Ryō Ma, better known as Uncle Hakubi, is the elderly uncle of Kensei and Sōgetsu, the grand uncle of Renka, and a master of Chinese martial arts who raised Genson Ryū and Kōan Shokatsu as his disciples. He is said to be Yokohama Chinatown's most knowledgeable person.
Appearance
Like his younger nephew Kensei, Hakubi is a balding old man with a mustache, who wears traditional Chinese clothes. Unlike his younger nephew, Hakubi also wears glasses and has a black beard.
Personality
Hakubi is a kind old man who stays on good relations with his younger nephew Kensei and takes care of his grand niece Renka. This bond with Renka may be extravagant, however, as he is tricked into spilling Ryōzanpaku's location with sake by his grand niece, and upon learning of her disappearance, drinks himself to sorrow and takes out the Chinese Mafia residing in Yokohama in a drunken rage.
His relations with his disciples are unknown, but he seems to trust them enough to let them go to search for Renka and bring her back. In this, he also adds that he considers Ryōzanpaku a strange place and warns his disciples to be careful.
Synopsis
Hakubi first appears as one of Kensei's contacts when the latter attempts to search for his older brother Sōgetsu. He treats Kensei to dinner at his restaurant while they talk about Sōgetsu. Their conversation is interrupted by Renka, who tries to attack her father from the second floor of the restaurant.
Later, he accidentally divulges Ryōzanpaku's location upon getting drunk on sake offered by Renka. He sends out his disciples to go bring her back, even by forceful means, and warns them to be careful of Ryōzanpaku. He later drinks more sake in his sorrow and ends up taking out the Chinese Mafia in Yokohama.
He is later seen angry at the desolate state his restaurant has become as a result of Apachai's fight with the Honshinken master, though he blames it largely on Kaku Shin Ten, Chou Yi Lin, and Yo Tekkai, who are on the run from the Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance. He allows Renka to attend Kenichi's school and takes custody of the three as minimum wage workers for his restaurant.
Abilities
Master Chinese Martial Artist: The full extent of his abilities at the Chinese Kenpo are unknown, but he seems to have expertise of the Seven Stars Praying Mantis (Qixing Tanglang Quan) and the Piercing Foot (Chuo Jiao) Styles. His mastery is so powerful that he is able to take out the entire Chinese Mafia in Yokohama Chinatown. It should also be noted that he did this while drinking heavily. Ryō also took over in training some of the disciples in the Phoenix Alliance including Renka after Kensei joined Ryozanpaku. He also expressed confidence in being able to protect the Santoryu Team from the Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance on his own.
Trivia
- Ryō Ma's name and his nickname Hakubi is most likely reference to Ma Liang.
- He is the older brother of Kensei's and Sōgetsu's father.