Kokutō

or Kokuto is an inhabitant of Hell. He initially helps Ichigo and his friends break into Hell to rescue his sister Yuzu, but later reveals his true colors as the mastermind behind the entire ordeal.

Appearance
Kokutō is a tall and lean-built man with pale-skin and shoulder-length white hair. He wears a sleeveless white shirt, striped in the same fashion as the other Togabito. The upper half of his head is swathed in black bandages, and he has an accompanying black sash strapped to his waist. His chains are located on his wrists and around his neck. Tufts of white hair can be seen protruding from a fold in his bandages. After removing his bandages, Kokutō is shown to be horribly burned across the right side of his body, extending all the way down past his abdomen. His hair is also much longer than previously shown, with the hair on the right side of his face taking on the appearance of cornrows.

Personality
Kokutō is initially seen to have a kind-hearted personality, as he reveals to Ichigo why he aims to help him save his sister in Hell, due to the fact that he had a sister once. He also is shown as amoral and remorseless, such as when he walks casually up to Ichigo after impaling him, responding with "Yo, Ichigo. You okay?" His malevolent nature was due to years trying to escape Hell, as he is willing to provoke Ichigo into Hollowfication for him to break his own chains. He shows clear signs of instability due to the fact he resorted to attacking Ichigo to incite him to free him despite the fact the latter already promised to free him and seems to believe that making others suffer as much as he did would cause him to feel better about his sister.

History
At a time before Kokutō became a Togabito, he was once a Human and had a younger sister who was killed by an unknown number of assailants. This prompted Kokutō to avenge her death by murdering her killers. However this did not grant him solace. By his own admission he then set out to inflict his suffering on others. This action, however, condemned Kokutō into spending eternity in Hell as a punishment. When Ichigo Kurosaki fought against Ulquiorra Cifer at Las Noches, Kokutō witnessed their battle from a pile of skulls. He then began to materialize his internal organs, screaming in pain.

Bleach: The Hell Verse
When Gunjō attempts to return to Hell with Ichigo’s sisters, a blinding blue light immerses him, as Kokutō frees Karin from his grasp. Kokutō then proceeds to taunt Shuren and Gunjō, proclaiming that he doesn't like seeing them get their way. After evading attacks from both Togabito, he hands Karin over to Rukia, in order to assist Ichigo in battling Shuren. After Ichigo fails to prevent Gunjō from returning back into Hell with Yuzu, Shuren takes advantage of an opening and attempts to attack him. However, Kokutō intervenes, blocking the strike with his chains, cracking Shuren's mask in the process.

After Shuren makes his escape, Ichigo angrily confronts Kokutō, demanding to know where they have taken Yuzu and who are they. Kokutō tells him not to ask so many questions at once, prompting Rukia to tell him that they need to focus on healing the others at the moment. Later that night, Kokutō confirms to Ichigo and his friends that he is in fact a Togabito, much like Shuren. Ichigo pleads to Kokutō, demanding that he take him to Hell in order to rescue Yuzu. Kokutō explains that Hell's unique environment is deadly to an ordinary human, and that Yuzu will die if she spends too much time there.

After taking note of Ichigo's determination, Kokutō states that he is willing to take him there if he is aware of the consequences of his actions. After Ichigo, Rukia and Renji discuss their options, Kokutō prepares to open the Gate of Hell. When they arrive on the first level of Hell, they are pursued by a large number of Kushanāda, the guardians of Hell. Ichigo inadvertently dispatches one of the Kushanāda with use of his Hollowfication. Kokutō issues a warning to Ichigo: if he overuses his Hollow powers, they will ultimately consume him. As Kokutō leads the group to the second level, they find themselves in a conflict with the three Togabito, who reveal their names as Taikon, Garogai and Gunjō.

