Siegfried Adler

Siegfried Adler (ジークアドラー, Jīkuadorā) was a foot soldier previously affiliated with the. He now serves the Engelhaft Gewitter, where he partners Aldric Adler. His designation is "T". Siegfried is known to follow Kenjiro Hiroshi.

Character Outline
Siegfried sports neatly trimmed blond hair and a goatee on his chin. He still favors the garb of the Vandenreich which consists of a long, white, double-breasted trench coat with shoulder straps and a white, button-down bib. This coat is bound at the waist with a black belt, which is further adorned with a decorative buckle, and is worn over both white trousers and trench boots. Like the he also wears a distinctive white, ankle-length cloak that features the Vandenreich insignia emblazoned on its back.

History
During the Vandenreich Invasion of Soul Society Siegfried was active under the command of his superior Zorn, where he stole the of Rikimaru Ichinose. Together with his commander he fought against Sōritsu Kuchiki but was overpowered and left for dead by the ancient. He marveled at the Shinigami's strength and wordlessly stared in disbelief as Sōritsu, even with his Bankai stolen, succeeded in killing Zorn and reclaiming Taiyō no Enchōmaku. Catching the eye of Ryan Kuchiki and Miria Fujibayashi, Siegfried retreated by sinking into a shadow he had created.

Fleeing to the Siegfried initially settled in Akabira City, where he took on the guise of a school teacher, hiding his Quincy heritage.

One day after many years of hiding he was visited by Kenjiro Hiroshi. Kenjiro told Siegfried he knew who he was and what he was, and asked him if he would lend him his unique talents in regard to a certain project. Thoroughly annoyed with his current life Siegfried happily agreed after Kenjiro confirmed that the Shinigami would pay. Siegfried accompanied Kenjiro and was introduced to the Engelhaft Gewitter; a Quincy organization he would feel a degree of kinship with. Within the organization he became known as Siegfried "Trickster" Adler, hinting at his tricky nature. He became the partner of Ricky Jones and convinced the latter to disown David Jones for spouting believes once held by, saying that he wasn't a "true" Quincy. Agreeing Ricky severed all ties with his family.

Masquerading as a Shinigami, Siegfried attended the Shinō Academy, where he passed off Rikimaru's Bankai as his own. He befriended both the students and the teachers whilst secretly spying on the Shinigami. In a report to Kenjiro he detailed the abilities of many of the Gotei 13's personnel, including the Captains and Lieutenants.

Synopsis

 * Main Article - Bleach (Kenji Hiroshi).

Impostor arc

 * Defeat and Robbery

Restoration arc

 * Shifting Loyalties

Equipment
Medallion: Siegfried carried on his person a round, unnamed device that is roughly the size of a person's palm, which has the Vandenreich insignia etched into its surface. When activated, this device is capable of stealing a single currently released Bankai in the immediate vicinity. Siegfried used it during the Vandenreich Invasion to steal Shinohai Ginshintō (死の灰 銀振盪, Atomic Dust Silver Shock) from Rikimaru Ichinose, and would continue to use it throughout his tenure under Kenjiro.

Powers and Abilities
Reconnaissance Master: Siegfried is a noted spy of incredible ability. He can infiltrate the deepest of organizations, gain their trust as a high-ranking member, or lay low in the lowest of positions. He successfully passed himself off as a Shinigami in training at the Shinō Academy for years whilst secretly gathering information on the current Captains and Lieutenants of the Gotei 13, anyone capable of performing Bankai, as well as their military strength. It was through Siegfried's efforts that Kenjiro came to know so much about the Gotei 13, the intimate details of Kenji Hiroshi's personal life, and how best to challenge the military might of both the Gotei 13 and the Ryū Order.






 * Stahlhaut (鋼の皮膚, Sutaruhātto; German for "Steel Skin"): an ability that Ryan Kuchiki initially mistook for the inferior  (血装 (ブルート), burūto; German for "Blood", Japanese for "Blood Guise") used by the Vandenreich Quincy. By channeling a small portion of reishi through each pore of their body, each of these miniscule reishi particles generate a force-field that synchronizes with other fields to form a uniform network through the skin of the entire body structure. The result in the creation of an almost impenetrable defense from spiritual attacks. There are also two stages of Stahlhaut:


 * Stahlhaut Macht (鋼の皮膚筋肉, Sutaruhātto makku; German for "Muscular Steel Skin"): Siegfried's answer to brute-force techniques, such as Ryan's Form II attacks. It causes the reishi flow to move against any force that attempts to penetrate the Quincy's body. With enough of a flow, a Quincy's skin becomes nearly unstoppable against any assault. Another side-effect is their improved strength, which allowed Siegfried to contend with the fierce attacks of Sōritsu Kuchiki as well as combat his Bankai.


