The world of Naruto is filled with ninjas that could do a lot of superhuman feats. They could either be great at taijutsu, genjutsu or ninjutsu. However, occasionally, some ninjas would show up mastering another form of combat, fighting with weapons.
Although the “kunai” is a very common weapon used by most ninjas, most ninjas prefer to only use and specialize in one or two of the three ninja art techniques (taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu). It’s not too common for ninjas to use a weapon such as a sword as their main means of fighting.
Amongst these uncommon ninjas that make use of weapons, a group in the world of Naruto stands out to be among the greatest of weapon users. This group is called the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Each member has his or her own unique powerful weapon and one of these weapons is the Hiramekarei. Each weapon of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist is so powerful that they could be worthy as a kage’s weapon.
The Hiramekarei, among the seven weapons, is one of the most powerful. It’s a very versatile weapon that can change its form and can be used strategically because of its unique abilities. It has gone against the likes of Sasuke and Black Zetsu.
It’s even argued that Hiramekarei is the strongest weapon of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and not Samehada. This could be discussed in another article but a clue that hints to this is that it is typically the leader of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist that carries the Hiramekarei.
Another thing is that the wielders of the Hiramekarei are very notable. One of the wielders of the Hiramekarei could very well carry all seven blades and it was assumed that his main sword was the Hiramekarei.
Another wielder, Chojuro, ended up becoming the strongest ever member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Get to know more about the Hiramekarei as we discuss it in detail in this article.
Its history is a bit shrouded in mystery but there are clues that we could use to connect the dots.
Unfortunately, there isn’t really any of the Mizukage’s swords on Amazon, but you can check out cool Naruto merch here.
What is the Hiramekarei?
As one of the blades used by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the Hiramekarei is not only feared by many but along with the other six weapons, they are also considered treasures by the Hidden Mist Village.
Before we get more specific with the Hiramekarei, we’ll first cover the general rules and characteristics of all the seven swords. We might also cover some details about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist as the Hiramekarei along with all the other swords are their extensions.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had a tradition. Typically, members would have an understudy that would take their place in the event of their death. They would take the spot of the fallen member and would then wield their weapon.
Having an understudy was the group’s way to always be comprised of seven sword-wielding members. Not a lot is known about Hiramekarei’s former wielders. While we will discuss its wielders later on, what we can tell you now is that few were only able to wield Hiramekarei.
Before Yagura became the fourth Mizukage, the village of the hidden mist used to have a tradition that was meant to be the final exam for its academy’s graduates. Those who graduated and were exceptional would then become candidates for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
However, the final exam wasn’t that simple. The final exam was a deathmatch between students. This is one way one could gain possession of the Hiramekarei or be part of the organization of the seven ninja swordsmen.
The tradition changed when Zabuza, who at the time wasn’t even a student yet, killed all the students of the academy. After the incident with Zabuza, the tradition stopped.
When Zabuza became an adult, he then joined the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and wielded the Executioner’s Blade.
Another nature of the organization was that they were under the direct control of the Mizukage.In other words, Hiramekarei and the six other weapons were at the disposal of the Mizukage through the ninja swordsmen. However, while this is the case, the seven swordsmen do not put the Mizukage’s protection as a top priority.
They’re more inclined towards protecting the people of the village than protecting the Mizukage. If for some reason some or all members of the ninja swordsmen died and no one could take over their spots, the weapons are kept inside a special vault in the village hidden in the mist.
As mentioned earlier, each member of the seven ninja swordsmen were at least class-S ninjas and could take on kages on their own. Being as strong as they were, this emphasized just how durable and powerful their weapons were as well.
After all, any ordinary weapon might break or shatter upon being swung by someone with the might of a kage.
As for Hiramekarei, the blade was fortunate enough to have wielders for most of its time during the story. It’s one of the most powerful among the weapons of the ninja swordsmen and at some point.
A lot would kill and might have already killed just to have their hands on the Hiramekarei. This was because Hiramekarei possessed exceptional abilities and it would greatly benefit those that could use a huge amount of chakra.
What Does the Hiramekarei Look Like?
The Hiramekarei is an extremely large sword that is shaped like a fish. While it can be formed and used as one single huge sword, it can actually be split in two and be dual-wielded. While the type of metal or material used in creating the sword is unknown, the sword’s durability is remarkably strong as it was never seen to be destroyed.
