Chapter Summaries

Gon struck Youpi with a fully charged, medicine-enhanced Rock while Youpi was distracted by Men Qi, shattering his head and bringing him down. Gon and Meruem emerged from invisibility beside Youpi’s body as Morel and Men Qi reeled from the sudden kill.

• Morel and Men Qi drank two doses of medicine, healing their wounds and gaining air bubbles that let them breathe inside the smoke Cage.
• Gon and Meruem took their prepared medicines, then Meruem used Accomplice of God to conceal them as they left the smoke.
• Morel and Men Qi used smoke, Nen Bullets, and coordinated movement to steer Youpi, while Gon charged Rock at the edge of the smoke.
• Youpi sensed a trap and charged at Men Qi, forcing her to retreat as Morel reacted in alarm.
• Gon struck Youpi’s unguarded head with his invisible, enhanced Rock, killing him before appearing beside the corpse with Meruem.
• Men Qi stood dazed and splattered with blood, wondering why Gon was there.

Morel, Men Qi, Gon, and Meruem dealt with Youpi’s remains and learned Gon had improvised after Kevin’s instruction, while Netero’s attacks failed to provoke the Ant King. Kevin then challenged the Ant King by asking whether he wanted to know his name.

• Morel insisted that Youpi’s corpse be burned and completely destroyed, and Men Qi removed his heart before the group incinerated and pulverized the remains.
• Men Qi and Morel questioned Gon about his position, and Gon explained that Kevin had told him to act freely; Men Qi realized Kevin had adjusted the plan based on Nion’s prophecy.
• Morel decided the exhausted fighters should rest, and Meruem volunteered to check on the other battlefields.
• Netero’s attacks failed to harm the Ant King, who caught the Thousand-Hand Guanyin’s strike and remained calm despite a brief flare of anger.
• Kevin asked the Ant King whether he wanted to know his name.

Kevin offered the Ant King his mother’s name as a reward for making Netero surrender, prompting the two to begin their decisive battle. As Netero’s relentless attacks failed to injure the Ant King, Kevin recognized the danger the Ant King posed and understood why Netero carried a bomb in his heart.

• Kevin told the Ant King that his mother had given him a name and promised to reveal it if he made Netero surrender without killing him.
• The Ant King accepted the challenge, and Netero opened with Hundred-Type Guanyin: Ninety-Nine Hands, blasting open the ground beneath them.
• Kevin descended into a vast underground ruin and watched as Netero battered the Ant King, who remained uninjured and studied Netero’s movements.
• Netero’s gratitude for life and the Martial Way intensified his attacks, while the Ant King gradually closed the distance through rapid analysis.
• Kevin concluded that the Ant King had to be killed and understood that Netero’s bomb was meant to counter the threat he represented.

Netero and the Ant King resumed their battle, with the Ant King relentlessly searching for a flaw in Netero’s defense while Netero waited for the right moment to use his hidden trump card. At the same time, Melusina, Kite, and Killua wore Neferpitou down in the Royal Palace, leaving her outnumbered as Meruem watched from the sidelines.

• The Ant King praised Netero’s martial skill, and Netero answered by knocking him away with a palm strike before their battle intensified.
• The Ant King attacked without pause, analyzing Netero’s patterns for a flaw while Netero recognized the danger and continued fighting under mounting pressure.
• Kevin watched and reasoned that Netero was saving a killing move, with his medicine as a backup if the move failed.
• Melusina, Kite, and Killua fought Neferpitou amid her clones and position-swapping ability, destroying clones while Neferpitou killed the maid Nen Beast Little Yellow.
• Meruem arrived at the edge of the battlefield but stayed out of the fight, judging that he could not contribute safely.
• Neferpitou ended up wounded with only three clones remaining, while Melusina, Kite, and Killua retained their strength and two maid Nen Beasts, leaving Neferpitou’s side outnumbered.

Kiy, Kite, and Melusina used a coordinated trap to inject Neferpitou with a Chimera Ant-targeting toxin, and she died after a surge of Resentment. Kite suspected that one of Neferpitou’s nine Clones remained hidden, while Melusina questioned the toxin’s rapid effect and the vanished Resentment.

