Zushi

Zushi (ズシ) is a young participant of Heavens Arena, and a practitioner of Shingen ryu. He is Wing's favorite student.

Background
Zushi is a young boy who studies different martial arts fighting styles, and Nen under the tutelage of a man name Wing, who Gon and Killua meet while being in the Heavens Arena. Zushi became Wing's student at least six months before registering at the Heaven's Arena. He learned to open his aura nodes in three months through meditation, and had mastered Ten in six.

Personality
He is described as an earnest, hardworking student who has devoted himself to the martial arts genre. He is loyal to his master but also expresses an honest personality as he disliked when Wing lied to Killua and Gon, about the nature of Nen when they first asked. He acknowledges his inferiority to the two boys, but is resolute to reach their level one day and respects them greatly. He speaks in a very formal, polite manner. He fights for honor, and justice. He hates killing, but is sweet and kind. He also doesn't want to lose his fight even if he gets beat up to a pulp.

Appearance

 * 1999

Zushi is an average sized boy with short brown hair, big eyebrows, and big hazel eyes. He wears a black turtleneck under a standard karate gi with a red belt.
 * 2011

Zushi is an average sized boy with short brown hair, thick eyebrows, and big hazel eyes. He wears a black turtleneck under a standard karate gi with a red belt.

Abilities
Zushi is stronger than any normal boy his age. He is proficient enough in Shingen-ryu kung fu to defeat opponent many times his own weight and size, flooring a 440-pound opponent with a swift flurry of punches to the gut. Both the announcer and Killua noted he is a superior kung fu practitioner, whose stance leaves few openings, although the assassin deemed him far below himself, and also weaker than Gon. During their duel Zushi was, in fact, unable to follow him with his eyes. Nonetheless, Killua[3] and Wing both[12] believe him to be very talented and capable of becoming very strong. Further testament to his skills is that he reached the 90th floor of the Heavens Arena in two months[9] and at least the 100th floor in four more[14] without ever using Ren.[3] Zushi also has some sensorial abilities, with which he sensed Gido, Riehlvelt, and Sadaso before the elevator he was in stopped on the 200th floor.[9]

In the movie, Hunter × Hunter: The Last Mission, his abilities in combat and Nen increased to the point where he became a Floor Master at the Heavens Arena. He was also the only Floor Master to land a blow (an elbow strike to the face) on one of Jed's followers, Gaki, who had previously defeated Kanjiru in no time, before being knocked unconscious.[1]

Nen
Zushi is a Manipulator. Although he lacks Gon's and Killua's exceedingly rare talent, Wing estimates his own potential can be found only in 1 out of 100,000 individuals.[12] He is capable of performing and maintaining Ten during combat, with which he came out of most of Killua's attacks unscathed[3] and survived one launched with the intent to kill with no lasting injury,[5] as well as the three other Major Principles and Gyo. When he trained with Gon and Killua, he had very low aura reserves, since he grew exhausted just from maintaining the latter technique for a few seconds. Since he can combine Ten and Ren,[9] he knows the basis for Ken,[15] although he is unable to maintain it.

Heavens Arena Arc
Zushi registers at the Heaven's Arena on the same day as Gon and Killua. He knocks out a massive man with a combo of punches in his first fight, which allows him to advance to the 50th floor, like the two boys. They ride the elevator together, after which Zushi begins the introductions, and they praise each other's fighting prowess. Zushi tells Gon and Killua that he is competing to improve his skills in Shingen-ryu and inquires what school they belong to. He is amazed to discover that they do not have any teacher, declaring himself inadequate in comparison with them. Wing arrives and compliments Zushi, with the boy pointing out his shirttail is not tucked in his pants.

The three boys head over to the reception desk to turn in their ticket stubs and receive their prize money, which amounts to a mere 152 Jenny Currency Symbol, the price of a can of juice. Zushi and Gon are blown away when Killua begins to list the rewards for winning on the higher floors, and are utterly shocked to hear that he spent 200,000,000 Jenny Currency Symbol on snacks in four years.The trio then head to the locker room to await their next fights. Killua declares that they should not have trouble against anyone in the room, his lack of tact making Zushi uneasy. The two are soon called to compete against each other on the 57th floor. Zushi declares himself honored to face Killua, who nonchalantly demeans him in return.

When they are both on the ring, the announcer replays videos of their previous matches, and the majority of the audience picks Zushi as the most likely to win, which annoys Killua and scares the other boy. The match begins and Zushi assumes his fighting stance. Killua walks towards him unconcerned and Zushi attempts to punch him, but Killua easily moves behind him and strikes him with a chop to the neck, earning two points. However, Zushi gets up, completely uninjured. Killua walks towards him again, avoiding a flurry of blows and repeating his previous attack, but with more power. Zushi is knocked down and bounces on the floor, but he immediately recovers, earning Killua only one point.

Accepting that he is outmatched, Zushi changes his fighting stance and activates Ren, frightening Killua. Wing however yells at Zushi from the stands, who rescinds the technique. The match continues as before, with Killua scoring five more points before snapping at Zushi's resilience. He punches the boy in the stomach with lethal force, sending him flying out of the ring, but Zushi stands up, only mildly injured. The judge declares Killua's victory.

After the match, Wing scolds Zushi for using Ren before the 200th floor. The boy bows down and begs for his teacher's forgiveness, who grants it to him. He declares Zushi must be ready to lose to improve and get to the top floor. Overhearing the rebuke, Killua finds out about Ren and decides to know more, since the technique reminds him of what he felt against his brother.[3] He and Gon confront Zushi about it, who explains Ren is one of the Four Major Principles, leaving his interlocutors more confused than before. Wing states Zushi is not qualified to teach. When the two boys insist, he takes them to his hotel room and introduces them to the Nen of the Flame. After they leave, he resumes his normal training with Zushi, telling him to start with Ten. He senses Zushi's aura flow is agitated, and the boy asks him why he lied to them about Nen. Wing replies that due to its power, care must be exercised in choosing who can learn it, so he turned them away because they were not his pupils. He demonstrated his words by cutting through a can of juice with the page of a book, causing Zushi to protest for ruining his property.

