Rasetsu Zankuuga

Rasetsu Zankuuga( 羅刹, Lit. "Man-Slaying Devil") is the former and first captain of the Royal Gaurd Shinigami that serve under direct order of the Spirit King. He was discharged due to actions of treason and atrocity against the royal family and the king which in turn forced the entire welfare of the balances in the spiritual realms to be thrown off. He first appeared in the series under the guise of The Masked Man but his identity was revealed after The Ancient Conflict Arc. Branded a traiterous conspiritor, Rasetsu was met with the fate of execution, but singlehandedly slaughtered the entire royal gaurd he once served in and escaped from Soul Society..

For his infamous, scorching blood red hair color, Rasetsu has earned himself the infamous moniker of The Red-Hot Devil(悪魔を燃やす, Shakunetsu no Akuma). Rasetsu has since become a legend, having disappeared for a total of 600 years since his last appearance. His legacy and tale is now told as more of a folk legend to children of the rukongai, viewed as a nightmarish demon, even having an entire tale and poem that has been based upon his time in the history of soul society.

It is later revealed that Rasetsu is the last known living member of the ancient bloodline clan that served as the original and primordial rulers of the spiritual realms. It is unknown what kind of position he held in this hierarchy but it is shown and heavily hinted that he was of a very prestigious status. This family was unrelated and since thrown off from the ruling state by the new royal family and the soul king that later form division zero aswell as the gotei 13.

Appearance
Rasetsu is an exceedingly tall individual that stands at a total of 6,5 feet in total. As such he is one of the lower-end tall characters in the series, not quite on the same level as the likes of Zaraki Kenpachi, though he stands head and shoulders above most captains within the Gotei 13. Rasetsu's appearance has changed and varied significantly throughout the series, his first and arguably one of, if not his most infamous guise was that of the masked man identity that he took on. Depending on which form or timeline the Rasetsu in question is being spoken of, Rasetsu's physical appearance can vary greatly to the point where it seems like he may be many different people.

Today, Rasetsu dresses himself in a customized and otherwise indifferent shinigami attire with enforced, lightweight red armor plates assembled in key places on his frame. Underneath this it seen that he wears a traditional pair of wide-legged shinigami hakama and a haori-like shihakusho which may give him a strikingly similar appearance to any captain level shinigami, all the while standing out as his own unique person. Rasetsu's red hair is also complimented by his piercing demonic red eyes, an appearance which has earned him the widely acknowledged moniker of "Red Hot Devil" in the eyes of his allies and enemies alike.

Personality
In spite of having being described as a traitorous, black of heart monster, Rasetsu has shown to retain a great deal of honor and respect for his opponents and even his enemies alike. He is fully convicted within his own ways though, and will stop at nothing, not even the blatant sacrifice of humans and his own allies so as to ensure that his ultimate goal becomes reality. He does not stand for insubordination and his willpower is immovable like a pivot, once he decides to do something, there is no question, it will happen. This attitude makes him ridiculously dangerous in battle situations, as it is said that should he decide that an opponents life has finished, the outcome of the conflict has already been decided.

He has shown to be of cold heart, to the point where he even chilled the likes of Aizen Sousuke when interrogating the latter held locked away in prison. Rasetsu full believes in his actions and recognises them as "true justice" and as such refers to all those whom stand in is way as mere "scum in need of purification". He is convinced that his brand of justice is the only way to usher in a new era of peace through tyranny. Rasetsu has also shown himself to be a man of few words. He does not tolerate failure but instead of killing his own subordinates he opts to accomplish the missions he sets out for them by his own hand.