While Rukia, Renji and Uryū volunteer to hold off the Togabito, Ichigo and Kokuto make their way to the final level of Hell, where Shuren’s lair is located. After Ichigo protects him from a Kushanāda, Kokutō reveals his motivation for assisting Ichigo so vehemently, in which he had a sister like Ichigo, who was killed due to his own weak-mindedness. Kokutō and Ichigo finally arrive at Shuren’s lair, wherein Yuzu is imprisoned inside a cage. He reveals that Togabito never die whilst in Hell, promptly reviving his subordinates in a pool of lava, who proceed to attack Kokutō, whilst Ichigo fights against Shuren.

Kokutō experiences difficulty in fighting against the three opponents, as he is unable to attack them simultaneously. Shuren releases a bolt of fire at the cage containing Yuzu, prompting Kokuto to cut Garogai in half and take the fire blast head on. Kokutō is then stabbed by several of Gunjō's tentacles, as Kokutō throws his sword at Taikon, who proceeds to digest it. However, Kokutō pulls his sword back via his chains, sending Taikon careering into the lava. Kokutō then sacrifices his life to kill Gunjō, both of them falling into the lava. Ichigo dons his Hollow mask, finishing off Shuren with relative ease.

However, as he moves to rescue Yuzu, he is impaled by Kokutō’s blade. Kokutō reveals that he was responsible for the entire debacle, but explains that he was telling the truth about his sister. He removes his bandages, revealing horrific burns across the right side of his body. Kokutō then proceeds to cut down all of Ichigo’s allies easily, much to Ichigo’s dismay. He charges at Kokutō, who informs him that the only way he can defeat him is to harness the extent of his Hollow powers. Kokutō then reveals that his sister has indeed died in Hell, prompting Ichigo to lose control over his Hollow powers, a development which Kokutō is ecstatic about.

He fires off several Cero blasts at Kokutō, shattering the majority of his chains, but before he can finish the job, Renji utilizes the Hell Kidō, sending both Yuzu and Ichigo back into the Human World. Kokutō then screams in dismay as Ichigo leaves to the Human World. When Ichigo returns, Kokutō states that he was just about to travel to the Human World and forcibly bring him back. Kokutō reveals that both Renji and Uryū are dead, and summons Rukia out from a lava pit. Enraged, Ichigo and Kokutō fight against one another, but he finds himself unable to cope with Kokuto’s onslaught. Kokutō states that if he doesn't don his Hollow mask against him, he has no hope of winning.

He eventually succumbs to his inner Hollow, but regains control moments later, with fragments of his Hollow form lingering on his body. The Kushanada begin to accumulate around the area, drawn by Ichigo’s unusual Reiatsu. Kokutō laughs mockingly, proclaiming that the Kushanāda will kill him if he doesn't transform into his Hollow form. As soon as he breaks free from his Hollow’s control, the fist of a Kushanada crushes him. A yellow glow emanates from the contact, as Ichigo is enveloped in the same light. Kokutō believes that he is turning into a Hollow once more, but expresses his surprise when he realizes this is not the case.

Kokutō is shocked at Ichigo's new form, as Ichigo reveals that Kokutō’s sister never longed for revenge. Kokutō is aghast that Hell would actually lend its powers to a mere human, charging at Ichigo. As Kokutō charges at Ichigo, he proclaims that the two of them are the same. Ichigo agrees, launching a golden Getsuga Tenshō at him, proceeding to shatter the last of his chains and destroying his sword. As Kokuto emerges from the blast crater, he proclaims his freedom, just as numerous lengths of chains emerge from the crater made by the attack, proceeding to envelop him and drag him down even further into the bowels of Hell.

Equipment
Curved Sword: Kokutō wields a black sword with a zigzag design at the center of the blade. He can also control his sword directly from his chains, as shown when Taikon swallowed his sword, prompting Kokutō to hurl the Togabito into a nearby lava pit. With this blade, he is also able to unleash a blue energy blast that is capable of completely redirecting Ichigo's Bankai enhanced Getsuga Tenshō attack and overpower him while wielding Tensa Zangetsu, throwing him across a large distance. He can make the sword glow blue and vanish at will.

