Natsu Tanimoto, or Hermit, was the Sixth Fist of Ragnarök, and is an unofficial member and captain of the Shinpaku Alliance (albeit strongly denying affiliation with any of them despite them continuing to ask him to join). He is the disciple of Sōgetsu Ma , the holder of the Moon Symbol of Yomi, one of Kenichi's main rivals and currently a second year student at Kōryō High School.
Appearance
Natsu Tanimoto in the anime
Tanimoto is a tall fair-skinned man with blue eyes (violet in the anime), spiky yet wavy chin-length blond hair, with a well-defined built and respectably muscular frame. A noticeable trait of Tanimoto is the change in his eyes during the situation he is in. While maintaining his kind-demeanor, his eyes are big and calm. When angered or fighting, his eyes narrow with small cat-like pupils. A recurring theme in his appearance is that he is considered quite handsome by nearly all girls near his age.
Artwork of Hermit from the video game
Tanimoto typically wears a white-grey shirt with a red cross on it, similar to the design of a crusader, at school. As Hermit his outfit is very similar to the outfit of his savior when he was a child, Ogata, which give the hint that he was inspired to make his outfit to look like his. Tanimoto wears a dark hood and cloak with arm bands and leather boots, with a pentagram sewn into his leather gloves. Originally, the symbols on his gloves were that of the Roman numeral number six (VI). However, after his defection from Ragnarok, he changes the symbols to a pair of pentagrams.
Personality
Tanimoto is the president of the drama club at Kenichi's school and is considered to be the school's "prince", pretending to be a kind and soft spoken student, which plays well seeing how he is popular with both teachers and students. To further the illusion that he is a gentle and kind person, he makes sure not to reveal his muscular build, and even claims that the sun is bad for his skin just to prevent his body from being shown off during the camping trip.
He claims to have only joined the drama club to practice deceiving others, and is only nice because he perceives popularity as a way to control people. In truth, he is cold, ill-tempered, and extremely prideful. He also whacks Kenichi and Nijima or threaten them whenever they try getting too close (both figuratively and literally). Tanimoto also can't stand it when Kenichi calls him Natsu-chan (Lil' Natsu) to which he irritably responds "Who are you calling Natsu-chan?!".
The words left by his sister Kaede "don't lose" affected him tremendously, to the point where he will continue to fight even if he is knocked unconscious as seen in his second fight with Kenichi, and later in his death match with Chou Enshin. However, this also leads to him refusing to quit anything such as when he stubbornly refuses to stop playing Othello with Honoka until he manages to beat her which, in turn, leads to him being regularly forced to do anything she asks him to do, as he loses almost every time. His relationship to Honoka is very similar to his late sister, possibly that he sees Honoka as his little sister from before.
After losing to Kenichi, he regularly discards his kind personality to those that don't already know about his true nature. Despite refusing to accept Kenichi and the others as his friends, Tanimoto's demeanor has changed considerably since meeting Kenichi and his sister. While still maintaining his cold-attitude, he has become less hostile towards people getting close to him, particularly Honoka. Surprised at how strong Kenichi believes in the ideals of friendship and how they have helped him to come so far as a martial artist have also caused him to have doubts about the path he walks and actually comes to Kenichi and his friends' aid, though he always claims he is merely doing it for his own needs such as revenge.
Since his official joining of Yomi, Tanimoto has reached a crossroad in his life; While an unofficial ally of Kenichi, he has intentionally fought each time without killing as a Katsujinken believer, while Yomi is a firm believer of Satsujinken, meaning he is destined to eventually choose one of the two paths. However, with him fighting against the Shinpaku Alliance, it seems Tanimoto has chosen the Satsujinken, however, Siegfried notes he still is good deep down. This was proven true when Tanimoto refused to kill Siegfried despite being a YOMI member. While seemingly certain of his path of Satsujinken, he acknowledges that it is not for everyone and doesn't want people like Miu to follow it. During the Eternal Sunset, it would be revealed he joined YOMI solely to help save his master from the path of the Satsujinken over the fact since he couldn't save his sibling, he would help his master save himself.
A running gag is that whenever Kenichi calls Natsu his "best friend", he immediately becomes infuriated and angrily refutes the claim to which Kenichi either ignores or is oblivious to. However, in his fight for the position in YOMI, he briefly thinks about Kenichi, finally accepting that he is his best friend despite his refusal to admit it.
