Byakuya Kuchiki
Byakuya Kuchiki is an anime and manga male character who features in Bleach.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Byakuya Kuchiki (Japanese: 朽木 白哉, Hepburn: Kuchiki Byakuya) was a male born in the Soul Society where he was a member of one of the noble families that were the Kuchiki Clan. This saw him growing up in the Kuchiki Mansion in the Seireitei where he spent countless hours training in preparation to take over the leadership of the Kuchiki family. From a young age, he went through under his grandfather Ginrei Kuchiki who was the Captain of the 6th Division and prepared Byakuya to take over his position in the clan. By this point, Byakuya was rash and had a hot-headed attitude with this being traits that worried his grandfather. During this time, he would train with Yoruichi Shihouin where she would often play pranks on him and goad him into games of tag using flash steps which she managed to win on every occasion.
He was present in a meeting of the Gotei 13 when Isshin Shiba of the 10th Division made his report concerning the arrival of a mysterious Hollow along with a string of events in Naruki City.
Alongside his lieutenant Renji Abarai, the two travelled to the world of the living in order to capture and return with Rukia Kuchiki. Their mission involved taking her back to the Soul Society and to eliminate Ichigo Kurosaki in the process. Captain Kuchiki simply watched as he allowed Renji to take the lead in the fight and stood by as he watched Uryū Ishida arrive at the scene. He then saw Renji defeat Uryū after which Ichigo arrived with Byakuya watching their battle. Lieutenant Abarai came to be surprised by his foe who gained an advantage leading to Captain Kuchiki intervening where he unleashed a strike that cut Ichigo's sword in two and left him with grevious injuries. It was then that Rukia begged her brother to spare his life and agreed to return to the Soul Society. Ichigo defiantly attempted to stop Byakuya by grabbing his leg but the shinigami captain knocked him unconscious where he stated that he human would either die from his wounds or lose his powers from this encounter. It was then that Renji opened the Senkaimon back to Soul Society allowing them and their captive to return back to headquarters. Back home, he was informed that Rukia was to be executed for his crimes and came to accept the decision. Afterwards, he encountered fellow Captain's Kenpachi Zaraki and Gin Ichimaru both of whom began to tease him about Rukia's coming execution for being a criminal. Byakuya, however, cared not about the words of the lower-class who he claimed could not understand the feelings of nobles. This exchange nearly resulted in a fight between Captain's Kuchiki and Zaraki but the latter was stopped when Ichimaru intervened where he took Kenpachi away from the scene.
Soul Society
Byakuya came to attend a captain's meeting called by Captain-Commander Yamamoto where he sat silent whilst many of his comrades bickered with one another. By this point, the Soul Society was invaded by Ichigo Kurosaki and his comrades who had arrived in order to rescue Rukia. Lieutenant Abarai came to confront Kurosaki but was defeated by the human with medics being called to heal his injuries. Captain Kuchiki though denied him any medical aid and instead had his subordinate being sent to the dungeons. This was because Renji had acted alone and last with this being punishment for his actions. Momo Hinamori attempted to argue with the captain but was stopped by Izuru Kira who apologised for her words.
He arrived at the scene of the execution where he was ready to witness Rukia's death but the event was interrupted by the arrival of Ichigo Kurosaki who managed to block the Kikōō (燬鷇王, Blaze Fledgling King; Viz "Firebird King"). Such an act was deemed impossible yet the intruder managed to take down the Sōkyoku and saved Rukia where he passed her to Renji to take her to safety. Byakuya arrived at the scene where he intended to re-capture Rukia and execute her for her crimes but was opposed by Ichigo. Kurosaki was different during this fight where he demonstrated the ability to see and fight Byakuya on an equal footing.
Heuco Mundo
Afterwards, Captain-Commander Yamamoto received information that Orihime Inoue had willingly gone to Hueco Mundo. This led to him considering her to be a traitor and that all shinigami units were to return to the Soul Society as a result. Sensing that Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai might refuse orders, the Captain-Commander had sent Captains Byakuya Kuchiki and Kenpachi Zaraki to force the pairs return to the Soul Society. The shinigami then returned though upon taking his subordinates back to their headquarters. However, Byakuya had stated that he only had orders to bring the pair back to the Soul Society and what they did afterwards was not his concern. This was his way for them to return to Earth in order for them to help Ichigo in rescuing Orihime. Before they departed, he gave them cloaks that would help them travel through the aid deserts of Hueco Mundo. He later took part in the Soul Society's surprise attack on Hueco Mundo where he arrived in Los Noches just in time to save Rukia from the 7th Espada Zommari Rureaux.
Lost Substitute Shinigami
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Byakuya Kuchiki was a male with slate gray eyes and long black hair. These were kept in intricate white headpieces called kenseikan (牽星箝, Pulled Star Insert; Viz "Pull Star Silence") that identified him as being of the nobility and head of the Kuchiki Clan where he wore three on top of his head whilst another two on the right side.The scarf was made from Ginpaku Kazahana no Uzuginu (銀白風花紗, Gauze of Silver-White Flurry of Snow in Clear Skies; Viz "Silvery-White Windflower Silk Gauze") that was a family heirloom which had been handed down from generation to generation which given to each head of the Kuchiki Clan.
As a noble, he acted in an aristocratic manner where he always seemed to be serene and apathetic towards other people even when he was actually deeply conflicted. He was also extremely calm even in battle and was rarely surprised by even the most drastic of actions. Ironically, when he was younger, he was quick to anger and very hotheaded, as noted by his grandfather, Ginrei Kuchiki.
