The fisherman who fought underwater. Ruan Xiaowu - the "Short-lived Second Brother" - was one of three Ruan brothers who lived on the water; masters of boat and net, men who knew every current and hidden sandbar. When the time came to choose between honest poverty and joining the outlaws of Liangshan Marsh, they didn't hesitate. The water was their domain, and they used it to become some of the most dangerous fighters in the 108.

Kuniyoshi captures him in his element - locked in deadly combat beneath the surface, grappling with an enemy in the murky depths. Xiaowu's heavily tattooed body coils around his opponent, muscles straining, completely at home in an environment where most men would panic and drown. His enemy struggles, but fighting Xiaowu underwater is fighting him where he's unbeatable. Every advantage belongs to the man who grew up on boats, who could hold his breath longer, move faster, strike harder in the depths. His nickname "Short-lived" spoke to his reckless courage - the kind of man who'd drag a fight into the water and finish it there.

This is from Kuniyoshi's legendary 1827 Suikoden series, the prints that made him famous overnight and sparked a tattoo craze across Edo. He gave each of the 108 heroes their own visual identity, showing them in moments of peak action. Xiaowu gets an underwater grapple - appropriate for a man whose battlefield was the depths itself.

This is Ruan Xiaowu (阮小五), the "Short-lived Second Brother" (短命二郎); known in Japan as Tanmeijirō Genshōgo (短冥次郞阮小吾), from the series Tsūzoku suikoden gōketsu hiyakuhachinin no hitori (通俗水滸伝豪傑百八人之一個, One of the 108 famous Suikoden heroes) 1827.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳, 1798-1861)