The nameless hero in Moshin Hunter wields a terrifying sword that hungers for life energy, just like the sentient blade Samehada from Naruto. But unlike Samehada’s almost touching relationship with his owner Kisame, the moshin hunter doesn’t seem all too happy about the nature of his weapon.
Samehada is best known in Naruto for being Kisame’s weapon of choice (though Samehada also chose him) during Kisame’s tenure as a member of the criminal group Akatsuki under Itachi Uchiha. What’s creepy about this particular blade isn’t just that it possesses sentience and gains nourishment from chakra, but that it enjoys gorging itself on this type of life energy that apparently tastes distinctive and pleasant, like Killer B’s octopus-flavored chakra. But the more readers learn about how much Samehada cares for his wielder, the less eerie he becomes, like the fact he chose Kisame despite being notoriously picky and, most especially, when he mourns Kisame’s death.
No such adorable bond exists as of yet between the nameless protagonist and his blade in Moshin Hunter. It is clear, however, that the hunter has no choice but to seek living spirits known as moshin to satiate the hunger of his blade and actively worries when he hasn’t slain moshin for a prolonged period of time, though it’s never stated directly that he’s being forced to kill. That said, the reader almost hopes that the sword is forcing him to hunt moshin, because the nameless hero has committed some ethically questionable acts in doing so. In fact, the first time the hunter appears, he slays a moshin for no apparent reason. The moshin confirms this when he asks the hunter what he did to deserve this fate, to which the hunter responds, “You haven’t done anything wrong. I just need to borrow your power.” At one point in the manga, the hunter kills a moshin who has been feeding the remains of humans she slaughtered to her mortal children in order to make them immortal, then leaves them to mourn her death alone.
Further into the manga series, it’s revealed that the sword is possessed by some sort of powerful entity referred to as the Black Tiger, which can communicate through the hunter when it so chooses. This being is aptly named, since it can manifest in the physical realm as black energy that takes the shape of a black tiger.
Unlike the Black Tiger and his wielder, Samehada and Kisame’s intentions are made clear almost immediately in Naruto. Samehada needs nourishment from chakra to survive, and chooses Kisame most likely because he loves to fight and rather enjoys mutilating his opponents, meaning more tasty treats. Meanwhile, not only are readers of Moshin Hunter unsure of the protagonist’s true intentions and whether his sword holds sway over him or not, but other mysteries abound that will only be known in time. Unfortunately, fans may have to wait a long time for those mysteries to be answered, as only 15 chapters of Moshin Hunter have been released since September 2020.