Nnoitra Gilga

, sometimes romanized as Nnoitora Jiruga, is the quinto (5th) Espada in Sōsuke Aizen's Army. He has a philosophy of living only for the carnage of battle, an ideal shared by Shinigami Captain Kenpachi Zaraki. When Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends invade Hueco Mundo to rescue Orihime Inoue, he easily dispatches and nearly kills a battle-worn Chad and Ichigo Kurosaki, but the ferocious Kenpachi Zaraki eventually becomes his opponent and defeats him.

Appearance
Nnoitra is arguably one of the tallest characters in the series, (though he is not taller than incomplete Arrancar such as Demōra, Medazeppi, and the Arrancar version of Grand Fisher), dwarfing even Chad by at least a foot (around 30 cm). His height is emphasized by his very thin and lanky body. His face is frequently set in a huge smile which reveals his upper teeth, similar to Shinji Hirako. His black hair hangs past his shoulders concealing the left side of his face along with a large white eyepatch. The eyepatch hides his Hollow hole and mask fragments which consist of a small set of jawbones and teeth surrounding his Hollow hole. His tattoo signifying his rank as the 5th Espada is located on his tongue. His clothing consists of a modified Arrancar jacket with an overblown spoon-like hood and an opening starting at the neckline showing most of his midsection and closes at his waist. He wears the standard hakama but the ends of his pant legs close inside his boots which are extended and curved at the end making it look like he is wearing wicked-witch boots. When he was the 8th Espada, Nnoitra's hair was shorter and messier, he lacked the spoon hood, and wore his jacket's collar upturned. Also during his time as the 8th Espada, his tongue had an 8 on it instead of a 5.

Personality
Personality-wise, Nnoitra is extremely rude and lecherous, accented by his snake-like eyes and perverted attitude towards Orihime, rudely referring to her as "pet-sama". He even went as far to ask Ulquiorra Cifer how well he "disciplined" her. He is quite possibly the most foul-mouthed character in the series, even more so than Grimmjow. He is also a firm believer in male chauvinism and openly insults (and regularly attacked) the former 3rd Espada, though it's unknown if he holds the same grudge toward Tia Harribel. His overall goal is to prove himself to be the absolute strongest of the Espada and does not wish to waste his time killing those he dubs "weak". However, he has no qualms attacking stronger opponents who are already injured, a trait both Ichigo Kurosaki and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez berate him for. He also loathes looking weak, and thus, will refuse all forms of assistance offered to him during an ongoing battle, as seen when he struck his lone Fracción, Tesla, for running over to his side (and releasing Orihime Inoue in the process) after Nnoitra was blasted by Nelliel's Cero Doble. He does, however, appear to have at least some amount concern for his sole Fracción's well-being (unlike Grimmjow, who did not even mourn for his deceased companions), having attempted to warn Tesla to withdraw from battle after he determined via his pesquisa that Kenpachi Zaraki was stronger than he had initially anticipated.

One of Nnoitra's most notable characteristics is his insatiable bloodlust and hunger for battle, which exceeds even Grimmjow's and rivalled only by Kenpachi Zaraki's philosophy of literally living to fight time and again. Nnoitra's idea of a fulfilling end to his life would be to die on his own two feet while drowning on his own blood. Because fighting is his way of life, he continually strives to be stronger, and it is later revealed that he considers himself indebted to Aizen for allowing him to exceed his natural fighting limits. To appease his craving for a good fight, he even defies a direct order from Aizen to patiently lie in wait for Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends when they try to infiltrate Las Noches in a bid to free Orihime Inoue.

In his later moments during his battle with Kenpachi Zaraki, he begins to show signs of weakness and desperation, and becomes increasingly frustrated over his inability to overcome the powerful Captain. This stems from an inferiority complex he developed while serving as 8th Espada, due to his apparent inability to beat his opponents. Whenever his opponents refuse to kill him during a battle, particularly Kenpachi and Nelliel, Nnoitra takes it as a direct affront to his pride, because in his mind, neither Nelliel nor Kenpachi seem to think of him as their equal or superior. This shows a more honorable side of him as even he wishes to be treated as equally as every other opponent he has treated. Ironically, he treated virtually everyone of his opponents the same way, unfairly and through dishonorable methods. He also does not hesitate to use any means -even unfair ones- in order to prove his superiority in the battlefield.

