Jin Kariya

is the leader of the remaining Bount. He was originally named, but he adopted a Japanese-style name later in his life.

Appearance
Kariya is a tall, fair-skinned man with a lithe but muscular body. He has crimson eyes with thick black eyebrows that sharply arch upward as they progress outward from his brow with pointed tips that extend off of his face, a flat mouth, and a thin vertical scar on the left side of his chin that widens near the bottom, as well as white hair that is both shaggy and neatly cropped short as it flares upward and outward, with a horn-like tip sticking out on either side of his head. Kariya wears an asymmetrically-designed dress shirt: the right half and the left sleeve and breast are red, but the flared collar and the left half of the torso are black, with the black portion of the left side rising diagonally at the front to terminate near Kariya's collar and doing so near his shoulder blades at the back; over this, he wears an orange tie whose end is completely flat instead of pointed. After his battle against Yoshino Sōma and while researching Dolls with Ugaki, Kariya dons a variant of this shirt where the non-black portions are instead gray, substituting a red tie with the same flat end as the orange one. Over this, Kariya wears a predominantly dark blue, ankle-length coat with the cuffs, upper strips of the sleeves, lapels, collar, and shoulders instead being light brown, as well as dark brown-red pants with a zipper at the front and black dress shoes. The crest of his Doll is his own body, with the Bount emblem being emblazoned primarily on the left side of his torso and stretching over his deltoids with two flowing lines on either side to terminate in points behind his shoulders.

As a young boy, prior to merging with his Doll, Kariya, then known as Eugene, had large dark blue eyes with normal brown eyebrows, a small mouth and nose, and shaggy brown hair. He wore a pale green hooded robe with black cuffs and a light-brown middle section, as well as black sandals; his eyes turned red and his hair turned white after gaining Messer. As a young adult, his hair was flowing and shoulder-length with two short antenna-like strands above his forehead, and he wore a puffy lilac shirt fastened at the front by several ties with flat, cylindrical forearm sections, as well as brown pants stuffed into kneecap-length socks, which persisted through his marriage to Yoshino Sōma. While having Cain mentored, Kariya already had his hair cut short, wearing a white dress shirt with a dark red tie under a pale lilac vest and a black suit with brown gloves.

Personality
Kariya is a calm and self-assured man whose confident demeanor rarely ever falters, even when facing powerful opposition,    dealing with unexpected or unwanted developments,    or knowing that he is about to die, with his absolute conviction in himself and his worldview informing all of his decisions no matter how extreme   and leading him to never change his mind about his course of action no matter what is presented to him,  only ever wavering or expressing true shock when dealing with Yoshino Sōma or Ran'Tao. At the same time, he knows the limits of his own power and rarely underestimates the strength of others.

However, though he generally puts on a charismatic air of affableness and geniality without overt aggression when speaking to others, even in the middle of combat,    Kariya has an undercurrent of hatred and anger that often rises to the surface; as noted by Gō Koga, he is as kind as he is cruel, and Ran'Tao observes that he is more emotional than he looks and more short-tempered than he sounds. This wrathful side of Kariya emerges when someone disagrees with his vision and plan for the Bount, when faced with Ran'Tao, whom he believes is responsible for all the suffering of him and his tribe, when someone acts as though they understand him, and when faced with an opponent who either insists on trying to change his mind or refuses to accept his worldview. This friendliness was not always a façade: Kariya was genuinely cheerful as a child, and even after Soul Society turned on his tribe, he was still compassionate toward his fellow Bount, but centuries of tragedies, hardship, and suffering drastically embittered Kariya to the point of cynical, bitter jadedness.

In line with his underlying anger, when dropping the pretense of reasonability and restraint, Kariya displays great bloodthirst, ruthlessness, and sociopathy; he has no qualms about consuming living Human Souls, being one of the few Bount to do so, and is enraptured by the process to the point of resembling a feral beast. This darker side of Kariya first emerged after he merged with Messer and slaughtered the Hollows attacking him and his fellow Bount, only intensifying over time, and extends to his allies, whom he is more than willing to sacrifice or kill when he feels they are no longer useful or when they firmly disagree with his plan. He will unhesitatingly attack those who are already incapacitated and no threat to him just to demonstrate how much he looks down upon them and once got into a fight with an entire gambling hall of Kusajishi denizens who stood no chance against him just to have some fun. In order to lure out Byakuya Kuchiki to test his power, Kariya had Yoshi brutally assault Rukia Kuchiki, knowing her suffering would drive Byakuya to seek revenge and not caring about the pain inflicted upon her. Though Ran'Tao once saved his life at great personal risk and expense, Kariya holds nothing but contempt for her and repeatedly attempted to kill Ran'Tao when she tried to appeal to him, refusing to accept that she had tried to help him and had nothing to do with his subsequent torment. He also cannot comprehend the idea of caring about the wellbeing or fate of someone who is an enemy.

