Sasaki Kojiro

—Sasaki Kojiro

Sasaki Kojiro, more commonly known as the “Nameless Samurai” was an assassin-type underling of Echidna. He guarded the Unmei Palace until his death.

## Appearance

Sasaki’s appearance was that of a samurai swordsman with long blue hair tied into ponytail and indigo eyes. He wore a traditional light purple umanori hakama and kimono, light purple tabi and black geta with purple haori and tekkou and carried his sword, Monohoshizao on his back.

## Personality

Sasaki was quiet and composed, and while his general tone had a mocking nature to it, he took it to another level with Echidna. He was honorable in battle, always maintaining a degree of bushido, and he was not the type who would attack defenseless women and children. He willingly kept Kristi from exposing her name without any ulterior motives, and he prematurely stopped their fight to keep an opponent from spying on her abilities and possibly going after the weakened winner of the battle.

His only goal in life was to surpass his father, not become him. Due to Echidna making him “become” his father, he held a deep hatred for her. He revealed his true name without regard and seemed disinterested in Echidna's promised reward of making him into a copy of his father. He only guarded one of the entrances to the Unmei Palace while optimistic that a worthy opponent will come.

A refined man who admired the beauties of nature and wrapped his body in an elegant battle surcoat. Aloof from the world and having a somewhat elusive personality but, as expected, he was a warrior who likes fair and square contests. Due to living in an age where casualties happened on a daily basis, his perspective about life and death may have also seemed cold-hearted for a modern person.

## Chronology

### Re;birth

#### Unmei Arc

Sasaki first appears when the Unmei Palace is being attacked. He engages Kristi in a battle, in doing so, Kristi notes the clear difference in their sword technique and barely survives Sasaki’s Tsubame Gaeshi, though she gets knocked out. After she wakes up, she tries to fight Sasaki again, but he ends their fight and allows her to run away, however, she doesn’t run. Archer Armsta then faces Sasaki, due to him thinking that Sasaki tried to kill Kristi. The winner is not shown, as Archer told Kristi, to flee while she has the chance.

After Justice Hendricks is kidnapped by Echidna, Sasaki is mentioned as usually guarding one of the Unmei Palace entrances, and one of the few residents there to be wary of, by Hinami Hendricks, which Kristi agrees with. Kristi goes to the Unmei Palace to face Echidna. However, Sasaki is still guarding the same entrance, and requests to duel against Kristi, which she accepts. He is defeated by her due to his blade being bent from their previous encounter, which leaves an opening in his Tsubame Gaeshi. Soon after, he dies peacefully.

#### Demon Lord Arc

Echidna ends his curse of not being able to leave the territory of the Palace, due to her own whim. However, she did not know that when she ended his curse, he was already dead. After finding out, this makes her feel bad— only for a few minutes, though. She claims that he was weak.

## Powers & Abilities

**Expert Swordsman**: Sasaki was taught how to fight with a sword by both his father and Echidna. He had made deadly techniques and had battled skilled warriors of the sword, the most notable being Kristi Hendricks. According to some, his skills had passed human levels. Since he was stuck guarding Unmei’s front gate, he would usually have the advantage in sword battles, due to the higher ground.

* **Monohoshi Zao:** Sasaki’s extremely long blade, measuring at 150cm. Its size would make it unwieldy and nearly impossible to use efficiently for nearly any wielder, but Sasaki wields it masterfully, as his swordsmanship has long surpassed the bounds of human possibility.
	+ **Tsubame Gaeshi:** The technique bends the laws of physics to make three perfectly simultaneous slashes from three separate directions. It was a sword of infinity that renders the finite existence of a single slash into multiple possibilities to create a future that not even the gods can escape from. It was Sasaki’s most important technique.
	He never normally takes a stance but does so for Tsubame Gaeshi. The technique was complemented by the range offered by Monohoshi Zao, allowing him to cut off escape. Even if one strike is blocked, the other two will land. As it was just a skill refined to the level of a Mystery, Sasaki can use it without expending any more magical energy than he needs to move. The only requirement for its execution is level ground.

## Trivia

* His initial role for Re;birth was quite different from the one he got. For one, he wasn’t bound by Echidna’s curse to live in the Unmei Palace; He was able to venture outside of the Palace.
* He is the only character that is bound to a single location. Unlike Beatrice, who could leave the Forbidden Library on her own whim, Sasaki couldn’t leave the Unmei Palace.