History
Like all Arrancar, Nnoitra was once a Hollow living in Hueco Mundo, later recruited and given Shinigami powers by Aizen. Several years earlier, Nnoitra held the rank of 8th Espada. During his time as the 8th Espada, he would constantly challenge the then 3rd Espada Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck to battle. The fact that a female stood higher than a male in rank agitated him greatly. Later, he teamed up with Szayel Aporro Granz (who was not an Espada at the time) to perform a sneak attack on Nelliel. Nnoitra completely tore off the masks of both of Nelliel's Fracción, Pesche Guatiche and Dondochakka Bilstin, in order to provoke her to fight with him. During the fight, a device made by Szayel created a fake image of Nnoitra and distracted Nelliel's attention. By exploiting the opportunity, Nnoitra attacked Nelliel and broke her mask, scarred her forehead and leaving her unconscious. He threw her out of Las Noches so that he could increase his power by the time she returned. However when she reverted to child due to the damage, he gave up on that goal until she returned many years later with Ichigo and friends. Afterwards, he rose higher and higher in the ranks of Aizen's army as his power grew, eventually becoming the 5th Espada.

Hueco Mundo arc
Nnoitra's first chronological appearance occurs during the creation of Wonderweiss Margera; he is shown with his back facing the newcomers Ulquiorra and Yammy Riyalgo as Aizen explains to the Espada present the process of awakening the Hōgyoku from its inert state. Shortly after Ichigo and company arrive in Hueco Mundo, in a meeting with Aizen and the rest of the Espada, he openly shows his excitement about the intruders' approach despite the other Espada's caution, prompting Harribel to repeat Aizen's warning. He responds by taunting her and the ensuing verbal exchange almost results in a physical confrontation. Later, he waylays Ulquiorra and attempts to start a conversation with him about Orihime Inoue and Aizen's psychological prison.

He later appears right after Chad defeated Gantenbainne Mosqueda, mistaking him for the leader of the intruders. He and Chad engage in a short battle with Chad punching Nnoitra in the stomach with his Brazo Izquierda del Diablo. However, this does not so much as hurt Nnoitra who then proceeds to finish Chad off with one strike. To his surprise Chad gets up and attempts another attack but is stopped by Tesla, his Fracción. Nnoitra then threatens Tesla for interrupting him, stating that no soul in the universe could harm him.

His next appearance was during Ichigo Kurosaki's fight with Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, silently watching the battle; studying Ichigo's attacks until they finished. He immediately "relieved" Grimmjow from the battle, attempting to finish him off but was saved by Ichigo. After berating Grimmjow from being saved by the enemy, Nnoitra returned his attention back to the weakened Ichigo preparing to finish him off.

As they fight, Nnoitra notices Nel, recognizes her as the former third Espada, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, and explains to Ichigo that Nnoitra gave Nel the crack in her mask. Nel denies this accusation heavily as Nnoitra attacks Ichigo again, eventually beginning to break his wrist. Seeing Ichigo hurt triggers Nel's transformation into her adult form. Nel attacks Nnoitra after revealing her ex-Espada status and easily matches him. She releases her Zanpakutō (which Nnoitra attempted in vain to thwart, knowing the tables will turn against him should Nel succeed) and overwhelms Nnoitra, but, just before finishing him, reverts to her child form. Nnoitra kicks Nel and an enraged Ichigo attacks again, only to be slammed into the ground. After getting bored with fighting Ichigo he commands Tesla to finish him off even forcing Orihime to watch him die. However at the last second, Kenpachi Zaraki steps in to save them and badly wounding Tesla in the process.