Likewise, Kariya is incredibly arrogant and brazen; when confronted about how he was violating the sole law of the Bount tribe against consuming living Souls, Kariya simply proclaimed that he was the new law of the tribe, and when seeking to test his Bitto-enhanced power, Kariya provoked Byakuya, whom he knew to be one of the most powerful captains in the history of the Gotei 13, simply because he felt the latter would be a fitting challenge that he could overcome and elected to fight him completely barehanded. During his final battle against Ichigo Kurosaki, Kariya moved the battle to Sōkyoku Hill solely because he believed the location would be a fitting place to end his campaign with its history in Soul Society. With this arrogance, Kariya is obsessed with attaining great power at any cost, both because he believes that he deserves it and because he views it as the best way to achieve his goals,    and will not heed or even acknowledge any proposals to use that power to an end other than destroying Soul Society. He also staunchly believes that people naturally hate those who are superior to themselves, due to this, he could not fathom Ichigo protecting those weaker than he is simply because they were his friends.

Additionally, Kariya is an intelligent and analytical man who is both predictive and manipulative of others; he frequently tricks both allies and enemies into furthering his goals by faking weakness, mistakes, or mercy  while planning his next moves around anticipated actions taken by those around him that he is sure will come to pass and always do, due to his keen understanding of others. He is often philosophical when expressing his outlook on life,   most commonly when ruminating on the Bount      and the nature of conflict. Kariya frequently uses his literal view of the world as a metaphor to express his feelings on it, such as considering Karakura Town to look most beautiful at night due to being covered in darkness, believing that the world looks more colorful instead of ashen gray as his plan begins to progress, and believing that Ichigo would not be able to color his world at his current level of strength; though he once had an appreciation for the actual beauty of the Human World as well, Kariya became disillusioned with it and only regained this point of view upon entering Soul Society, where he felt free for the first time in his life and frequently commented on how nice each day felt or simply smiled up at the clear sky.

Regarding the Bount, Kariya once cared for his tribe, even as they pushed him away due to his violent and extreme tendencies, and did his best to nurture young and inexperienced members into potential comrades by having Koga mentor them, believing in their tribe's glory, but following repeated massacres of the Bount and his tribe not heeding his advice to establish a civilization in the Human World, Kariya grew bitter and spiteful toward them, eventually considering all the ones who had died to have been too weak to stand alongside him anyway. In the present, he is highly cynical about both the potential and future of the Bount, but still elects himself the leader of the few remaining members of his tribe, whom he claims he will lead out of the shadows of history. However, while genuinely pained by the death and suffering his fellow Bount have experienced over centuries of oppression and indignity,  Kariya merely uses this as a pretext for his genocidal plan and to motivate the remaining Bount into following him: he is amused to the point of maniacal laughter by Hō and Ban dying in the process of carrying out his orders, violently silences any opposition to his methods, sends the other Bount out to achieve lesser goals while he stays behind or works elsewhere instead of providing support, and ultimately considers all of them to be completely disposable pawns, not grieving their deaths in pursuit of his endgame and even admitting that he believes they should all end up dead and erased from history.

Despite this, Kariya does have a more vulnerable and Human side; when waiting for Yoshino to return to his mansion, rather than focusing on the fight ahead or his larger plan, Kariya instead elected to fix a broken grandfather clock he found in the wreckage and used it as a metaphor for the plight of the Bount, only resolving to go through with sacrificing Yoshino for his plan after repairing the clock and speaking with Koga and Maki Ichinose about the situation. He also enjoys gambling and smoking, and is attached to his regular shirt-and-coat outfit. When facing opponents who have impressed him with their strength and tenacity, Kariya is more than willing to make them offers to avoid further fighting, such as consuming their Soul so they can experience everlasting glory alongside him or permitting them to fight alongside him as equals. Kariya is genuinely friendly with Uryū Ishida due to the Quincy suffering persecution by the Shinigami like the Bount did and believes they are destined to walk the same path; however, though willing to let Uryū change his mind on his own instead of forcing him to do so and genuinely grateful when Uryū ends up helping the Bount enter Soul Society, Kariya is not above mocking him for his powerlessness rendering him useless to the Bount and his friends and genuinely cannot comprehend why Uryū would ever side with the Shinigami instead of the Bount. He also has some measure of mercy underneath his ruthlessness: when declaring that the Bount no longer needed the residents of Kusajishi, Kariya was willing to let them leave unscathed and only attacked them when they attempted to assault him in outrage, and when Koga turned on him after learning of his true intentions, Kariya merely incapacitated him with a wound Koga could heal with Reishi instead of killing him outright out of gratitude for Koga staying by his side for so long. Additionally, he is willing to explain his plan and intentions to those whom he believes are about to die solely so they do not do so uninformed.

