Tokinada Tsunayashiro

is a member of the Tsunayashiro Clan, one of the Four Noble Houses. Originally a member of the furthest branch family the Tsunayashiro Clan, Tokinada got himself promoted to Head of the Family while secretly orchestrating a rebellious campaign against Soul Society to replace the Soul King with his protégé, Hikone Ubuginu, alongside his co-conspirators Aura Michibane and Seinosuke Yamada. Ultimately, Tokinada was defeated by an alliance of Shinigami, Quincy, Arrancar, and Fullbringers, before being murdered by an unidentified assassin.

Appearance
Tokinada is a slender man with green eyes and medium length, dark-green hair that is generally unkempt except for a tightly tied braid along his left side of his head. He wears a loose fitting, black Shihakushō over which he wears a white haori.

Personality
While generally polite in conversation, Tokinada is openly and very sadistic, and even admits that his greatest joy is watching people fall into soul-crushing despair. After learning about the "Original Sin" of Soul Society, Tokinada adopted a nihilistic worldview, believing that there is no excuse for anyone not to act with complete malice in their meaningless world. As a result, Tokinada is quite a shrewd person.

History
At some point in the past, a young Tokinada asked his father about the Soul King. The father replied that the Soul King is the lynchpin that holds the worlds together and that without it, they would collapse on each other. When Tokinada asked what the world was before the Soul King, his father got furious and says that there was no history prior to the Soul King's birth, and that the Shinigami should be happy a being so wise and powerful exists in the first place. Tokinada pretended to be satisfied, but secretly bided his time.

Many years later, Tokinada uncovered records about the true history of Soul Society and the greatest sin of the Tsunayashiro family. Laughing, Tokinada now realized that the million-year history of Soul Society is based upon deception, and that there is no excuse for him or anyone to behave any differently. Tokinada vowed that, until the inevitable end of Soul Society, he will act with completely justified malice and evil.

Hundreds of years before the Wandenreich invasion of Soul Society, Tokinada became a Shinigami.

At some point in his later life, Tokinada was forced into marriage by his family. Driven by his own urges, Tokinada settled on marriage with a lowly Shinigami originating from the Rukongai, Kakyō, and planned on giving her great happiness only to brutally tear it away later on. As Kakyō was a very promising and talented graduate from the Shin'ō Academy, Tokinada grew to resent her even more, yet was unable to get rid of her as his family was happy at such a successful "experiment". However, one night a random Shinigami who befriended Kakyō confronted Tokinada about his treatment of his wife. When Tokinada unveiled the full truth to the Shinigami, they became enraged and attacked the noble.

As the two fought, with Tokinada having the advantage, Kakyō discovered them and attempted to stop the fight. Taking advantage of the distraction, Tokinada slaughtered the Shinigami before turning his attention to Kakyō and fatally wounding her. Afterwards, Tokinada returned to the heads of his family, where he lied about the circumstances of Kakyō's death; by his account, Tokinada could not stand being married to a commoner and when he caught Kakyō commuting adultery with another Shinigami, he had killed them in self-defense. While the Tsunayashiro elders branded Tokinada as incompetent, they tried to cover up the event as they also had their secrets.

Due to the interference of another noble, Shunsui Kyōraku, who brought the events to light, Tokinada was tried for murder regardless. However, Tokinada's status as a noble allowed him to go relatively unpunished, much to the fury of his late wife's best friend, Kaname Tōsen.

After Kakyō's funeral, Tokinada found the blind Tōsen in front of the Central 46 Compound demanding an audience with Central 46 to have Kakyō's murderer be properly punished. Pretending to be a mere, random friend of Kakyō, Tokinada amicably confronted Tōsen and apologized for not being able to protect her. Taking Tōsen aside to talk about their mutual friend's demise. Tokinada confirms to Tōsen that Kakyō's husband was the one who murdered her and pretended to speculate that her strong belief in justice and peace must have angered the wrong person. Once Tokinada realized why Tōsen wanted an audience he shifted the topic towards the Five Noble Families and revealed to Tōsen that the murderer was a member of one of the families, and that that was the reason he was never truly punished.

When Tōsen demanded to know why the Shinigami, the guardians of peace, allowed this to happen, Tokinada only said that the noble families' peace was indeed defended. When Tōsen got furious at this injustice Tokinada proceeded to ask Tōsen if he wants revenge for Kakyō; if Tōsen had the power to take revenge, would he do it? Even if Kakyō would not want him to? After Tōsen calmed down, realizing that Kakyō would never want bloodshed in her name Tokinada finally identified himself as the very man that murdered Kakyō.