 * Stahlhaut Rutschig (鋼の皮膚温厚, Sutaruhātto rutushikku; German for "Slippery Steel Skin"): Siegfried's answer to softer attacks which either pierce or "burn" through a target. The reishi flow does not move against the force but instead the reishi flow within the pores moves parallel to the skin itself. This causes any soft spiritual attack to ideally "slide off" Siegfried's body without ever making real direct contact with him.


 * Hirenkyaku (飛廉脚; lit: "Flying Screen Step/God Step", Viz: "Flying Bamboo-Blind Leg") is a technique which enables a Quincy to travel quickly over short and long distances. Siegfried demonstrates extreme expertise in the skill and is capable of surprising even Captain-level opposition with his speed.

Shadows: "Shadows" is a skill of teleportation used by members of Vandenreich. It enables a Quincy to open a pathway between two different dimensions through a shadow. By placing his hand on the ground and then swiftly swinging his arm outward, he is able to greatly extend the resultant shadow to manifest a towering portal shaped like the Quincy Cross, which is large enough to allow several people to exit simultaneously.

Zanjutsu Expert: Despite being a Quincy, Siegfried is a skilled practitioner of the Zanjutsu arts. He was trained at the Shinō Academy whilst masquerading as a Shinigami and advanced his skills to the point he could cross blades with a master of Ryan's caliber. He specializes in Form III: Kyūshiki (急式, Fast Style) and is capable of employing it successfully enough to quickly dispose of a Lieutenant-level Shinigami with remarkable ease. Ryan explains that his Blut-enhanced attacks enable him to strike with excessive force even from a single hand, while the style's focus on speed allows him to chain attacks almost indefinitely. Ryan proved however that his blade work can be bested. Using the weakness to Form II inherent to Form III, Ryan was able to batter through Siegfried's comparably weak defenses with sweeping heavy blows that prevented him brining his strength and swift blade work to the fore.

Spirit Weapon
Reishi Kama: Using his abilities as a Quincy, Siegfried is capable of concentrating both spirit and  in order to transform them into weapons. His preferred form manifests as a short and portable with a ball-and-chain attachment at the base which can be swung like a flail at great range.


 * Special Ability: The Kama can be used for its flail-like attributes at range while the sickle makes an effective close range weapon.


 * Heilig Pfeil (神聖滅矢 (ハイリッヒ・ブファイル), Hairihhi Bufairu; German for "Holy Arrow", Japanese for "Destroying Arrow of Sanctity"): Siegfried can gather reishi from his surroundings and shape it into arrows for use as long-range weaponry. He can fire these arrows following the arc of a slash or simply from the palm of his hand.


 * Appearance Manipulation: The true power of his arrows lie in the ability to alter the appearance of structures at a whim, including Siegfried's own appearance; hence why he is called Trickster with the designation "T". He can also mimic other people fully and even take on their skills and techniques, albeit he is weaker than the original.


 * Heilig Schlagschaden (聖強打, Seikyōda; German for "Holy Smite", Japanese for "Sacred Smiting"): Siegfried can gather large quantities of reishi from his surroundings and shape it into a large dome to trap an enemy. This dome acts as a "quiver", allowing Siegfried to bombard his enemies with countless Heilig Pfeil without motions of any kind.

Rikimaru's Bankai
During the Vandenreich Invasion Siegfried managed to steal Rikimaru's Bankai Shinohai Ginshintō (死の灰 銀振盪, Atomic Dust Silver Shock). Under Kenjiro when he masqueraded as a Shinigami he would pass off the stolen Bankai by placing his medallion into a specially crafted with a circular guard that was capable of altering its shape, which would be identified by Soul Society as Siegfried's zanpakutō. He named this weapon Meidōkanshō (鳴動緩衝, Rumbling Shock).


 * : When he altered his weapons shape to provide the illusion of initiating Shikai, Siegfried used the command "Awaken" (覚ます, Samasu). The sword split apart to form two swords connected at the hilt and tip with a hollow center.


 * "Shikai" Special Ability: The powers of Meidōkanshō was simply the usage of the powerful shockwaves of Rikimaru's Bankai. These shockwaves where controllable, enabling Siegfried to manipulate the strength and size to suit his needs, such as blasting away his enemies with an omni-directional blast, pushing himself clear of attacks with a weaker pulse or to disrupt an enemies attack by hitting it with perfectly opposite power.


 * : Siegfried would name the Bankai Shinohai Meidōkanshō (死の灰 鳴動緩衝, Atomic Dust Rumbling Shock) to further the act, which released large quantities of dust into the air.


 * "Bankai" Special Power: When he used the stolen Bankai to its fullest potential Siegfried gained access to a particularly deadly power. The dust created from its release was absorbed into the shockwaves. This dust took on poisonous qualities that dissolves and breaks down cells, causing paralysis of the muscles, yet allowing the target to still feel pain. This dust enters through an opponents pores and is completely undetectable by conventional means. By placing his hand upon their body and declaring "Rupture" (穿孔, Senkō) Siegfried can violently kill an opponent instantly.

Behind the Scenes

 * Full credit for the Stahlhaut concept goes to Sei.