Ryutaro Kuki

Ryutaro Kuki (, Kuki Ryūtarō) is a major character in Kurohyou: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinsho. He is the first patriarch of the Kuki Family, an affiliate of the Tojo Clan, and owner of the Dragon Heat coliseum.
== Profile ==
=== Appearance ===
=== Attire ===
=== Personality ===
Ryutaro is a manipulative crime boss who uses lies, blackmail, and connections to achieve his singular goal: the continuity and profits of his precious fighting circuit, Dragon Heat.
To that end, he often makes false promises, such as faking Toda's death as leverage to force Tatsuya Ukyo into Dragon Heat. He then agreed to release Tatsuya after ten consecutive wins, despite knowing such a win streak was rigged to be impossible.
Beneath his numerous lies, Ryutaro is torn between his love of martial arts and a desire for money and power within the Tojo Clan. He clings to the platonic ideal of Dragon Heat as a place for fighters to achieve glory and regrets transforming it into a money-making spectacle, in spite of the wealth it brought him. In his final moments, he releases Tatsuya from their bargain and begs him to restore Dragon Heat to its former glory.
== Background ==
During elementary school, Ryutaro was classmates with Isamu Washio. The two men remained friends into adulthood, but after Ryutaro became a yakuza patriarch and Washio joined law enforcement, they went separate ways. Ryutaro later married and had a son, Ryusho, whom he raised as heir to the Kuki Family.
Eventually, Ryutaro gained stewardship of Dragon Heat, an underground fighting coliseum dating back to the 1960s. In 2004-05, he began modernizing it by encouraging high-stakes audience betting, charging admission and betting fees, and even enabling betting via the Internet. 
At the same time, the Tokyo Police Department began a series of raids on Tojo Clan operations, leading to suspicions of a mole within the Tojo leaking information to the police. This made Dragon Heat a vital revenue source and Ryutaro one of the richest and most powerful men in the clan, but it also drew accusations of police collusion from other Tojo patriarchs.
In an effort to uncover the informant, Ryutaro approached Washio, who still frequented Dragon Heat. Washio made him an offer: if Ryutaro found a fighter who could beat the legendary Toru Nogi's record of nine consecutive wins, he would reveal the mole's identity.
==Involvement==
=== Kurohyou: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinsho: 2010 ===
On September 22, 2010, Ryutaro witnesses Tatsuya Ukyo fleeing the office of Kuki Family lieutenant Naoki Toda after single-handedly defeating Toda and several Chinese mobsters. Although Tatsuya believed he had accidentally killed Toda, Ryutaro discovers his subordinate is still alive, but orders him to fake his death and go into hiding.
Kuki Family men abduct Tatsuya and bring him to their headquarters, where Ryutaro reveals that he has security footage of the robbery, and makes an ultimatum to Tatsuya: earn his freedom by winning ten consecutive matches in Dragon Heat, or be turned over to the police alongside the tape. Tatsuya reluctantly accepts.
After Tatsuya picks a fight with Sho Hyuga inside JeweL, a Kuki Family property, Ryutaro reprimands him by assigning Hyuga to be his second opponent.
Following Tatsuya's sixth victory in a rematch with Hyuga, Ryutaro is assaulted and grievously wounded by the mysterious assassin Reiji Shinjo, who leaves behind a bracelet belonging to Tatsuya to frame him.
Ryutaro is hospitalized, but escapes and retreats to a secret room in his office to meet with Tatsuya. He reveals that he erased the tape of Tatsuya's robbery and tells him about his secret deal with Washio, begging him to win ten matches and find the mole in the Tojo Clan. When Tatsuya asks about Toda's true killer, Ryutaro recalls that Toda recorded all his conversations on a microchip, but succumbs to his injury before he can reveal its location.
== Fighting Style ==
Ryutaro was once an underground boxer of considerable repute. He was seen as being Toru Nogi's equal in skill. Not much else is known about his combat prowess, however, since he is not a boss in Kurohyou like Taizan is and his feats are not elucidated upon.
==Gallery==
Ryūtarō Kuki.jpg
KRGG2 - Character Gallery - Ryutaro Kuki (TV).jpg|Ryutaro Kuki, portrayed by Toshiya Nagasawa.
Category:Kuki Family
Category:Tojo Clan
Category:Kurohyou: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinsho‏‎ Characters