Joel Goldsmith

"I always asked myself, if I could be reincarnated, what kind of a person would I be? Or rather, what kind of person would I want to be. However, I'm afraid that this may be a question that doesn't have an answer. But if I were to take a guess, I would want to be born as a kind, gentler soul. Not this demon that I have been cursed to be in this lifetime. And second, what kind of world would I live in? I would want to live in a world without war and struggle, like we are all cursed to live in right now. In this world, there are no evil people. There are either pure people or regular people, who's hearts have been tainted and twisted by the world itself. And that is the truth. Don't even try to tell me that what I'm saying is wrong, Urehara, because you know it very much yourself. Is that not why you created the Hogyoku? To try and bring peace to this ever war torn world? Do not try and deny it. Even if we have beings in this world with honor and justice in their eyes, pride will always consume the pure hearted,and turn them into something ugly. In this world of war and hatred, I have been searching for an answer to this question, but have, so far, came up with no answers."

- Keiichi Kuchiki to Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihoin

"Most humble of all men, howling at the heavens, seeking redemption."

Keiichi Kuchiki is the Lieutenant of the 2nd Division in the Gotei 13, and the co-commander of the Onmitsukido's primary assassination corpse. His Captain and Onmitsukido commander is Yoruichi Shihoin, who retook her position as Captain sometime after SoiFon's death. He's a member of the famed Kuchiki Clan, but at some point in the past he refused to have anything to do with them, due to his beliefs of honor conflicting with their beliefs of pride. Keiichi was nominated to become the next Captain of the Second Division, but was technically unable to take that position to do not having learned his Bankai yet.

Appearance
Keiichi is a tall man with pale skin, sky blue eyes, an ear ring in his left ear, and long, flowing, purple hair, with part of it tied in a long pointytail that stretches down to his middle back, and the rest styled in two strands dangling to either side of his face, a light purple ribbon tying together his ponytail. Keiichi is adorned in a long, thick, light purple  Kimono , long enough that it normally covers his hands, with a long, thick, dark purple  Hakama  embellishing his lower half, long enough that it usually covers  his dark purple-laced sandel and light purple sock covered feet   The Kimono he wears is covered by a dark purple vest, with light brown linnings across the edges. This wardrobe, however, is in direct contrast to his attire when attending Lieutenant meetings, or other Shinigami-related meetings, which is the standard black Shinigami Kimono and Hakama, which is not nearly as long and thick as his personal Kimono and Hakama. When shirtless, an unusual tattoo can be seen on both his front and his back; the one on his front is a completely mystery, but the one on his back has the initial appearance of some sort of dragon, except it has two pairs of wings instead of one. His body is littered with permanent scars, some black and some red, as a permanent reminder of the dark days in the eleventh division. He also wears a special armor--dark purple, but so dark that it borderlines on black--stretching up the length of his arms; at the top, it ends quickly enough that his clothing covers it, but at the bottom it can occasionally be seen on the back of his hands. Keiichi has average muscular features, muscular enough to be somewhat physically strong, but not nearly muscular enough to sport a six pack abs or anything.

Personality
Keiichi Kuchiki is very unique among members of the Kuchiki Family. Keiichi believes in honor above all else, and rejected the pride of his family, refusing to enter a battle solely on pride alone. To him a battle of honor is the greatest type of battle, which shows what type of character a man truly possesses. He's very humble and, despite his advanced abilities and high status, does not believe he is above his subordinates in any way, and even though he has served in many wars for the Soul Society, doesn't believe anyone owes him anything; shortly after he became Lieutenant he even picked a fight with Captain SoiFon for hovering her pride above all else, earning himself a few months in prison. He is very kind to others and treats them with respect, so long as they can treat him with respect as well. Although he does have a little bit of pride remaining, it's not all that much; he appears to only have as much pride as he has to have in order to be proud of his achievements and accomplishments, but not nearly enough to make him stuck up and egotistical, which are the types of people that he absolutely despises. It wasn't always this way, however. Growing up he was raised by his father to believe that, because he was a Kuchiki, he was better than almost everyone else around him. This allowed him to get along quite well with his previous Captain and father, Kenpachi Kuchiki, when Keiichi was the Lieutenant of the 11th Divisoin. However, after witnessing the suffering of the world, and being knocked donw a peg by several of his superiors, most notably Yoruichi Shihoin, who he now admires more than anyone else out there, he changed his ways, working hard to obtain a strong code of honor, and rejecting his family forever, most importantly his father. He also made the transition to the 2nd Division, before Yoruichi took back over again, so he would be away from Kenpachi Kuchiki, who he grew to despise around this time.

Keiichi harbors a large amount of loyalty for those he respects a great deal. One of them is Yoruichi Shihoin, who he considers to have "saved him from his madness." In addition, due to her overwhelming powers in Zanjutsu and Kendo, Keiichi admired, respected, and remained loyal to Yachiru Unohana up until her death at the hands of Kenpachi Zaraki, (although he never learned the truth about her death or what her true personality was).

Keiichi enjoys combat, but not in the same way he used to. Before changing his ways he enjoyed battle in a very bloodthirsty manner, slaughering countless opponents without a care in the world, and only showing his true power to those he deemed worthy; that basically meant they had to be strong enough for it. After changing his ways, however, he still enjoys battle, but in more of an honorable way than he used to. He prefers not to kill if he absolutely doesn't have to, (but is willing to go through with it should the circumstances demand it), and will show his full power to his enemy no matter what, should they request it, without them having to be "worth" of it, as a show of respect to his opponent. He also won't finish an enemy who can't fight back; this is a trait that he possessed before, except that then it went against his code of pride, and now it goes against his code of honor. Keiichi believes that people should uphold their ideals under almost any circumstance; however, if one should change their ideals, like he did, then they should never, ever flip flop back and fourth, as that shows signs of a week constitution, which is something that Keiichi highly frowns upon. He also believes that their is no form of combat more honorable than Zanjutsu, which is why he opened up his very own Zanjutsu dojo, in which he teaches new and veterane Shinigami alike how to fight like a master with their own Zanpakuto. When fighting, Keiichi never uses cheep or sneaky tactics to win, as he feels that this is also very unhonorable and demeaning of one's character; this, again, contrasts to how he used to be, in which he would find any way he could to win the battle, no matter what.

Despite how nice he normally is, Keiichi can be very fierce and demon-like when it comes to several things. One of these things is betrayal. As someone who has been betrayed by ones that he has trusted and/or loved countless times in the past, most notably his father, Keiichi gets very defensive and violent whenever he is betrayed nowadays. He believes in loyalty above all else, and that anyone who is unwilling to commit to absolute loyalty to someone or something is the lowerst form of a person. He will also kill without hesitation, albeit quite remorsefully, if the lives of those he cares about, such as family, friends, or lovers, are threatened. An example of this is when his mother was killed by Sosuke Aizen; Keiichi left the Soul Society without the proper authority to hunt down Aizen by himself, almost costing him his life when he caught up to him, and causing him to be thrown in prison for three months after he finally returned. Keiichi will not only fight to protect what is precious to him no matter what, but will also go out of his way to protect others in need to, no matter how far he has to travel, which often puts him into conflict with Ichigo Kurosaki, who has stated on numerous occasions that he will only attempt to protect what is right in front of him, and won't go out of his way to protect those that are out of his reach.

Another notable trait is his romantic life. In his youth, Keiichi was in love with a young woman from Rukongai named Sora Hiragi. Even thoug his family was against their romantic envolvement, he pursued her anyways, due to his rebellious nature. The two were not only inseparatable with their love, Keiichi going out of his way to protect her no matter what, (and Sora often doing the same for him), but they were said to be the best duo in combat, both part of the 2nd Divison, and fighting alongside each other all the time. However, after she was killed during a mission at one point in the past, something in his mind snapped; from this point onward, he obtained Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the mission, having nightmares and night terrors almost every night, and flashbacks of the mission and of her death almost every day. In order to cope with the mental stress of loosing the only person he's ever truly been in love with, he became infatuated with random women whom he's had very little, if any, interaction with before hand, especially if they looked similar to Sora. In order to break him from this rut, his twin sister, Shion Kuchiki, decided to work with his mind, using her special Kido. She succeeded, but resulted in him falling in love with her instead. However, this time it was different; before, it was as if he wasn't in his right state of mind, and whenever anyone would attempt to criticize him for his actions to his fact, he would completely deny it; this time, however, he was able to acknowledge that being in love with his sister was wrong, but chose to pursue her anyways; this was the new method he found for coping with his stress.

Despite changing his ways, ever since Sora's death, Keiichi would occasionally, (or often, it varried), engulf himself in fits of rage, often resulting in him temporarily returning to his bloodthirsty ways. A notable time whent his occurred was during the Soul Society Civil War, in which he kickstarted the war by loosing control and killing the head of North Rukongai, putting the Seireitei at war with the Rukongai as a whole; after which, he got three years in prison, and a year of demotion, going back down to an unseated psosion for a year, (the demotion happened after he got out of prison). He always regrets the fits of rage, the lives he took, and all of the other troubles he causes once they're done, believing that there's nothing he can do to redeem himself for it. Thanks to Yoruichi Shihoin's and Shion Kuchiki's influence on him he's recovered quite a bit from this, but hasn't been cured yet.

Keiichi is very humble, in that he doesn't expect recognition or gratitude or anything for the good things he does, even fighting in wars with the Soul Society to protect people. He believes being a Shinigami is about helping people, and even if he gets no notice for what he does whatsoever, he'll still continue to do it. In fact, he's seen picking fights with people who do seek recognition for the good things they do, such as with his former best friend Ikkaku Madarame. This is clearly his strongest belief, considering the fact that wtih any of his other beliefs, he won't pick fights with people and instead just opt to allow them to believe whatever they want; with this, however, he considers people like Ikkaku Madarame and Kenpachi Zaraki to be a disgrace to the very existence and purpose of Shinigami, and won't tolerate it at all.

Due to Yoruichi often taking a leave of absence to deal with other things in the Human World, Keiichi often fills in as Captain when she's gone, as Lieutenants are supposed to do. As Captain, his division members respect him almost as much as they do Yoruichi. When Raiden Higurashi gets promoted to their division as the Third Seat, she makes note that he always looks out for his fellow division members, not only the ones lower ranked than him, but also his Captain, too. He's a harsh trainer, and a harsh punisher if they break the rules, but it never gets to the point that you could call it a dictatorship or tyranny. He even acts as somewhat of an elder brother-figure to some of the youngest division members, which are usually, (but not always), unseated officers. It's because of this that he tries his hardest not to fight his toughest battles while they're watching, because that may result in him having to temporarily return to his bloodthirsty combat style, which is not something that he wants those who look up to him to see; he enjoys having younger Shinigami look up to him, it actually makes him feel important and special.

History
Keiichi was born to the noble Kuchiki House to former Kenpachi Roy Kuchiki. His mother, Mion Kuchiki, died giving birth to both him and his twin sister, Shion Kuchiki, so his father raised him. Keiichi was raised in a very harsh enviroment for much of his life. Due to his father being a Kenpachi, he was taught solely how to fight using his sword and brute strength, and never taught standard disciplines of the Shinigami, such as honor, loyalty, or even how to properly utilize Zanjutsu and Kendo, which is shunned and seen as disgraceful as a Shinigami; he was only taught the bare basics in case he was in a tight position. His father was planning on raising him to be the next Kenpachi, but was killed in battle suddenly, so the position went to someone else instead, because Keiichi had yet to learn Bankai at the time. During his childhood and teen years, Keiichi had always felt the need to protect his twin sister for two reasons:  one, she was very frail her whole life and couldn't protect herself very well, and two, he feared what her father would do to her if he didn't because she was weak. Keiichi entered Shino Academy when he was ten, passing the entrance exam with flying colors on his first try. His sister, who couldn't enter due to her illness, remained home, but he still taught her enough to defend herself with decently when he wasn't around, such as special Kido barriers, restraints, and attacks, which is the only Shinigami art that she excelled at to begin with. He made few friends while in the academy, as most of his fellow students chose to avoid him due to his bloodthirsty nature. The only student who he kind of got along with was Ikkaku Madarame, and that was only because they both looked up to a bloodthirsty Kenpachi. All of the significant teachers in his academy life were noted to have looked down on him because of his battle hungry personality, but praised him for his prodigal strength and growth rate; despite this slight praise, he got along with none of them.

Unlike most Shinigami, who required six years to graduate from the academy, Keiichi was elegiable in half that time, and passed his first try. Afterwards he was placed as the 4th Seat of the 11th Divison, right under Kenpachi Kuchiki. Keiichi wanted a Captain's position right off the bat, which would have probably happened if there was one open, but there wasn't, so he just accepted the next best offer. During his time as 4th Seat the Fourth Shinigami-Hollow War took place when the King of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan Louisenbairn broke into the Soul Society with an army, and Keiichi and his father were the first two to enter the battle after their orders were given to them by Yamamoto. This is were he created his reputation as the Unseen Demon, having speed greater than any member of the Onmitsukido except for Yoruichi herself of course, master of the Silent Kill--nobody could see him coming--and demonic and bloodthirsty in battle. After this war, he became reverred among the 11th Divison, and feared among most everyone else except for a select few.

One of these few was Yoruichi Shihoin, the Captain of the 2nd Divison and Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukido at the time before her long but temporary defection. Yoruichi knew him from the academy, when she taught part time when she wasn't taking on missions for the Onmitsukido, and saw the potential in him to become a great warrior, but viewed his destructive nature, or rather self destructive nature, as a hindrence to that, and wanted to change that. She made a deal with Captain Commander Yamamoto for him to send the two of them on a mission with few Onmitsukido members accompaning, but only for extra assistance if needed. The mission was a very simple one, one that was plentiful for Shinigami; to assassinate a criminal within Rukongai, and the Guardians that protect Rukongai either can't take him out, or don't feel like it, (this time around it was the latter).

