He recruited the young Kenshin Himura into the Kiheitai before allowing Chōshū leader Katsura Kogorō to make him the Hitokiri Battōsai. While portrayed as a brash and ruthless warrior, he is nonetheless wary of his unsavory actions and tried to dissuade Katsura from "corrupting" Kenshin's soul, to no avail.
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In 1863, Takasugi himself founded a special Shotai unit under his direct command called the Kiheitai, which consisted of 300 soldiers (about half of whom were samurai).
After this, he withdrew to Chōshū and took part in the military actions of Takasugi Shinsaku's Kiheitai against the shogunate's Choshu Expeditions.