HAJIME SAITO
HS
Captain of the Shinsengumi's Third Unit during the Bakumatsu. Now a government operative who has changed employers without changing principles. Old enemy of Kenshin, occasional and entirely unsentimental ally, completely indifferent to whatever philosophical position Kenshin has arrived at regarding killing. His code, aku soku zan, slay evil immediately, is the direct opposite of Kenshin's vow and the show gives it genuine weight rather than using it as a cheap counterpoint. Gatotsu stance. One of the best characters in the series and the most honest about what the Meiji era actually cost and required.
HAJIME THROUGH THE ARCHIVE //
KENSHIN'S VOW & THE BATTŌSAI //
Open page →Old Rival · Government Test · The Battōsai Reflex
Saitō attacks the life Kenshin has built in Tokyo because the government needs to know whether the former Battōsai can survive Shishio. He has no interest in protecting Kenshin's self-image. If the old killer is the only version capable of surviving, Saitō is willing to drag that version back out.
Why it matters
Their dojo fight makes the Kyoto decision unavoidable. Kenshin cannot defeat Shishio merely by insisting the past is over, because somebody from that past can still force his body and instincts to remember it.
