The Ogre’s gauntlet · Superhuman
Yujiro Hanma vs Kenshin Himura
The Battosai was the deadliest swordsman of his age. He has sworn never to kill again. Yujiro wants to see if he can break that vow.
Tale of the tape
| Baki | Universe | Rurouni Kenshin |
|---|---|---|
| Superhuman | Tier | Superhuman |
| Raw, terrifying strength and a back muscle that forms a demon’s face | Strength | God-like speed and the Hiten Mitsurugi style |
| Arrogance: he toys with every opponent | Weakness | Fights with a reverse-blade sword that will not kill |
| 13–11–1 | Record on Versus | 3–2 |
The Arena
Yujiro heard of a swordsman who had been the deadliest killer of the Meiji Revolution, and then put down his killing blade and swore never to take a life again. The idea fascinated him. He found Kenshin Himura sweeping a temple courtyard at dawn, humming, a reverse-blade sword at his hip.
Kenshin looked up at the giant with the demon face on his back and smiled gently. “Good morning. Can I help you?” Yujiro grinned. “They say you were the Battosai, the greatest killer of your age.” Kenshin’s smile faded slightly. “A long time ago.” Yujiro took a step forward. “Show me that man.”
Kenshin set down his broom. “That man is gone,” he said quietly. Yujiro laughed. “We will see.”
Round One
Yujiro attacked, and Kenshin moved faster than anyone Yujiro had ever seen with a sword, Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, a style built on godlike speed. The reverse blade struck Yujiro across the shoulder, the ribs, the back of his knee, three blows before Yujiro’s first punch landed on empty air.
Yujiro was delighted. He attacked again, faster, and Kenshin dodged him again, striking with the dull edge of his blade, each blow precise enough to break bone in any normal man. Yujiro was not a normal man. The blows bruised him. They did not break him.
He stopped and looked at the small red-haired swordsman. “You are holding back,” he said. “The edge of that blade faces the wrong way.”
The Turn
Yujiro began to push. He fought harder and harder, forcing Kenshin to defend, cornering him against the temple walls, giving him openings where a killing blow would end the fight. Each time, Kenshin saw the opening and refused to take it. Each time, he struck with the dull edge instead.
Yujiro could not understand it. Every fighter he had ever known fought to win, by any means. This man was choosing to lose rather than kill. “Turn the blade,” Yujiro growled. “Turn it, and you might win.” Kenshin shook his head, breathing hard. “I swore an oath.”
Yujiro stared at him. Then he hit Kenshin with a blow that drove him into the temple wall.
The Finish
Kenshin rose and attacked with his ultimate technique, Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki, a strike faster than sound. It hit Yujiro in the chest with the dull edge and drove him back across the courtyard. For a moment, the Ogre was stunned. Then he shook his head, laughed, and walked back through the vacuum that followed the strike.
Kenshin had nothing left. He stood swaying, his reverse blade still pointed the wrong way, as Yujiro reached him and knocked him to the ground with an open palm. Kenshin lay on the stones, looking up at the dawn sky, and did not reach for his sword again.
Yujiro stood over him for a long time. “You could have won,” he said. “If you had killed.” Kenshin smiled up at him. “Then I would have lost something more important.” Yujiro was silent. Then he turned and walked away, and for the first time in years, he did not laugh after winning a fight.
The verdict
Yujiro Hanma wins
Kenshin is faster than Yujiro and lands blow after blow, but he refuses to turn his blade and kill, and dull-edged strikes cannot break a body as tough as the Ogre’s.
- DurabilityYujiro’s body withstands Kenshin’s reverse-blade strikes.
- The oathKenshin refuses the killing blows that might win.
- StrengthOne open-palm strike ends it.
How the rematch could go differently: The Battosai of the revolution, with the edge of his blade turned the right way, could cut Yujiro down before he ever reached him.
Who do you think wins?
Who would win in a fight between Yujiro Hanma and Kenshin Himura?
Yujiro Hanma wins. Kenshin is faster than Yujiro and lands blow after blow, but he refuses to turn his blade and kill, and dull-edged strikes cannot break a body as tough as the Ogre’s.