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[Respect] Killua Zoldyck

anime/manga

EDIT: Updated it fully. Included parts I didn't have here from my CotW

Background

Killua is the middle child in the known assassin family, the Zoldycks. Training from birth, Killua has already mastered many killing techniques, and was set to be one of the best assassins the family has ever trained. Bored and tired of killing, Killua unexpectedly rebelled against his family, injuring both his mother and second brother, and ran away from home to take the Hunter Exam for fun. He meets Gon during the first portion of the Hunter Exam and they become the best of friends.

Nen

Before getting into his powers/abilities, I'm sure a lot of you don't know what Nen is if you're not familiar with the Hunter x Hunter universe.

To give a brief explanation:

  • Nen is basically an aura that allows a living being to use and manipulate their own life energy.

  • There are four major principles when learning Nen. In order to fully grasp Nen, one must first learn the Four Major Principles of the Shingen-Ryu school of Kung-fu. Everything else, including a practitioner of Nen's individual skills, is based on the basic manipulations of one's aura flow. The four major principles are: Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu.

TenOnce a person has had their aura nodes opened, they must learn to keep their aura from leaking away from their body. Ten is the process of keeping the nodes open, but also having aura flow through and around the body rather than away from it. Once maintained, it creates a shroud around the user that feels similar to standing in lukewarm, viscous fluid. Having a shroud of aura surround the body is the most basic defense against the emotional attacks from other users of Nen, however, it can't defend against Nen physical attacks. Ten maintains youthful vigor and reduces one's aging; since the energy powering the body no longer leaks away, one can keep the body from breaking down and deter the aging process. Through frequent meditation, one can improve the quality of their Ten.
ZetsuWhile Ten allows a user to keep aura from leaking away from their body, Zetsu stops the flow of aura from their body altogether. By closing all of their aura nodes, the user is able to stop almost all outflow of their aura like water from a valve. Since the user is no longer surrounded by their own aura, they are more sensitive to the aura of others. This can be useful when tracking another person and it will also prevent other users of Nen from noticing them. Zetsu can also be used to relieve fatigue, since it forces the body's external layer of aura to be fully contained within. However, since Zetsu involves shutting off one's aura, it can be dangerous due to it leaving the body defenseless against any aura attack. Even a weak attack enhanced with Nen could do massive damage.
RenRen is a direct application of Ten. Since a user is capable of keeping aura from leaking away from the body, it's also possible for them to produce more aura around themselves without having to worry about losing it. Ren focuses on outputting a high amount of aura and keeping it on the body, expanding the size and intensity of it. If Ten is considered to be purely defensive, then Ren typically what is used for offense. This increases the user's physical strength and durability and provides a large pool of aura for any advanced techniques or individual skills they decide to use.
HatsuHatsu is the release or transmission of one's aura so it can be projected to carry out a certain function. In essence, Hatsu is one's personal expression of Nen that creates a special and unique paranormal ability (colloquially called a Nen Ability). A good Hatsu should reflect a person's own character; one can never truly master Nen if they only copy other people's abilities.
  • There are also advanced techniques which when after learning the basics, any skilled user of Nen will learn to utilize these advanced techniques. Most of them are achieved by using a combination of the basics. Most Nen users learn Ten, Zetsu, and Ren first before attempting these techniques. The Hatsu, being a Nen-user's individual skill, is often something that a Nen-user will develop gradually over a long period of time.

