Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-13237238-20130724132657/@comment-5693502-20140423112524

Tenevhrael wrote: So this is mine, I'm unsure on whether or not it's overpowered but I think it's fairly balanced. Some of my translation and kanji is off, for some words I used synonyms and assumed combinations of words but it's just a bit of fun in the end so who really cares XD.

Sōjūmaru (双獣 Twin Beasts): The unreleased state of Sōjūmaru is that of a standard katana with a black hilt wrapped in red bandages and a golden hexagonal tsuba and pommel.


 * Shikai: Sōjūmaru’s release command is “bare your fangs” (むき出す). In its released state Sōjūmaru’s blade becomes blood-red and the tsuba and pommel become bone white. The size and shape of the zanpakutō remain unchanged apart from the width of the blade which widens to 3 inches.


 * Shikai Special Abilities: The abilities of Sōjūmaru revolve around the powers of the Dragon King (龍神) and the Hungry Wolf (餓狼). The Dragon King has reign over reiryoku-devouring flames and the Hungry Wolf compresses spiritual energy to increase the physical strength and size of the zanpakutō. However the two beasts have an intense rivalry for one another and do not work together well.


 * Ryūjin no Yoen (龍神の余炎 Dragon King’s Burning Brand): Sōjūmaru’s blade becomes covered by flames that can be launched from the blade in an attack similar to Getsuga Tensho. These flames eat reiryoku from the opponent making it hard for them to focus their energy if the come in contact with the flames. If the flames collide with an energy based technique such as Kido the attack will be blocked and eaten. The flames are strong enough to block an energy attack around the level of Hado #33, an attack of greater power will only be partially blocked, losing some of its destructive power.


 * Garō no Saiga (餓狼の砕我 Hungry Wolf's Crushing Fang): This technique compresses the wielder's reiryoku around Sōjūmaru's blade causing it to generate considerably more force and damage with its swings while increasing the length of Sōjūmaru to that of a nodachi but locking off the ability to use Ryūjin no Yoen.

Bankai: Zantetsuken no Sōjūmaru (斬鉄剣の双獣 Iron-Rending Sword of the Twin Beasts): The wielder is covered in surrounded by a sphere of flames that make a sound similar to that of a wolf howling. The flames then disperse to show that the user has two large detailed silver sode on each shoulder, with the right shoulder plate having an outward facing design in the shape of a dragon's face and the left having that of a wolf's face. The armor continues down the arms encasing the hands in gauntlets and then granting the wielder a small chestplate. The sword appears as it does when Garō no Saiga is in effect and covered in the flames from Ryūjin no Yoen.


 * Bankai Special Ability: The most basic ability of Zantetsuken no Sōjūmaru is forcing the two separate beasts to work fully alongside each other, as such the effects of Garō no Saiga and Ryūjin no Yoen are both in effect for the entirety of the Bankai.


 * Garō no Tekkahō (餓狼の鉄火砲 Hungry Wolf’s Red-Hot Iron Cannon): The wielder points Zantetsuken no Sōjūmaru directly at the enemy and after calling out the command “Howl, Garō no Tekkahō” a large beam (A bit larger than that of Yammy's cero in his released state) of compressed flame is fired from Zantetsuken no Sōjūmaru. The flames are hot enough that it can easily burn holes through metal and stone leaving naught but ash. The two weaknesses of this technique is the large amount of reiryoku required and that the attack's size makes it hard to keep track of the enemy so if the attack is dodged an enemy might find an opening to counterattack.


 * Ryūjin no Zantetsuga (龍神の斬鉄牙 Dragon King’s Iron-Rending Fang): This technique compresses the flames surrounding Zantetsuken no Sōjūmaru, shortening the sword back to the length of a katana while the flames disappear. The sword then starts glowing as if just pulled from a forge, this increases the energy-devouring strength of the blade of Zantetsuken no Sōjūmaru. Any and all Kido or energy attacks are instantly devoured upon coming in contact with the blade and used to fuel the heat and blade of Zantetsuken no Sōjūmaru, the more energy that’s absorbed the more powerful the damage of the red-hot blade. In addition absorbing attacks through the blade causes the duration of the bankai to extend and can be used to prolong the bankai indefinitely if enough spiritual energy can be absorbed.


 * Sōga no Sōjūmaru (双牙の双獣 Twin Fang of the Twin Beasts) After impaling the enemy with the blade of Zantetsuken no Sōjūmaru and calling out the “Sōga no Sōjūmaru”, a sphere of immense air pressure surrounds the enemy while a slightly larger sphere of incredibly hot fire surrounds the enemy as well. Shortly thereafter both spheres collapse in on the trapped enemy causing a great amount of damage and a large explosion.

I like this zanpakutō a lot, glad you did post it in the end ! I personally think it borders on being overpowered but only because of the Dragon King techniques (and every blade has their OP technique so it's all good). As far as user created zanpakutō go, this is definitely one of the best I've seen so far.