Renge Kondō


 * Strong and loyal, yet deceptively cunning.... - User:Ten Tailed Fox

Renge Yamato (大和蓮華, Yamato Renge) is the high marshal of the Ring of Four in the Royal Guard. During his time in the Gotei 13, he spent time in the Kido Corps, the Fourth Division, and was eventually a captain of the Third Division. He was promoted to the Royal Guard mere months before the events of the Turn Back the Pendulum arc and therefore never really was involved in the Aizen Incident nor the Winter War with Aizen and his Espada. He is famous for his creation of specialized kido and his mastery at the use of his zanpakuto.

Due to the name of his zanpakuto and the nature of it's abilities, he has been given the moniker "Renge of the Blood Rose" (血薔薇乃蓮華, Chibara no Renge). He has recently become the primary protagonist of User:Ten Tailed Fox's stories.

Appearance
As a High Marshal, Renge wears a customized captain's haori with torn and jagged edges. It is different from traditional haori worn by captains in that it is trimmed with blue and has two horizontal blue stripes across the back. He also wears several bandages around his lower stomach, white pants, and traditional tabi. Renge himself has spiky brown hair with a red headband tied to his forehead, and piercing brown eyes.

During his time as the Third Division's Captain, he wore the same haori only it lacked the jagged edges and was much longer. When he was a third seat officer in fourth division and a member of the Kido Corps, he wore traditional Shinigami robes, did not wear a red headband, and wore his hair down.

Personality
Renge is normally a comical, caring, and protective individual. He is fiercely loyal to his comrades and his Ring. His leadership skills are unquestionable, as is demonstrated by his selection by the Supreme-Commander, Akihito Kagoshima, to be a high marshal. He is very determined to remain responsible in his command. He always makes sure a mission is complete and holds every member of his Ring responsible for it's completion. Despite this, he has also proven to have a deceptively cunning and serious side to his personality whenever the situation demands. He always speaks politely to both his superiors and his subordinates, though in the case of his friends he can sometimes be sarcastic and will occasionally pick on them.

About 100 years ago, during his time in the Fourth Division, his personality was almost the exact opposite, showing the changes that he's been through since his becoming a marshal. Back then, he had just exited the Kido Corps and joined the Gotei 13 and was very shy and silent. He often stuttered when he talked and he rarely completed his missions with his whole heart. He gained a love for healing and began developing his own kidō as this interest grew. His personality developed even more when he was promoted to captain of the Third Division. The quick thrust into a leadership position helped his leadership skills and became much more responsible for his division's missions. He also developed a cunning nature to his battle strategy.

Renge usually shows up in important situations, especially when his comrades are in need. During decisive battles, however, he tends to prefer to stay on the sidelines as he hates intense combat. He only intervenes if the situation gets out of hand or if he see's an opening.

History
Renge's Shinigami career began shortly after his graduation from the Shinō Academy when he joined the Kidō Corps due to his exceptional skills in kidō. It is unknown exactly when he joined the Gotei 13, but it is known that he was in the Fourth Division as it's third seat about one hundred years prior to the series. As a member of the Fourth Division, he quickly became an exceptional healer and began to develop his own kidō. Eventually he achieved the Bankai of his zanpakutō and took the Captain's Proficiency test, becoming the leader of the Third Division. During his time as captain, the Third Division became famous for it's strict policies on loyalty to comrades and mission completion.

Finally, he received the letter of promotion via a Hell Butterfly from the Spirit King himself, allowing him to join the Royal Guard, aka the Zero Division. He stepped down as captain of the Third Division, giving his post to Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi and then was taken to the Spirit King's dimension.

Powers & Abilities
Tremendous Spiritual Energy: As one of the members of the Royal Guard, he has tremendous amounts of spiritual energy at his disposal. His reiatsu is noted to be several times larger than a typical Gotei 13 captain and can disable lieutenants and below with just it's sheer volume. Among his Ring, the Ring of Four, he is said to have the most overwhelming spiritual energy. When released in large volumes, it can cause the wind to kick up and the ground to tremor slightly. His reiatsu is also known to be very dense and heavy. One member of his Ring said, "It is as if an anvil weighing two tons was dropped on my shoulders.". When manifesting, his spiritual energy is colored crimson and often manifests as a twister around him or a wave if he is in combat. It also has healing properties to it. When focused on a small wound on either his person or on another person, it will heal the wound as if it had never been there to start. This is thought to be a result of his time in the Fourth Division.

