Minato Kuramoto

"Up until now, I've worked as hard as I could to become strong enough to fight against evil that most people ignore; so that I can protect those important to me. I've learned that average preparation will not allow one to pierce their beliefs through in this world. The path of martial arts is a dangerous one. Yes, but... There is one salvation for this dangerous road. The fact that I have Master Seireitou and Lady Saori as my teachers!"

- Minato speaking to Mūkade, during their fight.

Minato Kuramoto (港倉本, Kuramoto Minato) is a male Human born of Shinigami lineage, the descendant of a powerful Mazoku known as Sun Wukong. Originally, he was one of the nine Jinki Fragments, but these powers were stolen by Mūkade; an event which later resulted in the release of his true power. He studies at the Kawahiru Dojang under Seireitou Kawahiru and Saori Sumeragi, residing there along with Hinata Kūsūhana. Minato is the current Spirit Detective, in service to the Soul Society, and the leader of Team Kuramoto.

Appearance
Unlike many of those in Karakura High School, Minato wears rather loose-fitting clothing. He is accustomed to wearing blue V-collar T-shirts with blue pants, having a body mesh under the T-shirt, and a white sash around his waist on the outside of the shirt much like a tunic. Despite being seen as "harmless", the intensity of his eyes can sometimes be interpreted as intimidating, to the point where no student at the high school seems to ever mess with him. Though his personality tends to contrast this severely. Minato's black hair hangs near his cheeks to frame his face, keeping it in a long ponytail.

Following the nineteen-month timeskip, Minato wears a new martial arts uniform that is given to him as a gift by Seireitou and Saori, the latter of whom designed it. It is mismatched, as it includes a sleeveless variation of the Taekwondo dobak, the pants worn in Chinese kenpō, and the arm and leg bandages worn in Muay Thai.

After two years, Minato takes to wearing an opened white jacket reminiscent to the uniform worn by chinese martial artists, called a qípáo, with slightly loose yet form-fitting sleeves. He took to also wearing pants worn by Taekwondoka, along with a long black belt that hung from his left hip side, presumably a genpuku gift after his mentor's departure, signifying his skill level in Taekwondo. His hair has also lengthened slightly, reaching his shoulders and the style of his bangs seems to resemble that of Seireitou's.

Personality
Minato is shown to be a young man with a quiet way about him, usually not the one who'll speak up first in front of others. However, he seems have his thoughts always active, about anything and everything around him, but usually keeps to himself. In the beginning of the Jinki Fragments arc, he would be depicted as a normal teenager, sans the rebellious personality. This could possibly stem from his father's death when he was only three, and also that his mother would rarely take a role in his life, besides in regards to his studies. In addition, being ignored and disregarded by those in his childhood, and even into his teenage years, Minato developed a craving for acknowledgement. Minato stated that his Taekwondo training made him gain more confidence, implying that he was an even more meek individual prior to this. Despite his mother's lack of support, Minato would find solace in his martial arts master, the latter supporting Minato's goals to become a great Taekwondo master one day. However, once Minato's training as a Jinki Fragment began, Seireitou would not praise Minato as he once did, being rather brutal and cruel. Besides Saori, and at times, Raian, Minato's teachers follow this same approach when it comes to Minato's training. As a result from this, Minato is frequently shown to be very susceptible to negative comments abouts his strength, easily falling into a comical depression.

Despite having a strong level of skill in the martial arts, Minato still doubted himself, feeling that he could not last on his own in a real fight. However, as his training under Seireitou, Raian, and Saori progressed, these feelings of doubt would soon pass away. It was not only this, but Minato himself would have changed. This would also be influenced by his growing friendship with Hinata Kūsūhana. Perhaps an equally notable trait is that Minato can be shown to be quite serious, but also presents himself with a somewhat "comic and naive" persona, leading opponents to gravely underestimate his abilities. Though, this doesn't seem to be on purpose, since it is a key aspect of his personality.

