Kite Tenjo

Kite Tenjo, known as Kaito Tenjo in the Japanese version, is a Number Hunter and one of the main characters and the tritagonist in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, being Yuma Tsukumo and Astral's main adversary in obtaining the "Numbers" cards.

He is generally a kind person, but when Dueling he becomes quite ruthless, showing no mercy to his opponents, and especially to those who possess a "Number". When his brother Hart Tenjo fell sick, Dr. Faker told him that it was due to the Number holders and the Astral World. As a result, Kite became a Number Hunter, accompanied by a robot called Orbital 7.

Appearance
Kite has light grey eyes, pale skin and blonde hair that is curled up in a point with a dark green spiked front. His attire includes a black trench coat with a high collar over a grey shirt, fingerless black glove on his right hand, and white pants with black boots. He also has a belt with two purple boxes for his cards.



Unlike any other regular D-Pad version of a Duel Disk, Kite's disk is a blue and single-bladed disk that curves outside. He can Duel without a Duel Gazer; however, his left eye turns red and several marks resembling a Duel Gazer are seen when he Duels. When Kite Duels, his black outfit switches to white in a process called "Photon Transformation". When he uses a "Photon" card, his body lights up.

Personality
Kite shares a similar personality to Seto Kaiba when it comes to protecting his younger brother, who is his "everything", from any danger. Kite clearly cares more about Hart's safety than his own, as he keeps using the Photon Transformation to hunt "Numbers" not caring that it damages his body and constantly ignores Orbital 7's warnings because he needs the "Numbers" to heal Hart.

Because of Hart's condition supposedly being caused by the "Number" cards, Kite Duels and acts ruthlessly when it comes to facing those whose possess such cards. He announces his arrival by whistling which tends to frighten the person he is about to Duel. Before Kite Duels, he would always say his usual phrase, "Allow me to collect your "Numbers" along with your souls", and when he takes the "Number", he says "Numbers hunting complete". During the World Duel Carnival Finals, Tron notes he began his hunt with the goal to cure his sibling, but began reveling in stealing souls as a Numbers Hunter.

Kite is opposed to inflicting fear on his opponent, calling it an excessive and despicable thing to do. He is however not above using the fear his opponents already have to make them doubt themselves as seen with Astral when he could have Summoned "Number 39: Utopia" against Kite, but the fear of "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon" prevented him to think clearly. He considers his hunting to be a job he has to do, not one he wants to do.

Kite doesn't trust and shows hatred towards Dr. Faker and Mr. Heartland, and tends to hide secrets from them. Whenever he talks with Mr. Heartland, he clearly is shown to be silently glaring at him, but that's probably because Mr. Heartland is the one who tells Hart to use his powers, not caring about what happens to Hart. He also accuses Dr. Faker of hiding the truth from him about the "Numbers", and only hunts them in order to heal Hart. He also didn't tell them about his plan to find the "Numbers" origin by himself, or about Yuma and Astral, and lied to when Mr. Heartland asked about that day.

Ironically, there is some resemblance between Kite's and Yuma's Dueling styles, as both seem to prefer a more offense-based strategy, and their Dueling styles were at least somewhat compatible when they Tag Dueled. This may have some relation about the similarities Yuma and Kite have that Astral himself has observed. At first, Kite denied being compared to Yuma, but seems to have somewhat acknowledge this when he asked Astral for support during their Tag Duel.

Etymology
His Japanese name of Kaito can be translated as "Phantom Thief", referring to his taking of the "Number" cards with his Photon Hand ability.

"Kaito" is the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "Kite" and can thus be correctly translated as either "Kaito" or "Kite".

Abilities
After he wins a Duel with a "Number" user, Kite uses his "Photon Hand" which enables him to extract the "Number" card from their users, though the process also steals their soul. Having lost their souls in this process, the original holders of each "Number" card ages dramatically. Kite possesses a "Duel Anchor", which he uses to prevent a "Number" user from running away, until the Duel is over. Both of these abilities are technological in origin and were provided by Dr. Faker. His Deck comes from the same source.

