Misanagi Moriya

Misanagi is proud, determined and intensely loyal to the Sanada clan. She wants to restore their influence and believes securing control of Japan for the clan will compensate for their decline in the new era.

Her ambition makes her willing to take serious risks. She treats the Black Knights as partners despite obvious differences in their goals and accepts casualties among her followers in pursuit of the larger objective. This can make her appear ruthless, although her motivation is consistently tied to what she believes will benefit the Sanada.

Misanagi is nevertheless capable of recognizing her mistakes. After the Black Knights betray her, she accepts responsibility for trusting them and offers to submit to whatever punishment her clan considers appropriate.

Misanagi is an accomplished ninja with strong infiltration, disguise and stealth skills. She infiltrates the German embassy without detection and can disguise herself convincingly enough to avoid immediate recognition by Kenshin's group.

She fights with a wakizashi and uses ninjutsu appropriate to her position as the Sanada clan's leader. Her speed and agility support the epithet "The Flying Arrow."

Her abilities make her dangerous to ordinary opponents, though the strongest members of the Black Knights possess enough combat power to overwhelm her, particularly when she is injured.

Misanagi enters the Black Knights Arc as leader of the Sanada and negotiates an alliance with Meldars. The Sanada will help locate the legendary Divine Elixir; in exchange, the Black Knights supposedly agree to give the clan control over Japan.

She consequently becomes both an antagonist and a competing interested party during the search. Her knowledge of the Elixir and the Sanada's connection to it make her indispensable to the Europeans.

[Meldars never intends to honor the agreement and orders Misanagi eliminated once the Elixir is located. Lentz wounds her, while Schneider, disgusted by the betrayal, intervenes to protect her. After the conflict ends and the Elixir is lost, Misanagi accepts responsibility before her clan, whose members forgive her and retain her as their leader.](#spoiler)

Meldars enters an alliance with Misanagi to locate the Divine Elixir. He ultimately betrays her after obtaining what he needs from the Sanada.

Lentz openly despises Misanagi and the Sanada. He attacks and seriously wounds her after Meldars abandons their alliance.

Schneider treats Misanagi more honorably than his fellow Black Knights. He protects her from Lentz and encourages her to survive rather than throw away her life after the Elixir is lost. Misanagi develops strong feelings for him during their time together.

Kenshin Himura initially stands on the opposing side of Misanagi's search but later becomes essential to stopping the Black Knights' larger ambitions.