Saikō

**Saikō Kuro** (otherwise known as the **Alpha**) is the leader of the Oni in the Beyond Franchise. He is the brother of Shin (the Omega), father and commander of the Oni Warlords, and sworn arch-nemesis of the Dragons. For centuries his kind clashed with them, until the father of the dragons, Magnus, and his best warriors sealed Saikō away so that the Oni would never properly rise again. After near extinction, the Oni were given a second chance by Samara Yokotawaru and her Dark Order as they were revitalized with the numbers and resources necessary to test the Ninja Force of Earth-21's strengths. When both Shiro Garmadon and his a clone of his brother Shin failed to defeat them, Saikō was released from his prison by Shin, Phobos, and the other warlords as a means to conquering something bigger than a realm or reality: the Multiverse. And with that, Saiko set out to do so but was cut off by the emergence of the Prowler Syndicate, a force which wanted all elemental beings out of the picture. Because of this, Saikō became an powerful and ambitious force in the ever expansive multiverse and the First Power Wars began.

As the conflict between the Elemental-Killers and Bringers of Doom began to take shape and form, the Ninja Force of Earth-21 and their allies from across the multiverse formed their own alliance that was called the Multiverse Protection Coalition; seeking to put an end to the war before it began. Of course, this first attempt was unsuccessful as the back-and-forth between the three sides continued on for about a year until Natalie Walker and Keith Garmadon were able to get through to the Phantom and form and alliance with him and a third of his syndicate that was still loyal to him. What followed was the epic battle between the Oni Empire and Multiverse Protection Coalition; the Ninja Force's most powerful and wittiest rained down upon Saiko and put up a good fight until it looked like he was going to obliterate Jason Walker. Due to the lack of his behemoth's prowess, the Ninja Force had tricked Saiko and cpatured him before sealing him away within Kyojin Prison. The MPC rebranded themselves as the Multiverse Protection Corps and went on to win the war while Saiko rotted in prison, occassionally approached by Magnus who wanted to end it but couldn't find the way to do it properly.

Thanks to the master move of Shin using the variant-killing method to regain his intelligence and a plot that nobody could suspect. Saiko's consciousness was linked to Dark Matter that was infused into a comet that would crash down on Earth-21, takeover the body of Lucas Garmadon's son Daniel, and declare a Second Power Wars. Although the Defenders managed to eliminate the Dark Matter, Saiko was broken out of prison by his brethren and made a move to finish what he started. Like before, a syndicate would attempt to join the arms race for control over the multiverse, but many others would follow, drawing out the conflict to over the span of three years before the Oni or MPC could get these forces out of their exclusive conflict. Soon the two opposing sides would have to become one for a bit to prevent the Dark Order from taking over and winning the wars. In the end, the two sides split once more, but Saiko and Magnus were done fighting each other as they'd realized they were the best line of defense for their multiverse. And then, Saiko disappeared, rumored to have been killed by Samara. Even his generals and brother don't know where he is, but continue to maintain their empire in his name.

## Trivia

* Saikō’s name means “darkness” but is also intended to be a play on words for “psycho”
* Saikō's personality is based somewhat off of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha's from *Naruto: Shippuden.*
* Saikō's first physical appearance was in a post credits scene of the film Beyond: Collisions as he was released from his prison. He would more prominently appear in Beyond: The Power Wars as he was one of the main villains. Then going on to return in Beyond: The Golden Age.
* Saikō's backstory is somewhat based off of that of Demon Bull King's from *Monkie Kid.*