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Name: Jubei Yagyu

Alias: "Razor Wind" Jubei, Leader of the Seven Swordsmen

Age during the "Battle of Despair": 29

Height: 5' 6"

Race: human

Homeland: Kukunoichi

Personality: Jubei is a very stern and driven individual. She has leadership qualities and can be very charismatic when she wants to be. Other times she'll be blunt and make her opinion known. She's had a very difficult life and does not really believe time should be spent in leisure. Her most notable quality is her will to survive.

She believes if someone has the power to help others, it's a sin not to act. This sometimes puts her at odds with her master. She has a strong sense of personal justice and lives by a code of honor. However, she has no sympathy for those unwilling to help themselves if they can do so. The best way to describe her is, "A very good person, just not always the nicest."

Data: Jubei Yagyu is the daughter of Munemori Yagyu, a renound swordsman in their country. She learned how to handle a sword at a young age. She would have been the successor to his dojo, but The Beast came and destroyed everything. Her father told her to escape, that she had to live on. She reluctantly ran for her life, swearing that she'd survive for his sake and everyone who was needlessly killed by the Beast that day.

She wandered as a sword-for-hire, until she came across an old master, whom she challenged. They fought and Jubei completely lost. She couldn't find any openings, and couldn't land a hit. She introduced herself formally and asked him to train her. The man was surprised, hearing of the tragedy of her homeland and discovering a survivor in his travels. He told her that he respected Munemori Yagyu for his skill, and accepted her request because it would be a shame for the Yagyu school of swordsmanship to be lost completely.

She came to realize just how powerful and skilled her new master was, especially in comparison to every other swordsman she'd seen before or since, including her father. She also came to appreciate just how talented of a teacher he was, because very few people who called themselves "swordsmen" were able to match Jubei in battle, let alone defeat her. She asked him why he wasn't fighting the Beast. He told her that it was not his place to interfere with history directly. She couldn't stand by and watch people die if she could do something about it, so she proposed an idea: they would travel the world to gather a small group of the strongest warriors from around the world to take on the Beast. She would be the recruiter, and he would train all of them intensely for 2 years. He agreed. During their travels, she met 6 of the best swordsmen she could find...and trained with them under their master.

When the time came, she led her comrades against the Beast in what became known as the "Battle of Despair". Jubei cut open the core of the beast, but was struck down by whatever was inside. She lost her arm and her eye this way, and Suzaku used her sword to land the finishing blow. In the aftermath, Jubei's sword and her body were nowhere to be found.

Noted Powers:

- expert proficiency Black Haki

- complete mastery of White Haki


Noted Abilities:

- she has the most developed White Haki out of all 7 swordsmen.

- Jubei pioneered several battoujutsu techniques, which are still taught to this day. She can typically draw, slash, and sheathe faster than people can see....giving the illusion that she summons slicing winds without moving her arms. This led to her being known as "Razor Wind" Jubei.

- despite her small frame, she has incredible brute strength.


Weapons:

- Mitsuyoshi: the Yagyu family tachi. It's heavier and longer than a normal katana, and has seen many battles.

Fighting Style:

Jubei is a very no-nonsense fighter and often prefers to settle battles in a single attack if possible. If not, then with the least amount of attacks as possible. She is a master battoujutsu practitioner, and can often kill opponents without knowing she drew her sword. This includes hoards of enemies or very large opponents.

Trivia

- she once beat Onyx in an arm wrestling match, much to everyone's surprise



Life after The Beast's demise:

There have been sightings of a woman who looks like Jubei recently. She appears to be driven to find something, or someone.

[Reserved - Manipura]

[Reserved for Kyla Ewens' post: Usagi]

Name: Wardian Sord the 1st

Real Name: Geoffrey Gambino

Alias: "The Guardian Ward", "Arthur", "The Undying Annoyance"

Age during the "Battle of Despair": 19

Height: 5' 1"

Race: human

Homeland: Barton

Personality: Unlike the other Swordsmen, Sord's motivation was to make a name for himself. He always wanted to be a hero, and trained really hard for the sake of glory. That aside, he's very cheery and courageous. He's considered the baby of the group.

Data:

The Legend of Wardian Sord the First is full of several truths, half-truths, and outright lies for the sake of legends. However, until very recently: no one had ever known the real truth behind Sord's origins.

Sord was born as Geoffrey Gambino, a b*****d child of the up-and-coming mob underboss of the Mangano family: Giovanni Gambino, and a woman simply known as "Ana" in a run-down brothel in Barton Town. While unproven, it's commonly believed that Giovanni Gambino staged Victor Mangano's death. Regardless of speculation, history states that Giovanni took over as boss and the family assumed his name from that point onward. The Gambino family persists even today.

Ana decided to keep Geoffrey's heritage a secret, and kept her distance from Giovanni. She didn't want her son to be born into a life of crime, even if it would be more financially stable. On Geoffrey's 16th birthday, there was an attempt on his life. The reigning crime family, the Von Helsons, had become concerned about how quickly the Gambino family's influence was spreading. To take care of any loose ends, they sent their top hitman, Zhivago**, to take care of any and all potential threats.