History
It is revealed by Loki that Hermit and his sister were orphans before being adopted by a rich businessman (Tanimoto was the man's family name). The businessman later married a female doctor who then became his stepmother. His sister died from a disease and left him with the words "don't lose." These words would make him fight for his life and refuse to ever lose to anyone. The businessman died of unknown causes, and his wife was put under arrest as the primary suspect of his murder, fostering a distrust in doctors in the young Natsu. Natsu inherited the company, but unfortunately was not able to manage much of it, leaving it to the corrupt workers who worked under him and losing a vast amount of his fortune in the process. When the corrupt men tried to kill him, Ogata Isshinsai saved him, leaving him in debt to the master and influencing him into joining Ragnarok as a result. It was also revealed by Loki that because of this, Natsu received some tips from Ogata as a means of becoming strong enough to begin his own training, and eventually left to find a master of his own to learn from. Eventually his search would lead him to Sōgetsu Ma, who made the deal of agreeing to teach Natsu in return for a tuition fee of various alcohol and expensive wine. His training was very strenuous and according to Natsu, he was basically bullied during most of the training.
Sho and Hermit
A couple of years after becoming his disciple, Sōgetsu decided to return to his life as a hermit, and skipped out on Tanimoto without telling him where he went, leading an angry Tanimoto to search for his runaway master while continuing his own training. During his search Tanimoto got involved in various gang related fights which leads to him joining Ragnarok as a means to continue his search uninterrupted. His skills, along with his connection with Ogata, eventually gets him climbed up the ranks to one of the strongest in the whole organization, becoming the Sixth Fist of Ragnarok, and a member of the Eight Fists (originally called the Seven fists at that time). At some point, he would meet Shō Kanō and the two, after fighting enemies together, become friends while Hermit was still the 6th fist. Even after becoming the Sixth Fist, Hermit never stopped looking for leads to finding Sōgetsu, and continued training by himself till the day he finally found his master.
Skills
Natsu using Chinese Kenpo against Shougo
- Chinese Martial Artist: Tanimoto specializes and has become highly proficient in Chinese Kenpo, and seemingly all its various styles and their respective techniques. His primary styles, Hikaken and Hakkyokuken, enables him to have a great control of range both close and long. This requires extensive physical and mental training, as well as knowledge of the body's mechanics. Due to his training by Ma Sōgetsu, Tanimoto's form of combat is more inclined to the Strong Fist Styles which rely more on destructive force. Ma's training style mostly revolved around regularly pitting Tanimoto against specific fighters whose power, skill and experience surpassed those of his disciple at the time by a small-to-medium margin. It was revealed in Battle 256, after watching the progress that Kenichi has made by practicing the basics, that Tanimoto has begun to focus more on the basics of Chinese Kenpo in order to give himself a more solid foundation for martial arts, and to be able to learn more advanced techniques with ease.
- Innate Talent: From a young age, Tanimoto stood out in talent. This made his adopted father recognize his great potential growth to become his future successor to his company. Combined with his unwavering resolve to succeed, Tanimoto has proven himself able to master seemingly any skill or technique he sets his mind to. This has allowed him quickly master one of Sōgetsu's ultimate techniques in under a few hours and also become highly proficient in a number of skills, including acting, school work, homemaking (purely to stop Honoka from ruining his house), managing the Tanimoto Concern, and especially martial arts. While only a high-schooler, Kenichi compared his might to the level of intensity his masters put him through. This talent has also repeatedly helped him to make tremendous jumps in combat prowess. Initially, he was only the 6th Fist of Ragnarok but later surpassed and ultimately defeated the 2nd Fist Berserker. Even his master Sōgetsu, applauded Tanimoto's growth from training himself in such a short time. Shō Kanō, the former leader of Yomi, couldn't believe that Tanimoto lost in battle, believing that no one who wasn't from Yomi should be able to beat him.
- Genius Intellect: Tanimoto has repeatedly shown himself to be a keen thinker. While being raised to become his adopted father's successor, Tanimoto proved to be a quick learner. In school, despite his secret life, he was able to keep up a perfect grade record, effectively tutor others and even manage the Tanimoto Concern online. In battle, Tanimoto is highly perceptive, able to quickly see through his opponent's attack patterns and battle tactics to better counter them.