As Tōsen is paralyzed by sheer emotional shock, Tokinada said he is happy Tōsen will not walk the path of vengeance and exerts his Reiatsu to terrify the blind man. Tokinada continued by saying that if Tōsen said yes, he would have killed the blind man then and there. As Tokinada prepared to leave, Tōsen lunged at him, only for Tokinada to violently subdue him. Tokinada crushed Tōsen's throat, and tells him to honor Kakyō's wishes for the peace the Shinigami enforce before ordering the guards to beat up and expel the defenseless Tōsen.

Decades later, Tokinada murdered several Fullbringers associated with Kūgo Ginjō on his family's authority, including the father of the Fullbringer Aura Michibane. Years after the event, Tokinada encountered an older Aura and, upon telling her she was the host of the Saketsu of the Soul King, recruited her for his plans.

At some point before the Wandenreich invasion of Soul Society, Tokinada had commissioned Seinosuke Yamada to create an artificial hybrid Soul. Despite Seinosuke's best efforts, and the inclusion of thousands of soul pieces including some belonging to the Soul King, the Hybrid named Hikone was barely alive and could not move or speak. It was only when Tokinada managed to acquire the brain of the Quincy Gremmy Thoumeaux to serve as the hybrid's core that Hikone could finally be perfected and stabilized.

During the second Wandenreich attack, Tokinada took advantage of the chaos to infiltrate the exposed Soul King Palace to steal the Zanpakutō Ikomikidomoe from the Hōōden.

Bleach: Can't Fear Your Own World
As Tokinada awakens from a nostalgic dream, a dream involving him first meeting Kaname Tōsen, he is greeted by Hikone Ubuginu eagerly asking what he dreamed of. Tokinada explains to Hikone was a pleasant dream, and he'll never get tired of seeing a person get filled with boundless, crushing despair before shifting his gaze towards the numerous Onmitsukidō assassin corpses that surround him. Tokinada approaches the only survivor, noting that they were employed by his own family, and asks why they still attempted to carry out their mission if their client was supposedly dead. As Tokinada tortures the assassin to death, he reveals that he covertly ordered the assassination himself, all to garner sympathy and get rid of all his rivals.

After murdering the remaining survivors, Hikone wonders if they should be more respectful towards the new head of the Tsunayashiro family, but Tokinada assures the child that it is not necessary, as Hikone will become the new Soul King anyway.

Soon afterwards, Tokinada is promoted to head of the Tsunayashiro Clan, and decides to have the Seireitei Communication print the news across the entire Seireitei and even the Rukongai. Likewise, Tokinada sends Hikone to attack Hueco Mundo, supposedly so Hikone can prove their worth as "king".

Sometime later, Tokinda approaches Captain-commander Shunsui Kyōraku in the First Division Barracks to discuss his new status. Mentioning that Shunsui was the one who had him sent to the Maggot's Nest for his wife's murder, Tokinada gloats that the clan elders who punished him are now dead. When Shunsui asks if this is a confession, Tokinada denies it and adds that even if it were, as the new head of the Tsunayashiro family he can easily have the crime be ignored. Shunsui counters that, with the Shihōin and Kuchiki Clans fighting on the front lines, the Nobles are indeed improving, and if the disgraced Shiba Clan is counted, it would be three of the five great Families changing their ways already.

Eventually Shunsui mentions he initially suspected Tokinada to be behind Rukia Kuchiki's execution attempt, but Tokinada reveals his reason for coming is that he wanted Shunsui to contact Yoruichi Shihōin, supposedly for peace between the clans, but Shunsui remains unconvinced. Switching topics, Tokinada subtly taunts Shunsui about Jūshirō Ukitake's death, but the Captain-commander remains unfazed.

Having finished and grown bored, Tokinada prepares to leave. Before exiting, however, he addresses Nanao Ise and says that he had nothing do with her mother's execution, as if he had, he would have made it much more of a spectacle. Tokinada further taunts her by saying he would have given Shunsui a front-row seat of the event, just to see the man torn between his desire to save either Nanao or her mother. This angers Shunsui and he exerts his Reiatsu, he makes Tokinada leave, who acknowledges he has no desire to be killed by Shunsui's Bankai.

Later, the Tsunayashiro residence, Tokinada is about to leave for an important meeting when he is approached by several assassins. Noting that the assassins came for him during a time that Hikone was incapacitated, Tokinada reminisces about his own Zanpakutō, which has been confiscated since his initial incarceration. Regardless, he reveals that he has been using his family's ancestral Zanpakutō without permission for some time now, and decides to release it. As he faces the assassins, he releases his Shikai, Kuten-kyōkoku.

