Kage-Maru

==Summary==
Kage-Maru is one of the main characters from the fighting game series Virtua Fighter. He is a ninja who is part of the fearsome Hagakure ninja clan, who work secretly in the shadows of society and lost his home village and eighth-generation father, while his mother, Tsuki-Kage, was abducted and assimilated into a cyborg Dural by Judgement 6 for their prototype skeleton model project, entering the World Fighting Tournaments in attempt to rescue his mother from her suffering fate, being struck by a mysterious illness following her transformation and seeking to shut down the mysterious organization. Kage-Maru canonically won the Third World Fighting Tournament, while he and Shun Di made it to the next tournament's final round.
Alongside his rival and series mascot Akira Yuki, Kage-Maru has appeared in other video games outside the franchise such as a Dreamcast wrestling game Giant Gram, Project X Zone 2 and SEGA Heroes.
==Powers and Stats==
Tier: At least 
Name: Kage-Maru, Kage
Origin: Virtua Fighter
Gender: Male
Age: 24 (in Virtua Fighter 2)
Classification: Human, Martial Artist, NinjaVirtua Fighter (1993)
Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Hagakure-ryū Jū-Jutsu Master, Weapon Mastery (Is capable of wielding his katana, dual swords, throwing shurikens and kusarigamasVirtua Fighter 5 (2006)Virtua Fighter CG Portrait Series Vol. 9 Kage-Maru (1996)), Stealth Mastery, Acrobatics (Can jump straight up high distances into the air, perform somersaults, grounded rolls, handstand flips and cartwheel kicks, perfectly balance himself on a bamboo staff over water while meditating and leap across skyscrapers), Afterimage Creation (Can move so fast he appears to be in a few places at once, demonstrated when jumping across tall trees), Flight (Can float through the skies by hanging on his Ninja Kite), Underwater Breathing (Type 2) and Self-Sustenance (Type 1; Can breath underwater on Dural's stageVirtua Fighter 2 (1994))
Attack Potency: At least Wall level (Can break walls, railings and fences into pieces with a few hits. Fought and won against Akira Yuki in the Third and Fourth World Fighting Tournaments, even facing Shun Di before Dural disrupted their duel, managing to destroy her in process. Cut through a tall thick tree with his katana three times and threw a shuriken hard enough to destroy a Mil Mi-24 helicopter. Comparable to Wolf Hawkfield, who wrestled a grizzly bear by suplexing itVirtua Fighter Costomize Clip (1996) and Jean Kujo, who can break stone lanterns with his punches)
Speed: Superhuman with Subsonic combat and reaction speed (Can run so fast he'll get ahead of a throwing star within the distance of an arena. Can keep up with Akira Yuki, Eileen and Lion Rafale, who deflected his shurikens and outsped a speeding car to rescue the dog)
Lifting Strength: Class 1 (Comparable to Wolf Hawkfield and Vanessa Lewis, who can lift barbells with one hand. Can effortlessly throw opponents several feet into the air, even underwater and including Taka-Arashi, who weighs 198 lbs)
Striking Strength: At least Wall level
Durability: At least Wall level (Can survive hits from Akira Yuki, Shun Di, Dural and Lion Rafale, who survived a explosion which destroyed his boat. Can shrug off long falls before getting back up for the next roundVirtua Fighter 3 (1996) and withstand extreme pressures at the bottom of the ocean depths. Recovered himself from Dural's attacks.Virtua Fighter 4 (2001) Can endure having a metal pan falling on his head, sometimes without flinching)
Stamina: Superhuman
Range: Standard Melee Range physically; Extended Melee Range to Tens of Meters with weapons
Standard Equipment: His katana, a double kusarigama, shurikens
*Optional Equipment: Twin Shinobi Swords, improved throwing star, Ninja Kite
Intelligence: Above Average (Kage-Maru is a trained tenth-generation ninja of the Hagakure clan, who is able to wield various weapons with relative ease and inflitrate the Judgement 6's organization a few times, able to pick up clues while investigating his mother's whereabouts. Making an impressive showing as a fighter, he is a decorated martial artist and competitor, who was able to defeat Akira, Lau Chan and his mother, whose fighting style is an amalgamation of those taken from various opponents while she turned into Dural)
Weaknesses: Normal human weaknesses.
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
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* Hagakure-ryū Jū-Jutsu: A combat style used by the Hagakure Clan, which is transmitted through generation to generation, based on a real-life martial art Jūjutsu. Taught to him by his father, Kage-Maru can utilize all forms of grappling techniques to some degree (i.e. throwing, trapping, joint locks, holds, disengagements, striking, kicking, armdrags, chokeslams and praying rope walk chops). This allows him to combine defense with a surprise offense, while making himself a threat from halfway across thanks to his agility and swift moves.
** Hi'endan: Kage-Maru jumps into the air and dives towards a downed opponent on the ground head-first.
** Hagaryu: Kage-Maru leaps towards the opponent with a spinning dropkick attack.
** Jakenshou: Kage-Maru moves back and then punches the opponent hard with his right fist, sending them flying back.
** Asuka: Kage-Maru flips at the opponent and then lands both feet onto them.
** Hagekure-ryu You Jumonji Kamae: Kage-Maru crosses his arms to a different stance, able to follow up with various attacks during this.
** Kaiten Rairyu Hishokyaku: Kage-Maru rolls towards the opponent and then stands on his hands, catapulting himself with a powerful, double dive kick.
** Izuna Otoshi: Kage-Maru grabs the opponent and then throws them high into the air before jumping up and pile-driving them back onto the ground.
==Notable Matchups==
Victories:
Losses:
Inconclusive:
==References==
Category:Characters
Category:Virtua Fighter
Category:Acrobats
Category:Adults
Category:Afterimage Users
Category:Blade Users
Category:Dual Wielders
Category:Fighting Game Characters
Category:Flag Users
Category:Flight Users
Category:Game Characters
Category:Good Characters
Category:Heroes
Category:Honorable Characters
Category:Humans
Category:Katana Users
Category:Kite Users
Category:Kusarigama Users
Category:Male Characters
Category:Martial Artists
Category:Martial Arts Champions
Category:Ninjas
Category:Playable Characters
Category:Primary Protagonists
Category:Protagonists
Category:Self-Sustenance Users
Category:Shuriken Users
Category:Stealth Masters
Category:Sword Users
Category:Thrown Weapon Users
Category:Tragic Characters
Category:Underwater Breathing Users
Category:Video Game Characters
Category:Weapon Masters
Category:Weapon Users