Kariya Kagetoki

Kariya Kagetoki is a swordsman of rank and reputation, a master of a respected school whose calm bearing and formal manners suggest discipline and honor. He carries himself as an arbiter of the way of the sword, someone who judges other warriors by a code he claims to uphold absolutely — and expects the same deference in return.

Takayuki Sugo gives him a courtly stillness that makes his authority feel unquestionable at first, which is exactly what the writing needs before it starts picking at the gap between the honor he preaches and the compromises underneath it. He works as a mirror for Jin's own discipline, showing how easily the same code can curdle into vanity and cruelty.