Chains: Kokutō can manifest the chains that bind him to Hell, and uses the ones attached to his left wrist as a long-ranged weapon, like a whip. In addition, one of the chains connects his sword to his right hand, allowing him to use it for long-ranged attacks. He also at one point manifests the chains to act as a shield against Uryū, Rukia, and Renji's attacks. Kokutō can also use his chains to latch onto an enemy's limbs, and swing them around effortlessly.

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsman: Kokutō has shown during each of his fights to be extremely proficient in combat with this sword, as he is able to slice apart an energy blast from Taikon effortlessly, and cut Garogai in half with relative ease. His skills also allowed him to take on Taikon, Gunjō and Garogai by himself and fight back Ichigo's Bankai-enhanced sword skills with a single hand.

Enhanced Strength: Kokutō is shown to exhibit extreme strength, as seen when was able to take on Ichigo in his Bankai state, and gain the upper hand relatively easily. He is able to effortlessly stop Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshō infused Tensa Zangetsu with his own blade using a single hand.

Enhanced Speed: Kokutō is capable of moving at high speeds, and is able to fend off attacks from both Gunjō and Shuren simultaneously, whilst holding onto Karin. He also uses this speed to take Ichigo's friends by surprise, cutting them all down. His immense speed is demonstrated during his fight with Ichigo, where he nonchalantly appears beside Ichigo, and then immediately evades a point blank slash, before once again appearing behind the Substitute Shinigami, taking him by surprise.

Energy Shield: Kokutō is able to immerse himself in a blue energy shield, which is strong enough to allow the Togabito to emerge unscathed from a point-blank Cero from Ichigo's Hollowfication, minus his chains.

Enhanced Endurance: Kokutō has a high level of endurance, more so than the other Togabito. In addition to being stabbed by multiple tentacles, and being hit by Shuren's flames, Kokutō shrugged them off with little damage. In addition to that, when Ichigo used the powers of Hell in his Skull Clad form to fire a Getsuga Tenshō at him, Kokutō survived with only a cut on his chest.

Great Spiritual Power: Kokuto possesses extreme levels of spiritual energy, able to casually evade and defend against Ichigo's full Hollowfication, and easily overpower Ichigo while using Bankai. Ichigo commented on Kokuto's strength, stating that he was unsure of whether or not he could defeat Kokuto without Hollowfying.

Keen Intellect: Kokutō is a very crafty individual. Highly manipulative, Kokutō was able to deceive Ichigo into believing he was a kind-hearted man to fight alongside him. He was also intuitive enough to deduce that the key to escaping Hell lay in the chains binding him to Hell, and that Ichigo's full Hollow transformation was sufficient enough to achieve such an outcome.

Appearances in Other Media
Kokutō appears in Bleach: Soul Resurrección where he utilizes his sword as well as using his chains in a whip-like fashion. He appears without the black bandages around his face. While he has no role in the story mode, Kokutō appears as a boss in three of the missions in the mission mode. Mission 5 is a solo battle against him, Mission 21 has the player face him and Skull Clad Ichigo together and Mission 28 has the player fight Kokutō along with all the other bosses in the game. In this game, Kokutō can use, where he fires a Getsuga Tenshō-like blast of purple energy at an opponent; , where purple energy surges around Kokutō as he slashes an opponent repeatedly before knocking them back with a shockwave; , where he leaps into the air before slamming into the ground as fire erupts around him; and has , where Kokutō yells as purple fire surges around him, as his Ignition Attack.

Quotes

 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) "My sister was killed. So I set out to kill the guys who did it in return. It felt great for a second. But my dead sister couldn't come back to life. No matter how much I thought of her, my thoughts didn't reach her. That's why... I set out to make everyone know the same pain as me. But why do I have to be sent to Hell for that?"
 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) "Enforcing your will while experiencing everlasting despair. That's what 'hatred' means. The desire for revenge made me strong."
 * "There are times when a person needs to embrace the darkness for the sake of the people they love."