Powers & Abilities
Wraithlike Spiritual Power: Rasetsu's reiatsu is noted to be a unique existance entirely unto its own, exhibiting natures yet unfelt or exhibited by any other. In spite being the former captain of Division 0 aswell as a man that was considered The Soul Kings greatest champion, a title which was said to class him in the same league as said king, Rasetsu's reiatsu is odd in that his power cannot be detected or sensed in the slightest. This makes it impossible to pinpoint Rasetsu's exact whereabouts and position as his presence is not capable of being perceived by others. The inability to detect Rasetsu's spiritual pressure is considered nonsensical and baffling, as in spite of not capable of being detected, his power can still be seen in the form of heavy amounts of reiryoku emanating from his body. The "hidden" nature of Rasetsu's reiatsu was equated to the fact that he wore a mask. He was considered a deceiver with no equal, to the point where his very spiritual energy had become "the embodiment of absolute deception". It was heavily assumed that the mask he wore had something to do with the inability to sense and detect his spiritual power, however, after being publically unmasked, Rasetsu decided that it was "about time" that he revealed the true nature of his spiritual power as is with his identity. The fact is, Rasetsu's spiritual energy has reached a point where its very nature has become trasncendental, indicating that he is an ascended being surpassing both shinigami and hollow alike. In this right he may have mastered a state of evolutionary perfection that not even Aizen Sousuke was capable of grasping during his time as the hogyoku's master. This also explains the inability to detect his power or presence, as "lesser lifeforms" are not capable of comprehending something that is entirely beyond their scope of existance, that is unless, Rasetsu voluntarily lowers himself to their level. The nature of his power is also the root of cause for his seemingly volatile existance, and was the reason he was capable of erasing several captain level opponents with their full powered bankai's released out of existance, aswell as bring the captain commander himself to his knee's under the sheer magnitude of Rasetsu's own massive spiritual pressure. Rasetsu's reiatsu also exhibits the most elaborate manifestion. In the situation that the opponent is strong enough to perceive his power, Rasetsu's spiritual energy has shown to take on the physical manifestation of black and red hellish flames that consume the surroundings as the burnt and mutilated corpses of those that have fallen to his blade in the past manifest themselves in the form of illusory specters. This is also characterized by the new feeling that comes with being able to sense Rasetsu's extraodinarily power. Opponents of any kind can feel Rasetsu's overbearing presence from entire dimensions away, and experience horrifying chilling sensations. Ichigo kurosaki described being in Rasetsu's presence as "Feeling pain in every last cell within his body". Rasetsu's power still remains anomolous and otherworldly, and it is implied there is even more to the imaginable extent of his power than what meets the eye.

Enormous Strength: Rasetsu posessess an exceedingly massive level of physical power. He is noted as being a monstrous powerhouse of monolithical strength, capable of easily trading blows with and fighting on par with captain commander shigekuni yamamoto, a man that is said to be so exceedingly powerful that he has had no equal in the past thousand years, obtaining the title of strongest shinigami. This may hint that Rasetsu is even more powerful than the captain commander himself. Rasetsu has yet to display the outermost limitations of his physical strength as in all conflicts of physical power, he has not even tried to fight back. His physical power is noted to be terrifying to the extent of blowing off the charts. He effortlessly shatters the scope of what is conceivable in the power of a shinigami. During a brief conflict with yammy liargo, former espada, Rasetsu was capable of effortlessly outmatching all of the attacks of the hollows extreme strength, and even stoppoed a full powered smash from yammy without doing so much as extending his finger to stop his knuckle, thereafter spinning around and tossing the released hollow hundreds of miles away with a single hand. Rasetsu has also shown the ability to stop his opponents and their full powered bankai attacks dead in place, even going so far as the shatter the blades of his enemies zanpakuto into shards. By flicking his finger in their general direction he caused a troop of powerful sternritters to be blown away, and did the same again to an entire forest without so much as a casual flick of the wrist in its direction. His massive strength also allows him to hit, make contact, and do damage to his opponents without ever making physical contact with them. After revealing his true strength in the ancient war arc, Rasetsu was strong enough to smash through the fabric of the entire dimension(hinted more) without so much as a single fist thrown.

Edgemaster Swordsmanship Specialist: Rasetsu has mastered all forms of shinigami combat and more. He has studied swordsmanship from the moment that he could hold a blade, and has put himself through an innumerable number of years of armed combat training. Though preferring to stand back and allow his allies to finish of opponents, Rasetsu has shown the ability to see into and discern the exact movements, attacks, strikes, follow up techniques and otherwise of his armed opponents without displaying the slightest mental strain in the process. He can effortlessly cause armed opponents to dance around in the palm of his hand and casually bait out their attacks cause them to collapse in on themselves. Rasetsu is capable of wielding a variety of different kinds of weapons to extremely dangerous and powerful extents. He swordsmanship alone seems to defy logic and the laws of physics, as he was capble of slicing through and thusly prevent the regeneration of a quincy's bow, that which is composed entirely out of reishi. He continues to conduct a number of out of this world and incredible swordsmanship feats, employing odd and unusual fighting mechanics such as abandoning his sword so as to trick his opponents. His immense and terrifying skill keeps his opponents guessing and on edge up until the very last second, usually meaning that Rasetsu has already struck and won the battle.

