Miyamoto Musashi

## Image Gallery

**Miyamoto Musashi** (宮本 (みやもと)  武 (む) 蔵 (さし) ) is one of the fighters participating in the Tenkaichi tournament, representing Chosokabe Motochika.

## Appearance

Musashi is a massive young man, able to seemingly loom over the similarly huge Honda Tadakatsu; he is a simple looking kid with a sprawling mop of purple-coloured hair atop his head and similarly coloured eyes. He wears a dirty green coloured tattered sleeveless kimono tied with a burgundy sash and wraps his neck, forearms and lower legs in scuffed bandages; Musashi goes around barefoot.

## Personality

From his introduction up to the very beginning of his fight, Musashi held a distinctly blasé attitude to an almost disrespectful degree, such him casually snoozing even after being formally introduced for the first match. This was due to him losing his great passion for swordsmanship and battle due to being unable to fight anyone at his level. It was only after fighting Honda Tadakatsu that the spark in Musashi's eyes reignited, with his father even noting that he looked like he was having fun again. Musashi appears to otherwise have a relatively 'normal' persona (in comparison to the more eccentric characters) and is seen to get irritated when strangers try interacting with him; almost always accompanied by his father, Musashi often responds exasperatedly to his father's overly enthusiastic nature.

Musashi holds an insatiable desire and conviction for the greatest strength. Even when Honda suggests that he surrender so he can survive and make a name for himself later, Musashi confidently refuses the advice and notes that shortest and quickest route to gaining strength, as well as stating that if a man cannot put their life on the line, they could never be the "strongest under the heavens".

His lack of worldly experience is apparent however; after defeating Honda Tadakatsu, a disappointed and confused Musashi asks the man why he didn't just sacrifice him arm in order to obtain victory. Wondering if he would have lost if Honda didn't have something to protect, Musashi can't yet understand why Honda would put the value of the Tokugawa Ieyasu's life over his own life or power. In another instance of his youthful ignorance, Musashi was left questioning what the dreaming Kamiizumi Isenokami was referring to when the latter was colloquially talking about boobs.

## History

When Musashi was still only 2, he had yet to speak his first word and constantly cried no matter what his father, Shinmen Munisai, tried. Not long after, while being carried around by Munisai, they came across the corpse of a samurai; while his father took pity on the man, Musashi unexpectedly took his first steps, picked up the dead samurai's sword and spoke his first words. With Munisai realising what was in his hands and running over in alarm, Musashi slashed his arm, revealing to his father Musashi immense talent for swordsmanship. After that point onwards, Musashi did everything with the sword up until the point he surpassed his father aged 11. From that day, Musashi's passion for the sword snuffed out and he left to wander in training, but could find no-one who was as strong as himself. With nothing to stimulate his passion, he soon stopped carrying around his swords, his potential going dormant.

At some point recently before the Tenkaichi, Musashi received renown for single-handedly defeating the masters of Yoshioka-ryu.

## Plot

After the tournament bracket had been announced, Musashi randomly woke up behind Honda Tadakatsu, before nonchalantly introducing himself.

With the first match getting underway, Miyamoto Musashi was introduced but the younger fighter sat cross-legged and snoozing, irritating those watching with his seeming disrespect. However, Honda Tadakatsu struck at him, eliciting Musashi to evade being skewered by the man's spear. Groggily being made aware it was time for his match, Musashi realised it was Honda who had attacked and awoken him before brandishing his bokken, ready to begin.
The match between the two began in earnest, with Honda initially overwhelming Musashi with his masterful spearmanship. However, Musashi soon began to adjust to Honda's spear movements, culminating in finally wounding his legendary opponent. With his bokken now utterly destroyed, he replaced it with his father's katana, an excited expression on his face. His father then loudly thanked Tadakatsu for awakening Musashi, and the general gave his own thanks for also being awakening in return. With Tadakatsu's rousing killing intent pouring out, Musashi excitedly muttered that he could now rise to even greater heights. The fight resumed with Honda launching an even faster attack, but Musashi nimbly evaded it before being slammed under the weight of Tonbokiri. Very literally pressed, Musashi sliced Honda's spear in two, much to everyone's shock, and was readying for the killing blow before Honda stopped his sword and powerfully countered with rapid strikes to his chest, flooring him. Tadakatsu noted that Musashi had mitigated the damaged, with Musashi asking for a wakizashi before returning to his feet. Glad to have found someone stronger than himself, Musashi unsheathed the wakizashi, ready to fight at full power.
Resuming the fight once more, Tadakatsu launched an even faster thrust, but Musashi parried and then successfully slashed Tadakatsu across his chest. The two then locked together, swords against spear, but the intensity of the fight enabled Tadakatsu's body to reach its peak, and he overpowered Musashi, pushing him backwards.

