Zō

Zō
--

Zō prepering himself to fight with 'Sword-less Daikon'.

***Zō*** is a swordbandits' captain from *Dragons of Azuma* webcomic. He is a instructor of fort Uragiri and one of the five captains of the fort (along with Buta, Ushi and the two unnamed captains). He is seen as a very powerful characters and is the first swordbandit to posses the ability to use his tamashī energy since Taka introduction.

## Appearance

Zō appears as a tall and well muscled man with black hair (and a thin ponytail) and a scar on the right side of his face. He is seen wearing an eyepatch, and also has a bandit symbol tattoo on the right side of his chest. He is seen wearing black martial arts suit (with the symbol on the left side) and a blue belt.

## History

### Past

In a youn age Zō became a swordbandit and for seven years he was in a rank of bandit soldier. In that time he met a captain named Yamakaze Taka, which helped him to become stronger and be promoted. For five years his progress helped him to become a captain. After this time he was transferred to fort Uragiri where he stayed for 3 years as a main instructor.

### Battle of Uragiri

Zō attended in Shōga's meeting, about his transfer to another fort (and reciving a message from Tsubame) which anoyed him as he heard that the major is changing his forts every few moths. When the meeting was interupted he came to welcome (along with the other captains) the intruders of the fort. For most of the time Zō was just watching what will happen (he also noticed that Cropper is a tamashī energy user), until a mysterious 'bandit hunter' appeared in tthe fort to kill Shōga. When the major (terrified by Daikon's appearance) did a step back, Zō send him on the ground understanding his behavior (running from his enemy) as a berayal for the swordbandit status. The captain gave Shōga a chance to leave the fort and the Honyūrui Empire alive if he would defeat Daikon, which he eventually fails and is killed by Zō himself. After becoming the new commander of the fort Zō ordered his men not to interfere in the fight as he and Ushi will fight the youngsters. He defended himself against Cropper, Daikon and four of Nekos. When he noticed the weak point of Neko's technique he defeated the youngster and performed Tetsukenjutsu - his own tamashī energy technique which made his body extremely hard and send Nashi, Cropper and Daikon on the ground. Suddenly, the enterence of the fort 'explodes' and Momo appears. The bandit captain is shocked because of the presence of the Legendary Martial Artist. After Momo defeats a group of bandits he sends Zō on the ground.

> *This story arc/chapter is still published so it may be incomplete.*
>
>

## Strenght

Zō is seen as a very powerful man (compared to other swordbandit shown so far). He is a Tamashī energy user and (as stated by himself) uses it in a new way (unlike Cropper or Neko) which makes him unstoppable. He kills Shōga with a single hit and defeats the youngsters with ease (which to the point of meeting Zō, defeated every opponent without using their full potential).

## Fights

* Zō vs. Cropper, Daikon and four Nekos (won).
* Zō vs. Momo (lost/died).

## Inspirations

Unlike any character in the series Zō doesn't have any *Red Dragon* predecessor, or even a look-alike (to the point where the original series was relesead). His appearance, altough (black tangzhuang and a ponytail) is similar to Wah Sing Ku (played by Jet Li) from *Lethal Weapon 4.*

His name comes form japanese word *zō* (象) meaning elephant.

## Others

* Zō might be about 30 years old in the point of his appearance. He stated that for half of his life he was a swordbandit, which is 15 years from his story (7 years as a bandit soldier, five making great progress and three in Uragiri).
* Zō is the first character which tamashī energy technique is both offensive and defensive. Also he is a first bandit since Taka to use the energy.

## References

1. ↑ http://dragonsofazuma.thecomicseries.com/comics/241/
2. ↑ http://dragonsofazuma.thecomicseries.com/comics/242
3. ↑ http://dragonsofazuma.thecomicseries.com/comics/157/
4. ↑ http://dragonsofazuma.thecomicseries.com/comics/196/
5. ↑ http://dragonsofazuma.thecomicseries.com/comics/231/
6. ↑ http://dragonsofazuma.thecomicseries.com/comics/282