Yoruichi and Keiichi were in the Rukongai District for a total of two weeks. They were in North Rukongai for four days, they were in South Rukongai for two days, they were in East Rukongai for seven days, and they were in West Rukongai for almost one additional day, as they were chasing down the remaining enemies. During their short, two day stay in South Rukongai, Keiichi asked why Yoruichi wanted the two of them to take on this mission. Yoruichi told him that she wanted to fight him, to show him that strength alone wouldn't get him that far in a fight. Cocky and naive he agreed, and, as one would expect, was easily dispatched by him, afterwhich he was left unbelievably shocked that not a single attack of his hit. They kept fighting, however, exchanging rounds of blows ten times a day, each day, until Keiichi finally gave up.

However, that wasn't all that accounted for Keiichi's change. When they finally caught up with the leader, he turned out to be the Arrancar Honoka, whom these two didn't know at the time. Keiichi assumed he was left over from Baraggan's previous attack, which had only occurred a mere month before this mission started. Without having another thought Honoka forced them into a battle, and both of them, a Captain of the Gotei 13 and someone who was almost Lieutenant level at the time, were easily dispatched. Honoka then disappeared, and Yoruichi and Keiichi continued to the section he just decimated to see the results, the vision horrifying not only Yoruichi, but also Keiichi. Hundreds of people slaughtered in one spot. Keiichi later explained to Yoruichi that's he's never seen so many innocent people die in one place, in such brutal ways; Keiichi loved to kill gulty people:  murderers, arsonsits, rapists, ect. And he truly did enjoy it, no doubt. But he never killed innocent people, pulled them away from their loved ones, (and, even more so, their loved ones away from them), because he knew what it was like to be ripped away from ones he loved, and didn't feel innocent people deserved that, obviously. Keiichi and Yoruichi spent the rest of the day tracking down and fighting with Honoka, with zero successes, and he eventually escaped through a Garganta in the sky. They searched for anyone else for a couple more hours, until they finally gave up and headed back to the Seireitei, giving their report.

Keiichi remained in the eleventh division for another six months. Although he still loved and reverred his father, Keiichi had changed slightly, which his father eventually began to notice. Whenever they fighting a battle surrounded by innocent people, Keiichi would take a lot more damage than usual, even against low level enemies, and his father clued in to the fact that he was trying to save all of the innocence; although he has never willingly killed anyone innocent before, he's never willingly attempted to save them when his life was in jepardy, either. One day, on a mission in Seireitei, after Keiichi finished dispatching the enemies, his father questioned him about this sudden change. Although Keiichi initally responded that he didn't want any innocence to be harmed, his father replied by saying he never would risk his life before to save innocent people if he was about to die. Their conversation quickly escalated into a very heated argument, where Keiichi, for the first time, saw his father's true colors. Kenpachi Kuchiki outright slaughtered all of the innocent people around, leaving nobody left alive, in the most brutial and grousme ways immagimable, all the while laughing meniaclly, loving every second of it, relishing in the death and sufering before him. Without thinking, Keiichi stabs his father through the chest, but, being a Kenpachi, he easily survives and is able to fight on. He takes his other sword and attempts to behead his father, but Yoruichi, who was on another mission nearby, stops his sword. She talks him out of it, explaining to him that the consequences for unjustly killing a Captain would be death, and that it's not worth it, which causes him to back off.

Keiichi explains that he never wants his father to speak to him again, and that he's transferring Divisions. His father claims he needs his current Captain's permission, but Yoruichi corrects that he only needs the Captain Commander's permission, as well as the new Captian he's going to be serving under, which Keiichi then reveals is going to be Yoruichi herself, and that both her and the Captian Commander have agreed to it. Kenpachi Kuchiki appears surprised, calling his son a weakling, and calling the entire Second Divison and the Onmitsukido weak because the only use sneak attacks, causing Yoruichi to stay for a few more seconds, catching him off guard, threatening to behead him herself if he threatens her division and comrades again; that shuts him up.

It took a week, but Keiichi eventually transferred divisions. He became the Lieutenant due to his advanced power level despite his previous rank, and the 2nd Divison was missing a Lieutenant anyways. This is also when he died his hair purple and styled it in the way it's seen today. He never talked to his father again after that day, and didn't seem to care much when he was killed on a mission, although he was seen briefly in his room staring at a picture of his father, which might hint that he still cared about him in some way, even if only very little. He also began to use his Zanpakuto releases more often, since is personality and views on the world had changed, and him and his Zanpakuto formed a much better relationship with one another. After Yoruichi left Soul Society Keiichi left the Second Divison briefly, working as a secret assassin among the Onmitsukido, but after SoiFon's and Omaeda's death and Yoruichi's return as the Second Division Captain, Keiichi returned to his position as the Second Division Lieutenant. This is also around the time when Keiichi's close friendship with Ikkaku Madarame ran sour as well, due to Keiichi abandoning his old, boodthirsty ways.

Equipment

 * Zanpakuto:  Like all Shinigami, Keiichi possesses a Zanpakuto, but rarely carries it on him, instead opting to carry his Katanas on him at all times for Zanjutsu combat.
 * 4 Katanas:  Keiichi has 4 Katanas which he carriers on him at all times to use for his Zanjutsu combat.

Innate Abilities
Great Spiritual Power:  Keiichi is able to emit abnormally large amounts of Spiritual Power, even among the Kuchiki Family. It's so strong he can use it to crush boulders without effort, and to easily paralyze Lieutenant level Shinigami with fear almost instantly. Due to his detest for violence, he prefers to do this to scare his enemies away, or at least get them to not insist a battle, whenever he can. At one point Yoruichi commented that, while most Spiritual Pressure feels like a wave or current of strong air that's englulfed you when it's used on you, Keiichi's feel's like neetles, priking, poking, and eventually slicing away at you; although it doesn't literally "slice" you up, that's what it feels like, and the victim is too mezmerized--or terrified, whichever--to even notice the difference. He also has abnormal control over his spiritual power for a Lieutenant, commanding almost absolute control, with few flaws. He's stated that it's been a long time since his Spiritual Power has ever gone out of control due to pore conditioning. The few, rare occasions when it does are when he's so enraged at something, (usually someone bosting their pride, or a loved one of his being injured or killed), that he can't think straight, and even then it's been over a hundred years since it harmed or killed anyone, so he's never too concerned about it.


 * Mukei Jokenduke (条件づけ· 条件付け  Spiritual  Conditioning):  The method he used to harness this amount of control over his Spiritual Power so quickly is a spiritual technique he created and named Mukei Jokenduke.  This is the method of taking all of the spiritual power that you have inside of you, and having it crush down on top of you.  It risks death, but when he succeeds not only does he come out much stronger, but he also acquires more control.  The reason is because the only way to survive is to control his power to the point it doesn't crush him once he releases it all.  The first time he did it he was almost killed and had to be stopped and saved by Yoruichi.  However, due to him repeating it thousands of times over, his control has continuously grew much greater.  He does it at least once every week.

Great Tactical Expertise:  On the battlefield, Keiichi's tactical expertise is almost unparallelled. His comat stradegy is amazing, capable of coming up with on the spot plans to attack, or taking time to think of ten plans of attack, and several backup plans for each of those ten standard plans, not to mention coming up with opponent's weaknesses while in battle and exploiting them almost flawlessly. The flaw to this is how long he can keep doing this; after about five minutes he needs time to rest his mind a bit, which is why, whenever he's strategizing while fighting on the battlefield at the same time, he always has some of his comrades fighting with him, so that they can cover him when he needs to take a break for awhile.

​Eagle Eyes :  Although far from being a master of such a profoundly advanced technique, Keiichi has shown considerable skill with Eagle Eyes; in fact, he attributes the vast majority of his Zanjutsu powers to this technique, and thus, he also attributes the vast majority of his Zanjutsu powers to his primary Zanjutsu teacher, Nemaiya Oetsu, who also taught him this technique. Before learning Eagle Eyes, Keiichi's eyesight was not the best, placing the chances of him ever becoming a Master of Zanjutsu, not to mention potentially even a Grandmaster of Zanjutsu, in great jepardy. Eagle Eyes is a technique which allows the user to see great distances. It's primarily used by Zanjutsu Masters and Grandmasters, as well as Archery Masters and Grandmasters, but is also often used by Kido Masters and Grandmasters, as a successful method of hitting extremely tiny, extremely far away targets perfectly, with pinpoint acuracy. The best users can see perfectly across the entirety of the Soul Society, both Rukongai and Seireitei included; Keiichi, however, obviously can't see nearly this far, but his sight is vastly increased, allowing him to become a deadly foe on the battlefield, not to mention one of the most deadly assassins that the Onmitsukido has ever seen; this is because, even though it is required for members of the Onmitskido to learn this technique, regardless of rank and/or status, most of them haven't improved with it nearly at the rate that Keiichi has.

Kendo Expert:  Kendo is a very unique skill, as it combines aspects of both Zanjutsu and Hakuda, or more specifically the martial arts, and thus is trained in both Zanjutsu Dojo's and Martial Arts/Hakuda Dojo's all around the Soul Society and the Human World. Keiichi even teaches it at the Kuchiki Dojo. Keiichi's skill isn't the best however because, although he may have profound skill in Zanjutsu, as previously explained, his Hakuda and martial arts abilities are pathetically bad, which obvioously greatly dimenishes how skillful he's able to become in Kendo.

Normal
Zanjutsu has always, by far, been Keiichi's single greatest ability, and the one he prides himself on the most. Although he has a Zanpakuto, obviously, he doesn't use it during Zanjutsu combat, instead opting to carry with him four specially designed Katana, two sheathed diagonally on his sides, and two sheathed diagonally on his back, and has mastered using all of them at once. Joel noted that, at the rate of Keiichi's growth, he has the potential to become the next great Zanjutsu Grandmaster of the Soul Society, as he already is close to rivaling some of the greats in Soul Society history, such as Yachiru Unohana and Nemaiya Oetsu, among others.