Kariya's relationship with his former wife Yoshino is highly tense and troubled: when the two first met during Yoshino's suicide attempt, Kariya truly cared about Yoshino and promised her that his love was endless, but over time this faded in sincerity as his darker side and instincts intensified, culminating in Yoshino abandoning him upon witnessing Kariya ferally consuming a man's Soul. While Kariya still cares about Yoshino's wellbeing, he only does so due to her maternal Reiryoku being crucial to his plan and has no qualms about harming and imprisoning her when Yoshino's actions irritate him. Though he was uncertain about doing so at first, Kariya fought and eventually sacrificed Yoshino to create the Bitto, making it clear in the end that he only saw her as a means to an end.

Kariya holds Ichinose as his right-hand man and places a great deal of trust in the latter,  often praising him for his competence  and treating Ichinose like an equal by consulting him about philosophical matters and the Bount under Kariya's leadership, even trusting Ichinose implicitly to protect him and act in his stead. This relationship began back when Kariya and Koga saved Ichinose from a Hollow he was protecting the Plus of a young boy from, with Kariya being impressed by Ichinose's resolve and assuring the latter that his weakness was not to be ashamed of. However, this relationship began to fray when Ichinose caught up to Kariya during his fight with Ichigo, where Kariya callously informed him that all of the other Bount were dead and refused to heed Ichinose's warning that using the power of the Jōkaishō for destruction would not solve anything, ultimately turning on Ichinose and brutally killing him before claiming that he was only ever a pawn.

Despite Ichinose being his confidante, Kariya is closest to Koga, whom he has known for centuries and entrusted Cain to for mentorship; prior to this, the two believed that Bount should live alone and independently, but his tragic passing led them to decide that the sadness of their existence was too painful for Bount to bear in isolation. Though he has been with Koga ever since and is considerably forgiving of and trusting in him, Kariya does not always listen to Koga and or fully inform him of the current stage of their plan. Eventually, Kariya revealed his complete lack of empathy for the rest of the Bount and his intention to destroy all of existence to Koga, and when the latter turned on him over this, Kariya simply incapacitated him and left out of gratitude for how much Koga had assisted him over the years, though he refused to even consider Koga's proposition that he use his newfound power for something constructive and instead mocked it as him being unusually serious.

Though Ichigo originally had nothing to do with his plan and he only knew of the former as an acquaintance of Uryū's, Kariya began developing an interest in Ichigo after watching him fight and witnessing his considerable power, though he was disappointed when Ichigo failed to match him in combat and decided that Ichigo would not bring color to his world. However, even though he was further unimpressed by Ichigo during their second battle and saw him only as someone to test his Bitto-enhanced power on, Kariya was astonished when Ichigo proved his equal in combat while using Tensa Zangetsu and welcomed him to follow the Bount to Soul Society. This continued into their third encounter, where Kariya was further enamored by Ichigo's raw power and speed, and their fourth fight, where Kariya saw that Ichigo had grown strong enough to counter his techniques, culminating in their fifth and climactic battle where Ichigo became the first person Kariya ever fully and honestly explained his worldview to in an attempt to make Ichigo understand him, only to be confused and angered when Ichigo refused to accept or agree with Kariya's actions. Out of respect for Ichigo's tenacity and resolve, as well as understanding that they were more similar than either of them would willingly admit, Kariya allowed him to win their final clash and expressed genuine regret at not being able to see whether Ichigo would walk down the same path he did, even trying to tell Ichigo something heartfelt before being cut off by his body turning to ashes.

In combat, Kariya is brutal, remorseless, and cruel; he enjoys utterly overwhelming opponents   and flaunting his great physical strength in order to prove himself superior. He also has a notable sadistic streak, demonstrated when he decided that it would be most fitting to kill Ichigo with his partner and the source of his power, Zangetsu. Kariya constantly seeks genuine challenges to his might, both to test himself and to inspire fear in others by triumphing. While aware of his physical limits, Kariya also prides himself on his extensive lifespan giving him the fighting skills necessary to overcome those with attributes he cannot otherwise match, such as Ichigo's hyperspeed when using Bankai. In line with this, Kariya considers the power of his Doll, Messer, to be virtually invincible and unlimited, since it uses the most common resource in existence to fight and is difficult to even perceive when attacking; however, he is also overconfident in its ability to defend him in tandem with his own tactics and was surprised when both Ichigo and Byakuya managed to push through his defense and injure him. He also prefers to keep Messer unsummoned when in combat,  only properly manifesting it to opponents he considers truly worthy of being defeated by its full power. When it comes to his opponents, Kariya is generally amused by their strategies and powers,    but will readily admit when he is impressed by a sufficient display of might. Conversely, Kariya becomes even more aggressive and patronizing than usual if a foe disappoints him by not living up to his expectations.

