he had a backup plan to defeat the Ant King.
• Netero revealed that a Poor Man’s Rose was installed in his heart and would detonate when he died.
• Kevin considered how Netero’s death could weaken the Hunter Association, remove political obstacles, and unleash Beyond and other threats.
• Kevin asked Netero why he had united V5 to prevent official organizations from going to the Dark Continent.
• Netero said the reason was practical: the Dark Continent’s costs were immense while its gains were nearly zero, then recalled sharing his discoveries with the Hunter Association’s adventurous elite.

Netero explained that his return from the Dark Continent sparked disastrous expeditions that depleted the Hunter Association, leading him and V5 to impose the Blockade and its Four Requirements. Kevin then proposed a deal involving a way to restore Netero to peak condition for his fight with the Ant King, and revealed a dark-green potion as he prepared to show his own hidden methods.

• Netero told Kevin that his account of the Dark Continent inspired many Hunters to attempt expeditions, and none returned with useful information.
• Netero explained that the resulting losses among the Association's elite led him and V5 to establish the Blockade and the Four Requirements to deter unprepared explorers.
• Kevin asked Netero whether he had considered the chaos his death could cause, and Netero acknowledged the possibility without changing his resolve to fight the Ant King.
• Kevin offered Netero a deal promising the chance to fight the Ant King in peak condition, and Netero eagerly asked whether Kevin had a suitable method.
• Kevin said he would reveal some of his hidden methods during their spar and took a tube of ominous dark-green liquid from his potion pouch.

Kevin gave Netero a gene-targeting toxin and a Peak Power Potion to prepare for the battle with the Ant King, while Netero agreed to fight first and keep the Poor Man’s Rose as a last resort. One week later, the Hunters’ efforts to delay the citizens’ advance were faltering, and the Royal Palace’s defenses remained impenetrable as the Ant King stayed inside.

• Kevin explained that his gene-targeting toxin could attack the Ant King’s inherited ant genes and said he had a precise way to deliver it.
• Netero warned Kevin that he would detonate the Poor Man’s Rose if Kevin failed to stop the Ant King, and Kevin accepted the risk.
• Kevin gave Netero a Peak Power Potion that would restore his strongest lifetime state for up to thirty minutes after injection, followed by at least twenty-four hours of extreme weakness.
• A week later, Kite received word that Gon and Kiy’s group could no longer prevent citizens from gathering and moving toward the Royal Palace.
• Morel and Nobu said the Royal Guards had blocked their reconnaissance and infiltration, leaving a frontal assault as their apparent option.
• Men Qi and Melusina reported that the Royal Palace’s defenses remained largely unchanged, the Ant King had not left, and the number of cocoons on the Flesh Trees had decreased.

Kevin arrived at the base and ordered the team to assemble for the final battle against the Ant King, whom he sensed was waiting inside the Royal Palace. Neferpitou noticed Kevin’s arrival, and Youpi left to inform the King as the humans prepared to act.

• Kevin landed at the base, reunited with Melusina, and told the group that Chairman Netero was still making final preparations.
• Kevin ordered everyone to recall Gon and the others, then confirmed that the Ant King remained inside the Royal Palace.
• Men Qi, Morel, Nobu, Kite, and Melusina reported their observations, and Kevin concluded that the Ant King’s willingness to wait for a direct confrontation favored humanity.
• Neferpitou sensed the powerful pressure accompanying Kevin’s fiery arrival and told Youpi that the humans might soon attack.
• Youpi flew toward the depths of the Royal Palace to report Neferpitou’s warning to the Ant King.

Neferpitou worried that Meruem was underestimating humanity, while Meruem dismissed the threat and remained confident in his strength. Three days later, Morel’s team gathered to plan the assault on the Royal Palace, aiming to clear the way for Netero to fight Meruem.

