Top 10 Strongest Nen Users in Hunter x Hunter – Hey guys!. In this post, I’ll be discussing a list of Top 10 Strongest Nen Users in Hunter x Hunter. Aside from the multi-layered, action-packed and emotionally captivating adventure story it has established, another element that has engraved the Hunter X Hunter series into our hearts is its renowned power system, Nen.
Nen is undisputedly one of the best. This is largely due to its introduction as the creative, versatile, and structurally complex power system in this story. Well, let’s go to the list.
10. Hisoka Morow
Being a trickster both in appearance and character, Hisoka Morow bears the number 4 among the Phantom Troupe and is ranked third in terms of physical strength, among the group members as well. Starting off this list with Hisoka is pretty ironic, given the fact that the very first clear showcase of Nen in the series came from him.
This was during the Heavens Arena Arc, where he used an outburst of sinister aura via his Ren to intimidate Gon and Killua and prevent them from entering the 200th floor. Hisoka is a Transmuter with a primary Nen ability called Bungee Gum. This ability allows him to make his aura elastic and sticky, resembling actual chewing gum both visually and capability-wise.
As mundane and nonlethal as this ability sounds, Hisoka is able to masterfully manipulate its versatility to offer a plethora of offensive and defensive moves. He’s able to perform impressive feats such as utilizing the durability of his aura to tank powerful attacks, including a ball launched with the full force of Gon’s Rock and Gotoh’s propelled coins, even returning these projectiles back at them.
He also manipulates the adhesive properties of Bungee Gum to set traps, run on walls, and even cover up his own wounds. Finally, adding to the stack of abilities in Hisoka’s arsenal is Texture Surprise, an ability that allows him to change the appearance, and/or texture of smooth surfaces such as paper.
9. Zeno Zoldyck
Zeno Zoldyck is one of those badass old characters you often see in action anime. Though he only appears in a few episodes, Zeno makes his presence felt in every scene he’s in through stern displays of wisdom, experience, skill, and, of course, power in combat scenarios. That being said, he’s not just a master of martial arts and assassination techniques, but also one of the most skilled Nen users.
Similarly to Hisoka, he’s also a Transmuter, one who happens to be proficient in Emission techniques as well. His primary ability, however, is Dragon Head – the ability to transmute his aura into a sizable dragon-like form, which he can further manipulate as he sees fit during battle. He can use this dragon for high speed travel, as he did in the Chimera Ant arc, and fire it as an emission attack as well.
With Dragon Head activated, he can perform specific techniques such as Dragon Lance- the ability to control the dragon in an offensive fashion without firing it through the precise motion of his hands. A more destructive ability in Zeno’s arsenal is Dragon Dive.
This is basically when Dragon Head is shattered into smaller dragon-type emission attacks, which rain down from the sky like a meteor shower, destroying everything they hit over a wide area.
8. Chrollo Lucilfer
Chrollo is one of those stylish antagonists you can’t help but admire every time he makes an appearance. This is primarily due to his memorable deeds– both on and off the battlefield. Ranked 7th in terms of physical strength among the Phantom Troupe, Chrollo relies mostly on intellect, speed, precision, and adaptability during battle.
He’s able to display these techniques in his manipulation of Nen and application of his insane Specialist ability, named Skill Hunter. Through that ability, provided certain conditions are met, he can steal the techniques of other Nen Users, rendering them unable to access those abilities anymore.
He can use these stolen abilities as he wishes in combat by using a conjured book called Bandit’s Secret, and flipping to the page of the acquired ability in his vast collection. Using the bookmark from Bandit’s Secret, he can even wield his desired abilities when it’s closed and use two at once if he wishes to.
During the handful of fights he’s been involved in, he has displayed numerous impressive stolen abilities, including Indoor Fish, Fun Fun Cloth, Sun and Moon, Order Stamp, the precognition ability- Lovely Ghost Writer and even Teleportation. Given the vast range of abilities he has already displayed, and others in his arsenal, Chrollo is certainly one of the most unpredictable and dangerous Nen users around.
7. Menthuthuyoupi
We now dive into the Chimera Ant Royal Guards, one of the most menacing forces in the series thus far–starting off with the last born among them, Menthuthuyoupi. Simply called Youpi, it’s a pretty cute and ironic alias for such a muscular beast. He’s a truly terrifying being, whether in terms of raw physical strength or his nen capabilities.
