Kazumi Sawatari

Kazumi Sawatari (猿渡 一海) is a resident from Hokuto and the leader of the Hokuto Three Crows. In the earlier stages of the war, he was given a Sclash Driver and the Robot Sclashjelly to transform into Kamen Rider Grease (仮面ライダーグリス), as the Rider representative of Hokuto. Up until his death, he aided the remaining Kamen Riders in their fight against Evolto. After the merging of the two worlds, he did not initially have his memories until they resurfaced following the appearance of Killbas.

Background
According to Sawa's report, Kazumi was once the owner of his family's farm in Hokuto, with Akaba, Aoba and Kiba as his workers. However, as a result of the Sky Wall Disaster, virtually all the farmland in the region was rendered infertile. Rather than lay off his workers, Kazumi used his savings to help his employees and their families.

One day, Kazumi came across a man named Massugu Ubukata, who was attempting to take his grandmother to a hospital only for his path to be blocked by Hokuto soldiers. Giving the soldiers a beating, Kazumi enabled Massugu to proceed, and his grandmother made a full recovery.

When Kazumi's resources were depleted, he willingly enlisted himself to be a test subject for Faust to futher insure his workers' survival. Kazumi tells Stalk, who was leading the experiment, to lie to the workers by informing them that Kazumi lost his memories as a side effect of the experiment.

Shortly before Hokuto invaded Touto for the Pandora Box, Kazumi was chosen to lead a strike team in charge of retrieving Touto's Fullbottles and Pandora Box panels. He was given a Sclash Driver by Soichi Isurugi, allowing to become Kamen Rider Grease. Feeling indebted to their boss for his sacrifice, his three workers became Hard Smash, forming the rest of his strike team.

Indebted to Kazumi, Massugu Ubukata wished to join his side and as such, crafted dog tags for himself as well as Kazumi and the Hokuto Three Crows. However, Kazumi initially refused his gift and ask him to go back to Hokuto.

Reclaiming Hokuto's Fullbottles
"These are Hokuto's Fullbottles so I'm taking them back. But don't worry. I'll see you guys again soon... on the battlefield."

- Grease

Shortly before the outbreak of the War, Kamen Rider Grease took an expedition to Touto in order to reclaim the Phoenix and Robot Fullbottles for Hokuto. Coming across Touto's Kamen Riders Build and Cross-Z, whom were engaged in battle against a squad of Touto's Guardians, Grease swiftly destroyed the Guardians as he snatched the Fullbottles off Build's person before leaving as soon as he came. Though he did not get a clear look at his assailant, Build correctly deduced that he must be another Kamen Rider. Meanwhile, Grease watched the Riders of Touto from a distance, well aware that he would soon face them on the "battlefield".

Hokuto-Touto War
As Kamen Rider Grease, Kazumi led the Hokuto advance into Touto once war was declared by Prime Minister Yoshiko Tajimi. Penetrating the Skywall, Grease destroyed many Touto Guardians.

Ryuga Banjo encountered him as he searched for the Hokuto Three Crows. A Strong Smash Hazard appeared and began attacking bystanders, and as Ryuga put on the Build Driver, Kazumi destroyed the Smash in one punch using his hidden Helicopter Fullbottle before leaving. Later, after Ryuga and Sento had defeated the Hokuto Three Crows in Ryuga's first fight as Cross-Z Charge, Kazumi showed up to challenge them with his own Sclash Driver.

One fight with Cross-Z Charge was interrrupted by the Three Crows. Stating that they broke the rules, Kazumi relinquished the Kuma and Televi Fullbottles to Ryuga. He later caught up with Massugu Ubukata when he was defeated by Sento Kiryu, having exposed himself to Nebula Gas and becoming the Ice Smash. Engaging Build, Grease found himself bewildered by Sento's new KumaTelevi Best Match. Ultimately, however, Sento learnt the story of Massugu and Kazumi through Televi-san, and chose to return the Kuma and Televi Fullbottles to Kazumi. Left with Massugu, Kazumi realized that he was still holding on to the dog tags he had made for him and his comrades and finally accepted them, claiming that the jingling sound Massugu made when he walked irritated him.

