Utsubuki Kokuro

**Utsubuki Kokuro** (打 (うつ) 吹 (ぶき)  黒 (こく) 狼 (ろう) , *Utsubuki Kokurō*; "*Kokuro Utsubuki*"), also known as **The Wolf Soldier** (ウルフソールジャー, *Urufusōrujā*), is a rookie freelance fighter in the Kengan matches who debuted a year ago and has caused a storm since his arrival. He is considered to be top of the list of fighters from the New Generation.

## Appearance

Kokuro is a tan-skinned man with broad, dark, intimidating features. He has a noticeably powerful musculature, typical of most affiliated fighters, black hair set in a relaxed bulb and skin-faded, an angular chin with a thin layer of facial hair running along his jawline and pronounced eyebrow ridges with an apparent lack of eyebrows. He is a smoker, often seen with a lit cigarette in his mouth when relaxing. Kokuro seems to prefer wearing simple outfits along with basic sandals.

## Personality

In contrast to his intimidating appearance, Kokuro is actually quite a respectful and genial individual. He chided Koga for calling the opponents he had defeated "weak" and gave the boy praise after knocking him out for fighting him fairly, even calling Koga an ambulance. In battle, Kokuro is particularly composed and rational, able to make pragmatic decisions that are unaffected by conceit in his own abilities.

## History

Hailing from a family of athletes, Kokuro had a good track record in all kinds of events since he was a child, in particular Bogu karate. He was the champion of Gachirinkai's national tournament for five successive years, an esteemed school of Bogu karate that used the point system.

## Plot

Kokuro was introduced as he finished training. Some time later, he was seen at Club Zero (of the Gold Pleasure Group), showing off his abilities to impress the hostesses around him. Receiving a call from a hidden number, Kokuro went into an alleyway and was challenged by Narushima Koga for his position as an affiliated fighter. Welcoming the challenge, the two began fighting with Kokuro quickly taking control of the fight. However the fight ended very surely with Kokuro the victor. Commending Koga and calling the boy an ambulance, he exited declaring that he would win in his Kengan match the next day.

The next day, Kokuro fought against Gaoh Ryuki for Taniishi Confectionery, Inc. While initially using his typical winning strategy against Ryuki, Kokuro eventually changed tack due to Ryuki effortlessly parrying and countering his moves. Being knocked back by a strike to his solar plexus, Kokuro resolved to end the fight sooner than later. Forcing Ryuki to take some distance, Kokuro struck him with the Stinger, but was shocked when Ryuki returned to his feet with minimal damage. With Ryuki getting into a strange stance, Kokuro began cautiously attacking Ryuki, though none of his strikes landed. Though he managed to land a hit, Ryuki immediately countered and knocked Kokuro out, getting his first loss.

Reappearing later at Yamashita Trading Co. and meeting Lihito for the first time, Kokuro was made aware of his next Kengan match which would also act as a screen to see if he would be part of the Kengan Association's roster in the upcoming Kengan Association VS Purgatory Tournament. On the day of his match, he faced Hayami Masaki and was defeated almost instantly.

Mulling over his loss to Masaki to Koga, Kokuro then challenged Koga to a rematch, adding that if Koga lost he would have to give up. Though he still won in the end, Kokuro nonetheless praised Koga for his rapid improvement. Kokuro agreed to help Koga train in order to try and get a place on the roster for the tournament. At that, Kokuro and Koga trained together essentially every evening for the next three months.

During the Kengan Association VS Purgatory Tournament, Kokuro watched Kanoh Agito's match with Adam Dudley, Mokichi Robinson and Imai Cosmo, amazed by the Fang's power.

## Power & Abilities

Utsubuki Kokuro is a strong fighter who managed to achieve seven victories in one year ever since his debut, with three of his opponents having over twenty wins in their record; Harada Tokujiro and Murobuchi Gozo were those among his conquests, though Kokuro claims that Murobuchi might have defeated him if he was in his peak condition. He is currently considered to be the fastest rising fighter in the Kengan matches. Kokuro's current fighting style is based off of Bogu karate and he has been shown to know some kickboxing too. He possesses particular quick strikes: he can puncture a sandbag full of holes in an instant.

Kokuro's winning strategy is a high-speed combination that focuses on hitting the opponent with rush punches until they stop moving and then taking them out with a powerful finishing blow. Because of how simple the strategy is, it is surprisingly difficult for opponents to get out of it. However, what makes Kokuro particularly dangerous is his ability to quickly switch strategies if his current one isn't working well thanks to his pragmatism; his ability to make quick judgments are largely responsible for his quick rise in the ranks within a single year.

### Stinger

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The **Stinger** (スティンガー, *Sutingā*) is a powerful front kick that utilizes the big toe to deliver that power at a small, concentrated area. The key to the technique is the snap of the knee, the resulting speed leaving him with a front kick even faster than a jab. Kokuro was able to puncture a hole in a Hennessy bottle so fast that none present saw it happen, disable Koga's right arm and also leave a cracked imprint in Koga's skull using the technique. Due to the technique's striking speed, Kokuro has noted that not even the fighters he has faced have been able to see it coming and dodge it. Kokuro began developing this technique twelve years into his martial arts career, practising his front kicks 1000 times a day with each foot. For eight years, Kokuro didn't miss a day without throwing these 2000 kicks until he finally achieved, the Stinger.

## Etymology

* **Utsubuki** means "blowing" (打吹).
* **Kokuro** means "black wolf" (黒狼).

## Notes & Trivia

* Kokuro's motto is apparently, "Punch before you think".
* He is a local celebrity.
* Kokuro's hobby is collecting silver accessories.
* Originally he was going to be an ex-SDF soldier, but the design was scrapped. His epithet, "Wolf Soldier", is a remnant from that design.
* Kokuro's Stinger technique is actually very similar to the Tsumaki Geri or "Tiptoe Kick" in classical Okinawan Karate, wherein kicks would be performed not with the ball of the foot as is seen in modern Karate, Taekwondo etc. nor with the shin such as in Muay Thai, but instead with the big toe which increases power, penetration and precision at the cost of higher rates of injury, making conditioning a necessity, as was with the case of Kokuro.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Utsubuki Kokuro's profile
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chapter 6 (Omega)
3. ↑ *7 wins in just one year, two against Harada Tokujiro and Murobuchi Gozo(ΩCh3)*
4. ↑ *1 loss against Gaoh Ryuki(ΩCh8)*
*1 loss against Hayami Masaki(ΩCh44)*
*1 loss against Narushima Koga(ΩCh149)*
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chapter 4 (Omega)
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Chapter 5 (Omega)
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Chapter 7 (Omega)
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Ch3`