Minato has shown himself to be a very kind, selfless, and helpful young man and always puts others before himself. Even when it comes to his enemies, he shows them respect and never speaks ill of them, even caring for their well-being. Several people are moved by his kindness and selfless nature, to the point they even change sides and befriend him. Both Seireitou and Raian have referred to Minato's amazing charisma as a "unique power" that allows him to change the worldly views of others. Minato's unstoppable determination and drive strongly impacts the lives around him, even his enemies had been affected by his empathy.

It has been stated by Minato to his teachers that he seeks "enough power to protect those that he loves". However, Raian would tell Minato that saying that is the same as "I want the power to kill those who are my enemies", causing Minato to retort that he only wishes to fight until his opponents are unable to harm his loved ones. On occasions, he allows his aggression to take center-stage whenever someone insults his teachers or harms Hinata.

Part V

 * Jinki Fragments Chapter, Restart!
 * Quickening of a New Power! Put to the Test!
 * Darkness Approaches

Equipment

 * Reiryoku Seals: Generated by a Kidō created by Seireitou Kawahiru, Minato had been sealed with these cuffs by his master prior to his fight with Nǚwā. Because Minato is a human, he utilizes his atom-composed muscles for movement and physical activity. These cuffs make such movement impossible, weighing down Minato to the point that the latter fell flat to the ground, unable to even bring his arms or legs up a single inch. Minato must actively cycle his spiritual energy throughout his body in order to do the simplest of movements, thus his reiatsu levels must be kept at their highest possible peak at all times just for Minato to move, let alone fight whilst sealed. Though not as strong as the cuffs worn by his master, Minato's inner spiritual energy is sealed down to one-fifth of his true capabilities. According to Seireitou, Minato may release these cuffs whenever he desires, by using the password that unlocks the seal, but only to do so when the most critical moment has approached.

Powers & Abilities
"I don't understand. It is beyond my comprehension! Warriors above some level always have some weird quality about them... That is what L'Obscurité is, full of those whom hold darkness deep inside their hearts... which burns intensely in their eyes. However, this man is different. His power has grown into something stronger than the darkness. However... I can't sense that at all in his eyes. There's not a single tint of darkness in those eyes. No... I feel light!"

- Makōtō Shūra analyzing Minato during their fight.

Vast Spiritual Power: According to his mother, Takara Kuramoto, and later re-stated by his mentor, Seireitou Kawahiru, Minato is presumed to have within him a seemingly limitless dormant power, which at first only revealed itself when he experienced fierce rage. Because of his gentle nature and rare bursts of rage, his spiritual energy often fluctuates and therefore makes it difficult to determine his actual level of power. Seireitou has stated that Minato possesses infinite potential inside him and that his foundation is solid enough that he could become "the highest building ever." Minato's spiritual power is originally strong enough to put up resistance against Seireitou's spiritual pressure, albeit it was purposely weakened. Even in the presence off the Hōgyoku-enhanced Sao Jiang, he was able to "maintain his existence" (albeit he was still brought to his knees and paralyzed in fear). Upon meeting him, Kamui noted that Minato held immense potential within him. The color of his spiritual energy is normally a midnight blue, and takes the form of a massive bird when being unleashed; the bird being a symbol of free, that which he represents as a Jinki Fragment. Possessing lineage of Shinigami, and being one of the nine Jinki Fragments, Minato holds within him a deep and vast supply of spiritual energy. Due to this and that he has far more spiritual energy than his body can consciously contain, it leaks out constantly, preventing him from hiding it and effectively making stealth impossible when dealing with other spiritually-aware beings. He has recently learned how to harden his spiritual energy and enhance the strength of his attacks or act as a barrier to reduce the impact of attacks on him, if not negating them completely. However, despite this, it seems that his body retains an immense amount of spiritual energy within, that is only released in times of incredible rage and anger.