Hokuto's Defeat
Hokuto and Touto decided to end the war by having a duel between their respective Kamen Riders. It looked like Hokuto would win because Kamen Rider Build was afraid of using the Hazard Trigger. Ultimately, Build used the unstable Hazard form to win the duel and the war. Little was accomplished, however, as both war-weary countries faced a common enemy in the Seito nation.

Seito's Uprising
At the end of the Hokuto/Touto war, it became clear that the two nations would have to team up to defeat the Seito nation, who began an aggressive campaign to conquer all of Japan. Soon after, one of the Hokuto Three Crows decided to defend his people from Seito's wrath, and was soon captured by the Washio Brothers, Kazumi had no other choice but to escape back to Hokuto with Akaba, only to be shot down by Fu Washio. Before sacrificing himself, Kiba gave his dog tag to Kazumi. The Kamen Rider then watched helplessly as Kiba died, rationalizing it as just a common occurrence of war.

Seito-Touto War
In the final stage of the Seito-Touto war, an arrangement was reached by both governments. Like before, the two nations would pit their Kamen Riders against each other. Build was hesitant to use his full power, as the Nabeshima Family was held hostage. Once Kazumi got the Nabeshima Family out of danger, he watched as Kamen Rider Build use the full power of the Full Full RabbitTank Fullbottle to defeat Rogue and end the war with Seito.

Opposing Evolto
During the Build Annihilation Plan, Grease attempted to protect Sento Kiryu from the amassed populace of Japan, who had been compelled to eliminate him, only to be overwhelmed by the angry mob. Along with Gentoku, Kazumi was stripped of his Sclash Driver and kept in confinement before being set free by Utsumi, who made them beg him to return their Drivers. Making their return, Grease and Rogue defeated both the Scissors and Zebra Lost Smash while the leader of the Blood Tribe was defeated by Cross-ZBuild.

Final Battle & Death
After Evolto publicly declares to the world of his alter ego and his plan to destroy the earth, Kazumi asks Sento to make a Power-up Item for him, which Sento immediately shows him the completed Blizzard Knuckle, now added with Grease Insignia and North Blizzard Bottle, made with the data of him and Hokuto Three Crows. Sento give Kazumi warning that if he ever uses it to Transform, His Hazard Level would rise beyond human limits and he'll die, thus it's safer to use it as a weapon. Kazumi shrugs that warning off, claiming that his Sclash Driver only had one slot for Fullbottles.

The Next day, Team Build meet Evolto at the base of Pandora Tower. After Evolto explained the rule of his game (Team Build must advance hastily to the top of Pandora Tower, and every 10 minutes, Evolto will destroy an Area using a massive Black Hole), they quickly run to the top of Pandora Tower after Transformed. However, they are intercepted by a clone of Akaba, Aoba, and Kiba made by Evolto DNAs. Grease ask the rest of Team Build to leave Hokuto Three Crows Clones to him and to continue to the top without him.

"Sorry, Sento. I broke my promise."

- Kazumi apologizes to Sento for breaking his promise, before transforming into Grease Blizzard

Halfway during the fight, Grease initially had the upper hand by using Blizzard Knuckle as Weapon, but due to the clones using his former camaraderie feelings against him by mimicking their voices, Grease was defeated. Left with no other choice, Kazumi apologizes to Sento before pulling Shinobu's Build Driver he took earlier from the basement and use it along with the Blizzard Knuckle and North Blizzard Bottle to transform into Grease Blizzard.

