Ishiguro Takechiyo

Ishiguro Takechiyo (イシグロ 竹千代, Takechiyo Ishiguro) is the Captain of the 3rd Division of the Gotei 13, who was appointed to the position after the Thousand Year Blood War.

Appearance
Ishiguro wears clothing typical of a Shinigami in the Soul Society. He wears his Captain's haori with pride over his Shiakusho, which is always kept clean and in pristine condition. Ishiguro takes pride in his appearance, and as such is always clean shaven and is fashion conscious while in the World of the Living. While in the World of the Living, Ishiguro typically wears a shirt and tie, which is often under a long trench coat or a blazer. His young complexion allows him to easily blend in as a college student, despite being over 200 years old. Ishiguro's brown eyes are seen by some younger female Shinigami as "dreamy", although Ishiguro would deny this.

Personality
Ishiguro is viewed as kind and welcoming by his fellow Shinigami. He is very accepting of anyone he meets, often taking time out of his day to help others in need. Ishiguro is an incredibly calculating individual, who is one of the best strategists in the Gotei 13. Numerous older members of the Gotei 13 have stated that his intellect rivals that of Kisuke Urahara. Ishiguro believes that for every strategy that fails, you should have five additional strategies that are ready to execute at any time. Ishiguro values himself as a utilitarian, believing that actions should benefit the greatest number of people, even if some people are left unhappy. Organization is incredibly important to Ishiguro, as all of his paperwork is always in order. He has been called a "clean freak" by several members of his Division for constantly making his office spotless and perfect.

Great Spiritual Energy
As a result of his rank as Captain, Ishiguro possesses Great Spiritual Energy. His Spiritual Energy is not as powerful as older captains such as Hirohito Takagawa, but it is greater than all Lieutenants and Seated Officers. Ishiguro is a master of Reiatsu control, and is able to conceal his Reiatsu in order to escape from battles or hide from enemies. His spiritual energy is deep purple mixed with black.

Hakuda Expert
Ishiguro is an expert Hakuda combatant, being able to fight off several enemies without the assistance of his Zanpakutō. Ishiguro prefers to use multiple lighter attacks in quick succession as opposed to one stronger attack.
 * Raiōken (雷王拳, Thunder King Fist): Raiōken is a Hakuda technique where the practitioner performs a series of high-sped punches with both arms. Ishiguro prefers to use Raiōken against a single opponent.

Hohō Master
Ishiguro is considered to be one of the foremost masters of Hohō in the Soul Society. His speed rivals that of the 2nd Division Captain and head of the Onmitsukidō, and is the source of his moniker "The Dark Flash."

Zanjutsu Expert
Ishiguro is an expert of Zanjutsu combat, being able to fight off several adequate Zanjutsu practitioners. His skill in Zanpakutō combat is eclipsed by fellow Captains who are considered to be masters in Zanjutsu such as Hirohito Takagawa.

Kidō Expert
Ishiguro is an expert with Kidō, being able to perform mid-level Kidō with an incantation, and low level Kidō without an incantation. Ishiguro prefers to utilize Bakudō rather than Hadō because in his mind, Bakudō has more of a practical application in battle.