**Zhivago is a vampire and the assassin who shot Johnny Gambino. He's part of the Von Helson family.





Zhivago was a seasoned killer, even back then. He didn't divulge any information, and didn't even utter a word. He just snuck up on Geoffrey and tried to stab him in the middle of the night. Surprising everyone, the young Geoffrey awoke in time and managed to fend off the hitman with a broken pipe. Despite him never using any weapons before in his life, he was able to fend off the assailant. Zhivago was about to be dealt a finishing blow, but then he used Ana as a hostage. Geoffrey had no choice but to let him escape, but his mother was taken. He had done pretty well, all things considered, but he cursed his own weakness.

Without his mother he had nothing in the world. They were always poor, and they had nothing. The police wouldn't touch the Von Helson family, so there was no chance of any help. To them it'd be just another whore dead, not even worth the newspaper's ink. All he had was his profound surprise at how good he was at using a sword. His mother had read to him about knights and kings, and he had always admired them. He was mostly terrified, but there was a part of him that was glad that he had the chance to play the hero and save a damsel in distress. He had to save her, no matter what.

He made his way to Durem, and tracked Zhivago down inside the Von Helson mansion. He found a very unusual ornate broadsword mounted on the wall, and took it. He fought with Zhivago and was dealt many mortal wounds. Or at least, they should have been fatal....but his wounds would heal before that could happen. Geoffrey kept on fighting until Zhivago got tired, and fled. The sword had been glowing ever since his first fatal wound...and the sword was now bound to him. It had the name "EXCALIBUR" inscribed on the handle. After fighting his way through the mansion, he found his mother and escaped.

As they made their way to Barton Town, Ana revealed to Geoffrey his origins. Geoffrey had been sheltered all of his life. Ana had always tried to provide for Geoffrey, and to make him feel happy and loved. He had always known that she was hiding something from him, and that them being poor was very hard on them....but he respected her for her choice.

Upon arrival in Barton Town, they were greeted by a cloaked woman. She spoke kindly to them at first, but then stabbed Ana to death. Geoffrey was caught off guard and stabbed through the heart as well. The woman revealed herself to be Bonnie Gambino, Giovanni Gambino's daughter. She didn't want any potential threats to her inheritance, especially from a b*****d child. She laughed as she walked off. There were many witnesses, but the Gambino family had far too much power over the police at that point. Ana's death had been as Geoffrey feared.

From that day on, for one year, he travelled the world as a sword-for-hire. never worked for any of the crime families' benefits. He traveled the world, helping those in need. He swore that he would gain wealth and power his own way, and not resort to organized crime. He would build his own empire, make a name and legacy for himself, and forever separate his lineage from the Gambino's. He told no one about his origins, since Geoffrey Gambino was seen murdered by several people. From the day the world saw him "die", he called himself "Wardian Sord the First", who would openly declare that he would build a wealthy empire for himself some day.

He eventually met a group of six swordsmen, who he had admired. He heard about how they help people wherever they want, and begged them to join. He was rejected several times, and was considered an annoying fan who followed them around. When the time came for him to fight, they were all impressed that such a young person could handle a sword so well. He trained with them and their master for two years, and fought in the Battle of Despair. Sord is responsible for rallying several different factions together for a common cause. The Divine Paragon, The Gaian Military, and even mercenary groups like the Sun Spiral Bridgade were influenced by his charisma.

Noted Powers:

- instant regeneration healing factor, thanks to being bound to Excalibur
- Black and White Haki aptitude (weakest of the group overall)

Noted Abilities:

- absurd, ridiculous, and outrageous amounts of vitality and endurance
- very charismatic, able to draw in allies from unexpected places
- has the ability to noticeably annoy Musashi


Weapons:

- legendary sword Excalibur, which unleashed its true power for him...despite being stolen from the Von Helson family



Fighting Style:

- Sord is a very direct fighter. His motto was "Always counter, never block". His tactics were usually power-related. He was not nearly as skilled as the other swordsmen, but was nonetheless a necessary part of the group. The fact that he was an undying certainly was helpful against The Beast.

Trivia

- Wardian Sord never mentioned his humble beginnings, or the tragedy in his life even once. He always acted happy and boasted about his exploits, some of which were outright lies.

- Despite his name, he was the least knowledgeable about actual swordplay of the group

- he got along with Onyx the most, and idolized him.

- he would get ridiculous amounts of gold, because he would take on what most people would consider "suicide missions" and succeed

- he was the only person to actually piss Musashi off enough to yell

- he was the youngest of the Seven Swordsmen

- before meeting the other six, he had developed a self-taught fighting style for swordplay


Life after The Beast's demise:

Wardian Sord's charisma drew in many people, and he eventually founded the Sord clan. At age 40 he was granted the title of "Duke" and gained a vast spot of land to rule over. He rubbed elbows with the wealthiest people in Gaia. However, he made it a point to never associate himself with the crime families even then.

With all of his wealth, he eventually secluded himself from the rest of the world....getting fat from all the fame. He did not give anything back to Barton Town, as he felt that Barton Town gave him nothing. Plus he didn't want to risk giving the Gambino family any money. He died of natural causes in his old age, sleeping peacefully.

Excalibur would remain a family heirloom. The son of a whore and a crime boss became a Duke, with plenty of people who loved him.