After the death of Yukishiro Tomoe, Himura Kenshin became a free wielding swordsman to protect members of the Ishin Shishi. Shishio Makoto became his successor as the shadow hitokiri (assassin) and was responsible for the assassination of Izuka, the man who had betrayed the Shishi. The future Meiji government was more secretive about Shishio than Kenshin; many members of the Chōshū and Satsuma clans (the members of the future Meiji government) would have very little information on him.

Later, the new Meiji government believed it would be in their best interests to eliminate Shishio. While they had found Himura to be an idealistic servant of the Imperialist cause, Okubo and other Meiji officials correctly concluded that Shishio was an opportunistic sociopath who would undoubtedly use his vast knowledge of government secrets to plunge the country into turmoil for his own personal gain. Thus, during the Boshin War, Shishio was knocked out from a bullet wound to the head, doused in oil and burned alive by the Ishin Shishi. He survived, sustaining severe damage to his entire body. Even though years have past since his injuries, he continues to wear bandages day and night.

Shishio assembled a group of the best fighters in Japan, called the Juppongatana (Ten Swords), to overthrow the Meiji government. He envisioned a Japan ruled by him, enforcing the principles of Social Darwinism, or what he called "the strong eat the weak". Using this belief Shishio ran a campaign against the Meiji government, as he felt it was too weak to effectively lead the country. Using his motto, he molded an ideological disciple out of Seta Sōjirō, who served as his right-hand man, and the strongest of the Juppongatana. He planned to strengthen the economy with petroleum once he took over the country.

SiD Azer0th "The Warrior" Trusting - 16 years, 5 months, 18 days ago

Shishio Makoto's Faction
SiD Azer0th "The Warrior" Trusting - 16 years, 5 months, 18 days ago

The smallest of the Oniwabanshū, Beshimi (癋見, Beshimi?) uses his speed to compensate for his lack of strength. His favorite weapons are darts, with which he poisons Yahiko, and later on in the anime jams Kanryū's gatling gun. He was gunned down by Kanryū shortly afterward to help Kenshin defeat him.

Watsuki, describing the character as "created on the spot," believes that there is not much of a motif. Watsuki described the sketched out character sans an already-created personality as being "kind of timid." Not originally intended to be a standalone character, Beshimi became shorter than Kenshin. Watsuki stated that some fans of Rurouni Kenshin adore Beshimi and write "Beshimi KAWAI'I!!" (Beshimi is cute).

SiD Azer0th "The Warrior" Trusting - 16 years, 5 months, 18 days ago

One of the Oniwabanshū members. Shikijō (式尉, Shikijō?) was a soldier for the Satsuma faction until he was beaten by Aoshi (Aoshi created the scars all over Shikijō's body), who gave him a chance to join up with the Oniwabanshū and gain strength using Oniwabanshū training methods and "medicines." He is mainly a hand to hand fighter but he also swings around a huge ball and chain. He fights Sano at Kanryū's mansion and is defeated. He is the first to die at Kanryū's hand, protecting Aoshi from the Gatling Gun.

Watsuki said that he modeled Shikijō after Sanosuke by giving him the same philosophy, strength, and personality that Sanosuke possessed. By pitting Sanosuke against Shikijō Watsuki hoped to illustrate the differences between the two factions. As of the publication of Volume 4 in Japan, Watsuki commented that the scheme "may or may not have worked." Watsuki commented that even though the story sets Shikijō as a true villain, he sees his "noble" death as making him into "a cool guy." For the physical design Watsuki used no particular model. Watsuki gave Shikijō large muscles as Shikijō is a "power fighter." Since Watsuki believed that Shikijō did not appear to be "strange-enough looking," Watsuki added scars and a "superhero-like exaggerated musculature

SiD Azer0th "The Warrior" Trusting - 16 years, 5 months, 18 days ago

Hyottoko (火男, Hyottoko?) is one of the Oniwabanshū members that decided to go with Aoshi when he left Okina caring for Misao. His massive belly makes him nearly impervious to direct physical attacks.

Hyottoko mainly breathes fire at his opponents, by means of a large oil bag he keeps stored in his stomach and a nozzle he keeps in his mouth. He lights the flames by using his front teeth, which he replaced with flint.

Watsuki said he used no particular motif while designing Hyottoko. Using his rudimentary kanji knowledge (Hyottoko is formed by "Fire" (火) and "Man" (男)), he created a "fire-breather." As hyottoko is an onmitsu, Watsuki decided to make him "flashy" by giving him the ability to breathe fire. By the publication of Volume 4, Watsuki saw the character as somewhat out of place and not "organic" to his world.

According to the Rurouni Kenshin creator, fans, dōjinshi fanzine creators, and personal friends criticized Watsuki for using the fire breathing and Kenshin's victory over Hyottoko using the sword spinning technique. The critics labeled Hyottoko and Kenshin "circus freaks," leaving the creator with "puzzled sadness." Watsuki jokingly blamed "summer doldrums" for the scenario.

With the oil bag, Watsuki envisioned Hyottoko as fat.

Watsuki describes Hyottoko as a person who makes a grand entrance and sustains a grand defeat. According to Watsuki Hyottoko has overconfidence and is "a bit of an idiot." He sees the traits as "natural evolution" of the character.

SiD Azer0th "The Warrior" Trusting - 16 years, 5 months, 18 days ago