Kenshin Himura

**Series:** Rurouni Kenshin

**Gender:** Male

**Age:** 28

**Alias(es):** Hitokiri Battōsai (Current); Battōsai Himura (Current); Shinta Himura (Former)

**Species: Superhuman**

**Occupation(s):** Rurouni (Current); Hitokiri (Former); Ishin Shishi Swordsman (Former)

**Affiliation(s):** Kamiya Dojo (Current); Chōshū Ishin Shishi (Former)

**Powers:** Superhuman Strength; Superhuman Durability; Superhuman Stamina; Superhuman Speed; Superhuman Reflexes; Superhuman Agility; Minor Chi Sensing and Manipulation

**Abilities:** Incredibly Skilled Swordsman and Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu Sword Style; Skilled Strategist; Indomitable Willpower; Extreme Courage; Extreme Tenacity

**Equipment:** Sakabatō Shinuchi (Current); Sakabatō Kageuchi (Former/Broken); Katana (Former)

**Weakness(es):** Refuses to kill except when in battosai mode, usually uses a sakabatou (reverse bladed sword) which is not lethal, later on in the manga his small frame along with the stress of using Hiten-Mitsurugi techniques causes him to weaken

**Destructive Capability: Small City Level**, Large City Level while using Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki (almost killed Seijuro)

**Range:** Extended human melee range

**Lifting Strength:** Superhuman

**Striking Strength:** Class KJ, Class MJ when using Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki

**Durability:** Small City Level+

**Stamina:** Superhuman

**Speed:** Faster than the eye can see+

**Reflexes:** Supersonic+

## **Technique(s):**

**Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū (Flying Heaven Govern Sword-Style):** An ancient kenjutsu style from the Sengoku Jidai, developed to allow a single samurai to defeat numerous foes single-handedly. Practitioners of this style use a combination of superhuman speed and agility, battōjutsu, and acquired, observation-based pseudo-clairvoyance that permits a practitioner to anticipate an opponent's movements. Both offensive and defensive maneuvers are executed with minimal movement in order to increase a practitioner's ability to counter-attack and to conserve energy. The style also stresses two-step attacks in order to ensure that the practitioner is never off guard while executing said attacks.

