Has Sakamoto achieved his past power?

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 dark reflects the anime protagonist's typical progression arcs.

• Despite the hint of Sakamoto's past deeds, current events indicate that he has not surpassed his prime strength level.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Sakamoto Days MangaBy now, fans are more than convinced that Sakamoto's appearance is the biggest hoax in shonen history. And being repeatedly referred to as the greatest assassin of all time doesn't help matters either. It left readers itching to see retired legendary assassin return to its former glory. However, some might even argue that the killer might already have.

This longing was first sparked in Chapter 44 of Days of Sakamoto after Miyo directly compares the Sakamoto of today and the Sakamoto of “The Order”, stating that they only measure up to 30 percent of his premium. However, as the story progresses, fans can notice a similar sense of progression with any regular overpowered protagonist. With no signs of indifference, the protagonist continues to show more latent strength and can now trade blow for blow with order level opponents.

Misconception: Sakamoto's power after retirement

A direct comparison between youth and maturity

By continuing the story five years after his infamous retirement, the author leaves a sense of obscurity in the narrative. A leeway of this magnitude consistently allows the writer to keep Sakamoto's true power level under wraps. This strategy follows the same narrative principles of an anime, where the protagonist is capable of much more than what is shown. However, only this time, not because the man in question wants to, but because this force is is no longer accessible. A piece of genius that gave:

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

• Allowed enough time for characters like Nagumo to shift the balance of power.

• Fans began to consider other characters that would improve over time.

And all together, the belief was born that Sakamoto (The First) might no longer be the greatest 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… He is much stronger!

But do these cases mean that his power can no longer be measured? No, the mangaka has and continues to take the liberty of mentioning appropriate little details in later and earlier chapters. For example, during Sakamoto's fight against Kanaguri, the two were quite relative in strength, but Sakamoto always had the upper hand.

While, a teenage Sakamoto along with Uzui, Rion and Nagumo were able to take on Kindaka (someone who climbs above Kanaguri) without much trouble. The only way to judge this performance is to recognize how the teenagers were subsequently offered a place in The Order. However, seeing as how they needed each other's help, scaling the teenage Sakamoto as a threat to the Order wouldn't be reasonable, and just to make it easier to digest (though it clears up most of the verse as it is), all the four would be considered to be Lower level threats.

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

Shooting test: A drop in performance

The JCC Infiltration Arc is where it all started

The writer uses the JCC infiltration arc to give fans another hint of the gap that needs to be bridged. In Chapter 75, Sakamoto's shooting marks while in disguise were shown to be incredible, but still nothing compared to his all-time high. In fact, Sakamoto is shown accepting this decline in the same chapter:

What's interesting about this is that this “greater” was achieved while Sakamoto was still a child going to school. Basing this moment on percentiles alone would mean Sakamoto is 22.5% less efficient in comparison.

Now the disguise suggests that the one in the game is Skinnymoto. If readers were to consider such a possibility, then Sakamota could scale even lower than teenage Sakamoto in terms of control, accuracy, and speed. And despite the author's informational dryness, the man's teenage years are terrifying enough to show the latter how high the best assassin must rise.

An inevitable result with self-imposed limitations

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

Even with the explanations above, it should be obvious that the mangaka does not intend to leave this question unanswered. The writer has been building on this untapped strength since the first chapter, and there's no way fans would still be confused if Sakamoto had already achieved the goal. Instead, Yuto Suzuki could probably follow the narrative principle of Chekhov's gun:

You don't need to put a loaded shotgun on stage if no one is thinking of firing it.

Miyo's statement in chapter 44 could very well be the author's way of using this concept, hinting at a later dialogue where Sakamoto's current/future situation is discussed. Although Sakamoto really limited the killer factor with the application the rule against killing (a ground rule established by his wife), according to the general interpretation of the story, most agree that it has little impact on in-game performance.

Finally, with what has been discussed so far, it would be fair to conclude that Sakamoto did neither attained nor advanced the heights of its past power. However, this rise is only a matter of time as the series slowly progresses towards its inevitable end.