Chapter Summaries

After transmigrating into the Hunter world, Kaya trained under Kite and was chased by a Shadowfang Beast during a dangerous survival lesson. With Kite refusing to help, Kaya devised a plan to use intertwined branches to escape the beast.

• As a child, Cheng Xia jumped into a reservoir after classmates mocked him, was swept underwater, and lost consciousness as his body floated toward the surface.
• Three years later, Kite had raised Cheng Xia as Kaya, a Kurta survivor whose Scarlet Eyes he sealed, and had kept him from learning Nen while teaching him other skills.
• Kite set Kaya against a Shadowfang Beast without a weapon and with weights on his legs, telling him to use his surroundings while refusing to rescue him.
• After the beast wounded Kaya and climbed after him through the trees, Kaya spotted intertwined branches ahead and slowed down to lure the beast toward his planned escape route.

Kaya and Kite spent a playful evening together before Kite announced he would leave to search for Ging Freecss and told Kaya to stay behind. Kaya woke to find Kite gone, with money, mended clothes, and instructions to wait in Ergado Town.

• Kaya trapped a Shadowfang Beast between tree branches and tied it up while Kite watched.
• Kite mended Kaya's clothes by the campfire as they traded insults and joked around.
• Kite told Kaya he would travel to his master's hometown to look for leads on Ging Freecss and would be gone for about three months, leaving Kaya behind.
• Kaya briefly sulked, then returned to demand living expenses, but Kite refused to give him money that night.
• Kaya woke to find Kite had left fifty thousand Jenny, his mended clothes, and a note telling him to wait in Ergado Town and keep training.

Kaya foraged on the mountain, tricked an orange-haired boy out of a Jungle Pheasant, and ate his catch. After heading to Ergado Town to find a tailor for his torn clothes, Kaya spotted the boy again at a fruit stall.

• Kaya spotted a Jungle Pheasant while searching for lunch, but an orange-haired boy shot it first.
• Kaya fooled the boy with a false warning about a Shadowfang Beast and stole the pheasant.
• The boy fired an arrow at Kaya, tearing the clothes Kite had mended, and Kaya escaped with the bird.
• Kaya ate the pheasant, then went to Ergado Town to find a tailor for his torn clothes.
• Kaya saw the orange-haired boy at a fruit stall and quietly approached him.

Kaya stole Pokkle’s coin pouch and framed him as a thief, then returned it and treated him to a meal to make amends. They discussed the Hunter Exam and parted after agreeing they might take it together when Kaya turned twelve.

• Kaya accused Pokkle of stealing at a fruit stall, and the crowd surrounded Pokkle when he could not find his coin pouch.
• Kaya returned Pokkle’s pouch and gave him jerky, though Pokkle refused to forgive him at first.
• Kaya introduced himself and treated Pokkle to dinner, where Pokkle described the Hunter Exam and his elimination in a maze.
• Kaya and Pokkle agreed they might meet at the Hunter Exam when Kaya turned twelve, then went their separate ways.
• Pokkle looked back at Kaya and decided he needed to get stronger.

After waiting 109 days for Kite, Kaya reunited with his master and received a special whip weapon. Kite began teaching him to control it, and the pair fled after Kite accidentally destroyed a villager’s fruit tree.

• Kaya waited at the harbor each night for Kite, who found him asleep and carried him to an inn.
• Kite returned and gave Kaya a blood-red crystal necklace and a concealed whip weapon.
• Kite demonstrated the whip’s power by cutting down a tree, then fled with Kaya when villagers came to confront him.
• Kite explained how Kaya could extend, control, and retract the whip, beginning his weapons training.
• Kaya asked why they had run from the villagers, and Kite struck him before heading down the hill.

After months of training, Kaya used his whip to defeat bandits threatening two villagers and treated the injured old man. The villagers’ son returned with money to find his father safe and the bandits captured.