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: While used less often, he has shown great proficiency in hand to hand combat. When training with the captains in his Ring, he often uses this style of combat due to his zanpakutō's rather destructive nature. When mixed with his skill in shunpo, Renge is a very dangerous hand to hand combatant.

Master Swordsmanship Specialist: He is easily considered a master at using his zanpakutō. His battle style is very graceful and yet his blows are fierce and are difficult to block. He is able to, without much effort, fend off two Gotei 13 captains and keep them on their toes, which isn't surprising considering he is a High Marshal. His speed often makes his first strike the most deadly, though he is shown to be very lethal no matter the strike when combining his speed with his swordsmanship. Due to the nature of his zanpakutō, he has trained himself to fight off opponents in his sealed state as much as possible, even if that opponent has gone into their released forms; a testimony to his skills. His achievement of Bankai during his time in the Fourth Division tremendously increase the lethality of his blade. He is on very good terms with his zanpakutō's spirit and the two often work in complete unison which yields many fruits on the battlefield. Once he releases, his swordsmanship becomes his primary means of fighting and he becomes extremely dangerous. Rarely does he ever have to use Bankai, as his Shikai alone is extremely deadly.

Flash Steps Master: His speed is tremendous, as is his mastery of Shunpo. He can easily keep up with Captain-level enemies. When using his shunpo to it's maximum it almost seems as if he has simply vanished and then reappeared elsewhere. He has stated that only other High Marshals and perhaps the Captain of the Second Division could catch him or even amount to his levels of speed. He has even been shown to be able to keep up with Vizard-type opponents with their masks on and even Espada-level Arrancar in their released forms, attesting to his tremendous skill at using Flash Steps.

Kidō Master/Inventor: One of his more noticeable traits is his immense skill with using Kidō. He has been talented with it ever since his days in the Shinō Academy, which led to him joining the Kidō Corps at the start of his career. During his time in the Fourth Division, this skill vastly improved to the point that he could make several of his own Kidō. By the time he became a High Marshal, he has created dozens of his own unique kidō and has the power to use level 90 kidō without incantation and still retain the majority of the spell's power. It is thought that his tremendous spiritual energy aids his use of large level kidō. He is also shown to be talented at weaving kidō together in crafty ways during combat. Before releasing his zanpakutō, this is his primary fighting style and becomes his secondary fighting style after releasing Shikai and Bankai. His kidō is noticeably more stable than most Shinigami with kidō abilities, and therefore it doesn't breakdown at all and is not easily deflected. Renge has commented on this, saying that his kidō is bound by energy that is so uniquely bonded that it is completely impossible to breakdown by means of another technique or ability.

High Intellect: Despite his usual comical and cool personality, Renge is very cunning and analytical. His greatest strength, says one of his Ring members, is that he can come up with complex plans in an extremely short time and usually has two or three plans set up for engaging one opponent before they even draw their blades. This may be due to the sheer number of abilities he has (zanpakutō and kidō wise), thus making him more versatile in setting up his plots, whereas most Shinigami have one ability that they are extremely good at and thus have to rely on the same strategy constantly. Renge is never cocky and always fights to analyze his foe's skills before cutting loose and going all out. He has commented that during his days as a Captain in the Gotei 13, if he knew he would be facing a powerful opponent, he would often make a kidō spell specifically to counter the abilities of his foe, showing not only his perceptiveness of a foe's skills, but also his preparations for battle.

Enhanced Durability: He has shown the ability to endure heavy assault from enemies and still be able to bounce right back into a fight. More noticeably, he can withstand high level kidō and even powerful Cero blasts without receiving a large amount of damage. On a lighter note, he has been shown to take comical beatings from his friends and subordinates and seem to be alright with it, even laughing about it on occasions.

Enhanced Strength: As his appearance might suggest, he is very strong. He is capable of lifting large boulders and tossing them with only one arm and, by focusing his spiritual energy into his fists and feet, use devastating punches and kicks which often leave a foe's bones broken and even rupture their internal organs. He has also been shown to be able to catch forceful punches and kicks with ease.