Exceptional Swordsmenship Skills:  Keiichi's skills with the sword are almost unparalel by most of the current Gotei 13 except for two of the Captains, those two of which being Shunsui Kyoraku and Joel Goldsmith. Even using just one of his four swords, his slashes are quick and almost unnoticable, he cuts deep, and it's rare for those he's cut to survive the wounds they've been given. In addition, his slashes are so brutally hard that he's been known to have cut in half many enemy Zanpakuto in his day, both Shinigami and Arrancar, like butter. Joel Goldsmith complimented his advanced growth rate, due to his father never teaching him much about the true art of Zanjutsu, so it's something he had to be taught later. While studying under Joel, he learned the speed to cut the most resilient of flesh, the speed and acrobatics to dodge the fastest of enemy swords, and the footwork and balance to use all four of his swords at once if he needs to; he's been seen using two in each hand, one in each hand and two in his mouth, and everywhere else in between. He also knows hundreds of Zanjutsu techniques, and has interest in learning hundreds more. Unlike most practitioners, Keiichi views Zanjutsu as a very diverse art form, and each user has their own style as long as they're willing to cultivate it and truly make it their own. Footwork is key to succcessful Zanjutsu Mastery; being able to weave in and out of enemies, only to cut them to pieces afterwards. Yoruichi described his movements, both on the ground and in the air, as "graceful, not unlike a smooth dancer of some sort" despite the grousome results that always await. Whenever Keiichi draws one of his swords, not only does his Spiritual Power increase, but his speed also increases, as does his deadliness. Among his swordsmenship ability are an obscene amount of techniques, some low level, but mostly high level, some requiring one sword, some two swords, some three swords, and some four swords. Keiichi is capable of fighting at super speeds using his swords, taking out powerful Hollows and Phantoms who are much larger than him single handedly, in several minutes, or sometimes even seconds, flat. Keiichi moves from one location to another in a flash, much faster than the eye can see, in order to strike, and immediately go to the next location, without wasting any time. Keiichi also has profound skill with fighting many opponent's at once, such as Shinigami, seen anytime when he has to fight in a war for the Soul Society; back in the day he held the title "Unseen Demon" by some and "Battle Born" by others, for his almost unstoppable battlefield experience, easily winning battles on his own without taking very many wounds, if any. He's learned how to block nearly any projectile weapon, regardless of how fast, and ride his blade down the blade of his opponent, piercing them and killing them long before they could realize what happened. While fighting, Keiichi prefers not to think of his swords as swords. More specifically, (and less confusingly, as he commonly jokes), he prefers to not think of his swords as separate weapons, or objects which are separate from his actual body. While fighting, he thinks of his swords as extensions of his own arms, and uses them as such, with every swing and slash following the natural, flowing movements of his arms. This allows for much fater, swifter movement with his swords, even without applying his Shunpo to it, as it allows him to move his swords as fast as he would normally move his arms; as Keiichi explains, most Shinigami who utilize Zanjutsu never swing or slash nearly as fast as they would normally move their arms, with his explanation for this being their mentality that a sword is merely a separate tools for combat. This used to be Keiichi's mentality, when he was still among the Eleventh Division, which he learned, later on, only hindered him from growing into the Zanjutsu Master that he is today. This new mentality and combat style, in short, allows for much faster slashes, and much more precise pokes and cuts, allowing him to wound and/or kill his enemies much easier most of the time.
 * Itto Gotai (一刀五体五體 Sword Styles):  The Sword Styles, coined by Yachiru Unohana, are a teaching of the Killing Arts that involve using multiple swords to achieve outstanding feats with Zanjutsu.  Keiichi has only mastered up to four due to him never being able to be trained by Unohana herself, but he's given them his own unique twist to make them his own techniques.  Each sword style gives him access to new techniques.
 * Hitotsu Itto Shiki ( 一つ· １つ· 一一刀式  One Sword Style):  Put simply, the One Sword Style is the art of using one sword while fighting.  Many assumed that the "Sword Styles" are a style of Zanjutsu unique to him, but Keiichi corrects by saying that every Zanjutsu user technically uses the One Sword Style by default; he was just the first to give it a name.  If one has Mastered Zanjutsu, chances are they've also mastered the One Sword Style, and all facets about using a Zanpakuto; although Keiichi isn't even close to the best Zanjutsu user in Soul Society, he definitely falls in this category.
 * Deadly Darts:  Deadly Darts is one of Keiichi's personal favorite techniques, as it can be used with as many swords he wants, as long as he has at least one, or if he has all four.  he ties a string to all the swords he wants to use, after which commencing to spin them around at rapid speed, making it easy for him to pick off enemies, especially if he's surrounded on the battlefield.  He can spin them so fast that even those with the fastest of eyes, such as Yoruichi, have difficulty keeping track of the swords, both when he's swinging them, and when he tosses them, and can throw them up to ten of his own arm lengths--both of his arms, not just one--away from him at a time; they'll reach their target in a few seconds, and then, once he pulls them back, they'll reach him again in another few seconds.
 * Agitowari:  Agitowari is actually a technique which is passed down within the Kuchiki Family, created by the legendary Ginrei Kuchiki, so it was expected of him, even when he was in the Eleventh Divison, that he had some knowledge of it; even his father, Kenpachi Kuchiki, knew how to perform the technique itself, even if he hadn't mastered it.  Keiichi will commence to draw a sword; in however, in a blink of an eye, he'll have it sheathed again, his opponent defeated.  He first used it on an opponent on a mission and had to explain the result to his fellow Second Division members, the result being the enemy being completely bisected from the jaw down the length of the body, just about slicing them in two halves.  Keiichi explained that the resulted was just as the witnessed but the technique itself was so fast that most can't perceive it.  In total there are three actions:  drawing, slicing, and sheathing.  All three of these actions are done in a split second.  The attack is strong enough to crack, albeit not break or destroy, the Hierro of certain low level Arrancar like some Fraccion and whatnot.
 * Ryodan :  Ryodan is a well known, and popularly used Kendo technique, which even those who don't like to use Kendo, such as Kenpachi Zaraki and Kenpachi Kuchiki, at least know the very basics of.  When wielding his sword, Keiichi will swing his sword causing a huge blast of yellow energy to fire out of it in the shape of his blade; if done successfully, it will split his enemies in half.  Although most commonly done by swinging his sword from top to bottom, he can also swing it from bottom to top, right to left any way, or diagonally any way, and still get the same effect.  The yellow energy that is emitted from Ryodan also acts as an average durability barrier to prevent many comrades of the enemy from saving the enemy, although it is very easy to overpower and break through.  This is one of Keiichi's best Zanjutsu abilities, due to this control that he has over it.  It stems back to the control he has over the swings of his sword normally, which is perfect; Keiichi is easily able to apply that to Ryodan, giving him perfect control over the ability, meaning that he'll rarely, if ever, miss to the point where he only cuts off an arm or a leg, let alone missing the target entirely.   Ryodan is an essential teaching of Kendo, which teaches one to become more connected with their Zanpakuto, both spiritually and physically, (as in, during combat).  The attack is based on the connection that the Shinigami and the Zanpakuto have, and will greatly weaken if their physical and spiritual connection is weaker, and will disappear completely if they have zero connection (which means even Kenpachi Zaraki had the slightest, tinniest connection with his Zanpakuto, because he's able to perform the technique).


 * ​Tahatsusei Ryodan (多発性両断 Multiple Bisection) is an expansnion to Ryodan.  While Ryodan is said to be the true personification of the art of Kendo, Tahatsusei Ryodan greatly deviates from standard Kendo, and becomes more modern Zanjutsu.  By swining his sword in the air Keiichi will be able to release a gigantic slash of blue energy to strike his target; the difference, aside from the color, (Ryodan is yellow, and Tahatsusei Ryodan is blue), is that it completely disconnects from his sword, and is able to travel for several miles at a time, without deminishing in speed or power.
 * Onibi :  This is a unique Zanjutsu technique, as it doesn't revolve around a blade being used but instead a blunt object, like the hilt of the Zanpakuto, (or any sword, for that matter), the sheath of the Zanpakuto, a cane, or something else; it was taught to Keiichi by Captain Commander Yamamoto, during some undetermined time before the latter's death.  When Keiichi thrusts a blunt object towards the enemy with enough power, the force will burst a gigantic hole through the chest of the enemy.  The size of the whole, and thus the overall damage of the ability, is based on a variety of individual aspects.  First of all, the size of the blunt object being thrust.  Secondly, the skill and overall power of the user.  And finally, how much force they're exerting in general.  All that determines the size of the whole.  Damage to the enemy, although somewhat determined by those three aforementioned aspects, is primarily determined by how strong the enemy is.  A low level seated individual would die instantly, but Captains can easily survive with a whole in their chest, as can a gigantic Arrancar creation such as Ayon, so it really just depends.  Also the hole creating can be prevented if the enemy is strong enough, too; Kenpachi Zaraki, Kenpachi Kuchiki, and Kenpachi Madarame, for example, all three proved to Keiichi why this technique is absolutely worthless to be used on them, because their skin is far too thick for Onibi to even begin to penetrate.  Also you have opponents like Shikyo Fushiawase, Yoruichi Shihoin, and Kisuke Urahara, who have enough strength in their hands to easily block the attack before it even strikes their chests; Yoruichi, after which, still has enough strength in her to throw Keiichi long distances away, so it's not even close to being an outsanding ability, but it can be very useful if it's used correctly.
 * Hitotsume: Nadegiri :  Another Zanjutsu technique that Keiichi has yet to master, although he has come close.  Like Agitowari and Onibi, it's a split second technique which most people can't perceived with the naked eye.  Drawing his Zanpakuto, Keiichi will split his enemy entirely in half, (from small enemies, to enemies that are several stories tall), and then sheathing his Zanpakuto again, all in the blink of an eye.  In this way some call it a more completed version of Ryodan.  However, Keiichi denies this, claiming that Hitotsume:  Nadegiri and Ryodan aren't related at all except by the fact that they're both Zanjutsu techniques.  As explained above, Ryodan is an essential teaching of Kendo, which teaches one to become more connected with their Zanpakuto, both spiritually and physically, (as in, during combat).  The attack is based on the connection that the Shinigami and the Zanpakuto have, and will greatly weaken if their physical and spiritual connection is weaker, and will disappear completely if they have zero connection (which means even Kenpachi Zaraki had the slightest, tinniest connection with his Zanpakuto, because he's able to perform the technique).  Hitotsume:  Nadegiri, however, has very little relationship with the connection of the Shinigami and their Zanpakuto; although not entirely, as Zanjutsu as a whole has to do with the connection of a Shinigami and their Zanpakuto, it's theoretically possible to pull off this technique if one has zero connection with their Zanpakuto if they're skilled enough in Shunpo.
 * Futatsume: Tsukugiri (二つ目・突く斬り, "The Second: Spearing Stroke"): The sword is drawn, thrust into the enemy, then deftly drawn back into its sheath, all faster than the eye can see. Keiichi and his opponent continue to face each other until his opponent recognizes a gaping hole in a vital point of the body, such as the brain, the heart, the stomach, the lungs, the kidneys, or wherever else Keiichi decided to strike.  Shortly thereafter, death typically follows. The move is instant, exceedingly precise, and lethal. Conventional means of defense are normally of little significance.
 * Mittsume: Kujikugiri (三つ目・挫く斬り, "The Third: Crushing Stroke"): Unlike the former two, Keiichi employs the astounding speed of kyūhadō with this technique to exploit the sheer momentum and the ensuant force to crush the enemy.  A downward attack usually aimed at the head of the opponent, it strives to kill one with such great power that the move does not even cut the target. Just the aforementioned force should suffice to extinguish the life of the unsuspecting enemy.
 * Yottsume: Mosugiri (四つ目・燃す斬り, "The Fourth: Searing Stroke"): This abrupt move may work as a strike, a deterrent or a way to defend oneself. Keiichi increases the magnitude of friction one's blade meets as it is swung in a broad horizontal slash so that the motion produces considerable heat, potentially a torrent of flames as the oxygen in the air ignites. Fairly simple in execution, the technique nevertheless requires expert Reiatsu control.
 * Itsutsume: Sorigiri (五つ目・反り斬り, "The Fifth: Warping Stroke"): Keiichi Kuchiki performs an abrupt sally that causes one to travel a significant distance with a single Flash Step. During the motion the sword is swung in a highly erratic manner. As the practitioner halts, begins to sheathe the Zanpakutō and pauses briefly before completing the action, the technique takes its effect. Anything adjacent to the path the swordsman has traversed is torn apart by what seems to be a rapid series of slashes where there is only one in reality, the sheer pressure exerted by the motion extending the range of the blade.
 * Suikawari :  This is a two handed, overhead strike, which cleanly cleaves the opponent's head in half.  This isn't an attack Keiichi uses often, primarily opting to use it on some of his weaker enemies, simply because this is a very weak attack.   He has, however demonstrated it on select occasions while traveling through Heuco Mundo with the Onmitsukido slaying smaller Hollows, in which it appeared to work just fine with.
 * Senmaioroshi :  Thousands of extremely fast, (faster than the naked eye can see), blade movements take place, effectively shredding the target into pieces.  This is a common technique for Keiichi to use, as it's an extremely useful assassination method, due to it being one of the single fastest Zanjutsu techniques, and an instant kill if he succeeds with it.
 * Hirazuki  ( 水平突き Horizontal Thrust):  Hirazuki is an odd Zanjutsu technique, because it looks very simple to perform; and in general, it is.  At it's most basic incarnation, even the most novice of Zanjutsu practitioner can use this technique, and quite possibly do some sort of damage with it.  However, in order to perform this technique at it's highest incarnation of power, it takes a great Zanjutsu Grandmaster, who's mastered ever facet of their sword; in this sense, even Keiichi has yet to Master Hirazuki, as he's no Grandmaster of Zanjutsu.  That being said, being a Zanjutsu Master gives him plenty of advantages in doing serious, fatal damage, to even the most deadly of enemies with this technique.  He begins by starting in a very normal-looking stance; his legs and knees bent, one leg in front of the other, the tips of his toes on both feet facing straight forward, his arms and elbows bent, and the tip of his sword facing his opponent.  He then initiates a thrust forward, delivering a fatal pierce through the enemy.  Depending on the size and physical strength of the opponent, the technique will be stronger and will do better with shredding the opponent to pieces; for example, as Keiichi notes, if Kenpachi Zaraki were to use it, almost no targets would be able to survive the impact, due to his gargantuous size and overwhelming physical strength.  Keiichi, on the other hand, is very skinny, and not very physically strong at all.  He's able to make up for it, however, due to his intense speed, even without using Hoho, to still create fatal wounds in his enemies using this ability.  Keiichi also explains that, with training, those who are skinny like him, and the technique's creator Nemaiya Oetsu, among others, could possibly grow to become the greatest practitioners of the technique.  This is because a huge factor in its strength is how well, quick, and far the user is able to twist their hips, to make greater, faster, and more intense movement, providing even greater results.  In this way, Hirazuki is one of Keiichi's favorite techniques to use, due to it being one of the very few that it suited perfectly for his body size and build.  Once one masters this technique like Keiichi, he finds it possible to hold the sword in one hand while doing it; and once one masters it further, they can use two swords while doing it, one with each sword.  Keiichi has yet to master this form, however, which means that when he does, the power of the technique will be split between both swords, instead of the total power being present in both swords.