The radiant Honda told Musashi that he would give him a proper burial, with the young swordsman acknowledging Honda's ability to raise his game with excitement on his face. With both appreciating their enjoyment fighting each other, Honda attacked with even faster spear thrusts, seriously pressuring Musashi who could barely keep up. Pushed back, Musashi's mind raced over Honda's immense power, but the spearman didn't let up and attacked with a ridiculously heavy downward strike. Taking the blow head on, Musashi managed to quickly manoeuvre around the attack, setting him up for the perfect retaliation! However, his slash hit thin air, as Honda bent backwards to avoid the swing, leaving Musashi completely exposed instead! Honda attempted to spear him, but Musashi managed to dodge the blow at the last moment, but not quick enough to avoid part of his ribs getting blown away straight into his father's hands.
Tadakatsu tried to reason with the Musashi, explaining that if he surrendered now he would be able to survive and make a name for himself in the future. However, Musashi retorted that even if he surrendered and got stronger in the future, the quickest route to gaining strength was defeating Honda, adding that if a man couldn't bet their life to begin with, they could never be the world's strongest.
Tadakatsu conceded his point, and began loudly praying, before taking on a battle stance, Musashi slowly taking on a strange stance in response. Musashi moved a moment before Honda, driving forwards with a low-centred high-speed charge to limit Honda's area of attack. Leaping over Honda's spear thrust, Musashi readied to land the killing blow, but was left in alarmed astonishment when Honda instantly drew back his spear, ready to strike again. In the minds of both fighters, they foresaw how the battle would end: Honda losing his left arm and Musashi being pierced through the heart. With them both having seen the same ending, Honda launched a surprise attack instead. As expected, Musashi's mind went blank, having been caught off guard, however, his extraordinary instinct allowed him to react and shatter Tonbokiri's tip in between his two swords. With Honda now weaponless, Musashi screamed the Nio's name before delivering a deep slash across his chest, lethally defeating the legendary spearman.

A disappointed Musashi questioned Honda "why", noting that if he had sacrificed his left arm he'd have won. Tadakatsu merely replied that the Tenkaichi couldn't be won with only his right arm. He continued, saying that even if he hadn't sacrificed his left arm he still had a good chance of winning; it was just that Musashi was very strong. Musashi then watched in horror as Honda went on to bravely protect Tokugawa Ieyasu from a hail of bullets. While his victory was announced, Musashi had an unreadable expression on his face. He wondered whether he would have lost if Honda didn't have something to protect, unable to understand such reasoning. An aide came over to offer healing to Musashi, but the genius swordsman declined it saying that each scar that awakened him allowed him to defeat the Kongo Nio. The aide warned that if he left his injuries alone he might die, but Musashi only mused on the remaining fighters in the Tenkaichi who he would soon feast upon and become the strongest martial artist. Chosokabe congratulated Musashi on his victory, while Musashi thanked his father for bringing him to the Tenkaichi tournament.

In the evening of the first day of the Tenkaichi, Musashi sat alone while eating up in a tree. He mumbled aloud that he couldn't wait for his next battle as he didn't want to lose the feeling he had gained against Honda Tadakatsu. Just then, a voice behind him noted that Honda was better in terms of ability and Sasaki Kojiro appeared, mentioning that Musashi didn't notice him getting close. Kojiro introduced himself and revealed that he saw Musashi's match, adding it was no surprise Honda was superior ability-wise since Musashi was still an unpolished diamond. Sasaki plopped down next to Musashi, suddenly drawing close and saying he smelled good, causing Musashi to recoil loudly in horror. Musashi wondered aloud what the hell was wrong with him when suddenly Kojiro's retainer called for him to go back. Kojiro said that he had to go, saying that Musashi would soon shine brighter than the Nio and adding that he hoped they can talk again (with Musashi telling him not to come back under his breath).

On the second day of the Tenkaichi, Musashi was animatedly dragged along to see the match between Kamiizumi Isenokami and Hino Choko by his father, with the latter telling the boy that the fight was a must see if he wanted to be the strongest. Just then, ⁶ᵗʰFuma Kotaro mocked him for coming with his "daddy", eliciting Musashi to respond that she had no right to talk. Overlooking his perceived cockiness, ⁶ᵗʰFuma told him to keep in mind that he was her *pet* not her daddy. When a loudly and perversely dreaming Kamiizumi was introduced, Musashi's father humorously remarked that Kamiizumi's entrance was much like Musashi's; unimpressed, Musashi then asked what "honkers" were, leaving his father stuttering in response. After the fight began, Musashi noticed something amiss with Kamiizumi not drawing his sword despite being under heavy fire, with his father praising him for picking up on it, before explaining that the legends surrounding the Sword Saint were true. Musashi continued to observe the fight with visible and vocal amazement (he was one of the spectators who commented on Choko's tone changing after his mask was removed).

