Tani Yuugo

**Tani Yuugo** (谷 優牛, *Tani Yūgo*?), also known as **Brute Leo** (獣闘士 (ブルート)  ｢獅 (レ) 子 (オ) ｣, *Burūto Reo*?), is a Therianthrope in service to Mitsukado Zaibatsu.

## Appearance

Yuugo has the appearance of a young and attractive man with short brown hair and amber eyes (however, when he experiences strong emotions such as anger or excitement, his eyes take on a bright red color).

He is tall and muscular, and his body size changes dramatically when he transforms and takes on his werelion / Therianthrope form (his muscles and height double).

## Personality

Yuugo presents himself as a civilized individual but is quick to anger whenever his intelligence is mocked, shown when Nomoto Yuuya called Yuugo stupid even though it was not intentional. When he transforms, Yuugo acts high and mighty because of the lion's superiority in the animal kingdom and fights as such by showing no mercy to his opponents. Nevertheless, he is not one to hold grudges as he did not hold it against Hitomi for his defeat after they met the second time. Also, despite not taking disrespect lightly, Yuugo at least tries to keep his anger in check, shown after how he tried to keep a straight face when Hitomi did not bothered to remember who he was after their Killing Bites match.

## Abilities & Skills

### Therianthrope Transformation

**Brute Leo** (獣闘士 (ブルート)  ｢獅 (レ) 子 (オ) ｣, *Burūto Reo*?) - Yuugo is able to transform his body to gain the characteristics and abilities of the Lion. In his brute form, Yuugo's upper body changes to resemble that of a seven-foot-tall humanoid lion with bulging muscles, sharp fangs (or teeth), and paws tipped with razor-sharp claws and a long mane.

* **Enhanced Strength:** Yuugo is shown to be incredibly strong while in his brute form as he was able to send Hitomi flying through the air with a simple backhand. He was also known to have won all of his fights prior to the one with Hitomi. He is considered as one of the strongest Therianthrope in the series, hinted that not even Nakanishi Taiga was capable of taking him down. Proven during their latest encounter, Taiga transformed into his full brute form and could not even overpower Yuugo who was not even fully transformed. In the latest Killing Bites Championship, upon making his return, Yuugo was able to stop a full charge from Brute Moose, an opponent who is much bigger and heavier than him and instantly defeated him with one punch.
* Yuugo's strength and stamina is not limited to his Brute / Werelion form, but they also manifest in his human form (As demonstrated when, during a flashback, Taiga punches him in the face but Yuugo remains perfectly impassive, as if he felt no pain. Also, always during the Flashback, Yuugo grabs Taiga's fist with one hand, managing effortlessly his strength).

### Techniques

* **Roaring Leo** - In his Brute form, Yuugo is able to release a terrifying roar that immobilizes his opponents with primal fear. However, it is worth noting that this has no effect on creatures that cannot experience fear; first shown by Hitomi who said that she has never experienced fear her entire life due to the fact that she possesses the genetic makeup of a Ratel.

## Synopsis

### Killing Bites Destroyal Arc

While waiting for his Killing Bites match with the Brute Ratel, Uzaki Hitomi, Yuugo is met by Nomoto Yuuya trying to ask for help after his encounter with Hitomi. Yuugo explains that Hitomi is a Therianthrope and transforms into his form in anger after Yuuya accidentally insulted him. He attacks Yuuya but sees that he has been saved by Hitomi who offers his life in exchange for ¥10,000,000 in their match. The Killing Bites starts with Yuugo backhanding Hitomi after she provoked him and delivers a barrage of punches. However, Yuugo sees that three of his fingers are bitten off by Hitomi who is shown to be unafraid of his intimating roar and is finished off by her Slash attack.

Yugo staged a coup against Chancellor Youzan, and after killing him he raped his granddaughter Youko claiming her as his personal slave.

## Major Battles

* Tani Yuugo vs Nakanishi Taiga (Win)
* Tani Yuugo vs Uzaki Hitomi (Loss)
* Tani Yuugo vs Emilyan Hjornov (Win)
* Tani Yuugo vs Nakanishi Eruza (Loss)

## Etymology

* **Tani** means "valley" (谷).
* **Yuugo** means "excellence, superiority, gentleness" (優) (**yuu**) and "cattle, cow" (牛) (**go**).