During the Duel against III and IV, Hart transferred the remainder of his powers that Tron had not already absorbed to Kite. This caused Kite to acquire a red aura while using them, as well as being able to Summon "Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon". After gaining Hart's power, he is able to see Astral.

He is also able to read the alternate language the "Number" monsters are written in, which only Astral and those possessed by "Number" monsters can read. Kite's robot, Orbital 7, possesses other abilities which aids him in his hunt for the "Numbers".

History
In the past, Kite lived with his brother Hart and Orbital 7 in a small, wooden villa where they would play all day while Hart drank his favourite drink, hot chocolate. Kite and Hart eventually moved into the facility owned by their father, Dr. Faker, which was located in Heartland. There he met V|Chris Arclight, who was reminded of his own brothers by Kite. Kite revealed he wanted power to protect Hart and Chris taught him how to play Duel Monsters in order to suit that purpose. Chris eventually left after learning the truth that Kite and Hart were Faker's sons, which hurt Kite. Faker gave Kite a card, called "Feelings Towards the Future" when he was a child.



Mr. Heartland tested Kite alongside Gauche, Droite and some other young Duelists to determine who the elite Duelist of that generation would be. They fought a Duel Robot, which Heartland cranked up to maximum level. The robot physically assaulted them, throwing Gauche against the wall. When the robot attempted to do the same to Droite, Kite intercepted it, destroying it with his "Daybreaker", but having his face cut in the process. He told Droite not to concern herself with him, or she was would lose herself. Sometime later, Kite showed Hart a butterfly, with Droite secretly watching on nearby. Kite and Orbital 7 visited the Barian World at one point, where they obtained Barrier Light, which was used as a new power source for Orbital.

One day, Mr. Heartland took Hart away by force and told Kite that he will never see Hart again unless he serves Dr. Faker. Kite became angry and tried to punch Mr. Heartland, but it was in fact only a hologram. Some time later, his brother was acting very strange, Mr. Heartland informed Kite that he could only be cured if they obtained all of the "Numbers" cards. Using Heartland Tower as a base, they find and defeat the holders of the "Numbers". Using his Photon Hand ability, he stole the souls of the original owners and leaving them catatonic in the process. He wielded the "Numbers" himself to aide him in collecting more of them.



During one night in Heartland, Kite tried to escape with his little brother. As they were hiding from Heartland police, knowing that Hart's powers would appear due to him being stressed, Kite gave him his favorite candy, caramel, to calm him down. However, they were found soon. Kite was subdued, while Hart was taken away from him. Seeing his brother being restrained, Hart used his powers to knock the police who were guiding him off of the tower, but they were both captured once more. By this point, Kite had rendered at least four people catatonic with Photon Hand and obtained eleven "Numbers".

Pre-WDC
When a thug was threatening people at a mall Kite watched from the roof of another building before entering the mall. He arrived with Orbital 7, and quickly defeated the criminal, capturing his "Number". Kite was feeling guilty about stealing the souls of the holders, but Mr. Heartland informed him that they had no choice, as all "Number" holders are evil, when in reality they are just victims of their card's influence. He then visited his brother Hart, asking him how he was doing and trying to cheer him up. Shortly after, he found Yuma Tsukumo, who became his next target.



During the Duel he easily outmatched Yuma with two "Numbers" and his true ace monster, "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon". When he saw Yuma using two "Numbers" as well, he claimed he is also a Number Hunter and looked quite pleased to have a rival. Just before he would have won the Duel, Orbital 7 showed him a hologram that Hart had collapsed. Therefore he stopped the Duel and went to help his brother. Before he left he revealed his name and told Yuma to remember it.

