Highlights

Kurapika's determination to pass the Hunter's Exam is fueled by his desire to avenge his massacred clan and represent their legacy.
After triggering his Scarlet Eyes in a moment of rage, Kurapika fails his final exam and faces the tragic news of his clan's demise.
The massacre of the Kurta clan, orchestrated by the Phantom Troupe, was motivated by the value of their rare Scarlet Eyes on the black market.

Hunter x Hunter's Kurapika entered the pilot episode as a stoic, serious, and intense individual. He made it clear that is very important that he pass the Hunter's Exam and that he represents the last of his beloved Kurta clan.

With his bewitching scarlet eyes, Kurapika definitely stands out more than his peers. These eyes are a hallmark of the whole Kurta clan. It is for this precious attribute that Kurapika's small clan was devastatingly massacred. So what exactly happened to them?

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Kurapika Wishes to Venture Outside the Clan

Kurapika belongs to the Kurta clan, a small community of 128 people only. They were secluded from the rest of the world in a beautiful forest, which was the extent of Kurapika's knowledge of the world. One day, Kurapika and his friend Pairo rescued a girl named Sheila in the forest, and as a token of gratitude, she gave them a book that told the dangerous tales of a Hunter in the outside world. Pairo and Kurapika were determined to read the book so they translated every word to read the stories inside. Soon, they became completely engrossed in the adventures of the book's protagonist and dreamed of themselves getting to see the outside world, too.

To make this dream a reality, Kurapika had to take many examinations, until eventually getting to the difficult final exam. This was a test of self-control. Kurapika was challenged to go shopping outside the forest at a neighboring village for a day and to return without his Scarlet Eyes being triggered. He was allowed to take a companion so he chose Pairo, the two of them set out to complete the final phase of the exam. To ensure that their Eyes weren't activated, the clan elder gave them a vile of eye drops that would keep their eyes Scarlet even after getting triggered.

Kurapika Triggers his Scarlet Eyes

Kurapika Kurta ready to attack with red eyes

After making the trek to the village, the boys find themselves in a sticky situation. Pairo, with impaired eyesight, has a run-in with some thugs. Pairo accidentally knocked a bottle of wine to the ground, smashing it open in the process. As a result, the thugs wanted to rob them, although to their dismay they found that Pairo only had pennies and nothing of substantial value. To taunt the boys, they dropped and smashed their jar of pennies. Seeing that Pairo was struggling to put the coins in a pouch due to his impaired vision, the thugs made fun of him, telling Kurapika that it's unfortunate that he has to take care of "that piece of junk".

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Enraged, Kurapika's eyes turned bright Scarlet and he furiously beat up all three of the men who taunted his friend. His eyes struck fear in not only the gang of thugs, but the onlookers in the village as well. They called him a monster and associated him with the devil, a "Red-Eyed Devil". The village ganged up on Kurapika and Pairo, forcing them to leave their village. The boys set off home in humiliation, pain, and embarrassment. For now, they have failed their last obstacle to leave their clan and be adventurers like the man in their book. Or so Kurapika thought.

On their journey back to the Kurta clan, Pairo shows Kurapika his reflection in a small mirror. To Kurapika's surprise, his eyes are back to normal. It turned out that when the clan elder gave Pairo the eye drops, he pretended to drop and look for it so that he could switch it with something else. As a result, Kurapika's eyes no longer remained Scarlet as they were supposed to as proof that he activated his Eyes. The next morning upon arrival, the clan elder announced that he officially passed his final exam.

Kurapika Gets Horrific News

As the clan rejoiced at his success, Kurapika ventured into the outside world, determined to find a doctor who could cure Pairo's eyesight. Unfortunately, tragedy struck six weeks after Kurapika's departure. The news reported that the entire Kurta clan had been massacred, all 128 of them, including his dear friend Pairo. This was a planned assassination, for a message was left on a piece of paper skewered into the clan elder with a knife which read: "We'll accept anything you leave, but don't ever take anything away from us". It turned out the massacre was done by the Phantom Troupe.

Why Was the Clan Massacred?

Even in a small clan like Kurta clan, only a few of them possessed Scarlet Eyes. It's safe to say that these eyes are incredibly rare and precious. After the mass murder of the Kurta clan, their eyes were harvested and sold on the black market for a good price. It appears that maybe someone in the clan wronged the Phantom Troupe in some way, it would explain the ominous message they left at the carnage. Regardless, Kurapika's entire community was brutally murdered, and couldn't even rest peacefully in death. Gone was Kurapika's previous optimistic and jolly attitude, he became a changed boy who sought out justice for his people.