He liked Japanese cherry blossoms, night-time walks, spicy food, and bananas, but did not like sweets.
Kuchiki was shown to strongly believed in law and order where he worked hard for the maintenance of a peaceful society. He believed that rules were meant to be followed and that superiors were meant to serve as an example for their subordinates. As such, he felt that if someone of his position did not follow the rules then no one else would follow them.
He was shown as being reluctant to use techniques that were taught to him by Yoruichi Shihōin.
Byakuya Kuchiki was the son of Sōjun Kuchiki (朽木蒼純, Kuchiki Sōjun) making him a member of the Kuchiki Clan (朽木家, Kuchiki-ke; lit. "Kuchiki family") that were one of the Four Noble Families (四大貴族, Yondai Kizoku; lit. "Four Great Noble Families"). The noble clan were considered Shōichī (正一位, First Hierarchical Rank; Viz "True First") and considered the first among them. His grandfather was Ginrei Kuchiki (朽木 銀嶺, Kuchiki Ginrei) who was the 27th Head of the Kuchiki Clan and a Captain of the 6th Division. As heir to him, Byakuya came to served as the 28th head of the clan who were one of the four great noble families of the Soul Society.
He came to be married to Hisana Kuchiki (朽木 緋真, Kuchiki Hisana) who was of the lower class and cared for her deeply. She though came to pass away but she asked Byakuya to help find her younger sister who came to be known as Rukia Kuchiki (朽木 ルキア, Kuchiki Rukia). This saw him adopting her into the Kuchiki Clan and making her into one of the noble class. Byakuya despite appearances was shown to be very protective of Rukia. In Hueco Mundo, he intended to kill one of the Espada not because it was his duty but rather because he had dared consider killing Ruikia who was his pride and joy.
Powers and abilities
Byakuya Kuchiki was a soul that resided in the afterlife of the Soul Society where he had the ability to channel and manipulate his spiritual pressure. As a captain of the Gotei 13, Byakuya was extremely skilled in all forms of Soul Reaper combat.
He came to be best known for his skill in Shunpo (瞬歩, Flash Steps) which was a movement technique that allowed the user to move faster than the eye could follow. Byakuya was taught this by the "Goddess of Flash" Yoruichi Shihōin though was never beat her in the technique. Despite that, he was still regarded as one of the most proficient users of this skill within the Soul Society. This was demonstrated when he was able to use Shunpo even after severing the muscles and tendons in his left leg. The more advanced Shunpo technique was taught to him by Yoruichi with this being the Utsusemi (空蝉, Cast-Off Cicada Shell) that was known as the Way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shihō. It allowed him to move at even greater speeds where he could leave an afterimage of himself behind that could confuse an enemy.
Byakuta was shown to possess a high degree of skill and proficiency in the use of high-skill Kidō (鬼道, Demon/Spirit Way; Viz "Demon Arts") techniques. He was shown as being able to use a low-level lightning spell to burn a hole right through her opponent's shoulder.
Among the spells known to him included:
- Hadō #33: Sōkatsui (蒼火墜, Blue Fire, Crash Down; Viz "Pale Fire Crash") : by aiming his palm at a target, he was able to create a torrent of blue energy that fired at his target. The blue flames were discharged as a direct blast or a wave depending on the power channelled into it.
- Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō (六杖光牢, Six Rods Prison of Light; Viz "Six-Rod Light Restraint") : Byakuya pointed his index finger at a target where he generated a spark of yellow energy that summoned six thin wide beams of light that struck a person's midsection where they held them in place. Upon being struck, the target was unable to move any part of their body making them vulnerable to any number of follow-up attacks.
- Bakudō #81: Dankū (斷空, Splitting Void; Viz "Airtight") : using this spell, he could create a translucent barrier in the form of a large rectangular defensive wall capable of protecting against an enemy's attack. According to Byakuya, this technique was capable of stopping Kido-based attacks up to the power of level 89.
His Zanpakutō was called Senbonzakura (千本桜, Thousand Cherry Blossoms) appeared as a regular katana that had a simple cross guard with an open frame like a four-pane window with a bronze guard that had a lavender hilt-wrapping and a white sheath. The Shikai command was triggered by the uttering of the command 'scatter' (散れ, chire) whereupon the sword separated into thousands of slender, petal-like blades. It was shown that it was possible to interrupt the release by wrapping the blade in cloth thus negating the attack before it could manifest fully. When activated, the thousand blades were too small to be seen by the naked eye and reflected the light in such a way that they appeared as cherry blossom petals. Through his will, Byakuya was able to control the blades and directed their movements where they could shred opponents at a distance where they were able to break through almost any defense. It was shown that whilst he could command them mentally that hand movements did allow him to direct his attacks to be more effective where the blades could move twice as fast.
A denizen of the Soul Society (尸魂界 (ソウル・ソサエティ), Souru Sosaeti; Japanese for "Dead Spirit World"), he was a member of the noble Kuchiki Clan (朽木家, Kuchiki-ke; lit. "Kuchiki family"). Their primary residence within the Soul Society was Kuchiki Manor (朽木邸, Kuchiki yashiki). In time, he came to be a captain of the Gotei 13 (護廷十三隊, Goteijūsantai; lit. "13 Division Imperial Guards"; Viz "Thirteen Court Guard Companies") where he headed the Sixth Division (六番隊, rokubantai; "Squad 6" in the English Dub).
Notes
- Byakuya Kuchiki was created by Tite Kubo where he featured in the setting of Bleach.
In other media
Television
Video games
Appearances
- Bleach:
External Links
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