 * ​Shungeki Hirazuki ( 瞬進撃水平突き Flash Charge Horizontal Thrust):  Although the original technique was originally created by Nemaiya Oetsu, (the man who also created the art of Zanjutsu to begin with), this version of the technique was created by Keiichi himself; although he created it, even he has yet to fully master it, and therefore refuses to teach it to anyone else until he does.  Keiichi adds a swift Shunpo movement forward, while using this technique, striking the enemy down before they even see them coming; it's not only much faster, obviously, but is also much stronger, too, capable of shredding much stronger opponent's.  He first used this technique on his father, Kenpachi Kuchiki, when he was revived the Central 46 during their rebellion on the Soul Society.
 * ​Tsuka Ate (柄当て lit. Hilt Aim):  A basic Zanjutsu technique, which even the most beginner of practitioners are able to learn and master.  Keiichi partially unsheath his sword, striking his opponent with the hilt.  It's very unique and unusual, because most Zanjutsu techniques involve using the blade, but there are a select few, such as this one, which involve using the hilt instead.  Although Keiichi's not incredibly physically strong, so he normally wouldn't be able to use this very effectively, like with many other techniques, Keiichi's speed is heavily weighed in on how strong this technique is.  Even without using Hoho, Keiichi's able to thrust the hilt like a flash, causing significant damage;  Keiichi explains that this is normally how fast he unsheathes his Zanpakuto, which is why this technique is so simple and easy for him to use.  Masters like Keiichi are able to use this technique to not only stun their enemies, which is the primary usage of it anyways, but also do break bones and muscles, and even shatter limbs entirely, depending on not only the strength, (or, rather, lack thereof), of the opponent in question, and the power used by Keiichi himself.
 * Full Drawn Tsuka Ate ​ (柄当て Full Drawn Hilt Aim):  A variation of Tsuka Ate, in which he completely draws his sword before initiating the technique.  The downside to this is that the enemy is given a couple more seconds to notice it and successfully counter it.  The upside, however, is that, if done right, Keiichi will be able to lay a counter attack to finish off the enemy of the initial hilt attack doesn't do the trick, weather with the blade of the sword he's already using, or with another sword that he draws either at the same time, or immediately afterwards; in this case, the hilt attack was merely used for its original purpose, which is to stun the enemy.  Or, the additional slash can just be used for insurance, even if the original hilt attack did actually work kill, or at the very least fatally wound,t he enemy.
 * Charging Tsuka Ate (柄当て Charging Hilt Aim):  Like with many Hakuda and Zanjutsu techniques, the overall power of the Tsuka Ate can be vastly increased using an intense Shunpo movement forward; for a Shunpo Master like Keiichi, this is a very simple feat.  This version was said to have completely shattered the left arm of Kenpachi Zaraki completely beyond repair, who's one of the most physically strongest Shinigami ever known.
 * Tsuka Tsubusu (潰す 柄当て Hilt Smash):  Keiichi has also demonstrated another method of using Tsuka Ate, which is to get some distance from the enemy and unsheath his Zanpakuto from the very beginning, after which getting closer, and striking them with the hilt of his Zanpakuto right away, causing massive damage.  The reason this is more effective is twofold.  One, the basic Tsuka Ate doesn't have a lot of control behind it, due to Keiichi not gripping hold of the Hilt itself like he does with Tsuka Tsubusu.  And second, because he's holding the hilt with his hand, he's able to use his own physical strength, (as limited as it is, it's better than nothing), to make the technique itself even stronger and more effective.
 * Niryugiri  (二流斬り Twin Flow Stroke):  A basic technique in concept, but very deadly if used correctly, Niryugiri begins by Keiichi unsheathing one of the two Zanpakuto on his back, all the while secretly reaching behind with his other hand and grasping the sheath and quickly pulling it off before it can be seen as well; although it's not necesary for it to not be seen, many skilled enemies may be capable of coming up with an effective counter if they do happen to see it.  He'll the swing downward with his sword to strike the enemy at unfathomable speeds, after which swinging upward with his sheath to lay an additional blow.  Keiichi laments, due to the time required to initiate this technique, the possibility of the enemy countering this technique; that's why it utilizes both the sword and the sheath, for two reasons.  One, it allows for two attacks instead of just one, and two, most enemies wouldn't expect him to attack them with the sheath of his sword, allowing him to use their befuddlement to his advantage.  Although the sheath itself does no damage, it's sole purpose for existing is to catch his enemies off guard should the initial slash fail, setting them up to recieve more counterattacks.
 * Sojihoki  (掃除帚 Sweeping Broom):  A swift sword slash motion with his arm is all it takes for Keiichi to wipe out several enemies who are in his vicinity.  Because of it's simplistic effectiveness, it's primarily used on the battlefield when he's surrounded by many enemies at once.  By applying a Shunpo to it, like with all Zanjutsu and Hakuda techniques, the range of the ability can be easily increased by at least six times the original length as seen during Central 46's rebellion on Soul Society, although the range could theoretically be increased near infinite depending on the speed of the practitioner in question.
 * Tsuisou Suzume  (追走雀 Chasing Sparrow):   This is a technique created by Legendary Zanjutsu Grandmaster Nemaiya Oetsu, who taught it to Keiichi Kuchiki.  Among the arsenal of Zanjutsu techniques that Keiichi posseses, it has the potential to become the strongest, if not one of the strongest, he has yet to master it and reach its full potential.  When Keiichi swings his Zanpakuto down and strikes the ground, the blade will create a quake that stretch across the entire length of the battlefield, completely decimating everything in its sight; at it's strongest.  Currently, in Keiichi's hands, however, it's very much weaker.  At Keiichi's leve, he can't even come close to making this quake reach half way across the battlefield, not to mention it is very slow, and very easy to dodge, and many opponents, such as Shikyo Fushiawase, have shown the capability to forcefully defend against it; this is something that they could never do if someone like Nemaiya Oetsu was using it, as his has been shown to reach far past even the current battlefield, which is how the rumor spread that the original Gotei 13 could "split the Soul Society" in half with one single swing of their Zanpakuto, which is obviously a bit extreme.  This is one of the techniques which Keiichi trains with the most, as he wants to get much better at it in the future; he's also seen Nemaiya Oetsu use this technique in the air, which is even more advanced, which he also wants to learn how to do and to master.
 * ​Tsujikaze (旋風辻風つじ風 lit. Whirlwind) is an advanced Zanjutsu technique which covers a large area of the battlefield that it's being used on.  To initiate this technique, Keiichi will stick his sword out in front of him and create a figure eight in the air with it; he will repeat this proccess infinitely, constantly growing faster and faster and faster, until it is so fast that the blade can barely even be seen anymore.  At this point the velocity of the blade will have created a gigantic whirlwind with the large amounts of air that circulated because of the motions.  A technique of Keiichi's own design, it combines the usage of Zanjutsu with his own advanced Shunpo.  Furthermore, although it does have an attack to it, it's primary function is to either defend or evade, making it a very passive technique, clearly resembling Keiichi's personality; it is for this reason that some call it "his" technique, even though others can obviously learn, and even master it.  The defensive aspect is very obvious; the wind generated into the whirlwind is so dense and powerful that it can block many attacks.  It has been seen easily repelling almost all Zanjutsu techniques, and Kido spells that reach up to Hado #50; higher than that, it resisted Hado #88:  Hiryugekizokushintenraiho for a few seconds; although the technique did quickly break through, however, this did give Keiichi a very samll window of oppertunity to evade the attack himself.  The secondary ability of Tsujikaze, to evade, which is also quite obvious to describe, technically occurs automatically, as the wind, being as dense and thick as it is, does a great job with obscuring the vision of those he's fighting.  He compares it to the ability of his Zanpakuto, which also blocks out vision, (albeit in the darkness, while this does it with the wind), except his Zanpakuto blocks all senses from being utilized, while Tsujikaze only blocks the sight.  Furthermore, there are many enemies that could either see through the wind, rendering the effect completely useless, and/or charge straight through it, effortlessly reaching Keiichi before he has time to react.  Some of thse individuals include Hakuda legends like Shikyo Fushiawase, or Kido legends like Joel Goldsmith.  That's why this ability isn't discussed nearly as much as the other two abilities of Tsujikaze.  It's not a huge deal, as it's an automatic ability, so it doesn't require any additonal preperation to activate, but it is wise for Keiichi to be thinking of the other two effects involved, or an alterier way to proceed, and this effect can be overcome quite easily.  The third and final effect of Tsujikaze, which Keiichi claims he developed only for the sake of practicality, the attacking method, sends large amounts of wind pressure, released directly from the whirlwind, to attack the enemy.  The attack can be delivered in one of two methods.  The first is hard pressure to bluntly strike the target, and the second is sharp pressure, which can slice the target to bits, the latter obviously being more akin to the art of Zanjutsu, while the latter is obviously connected to Hakuda.  Since Keiichi, to be blunt, sucks in Hakuda, the blunt attack is something he hardly ever uses, while the sharp, slicing attack is something that he uses quite frequently, (as frequently as he even uses the attacking form of Tsujikaze, that is).  An added advantage is that, while the whirlwind itself is so dense that it is actually made completely visible, the attacks that are released from it, weather it be the blunt attack or the sharp slice, are rendered completely invisible, similar to how normal wind is, which makes them that much more difficult to dodge or block.
 * Buchihanasu Renda (打ち放す連打 Unsheath Barrage):  This is a technique meant for rough, unblanaced strikes, while at the same time providing smooth, even cuts when making contact with the target.  Keiichi unsheaths his Zanpakuto, strikes the enemy, and sheaths it back up again, almost faster than the eye can see; not quite as fast as Hitotsume:  Nadegiri, but close to it.  He'll continue this process for as many times as needed to finish off the enemy.  Aside from the obvious attacking mechanic, the technique also possesses a defensive effect; due to how fast Keiichi sheaths and unsheaths his Zanpakuto, the blade itself acts as a type of shield to ward off many attacks, specifically other Zanjutsu attacks.  During the Soul Society Civil War, which is also the time when he created the technique itself, he's seen using it to defend himself against Zanjutsu techniques from the One Sword Style, Two Sword Style, or Three Sword Style.  Although commonly used with one of the the swords on his back, it's effects are greatly increased if he uses one of the swords attached to his sides, due to it being easier to draw them really fast than the ones on his back.
 * ​ Hōkai  (崩壊,  disintegration ): A thrusting technique where the practitioner draws back their arm before forcefully propelling their sword at their target, rotating the blade as they hit the opponent, thus causing the point of contact to forcibly explode outwards, shredding the affected area. However, it can be resisted with dense enough materials and causes recoil damage to the user.


