Shishio is introduced offscreen as the successor of "hitokiri" Himura Kenshin became a free wielding swordsman to protect members of the Ishin Shishi. During the Boshin War, Shishio was knocked out from a gunshot to the head, doused in oil and burned alive by the Ishin Shishi. He survived, sustaining severe damage to his entire body to the point that he must wear bandages day and night to cover his disfigured skin. It also limited the time he could fight. Shishio, with the aid from a man named Sadojima Hōji, assembled a group of the best fighters in Japan, called the Ten Swords ("Juppongatana"), to overthrow the Meiji government. He envisions a Japan ruled by him, enforcing the principles of Social Darwinism through Anarchism and chaotic fighting. Using this belief, Shishio runs a campaign against the Meiji government, as he felt it was too weak to effectively lead the country. He planned to strengthen the economy with petroleum once he took over the country. At some point, he met Komagata Yumi, a former high-ranking geisha who despised the Meiji Government's new policies on prostitution, with whom he shared a romantic relationship.