Yoichi Yamashin


 * Getting hit by Yoichi is like getting whacked by a tsunami. - Fujimoto.

Yoichi Yamashin (洋一 Ocean First, 山真 Mountain True), is the current Marshal-General of the Shuuten who preceded his father for the position. He is the head of Heisekai's military, answering only to Kaede, the Jouin and, on very rare occasions, Tomoko. A powerful in his own right, Yoichi is openly recognized as the strongest warrior within Heisekai's territory and takes an active hand in safeguarding her borders, both internally and externally from any threat that may arise to endanger it. Alongside Fujimoto, Shiori, Hiei and various members of their respective divisions, Yoichi participated in the Invasion of Kōhai Tochi to uproot the Collective Vices and, through certain events, met and briefly fought Kentaro and Akiye, only to be intercepted by Ashido and Jinta Kanō. He later fought back Shinzō after Shiori encountered some difficulty.

Appearance
Yoichi is a statuesque young man with a rather intimidating physical appearance, brought further to the fore through casual clothing which causes many to label him punkish. His height doesn't lessen the image a hair either. Yoichi is usually seen with his uniquely spiked greeny-blue-colored hair which parts at the front to reveal his forehead, eyes and prevent the shadowing of his features amidst a swath of hair as many others beneath him seem to favor, such as Fujimoto Nakamura. The ends hang over his shoulders a little while at the back it hangs between his shoulder blades. His eyes are colored a light blue, almost like the sky.

Yoichi's clothing is what is deemed punkish, coupled with the scar that runs down through his right eye and down to his chest always been revealed. His top consists of a simple blue jacket open to accentuate his abdominal pecks, with a simple pair of grey jeans worn beneath. Tied around his waist is a brown leather belt. Unlike most who thread their zanpakutō through an ōbi, or carry it from their belt, Yoichi does not. His sheath lies across his right shoulder and is drawn with his left.

History
Sometime prior to Yoichi becoming Marshal-General of the Shuuten, Ranmaru Shibata Sr. defeated him in battle and inflicted Yoichi with the scar he has today. Ranmaru would become the only individual ever to inflict lasting injury on Yoichi. He would go on to take his father's place as the Marshal-General of Heisekai.

Synopsis

 * Main Article - Bleach (Kenji Hiroshi).

Dragonforce arc

 * Escaping Splendor

Invasion of Kōhai Tochi arc

 * Challenging the Vices Saga

Restoration arc

 * Informal Meetings

Powers and Abilities
Even his father, the former Marshal-General, is not as strong as Yoichi. His spiritual energy is under incredibly firm control and can reach excessive levels when fully exerted if rumor is to believed. Even at a low level of output the weight of his energy can cause most to experience difficulty breathing. The depths of his abilities are largely unknown however.

Expert Swordsmanship Specialist: Being the current Marshal-General of the Shuuten who is known to surpass even his father before him, Yoichi is a skilled and competent swordsman. He combines calmness with brutal efficiency, as his longsword allows him to hew through armor effortlessly while increasing his range over the traditional katana. His strikes were so swift that Kentaro and Akiye couldn't react in time to stop them and Ashido forbade Jinta participating further in the battle after he sustained injury.

Enhanced Durability: Yoichi is capable of diverting both Kentaro and Akiye, who were using two blades apiece, with only his forearm without receiving a single injury. He was also fit to emerge unharmed from Ashido's Heiki attacks.

Highly Perceptive Combatant: Yoichi is capable of picking up subtle facts about his targets and turn that against them in a form of psychological warfare. He noticed that Kentaro and Akiye were holding hands and commented to that effect, causing both to blush, where he then struck them unawares. Had Ashido Kanō not intervened he'd have killed both with little resistance from either.

Shunpo: While the depths of his skills are unknown he was fit to dodge the dual attack of both Ashido and Jinta with a single impressive flash step and later arrive to help Shiori fight Shinzō, despite being miles away.

Zanpakutō
Takihime (滝姫, Cascade Princes). Yoichi's Takihime is one of few zanpakutō whose inner spirit is a female, while he is a male. In her sealed state, Takihime has the appearance of a straight-double-edged longsword with sea-blue hilt wrapping and sheath. Her guard is also straight and quite traditional.


