Nobu Yoshioka

"The guy that was yappin' with that old man you slapped around, he's pretty high up. He goes by a lot of names, using Nobu this time around."

- Stick to Daredevil

Nobu was a Japanese businessman with a mysterious agenda. As a member of Wilson Fisk's criminal cartel, his organization shared in the profits of all of the cartel's criminal activities.

Working with Wilson Fisk
Nobu acted as a representative for a mysterious Japanese organization to Wilson Fisk's criminal cartel. However, although his organization took an equal share of the profits, Leland Owlsley was unsure of what Nobu and his organization actually contributed. One night, Nobu waited at the top of a building along with Madame Gao, Leland Owlsley, Anatoly Ranskahov and Vladimir Ranskahov awaiting the arrival of Wilson Fisk to discuss recent events. Owlsley commented on the fact that Gao did not speak English; when he asked Nobu if he could translate for her, Nobu was greatly insulted as he was Japanese and Gao was speaking Chinese. Nobu became more annoyed when Fisk's assistant/translator James Wesley arrived in Fisk's place. The group discussed the recent attacks that had occurred involving a masked man stealing from the Ranskahov brothers.

War with the Russians
"Remember your promise to me and those I work for."

- Nobu to Wilson Fisk

Nobu was summoned for another meeting; this time without the Ranskahov brothers. They met at a car shop where Leland Owlsley commented on the car which was being cleaned of blood and brains. Eventually Wilson Fisk arrived with James Wesley; he announced that the Ranskahovs were no longer a part of their organisation as Fisk had murdered Anatoly Ranskahov. Nobu and the others were shocked and angered at the news, claiming they should have been consulted. It was however agreed that they would continue their work with the money being split equally between the four of them. As the group departed, Nobu reminded Fisk of the promises he had made to Nobu and the people he represented.

Black Sky
Nobu organized the delivery from Japan to New York City of a child referred to as a "Black Sky". He arranged for Fisk to bribe the police to stay away from the docks, before the deliervy, Nobu met with Leland Owlsley to ensure everything was running smoothly, Owlsley revealed that he knew what was happening and they should help each other out considering what had happened with the Russians. Nobu however told Owlsley that men have to stand alone before leaving. Nobu was later present for the arrival of Black Sky, however they were attacked by Daredevil and Stick who intercepted the delivery. Although in the chaos Nobu was able to drive away with Black Sky, they were later attacked again by Stick who killed the boy before escaping. Nobu blamed Fisk for this, but Fisk pointed out that he had fulfilled his obligations, which were limited to the police.

Hunting the Masked Man
Nobu became impatient when Nelson and Murdock delayed the eviction of all tenants of a particular building in Hell's Kitchen. Nobu stormed into a meeting between Wilson Fisk and James Wesley, when one of Fisk's guards attempted to stop him, Nobu twisted his wrist causing the guard considerable pain. Fisk allowed Nobu to enter and he demanded that the building be delivered. Fisk offered other buildings, but Nobu insisted on the agreed building. Fisk suggested that Nobu provide a warrior to eliminate Daredevil in exchange for Fisk expediting evictions, knowing that Nobu's pride would make him take Daredevil on himself. This was a ploy by Fisk, who later admitted that he had decided to eliminate Nobu and that "in a perfect world" Daredevil and Nobu would have killed each other.

Death
Fisk killed one of the problematic tenants, Elena Cardenas, and then made an impromptu televised statement which subtly taunted Daredevil over his inability to protect her. He then allowed Daredevil to "discover" Fisk's whereabouts. When Daredevil followed this trail, he instead found Nobu in a warehouse, dressed in ninja garb. Nobu was able to slow his heartbeat, ensuring that the attack was a surprise to the masked man. Nobu attacked and nearly killed the masked man using a shoge hook, slicing the masked man's skin and stabbing him in the side. At one stage the masked man was able to rip Nobu's mask from his face, Nobu told him that he was a worthy opponent and it would be an honour to take his life. Before Nobu to kill him, the masked man pulled the blade out of his side and knocked Nobu into fuel. He then used a stick to destroy a light causing electrical sparks to alight to fuel, burning Nobu to death.

Abilities

 * Master Martial Artist: Nobu has extensive martial arts knowledge, which enabled him to almost kill Daredevil with his shoge hook, and slow his own heartbeat.
 * Multilingualism: Nobu speaks fluent English and Japanese.

Allies

 * Wilson Fisk
 * James Wesley †
 * Madame Gao
 * Leland Owlsley †
 * Anatoly Ranskahov †
 * Vladimir Ranskahov †
 * Aito †

Enemies

 * Stick
 * Daredevil