Hanzo

Hanzo (ハンゾー) is a ninja from Jappon, who has trained in the art of ninjutsu from the moment he could stand. He decided to become a Hunter in order to find the elusive Hermit's Scroll. He was known as Examinee 294 in the 287th Hunter Examination. He is currently one of the bodyguards of Prince Marayam Hui Guo Rou.

Background
Hanzo was born in the Cloud-Hidden Village in Jappon and was trained since his early birth in ninjutsu, while never breaking training sessions in 18 years. By the time he was 11, he had already killed people. He decided to attend the 287th Hunter Exam to find the Hermit's Scroll, which, according to the rumors, is located in a country barred only to commoners.

Personality
One of Hanzo's most noticeable personality traits is his own loquacity, which, together with the good spirits he often shows and the occasional gullibility or anger outburst, conflict with his upbringing as a ninja. His confidence in his own skills can turn into overconfidence and again lead to him revealing too much. Nonetheless, he can be focused and cold-hearted: as part of his training, he had already killed before the age of 10, and he had no qualms about torturing Gon. This however does not mean he does not feel pity, as he decided to throw the match since he realized that despite the pain he was inflicting on him, Gon did not hate him, which Hanzo felt was fair when he was torturing someone. He also blamed himself for Momoze's death, despite not having been able to prevent it due to her mother's orders, and vowed to avenge her, which he later did by tricking her murderer into confessing and then killing him.

Appearance

 * 1999

Hanzo is a tall, and very fit young man. He is bald, and wears a black shirt with large shoulders. He wears a purple neck Warner around his neck, and a grey vest. Along with gray pants, he has bandages wrapped around his wrists and ankles.
 * 2011

Hanzo is a tall, and very fit young man. He is bald, and wears a black shirt with large shoulders. He has a red neck warmer around his neck. Along with gray pants he has bandages wrapped around his wrists and ankles.

Abilities
Hanzo has all the benefits granted by his status as a Hunter. He is seen as a very fast and powerful fighter who easily bested Gon in speed and strength. His training as a shinobi was described as being extremely rigorous, but thanks to it he successfully became a master of the Hidden Cloud style (雲隠流 Kumogaku-ryū) of ninjutsu.[14] In terms of raw power, Killua placed him above himself (with the exception of his "Assassin Mode") and slightly below Hisoka,[28] although this ranking might not be completely reliable, as the assassin was still ignorant of the concept of Nen. Hanzo claimed that at Gon's age, he had already killed.[6] He is a good martial artist, capable of stunning and paralyzing a person with a single blow to the back of the neck.[14] He is adept at concealing his presence, although Killua noticed that he was being followed by him,[13] and is also good at detecting other people, managing to recognize the Hunter that had been following him during the second to last part of the exam.[14] His weakness lies in the fact that he talks too much, leaving him open at many occasions.[2]

Advanced Strength
Hanzo has great physical strength and a remarkable sense of balance, bearing the full weight of his body on just one finger, and claiming to be able to hack off one of Gon's limbs using one of his hidden blades.[6] He also knocked out the boy and sent him flying with an uppercut.

Enhanced Speed
Hanzo easily surpassed Gon in terms of speed[14] and was able to keep up with a tag thrown by Killua and catch it before it landed despite running on branches.[13]

Advanced Agility
Hanzo is capable at moving at high speed while leaping from one branch to another.[13]

Advanced Stamina
Hanzo was able to complete a long-distance run more than 80 kilometers long, and taking place on uneven terrains such as ascending stairs and a swamp,[7] although he was more winded than Killua.[8]

Master Torturer
Hanzo is literate in multiple forms of torture that require no special items.[14] He has the skill to break a person's arm cleanly. Although Gon never gave up in their match, Killua remarked that if Hanzo used some of his other torture methods Gon would have easily surrendered.[15]

Nen
Hanzo was noted by Menchi to have a powerful aura before even starting to train in Nen,[10] which, according to Wing, he learned in less than six months.[17] Hanzo insinuates that his Nen abilities may be related to his ninjutsu background. He appears to be rather knowledgeable about shadow clones, detailing the differences between autonomous clones and directly controlled ones.[4] Since his only known Nen ability is numbered, it is possible he has at least 3 more.[5]

Hidden Blades
During the Hunter Exam, Hanzo had two blades concealed under the bandages on his forearms, which he can pull out to fight with or to torture the opponent. He was confident he could dismember Gon with them.[6] It is unknown if he still wears them.

