Makoto Shishio

Shishio Makoto is the main antagonist of the Kyoto arc and a former hitoki rid of Ishin Shishi known in the ranks as the successor to the Battōsai. But after his "comrades" in the government unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate him, Shishio Makoto spent the next decade slowly gaining power and developing an anti-government militia led by his own private group of elite warriors - the Juppongatana.

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Apparence

 

Shishio has red eyes. Prior to her attempted execution, Shishio had black eyebrows, slicked back black hair ending in a high ponytail, and a fair complexion. After being burned, Shishio's skin is brown and cracked, sometimes appearing red. He wears bandages around his entire body to ease the pain and hide his deformity. The remnants of his hair that used to stick out of his head bandaged in clumps. Over his bandages, he wears a robe, which varies from indigo to violet depending on the lighting. Before and after his immolation, Shishio tended to wear his kimono with the right side of his chest and his right arm exposed.

Personality

Shishio is extremely ruthless, sadistic and cold-blooded. He is a firm believer in the concept of social Darwinism, in which the weak exist for the benefit of the strong, and appears generally devoid of compassion or pity throughout the series.

However, he is not entirely heartless. Despite his sinister nature, he seems genuinely in love with Yumi Komagata, who has returned the favor. He also has a dark and twisted sense of humor, first telling Kenshin that he had enslaved an entire town so that he could bathe in the hot springs in privacy. He was also able to bond to some extent with Sōjirō and Hōji. Despite this, he still sees them as a means to an end. He showed no sadness when Sōjirō chose to leave him, seeing him only as a tool that weakened Kenshin. However, Shishio seems to be a man of honor as he kept his promise to Hōji that he would let him taste victory by his side when he reunited with him and Yumi in hell and planned to take him back.

Shishio displays an extraordinary level of intelligence and insight, leaving the impression of an evil brain. He is extremely cunning, being able to hide from the Meiji government despite their efforts to find him, and his plans almost succeed in bringing them down. He is also quite manipulative and is adept at exploiting a person's psychology to facilitate his own devices, as he does with Usui and Aoshi. He also learns from his mistakes; after nearly dying from being shot in the head, he starts wearing a hachigane (iron headband) to prevent this weakness from being exploited.

Relationships

• Sadojima Hoji - Right-wing man

Hōji was his loyal second in command who is disillusioned with the Meiji government. After committing suicide, following Shishio's disappearance, he joins Shishio and Yumi in hell, and the trio plans to take over Lord Enma (aka Yemma).

• Seta Sojirō - Apprentice

Shishio met Sojiro when he was an abused child. While he was still suffering from burns, Sojiro provided him with food and bandages. Shishio gave him a wakizashi in exchange for nursing him, which he used to kill his oppressive family. He was then trained by Shishio to be his best henchman in the Juppongatana .

• Komagata Yumi - Lover

A former courtesan, Yumi was drawn to Shishio's ideals and hatred for the Meiji government, soon falling in love after meeting him.

• Himura Kenshin - Adversary and rival

Only one year older than Kenshin, Shishio became Kenshin's successor and also a rival for him. In the sequel of the live action movie Rurouni Kenshin, Shishio refers to Kenshin as senpai.

Capabilities

Shishio is one of the deadliest warriors who ever lived. A master swordsman, his sword strokes are of great precision. He was able to cut one of his soldiers in half by quickly drawing and sheathing his blade without being seen to leave the sheath. As the successor to the Hitokiri Battōsai, his fighting prowess is at least on par with Himura Kenshin; he is shown to be capable of matching the latter in a great Battōjutsu fight.

Despite the severe burns to his body, Shishio's power remains as strong as ever, if not stronger. Shishio's raw power borders on the inhuman. Furthermore, like Kenshin, he excels at seeing through his opponent's nature and reading his attack patterns, and also at effectively countering an enemy's attack after seeing it once, if not completely neutralizing the threat. Combining these remarkable traits, Shishio was able to stop Ryushōsen from Kenshin using his fingers, dodge and counter Gatotsu Zeroshiki from Saitō at close range, see through Jisen-Kenbu from Shinomori Aoshi, and take Futae no Kiwami from Sagara Sanosuke. without injury. He even took a five punch combo, followed by a direct hit from Kuzuryūsen from Kenshin while still being able to stand and fight. However, each event occurred while the respective opponent was already injured or worn down from a recent fight, preventing them from fighting at full capacity. Most notable in his stamina and resilience was his ability to use Kenshin's most powerful technique, Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki , without it ultimately extinguishing him.