So far, there are 7 advanced techniques called Gyo, In, En, Shu, Ken, Ko, Ryu

GyoGyo is an advanced application of Ren by which a Nen-user concentrates a larger than normal portion of their aura into one specific body part. Gyo increases the strength of that one body part, but leaves the rest of the body more vulnerable. Gyo is most often used in the eyes, allowing a Nen-user to see aura and things which would otherwise be hidden (e.g. Nen objects hidden by In).
InIn is an advanced form of Zetsu used to almost completely conceal the presence of a Nen-user's aura. In can be used on a Nen-user's Hatsu ability to make it invisible to other Nen-users. In can be countered by using Gyo in the eyes or through En.
EnEn is an advanced application of Ren and Ten. In Ren, aura usually envelops only a small amount of space around the user's body. En is when one extends their Ren so that their aura extends further than normal, then uses Ten at the same time to give shape to the aura, usually a sphere. Someone using En can feel the shape and movement of anything entering their circle. The downside to this is that it is extremely tiring and draining for the Nen-user to constantly deploy so much aura. Those who master En are typically able to extend their En to a circle of a 50m radius, but with training and dedication, the user may extend their En further.
ShuShu is an advanced application of Ten. Shu allows a user of Nen to extend their aura's envelopment onto an object, allowing them to use that object as if it were an extension of their own body. For example, one could use Shu to extend their Ten around an object, which would strengthen and protect the object like the way Ren strengthens and protects their body.
KenKen is the advanced version of the basic Ren technique. Ken is a defensive technique where a Nen-user maintains a state of Gyo over their entire body, allowing them to defend against attacks from any direction without the need to use Ryu. Ken is useful as a defensive position, but is tiring to maintain. Additionally, it is not as strong as Gyo on any given part of the body, since it protects the whole body evenly. Because of that, it is used to guard when one wants to be cautious.
KoKo is an enhanced version of Gyo in which all of an individual's aura is concentrated into one particular body part. Zetsu is used to completely stop the flow of Nen in all other parts of the body. This makes that one body part exceptionally powerful, but leaves the rest of the body completely unprotected. This is used by some Nen-users as an offensive technique (a Ko-punch would carry all 100% of your aura with it), but it is a risky move — leaving the rest of one's body unprotected in a fight against another Nen-user is generally not a good idea. Ko results in one's aura creating a high-pitched dissonance, somewhat akin to the sound of metal being ground.
RyuRyu is the term for real-time use of Gyo (the adjustment of aura concentration in various body parts) by a Nen-user in battle. For example, the use of Gyo to increase the amount of Nen in a fist as one strikes with it, to increase damage done; or to increase the amount of Nen in an arm as it is used to block a blow, for extra defense.
  • Finally there's six types of aura: every individual is born having one of these six different aura types. Upon learning one's own aura type, a student of Nen can set about learning to apply the technique in a unique way that suits their personality, which can develop into a unique skill. It is best to base a Nen ability on one's individual aura type. Though it is possible for one to develop abilities outside of his primary aura type, one is typically less proficient at using those abilities. By creating an ability that one isn't suited for, one risks stagnating their potential by overloading their capacity for using Nen. The six types of aura are: Enhancers, Transmuters, Conjurers, Emitters, Manipulators, and Specialists. I won't get into all the six types because Killua is only a Transmuter.
TransmuterTransmuters are whimsical and prone to deceit. Transmutation users have unique attitudes, and many are regarded as weirdos or tricksters. Often they put forth a facade while hiding the truer aspects of their personalities. Even when they don't hide their personalities they rarely reveal their true intentions. Many transmuters rely on techniques that give unique and unpredictable properties to their nen that reflects their personalities.

As a Transmuter, Killua's most efficient in changing the form of his Nen. Killua's talent is saying to be absolutely astounding, found only in one out of ten million people. Killua is generally regarded as the one with the best control. In spite of his lack of experience, he can measure with accuracy how much aura he should deploy and in which areas in a split second, relying solely on the instinctive knowledge granted by his fearsome potential.

Killua developed a Hatsu in which he transmutes his aura into electricity. This feat was inspired and made possible by the years of electric shocks he received as a child, both as training against torture and as punishment from his older brother Milluki. In order to use the ability, Killua needs to charge himself by absorbing electricity through a socket beforehand.

That's basically all you need to know about Nen. Killua has learnt all the basic/advanced techniques aswell as his transmuter aura type.

Chimera Ants (Dangerous Creatures)

Also, I'd like to tell you a bit about Chimera Ants because a few feats from Killua comes from facing these creatures. Chimera Ants are extremely dangerous animals that come from the "outside" world and are ranked first among insects that should be quarantined. By eating other creatures, a Chimera Ant queen can impart the characteristics of ingested creatures onto the next generation of Chimera Ants it gives birth to. To take advantage of the genes of a particular species, Chimera Ants have been known to feed until the fodder species is driven to extinction in its ecosystem.

