Rock
Rock is a character who only appears in the Hokuto no Ken 2 anime TV series. The leader of a horse-riding gang of cowboys from the Land of Asura, Rock is the son of Kosem and the older brother of Chain. Rock originally followed in his father’s footsteps of being a pacifist, but rejected this ideal after witnessing the murder of his mother at the hands of an Asura warrior while protecting a child who ended up being captured anyway.
Determined to bring change to his homeland, Rock trained himself to become an expert knife fighter and forming a band with six other horse-riders, hoping he would someday fight alongside Raoh, the awaited savior of Asura. When the rivers of Asura turned red, Rock and his men made their move, believing Raoh has finally arrived. They encountered Kenshirō in a ruined village before returning to his home village. There, Rock was reunited with his father on his deathbed, who informed him that Raoh did come to Asura, but rather Kenshiro, the man who defeated Raoh. After receiving Raoh’s promised pendant from his father, Rock formed the “Army of Raoh” with his men. In order to save the captured men of his village, Rock and his companions invaded the camp where they were held and defeated Bruce’s army. When he he was unable to deal with Xie shortly after, Kenshiro appeared again, this time to save him. However, instead of showing gratitude, Rock rejected Ken’s aid and refused to be associated with him.
Sometime later, Rock and his men headed to the Village of the Western Desert after hearing of an attack. He learned that the villagers were being held captive by Gyamon and his gang, who told Rock that he would liberate the hostages if Rock agreed to eliminate Kenshiro. Rock tried to trap Kenshiro by leading him to a narrow gorge, pinning him under a large boulder. Rock then returned to Gyamon’s lair to receive the hostages, but Gyamon betrayed them and sealed Rock and his men inside a large steel cage. After being saved by Kenshiro once more, Rock was convinced Kenshiro was indeed the savior of Asura after all.
Rock and his companions then served as informants to Jūkei. When Hyo’s Royal Armored Corps invaded a village, Rock and his men asked Jukei if they could defend the lives of the defeated villagers. Jukei revealed that Rock and his men had no chance against Hyo, Kenshiro’s real brother, whose memories was sealed by Jukei years ago. In spite of Jukei’s warning, Rock and his men prepared to ambush Hyo’s forces at an abandoned village. Rock’s men were killed one by one by Hyo’s forces, leaving only Jose and himself. Jose sacrificed himself against Hyo, allowing the fatally wounded Rock to escape on horseback. Rock was reunited with Kenshiro and informed him about Hyo, but died before he could reveal the true relationship between Kenshiro and Hyo.