While preferring to take down his enemy quickly with his blade, Shishio has remarkable hand-to-hand combat prowess and brute strength when he took down Sanosuke, a man well known for his remarkable stamina and almost superhuman strength, with a single blow, and injured Saitō by stabbing the latter's shoulder with his fingers.

Shishio's sword, like Kenshin's Sakabatō , is an ultimate creation of master armorer Arai Shakkū , Mugenjin (無む限げ ん刃じん, "Blade of Infinity"). It can be seen as the brother and antithesis of the sakabatō: while the sakabatō is considered a sacred sword created to protect all life and symbolize the newfound peace of the Meiji era, the Mugenjin is an ultimate tool for killing. It is designed to kill continuously, and with the utmost severity in its slashing power, thanks to its self-sharpening serrated edge chipped in a regular pattern. The lethality of this blade is further enhanced by its proper soaking in the flesh and body fat of the victims it has killed over the years. As a result, he can perform fire-based techniques using the oils as fuel.

Shishio uses Mugenjin to perform techniques referred to by Hōji as the "Three Secret Swords": Despite this, these techniques appear more like dirty tricks as they require the use of flammable materials that he must carry with him.

• Ichi no Hiken: Homura Dama (壱いちノ秘ひ剣け ん 焔ホ む ら霊だま lit. "First secret sword: flaming soul") - This is the technique that Shishio used the most. He created sparks from the friction between the blade and the scabbard, to ignite human fat; this serves to distract the opponent from his swings. The result is simultaneous burning and slashing; even if the opponent dodges the actual blade, the flame extends the range and effect of the swing. However if the sword was cleaned; the technique is useless.
• Neither hike: Guren Kaina (弐にノ秘ひ剣け ん 紅ぐ蓮れ ん腕かいな lit. "Second secret sword: upper part of the crimson lotus arm") - Shishio fills his gauntlets with gunpowder and ignites them with the sparks caused by the Mugenjin. This causes an explosion. Guren Kaina produces a lot of force and is usually executed when the opponent is at close range, preferably in his grip. Although this often damages the user's hand, Shishio's inhuman resilience can compensate for it.
• Tsui no Hiken: Kaguzuchi (終ついノ秘ひ剣け ん 火カ産グ霊ツ梓チ lit. "Last Secret Sword: Fire Bearing Spirit God") - The ultimate technique in Shishio's arsenal. He activates it by scraping his blade from the base to the tip at the end of the sheath, creating a small cyclone of fire around the edge, then striking the enemy, which engulfs them in a column of fire. Thus, he can incinerate them completely by cutting them. While Kaguzuchi was not fully revealed in the battle against Kenshin due to the vacuum effect of Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki preventing Shishio from executing the attack, the special one-shot manga, ''To Rule Flame'', reveals the full extent of the technique. . Kaguzuchi (actually Kagutsuchi ) is the name of the Shinto god of fire.
• • Note: In the Rurouni Kenshin: Enjou! Kyoto Rinne video game, when Shishio comes in contact with his Kaguzuchi, the flames rise upwards and form a giant pillar or wall of fire, sending the opponent upwards while burning him severely at the same time. In the video game J-Stars Victory Vs. Shishio simply slammed the blade engulfed in said flame in front of him for a few blows, breaking the ground in front of him.
• Mugenjin Senkû (無む限げ ん刃じん旋せ ん空くう "Infinity Blade Whirling Air") - A technique seen only in J-Stars Victory Vs. as one of Shishio's special moves (his front special + circle), which involves him running at his opponent in a reckless dash while dragging the Mugenjin across the ground to create friction. During the rush, he can ram his opponent for several hits and ends the dash with a spiral uppercut from the fiery friction generated by dragging his blade across the ground. This movement can also be performed during a dash with much less start-up compared to the standard version. Although not officially named, its basis seems to be inspired by a series of similar attacks used in the anime during the first few minutes of his battle with Kenshin.

