Isaac Netero

Isaac Netero is a character from the HunterxHunter anime and manga.

Isaac was the 12thChairman of the Hunter Association and the Head of the Exam Commission. In his youth, he was extolled as the most powerful Nenuser in the world, and retained dreadful strength even in his old age.

Appearance
Isaac Netero appeared to be a helpless old man, but was surprisingly fit and muscular for his age. He had a ponytail, a thick beard, and stretched earlobes with two piercings in both ears. Netero was commonly seen wearing a traditional man's kimono and pair of geta with one ha(tooth).

During the Chimera Ant arc, he changed his appearance for his upcoming fight with Meruem by trimming his beard, mustache, and ponytail. When in combat, Netero preferred to wear a t-shirt with the Japanese kanji character for the word "heart/mind", (kokoro), printed on the front and track shorts.

Some of his physical characteristics are similar to those of buddhas and their buddharupas in Buddhist art, like large protruding ears, exaggerated eyebrows that curve upward, half-closed eyes, thin lips and hair bun that points to the top, and even the mustache.

During his expedition in Dark Continent in his youth, he was shown to have long spiky hair.

Personality
Netero was energetic, playful to the point of being mischievous, and, at times, seemingly absentminded. Although he was capable of acting professionally when called to intervene as Chairman of the Hunter Association, on all other occasions he proved himself to be so extravagant he was sometimes called insane. There were clear discrepancies between his words and his thoughts during the 287th Hunter Exam. However, he was a true martial artist, who was nothing but earnest during fights. He enjoyed challenges, and was thrilled by the prospect of a formidable enemy. This strange passion affected the way in which he governed the Hunter Association, frequently testing the physical limits of those attempting to become Hunters. Biscuit Krueger even called Netero a "twisted individual", as he often enjoyed giving Hunters he trusted impossible assignments, sometimes with deadlines of only a few months, that should take years to complete. He himself liked challenges, to the point he wanted his Vice Chairman to be someone he just could not get along with. He apparently made a name for himself as a lustful man in the Hunter Association, since many Hunters left risqué magazines under his effigy as a tribute.

Netero had dedicated his life to the martial arts and prayer, intended as a form of appreciation. He displayed a great deal of pride when it came to his own abilities and had no respect for the weak. However, he was not arrogant, as he presented the possibility of Gon threatening him without saying the boy would stand no chance against him. His goal in life was to find a worthy adversary against whom he can fight with his all. His strength of mind and selflessness were beyond unwavering, and he did not hesitate to end his own life in a last attempt to kill Meruem.

Despite his tendency to act as he pleased, Netero was not amoral. He banned expeditions to the Dark Continent as a consequence of Hunters trying to imitate him and dying, and in spite of his fondness for challenges, he preferred to avoid fighting both Neferpitou and Meruem, hoping to end the conflict with the fewest casualties. Nonetheless, in certain occasions he prioritized results over sacrifices: he was willing to let as many as five million people die if that ensured the end of the Chimera Ant kingdom.

Abilities
As one of the strongest characters in the series, Netero displays incredible strength and stamina for his age, shown in his first appearance when he makes a 60-foot free-fall jump from the Judging Committee's blimp without a parachute and lands without incurring any harm. He is also a very powerful hand-to-hand combatant, capable of unleashing punches reported to be as fast as the speed of sound. Netero has excellent control over his muscles as well, being capable of preventing blood loss from a severed leg, and great coordination, judging by his proficiency in using a 100-armed Nen construct as mean of offense.

Enhanced strength: Netero has incredible physical strength as he could jump from a 60-foot free-fall jump from the Judging Committee's blimp without a parachute and lands without incurring any physical harm.

Immense speed and reflexes: Netero's speed is considered to be the greatest of any character seen thus far in the series. Example of this is that he could run by Gon and Killua without them even seeing him come by,also dodging all of their attacks rather easily and tiring them out quickly. He is arguably faster than Neferpitou and, even more remarkably, Meruem, as he could launch an attack on Meruem with his 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva with the King unable to see the attack coming. It took him many minutes of incessant fighting to grow used to Netero's speed. He can also deliver punches as fast as the speed of sound.

Immense stamina: When Netero was younger, he performed ten thousand punches in only 18 hours, and when he had continued to do this, the sun had not yet set. He also then fought many different kinds of fighters for the dojo for days on end. He took two fatal wounds from Meruem, fought him for a long period of time while exchanging thousands of blows, and spoke to him normally even after exhausting all of his aura and despite the seriousness of his injuries, showing his stamina is top-notch even in his old age.

Strong Muscle Control: Netero is capable of preventing blood-loss from a severed leg and continue battling without relenting.

High pain resistance: Netero is very resistant to pain as Meruem severed his left arm and right leg without him even flinching, though his sweating rate increased slightly.

Master in hand-to-hand combat: Being the grand master of Shingen-ryu kung-fu, and also being able to deliver thousands of different attacks with the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva with it following his own hand motions on Meruem, Netero is displayed as being the best hand-to-hand combatant seen in the series. More examples of this is when Netero was 46 years old, he did 10,000 punches a day and it took 18 hours to finish 10,000 punches on his first day. After two years, when he completed the 10,000 punches, the sun had not yet set. And at the age of 50, he completed 10,000 punches in less than one hour and more time to pray. Because of this, Netero can also deliver punches as fast as the speed of sound. He also defeated any fighter who would come to fight him in his dojo no matter how powerful proving his skill.