Killua Zoldyck

Allies : Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, Biscuit, Kite, Knov, Knuckle, Morel, Shoot, Wing Netero, Hisoka (Sometimes), Zeno, Silva, Alluka, Gotoh, Meleoron, and Ikalgo

Enemies (He has way too many Enemies to list them all): The Phantom Troupe, Chimera Ants, Hisoka (Currently), and Illumi

Assassination Art Techniques

Killua was already a deadly opponent to face before he learnt Nen

  • Claws: In the first part of the series, Killua does not employ or use any weapons in combat. Instead, he relies on several assassination arts passed down to him through his family which includes adjusting his fingernails into claws. These claws are sharper than knives and can tear a limb easily.

Killua decapitating two guys using his Claws

  • Shadow Step: Running/Walking without making a sound (even in rain).

Melody, who's in the Shadow Step scan is a person with enhanced hearing. After listening to the Sonata of Darkness, she acquired extra-sensitive hearing and uses this ability in many useful ways. She is able to track targets or hear conversations from hundreds of meters away. Melody can even differentiate one's footsteps from another, enabling her to determine the number of people in a crowd whilst picking out the sound of her target's footsteps, for example, in a city. She can hear the other's heartbeats and tell their emotional states as a result or fluctuations to tell whether they are lying or not. Her hearing also enables her to ascertain the skills of others from the sounds they make.

  • Rhythm Echo: The Rhythm Echo is a motion that creates an afterimage of the body through a varying cadence of steps. There is a total absence of noise during the movement, and multiple phantoms appear. It utilizes the Shadow Step technique; In the Nippon Animation adaptation of the anime, the Rhythm Echo is changed into an ability that allows Killua to disappear into the darkness.

Killua using it to distract Netero, and Netero gives good detail on the Technique (Video)

Used it to distract his opponent (Video)

Using it again as an distraction (Video)

  • Snake awakens: Killua moves his arms with incredible speed, and cuts everything which comes in contact with.

Used it to obliterate his opponents arms (Video)

Powers/Abilities (That require Nen)

  • Killua transmuted his aura into electricity by using a taser.

  • Lightning Palm - The first and most basic ability Killua developed. As the name suggests, Killua is able to shock an opponent by touching them with his palms.

  • Thunder Bolt - A natural evolution of his Lightning Palm ability, Killua is also able to project large bolt of lightning from his hands, striking an opponent with electricity from a distance after jumping into the air.

Thunder Bolt was powerful enough to stun one of the most strongest characters in the series/manga

Thunder Bolt was able to crack hardened skin on a Rhino in 5 attacks

  • GodSpeed With his hair, hands and feet changed into electric type aura, Killua's Kanmuru ability allows him to react and move his body at speeds that would normally be impossible (even in Hunter × Hunter universe). This ability changes Killua's aura into a field capable of transmitting all electrical impulses from his brain in a straight line directly to the part of the body he wants to use, completely bypassing his nervous system. It is made up of two parts: Speed of Lightning, the ability to move his body according to his own will, used to travel long distances at high speed, and Whirlwind, the ability to sense his opponents movements and have his body react automatically, which he uses to evade enemy attacks with flawless speed and timing. Kanmuru can only be used for a short amount of time before needing to be recharged.

This video shows a good example of how Killua uses GodSpeed. Note that his opponent is way out of his league. Killua only decided to fight him just because he wanted to let out some anger.

Important Side Note: To even be able to see these attacks or the aura around Killua, you'd have to have learned Nen yourself and use Gyo to see the abilities and attacks. Anyone who does not have Nen, will not see any of these attacks.

Weapons

Killua's weapons of choice are two Yo-Yo's

Yo-Yo's: During the 5th arc, Killua begins using yo-yos made of a special metal alloy in combat. The yo-yos are extremely durable and heavy, each weighing 50 kilograms. They can be used in conjunction with Killua's Hatsu as well. Killua is reluctant to use the yo-yos in combat, thus using only his raw physical abilities in order for his opponent to know as little about his combat abilities as possible.

Strengths

Without the use of Nen

With the use of Nen

Speed/Reflexes/Reactions

Even without resorting to Nen, Killua is tremendously fast. He can move so fast that his opponents may lose sight of him, and kill a target without them realizing until the fatal blow has been dealt. His speed was on par with Gon's when he was introduced, but following the removal of Illumi's needle, Killua became able to control his movements more efficiently, thus growing dramatically faster. His reactions are also first-class: Killua can react to the slightest amount of danger instantly, allegedly even gunshots fired at near point-blank range.