- Enhanced Strength: Tanimoto is deceptively strong, an attribute from the intense training Sōgetsu put him through. As Tanimoto follows Sōgetsu's philosophy of destroying his opponent, his attacks are shown to be powerful and lethal. With a single hand, he could demolish a tree trunk and crush a car door. In terms of upper body strength, he can easily pick up and throw a man twice his size across a room. An example feat of strength was when he stopped an oncoming fist from a brute twice his size with one hand.
- Enhanced Speed: Tanimoto's is able to strike at such speed and rapid succession, leaving little time for his opponent's dodge or counterattack. He is also just as evasive, able to dodge and block most attacks with no wasted movement and just as easily counter. His speed is demonstrated when he stopped 3 Russian soldiers from killing his principal and pushed them down a cliff before he could turn around, and when he appeared out of nowhere to intercept the fist of a brute speeding towards two security guards.
- Enhanced Physical Prowess: Through all the hellish training Sōgetsu put him through, Tanimoto is at peak physical condition, as evident from his well-built muscular frame, which was applauded by Ma Kensei. Mostly, Tanimoto has used his superb shape to excel in all forms of sports at school. In battle, Tanimoto repeatedly demonstrates immense agility and flexibility. He is able to contort and shift his body stance to effortlessly change his attack patterns and strike from various angles. He is also a remarkable acrobat, able to use his agility to jump several stories high, easily do flips and other acrobatic movements and scale various terrains. He is also shown to be highly resilient, able to take a deep stab wound to the chest and sustain great blood loss yet still continue fighting effectively. His prowess is shown to be naturally so high, that it is hard at times for him to hold back, even at a time when he is annoyed with himself for drawing too much attention from breaking school records.
- Expert Manipulator: In his belief that he needs to control others to survive, Tanimoto has become a remarkable actor, able to convince his entire school he is a kind-hearted man. He is also able to manipulate situations to further his goals, as seen when he tricked the school into believing Kenichi was a bully to make him push up his training. He was also very crafty in this regard from a young age, able to convince the unsocial Sōgetsu to train him. With these skills, Tanimoto is able to gather information from the underworld.
- Enhanced Endurance: Tanimoto has remarkable endurance, as he was capable of taking a direct knife wound to the shoulder and didn't even flinch despite the blood coming out and fight Kenichi afterwards like it barely affected him. Akisame noted he might've won had he not taken the knife wound for Honoka. In his fight with Berserker, he suffered brutal blows from Berserker and was still able to overpower and eventually defeat him despite the heavy wounds he suffered. He also took a back-fist from Fortuna, sustaining only a bruised cheek. Even against a YOMI member such as Chou he was able to defeat him and sustain little damage.
- Esper-like Ability: Hermit was able to share a conversation with Kenichi by eye contact alone when Kenichi asked about Shigure's situation in Yami.
- Keen Senses: He was able to catch a Russian soldiers knife from midair and easily disarm them. He also managed to sneak around DofD island without being seen or noticed without much difficulty. Another example was when he seized his attack on Kenichi when he heard footsteps coming from around the corner of Koryou High, though it was just Nijima.
- Strong Heart: Kajima stated that Hermit was skilled at concealing his heart when he failed to read his mind through his heart.
Ragnarok Saga:
Valkyrie Arc
Hermit first appears when he, Valkyrie and Loki of Ragnarok's Eight Fists defeat an entire gang by themselves. According to Shinnosuke Tsuji, Hermit was supposed to participate in lynching Ikki Takeda for leaving Ragnarok, but he ultimately chooses to observe the ensuing battle.
Hermit Arc
He confronts the then-newly established Shinpaku Alliance and demands to know where Kenichi Shirahama learned martial arts, but the
Shinpaku Alliance manage to escape from him. Not long after, he transfers to Koryou High School as a first year student and appears to be a model student, excelling at both academics and athletics, tutoring other students and infatuating many of the female students. He becomes the president of the school's Drama Club and is cast as Romeo in its Romeo and Juliet play, opposite Miu Furinji who is cast as Juliet. When a group of delinquents damage the set of the play, Natsu attempts to fight them but is quickly overwhelmed, prompting Kenichi to save him. In reality, however, Natsu had ordered the delinquents to
Hermit vs Kenichi
attack the set as Hermit so he could observe Kenichi fight. When the delinquents leave upon realizing who Kenichi is, Natsu secretly beats them, which leads to Haruo Niijima spreading the story that Kenichi was the one to beat them. After getting into an argument with Kenichi, Hermit attacks Kenichi when he is walking home with Miu Furinji. The fight ends in a draw, and Hermit leaves to train for a rematch.