• Kaya finished his whip training with Kite and rushed toward cries for help near the road.
• Kaya disarmed the one-eyed bandit, then fought off and tied up the bandits when they charged him.
• Kaya treated the old man’s leg with Red Velvet Rose and water while Kite gagged and hung the bandits from a tree.
• Kite told Kaya he would have lost a month of free time for killing the one-eyed bandit because he had been too slow.
• The young villager returned with Jenny and found his father safe and the bandits bound and hanging from the tree.

Kaya and Kite reached Whale Island, where Kite brought Kaya to meet Gon. When Gon caught a trout, Kite ordered Kaya to grab it, starting a midair contest between the two boys that remained undecided as Kaya nearly reached the fish.

• Kaya sailed with Kite for nearly twenty days before they spotted Whale Island and docked at its harbor.
• Kaya asked Kite why they had come to Whale Island, but Kite told him to wait until the next day.
• Kite rowed Kaya into the forest and brought him to a marshy lake to meet Gon.
• Gon caught a large trout, but his fishing rod snapped as he pulled it from the lake.
• Kite told Kaya to grab the airborne trout, and Kaya and Gon raced through the air to reach it.
• Kaya drew nearly alongside the trout while Gon fell a body length behind.

Kaya and Gon competed over a trout, then fought for hours before ending their rivalry in a muddy, playful brawl. They introduced themselves and spent the rest of the day roughhousing while Kite watched.

• Kaya and Gon fought over a trout, using tricks and a whip until they laughed and agreed to rematch without weapons.
• Kaya ambushed Gon, but Gon dodged and caught Kaya's kick before sending him flying.
• Kaya and Gon traded attacks until Kaya used a vine to swing Gon into a mud pit, and Gon pulled Kaya in after him.
• Kaya and Gon exchanged names, admitted they were evenly matched, and started wrestling and throwing mud at each other.
• Kaya and Gon played in the mud until evening while Kite watched them.

Kaya and Gon reunited with Kite and learned of their connections to Ging and each other. After Kite spoke privately with Mito, Kaya and Gon became friends, agreed to take the Hunter Exam together at twelve, and Kaya refused to stay on Whale Island without Kite.

• Kite interrupted Kaya and Gon, and Gon greeted him excitedly before learning that Kite had trained Kaya for three years.
• Kite introduced Gon to Kaya as Ging's son and said he needed to speak privately with Mito.
• Mito welcomed Gon home and agreed to talk with Kite while Kaya and Gon joked with each other and became friends.
• While washing up, Gon told Kaya he wanted to take the Hunter Exam when he turned twelve, and the boys agreed to go together.
• Gon invited Kaya to stay on Whale Island, but Kaya said he would not leave Kite.

Kaya spent the evening with Gon and Kite on Whale Island, where Kite urged him to become Gon’s trusted partner before leaving for the harbor. Kaya and Gon enjoyed dinner and fell asleep together in Gon’s room, with plans to explore the forest the next day.

• Mito welcomed Kaya and learned that he and Gon had enjoyed playing together, then Gon showed Kaya the tavern downstairs where Kite was drinking.
• Kite told Kaya he was happy he had found a friend and a goal, returned Kaya’s red crystal necklace, and said he and Gon should become partners they trusted most.
• Kite let Kaya stay with Gon for the night and left for the harbor, while Kaya joined Gon for dinner with Mito.
• Mito stopped the boys from going to the forest that evening and arranged for Kaya to share Gon’s bed.
• Kaya and Gon played until they grew tired, then fell asleep together as the wind chimes tinkled by the window.

Kaya spent a warm day with Gon and his family on Whale Island, but learned that Kite had left to search for Ging. Mito comforted Kaya and welcomed him into her home, while Kaya and Gon agreed to train together and still planned to take the Hunter Exam.