Without the use of Nen

With the use of Nen

There are many Speed/Reflexes feats for Killua but at this point, I'd be repeating myself too much.

Durability/Endurance

Without the use of Nen

Resistance to Poison: As member of the Zoldyck family, Killua was trained and became resistant to almost all kinds of poisons.

Electric Resistance: As a child, Killua was trained to endure large amounts of electricity.

High pain resistance: Due to being tortured since he was basically born, Killua has been shown to be impervious to pain. Even when his body is covered with bruises and injuries, they still don't affect him much. Though he doesn't react-- to pain, he said he still feels it.

With the use of Nen

During a Dodgeball match. Gon used his Jajanken: Rock, to send the ball flying at his opponents, but he needed someone to hold the ball. Killua took this roll. He coats his hands with the slightest amount of Nen so he doesn't decrease the speed/power of the ball. Tse explains this here. Not only does he tank these hits. He acts as if he didn't feel any pain.

  • He did this 3 times

1

2

3

Skill

Killua's wiki describes how he's a master in hand to hand combat. Despite his age, Killua is one of the best melee fighters in the Hunter × Hunter series. He is capable of fighting on even ground with foes that are physically stronger than him or have better control over their aura. His fighting style, extremely versatile, aims at dealing the maximum amount of damage in the shortest time possible, striking critical points and making ample use of lightning-fast submission holds to incapacitate or kill the opponent swiftly. Killua is particularly skilled at finding patterns in the fighting style of his adversary and at figuring out their weak spots, and at using them to exploit or create an opening with which end the confrontation. It is very rare for him to resort to combos, both because his training has led him to favor sneak attacks and careful planning and because one strike from him very often results in the death of his target. When employing his assassination techniques, Killua switches to what is called “Assassin Mode”, which is nothing more than a state of mind that helps him channel his strength and concentration for the sole purpose of slaying the opponent. Due to the Zoldyck philosophy of never putting their lives at risk while fighting, he was also taught a wide array of defensive and escape tactics, a trait that was exacerbated while Illumi was conditioning him. Following the removal of his brother’s needle he began to take more risks when fighting, which, far from weakening him, had the effect of making his overall movements more secure and, thus, faster and more precise. He also received basic training in Shingen-Ryu Kung-fu.

Without the use of Nen

With the use Nen

Intelligence/Senses - Big thanks to u/jikirga for helping me out with this section.

In the majority of Killua's battles, he doesn't win by simply overpowering his opponents or by just being stronger than them. He wins by outsmarting them. Killua's wiki gives a good explanation of his Intelligence. I will post examples below. Killua is capable of devising complex tactics, run accurate simulations and evaluate the success rate of each of them, even in the middle of a fight. Biscuit, Morel, Knuckle, all accepted his strategies as the best. He can not only predict the general going of an operation, but also the actions of the single individuals, even if he has never met them.Killua's intelligence surpasses that of a normal boy his age by far. He is knowledgeable about a wide variety of topics, endowed with prodigious intuition and analytical skills. His abilities in deductive reasoning are second to those of few other characters, all of which are regarded as among the smartest in the Hunter × Hunter world. He can bear severe mental strain and still think clearly. It was often shown that even Hunters with much more experience than him rely on his predictions before making a move, and he can come up with hypotheses and conclusions that are well beyond ordinary thinking. To match all of this already impressive intellectual capacities, Killua is also an extremely quick thinker, who is capable of instantly adapting to completely unpredicted, seemingly absurd scenarios.

  • I will give a good example on how Killua beats opponents who are tougher than him, but not by simply overpowering them or being stronger than them. He beats them by outsmarting them. I might as well explain the context of what's happening before I show the scans. An opponent is in a ring of fire and whoever makes him leave the area wins and gets to see the Boss. A guy stepped forward and powered himself up. Killua already told himself that the guy was going to lose. In which, he did. Killua also told himself he could beat this guy without even using Nen. Killua proceeds to do as he mentioned and succeeded.

7 Scans for reference

  • Killua was able to determine that the Ortho Siblings were playing the 01-501 version of darts based off his past experience having played darts when he was either 6 or 7 years old. Knowing that they were playing that specific game, he knew exactly where the last dart was going to be thrown at and prepared a plan to catch it and replaced the fish dart's sharp end with a Ikalgo's suction cup to trick the siblings into thinking they killed him.