• Neferpitou sent out an eighth Clone and relentlessly pursued the exhausted Kiy, believing she could kill him before the others could intervene.
• Kite interrupted Neferpitou with gunfire and used Grim Reaper Waltz to destroy multiple Clones, while Kiy drank a potion that restored his strength.
• Kiy unleashed a powerful burst of lightning that paralyzed Neferpitou, and Kite bound her with a Chain so Melusina could inject her with a toxin.
• Neferpitou recognized the humans’ plan but soon collapsed and died after the toxin took effect.
• Jet-black Resentment erupted from Neferpitou’s corpse and vanished, leading Kite to suspect a ninth hidden double and Melusina to question what had happened.

The Ant King analyzed Netero’s habits and overcame his defenses, severing his right leg and left arm. Just as Netero prepared to keep fighting, Kevin intervened and told him to stop.

• The Ant King adapted to Netero’s palm strikes, studied his preferences, and found a flaw in his defenses.
• The Ant King exploited that flaw to sever Netero’s right leg, but Netero stopped the bleeding and refused to concede.
• The Ant King then ripped off Netero’s left arm and urged him to admit defeat.
• Netero grinned and said he could still pray with one hand, sensing danger as he prepared to continue.
• Kevin rushed to Netero’s side, placed a hand on his shoulder, and told him he had already lost and should stop before he could no longer receive medicine.

Kevin used the Peak Potion to restore Netero to his physical prime for half an hour, setting the stage for a second battle with Meruem. Netero struck Meruem with a powerful Gratitude Straight Punch, and Meruem rose injured and furious, questioning whether Netero could truly defeat him.

• Kevin injected Netero with the Peak Potion, restoring his body and severed limbs while warning that the effect would last only half an hour.
• Meruem acknowledged Kevin's potion and offered to spare him and consider treating humans well if he submitted after losing.
• Netero accepted the potion's time limit as sufficient, and Kevin returned to watch as Netero and Meruem prepared for their rematch.
• Netero named Meruem and launched a Gratitude Straight Punch, sending him through a stone pillar and injuring him more severely than before.
• Netero celebrated the chance to fight at full strength and urged Meruem not to die easily, while Meruem rose and challenged Netero's confidence in victory.

Netero used his rejuvenated strength to pressure Meruem, who adapted to his attacks and began to feel the desire to grow stronger. Meruem then seized Netero’s severed limbs and used them to absorb his vitality, healing his injuries and increasing his strength as he fled.

• Netero struck Meruem with a powerful Straight Punch, and Meruem realized the attacks had become more dangerous.
• Meruem adapted by blocking with his arms, but Netero’s faster attacks still wounded him and forced him to reconsider how long he could endure the fight.
• Feeling weak for the first time, Meruem developed a desire to become stronger and drew Netero’s attention as his presence changed.
• Meruem pulled away from Netero while carrying Netero’s severed arm and leg, then laughed as he revealed his purpose.
• Meruem absorbed the vitality in Netero’s limbs, healed his injuries, and began growing stronger.

Meruem devoured Netero’s limbs, gaining immense strength and fragments of his combat knowledge, and adapted rapidly as he fought Netero. As Netero’s potion time dwindled, he launched his final attack, Hundred-Type Guanyin · Zero Hand.

• Meruem ate Netero’s arm and leg, gaining their power and a faint phantom resembling Netero’s Nen ability.
• Meruem discarded the incomplete phantom and attacked Netero with newly acquired martial skill, but Netero struck him with a golden fist.
• Meruem adapted to Netero’s attacks, improving his offense and defense while Kevin watched his rapid growth.
• Netero used Ninety-Nine fists to batter Meruem, who recognized that Netero’s time was running out.
• Netero told Meruem he was grateful to have met him, then prayed and began Hundred-Type Guanyin · Zero Hand.

Netero used his final technique, Merciless Roar, but Meruem survived with severe injuries and Netero exhausted his Aura. Kevin stepped in to fight Meruem, whose first attack failed to penetrate Kevin’s defenses.

• Netero trapped Meruem with Hundred-Type Guanyin and struck him with Merciless Roar, devastating the Palace.
• Meruem crawled out of the crater badly wounded, while Netero collapsed after exhausting his life energy and Aura.
• Meruem declared that he would end human breeding and preserve humanity under his rule, then turned his attention to Kevin.
• Kevin gave Netero a potion, helped him away from the battlefield, and prepared to fight Meruem.
• Meruem charged Kevin, but Kevin’s Barriers slowed the attack and his body repelled it; Kevin grabbed and threw Meruem before Meruem pulled away and reassessed him.

Kevin used his scales and layered Nen barriers to withstand Meruem’s attacks, while Meruem tested Kevin’s defenses and stamina. As Meruem’s wounds slowly recovered, Kevin unleashed a golden flame form and prepared a new attack.

