Daikaku Kokujōji

"Weismann, it's beautiful, isn't it? The new world. (...) The dream we once saw had a view like this. (...) What a waste... to close my eyes."

- Daikaku Kokujōji, speaking to Adolf K. Weismann

is the Second and Gold King, formerly a Lieutenant serving in the Imperial Japanese Army since at least 1945. Sometime after the end of World War II, he revolutionized Japan into a very wealthy and technologically advanced nation, praised as the greatest in the world. He is the one who had saved Yashiro Isana after the "Academy Island Incident". In the past, he was Adolf K. Weismann's closest friend. Due to his ownership of the Dresden Slate, the Gold King is the strongest King.

Appearance
Despite Kokujōji's aged physique, he is an extremely tall and lean-built man with tanned skin. He has shoulder-length white hair, slicked back and neatly parted down the nape of his neck, revealing a very high widow's peak. His side bangs slip through a blue, diamond-shaped ornament with a smaller white diamond pattern on the external middle. Kokujōji has a prominent Van Dyke beard, thick eyebrows, and brown eyes. He is also heavily wrinkled.

Kokujōji wears a plain, long-sleeved black kimono with a similar, white undergarment beneath. His hakama is patterned with two red streaks, one horizontally at the ends and another diagonal from the thighs downward pointing to the center of Kokujōji's body. Bordering each of the streaks is a distinct pattern colored black, as with the rest of the hakama. Kokujōji wears a gold-colored sash around his waist. Flowing down beneath his sash and over his hakama is a pointed-end black cloth, with a free-flowing ribbon falling alongside on its left and right, furthermore with four distinct gold-colored patterns on the front. The patterns consist of a vertical V-shaped mark followed by two others, though horizontal and each pointing inward, lastly with a hollow diamond-shaped mark at the end. Kokujōji wears an ankle-length, high-collared and sleeveless black robe over his outfit. There is a large, red pattern on both of the fronts separated by a black stretch of cloth from the gold markings on the shoulders. Additionally, on the ends of the robe are more gold patterns. Such patterns stretch out to the back of the robe, though separated by a prominent and distinct stretch of black cloth. Kokujōji finishes his outfit with low-heeled, black shoes with distinct gold markings on the fronts, stretching from the top and curving down the nose with two horizontal lines stretching through the middle on both footwear.

Decades before, Kokujōji had black hair, slightly longer than it is currently. It was spiked and his bangs were short, falling messily over his eyes. In the back, it was tied into a short ponytail using a white band.

His uniform during his military years was like any other soldiers serving in the military, save for a few minor differences regarding rank. Kokujōji wore a greenish, long-sleeved jacket closed with yellow buttons with pairs of red streaks running around the ends of his sleeves. Over his right breast pocket was a silver badge with a smaller, reddish one just above. There were gold-colored patterns on his shoulder pads followed with similarly-colored tassels on the ends, hanging over his shoulders. His collars were closed, furthermore patterned on the fronts with a stretch of cloth, patterned gold and red, with two stars over around the middle; such a pattern signified Kokujōji's rank as Lieutenant in the Japanese military. Underneath his jacket, he wore a white shirt. Furthermore, his trousers were greenish just like his jacket, and tucked under black, knee-high boots.

When out in the battlefield, Kokujōji would wear his military cap. His greenish-colored cap was peaked with a red ribbon around the brim outlined with a yellow line. There is a star at the center of the ribbon. The rim of the cap is colored black.

Kokujōji also brings his sword with him most of the time.

Personality
Kokujōji is a solemn, deep-spoken old man who mostly handled business-related affairs with Japan's government or military forces, such as with the Prime Minister.

Even while serving in the military, Kokujōji was a quiet individual, often staying in silence even when his occasional thoughts and opinions were being argued by others. However, particularly during World War II, Kokujōji thought of using power to create even more powerful armies to serve as weapons for war, mainly by using the power of the Dresden Slate. At the same time, he was often astonished by the casualties left behind by war.

History
In his youth, Kokujōji served as a Lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army. He traveled to a German city named Dresden in the final months of World War II. While there, he was brought to an underground research facility where he bore witness to an experiment involving the Dresden Slate and albino mice as test subjects. Kokujōji was astonished by the success of the experiment and considered using such power from the Slate to create superhuman armies. The researcher conducting the experiment, Adolf K. Weismann, disagreed with Kokujōji and claimed that the purpose of the power they witnessed was to bring further happiness into the world. Kokujōji did not understand much of the "technical jargon" that he and his sister Klaudia spoke of, and was visibly embarrassed to see them laughing innocently at it.