 * ​ Gyakutsuki  (逆突き, " Reverse Thrust "): Used in the reverse grip style of holding ones sword, the move revolves around a sudden manoeuvre about the enemy where the swordsman quickly strikes backward during the motion. The attack exploits the element of surprise to impale the opponent unexpectedly.
 * Sashi (刺し, "Sting"): Performed in the reverse grip, this move consists of a downward stab. Whereas the attack often leaves Keiichi susceptible to a counter strike, it is atypical enough to frequently score a hit that prevents any immediate response.
 * Maboroshikiri (幻切り, "Phantom Slash"): Keiichi swings the Zanpakutō at the enemy. The blade of the sword phases out to pass by the enemy's defense and materializes back afterward to strike one with impunity.  To do this he super imposes his Hoho into the blade, vibrating it so rapidly that it becomes intangible very briefly; and on top of that, it also naturally increases the speed, which is helpful.  The way most practitioners utilize this technique is by using their Spiritual Power to make the blade intangible.  While this works as well, Keiichi doesn't like doing this, simply because he considers it to be too much work.  He much prefers to use Hoho, which works for him due to his Hoho Mastery.
 * Okurebasenagarashi (遅ればせながら死, "Belated Death"): This technique consists of pointing the bladeless hilt of the sword at the enemy's body. Then, Keiichi swiftly restores the blade to pierce through them.  Although not necessarily and instant death, as the victim can still back out of it, and if they're strong enough, continue to fighting, the purpose of this technique isn't really to kill them instantly, but to stun them.  Due to the fact that most have no clue that you can actually restore the destroyed blade of the Zanpakuto, the goal is to shock them to the point where Keiichi can lay a counterattack before they can react.  Keiichi learned it during his many travels with the Onmitsukido through Hueco Mundo, due to him being beaten down a lot by  both Hollows and Arrancars alike, and needed a new, sneaky method to attack them with.  He prefers to only use it when he's been almost defeated, and the one who defeated him is standing over him, prepared to lay the final blow, and it's obvious as to why, as that's the time when it would be the most effective in terms of delivering immediate damage to his enemy; however, he does use it at other times as well, when he's still capable of fighting normally, so he actually has a sword to fight with.  Due to the countless times his Zanpakuto blade gets shattered to pieces, this is an extremely common technique for him to use in many of his battles, and one that, today, he's able to use almost instantaneously with very little, if any, preparation time.
 * Tsumazuku (つまずく, "Stumble"): The technique consists of Keiichi phasing out the blade whilst in a dead-lock or when blocking a strong slash. The sudden disappearance of resistance causes the enemy to stumble which provides an excellent opportunity to strike back.  Used for comical deception and trickery, but mostly for desperate moments when in Keiichi's hands.
 * Hankiri  (反切り, " Opposite Slash "): First, Keiichi feigns a strike from one side. Then, he employs Hohō, like he does with many other Zanjutsu abilities, (although, with this one, it's almost required), to abruptly change the trajectory of the blade and strike from the opposite direction. Swift enough users may appear to ignore the notion of direction altogether, which Keiichi has almost demonstrated doing, although not quite to a masterful level.
 * Hitotsu Itto Futatsu ( 二つ· ２つ一刀式  Two Sword Style):  The Two Sword Style is the art of using two swords while fighting.  This is much more difficult to do, explained by Nemaiya Oetsu, because most Shinigami use one sword to attack and their hand that's free to either block, use different attacks, or to aid themselves with dodging by either grabbing onto their enemy to push or pull themselves away if they can, or to grab onto their surroundings to push or pull themselves away if they can.  When using two sword, the Shinigami doesn't have such a luxury, which means their footwork has to be perfect so they can constantly stay on their feet and still dodge extremely fast.  Once one has mastered this, using two sword has many advantages, the most common of which--or at least, the most common that Keiichi uses--is to use one sword to block and one sword to attack from behind.  Ikkaku noted that this is very similar to what he's done before with his sword and sheath, except Keiichi is using a sword to block instead of his sheath, which makes it even more useful.  Using two swords also opens up a bunch of new techniques unique to the Two Sword Style.
 * Enhanced One Sword Style Techniques:  It should go without saying that, when using two sword, Keiichi has access to every single technique he did when he used one sword, except they're much stronger and more effective than they were before.  Specific examples that stand out more than the others are Ryodan, which allows him to use the technique in two opposite directions at once if he wants to.  With Tsuisou Suzume, Keiichi can clasp both of his swords together and use the technique, allowing for the aftermath of his sword slash to the ground to reach double the distance of the normal technique, and cause double the damage as well.
 * Regekiha Kantsuu (霊撃破貫通 Soul Crushing Penetration or Soul Crushing Pierce):  Keiichi will commence numerous extremely fast pierces, (not slashes), with each of his two swords, one right after the other, poking and shredding the target to pieces.  Even without applying a Shunpo to it, the natural speed already allows him to pierce one hundred times per minute with each sword, (that makes it two hundred for both swords); when adding a Shunpo to it, the speed is literally doubled, allowing Keiichi to pierce two hundred times with one sword, or four hundred times with both swords.  The pierces are so fast that they can cut through almost anything; some have speculated that the only thing that could resist would be a weapon made out of the same Seki-Seki that the Seireitei walls are made out off.
 * Baizou Yaiba Shuriken (倍増刃手裏剣 Double Blade Small Throwing Blade):  To prepare for this technique, Keiichi will take his two swords together from the hilts, and use his Spiritual Power to stick them together for as long as he wishes.  He'll then take it from the center where the two hilts are connected, reach behind him, and toss the double blade in front of him, causing it to spin out of control toward the enemy just like a Shuriken.  Once it strikes an enemy it'll instantly locate another one if it's nearby and strike it; after striking several enemies in a row, the Shuriken will then boomerang all the way back to Keiichi, who will then catch it in his hand, and start all over again if need be.  Due to the sheer length of the blade in this state, he can easily slice opponents whom it strikes clear in half, or slice off entire limbs, depending on how and where it makes contact with them.  He can use his Spiritual Power to guide the blade to wherever he wants it to travel, using one or both of his hands as the guiding force; he even does this to stop the blade in mid air and have it retrace its steps instead of continuing and completing its original journey.  Keiichi can alter the speed and velocity of the attack in two instances; the first is before he throws it, which is based on both the physical strength he puts into the throw, and the amount of Spiritual Power that he wants to put into it at the time, and the second moment is when it's flying out of control, which is based solely on how much of his Spiritual Power that he wants to continue pouring into it; if he adds more, it'll get faster, and if he adds less, it'll get slower.  He has to be careful, however, because if it gets too slow, then friction and gravity will eventually catch up with it, and it'll fall to the ground, useless.
 * Kaimetsuteki Zangeki Nanoka Chi (壊滅的潰滅的斬七日７日地 Devastating Slash of the Seventh Earth):  Currently one of Keiichi's strongest techniques, it's unique as it's one of the few that can only be used with the Two Sword Style, although an altered version can be used with the Three Sword Style.  Grabbing both swords in his hands, Keiichi will position them both out to his side, (either side), both the blade facing the same direction, one several inches above the other, both directly parallel to the other.  After the preparation is completely he'll charge forward, doing a devastating slash up the enemy with both swords;  after that, as an extra finishing precausion, he'll slash down the enemy with both swords, in the exact same way.  The slash down is much faster and stronger than the slash up, so it causes the ground to break apart quite a bit beneath them; this causes even more trouble for his enemy, as, even if they survive this, it's very difficult for them to maintain or regain their footing, allowing Keiichi to continue attacking if he needs to.
 * Kegarawashi Haigo Zangeki (汚らわしい · 穢らわしい背後斬撃 Untouchable Back Slash):  Keiichi will begin this technique by bending his legs, his toes on both feet facing his enemy, and pointing the blades of both of his swords toward his enemy as well, crossing each other like an X.  After a moment, he'll quickly slide the blades across each other, breaking the X, and in that moment he'll appear behind his enemy, bending way down forward, his blades now creating an X behind him as he reaches behind him to do it, his enemy appearing to have been slashed at countless places all over their body, falling to the ground in a bloody mess.  It's one of the fastest Zanjutsu techniques in Keiichi's immense arsenal, and is extremely difficult to notice and defend against, weather you want to block or dodge, let alone counterattack afterwards.  On stronger opponents Keiichi often uses Kamimetsuteki Zangeki Nanoka Chi, and immediately after using Kagarawashii Haigo Zangeki, in order to execute much more damage to his target.
 * Tatsumaki (竜巻竜巻 lit. Tornado) is a Two Sword Style expansion to Tsujikaze, used in the One Sword Style.  To activate this technique, Keiichi will hold both of his sword out to either side of him, joint straight as a board, and then spinning around in a circle; as he's spinning, no part of his body is bending or wavering in any way, which makes him appear like a well constructed marionett or puppet rather than a person with joints.  Keiichi keeps picking up more and more speed, until he can no longer be seen; what's left in his wake is a gigantic tornado, which will suck up everything and everyone that is in a gigantic range of it, and completely destory it or them.  While witnessing Tatsumaki, some initally believe that Keiichi himself transformed into the tornado, but Keiichi corrects them by explaining that the wind he generated is what actually turns into the tornado, much more dense, thick, and powerful than the wind generated by the whirlwind of Tsujikaze.  All of the abilities of Tsujikaze are also present here, only on a much grander scale; Keiichi can block even more powerful attacks, now proving that even Hado #88:  Hiryugekizokushintenraiho is no match for it, it does an even better job of blocking out the vision of his opponents, and he can still send the standard attacks with it, those being the blunt wind pressure and the sharp wind attacks, much stronger than before; even the blunt wind attacks, which Keiich would almost never use in Tsujikaze, actually prove to possess SOME usage in Tatsumaki, even if very little.
 * Basami (ばさみ, "Shears"): This technique revolves around two simultaneous slashes performed from opposite directions to render the attempts to defend more difficult.  However, since it's impossible, under normal circumstances, for one person to slash from two separate directions, there's only three ways to use this technique.  The first is that two separate practitioners will use it, such as Keiichi and Joel Goldsmith did at one point.  However, since this involves two people instead of just one, it's not considered to be a legitimate method of using the technique.  The second method is for the user to use Stationary Speed Clones to create a second version of himself, and both the real Keiichi and the fake Keiichi can use the technique.  And the third and final method demonstrated, which only Keiichi has demonstrated thus far, is allowing one of his swords to be levitated and controlled by his Spiritual Power, and having that sword strike from behind, while he uses his other sword to strike from the front, or vice versa.
 * Fukujūsen (複縦線, "Double Bar"): The fighter poises both of their blades to intercept and block an attack. This defensive move is highly useful when confronting a physically stronger enemy.  Keiichi has exhibited this technique against his father, Kenpachi Kuchiki, on numerous occasions, mostly during training, but also during their "final" battle, which was more of a life or death battle than their training battles.  He also used it on Kenpachi Zaraki during a battle that they had.  Pretty much any physically stronger enemy, such as those denoted as Kenpachi, will find it difficult to bust through this defense, albeit not impossible, as Shikyo Fushiawase demonstrates during Keiichi's first battle with him.
 * Futatabime (二度目, "Second Chance"): First, the practitioner strikes with one sword. Provided the blade is locked with that of the enemy, even momentarily, one immediately swings the other blade to attack the exposed side incessant.
 * Kōshō (咬傷, "Bite"): The move consists of Keiichi stabbing the enemy from the sides, with both blades thrusting at the same time. This kind of a "clenching" motion technically prevents successful defense with a single blade, but might be simply evaded.   However, since it's impossible, under normal circumstances, for one person to slash from two separate directions, there's only three ways to use this technique.  The first is that two separate practitioners will use it, such as Keiichi and Joel Goldsmith did at one point.  However, since this involves two people instead of just one, it's not considered to be a legitimate method of using the technique.  The second method is for the user to use Stationary Speed Clones to create a second version of himself, and both the real Keiichi and the fake Keiichi can use the technique.  And the third and final method demonstrated, which only Keiichi has demonstrated thus far, is allowing one of his swords to be levitated and controlled by his Spiritual Power, and having that sword strike from behind, while he uses his other sword to strike from the front, or vice versa.
 * Sōkiri (双切り, "Twin Slash"): A basic attack where the duelist swings two swords from the same direction to increase the momentum of the attack. Both hit at the same time for optimal effectiveness.  Sokiri is so basic and ancient that it used to not even have a name.  It used to just be considered a standard motion for duelists such as Keiichi to do when they're using two swords.  Keiichi was actually the first to give it a genuine name, although he usually forgoes even saying the name, and is his most common technique to use when he's using two swords.
 * Hitotsu Itto Mittsu ( 一つ· １つ· 一一斗三つ· ３つ  Three Sword Style):  The three sword style is a type of Zanjutsu combat of using three swords at the same time while fighting, one in each hand, and one gripped tightly in their mouths.  This method makes combat even more difficult, because it's often hard to see their surroundings due to the blade often obscuring their vision, and its sometimes hard to keep the blade in their mouth without it falling out as they slash at their enemies.  The Three Sword Style is one of the highest staples expected of Zanjutsu Masters, is taught in Zanjutsu Dojo's all across Soul Society, including Keiichi's, Kuchiki Dojo, and there's even a statue in front of Kuchiki Dojo of someone using the Three Sword Style as a well known symbol of the Dojo.  Like with the Two Sword Style, utilizing the Three Sword Style also opens up many more techniques that Keiichi can use unique to using three swords, as well as enhances many of the One Sword Style and Two Sword Style techniques that he could previously use.
 * Sanjuu Yaiba Shuriken ( 倍増刃手裏剣 Triple Blade Small Throwing Blade):  This technique is an expansion to the technique Baizou Yaiba Shuriken.  After sticking the first two swords together by the handles, Keiichi then attaches the third blade to the other two handles where the other two handles already connected.  He then tosses it just like he does with Baizou Yaiba Shuriken.  The first obvious enhancement about this ability is the speed being tripled; other than that, the blades are also sharper as well, allowing it to slice through much more tough enemies, and the Shuriken can fly, rickache, and boomerang for a much longer duration.
 * Kaimetsuteki Zangeki Nanoka Tenkai ( 壊滅的潰滅的斬七日７日地 Devastating Slash of the Seventh Heaven):  This technique is an expansion of the technique Kaimetsuteki Zangeki Nanoka Chi.  Keiichi begins by taking his stance, with  both the blade facing the same direction, one several inches above the other, both directly parallel to the other, except this time they'll be positioned directly in front of him; the blade in his mouth will be positioned sideways parallel to the other two blades.  He then charges forward, and once he reaches his enemy, he does a massive slash upward with all three of the blades, after which doing a slash downward with all three of the blades.  Once he touches the ground, the great force caused by the attack will cause the ground to break apart so much that it's not uncommon for a miniature crater to be formed in the earth; this not only removes any possible footing that his opponent could have if they survived the initial attack, just like before, but the debris can also greatly harm them this time, and Keiich will still be able to commence with any further attacks if need be.
 * Kegarawashii Ketatamashii Haigo Zangeki ( 汚らわしい · 穢らわしい背後斬撃 Untouchable Piercing Back Slash):  This technique is an expansion to the technique Kegarawashii Haigo Zangeki.  Keiichi begins by  bending his legs, his toes on both feet facing his enemy, and pointing the blades of both of his swords toward his enemy as well, crossing each other like an X; the blade in his mouth will stick out straight, resting on top of the X.  After a moment, he'll quickly slide the blades across each other, breaking the X, and in that moment he'll appear behind his enemy, bending way down forward, his blades now creating an X behind him as he reaches behind him to do it, his enemy appearing to have been slashed at countless places all over their body, falling to the ground in a bloody mess; the blade in his mouth pierced a large hole through their chest.  This version is even faster than the previous version, and is known for being a one hit kill to certain enemies due to Keiichi blasting a hole through the enemy's chest, although many enemies, such as First Captains, or any Kenpachi, can easily survive it due to their advanced physical strength, not to mention their advanced muscular and skeletal structure.
 * Hitotsu Itto Yottsu  ('一つ· １つ· 一一斗四つ· ４つ Four Sword Style):  The Four Sword Style is a form of Zanjutsu combat where the user uses four swords at a time.  At four swords a practitioner is said to be a "true master."  One is held in each of their hands, one is held in their mouth, and one is lifted up by their Spiritual Power, allowing Keiichi to wave it around, strike with it, and slash with it, as if he was holding it in his hand; some have said it's like having an invisible hand holding onto it, although this isn't a literal statement.   When using four swords, Keiichi becomes very deadly, even more so than normal.  Due to the fourth sword being controlled by his Spiritual Power, this means that he can dangle it from long distances and have it sneak attack his enemies, without them even suspecting a thing; he does have a limit as to how far away it can be from him, however, but that is solely based on the limit of his Spiritual Power itself.  Keiichi, despite being a Lieutenant, possesses the Spiritual Power of a standard Captain, which means it would take awhile in order for him to actually reach that limit.  The most recent estimate that Keiichi gave was several miles, probably about five to ten, which will give him plenty of distance to surprise most of his enemies, with few exceptions.  And even if the first fails, he can always hand his other swords over to the control of his Spiritual Power too; he doesn't have to hold any of his swords in his hands with any of the sword styles if he doesn't want to.   As with the previous three styles, the Four Sword Style, which is also the final normal style that Keiichi has currently achieved, allows him to access many new techniques associated with using four swords, not to mention enhances all of his previous techniques.