• Meruem charged Kevin, but Kevin’s layered barriers slowed the blows and his scales kept him from being injured.
• Kevin grabbed Meruem after a strike and threw him into the ground, while Meruem concluded that Kevin’s body reacted automatically to attacks.
• Meruem repeatedly struck three points on Kevin to test his stamina, but Kevin said his endurance exceeded even the Chimera Ant King’s.
• Kevin noticed Meruem’s injuries were recovering and decided not to give him time to rest.
• Kevin told Netero to move farther away, then surrounded himself with golden flames that distorted the air and scorched the battlefield.

Kevin fought Meruem with the Phoenix’s uncontrollable golden flames and Silver Scales, while Meruem analyzed the armor and developed a tail-based Armor Piercing ability. As Meruem pressed his attack, Kevin suddenly countered at close range with a rapid series of precise strikes, leaving Meruem bewildered by what he had done.

• Meruem overcame his fear of Kevin and attacked, but Kevin’s golden flames scorched him and his Silver Scales withstood Meruem’s prolonged assault.
• Meruem deduced that Kevin’s scales dispersed blunt force and concluded that a focused piercing attack could break through them.
• Meruem regrew his tail, suppressed Kevin with extended Nen attacks, and shattered a scale with the needle-like tip.
• Meruem developed Armor Piercing and repeatedly struck through the gaps in Kevin’s armor, eventually piercing his flesh and tasting his blood.
• As Meruem aimed for Kevin’s heart, Kevin suddenly turned red-hot and thrust his arms forward faster than Meruem could react, striking precise points on his body as the flames vanished.

Kevin used Time Drop to pin Meruem in place, then consumed three serums and unleashed a massive surge of power as he prepared to attack. Netero caught a final syringe Kevin tossed to him, while Gon sensed Kevin’s explosive leap from the distant Palace.

• Kevin’s four Time Drop spheres pinned Meruem at his chest, abdomen, and shoulders, leaving him unable to break free without severe injury.
• Kevin explained that he had baited Meruem into close range with a genuine weakness, then struck when Meruem would not dodge.
• Meruem realized he could slowly synchronize and pull himself free, so Kevin poured more Nen into the spheres and altered their time flows to restrain him.
• Kevin injected himself with one top-tier serum and drank two more, transforming his body and giving Meruem a sense of lethal danger.
• Kevin prepared a final serum in a syringe and tossed it to Netero, who caught it as Kevin crouched, inhaled, and launched himself skyward.
• At the distant Palace, Gon sensed Kevin’s movement, looked up, and asked what had happened.

Kevin killed Meruem with a devastating charged strike, but Neferpitou’s final Clone resurrected the Ant King using the Resentment and the Royal Guards’ loyalty. Meruem accepted his guards’ love and left the battlefield, while a Translucent Snake swallowed him.

• Kevin charged his Nen Aura for three minutes, then struck the restrained Meruem with Extinction Collision, killing him and preserving his heart.
• The blast destroyed the Palace, and Netero found Kevin kneeling beside Meruem’s remains as Kevin collapsed from exhaustion.
• Neferpitou’s final Clone burned the Flesh Fruit Forest with Resentment, transformed into Meruem, and resurrected him.
• Meruem learned from his Royal Guards’ memories that their love and preparations had brought him back, and vowed to become a true King.
• Meruem turned away from the battlefield, but a Translucent Snake appeared and swallowed him.

Kevin and Netero survived their battle with Meruem, though both were badly injured, and Men Qi carried them back to the ruined Palace. The group learned that Little Wang had intercepted the dangerous Resentment and consumed it, leaving Kevin confident the crisis was over.

• Kevin recovered enough to climb out of the crater and told Netero he could not be certain whether Meruem had been killed, though he believed the distant Resentment had settled.
• Kevin explained that he could reattach Netero’s severed limbs but lacked materials to grow new ones, and Men Qi arrived on a Griffin to take them for treatment.
• At the Palace, Gon, Kiy, Nobu, Morel, Melusina, and the others waited anxiously for news; when Griffin returned, they saw that Kevin and Netero had survived.
• Nobu and Morel rushed Netero into the Four-Dimensional Apartment for treatment, while Melusina checked Kevin and Kite told him about the problems they had encountered.
• Little Wang appeared and squeezed between Kevin and Melusina; Melusina confirmed it had intercepted and eaten the Resentment, and Kevin relaxed.

