Kusanagi Saisyu is Kyo's father and the patriarch of the Kusanagi clan, wielding their legendary sacred flame. He first showed up in KOF '94 as one of Rugal's defeated fighters on display—a shock to Kyo right before the finals. Saisyu had been traveling to test himself against strong fighters worldwide, but his encounter with Rugal left him badly injured, and he was presumed dead.
Plot twist: he'd actually survived. By KOF '95, Vice had brainwashed him into fighting as a mid-boss, where Kyo and his team eventually took him down. After that loss, Saisyu vanished into self-imposed exile.
Unlike his son, Saisyu sticks to the old-school Kusanagi aesthetic and fighting style—more traditional, less flashy. He was originally written to die in '94, but the developers brought him back last-minute for '95's story. He didn't become a regular playable character until KOF '98.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