• Gon introduced Kaya to a young Fox Bear he had been raising, and they named him Jeya.
• Kaya enjoyed Mito and Grandma’s care but felt sad knowing he would soon leave Whale Island.
• Mito gave Kaya Kite’s letter, which explained that Kite had left to find Ging and urged Kaya to stay with Gon’s family until he could take the Hunter Exam at twelve.
• Mito comforted Kaya and promised to care for him as her own child, and Gon told Kaya he would be staying with them.
• Kaya agreed to train Gon starting the next day, and they reaffirmed their plan to take the Hunter Exam in secret from Mito.

Kaya and Gon asked Mito to let them take the Hunter Exam, and she agreed after setting each boy a challenge. Gon caught the Swamp Lord and secured Mito’s signature, while Kaya’s registration remained unresolved.

• Kaya and Gon told Mito they wanted to take the Hunter Exam, but she initially refused.
• Gon explained that becoming a Hunter was his dream, and Kaya said he wanted to find Kite, persuading Mito to relent.
• Mito challenged Gon to catch the Swamp Lord with a fishing rod and Kaya to tame the lord of the forest within seven days.
• Kaya rode Jeya through the village to fulfill his challenge, while Gon struggled for days to catch the Swamp Lord.
• Mito gave Gon the fishing rod his father had used, and Gon caught the Swamp Lord the next morning.
• Mito signed Gon’s registration card, and Gon proudly showed it to Kaya.

Kaya and Gon said goodbye to Mito and Grandma before leaving Whale Island to take the Hunter Exam. On the Sea God, Kaya clashed with a hostile applicant, Leorio intervened, and Kaya promised the hungry man that Gon could catch him a fish.

• Kaya gave Grandma a jar of Thundergrass powder, then reassured Mito that she and Gon were his family and that he was taking the Hunter Exam for Gon as well as to find Kite.
• Mito packed the boys' bags, and Gon and Kaya boarded the Sea God after saying goodbye to her.
• Kaya traded insults with a scar-faced applicant who threatened him with a knife, and Leorio stepped in and disarmed the man.
• The captain ordered the scar-faced man thrown overboard and warned the applicants to obey his rules.
• Kaya gave Leorio an apple and said Gon could catch him a fish, and Gon finally came out of the cabin.

Gon caught a flying fish for Leorio and warned the captain about an approaching storm, prompting the crew to prepare. Kaya collided with Kurapika below deck, and Kurapika began to suspect that Kaya might be Oruto, a surviving member of the Kurta Clan.

• Gon caught a large flying fish for Leorio, then sensed a storm approaching and told the captain it would arrive in about two hours.
• The captain recognized Gon as Ging's son and ordered the crew to prepare the ship for the storm.
• Kaya hurried below deck to find the kitchen and collided with Kurapika, who was startled by Kaya's resemblance to Pairo.
• Kurapika wondered whether Kaya was Oruto, but Kaya dodged his questions and ran off before Kurapika could learn his name.
• Kurapika considered the clues about Kaya and resolved to approach him carefully to discover whether he was Oruto.

During the Kurta Clan’s destruction, Pairo escaped into the forest with his little brother Oruto and resolved to protect him. As pursuers closed in, Pairo sent Oruto ahead alone and gave him a blood-red crystal, leaving their reunion uncertain.

• Pairo’s father ordered him to flee with Oruto, and Pairo agreed after being reminded that his little brother needed him.
• Pairo and Oruto ran from the burning village as Pairo remembered his friendship with Kurapika and Kurapika’s promise to find a cure for his injuries.
• Oruto begged to return home, but Pairo told him their parents would not come and promised to stay by his side.
• When the forest branches began shaking behind them, Pairo told Oruto how to hide and gave him the blood-red crystal.
• Pairo urged Oruto to run ahead and hide his Scarlet Eyes, and Oruto ran forward while clutching the crystal.

Pairo learned that the Kurta Clan had been wiped out, and Omokage took his body after the Phantom Troupe collected the clan’s eyes. Oruto’s attempt to escape by ship ended with him drowning, while Cheng Xia fell into an underwater abyss in another world and was pulled into darkness by a mysterious connection.