When Fortuno confronted Yuma while claiming to be Kite's servant, it appeared Kite watched This however, wasn't the real Kite. It was revealed that the Kite that was watching the Duels was only a statue as Cathy broke it. After Fortuno lost to Yuma, he was shown to have another "Number", but the real Kite appeared, and Fortuno begged him to be his servant, proving that he was also lying about that. Kite instead defeated him and took his third "Number", along with his soul.

Kite complained that Hart shouldn't continue using his powers, as he could collapse again, but Hart said he wanted to continue using it as he was doing something good for the world. Mr. Heartland suggested Kite to hurry up and finish hunting the "Numbers" so that Hart can be healed. Kite suspected that Dr. Faker is not telling the truth about the "Numbers", so he ordered Orbital 7 to find the origin of the "Numbers". Orbital found that the Emperor's Key could be it.



He sent Orbital to obtain it and it was found in the locker room of Heartland Middle School, as Yuma had taken it for swim class. Shark tried to protect the Key and as a result, he and Kite Dueled. During the Duel, he allowed Shark to take his "Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction", which inflicted damage to its controller. As a result, he won the Duel quickly. When he took Shark's soul and tried compressing a "Number" card out of it, he noticed that the soul didn't contain a "Number" card and absorbed it. He was unable to confront Yuma because Orbital 7 notified that Photon Transformation had already used 85% of its power and, therefore, there wasn't much left. He then took The Emperor's Key and flew off.

While analyzing the Emperor's Key, Orbital 7 said that nothing from this world would react to it, so Kite suggested they use the Barrier Light which comes from another world, which worked. This allowed Kite to enter entered the dimension inside the Emperor's Key, where he confronted Astral and mentioned the Barian World. Kite then proceeded to Duel Astral with all of their "Numbers" on the line.

Kite quickly overpowered Astral and threatened him with "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon". When Astral was ready to give up, Yuma appeared with the ZEXAL power, which he uses to combine himself and Astral, shocking Kite. Yuma and Astral were able to use this new power to defeat "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon", so Kite was forced to use "Photon Shock" to end the Duel in a draw. Yuma asked Kite why he hunts "Numbers". Kite answered that he sold his soul to the devil for Hart's sake. Then, he returned Shark's soul and escaped once again.

Some time later, he was seen watching over his brother who was sleeping. When the three suns appeared and time stopped, he entered his Photon mode and traced Yuma's memories of "Numbers". He subsequently told Yuma they would meet again in the World Duel Carnival.

World Duel Carnival Preliminaries
Before the World Duel Carnival started, Mr. Heartland summoned Kite to watch all the people coming to the tournament. During that time, Kite helped Yuma enter the tournament with the intention of settling his Duel against Astral. During the opening day of the tournament Kite continued collecting the "Numbers", even taking on two "Number" holders at once in a two-vs-one Duel.

After Syuta Hayami caused a giant plane engine to be destroyed, Kite with the assistance of Orbital 7 flew onto the plane, and managed to crashland it onto a highway, saving hundreds of lives in the process. Seeing this, Yuma thanked Kite, but in actual fact Kite was doing it for his own needs as if the plane had crashed and killed all of the passengers, the World Duel Carnival would have been cancelled due to the event causing mass panic within the city. He then flies off again, leaving Yuma confused.



Hart escaped from Heartland and ran into Yuma and Astral by chance. After this, he was kidnapped by V. Kite and Yuma team up to break into an abandoned gallery, to rescue him from Tron (whom begins a ritual to extract his powers and memories). Upon arriving, they began a Tag Duel against III and IV. . On his first move, he played "Photon Pressure World", not caring if Yuma was hurt or not by it. Although Yuma tried to reason with him, he refused to listen and fought on his own. After IV provoked Kite, he in a rage, Summons "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon" just to attack IV's "Number", but he falls into their trap, which allows III to activate "Stonehenge Shield", rendering "Galaxy-Eyes" powerless and inflicting damage with "Number 33: Chronomaly Machu Mech".