Afterwards, in a top-secret, sacred meeting place for the Noble Families, Yoruichi, Byakuya, and Tokinada meet around a conference table. When Yoruichi asks why Tokinada summoned them here, Tokinada says that, due to the recent Quincy war, he feels the Royal Guard and especially the Soul King have become too isolated and complacent, and that such things need to change. When Byakuya criticizes his controversial opinion, Tokinada counters by taunting Byakuya about his actions during Rukia's execution. He goes further by insulting Hisana Kuchiki, but when Yoruichi gets angry at him for it, Byakuya interjects.

Byakuya makes it clear he takes all the blame for the execution on himself and will not tolerate Hisana being blamed for his mistakes. Before things escalate, Tokinada drops the subject and reveals his reasons for being here; he wants to reinstate the Shiba family as the fifth Noble Family, so the five Houses can be reunited again. When Byakuya and Yoruichi explain that Isshin Shiba chose exile, and Ichigo, Kūkaku, and Ganju are not interested in the status, Tokinada suggests having Yuzu and Karin Kurosaki be made acting heads instead.

When Yoruichi becomes suspicious, Tokinada says that if the five Families are united as one, their authority surpasses even that of the Central 46. He then asks them if they aren't suspicious that the Shiba family was so easily removed from their status. Byakuya merely replies that without the Soul King's express permission, it would never happen. Tokinada agrees, saying the Soul King is utterly incapable of doing so to begin with, which is why he wants the five Families to be the true supreme rulers of all worlds. Because of this, he wants to replace the Soul King with someone who has free will. When realization dawns on Yoruichi and Byakuya, Tokinada says that they're not yet fully aware of the Soul King's true existence, but that Urahara is.

Equipment

 * Soul Ticket: a special device under the supervision of the First Division. It allows for free movement between Soul Society and the Human World through the Dangai.


 * is an ancestral Zanpakutō that belongs to the Tsuyanashiro family, and one of the oldest Zanpakutō there is. Since Tokinada's personal Zanpakutō was confiscated, he stole his family's Zanpakutō to use it instead. After Tokinada's death, Enrakyōten was once again locked away by the Tsuyanashiro family.

Powers & Abilities
Immense Spiritual Power: Tokinada's Reiatsu is noted by Shunsui Kyōraku to be on a similar level as fellow nobles Byakuya Kuchiki and Yoruichi Shihōin, who have large Reiatsu themselves.

Expert Swordsman: Tokinada is skilled enough in swordsmanship to block several strikes from Shunsui Kyōraku, who is a Master Swordsman himself.

Shunpo Practitioner:

Kidō Expert: Tokinada is skilled enough in Kidō to perform a level 58 Hadō spell without incantation.

Zanpakutō
The name and abilities of Tokinada's Zanpakutō are unknown, as well as its Shikai command. After being discharged from the Gotei 13 for the murder of his wife, Tokinada's Zanpakutō was confiscated and locked away.


 * Shikai: Not Revealed


 * Bankai: Not Achieved

Zanpakutō
Power scaling: The powers mimicked by Enrakyōten are scaled to the Reiatsu level of its current wielder. While this means that weaker Zanpakutō such as Hisagomaru are made stronger in Tokinada's possession, it also means that stronger Zanpakutō such as Ryūjin Jakka are made weaker in the process.

Power distribution: While Enrakyōten can mimic several Zanpakutō powers at once, doing so weakens the individual powers, especially if particularly powerful Zanpakutō are mimicked.

Life Force draining: As long as Enrakyōten is used, it keeps draining its current wielder's remaining lifespan. This drain is permanent.

Weakness Mimicry: As Enrakyōten copies the powers of another Zanpakutō, it also copies the Zanpakutō's specific weaknesses.

Appearances in Other Media

 * As part of the commemoration for the Can't Fear Your Own World tie-in, Tokinada was added to Bleach: Brave Souls as a playable character; this is his first official appearance outside of the novel, and he is described as being 176 cm tall. Tokinada is a ranged character with the "Shinigami Killer" ability who can inflict Weaken with every attack and unlock a skill that reduces Paralysis duration by 100%; additionally, he is the first character to have a unique Awakening skill called "Guard Break", which allows him to nullify tougher enemies' defense using his normal attacks. He is deployed in his initial form, where he fights using his stolen family's Zanpakutō, Kuten-Kyōkoku. His special is his true Zanpakutō, Enrakyōten, which he releases in a sinister voice. The command triggers a massive wave of green spiritual energy, inflicting immense damage and Weaken on nearby enemies. In his transformed state, he can use the Zanpakutō abilities of several Shinigami at once, such as Byakuya Kuchiki's Senbonzakura, Rangiku Matsumoto's Haineko, and Tōshirō Hitsugaya's Hyōrinmaru; this is reflected by his first strong attack inflicting Burn and his third strong attack inflicting Freeze for a short period of time afterwards.

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