Yuzuriha

Yuzuriha
Kanji	杠
Rōmaji	Yuzuriha
Alias	Yuzuriha of the Seishu (傾主の杠, Seishu no Yuzuriha?)
Biological Information
Race	Human
Gender	Female
Personal Status
Status	Deceased
Occupation	Kunoichi
Debuts
Manga Debut	Chapter 2

Yuzuriha (杠, Yuzuriha^?), also known as Yuzuriha of the Seishu (傾 (けい) 主 (しゅ) の杠 (ゆずりは) , Seishu no Yuzuriha^?), is a kunoichi and one of the few criminals sent to Kotaku to acquire the Elixir of Life for the shogun. Her assigned Asaemon is Yamada Asaemon Senta.

Appearance

Yuzuriha is a young woman with dark locks of hair tied together in a bun with a hair pin. She wears a dark, kimono-style blouse with no sleeves, held together by a white obi and dark pants. Her blouse is very revealing, showing off her cleavage. She has arm straps holding needles on both her arms and wears a bandage on her right wrist and a gauntlet on her left. She also carries around bottles of potions on her waist along with a katana.

Gallery

Yuzuriha's manga design.

Yuzuriha's color scheme in the manga.

Yuzuriha's initial outfit.

Yuzuriha's first outfit change.

Yuzuriha's second outfit change.

Yuzuriha's third outfit change.

Yuzuriha's fourth outfit change.

Yuzuriha's fifth outfit change.

Personality

Yuzuriha is friendly and cheerful around others. She is also carefree and prefers to do things at her own pace. When Sagiri fell unconscious and while everyone was contributing to a certain workload, she sarcastically remarked that she was managing workflow while laying on a hammock. Because of her reputation as a criminal, Yuzuriha has no problems when it comes to killing or who she sacrifices to achieve a goal.

Underneath her friendly attitude, Yuzuriha's true nature is that of a complete narcissist. She only focuses on her own well-being and shows little concern for others. During Gabimaru's fight Rokurōta, she watched from the sidelines and refused to aid or go search for him after he left for Hōrai. Another example is when she dodges one of Mu Dan's projectiles knowing that it would hit Senta behind her, even though the latter protected her from the Kyoshi. As explained by Senta, Yuzuriha remains true to herself while having the freedom to lie to others and can see when people are lying to themselves. Yuzuriha holds her life in very high regards and expressed her frustration when Mu Dan tried to kill her. She can also be easily persuaded and is willing to help others if there is any benefit.

Yuzuriha trying to seduce Gabimaru.

As a kunoichi, Yuzuriha uses her charms to get what she wants, as shown when she managed to set up Makiya to be bait for the insects on the island so she can do research. Another example is when she successfully seduced Genji into protecting her and attempted to seduce Gabimaru into teaming up. When her seduction methods failed against Gabimaru she tried to act vulnerable and innocent, only for that method to fail as well. Other than this, Yuzuriha also follows the principles of knowing the difference between a person's suffering.

Though selfish, Yuzuriha can show compassion to people she formed a connection to. As Senta was dying, she consoled him and had him die in peace by making him forget about his duties as an Asaemon and gave him the last bit of freedom he had to think about what he wanted to imagine as his last memory.

She is shown to be a terrible liar after trying to make up her backstory.

Plot

Island Arc

Before being sentenced to death, Yuzuriha was given a chance to be pardoned of her crimes if she were to acquire the Elixir of Life for the shogun from an island. After being gathered together with a group of criminals, she recognized Gabimaru and was unimpressed with his capture. Later, the criminals were told to start a massacre until only a few were available to leave for the island. Yuzuriha became one of the few that survived and left with her Asaemon, Yamada Asaemon Senta.

Yuzuriha sees Makiya's blooming corpse.

When she stepped on the island, Yuzuriha made a pact with another criminal, Moro Makiya, but soon betrays him and used him as bait to gather information about the insects on the island and their effects which ultimately led to his death. She also managed to charm his Asaemon, Yamada Asaemon Genji, to travel with her and provide protection.

