Shigeki Baba

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“	If I let the truth slip here, I'm good as dead. But... I'm not ready to die. Not till I achieve my dream.	„
	~ Baba explaining his feelings to Saejima after their battle.

Shigeki Baba is a major antagonist in Yakuza 5. He is a hitman who was hired by Tsubasa Kurosawa to assist him in taking control of the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance.

Personality[]

Baba mainly faces a conflict between his duties as a hitman and his own personal dream. When he was pretending to be an inmate, Baba portrayed himself as a rather weak and fragile kid who was to scared to do anything. However, when his true identity is revealed to Taiga Saejima, Baba is a mere assassin, being highly skilled in strategy and manipulation. He was willing to fake his identity to Saejima for several months in prison just to keep up his façade. But after Saejima was willing to forgive Baba for his actions, his mindset changed, not wanting to be a hitman anymore and deciding to figure out what he truly wants in his life.

Biography[]

Not much is known about Baba's origins. He had told his "backstory" to Saejima and his fellow prisoners, but that turned out to be simply fabricated to hide his identity as an assassin working for Kurosawa. The reasons for why Baba became an assassin or what his dream is are also unknown. One day, he was hired by Tsubasa Kurosawa to be a hitman and accomplice for the planned Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance takeover he was planning. Baba was placed into Saejima's prison, being put into the same cell as him. Sometime before this, he had hired a man named Hiroshi Kugihara to assist him in the prison. All of this was a setup so Baba could keep Saejima in prison until Kurosawa unleashed his plans.

When in prison, Baba and Saejima formed a bond. Baba had told him that he was in jail for 10 years after killing a member of the Kitakata Family, and was dealing with anxiety over the possibility of being released into a world that had nothing waiting for him, which Saejima was able to relate with. Kugihara and his gang were constantly harassing Saejima, but he eventually cracked and refused to take their abuse anymore. As a result, Saejima's prison sentence was extended, and Kugihara framed Baba for stabbing another inmate, jeopardizing his attempt at parole. Saejima was fortunately able to prove Baba's innocence after solving the case himself.

Shortly after these events, Goro Majima had supposedly been killed. Baba is tasked to accompany Saejima in a prison break, as the warden Seiji Kosaka suspected that the events surrounding Saejima having his parole denied, suffering abuse from Kugihara and his banishment from the Tojo Clan were not a coincidence and that they were all set up. After the two fight through Kugihara and a very large amount of hired inmates, they escape the prison via snowmobile. After being chased by unknown men, Baba lost his grip on Saejima's snowmobile and fell off. Stranded in the cold and snowy woods all alone, he eventually passes out. The next day, he is saved by Saejima.

After Baba recovers, he and Saejima head to Tsukimono to figure out the story behind Majima's supposed death. They plan to kidnap Taizo Kitakata, the patriarch of Kitakata Family, for information. During the winter festival in Tsukimono, Kitakata is captured and is willing to tell the two what happened to Majima. When Saejima takes Kitakata to a building for conversation, Baba secretly positions himself at a nearby building to assassinate Kitakata. After shooting him, though not fatally, Baba runs from Saejima who eventually captures him. Baba explains to Saejima about his real backstory, and prepares to shoot and kill Saejima. However, Saejima forgives Baba despite his actions to supress him, not regretting saving him at the mountain. Baba is conflicted, and attempts to commit suicide as a split-second decision. Saejima is able to stop Baba from doing this, and the two fight which results in Baba being humbled. After the fight, Baba tells Saejima that he is going to run away, and hopes one day that he and Saejima will be true oath brothers.

Baba arrives in Kamurocho after being hired to track down Kazuma Kiryu. Eventually, Baba finds Kiryu and they fight, in which he loses. Kiryu invites Baba to New Serena to get information from him. Baba explains the most he can, and Kiryu asks Baba to see Sawamura Haruka and tell her to never give up. Baba does this, and also tries to convince her to see Kiryu again, but she refuses. After Kurosawa's plans reached their climax, he hires Baba to assassinate Haruka while she was performing at a concert. Baba outright refuses to kill her, and leaves the stadium. While exiting, he meets Tatsuo Shinada, who was tasked by Saejima to both save Haruka and teach Baba an important lesson about not running away from the consequences of his actions. Shinada engages in battle with Baba, and the former wins. Ashamed of his actions, Baba aims his rifle at his own head and tells Shinada to tell Saejima that he is sorry. As Baba pulls the trigger, his former cellmates from the prison shoot it away from him just in time. He is last seen watching Haruka's concert with his friends and Shinada by his side.

Villains

Tojo Clan

Chairmen: Masaru Sera | Yukio Terada | Daigo Dojima

Omi Alliance

Other Criminal Organizations

Bleach Japan
Masato Arakawa/Ryo Aoki | Hajime Ogasawara | Sota Kume | Eiji Mitamura

Mr. Shakedowns
Hiroya Egashira | Yuki Sato | Naoya Kawahashi | Kenji Oe

Mutoh Realty
Keiji Mutoh | Masahiro Chono | Keiichi Tsurukawa

Order of Munan Chohept Onast
Munan Suzuki | Munan Yazawa | Munan Akamatsu

See Also
Judgement Series Villains