Nen

 * 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva - Netero emits a multi-armed Nen construct behind himself which takes the form of a gigantic statue of Guanyin. To execute an attack, Netero clasps his hands together in a fluid motion, as if in prayer, after which one of the arms on the statue strike down upon his target in conjunction with Netero's hand motion. The procedure is repeated before every attack. Due to Netero’s immense speed, the whole process can be carried out in far less than 0.1 seconds, up to thousands of times per minute. A single palm strike from the Bodhisattva was enough to push Neferpitou a considerable distance away without the Chimera Ant fully understanding what had happened. The blows of the statue are so fast that they may appear to originate from another dimension, an impression strengthened by the fact that the blow does not come from Netero’s position. The sheer number of arms makes it so that the possible combinations are so numerous Meruemregarded them as being practically infinite, and it is only by detecting Netero's unconscious bias for one move over another that he managed to best the ability. Due to this its extreme speed and power, Zeno Zoldyckconsiders the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva the chairman’s most dangerous ability. It is unknown if the construct is conjured or emitted, in which case Transmutation might also be in play.
 * First Hand - After clasping his hands together, Netero performs a chopping motion, causing the Bodhisattva to strike the target with a chop. When used against Meruem, it caused the King to spit out blood and comment that he could not see the attack coming, creating a deep fissure into the ground.
 * Third Hand - After clasping his hands together, Netero performs a clapping motion, causing the Bodhisattva to attack the target with a clap, crushing them between two of its hands. However, Meruem came out of the attack unscathed, pushing the palms apart after an instant.


 * Ninety-Ninth Hand - After clasping his hands together and resting his right ankle on his left calf, Netero joins his thumbs and index fingers together, making a sign with his hands that looks like the number ninety-nine. The Bodhisattva unleashes a barrage of palm strikes with all its arms, resulting in a massively powerful attack that can dig deep into the ground. Netero does not need to "pray" in-between blows and instead maintains the pose that started the technique.


 * Zero Hand - This is Netero's last resort, meant to be used only when he cannot utilize any other of Guanyin's abilities. Netero first prays with all his heart, raising only one hand. The Bodhisattva then appears behind his enemy and tenderly clasps them within its palms. Then, it focuses every last ounce of Netero's aura in its mouth before mercilessly firing it as an enormous flare of unparalleled destructive power. This single attack injured Meruem more than the thousands of palm strikes that preceded it, although the damage was ultimately only superficial. Netero meditated for days in order to prepare this technique. After executing it, he ages rapidly as a result of his aura being completely drained. Regardless of how the statue is created, Emission is likely used to to cause it to appear away from Netero himself, or in the beam itself.

Equipment

 * Poor Man's Rose: At some point before the palace invasion, Netero had this bomb implanted in his body. It is immensely powerful, severely maiming Meruem and leaving him on the brink of death despite Netero's most powerful abilities barely scratching him at all. In addition, the bomb releases a deadly poison that turns its victims into poisonous agents themselves, leading to a chain reaction of casualties. The chemical was potent enough to kill two weakened Royal Guards and eventually Meruem himself. The bomb was rigged to go off when Netero's heart stopped.

Trivia

 * In Chapter 344, his name is written as "Aizack Neterro".
 * During the Hunter Exam, when he tested Gon and Killua on the airship, Netero was able to fend them both off while using only his right arm and left leg. In his final battle against Meruem and prior to activating the Miniature Rose, he is left with only his right arm and left leg after Meruem's assault.
 * During the Hunter Exam arc, Netero also used his Ren to put Gon and Killua on edge and slip past them. The same occurred to him and Zeno when Neferpitou's activation of Doctor Blythe momentarily distracted them, allowing Meruem to walk between them more swiftly than they could react.
 * One of Netero's most memorable quotes reads "I dreamed of giving my heart and soul to battle an unstoppable adversary". In the final moments in his battle with Meruem, he uses Zero Hand, a Nen ability that focuses ones entire aura (or soul) into a final attack, completely draining it, and when he died, he did so by thrusting his fingers into his heart, a turn of events that almost exactly matches the quote just given.
 * It is unclear if Zero Hand actually entails Transmutation to turn Netero's aura into light, or if the description of the ability was metaphorical. Since Episode 126 of the 2011 anime adaptation appears to have opted for a literal reading, this is the version that is reported on this page.
 * Although Netero's 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva is considered his most powerful technique, his natural Nen type (Enhancement) does not seem to contribute to the ability. It is possible, although never hinted at, that Netero uses Enhancement to accelerate his speed, reflexes, and in particular his hand motions to such a pinnacle that it is outright incomprehensible to all but one of the characters that witnessed it, that being Meruem; even then, Meruem was also unable to keep up with the speed at first but managed to grow accustomed to it over the conflict.
 * If so, and if 100-Type Guanyin Bodhsisattva is created through Emission and possibly Transmutation, this would mean that Netero uses all accessible types (therefore excluding Specialization) in his Nen ability except Conjuration/Materialization. This could have some minimal relation with the character's Buddhist-like theme and the concept of detachment from the desire for things present in some religions including Buddhism, although not always literally or exclusively material things but greatly linked to it.
 * When he was introduced, Isaac Netero displayed an incredible sense of balance by drinking with a straw from a glass on a plate he was holding up with his foot;[6] when talking to the Zodiacs, his son, Beyond Netero, accomplished a similar feat, keeping a pen standing on its tip without touching it.