Single weakness - Extreme hyperthermia

Despite all his power and skills, Shishio had a fatal weakness: Because he was set on fire, almost all his sweat glands were burned. As a result, his body temperature is at a higher level than that of a normal human being, both for his blessings and his curses; he refers to this being the "fires of hell" that rage within him. Therefore, once he engages in a battle or extreme physical activity, his body heat has risen far above normal levels and is strictly limited to 15 minutes.

Symptoms of pushing his body limits:

• Before 15 minutes: Normal and healthy state
• After 15 minutes: Normal and healthy state, however, reaches the limits of high body temperature
• After 20 minutes: extreme, burning and insatiable pain from inside the body, nausea, delirium, psychotic episodes, heat stroke
• After 22-23 minutes: Evaporation of body fluids, cognitive imbalance due to high body temperature
• After 25 minutes: ignition of body fats and oils in flames, death

Although Hōji believed that Shishio's body heat contributed to his power as a warrior, this became his downfall, as he spontaneously burned himself after 25 minutes of fighting.

History

Betrayal and rise to power

After the death of Yukishiro Tomoe , Himura Kenshina was relieved of secret assassination missions and had to fight the Shinsengumi in the open to protect the members of the Ishin Shishi, who were being hunted by the Shinsengumi, Shishio Makoto became his successor as a serial killer and was responsible for the assassination/murder of I 'izuka, the man who betrayed the Chōshū party. The next Meiji government was more secretive about Shishio than Kenshin; many members of the Chōshū and Satsuma clans (the members of the next Meiji government) had very little information about him. However, unlike Kenshin, who was more noble and focused on the welfare of the innocent, Shishio only cared about power, having decided to take the country for himself after his first job of killing, murdering, and slaughtering Iizuka. Therefore,

Later, the new Meiji government believed that it would be in their interest to eliminate Shishio. Having discovered that Kenshin Himura was an idealistic servant of the imperialist cause, Okubo and other Meiji officials correctly concluded that Shishio was an opportunistic sociopath, who would undoubtedly use his vast knowledge of government secrets to plunge the country into turmoil for his own benefit. Thus, during the Boshin War, Shishio was knocked unconscious with a blow to the head, then doused with oil and burned alive by the Ishin Shishi. He survived, suffering severe damage to his entire body to the point that he had to wear bandages day and night to cover his disfigured skin, giving him a mummy-like appearance. This also limited the amount of time he could fight.

Shishio, with the help of a man named Sadojima Hōji, assembled a group of Japan's best fighters, called the Juppongatana (Ten Swords), to overthrow the Meiji government. He envisioned a Japan ruled by him, applying the principles of social Darwinism. Using this belief, Shishio led a campaign against the Meiji government, as he felt it was too weak to effectively run the country. Using his motto, "The weak are food for the strong," he formed an ideological disciple from Seta Sōjirō , who was his right-hand man and the strongest of the Juppongatana. He planned to strengthen the economy with oil once he gained control of the country. At some point, he met Komagata Yumi , with whom he shared a romantic relationship.

Kyoto Arch

Both Kenshin and Saitō Hajime spend a lot of time searching for Shishio, meeting him once in Shingetsu village. However, Shishio left shortly after finding him. After the ordeal in Shingetsu village, Kenshin ventured to Kyoto, where they would have their duel. Upon arriving in Kyoto, Kenshin sought out the blacksmith Arai Shakku to forge a superior sakabatō. Shakkū died within ten years of Kenshin last seeing him and found his son Arai Seiku as the head blacksmith instead. Kenshin instead sought out his former mentor Hiko Seijuro XIII but discovered Seikū's predicament, which involved one of the members of the Juppongatana (Ten Swords): Sawagejo Cho .

