| Hanbe Sasaki | |
| |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Bodyguard |
| Affiliation | Echigoya |
| Weapon | Tachi |
| Status | Deceased |
| First Appearance | Tenchu: Stealth Assassins |
Hanbe Sasaki (佐々木 半兵衛 Sasaki Hanbee?) was the bodyguard of Echigoya.
Biography[]
The Azuma Ninja encountered Sasaki after Lord Gohda dispatched an assassin to deal with Echigoya, an unscrupulous merchant who engaged in loan sharking and prostitution, at his residence. Just as Echigoya was about to rape a peasant woman, an Azuma silently entered his house and moved in for the kill. Echigoya called for help and his bodyguard entered the room. The Azuma gave him a fair warning to step aside, but the bodyguard declined to do so and challenged the ninja to a duel. The fight was short-lived, as Sasaki was quickly cut down.
Abilities[]
Hanbe Sasaki was an ordinary man with no magical powers or abilities. His weapon of choice was a tachi, but his skill with the weapon was mediocre at best. He attacked using an extremely aggressive style of Iaijutsu in which he would quickly draw his blade and slash at his opponent, then return the sword to its sheath. This proved to be a mistake against an opponent as skilled as an Azuma ninja, for when he sheathed his sword he was particularly vulnerable to counter-attack. This would ultimately lead to his death.
Quotes[]
| “ | Looks like you chose the wrong party to crash! | ” |
—Sasaki to the Azuma. | ||
Background Information and Notes[]
- A character in Tenchu 3 by the name of Tajima appears similar to Sasaki. He is the bodyguard of another member of the Echigoya family, Tokubei Echigoya.