• Pairo confronted Omokage, who told him he was likely the last survivor of his clan, then subdued him and pierced his skull with needles.
• Omokage returned to the Phantom Troupe’s camp with Pairo’s corpse and learned Machi had counted 127 bodies; Chrollo let him keep the body after its eyes were removed.
• Oruto used a stranger’s 500 Jenny coin to buy food, then hid in a crate of cannonballs to stow away on a cargo ship.
• A storm threw Oruto and the crate into the sea, and he lost consciousness after escaping the crate.
• Cheng Xia plunged into an underwater abyss as a vortex formed between the worlds and dragged his consciousness into darkness.

As a storm battered the Sea God, Kaya, Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika proved unusually unaffected and were summoned by the captain. He demanded to know why they wanted to become Hunters, but Leorio and Kurapika refused to answer, and the captain threatened to throw them off the ship.

• Kaya found Leorio eating in the galley, and the two joined Gon on deck as the storm approached.
• When a sailor could not reef the sail in the strong wind, Kaya used his whip to climb the mast and secure it himself.
• Kaya, Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika remained calm while other applicants suffered from seasickness, so the captain called them to his quarters.
• The captain asked the four applicants why they wanted to become Hunters; Gon explained that he wanted to follow his father's path and adventure with Kaya.
• Leorio and Kurapika refused to answer the captain, and he warned them to leave the ship if they would not comply.

The captain revealed that the voyage was part of the Hunter Exam’s preliminary screening and questioned the four candidates about their motives. As Leorio and Kurapika fought on deck during a violent storm, Kaya climbed the mast to reinforce it and was struck by lightning.

• The captain explained that the passengers’ voyage served as a preliminary Hunter Exam and asked Kurapika and Leorio why they wanted to become Hunters.
• Kurapika revealed that he planned to hunt the Phantom Troupe for massacring the Kurta Clan, while Leorio said he wanted money, and the two argued over each other’s motives.
• Leorio and Kurapika left the captain’s cabin to fight, while Gon and Kaya explained their own reasons for taking the exam.
• A crewman warned the captain that lightning had struck the mast, so Gon rescued the first mate while Kaya climbed up to reinforce it.
• Lightning struck the hammer in Kaya’s hand, jolting his body and leaving him unable to control it.

After Kaya fell from the mast, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio saved him, and the four made peace after the captain declared they had passed his test. They reached Dori Port, where the captain pointed them toward the Great Tree and warned that the Hunter Exam had already begun.

• Kaya regained consciousness as Gon caught him and Kurapika and Leorio grabbed Gon's legs, saving him from falling into the sea.
• Gon scolded Kaya for taking risks, while Kurapika and Leorio criticized both boys for acting recklessly.
• Kurapika apologized to Leorio, and Leorio apologized for his cruel remarks about Kurapika's people, settling their dispute.
• The captain told Gon, Kaya, Kurapika, and Leorio that they had passed his test and promised to take them safely to Doli Island.
• After enjoying the voyage, the four arrived at Dori Port, where the captain pointed them toward the Great Tree and warned that the Hunter Exam had already begun.

Gon, Kaya, Kurapika, and Leorio rejected the bus route and traveled toward the Great Tree, reaching an eerie town at dusk. After Kaya spotted a fleeting white figure, he opened a door and came face-to-face with a bucktoothed old woman.

• Gon, Kurapika, and Kaya chose the Great Tree route over the bus, and Leorio reluctantly joined them after Kurapika argued that the bus might be a trap.
• Kaya made Leorio pay his share of the food costs by carrying the supplies, and the group set out along the forest path.
• Gon led the group away from a path that smelled of blood and wild beasts, and they rested before continuing toward the Great Tree.
• The four emerged from the forest near dusk and entered a dilapidated town where Gon and Kurapika sensed unseen people nearby.
• Kaya climbed to a rooftop, spotted a white figure that vanished, then opened a side door and found a bucktoothed old woman standing there.