After defeating and arresting Chō, he revealed that Shishio had planned to have Kyoto burned by the Ten Swords. However, Kenshin and Saitō discover that the plan to burn Kyoto was only a diversion, and Shishio's true intention was to use a steel battleship, Rengoku ("Purgatory") that Hōji had bought from him to attack Tokyo. Kenshin, Saitō and Sagara Sanosuke pursue and intercept Shishio at a port not far from his target; And using a set of explosives that Sanosuke obtained from his longtime friend, Tsukioka Tsunan , destroys the Rengoku . However, Shishio, Sōjirō, Hōji and Yumi escape.

Although his plan was foiled, Shishio was still undefeated and instead arranged a duel to the death at Mount Hiei. He knew that Kenshin, Saitō, and Sanosuke were going there the next morning. While they were doing so, however, Shishio sent most of the Juppongantana to kill Kenshin's friends at the Aoi-Ya, keeping only his most trusted subordinates with him, and Shinomori Aoshi, who had allied with Shishio to get to Kenshin. The members of the Ten Swords sent to the Aoi-Ya, however, were all defeated.

After defeating Aoshi and Sōjirō, Kenshin faced Shishio himself. Kenshin had been exhausted and injured from his back-to-back fights with Aoshi and Sōjirō, and Shishio knocked him out fairly quickly. Saitō came in and ambushed Shishio, attempting to kill with a blow to the head. However, Shishio's hachigane (a headband containing a metal plate to cover the temple) stopped the attack, after which he quickly blocked all the moves Saitō used against him and defeated him. Sanosuke also came in to fight Shishio, but lost and couldn't even hurt Shishio, despite landing a Futae no Kiwami straight to the face. Finally, Aoshi came in and managed to block Shishio long enough for Kenshin to regain consciousness.

The two continued their fight to the point where Kenshin unleashed his most powerful attacks. After the crushing blow that was Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki, Shishio's body began to overheat to dangerous levels, convulsing and becoming physically ravaged inside. At that moment, Yumi stepped in, blocking a blow from Kenshin. Taking advantage of his moment of vulnerability, Shishio ran his sword through Yumi in an attempt to strike Kenshin, and Kenshin, badly wounded on the ground by the stabbing, became appalled at Shishio for betraying his lover. Yet Shishio remarked that he understood that he was doing what Yumi wanted of him, which was in fact the case. As he held his lover in his last and final moments, Shishio barked that he had no right to judge them, and that even though both were badly hurt, the first one to get up and inflict the next attack would be the day. Victor.

As Kenshin lay on the ground, bleeding profusely and weakly, Shishio sat in delirium and intense heat, unaware that his blood was boiling in fine steam. As Shishio rose to his feet and was to kill Kenshin, they faced off in a final standoff, as Kenshin refused to let go of the will to live. Replying that all are for himself and seeming to have the upper hand, finally, Shishio's body heat increased to the point where his blood evaporated and the fat and oils in his body ignited. Screaming in pain and surprise in his agony, Shishio laughed in hysteria and defeated the madness the way time had chosen Kenshin as the victor. As a result Shishio was finally consumed by his flame and continued to burn until all that became of him, and Yumi, was ashes.

He is later seen in hell with Yumi and Hōji (who committed suicide in prison), commenting that the spirits of the time and the world took away his victory out of fear of his ambitions; now in hell, they would try to take control as soon as the best thing to do.

We see him again in the arc Jinchuu, as one of the illusions of Kenshin's hell, where the latter offers him his life, after the supposed death of Kaoru. In response, Shishio tells Kenshin that before killing him, Kenshin must give up everything he believes in and fights for.

Shin Kyoto Chicken

In this incarnation of the series, Shishio's hometown is revealed to be Shingetsu Village. Having taken control of his hometown to realize his ambitions after being disappointed by the Meiji government's act of government and assassination, it is an act of force and subjugation through violence, being still the way he sees the world really acting according to his will and hiding through the facade. of benevolence and kindness.

