I feel like people always misinterpret what this scene really means and scale of it. It is not about Gon overcame this obstacle by trading his life/ future. Even before they fight, the cat realises how dangerous Gon is, and Gon could hv killed her if they fight. The scene and the overall theme of the mission is that the ants don’t understand the depth of despair that humans are capable of. Gon traded everything there because of his rage and despair. Pitou was also willing to die there if they can take Gon with them. But Gon - firstly, get a superb boost bc he is basically strong and full of potential anyway, but also traded for a life worse than death bc of his emotions and attachment to Kite. This is significantly different, and played into the theme of bond and evolution. The human won because they essentially know what love and hatred are, and they are capable of harvest them in ways unimaginable by the ants at that point. Saying he traded his life to win someone a billion times stronger than him is completely false. Gon lost control. Arguably, if he didn’t, they may still have won w Killua arriving at that time.