Naoya Mitsurugi

"The Devil, huh? When you have the power to accomplish something, you must be willing to act; able to take another's life if it will benefit you, without question. In some ways, Mūkade's actions and our own may not be all that far apart, when it comes to interfering with other people's lives. We choose our own path, knowing full well what we're doing. That's the way it is, right, Kuramoto? You will more than likely come across cases like this again in the future, and you may end up having to get your own hands dirty as well. Are you going to shut down like this every time?"

- Naoya speaking to Minato Kuramoto


 * "Intelligent at being Idiotic." - Seireitou-shishō

Naoya Hōsōkaya (直哉細川, Housoukaya Naoya) is of Master rank in the Seijin Council, and was the former leader of the Onmitsukidō. According to Naoya, the Onmitsukidō was originally an organization completely separate from the Gotei 13. It wasn't until Naoya lost the reigns of the Onmitsukidō leadership to Kana Shihōin, Yoruichi Shihōin's mother, in a game of shogi. From then on, the Onmitsukidō leadership was held within the head of the Shihōin Clan, and eventually merged with the Gotei 13's second division. Sometime after, Naoya had left the Soul Society and traveled to the foreign land of Yāolù. What happened after is unknown, but eventually Naoya found himself becoming one of the Seijin Council's Seijin Masters.

Appearance
Naoya is unique amongst the Seijin Council for his vibrant, long red hair. His eyes are shown to be rather narrowed in comparison to the other Masters, the coloration being an ocean blue. Naoya has a complimenting red goatee around his chin. He wears a specialized, long black coat that has a golden-colored cross on the back, accenting golden lines on each side of it, golden crosses on the shoulders, and a metal emblem on the left side of his chest. The jacket is normally kept zipped from his waist and up, form-fitting his body figure. Not often seen, Naoya's Zanpakutō is sometimes kept on the left side of his hip, while his gun bandoleer is worn on his right side, strapping the generated shironagare pistol onto his hip. Naoya wears a black bucket hat, featuring matching designs that are shown on his jacket, along with two silver die tied on the left side of the hat. During meetings with the other Masters, Naoya wears a brown robe around his uniform, a trademark of the Council. He also doesn't wear his hat during those meetings.

Personality
Naoya is depicted as a self-proclaimed "badass" with no equal, often attempting to prove this point through defeating his opponents as quickly and swiftly as possible, as well as going to great lengths to make a lasting impression on allies and opponents alike during battle. However, Naoya often keeps a more calm and silent guise about him, not appearing interested in matters that don't concern him. Even during meetings, Naoya is usually the one to fall asleep and miss out on importaant information. In battle, Naoya is rather sarcastic and blunt, not desiring to stall out fights, and prefering to end them as quickly as possible. In accordance with this, Naoya has a code of honor that causes him to not accept challenges from children; although, unlike others who hold this particular honor code, Naoya has no problem attacking females.

Evident from his past, Naoya is also a compulsive gambler, who has the unfortunate disadvantage of having terrible luck. As a result, Naoya's reputation as a powerful Shinigami is blinded by his reputation as an "easy victory" in the gambling field. This reputation was built up because of the gross profits others have made off of his misfortune and gambling addiction. It was this addiction that caused him to lose his leadership in the Onmitsukidō to Kana Shihōin. In the rare instances that Naoya hits a winning streak, he believes it to be a bad omen, and bad things do tend to happen to him or his comrades afterwards.

He is shown to be a gruff, demanding individual who is hard to please. In fact, he usually refers to Minato as "idiot disciple". Most of the Seijin Order considers Naoya a great man, to which he is, however, he is normally always rude and tough on Minato. This could be because Minato is indirectly one of his students, and thus he has to be hard on him. It is clear that Minato fears him at times, which is hinted from the fact most of the events involving the two of them usually ends with some kind of traumatizing (usually humorous) experience on Minato's part. Despite all this, Naoya has shown a softness underneath his rough exterior for certain people, especially and ironically Minato.

History
Nothing is known about Naoya's childhood, nor the early stages of his adulthood either. At some point, Naoya had taken supreme leadership of the Onmitsukidō. It is clear that Naoya has had a connection with the Shihōin Clan, especially with the former head of the family, Kana Shihōin. Whether the two were friends or not is currently unknown. All that is known is that Naoya and Kana had played a game of shogi, in which Naoya had gambled the leadership of the Onmitsukidō, and lost. With nothing tying him down to the Soul Society, Naoya set sail for Yāolù.

Shiro Nagare
Unlike others of the Seijin Council, Naoya's Shiro Nagare (白流れ, White Current) is manifested through multiple physical forms, making Naoya one of the only Seijin to ever accomplish such a feat. Each form has its own unique abilities, and are numbered after a level of offense or sin.

Someurami (冠の恨み, First Sin): Naoya's most common Shironagare technique, Someurami is activated through the use of a silver pistol worn on his hip. According to Naoya, when his Shironagare was first perfected, it was then that he physically generated the silver pistol, and keeps it on his person at all times. The pistol itself has a rather long body, shown to have a rather western appearance. On the body of the pistol is a golden cross, similar in shape to what is shown on his uniform. The bullets of Someurami are dense, compressed, and solidified amounts of Naoya's own spiritual power, and are stored in the pistol. At any one time, Naoya can fire six bullets from the pistol, and must wait five seconds before the pistol's bullets regenerate. Each bullet packs an immense amount of force; during the fight against Sao Jiang, a single bullet had the force to rip through the latter's chest. The force of the bullet was also able to destroy a Danku spell cast by Sao Jiang to block the attack, and even fight its way through an attempt of slowing down the speed of the bullet made by an opposing spiritual pressure. It is unknown how many times the pistol can be refilled with bullets before Naoya runs out of spiritual energy, but currently, it doesn't seem like there is a limit.
 * Rōkunaruichi (六成る冠の, Six turn into One): As its own name implies, Naoya can focus the power of all six of the bullets into one. By tapping the butt of the pistol, and then pull it back, making it seem as if he was aiming a bow and arrow, Naoya charges the six bullets in the pistol to form a large spiritual arrow. By letting go of his hold on the end of the "arrow", the spirit attack is unleashed at incredible speeds, to the point that it is considered nigh impossible to dodge the attack. Strength-wise, the spirit arrow is capable of completely breaking through almost any defense, and is presumed to be strong enough to eradicate anyone should it strike someone head-on.

Niurami (第二恨み, Second Sin): Under Construction

Quotes

 * "If it rusts, it can never be trusted. If its owner fails to control it, it will cut him. Yes, pride is like a blade."