Zanpakutō
Yagami (夜神, Night God): Yagami in it's sealed form resembles a large, dark black katana with no unsual features aside from the golden pattern on the bottom portion of the blade as well as on the hilt. The black of the blade begins to fade towards the tip of the blade, which has the appearance regular steel. Shikai Special Ability: Yagami's abilities revolve around the control of darkness and shadows. Ishiguro can manipulate darkness to attack his enemies, or to hide in shadows similar to Shunsui Kyōraku's Kageoni. Ishiguro is also able to create clones of pure darkness and shadow in order to confuse his enemies. Ishiguro is able to mold into the darkness, which allows him to instantly move in shadowed or dark places, similar to teleportation. All of Yagami's techniques grow the darker the environment is, which is why Ishiguro prefers to use his Zanpakutō at night or in dark places.
 * Shikai: Yagami's Zanpakutō spirit resembles the appearance of a demon. It's flesh is a light gray with a slight blue-ish tint. It has spiky black hair, blue-gray lips, spiked teeth, and abnormally long limbs. His eyes are yellow with red pupils, and are large and rounded. Ishiguro releases the Zanpakutō with the command "Bring darkness and despair." When released, Yagami changes form into a pure black longsword. Many Shinigami believe that because of the blade's appearance, it is made of pure darkness itself.Yagami1.png
 * Kage Bunshin (影分身, Shadow Clones): Ishiguro's signature technique while in Shikai, Kage Bunshin allows him to create up to four clones of himself to aid him in battle. The clones take large amounts of Spirit energy to maintain for long periods of time. The clones are able to act autonomously from Ishiguro, and are able to perform the same techniques as him. The clones all have Spiritual energy equally distributed between them, making it impossible for even the most skilled Shinigami to distinguish the real Ishiguro from a clone.
 * Kage Bunshin: Tānkōto (影分身: ターンコート, Shadow Clones, Turncoat): Kage Bunshin: Tānkōto is a deviation of Ishiguro's signature Shikai technique. Ishiguro's Kage Bunshin creates up to four clones of himself, but Kage Bunshin: Tānkōto allows him to create a clone of an enemy. One weakness in the technique is that he has to maintain physical contact with the enemy for two seconds to create the clone. This poses a significant risk for Ishiguro, but the clone is very versatile as it has all of the techniques the target does.Kage kiri.jpg
 * Kage Kiri (影切り, Shadow Slash): Kage Kiri allows Ishiguro to gather darkness and shadow around his blade and launch it similar to Getsuga Tenshō. Ishiguro is able to use his own shadow as well as the shadows and darkness around him to fuel Kage Kiri. When launched, Kage Kiri's momentum is nearly unstoppable, as it is able to decimate a single target or attack several targets depending on its velocity and size. Kage Kiri is a destructive attack, as like Getsuga Tenshō, it has the potential to create large-scale destruction. On occasion, Ishiguro purposefully creates a small and weak Kage Kiri to distract his opponent from a more powerful attack.
 * Shadow strangle.pngKage Kubishibari (影首縛り, Suffocating Darkness): Kage Kubishibari manipulates the shadow of an opponent to strangle and suffocate them. Ishiguro is able to use Kage Kubishibari to strangle a target, which is effective against smaller targets. However, the longer Kage Kubishibari is in effect, the weaker it becomes. Ishiguro often uses Kage Kubishibari to kill enemies when discretion is necessary, or when interrogating an enemy.
 * Kurai shin'nyū (暗い侵入, Dark Infestation): Kurai shin'nyū manipulates darkness to form Ishiguro's most powerful attack in Shikai. Kurai shin'nyū creates a dark plague that ravages an enemy, painfully breaking them down until they are destroyed. The true destructive potential of Kurai shin'nyū lies in the fact that when one enemy dies from the dark plague, it jumps to another nearby enemy. Kurai shin'nyū's damage is on the cellular level, and breaks down the enemy from the inside and the outside at the same time.
 * Shingetsu no yari (新月の槍, Spear of the New Moon): Shingetsu no yari is a technique that was inspired by Gin Ichimaru's Shinso. Shinso's special ability allows the blade to extend one hundred times its length. Shingetsu no yari shoots out a long spear of darkness from the tip of Yagami's blade, extending a maximum of five hundred meters depending on the amount of shadows and darkness present when Ishiguro performs the technique.
 * Bankai: Yagami: Kurai akuma kyōfu (夜神: 暗い悪魔恐怖, Night God: Dark Devil Fear): Ishiguro's Bankai takes the form of a massive black demon that exudes darkness from its body. It has armor similar to that of a samurai, and has a serpent's tongue. It's long jagged blade allows it to attack enemies with ease, adding to the demon's bone collection it adorns on its body.