 * ​Oudanteki Genkaku (横断的厳格 Sectional Severe):  To use this technique, Keiichi will hold all four of his swords out in front of them and make them all levitate with his Spiritual Power.  They'll fly high into the air, to where they can almost not be seen at all, and then slash all the way down, reaching the target in a manner of seconds.  If the full effect occurs, the two swords on the sides will slice of the enemy's arms and legs, and the two center swords will slice their body into two halves from the head all the way down.  A devastating one hit kill if used perfectly, using it perfectly is very difficult normally due to the length of time required for preperation, so many enemies are able to effortlessly dodge it or defend against it.  Because of this, Oudanteki Genkaku is normally percieved as an assassination technique only, as it almost always works to its fullest effect, if at all, when the enemy can't see it coming.
 * Haritsukebashira (磔柱 Crucifixion):  To initiate this technique, Keiichi will toss all four of his swords at great speeds, (more often than not super imposing a Shunpo onto the tosses for maximum effect), and stabbing each one into the arms and legs of the opponent; back in the day he would always try to stab them in the wrists and ankles for maximum pain to take hold, but nowadays he doesn't care anymore.  In fact, he doesn't use this technique nearly as often as he used to, due to feeling it to be far too barbaric for an honorable man such as himself.  He learned it from his father many years ago, who was known for loving crucifixion as a torture method.  If he stabs his opponents with it just right then he can actually miss the major veins and keep them alive for extended periods of time.  Nowadays, however, he only uses it if he absolutely has to, such as if he has to restrain an enemy to capture him, or if he absolutely needs to get information out of an enemy, and there's nobody else around to do the dirty work.
 * Shibyoushi Yaiba Shuriken (四拍子刃手裏剣 Quadruple Blade Small Throwing Blade):  Shibyoushi Yaiba Shuriken is an expansion to the technique Sanjuu Yaiba Shuriken.  Keiichi connects all four of his swords together by the hilts, until they look like an actual makeshift Shuriken this time.  Gripping the center of his makeshift Shuriken, Keiichi tosses it at his enemies, the speed at least three times greater than before, and the shredding power, since it possesses four swords instead of three swords, and is able to rickashe for at least three times longer than before, too.  The Shuriken techniques are some of Keiichi's favorite and most common techniques to use, weather he's using Two Sword Style, Three Sword Style, or Four Sword Style, because they're  easy to prepare and use, and are extremely effective, great for assassination jobs or just normal battles.  Shibyoushi Yaiba Shuriken is also great for beheddings; the other two versions can  do that as well, but there's always the chance that the hilts will hit them instead.  With this version, however, there's no question that their head will in fact be lobbed off no matter what.
 * Kamiketsuteki Zangeki no Nanoka Jigoku (壊滅的潰滅的斬撃七日７日地獄 Devastating Slash of the Seventh Hell):  Kamiketsuteki Zangeki no Nanoka Jigoku is an expansion to the technique Kamiketsuteki Zangeki no Nanoka Tenkai.
 * Kegarawashii Ketatamashii Kaimetsuteki Haigo Zangeki (汚らわしい 穢らわしいけたたましい壊滅的潰斬撃背後滅的 Untouchable Piercing Devastating Back Slash):  Kegarawashii Ketatamashii Kamiketsuteki Haigo Zangeki is an expansion to the technique Kegarawashii Ketatamashii Haigo Zangeki.
 * Hitotsu Itto:  Noborichoushi no Hotoke (一つ· １つ· 一一斗上り調子野· 埜仏 Sword Style:  Rise of the Buddah):  The Buddhais an ancient spiritual statue that Zanjutsu users once worshiped for guidance and strength; basically, it was their God of sorts.  Those who have truly mastered the art of Zanjutsu can summon it behind them, albeit for a very brief period, and it will strike their enemy, with all its force, with however many swords the Shinigami who summoned it is able to use at that time; for Keiichi, that would be four.  For someone like Nemaiya Oetsu, that would be one hundred.
 * Rei Hitotsu Itto ( 零一刀 Zero Sword Style ):  The Zero Sword Style is a very high level art, which involves the user using their Spiritual Power to sharpen certain body parts or their whole body, and using those body parts as they would use a sword.  It's only used if the user doesn't have a sword to use at the time, because all techniques used are the same level as they would have been if they had a sword, so it doesn't make victory any less diffuclt.  The user can use every single Zanjutsu ability that the One Sword Style and the Two Sword Style allows them to use, but can't use the Three Sword Style, or Four Sword Style; each of their arms act as a sword, so they can only use the One Sword Style and the Two Sword Style.  Also they can still use the Buddha, as that doesn't require possession of any swords to use anyways.  Even though the name is often forgone, the Zero Sword Style is very commonly used by Shinigami of all different ranks; whenever a Shinigami uses a Knifehand Strike to attack an enemy, specifically while striking their Soul Chain and Soul Sleep, but also just to attack then normally, they're using the Zero Sword Style.  It's a method which requres zero preperation to use, as the sharpening can occur instantaneously, with the user just "thinking" that he or she wants it to happen, and they can begin fighting as they do that, so it is very convenient; helpful when Keiichi doesn't have his swords with him, or just doesn't feel like drawing the swords that he DOES have with him, (or can't, due to time restraints because of the advanced skill of his opponent in question), it's one of the most unusual, yet also one of the most basic, forms of Zanjutsu combat that exists, and some Zanjutsu Dojo's, (Keiichi's Zanjutsu Dojo being no exception), will require you to learn this even before you learn how to use an actaul sword in combat, as that is obviously considerably more difficult to do.  There are zero new techniques with the Zero Sword Style, as Keiichi can just use all the techniques that the One Sword Style and Two Sword Style gives him; they are, however, considerably weaker, due to his body not being legitament swords, he is sometimes able to make up for it due to the enhanced speed of using the Zero Sword Style, (albeit not always), not to mention his own natural speed, and his Shunpo, perhaps, on top of it all.

Zanpakuto  Spirit Relationship
For years, Keiichi and his Zanpakuto, Otete no Mangetsu, have always had a rather difficult and complicated relationship. For most of Keiichi's life they hated one another. Keiich used to have a very bloodthirsty and battle hungry personality, willingly slaughtering his enemies and everyone who got in his way; Otete no Mangetsu, on the other hand, has always been a very peace loving, monk-like figure, and thus despised the way Keiichi partook in battle, and in life in general. The only reason Otete no Mangetsu helped Keiichi at all was so he himself wouldn't die along with his master, but thankfully for him Keiichi rarely released him due to their mutual feelings of hatred for each other. This relationship changed, however, when Keiichi changed as a person. He attempted to reach out to his Zanpakuto more, and although Otete no Mangetsu didn't want to respond at first, he eventually responded gladly, and the two built up a relationship of comradary, friendship, and even  brotherhood as time went on. It's unknown how Keiichi, a bloodthirsty killer, produced such a peaceful and kind Zanpakuto Spirit, but the most popular guess, presented by Joel Goldsmith, is that Keiichi always had a part of him that was kind, which manifested greatly as Otete no Mangetsu; this theory was given due to the evidence of how Keiichi was horrified at not only what Honoka did, but also what his father did. Due to this newfound relationship, Keiichi has grown much stronger, and has truly learned what a good relationship with one's Zanpakuto can do for their power as a Shinigami, which is an idea that he also used to completely reject.
 * Jinzen   (刃禅 lit. Blade Zen/Sword Meditation):  It isn't enough to just simply know the name of one's Zanpakuto.  If a wielder were to lend its power to its Zanpakuto, the weapon would become stronger.  To fully use a Zanpakuto's power, the wielder must also know its Zanpakuto's spirit as if they would a friend or comrade.  By either laying their Zanpakuto sideways on their lap, or sticking up out of the ground in front of them, (in both cases they need to sit on the ground cross crossed), closing their eyes, and attempting to connect their spiritual power to thier Zanapkuto's; if they succeed, they'll enter the Inner World  of their Zanpakuto Spirit, allowing themselves to converse with the manifested form of their Zanpakuto.  In this world all Shinigami, as well as Kami and Megami, battle with their Zanpakuto in order to gain greater strength; they learn new abililties from their Zanpakuto spirit, (not to mention new releases and new techniques within those releases), but also grows their personal relationship, which allows the Shinigami to grow all of their powers.  Keiichi, however, has not yet mastered the ability to use Jinzen to materialize their Zanpakuto Spirit into the real world, which all Zanjutsu Grandmasters are able to do.  He can, however, use the Tenshintai, an artifact created by Kisuke Urahara, and belonging to the Onmitsukido, which will forcefully manifest his Zanpakuto Spirit into the real world, event hough he hasn't yet learned how to do that himself.
 * Kyoshin (鏡心 lit. Mirror Heart):  In order to Master the Zanpakuto, one must gain a mutual friendship, and even comradarie, with their Zanpakuto.  However, that isn't all.  Once all facets of Jinzen are mastered, including entering the Inner World, and manifesting into the real world, (without using the Tenshintai), the Zanpakuto Spirit will be able to fight alongside his or her Shinigami master as if they were two separate beings.  Zanjutsu Grandmasters are commonly able to do this for an infinite amount of time; masters, like Keiichi, do have a limit, but it's very extensive.  For him, it's roughly three hours, and it keeps growing with every passing training session, both in his Inner World and in the Real World, that he has with her.

Hoho  Master
Due to being a high ranking member of the Onmitsukido, Keiichi Kuchiki's raw speed is almost unparallelled. Even during his time in the eleventh division, Keiichi's Shunpo abilities were far ahead of his age and rank, which is one of the primary reasons why his father, Kenpachi Kuchiki, valued his abilities so much; his ability, (and at the time, willingness), to slaughter countless enemies in that were in his path so unbelievably quickly. Yoruichi, when ranking the fastest Shinigami she's known about in the Soul Society, which includes her, him, Kirinji, SoiFon, Shikyo Fushiawase, and Captain Commander Yamamoto, she placed him equal with SoiFon, and later moved is rank past SoiFon into fifth place, right in between SoiFon and Kirinji, (although still really far away from Kirinji himself).

Shunpo Mastery :  Way of Onmitsu, 1st of the Shiho. The primary ability of Hoho. The art of Shunpo seems simple at first, but is actually more complicated than people initially think. Shunpo isn't just about moving fast, it's also about keeping the proper footwork so you can keep moving fast. Keiichi is one of the best at this, becuase he already uses masterful footwork when it comes to improving his Zanjutsu capabilities, so all he needs to do in this regard is apply the same footwork to his Shunpo, which is a simple task. Keiichi has also learned to apply his superquick movements to every facet of movement he does during combat, weather he's running, flying, punching, kicking, or swinging his swords. During their fight, Shikyo Fushiawase lamented that Keiichi is one of the few who can hit him during combat, complimenting not only the quickness of his speed, but also the raw power of his speed, but noted the flaw that he can't control his speed very well. What this means is that the faster he decides to go, the less he's able to control his strength or overall power. This has caused him to, on many occasions, fatally wound or even kill enemies whom he was supposed to capture alive, or fatally wound his comrades if they happen to get in the way; thankfully he's never accidentally killed one of his own comrades or friends because of this, but he has come dangerously close on nermous occasions, such one time when he was on a mission with Ikkaku Madarame while he was still in the eleventh division. This is one of the two things that prevents him from possibly crossing the line of a Shunpo Grandmaster, the other being that, even though he is fast, he isn't even close to the speed of the well known Shunpo Grandmasters of the Soul Society, suchas Kirinji, Yoruichi, and Captain Commander Yamamoto. His speed IS, however, great enough that it doesn't usually take him a horrible amount of time to traverse the entirety of the Soul Society, unless he's in an immediate battle with someone. Shunpo Mastery is what comes first, before a person can learn any more Hoho related techniques.
 * Senka:  Way of Onmitsu, 2nd of the Shiho.  Senka is a technique poupular among not only members of the Kuchiki Family, but also members of the Onmitsukido, and just members of the Second Division in general.  However, when Keiichi was in the eleventh division he detested the very thought of this technique, as he considered it to be a cowardly way of dealing with his enemies.  Therefore, he only learned it a while after he finally joined the Second Division and the Onmitsukido, which means it's the one he has the least amount of skill in out of all of his Hoho related abilities.  By using a very fast Shunpo to reach the other side of his opponent, he'll reach his hand around and attempt to strike their soul chain and soul sleep; this method will kill the vast majority of his opponents instantaneously if he succeeds with it.  Unfortunately, there are many enemies which this doesn't work on, considering that his skill level in it has yet to grow to outsanding levels as of yet.  Most think that a practitioner needs to appear behind the enemy to use this technique, but Keiichi has demonstrated that they can also appear in front of them enemy too and strike from the front; the end result is the same if he does it right.  Another reaosn Keiichi's Senka isn't that good is because his Hakuda isn't that good.  For many practitioners of Senka, such as Byakuya Kuchiki, Yoruichi Shihoin, or Shikyo Fushiawase, among many others, they already have amazing Hakuda and amazing striking; this causes their hand to penetrate much deeper much easier, allowing them to to almost never fail; this is especially the case with both Yoruichi and Shikyo, who are Hakuda Grandmasters, Byakuya primarily uses his insane speed and years of experiences, (experinece greatly lapsing Keiichi's, obviously), to get the job done.  Due to his quite pitiful skills in Hakuda, Keiichi wonders if he'll ever be able to become a Master, let alone a Grandmaster, in the art of Senka.
 * Utsusemi :  Way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shiho.  Utsusemi is a technique which allows the user to leave a copy of the clothing their wearing that the enemy ends up attacking instead.  Although Keiichi has shown profound mastery of this technique, this surprises some opponent's like Shikyo Fushiawase, due to him hardly ever using it.  In order to use this technique, the user has to first be captured to a point that they can't escape any other way; and in that regard, it's extremely rare for Keiichi to be captured in combat, which why it's rare for him to use it in general.  Keiichi explains that, even though he hardly ever uses it in a real battle, he does practice it a few times every single time that he trains, so that his skills in it won't waver; he does this on every one of his skills that he hardly uses during real combat.  Keiichi's also been seen leaving an after image of his sword instead, just for the hell of it, during a training match with Yoruichi Shihoin, but it doesn't have any real different effects, because it's not like he can attack with that sword clone immediately after wards, (because whatever he uses as the clone will disapepar a few seconds afterwards anyways).  It was just his way of showing differnet methods that can be used for the afterimage clones.
 * Ippai Mi Zanzou  (一杯身残像 lit. Full Body Afterimage):  Way of Onmitsu, 4th of the Shiho.  This is an enhancement to Utsusemi which Keiichi himself created; he's only taught it to very few other individuals, one of which being his Captain, Yoruichi Shihoin, at her request.  Instead of using his clothing or an object, (like a sword), that's on him as the afterimage, he uses himself as an afterimage, essentially leaving a shadowy afterimage of his own body to fool the enemy, sometimes even confusing them for quite a while.  This does have several advantages, such as not requiring the user to be captured before he uses it, meaning he can use it whenever he wants to, even when he's not being attacked beforehand.  In Keiichi's hands, the afterimage will remain in place for up to a a minute after its initial usage, after which quickly dissipating away.  In Yoruichi's hands, it'll remain for five minutes, even though she learned it from him, something she often teases him about.
 * Stationary Speed Clones:   Way of Onmitsu, 5th of the Shiho.  This technique allows Keiichi to create several clones of himself to use in combat.  However, they're not tangible clones, the clones are created because of how fast he's able to run; the faster he can run, the more clones he's able to summon.  Keiichi has been seen summoning up to fifteen clones at one time before.  Furthermore, he can run so fast that he can have half the clones doing one type of attack or defense, while the other half does another type of attack or defense, instead of them all doing the same exact attack or defense.  He can also make each one of them attack completely separate enemies if he wants to.  Speed Clones are, by far, one of Keiichi's most favorite abilities to use in any category.  Even when he was in the eleventh division, he loved using this technique because it allowed him to not only finish some of the most boring or uneventful, (in his opinion, mind you), battles much quicker than normal, but also cause much more bloodshed and death in a much shorter time frame.  Back then he could only summon up to five clones at once, and each of them had to do the same exact attack or defense, although they could attack different enemies.  After joining the Second Division, however, he managed to improve the technique to what it is today.  He also uses it not primarily for bloodshed and killing, but for much more effecient assassinations; this actually allowed him to improve on it as well, because he wasn't focused on reeking havoc and remaining on the battlefield, leaving himself open to attacks like when he was in the Eleventh Division; when the assassination is over, he leaves the battlefield as quickly as possible, if he can.


