Before Anji became one of the Juppon Gatana he was a priest at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of a small village. He lived there with a few orphaned children (orphaned by the Douran war) that he had taken in as his own. He lived there happily and taught them the all of the teachings of Buddha.
After the Bakumatsu's end the Meji government began to be put in place. By the second year villages were looking for handouts from the government and many went to extremes to try and get the money. Buddhism had been abolished and the villages seeking funds would have to follow all of the Meij government rules very quickly.
The village leaders approach Anji and tell him that he and the orphans must leave. Anji agrees, but that would have been too easy.
One of the leader's henchmen convinces the leader to let him just burn down the temple - it would be much quicker and more convenient. Besides the orphans' parents were supporters of the wrong side in the Douran war, so it would make them look better in the eyse of the new government.
As he did everyday, Anji wandered out to a nearby waterfall to meditate. As he is meditating he notices smoke coming from the direction of the temple and immediately runs to go save the children. As he arrives he hears the children screaming inside, but is struck on the head and knocked unconscious.
When he awakens all that's left is the aftermath of the fire, but he does manage to find the children. He screams aloud to a god that would allow such horror and forsakes his own religion. Using the ashes of the children he darkens his eyes and wanders off, a broken man...
Five years later, after intense meditation and practice, Anji emerges from the forest as a hulking monster with a new technique for crushing rocks with any part of his body. He pays a visit to the men who killed the children and extracts a bittersweet revenge.
Sometime after that he joined the Juppon Gatana because of Shishio's intense hatred of the government which he also shared.
Along his travels and on his way to Kyoto, Sanosuke is completely lost and happens upon Anji. Having no idea who he is, Sano befriends Anji, and in a crash course of study Sano learns Anji's Futae No Kiwami (rock crushing technique).
When Kenshin's true fight with the Juppon Gatana begins Sanosuke finds himself face to face with Anji... as an enemy.
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