Using his newfound power, Grease is now able to regain upper hand against the Clones. However, Grease body starts to disintegrate due of reaching his limits. To make things worse, Misora was also there and witnessing Grease impending death. Grease then inject the Castle Lost Fullbottle to prolong his body limit temporarily and announce that this battle will be his last Festival while attacking Hokuto Three Crows Clones vigorously.

After the clones were all defeated, Grease's transformation was cancelled and his body started to disintergrate once more. Kazumi then gives the purified Castle Lost Bottle to Misora and told her to leave him. However, Misora begged for Grease to continue on living tearfully. Delighted, Kazumi then tells her that he'll brag this to His comrades in the afterlife. Misora continues to tearfully call Kazumi 'Grease' while hugging his back frantically while Kazumi held his comrades and one of his dog tag to his chest before he finally disintegrates into Golden Smoke. Misora fell on her knees, weeping and finally mutters 'Kazumin' in grief.

Legacy
At the top of Pandora Tower, Misora gives Sento the purified Castle Lost Fullbottle while announcing that Kazumi is now dead. The Nascita Gang were all in shock and disbelief upon hearing the news. Misora was on her knees and was hysterical, Sawa hugged her tearfully, Ryuga punches the wall in grief, Gentoku cries heavily, and Sento clenches the Castle Lost Fullbottle hard. Misora was also shown keeping Kazumi's dog tags as a memento.

When Gentoku battled Evolto to the death, Gentoku remembered what Kazumi said to him during their BBQ dinner, saying that Gentoku should be a politician again and that he was already forgiven for what he did to Kazumi's hometown.

A vision of Kazumi appears as Banjo encouraging Sento as he had his final battle against Evolto.

Kamen Rider Build NEW WORLD: Kamen Rider Cross-Z


"That is...." "Kamen Rider... Cross-ZEvol."

- Kazumi and Gentoku Witnessing the Transformation of Kamen Rider Cross-ZEvol.

After Evolto was defeated for good and the new world had been created, Kazumi and the rest of the Hokuto Trio were at Nascita, playfully discussing about Kazumi's potential bride, saying she was as cute as an idol, and that Kazumi would fall for her "at first sight". Kazumi shrugged it off, stating that he wasn't that desperate until the girl in question arrived. Kazumi commented that the girl was cute and passed out, which then the Hokuto Trio carry him out before Sento walks in.

Due to the appearance of Killbus, the memories of Kazumi from the old world have eventually merged with this world’s Kazumi due to Killbus using Ryuga Banjo and the white panel of Pandora Box. He, along with Misora, and Sawa, who have just regained their memories from the old world, has been called by Gentoku to go to the government office before Sento arrives to reunite with them to discuss a plan to defeat Killbas. Kazumi and Gentoku helps Ryuga battle Killbus and his Smash monsters.

Kamen Rider Heisei Generations FOREVER
Because Tid altered the timeline, Kazumi reclaims his memories about Build's world and his Rider powers back. When he and Gentoku are protecting Shingo from Another Riders, Shingo asked if he's Otoya Kurenai or Kazumi Sawatari, in which Kazumi answers the latter. Team Build is briefly reunited and they assist Sento and Sougo in the impending battle.

Kamen Rider Build NEW WORLD: Kamen Rider Grease
TBA

Personality
Kazumi's demeanor alternates between calm and composed to ruthless and hysterical, depending on whether he's fighting or not. Presumably, due to his usage of the Sclash Driver, Kazumi is obsessed with battle and finding a worthy opponent. He is not afraid to use lethal methods, going as far as attempting to deliver a Rider Kick to an untransformed Banjo.

However, Kazumi operates by a certain code: he insists on not targeting civilians as long as they stay out of the way, and decided against taking Build's FullBottles due to him butting in the battle, much to the trio and the Hokuto Prime Minister's dismay. He is also repulsed by Prime Minister Tajimi's plan to send unnecessary reinforcements to invade Touto.

