With the navigators' help, Gon, Kurapika and Leorio arrive at Zaban City, the venue of the exam. The navigator leads them to a small restaurant, which is revealed to be the front for the venue. Gon's group is led to an elevator disguised as a back room, which leads a hundred floors underground. Below, they meet the rest of the participants and given their numbers. There they meet Tonpa, a regular participant who claims to have tried and failed 35 times in the exam.

During the first test, a number of participants fall out from fatigue after running for at least forty kilometers. Leorio almost gives up until he is encouraged by Gon, who waits for him. Killua, a participant, is introduced and he is curious of Gon's personality when he discovers that the boy is the same age as him. Kurapika and Leorio talk about the reason for being a hunter, with Kurapika wanting to take down the Phantom Troupe as his clan was massacred by them for their precious scarlet eyes, which manifest when the Kurta uses their heightened sense. Leorio aims to be a hunter for money, for purely altruistic reasons, as his childhood friend died of an illness without the funds to save him. He wishes to be a doctor so he can give his patients free treatment. Finally, the participants reach the end of the tunnel they are in and up to the surface to the Numere Wetlands, also known as Swindlers' Swamp.

While following Satotz, a fog moves into the swamp and most of the participants are either rendered unconscious or killed by traps and verocious beasts. A group of candidates target Hisoka as they feel he's a threat. Gon and Killua are separated from Leorio and Kurapika and both sides are eventually attacked by monsters. Leorio and Kurapika encounter Hisoka about to be attacked by candidates but are shocked to watch the magician easily take the candidates down. Hisoka then targets Leorio and Kurapika, but realizing that they are no match for him, they decide to head in different directions to stop him from following. However, Leorio returns, unable to run away from a fight. As expected, Leorio is beaten badly by Hisoka. Before the melee can get any worse, Gon, who is separated from Killua, arrives to stop Hisoka. Although he is also no match for Hisoka, he manages to hit his face once before being strangled by Hisoka.

Gon and Kurapika reunite with Leorio and Killua at the Phase Two site. Satotz leads what remains of the candidates to meet the second phase examiners, named Menchi and Buhara. The examiners declare the next phase is to test their cooking skills, much to the candidates' disbelief. The test requires pork, so the candidates are sent to find pigs in the forest. However, the pigs living inside the forest are carnivorous and tear through the candidates. Thanks to Gon, they discover the pigs' weakness and they manage to each get one for their cooking. Upon tasting the candidates' cooking, Buhara gives a pass but Menchi fails all of them. Knowing the candidates will riot, Satotz informs Chairman Netoros of the Hunter Selection Committee to make an appearance. Netoros arrives to correct Menchi's habit of getting biased whenever it's related to cooking. Netoros allows Menchi to stay on as examiner, and she gives the candidates a retest: boil eggs laid by spider eagles on Mt. Split-in-Half.

After winning the bet about Majitani, Leroute, as what the prisoner is named, bets with Leorio about her gender. Despite looking conspicuously female, Leorio, much to Killua and Kurapika's annoyance, bets that she is male. Leorio thinks that team wins if he is correct; and if he is wrong, he will be able to touch Leroute to confirm. Leorio is wrong and goes on to check Leroute. Leorio then challenges Leroute in rock, paper, scissors, and loses. Killua then faces the feared mass murderer Johness the Dissector. Killua rips Johness' heart in an instant and even have it covered in a piece of Johness' cloth. The latter pleads for his heart, and Killua returned it after he is dead. The team thus gathers three points and pass the trial, but they are forced to wait the 50 hours that Leorio has lost with his bets in a small room. Meanwhile, applicants Gittarackur and Hanzo become the second and third one to finish the third phase.

Gon learns to master his accuracy with his pole to try and steal Hisoka's number plate.Finally mastering it,He decides to steal it when Hisoka is busy catching his Prey.

Killua grows tired of having Imori shadowing him so he challenges Imori to a fight and quickly dispatches him. Meanwhile, Gon has joined up with Leorio and Kurapika. The three of them devise a plan for taking Ponzu's tag and track her down to a suspicious-looking cave. That is when Leorio insists on heading in alone.

Gon and his friends have been trapped inside a cave by poisonous snakes. Bourbon, the person responsible for the trap, is already dead, and nobody knows how to disarm the trap. Meanwhile, Leorio, who was bitten by the snakes, is growing weak. Gon manages to get them out of the sticky situation and through to the final phase of the exam. But first, Netero wants an interview with each of the remaining applicants...

Gon and his friends have advanced to the final phase of the Hunter Exam. The final phase is a tournament where the winners are out and the losers advance. The rule is that if you kill your opponent, you'll be disqualified. The first mach is Gon versus Hanzo. Gon can't do anything against Hanzo, but he refuses to give up. Hanzo is losing his patience and threatens to break Gon's arm.

Gon wakes up, and finds himself being congratulated by Satotz for being the first person to pass the Hunter Exam. Gon asks Satotz if the Exam was still going on, and Satotz tells him that it's over. Satotz reveals what happens after he lost consciousness, and Gon finds out some shocking turn of events.

Gon is upset that Killua was forced to kill. Gon is mad at Illumi and proclaims that he will go to Kukuroo Mountain to rescue Killua. As Gon and his friends depart, Satotz mentions that the Hunter Exam isn't over yet...

A letter from Gon arrives at Whale Island for Mito... (A recap of everything that has happened.)