 * Reihikari (魂の光, literally "Light of the Soul"): Minato learned this technique during his training with Seireitou, the latter of whom had invented the technique. By cupping his hands down at his waist, in which the hands are at least very close or touching one another, the latent reiatsu is converted from spiritual pressure into a mass of pure energy, typically taking the form of a uniform sphere. The hands are then thrust forward to shoot out a streaming, powerful beam of energy. Because he is still learning about spiritual energy, Minato's Reihikari pales in comparason to that of his mentor's, but still boasts incredible force. However, it can also be used through another means. The sword he wields can absorb Minato's spiritual energy and subsequently releases highly condensed light-purple spiritual energy at the tip of the blade, magnifying the slash attack and then flies forward. This slash takes the form of a crescent moon or in the shape of a wave. This is a powerful technique with great force, capable of causing large-scale damage and destruction. Similar to the force of his sword's cutting power, the strength of this attack relies solely on Minato's will to win. Ideally, his Reihikari at full power is initially as powerful as Raian Getsueikirite's own blast in Shikai. The Reihikari can be further enhanced through absorbing foreign sources of reiryoku and reiatsu through his Wanashō Jinki Fragment technique. By infusing the collected energy with his own to form a Reihikari, Minato creates a new technique out of the two that easily surpasses the force of a normal attack. The burst of energy emitted from this fused technique is immense, easily engulfing the entire sky with Minato's spiritual energy in its first use after absorbing a level eighties Hadō with incantation with Wanashō. Strength-wise, it was capable of completely shattering Keisuke Mimoto's barrier effortlessly as well as killing the latter with a single use of the attack, when the combined energy attacks of both Minato's normal Reihikari and Satoshi Konishi's master-level Sōkatsui blast could not even scratch the same barrier.

Expert Swordsmanship Specialist: In terms of fighting style while using his Jinki Fragment powers, Minato relies mainly on swordplay, and thus would be considered a swordsmanship specialist. Aside from his initial training with Seireitou, he is basically on a "learn as you go" training regimen. Subsequently, his skill has developed by fighting rather than formal instruction, becoming even more capable with every fight. His overall skill has been shown capable of competing on equal grounds against the sword masters of Raian Getsueikirite (albeit Raian was holding back) and Kintarō Hijikata's caliber.

Great Agility: Minato is capable of grand acts of speed, although he often downplays his abilities in order to gain an advantage. He can effortlessly dodge a barrage of punches from someone near his black belt level, and counterattack before the latter can even react. During his training sessions with Saori, Minato's leg strength and dexterity was increased immensely, granting him a much higher level of agility and balance. His newfound agility has been commented by Seireitou, to the point of forcing him to put a bit more effort in their sparring sessions. Minato has also developed acrobatic abilities almost at Hinata's level, able to easily scale and glide down a skyscraper with complete control and no wasted movement.

Māipō Expert: While it was originally unknown if Minato is using some form of Hohō technique, his speed is high enough to disappear without a trace, like that of Flash Step practitioners, and was even able to sneak up behind Satoshi Konishi during their fight, a respective master of Shunpō in his own right. Ryōmaru later noted that Minato was using the Māipō technique, a speed-enhancement ability developed through years of martial arts training.

Enhanced Strength: Initially, Minato was seemingly scrawny, and subsequently, his strength was below-average. However, after the "hellish training", as quoted by Minato, was placed on him by Seireitou, his overall abilities greatly increased. Having undergone the unique physical conditioning regimen of Seireitou's, Minato's musculature has been rebuilt, now possessing a lean but well-defined physique. His leg strength has grown great enough to withstand tremendous amount of impact, even allowing him to kick at near full speed underwater.