Clash with the Fists Arc
When he returns, he begins fighting other delinquents on the street. This leads to him saving Honoka Shirahama when she is attacked by delinquents and takes her to his house to treat her wounds. He soon grows fond of her because she reminds him of his late younger sister. When he and Loki find out that she is Kenichi's younger sister, Loki decides to kidnap her to lure Kenichi. While Natsu protests this, Loki blackmails him by tricking him into thinking that Kensei has ordered Loki to kill Kenichi. Nonetheless, Loki initially allows Hermit to fight Kenichi, but when the battle proves to be even, Loki interrupts it by threatening to kill Honoka if Kenichi continues to fight back. When Hermit refuses to continue fighting, Loki attacks Kenichi. Eventually, Hermit decides to rescue Honoka and announces to Loki that he has now decided to quit Ragnarok. Odin then appears and reveals that Loki had deceived Hermit by using Kensei's name and offers to give Hermit a chance to return to Ragnarok, but is turned down. After Odin and Loki leave, Hermit and Kenichi continue their battle, and Hermit is defeated. The two are treated at the Ryōzanpaku and while Natsu returns to school the next day, he vows to defeat Kenichi someday.
Final Clash Arc
After leaving Ragnarok, he is constantly pestered by Niijima to join the Shinpaku Alliance, but constantly turns him down. Eventually, he comes to aid
Shinpaku in order to get revenge on Loki during their final battle against Ragnarok, but when Berserker defeats Loki, he decides to fight Berserker. Hermit is victorious, and watches Kenichi fight Odin. When Odin orders his men to kill them, Hermit and the Shinpaku Alliance fight off most of the remaining men in Ragnarok.
Yami/YOMI Saga:
Snow Summit Arc
Tanimoto and the rest of the class go on a school ski trip and he pretends to have fun most the time. When Kenichi and Miu go missing, he goes out to find them with (albeit begrudgingly) Niijima. The two of them find Kenichi fighting Radin Tidat Jihan and helps fight against the weaker foes so Kenichi can fight Jihan. After Kenichi and Jihan fall off the cliff, Tanimoto and Niijima find a sick Miu and he notes she's got a fever and they get her out of there. Tanimoto has Niijima take Miu while he goes to find Kenichi and barely manages to save him from getting buried alive by Jenazad and forces Kenichi to stay on while Jihan is buried alive. They arrive back in the morning and Tanimoto has the school take care of Miu and Kenichi.
DofD Tournament Arc
Natsu infiltrates the DofD
Hermit's role in this arc is relatively small compared to the other Shinpaku members. He takes care of Kenichi for a short time away from Ryozanpaku and temporarily feels it is okay for Kenichi to stay with him after seeing Apachai knock him out. He also has information gathering operatives that work under him to help get information on martial artists or organizations throughout the underground world of martial artists. He transports the members of the Shinpaku Alliance to the D of D tournament in his own boat, but unlike the others, his intention is not to participate in it; but rather to find his master. He is believed to be dead when his boat is blown up by the missile defenses of the private island where the tournament occurs as the rest of the members of Shinpaku were unable to find him.
Natsu's reunion with his Master
He later shows up alive on the island, finding Sōgetsu while he took on some guards of Fortuna and trains under him again. He later comes to the aid of the Shinpaku alliance in their fight against Fortuna under orders from Sōgetsu to fight with a master class and plays a pivotal role in defeating him by using the Kyousa to significantly damage Fortuna. Afterwards, he yells with the others for Kenichi to get up and fight Sho and states if he loses he'll kill Kenichi first. He later admits his relief that Kenichi won and leaves with his master. Sometime after returning home, he is greeted by Seta and Hayami at the docks where he often meets up with Shō and was informed that he was gunned down, leaving him shocked to hear that and even mourns his loss.
