After Kenshin left the Isshin Shishi a man named Shishio Makoto took over as his successor. Shishio's skill was almost a match for Kenshin's and he proved to be a worthy successor. He assassinated countless people in the Bakumatsu period, many of these them dangerous enemies of the Isshin Shishi that had extremely valuable and dangerous information. It is this information that made Shishio so dangerous to the Isshin Shishi and also what caused them to betray him...
One night some Isshin Shishi assassins caught Shishio off guard and attempted to murder him. They poured gasoline over his body and shot him, setting fire to his body to make sure that they had done their job. Shishio proved to be too strong for even this type of punishment and managed to survive.
10 years later the Meiji government contacts Kenshin to try and convince him to help solve the problem that Shishio had become. It turns out that a short while before Shishio appeared from out of nowhere and began his plot to destroy the government and extract his revenge for what they had done to him. Even worse for them, Shishio is a certifiable genius with an army of loyal followers, and he still possesses skill with a sword that will rival even Kenshin's Hitten Mitsurugi Ryu.
One of his loyal followers is a young boy named Seta Soujiro, who possesses a godlike speed with a sword and is his head assassin. Possessing no emotion other than happiness makes him completely unpredictable in battle, and also Shishio's best weapon against kenshin. He is Shishio's personal student. Together with Soujiro, Yumi, Houji and the rest of the Juppon Gatana, Shishio is destined to win unless Kenshin can somehow overcome this evil force.
Originally, Shishio's plan was to attack Japan with a warship that he had purchased while some of his Juppon Gatana attacked and burned Kyoto. Kaoru and Yahiko along with the Oniwa Banshu fight the Juppon Gatana while Kenshin, Sano, and Saitou catch up with Shishio and ruin that plot. The battle becomes personal and he sets up a test that Kenshin and crew must pass before they get to fight him. Having no other choices they reluctantly accept, and the best part of the series begins (well it started a bunch of episodes before, but this is where it gets really interesting!).
The fight with Shishio is one of the greatest anime battles and spans many episodes. Shishio does not disappoint as he fights as mean and as dirty as he looks, and has many tricks up his bandages. The fight involves all the major players from the Kyoto arc, and some of the best animation in the Kenshin series.
After the Kyoto arc Shishio goes on to pursue "other" options...
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