Muramasa (Zanpakutō spirit)

is a mysterious Zanpakutō spirit who has the power to release other Zanpakutō spirits from their owners, and is the chief antagonist of the anime-exclusive Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc.

Character Outline
Muramasa is a soft-spoken man with messy, dark brown hair, as well as pale skin and dark purple marks surrounding his eyes. He wears a long, white coat, with a thick, light purple, fur collar, and has extremely long nails. He has yet to elaborate on his powers that allowed him to "free" a Zanpakutō's instincts and spirits from what he calls their "prison". As the arc progresses it seems as though the more frequently he uses his powers, the more is exerted from him and causes his eyes to run tears of blood. In later stages, his eyes have glassed over, filled with blood completely.

When he comes face-to-face with Ichigo Kurosaki for the first time, he identifies himself as a Zanpakutō. He claims to have killed his former Shinigami partner long ago, but it was a lie as it was revealed that his master was sealed away in Karakura Town. Muramasa has also shown himself to be a very mysterious person, as his supposed agendas seem to only hide a deeper goal that not even his allies are aware of.

Synopsis
Muramasa is first seen after arriving in a dark cave surrounded by the Zanpakutō spirits released thus far of the Gotei 13 captains and their lieutenants. When Haineko approaches him and asks him if they could leave that place, he tells her that they are waiting for the rest of their comrades to be free, and proceeds to introduce a new member in their ranks. After the captains, lieutenants and other Shinigami of the Gotei 13 are summoned by Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, Muramasa appears and tells the Shinigami who have gathered at the Sōkyoku Hill that their captain-commander will not be attending and that their spirits are now free of them. After a small confrontation with the gathered Shinigami, he summons a katana and stabs the ground with it, creating purplish flames of energy that erupts and causes the peak of Sōkyoku Hill to rise.

After Ichigo's brief fight with Sode no Shirayuki, Muramasa appears to stop her from reuniting with Rukia and startles Ichigo with his reiatsu showing he is very powerful. It is then revealed that he, too, is a Zanpakutō spirit. He explained that his goal is to free all Zanpakutō from their "enslavement" of Shinigami. Angered by Muramasa's attempt at justifying himself, Ichigo quickly engaged him in battle. While initially the battle was evenly matched, Muramasa used his powers to release Zangetsu from Ichigo's being, who quickly took over the battle for Muramasa.

Muramasa was surprised when Ichigo's inner hollow took advantage of Ichigo's weakened state and lack of Zangetsu's influence. Although the inner hollow proved too powerful for Zangetsu to handle, Ichigo soon took control again and returned to his normal form. As Ichigo fell unconscious, Muramasa began wondering about Ichigo. Deciding to investigate, Muramasa, being a Zanpakutō, used his abilities to enter Ichigo's inner world. When Ichigo refuses to answer Muramasa's questions about the unique powers that defeated Zangetsu, Muramasa uses his powers to paralyze Ichigo and then forcibly summons Hollow Ichigo. The inner Hollow finds amusement in this development.

As Muramasa noted that Hollow Ichigo's powers aid Ichigo considerably and greatly resemble a Hollow, he asks what he is beyond another side to Ichigo's soul. Hollow Ichigo merely says he is Ichigo's purest instincts. Muramasa decides to "free" the inner Hollow the same way he did with the other Zanpakutō, by forcing them to accept their inner desires. To Muramasa's shock, Hollow Ichigo is completely unaffected by the spell and instead attacks him. Still curious as to what the inner hollow really is, Muramasa is forced into an intense fight. Hollow Ichigo quickly shows himself to be a powerful and equally intense fighter, forcing Muramasa on the defensive.

After realizing that Hollow Ichigo was out of his power to control, he instead decides to destroy him with assistance from his invisible powers. Before he could strike down the bound hollow, Ichigo breaks free from his binding and saves his hollow half, greatly shocking Muramasa. When Muramasa asks why a Shinigami would protect a hollow, Ichigo merely states that he is not a Shinigami, but a human. Muramasa is then given an even greater surprise when Ichigo forces Muramasa out of his inner world through sheer spiritual pressure. Back outside of Ichigo's soul, Ichigo swears to get Zangetsu back.

Before Ichigo could attack Muramasa, Zangetsu reappears and intervenes. After Ichigo is able to defeat Zangetsu, Muramasa voices his surprise at Ichigo's resolve to fight his partner. Ichigo explains he did this to honor his partner and their bond. Suddenly, Muramasa becomes immensely ill and transparent, making him retreat. While alone, Muramasa says to himself, Ichigo may be something of importance. He then resolves to capture Ichigo by any means necessary to use Ichigo's unique powers. Later, he appears to be limping through what appears to be the Forest of Menos in Hueco Mundo, killing several Gillian-class Menos. After killing a Hollow, he is seen killing and absorbing another Hollow that he deemed to be sufficiently powerful. Muramasa is later seen coming out of what appears to be a Garganta, where he starts coughing and states that he is not used to the body yet. He is immediately confronted by Ichigo who witnesses Muramasa's arrival out of the Garganta along with Momo and Rangiku. Muramasa sees that Ichigo isn't afraid of his powers and so binds them with his spiritual threads but they are quickly released as he is in a weakened state and starts to cough and bleed from both his eyes. Ichigo takes advantage of this situation and tries to attack Muramasa, only to be blocked by Senbonzakura. Byakuya Kuchiki then puts an end to the confrontation and leaves with the Zanpakutō spirits.