Zanpakutō
Shinibana (死に花, A Blooming Cut Flower; can also be translated as "Glorious Death"): Renge's zanpakutō takes the form of a walking stick, resembling a smaller version of Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's Ryūjin Jakka's cane form. When entering combat, this stick-like appearance will peal away, revealing a standard katana with a round guard, purple hilt, and purple sheathe. It is one of the few zanpakutō to have a female spirit and be owned by a man. Renge has described his Zanpakutō spirit as "beautiful and cunning". He has also commented that Shinibana has the "most techniques" of any Zanpakutō in Soul Society, though whether or not this is true hasn't yet been proven. He has also claimed that his Zanpakutō is very "Hollow-like", referring to the fact that many of it's Shikai attacks are made of a similar energy to a Hollow's Cero and that his Bankai can be compared in many ways to a Hollow in it's properties and appearance.

Renge and Shinibana are very closely connected. In battle the two seem to be in perfect harmony, which adds to their performance in combat. They talk in Renge's inner world very often, which boosts their relationship with one another. Renge has made the comment that, in a sense, Shinibana is his closest confident and most trusted companion. The sheathe of Shinibana can absorb Kidō and Cero through it's opening and reflect it back on whoever made the original attack, a deadly addition to Shinibana's capabilities.


 * Shikai: Renge releases Shinibana with the phrase "Blossom" (花, hana). Shinibana's Shikai takes the form of a standard katana with no guard and a curved hilt, retaining it's purple color. It has a short, crimson, chain that dangles down from the bottom of the hilt. At the end of the chain dangles a penny-sized medallion with the kanji for flower upon it. Shinibana's blade is a slight bit thinner than a regular katana and is sharper than a usual zanpakutō, making cutting an opponent much easier. In addition to these changes, it gives Renge a wide array of abilities.
 * Shikai Special Ability: Shinibana's ability is to create several energy based techniques for various purposes. These techniques are generally either a crimson color or black. Renge has said that the energy is very similar to the energy used by Hollows and Arrancar in their Cero blasts. It can also be compared to Kisuke Urahara's Benihime in that it's techniques use command phrases rather than have names; of it's many techniques only one, Hyakkaseihō, has a name.
 * Decoy, Shinibana (桜死に花, Sakura, Shinibana): This ability allows Renge to create an exact clone of himself. The clone can do anything he normally can do, but mainly acts as a distraction. When the clone disperses, it creates a large crimson blast that is fatal to anyone too close.
 * Hyakkaseihō (百花斉放, Hundred Flowers Campaign): The only named technique that Shinibana has, it creates several hundred spherical blasts of crimson energy that erupt from Shinibana's blade and can cause immense damage to anyone it hits. It has also been shown to be immensely damaging to the surrounding area of which it is fired. It should also be noted that Renge has compared the speed of the blasts to an Arrancar's Bala.
 * Sprout, Shinibana (芽立ち死に花, Medachi, Shinibana): This technique absorbs as much spiritual energy as it can from both Renge and the surrounding area to create a large, black, energy blast. He can control these blasts as well as change their shape, size, and intensity. It can match and cancel out an Arrancar's Cero and Bala and can also be used in a similar fashion to Ichigo's Bankai Getsuga Tenshō, by keeping the blast within the blade and using it to argument the strike of Shinibana. When this technique strikes the ground, it can cut a very deep, leaving a trench in it's wake.
 * Root, Shinibana (根底死に花, Kontei, Shinibana): Shinibana creates several vines of crimson energy which bind a foe and prevents them from moving. These vines cannot be cut through by a normal zanpakutō. Another noticeable trait of this technique, is that the vines seal off the opening in the body which allows reiatsu to flow out of the body, which could damage the target substantially.
 * Seed, Shinibana (実死に花, Mi, Shinibana): This technique creates a crimson energy ball with a black outline that burrows itself beneath the ground. When an opponent is located directly above it's location, standing on the spot it is under, or at Renge's command, they will detonate, creating a tremendous explosion that leaves a sizable crater. He can plant more than one of these at once.
 * Pollinate, Shinibana (受精死に花, Jusei, Shinibana): Every time an opponent is cut by Shinibana's Shikai, it leaves a small trace of energy in the wound. When this command is given, the energy left behind in the wounds erupts, causing massive and even fatal damage to whomever it is on. It should be noted that if Renge were to ever cut himself, Shinibana would not detonate the energy on his person as he is it's master.
 * Wither away, Shinibana (衰死死に花, Suishi, Shinibana): This ability instantly causes anything binding or restricting Renge to be destroyed, allowing him to move freely again.
 * Bloom, Shinibana (華死に花, Hana, Shinibana; this technique uses the same romaji pronunciation as the shikai release but a different Kanji): The last of Shinibana's shikai powers, it fires a wide crimson or black blast from the tip of Shinibana that is similar, but stronger, to a Cero.


