Tessai Tsukabishi

is an employee of Urahara Shop and a childhood friend of Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihōin. One hundred years ago, he was the Captain of the Kidō Corps in Soul Society. He was forced into exile by Sōsuke Aizen and is currently hiding in the Human World with Urahara in an untraceable Gigai while helping out in his shop.

Appearance
Tessai Tsukabishi is a tall, muscular, lightly tan-skinned man. His hair is cornrowed and he has a large handlebar mustache, which is connected to his long sideburns. He wears a pair of rectangular-shaped glasses. His attire consists of a white muscle shirt with regular pants and a blue apron.

During his time as Kidō captain, he wore the standard Shinigami robes with an ornate dark blue robe with a large upturned collar and the symbol of the Kidō Corps on it. He also carried a shakujō. His hairstyle was cornrowed but was styled into little horns, while his mustache was longer.

Personality
Tessai is a quiet, stern, and level-headed man who often acts as a source of discipline to Jinta Hanakari's mischievous behavior, but does have a sentimental side. He is very loyal to Kisuke Urahara and takes meticulous care of the shop, actually bursting into joyful tears if anyone compliments his work. Conversely, his instant reaction is extreme irritation when someone snubs it. He is also known to buy TV-advertised medicines, which do not always work or else have unpleasant side effects, much to Urahara's chagrin. In addition, he is among the few who find Orihime Inoue's strange food ideas tasty. Though he is a former captain, he generally takes a subservient role to Urahara even when he held an equal position in Soul Society.

Soul Society arc
When Ichigo, Orihime, Uryū, and Yasutora Sado arrive in Urahara's underground training area, Tessai is touched by Orihime's comments about the hidden area. Together with Urahara, Tessai activates a Senkaimon to allow the group and Yoruichi to travel to Soul Society. After Rukia is rescued, Ichigo and company return to the Human World. As they exit the Dangai, they appear in the sky above Karakura Town. When Ururu wraps them up in a ball of fabric, Jinta prepares to strike them with his bat. Tessai, however, appears behind him and calls out "Tessai Death Catch". He grabs the ball, squashing Jinta between it and himself. Tessai sets the group down on a flying rug.

Bount arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

Arrancar arc
When Ururu is severely injured fighting the Arrancar Yylfordt Granz, Tessai heals the hole in her chest.

Just before the surprise attack by Patros, Menis, and Aldegor, Tessai accompanies Urahara & Sado to pick up some supplies. He tells Jinta and Ururu to be sure they eat three meals a day and brush their teeth while they are away. While leaving, he hears Jinta say that they are wasting their time since the store hardly sells anything anyway. Tessai runs back and asks him if he said anything bad about the store, scaring Jinta. When the rebel Arrancar attack the Urahara Shop, Jinta and Ururu rush to tell Urahara and Tessai that Renji Abarai is fighting with the Arrancar. While running back, Tessai states that he is more worried about the store than Renji. They briefly come across Ulquiorra Cifer, but he quickly leaves. Upon arriving at the shop, Tessai realizes he has to rebuild a lot of the shop.

After Orihime is abducted by Aizen, Tessai watches as Urahara opens the Garganta to allow Ichigo, Sado, & Uryū go to Hueco Mundo.

Hueco Mundo arc
Tessai assists Kon with his Karakura-Raizer duties while Urahara is preparing to transfer Karakura Town to Soul Society.

Beast Swords arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

Gotei 13 Invading Army arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

The Lost Substitute Shinigami arc
Tessai knocks Jinta out for throwing a baseball at a kid without a glove and carries him into the store. Inside, he restrains Jinta once he regains consciousness, warning him that Karin Kurosaki is in the middle of shopping. Orihime and Sado are brought to the Urahara Shop suffering side effects from Tsukishima's Book of the End ability. They are left in the care of Tessai and Isshin.

Powers & Abilities
Kidō Master: As the former Grand Kidō Chief of Soul Society's Kidō Corps, Tessai is one of the greatest Kidō masters in Soul Society. He has demonstrated the ability to use various high-level Kidō at full power with complete control, including a level 99 Bakudō and level 88 Hadō spell, both without incantation, the latter of which caused tremendous destruction to a large part of the forest it was fired in, despite having the majority of its power blocked by Aizen's defensive Kidō.


 * Forbidden Kidō: He has displayed very extensive knowledge of forbidden techniques such as time and space manipulation, which allowed him to teleport the Visored to Urahara's lab and freeze time around them to halt the Hollowfication process.


 * He possesses highly proficient skill in healing Kidō, having repeatedly healed Ichigo and his friends when battle-worn and healing Ururu after she was grievously impaled by Yylfordt Granz.

Keen Intellect: Tessai is a very intelligent man. As the former captain of the Kidō Corps, he has advanced knowledge and understanding towards the flow of spiritual energy. He is also very knowledgeable of past and present events such as with the events of the Quincy's demise. Tessai is highly perceptive toward a person's demeanor, knowing Urahara would go in search for his then-lieutenant Hiyori Sarugaki despite being ordered not to.

Hakuda Expert: While specializing in Kidō, Tessai is a capable physical fighter, allowing him to fight off countless Hollows unarmed.


 * : A open palm strike that can effortlessly shatter a Hollow's head to pieces with a single strike.

Enhanced Strength: Tessai possesses great physical strength, made apparent by his ability to smash a Hollow's head to pieces with a single, open-palmed thrust.

Enhanced Durability: In addition to his tremendous strength, Tessai is a highly resilient man. When Rukia kicked him from behind, she only succeeded in hurting herself while Tessai barely registered her presence from it. Also, when he was overwhelmed by Ichigo's awakening of his Shinigami powers, he emerged unfazed and merely complained about his glasses being damaged, causing Jinta to comment that he is like a monster.

Immense Spiritual Power: As a former Kidō Corps captain, Tessai boasts a great amount of spiritual energy, allowing him to use multiple high-level Kidō without tiring.

Zanpakutō
Tessai's Zanpakutō has not yet been revealed.


 * Shikai: Not Yet Revealed


 * Bankai: Not Yet Revealed

Appearance in Other Media
Tessai makes minor appearances in most video games, usually with Kisuke Urahara to perform some attacks. He is a playable character in Bleach: Heat the Soul 6 and in the sequel, Bleach: Heat the Soul 7. His appearance is that of his time in Soul Society with his dark robe and his shakujō. Tessai has also appeared briefly in Bleach: Fade to Black, but had no role in the film.

Censorship

 * When Tessai destroyed the head of a Hollow, blood wasn't shown coming from the Hollow's head compared to the manga.

Trivia

 * When Kisuke Urahara first addressed Tessai, the name was written in katakana . However, 100 years ago, during his entrance into the 1st division barracks for a mission briefing, his name was written in kanji
 * During the battle against the Menos Grande, the anime depicted Tessai with a beard.

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