Editing Yusuke Kitagawa

Upon entering Madarame's Palace with the Phantom Thieves, Yusuke winces in horror at the sight. Upon confronting Madarame's Shadow, Yusuke discovers that Madarame never truly loved him, and that "Sayuri", a piece of Madarame's art that Yusuke had admired for so long, had in fact been a self-portrait painted by his own mother, whom Madarame had left to die so he could steal her work, which he also modified to make it seem "mysterious" to critics and patrons, thus driving up its monetary value. Enraged, Yusuke awakens his Persona, Goemon, becoming a Phantom Thief with the codename Fox, and helps the group steal the Treasure of his now former mentor. He designs a logo for the group, which is depicted on all the calling cards they send from then on. He also cuts all ties with Madarame, making him homeless. He lives as a drifter for a little while, even staying at Café Leblanc for a night, but eventually finds residence in the dormitories of his high school, Kosei. The original version of the "Sayuri", which turns out to be the real-world manifestation of Madarame's Treasure, is put up on the wall of Café Leblanc since.

Should the player pursue a confidant with Yusuke, he admits to the protagonist that he has lost his drive to continue painting after his falling out with Madarame. Out of desperation, he asks to travel to [[Mementos]] to find some kind of inspiration. His experience leads him to create a painting titled "Desire," which he was proud enough to submit to an upcoming art exhibition. To his disappointment, the painting was received negatively by critics and patrons, with it being emotionless and stale as a common criticism. This nearly convinces Yusuke to give up entirely, but the protagonist convinces him to try again and improve his craft. This leads to several day trips where Yusuke does several life still and realizes how Madarame is the reason his outlook on life and beauty is so superficial and he might be going down that same dark path his former mentor took. Yusuke eventually meets Akiko Kawanabe, director of the Japanese Art Support Foundation one of the critics from the gallery. After hearing Yusuke's story, he offers him a spot in a new gallery in exchange for the paintings being sold and marketed as painted by a tragic, brooding figure. This offer angers Yusuke for having nothing to do with art in his eyes and rejects the offer. Kawanabe claims that Yusuke is acting immature and makes another offer: the foundation's unconditional support if he wins an upcoming competition. Yusuke accepts, wanting to show the world the true meaning of art is not monetary gain, but passion and love for the craft. After failing to come up with inspiration, Yusuke laments that he will never become one of the great artists. The rest of the Phantom Thieves tell him to stop comparing himself to others and there is nothing wrong with doing things for himself, but art needs to be made for others in order to succeed. This causes Yusuke to realize beauty on a deeper level and he creates a painting titled "Desire and Hope," which wins the competition. Kawanabe soon after reveals his taunting was merely a test of his character and offers the support of the foundation. Yusuke again declines, saying that his friends are his true inspiration and he will never follow in Madarame's footsteps if they are around. When his confidant is completed, his Persona changes from Goemon to Kamu Susano-o.

When Takuto Maruki alters reality in ''Persona 5 Royal'', Madarame is released from jail, apologizes to Yusuke and allows the artwork he stole to be displayed under the original creators' names, including the "Sayuri", here known by another name. When Yusuke realizes this is just an illusion, this version of Madarame disappears and the "Sayuri" returns to Café Leblanc. If his confidant had been completed beforehand, Yusuke confides in the protagonist that he feels guilty for rejecting reality and betraying his friends' trust in his eyes, even calling himself an "utterly hopeless fool." After venting his guilt for long enough, he apologizes to the protagonist and says he is his greatest teacher, at which point Goemon and Kamu Susano-o will fuse into Gorokichi, Yusuke's ultimate Persona. Later on, Yusuke realizes he is the only one that would not be moving away after the school year ends, which made him feel slightly sad, but understood that life involves people going their separate ways sometimes.  

Yusuke appears on the [[Mementos]] stage in his Fox costume. He, like the other Phantom Thieves, can also be heard randomly on the Results screen when Joker wins a battle.