Yomi in School Arc
He is later called "Natsu-chan" instead of "Tanimoto-kun" by Kenichi during the camping trip, which he abhors to the extent of wanting to attack Kenichi. During Boris' attack, Tanimoto attacks the other soldiers, who make note that he was not listed as a member of Shinpaku Alliance, which was likely based on the list of Shinpaku Alliance members from the D of D tournament, as well as the fact that he was largely absent for its duration. He also seems to be interested in James Shiba as a master and wishes to see his improvements on Takeda since the DofD tournament. During the second fight between Kenichi and Takeda, Tanimoto was rather amazed by the fact that Takeda could even use Ryuusei Seikuken, one of the Elder's 108 techniques that was only shown to have been taught to Kenichi, yet Takeda managed to use it. This could be an indication that Tanimoto is interested in fighting Takeda when he is stronger.
Weapon Fighters Arc
Natsu Tanimoto appears walking around school as the girls were awing at him until Kenichi came by to talk to him in private. Once they were out of sight, Natsu threw Kenichi for being so clingy, but saw that Kenichi is much more aware of his center of gravity. Tanimoto later appears as Hermit, who just saved two security guards from a raging berserker with tremendous Dou Ki. Hermit knocked out the guards so they wouldn’t get in his way. Sōgetsu watches from above while explaining that Hermit had to fight opponents slightly better than him to get stronger faster and warned that if he doesn't defeat the berserker soon, the latter’s Dou ki will keep growing and he’ll kill Hermit. Hermit defeated the berserker under a minute by hitting the back of his head and attacked his side. When Niijima told Kenchi he discovered that Natsu's master was the tenth member of Yami's One Shadow Nine Fist, Kenichi asked Natsu if he’s part of YOMI, but Natsu ignored his questions and assumed his princely facade in front of the girls and told him that he was going to the staff room, leaving Kenichi befuddled.
Natsu Tanimoto's master Ma Sōgetsu is revealed to be a member of Yami and has asked for Tanimoto to be
Tanimoto vs Chou
the new member with the symbol of the moon of YOMI. In the fight for the YOMI position, he faces the temporary member named Chou Enshin in a death match. Facing the disadvantage of fighting a stronger and faster fighter, Tanimoto was almost overwhelmed by his opponent and even loses consciousness for a few moments. While unconscious and trying to get back up, he sees his long death younger sister and Honoka, and even to his surprise and annoyance, Kenichi, who he reluctantly realizes has become one of the closet people in his life. He also realized that, despite Kenichi's oddities and lack of talent, Kenichi regularly persists in fighting stronger people. He strikes himself in the head to calm down, a tactic formerly used by Kenichi while fighting Odin, and finally manages to defeat his opponent, earning the symbol of the Moon and become the tenth official member of YOMI.
A wounded Tanimoto arrived at the festival he promised to take Honoka to and meets up with her and the Shinpaku Alliance members who were attending there too. Niijima asked if those injuries were from the battle for the seat of Yomi, but Tanimoto claimed that they were from training. Kenichi finds out the truth from Rachel and is shocked and angry about it, however, he calms down once hearing from Akisame that Natsu has a reason for doing what he does and since he has not done anything bad yet he feels okay about it.
Okinawa Arc
When the Shinpaku Alliance planned to follow Ryozanpaku to Okinawa, Natsu refused to go despite being asked by Takeda and Nijima. Natsu is shown in a Yami base with Kajima, Rachel, and Chikage playing Shogi during the the time that Ryozanpaku attacked the Okinawa Yami base. Rachel assumed that he was next in line to challenge Kenichi, but was corrected by Kajima who stated that Sōgetsu showed no interest in Kenichi and muttered that he was moodier than he heard. Kajima asked if Natsu if he was interested to play a game, but Rachel claimed that he was rather unsocial in school based on her observations, which prompted him to speak out, stating that he plays Othello. When Kajima had tried to use his mind reading ability on Natsu, Kajima was unable to read his thoughts and stated that Hermit is skilled at concealing his heart. After Kokin's defeat, Natsu shows up with the Shinpaku Alliance as they visited Kenichi, stating that there is a rumor that Kokin and his master fled to Thailand. Niijima questioned how Natsu knew that, but Natsu claimed it was just a rumor with a smirk.