Not long after, Yuzuriha noticed Gabimaru fighting a group of monsters and decided to help him. She then tries to persuade him into teaming up with her, explaining that she can provide him with information she gathered. At first Gabimaru refused due to not trusting her but changed his mind and agreed to team up, seeing as how she contains information on the island. The group then notices Sagiri unconscious.

After bringing Sagiri to a safe place to rest, the group starts to work while Yuzuriha lays down on a hammock. Once she wakes up, Gabimaru presents them with kikatsugan that he had made with ingredients he found on the island, however, Yuzuriha complains that the food was not ideal. While scavenging, Gabimaru tells them that he did not find anything resembling the drawing of the Elixir of Life. Yuzuriha asked why he was qualified to determine if the elixir exists and if he knew anything about it. Gabimaru says that he didn't know anything, but Yuzuriha was suspicious. He proceeds to tell them about the different types of plants he found on the island and that the samurai he found that were in bloom are connected to the samurai that were first dispatched to the island. Yuzuriha was disgusted with Gabimaru in using the plants as ingredients but Gabimaru reassures her that he did not use those plants specifically. She then listens to their findings based on the statues and monsters and were told to investigate further on the monsters before they can proceed.

Yuzuriha watches as Gabimaru fights Rokurōta.

During the next day, Yuzuriha pins Senta to a tree and watches as Gabimaru battles Rokurōta. Gabimaru asked for her support but Yuzuriha refuses and reminds him of their deal being that she provides information while he handles fighting. Senta tells Yuzuriha that he wishes to heal Genji's injures but she says to him that it was out of the question and suggest that they stay and observe the outcome of the battle. In the middle of the battle, Yuzuriha and Senta are disturbed by Rokurōta's loud rumbling stomach and is later impressed with how Sagiri is handling Rokurōta. After she senses that Gabimaru came up with an extreme plan to take down Rokurōta, Yuzuriha tells Senta that they needed to run. While running, Yuzuriha explains to Senta that Gabimaru plans to burn the forest to suffocate Rokurōta with the smoke. Once the battle was over, the group are shocked to come across an abandoned village and theories that this must be where the Hermits reside.

Lord Tensen Arc

Gabimaru notices someone is watching them and chases after them, discovering that it was a little girl. He then dodges an attack coming from a tree monster and leaves the rest to them, causing Yuzuriha to become annoyed. Sagiri also decides to leave to watch over Gabimaru. Not wanting Senta to see her abilities, Yuzuriha knocks over his glasses and decides to test out her ninjutsu on the monster. After fighting the monster, Yuzuriha meets back with Gabimaru and Sagiri who captures the little girl. She is then shocked to hear the tree monster speak, asking them to unhand the girl and that he will tell them about the elixir and also guide them to the village. Yuzuriha doesn't trust the tree monster but it persuades her by mentioning the bath in the village.

Yuzuriha enjoying the bath.

After they arrive to the village, Yuzuriha takes a bath with Sagiri who keeps watch while Senta is with Gabimaru. The two then join them on discussing the island and the elixir. The tree monster reveals that the island's name is Kotaku and the elixir, also known as Tan, can be found at the center of the island. However, it also warns them of Lord Tensen, immortal beings that will not allow them to leave the island. Feeling threaten, Gabimaru and Yuzuriha point their weapons towards Hōko but the tree being assures them that it means them no harm. Gabimaru then points his weapon at Mei but is scolded by Yuzuriha and Sagiri.

Yuzuriha and her allies travel to Hōrai.