Here's 5 scans for reference

  • Killua knew he was being followed by Hanzo, who trained to be a Ninja when he was born. He also decided to trick him by making him chase the wrong number plate during the Hunter Exam by sneakily swapping the two number plates that he threw in different directions

Here's 5 scans for reference

  • Illumi (brother of Killua), who's a master in manipulation, planted a needle into Killua's head when he was born. This needle was responsible for forcing Killua to retreat and jailing himself in his comfort zone whenever any situation would potentially endanger his life. During a fight against a strong opponent, Killua was getting hammered down. He figured out that Illumi implanted a needle in his head mid-fight and ripped it out.

Here's 8 scans for reference.

Anime version

Misc

Anime version if scan isn't clear

Killua and Alluka Combo

Alluka

In the latest arc of the anime. We all find out Killua has a little brother (Alluka is a boy, but you will see Killua address him as a girl (for some weird reason. Go ask Togashi), and you will see me referring to him as a girl because he looks like one.) named Alluka. Unlike the other children of the Zoldyck family who were trained from a very young age, it is stated by Illumi that Alluka has no combat abilities at all and he is just like a normal kid when it comes to fighting. Manga reference.

The Reason why I'm adding her here is because Killua uses her like a weapon against people and to heal Gon. He is the only person (yet) who has exceptions to Alluka's Wish Granting power. However, Killua doesn't enjoy abusing her power, but does when necessary. Examples will be provided below of him using her powers.

Her 1 Ability (We've seen so far)

Wish Granting

  • Alluka will grant one wish after a person fulfills three of his requests. After the requests have been completed, Alluka's eyes and mouth darken to black and he transforms into an unknown entity. In this state, Alluka is now named Nanika. The wish doesn't have to come from the person who fulfilled the request, but just as long the person is in Alluka's presence during the requests. According to Killua, the degree of wish that Alluka can grant is probably infinite, going from briefly levitating a person into the air, to affecting probability to make a certain effect occur. However, the greater the wish made to Alluka is, the greater her next three requests will become. The one that must bear the cost of the next three requests is not the one Alluka granted the wish to; it is the next person who must do it. And if that next person declines to fulfill Alluka's requests four times, depending on the difficulty level of the previous wish, at least two people, he and his most loved one, will die. The other people who die, along with the recipient of the requests and the recipient's most loved, are in order of who the recipient spent the most time with regardless of whether or not the recipient loved that person.

There are five rules about Alluka's power known by the Zoldyck family, but Killua is aware of some others by himself. I will list first the rules only the Zoldyck family knows and then list the rules Killua only knows.

  1. If someone fails to Alluka's requests and gets killed, the difficulty level of Alluka's requests returns to level 1. That is the best time to make a wish.

  2. If Alluka is making requests from a particular person, they cannot be moved over to another person mid-way. Therefore if that particular person disappears such as concealing themselves, Alluka is unable to make requests to anybody else.

  3. If the person fulfilling requests dies mid-way, it will count as a failure and at least one more person will die.

  4. Alluka cannot make requests of someone without knowing the person's name.

  5. The same person cannot ask Alluka for consecutive wishes, although Killua seems to know of a way to bypass this condition.

Rules Killua only knows

  1. While Alluka can grant only 1 wish at a time, one can give Alluka several conditions to a wish, therefore greatly expanding the capacities of what one can ask of Alluka before granting another 3 requests.

  2. If a wish is made for healing, Alluka must make physical contact with the target; there isn't any sort of cruel backlash as well. This may simply be a rule Killua made up due to his special privilege.

  3. Killua, due to his relationship with Alluka and Nanika, is given special privileges. When he "commands" Alluka, his request will bypass any existing backlash and will be granted without any repercussions. If somebody else wishes other than Killua, they will suffer the same repercussions of the previous wish that was supposed to be given. This privilege has been deduced by Illumi, adding to his craving to control Killua in order to control Alluka's abilities.

Here are some instances where Killua utilizes Alluka's powers.

Here are some fight scenes (From what I could find on Youtube)

Posted Feb 18, 2015, 12:27 AM UTC · edited

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