When Byakuya kills his sister's Zanpakutō, Sode no Shirayuki at the request of Senbonzakura, Muramasa sends him to deliver the remains of the broken Zanpakutō to its owner, and sends most of the Zanpakutō spirits to back him up, resulting in a full-scale battle with the Shinigami. When Byakuya returns to Muramasa's hideout, Muramasa receives a communication from a Hell Butterfly, prompting Byakuya to ask if he plans to go to the Human World. Muramasa brings the rogue captain to see the Captain-Commander, who is sealed inside a barrier by three Zanpakutō spirits. After explaining the conditions of Yamamoto's sealing, Muramasa tells his allies to prepare for another encounter with the Shinigami soon.

When the Shinigami invade the base, Ichigo manages to find Yamamoto's barrier. Before he can attempt to free Yamamoto, Muramasa appears and engages Ichigo in battle. Poking at Ichigo's temper, Muramasa eventually gets Ichigo to unleash his full power on in the form of an ultimate Getsuga Tenshō. Muramasa then shockingly momentarily merges with the blast and then directs it at the barrier, destroying it. Quickly Yamamoto awakens, full of sorrow for the turn of events. It is then revealed that Yamamoto was never "sealed", but rather Yamamoto created the barrier himself in an effort to prevent Muramasa from gaining control of Ryūjin Jakka. Desperate to find a power source great enough to break through the barrier, Muramasa staged the "Zanpakutō Rebellion" to find such a power and eventually found it in Ichigo. The Zanpakutō spirits are furious to discover they were just pawns for Muramasa's plan, making them attack him in rage. However, by that time, Muramasa had already succeeded in enslaving Ryūjin Jakka and uses its power to destroy the cave, along with the reckless Zanpakutō spirits. Muramasa then vows to use this power to destroy Soul Society.

Muramasa travels to Karakura Town with Byakuya's guidance. He intends to use the knowledge he gained from entering Yamamoto's inner world to break the seal holding his former master, Kōga. When he arrives at the location of Kōga, he is found by Orihime Inoue. He attacks Orihime, but collapses from the effort. Inoue heals him, restoring much of the strength he had lost. She remarks that his Reiatsu is similar to an Arrancar's. He is then attacked by Uryū Ishida.

Powers & Abilities
As a Zanpakutō spirit, Muramasa has the ability to see into one's true nature, even enter their very subconscious (i.e. inner world). He also has an unusual ability to release other Zanpakutō spirits from their spiritual bonds to their Shinigami partner by forcibly unleashing their inner desires. However, these desires are warped to make the target care only about satisfying these desires, regardless of what may happen in the process. Yamamoto explained that this power works on similar a tape-worm leeches off its target, by first invading the Shinigami's inner world and bending the Zanpakutō spirits to his will. A Shinigami with a strong enough will can still access Shikai but not Bankai as it requires the Zanpakutō spirit to submit to the Shinigami's will. So far the only way shown to snap them out of this desire is to defeat them in a battle. However they will only do this if it is their wielder who defeats them, if another defeats them they will revert back to sword form and their blade will break in two.

At any time, Muramasa can manifest a sword that (presumably) is his previous solid form. It is a short sword, roughly the size of a wakizashi with a purple hilt-wrapping and a guard in a shape similar to the Kidō Corps' emblem. This sword is shown able to unleash considerable energy waves, capable of creating huge fissures if struck in the ground.

Master Swordsmanship Specialist: As seen from his short skirmish against Ichigo, Muramasa has considerable swordsman skills, as he was able to fight on even grounds with Ichigo with a single hand.

Enhanced Speed: Muramasa has shown to be quite fast, as he is able to keep up with a Shunpo expert like Ichigo. During his battle against Hollow Ichigo in its inner world, while forced on the defensive Muramasa was able to successfully dodge all of Hollow Ichigo's flail-like attacks from his sword.

Immense Spiritual Energy: Muramasa apparently has considerable spiritual energy, as evident from Ichigo being very startled by it.

Force Manipulation: In battle, Muramasa has demonstrated a unique invisible power (possibly telekinesis) that can manipulate targets, and even paralyze and bind a person to the ground. It can also be used as a defensive method against strong attacks like Ichigo's Bankai Getsuga Tenshō. Recently it has been strongly implied through Ichigo's inner world that this power is actually summoning and controlling multiple invisible spiritual threads. If something passes between Muramasa and his target to cut the thread then they are freed from Muramasa's control.

Hollow Absorption: Muramasa has the ability of absorbing Hollows. The purpose of doing this is unknown but after he finished absorbing it, his strength was restored.

Garganta: He was seen using a variation of this technique to travel to and from the Forest of Menos. Although the way he uses it is slightly different from how the Arrancar use it. Instead of causing the portal to open by "splitting" the air apart in a segmented pattern, he seemingly tears it open, similar to how the Menos Grande use it.

Keen Intellect: Throughout Muramasa's assault on Soul Society, he has repeatedly shown himself to be a highly crafty individual. He is a powerful strategist and manipulator, able to fool enemies and allies alike to suit his need. These talents allow him to formulate plans well in advance to stay steps ahead of his enemies.

Trivia

 * Muramasa was the name of a famous swordsmith from the 16th century. Muramasa's blades were thought to have an unnatural blood lust, crying out for blood at night, and refusing to be sheathed until they drew blood, even resorting to cutting their owner. This may be the reason behind Muramasa's tears of blood.

Quotes

 * "The Shinigami's control over the Zanpakutō is over. And now... Zanpakutō shall now rule the Shinigami."
 * "My wielder? My wielder died by my hands"
 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) "The strength of you is the strength of ties ... How interesting!"
 * (To Hollow Ichigo) "The relationship of the Shinigami Zanpakutō is talk and sympathy. But ... There are exceptions, just like you. You really are interesting."

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Muramasa