Kan Ki

Kan Ki is a General of Qin and the leader of Kan Ki Army. In the past, he was a bandit leader with a penchant for decapitation, which earned him the moniker The Beheader. He also served as a Vice General in the Mou Gou Army, and after the death of Great General Mou Gou, he commands his own independent army.

AppearanceEdit

Kan Ki has long, jet black hair arranged in a ponytail, a small goatee and wears a smug expression on his face, he wears purple armor with dark-colored fur around the neck, as well as earrings.

PersonalityEdit

His personality is said to be extremely brutal, as he has no qualms in killing surrendered soldiers and personally beheaded every person in any city or village he conquered. This is shown in how he sends heads of Wei soldiers back to their commanders, who have been severely tortured, along with bags of eyeballs back to their camp to decrease morale and incite fear.

He always has an arrogant smirk on his face and talks in a crude manner at times. He shows no respect for his foes as he calls Gen Bou "an old fart" and "trash" before killing him. He exhibits a sense of humor and sarcasm as in the case when a fellow crew member asked him, why he made an apparently unskilled individual like Ogiko a 1000-Man Commander of the Kan Ki army, something the General merely comments lightheartedly on with the words " 'cause it's funny obviously."

He has personally stated that he could care less about the concept of loyalty to kingdoms and wouldn't even be concerned if Qin was to fall, In his personal opinion, after peeling off the outer layers, the concept of kingdoms is nothing more than a cesspool where a select few can treat commoners as they please. On the other hand, he is still quite content with being a General as it allows him to quench his thirst for the thrill of warfare (no matter how savage) in a sanctioned manner. Despite his outward reasoning for his actions and methods, some of Kanki's closest soldiers and subordinates claim that Kanki is motivated not by the thrills of war but rage and anger towards the world.

He also has a cool demeanor and almost never displays any shock no matter how bad the situation is. Kan Ki also shows a very dark side as he toys with Haku Ki Sai by dangling the idea of escape from death if he begged for his life then stabbed him several times after he refused to grovel.

He does exhibit a sense of loyalty exclusive to Mou Gou by holding the position of Vice General in his army and coming when summoned as demonstrated when Chou Tou used Mou Gou's name, as he knew that Kan Ki would simply ignore a request for a conversation with him. His loyalty extended to such degree, that he "offered" incinerated enemy soldiers who had surrendered to his now-deceased general, calling him by his moniker Ha Kou Rou.

And he showed extreme calm, although Kyou Kai has her sword Ryokusui on his neck, even ordering his men behead Den Yuu. 

HistoryEdit

In his youth, Kan Ki was the leader of a large pack of bandits based in the mountains in Southern regions of the state of Qin during the waning days of King Sho's era of warfare. He became infamous for his unusual ways of guerilla tactics and brutal personality as he would behead every single citizen of any local cities and villages he conquered. At some point during this period he was recruited by Mou Gou, a Great General of Qin, as the old general saw potential in the young bandit and decided to take him under his wing. He along with his other peer who was named Ou Sen, rampaged their way across the Warring States while living underneath the shadows of the Six Generals of Qin.

About a decade later and now a general, Kan Ki would be a major player in the Sanyou Campaign of the State of Wei while serving as a vice general to the Qin Army, having conquered five cities before arriving at the place where the conclusion of the campaign would take place.

StoryEdit

Sanyou Campaign ArcEdit

He is first seen in the Qin-Wei conflict when Rin Ko is scouting out targets to slay before the upcoming battle. His strange camp setup checks the Wei general as it appears to be full of openings yet they could all be traps. Kan Ki arrives on Mount Ryuu to set up his camp, giving him a good terrain advantage before the main battle. He sees a smoke signal from the HQ saying that they'll be praying for their victory and Kan Ki calls it "rare" for Mou Gou to do such a thing. 

After the vanguard from both sides had faced off, Kan Ki and his 30,000 men faced off against General Kai Shi Bou in the hill region. His effective use of guerilla warfare combined with his ruthless and cruel mental warfare tactics that made the Wei troops succumb to fear for the Qin General gave Kai Shi Bou quite a challenge. He finishes with a "human forest" before finding out that the enemy's main army is heading for his headquarters. He turns this threat in an opportunity as he and his men disguise themselves as Wei messengers who are able to infiltrate Kai Shi Bou's HQ in order to get close to the Heavenly King Gen Bou. Upon being found out, Kan Ki and his men proceed to kill the Wei guards present and he comes face to face with the old man who tries to recruit Kan Ki as his student. His request is the last thing he says before he is beheaded by the Qin general who calls him trash. He later attacked and captured the Wei headquarters and cruelly killed Haku Ki Sai the Wei commander-in-chief. His crew then beheaded the other captured officers as well.

During the reward ceremony following the Sanyou Campaign, Kan Ki has raised two ranks in the nobility and given the lands of Sei Hi, Sei Rin, and Dai Ka. While kneeling before the king, Kan Ki was curious to see the face of the person who had his power stolen by Ryo Fui. He is surprised by the fierce light emitted from the king's eyes, which he found strange for a person "raised as a doll in a palace of luxury."