He’s also an Enhancer, with his primary and most prominent ability being metamorphosis. He can easily and constantly alter the shape and form of his body in an uncanny manner during battle. This allows crazy developments such as quadruple arms, numerous eyes, enlarged limbs, wings, and even sharp tentacles to sprout from his body.
Menthuthuyoupi’s malleable body also swells up when he feels stressed to store and release his pent up rage in a powerful explosion, resulting in a feeling of extreme pleasure followed by despair. Aside from this rage blast ability, Youpi can also channel his pent up fury to transform into a terrifying centaur-like creature known as Rage Incarnate.
Now wielding a scythe, Youpi gains access to even more deadly attack capabilities. Youpi is indeed an immensely powerful being, but he is only capable of using brute force during battle and with very little logic. This is something that certainly can’t be said about the next character on the list, however.
6. Shaiapouf
Shaiapouf is the second born Chimera Ant Royal Guard, who proved to be an even greater force to be reckoned with. This is not only due to his vast range of abilities but also to his application of intellect and logical reasoning during battle. The being nicknamed Pouf is indeed a genius, one with the ability to fly at high speed. But what about his Nen?
His base aura output alone was enough to make Knov, a professional hunter, have a mental breakdown upon getting a glimpse of it. And that’s just the tip of the Iceberg. Pouf is a manipulator capable of controlling his own body on a molecular level and can apply certain effects to other beings as well. By enclosing other Chimera ants in a Cocoon of his making, he can grant them nen-based abilities.
He can create up to 5000 cocoons at a time, and this ability can also be applied to humans to create human-chimera ant hybrids. Another prominent ability wielded by him is Spiritual Message. He can spread scales from his wings that have the function of informing him of the psychological state and personality of his opponent, enabling him to form countermeasures.
This move also has the adverse effect of hypnosis on humans who breathe it in. He can also use Beelzebub which enables him to split his body into multiple smaller segments, which he can control telepathically to perform several functions.
5. Neferpitou
This cat-humanoid ant is mostly known for the mayhem that followed their incredible feat of easily decapitating and killing the professional hunter, Kite just shortly after discovering Nen. Referred to by Illumi as Meruem’s top soldier, Neferpitou is undoubtedly the most powerful Royal Guard. This is evident in how they tanked a tail strike from Meruem himself, unlike Youpi and Pouf.
Pitou is a specialist-type user with three extraordinary abilities. Pitou’s first one is Doctor Blythe, a giant doll they conjure up, that bears the ability to treat injuries at impossible rates, even extremely fatal impalements. Doctor Blythe also grants them a form of necromancy, as it can reconstruct battered corpses of humans or their fellow Chimera ants, enabling them to manipulate them.
The second ability involves puppeteering. Pitou can summon a large clown-like puppet master above a target that attaches its string and gains total control over them. This is in fact a manipulation ability, and what makes it extra special is the fact that it can force people to use nen abilities, whether they’re nen users or not. The final ability is Terpsichora.
This involves the conjuring of a monstrous ballerina bearing puppet strings, which it attaches to the fingertips of Pitou in a marionette-like manner. This is a combat-based ability that can act as a last resort for Pitou, also triggering during dire moments. It enables them to surpass their limits, especially based on their physical attributes –such as their speed and strength.
4. Gon Freecss (Adult Form)
After facing the death of his close friend Kite at the hands of the top chimera ant royal guard, Neferpitou, his character gets warped into something darker. Kite’s death got Gon overwhelmed with guilt and rage, now driven towards the singular goal of finding Pitou and getting him to fix Kite by force.
When Gon finally got this chance, Pitou revealed to him that it was impossible to fix Kite, and this finally blew the fuse of the young hunter’s rage. In a sequence that can only be described as one of the darkest transformations ever, he makes a vow with his Nen, demanding all the powers he’ll ever have to be released in order to kill Pitou, regardless of the consequences it’ll have on his body.
This transformed him into an adult state, with his powers amplified to exponential levels. Even without that boost, Gon is a super strong enhancer, bearing a ability called Jajanken. He focuses Nen into his fists with Ko and then uses one of his three signature attacks: Rock- an aura boosted powerful punch; Paper- an emitted fireball; and Scissors- a blade formed from his fingers through transmuted aura.