Later, the group sleeps for the night at Hōko's house. They are then informed that Gabimaru has left for Hōrai. Sagiri suggests going after Gabimaru but Yuzuriha refuses and asked why Sagiri was showing concern for him. After Hōko offers to guide them though the thick mist since Mei left for Gabimaru, Yuzuriha excitedly tells Sagiri that she was willing to search for him. While traveling to Hōrai, Yuzuriha asked Hōko who is Lord Tensen, to which he explains are seven immortal beings. After hearing the villagers history and about Lord Tensen, Senta gives an explanation on the religious attributes of the island and how the island's creator is planning something. Hearing this, Yuzuriha believes they won't stand a chance and that Gabimaru and Mei are already dead. However, Sagiri tells Yuzuriha that she believes that they are still alive. She then listens to Hōko's explanation of Lord Tensen's power known as Tao but becomes confuse.

After traveling for a day, the group reaches the Hōrai gate and enter. Once they enter, the group suddenly sees Hōko's head separated from his body and a mysterious man who is impressed by how far traveled through the island. Yuzuriha senses that he was dangerous and attempts to flee. However, she is caught by the man who is revealed to be one of Lord Tensen. The Tensen, Mu Dan, reveals to Hōko that his religion was a lie and presents his modified humans. He also reveals that the Elixir of Life doesn't exist and orders them to surrender seeing as how their journey has ended. After substituting her body with an Aborified tree, Yuzuriha attacks Mu Dan and presumably kills him. She then walks towards Sagiri to thank her for trying to protect her earlier and tells her that even though the elixir doesn't exist they should focus on staying alive and run. Mu Dan regenerates from his wounds and becomes impressed with her skills. She is then approached by Mu Dan's Kyoshi who attempts to kill her by detonating in front of Yuzuriha. She manages to survive, which causes Mu Dan to notice that she can perceive Tao, though Yuzuriha didn't know what he was referring to since she knew it as "ki". Seeing as how she had potential, Mu Dan tells Yuzuriha that he will help teach her how to wield Tao properly.

Yuzuriha and Senta fighting Mu Dan.

Yuzuriha attacks Mu Dan with her ninjutsu but is unable to leave any lasting damage as he quickly regenerates. Senta assists her but are unable to land a blow as he effortlessly dodges their attacks blinded. He grabs Yuzuriha by the leg and swings her towards Senta, explaining that through Tao he can sense whatever is around him. Mu Dan mentions to Yuzuriha that she possess the attribute as he does and was impressed by how far she came to achieving hōjutsu, though she didn't understand what he was talking about. Sagiri steps in to attack Mu Dan but unable to cause any damage. However, after getting close to Mu Dan, Sagiri unleashes her Tao and cuts Mu Dan's face. Yuzuriha and Senta then notice that Mu Dan's cut from Sagiri was not healing.

Yuzuriha hears Sagiri talk about her experience with Tao and believes that she is also able to use it as well. She determines that a certain amount of Tao is needed to defeat Mu Dan but wonders why his wound wasn't healing. After Senta explains that teamwork would be the effective way of fighting the Tensen, Mu Dan seemingly vanishes and attempts to attack Sagiri. However, Yuzuriha sees through his technique and restrains him with her mucus strings. Mu Dan commands the Kyoshi to attack her but is protected by Senta. He then uses his mouth tear out his hand from her grasp and sends out a Tao projectile towards her. Yuzuriha jumps out of the way and has Senta receive the attack, thanking him in gratitude. He avoids Sagiri's attacks but Yuzuriha and Senta immobilizes him by cutting his right leg, causing him to receive multiple attacks from each of them. Mu Dan escapes from the range of their attacks, by using the Tao in the air to float, and forms large water droplets to have them rain down on the three. Yuzuriha informs Sagiri that Mu Dan is trying to avoid only her attacks, believing that her type of Tao is his weakness and thinks that it is possible to kill him. She then steps out into the open and releases a few of her mucus strings to try to pin him down. Mu Dan directs his attacks towards Yuzuriha, however, refusing to give up, Yuzuriha pulls him down. Senta comes in to hold him down and Sagiri cuts straight through his abdomen, killing Mu Dan. Yuzuriha then rejoices in their victory.