Kevin and the Chimeric Ants left the Palace ruins as the international powers covered up the crisis and the Ants chose where to begin their new lives. After returning to the border and reuniting with their companions, Kevin examined the four A-Rank hearts he had taken from the Royal Guards and Meruem.

• Gon objected to the radio's misleading report, while Kite relaxed aboard the departing airship and Kevin left the aftermath to Netero and the others.
• Men Qi reported that the major powers had moved quickly, and Kevin learned that the Chimeric Ants would be treated as friendly Demonic Beasts if they behaved themselves.
• Peggy asked Kevin to make the Ants look more human, and Rukira chose to return to his Village with Reina and invite other Ants to settle there.
• Koala, Toad, Peggy, and Meruem chose new paths, and the airship carried the group toward the NGL Autonomous Region as Kevin reshaped the Ants.
• Kevin reunited with Gowen, Pakunoda, Kurapika, and the others at the border, then examined the four A-Rank hearts taken from the Royal Guards and Meruem.

Beyond learned that Netero survived but was badly injured, allowing an Exorcist to remove Beyond’s Restriction and clear the way for his Dark Continent operation. Kevin and the others prepared to part ways, but Gon chose to accompany Kiy home so they could rescue Kiy’s imprisoned younger brother, a plan Kevin recognized as a bid for influence within the Zoldyck Family.

• Beyond’s companions reported that Netero had survived the Ant King battle, and Beyond revealed that Netero’s injuries had let an Exorcist remove his Restriction.
• Beyond announced that his operation was beginning, while Kevin told his group that their operation was over and the returned Chimeric Ants settled into their new forms.
• Gon said he would keep searching for Jin, but Kiy explained that he had to return home to deal with his younger brother’s situation.
• Gon chose to go with Kiy, and Kiy accepted his companions’ help while asking them to rescue his brother from house arrest.
• Kevin concluded that Kiy’s rescue plan amounted to seeking a say in the Zoldyck Family.

Kevin urged Kiy to stop avoiding his family’s power structure and consider how to free his younger brother without simply replacing one cage with another. Kiy decided to return home and speak with his father, while the group prepared to part ways and discussed the Kakin Kingdom’s political turmoil.

• Kevin explained that Kiy’s status as the expected future family head gave him leverage, and urged him to make his voice heard within the Zoldyck Family.
• Kiy resolved that he wanted his younger brother to be free, began planning to break Illumi’s control, and decided to speak with his father first.
• Gon encouraged Kiy to do what he believed was right despite family ties and obstacles.
• Kite announced that the Hunter Association might raise the group’s Star Ranks for their role in averting a B-Rank crisis, then departed.
• Kevin asked Gon and Kiy about their plans, and Kiy said he would go home to sound out his father.
• Kurapika discussed the Kakin Kingdom’s princes and political unrest with Gowen, while Kevin advised the group not to get involved in Beyond and Netero’s conflict.

Netero recovered in a private hospital ward while Qiduo assessed the lasting damage from his battle and urged him to restore his severed limbs. He chose to remain disabled for now, intending to appear weaker to V5 as he prepared for an unknown future threat.

• Qiduo examined Netero and concluded that Kevin’s powerful potion and his injuries had severely depleted his body, while his destroyed arm would require a costly Nen ability to regrow.
• Pariston visited Netero, traded smiling insults with him, and said he would handle the Hunter Association’s affairs while Netero rested.
• Qiduo told Netero that Jin had a way to restore his limbs, but Netero refused to begin treatment.
• Netero explained that remaining injured would help him handle certain matters, and Qiduo realized he meant to show weakness to V5.

Kevin decided that his group should avoid Kakin Kingdom’s Succession War while continuing to seek the Fourth Prince’s collection of eyes. Meanwhile, Kiy and Gon returned to Kukuroo Mountain, where Kiy worried about whether his father would help his younger brother.

• Kurapika explained that Kakin Kingdom’s Princes were preparing for a deadly Succession War and that the Fourth and Fifth Princes were courting the group while the Second Prince’s faction targeted them.
• Kevin told Kurapika to avoid the political struggle, monitor the Fourth Prince’s ten pairs of eyes, and decline the Fifth Prince’s invitation for now.
• Less than two days later, Kevin’s airship returned to the Manor’s private airport.
• Kiy and Gon arrived at Kukuroo Mountain and competed to open the Gate of the Underworld; each opened five doors, but Gon’s strength made the sixth door tremble.
• As Kiy and Gon headed through the Sea of Trees, Kiy admitted that he was nervous his father would refuse to help his younger brother.