Shawlong Koufang

his last name sometime given as Qufang, is the Undécimo (11th) Arrancar in Sōsuke Aizen's army. He was a member, and apparently the leader, of Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez's five Fracción. His position as the 11th Arrancar before his death, implies that he was the oldest living Números.

Appearance
Shawlong Kūfang has a long face and black hair, which is braided and usually hanging over his shoulder. What remains of his mask is on the top of his head, with a portion dropping down to cover the upper-left half of his face, and a long spike that points to his right, similar to Mayuri Kurotsuchi's original hat. The location of his Hollow hole is in the center of his abdomen, but is hidden by his Arrancar uniform.

Personality
Shawlong is an intellectual, or at least an analyst, able to confidently state the nature of his opponent's powers and how it functions. He is also somewhat well-mannered and well-spoken when compared to his comrades.

History
Shawlong was a Gillian with a personality that eventually grew into an Adjuchas-class Menos. He was apparently the leader of a small group of Menos consisting of himself, Di Roy Linker, Yylfordt Granz, Edrad Liones, Nakeem Greendina and two other unnamed Adjuchas.

One day, they stumbled across a tiny Adjuchas whom they attempted to hunt, but his retaliation cause several of them to be "eaten." Shawlong, recognizing Grimmjow's strength, invited him to join the group as their "king," a fellowship of Adjuchas to become Vasto Lorde-class Menos.

However, they were unaware that the moment any part of a Hollow's body is eaten by any other Hollow, the Hollow's growth stops at that point and it was only much later that they realized that they were fated to fail in becoming Vasto Lordes. Grimmjow snorted at their announcement of giving up, and declared that he would detach from the group. As he left, Shawlong asked Grimmjow to "eat" them all, and Grimmjow complied, taking a bite out of each of the five Adjuchas: the same five that would eventually become his Fracción.

Arrancar arc
Ulquiorra, upon returning from his mission in the Human World tells Aizen that Ichigo was not worth killing. Both Grimmjow and Shawlong commented, by saying that he was obviously strong. To rectify Ulquiorra's "mistake", Grimmjow led him and the rest of his Fracción on an unauthorized mission to kill anyone with even the slightest Spiritual Pressure in Karakura Town. After scouting for those with spiritual energy they set out to hunt them down, Shawlong, along with Nakeem, come across Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto, with Shawlong taking on the Captain.

Shawlong easily fends Hitsugaya off, even after he had released his Bankai. Upon noticing that Yylfordt Granz had released his Zanpakutō, Shawlong proceeds to do the same, discovering that Hitsuagya's Bankai was running out of power. He states that it would be an insult to the captain if he defeated him to be in a weakened state and releases his Zanpakutō. He then grievously injures Hitsugaya. During his battle, he explains the ranks of Arrancar and that the Arrancar leading the invasion of Karakura Town was the 6th Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. He seems to be on the winning end, that is, until Hitsugaya's limiter was taken off. Realizing that they are no match, he orders his group to retreat. However, he dies after Hitsugaya's blade stabs him, being frozen on contact.

Powers & Abilities
Shawlong is powerful for his rank, able to easily fight off Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya using his Bankai at 20% power, only releasing his Zanpakutō at all, because he felt it would be "the polite thing to do for a captain".

Expert Swordsmanship Specialist: Shawlong is very proficient with his Zanpakutō. He is able to fight on par with Tōshirō Hitsugaya with his Bankai at 20% power.

Sonído: After tracking down Hitsugaya and Matsumoto, he and Nakeem are seen using Sonído to arrive and attack their respective opponents.

Skilled Tactician: Shawlong is very intelligent, able to realize what Hitsugaya's limit was using Bankai, as well as counter his attacks. He is the seemingly the oldest Números, which would explain this fact.

Zanpakutō
. Shawlong's Zanpakutō looks like a standard katana with a guard shaped like to oval with a gap going down the middle and hollow corners.


 * Resurrección: Its release command is . When released, Shawlong grows armor that covers his arms and upper chest, while his hands transform into long claws and his mask extends down to cover the left side of his face, while the part of his mask fragment, extending out to his right, becomes a claw-tipped tail.


 * Resurrección Special Ability: He was strong enough to easily cut through Daiguren Hyōrinmaru when Hitsugaya was at 20% power using his claws as weapons.

Appearances in Other Media
Shawlong is a playable character in DS game Bleach: The 3rd Phantom, in his Resurrección state.

Trivia

 * Shawlong is the oldest member of Grimmjow's Fracción, and the only one older than Grimmjow himself.

Quotes

 * (To Ulquiorra Cifer) "He is an enemy. Even if there is no value in killing him, there is certainly no value in letting him live."


 * (To Tōshirō Hitsugaya) "The Tenth Division captain. Magnificent news for me. This means I've hit the jackpot."


 * (To Tōshirō Hitsugaya) "When your Bankai disappears, killing you will be too easy. Saying how weak you are would be rude to you, a captain. While you remain in that form at least let me defeat you with my greatest fighting ability."


 * (To Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez) "Join hands with us, Grimmjow. But I won't just leave it at that. We have no intention of remaining as Adjuchas or Gillians. We are definitely going to rise to become Vasto Lordes. And in order to do that, we need strength. And that enormous strength to pull us forward can be none other than you. Let us go together, Grimmjow. You shall become our king."