Yuzuriha and Sagiri watches as Mu Dan transforms into his Kishikai form.

After the fight, Yuzuriha hears Sagiri becoming upset that the Elixir of Life doesn't exist. Yuzuriha comments that they should move on and find another way to complete the mission. She then look towards the giant golden heads in the area and wonders if the superiors will accept them instead of the elixir. Shortly after, she points out to the group about her worrying of Mu Dan's corpse blooming with flowers. She is then about to be stung by a stinger created from Mu Dan's corpse but is pushed out of the way by Senta. After being stung, Senta starts to bloom flowers from his head. She then watches as Mu Dan's corpse starts to transform into a monster and looks towards Sagiri in horror. The monster attacks them with stingers but they are protected by Yamada Asaemon Shion, accompanied by Nurugai, and takes their place in fighting the monster.

Yuzuriha consoling Senta during his last moments.

While Shion fights the monster, Yuzuriha gives Senta medicine to help him heal. The three then watch in amazement by Shion handling himself well with Mu Dan but are shocked after witnessing flowers emerges from his wounds. While Sagiri and Nurugai decide to help Shion, Yuzuriha makes the decision to sit and rest seeing as how she has little strength. After hearing this, Nurugai tries to restore both Yuzuriha and Sagiri's strength by hugging them, however, she still refuses to join the fight but helps coat them with her fluid to prevent them from being infected by the stingers. She becomes amazed by how the three can fight on par with the monster. She then helps carries Senta who explains to Shion that the monster’s weakness is its ovule since its body is flower-based. The fight finally comes to an end with Shion slaying the monster’s ovule. Sagiri goes to help Senta and asks for Yuzuriha to provide more medicine. However, she refuses seeing as how Senta has no chance at recovering. She then comes by his side and helps him relieve his pain during his final moments. After burying his body, Yuzuriha listens to Sagiri's resolve to have both criminals and executioners return home.

The group then enters Hōrai to settle in a building. Yuzuriha and Nurugai uses the time to happily try on new clothes while Shion reviews what they know about Tao. Once the Elixir of Life was brought up, Yuzuriha tells them that according to Mu Dan, the elixir they were looking for would be of no use. Sagiri then mentions Gabimaru's village chief as prove that the elixir does exist, but Yuzuriha talks about the possibilities that the chief used an illusion known as genjutsu to fool everyone he knew into thinking that he was immortal. With that thought in mind, Yuzuriha also talks about the possibilities of Gabimaru's wife not existing which frightens Sagiri as she goes on to explain her theory. Later, she falls asleep with Nurugai.

The next day, Sagiri suggests going outside the gate and check to see Gabimaru and others have arrived. Yuzuriha refuses since she thinks it would be best to escape the island since the elixir does not exist. However, Sagiri sees that Yuzuriha's true intentions is to use the Asaemon as her alibi when she returns to the shogun. Sagiri tries to convince her that she plans on having everyone including her to return home. She then questions whether Gabimaru managed to reach the gate before. Yuzuriha tells her that she found evidence that Gabimaru was at the front gate and agrees to travel back. The group then becomes captivated with the clear setting of Hōrai. After reaching the gate, the group are met by Yamada Asaemon Fuchi, Tamiya Gantetsusai, Gabimaru unconscious, Mei, Tōma, and one of the Dōshi they forced to accompany them. Once they gathered together, Yuzuriha points everyone's attention towards Gabimaru's bad condition and suggest that they treat him. After waking up and showing signs that he was not himself, Sagiri reveals that Gabimaru has lost his memories because of losing to much Tao. She then watches as Sagiri restores Gabimaru's Tao by force.