Expert Hand to Hand Combatant: Aswell as mastery of Zanjutsu, Rasetsu has studied and mastered the art of Hakuda to the point where he can fell most opponents with the most casual of movements. Though the true extent of his abilities in this field have yet to be displayed, he has shown himself a more than competent unarmed fighter and can strike with such speed, power, and precision that his enemies are often toppled without so much as a single move. Rasetsu has mastered all aspects of Hakuda and often prefers unarmed combat over drawing his zanpakuto against his enemies. Rasetsu also has a habit of finishing off his opponents and battles before they ever even get started, destroying or disabling the movements of those that stand against him, without so much as a single move or an attack string that barely lasts the space of a few seconds. In this right, unarmed conflicts against him last extremely short times. Not even the covert ops special division of the Gotei 13's 2nd squadron were capable of raising a finger against Rasetsu in unarmed conflict without being completely wiped out with casual ease and unlaboured flawlessness. He can interchange between hand to hand combat on the fly and even do combay in potentially awkward and difficult situations and standpoints.

Shunpo Flawlessness: Rasetsu has also amassed an incredible skill in the high speed movement technique of shunpo, easily surpassing the speed of most other captain level opponents in existance. He demonstrates particlarly incredible speed feats and was capable of taking on and fighting the speedsters soifon and yoruichi shihouin, both of which are captain level opponents, without displaying the slightest amount of effort. His shunpo speed allowed him to effortlessly outrace both of his opponents to their destinations and even press his back to theirs without displaying any strain. Rasetsu's skill in shunpo also allows him to utilize up to several powerful and deceptive hoho techniques at the same time, a feat which remains yet undisplayed by any other. His shunpo speed is noted to be off the charts, and as such he can create dozens upon dozens of afterimages at one time so as to daze and confuse his opponents. He can cross immense distances in the blink of an eye by using his shunpo speed and effortlessly slip by or evade ridiculously speedy attacks. Being massively hypersonic in basic movement speed, it is heavily implied that using Shunpo propels rasetsu in speeds approaching, reaching, and likely surpassing that of the speed of light itself.

Kido Master: Aswell as the previous abilities, it is only natural that Rasetsu has mastery over the kido aspect of shinigami combat. He is capable of casting powerful kido spells such as raikoho and kurohitsuji at full power without tiring himself out, a feat that was only achieved by the transcended state of sousuke aizen. He may throw multiple kido at his opponents or release them in odd or difficult fashions remaning undisplayed by any other, all the why without having to speak the chants of his kido in the process. He has even shown the ability to cast multiple spells at one time giving him a significant advantage over his opponents. By hiding kido within other kido Rasetsu can deceive and trick his opponents into walking directly into elaborate traps he has set up. It is later revealed that Rasetsu's sheer skill is that which prompted noneother than Hachigen Ushoda and Iba Tetsuzaemon, former captain of the kido corps, to both study and become proficient in the ways of kido. This may give one perspective to just how massively powerful Rasetsu's kido is. With his incredible kido skill, Rasetsu has also changed the nature of his own kido with his unique spiritual power, adding entirely new effects to the spells, levels of power, and has even demonstrated the ability to create and change the nature of his spells, aswell as forge entirely new spells yet unseen or used by any other in existance as of yet.

Massive Intelligence: Rasetsu is also considered a genius amongst geniuses, having a level of intellect and mind power that greatly surpasses those whom they themselves may be considered ingenius. With his massive intelligence, the abilility of deception, lying, and speechcraft is given to him, and he has shown great potency in this field. With his intelligence he views the battle field as his own personal game. He can constantly remain several steps ahead of his enemies at all times and cause them to play into his hands without them ever being aware of what is happenning to them. With his intelligence he has also demonstrated an incredible degree of scientific and chemistry based skill, having invented objects, medicines, and useful weapons that struck amazement even into the likes of Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, showing that Rasetsu's intelligence surpassed even a man of his own stature by leagues and bounds.

