Team Sacred Treasures


 * This article is about the team formed by Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami and Chizuru Kagura (and his variant which includes Shingo Yabuki). For the sacred artifacts (real-life and ficcional story), check Three Sacred Treasures.



Team Sacred Treasures (, lit. "Three Sacred Treasures Team") is a reoccuring Special Team in The King of Fighters series.

Description
As the name implies, this team is composed by the three clans who, in the past, sealed the evil entity known as Orochi, 660 years ago: the Kusanagi Clan, the Yasakani Clan and the Yata Clan. This team, for most of the series, is not a normal team, but rather a Special Team consisting of members from other established Teams. However, unlike the most of Special Teams, this Special Team has events that are canon to the KOF series.

In The King of Fighters '96, Kyo, Iori and Chizuru teamed up together to defeat Goenitz. After his defeat, Chizuru asks both Kyo and Iori to team up in order to defeat Orochi's threat, but both men refused, as they heavily disliked the idea of working together (for obvious reasons). Despite this, they were forced to team up again during The King of Fighters '97, when Yashiro Nanakase, Shermie and Chris kidnapped Yuki (Kyo's girlfriend) as a sacrifice to resurrect Orochi. After defeating the 3 remaining Heavenly Kings, as well as Orochi, Kyo mysteriously disappeared shortly after the battle. It was later discovered that the Kusanagi clan heir was kidnapped and had his DNA used for the criminal intentions of a secret cartel.

In The King of Fighters 2003, Chizuru discovered that the Orochi seal was breaking, and asked Kyo and Iori to investigate. However, once again, due to their ancestral rivalry, both men refused to assist each other, and ignored her request. Despite this, the three assisted Team K'  to take down Mukai during the tournament's climax. Shortly afterwards, Ash Crimson stole her Yata Mirror, rendering her unable to use her powers.

In The King of Fighters XIII, Kyo went to reform his original Japan Team with his former teammates Benimaru Nikaido and Goro Daimon, Iori can still fight without his flame, but desperately wants it back to kill Kyo, with an indirect assistant from the Hakkesshu members Mature and Vice (and Iori's victim in KOF '96), and indirectly forming his old  '96 Team. With Ash's true intentions are revealed, but ultimately sacrifice his life to cease his ancestor Saiki out of existence alongside him, Chizuru and Iori’s powers return to them, leaving Kyo as the only surviving Sacred Treasure fighter who never had been stolen by Ash in his entire past life.

For the first time in the series (canonically), Kyo, Iori and Chizuru forms the Sacred Treasures Team in The King of Fighters XV as an official Team. Their reasoning is to investigate how Orochi was resurrected after Verse's defeat in the previous tournament, as well as dealing with the newly revived Team Orochi (and its Awakened version).

Leader

 * Kyo Kusanagi - Leader of Team Sacred Treasures; he helds the Kusanagi Sword (の, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi).

Members

 * Iori Yagami - Member of Team Sacred Treasures; he helds the Yasakani Jewel (, Yasakani no Magatama).
 * Chizuru Kagura - Member of Team Sacred Treasures; she helds the Yata Mirror (, Yata no Kagami).

Team Kyo & Iori (A.K.A. Kusanagi-Yagami Team)
Team Kyo & Iori, also called Team Kusanagi-Yagami in some places, is another iteration of the Sacred Treasures Team.

This new formation appear canonically only in The King of Fighters XI. Shingo Yabuki is entrusted by Chizuru to take her place in this game (in this time, the priestess were weakened due to the theft of her sacred artifact), where the Team Sacred Treasures is temporarily renamed as "Team Kyo & Iori" to watch over Kyo and Iori from falling apart. When Iori's Orochi blood gone haywire during a final fight against Magaki, Kyo is knocked out, Shingo is critically injured and Ash Crimson stole Iori's power before the Rivals Team (Elisabeth Blanctorche, Duo Lon and Benimaru Nikaido) arrive and eventually discover his presumable evil scheme. This team also appears as a special entry in The King of Fighters '98 (and its remake) under the name "Team Shingo".

Leader

 * Kyo Kusanagi - Leader of Team Kyo & Iori (A.K.A. Team Kusanagi-Yagami). Left after this game.

Members

 * Iori Yagami - Member of Team Kyo & Iori (A.K.A. Team Kusanagi-Yagami). Left after this game.
 * Shingo Yabuki - Member of Team Kyo & Iori (A.K.A. Team Kusanagi-Yagami). Left after this game.

Members' Participation

 * Participation of the members of the team during the mainline series (and some spin-offs).
 * Note 1: About the colors in the table, they follow the logic below:


 * Yellow: for table titles.
 * Lime & Red: for the characters' participation in the team.
 *  Forest Green & Fire Brick: the first color indicates the characters who participated in the team in all times which he appeared in the series, and the second indicates the characters who were absent in the team from, at least, one game in the series.