Yoshiro Kazuki

Yoshiro Kazuki (森一樹, Kazuki Hiroshi) was a who received his spiritual training directly from Anika Shihōin, after fleeing the Shinō Academy during his second year. Yoshiro was the son of Jiro Kazuki, the husband of Momoko Kazuki, and the father of Harumi Kazuki. He bore no allegiance to the Gotei 13 or Soul Society; he counted himself as an ally to Kenji Hiroshi, and eventually became one of the founding members of the Ryū Order. Yoshiro lost his life in a battle with Averian's rebellious Battle Doll, Arturo Plateado, in the months before The Collapse, so his daughter could escape.

Appearance
Yoshiro is a tall and athletically-built man with brown-coloured hair. His left-eye, which he lost in a battle with Averian during the First Spiritual War, is fake; this eye possesses an azure-colouration very different from his usual brown.

Personality
Yoshiro is a distant young man who embodies the ideals of Anika's Onmitsukidō. He rarely shows any outward sign of emotion, even when meeting old friends for the first time in years, or when reacting to his teammates orders. He is highly inquisitive by nature and always seeks to gain additional information, even from chance or brief encounters. Once away from Anika however Yoshiro displayed a playful personality more in-line with his academy years. He remarked that Kenji, in reference to Lisa Yadōmaru, had never pulled "anything so attractive", during his time in the academy. He also referred to the twin Bount following his team as a bunch of "voyeurs". In his later years Yoshiro had a family of his own; his daughter, Harumi Kazuki, and his wife, Momoko Kazuki. When he fought a doomed battle against Arturo Plateado he did so only because he knew Harumi was close-by, and that she needed time to escape; he bought her the time she needed with his own life.

History
Yoshiro attended the Shinō Academy with Tadashi Kori as one of his instructors, where he became acquainted with Kenji Hiroshi and Kusaka Kori, but fled the institution during his second year for unspecified reasons. Yoshiro later became an operative answering solely to Anika Shihōin and helped her to investigate the looming threat in Kagamino City.

Synopsis

 * Main article -- Bleach (Kenji Hiroshi).

Part I

 * Main article -- Bleach: Sun and Moon Chronicles.

Bount Incident

 * Bount Incident Part I (first appearance)
 * Bount Incident Part II
 * Bount Conflict
 * Bount Incident Part IV
 * Bount Incident Part V

Part II

 * Main article -- Bleach: War of the Worlds Part I.

Part III

 * Main article -- Bleach: War of the Worlds Part II.

Second Coming of Averian arc

 * Awakening the Storm
 * Two Become One: Fury Unleashed! (mentioned)

Equipment

 * : Yoshiro was known to carry a Bakkōtō as his secondary weapon in addition to four other blades, all of which he used in conjunction with his primary Zanpakutō.

Powers and Abilities
Body Modifications: Yoshiro appears to have had his body modified in a number of ways; the most notable being his. One modification enabled him to naturally sense the same way a Soul would sense other spiritual beings. Another was his left-eye. He kept the latter covered by an eye-patch but when removed he was shown to possess an azure-coloured eye, though what the eye was for was unknown.

Meian Shiba admitted that Yoshiro's power was just slightly below that of Kenji, Kusaka, Rosuto and himself. Kenji and Kusaka opted instead to pool their powers and fight as a fused entity rather than risk confronting Arturo two-on-one after the Battle Doll absorbed Yoshiro's power.

Hohō Mastery: Yoshiro was fit to easily keep pace with Kenji. His speed was sufficient to intercept and subsequently outmanoeuvre the Bount. By the time of his death he was the foremost Hohō practitioner within the Ryū Order and was capable of keeping pace with the enhanced Arturo. Yoshiro, true to his moniker as the foremost Hohō specialist, was faster than Sanada Shirono during his life; this meant that he was one of the few people capable of outpacing the real Averian. Arturo noted, however, that Yoshiro over-relied on his speed and was thus lacking in physical strength; this weakness ended up costing him his life when faced with a sufficiently stronger physical fighter.

Zanjutsu: Yoshiro was capable of clashing with Yoshi and Maki without trouble. In addition Yoshiro was an adherent of the Yuengiri philosophy. Through his unique Battle Aura, which produced four ethereal arms under his complete control, Yoshiro could wield six blades with masterful skill and blinding speed.

Zanpakutō
Shiden (紫電, Violet Lightning). Yoshiro's takes the form of a standard katana with red hilt wrapping and an eye-shaped guard with protruding spikes.


 * : Yoshiro releases his Zanpakutō with the command "Strike Down" (打ち据えろ, uchisuero; alt. "Hit Fast and Hard"). When released Shiden takes the form of a jagged sword with an appearance akin to a lightning bolt, with two prominent points at the top of the blade which overflow with electricity.


 * Shikai Special Ability: Shiden manipulates electricity; Yoshiro can electrically charge the blade and expel the resultant electricity from the tips of Shiden, which produces wide-range electrical shocks.


 * Shigasumi (紫霞, Violet Mist): a technique which binds targets with a net of electrical threads resembling a spiders web shot from the tip of Shiden. The web then restricts around a target to further immobilise them.


 * Shiden Raikō (紫電雷吼, Violet Lightning Thunderclap): a technique which fires a massive violet-coloured lightning bolt from the tip of Shiden.


 * : Not revealed.

Behind the scenes

 * In the original draft Yoshiro was the secondary protagonist; his importance behind only that of Kenji. Kusaka's character, however, was a favourite of the author's and thus the decision was made to solidify the relationship between Kenji and Kusaka, at the expense of Yoshiro.


 * Yoshiro was originally based on Gray Fullbuster from Fairy Tail. He wielded an ice-based Zanpakutō and rarely wore much beyond a pair of boxer shorts. The 2015 retcon ditched a number of the similarities.

Trivia

 * Yoshiro's Zanpakutō, Shiden, was originally wielded by the game-only character . The latter appeared as the Captain of the in the  during the early storyline of.