Taiju Shiba

Taiju Shiba is the Sixth Division Captain of the Second Generation Tokyo Manji Gang. He was also the former leader of the 10th Generation Black Dragon. Taiju is the older brother of Yuzuha and Hakkai Shiba. He is the main antagonist in Black Dragon Arc.

Appearance
Taiju is a very tall and muscular man, easily towering over others. He is the second-tallest character shown thus far. His hair is blue and white and was kept long and tied up. He wears a custom Black Dragon uniform, where the uniform jacket is longer and red instead. He keeps his uniform jacket open, showing his chest. He has tribal tattoos styled in a series of swirls on the left side of his neck down to his chest and cursive tattoos below that. There is a giant cross tattoo on his back. He sports a crazed grin and exhibits all sorts of unusual expressions - one eye opening wider than the other and his forehead vein popping out - when fighting or when excited.

Personality
Taiju is brutal, abusive, and religious. He enjoys tormenting his opponents and has little care for others' well-being, even his own siblings'. He trained the 10th Generation Black Dragon gang, completely reforming it to act like an army. Taiju was very abusive toward his siblings, going so far as to beat them over insignificant things. He is a prideful individual, believing in the supremacy of his fighting abilities and in the strength of his gang. In addition, he is incredibly charismatic, completely capturing the hearts of his followers. Despite his appearance and abusive personality, Taiju is a very religious Christian. He goes to church alone to pray on Christmas annually. Taiju actually loves his two siblings very much, but his over-protectiveness became warped into domestic abuse.

Authority
During the time he was the Black Dragon's leader, he had absolute control over the powerful gang, directing and ordering them as he pleased. Under Taiju, Black Dragon became incredibly formidable and united, with others observing how it was almost like an army. Taiju, along with his impressive strength, is also very charismatic. His followers do not merely obey him out of fear; they do so out of respect for him as well.

Fighting Prowess
Taiju is an incredibly powerful fighter. His blows are destructive and his endurance is extraordinary. Taiju easily defeated the elites of Toman, who were very competent fighters in their own right. He was the only person in the series to knock out Manjiro Sano with a single punch, even if Mikey took that blow on purpose. He shrugged off a knife stab wound and went on to face several opponents. In addition, he also woke up quickly after being hit at full force by Mikey's signature kick. Because he was unrivaled due to his overwhelming raw strength, however, Taiju evidently never took the time to hone fighting techniques, so he fights in a rough and violent way, having been able to use brute force to get his way all his life. Taiju's strength is one of the greatest in the series. His punch has knocked foes unconscious or several feet back. He has lifted a pew with one arm and thrown it with ease. In fact, Takemichi Hanagaki remarked that he has never been hit by a punch even close to as strong as Taiju's. This, along with his overconfidence in his strength, were the major reasons for his loss to Mikey.

Intelligence
Not only is Taiju intelligent enough to utilize his assets, such as having Hajime Kokonoi raise funding for his gang, but he himself is financially competent.

Appearances
{{Appearances|Chapters|

Black Dragon Arc

 * Chapter 79 - Fuck off
 * Chapter 80 - Thicker than water
 * Chapter 81 - Stand alone (flashback)
 * Chapter 84 - Run errands
 * Chapter 85 - Family bonds (flashback)
 * Chapter 87 - Strange bedfellows
 * Chapter 92 - Whip up morale
 * Chapter 93 - Keep one's vow
 * Chapter 94 - Scaredy cat
 * Chapter 95 - The ordeal from God
 * Chapter 96 - Always here for you
 * Chapter 97 - Sibling rivalry
 * Chapter 98 - Strive together
 * Chapter 99 - A verbal shot
 * Chapter 100 - Hundreds of times
 * Chapter 101 - Keep mum
 * Chapter 102 - Salute someone
 * Chapter 103 - Mother figure
 * Chapter 104 - Christmas Night
 * Chapter 105 - No one can match
 * Chapter 106 - Dawning of a new era
 * Chapter 107 - Tight-knit
 * Chapter 110 - Best wishes (flashback)

Tenjiku Arc

 * Chapter 131 - Rest in peace
 * Chapter 132 - The big baddy
 * Chapter 133 - Sell out
 * Chapter 136 - My lot in life (flashback)
 * Chapter 141 - Lay out a plan (flashback)
 * Chapter 143 - Come back to life (flashback)
 * Chapter 144 - Big-hearted (mentioned)
 * Chapter 147 - The root of all evil (flashback)
 * Chapter 159 - I know in my head (flashback)

Kanto Manji Arc
{{Appearances|Episodes|
 * Chapter 245 - Grow up to (flashback)
 * Chapter 258 - Strange bedfellows
 * Chapter 259 - Like a something demoniac
 * Chapter 260 - Squaring off against
 * Chapter 261 - Opposite sides of the same coin
 * Chapter 262 - To rout and ravages
 * Chapter 274 - No holding back
 * Chapter 277 - At last
 * Chapter 278 - Revengers}}

Black Dragon Arc

 * Episode 26 - Gotta go
 * Episode 27 - Stand alone}}

Etymology

 * The name Taiju means "big, great" (大) (tai) and "longevity, congratulations, one's natural life" (寿) (ju).
 * Taiju's surname Shiba means "brush, firewood" (柴).