Ultimately, while he claims to desire revenge against Soul Society and Shinigami for creating and oppressing the Bount, to the point of wishing to strike terror into the hearts of the Seireitei's residents,  and refuses to compromise on his goal of obliterating all of them along with every living being in existence,   after centuries of witnessing and experiencing suffering, torment, abuse, poverty, and the existence of his tribe only ever degrading and growing worse, Kariya simply wishes to die, firmly believing that he has been cursed by being born a Bount and that he was the only sane man in a completely crazy world, and the true goal of his complex plan to acquire power and invade the Seireitei was to be killed in combat by someone who both understood his plight and was strong enough to face him at full power; to this end, he eventually let Ichigo kill him before he could unleash the power of the Jōkaishō and was at peace in his final moments.

History
Eugene Currier was born over a thousand years ago and was recognized as a rarity among the Bount due to his powers awakening while he was still a child. At some point, Eugene joined the rest of his tribe in a cave system on the outskirts of what would become Karakura Town at the behest of Ran'Tao, who discussed Eugene being the hope of the Bount with him and encouraged him to do his best. After seeing Ran'Tao promise to place the Bount under Soul Society's protection, Eugene was content to help build a city in the caves with his tribe, but was horrified when Shinigami invaded and began slaughtering the Bount under the false pretense of them resisting arrest.

Rescued from the massacre by Ran'Tao, who gave him an amulet to fully awaken his powers with and bought time for him to escape with the other surviving Bount, Eugene joined the latter in roaming as a nomadic group and was eventually attacked by a group of Hollows. Wounded by one of them, a frightened Eugene inadvertently activated the amulet, which summoned and bonded him to Messer, causing his hair to turn white and his eyes to turn red. An enraged Eugene joined the Dolls of his fellow Bount in wiping out the remaining Hollows and remained with his tribe, who were unsettled by his new violent tendencies and began to drift away from him as he grew older.

Eventually, the other Bount he was residing with decided that they had no place in the Human World and attempted to return to Soul Society. Despite Eugene's protests, the Bount attempted to enlist the help of the Quincy and ended up going to war with them, only to be massacred once again when the Shinigami exploited the opportunity to slaughter them once more. In the aftermath, a disillusioned Eugene both swore vengeance on the Shinigami and disavowed the deceased Bount as being too weak to live. Following this, Eugene found Yoshino Sōma preparing to commit suicide in an abandoned church and took her as his wife, promising that their love would be deep, limitless, and eternal.

Though Eugene lived happily with Yoshino for a time, this came to an end when Yoshino witnessed him ferally consuming the Soul of an innocent and living Human, causing her to abandon him. Eventually, Eugene took the name Jin Kariya and began enacting his plan of vengeance against the Shinigami by going into hiding with Ugaki, whom he researched Doll-summoning with in order to empower the Bount who could not naturally summon Dolls of their own. Through this, Kariya devised the Zauberspruch für die Ladung, a complex ritual for creating and bonding with a Doll, and wrote the detailed instructions down in a book to be used by others.

Some time after this, Kariya brought Cain to Gō Koga, whom he asked to take Cain on as an apprentice in order to shape him into a proper Bount and gave the book containing the Zauberspruch für die Ladung instructions before leaving. Following Cain's death as a result of prematurely summoning Waineton and being found wanting by her, Kariya traveled to the memorial that Koga constructed for Cain and wept alongside him at the loss of a comrade, with the two of them deciding to live together from that point onward in contrast to the general solitary nature of the Bount due to the crushing sadness of their existence being too much for each of them to bear in isolation.

Centuries later, Kariya and Koga encountered Maki Ichinose, who was defending a young Plus from a Hollow in a desert area. With Ichinose disarmed and facing imminent death, Kariya stopped the Hollow attacking him with a single finger to the latter's forehead, astonishing both of them, and returned Ichinose's Zanpakutō to him so he could finish the battle. Upon learning that Ichinose had abandoned Soul Society and lacked confidence in his own strength, Kariya assured him that he did not need to be ashamed of weakness which he could not rid himself of and invited Ichinose to come with him, which an impressed Ichinose agreed to do.

Bount arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material. One night in Karakura Town, Kariya has Ryō Utagawa retrieve Yoshino Sōma when she goes into town to consume living Souls and has her brought to an abandoned skyscraper, where Kariya muses on the Bount perpetually living in the shadows and affectionately inquires about Yoshino's wellbeing after noticing bruises inflicted by Utagawa, only to be rebuffed by an irate Yoshino. Claiming that Yoshino's weakness and foolishness force him to protect her, Kariya has her locked in a storage room on the first floor of the skyscraper, but is simply amused when she breaks out the next day with the aid of her Doll, Goethe, and asserts that Karakura Town looks better at night.

That night, upon learning that an injured Uryū Ishida was taken to Karakura Hospital, Kariya sends Hō and Ban to retrieve him and summons all the remaining Bount to the Bount Mansion, where he soon learns of Hō and Ban's demise and is greatly amused by it. Kariya proceeds to promise the assembled Bount that he will lead them out of the shadows of history and that they will need to capture Uryū in order to gain the power required for this. The following night, Kariya sends Gō Koga to track down and retrieve Yoshino and Uryū. When Utagawa informs him of Uryū's arrival at the mansion, Kariya decides to greet him personally.

