Nikaido Ren

* Anime
* Ashura
* Omega

*"Come at me. I'll show you just how outclassed you are."*
— Nikaido to Kiryu Setsuna

**Nikaido Ren** (二 (に) 階 (かい) 堂 (どう)  蓮 (れん) , *Nikaidō Ren*; *"Ren Nikaido"*), also known as **The Watchman** (番 (ばん) 人 (にん) , *Ban'nin*), is the captain of the Heavenly Wolves, a Chinese mercenary group and currently one of Katahara Metsudo's Bodyguards. He represented Byakuya News during the Kengan Annihilation Tournament, after stealing the affiliated fighter position under Toyo Electric Co.'s orders.

## Appearance

Ren possesses an androgynous face with sharp eyes surrounded by black eyeliner, sharp eyelashes, a hairless visage and black hair set in a side-parting, with one side being swept over the left side of his face. He has an extremely toned but lean physique. He tends to have a stern, unnamed expression on his face and wears a sleeveless chángshān with floral patterns down the right side.

In battle, he wears a much more revealing black outfit, covering only his chest and groin, and leaving his midriff exposed. The upper portion has a symbol on the back with a striking resemblance to a yin-yang. He also wears long fingerless gloves and leg warmers on his shins. This outfit is not a traditional Heavenly Wolves outfit, and is actually one made to suit his own tastes. He has also been known to wear extremely risqué outfits in public.

## Personality

Ren is a decidedly narcissistic person with a firm belief in his own strength; his narcissism is blinding, living to the beat of his own drum and being completely oblivious to others' notice of it. He is deceptively forceful and willing to use lethal force to maintain order.

## Plot

### *Kengan Ashura*

After being deployed by Hayami Katsumasa, Ren defeated Takemoto Hisayasu and took his position as the affiliated fighter for Byakuya News.

During the main tournament, after Murder Music forfeited to Toyo Electric Power Co., Sawada Keizaburo called Julius Reinhold out for the dirty tactics employed by Hayami Katsumasa. Saying he would take the three of them down, Sawada attacked and Meguro took him on first. With Meguro getting too riled up, Ren prepared to calm him down while Julius stepped in to take care of Sawada. Suddenly Yamashita Kazuo and Tokita Ohma appeared with the former hitting Julius on the head with a can. Perceiving Yamashita to be a threat, Ren attempted to take him out, only to be left in shock when Yamashita seemingly dodged the attack. The three of them then left.

Later, representing Byakuya News in the main Kengan Annihilation Tournament, Ren fought Kiryu Setsuna in the first round. Quickly overwhelmed by his opponent, even after using the Heavenly Wolf Fist's secret technique, Ren was defeated and left in a bad state after Kiryu showed his true colours and sadistically finished their fight. Being revived by Mei, Ren wondered in shock just what he had fought. After his exit from the tournament, he and the Heavenly Wolves went to work on planting bombs around the Kengan Dome.

Having been informed of Hayami's betrayal, the Heavenly Wolves went around and disarmed all of the bombs they'd planted, which helped in stopping Hayami's attempted coup.

On the final day, Ren watched the rest of the tournament unfold with the rest of the Heavenly Wolves members. After the tournament, Ren visited Meguro Masaki's makeshift grave by himself and paid his respects.

### *Kengan Omega*

Having become one of Katahara Metsudo's Bodyguards, Ren encountered a mysterious individual sneaking into Metsudo's mansion. Accosting the individual and quickly attacking, Ren was put on the back foot before Metsudo intervened and told them to stop. With the individual revealing his face, to Ren and Metsudo's shock, he introduced himself to be Gaoh Ryuki.

At some point he and the Heavenly Wolves gathered some informations about Falcon's personal history. After joining Metsudo and Nogi Hideki at Mt. Godslayer during the competition he had Mei revealing the informations about Falcon to Kimishima Mana.

During Kure Raian's match against Alan Wu, after complimenting Julius for his fight, Nikaido lectured Team Kengan about the history of the Wu Clan.

## Power & Abilities

### Heavenly Wolf Fist

* Heavenly Wolf Fist: Lan
* Heavenly Wolf Fist: Lan
* Heavenly Wolf Fist: Last-Ditch Kick Up
* Heavenly Wolf Fist, Secret Technique: Qilong
* Heavenly Wolf Fist, Secret Technique: Qilong
* Ren performing Qilong
* Ren performing Qilong
1/7
**Heavenly Wolf Fist** (天 (てん) 狼 (ろう) 拳 (けん) , *Tenrōken*) is a lost Japanese-style Chinese martial art, initially created to suit battlefield combat.

#### Guang Da

**Guang Da** (光 (こう) 打 (ちょう) , *Kō Chō*; lit. *Light Strike*), a different name for *fa jin* in the Heavenly Wolf Fist style. Ren attacks the opponent with *fa jin* strikes.

#### Lan

Using **Lan** (嵐 (ラン) , *Ran*; lit. *Storm*), Ren launches a flurry of rapid *fa jin* strikes at his opponent.

#### Last-Ditch Kick Up

While in a supine position, Ren launches himself upwards with a powerful kick, named **Last-Ditch Kick Up** (背 (せ) 地 (ち) 背 (はい) 水 (すい) 脚 (きゃく) , *Sechihaisuikyaku*).

#### Secret Technique: Qilong

The **Secret Technique: Qilong** (奇 (クイ) 龍 (ロン) , *Kuiron*; lit. *Strange Dragon*) is a mysterious three-step technique, reputedly impossible to pull off even while sparring.

In the first step, **Xu** (虚 (キョ) , *Kyo*; lit. *Void*), Ren compresses air within his palms before releasing it all at once when his target is within range. All those exposed to the "blast" within the 1.5 metre range will instinctively stop moving for a moment. The "blast" apparently gives off an uncomfortable sound that can be heard by those even the in the arena's audience.

In the second step, **Huan** (幻 (ゲン) , *Gen*; lit. *Illusion*), Ren whispers a secret "spell" into their ears while their complete attention is directed to their hearing. This is a form of instantaneous hypnosis.

In the final step, **Guang** (光 (コウ) , *Kō*; lit. *Light*), Ren attacks the now defenceless opponent with a *fa jin* strike.

## Etymology

* **Nikaido** means "upstairs, two-storied" (二階) (**nikai**) and "hall" (堂) (**do**).
* **Ren** means "lotus, water lily" (蓮).

## Notes & Trivia

* Surprisingly, Ren was an introverted child.
* He has a special knack of getting along well with animals.
* Ren's favourite warlord is Tokugawa Ieyasu.
* His design theme is "Chinese-style T.M. Revolution".
* Ren has a tendency to dress up in extremely extravagant and overly flamboyant outfits during important annual events and festivities (much to Cai's bewilderment).
* Ren grew up in the same town as Liu Dongcheng. As such, he and the Heavenly Wolves are familiar with him.
* Nikaido's theme in the anime is *Standing On The Grave of Yesterday* by Silex.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Nikaido Ren's profile
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chapter 95
3. ↑ *After defeat to Kiryu Setsuna during the Kengan Annihilation Tournament(Ch97)(Ep16)*
4. ↑ Extra: Six
5. ↑ 4-koma: Summer's Here
6. ↑ 4-koma: Toyo Electric Power Team
7. ↑ Chapter 1 (Omega)
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Chapter 97
9. ↑ Chapter 96
10. ↑ 4-koma: Why?
11. ↑ 4-koma: Cultural Differences
12. ↑ 4-koma: Autumn
13. ↑ 4-koma: Spring
14. ↑ 4-koma: Abnormal