Who are the Hishaku in Kagurabachi? Shonen anime's next most infamous antagonist gang, explained

Kagurabachi has introduced one of the most terrifying villain groups in recent shonen history. The Hishaku are a small but elite organization of ten sorcerers who kicked off the entire series by doing the unthinkable: murdering protagonist Chihiro Rokuhira's father, Kunishige, and stealing six legendary Enchanted Blades he had crafted.

They're not your typical villain-of-the-week gang. These guys are calculated and powerful, and have been planning their moves for years.

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The Hishaku's Deadly Precision in Kagurabachi

The attack on Kunishige's home proves just how skilled the Hishaku really are in Kagurabachi. Uran, a fedora-wearing sorcerer, and an armored puppet controlled remotely by Hokuto broke through a security barrier that was supposed to alert veteran sorcerer Togo Shiba if anything went wrong. They killed Kunishige, destroyed his entire residence, and stole all six Enchanted Blades in less than ten seconds.

That goes beyond power; that’s precision. Hokuto, on the other hand, killed another former blade bearer, Ibuki Misaka, in one-on-one combat on the same night. The Hishaku, however, had a reason for the theft. Their eventual aim was to use Shinuchi, otherwise known as the Magatsumi, the most powerful Enchanted Blade ever created. It was the sword that the Master Swordsman used to kill 200,000 people following the Seitei War in an event referred to as Malediction.

Yura believes he needs Shinuchi to eliminate the Master Swordsman himself and prevent Malediction from happening again. To use these stolen blades, the Hishaku have been systematically assassinating their former bearers to break the Lifelong Contracts binding them. It's a dark plan that requires hunting down war heroes one by one.

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Meet the Key Members

Each member of the Hishaku brings something terrifying to the table in Kagurabachi. Hiruhiko uses Blood Crane. It is a sorcery that allows him to create paper and manipulate it. He can turn the paper into deadly weapons and remotely control them. After making a contract with Kumeyuri, Hiruhiko lost his original sorcery. But he was granted new techniques. One is Banquet, which creates hallucinations. Another is Play, which allows him to freely move objects or destroy them in the True Realm.

Kuguri is a master swordsman in Kagurabachi who can slice a moving bus in half while sprinting down a street. His obsession with proper sword technique borders on fanatical, and he even tried teaching Hiruhiko swordsmanship. Kuguri's sorcery, Twilight Wave, stores heat from battle and unleashes devastating blasts. After seven months of not using it, one attack destroyed a large section of the Kyoto Bloodshed Hotel.

Then there's Hokuto in Kagurabachi. He wears samurai-like armor and creates armored dolls with his sorcery. His colleague Toto handles teleportation for the group and can identify people by tasting their blood. Uran, one of the three who attacked Kunishige's residence, manipulates ice through her breath and has a playful, teasing personality even in combat.

Then there's the fedora-wearing Hishaku sorcerer who uses Pine Tree Sorcery in Kagurabachi. He can grow trees from inside people's bodies and turn them into living bombs to protect secrets. When one Korogumi yakuza boss tried to share information about the Hishaku, branches exploded from his head and killed him instantly.

Other Hishaku members in Kagurabachi include Bingo, whose Mako sorcery creates demon-like lion dancer heads that weigh down anyone who destroys them. Then there is Yukisada, described as the group's strongest fighter.

There's also a high-collared member who assists with logistics. Another member showed the ability to reattach severed limbs as long as they recover the missing body part. The variety of their abilities makes them unpredictable and dangerous in completely different ways.

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Yura: The Mastermind Behind the Hishaku

Yura stands as the most powerful figure among the Hishaku in Kagurabachi. He is incredibly calm and collected. Even losing a limb doesn't faze him. His Pine Tree Sorcery is so advanced that he can seal off entire corridors effortlessly and create walls of trees in seconds.

During his first confrontation with Chihiro at the Rakuzaichi auction, the Hishaku leader in Kagurabachi easily kicked the protagonist around and trapped him with branches, revealing himself as Kunishige's killer. Later, when Yura accessed Magatsumi's power remotely, he could grab master swordsmen Uruha and Natsuki by the necks before they could react. And his techniques, Dragonfly and Centipede, proved devastating even against elite fighters.

But what makes Yura truly dangerous in Kagurabachi is his manipulation skills. Eight years before the story began, he approached former sword bearer Seiichi Samura with knowledge about the Seitei War's truth and a prophecy about Malediction returning.

He spread information detailing the massacre throughout Samura's neighborhood, knowing the harassment Samura's daughter Iori would face would motivate him. After Kunishige's death, Yura successfully convinced Samura to help the Hishaku kill the other blade bearers in exchange for information about their organization.

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The Hishaku's Web of Influence

The Hishaku’s impact goes well beyond combat in Kagurabachi. They’ve arranged contracts with the most grand underworld organizations, like the Sazanami Clan and the Korogumi Yakuza. They’ve conspired with Genichi Sojo to enhance Datenseki research. They’ve engaged 68 external sorcerers and armed them with 34 Datenseki weapons to attack the Sanso fortresses.

The most disturbing thing about the Hishaku in Kagurabachi is how they infiltrated the Kamunabi, Japan's sorcery organization. They planted multiple insiders who leaked critical information, including Kunishige's location.

During their attack on Kamunabi Headquarters, they had planted trees inside around 50 agents, using their families as hostages to force cooperation. One of Kamunabi's own leaders, Kasen, secretly worked with them, covering up the spirit energy Yura had placed inside Magatsumi and modifying the barrier system.

The Hishaku's Kagurabachi long-term planning is terrifying. They networked and gathered resources for three years after stealing the Enchanted Blades.

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Why the Hishaku Are Perfect Villains

The Hishaku represents everything Chihiro fights against in Kagurabachi. They see killing as a means to an end, recruit members who've been exposed to murder from childhood (Hiruhiko killed his first victim at age three), and manipulate everyone around them without remorse. Hiruhiko's twisted belief that he and Chihiro are friends because they're both killers shows how fundamentally broken the organization's morality is.

What makes the Hishaku compelling villains in Kagurabachi isn't just their power; it's how they challenge the entire system. Yura's plan revealed the dark truth about the Seitei War that Japan had covered up for years.

The Master Swordsman's Malediction killed 200,000 people, but the government painted the islanders as savages to maintain peace. By exposing this lie and forcing Samura to confront his guilt, the Hishaku created chaos that went beyond simple villainy.

As Kagurabachi continues, the Hishaku keep proving they're several steps ahead. Their assault on Kamunabi Headquarters showed they could infiltrate the nation's most secure facility. With Yura accessing Magatsumi's power and fighting elite swordsmen while the Master Swordsman begins to move, this organization of ten has thrown an entire nation into turmoil.

They're not just strong or smart. They're willing to burn everything down to achieve their vision of eliminating the Master Swordsman and wielding the most dangerous weapon ever created.

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Conclusion

And that's what makes them such compelling villains for Shonen's next big series. The Hishaku in Kagurabachi aren't just obstacles for the protagonist to overcome. They're a genuine threat to the world itself, with the skills, planning, and ruthlessness to maybe even succeed.