Sitting down with Uryū in the main hall along with the other Bount, Kariya requests that Uryū lend him his Quincy power and is briefly taken aback when Uryū accuses him of wanting the power of Hueco Mundo. After composing himself, Kariya explains that he feels a kinship with Uryū due to both of them being rejected for their unique abilities and offers to restore his lost Quincy powers if he agrees to help them, and when Uryū refuses, Kariya accepts this due to him having forever to wait for Uryū to change his mind prior to having Uryū taken to a bedroom elsewhere in the mansion while he stays in the hall to greet Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends when they break in.

Expressing knowledge of both Ichigo and Rukia Kuchiki, Kariya is bemused by Ichigo's declaration that he will rescue Uryū and watches as Utagawa confronts Ichigo and explains that all the Bount fight alone. At Utagawa's prompting, Kariya lays down what Utagawa believes to be his crest in order to assure Ichigo that none of the other Bount will interfere in this fight and watches Ichigo's following fight with Utagawa, with him being shocked by the Getsuga Tenshō Ichigo unleashes that rips through his mansion. In the aftermath, Utagawa attempts to depose Kariya by taking his fake crest, but an unfazed Kariya reveals that he did not remove his crest when he repels Utagawa's Doll, Fried.

Though Maki Ichinose intervenes to execute Utagawa and begins fighting Ichigo himself, Kariya steps in partway through to handle the situation himself and offers to consume Ichigo's Soul so the latter can join him in everlasting glory. Once Ichigo declines this, Kariya dodges his subsequent Getsuga Tenshō and effortlessly overpowers Ichigo with his physical strength alone, at one point holding Ichigo back with just a finger on the latter's forehead. Suddenly, the mansion is attacked by Jinta Hanakari and Ururu Tsumugiya, forcing Kariya and the other Bount to evacuate, but as he watches the mansion burn to the ground, Kariya asserts that a rescued Yoshino and Uryū will return.

That night, Kariya uncovers a broken grandfather clock within the rubble of the mansion and begins repairing it while discussing the plight of the Bount with Koga and Ichinose. When Yoshino returns the next morning to stop him, Kariya begins fighting Goethe and manages to incapacitate him by gripping Yoshino's crest after Uryū joins them before crushing it altogether, causing Goethe to briefly lose control. However, Goethe fuses with Yoshino so she can fight Kariya directly, leading the two of them to rapidly trade blows in the air above the mansion. Ultimately, Kariya fatally wounds Yoshino and uses her maternal Reiryoku to spawn the Bitto.

Two days later, with the Bount having regrouped in the cave system that their tribe formerly inhabited, Kariya reveals that the next stage of their plan revolves around consuming the serum produced by the Bitto, made of concentrated living Souls that will greatly enhance their powers. After demonstrating by drinking a vial himself, Kariya responds to Mabashi protesting that this violates the sole law of the Bount by brutally beating Mabashi down and countering that he is the new law of the Bount. With the others readily drinking the serum and being enraptured by their newfound power, Kariya forces Mabashi to drink it as well prior to learning that the Bitto are being attacked.

Kariya instructs the Bount, other than an unhinged Mabashi, to go out and test their new power by crushing Ichigo and his friends to protect the Bitto. Later that night, Kariya drinks more Bitto serum in his private chamber and discusses Mabashi's departure with Ichinose, whom Kariya assures that there is no reason to be worried about Mabashi's wellbeing so long as he grows stronger from this experience. Soon afterward, Kariya decides to rest and leaves Ichinose to oversee the battles across Karakura Town. The next day, Kariya praises the Bount for doing well with only a small amount of Bitto serum consumed prior to noticing Shinigami entering the caves.

After confirming with Ugaki that Uryū still has not regained his Quincy powers, Kariya has the former move out to intercept and kill the invaders. However, when Ugaki's Doll, Gesell, turns on him and he turns to Kariya for aid, Kariya simply thanks him for his help and abandons Ugaki to his fate. Moments later, Ichigo reaches the central chamber where Kariya and the other Bount are located, which prompts Kariya to engage him in order to test his new strength, though he is disappointed by Ichigo not being able to match him. When Ichigo accuses him of wanting access to Hueco Mundo, a confused Kariya reveals that he instead plans to enter Soul Society, where the Bount were born.

Following his recounting of how the Bount were created in an accident during an experiment conducted by Soul Society, who subsequently tried to erase them from history, Kariya promises to make Soul Society kneel in deference to his new power. However, when Kariya attempts to kill Ichigo with his own Shikai, Zangetsu, he is stunned to see Ichigo take it from him and activate his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, which allows him to fight Kariya evenly for the first time before they are interrupted by Uryū, who arrives with his Quincy powers restored and modifies the Bount Senkaimon so they can enter Soul Society. With Uryū refusing to join him, Kariya enters Soul Society.

