Has Sakamoto reached his past strength?

Summary

• Fans speculate that Sakamoto's main power remains hidden, with the story hinting at an untapped power that has yet to be revealed.

• The narrative strategy of keeping Sakamoto's true power level under wraps mirrors the typical progression arcs of anime protagonists.

• Despite hints of Sakamoto's past feats, current events suggest that he has not surpassed his peak power level.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Sakamoto Days MangaFans are now more than convinced that Sakamoto's appearance is the biggest hoax in shonen history. And in this case, repeatedly addressing the greatest assassin of all time does not help. It left readers itching to see a retired legendary assassin return to its former glory. Still, some might argue that the bomber might already be.

This desire was first sparked in chapter 44 of Sakamoto Days after Miyo directly compares today's Sakamoto to the Sakamoto of 'The Order' stating that they only measure up to 30 percent of their best. However, as the story progresses, fans can observe a similar sense of progression to any typical overpowered protagonist. With no signs of indifference, the protagonist continues to manifest more dormant power and can now trade blow for blow ranked opponents.

Misconception: Sakamoto's post-retirement power

A direct comparison between youth and adulthood

By continuing the story five years after his infamous retirement, the author leaves a sense of ambiguity in the narrative. A clearance of this magnitude consistently allows the writer to keep Sakamoto's true power level under wraps. This strategy follows the same narrative principles of anime, where the main character is capable of much more than what is shown. But only this time, not because the person in question wants to, but because this power is is no longer accessible. A brilliant game that gave:

• The freedom the writer needed to immobilize Sakamoto's power.

• Characters like Nagumo were given enough time to change the balance of power.

• Fans started thinking about other characters that will definitely improve with time.

And together, the belief was born that Sakamoto (Prime) may no longer be the biggest or the strongest. A claim that is further supported by evidence found in chapter 164, where Sakamoto is forced to admit his inferiority to Takamura:

Compared to when I was in the Order… It's much stronger!

But do these cases mean that his power can no longer be measured? No, the mangaka has and continues to allow himself to mention reasonable little details in the later and earlier chapters. For example, during Sakamoto's fight against Kanaguri, the two were quite relative in strength, but Sakamoto always had the advantage.

While teenage Sakamoto along with Uzui, Rion, and Naguma were able to defeat Kindak (someone who had climbed above Kanaguri) without much trouble. The only way to measure this feat is to acknowledge how the teenagers were then offered a place in The Order. However, seeing as how they need each other's help, scaling the teenage Sakamoto as an Order-level threat wouldn't be reasonable, and that's why it's easier to digest (even if they delete most of the verse as it is), all four would be considered Threats at the lower order level.

A direct comparison like the following highlights feats of similar power/ability to the assassin and also adds to the fact that the current Sakamoto is only evening it out with a much younger version that probably won't even be enough as a warm-up for a real kick. This means that it's no longer about how overpowered Sakamoto is, but how much of a toll this 5 year gap has had on the assassin.

Shooting test: Performance drop

The JCC infiltration arc is where it started

The writer uses the JCC infiltration arc to give fans another hint of a loophole that needs to be covered. In Chapter 75, Sakamoto's Marksmanship, while masked, proved to be incredible, but still nothing compared to his all-time high. In fact, in the same chapter, Sakamoto is shown to possess this drop:

The interesting thing is that this “highest peak” was reached when Sakamoto was still a school child. To base this moment on percentiles alone would mean that Sakamoto is 22.5 percent less efficient in comparison.

Now the disguise suggests that Skinnymoto is in the game. If readers were to consider such a possibility, then Sakamota may be even lower than teenage Sakamoto in terms of control, accuracy, and speed. And despite the author's stinginess with information, his teenage years are terrifying enough to show just how high the best hitman has to climb.

An inevitable outcome with its own limitations

Will fans ever get clarity on Sakatomo's current status?

Despite the explanations above, it should be undeniably clear that the mangaka has no plans to leave this question unanswered. The writer has been building on this untapped power since the first chapter, and there's no way fans would still be confused if Sakamoto had already reached the goal. Instead, Yuto Suzuki would probably follow the narrative principle Chekhov's gun:

A loaded rifle may not be placed on stage unless someone is thinking of shooting.

Miyo's statement in chapter 44 could be the author's way of using this concept, hinting at later dialogue discussing Sakamoto's current/future status. Although Sakamoto really cuts down on the killer factor with the use no kill rule (a ground rule established by his wife), according to the general interpretation of the story, most agree that it has little impact on game performance.

Finally, with what has been discussed so far, it would be fair to conclude that Sakamoto does he neither touched nor advanced the heights of his past strength. Still, this rise is only a matter of time as the series slowly moves towards its inevitable end.