 * Bankai: Guren Shinibana (紅蓮死に花, A Blooming Cut Crimson Lotus Flower): In Bankai, his appearance changes radically. He now wears a form fitting black cloak that splits into four sections near his waist. It covers his entire body, even his arms, legs, hands and feet. This robe is part of Renge's Bankai and the damage it can take is directly proportionate to the remaining strength and level of Renge's Reiatsu, similar to Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu. The zanpakutō itself does not change in appearance. When he wants to release the full power of his Bankai, he will call on a full head mask by gathering spiritual matter on his face and pulling down, very similar to how Vizards dawn their Hollow masks. This releases the true power of his Bankai and makes him very dangerous. The mask form fits his head and has a cross like marking in it's center. Also in Bankai, his sclera turn red and his irises turn green.
 * Bankai Special Ability: While in Bankai, he can use all of his Shikai techniques, which are explosively strengthened with the power of his Bankai. To use them, he uses their given command, but says "Guren Shinibana" instead of "Shinibana". His energy attacks in Bankai are black with red outlines, combining the two shikai colors. He also gains several new abilities;
 * Hyper-Speed Combat: In Bankai, his speed is tremendously increased, as he can now fight on par with Shinigami such as the Second Division's captain. He can outstrip several captains speed wise and says that only the likes of the Kawahiru family (knowing their skills) could even hope to keep up with him.
 * Enhanced Spiritual Power: It is said that Bankai increases a user's spiritual energy by ten times. His spiritual energy is now completely overwhelming to anyone lower than a Captain, and even some captains have a hard time dealing with his power. Among the High Marshall's, however, his power is in normal range.
 * High Speed Regeneration: A testimony to his earlier statement about his zanpakutō seeming Hollow-like, Guren Shinibana's robe and mask have the ability to regenerate wounds on his body with ease, though they cannot restore the internal organs.
 * Thorn, Guren Shinibana (針紅蓮死に花, Hari, Guren Shinibana): This technique creates dozens of thin energy beams which can cut through almost anything. The blasts are also extremely fast. He can also use a larger version of this, by gathering all of the energy beams' collective energy into the blade and firing it as an energy lance that can pierce through anything.
 * 'Connecting, Guren Shinibana (開栓紅蓮死に花, Kaisen, Guren Shinibana:): The last of the Bankai's upgraded powers. This technique is used after Renge has released two techniques from his zanpakutō. It allows him to weave together two or more of Shinibana's techniques making them far more deadly and even more unique.

Behind the Scenes
This character is meant to take the place of my previous lead characters. While I am not completely ditching my old projects, this one is one that is meant to demonstrate my knowledge of Bleach, as well as demonstrate my absolute favorite zanpakutō of the many I have created, Shinibana.

I based Shinibana on numerous things. I based it's techniques naming and characteristics on Kisuke Urahara's Benihime, the color scheme on Ichigo's Bankai, and the Bankai appearance on Aizen's new form's appearance. As for the flower theme, which permeates throughout the naming of the zanpakutō and it's release phrases, I chose these because I like to use flower analogies when comparing things to life (I know, I'm weird, so what).

Quotes

 * "A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world."
 * "If you fear death, I suggest you run. I cannot be responsible for what happens to you if you fight..."
 * (About Ryan) "Ah, yes. There was one by that name a while back. He was young and naive, with little on his mind except protecting his friends. A good lad, but he never discovered the true secret to success. If one wants to protect their friends, then that one must kill thier friend's enemies before that enemy has a chance to strike. That is true loyalty."
 * (About Seireitou) "That man, as aloof as he may seem, is dangerous. He is unnatural in his cunning, it's almost as if he's reading your heart rather than your mind."