Zanpakuto
Kandakara( 神器, Lit. "Imperial Regalia God Sword") is the name of Rasetsu's Zanpakuto. As a weapon with such a title, it easily lives up to its name in physical appearance, to the point where Rasetsu himself prefers not to manifest its weapon state in public at all, due to "how extravagant it is". When sealed, Kandakara takes on the form of a large, heavily stylized and decorated japanese katana sword in the style of a tradition chokuto/daito longsword. It is worn in a sheath sporting many finely crafted and precise images upon its body, with a small thread at the butt of its handle. Overall it appears to be a very ceremonial blade and does not often go manifested physically, its appearance often giving opponents the impression that it is more of a decoration. The blade itself features three markings at the tip which are ancient japanese transcripts that stand for the three prime virtues. Valor. Wisdom. And Benevolence. The sword its ridiculously powerful and as such it is capable of taking on and overwhelming the force of fully powered bankai opponents blades while in its sealed state alone, holding more might than most bankai level blades. It effortlessly blocked and stopped Ikkaku Madarame's Ryuumon Houzikumaru dead in place without sustaining the slightest amount of visible damage, instead reflecting the damage back onto the blade of his enemy instead, a bankai infamous for its massive attack power. Rasetsu himself claims that the power of Kandakara is so exceedingly massive that it does not even warrant the need of a release of a Zanpakuto that is everpresent in other weapons alike it, let alone a Bankai release.

Shikai:  Kandakara's shikai release is considered a sacred event that does not occur in the presence of the "unworthy" as described by Rasetsu himself. He sometimes forsakes this principle for the sole reason of vilifying his opponents saying that "to release Kandakara before insects like these...". He uses Kandakara's release as a "last passage of rites" for absolving his victims of their sins and sending them into eternal rest. Kandakara is released by the phrase "Administer Divine Punishment" whereby its sheath tears away and transforms into a cloth-like texture becoming pure energy. Its release comes with an immense upheaval of spiritual pressure to the point where its shikai release alone multiplies Rasetsu's power beyond that of any captain level bankai release by massive levels. The physical appearance does not change all too much but Kandakara's blade becomes a bright diamond-like substance bathed in an ethereal reiatsu and glow which never leaves its blade.


 * Shikai Special Ability:  Kandakara's shikai special ability, as described by Rasetsu is "Dominance of Creation". This ability manifests itself in various different forms and modes which are given the name "The Cycle of The Six Realms". These Realms are the modes that Kandakara utilizes in order to combat and defeat its enemies. Once released, Kandakara is in a idle state and can be put into or switch between the realms on the fly. Each on of the different modes grants Rasetsu a variety of different abilities and techniques which are reflective of the aspects and things associated with said realms. In this right, Kandakara's shikai power has shown itself to be a ridiculously fearsome, potent, and useful tool, having six different realms of powers and abilities allows rasetsu to adjust the situation of battle in his favor as he pleases.
 * Tendo (, Lit. "Deva Realm" ) The first of the six different modes that Kandakara's shikai allows Rasetsu to make usage of, aswell as the most used of the six. The Tendo realm is activated by speaking the words "Kandakara - Tendo" where kandakara slips into this mode. While in this form, Rasetsu's sword and reiatsu become completely and utterly undetectable, not only in the sense that the enemy cannot detect incoming attacks from him, but that they literally become invisible. In this right, the blade, handle, and tsuba of Kandakara have become entirely imperceivable to the naked eye, and Rasetsu's reiryoku runoff also becomes invisible to the eyes of his opponents. However, the reiatsu and blade still very much exist, making it extraodinarily difficult for opponents to fight back against the now invisible weapons, as although they cannot be seen, their effects such as the slicing of his opponents limbs and the crushing of the surroundings due to his immense reiatsu still transpire. This odd effect is equated to the nature of "deva" in that those in mythology are said to be utterly invisible to the naked eye. While in this form, even Rasetsu's voice and the noises generated by his movements have become completely muted. While this is an extremely useful aspect of his power, This is not the prime ability that Kandakara's Tendo realm allows him. The true purpose of this realm allows Rasetsu an overwhelming advantage in straight up combat, now specializing in all forms of basic attack to destroy his enemies. As such he receives a plethora of new abilities upon engaging this realm of kandakara's shikai.