Yuma saved Kite from the damage, but III and IV continued to target him and Yuma continued to protect him at the expense of his own Life Points. However, after IV brought out "Number 40: Gimmick Puppet Heaven's String" and attacks Kite with it, he is on the verge of defeat with a mere 100 Life Points and seemingly given up. With some words from Yuma and remembering something from his past, he decides to fight to the very end. Hart then transferred some of his power to his brother, forcing the ritual to end, and leaving Tron only some of the powers and memories he had intended to take. This allowed Kite to obtain a new power from the bond with his brother and, using Yuma's monsters to Tribute Summon "Photon Caesar", he overlays it and "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon" to Xyz Summon "Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon". With it, Kite defeats both III and IV in one turn.

After the Duel, he attempted to take IV's soul, but his crest protected him and knocked Kite back. After V returns Hart, he was devastated, thinking he did this to him. Later, Kite is seen trying to get past Gauche, but is unable to because Dr. Faker was in a meeting with Mr. Heartland. Just as Kite was about to try rushing in, Droite told him that there was nothing he could do right now, even if he was by Hart's side.

World Duel Carnival Finals
As the World Duel Carnival finals began, Photon Transformation had taken a heavy toll on Kite's body and tests that were ran by Orbital 7 revealed that if Kite continued the way he was going, he would die. When asked about his status by Mr. Heartland, Kite told him he was fine. Heartland told him he does have expectations that Kite will gather "Numbers" in the finals. Kite responded that that's fine, as long as Heartland keeps his promise to heal Hart. Heartland told him not to worry about that and instructed him to attend the finals party to scope out his opponent's "Numbers". At the party, Kite confronted his former teacher, Chris, now known as V. He asked why V and his family had done what they did to Hart. V responded that they only do what Tron tells them and Kite cannot hope to defeat them in his current state. Later, Droite approached Kite with concern, telling him she knows that he needs to collect the "Numbers" for Hart, but urged him to stop Dueling and drop from the finals, which he refused. Yuma found Kite on his way out of the party and asked how Hart was. Kite told him not to concern himself with that and focus on the confrontation the two will surely have in the finals. Yuma agreed to that, but Kite then told him that it's not Yuma he's looking forward to defeating - it is Astral.

During the opening ceremonies of the finals, Kite exchanged glances with V. He told Orbital 7 to freeze time in order to scan for "Numbers" in the Duel Coaster Stadium. He then jumped into his cart and sped off of on the Duel Coaster with the other finalists, leaving Yuma behind. Kite defeated another finalist with his "Reverse Buster", saying he has no time to deal with people who do not possess "Numbers". Droite whispered for him not to push himself. Kite entered the underground section of the Duel Coaster, pursuing Tron and V. He noticed odd behavior from Tron's coaster and asked Orbital 7 to investigate. Orbital discovered that Tron's movements had become erratic because he was avoiding Trap Cards another Duelist had Set - and all of those cards had "Butterfly" in their name. Kite realized it was Droite who then blocked him from facing Tron. She claimed she wished to face Tron for Mr. Heartland. Kite told her not to get involved, but Droite threatened him with "Dance of the Butterfly", causing Kite to subconsciously switch lanes.



Kite is then drawn toward the Space Duel Field, "Cosmic Frontier" to Duel V. During the first turn, V managed to Summon his "Number 9: Canopy Star - Dyson Sphere", which Kite attacked, not knowing what it truly is. When Yuma and Tori arrived with Orbital 7, Yuma informed him that Droite sacrificed herself in an attempt to defeat Tron, but he responded that he didn't care. Even after hearing Dr. Faker's history with Tron and Kazuma Tsukumo, Kite said that he only cares about Hart, and continues the Duel by bringing out "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon", but is unable to attack due to the effects of "Dyson Sphere". V reduced Kite to a mere 100 Life Points with "Dyson Sphere", and then told Kite his family has thrown away their own name for revenge. He wished to save his father, but his heart was already filled with revenge when he returned. Kite told him that was wrong - he fights to oppose his own parent, Faker. V was surprised at how strong Kite had become, and Kite told him he would inherit V's feelings and settle things with Tron for him. Bringing out "Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon" with the aide of the card Faker had give him, "Feelings Towards the Future", Kite defeated V. V left through a portal, leaving "Dyson Sphere" behind for Kite, and after a brief conversation with Yuma, Kite departed with Orbital 7.