After escaping to the Shrine of the Six Torii, Shishio and Yumi proceed to the act of fornication. However, they are interrupted by an opportunistic Usui who attacks them in the middle of their romance. The next day, Shishio is agitated, knowing that Usui has killed fifty police officers handpicked by Saitō. Learning that Usui has killed, murdered, and slaughtered so many people to prove that he is now worthy of facing Shishio, he finally rips open his weapons in the heat of the moment and violently strikes at all openings, and continues to grab Usui's head with his hot. hands to burn the image of him into his mind as a reminder of his failure to defeat him before passing into the afterlife.

At the end of the episodes, he chooses Anji to be his guard and boards the Rengoku with Yumi. Learning of Saitō's arrival by infiltration, he urges Yumi to have their prey head straight for their trap. He engages in a fierce duel with him, but easily overcomes Saitō in battle, and declaring him worthless to kill, only waiting for the Battousai.

As Himura makes his way through the depths of the Rengoku, Shishio engages his predecessor and tells him that the blades they wield are both from the same manufacturer. Unlike the manga and anime incarnation, he faces Kenshin Himura at full strength and unhindered by the previous fighters. Learning that his trump card to rule Japan now faces irreversible danger when he disappears, bombarded with cannon fire by the army, he plans to kill Kenshin with the flames of hell burning within him. Yet, his limits rise to the surface as his head begins to violently rupture from the hot steam in his boiling body to where it will burst from him. Continuing to fight to the death with Himura, he launches a deadly attack by impaling Kenshin's shoulder with the Mugenjin but is finally defeated when Kenshin performs a variation of the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki, slamming his grip on Shishio's forehead where it splits his head while aggravating his condition. Now totally bewildered, forcibly reconstructing his split head in great pain, Yumi rushes to his aid and pushes him out of the way, before the boiler explodes, ending the duel entirely. After the explosion that rendered the Rengoku useless, Shishio is dead and his remains are lost in the final explosion that sinks the ship completely. Yumi rushes to his aid and pushes him aside, before the boiler explodes, ending the duel entirely. After the explosion that rendered the Rengoku useless, Shishio is dead and his remains are lost in the last explosion that completely sinks the ship. Yumi rushes to his aid and pushes him aside, before the boiler explodes, ending the duel entirely. After the explosion that rendered the Rengoku useless, Shishio is dead and his remains are lost in the last explosion that sinks the ship completely.

Development

Watsuki said that his editor wanted him to do "a great story", which led him to create Shishio. Therefore, according to him, Shishio did not have a model for his personality. He originally wanted Shishio to be motivated by revenge because it would make it easier for him to express Shishio's grief towards the government. However, Watsuki thought that this would make the story "smaller in scale". Therefore, he had Shishio motivated for revenge and desire to conquer and thus making him destructive like Serizawa Kamo of Shinsengumi. The author of Rurouni Kenshin thinks that some influence of Genjuro Kibagami from Samurai Shodown II ( ShinSamurai Spirits ) appeared in Shishio.Inugami Ke no Ichizoku ("The Inugami Family"); Watsuki saw this movie in his childhood and was inspired by it. When it was decided that Shishio would be burned on a large part of his body, Watsuki thought of a rubber mask similar to the one Shizuma has. He decided against this idea because he felt that it would be difficult to realistically convey the rubber in black and white, because he felt that he could not depict the "sheer agony" of Shishio's condition, and because it would be more difficult for Watsuki to draw Shishio's expressions. . In the end, he decided to have Shishio wear bandages. Since Watsuki felt that having the character simply wrapped in bandages would not be "exciting," the bandages on Shishio's face crisscrossed, making what Watsuki described as "a strange head covering" and otherwise "imagining" the design. He wanted Shishio to be "cool, like Kibagami," so he added a "sexy companion," a pipe, a screen, an umbrella. Shishio's "Homura Dama" technique is original to the series. At the same time, the "Guren Kaina" is, in the words of Watsuki, "pretty much a tear of" Daibaku Satsu ", a move of" Shura "Character of Kazuki Kazama in Samurai Shodown IV ( Samurai Spirits: Amakusa's Descent , TenSamu ).