 * Aragami.pngmi(神を荒れ狂う, Lit. "Tempestuous God of Valor") An extraodinarily powerful energy crescent technique that is utilized by Kandakara's Tendo realm. Aragami is an attack which serves as the main focus of all Rasetsu's ranged and in some cases close qaurters combat situations. Being greatly similar to the Getsuga Tensho technique used by Zangetsu, Rasetsu will fire off a massively powerful and sharp energy wave at the point of his blades slash, releasing it in the form of a powerful and potent crescent/fang shape. The attack in the very least has shown itself to be as powerful as the final getsuga tensho attack called "Mugetsu" and can obliterate miles upon miles of civilization in the space of a mere heartbeat. The technique is also capable of being used in rapid and potentially infinite succession should Rasetsu will it. Aragami is also capable of being released in the state of multiple forms and shapes, and can form simple of complicated constructs in the blink of an eye. The gigantic veil of energy that is created at Aragami's slash is so powerful that it literally destroys the existance of anything it hits, so not atoms or spiritual particles remain. Any organic being hit shall be destroyed right down to the slightest race.
 * Finalenton.png no Tachi(炎の太刀, Lit. "Longsword of The Malignant Blaze") The main technique that Rasetsu makes usage of in the Tendo Realm of Kandakara's Shikai release. Enton no Tachi is the sword which Kandakara transforms into when he engages this technique. In this form, Kandakara's diamod blade becomes scorched in an intense, evil, and chilling dark black and red fire with multiple hues and shadings of the color. These flames have been nicknamed Kagutsuchi by Rasetsu himself in that they burn with such a diabolic and cold nature that they are said to be of the cold heart of the japanese god of fire himself. The flames are said to be the strongest of their kind and due to their strange nature they are capable of absorbing other flames and converting them to their own blaze making them even more powerful. Even the flames of ryujin jakka were not capable of resisting and being subjugated by kandakara's superior blaze. The bis consumed in fire which burns with such an intensity, its mere presence alone is capable of blinding the opponents.
 * FixedKyo.png no Tachi - Kyokujitsujin(旭日刃, Lit. "Rising Sun Edge") is the first ability of Enton no Tachi aswell as the one that it is automatically in upon Rasetsu activating the Enton no Tachi skillset. This ability concentrates the intense flames of the sword along the edge of the blade. It neither burns or erupts, but anything it touches is eradicated to utter nothingness without a trace. The defensive power of the Vandenreichs Blut Vene is not even capable of standing up to this technique. Oddly, The coloration of the sword edge becomes black and red, a stark contrast to the white in the previous appearance. Originally, Kyokujitsujin meerly set anything it cut ablaze with the fires it generated, but it has since become so powerful that instead it reverts whatever is singed by it into nothingness.
 * Correctedzanjitsu.png no Tachi - Zanjitsu Gokui(, Lit. "Remnant Sun Prison Garb") This ability remains unseen by the eyes of anyone else unless Rasetsu wills it to be seen. It literally engulfs his sword and body in heat that reaches upwards of 15,000,000 degree's, this it becomes impossible to touch or even approach him while using this technique. Like the previous release, the flames take on a maligant black and purple manifestation. The flames also function as a sort of enhanced armor that reacts and hardens itself in line with the natural reiatsu armor that his spiritual energy can form around him. The flames of Zanjitsu Gokui are actually manifestations of heat-based Reiatsu, seeing as such immense heat does not manifest itself in the form of flames. Even so, in spite of their incredible heat, The fire reiatsu reaches its lowest and most nightmarish coloration upon being released into Zanjitsu Gokui, becoming a nearly all consuming black that bathes the surrounding area in a darkness unfelt and unseen by any other. They also create the odd manifestation that Rasetsu appears in the form of an eldery male with a long beard and massive eyebrows, giving him an extremely similar appearance to that of a seasoned elder god that can be found in any japanese mythology painting.
 * Toshukokudo(混沌とした領域, Lit. "Formless Realm") -Not Yet Revealed-
 * ​Shurado(, Lit. "Asura Realm") The second mode of the six different realms that are capable of being accessed by Kandakara's shikai release. When entering this mode, Rasetsu's spiritual pressure and presence once again become perceivable to the enemy, but his energy becomes fare more imposing, threatening, and terror-inducing then what it was before. His body seems to devop two extra heads and faces that hang around his shoulders with demonic and frightening expressions on them, and he sprouts a total of 4 extra limbs, giving him the visage of an asura demigod, which seems to be in reference to the modes namesake. These extra limbs and protrusions are composed entirely out of his own reiatsu and are not actually parts of his body. realm seems to exchage the ability to fire off ranges techniques at his enemies in favor for absolute raw attack power. In this right, Rasetsu becomes exceedingly bloodthirsty, murderous and psychotic upon erngaging Shurado. The state of Shurado reflects the state of a human obsessed with force and violence, transforming Rasetsu into the greatest raw powerhouse in existance.

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 * ​Lightspeed Movement: Rasetsu in this mode is capable of moving up to and fighting entire battles at the astronomical speed of light itself. With the incredible physical power that Shurado grants to him his body is now durable enough to survive lightspeed movement and attacks without sustaining the slightest amount of physical damage.

Bankai: -Not Yet Revealed-