 * Moving Speed Clones:  Way of Onmitsu, 6th of the Shiho.  An enhancement to the normal speed clones, which allows Keiichi to create clones of himself while moving at rapid speeds.  This is similar to the stationary speed clones, as both of the techniques technically create clones while moving, but the difference is that the stationary speed clones causes the user to APPEAR as if they're standing still, even though they're not, while the moving speed clones actually allows the user to APPEAR as if they're moving.  Keiichi commonly uses this technique to blitz around his opponent to catch them off guard, often times in a circular motion.  This is effective to catch the enemy off guard, because it's difficult for most combatants to attack the enemy in multiple locations at the same exact time if each target is constantly moving; some enemies will even become dizzy because of this and their vision will be temporarily empared slightly.  Another advantage is, like with the stationary speed clones, each clone can attack the enemy from different locations, at the same exact time, making it even more difficult to defend.  Keiichi created this technique shortly after joining the Onmitsukido as an effective assassination ability, after which teaching it to Yoruichi Shihoin and having it become a standard, required ability of the Onmitsukido.
 * Hakaitsuchi (破壊槌, "Battering Ram"): Way of Onmitsu, 7th of the Shiho.  The practitioner charges head-on at the target. With the employment of Hohō to produce abnormal force a simple dash becomes a devastating attack, linear but lightning-fast.  The helpful part is that almost any part of Keiichi's body can be used as a weapon here.  His feet and fists are, of couse, the obvious choices, but he can also use his knees, his elbows, and even his head, and get similar effects.  If someone were to be profficient in Hakuda then their fists and feet would get way more favorable results than anywhere else; considering that Keiichi is not, however, all of the aforementioned body parts will deliver the effect he desires, the only thing truly making a difference in terms of an increase of power being how fast he's going.  Being the Zanjutsu Master that he is, Keiichi will also often slice his target up one or more of his swords while using this technique too; it provides for a much cleaner, quicker, and more effective kill.
 * Kūkihokō (空気歩行, "Air Walking"): Way of Onmitsu, 8th of the Shiho.  One of the basic applications of Hohō which is nonetheless extremely useful. Practitioners learn to condense miniature platforms made of Reishi particles beneath their feet in order to, quite literally, walk in the air. Despite the overall simple nature the technique greatly improves the user's mobility and reach.  This is often confused with "flying" by those who know nothing about the technique, but it is in fact not.  In Soul Society, Shinigami are usually forbidden from flying; they can, however, use Kukihoko, even in Soul Society.  Advanced users, such as Keiichi, can even create a stair case leading high up into the sky, which allows him to get high up in Soul Society so he can then use Kukihoko to walk on air.  Although similar to the Fullbringer technique, Bringer Light, Keiichi notes that the Fullbringer version doesn't allow them to "walk" on air, but merely "stand" on air, and jump really high off of the position that they're standing on.  So basically, Kukihoko is an advanced version of Bringer Light, although the two techniques obviously have no direct relations or anything, just a coincidence.
 * Senpū (旋風, "Whirlwind"): Way of Onmitsu, 9th of the Shiho.  Keiichi will use a Shunpo to circulate around the target or targets as fast as he possibly can, causing a gigantic whirlwind that can easily obscure his enemies, and even prevent them from moving at times.  The outcome of the technique looks like a gigantic tornado, although the tornado itself can do very little to harm the opponent, and is just for show; the true danger of the technique is the overwhelmingly dense wind that the tornado releases.  During his battle with Burikka Hakumei Akegata, Keiichi demonstrated the ability to even prevent Burikka, a former First Captain, from moving briefly.  Even though this was only for about thirty seconds, it was just enough time for Keiichi to think about and prepare for his next counterattack, which even Bruikka was pretty much forced to compliment him about.  Keiichi can also use this technique and then attack the enemy immediately, long before it dissipates.  It's a great assassination technique, as it's able to obscure the vision of a large group of targets, in which Keiichi can then promptly cut down with his swords.  It's much safer that way rather than trying to take out every single one of them while they can still see him.
 * Hyazashi (早指しチェス Speed Blitz):  Way of Onmitsu, 10th of the Shiho.  This is one of the most advanced Hoho techniques that Keiichi has mastered, which makes him intangible.  Although not invisible, using his extreme speed, he's able to phase through any object he wishes, and even the attacks of his enemies, weather it be Hakuda attacks, Kido attacks, Zanjutsu attacks, or the attacks of their relesed Zanpakuto.  The primary drawback to this technique is the time limit.  Keiichi can only remain intangible for up to two minutes at at a time, and then has to wait a total of thirty seconds before he can return to being intangible, so if his opponent is able to attack him in between that thirty second intervul, then he'll be able to hit him.

Imperfect Hoho
There are numerous techniques in Keiichi's arsenal which he has learned, or is learning, but he calls "imperfect." This means he refuses to use them, under any circumstance, until he fully masters them. In order for him to clal a technique imperfect, they not only have to be powerful, but the next rule, which is, by far, the most important one, is that they have some massive drawback or consequence to using them without being mastered, to the point where he simply won't risk it.


 * Fukashin  (不可侵, " Untouchable "):   The ability to evade taken to extreme. The practitioner enters a state of mind where reflexes and dexterity reach their absolute peak. In consequence, one is capable of dodging virtually any directional attacks, numerous or point-blank alike. As performed by a seasoned user the technique seems to render one all but intangible. No apparent motion takes place when an enemy's strike ostensibly phases through the practitioner harmlessly, time and again.  According to Keiichi, Fukashin is technique required to master into to ascend to Shunp Grandmastery, which is what he is striving for; however, the ultimate consequence is the strain it takes on the body when a non master uses it is so overwhelmingly great that, if they're not careful, their bones and muscles could be ripped apart.  That's why he refuses to use it.  One time he went against this self imposed rule of his, however, was during his fight with Shikyo Fushiawase; the result caused him to spend three months in intensive care at the Fourth Division Barracks, and almost lose the ability to fight ever agian.  After that, even following his release, he had to take it easy for about another three months and, over the course of that time, gradually get back into the tougher training and battles; so, overall, six months of downtime was the result.  And according to Tatsujin Chiyu'i, the Fourth Division Captain and Soul Society medical specalist at that time, he was overwhelmingly lucky that it didn't hurt him worse than it did, such as preventing him from fighitng ever again, or possibly even killing him.
 * Hijitsuzai  (非実在, " Nonentity "):   Probably the most fanciful and demanding Hohō technique. Only seasoned masters may attempt to learn Hijitsuzai, a process which requires decades of arduous training before they reach a degree of competence sufficient to successfully perform the technique, and only seasoned Grandmasters can attempt to perform it outside of actual training, (like, in actual combat), which is why Keiichi refuses to use it when he's not training with it. The user applies Hohō to their state of existence, a feat remarkable even amongst powerful spiritual beings. Consequently, one reaches a state where the user, for all intents and purposes, is and is not at the same time. The very particles that constitute the body oscillate at incredibly high speeds so that one obtains genuinelywraith -like qualities. Motion becomes extremely swift while movement speed is simply astounding. The user may virtually shift in and out of existence to pass through potentially crippling blows or insurmountable obstacles only to rapidly deliver a strike of one's own. The technique is perilous to the advanced Hohō master; it requires a great deal of focus and caution. However, its utility in high-level combat is extraordinary.  When using this technique in the living world, it's noted that they can appear to be a "Ghost" "Spirit" or "Aparition" to any humans who happen to stumble upon him or her.  In Soul Society, the user can literally traverse the entirety of Soul Society five times in several seconds flat if they really want to, another testament to the simply legendary speed that a fully mastered Hijitsuzai gives the user.  This is Keiichi's most practiced, as he dreams of one day attaining this kind of speed.  Due to how similar it is to normal Shunpo, that being having only to do with increasing the user's general speed, some also call it Shunpo Part 2, Shunpo Phase 2, or Advanced Shunpo.
 * Ichimoku  (一目, " Glance "):   High-speed movement is one thing. The practitoner needs the ability to distignuish one's surroundings while travelling with great speed. Normally, this skill develops through natural progression. However, it is entirely possible to deliberately train and perfect said skill. Often called Shunpo Part 3, Shunpo Phase 3, Hijitsuzai Phase 2, Hijitsuzai Part 2, or Advanced Hijitsuzai, due to it being yet another Hoho technique which involves increasing one's general speed, the practitioner becomes so fast that the world around them appears to be slowing down to a considerable crawl, allowing them to dodge, block, our counter some of the fastest attacks immaginable, as well as take out armies of thousands or millions of enemies, single handedly in mere seconds, without recieving so much as a scratch.  As an advanced consequence, however, if one uses it before they have mastered it, there is no doubt that they will be pulled apart from the inside out, which is why Keiichi refuses to use it outside of training until he HAS mastered it.  Even those who have mastered this unrecognizable level of speed, who are some of the greatest in Hoho Grandmastery, are forbidden from using it in the Human World unless Central 46 erects a barrier to protect the Human World from the aftermath, which is very rare.  The aftermath in question, if the user isn't careful, could be causing earthquakes, tsunamis, the creation of craters, buidlings being destroyed, and countless lives being lost, which is obviously an offense punishable by death in the Soul Society.  Keiichi has actually yet to begin to even learn this technique yet, because he has yet to master Hijitsuzai; however, once he has mastered Hijitsuzai to a point where he can use it in battle without -much- worries, he says that he's going to begin to train with Ichimoku.
 * Ipposaki  (一歩先, " One Step Ahead "):   Specific mindset more than a singular technique. The practitioner carefully observes and analyses actions of the enemy. Verbal commands, facial expressions, gestures, body language, all form a complex pattern. Masterful user of Hohō reacts and anticipates without hesitation. There is no need to waste time upon deliberation, to make conscious decisions. Rather, the practitioner attunes oneself to the opponent in order to respond promptly and efficiently. Knowledge and experience greatly facilitate such an approach so that the Hohō master may appear to be always one step ahead of the enemy, predict every action, never to be caught off guard.  This is probably the best of Keiichi's imperfect Hoho, but one he still refuses to use outside of training until he masters it.  The consequence of doing such actually has more to do with mental damage than physical or spiritual damage.  Ipposaki is a very mentally draining ability, and one that requires perfect, length focus and mental finess.  It is actually quite possible to obtain certain levels of brain damage if this technique is used carelessly or incorrectly, the level of brain damage solely depending on how long the user uses it carelessly and inappropriately, as well as how carless and inappropriate that they are when they use it.  He has, however, created a downgraded version of the technique, known as Eagle Eyes, which he can use whenever he wants to, for as much time as he wants to, with little to know negative side effects whatsoever.
 * Iten  (移転, " Shift "):   One of the most advanced Hohō techniques. Masterful practitioners may not as much move quickly but technically  will  themselves to reach their destination point nigh-instantly. This is the result of a complex unification of Hohō, spiritual power and resolve which, for all intents and purposes, allows the user to teleport. Naturally, the technique is more exhausting than the use of ordinary Shunpo. In addition, the employment of Iten requires a specific reference point and technically cannot be used for an impulse-driven motion. Regardless, when performed deliberately the technique lets the practitioner to not only shift to the destination point in a negligible amount of time but, most importantly, to outright ignore most potential obstacles on the user's way.  This technique is often called Shunpo Phase 4, Shunpo Part 4, Hijitsuzai Phase 3, Hijitsuzai Part 3,  Ichimoku Phase 2, Ichimoku Part 2, or Advanced Ichimoku, due to it being the final known general speed enhacement to the standard Shunpo.  Like with Ichimoku, Keiichi has yet to even begin to learn this technique, because he hasn't mastered Hijitsuzai.  However, he states that when he does finally master Hijitsuzai, then he learns and masters Ichimoku, he'll begin to learn Iten so that he can eventually master it as well.  The ancient name for Iten was Jikoku ( 時 Instant Transmission).