In his adult state, every aspect of his aptitude towards nen drastically improves, and he becomes a far more powerful and dangerous being. This is evident in how he completely overpowered and obliterated Neferpitou and the surrounding area. This was a brutal and overwhelming display of the full potential of our beloved protagonist, and one that certainly earns him this spot on the list.
3. Isaac Netero
There should be no denying the fact that, in terms of feats shown in the series, Netero is not only the most powerful hunter, but also the most powerful human character. When he was young, he was hailed as the most powerful Nen user in the world. Even in his old age, where he claims to have only half the power of his prime self, he’s still an overwhelming threat that surpasses every other human combatant.
Being an Enhancer with a Nen volume large enough to frighten even the likes of the Chimera Ant King, he exhibits a level of power and skill that surpasses the perceived limits of humanity. His main ability is the 100 Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, a large multi-armed nen construct that he controls with the precise movement of his hands.
This hand motion is carried out at an extremely high speed of up to 0.1 seconds for each attack setup, and the force of even a single strike from this Buddhist construct is enough to send even the likes of Pitou flying miles away. Among the limitless number of incredible nen attacks in Netero’s arsenal, is First Hand; which prompts the 100 Type Guanyin Bodhisattva to strike with a massive chop.
There’s also Third Hand- a strike in the form of a clap; 99th Hand- a barrage of palm strikes, powerful enough to break deep into the ground; and his most powerful attack, Zero Hand- a powerful blast of Netero’s remaining aura. Netero was truly an incredible figure of power in the series, and his display of skill and passion makes him completely deserving of the praise he received worldwide.
2. Meruem
Meruem is the main antagonist of the Chimera Ant arc and the King of the Chimera Ants who, within just 20 days of his birth, displayed a level of power that’s beyond any human or Chimera Ant. Meruem has a level of physical prowess that is unmatched by any other character in the series. He also has incredible intellect both on and off the battlefield.
When it comes to his Nen usage, he’s an entirely different beast. With a level of aura output that by far surpasses that of his royal guards, it goes without saying that no one less than the best of the best can even be a match for him in battle. He was born a Nen User, a Specialist to be exact, and although he relied mostly on his physical prowess in battles, his Nen ability is not to be underestimated.
The main power he had right from his birth was the ability to absorb the aura output of other Nen users and add to his own when he feeds on them. He can also gain the abilities of other Nen users through a similar assimilation. For example, he absorbed Pouf and Youpi when he was weakened by Netero’s Poor Man’s Rose blast and gained their physical traits as well as their abilities.
He could therefore use Youpi’s metamorphosis ability as well as his rage blast, and Pouf’s Spiritual Message, which he crafted his own version of. Despite his overwhelming power and will to dominate the human species, he displays a sense of nobility and humanity, partially owed to him retaining some of his memories of his past life.
1. Nanika
Nanika is undoubtedly the most powerful being in the Hunter X Hunter universe so far. It has such broken abilities that go beyond the grounded and methodical nature of typical Nen powers. The ability to completely possess another being like it did with Alluka is just the tip of an astoundingly deep iceberg.
The main ability that puts it above every other character in the series in terms of power is its unlimited ability to grant wishes. The being’s infinite ability to alter reality to create any desired effect was fully displayed when it effortlessly made someone a millionaire and also when it healed Gon completely from a seemingly hopeless condition.
This is due to the fact that its wish-granting is less of a giveaway and more of a transaction, where Alluka demands three requests from the recipient, which must be fulfilled before Nanika grants their wish. Alluka’s wishes are usually easy enough to fulfill, though they can get extremely difficult and painful, depending on how large the wish demanded by the previous person was.
Refusing to complete four of her wishes after one has been granted, results in a massacre where not only the current requester dies, but everyone they hold dear. While the refuser gets crushed, their friends, family, and every companion get wrung to death instantly, regardless of their location. This is a form of God-like judgment that accompanies the God-like ability.
That is it from today’s post on Top 10 Strongest Nen Users in Hunter x Hunter. If you do not agree with the points in the post and have some of your own opinions, share them with us in the comments section down below. Keep visiting Animesoulking for more information about Anime and Manga.
Also, Read:
Chandan is the writer of “Top 10 Strongest Nen Users in Hunter x Hunter”. Also, Connect with me on YouTube and Facebook.