Martial Arts Expertise
Expert Hand-to-Hand Specialist: Based on his position as an assitant instructor at the Kawahiru Dojang, Minato has incredible skill in Taekwondo. He carries the rank of 3rd-degree Black belt, and is capable of amazing feats of physical activity. Because of his flexibility, Minato's attacks will often follow up with a high-section kick, and he preforms full-splits toward the ground when ducking. It was after Minato realized his power as a Jinki Fragment that Seireitou began to teach Minato principles from other martial arts, essentially turning him from a Sotosentō-type Hakuda user to a Nakanisentō-type, despite Minato's tendency to resort to the former type of hand-to-hand during moments of anger and rage. Utilizing kicks and punches, as well as locks and sweeps, Minato had trained himself during the two year timeskip to become a lethal weapon in battle. Even in battle against Hollows, these skills proved to assist greatly.


 * Koruishō (殺し消灭, "Elimination of the Blindspot"): A powerful vertical kick aimed at the target's defense, despite whether they are attacking or defending. It involves locating the blind spot of an opponent's defense, in which requires immense training. Once the practitioner can see the blindspot, he focuses all of his power while maintaining his center of balance and delivers a kick at the opponent's weak spot. Minato Kuramoto went through this blindspot training with Seireitou Kawahiru, and used the technique to defeat Yoshitsune. The only major weakness of this technique is that the user has to focus all their power into their legs, forcing them to lower their arms and enter a guardless stance. An enemy could easily land a devastating attack towards their upper body, such as when Ryōmaru Sagara broke one of Minato's arms. This is, however, useful since they can lure their opponent closer and use the attack at point-blank range.

Use of Seijō Reiryoku
Through training with the Seijin, Minato eventually learned to harness Seijō Reiryoku, refering to spiritual energy that is drawn in by a Seijin's environment and then molded into the their existing source of reiryoku, creating a far cleaner, much "brighter-feeling" energy, which is the primary source of a Seijin's power. Minato's long-standing Shinigami heritage, by way of his mother and father, allowed him to gain this ability through training.

The standard applied use of seijō reiryoku is called Byakunagare (白流れ, White Current). In normal circumstances, when a Seijin can access this power, they can shape it into various techniques that extend their Shinigami powers to the maximum, essentially creating a "Perfect Shinigamification" onto themselves. When using seijō reiryoku in such a way, the energy used by the practitioner also encapsulates the user as an aura of spirit energy. This aura can act as an extension of their body and cannot be seen by anyone other than those who have trained in seijō reiryoku. By utilising the aura, the user can extend the range and force of their physical attacks. Strikes that seemingly or would normally miss will actually make contact with the target. One punch has been shown to have enough force to cripple and completely finish off an opponent. In addition, this aura allows a Seijin to do incredible feats which include leaping great distances, shattering normally "unbreakable" materials with their hands effortlessly, as well as lifting objects several times their size.
 * Specialized Techniques: Utilizing seijō reiryoku allowed Minato to develop his own special techniques, many of which seem to resemble that of Kidō spells. This is due to Satoshi Konishi offering his knowledge of Shinigami spells in the process of Minato's training of seijō reiryoku.

Reitaīdō (気身道, "Way of the Spirit Body"; literally "Spirit Body Way"): Upon learning to utilize seijō reiryoku in battle, Minato created his own unique Byakunagare technique. As the name implies, Minato utilizes the energy as a means of limbs, essentially extending his own reach. The most common applied use of this technique by Minato is to create "spirit arms" connected to his physical arms, as a means of reaching targets far outside his reach. These energy arms hands are clawed while the rest of the arm seems to lack any kind of joint, thus allowing them to have flexible movements that will generally be impossible for normal arms. Minato can create any number of arms that he desires and these arms can also serve other purposes such as grappling hooks, to either grab onto objects or enemies from great distances, to offensive means such as forming large fists to deal physical damage from a distance. After some practice, he mastered the chakra arms, able to manipulate various stones without crushing them. In addition to this, Minato is also able to produce other spiritual limbs, such as forming energy legs for similar purposes.