Nnoitra's lust for battle returns and he does battle with Zaraki. Although he holds the upper-hand at first because Kenpachi's sword couldn't cut through his Hierro, when Nnoitra accidentally slashes Kenpachi's eyepatch off, he is hit with a devastating counterattack resulting in a slash across his chest. Kenpachi reveals that the eye patch is a seal that eats up his reiatsu to allows him to savor each fight longer. Nnoitra responds by finally releasing his Zanpakutō and returns the favor by slashing Kenpachi across his chest, critically injuring him. To his surprise once again, Zaraki gets up and slashes one of Nnoitra's arms off but reveals his two extra arms an once again turns the tide back in his favor. Nnoitra comes at Kenpachi with an onslaught of attacks but Kenpachi still comes back at him like an unstoppable force, irritating Nnoitra greatly. Kenpachi's persistence finally breaks Nnoitra and he unleashes a devastating blow upon Kenpachi. Kenpachi, then realizing that he actually might die, unleashes his Kendō technique, which Nnoitra underestimates, and he is critically injured as a result.

Nnoitra is however not dead and yells out for Kenpachi to finish him off. Kenpachi unwilling to give Nnoitra the finishing blow sparks Nnoitra's anger, and he briefly remembers a similar incident between him and Nel Tu where she was unwilling to finish him off. Nnoitra's anger finally reaches its peak and he charges straight at Kenpachi, only to be cut down for good. He locks eyes with Nel one last time before he falls to the ground. He remembers his past with Nel and dies on his own two feet before his body touches the ground; the kind of death he always wanted.

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Nnoitra is highly masterful with his unique Zanpakutō. He uses his skill to become somewhat of a savage brute, as the lack of true law in Hueco Mundo allowed him plenty of opportunity to engage in battle against Hollows and other Arrancar alike. He effortlessly wields his large Zanpakutō with ease, taking advantage of its unique shape to maximize his attacks. He is highly capable of using it as a ranged projectile as well as he does with it in hand. He is commonly seen using brute strength to hack down an enemy's defense.

Enhanced Hierro: Nnoitra holds the self-proclaimed title for the strongest Hierro of all Arrancar (including the Espada past and present) allowing him to withstand almost any attack with no sign of injury. Despite this arrogant claim, his skin does not, by far, make him impervious to attacks or impenetrable as he claims it is; presumably, his Hierro's influences over his entire body is not uniform for every proportion as Nel Tu in her adult form cut through his chest with no visible difficulty (likely due to her prior combat experience with him). Kenpachi Zaraki also eventually found the necessary requirements to harm him after a brief trial-and-error duel, sharpening his reiatsu in order to cut through Nnoitra's Hierro. This showed that while his Hierro is strong, all the opponent has to do in order to overcome it is by "adapting" to its density with their own reiatsu.

Enhanced Pesquisa: Nnoitra is also very different when it comes to using his Hollow powers as an Arrancar. For example, most Arrancar's Pesquisa (ability to sense people with Spiritual Pressure) normally works by using a meditative state and functions like sonar, while Nnoitra needs only to put his hand to a grounded surface. His Pesquisa is even able to gauge the amount of spiritual pressure an opponent has, which he uses to identify potentially strong opponents; this ability could also be classified as a Shinigami ability due to Isane Kotetsu using a similar ability to sense the four Garganta being sealed off. It is unknown if this version could be used to accurately sense Reiryoku levels.

Cero: His Cero attacks are uniquely golden, and are fired from the tip of his tongue as opposed to using his hands or fingers like most other Arrancar do.

Immense Spiritual Power: Nnoitra has an incredibly high Reiatsu, and is able to fight on par with Kenpachi Zaraki, a captain well known for high reiatsu. It is because of this high spiritual power that Nnoitra has strong Hierro. He is also just below the power level of the top four Espada, who are strong enough to destroy Las Noches simply by releasing their power.

Enhanced Strength: Despite his thin and fragile appearance, Nnoitra is frighteningly strong and can effortlessly wield his large Zanpakutō with devastating results. Just by spinning his Zanpakutō by the chain-link he can create whirlwinds.