Near the tip of its blade are holes that seemingly make up the “eye of the fish”. These holes are where the chakra that it has stored is released. This means that while the sword can be completely enveloped in chakra, it actually has points of origin and chakra doesn’t just come out from the entirety of the sword.
To make up its crossguard, the “tail” of the sword has indentations. It forms an upward curve with edges that could still do a lot of harm. Its crossguard itself is still a part of the blade.
The Hiramekarei has two grips. This makes it even harder to wield, control, and master the use of the Hiramekarei. Its weight alone could require the strongest of ninjas to be able to use it properly or even carry it.
With two grips, although the sword could be better carried, the swiftness of its use could be compensated. The two grips are also meant for dual-wielding. When the Hiramekarei is split in two, each half would then have a single grip.
When the sword splits, it might not be like how you thought it would. While you might think it would split in half from side to side, it actually splits in half like a sandwich. This means that the shape of the sword would remain the same and would not be half of the whole thing.
When the sword has some stored chakra, it can be turned into different types of weapons. More on that will be explained later. For the chakra to be released, the wielder only has to command the sword by chanting, “Hiramekarei Release”.
When not used, like the Samehada, another sword from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the Hiramekarei would usually be covered in bandages, most likely to hide it from onlookers.
Who Was Able to Wield Hiramekarei?
The time when the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist first appeared was so long ago that not much of the original members were known. We are most familiar with Zabuza’s generation and those that followed.
However, those that wielded the seven weapons before them were almost not even shown or talked about. Fortunately, we were able to compile everything we could about each and every single wielder of the Hiramekarei that were shown.
Unknown Shinobi
Perhaps the wielder from the earliest generation shown was an unknown ninja that appeared to have long spiky hair, blue eyeshadow, and blue lips. He wears his forehead protector on his neck and also has a utility belt with a couple of pouches attached to it.
Not much is known about him. Not even his name or how strong he was. We can only assume that he was a very strong shinobi, being able to claim one of the seven spots. Regardless, he met his demise upon their encounter with Duy, Mighty Guy’s father.
Mangetsu Hozuki
Although it was never shown that Mangetsu did wield the Hiramekarei, there were a lot of statements that confirm that he was able to use it. Mangetsu, along with his brother, Suigetsu, trained very hard so they could both be members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
However, only Mangetsu was able to get in. More than that, it was well known that Mangetsu was able to wield all seven weapons. So, although he was never seen wielding the Hiramekarei, we could still know that at some point, he was able to wield it.
The Fourth Shinobi World War could also support this idea. Because he was able to use all swords, he was trusted to be able to use a scroll that could summon all seven weapons. However, during the fourth shinobi war, because some weapons had wielders, not all were summoned by Mangetsu.
While other members were able to use their signature weapons, Mangetsu had none because Chojuro at that time wielded the Hiramekarei. If the Hiramekarei had no wielder at the time, Mangetsu might have wielded it.
Chojuro
Chojuro is the most well-known wielder of the sword because he was able to use it for quite some time in Naruto canon. At some point, he even served as a retainer of the 5th Mizukage and later on became the 6th Mizukage himself.
He is one of the members of the last generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Much about the sword was known during the time when it was in Chojuro’s possession. With the Hiramekarei, he was able to battle with powerful foes like Sasuke and Black Zetsu.
Later on, he passed the sword to Kagura, who then became the next wielder of the Hiramekarei.
Kagura Karatachi
Kagura Karatachi is the grandson of the fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi. Kagura, even when he was still young, displayed great potential in his skills with kenjutsu (sword marial arts). However, he gets into a trance whenever he holds a sword which at some point, resulted with him killing his classmates.
Still, he was able to advance to Chunin 13 years after the Fourth Shinobi World War. Kagura’s genius was well known and because of his expertise with kenjutsu, Chojuro, the Sixth Mizukage, passed on the Hiramekarei to him.
Kagura was so skilled with kenjutsu that it was regarded that he could single-handedly beat all of the New Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Boruto Uzumaki
In the story of Boruto, Kagura was persuaded into leading a group of shinobis into the vault where the weapons of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were kept. They wanted to reform the group but Kagura soon learned that he was tricked.
Because of this, he ended up fighting all of the Swordsmen of the Mist. Fortunately, Chojuro, Boruto and a few other of Kagura’s friends came in time to help him out. Boruto was able to wield Hiramekarei during his fight alongside Kagura against the wielder of Samehada, Shizuma.
Although Boruto only wielded half of the twin blades, he could still definitely be listed as a wielder of the weapon because he didn’t just merely lift it up for a couple of seconds. With Kagura, they channeled their chakra into the sword.
