Arturo Plateado

is an ancient and powerful natural Arrancar.

Appearance
Arturo has long, turquoise hair and yellow eyes. The remains of his Hollow mask are on his right cheek on what appears to be the upper jaw, and goes around the back of his head and has a sort of crest. His Hollow hole is located below the base of his neck. He wears the basic Arrancar uniform, but with a belt worn just underneath his sash. In the English version of Bleach: Shattered Blade, Arturo has a noticeable Spanish accent.

Personality
Arturo Plateado is both a calculating strategist and a ruthless warrior, with an unrivaled lust for power. This aspect of his personality is reflected by his Zanpakutō's unique ability to absorb the Reiatsu of anyone he kills to strengthen himself; a power so terrible, that even captain-level Shinigami have been known to flee before his might. He sees defeat as a sign of weakness and displays an outright refusal to accept it, even rising again in an injured state to resume the battle. In both games in which he appears, Arturo is portrayed as possessing a level of confidence bordering on arrogance, even going as far to attack the Soul Society single-handedly. Even after making a deal with Aizen, he strongly implies a desire to murder the former Shinigami Captain twice.

Bleach: Shattered Blade
Over a thousand years before the current Bleach storyline, Arturo Plateado was a self-made Arrancar of great power who desired to destroy all Shinigami for hunting Hollows. To enact his ambitions, he left Hueco Mundo and invaded the Soul Society, decimating almost half of their military forces in his initial attack. Realizing that they were not powerful enough to defeat him in combat, the Shinigami were forced to resort to different measure. They lured him into a trap and sealed him in a place below the underground chamber of Central 46. He remained trapped in an endless void for several centuries awaiting his chance for revenge, but as time passed the seal that held him began to weaken.

Bleach: The 3rd Phantom
Arturo Plateado appears a second time in this installment for the Nintendo DS. Like his previous appearance, he is a self-made Arrancar who attacked the Soul Society a millennium prior to the events of the current Bleach storyline, but his history as well as his involvement in the storyline is significantly different. During his initial strike on the Soul Society, his power is not yet mature, but proves more than a match for the Gotei 13’s military forces. Although he was newly born as an Arrancar, he manages to decimate half of the Soul Society’s military, becoming even more powerful with each battle by absorbing the Reiatsu of his fallen victims using the abilities of his Zanpakutō, Fénix. Even though the Shinigami faced many losses, they eventually manage to defeat the rogue Arrancar, forcing an injured Arturo to withdraw to Hueco Mundo and heal his wounds.

Bleach: Shattered Blade
Arturo is a powerful, self-made Arrancar so old, that he is only recognized by Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto and Yoruichi Shihōin via her family's scrolls. Two thousand years prior to current Bleach canon, he stormed Soul Society and was sealed beneath the Sōkyoku. When the Sōkyoku was destroyed during Ichigo's rescue of Rukia Kuchiki at the end of the Soul Society arc, the seal on Arturo was broken and he was freed to continue his rampage once again. In the game, he decides to impersonate various figures, from captains to Zanpakutō spirits, to trick others into regaining the pieces of the destroyed Sōkyoku in order to absorb them into his body and become more powerful. Depending on the game's outcome, he is either purified and defeated or obtains the Sōkyoku and carries on to decimate the Soul Society.

In the game, you have the choice of playing as Ichigo Kurosaki, Renji Abarai, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Yoruichi Shihōin, Kenpachi Zaraki, Byakuya Kuchiki, and Hanatarō Yamada in story mode. Each character fights against many opponents, for various reasons. Once you gathered all of the missing shards, you come across Arturo, who poses as other Shinigami. If you were playing as Yoruichi, then he wouldn't have identified you. If you beat all of the character's stages, then you will unlock Arturo, who seeks revenge on the Soul Society.

Bleach: The 3rd Phantom
After several centuries of honing his skills and gathering his own forces, Arturo Plateado attains full power, and returns to the Soul Society over a century before the current Bleach storyline. Wanting to take revenge on the Shinigami for his defeat, the self-made Arrancar promptly delivers a series of strikes against the Seireitei, and kills many challengers with relative ease. He briefly confronts several captains, including Jūshirō Ukitake and Shunsui Kyōraku, and both of them choose to withdraw from the battle in an attempt to prevent him from adding their powers to his own. During the ensuing conflicts, he briefly encounters Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, whom he remembers from his first attack on the Seireitei over 1,000 years ago. After a brief exchange, the old general traps Arturo using Ryūjin Jakka’s fire and flees the scene to find a permanent solution.

Yamamoto then calls for a private meeting with Captains Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihōin. He explains the state of emergency and declares that an artifact known as the be used to drain Arturo Plateado of his powers. They are initially skeptic, but Seigen Suzunami’s elder sister Konoka Suzunami, volunteers to perform the deed. As the battle wages on, Seigen and his two adoptive children, Fujimaru Kudō and Matsuri Kudō, take to the field with several other Shinigami to confront the Arrancar and his army. At first the battle seems hopeless, but Konoka appears on the battlefield, and uses the Shisuikyō to drain the rogue Arrancar’s Reiatsu, allowing the Shinigami to defeat him yet again. Arturo attempts to rise again saying that the fight is not yet over, but is soon drawn into an anomaly produced by the Shisuikyō, along with Seigen Suzunami and the Kudō twins.

