Hachiman (八萬 Hachiman), inmate number 8, was a minor antagonist in the Nanbaka Web Manga and anime. He was the former leader of the Chinese Mafia and an inmate of Building 5 at Nanba Prison, where he was held in the Gogyousan Underground Prison.
Appearance[]
Hachiman was a very tall, overweight man whose face was completely concealed by a large pig mask stitched down the middle and covered his shoulders, and blocked his vision, leaving his true appearance a mystery. He wore a yellow inmates' jumpsuit fastened with red crossed threads.
Personality[]
Hachiman was a cruel, merciless, and power-hungry individual. He was known as a brutal leader and had very cynical views about humanity, describing humans as weak trash that could be used freely by strong people to obtain power and profit; he taught his subordinates the same thing, being highly manipulative in his conduct. He had a greedy nature, seeing his subordinates as mere tools whose talents he could use for personal gain, and cared little about harming people so long as it resulted in profit. He was also highly deceptive, described as having never kept his promises.
Background[]
Hachiman as the leader of the mafia
Hachiman was the leader of a powerful mafia in China. He regularly recruited people for it, often using brutal and manipulative methods. At some point, he went to a martial arts temple to recruit one of its teachers, beating him and mocking him when he refused. As he did so, he was approached by Liang who attempted to make him to stop; instead, Hachiman threatened to burn down the temple and kill all inside unless Liang came with him The teacher ultimately ordered Liang to obey Hachiman, though whether or not he kept his promise and left the students and temple unharmed was never determined[1]. He also ordered for the kidnapping of Upa, as a buyer had promised good money for the qigong user's organs[2].
Hachiman tortures Liang
Sometime later, Hachiman ordered for the recruitment of Qi, asking him to make medicine in exchange for enough payment to repay the debts he'd accumulated[3]. Unbeknowest to Qi, Hachiman had his creations modified to be fatal in order to sell them for high prices on the black market. Eventually, he discovered that Liang had never truly killed any of his targets and promptly massacred all the people he spared before brutally tourturing him. Later, he approched Qi and demanded that he make a poison, which he refused; Hachiman assaulted him and showed him a modified medicine of his, before producing Liang's mangled body as a reminder of what happened to those who disobeyed him, with plans to execute Liang the following morning[4].
However, these actions prompted Qi, Upa, and several others to betray Hachiman and the mafia, resulting in his arrest. Following that, Hachiman retained a desire to kill the Qi, Upa, and Liang in vengeance.
Plot[]
Hachiman appears
Hachiman is helped to escape by Enki and his subordinates, under the condition that he kills Jyugo and any other potential threats he comes across. He appears before Liang and Upa as they help their fellow inmates escape; he explains that he broke out to kill them for their past actions against him and orders the possessed Rokuriki to attack them. Rokuriki is soon defeated by Liang, much to Hachian's annoyance; he states that he broke out because there are no roles such as the ones between guards and inmates on the outside and reminds Upa and Liang that he taught them the same thing when they worked for him, making it impossible for them to live normal or honest lives anymore. Upa attacks him and contradicts his words; as he does, Nico appears to watch them fight, leading Liang to tell Hachiman to hold off his fighting while they hide him.
Hachiman eventually gets irritated with his opponents and moves to attack them once again. Liang and Upa attempt to fight back, and he retaliates by producing a paralytic poisonous gas. As it prevents his opponents from moving, he explains that he had it made for him by Qi, who hides behind a corner remembering his past connections with Hachiman. The latter tries to kill Upa, who is still unable to move from the gas; Nico prevents the fatal attack and begins to fight Hachiman. He spikes Nico with multiple poisoned needles in the hopes of killing him, but the attack is ineffective; he becomes confused that his poisons don't seem to affect the inmate but soon realizes that he is no match for him otherwise. Hachiman attempts to attack with a hammer that will explode if it hits something.
Hachiman vs. Nico
As Liang pushes Nico out of range of his attack, he orders Rokoriki to attack the inmates using qigong techniques which will likely kill him due to him not being a qigong user. Upa moves to take action, but Hachiman attacks him and claims that his sense of compassion prevents him from making a quick decision, making him weak. Nico tries to attack, but Hachiman chokes him, recognizing him as a sickly drug addict and mocking his efforts. Nico seemingly dies from lack of medicine and oxygen but regains consciousness and develops a violent, psychotic persona; he smells his medicine on Hachiman and demands he hands it over. Hachiman orders Rokuriki to kill Nico, but his efforts are unsuccessful due to an intervention from Upa and Liang, and Nico continues to attack with vigor. Angered, Hachiman attempts to fight him off until Qi emerges and explains Nico’s actions, defeating him.
Hachiman praises Qi for taking care of Nico before ordering him to kill Upa and Liang. Instead, Qi injects him with poison before retreating him and asserting how much he hates him due to his habit of using others as tools. Hachiman watches Qi explain his motives to Upa and Liang before stating that their hopes of starting a new life are hopeless, referring to them as weak and traitors. His words angered the inmates, who move to attack him once more. Hachiman continuously doges their attacks, mocking them, until he is forced to inhale a poisonous gas made by Qi. The poison takes control of Hachiman’s body until he chokes himself into unconsciousness.
Later, Hachiman returns to being locked in a cell where he laments his failure to kill Liang, where he is eventually told that he failed to follow someone’s orders to kill Jyugo. He is subsequently killed, his murder being thought of as a suicide.
Trivia[]
- Hachiman's name is made up of the characters 八 hachi, meaning "eight", and 萬 man meaning "ten thousand". His name is based on the synthetic divinity of archery and war mentioned in Shinto and Buddhism, referencing his brutal and power-hungry nature.
- Hachiman's character design is based on Zhu Bajie, the pig from the popular fable Journey to the West.
References[]