The boy Shinta was sold into slavery at a young age after cholera took the lives of his parents. It is believed that he had a sister, however, nothing is known about her. During an attack by brigands, he was rescued by Hiko, a mysterious swordsman, who took him under his wing to instruct him in swordsmanship. Hiko gave him the name "Kenshin". However, that would not be the name that history and legend would remember him by.

Armed with Hiko's Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryu, Kenshin left his master out of a desire to protect the people of Japan during the violent Bakumatsu period. He attracted the attention of the Choshu clan, one of the groups revolting against the Tokugawa Shogunate. Recruited as an assassin, Kenshin spent many years killing the enemies of the Choshu clan, exploits which would earn him his legendary nickname: the "Hitokiri Battousai."

Kenshin would disappear from history after the Edo fire, when the rebel clans were dealt a large defeat. It is believed that during this time he lived in exile while the rebel clans prepared for their final conflict with the Tokugawa Shogunate. What is known is that the Hitokiri Battousai fought alongside his former compatriots during the final days of the Bakumatsu, helping to pave the way for the Meiji Restoration.

But when the Bakmatsu was over, he disappeared once again, leaving his legend to the pages of history.