Shen Wulong

**Shen Wulong** (申 (シェン)  我 (ウー) 龍 (ロン) , *Shen Ūron*), also known as **The Connector** (繋 (つな) がる者 (もの) , *Tsunagaru-mono*), is the Worm's de facto ruler.

## Appearance

Wulong is a tall, muscular man that sports a shock of light hair pulled back into a ponytail and stubble on his chin. His most curious feature is his eyes, which appear to have dual pupils.

## Personality

At first glance, Shen Wulong possesses an aloof, nonchalant attitude toward almost everything. He also appears to be whimsical at times, such as demanding to meet Narushima Koga simply because of his victory over Xia Ji while ignoring the fact he is in a hostile position to the Kengan Association, only to give up immediately upon being pointed out how unreasonable his request was. Wulong's nonchalance forces Xia Yan to play babysitter, giving him reminders that he can't do things on a whim. He nearly revealed his real name to Yamashita Kazuo, before settling on "Jackie Lee."

However, that care-free demeanor, while a dominant part of his personality, seems to be just the tip of the iceberg - on closer inspection, Shen Wulong appears to be an extremely confident and, on some occasions, violent individual, who considers himself to be the World's "immune system", that the Earth "calls" upon to eradicate the "unrighteous" - an aspect of his personality that drives some to say that he is "sick in the head".

Surprisingly, Wulong seems to be somewhat humble, going as far as to say that anyone could accomplish an impressive feat of his if they knew the right "principles" (such as stopping a spear charge by holding down the point of the force - the tip, with his fingers). He also appears to be very keen to compliment those he deems strong (even if they seem quite weak in comparison to his own might), as first demonstrated in his second confrontation with Gaoh Mukaku. In addition, he is very perceptive and analytical, not only remembering the specifics of Mukaku's fighting style 80 years after they last met, but also outright voicing his opinion on the techniques of his opponent, sometimes even explaining how he avoided or stopped a certain attack. He also appears to have a habit of comparing the martial prowess of different people he knows, much to the annoyance of some of them.

Despite being the 'true' leader of the Worm, as his word gets the final say, he doesn't seem interested in actually running the organization, leaving the position to Yan - to the extent that so far, the Connector himself has only initiated direct action when his clone for his consciousness to survive has been compromised. Wulong doesn't even regard the animosity his group is supposed to have with the Kengan Association, going so far as to share a drink with Kazuo and eventually Narushima Joji. He would even bond with the latter just from the first glance and sharing drinks and snacks.

He also has a massive appetite, wishing to have ramen after just finishing a meal.

## History

According to Mukaku, no one knows how long The Connector has been around - an old man told him that *he* has been living in the mountains of China since the age of myths, being considered by the locals to be an immortal sage, since his descendants all took the name "Shen Wulong". As a sage, he was mostly harmless, to the point that he rarely interacted with people - however, on rare occasions, an "aberrant individual" emerged.

1300 years before the events of the manga, The Connector went against the Worm, defeating the Head in a duel, taking the organization under his control. Wulong then declared war on the original Wu Clan, being said to have won decisively - an event that seemingly led to the split of the clan into 3 separate factions. According to Mukaku, Wulong may have thought that by doing all this, he was bringing God's wraith upon the people who annoyed him.

Sometime in the 1930s, Shen Wulong's 'previous self' would wipe out the Dragon Tribe due to them disagreeing with using cloning to truly prolong his life. The only survivor was the leader's grandson, Long Xiu. Xiu would later join a subsidiary known as the Wowang Syndicate, and would use them to initiate an ambush against Shen Wulong. It would prove to be for naught, as Wulong slaughtered all but Long Xiu, with only Mukaku barely managing to survive by using his comrades as human shields.

Presumably, this Wulong would meet his end at the hands of Katahara Metsudo and Kure Erioh. During one of their raids of the Worm's hideouts, with the building getting set on fire, rather than take revenge, that Wulong merely congratulated them, before meeting his fate in the flames.

