Why are the royal guards so powerful?


In the latest episode 85, Pitou easily killed Kite even though Killua said
Kite is as strong or stronger than a Nen Master. I thought chimera ants had
nen similar to that of humans. How come they are so strong?




Before the royal guard was born, the chimera ants became aware of humans with
'excessive life force' (a.k.a. _nen_ ) and the queen ordered them to hunt down
any _nen_ users that were in the area for her consumption. We know that there
were hunters in the country at the time, like Ponzu and Pokkle's group etc. We
can assume that the queen consumed these hunters and the royal guard inherited
the _nen_ abilities.

The rest of the chimera ants are receiving (as of episode 85) their _nen_
abilities the regular way - through the "baptism" which awakens _nen_ in a
person. This is how most humans acquire _nen_ abilities, as was probably the
case with Kite.

The overwhelming strength of the royal guard can be attributed to:

  * They are born able to use _nen_ , unlike human most _nen_ users who are "baptised". This gives them an advantage because their understanding and ability to use _nen_ is innate, not learned through years of training and study. 

  * Chimera ants are insects by nature and are usually brutal, savage, and cruel. This leads to more menacing battle auras, which can hinder the fighting ability of a human opponent if the aura is intimidating enough. For example, Pitou's aura was menacing enough to scare away Gon and Killua. 

  * Chimera ants also have the properties of any animals or humans that were eaten. This means that any member of the royal guard is going to have incredibly fast animal-like reflexes, the intelligence of the best humans, and the strongest muscles between animals/humans.

The combination of these means that the royal guard is going to be
significantly stronger than most average hunters.

Kite was also at a disadvantage because he lost his arm protecting Gon and
Killua before he fought Pitou.