The group relocates a cave to escape Lord Tensen's sensory field in Hōrai. Yuzuriha and Nurugai judges Tamiya after underestimating the strength of Lord Tensen and tells of their experience with fighting one of them. After confirming that Gabimaru has regained his memories and reviewing his experience with fighting Lord Tensen, Yuzuriha thinks it would be a good idea to escape the island and try reasoning with the shogun. Gabimaru states that in order to be with his wife he needs the full protection given by the pardon and survival wasn't enough. This leads to Yuzuriha explaining her theory of his wife being an illusion. Gabimaru explains that he knows that Yui is real based on his senses and goes further after Yuzuriha doubts him. She finds it odd that a ninja like him can talk about their weaknesses. Shion comments that these feelings give prove that Gabimaru's wife exists since his Tao was starting to grow. While the men and Nurugai help Gabimaru with his training, Yuzuriha and Sagiri look after Mei who is feeling ill. Fuchi steps in and agrees to make her medicine but demands that she tell him everything about Lord Tensen and herself. Yuzuriha doesn't think it will be possible for him to know anything from her due to Mei's limited vocabulary, however, Fuchi informs them that he is able to translate her words. He explains to them the a Hōshi created both the island, the monsters, and Lord Tensen in his quest to research the secrets of immortality and Lord Tensen is continuing with his work by practicing the inner and outer ways of Tan which is meditation and a potion that grants long life. Hearing this, Yuzuriha and Sagiri becomes shock to hear that the elixir truly exist. She then asks why Lord Tensen is trying to go far with the elixir if their prototype is working well. Mei answers that they are possible follow the will of their creator, Xu Fu.

Abilities and Powers

Yuzuriha is a very capable kunoichi. She was able to start a raid on Sagiwa Castle and managed to take down every single retainer. After catching him off guard, she was able to restrain Gabimaru, a powerful shinobi with greater power, after the latter previously had her pinned down.

Physical Abilities

Yuzuriha is quite agile, being able to quickly pin Gabimaru down and dodge a surprise attack from Mu Dan at close range. She also possesses great endurance, being able to survive multiple senjutsu attacks and remain standing later on.

Ninjutsu

Yuzuriha's body fluid ninjutsu.

As a kunoichi, Yuzuriha is capable of using ninjutsu. By drinking one of her potions, Yuzuriha is able to secrete large amounts of body fluid and manipulate it to form strings of mucus that she can use to attack her opponents. The properties of the body fluid that she generates depends on which potion she takes, such as poison. The fluid is very resilient and can act as a sort of armor to prevent injures from oncoming attacks.

Ninja Arts

• Ninpō: Body Replacement (忍法 変わり身, Ninpō: Kawarimi^?): Once her opponent drops their guard, Yuzuriha instantly switches herself with another object of the same size. This is called Ninpo: Substitution in the Viz Manga.

• Ninpō: Sticky String (忍法粘糸, Ninpō: Nenshi^?): Yuzuriha creates various strings from her body fluid and have them ensnare her opponent. This is called Ninpo: Slime String in the Viz Manga.
  • Ninpō: Honey Prison (忍法蜜牢, Ninpō: Mitsurō^?): After ensnaring her opponent with her strings of bodily fluids, Yuzuriha releases a corrosive poison. This is called Ninpo: Nectar Prison in the Viz Manga.
  • Ninpō: Line Cutting (忍法線斬行, Ninpō: Senzankō^?): Yuzuriha uses thick lines of strings to wrap around her opponent and shred them. This is called Ninpo: Grim Garote in the Viz Manga.

• Ninpō: Line Cutting Whip (忍法線斬鞭, Ninpō: Senzanben^?): Yuzuriha creates a whip using her body fluid. This is called Ninpo: Whiplash Slice in the Viz Manga.

Tao

Further information: Tao

Yuzuriha's Tao.

Yuzuriha possess Earth-attributed Tao, which is called "Ki" from where she originated. Using Tao, Yuzuriha is able to sense the presence of others and read the intentions behind her opponent’s attacks. She can also use Tao in conjunction with her ninjutsu.

Trivia

• "Yuzuriha" (杠) can be translated as "lever" or "pole".
• Yuzuriha ranked 4th place in the manga's 1st Character Popularity Poll with 2040 votes.