Kasumi Gyoubu

Kasumi Gyōbu (japanese: 霞 刑部, hiragana: かすみ ぎょうぶ, rōmaji: "Kasumi Gyoubu") a character featured in "". Gyoubu was one of ten ninja chosen to represent the Kouga Manjidani clan in their duel against the chosen ten of the rival Iga Tsubagakure clan.

Tall, bald and powerfully muscled, Gyoubu is strong enough to break an enemy in half with nothing more than his bare hands. Despite his massive size though, Gyoubu's specialty is stealth. By merging with the surface of an object, Gyoubu is able to move and attack in complete secrecy as well as manipulate any object in physical contact with the surface. There are limits to his abilities however:

* The surface area of an object apparently must be at least equal to his own in order to merge or move on and it must have physical contact with a surface of similar dimensions in order for him traverse from one to the other;
* Only his body can merge so he must strip naked as well as drop any weapon he carries in order to use his technique.
* Merging offers him no defensive benefits, as any attacks to the surface of the object transfer to him as well.

Like most of the Koga, Gyoubu bears an overwhelming hatred for the Iga. Although in the anime Gyoubu's rage is more of a personal vendetta. Years ago, Gyoubu's father Renbu was murdered by an Iga squad and Gyoubu vowed to one day take revenge, since his father's last words were to never pity any ninja. Unfortunately, the Hattori truce was imposed on both clans shortly afterward and Gyoubu shaved his head as a statement of his unsatisfied fury. A portion of his rage seems to be reserved for himself as he confided to Muroga Hyouma in episode 11 that if he hadn't been so weak as a child he would've been able to better protect his father, which explains why Gyoubu trained his body to become a mountain of raw physical power. In the anime, Gyoubu shares an uncle/niece bond with the tomboyish Okoi whom he frequently takes with him to go hunt wild boar in the forests surrounding Manjidani.

Battles

"Gyoubu VS Iga ten" (episode 5): When the Iga ten launch their sneak attack on Manjidani, Gyobu set out to stall them while the Koga Shinobi get ready. Seizing Rousai after the Iga enter the village, Gyobu held him pinned to a wall and was almost killed when Rousai breaks free and crushes the wall with one of his kicks. From the cover of his surroundings, Gyoubu revealed that he overheard the Iga masking their words when they entered the village and ordered the Koga to attack. While his men dealt with the subordinate Iga, Gyoubu materialized out of the ground and took up two katana swords to challenge the Iga's commander Yakushiji Tenzen but was stopped when Muroga Hyouma ordered the attack to be called off. After the Iga escape, Gyoubu angrily demanded the Koga seek retribution for the men killed, but Hyouma pointed out that doing so would jeopardize the safety of Gennosuke who was currently staying at Tsubagakure and instead ordered Gyoubu and Kisaragi Saemon to infiltrate the Iga village to uncover the truth behind the attack. "Gyoubu & Saemon VS Yashamaru" (episode 6): While on the way to Tsubagakure, Gyoubu and Saemon managed to encounter the Iga ninja Yashamaru who was returning to his village following his duel with Kazamachi Shogen at Sunpu. After Saemon blew his cover and was caught by Yashamaru's wires, Gyoubu materialized out of a wall and seized Yashamaru around the throat and hands, breaking his thumbs so his enemy couldn't utilize his wires anymore. At the time, Gyoubu merely intended to take him prisoner for further interogation. But when Yashamaru attempted to fight back using the spare wires wrapped around his calves, Gyoubu was left with no choice but to break Yashamaru's neck.

"Gyoubu VS Jingoro" (episode 14): Against Gennosuke's orders, Gyoubu parted from the remaining Koga while on their way to Sunpu to seek out the Iga and finish them off on his own. Stowing away on the same boat as them, Gyoubu waited until they were out at sea before merging with the deck. His first victim was Tenzen, whom Gyoubu strangled as he was attempting to rape Oboro. Gyoubu was about to do the same to her when Akeginu and Amayo Jingoro came running into the cabin. Already unstable from his fear of the sea, Jingoro was pushed over the edge and frantically began slashing the planks of the ship and even killed a fellow passenger before Gyoubu materialized below him and hurled Jingoro overboard; where the salt water quickly dissolved him.

"Gyoubu VS Tenzen" (episode 15): Taking a moment to gloat following his victory over Jingoro, Gyoubu turned around and was shocked to see Tenzen standing alive and well in the doorway of the cabin. Vanishing into the deck, Gyoubu was egged into attacking when Tenzen mocked his desire to avenge his father. After hurling a few crates at Tenzen, Gyoubu managed to disarm him and took Tenzen's katana for himself. But as he moved in for the killing blow, Gyoubu was unaware that Tenzen had intentionally positioned himself in front of a young boy. When Tenzen dodged out of the way, Gyoubu instead wound up killing the child's father who had placed himself between them and his son. As the boy wept over the body of his slain father, Gyoubu froze in horrified shock that he had committed the same act he hated the Iga for, which gave Akeginu the chance to spray him with her blood mist. Gyoubu attempted to flee once more into the deck, but was unaware that Akeginu's blood had marked him, which allowed Tenzen to stab Gyoubu through the chest as he moved onto a section of the wall. Gyoubu's last sight before Tenzen drove his blade down to the hilt was the passenger's son, staring at him with the same hatred and sorrow that he had carried for his entire life. Tenzen later left the board Gyoubu had merged with and died in on a bridge where the Koga discovered it and then set adrift into the sea.

Manga

Gyoubu in the manga is noticeably less humanized that he is in the anime. His backstory is never touched upon and as such his father is never mentioned so the incident regarding the passenger he accidentally killed never occurs in the manga. As a result, his character appears to hate the Iga without a discernible reason which makes it harder for the audience to sympathize with him.

Alternate information

In the original novel, Gyoubu is described as being born completely devoid of body hair and resembling some sort of strange monk. His technique remains the same but like the manga, his backstory is never fully touched upon in the novel.

References

*Fumitoro Kizaki (Director). Basilisk-Koga Ninpocho [TV-Series] GONZO/Kodansha/Japan Digital Concepts: Japan. 2005
*Masaki Segawa (Manga-Ka). Basilisk-Koga Ninpocho [Manga] Kodansha: Japan. 2003-2004
*Futaro Yamada (Author). Koga Ninpocho [novel] Japan. 1958