• Neferpitou watched Youpi leave and feared that Meruem’s arrogance would lead him to underestimate the humans.
• Youpi warned Meruem that the humans might soon attack, but Meruem rebuked him and declared humanity incapable of defeating him.
• Three days later, Buhaci questioned why so many fighters had gathered for the decapitation operation.
• Morel displayed a detailed Royal Palace map and explained that Netero would target Meruem while the team restrained the other threats.
• Kevin said Meruem’s pride made him likely to accept a one-on-one fight, but Kite warned that the Royal Guards would intervene if Meruem were endangered.
• Morel reviewed the positions and abilities of Youpi, Menthuthuyoupi, and Neferpitou, identifying Neferpitou as the most dangerous and hardest to contain.

The Hunters debated how to counter Neferpitou’s unknown number of Clones and agreed that Gon’s guess of nine was possible but unproven. Kevin chose to fight Youpi so he could preserve his strength for the Ant King, and Morel divided the force into four action teams for the palace assault.

• Melusina warned that Neferpitou could use her Clones to move the Ant King out of danger, while the team admitted they did not know how many Clones she could create.
• Gon suggested Neferpitou might have nine Clones because cats were said to have nine lives, and Nobu cautioned that the guess lacked reliable evidence.
• Kevin said he could not afford a costly fight with Neferpitou and chose Youpi as his target, citing his prior experience with Youpi’s fighting style.
• Morel proposed keeping Kevin in top condition to face the Ant King, but Kevin insisted he could defeat Youpi quickly without significant strain.
• Morel assigned Melusina, Kite, and Kiy to hold Neferpitou; Kevin to fight Youpi; Morel, Gon, Meruem, and Men Qi to attack Youpi; and Xiahara and the allied Chimeric Ants to clear the Soldier Ants.

Killua asked Kevin to help rescue his imprisoned younger brother, Alluka, after revealing that Illumi’s Nen needle had made him forget about him. Kevin agreed to discuss the rescue after the battle with the Chimera Ants, while Melusina remained away retrieving a secret weapon for the coming fight.

• Kevin and Killua spoke in the forest as they waited for Chairman Netero’s signal to begin the assault on the Royal Palace.
• Killua told Kevin that removing Illumi’s Nen needle had restored memories of his younger brother Alluka, who was imprisoned at home.
• Killua asked Kevin to protect him during a future rescue of Alluka, and Kevin agreed to discuss the plan after the Chimera Ant battle.
• Men Qi asked Kevin where Melusina had gone, and Kevin explained that she had returned to retrieve a secret weapon for the battle.

Kevin received Nion Nosra’s Prophecy Poems and found a warning of hidden danger in Melusina’s, while the Hunters prepared to begin their final assault on the Royal Palace. Netero and Zeno arrived by Flying Dragon, and Neferpitou sensed their approach and sent her compressed En searching into the sky.

• Kevin read Prophecy Poems for himself, Melusina, Netero, Morel, Buhaci, and Kite; his own verses foretold victory and honor, while Melusina’s hinted at a hidden danger beneath victory.
• Morel received the Chairman’s order that the operation would begin at midnight and gathered the camp for final preparations.
• Netero and Zeno flew toward the Royal Palace on the Flying Dragon as the agreed attack time approached.
• Zeno and Netero leaped from the dragon above the Royal Palace and plunged toward it wrapped in Nen Aura.
• Neferpitou sensed danger overhead, contracted her En, and unleashed it skyward as a vast pillar to detect the incoming attackers.

Kevin and the Hunters launched a coordinated assault on the Royal Palace, intercepting Neferpitou and Youpi before either could reach the King. Kevin then faced Youpi inside the palace as the next fight began.

• Neferpitou sensed the assault as golden Light Spears rained over the Royal Palace, while Youpi rushed to protect the King.
• Kevin arrived inside a blazing Flame Phoenix, and Netero knocked Neferpitou into a prepared ambush by Melusina, Kite, Kiy, and four Nen maids.
• Melusina, Kite, Kiy, and the maids surrounded Neferpitou, preventing her from reaching the King.
• Kevin struck Youpi out of the air and sent him flying toward their planned confrontation, then crashed through the palace and landed before him.
• Youpi recognized Kevin and attacked him with a crimson Flesh Blade Whip.