Coalition Invasion ArcEdit

He along with other Great General class Generals were summoned at Kanyou to discuss the plan to defeat the Coalition Army.

In the Battle of Kankoku Pass, he and his crew use oil barrels stolen from Kanyou’s warehouses to throw it on the Go Hou Mei siege tower. Kan Ki then shoots a fire arrow that burns the tower and hundreds of Wei troops while laughing.

After Chou Tou got poisoned by Han's poison arrow troops, he gathered some troops and stole a Wei flag and started going towards his HQ. Chou Tou followed along with his army. They broke through the armies without fighting because, in the middle of the siege of Kankoku Pass, every single soldier was focused on destroying the wall. After they defeated the Han Defense HQ, Chou Tou slew the Han commander in chief Sei Kai and shortly afterward died himself from the poison. Kan Ki afterward stayed on the Kankoku Pass walls for the rest of the Coalition Army war, but because the Coalition Army was focused on fighting at other battlefields, there was no action on Kankoku Pass.

State of Ai ArcEdit

He wanted to gouge out the eyes of Rou Ai and the fleeing Ai Army.

Koku You Campaign Arc Edit

He is the leader of the army that attacked the hills. But he never appeared on any battle and instead used his typical move, massacring nearby villagers and made a bridge made of corpses, that unnerved Shin and Kyou Kai who tried to attack him, thus negating their victory over Ryuu Tou and Kei Sha.

Western Zhao Invasion Arc Edit

He was placed as the general of the first army of the western Zhao attack army. Along with the mountain king Yo Tan Wa who leads the second army and general Ou Sen who acts as the commander of the third army as well as the supreme commander. He was later tasked to be in charge of besieging Gyou.

Abilities Edit

A prodigy at warfare, Kan Ki has never formally studied strategy, yet has never lost a battle because of his unique unorthodox tactics. He is an aggressive general and tactician who likes to use guerrilla warfare and psychological warfare. His most unique and seemingly lethal trait is his uncanny ability to infiltrate an enemy's headquarters and kill their general and commanding officers. His boldness and bravado in combination with his unique tactics are a devastating combination, adding to his great aptitude in every regard. Because of his unorthodox tactics, his results are unbelievable, as seen from the Battle of Koku You Hill. Ka Ryo Ten commented that the greatest of Strategists would be hard-pressed to replicate similar results like his.  

While he hasn't been seen fighting actively in the series so far, his high strength value indicates him being a capable combatant. This somewhat seen during his brief exchange with two members of Zenou's clan members.

Kan Ki had also proven to be very ingenious, making great use of existing resources (even though by not so legal means) to use them against his foes, as in the instance when he took down a Wei Siege Tower with the use of oil (which was "secretly borrowed" from the capital of Kanyou's storehouses) and a flame arrow. 

QuotesEdit

• Hahahahah! What a lame old fart. He got his ass kicked in the blink of an eye! Damn Geezer's all talk!!
• [To Ri Shin] The unification of China. Going by your eyes...Are you telling me that if you manage to pull that off, that all war will finish and peace will descend upon the world? Yep, you're one evil bastard.
• [To Ri Shin] The whole idea of unifying China involves butchering an enemy state's people through overwhelming military power until they no longer have the strength to fight back. Then, you just swoop in and claim everything they own for yourself: The land, The people, the resources, all of it. It's the slaughter and pillaging on a whole new scale. And the only ones who will be happy for the peace this brings...Are the people of Qin.
• We will continue burning down villages and slaughtering the people of Kokuyou.

TriviaEdit

• Kentaro Ito, the Japanese voice of Kan Ki, has provided the voices of Renji Abarai a former enemy turned alley in the Bleach anime series, Yoshitake Shiraishi, a core alley in the Golden Kamuy anime series, and Chouji Akimichi, a core character in the Naruto anime series.

• Due to his arrogant smirk, love of torturing opponents both physically and psychologically, and apathetic outlook on life in the Warring States, Kan Ki shares some similarities to Donquixote Doflamingo an antagonist of the One Piece series.

GalleryEdit

Kan Ki confronts Gen Bou

Kan Ki slays Gen Bou

Kai Ki executes Haku Ki Sai

Kan Ki shoots fire arrow at siege tower

Kan Ki cuts down Zen Ou Clan soldiers

Kan Ki enjoying some women

Kan Ki Sneaks up on Bi Hei

Kan Ki

Kan Ki on volume 20 cover

Kan Ki on volume 28 cover

Kan Ki in Anime season 2

Kan Ki with his men disguises as Wei soldiers

Kan Ki with his men infiltrates Gen Bou's headquarters

Kan Ki confronts Gen Bou

Kan Ki decapitates Gen Bou

Kan Ki stabs Haku Ki Sai

Kan Ki saws Haku Ki Sai with with his sword as Haku Ki Sai screams