Both Kagura and Boruto were able to defeat Shizuma even though it was the powerful Samehada taking control of its wielder and not the other way around.
What Are the Abilities of the Hiramekarei?
The Hiramekarei was a very powerful blade that can be used strategically as the sword can turn into other certain types of weapons. With a formidable wielder, the Hiramekarei could be more than enough to defeat armies of shinobis.
Here are the known abilities of the Hiramekarei:
Can Store Chakra – The Hiramekarei can store chakra and use it as a means of cloaking itself. As mentioned earlier, chakra is released at the holes near the top of its blade. Alone, the sword can deal a lot of damage. When coated with chakra, it can deal even more.
The amount of chakra it has stored can enable it to change its form. Depending on the amount of chakra stored, it can turn into either a hammer, a twin sword or a longsword.
The stored chakra can be released with the command, “Hiramekarei Unleashing”. Once chakra is released from the sword, the wielder can become unstoppable being able to change the Hiramekarei into different types of weapons depending on the need.
Can Transform Into Other Weapons – Whenever the Hiramekarei has stored chakra, it can change its form. So far, the Hiramekarei is known to be able to transform into three different types of weapons; the hammer, the longsword, and the twin sword.
Each type of weapon has its own advantages and disadvantages. With the hammer, the wielder of the Hiramekarei can create massive damage because of the sheer size and power of the hammer.
However, speed will be an issue with this transformation. With the longsword, the Hiramekarei wielder will find it easier to deal with ranged opponents. Finally, with the twin sword, the wielder can create faster attacks.
Incredibly Durable and Emits Chakra – Even without emitting chakra, the Hiramekarei is a very durable weapon. In fact, it was never even seen to be damaged or destroyed throughout the whole story of Naruto and Boruto.
This is despite the fact that it has exchanged blows with other powerful weapons and shinobis. Just one of the most powerful weapons it has battled with was the Samehada, one of the strongest if not the strongest sword from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
When Chakra is emitted, the sword becomes even more durable and deals more damage. This makes the weapon very formidable and worthy of being used by a kage.
Bloody Mist Sword Art: Bone Mutilation – With the chakra that the Hiramekarei emits, it can create crystal-like shards that the wielder can send towards his or her opponent. Because of the nature of Hiramekarei, the shards do more than just simply impale the target.
The shards can also restrain the target from moving. Because the Hiramekarei can somehow manipulate chakra, shards that are thrown by the Hiramekarei can cause the chakra pathway system of a target to be disrupted.
With the chakra pathway system disrupted, the target would then slowly die.
Is the Hiramekarei Sentient?
Because the Hiramekarei can store chakra like Samehada, one can also assume the Hiramekarei to be sentient. However, this is not the case. With Hiramekarei, it is the wielder’s decision to channel their chakra to the sword.
The wielder also won’t have any trouble with the use of Hiramekarei as it doesn’t misbehave or behave in any way at all like Samehada. The Hiramekarei is simply a huge sword that has the ability to store and emit chakra but it isn’t sentient like the Samehada.
Is Hiramekarei Stronger Than Samehada?
We think Samehada would win simply because it devours chakra while the Hiramekarei emits chakra. Samehada would render the weapon useless.
During the battle with Boruto and Shizuma we saw that Samehada lost. But, Shizuma was inexperienced with using Samehada and in turn, Samehada devoured him and took control over his body. Meanwhile, Kagura already had some training with Hiramekarei. Alone, Kagura could not defeat Shizuma possessed by Samehada. It took the help of Boruto for them to beat Shizuma.
If it were Kisame, a former member of the Akatsuki who wielded Samehada, they might not have won. If both weapons had excellent wielders, Hiramekarei wouldn’t be a good match against Samehada. Hiramekarei emits chakra while Samehada devours chakra.
Hiramekarei might just end up making Samehada stronger. Again, this wasn’t the case with Shizuma because of his inexperience.
Hiramekarei – The Twinsword
Hiramekarei is a very odd sword because more than its gargantuan size and fish-like shape, it had two handles which made it known as the “twinsword”. It’s a weapon that requires mastery for it to be put to great use and can make one unstoppable if the use of the sword is mastered.
It’s a sword worthy of a Kage’s use and can beat most other powerful weapons because of its ability to emit chakra and transform.
Did you learn something new about the Hiramekarei? Let us know and share with us your thoughts about this incredible weapon from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the mist.