Kariya lands in the Rukongai alongside Gō Koga, where they are almost immediately confronted by 2nd Division Lieutenant Marechiyo Ōmaeda, his subordinates, and 7th Division Lieutenant Tetsuzaemon Iba. At Koga's request, Kariya stands aside so the former can test his new level of power, now augmented by the ability to absorb Reishi from the environment, and when Iba is incapacitated by Koga's Doll, Dalk, an unimpressed Kariya uses Messer to blast him through a wall and into a nearby building with enough force to level both. Pleased by Koga's display of power, Kariya elects to depart for a different part of the Rukongai.

The next day, Kariya enters a gambling hall in Kusajishi and joins a game of cards by betting his own life. Upon winning, Kariya swiftly defeats the man he was playing against, prompting Koga and Ichinose to join him in the hall in an effort to defuse the situation, only for a fight to break out against the other gamblers that the three of them quickly win unscathed. In the aftermath, Kariya approaches Tōba, the bookie, and offers to let him join their campaign to turn Soul Society upside-down. That night, with Tōba setting them up in a cottage, Kariya senses 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki approaching and leaves to confront him miles away in the forest.

As he and Byakuya begin fighting, Kariya reveals that he had Yoshi attack and severely injure Rukia Kuchiki earlier that day solely to draw out Byakuya, whom he wants to defeat both to test his own abilities and to shock the residents of the Seireitei. Despite this, Kariya finds himself evenly matched against Byakuya's Shikai, Senbonzakura, and begins to intensify the battle with his own techniques. Suddenly, Ichigo interrupts the clash with a Getsuga Tenshō, and after healing his wounds by absorbing Reishi, Kariya begins fighting Ichigo instead, but Byakuya uses his own Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, to separate them and threatens Ichigo, to Kariya's intrigue.

Kariya continues fiercely clashing with both Ichigo and Byakuya, the former of whom he keeps up with using his centuries of combat experience and the latter of whom he is surprised to see overpower his Wind Barrier. However, the battle is interrupted again when Ran'Tao arrives in a bright pillar of energy and identifies herself, leaving Kariya shocked and furious at the creator of the Bount standing before him. With Ichigo proving able to push through his defensive barriers, Kariya is given an opportunity to flee by Koga and Dalk. Following this, Kariya returns to the cottage with Koga, where he is pleased to find hundreds of Kusajishi denizens assembled by Tōba waiting for him.

While the villagers get to work cutting down trees and assembling them into massive siege engines, Kariya learns from Ichinose that Shinigami are approaching their camp and permits him to stay behind and deal with them while Sawatari's Doll, Baura, transports the engines to the Seireiheki, where the villagers succeed in opening the White Road Gate. Suddenly, Kariya informs them that he no longer has any use for them, and when the furious villagers attack him, Kariya blasts them away with Messer and instructs Koga and Sawatari to begin dispatching the captains around the Seireitei while he seeks out the Jōkaishō.

Later that day, Kariya reaches the Shinigami Research and Development Institute and forcefully breaks into it in search of the Jōkaishō, eventually finding a nondescript room filled with empty storage units. Having followed him inside, Ichigo and Yasutora Sado begin clashing with Kariya, eventually culminating in a Getsuga Tenshō from Ichigo and a Wind Licht Schneide from Kariya that destroy part of the floor, exposing the Jōkaishō below. After absorbing the power of the Jōkaishō with an incantation, Kariya proclaims that he now has the power to destroy the entire Seireitei and claims that he will give them one day to tremble in fear before leaving.

Soon afterward, Kariya meets up with Koga, who is surprised by the existence of something like the Jōkaishō and mortified by Kariya's plan to use it to destroy everything. Despite Koga's pleas for him to use this power for something constructive, a nonplussed Kariya shoves his hand through Koga's abdomen, thanks him for his centuries of support, and leaves. The next morning, Kariya is confronted by Ran'Tao, who attempts to convince him that Soul Society is no longer filled with Shinigami who hate the Bount and that he can still be saved, only for Kariya to assert that this does not matter and ignore the fact that Ran'Tao saved his life before as he aggressively attacks her.

However, before Kariya can kill Ran'Tao, Uryū intervenes with a new method of using the Quincy Bangle that does not stress it in combat. While Kariya is dismissive of what Uryū can do in this state, he is astonished by Uryū's mastery of the Quincy Bangle and injured several times by his Heilig Pfeil, though he simply heals himself each time with Reishi. When Kariya begins to adapt to and overpower Uryū, Ran'Tao uses a second Bount amulet to channel the power of the Jōkaishō into her body, allowing her to briefly restrain Kariya and give Uryū an opening to kill him, only for Uryū to hold back for her safety. Surviving this as he vows to kill them, Kariya is confronted by Ichigo.