Hunter Exam Arc
A flashback of Tonpa reveals that Hanzo confesses he's a ninja and that he is on a journey for a scroll and needs a Hunter License to complete his quest. When asked if he wants a drink by Tonpa, he refuses as ninjas don't accept presents. After the First Phase of the Hunter Exam, which is a marathon, Hanzo is easily able to converse while running—most of the others are breathless and struggling.

In the Second Phase, featuring cooking, he defeats a Great Stamp with ease, but like all the others is rejected by Menchi, and in the second cooking challenge he is the only one to know what sushi is but once again he's rejected by Menchi like all the others. Menchi mentions Hanzo when asked what examinee she favors. He then participates at the Third Phase led by Lippo[11] and is the third candidate to clear the deadly traps and puzzles of the Trick Tower and is able to proceed to the Fourth Phase.

During the Fourth Phase on Zevil Island his designated target was the leader of the Amori Brothers, Amori, so he secretly followed him waiting for a good chance of take his badge without being noticed. He then finds a chance when Killua defeats the Amori brothers and throws Amori's and Imori's badges in the air. Although he gets the wrong badge due to the fact that Killua noticed him hiding in the shadows, he is able to take the tags of Shishito and Kenmi and is allowed to advance to the next phase.

In the final test of the Hunter Exam, Hanzo is forced to battle Gon. His speed, strength, and battle experience easily exceeds that of Gon. However, the only way to pass the final test to is force your opponent to admit defeat—Gon refuses to do so even after being severely beaten. Hanzo breaks Gon's arm to force him to admit defeat, but Gon still refuses. Noting the lack of hate in Gon's eyes after this act, Hanzo realizes he actually has come to like Gon. He willingly bows out of the battle, giving Gon the victory needed for him to pass the final test.

After his match with Gon he fights Pokkle and is able to quickly make him surrender which meant that he has passed the Hunter exam. When Illumi Zoldyck wants to go murder Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, Hanzo, and some examiners block his way. After the end of the exam he gives some of his business cards to Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio and offers to guide them if they go to his country. He then departs following his goal to become a successful Hunter and find the Hermit's Scroll.

Heaven's Arena arc
During Gon and Killua's training in the Heaven's Arena, it is revealed by Wing that Hanzo learned Nen after the Hunter Exam.

13th Hunter Chairman Election arc
Hanzo later appears in the manga to pay his respect to the previous chairman, Netero, and vote for a new Hunter Association Chairman.[18] He is seen outside Gon's ward trying to incite him, along with Gon's other friends.[19]

Being near to Gon, Hanzo along the others assists from the outside at the building.[20] Gon recovers thanks to Alluka's powers feeling a strange and powerful aura.[21] He then accompanies Gon when he goes to meet Leorio in the room where all the Hunters were voting for the new chairman of the Hunter Association. While the crowd was applauding for Gon everybody in the room starts wondering who the baldy was near to Gon making him blush.[22]

Quotes

 * Good luck on your journey

Knownable Relatives

 * Unnamed Mother
 * Unnamed Father

Trivia

 * Hanzo is likely named after Hattori Hanzo, a famous Japanese ninja.
 * In the first character popularity poll for Hunter × Hunter, Hanzo ranked 8th with 322 votes; 16th in the second poll with 120 votes; and 22nd in the third poll with 87 votes.
 * In the 1999 anime adaptation, when all the examinees that pass the Third Phase are stranded in Lippo's "bonus stage", Hanzo takes the lead in getting them out of the trap.
 * According to the 2011 anime adaptation, Hanzo's Hunter License number is 10982 482 3287, whereas his license number is not given in the manga or in the 1999 anime adaptation.
 * Hanzo's appearance is most likely based on the character Kazemaru from YuYu Hakusho.
 * The original Japanese subname or second nomination of Hanzo's Hanzo Skill 4 Nen ability, (分身の術) aka "Art of Division"), comes from one of the legendary abilities sometimes associated with ninjas the ability to "split" into multiple bodies—a common trope in the popular culture related to this type of character.
 * In the 1999 anime adaptation, his Japanese voice actor also voices Matthew and Phinks; in the English dubbed version of the same adaptation, the same voice actor dubs him and Phinks.
 * In the 2011 anime adaptation English version, he is voiced by the same voice actor as Geretta, Squala, and the nameless Bounty Hunter.

Voice Actors

 * Japanese : Yoshiro Matsumoto (1999 series), Daisuke Kishio (2011 series)
 * English : Lucas Gilbertson (1999 series), Ray Chase (2011 series)