Arturo Plateado reappears a hundred years later in Hueco Mundo and is found in a weakened state by Gin Ichimaru, during which the traitorous Shinigami brings him to Las Noches on the behest of Sōsuke Aizen. Although Arturo is initially distrustful of his new benefactor, the former Fifth Division Captain offers the self-made Arrancar a mutually beneficial deal, and welcomes him into the ranks of his own servants. Aizen allows him to regain his full powers, and dispatches him to the Soul Society along with several others, including Gin, Kaname Tōsen, and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. While the others provide a diversion to split the Soul Society’s forces, Arturo faces off against the Shinigami, but a new wielder takes up the Shisuikyō and utilizes the same method that led to his last defeat. Arturo Plateado is finally killed, but Aizen steals the mirror following his death, proclaiming that Arturo had been a pawn to be sacrificed from the very start.

Powers & Abilities
Shapeshifting: Arturo has often been portrayed as a shapeshifter in the storyline, having taken on the forms of several characters; including Yoruichi Shihōin, Shinigami and Zanpakutō spirits alike in order to manipulate other characters in the story to achieve his ends.

X-Shaped Projectiles: Arturo has the ability to fire X-shaped projectiles. The blast seems to manifest a short distance in front of him, apparently summoned from above him and not from his own being.

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Arturo is a very proficient hand-to-hand combatant, using kicks combined with beam saber slashes as his primary means of attack. His fighting technique is incredibly quick and aggressive, using his speed to quickly take out his opponents. He is skilled enough to hold his own against and overwhelm powerful opponents with time.

Sonído: Arturo can use Sonído effectively in combat. He can even use it to perform combination attacks on his opponents.

Beam Saber: As a substitution for actually using his Zanpakutō in battle, Arturo can manifest a powerful, dark colored saber of energy that materializes when his fingers extend forward. The saber produces lightsaber-like sounds when swung. It is very strong, similar to a Shinigami's Shikai.

Beam Saber Assault: Arturo can use a technique with his beam saber when he gets close enough to the opponent. He extends his blade, and proceeds to attack the opponent relentlessly while using Sonidó, overwhelming them. He gets a total of sixteen hits, followed by a 17th that knocks the opponent forward. Arturo begins the attack shouting "DANCE!" and ends it with "DIE!" while stabbing the opponent in midair. Afterwards, he says "I've grown bored of your face."

Spatial Prison: A unique and apparently more battle-oriented version of the Negación technique used by Menos Grande. Arturo can summon a powerful circular shaped spatial prison that temporarily paralyzes targets absolutely. In contrast to the white Caja Negación used by the Espada, it is black.

Immense Spiritual Power: It is noted several times that Arturo has an overwhelming amount of spiritual pressure, exceeding that of a Captain-level Shinigami. His presence can be felt from a very long distance. He is so powerful that the need of a Reiryoku-absorbing item that could potentially kill the user was necessary to seal him away.

Cero: Arturo uses a massive version of the Cero that inflicts major damage. It is still red in coloration, but it is far bigger, and has proportional strength to its size. But in the game Bleach: The 3rd Phantom, his Cero is shown to be white in color.


 * Gran Rey Cero: In addition to his already powerful Cero, Arturo is also capable of using the Gran Rey Cero, a particularly strong version of Cero which is usually exclusive to the Espada.

Zanpakutō
Arturo's Zanpakutō is called. Its release command is unknown. In its sealed form, Fénix resembles a basic katana with an hourglass-shaped guard. Arturo apparently opts not to use the actual sword, instead relying on an energy blade he projects from his hand.


 * Resurrección: Arturo Plateado only cited his release in the "Bleach: Shattered Blade game". The Arrancar said: "Fênix, immortal and graceful, in my original form my body emerges even from the smallest of grains of ash. A beautiful power that by Shinigami as you can not witness, unequaled the beauty and fury released from my flames and grace."


 * X-Shaped Projectile: Much like his unarmed version, Arturo can summon a powerful X-shaped blast with his Zanpakutō. This variant is more powerful than his unarmed version.


 * Reiatsu Absorption: Arturo's Zanpakutō has the power to absorb the spiritual energy of those it defeats, adding to its wielder's strength and increasing his power.


 * Extreme Regeneration: Arturo's Zanpakutō possesses an ability of extreme regeneration, allowing Arturo to survive even the most grievous of injuries and recover from battle almost instantly. Its ability extends to creating new external and internal organs or until Arturo rises again from the ashes or what remains of its body.

Wings
When activating his Zanpakuto, Arturo can manifest wings made of Reiatsu. Arturo has two different sets of energy wings: the first, which constantly are on his back throughout gameplay, are two green wings which look similar to the single wing Uryū Ishida grows when he enters the Quincy: Letzt Stil.

The second set of wings, which appear during his ultimate attack mode, are made of multi-colored flames. Arturo gains a huge increase in power, primarily in his Reiryoku and Reiatsu, which is the equivalent of an Arrancar releasing their Zanpakutō.

Appearances in Other Media
Arturo also appears in the DS video game, Bleach: The 3rd Phantom. As opposed to his debut in Shattered Blade, he wields his Zanpakutō in battle. In addition, he is also capable of using the Gran Rey Cero, a variation which only the Espada are able to use.

Quotes

 * "Soul Reapers! How overrated!"
 * "No one may exist who are stronger than me."
 * "I am unstoppable!"
 * "I have no mercy for lowly worms!"
 * (After defeating Mayuri Kurotsuchi) ''"He had some strange techniques. But still, he was just a Soul Reaper. Of no more concern to me than a mosquito or a fly."
 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) ''The Soul Reapers must have fallen on hard times indeed, if they are asking for help from the likes of humans."