With Ichigo immediately activating Tensa Zangetsu, Kariya eagerly begins fighting him across the Seireitei and eventually moves up to Sōkyoku Hill, which he claims will be the perfect place to end his campaign. Suddenly, a heavily wounded Ichinose appears and briefly clashes with Ichigo in Kariya's place. After learning from Kariya that all of the other Bount are dead, Ichinose turns on him and requests that Kariya use his new power to rebuild the Seireitei instead of seeking revenge, but Kariya declines to do so and brutally kills Ichinose, whom he asserts was only ever a pawn to him like the Bount were, prior to fully summoning Messer and continuing his fight with Ichigo.

Once Ichigo deduces the reactive nature of his battle strategy, Kariya activates the Lightning Blade of Messer and uses to severely injure Ichigo, whom he finally explains his nihilistic worldview to. After Ichigo's inner Hollow briefly seizes control of Ichigo's body and injures him with a point-blank Getsuga Tenshō, Kariya discovers that Ran'Tao has prevented him from absorbing Reishi, and with his Reiryoku dwindling, Kariya decides to use the power of the Jōkaishō instead until it fully activates within him. Despite this, Kariya allows Ichigo to lethally wound him in their final clash and expresses regret that he will not see what path Ichigo walks before turning to ashes.

Equipment
Knife: Kariya carries a small knife with a brown handle and a curving, cleaver-like blade that flips out from within the handle to lock into place. The blade is sharp enough to embed itself in thick wood when thrown with sufficient force.

Tin: Kariya carries an ornate silver cigar tin emblazoned with the Bount emblem surrounded by inward-curving, downward-pointing arrows with symmetrical flower-like designs in each of the four corners of the lid an an embossed edge with multiple inward protrusions and studs lining it. He uses this as a decoy Doll crest in order to disguise the fact that his real crest is his own body.

Powers & Abilities
Immense Spiritual Power: As a result of merging with his Doll and later consuming Bitto serum, Kariya possesses an incredibly formidable amount of Reiryoku, demonstrated during his clashes with Ichigo Kurosaki where he consistently and easily overpowered the latter while Ichigo was using his Shikai and fought completely evenly against Ichigo's Reiryoku- and Reiatsu-bolstering Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu;     with Messer properly summoned and his full power unleashed, Kariya even managed to overwhelm Ichigo's Bankai as well, only losing when he allowed Ichigo to kill him. He also matched 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, renowned for his intensely strong Reiryoku and Reiatsu, during their lengthy duel and utterly brutalized Mabashi, a fellow Bount, with all of the other Bount present agreeing in the aftermath that none of them were strong enough to take Kariya's place as leader of their tribe. Kariya's Reiatsu was originally red, but after he consumed Bitto serum, it turned a light teal, though when he used the power of the Jōkaishō to fuel his attacks instead of his own Reiryoku, it turned red once more; Kariya is skilled enough in controlling it to use it as a barrier in order to reduce or outright negate the damage of attacks, with the intensity of his concentrated Reiatsu shredding some of his clothing in the process.

Reishi Absorption: Like all Bount, Kariya can absorb Reishi in his vicinity; though nearly useless in the Human World world due to its low concentration of Reishi in the atmosphere, this ability is immensely strengthened in Soul Society where everything is composed of Reishi. By absorbing Reishi, Kariya can heal all physical damage to his body and clothing, which breaks down the structures that the Reishi is absorbed from in the process,   but after Ran'Tao stabs him in a certain area on his left side, Kariya eventually loses the ability to absorb Reishi altogether.

Enhanced Strength: As a result of merging with his Doll and later consuming Bitto serum, Kariya possesses prodigious physical strength. He can effortlessly send full-grown men flying with simple punches, kicks, and flicks of his fingers and with enough force to crater solid rock    and leap to great heights and across great distances without exertion, as well as run on walls, push aside energy attacks like Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshō mid-flight, and break off large chunks of solid stone by simply stomping his foot against it. A favored technique of his is to prevent an opponent from closing the gap between them or even moving by simply pressing his index finger against their forehead, robbing them of all momentum by stalwartly forcing them to stay still, and he can also shove his hand completely into and through an opponent's abdomen without visible effort,  even to someone as durable as Gō Koga.

Immense Speed: As a result of merging with his Doll and later consuming Bitto serum, Kariya can move at superhuman speeds, allowing him to keep up with the hyperspeed movement granted to Ichigo by Tensa Zangetsu     and Byakuya, a renowned Shunpo master, though he admits that he is not quite as fast as the former and relies on his combat instincts to close the gap. He can also cross considerable distance in an instant, similar to Shunpo. When using the power of the Jōkaishō, Kariya even managed to surpass a Tensa Zangetsu-enhanced Ichigo in speed and maneuverability.

Enhanced Durability: As a result of merging with his Doll and later consuming Bitto serum, Kariya's body is highly durable; when subjected to a powerful and explosive blast of fire from Yoshino Sōma's Doll, Goethe, Kariya was left completely unharmed by the searing flames. When fighting Ichigo for the second time, Kariya not only blocked a strike from Zangetsu with his forearm without injury, but deflected a Getsuga Tenshō and clashed with the sword of Tensa Zangetsu multiple times using only his unprotected hands, which remained unscathed as well. When hit at point-blank range by a Bankai-enhanced Getsuga Tenshō from Ichigo's inner Hollow, Kariya suffered only a large cut across his chest.