Sometime after, there was a bombardment in the German city that they were all residing in, leaving most of it in desolate ruins. Kokujōji was shocked to see the devastation left behind from the bombers. While scouting the area, he noticed a massive sword-like figure hovering above the city and rushed to get closer to it. Kokujōji eventually found the Weismann siblings together, but to his horror, Klaudia had been killed from the attack. He remained speechless as her heartbroken younger brother tried to explain what had happened.

Kokujōji would see Weismann just a while later in the springtime. Both met on a grassy plain nearing sunset, where Weismann was to board his Himmelreich while Kokujōji would be transporting the Dresden Slate back to Japan. Kokujōji would tell Weismann that the war is not over, contrasting the latter's own beliefs. He prepares to ask a question but Weismann begins walking away. In response, Kokujōji angrily asks whether Weismann is running away.

Plot
During a conversation with "Adolf K. Weismann", Kokujōji speaks about how the country of Japan will be destroyed. Sometime afterwards, Japan's Prime Minister directly calls Kokujōji to confirm business-related matters with him. Around the same time, Kokujōji permits the authorization of Level: Royal Blue for the Blue Clan, Scepter 4.

Days later, Kokujōji witnesses the Himmelreich explode before his own eyes. He sends out his Clansmen to retrieve Weismann's corpse from the rubble and place it in a coffin-like capsule, specifically over the relatively concealed Dresden Slate. Kokujōji would later check on his former acquaintance's corpse and let out a heavy sigh upon seeing his lifeless self. Soon after, Reisi Munakata arrives, with a subsequent and somewhat hostile greeting between the two Kings. Kokujōji asks whether Munakata is present to fight or speak, then being told that he is there for the latter reasons. He begins thanking Kokujōji for permitting Level: Royal Blue but is soon told to get to his main point. Kokujōji is asked to allow Munakata to examine Weismann's corpse for himself. Though hesitant, he obliges.

Then, while waiting in the room with the Dresden Slate, Kokujōji feels the presence of Weismann's Aura from afar, realizing that he is actually alive. He says to himself how the man loves to keep surprising him.

K: Missing Kings
He is mentioned by Seri Awashima for having been away from his base without any information.

Later, he and Isana Yashiro are seen together at a temple located at the bottom of an airship and he is seen to be dying. It is revealed that he was the one who had saved Yashiro and hid him in the airship to prevent him from being found by the Green clan. Yashiro tells him that he will not run away anymore from the new world and Daikaku states it is a waste to close one's eyes, before he slowly succumbs to his death.

Powers & Abilities
Gold Aura: Being the Gold King, Kokujōji possessed the Aura of the said color. (unnamed)
 * Cosmic Projection: The exclusive ability of the Gold Clan is the power to conjure projections attributing to the planets and stars. While using his Aura, Kōkujōji can change the appearance of the environment similarly to the spatial domain beyond the Earth. Furthermore, he can create movable objects that replicate planetary bodies.
 * Planetary Projectiles: Kokujōji creates eight objects that represent each planet of the Solar System. They hover around him for a brief moment before aligning themselves in front of his body. Each object emits a red, orange or gold light that engulfs it completely. Afterwards, they launch themselves in a straightforward path unless rebounded off of an obstacle strong enough to endure their power; during such an occurrence, the objects dissipate into a stream of shimmering particles. They quickly reform themselves within seconds to their original appearances.

Quotes

 * (with Adolf K Weismann) "Things as they are will change. Rather..." " 'They will end'?"
 * (to Adolf K Weismann) "And I will be forcing you to pick up after my mess."
 * (to Adolf K Weismann) "They were the dreams the three of us shared. That is why I wanted to fulfill them."
 * (last words) "Weismann, it's beautiful, isn't it? The new world. (...) The dream we once saw had a view like this. (...) What a waste... to close my eyes."

Etymology

 * The name Daikaku means "big, great" (大) (dai) and "sense" (覚) (kaku).
 * Daikaku's surname Kokujōji means "country" (國) (koku), "always" (常) (jō) and "road" (路) (ji).

Trivia

 * Kokujōji uses the current planetary bodies of the Solar System as a reference when utilizing his Aura. As a result, only a total of eight objects can be created at once. This is because Pluto has been reclassified as a dwarf planet.
 * Kokujōji's hobby is kenjutsu training.