Before proceeding to Duel Tron at the Duel Tower in the semifinals, Kite was greeted in the hallway by Yuma, and told him and Astral that he would meet them in the finals. The Duel began and Tron revealed an AR mask identical to Hart's face. Due to the connection forged between Tron and Hart during the ritual, Tron could inflict pain on Hart by hurting himself. Kite attempted to leave to help Hart, but Tron snared him with a Duel Anchor. Yuma and Orbital 7 departed for Heartland Tower in Kite's place. Continuing the Duel, Kite matched Tron's "Number 8: Heraldic King Genome Heriter" with his own "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon". Tron accused him of enjoying his actions as a Numbers Hunter. Yuma and Orbital reached Hart, and Yuma and Astral entered Hart's consciousness. There, Tron appeared to them in the form of the dragon, which Yuma slew with "Number 39: Utopia". This severed the connection between Tron and Hart. Kite continued an aggressive strategy, bringing out "Neo Galaxy-Eyes". Though he nearly defeated Tron, the latter brought out "Number 69: God Medallion Coat of Arms", which absorbed the effects of "Neo Galaxy-Eyes" and defeated Kite. He was saved from further physical harm by Hart, who projected a shield to defend him. Tron used his crest to take Kite's "Numbers", as well as his soul, leaving Kite in a comatose state and being looked after by Orbital.

After Tron loses to Yuma, he eventually releases the souls of those he has captured, Kite seen awakening from his coma after these events.

Manga biography


Kaito is a Number Hunter who was sent by Dr. Faker from a different dimension in order to gather and destroy all of the "Number" cards as they are destined to destroy not only his universe, but all universes. His backstory in the manga is the same as in the anime, as well as his reasons to hunt the "Numbers".

Decks
Kite plays a "Photon" Deck, focused on swarming the field with LIGHT-Attribute monsters, which he can then use to Xyz Summon his "Number" monsters or Tribute Summon his ace card, "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon". According to Mr. Heartland, Kite's Deck was made by him and Dr. Faker by using science from another dimension.

As "Galaxy-Eyes" requires two Tributes of monsters with 2000 or more ATK, Kite includes cards which help him quickly fulfill that condition. His "Numbers" can be used for this purpose, or cards such as "Photon Spear", "Photon Thrasher" and "Photon Crusher". He also includes many cards which counter Xyz Monsters, such as "Galaxy Storm", "Forced Release" and "Overlay Break", as well as cards which counter Set cards, such as "Photon Cerberus" and "Photon Hurricane".

Prior to his first Duel with Yuma, he had already collected eleven "Number" cards After the mentioned Duel he was shown earning four more of them. Only five "Numbers" are known by name and it's unknown if he included all collected "Numbers" in his Extra Deck before losing them to Tron.

Trivia

 * In the Japanese anime, he whistles a heavenly song, which can relate to how Kite sees himself as "the light that illuminates the darkness stagnating in the hearts of humanity", descending upon the wicked and delivering judgment. The actual tune of Kite's whistle is called "Haruto Tenjo's Theme", which is also featured in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL Sound Duel 1 for the series.
 * In the English dubbed version, the song he whistles is more of a Western theme, as he appears walking alone (with the exception of Orbital 7 following him), like a cowboy does when he is about to Duel. This may have some similar resemblance to that of Kalin Kessler.