In volume 17, Watsuki stated that he believed, in retrospect, that Shishio was his version of "the call of evil." He explained that Shishio would not compromise his beliefs under any circumstances, had no objection to "using others as a means to an end," and sought "absolute power" "with ruthless abandon." He explained that Shishio "is his kind of ideal" and that he is an "anti-hero". Watsuki enjoyed drawing Shishio in his final battle with Kenshin. He felt that he could not bring back Shishio's death scene as it appeared in his mind. He believes, "with some confidence," that the sight of Shishio in hell walking on a pile of skeletons is "as good a dramatization of a villain in RuroKen as we'll ever get." Watsuki said he would never write in a character like Shishio in any series he writes, but he planned to create a similar role in another series

In the story, the police were forbidden to enter the Mount Hiei temple compound, so the criminals gathered there and claimed that they were there for "religious enlightenment." For this reason, Watsuki located Shishio's hideout on Mount Hiei in Rurouni Kenshin . Shishio was very loosely based on the first commander-in-chief of the Shinsengumi, Serizawa Kamo.

In a real action movie

In July 2013, it was announced that Tatsuya Fujiwara would play Shishio in the sequels to the live action film Rurouni Kenshin . He previously played Light Yagami in the Death Note films. According to rumors, Yusuke Iseya played the role of Shishio before playing Shinomori Aoshi .

In a flashback during Kyoto Inferno, it is revealed that Shishio was a major asset to the government's victory during the Boshin War, sharing the battlefield with others such as Saitō. However, after the final battle, he was betrayed when about five of his comrades ran to congratulate his prowess and instead impaled him on their swords, before throwing him to the ground and stabbing him repeatedly. They then set his body on fire and left him for dead in the snow. Their reasoning; although he was valuable during the war, his killings and disregard for life, including that of his comrades, were so brutal that the government felt his existence and history would discredit them. Since the war was over, he was no longer needed by them anyway.

Hours (or days) later, Shishio somehow woke up alive, still face down in the snow, charred so badly by the flames that his sweat glands were destroyed along with most of his skin. Managing to get to safety, he disappears for several years into the underworld, where he is bandaged and clothed, and where he recruits his team of mercenaries made up of individuals with tragic pasts close to his own (he may have freed some himself), including Yumi, once a prostitute.

Finally revealing himself to the world and to those who had wronged him, Shishio discovered that Saitō Hajime had become a policeman. Considering Saitō an enemy, Shishio decided to attack and set fire to one of Saitō's compounds with a small group of attackers, where they managed to capture and hold hostage some of Saitō's men, tying them individually and hanging them from the ceiling above the flames. Once there, Saitō attempted to fight through Shishio's men to get to Shishio himself, but failed to do so once Shishio signaled his men to release the hostages into the fire to their deaths before casually walking out with Yumi and Soujiro. Saitō was left alive to mourn his men.

Now with ambitions to reclaim Japan and bring it back to the war era, Shishio uses rumors and fear of his return to spread the word among those who knew and knew of him, without yet fully revealing himself in person. This includes most, if not all, members of the police and the new Meiji government. This speech was used to set up a massive battle in Kyoto between Shishio's men and a government/police cooperative - but the action was a distraction designed to keep the Meiji forces busy, allowing him to hijack the Japanese battleship Rengoku and use it as a weapon to take Tokyo from the seas. He even went so far as to send a team of ninja dressed in copies of his bandages and kimono to distract Kenshin, for whom Shishio has a personal interest due to the fact that he is Kenshin's predecessor in a similar war era (he even refers to Kenshin, perhaps mockingly, as Sensei).

Shishio then kidnaps Kaoru to lure Kenshin to him to test him, perhaps once and for all. Easily overcoming Kenshin and unimpressed by his lack of seriousness and intent to kill, Shishio lets Kaoru fall overboard and Kenshin jumps into the sea after here.

Now that the battleship was at his seemingly free disposal, Shishio used it to attack the coast of Tokyo before demanding an audience with the Prime Minister and his advisors, executors, etc., telling them that he would destroy Tokyo and the government if his demands were not met, which they reluctantly obliged to do. One demand was to publicly execute Kenshin, because Kenshin himself was a brutal Battousai from the same era as Shishio. Yet he was allowed to live despite Shishio's betrayal and death. This was more to force them to face their hypocrisy, rather than some kind of personal vendetta against Kenshin.