When Gon and Killua make it to the 200th floor, Zushi comments they are astounding fighter, causing Wing to reconsider his position.[6] The following day, at 15:00 on March 11th, Zushi and Wing watch Gon's match against Gido on television. Zushi is deeply concerned about Gon and asks his teacher if his opponent is controlling his tops with Nen. Wing confirms it and proceeds to explain how his abilities work, concluding that it is five years too early for Gon to face Gido.

One day later, as he trains, Zushi perceives his master's anxiety. Two months later, Gon is allowed to resume training, so he and Killua join Zushi. When Gon demonstrates his Ten, Zushi is amazed by its smoothness and power. Wing then plays them a tape of Hisoka and Kastro's match and explains during the match Hisoka used an advanced move of Nen called In. He tells Gon and Killua to practice Ren until they can see his aura, which prompts Zushi to ask what he should do. Wing replies he should be able to see it already and has him demonstrate Gyo. Zushi counts as many as 13 strands, although there are actually 15, before exhaustion forces him to cancel the technique, and Wing compliments him.

Wing dismisses them, and as they return to the Heaven's Arena, Killua praises Zushi's progress, who however remarks he still has far to go, as he is only on the 90th floor. They take an elevator on the 200th floor to review what they learned in Killua's room. Before the doors open, the trio sense the malicious aura of Gido, Sadaso, and Riehlvelt, who insist on fighting Gon and Killua as their deadlines are approaching. Zushi recognizes Gido as Gon's opponent from two months earlier. Sadaso prepares to demonstrate his Nen ability as a veiled threat, causing Zushi to take his fighting stance, but Gon reveals he will fight on June 10th, a date which is not suitable for Sadaso. The three boys leave, but Sadaso promises he will fight Gon before May 29th, keeping a sharp eye on Zushi as they walk away.

Zushi, Gon, and Killua review Ren in Killua's room, with Zushi astounded by the speed they learned to contain Ren with Ten. Thinking he would feel too despondent if the two were to overtake him in half a day, he insists they all rest, so Zushi and Gon leave. On his way back to the hotel, Zushi becomes unable to move, speak, or breathe, and passes out, due to Sadaso's aura arm. Before the trio of fighters can take him away, Killua, who divined Sadaso's plan, steps up, offering to give a free victory to each of them in Gon's place. The four go to register with the unconscious Zushi, who is then carried to his hotel by Killua. Unbeknownst to the latter, Gido removes one of his shoes and placed it in front of Gon's door, pretending they still had Zushi hostage and forcing him to register as well. When Zushi wakes up, he convinces himself he fainted due to exhaustion. The following day, he thanks Killua, who flabbergasts Zushi with his Gyo.

Time goes by and the trio train studiously under Wing's direction, until the day of Gon's rematch with Gido and Killua's fight with Riehlvelt. Zushi is perplexed by Gon's decision to use a fishing rod in his match. After defeating his opponent, Gon warns him never to touch Zushi again. Zushi, seated next to Wing, cheers Gon for his victory. After Gon's match against Riehlvelt on June 10th, Wing introduces the trio to Hatsu and has them take the Water Divination test, which reveals that Zushi is a Manipulator. The trio then strenuously train over the course of four weeks to cultivate their Hatsu. Zushi is impressed with the pronounced changes Gon and Killua learn to produce. He is perplexed when Wing announces Gon passed the Secret Hunter Exam. That night Zushi and Wing say goodbye to Gon and Killua. When the boys are out of sight, Wing tells Zushi he will have to practice Hatsu for one more month before he can graduate, adding that he should not be disheartened because even though he is talented, Gon and Killua are even more so. Zushi thinks to himself that does not make him feel much better, but he vows to catch up to his fellow students one day.

The following day, Zushi and Wing spectate Gon's match against Hisoka. When Hisoka reveals he can deduce what category a person belongs to by their personality and discloses the traits of Enhancers, Zushi glances at his teacher, reflecting that Hisoka is correct, and hopes the magician will reveal the specifics of his Manipulators as well.

Greed Island arc
At some point, Zushi manages to reach at least the 100th floor. When, in early September, Gon phones Wing to ask for his advice about Hatsu, Zushi continues his Nen training.

Quotes

 * "I'll catch up to them some day!"

Knownable Relatives

 * Unnamed Mother
 * Unnamed Father
 * Wing (Sensei)

Trivia

 * In Chapter 45 and Episode 37 of the 1999 anime series adaptation, during Killua and Zushi's match the big screen in the arena shows Zushi's name written as "Zooci", suggesting this is its in-universe spelling. Instead, the Viz version has the normal name edited over the original image in the manga.
 * His name is very similar to sushi, a traditional food from Japan, and equal when a prefix is attached to sushi, with the word being spelled with a z instead of an s due to rendaku consonant mutation.
 * Zushi's introductory fight on the first floor of Heaven's Arena in Episode 27 of the 2011 anime adaptation, in which he unleashes a barrage of fists on a fat man that causes ripples to form on the man's belly, mirrors Kenshiro's fight against Mr. Heart in Fist of the North Star.
 * Despite being written differently from the character's name, Zushi (逗子) is a Japanese city.

Voice Actresses

 * Japanese : Umi Tenjin (1999 series), Yuka Terasaki (2011 series)
 * English : Abby Charchun (1999 series), Kira Buckland (2011 series)