## Powers & Abilities

Miyamoto Musashi is a very accomplished fighter, capable of keeping up with and surprising a spear user of Honda Tadakatsu's calibre. Touted as a limitless combat genius by his father, Musashi has so far lived up to this evaluation by demonstrating incredible combat adaptability, a fearless attitude in dangerous situations; this is first seen when he quickly adapts to Honda's spear movements, enabling him to not only catch one of Honda's spear thrusts but also then find an opening in Honda's seemingly invincible spear defence and land a blow of his own. In addition, despite having not wielded a sword in some time, he was able to fight with extreme skill as if he had never given them a break.

Musashi possesses notable physical capabilities, in particular his incredible reflexes and reaction speeds, with the agility and body control to match. This, in combination with his acute danger instinct (which is even active while he sleeps), gives Musashi the capability to quickly and surely evade ever-changing sure-kill attacks, even from unfavourable positions. When stopped and then countered from point-blank range by Honda's rapid spear strikes, Musashi was able to jump backwards at the last moment in order to mitigate the damage. The greatest display of his extraordinary instincts came at the end of his fight against Honda Tadakatsu, when he was able to perceive the man's killing intent and move his swords reflexively in order to defend himself from Honda's surprise attack.

His most fearsome ability is the remarkably rapid growth of his fighting capabilities. Having reached and then passed the level of his father at 11 years of age, Musashi uses opponents stronger than himself to climb to greater heights. However, for all his incredible talent and potential, his lack of experience and great eagerness to win can work against him, with high-level opponents capable of taking advantage of it.

### Martial Arts

Miyamoto Musashi is a genius swordsman with his given martial art being **Tori Bennosuke-ryu** (当 (とう) 理 (り) 辨 (べんの) 助 (すけ) 流, *Tōri Bennosuke-ryū*). Noted as possessing tremendous potential with the sword from as early as the age of 2, Musashi was a prodigious talent able to surpass the level of his father, Shinmen Munisai, aged only 11. Even when initially overwhelmed, Musashi shows the ability to parry seemingly fight-ending attacks with his dual swords in such a manner that he is able to counter-attack immediately afterwards. Musashi's genius shows itself when he took on a bizarre-looking stance during the latter stages of his fight, one akin to the crouching start of modern day sprinters; by using the crouching start to allow the greatest initial velocity and keeping his body compact, it enabled Musashi lure Honda into a reflexive easy-to-read attack, making evading the consequent thrust easier and set up Musashi for a killing blow.

**Niten Ichi-ryu** (二 (に) 天一 (てんいち) 流 (りゅう) , *Niten Ichi-ryū*?Literal translation: *Two Heavens As One*): Despite being able to fight extremely well with a single sword, dual wielding with a katana and a wakizashi has long been Musashi's secret technique and is when he is at his best.

* **Single Heaven: Driving Away the Dragon's Back** (一天 (いちてん) 龍 (りゅう) 背駆 (はいがけ) , *Ichiten Ryūhaigake*?Literal translation: *One Heaven: Driving Away the Dragon's Back*): An upward swiping slash with one of his swords. Musashi used this technique to slice Honda across his chest.
* **Twin Heavens: Falling Dragon** (二 (に) 天 (てん) 一龍 (たつ) 墜 (おとし) , *Niten Tatsu-otoshi*?Literal translation: *Two Heavens: Falling Dragon*): A technique where Musashi parries an opposing target to the ground using his two swords. He used this technique to block one of Honda Tadakatsu's spear thrusts. Can be seamlessly followed up by the Driving Away the Dragon's Back technique.

## Notes & Trivia

* This character is based on the real life Miyamoto Musashi.
* He was born **Shinmen Takezo** (新免 武蔵, *Shinmen Takezō*).
* The name of Musashi's given martial art is a reference to one of the names Miyamoto Musashi went by in real life, "Bennosuke", and the name of martial art he supposedly originally studied, the Tōri-ryū.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 4 (page 6).
2. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 1 (pages 66-67).
3. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 2 (pages 16-21).
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 3 (pages 17-18).
5. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 3 (page 5).
6. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 5 (pages 22-24).
7. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 6 (page 17).
8. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 7 (page 2).
9. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 17 (page 24).
10. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 3 (page 6).
11. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 3 (page 10).
12. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 3 (pages 11-15).
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 3 (page 16).
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 2 (page 16).
15. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 2 (page 59).
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 2 (page 42).
17. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 2 (pages 58-63).
18. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 2 (page 53).
19. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 2 (pages 22-27).
20. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 2 (pages 34-41).
21. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 5 (pages 16-17).
22. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 3 (page 48).
23. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 6 (pages 6-9).
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 3 (page 49).
25. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 3 (page 52).
26. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 5 (page 15).
27. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 1 (page 71).
28. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 3 (page 15).
29. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 5 (pages 10-13).
30. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 5 (pages 27-29 & 34-35).
31. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 5 (pages 36-40).
32. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 4 (page 17).
33. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 4 (pages 17-20).
34. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 4 (pages 14-15).
35. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 4 (pages 16-17).