## Power & Abilities

Due to his pseudo-immortality, Wulong is very likely the most powerful martial artist alive. His abilities are on such a different level compared to even master martial artists that most cannot even sense it, perceiving him instead as simply an ordinary "middle-aged" man. The powerful feats and skills he has displayed are often mentioned by him to be the result of know-how and correctly applying "principles", indicating that, rather than being a super-human, his colossal power is simply the result of the vast amount of knowledge he has gained through many lifetimes worth of training.

His mere presence simply shifting to 'annoyed' caused Xia Ji to hallucinate being sliced into pieces, the latter stating that he is nothing compared to him. Even two direct subordinates admit that they feared him, even if they weren't targeted themselves. This same pressure even intimidated both Metsudo and Erioh, leaving them unable to move. Even Gilbert Wu and The Other Tokita Niko acknowledge Wulong's superiority and appear loyal to him, despite their own immense might and egos.

Shen Wulong dealt with the Wowang Syndicate's ambush, Gaoh Mukaku recounted it as a "bloodbath" and "one-sided Massacre" despite all five utilizing the Possessing Spirit. In his third confrontation with Mukaku, The Connector avoided and countered all of Mukaku's tricks. No matter how much killing intent Mukaku put into them, his attacks just wouldn't land on Wulong - as if Gaoh never intended to hit him in the first place. Mukaku thought of it as something that surpasses even the prowess of pre-intitative. Wulong, even against Mukaku's brute strength, was able to "hold down the point of force" of his spear, completely halting it. Wulong himself claimed that it was something "anyone could do if they knew how it works", before shattering the spear he was holding into splinters by simply applying some force to its tip.

Wulong also possesses a superhuman control over his body. However, once he decided to "enjoy" his fight with Mukaku, instead of using it as a way to exert more of his strength, he deliberately limited himself in various ways, such as relocating his tendons, suppressing his muscle output, limiting his joints’ range of motion, setting his neurotransmission speed to the lowest setting and even shutting down some of his brain’s circuits. Even when deliberately physically shackling himself, Wulong still overpowered Mukaku. Three of his attacks landing had left Mukaku momentarily groggy in mid-combat. Repeated blows from Mukaku's Ironbreaker barely even fatigued him let alone wounded him. Wulong himself even claimed Mukaku was too slow to keep up with him despite his self-imposed limiting.

When infiltrating the Kengan Association, Wulong effortlessly knocks out an entire armada of bodyguards without ever being perceived, by slipping in between the gaps of their visual awareness and blind spots. After revealing himself, he easily dispatches the elite of Metsudo's bodyguards (including both a former and the current Fang of Metsudo) in one sweep with what he calls "gentle strokes", suggesting that he does not even need to use proper strikes to knock someone out. Xia Yan then quips that even if the Kengan Association had Kanoh Agito, Kure Raian, or Rolon Donaire at their side, it would not make a difference, once again showing how even the strongest of fighters are powerless against Wulong.

### Huisheng

Wulong had undergone Huisheng to retain the memories of the previous Connectors. That was decided as the only reason why the Connector is 'still around', despite that Metsudo's and Erioh's last encounter with him was during their own youth.

### Breathlessness

The current "Shen Wulong" is in fact only one generation apart from the Wulong that massacred the Dragon Tribe many decades ago. This is due to them practicing yogic breathing, a method of 'breathlessness' that, while they couldn't achieve it fully, has managed to slow their aging process in their pursuit of immortality. It also allow Shen to stay consciousness even after breathing a sufficient amount of carbon monoxide that would knock out a normal person.

## Etymology

* **Shen** (申) can mean "To extend".
* **Wulong** (武龍) can mean "Martial Dragon".

## Trivia

* His eyes appear to be based on a real life condition called Polycoria.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chapter 215 (Omega)
2. ↑ Chapter 213 (Omega)