Bankai Special Ability: Upon release, a massive black demon made of pure darkness is summoned wielding a large jagged blade. The immediate vicinity around the demon becomes pitch black except for the glowing red eyes of the demon. The demon exudes pure darkness and radiates pure fear.
 * Dākubijon (ダークビジョン, Dark Vision): Dākubijon is a passive ability that is automatically activated when Ishiguro unleashes his Bankai. Dākubijon allows Ishiguro to see in the pitch black environment that his Bankai creates. Ishiguro is able to pass Dākubijon onto his allies through physical touch, which greatly enhances their survivability and provides a massive advantage against enemies while under the effects of Ishiguro's Bankai.
 * Fukkatsu (復活, Resurrection): Fukkatsu allows Ishiguro to raise those the demon has killed to fight on his side. Similar to former Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's Zanka no Tachi, Minami: Kaka Jūmanokushi Daisōjin, Fukkatsu raises former enemies from the grave. The raised dead are just constructed of the physical pieces of their body as they maintain none of the abilities that they had while alive. The corpses radiate darkness and act as mindless zombies with no will of their own, only a desire to destroy.
 * Tsukuyomi (月読, Moon Reader): Tsukuyomi manipulates the darkness produced by Kurai akumma kyōfu and transforms some of it into blades of darkness.  Ishiguro disperses the field of darkness in a particular area, where the blades fly to and impale anything that is within the light.  This transforms the sanctuary that light provides in the darkness to a weapon that Ishiguro can exploit to his immense benefit.
 * IshiguroFF.jpgNagaiyo no reifuku (長い夜の礼服, Vestments of the Long Night): Nagaiyo no reifuku is the culmination of the power of Ishiguro's Bankai. In preparation for this technique, Ishiguro takes in all of the darkness and shadow around him, including the corpses raised by Fukkatsu as well as the demon. As Ishiguro puts it, "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Ishiguro only uses this technique if he is certain that there is no other way to defeat the enemy he is facing as it poses a significant risk to himself and his allies. The vestments themselves consist of pitch black hooded robes with pure black armor on several parts of the robes. Ishiguro also wields twin black daggers in this form. Nagaiyo no reifuku actually consists of five separate techniques that are used one after the other, such as Shunsui Kyōraku's Bankai.
 * Shodai: Kigen (初代: 起源, The First: Genesis): The first of the five techniques of Nagaiyo no reifuku, Shodai: Kigen conjures two orbs of pure darkness. The orbs rotate around Ishiguro and radiate pure darkness, creating a shield that provides protection to Ishiguro. The shield protects Ishiguro from most physical and spiritual attacks, and uses darkness to heal minor wounds. But if the orbs are destroyed, the shield disperses immediately.
 * Nidaime: Shukkoku (二代目: 出国, The Second: Exodus): The second of the five techniques of Nagaiyo no reifuku, Nidaime: Shukkoku pushes everyone and everything nearby away from Ishiguro. All enemies that were repulsed become branded with dark runes, which conjure chains that encompass the majority of their body. The chains bind weaker enemies, but stronger enemies are still able to move with the chains on.
 * Sandaime: Rebi-ki (三代目: レビ記, The Third: Leviticus): The third of the five techniques of Nagaiyo no reifuku, Sandaime: Rebi-ki inscribes a rune on the ground underneath Ishiguro. Sandaime: Rebi-ki requires Ishiguro to remain completely still as it calls upon the souls of the dead in the vicinity. The souls then rain down from the sky as projectiles, exploding on impact.
 * Yondaime: Sūji (四代目: 数字, The Fourth: Numbers): The fourth of the five techniques of Nagaiyo no reifuku, Yondaime: Sūji gathers nearby darkness and shadows to create two identical coffins that rise from the ground. Once completely risen from the ground, the coffins open, revealing two robed figures similar in appearance to Ishiguro. Ishiguro refers them to them as "the Reapers", agents of death whose sole purpose is to take lives.
 * Godaime: Shinmei-ki (五代目: 申命記, The Fifth: Deuteronomy): The final of the five techniques of Nagaiyo no reifuku, Godaime: Shinmei-ki sprouts spectral wings from Ishiguro's back. Shinmei-ki is Ishiguro's penultimate attack, which allows Ishiguro to fly across the battlefield pursuing a chosen enemy, radiating corrosive darkness while in flight. He can shoot darkness projectiles or use his twin blades to decimate enemies. When he reaches his chosen target, Ishiguro creates a massive explosion of pure darkness. Once the effects of Godaime: Shinmei-ki have receeded, Ishiguro's Zanpakutō automatically seals itself, and leaves Ishiguro physically and spiritually exhausted for several days.