Kenshin was saved by his former master, who helped him learn his ultimate technique over the course of several days of vigorous training after Kenshin tearfully begged him to stop the greatest threat currently facing Japan. He then heads to Tokyo, facing a few opponents along the way, only to be arrested and taken to the police, where he is informed of his past crimes and sentenced to execution. A few days later, the execution date was set..

On the beach, in front of Shishio's servants who were to testify, Kenshin was tied up and at the mercy of his executioner, Saitō. As everything falls into place and Shishio's plan comes to fruition, Saitō frees Kenshin and throws his sword at him, revealing that the execution is a ploy set up to get Kenshin as close as possible to Shishio and his servants alongside Saitō and the rest of the Meiji and the police. A massive battle ensues, with forces on the beach fighting with guns, swords, and various other weapons as the Rengoku fires at them from the sea. Kenshin and his comrades eventually steal one of the lifeboats used to transport the Rengoku men to shore and take it back to the Rengoku where the battle continues on board, with Shishio waiting for Kenshin to arrive below deck. It all culminates in the final battle with Shishio alone against Kenshin, Saitō, Sanosuke and Aoshi. At first, Shishio easily overpowered them. Yet, slowly, Kenshin's Battousai state of mind emerged (his killing intent returned), while Shishio's body temperature rose to dangerous and deadly levels.

After felling Saitō, Sanosuke and Aoshi, Shishio and Kenshin have an and a confrontation. After a few confrontations, Yumi begins to notice that Shishio's temperature is becoming lethal and tries to protect him from Kenshin to save Shishio's life. Kenshin stops, but Shishio stabs Yumi in her spine and into Kenshin, stating that she deliberately sacrificed her life for his ambition, to which she replies that she was happy to do so. Facing each other one last time, the two fighters gather their strength for one last charge, and Shishio is sent flying, sword shattered, by Kenshin's ultimate technique: Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki, and is incapacitated. Kenshin, now tired and unable to fight at this point, watches as Shishio struggles to stand, Yumi in his arms, and tries to limp along as his body begins to weaken. He claims that time chose Kenshin as the victor out of fear of his ambition before his body is consumed by fire, and he is burned alive, laughing maniacally with his very last breaths. The fire spreads through the storage of gunfire and bombs, burning holes in the ship's hull as Kenshin escapes with his comrades. Rengoku then sinks, taking Shishio and his dark ambitions into the deepest, darkest depths with him.

Anecdotes

• The name of the god used in his last secret sword technique, Kagutsuchi, is known as the Shinto god of fire, and the last god born by Izanami-no-Okami, because his birth was so extremely painful that it killed her. At his birth, he would come to begin the life and death cycles of the world and establish the Shinto laws of Tsumi and Kegare after Izanagi descended to Yomi and sealed his dead wife, with her crying out in the curse that she would take 1000 lives a day and himself swearing to replace those lost lives with 1500 born again. The symbolic theme of Shishio resembling that of embodying the cruel empire of imperialist Showa Japan, turning to the vile and horrific actions of colonialism and fascist movements perpetrated by the Western nations of his time, comes to use the mention of this god probably as signifying a fall from grace, honor and innocence of the former glory of the nation.
• Perhaps as a morbid reference for future events for the Japanese public, Kagutsuchi may draw on the dark inspiration of the great Kanto earthquake of 1923 ; as well as the widespread superstitions and beliefs that the cause of the earthquake was an opening to the gates of hell, one of its most notorious events was the Rikugun Honjo Hifukusho fire devil disaster in Tokyo, where 38,000 people residing in the facility were incinerated by city-wide fires after the earthquake that were accelerated into a firestorm in less than 15 minutes. This is probably lost on foreign audiences, as the historical disaster is not as prevalent as it is for native Japanese, and whose full imagery before appearances in the fighting games Shonen Jump and To Rule Flameis more rhetorical in this spirit.
• The design inspiration for his younger self would come from Genjuro Kibagami of the Samurai Shodown / Samurai Spirits video game series created by SNK.

 

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