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Chapter 624
🕑 Added 2025-06-21 15:01:03 +0000 UTCChapter 624
This was within Ron’s expectations. Aura is life energy—divided into physical energy and mental energy. Physically, Kurapika was only average among his peers, but in terms of mental energy, he had a great deal. That intense hatred he carried was, in fact, a form of mental energy.
Zeno had spoken to Ron about this before, and over the years, Ron had seen it for himself. Faith, love, reverence—these positive emotions, and hatred, resentment—these negative ones—all could give rise to powerful mental energy. Kurapika’s mental energy, fueled by his hatred, far exceeded his physical energy. Before learning Nen, Kurapika couldn’t use this energy. But after learning Nen, it became usable—like stockpiling power in one place, and then drawing it all at once after unlocking the technique.
Kurapika’s current aura wasn’t the result of half a year of training, but the accumulation of more than a decade. Killua and Gon had higher physical energy than Kurapika, but their mental energy was lower. As a result, their overall aura output didn’t match Kurapika’s.
Aura itself is divided into potential aura and manifest aura. Simply put, potential aura is the total amount a person possesses, while manifest aura is how much they can actually bring out and use. Both can be improved over time. Suppose Kurapika’s potential aura is 100—his manifest aura under normal conditions might be 60. But when his scarlet eyes are activated, that manifest aura jumps to 90.
To Gon and Leorio, it might seem like Kurapika suddenly became stronger, as if he were overexerting himself. But this wasn’t overexertion—it was just forcibly increasing how much of his aura he could access. His potential didn’t change, but his presence and strength certainly did.
Generally, when evaluating a Nen user's strength, it’s the manifest aura that counts. Potential aura is considered a gauge of talent. Before activating his scarlet eyes, Kurapika was a high-tier C-rank Nen user at best. Witch was very good for someone who just started learning Nen.
This status was the result of sixteen years of accumulation, half a year of Nen training, and the weight of blood vengeance combined. That alone showed Kurapika’s innate talent was considerable—even among the Kurta Clan.
Once he activated the scarlet eyes, his stats climbed to B-rank. However, he couldn’t sustain that state for long. He had learned all the major Nen techniques, but the time was too short—his execution was still rough. Ron had taken many years to master those techniques, starting at a much younger age. His foundation was far more solid. Ron also had no urgent need for revenge, so he could afford to take his time and train thoroughly.
Watching Kurapika fight Natsu, Ron could clearly see how inefficient his movements were. Because of that roughness, his energy conversion wasn’t effective—his aura drained faster. Even though Kurapika’s aura capacity was exceptional for his level, his actual combat endurance wouldn’t be long.
That was different from Ron. With his aura capacity, Ron’s greatest advantage was endurance in addition to his exceptional aura control and management.
No wonder in the original story Kurapika was able to defeat Uvogin. Hatred had massively boosted his mental energy. Then add the constraints and vows placed on the Chain Jail, and the enhancements from the scarlet eyes.
But if Uvogin had known about all of Kurapika’s abilities ahead of time and managed to avoid the Chain Jail, he might not have lost. Ron recalled that even after Kurapika activated his scarlet eyes, Uvogin was still overpowering him.
In the original plot, Uvogin’s punches had broken Kurapika’s bones easily. Kurapika only managed to stay in the fight because of his healing abilities. In terms of intelligence advantage, Kurapika had a clear upper hand. Also, Uvogin had been a bit overconfident.
Ron remembered that Kurapika had tried to use Chain Jail on Uvogin several times, but Uvogin dodged them easily. Landing the chain wasn’t easy. When Kurapika finally succeeded, it was because he had hidden the chain with In, catching Uvogin off guard. Uvogin hadn’t used En or Gyo at that moment.
For high-level Nen users, using Gyo during battle is basic. Given Uvogin’s power and experience, he should have known that. But he didn’t use it against Kurapika. That wasn’t just overconfidence—it was a clear lapse in judgement.
Gyo and In counter each other. Gyo reveals hidden aura, but high-level In can escape detection even from Gyo—depending on the technique’s strength. If we think in numbers: Level 3 Gyo can see through Level 3 In, but not Level 4 In. Nen techniques can't be reduced to mere numbers, but differences in skill level are real.
En works the same way. High-level In can avoid detection by En, but if the En user’s skill surpasses the In user’s, they’ll still be spotted.
In his mind, Ron constructed a comparative chart between Uvogin and Kurapika:
* Manifest Aura: about equal (not a decisive factor)
* Speed: about equal (not a decisive factor)
* Strength: Uvogin > Kurapika
* Defense: Uvogin > Kurapika
* Healing: Kurapika > Uvogin
* Intelligence: Kurapika > Uvogin
* Experience: Uvogin > Kurapika
* Technique: Uvogin > Kurapika
* Mentality: Kurapika > Uvogin