Kido  Practitioner
Keiichi's Kido skills are only sub par at best, horrible at worst. He even goes as far to say that he's only on a standard Shino Academy student's level of Kido abilities. He can use the most basic Kido spells, such as Shakkaho or Rikujokoro, but his aren't very effective at all to a great degree. At best, his Shakkaho can distract certain enemies to give him time to lay an effective counterattack IF he needs it, but at worst the enemy, more times than not, will either dodge his Shakkaho, or knock it far away from them. His best Kido spell is Bakudo #3:  Inemuri, which is extremely useful as an assassin, as it allows him to almost effortlessly knock out enemies which he's supposed to capture instead of kill as long as he's able to get close enough to them in order to use it, which he almost always is. However, enemies who are high enough of a level can even prevent themselves by being knocked out from this, too.

Hakuda  Practitioner
As explained before, Keiichi's Hakuda abilities, are, by far, the worst of his abilities. In fact, they're so bad and basic, that Keiichi laments that he has a hard time calling them "Hakuda Abilities" to begin with. The only abilities he's any good at are the most basic techniques such as Galting Mad Stomping and Tsukiyubi, but even then he only uses them to catch his opponent's off guard if he has to, even more so than with Kido. He has the footwork neccesary for Hakuda, but he doesn't possess the drive or discipline, nor does he possess the physical strength, to become any better at Hakuda than he is right now, so he's pretty much given up on getting any better at Hakuda than he is currently.

Zanpakuto
The name of Keiichi's Zanpakuto is Otete no Mangetsu (顎門顎鰓腮月 lit. Hand of the Full Moon). Although most confuse it, the four sword Keiichi carries with him are actually completely unrelated to his Zanpakuto. That comes in the form of a Greek Xphos in its sealed state, with a blue and black stripped hilt and a ovular-shaped hilt guard, sheathed in a blue and black stripped sheath.

Shikai
The release commaond for Keiichi's Zanpakuto is "Eclipse." When released, it completely transforms, multiplying into two, and each of the swords taking the form of an Egyptian Khopesh, each one slightly longer than a normal Khopesh, the hilt guards disappearing entirely on them both. Once activated the entire sky will turn completely dark within the entire area, the moon eclipsing the sun in the sky. Shikai gives Keiichi various moon-related abilities that he can use.

Getsuga Tensho:  Upon hearing the name "Getsuga Tensho" most instantly think Keiichi is bluffing, as that's a well known ability of Ichigo Kurosaki. However, as Keiichi explains, the Getsuga Tensho is simply the standard ability that all Moon Type Zanpakuto possess, such as his own. Each wielder has their own unique Getsuga Tensho. Keiichi, for one, has created three separate variations of the Getsuga Tensho. The first and most basic is by taking both of his Khopesh and striking them like an X, which will then create a gigantic X of Getsuga energy, decimating the area. The attack can also be used as an average-strength defense, warding off many different energy based techniques, both Kido Based and based on Zanpakuto techniques, too. The attacking power and defensive durability of his Getsuga Tensho is largely based on how much Spiritual Power that he wants to pour into it, but that in mind, it still has its limits in Shikai. His Shikai's Getsuga Tensho could theoretically never take a Captain Class fighter or higher out in one strike. He's tried and failed, and although it could exist, chances are anyone who could become Captain would be able to survive it. It also isn't the fastest attack ever, meaning fast Shinigami like SoiFon, Yoruichi, Kirinji, or Shikyo would be able to dodge it quite easily. If it hits, however, the blast is strong enough to easily take several mountains instantly, which makes it far more powerful than Ichigo Kurosaki's Getsuga Tensho. Keiichi explains that the reason it's so powerful is because of the inital effect of his Zanpakuto; the eclipse. He says that the eclipse, the moon hovering directly above them, darkening the world, actually makes his Getsuga Tensho stronger than any other by default. Therefore, if someone could theoretically prevent his Zanpakuto from blocking out the sun, (which he explains in theory as a potential possibility, but he has yet to ever actually see it personally), then his Getsuga Tensho would actually be considerably weaker, possibly even weaker than Ichigo's, or at the very least on par with his. The blast takes a bright, blaze orange primary color, with a sky blueish outline to it; upon impact, all living targets will see a green vision flash  before their eyes the moment before it strikes. Mangetsu Hitoributai Hi (一人舞台 独り舞台日陽 lit. Full Moon Eclipsing Sun):  This technique often confuses people, as he describes it as "blocking out the sun" which is already the automatic effect of his Zanpakuto's initial release. However, as he further explains, even thoug his Zanpakuto inherently blocks out the sun with a Lunar Eclipse of sorts, enough light can still be seen to easily see what they're doing, as per an actual Lunar Eclipse. However, Mangetsu Hitoributai Hi completely removes this light as well, making it pitch black. Even some of the most talented Shinigami find it a chore to fight in these conditions, especially since this technique has an added effect that it entirely removes all sound from the area, meaning everything he does won't make any noise whatsoever, no matter what it is. Shuhei Hisagi compared it to the Bankai of his previous Captain, Kaname Tosen. Keiichi was humorously insulted by this, claiming that his ability is far more useful than his Bankai. The primary reason for this is that Kaname's Bankai basically created a pocket dimension of darkness of which he and his opponent would battle in; Mangetsu Hitoributai Hi, on the other hand, doesn't create any sort of pocket dimension or dome or anything like that, but instead makes the real world dark, (for whatever distance that his Shikai is currently affecting), which means that any other enemies that should happen upon the battlefield. This ability has two primary downfalls, however, and both of them are stemmed from the exact same issue; although Keiichi can hear, he also can't see just like his enemies. This means that, although he can attack his enemies, it's much less effective than if he deactivated this ability, which he can do in five seconds mind you, but with certani enemies, that would be a perfect amount of time for them to counterattack. In addition, any of his comrades that are nearby would also be in danger, as he could accidentally attack them if he can't see. Not to mention they could accidentally attack him if he's not careful. So his Shikai can put the lives of both him and his comrades in jepardy. His Zanpakuto Spirit, Otete no Mangetsu, has hinted to the possibility that, if Keiichi one day completely masters his Zanpakuto, then he'll gain the ability to see perfectly in this darkness that he creates, but since Keiichi obviously has yet to master it, he has yet to see if this is true or not.
 * Getsuga Kodate:  A special version of Getsuga Tensho created by Keiichi.  It takes the automatic defensive aspect of his normal Getsuga Tensho and amplifies it, creating a large, thick, exceedingly durable, circular shield of Getsuga energy all around himself.  This shield is seen completely blocking the Kido Spell Hado #90:  Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho, not to mention temporarily repelling the powerful and hot flames of Yamamoto's Shikai for up to five minutes, which is still a feat.  There are four known drawbacks to this ability.  The first and second are the standard ones, and it's the legnth of time; he can only use this technique for as long as his his power will allow him to, and if he fights an enemy who's strong enough they will eventually break through.  Those ones are obvious.  The third weakness has to do with how many people he can protect; this shield is actually rather small, and can only fit up to six people in it at a time, including himself.  If he tries anymore, the shield will only last for roughly thirty seconds to one minute.  And the fourth and final weakness with fighting against another Getsuga Tensho.  When two Getsuga Tensho collide a huge explosion and lots of damage will occur; which is fine normally, but if a Getsuga Tensho attacks the shield, Keiichi, and everyone else who might be inside, will probably be killed, or at the very least fatally wounded, while inside, so he has to be careful and deactivate it if he sees that a Getsuga Tensho isa bout to be used while he's using the shield ability.
 * Getsuga Shinobigaeshi:  The third and final method of using his Getsuga Tensho.  Unlike his normal Getsuga Tensho, which primarily functions as an attack but can also function as a defense, and Getsuga Kodate, which solely functions as a defense, Getsuga Shinobigaeshi solely functions as an attack.  Keiichi will create a lot of Getsuga energy high in the air, use it to create gigantic spikes, and use those spikes to attack the enemy by waving either of his Zanpakuto in the direction he wants them to fire.  Like always, the size, sharpness, speed, power, and overall duration is solely based on how much of his Spiritual Power that he wants to put into them.

Bankai
The name of Keiichi's Bankai is Agito no Mangetsu (御手手お手々お手手お手て満月 lit. Jaw of the Full Moon). Not Yet Achieved.

Otete no Mangetsu
 For years, Keiichi and his Zanpakuto, Otete no Mangetsu, have always had a rather difficult and complicated relationship. For most of Keiichi's life they hated one another. Keiich used to have a very bloodthirsty and battle hungry personality, willingly slaughtering his enemies and everyone who got in his way; Otete no Mangetsu, on the other hand, has always been a very peace loving, monk-like figure, and thus despised the way Keiichi partook in battle, and in life in general. The only reason Otete no Mangetsu helped Keiichi at all was so he himself wouldn't die along with his master, but thankfully for him Keiichi rarely released him due to their mutual feelings of hatred for each other. This relationship changed, however, when Keiichi changed as a person. He attempted to reach out to his Zanpakuto more, and although Otete no Mangetsu didn't want to respond at first, he eventually responded gladly, and the two built up a relationship of comradary, friendship, and even  brotherhood as time went on. It's unknown how Keiichi, a bloodthirsty killer, produced such a peaceful and kind Zanpakuto Spirit, but the most popular guess, presented by Joel Goldsmith, is that Keiichi always had a part of him that was kind, which manifested greatly as Otete no Mangetsu; this theory was given due to the evidence of how Keiichi was horrified at not only what Honoka did, but also what his father did. Due to this newfound relationship, Keiichi has grown much stronger, and has truly learned what a good relationship with one's Zanpakuto can do for their power as a Shinigami, which is an idea that he also used to completely reject.

Quotes

 * (To Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihoin) "I always asked myself, if I could be reincarnated, what kind of person would I be?  Or rather, what kind of person would I like to be?  However, I'm afraid thiat this may be a question that doesn't have an answer.  But if I wer eto take a guess, I would want to be born as a kind, genlter soul.  Not this demon that I have been cursed to be in this lifetime.  And second, what kind of world would I live in?  I would want to live in a world without war and struggle, like we are all cursed to live in right now.  In this world, there are no evil people.  There are either pure people or regular people, who's hearts have been tainted and twisted by the world itself.  And this is the truth.  Don't even try to tell me that what I'm saying is wrong, Urehara, because you know it very much yourself.  Is that not why you created the Hogyoku?  To try and bring peace to this ever war torn world?  Do not try and deny it.  Even if we have beings in this world with honor and justice in their eyes, pride will always consume the pure hearted, and turn them into something ugly.  In this world of war and hatred, I have been searching for an answer to this question, but have, so far, came up with no answers."
 * (To Ichigo Kurosaki) "To surrender who you are and live without belief is more terrible than dying.  Even more terrible than dying young."
 * (To Sora Hiragi) "We're searching for a reason for existence.  With our own strength because, maybe the truth is, there's no meaning or purpose to life from the very beginning.  Everyone hopes and tries to desparately hard to find a reason for existence.  The reason of birth, of staying with someone, of existence, believing we have to find them all with our own hands.  Like finding a place for ourselves in dreams, in jobs, in people.  The reasons we discover may be fragile, indefinite, and desolate.  We may lose it too, but even so, we want a reason.  As long as I'm alive, I want it too.  If possible, I want to find a reason for existence with a person, with someone."
 * (To Kenpachi Zaraki) "Only a brute warrior finds glory in destruction."
 * (To Shion Kuchiki) "Of what worth is a Shinigami who fails to protect the powerless."
 * (To Shikyo Fushiawase) "If you do evil out of hatred for evil, the hate and rage will only birth new conflict."
 * (To Kenpachi Zaraki) "A man without fear cannot be wise."
 * (To Shikyo Fushiawase) "The weight of my swords is equivilent to the weight of my pride.  The wound from my battle with you is an honor, not a fetter."
 * (To Yoruichi Shihoin) "I've lived my life up tot his point fighting to protect those close to me.  But even in this wake, I wasn't able to protect anyone.  I've been nothing but a damn, owrthless fool.  Even in the very end, I could not save anyone.  That's why, once again, just like that day, my heart craves to be drenched in blood.  I suppose, a demon will always be a demon."
 * (Keiichi's belief on Zanjutsu and his teachings) "Zanjutsu as a very diverse art form, and each user has their own style as long as they're willing to cultivate it and truly make it their own."
 * (To Yoruichi Shihoin) "I know his suffering.  After all, the black beast of vengeance lies within me, as well."


 * (To Shion Kuchiki) "I always thought that life was about standing your ground, no matter how strong the current was.  But going with the flow isn't so bad after all.  As long as it takes you forward."
 * (To Shion Kuchiki) "We are all farsighted.  We give importance to these things that are far from us, while neglecting the things that are close to us...only to realize their value later when they are out of reach again."
 * (To Yoruichi Shihoin) "People can have lovers.  They can have friends.  They can be together.  But when you think about it, you'll see that we're all alone."
 * (To Raiden Higurashi) "Having a dream come true and being happy.  Why are they so different?  Even now, I still don't get it."
 * (To Shion Kuchiki) "Back then I was desperately seeking to be strongly tied to someone, with a knot that would never come undone.  But people can't just be tied together, they have to connect.  Otherwise they'll find themselves bound hand and foot.

Trivia

 * Keiichi's theme song, chosen by the author, is Asylum by Disturbed.
 * Keiichi's favorite food is Wasabi.
 * Keiichi dislikes many foods, but many of them he's willing to eat as long as they have Wasabi on them, (if there's nothing else around that he likes, that is).  His least favorite, however, is fish sticks, which he won't even eat WITH Wasabi to dip them in.
 * Keiichi's most loved hobbies include training and reading books.

Story Appearances

 * Bleach: Evolution