Enhanced Endurance: As a result of merging with his Doll and later consuming Bitto serum, Kariya is an enduring combatant: after fighting Ichigo for the first time, he stayed up all night without sleep or rest and fought Yoshino the next day without any sign of fatigue. During his final battle with Ichigo, even after losing the ability to heal his injuries with Reishi and sustaining significant wounds, as well as using up most of his Reiryoku, Kariya continued fighting Ichigo evenly and simply used the energy of the Jōkaishō as a substitute power source without issue.

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: With centuries of combat experience, Kariya is an extremely capable and dangerous close-range fighter who can easily match and overwhelm experienced sword-wielding opponents with just his bare hands,    to the point of being able to effectively counter opponents who are faster than he is with skill and reflex alone. According to Ichigo, Kariya's fighting style revolves around performing counterattacks aimed at the openings left by enemies when they attack.

Expert Swordsman: While generally relying on hand-to-hand combat, Kariya demonstrates great skill when using the wind and lightning blades of Messer, allowing him to fight evenly against Ichigo, an unofficial master of Zanjutsu himself.

Keen Intellect: Having studied the various facets of the world for centuries for the sake of his revenge plot, Kariya is very knowledgeable about Shinigami and the history of the Seireitei, as well as the circumstances of the accident that created the Bount and the unique nature of Ichigo's Bankai. He is also an accomplished scientist: together with Ugaki, Kariya devised a method to allow Bount to manually summon and create their own Dolls, something previously only available to those born with the innate talent to do so.


 * Bount Spell Master: Alongside Koga, Kariya is one of only two Bount knowledgeable enough to perform the potent spells of their tribe. With this knowledge and the space-altering power granted to him by consuming living Souls, Kariya not only created the Bitto from thin air using only Yoshino's maternal Reiryoku, but fully absorbed the power of a Jōkaishō into his body with enough control to use it at will.

Expert Strategist: As the leader of the Bount and with centuries of combat experience, Kariya is a highly resourceful, cunning, and manipulative man who frequently tricks both allies and enemies into furthering his goals by faking weakness, mistakes, or mercy  while planning his next moves around anticipated actions taken by those around him that he is sure will come to pass and always do, due to his insightful understanding of others.

Doll
is Kariya's Doll and is uniquely merged with his physical body due to being summoned with Ran'Tao's Bount amulet; as a result, its crest appears on the left side of Kariya's chest instead of an inanimate object and it does not possess any sentience, will, or personality of its own, as well as not needing to be properly summoned in order for Kariya to use its abilities. The fully-manifested Messer takes the form of a large, metallic pata sword hilt encasing Kariya's right hand and partially resembling the Bount emblem.


 * Wind Manipulation: The primary ability of Messer is manipulation of the air around Kariya; while partially summoned, Messer can lift and throw full-grown men with great force, form condensed and swirling wind currents around Kariya's hands and arms for both offense and defense,  destabilize wooden structures to the point of collapse with a continuous gale, and create powerful gusts of wind that can blast through stone walls and transform into miniature tornadoes. When fully summoned, Messer can create a long, thin, and pointed blade of wind durable enough to clash evenly with the sword of Tensa Zangetsu.


 * Wind Barrier: Kariya can create a spherical wind barrier around his body to shield himself from attacks: this barrier is highly durable, having withstood attacks from Byakuya Kuchiki's Senbonzakura and Ichigo Kurosaki's Tensa Zangetsu, but can be pushed though to harm Kariya directly with sufficient force or angles of attack. (Unnamed)


 * Kariya summons four medium-sized tornadoes that converge onto his opponent to create a single large tornado, lifting them high into the air with great velocity and rotation.


 * Kariya fires a strong and slim condensed blast of wind with sufficient power and force to cancel out a Bankai-enhanced Getsuga Tenshō.


 * Lightning Blade: By generating static electricity through atmospheric friction, Kariya can form a powerful blade comprised entirely of lightning that can both hit opponents with lightning strikes from a distance and serve as a physical weapon durable enough to clash with the sword of Tensa Zangetsu. (Unnamed)


 * Energy Barrier: Due to being fused with Messer, Kariya can also project a red energy barrier in front of his hand that can repel other Dolls.

Appearance in Other Media

 * Kariya has a Bleach Beat Collection Second Session album where his Japanese voice actor, Toru Ōkawa, performs a song titled "Looking For..." He shares the album with the Mod-Souls - Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba.
 * Kariya features in the second volume of Bleach "B" Station's second season.

Trivia

 * Kariya was designed by Tite Kubo.
 * The speech delivered by Kariya to the Bount in episode 74 closely mirrors the poem about the Bount in the liner notes of "TV Animation Bleach Official Soundtrack 2".

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