ONA
Description
Kaku Kaioh is the supreme grandmaster of Chinese martial arts, holding the title of Kaioh of Kaiohs and serving as the undefeated champion of the Raitai Tournament for over a century. At one hundred forty six years old, his appearance is that of a shrunken, almost skeletal elderly man, standing shorter than most fighters with long white hair, deep wrinkles, and notably long fingernails. He typically wears a Chinese cap, round glasses, and a light-colored tangzhuang jacket and pants, and is often seen in a wheelchair when not competing.
Kaku's current physical frailty is the result of a conscious journey that began in his youth. He was once a large, arrogant, and powerfully muscular man who believed that strength alone was the key to victory, dismissing the value of technique. After being effortlessly defeated by an elderly kung fu master, he abandoned his pursuit of physical power and devoted himself entirely to the philosophy and practice of Chinese Kenpo. Over more than a century of training, his once-massive muscles withered away, but his martial skill was elevated to an unparalleled level, making his frail body a deliberate embodiment of the principle that weakness can overcome strength.
Personality-wise, Kaku is a complex and ruthless pragmatist who has abandoned most of life's joys in his single-minded pursuit of martial perfection. He displays a sociopathic level of pride in Chinese martial arts culture, as demonstrated when he stabbed three Chinese Martial Arts Association elders in the hand with a needle before slicing off their limbs with a single chop, simply to make a point about their failure to uphold the nation's fighting pride. He is highly perceptive and clever, able to see through an opponent's mentality and fighting style with ease. Despite his cold and intimidating demeanor, he later shows a more friendly, comedic, and patient side when mentoring younger fighters, agreeing to help train Katsumi Orochi at the request of his disciple, Retsu Kaioh.
Within the story, Kaku serves as the pinnacle of technical martial arts, representing the ultimate refinement of skill over brute force. His primary role unfolds during the Raitai Tournament, where he reorganizes the competition into a five-versus-five team battle between China and a multinational coalition to restore Chinese martial arts honor. He easily defeats a much younger Muay Thai-using Kaioh named Samwan in seconds without sustaining injury, showcasing the vast gap in their abilities.
His most significant relationship is with Yujiro Hanma, the "strongest creature in the world." Kaku is one of the few people Yujiro respects, a respect that extends to both his skill and his character. Their fight is a legendary clash of "strength vs. technique," during which Kaku's mastery allows him to momentarily push Yujiro back and even make him bleed, a rare feat. Though Kaku forces Yujiro to use his full power, he is ultimately overwhelmed. However, he escapes certain death by using a deceptive tactic to fake his own death, halting his heart and eliminating his pupillary reflex to convince Yujiro and a doctor that he died of old age. Yujiro later sees through the deception but is impressed enough to accept Kaku's offered title of "Hanma Kaioh," acknowledging his strength. Kaku, in turn, respects Yujiro immensely for giving him an enjoyable fight and an honorable "death," expressing a wish to meet him again in a hundred years at the next great tournament.
Kaku's primary technique is known as Xiaoli or Shaori, which translates to "Power of Disappearance". The defensive form of this technique involves completely relaxing the body to a feather-like state, offering zero resistance to an incoming blow. By absorbing the full weight and force of an attack like a flexible blade of grass, the user takes no damage, as demonstrated when he withstood Yujiro's full-force punches. This technique goes against natural human instinct to tense up when struck, making it incredibly difficult to master, and its primary weakness is that it fails if the user is caught off guard or if they are thrown or slammed. Kaku has also mastered the offensive application of Xiaoli, which releases the accumulated force of an absorbed attack back at the opponent, and he can perform supersonic hand chops capable of slicing through human limbs and even solid objects like a sword. His development as a character shows a shift from a ruthless, pride-driven competitor to also serving as a mentor figure, using his centuries of knowledge to guide the next generation of martial artists in the fusion of different fighting styles.
Kaku's current physical frailty is the result of a conscious journey that began in his youth. He was once a large, arrogant, and powerfully muscular man who believed that strength alone was the key to victory, dismissing the value of technique. After being effortlessly defeated by an elderly kung fu master, he abandoned his pursuit of physical power and devoted himself entirely to the philosophy and practice of Chinese Kenpo. Over more than a century of training, his once-massive muscles withered away, but his martial skill was elevated to an unparalleled level, making his frail body a deliberate embodiment of the principle that weakness can overcome strength.
Personality-wise, Kaku is a complex and ruthless pragmatist who has abandoned most of life's joys in his single-minded pursuit of martial perfection. He displays a sociopathic level of pride in Chinese martial arts culture, as demonstrated when he stabbed three Chinese Martial Arts Association elders in the hand with a needle before slicing off their limbs with a single chop, simply to make a point about their failure to uphold the nation's fighting pride. He is highly perceptive and clever, able to see through an opponent's mentality and fighting style with ease. Despite his cold and intimidating demeanor, he later shows a more friendly, comedic, and patient side when mentoring younger fighters, agreeing to help train Katsumi Orochi at the request of his disciple, Retsu Kaioh.
Within the story, Kaku serves as the pinnacle of technical martial arts, representing the ultimate refinement of skill over brute force. His primary role unfolds during the Raitai Tournament, where he reorganizes the competition into a five-versus-five team battle between China and a multinational coalition to restore Chinese martial arts honor. He easily defeats a much younger Muay Thai-using Kaioh named Samwan in seconds without sustaining injury, showcasing the vast gap in their abilities.
His most significant relationship is with Yujiro Hanma, the "strongest creature in the world." Kaku is one of the few people Yujiro respects, a respect that extends to both his skill and his character. Their fight is a legendary clash of "strength vs. technique," during which Kaku's mastery allows him to momentarily push Yujiro back and even make him bleed, a rare feat. Though Kaku forces Yujiro to use his full power, he is ultimately overwhelmed. However, he escapes certain death by using a deceptive tactic to fake his own death, halting his heart and eliminating his pupillary reflex to convince Yujiro and a doctor that he died of old age. Yujiro later sees through the deception but is impressed enough to accept Kaku's offered title of "Hanma Kaioh," acknowledging his strength. Kaku, in turn, respects Yujiro immensely for giving him an enjoyable fight and an honorable "death," expressing a wish to meet him again in a hundred years at the next great tournament.
Kaku's primary technique is known as Xiaoli or Shaori, which translates to "Power of Disappearance". The defensive form of this technique involves completely relaxing the body to a feather-like state, offering zero resistance to an incoming blow. By absorbing the full weight and force of an attack like a flexible blade of grass, the user takes no damage, as demonstrated when he withstood Yujiro's full-force punches. This technique goes against natural human instinct to tense up when struck, making it incredibly difficult to master, and its primary weakness is that it fails if the user is caught off guard or if they are thrown or slammed. Kaku has also mastered the offensive application of Xiaoli, which releases the accumulated force of an absorbed attack back at the opponent, and he can perform supersonic hand chops capable of slicing through human limbs and even solid objects like a sword. His development as a character shows a shift from a ruthless, pride-driven competitor to also serving as a mentor figure, using his centuries of knowledge to guide the next generation of martial artists in the fusion of different fighting styles.