* **Ryūtsuisen (Dragon Hammer Flash):** From a position higher than one's opponent (usually initiated by a powerful jump), one uses the momentum of the fall to strengthen a two-handed sword swing that brings the blade down on the opponent's head or shoulder.
	+ **Ryūtsuisen - Zan (Dragon Hammer Flash: Disaster):** Beginning in the same way as Ryūtsuisen, the user positions the sword as to initiate a downward stab to the head instead of a downward swing.
* **Ryūkansen (Dragon Coiling Flash):** Most often used as a counterattack against a thrust or charge, one sidesteps a forward-moving opponent and moves past them. In doing so, one spins in a full circle, adding momentum and centrifugal force to the strength of the sword swing, which is then aimed at either the opponent's back or the back of the neck.
	+ **Ryūkansen - Tsumuji (Dragon Coiling Flash - Whirl):** One of the variations of Ryūkansen, Ryūkansen Tsumuji is a direct attack rather than a counter, and involves a more forward direction of spinning, such as in a drilling motion like a torpedo.
	+ **Ryūkansen - Kogarashi (Dragon Coiling Flash - Wintry Wind):** An alternate version used in Kenshin's Five Hit Combo against Shishio. Involves a simple backhanded slash from a single turn to blast the foe away; unlike the original version it is not a full circling spin, and is meant to be a quick and possibly situational strike.
	+ **Ryūkansen - Arashi (Dragon Coiling Flash - Storm/Tempest):** A variation of the normal Ryūkansen, this technique places the swordsman is in a full rolling somersault slash while attacking.
* **Ryūshōsen (Dragon Soaring Flash):** The opposite of Ryūtsuisen, Ryūshōsen is a rising attack meant to strike the jaw from below. For additional power, one uses one's free arm to apply force to the back of the blade and utilizes a powerful upward jump during the attack. Originally this move was designed to slice into the opponent's chin and kill them, but Kenshin has since modified the technique to strike with the sword's side; consequently, Senkaku, Shishio and Aoshi have all survived the attack, though the former was instantly knocked out by it.
* **Ryūtsuishōsen (Dragon Hammer Soaring Flash):** A combination of Ryūtsuisen and Ryūshōsen, Ryūtsuishōsen begins with the powerful jump and supported upswing of Ryūshōsen, giving the leap enough power to pass one's opponent in mid-air, and on the returning drop, Ryūtsuisen is performed. it is unknown if this move can be performed effectively without using a sakabatō, as the initial Ryūtsuisen would already be fatal if landed correctly with a normal katana. It can also work the other way around at times, where the Ryūtsuisen performed first instead, followed by a reversal-slash styled Ryūshōsen.
* **Ryūsōsen (Dragon Nest Flash):** A massive flurry of strikes delivered to the opponent. The sheer speed of the slashes makes this technique difficult to counter.
	+ **Ryūsōsen - Garami (Dragon Nest Flash - Gnawing):** A technique that which targets the foe's head.
* **Doryūsen (Earth/Land Dragon Flash):** A ranged attack, Doryūsen strikes an opponent outside of the user's range by striking the ground and sending earthen debris at said opponent with knockout force.
* **Kuzuryūsen (Nine-Headed Dragon Flash):** A dashing attack that uses speed and agility to simultaneously strike all nine vital spots on the foe's body from a normal kendō stance, as each of these nine points are the main targets for different swordstyles (only different styles target different ones). It is said to be undodgeable and nearly unblockable.
* **Sōryūsen (Twin Dragon Flash):** Seemingly a simple Battōjutsu strike, Sōryūsen is the first of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū's two-step Battōjutsu moves. After the first strike with the quickened sword, the user wields the empty sheath along the same path as a blunt weapon. After the sword strike lands, the sheath strike delivers a pulverizing blow capable of crushing bone and shattering wood, but if the sword strike misses, the sheath strike acts as powerful insurance, preventing an opponent's attack and delivering a crushing blow when it's least expected.
	+ **Sōryūsen - Ikazuchi (Twin Dragon Flash - Thunder):** An alternate form of Sōryūsen wherein the sword is wielded while still inside the sheath. The first strike is made with the sheathed sword and, once it makes contact, the sword is drawn using Battōjutsu for a second strike. While the original Sōryūsen is designed to make two strikes, Sōryūsen Ikazuchi appears designed with the assumption that the first strike will be blocked.
* **Hiryūsen (Flying Dragon Flash):** After assuming a Battōjutsu stance, one rotates one's body rapidly and then stops, aiming the sheath at one's target. The force shoots the sword's grip out of the sheath like an arrow, allowing one to strike a target outside of one's zone and reach. As a Battōjutsu move and as one that requires one's sword to be shot at the enemy, it can be assumed that accurate aim is required for this move (or else the weapon can easily be lost), and that the sheath can then be used as a melee weapon in a second strike, but the latter is not seen.
* **Ryūmeisen (Dragon Howl Flash):** An unusual technique in which one uses the godspeed of Battōjutsu to sheathe the sword rather than to draw it in a practice known as *Shinsoku Nōtōjutsu* (神速納刀術, Godspeed Reaping Blade Technique). The speed and force creates a miniature sonic boom that can be used to temporarily stun opponents with particularly sensitive or acute hearing by affecting their auditory nerves.
* **Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki (Flash of the Heavenly Soaring Dragon):** The secret ultimate technique AKA the ōgi (secret technique) of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū, Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki is a powerful Battōjutsu technique whose secret lies in discovering both the significance and insignificance of one's life, the penultimate requirement needed to master the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū. Though its form is that of any other Battōjutsu strike, the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki differs in that - while a normal strike is performed by drawing the katana from its sheath on one side while stepping forward with the opposite foot - this strike adds yet another step mid-draw with the leading foot adjacent to the sheath. This endangers the user by possibly putting the adjacent leg into the free sword's path and draws one even closer to an opponent's sword than usual, but on the other hand, boosts both the power and the speed of the Battōjutsu swing. By realizing one's insignificance and risking life and limb to protect something else while, at the same time, taking one's own, fragile human life into consideration, the user is able to step into the small margin behind one's own drawn sword and in front of the sword of one's opponent without fail, delivering a beyond-godspeed blow of monstrous power. Additionally, like other Battōjutsu moves of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū, Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki is a two-step move and, if its secret should be anticipated and the strike itself blocked or dodged, the second step comes immediately into effect. The immense force of the enhanced draw cuts the air in front of it and creates a powerful vacuum in its wake as the deflected air rushes back into place. Any opponent to deflect or dodge the first swing will automatically be subject to this vacuum and inexorably pulled closer to the user, all the while this vacuum creates intense winds powerful enough to overwhelm and catch their opponents off balance. With the great amount of force being applied to the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki, a missed swing leads naturally into an accelerated spin of such centripetal force akin to the Ryūkansen. The added momentum of the spin in addition to the pulling force of the vacuum on both side results in a second strike that greatly dwarfs the first in power. This is best explained to Kaoru by Hiko Seijūrō XIII: "Even if you avoid the fangs of the flying dragon the gusting winds strip away freedom of movement and the claws would rip you apart".
* **Karyūsen (Vortex Dragon Flash):** A gust of wind caused by Kenshin's sakabatō, he uses this to stun or impede opponents at a distance. Wrapping his wounded arm and sheath to the belt and taking the stance for the Amakakeru Ryū No Hirameki, Kenshin leaps high into the air, and begins a free-fall. Knowing there is no stability while airborne, Kenshin utilizes the free-fall to multiply the torque of his rotating body to accelerate the draw of his sword for the decisive strike.

**Shinsoku (God-Speed):** An instantaneous speed and highly agile movement which allows him to quickly overpower and dispatch most of his opponents with his sword before they have time to react.

**Modoshigiri:** The most skilled swordsmen using the best of blades were supposedly able to slice an object in two and rejoin the halves together, as if it were never cut at all. Kenshin demonstrates this when he cuts a daikon and then reforms it back together. He doesn't cut it with his sword, but rather a kitchen knife, since his sakabatō was broken at that time.

**Zantetsu:** The most skilled swordsmen were purportedly able to use their swords to cut through steel. Kenshin states he can use it anywhere except underwater.