Kenpachi Kuruyashiki

was once a captain of the 11th Division in the Gotei 13. He was the 7th Kenpachi, until he was killed by his successor, Sōya Azashiro.

Appearance
Kuruyashiki is a tall, muscular Shinigami with dark messy hair and notable chest hair. He wears the standard shihakushō, alongside his captain's haori which is sleeveless.

Personality
Kuruyashiki was a friendly and outgoing individual, and was noted to be close friends with Shunsui Kyōraku, who knew him better than any captain in the Gotei 13. His division held great respect for him, especially his lieutenant, Ashido Kanō. Kuruyashiki and Shunsui often drank sake along with Jūshirō Ukitake, and each of them held a drinking party for their own respective division.

Despite Kuruyashiki's well-respected reputation and prowess in battle, he is relatively humble about his own skills, and freely admits that he greatly respects the power of Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Kirio Hikifune, and Retsu Unohana, as well as the heads of the Kuchiki and Shihōin Clans. He refused to be promoted to the ranks of Zero Division, as he considered himself too lazy to guard the palace, and also believed that as a Kenpachi he should always be available to any challengers for his title.

History
Sometime in the past, Kuruyashiki was invited to join the Soul King Palace, but he declined, stating he’s not suited to protecting a king, hiding away in a different dimension until the enemy manages to get in. He also once defeated a Vasto Lorde Hollow who claimed to be a general of Baraggan Louisenbairn, a feat that earned Kuruyashiki a great deal of respect amongst his division.

250 years before the defeat of Sōsuke Aizen, after fighting off several Hollows in the Rukongai, including a spider-like Adjuchas, Kuruyashiki held a drinking party amongst the Eleventh Division, celebrating their victory, alongside the Captain of the Eighth Division and his friend, Shunsui Kyōraku. During the celebration, they were approached by an unknown, soft-spoken young man, accompanied by a mysterious woman, who challenged Kuruyashiki to a duel for the status of Kenpachi. While Shunsui was suspicious of the young man, and warned Kuruyashiki to be careful, Kuruyashiki accepted the challenge and asked Shunsui to act as witness. Once Kuruyashiki confirmed to the young man that the requirements for the duel have all been met, Kuruyashiki suddenly found himself eviscerated by an unknown force.

As Kuruyashiki started bleeding out, the members of the Eleventh Division refused to accept his defeat, and claim that the young man had cheated. As they tried to attack the challenger despite Shunsui's warnings, a dying Kuruyashiki activated his Shikai, Gagaku Kairō, and forced his subordinates back. Furious, Kuruyashiki demanded that they accept his loss with the honor expected from them, and to his friend, Kuruyashiki expressed his regret that he never got to test his strength against Shunsui and Ukitake. As the young man notes that Kuruyashiki would have been able to win had he used his Bankai, he realized that Kuruyashiki refused to use it as not to endanger his subordinates.

Calling Kuruyashiki foolish for this sentiment, the young man finally introduced himself as Sōya Azashiro to Kuruyashiki. As Kuruyashiki acknowledged Azashiro as the next Kenpachi, he whispered to Azashiro not to make the same mistakes he did and to never hold back against an opponent, as that is what it means to be a "Kenpachi". Kuruyashiki then faced his comrades and died with a smile on his face, stating that while he may die, the title of "Kenpachi" will live on forever.

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsman: As a former captain of the 11th division, which specializes in swordsmanship, Kuruyashiki possessed a great deal of skill in this art. He was capable of killing his predecessor and defeat all of his challengers for several hundreds of years until he was eventually defeated by Sōya Azashiro.

Immense Spiritual Power: As a former captain of the Gotei 13 and the 7th Kenpachi, Kuruyashiki possessed an immense amount of Reiryoku. He was powerful enough to defeat a Vasto Lorde Hollow and even be considered a Royal Guard candidate. Had Kuruyashiki released his Bankai against Azashiro, it would have likely defeated his opponent.

Zanpakutō

 * The sealed form of Kuruyashiki's Zanpakutō is unknown.


 * Shikai: The release command is . Gagaku Kairō was stated to be a "living-type" Zanpakutō, similar to Retsu Unohana's Minazuki. Upon activation the blade manifested a large, white sphere with enormous fangs. Stated to be the size of a bear, the creature had no eyes, nose, ears, or limbs; it consisted solely of a mouth with large fangs.


 * Shikai Special Ability: The creatures manifested by Gagaku Kairō were ravenous and would attack any enemies designated by Kuruyashiki. Kuruyashiki is able to manifest at least thirteen of these creatures at any given time.


 * Bankai: : Kuruyashiki's Bankai summons an enormous pair of jaws from the ground.


 * Bankai Special Ability: The jaws summoned by Kuruyashiki's Bankai are extremely ravenous and ferocious, devouring anything and everything within their reach, both living and inanimate, except for Kuruyashiki himself. Because of this, it was dangerous enough that Central 46 forbade Kuruyashiki from ever using it inside the Seireitei. The Bankai is powerful enough that Sōya Azashiro believed it would have negated Azashiro's own Bankai's capabilities and lost against Kuruyashiki in their duel.

Zanpakutō
Cooldown (Bankai): Whenever Kuruyashiki used his Bankai, once deactivated, he would be unable to it again for six months.

Appearances in Other Media

 * Kenpachi Kuruyashiki is playable in Bleach: Brave Souls as part of the Bleach: Spirits Are Forever With You promotional event. In this form, Kuruyashiki is a melee normal attack character with the "Technique" Attribute and the "Captain Killer" ability. He has three Innate Skills built in at ★5: "Weaken Duration -100%", "Poise", and "Sprinter +1", and his unlockable skills are "Brave Battles Only Prevent Last-Ditch Survival +1", the new "Half Stamina Only Decreased Damage Taken -50％", the new "Half Stamina Only Increased Normal Attack Damage +30%", "Party Technique Attribute Soul Reaper Normal Attack Damage +20%", "Berserker +50%", "Flurry +2", "Ignore Brave Battle Invincibility +1", and "Pierce Barrier", while his Soul Trait is "Damage Taken -20%". Meanwhile, his Arena Traits are "Normal Attack Damage +13%" and "Attack +45", while his Arena Abilities other than "All Stats +5%" are "Normal Attack Damage +10%" at level 5 and "Normal Attack Damage +20%" at level 10. Kuruyashiki's special is, where he releases his Shikai and attacks, inflicting immense damage.

Trivia

 * Kuruyashiki was voted the 45th most popular Shinigami character in the fifth character popularity poll.
 * Gagaku Kairō ranked 33rd in the second Zanpakutō poll.
 * In the second best bout poll, Kuruyashiki's fight with Sōya Azashiro ranked 83rd.
 * Kuruyashiki's potential candidacy for the Royal Guard contradicts the manga's established Royal Guard, where all members were acknowledged by the Soul King to have made significant contributions to Soul Society.
 * Among all known Bankai, Gagaku Kairō is the only one whose name is identical to its Shikai name in both reading and kanji used.

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