He also secretly cares about his underlings, as he is against the Hokuto Prime Minister and Stalk's idea of giving the Three Crows more power by strengthening them with the Hazard Trigger, knowing that they will die after they are defeated. After the Three Crows become Hazard Smashes, Kazumi was visibly frustrated. This is also shown as Utsumi blackmailed Kazumi to defect from Touto and bring Pandora Box to save his remaining co-workers. Kazumi initially fell to despair since he can't betray his comrades and become relieved after confirming his co-worker's safety first hand.

Having seen people die in front of him before, Kazumi recognizes the seriousness of war, viewing death to be a natural part of a war. Though he was deeply saddened by Aoba's death, he conceded that Aoba knew that his own life was going to be at stake and that he died because he was weaker, though that did not change the fact that he was someone Kazumi cared about. While Kazumi bears no ill will towards Sento, he still resolved to have a fair fight with the latter that would be held in the proxy war between Touto and Hokuto. The only exception to this is Gentoku, as Kazumi states himself that he'll never forgive Gentoku for killing Akaba, although his attitude towards him softened later on.

Since Kazumi is a huge fan of Mii-tan, he quickly loses his will to fight and even allows his enemy to escape if Misora is the one who helped them. It's later obvious that he is in love with Mii-tan, but when Akaba asked him about his apparent crush and the possibility of her being Sento's girlfriend, Kazumi denied it by claiming that Mii-Tan is everyone's idol. Kazumi has also been shown to be restless when he is physically close to Misora, leading to him having inner monologues on how to approach her in a romantic way.

Powers and Abilities

 * Hazard Level 4 Physiology: Kazumi has undergone an experiment from Faust which injected him with a certain amount of Nebula Gas. However, instead of mutating into a Smash, the gas retained his body without side effects (though he did feign memory loss in an attempt to distance himself from the Three Crows). His natural Hazard Level is much higher than most, as his Hazard Level starts at Level 4 during his introduction, allowing him to utilize the Sclash Driver to transform into Kamen Rider Grease. In Episode 19, Blood Stalk read his level, and it has risen to 4.2.
 * Fullbottle Augmentation: By using a Fullbottle in his hand without transforming, Kazumi can gain abilities based on said Fullbottle's traits:
 * Helicopter: Allows Kazumi to perform fiery punches. First used to defeat a Strong Smash Hazard.

Weaknesses

 * Blizzard Knuckle (former): Because Kazumi allowed Faust to increase his Hazard Level once more, transforming using the Knuckle would increase his Hazard Level behind human capacity, thus killing him. In the new world, blizzard knuckle is no longer killing him for yet revealed reason.

Devices

 * Sclash Driver - Transformation device.
 * Sclashjellies - Transformation trinkets.
 * Fullbottles - Trinkets for granting abilities with the Sclash Driver and transformation with the Build Driver.
 * Fullbottle Holder - Carrier strap for Fullbottles.
 * Build Driver - Secondary transformation device. Originally used by Shinobu Katsuragi.
 * Grease Blizzard Knuckle - Adapter for Build Driver and secondary personal weapon.
 * Grease Perfect Kingdom - Slot adapter for Build Driver.

Weapons

 * Twin Breaker - Grease's personal weapon
 * Nebulasteam Gun - Rogue's sidearm weapon that Grease borrowed to help his comrades escape from Evolto and MadRogue.