The Tidat Kingdom Arc
Later at school, Kenichi asked him about Shō's background and only told him what he knew about the guy. When Miu is kidnapped by Jenazad, Tanimoto shows sympathy towards Kenichi and even smiles when Kenichi regains his fire to save her. Then he was asked by Kenichi on when was he here, resulting him into becoming silent.
Return to Japan Arc
Following Miu's return and Jenazad's death, Tanimoto was absent from school for a while while attending YOMI's meetings. After coming back to school, he tells Kenichi not to let his guard down, but the latter wants to talk to him privately. During the ensuing conversation, Hermit explains Ogata's talent in raising powerful disciples, although this only makes Kenichi wonder whether or not he would kidnap her the same way Jenazad did. Tanimoto claims that he will just make her into fodder for his own disciples before issuing a cryptic warning to his rival, saying that the enemy will come after more than just him, and someone will probably die in the upcoming battle. Kenichi refutes this claim and asserts that he won't let that happen to anyone, momentarily impressing Hermit.
Titan Arc
During a mass training session for the Shinpaku Alliance, Tanimoto appears at the alliance's headquarters playing another game with Honoka, his skills
impressing her this time. When Nijima tries to kick Rachel Stanley out of their hideout, she points out that since they let Hermit hang around, she should also be allowed. Kenichi happily considers the visiting YOMI members his comrades, but Tanimoto is called away alongside Rachel and Chikage to participate in a mission. Upon arriving at the YOMI base, the trio encounter Ryūto Asamiya and two of Ogata's other disciples, one of which is revealed to be his old enemy, Berserker. Mikumo Kushinada enters the room and greets the gathered disciples, citing their past defeats to practitioners of the Saving Fist philosophy. She tosses a series of shuriken at them, but the YOMI members manage to dodge and counter with relative ease. Berserker then tells his fellow disciples off for underestimating their opponents before pondering out loud what kind of fights they've been in. He is then called back with Chikage and Rachel as Mikumo pairs them with Berserker and Lugh as she sends them to kill Kenichi and his friends. He later arrives at the amusement park with the other YOMI members. At night, he appears behind Siegfried and prepares to fight him. Sieg notes this is the choice he made and always had suspicion with him and declares he will force him back to their side stating he won't preach to bad
Hermit vs Siegfried
children who don't listen. They continue to fight as Siegfried complements his improved skills as Hermit does to Siegfried. Siegfried then asks why doesn't he play the "ensemble of friendship" with them but Hermit says it can't be helped due to how things ended up and all things must come to an end. Siegfried disagrees and clashes with him stating there are some things that will never end and this surprises Hermit as a part of his hood is cut. Their battle continues with both sides complimenting each others skills and Siegfried saying he won't speak to
Hermit defeats Siegfried
someone as an equal who won't accept friendship which Hermit refuses to do so, leading to a final clash of the the two. Eventually, Sieg is defeated by Hermit noting the slight difference in strength, demanding he realize what friends do to help polish ones skills. Hermit acknowledges his increased skills but tells him to not try to look down on him after losing. Siegfried just scoffs stating his reason that he still has a ways to go and if he'd fought with Kenichi now, he would definitely lose, much to Hermit's annoyance, realizing he should have fought Kenichi instead and decides not to kill Siegfried.
The Eternal Sunset Arc
Hermit was seen present when Kajima introduced disciples from the weapons team. When he asked Kajima if he should stop Rachel from attacking Hyougo, Kajima laughed stating this was likely to happen.
After Shigure's abduction, Kenichi asks him at school if he knows anything, and, after giving a serious look, Kenichi figures he's processing what he said and doesn't know for certain where she is. Then Kenichi tells him he can't have Honoka which prompts a comical outburst from Tanimoto. Natsu is later seen with the rest of the Yomi disciples preparing for the eternal sunset, keeping to himself as the other unarmed Yomi members clashed with the armed disciples.
When Nijima lead the Shinpaku Alliances (which the exception of few, i.e, non-combatants) and one Military man to the other end of the island as per request, Natsu was seen together with the Yomi and disciples from Haichou Executioner on the top of the cliff.
He was later seen with the rest of YOMI (minus Kajima) facing the Shinpaku Alliance. After Kenichi, Miu and Niijima escape, he and the other disciples charge towards the Shinpaku Alliance.