Youpi was trapped by Morel and Men Qi in a Purple Smoke Cage, where he used his Butterfly Dust ability and then enclosed himself in a Cocoon. Morel saw through Youpi’s apparent attempt to transform and signaled Men Qi to act before he could escape.

• Kevin kicked Youpi through the Royal Palace wall, and Morel trapped him in a Purple Smoke Cage while Gon and Meruem hid inside it, ready to ambush him.
• Youpi appeared devastated and asked Morel to let him out, but then unleashed Butterfly Dust throughout the enclosed battlefield.
• Morel and Men Qi held their breaths as Youpi used the Butterfly Dust to read their emotional states and concluded they were trying to stall him.
• Youpi formed an airtight Cocoon and announced that he would transform, while Morel reasoned that he was secretly dividing into Clones to escape the cage.
• Morel blinked a signal to Men Qi, who understood that he wanted her to act.

Men Qi used tiny Silk Fish Nen Beasts to detect Youpi inside the smoke Cocoon, while Netero and Zeno confronted the Ant King and brought him away from the Palace for their duel. Kevin realized the Ant King had left willingly, allowing the planned battle to move to a remote, uninhabited location.

• Men Qi created hair-thin Silk Fish Nen Beasts that scanned the smoke Cage and confirmed Youpi was hidden in the Cocoon.
• Netero and Zeno entered the ruined bedchamber and faced the Ant King, who confidently agreed to follow them to their chosen battlefield.
• The Ant King crossed between Netero and Zeno without triggering their defenses, then left the bedchamber with them.
• Zeno summoned a Nen Dragon that carried Netero and the Ant King away from the Palace toward a remote battlefield.
• Kevin sensed that Netero and the Ant King had departed and noted that the Ant King had willingly left the Palace.

Kevin fought Youpi in the Palace while Netero took the Ant King away, and his taunts drove Youpi into a destructive rage-fueled transformation. Youpi evolved into a faster, more powerful form, but Kevin caught one of his new thrusting arms and said his speed still was not enough.

• Kevin dodged Youpi's attacks and mocked their straightforward trajectories, intensifying Youpi's anger.
• Youpi lost control of his rage and expanded into a huge mass of flesh, whose unstable Nen Aura threatened to explode.
• Kevin escaped through the Palace gates just before Youpi's energy detonated, destroying much of the Palace.
• Youpi emerged from the crater with additional eyes and limbs, and Kevin deduced that the explosion had released excess energy while driving Youpi's body to evolve.
• Youpi attacked at high speed with his new spear-like arms, but Kevin caught one by the wrist and told him he still was not fast enough.

Kevin attacked Youpi with a hurricane after burning the arm Youpi had torn off, while Melusina, Kite, and Kiy pressed Neferpitou in a coordinated assault. Neferpitou revealed more Clones to escape their encirclement, but Melusina’s kick sent her crashing into a wall.

• Youpi tore off the arm Kevin had grabbed and rapidly regenerated it, but Kevin burned the severed limb to ash with Phoenix Flame.
• Kevin blasted Youpi into a Palace wall with a hurricane and rushed after him to finish the fight.
• Melusina questioned Neferpitou about recalling her Emission Clones, but Neferpitou refused to answer and prepared to break through the surrounding fighters.
• Neferpitou lunged at Melusina, whose Snake Scale blocked her claws, before Kite and Kiy counterattacked.
• Kite’s lightning paralyzed Neferpitou, and he slashed her repeatedly before she summoned five Clones to attack Little Red and Kiy.
• Melusina struck Neferpitou with a whip kick, sending her crashing into a wall.

Kiy used Godspeed to evade Neferpitou and strike her with Thunderbolt, while she relied on Cat Clones to survive and evade the hunters. Elsewhere, Morel and Men Qi kept Youpi trapped in a smoke Cage, forcing him to fight them directly as he tried to break their confidence.