At first, the arms would extend in regards to a particular amount of time. However, after two years, he is capable of launching "energy fists" at an opponent almost instantaneously. When Yoshitsune was able to effortlessly dodge Minato's attacks prior to the two year timeskip, afterwards he was able to beat the former down to the ground before Yoshitsune could even react. He has also shown to have been able to punch down a Gillian-class Menos before the latter could finish forming a Cero, subsequently defeating the Hollow and causing it to fade away. The strength of the hands themselves at the ends of the energy arms are strong enough to block metal blades, such as Zanpakutō.


 * Multiple Limbs: After training for two years, Minato is capable of forming several "spirit arms" from anywhere on his body, each possessing the same force as a single energy arm, as well as retaining the instantaneous speed that Minato trained to obtain.

Zanpakutō
Son Gokū (孫悟空 (そん ごくう), Sūn Wùkōng; Chinese and Japanese for "Grandchild Awakened to Emptiness"): Being the descendant of Sun Wukong, Minato carries a trace of the monkey king's blood within him. The loss of his Jinki Fragment power after his face-off against Mūkade caused a transformation to occur within his soul, due to the enormous spiritual power he harbored, allowing him to access his true powers as a Mazoku which had been previously blocked from arising. However, when this power first awoke, it was rough and unfocused, meaning that Minato could only utilize a fragment of the monkey king's power at great personal strain on his body. Because of his Shinigami heritage, he was able to instead channel this strength through the medium of a Zanpakutō forged personally for him by Raian Getsueikirite. In doing so, he was able to access the full might of the monkey king's power hidden deep within his soul without succumbing to the same consequences as before. Son Gokū is a Zanpakutō that exists as the personification of Sun Wukong's blood that flows within Minato, thus being a manifestation of the latter's Mazoku power.

Unlike any Zanpakutō ever forged in the Soul Society, Son Gokū was forged using an asauchi shaped in the shape of tekkō arm protectors. They were originally normal arm guards given to Minato as a genpuku from his mentor Seireitou; the same ones worn by the latter's own teacher, Shōyō. They are a dark red in coloration and wrapped around both of his forearms, being a notably comfortable fit as Minato has claimed. Despite being incredibly aged in appearance, even having what appears to be slight cracks achieved from past conflicts, they are remarkably durable; even withstanding being crushed by force. According to Seireitou, its defensive power depends solely on the strength of Minato's will; capable of fending off even the most aggressive assaults when his doubts have been diminished during battle. Minato has also demonstrated the ability to channel his spiritual power through them to further enhance their durability.

Shikai
There appears to be no actual release command for Son Gokū, due to being such an unorthodox Zanpakutō, and can simply be willed into activation by Minato or by the Zanpakutō's inner spirit. Originally, because Minato had not attained the Mazoku power through the traditional means, therefore restricted by his innate human limitations, he was forced to enter a transformation state which allowed him to utilize the supernatural power without causing his soul to unintentionally become consumed by chaos. In doing so, the part of his soul in which his Mazoku power resided within was awoken in accordance with Minato's whim, manifesting on the outside of his soul and allowing him to assume an alternate form. After Son Gokū was forged and thus a medium now existed for Minato's Mazoku power, this new form became the Shikai state of the Zanpakutō itself; making it possible for Minato to access its true might. Upon willing forth his Shikai, his normally blue spiritual energy flares outwards and alters into a deep red color, taking on the form of intense flames that surround his person. His basic overall appearance is arguably uncharged, the hair slightly lifted upwards and now a dark red color which matches the same coloration as his irises. Additionally, Minato's muscle tone is notably more defined, most likely a result of the grand increase in strength. It seems that there does exist some degree of personality change, as Minato has demonstrated a far more serious demeanor in this form. However, with training, it seems he has learned to manage the form's great force and therefore maintain his own persona while transformed. Unlike before, where the state would come with enormous levels of strain on Minato, the Shikai reduces the stress by significant amounts, allowing Minato to continuously fight while in this form for up to several hours at any time. When he is exhausted or otherwise fatigued, it is not uncommon for Son Gokū to re-seal itself to save Minato's life, causing the latter to return to his normal base state.