However, Hermit and the other unarmed YOMI disciples remain on the sidelines during the ensuing battle. He then reacts surprised in seeing Chikage seemingly changed from before. After Chikage's assault on the armed division's lack of honor and ganging up on the Shinpaku Alliance, Hermit allies with the alliance temporarily as he assaults Sayama. He then contacts his master as Kensei is about to be killed, stating he was unable to save his sister, but Sōgetsu can still save his brother. His master saves Kensei at the last second, commenting how noisy his disciple is.
Once they start to overwhelm the weapons team, Hyougo takes the lead and has them work together more effectively. Just then, two masters: Chin Sougaku (crescent moon spade) and Ortal Sin (jamadhar) arrive and begin to put more pressure on them. However, Ryuto, Renka, Koan Shokatsu and Genson Ryu, Renka's fellow disciples, arrive and attack the enemy reinforcements. Once Ryuto tells them what to do, Hermit fights along side Ryuto and Berserker against Chin.
At the disciples' battlefield, the Shinpaku Alliance senses that Kenichi is in trouble. Tanimoto confirms that he also feels Kenichi's ki, along with the Shinpaku Alliance and Yomi of the unarmed division, and called out to him to not give up as Kenichi's eyes regain their strength.
Eventually, once Ryuto, Hermit and Berserker unleash their most powerful moves they defeat Chin. Afterwards once the YOMI forces retreat, Ryuto and everyone else celebrate the collapse of Yami.
Epilogue
In the Epilogue, Tanimoto leaves YOMI, but is now annoyed how Honoka and now his master now frequently stays at his house more often. Regardless, he now seems to enjoy their company.
Battle Log
Past Battles
- with Sho Kano vs thugs (won)
Single Battles
- vs. Kenichi round 1 (draw)
- vs. Kenichi round 2 (interrupted by Loki)
- vs. Kenichi round 3 (lost, due to being stabbed with a knife before hand)
- vs. Berserker (win)
- vs. Guards on Death match island (win with instruction of Sōgetsu)
- vs. Russian soldiers (win)
- vs. Chinese thug (win)
- vs. Chou Enshin (win)
- vs. Siegfried (won)
- vs. Yui Sayama (undecided)
Team Battles
- with Honoka vs. Thugs (win)
- with Thor, Siegfried, Takeda, and Ukita vs. Ragnarok Thugs (win)
- with Kisara, Thor, Siegfried, Takeda, Freya, and Niijima vs. Fortuna (win)
- With Odin and Berserker vs. Chin Sougaku (win)
Etymology
Natsu might have been named after the Japanese photographer Natsu Tanimoto, who appears to be one of Shun Matsuena's acquaintances where he provided the cover illustration for one of Atsutaka Tsuji's singles [1].
- The name Natsu means "summer" (夏).
- His nickname Hermit is a references the Norse god Odin's habit of travelling Midgard as an old man. This relationship carries further on to Hermit's admission into YOMI, when he is a fellow member of the top ten alongside Odin.
- Natsu's surname Tanimoto means "valley" (谷) (tani) and "base, root, origin" (本) (moto).
Trivia
- Natsu is a member of both Yomi and the Shinpaku Alliance.
- Out of all of the members of the Shinpaku Alliance, only Natsu and Ikki Takeda have well known masters who have ties with Ryōzanpaku.
- In recent chapters, Hermit's intention of joining Yomi was finally revealed, early in his life he failed to save his sisters life so he joined Yomi in attempt to save Sōgetsu Ma from the darkness.
- Natsu's win loss record in Othello against Honoka is 2\87.
- The Guidebook confirms that Natsu still owns the Tanimoto Concern.
- Ma Sōgetsu's and Hermit's symbol "月" (moon) means "to be wrapped in mystery/carrying a secret".
- In the anime, Hermit shares the same Japanese Voice Actor as Vegeta (Ryō Horikawa) and the same English voice actor as Future/Adult Trunks (Eric Vale as of season 2).
- There is a proverb in regards to the complimentary nature of Piguazhang/Hikaken and Bajiquan/Hakkyokuken: "When pigua is added to baji, gods and demons will all be terrified. When baji is added to pigua, heroes will sigh knowing they are no match against it." (八極參劈掛，神鬼都害怕。劈掛參八極，英雄嘆莫及) [2].