Name and Origin
The thirteenth successor to the sword art of Hiten Mitsurugi-ry?, it is unknown when he was taught the sword style or what happened to his master though more than likely his master was Hiko Seijuro XII.
The title of Hiko Seijuro is passed down through the Hiten Mitsurugi school of kedno from master to pupil. The cape that he traditionally wears is to keep his power in check and it is indeed weighted. Once the cloak is removed he becomes even more powerful and faster than usual.
Hiko used his skills to help those less fortunate than himself over the years but never took an apprentice after his masters death during the succession techniques.
Forging Shinta in Kenshin and disappointment
During the Tokugawa Regime he saved a young boy named Shinta from marauding bandits who killed his companions. Aftersaving the boy he bid him well and left him, upon returning the boy had not left his friends bodies but instead had burried both them and his enimes. The boy’s spirit touched Hiko and so he took the boy as his apprentice, and renamed him Kenshin (“Heart of Sword”) after claiming that Shinta was not a good name for a swordsman.
Hiko would then train Kenshin in Hiten Mitsurugi-ry? for the next six years. But they clashed many times over the fact that despite all their vaunted skill they were doing nothing to help the people of japan. Their relationship was left wounded when Kenshin, he ran away to join the rebellion against the Tokugawa regime at age 14, knowing that although Kenshin displayed extraordinary skill in swordsmanship, he was not prepared in mind and spirit for dealing with the conflicts of the outside world. He went on to live in seclusion and disapointement as he heard rumors of Kenshin becoming famed Hitokiri, Battosai. Hiko isolated himself from the rest of the world, reasoning that he does not have to deal with the ills of society by living as a hermit/ potter in a forest near Kyoto.
Succession and Saving Aio-a
During the events of the Kyoto Arc, Kenshin visited Hiko in hopes of getting strong enough to save japan from Shishio’s Juppongatan faction. At first he refuses since Kenshin in his eyes did not understand the purpose of the Hiten Mitserugi as he did not help when he left 14 years ago he had made things worse. Luckily for kenshin Korou and Yahiko and Misao convinced him that kenshin had learnt and was not the same as before, he was a rurouni at heart and used his sword to protect now instead of kill.
Kenshin hoped to master the last remaining principles of Hiten Mitsurugi-ry? and thus after Hiko listened to his visitors and evaluated his pupil’s growth, both as a swordsman and as a person, over the past fifteen years of separation, he decided kenshin was worth of learning the Ogi or Succession Techniques.
During training Kenshin was taught, Ku-Zu-Ryu-Sen (9 Headed Dragon Flash) and the Amakakeru Ry? No Hirameki (Heaven’s Soaring Dragon Flash), nearly dying in the process.
Afterwords Hiko appears when he assists the Kyoto branch of Oniwabansh? along with Yahiko and Kouro by defeating the giant Fuji as a last favor for Kenshin.
Physical Appearance
Hiko is a tall very muscular extremely handsome and youthful looking man with long black hair. His most striking feature is the red adn white cloak passed down in the Hiten Mitsurugi-ry? kendo school.
Skills and abilities
As the master of Hiten Mitsurugi-ry? he has mastered all of its many techniques but is only shown using:
Ama-Kakeru-Ryu-No-Hirameki (Heaven’s Soaring Dragon Flash) the battojutsu succession technique and Hiko’s favorite the
Ku-Zu-Ryu-Sen (9 Headed Dragon Flash):
What it does is to strike all nine vital points instantly. Because of that, it is impossible to dodge or to defend against.
Hiko’s brilliance is also noteworthy as he is the only master to survive the succession training. In each generation of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu, the master using Ku-Zu-Ryu-Sen is always killed by the student (the next inheritor) using Ama-Kakeru-Ryu-No-Hirameki. The only way to defeat the 9 headed dragon light is to attack with speed that surpass god who is using the Heavens soaring dragon flash technique.
He is faster and stronger than any other character shown in the duration of the manga and as stated by creator Watsuki.