 * : Takihime is released with the phrase "Submerge". When released, Takihime's sealed blade transforms into a weapon similar in many respects to a club, with various spine-like protrusions along its central length. These spines number a total of twelve, with six on each side respectively that grow in size as they near her tip.


 * Shikai Special Abilities: Takihime is a well-rounded Kidō-type zanpakutō with elements to aid in melee combat as well should the need arise. Her unique shape also makes it easy to disarm enemies.


 * Poison: Each of the spiked protrusions are coated in a debilitating poison which not only saps the targets strength, but eats away at their reiatsu as well until the foe literally collapses due to exhaustion. The more strenuous activity one takes part in during the poisons activation only serves to speed the process along, as your already burning spiritual power. The poison is ingested into the bloodstream through cuts.


 * Augmented Elemental Kidō: Takihime allows Yoichi to launch water, ice and wind elemental Kidō with augmented strength, range, and without an incantation or relaying of the spells name while retaining almost all of its destructive or binding power. And because he isn't outright stating the spells name, it can be quite surprising for someone not familiar with Kidō usage.


 * Bankai: Hyōkai Takihime (氷海滝姫, Frozen Sea Cascade Princess). Much like traditional Bankai forms which create a large effect or creature to aid the user in battle, Hyōkai Takihime melds with Yoichi's right arm and grafts herself to him to become an extension of Yoichi's very body. The spiked club-like weapon ceases to exist and alters shape and consistency to form a large, sea-shell like piece which appears much like a needle at the tip. At the very back near his shoulder lies a large, orange hued gem which serves as the origin point for his enhanced Kidō spells.


 * Bankai Special Abilities: Much like Takihime's Shikai state, Hyōkai Takihime remains a balanced Kidō-type with the addition of poison to help cripple a target in melee as well. The focus on Kidō usage however is much more substantial, as all of Yoichi's Kidō abilities are roughly doubled in strength regardless of their elemental affinity. Spells which fall into the elemental fields of wind, water and ice, however, are almost tripled in damage output, making each drastically more powerful.


 * Reishi Absorption: The large orange jewel constantly absorbs ambient reishi particles from the air in a manner similar to how low-level Hollows sustain themselves and Quincy form their weaponry. This energy can serve two known purposes, though Yoichi has hinted towards more. The known uses are:


 * Takisōfū (滝送風, Cascade Blast): an offensive technique which releases the absorbed reishi in a single destructive blast, colored blue, which can outright destroy a descent sized island when released at full power and cause a tsunami in its wake. To fire it, Yoichi must first brace himself to a surface by means of binding Kidō to help compensate for the vast recoil experienced. He even explains that should he not brace himself in some fashion, no matter limited, he risks breaking every bone in his body if he were lucky enough to survive being blasted back at extreme velocity.


 * Takiyōsai (滝要塞, Cascade Fortress): a defensive technique which release the absorbed reishi in the form of a towering fortress-like veil which has its roots in Kidō usage. The barrier is breakable only by the strongest techniques.


 * Tsuintaki (ツイン滝, Twin Cascade): an expansion of Hyōkai Takihime and Yoichi's trump card by his own admission. Tsuintaki fits Yoichi with two of the armored, sea-shell like weapons, one per each arm. This technique sacrifices offensive flexibility for strengthened defense, as each shell is becomes nigh on impossible to break or otherwise damage. The own downside is that it saps spiritual energy continually while active.

Behind the Scenes
Yoichi's name literally means Ocean First, which is a reference to his homeland, which is an island. The part about first is supposed to refer to him being the strongest in the realm. Yamashin though, meaning Mountain True, is supposed to showcase his loyalty to his homeland - in that he'll be true towards it.

Parts from his top quite are inspired directly from Al'Lan Mandagoran, a character in my favorite series of novels by the late Robert Jordan, known as the Wheel of Time. This is merely an adaption of the original quite, which reads:

"To stand against the Shadow so long as iron is hard and stone abides. To defend the Malkieri while one drop of blood remains. To avenge what cannot be defended."

All credit goes to Robert Jordan, his wife and Tor Books.

Acknowledgments
Yoichi's pictures were drawn by klnothincomin on deviantart, who gave me permission to use them. All credit for the art goes to him, for he rightly deserves it. The name of his zanpakutō is also taken from his Kaito Nakamura character, as a form of homage, though the abilities displayed are of my own invention.