• Neferpitou switched places with a Cat Clone to attack Kiy, but Kiy dodged with Godspeed and paralyzed her with Thunderbolt.
• Melusina and Kite attacked Neferpitou while she was stunned, but she escaped by swapping places with a Clone, which their attacks destroyed.
• Neferpitou tore apart Xiao Hong and created two more Clones, bringing the number surrounding her to six.
• Morel and Men Qi's smoke Cage and Silk Fish prevented Youpi from escaping by splitting into tiny flies, forcing him to emerge from his Cocoon.
• Youpi attacked Morel and Men Qi, used his body-splitting ability to recover from Men Qi's irritating powder, and taunted them about the cost of maintaining the Cage.

Kevin ended his battle with Youpi by breaking through his layers of defensive armor with a fully prepared strike. Youpi died protecting the King, leaving Kevin free to turn his attention toward the battle involving Netero and the Ant King.

• Kevin struck Youpi with Red Comet, crushing his lower body and slowing his regeneration.
• Youpi resolved to hold Kevin back from reaching the King, shifting his transformations toward defense.
• Kevin prepared a combined attack while his concentrated aura of destruction left Youpi unable to flee.
• Kevin's blazing Hexagonal Barriers and silver-scaled fist pierced Youpi's successive layers of armor.
• Kevin's final punch destroyed Youpi's head and killed him, then tore through the remaining corner of the Palace.

Kevin defeated Youpi, gave Rukira the Ant Guard’s heart to keep, and flew to the meeting point where Netero faced the Ant King. Kevin arrived in time to join their confrontation on a barren weapons-testing ground.

• Kevin tore the still-beating heart from Youpi’s headless corpse and gave it to Rukira to keep safe.
• Kevin flew away in a Nen-powered Blazing Phoenix, and Rukira killed a modified soldier that attacked him before wondering whether they had once been the same species.
• Netero and the Ant King arrived at a barren human weapons-testing ground, where the Ant King questioned why Netero wanted to fight and offered him a chance to submit.
• The Ant King declared his intention to rule humanity and correct the flaws he had found in human society.
• Kevin arrived beside Netero after flying at high speed, and the Ant King recognized him as another human.

The Ant King argued that his rule could end humanity’s chaotic inequalities, but Netero refused to be swayed and attacked him with the Thousand-Armed Guanyin. Netero’s strike failed to injure the Ant King, while Kevin observed their clash and assessed how he might fight the king next.

• The Ant King explained to Netero that he intended to impose order on humanity through temporary force and a more efficient, ability-based rule.
• Kevin considered the Ant King’s ideals but concluded that an alien ruler’s control over humanity would ultimately lead to resistance and disaster.
• Netero rejected further persuasion, summoned the Thousand-Armed Guanyin, and struck the Ant King with overwhelming speed.
• The Ant King endured Netero’s full-force attack without injury and leaped from the shattered ground.
• Kevin assessed the Ant King’s strength and resilience, noting that his own barrier and Snake Scale defense could give him an advantage in a prolonged fight.

Morel and Men Qi fought to keep Youpi trapped in Morel’s smoke Cage while Gon and Meruem waited outside for a signal. As Youpi intensified his assault and badly wounded both fighters, Men Qi’s last burst of irritating Nen Bullets created a brief opening.

• Morel defended against Youpi’s attacks inside the smoke Cage while Men Qi used spice-laced Nen Bullets to interfere with Youpi and help the pair breathe through smoke tubes.
• Youpi focused his attacks on Morel, forcing Men Qi to abandon her safer distance and join the close-quarters fight.
• Morel and Men Qi supported each other under Youpi’s relentless assault, while Gon held back with Meruem clinging to him because Morel had not given the signal.
• As Morel and Men Qi grew severely wounded and slowed, Men Qi hurled powerful Nen Bullets that forced Youpi to retreat and briefly opened space for them.