Sonído: Nnoitra has been shown to use Sonído when discussing Orihime Inoue with Ulquiorra Cifer. He has also been shown using it in battle, but his skill level with the technique is unknown. He is fast enough to overwhelm a battle-worn Ichigo using his Bankai.

Zanpakutō

 * Nnoitra's Zanpakutō is uniquely different from the Zanpakutō of many of the other Espada since, unlike the basic sword shape of most Arrancar, Santa Teresa takes the form of a giant axe-like weapon bearing two crescent moon-shaped blades fused together at the backs, with a large looped chain connected to the shaft at the end of the handle. The chain is connected to Nnoitra's waist, allowing him to perform long-ranged attacks. During flashbacks to Nnoitra's time as the 8th Espada, it had only one crescent moon blade on his Zanpakutō, as opposed to the two that it features now, possibly reflecting his increased power and subsequent rise in rank since then.


 * Resurrección: The release command is . Nnoitra gains an extra set of arms, which take on an insect-like appearance, with each arm gaining a large scythe-like weapon as well. The scythes themselves resemble the appendages of a praying mantis, and have a small golden tassel and the end of each staff. He also gains a golden marking extending from his forehead to below his right eye. The weapons are used by him to both defend and then rapidly attack his opponent, as is seen in his fight with Kenpachi. These weapons can be "grown" out of the folds of his wrists, allowing him to replace lost or damaged weapons easily. Though he can grow a maximum of six arms, he keeps one set hidden, which he can grow out instantly to perform surprise attacks. Nnoitra also gains a pair of horns on his head, his left horn longer than his right, resembling a crescent moon. His hollow mask also changes, becoming torn, with the teeth extending over the hole itself.


 * Resurrección Special Ability:


 * Enhanced Strength: In this state, his strength is enhanced even further, temporarily overwhelming Kenpachi before the latter unleashed his Kendō technique.


 * Instantaneous Regeneration: Nnoitra is one of the only Arrancar (other than Ulquiorra Cifer) who seems to have retained the Menos ability of Instantaneous Regeneration and can easily heal injuries to the point where Nnoitra can even regrow severed limbs. However, this recuperative capacity quickly drains as his Reiryoku reserves deplete, and if injured to an incredible extent, it can be halted.

Fracción

 * Tesla - A male Arrancar who assists Nnoitra wherever he goes. He seems to idolize Nnoitra to a degree, his eyepatch (though not identical) echoing that of his master. This is also shown when he stands by his act of shielding Nnoitra against Chad's last assault, despite criticism from Nnoitra himself. When Tesla attacks Kenpachi without assessing his strength, Nnoitra screams at him to get away, before Kenpachi deals Tesla a single, severely damaging blow, showing that despite his behavior, Nnoitra has some concern for Tesla's well-being.

Appearances in Other Media
Nnoitra appears in a few Bleach games. He first appears in Bleach: Heat the Soul 5 without his Resurrección. He is also playable in Bleach: Versus Crusade with his release state this time. He is also playable in Bleach: Heat the Soul 6 with his Resurrección; Santa Teresa.

Trivia

 * Nnoitra's aspect of death is Despair.


 * The damage Nnoitra sustained from Kenpachi Zaraki's Kendō attack is toned down in the anime. In the manga, the attack severed several of his hands and nearly cut him in half; this was omitted in the anime.

Quotes

 * "I...am the strongest Espada!"
 * "Fighting, after all, is a monster born from unfairness and intolerance."
 * "Enemies are made for all sorts of reasons. From the moment one makes an enemy, until one breathes their final breath, they are in battle."
 * "Don't you get it, you can't cut me!"
 * "Everyone dumps their pity on me. They have no idea how much that hurts me. It's like stomping on an open wound."
 * "I don't care if they're strong, or weak, or a baby, or an animal! I'll kill anyone and everyone in one hit so they'll never stand up again!"

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