True Name: Takasugi Shinsaku Class: Archer Gender: Male Height: 177cm Weight: 63kg Source: Historical Fact Region: Japan Alignment: Chaotic Good Likes: Interesting things Dislikes: Pufferfish (Fugu)

A revolutionary and eccentric figure who appeared like a whirlwind in Choshu during the end of the Edo period.

A student of the Shoka Sonjuku academy founded by Yoshida Shoin, he was one of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Shoka Sonjuku" alongside Kusaka Genzui, Yoshida Toshimaro, and Irie Kuichi, and was highly expected to succeed. While he appears to be a calm, intellectual gentleman at first glance, his personality is wild and troublesome, driven by the philosophy that anything is fine as long as it's interesting. He is a free-spirited, self-centered leader who acts on his own initiative.

"Allow me, Takasugi Shinsaku, to lead you all to victory!"

Born into the prestigious Takasugi family, which had served the Mori clan since the Sengoku period.

He initially attended the clan school, Meirinkan, but found the rigid classes and the fact that only samurai could attend to be incredibly boring. He eventually joined Shoka Sonjuku, which was taken over by Yoshida Shoin, the former head of Meirinkan. Unlike the clan school, Shoin's classes were incredibly exciting, and Takasugi quickly distinguished himself among the students. He traveled to Edo to study, but after his mentor Yoshida Shoin was arrested and executed during the Ansei Purge, he began openly advocating for the overthrow of the Shogunate. Later, he joined a Shogunate mission to Shanghai. Witnessing the threat of Western powers firsthand, he became even more committed to Japan's future and the fall of the Shogunate.

Upon returning, he joined the Sonno Joi movement, interacting with patriots from various clans in Edo and Kyoto. Takasugi was particularly radical, engaging in unconventional actions like the burning of the British Legation. The Choshu clan tried to quiet him down by giving him official positions, but he declined them with ease. He claimed he would spend ten years playing around, shaved his head, and acted completely erratically. While saying he was going somewhere, he ended up playing the shamisen and composing poetry in his hometown.

After Choshu was bombarded by the US, France, and the Netherlands at Shimonoseki and soundly defeated, the panicked clan somehow decided to entrust the defense of Shimonoseki to Takasugi. There, he established the "Kiheitai," a modern militia not restricted by social class. However, due to internal friction, he was soon dismissed as the commander. Those clan officials... always whining about the small details. Anyway, after the Kinmon Incident, Choshu became an enemy of the court and was bombarded again by a four-nation fleet. Just when everyone thought it was over, the clan once again entrusted the peace negotiations to the imprisoned Takasugi—a desperate "let's see what happens" move. Takasugi managed to bluff his way through the peace conference using sheer momentum, successfully shifting the reparations to the Shogunate. During the meeting, he suddenly began reciting the Kojiki and pretended not to hear the demand for the lease of Hikoshima, successfully averting it.

During all this, the First Choshu Expedition approached, and the pro-Shogunate faction within the clan, who wanted to accept the Shogunate's demands, gained power. Enraged, Takasugi raised an army at Kozan-ji with a tiny force. Though it seemed reckless, the high-spirited Takasugi and his men marched on Hagi and wiped out the pro-Shogunate faction. This unified the clan's stance toward overthrowing the Shogunate. Sensing this, the Shogunate began the Second Choshu Expedition. Everyone thought Choshu was finished this time, but the clan, having developed a taste for it, appointed Takasugi as the Naval Commander. Taking command, Takasugi repelled the Shogunate fleet and achieved a great victory. This victory destroyed the Shogunate's authority and became one of the factors leading to the Restoration of Imperial Rule.

However, Takasugi, who had been suffering from illness, passed away from pulmonary tuberculosis without seeing the Restoration.

"Ah, man... right at the good part, this happens."

Though he has a somewhat slender build, he is actually a master of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu style of swordsmanship. Surprised? Well, apparently that was too "normal" for him, so he developed a mysterious "eccentric swordsmanship" combining his custom Molotov cocktails with Shinkage-ryu. He swings it around for his own amusement.

In normal combat, he displays a reckless fighting style, swinging around his custom Molotov cocktails and shamisen blade, and even summoning and operating a small prototype machine, the Prototype Arahabaki. While his style looks more like a Rider than an Archer, he claims he's not the type to be confined by such categories, so just consider it part of his charm.

These traits stem from the events in the Singularity, the Revolutionary City Saitama, but due to the unique nature of his Noble Phantasm and his singular fate, they have been etched into Takasugi's Saint Graph.

--- To make the world that is not interesting, interesting.

Look, I wasn't thinking about anything as grand as "for the country" or "for the people." Ever since I can remember, I just couldn't stand boring things. I can't get motivated for anything I don't find interesting, and my body just won't move. To me, "uninteresting" is evil itself. Yes, if it's interesting, it's justice. In this world where you don't even know if truth exists, this is the only truth I can count on. Uninteresting things, boring things—they usually lead to no good. Simple, right? Oh, I'm not saying this to get you to agree. Honestly, I don't care what people say or if they think I'm crazy. If everything in this world is boring, then it's the world that's wrong. I'll just tear down all the boring stuff and make it interesting myself.

--- To make the world that is not interesting, interesting.

Well, in the end, humans should just live happily and interestingly. It's not about what you achieved or didn't, it's about how you lived. That's right. Live interestingly, and just live.