Byakuya Kuchiki

Origin

Yoruichi Shihouin plays with a young Byakuya Kuchiki

Back in his youth, Byakuya Kuchiki was the child of the prestigious Kuchiki Clan, royalty of the Soul Society; and he trained to be an elite Shinigami in order to take over leadership of the 6th Division of the Gotei 13. He managed to stay on his family's good side and was even allowed to play with Yoruichi Shihoin between times because she was a family friend. Years later, he met his now deceased wife, Hisana Kuchiki and illegally brought her into the family by marrying her. Five years after the marriage, she became terminally ill and wished for Byakuya to adopt Rukia into the Kikuchi Family, which was also illegal by the Kikuchi Family's terms. after this, he swore to never break the Clan's rules ever again. Not long before Rukia entered the Gotei 13, Byakuya became the 6th Division's captain.

Creation

BLEACH Vol. 6 JPN (Dec 2002)

Byakuya Kuchiki is a supporting character from the anime/manga series BLEACH, created by Tite Kubo. He was originally introduced as a villain who struck down the protagonist Ichigo, sought out to execute his adopted sister, Rukia; and was the first major opponent in the series. This was before the reveal of Sousuke Aizen as the architect of a grand scheme for his own end and the complete manipulation of Gotei 13 and the rest of the Soul Society.

Byakuya's first appeared in BLEACH Volume 6, CH. 51 "DEATH 3", and his first anime appearance was in BLEACH - Episode 16 "Encounter, Renji Aburai". His character in the Japanese series is voiced by Ryotaro Okiayu, and the U.S. dub produced by VIZ Media is done by Dan Worren.

Character Evolution

Major Story Arcs

Powers & Abilities

Byakuya Kuchiki's Battle Data

Byakuya possesses exceptional skill and power, even for a Captain of the Gotei 13.

• Flash Step: He is a master of the Flash Step (Shunpo) technique, using it in various ways in battle, such as:
• Senka: Byakuya moves so fast he strikes the front and back of an opponent almost simultaneously. This is one of his favorite moves and he was seen using it to sever Ichigo's spirit chain during their first encounter.
• Utsusemi: A technique were Byakuya mixes an afterimage with Shunpo, allowing him to dodge attacks that appear to hit him. This was a technique taught to him by Youruichi Shihoin, and as such he prefers not to use it. He uses this technique during his confrontation with the 7th Espada Zommari Leroux.
• Kido: Byakuya is also very skilled at using various Kido spells. He has been shown to use spells in quick succession without the need for an incantation, and has used spells up to level 81.

Zanpakutō

The Zanpakuto of Byakuya is named the Senbonzakura (千本桜), which translates as "Thousand Cherry Blossoms". It looks to be a regular katana, but the blade becomes a flurry of cherry blossoms and can slice through anything they touch, which is somewhat similar to Rangiku's Shikai. It's Bankai however is much different in size and power and has various forms. Byakuya's Bankai is one of the most versatile seen from a Zanpakuto in Bleach.

Senbonzakura's Forms

Sealed Form Senbonzakura in sealed form The sealed for is the first stage of the Senbonzakura. In this form it merely appears as an elegantly crafted and decorated long-katana. The guard is a rectangular shape with an internal-cross supports. The handle is wrapped in pink cloth. In this form, Byakuya both pierced Ichigo Kurosaki and sliced part the blade of his Zangestu.

Shikai Senbonzakura in Shikai form The Shikai is the first released stage of the zanpakuto. It's only released when the user speaks the name of the blade. This is when the zanpakuto takes on it's most unique formations and becomes far more deadly. In Shikai, the Senbonzakura breaks apart into hundreds of small blades that seemingly scatter randomly into the wind and look like cherry blossoms. Byakuya actually mentally controls all of these blades as they swarm their target and literally rips Byakuya's opponent into shreds. It's said to be impossible to even see all the small blades.

Bankai Senbonzakura in Bankai form The Bankai is the alast released stage of the zanpakuto. It can only be attained through dedicated training. To reach Bankai is to reach the level of a Captain of the Gotei 13. When the Senbonzakura's Bankai is released, Byakuya drops his sword and is disappears into the ground leaving a ripple as if it fell into water. What it's replaced with is similar to the Shikai form of cherry blossom-shaped blades, but they now number in the thousands. Byakuya can control these blades mentally, but when using his hands to guide them swarm the speed of their reaction drastically increases. These powers of the Senbonzakura are what gives him one of the most versatile zanpakutos of all the Shinigami. His Banaki was first seen in his fight with his lieutenant Renji Abarai, but the full extent would not bee seen until Byakuya's later battle with Ichigo and his Bankai. Byakuya possesses several different formed attacks while in Bankai. They range in sizes and shapes. Most were originally seen during Byakuya's fight with Ichigo and have been used on few others. He sees the use of his Bankai and following attacks as showing his respect for his opponents skill. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi Senbonzakura Kageyoshi 千本桜景厳- is the name of his Bankai. Byakuya will drop his sword and two rows of towering swords will appear then scatter into smaller blades that number up to one-hundred million, and from this stage he can use several different attacks Senkei 殲景- A "room" with its walls made form Byakuya's swords surround Byakuya and his opponent. In this space his opponent is slowed down due to Byakuya's spiritual pressure and Byakuya may grab any of the surrounding swords as a weapon. Gokei 吭景- A circular encasement made from the petals of Senbonzakura surround Byakuya's opponent, cutting him down and resulting in a large explosion. Shukei: Hakuteiken 終景: 白帝剣- Condenses the blades into a single powerful sword, Byakuya also gains wings and a sort of halo made from white spirit energy. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi Attacks

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