Naoya Zenin

After transforming, Naoya's ego reached new heights. After receiving a near-fatal blow in his cursed womb form, Naoya feigned regret for harming other cursed spirits, only to immediately renounce it and evolve into a more powerful cursed spirit form.[12] After evolving, Naoya claimed he couldn't remember a time when he was weaker than Maki, despite explicitly admitting that she had once defeated him. Maki wasn't the only one he held a grudge against: Naoya also admitted to hating the Blood Manipulation technique for what Choso had done to him, and took that anger out on Noritoshi.[13] In battle, completely focused on Maki, Naoya treated Noritoshi and everything else as secondary, a nuisance on the battlefield.[14] His overconfidence within his Territory Expansion led him to underestimate Maki's strength and completely ignore her lack of cursed energy and how his RT failed to detect it. He made a final attempt to call Maki an impostor, but was cut off by her finishing blow.[15]

While Maki was massacring the clan, Naoya showed no sign of grief for his family. In fact, he found amusement in Maki's power, mocking her ruthlessness.[9] However, Naoya categorically refused to admit that Maki could match Toji's strength. This glory was his cherished dream, and the battle with Maki was primarily an opportunity to strip her of this title, not an act of revenge against the clan. Until the fateful moment of defeat, Naoya remained in a state of sweet self-delusion, calling Maki nothing less than an impudent impostor.[10] Even after his brutal defeat at Maki's hands, Naoya mocked her for not delivering the finishing blow. But the irony of fate overtook Naoya in the person of Maki’s mother, who plunged a blade into his back – exactly as he himself predicted the fate of women[11].

Naoya temporarily put aside his exorbitant pride to stand shoulder to shoulder with Yuta Okkotsu, but only to further his own selfish goals.[6] Even after Yuta had shown concern for Zenin following his defeat by Choso, Naoya was irritated by the younger man for showing him leniency.[7] Unable to accept the failure of his plans, Naoya vented his pent-up anger on Maki, raining mockery upon her at every opportunity as soon as she set foot on their lands again. He called her despicable, mocked her scars, and devalued her as a person, not only for her appearance, but also for her complete inability to use cursed energy. He sarcastically called his cousin a worthless cur who loyally followed Yuta and Megumi, and promised to unleash on her the same wave of cruelty with which he once tormented her[8].

He showed no sympathy for his father, Naobito, on his deathbed; instead, he was delighted with the news and the new opportunity to take his rightful place in the hierarchy. Naoya viewed women merely as marriage tools, and coldly informed Maki and Mai's mother that a woman who couldn't walk three steps behind a man was to be stabbed in the back.[4] When Naoya learned that Megumi had assumed the position of clan head, he didn't hesitate to formulate a plan to assassinate his cousin. He was well aware that his clansmen might prefer Megumi over him, but he had no concern for their approval.[5] Naoya had no qualms about attacking Megumi's allies in an attempt to draw him out, and was willing to kill them to achieve his goal.

He dismissed the talents of others with disdain, calling his elders, Jinichi and Ogi, nothing more than pathetic weaklings, despite their long years of service to the clan. He is confident that he has the appearance befitting the clan's leader, implying that he is far more attractive than other members, such as Jinichi.

From a young age, Naoya was showered with praise, constantly told he was a genius. As Naobito's youngest and most promising son, he was spoiled beyond belief. Raised from childhood with the firm belief that he was his father's rightful successor, Naoya's arrogance reached unimaginable, uncontrollable heights even in childhood. He despised anyone he considered weaker than himself, which, incidentally, included the vast majority of people he encountered. The only person Naoya ever felt any respect for was Toji. As a child, he visited him to mock him as a pathetic outcast from a clan that didn't even possess cursed energy, but upon seeing him, he instantly froze, realizing Toji was incredibly powerful.[2] This prompted Naoya to embrace the ideology that the sin of insignificance lies in ignorance of true strength. Naoya felt he was one of the few who truly understood Toji, and he aspired to be as exceptional as him.[3] For this reason, with unwavering confidence, Naoya relentlessly pursued a single goal—the attainment of strength.

Naoya is a tall, well-built man with piercing amber eyes and dyed-blond hair with distinctly dark green roots. A haughty smirk is almost always present on his face. He has three piercings in his left ear: one in the lobe and two along the upper cartilage. Naoya wears the traditional attire of his clan. Under a dark turquoise kimono, he wears a white, long-sleeved button-down shirt. Light gray hakama pants and waraji sandals complete his look.