Team Build

 * Sento Kiryu: He and Sento were enemies during the Touto-Hokuto war. Feeling guilty for killing Aoba while under the influence of the Hazard Trigger, Sento begged Kazumi to kill him as a means of suicide. But Kazumi rather face him in the proxy battle, regardless of the sin Sento caused unknowingly. After the Hokuto proxy battle, with Seito waging war, Kazumi offered himself to join Team Build against Seito & Evolto, and continue to help them until his death.
 * Ryuga Banjou: He and Ryuga were enemies during the Touto-Hokuto war. However, after they became allies, Sawatari is the only rider to call Ryuga Banjo by his first name while everyone else calls him by his last name. After seeing Kazumi as Grease Blizzard, Ryuga becomes angry with Sento because he knows that Bakazumin will die after using the Build Driver.
 * Misora Isurugi: Misora as Mii-tan was Kazumi's idol and crush. When he saw her, he almost recognized her, until Sento threw him off for mistaken identity in order to protect her from Hokuto and the other governments. After the proxy battle, hearing her voice and catchphrase from the net, he soon recognized Misora as Mii-tan close up. Joining Team Build, Misora only calls Kazumi "Grease" due of her thinking if she call Kazumi by his real name / Kazumin, he'll leave otherwise, much to Kazumi's dismay. Misora is the one who witness Kazumi's death firsthand, and call him 'Kazumin' after he disintegrated. Nevertheless, Misora grieves over Kazumi's death and kept his dog tag as a memento.
 * Sawa Takigawa: Although they usually didn't talk much, Sawa usually 'use' Kazumi fan-boy attitude towards Misora to sell Mii-tan related goods in very high price, which Kazumi finally bought anyway.
 * Gentoku Himuro: Gentoku and Kazumi were enemies during the Touto-Seito war. Kazumi originally did not forgive Gentoku for what happened to Akaba, including his former compatriots for Kiba's death as well during the Touto-Seito war. Knowing revenge won't bring him and his comrades back, he makes Gentoku fight him in order to work with him and Team Build. Over time, Kazumi's attitude towards Gentoku seems to have softened, with the two of them seemingly bickering with each other a lot, much like Sento and Ryuga. Kazumi calls Gentoku as Beard (髭 Hige), while Gentoku calls Kazumi as Potato (ポテト Poteto). Kazumi would eventually forgive Gentoku, feeling that he has long repaid for his sins, and that he would be able to follow in his father's footsteps. Upon hearing the news about Kazumi's death, Gentoku is seen screaming inaudibly as he is sad.

Hokuto Three Crows

 * Akaba: Akaba, along with Aoba and Kiba is Kazumi underlings during Touto-Hokuto war. They put great respect and care for their Boss, and Kazumi also care of them, albeit not showing it. Akaba is the last Hokuto Three Crows member to die (due of Kamen Rider Rogue). His death makes Kazumi hates Seito and even refused to fight with them when Evol starts attacking.
 * Kiba: Kiba, along with Aoba and Akaba is Kazumi underlings during Touto-Hokuto war. They put great respect and care for their Boss, and Kazumi also care of them, albeit not showing it. Kiba is the second Hokuto Three Crows member to die (due of shielding Kazumi from Engine & Remocon Bros attack). This become Kazumi motivation to join forces with Team Build, since they share the same enemies.
 * Aoba: Aoba, along with Akaba and Kiba is Kazumi underlings during Touto-Hokuto war. They put great respect and care for their Boss, and Kazumi also care of them, albeit not showing it. Aoba is the first of the Hokuto Three Crows to die (due of Build RabbitTank Hazard), and this becoming Kazumi motivation to defeat Sento in Proxy war.

Enemies

 * Evolto: Known Evolto as Blood Stalk, until became his enemy when he revealed himself working for Seito, having them take over Hokuto.
 * Nariaki Utsumi: Threatened Kazumi into giving Seito Pandora's Box, if he wants his hometown friends saved.
 * Hell Bros: The Washio brothers; Fu & Rai were sent by Seito to control Hokuto. They even killed his comrade Kiba as an example.

Portrayal
Kazumi Sawatari is portrayed by Kouhei Takeda (武田 航平), who is more previously well known for his portrayal of Otoya Kurenai in Kamen Rider Kiva. As Kamen Rider Grease, his suit actor is Satoshi Fujita (藤田 慧).

Etymology
Following Sento and Ryuga, one of the kanji used to spell his name also represents an animal, Sa (猿), which poetically means "monkey". It could be referring to grease monkey, an English slang term for mechanics.