Kenji Yahata was a Japanese yakuza who served as captain of the Yamagasa-gumi and patriarch of its Yahata-gumi subsidiary.
Biography[]
Kenji Yahata was born in Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan, and the brash and impulsive Yahata was a street thug before joining the Yamagasa-gumi. Yahata rose to be its captain, and he headed the Yahata-gumi, whose street thugs donned red tracksuits out of respect for their boss. In December 2012, Yahata fought against Kazuma Kiryu at the Yamagasa headquarters after Minoru Aoyama framed Kiryu for the attempt on Yamagasa-gumi patriarch Tadashi Madarame's life, but Kiryu bested him before fleeing. Kiryu later raided Yahata's hideout in Nakasu after Patriarch Madarame tasked him with informing Yahata of his intention to dissolve the family. When Kiryu met Yahata, he persuaded him to keep the Yamagasa-gumi alive in order to protect Fukuoka. Yahata was angry at being ordered around by a taxi driver, but Kiryu dodged all of his punches before knocking him down with one blow. Yahata, convinced of Kiryu's might, agreed to help him avenge Madarame's injuries by taking on Aoyama. Yahata called the remnants of the Yamagasa and had them assemble at Hakata Pier, where he demanded that Aoyama and the Tojo-kai show up in full force. On the night of the confrontation, Kiryu surprised both sides by taking on the Tojo-kai by himself in order to avoid an all-out war between the clans. Yahata watched as Kiryu beat his way through all of Aoyama's men before Kiryu interrogated Aoyama, who was executed by Yu Morinaga moments later. Much later, Yahata and the rest of his family were sent to Tokyo to help the Tojo repel an Omi Alliance invasion, and the allied yakuza forced Kamon Kanai to surrender.
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