 * Power Augmentation: It appears that the release of this form greatly enhances all of Minato's attributes by a significant degree. With the greater concentration of reiryoku within him during the use of this transformation becomes, represented by how intense the flaming aura appears, the far stronger Minato seemingly becomes. However, there seems to be no set limit to how strong he can become in this form, as the only restrictions appear to be his stamina and will.
 * Immense Spiritual Power: Minato's power erupted from its dormant sleep, allowing him to unleash it in all of its fury. It becomes great enough to cushion the blow from a full-powered Getsuga Tenshō, albeit he was rendered slight bruises. Although it was only a brief instance, the activation of this form caused Mūkade to quickly back away from instinctive fear of the form's power. It has also become noticeably thicker, being able to suffocate regular humans that are within his general vicinity.


 * Heightened Senses: The most noticeable aspect of this form is Minato's eyes, making him appear as though he is unconscious. However, this is untrue. In fact, his body develops immense sensitivity to hearing, feeling, seeing, and sensing, allowing Minato to effortlessly dodge attacks that would normally be impossible for him to even register, let alone evade. His martial arts also increase drastically due to this, allowing him to preform master-class techniques that would normally be considered either impossible or too difficult to use in succession. Ideally, it allows for Minato to dodge attacks at the last possible moment by the smallest possible margin.


 * Wanashō (罠健祥, "Energy Trapper") is a technique created by Minato during his initial Jinki Fragments training under Seireitou and later perfected with his Mazoku abilities. Minato can block and absorb the energy of an opponent's attack, infusing it into his very hands. Doing so causes the blade's color to reflect the color of the attack it absorbed. After this, Minato can release the attack by stating its name. Doing so actually strengthens the attack he absorbed by a factor of three, due to mixing his own spirit energy with the absorbed energy. However, the original downside to the attack is that he may only absorb a single attack per time, but later trains himself to be capable of absorbing two different attacks before having to release the energy in order to use the Wanashō technique again.

Quotes

 * (To Raian Getsueikirite) "I'm not really going towards a particular goal... It's just that I've decided to face whatever comes at me, until I gain the power to protect the people that are important to me."
 * "If the master's duty is to shoulder the student's burdens, along with their pain... then what's the student's duty? To grow strong enough to shoulder the master's very pain."
 * "Wrong! The martial arts are not for those who seal away their own hearts. I... I've fought with a lot of people who only knew how to kill, while closing away their hearts... All of them had eyes full of sadness, as if they hated their own abilities. You can never truly master something if you hate it!"
 * (Remembering Seireitou's teachings) "Like the rocks within the rapids. Has the rock ever feared? Has the rock ever considered avoiding? The only thing the rock does... is let the water flow around it."
 * (To Ryōmaru Sagara) "I admit that I can fight even without consciousness... thanks to my master's day-and-night training. But this is totally different than your kind, who are willing to sacrifice one's own disciple in order to gain power! This power of mine... is the love from a master to their student. The fist of a strong heart!"
 * (Remembering Seireitou's teachings) "When you are truly burning with anger, calm your heart. When there is an opponent you must defeat, hide your emotions deep within yourself. Know the depths of your heart. If you fall into them, you could lose your life. In the continously unbroken stream of attacks and defenses, there are parts in one's defense that are not being consciously controlled. Those are the isolated strongholds known as the Korui. The blindspot."
 * (To Itsuki Shimūra) "I trained with the Seijin... with Seireitou-shishō and Saori-dono... I'm Kawahiru Dojang's first disciple, Minato Kuramoto. And I'm also... a Jinki Fragment. Mūkade will stop at nothing to get me and Nǚwā will make sure to crush me by any means necessary. I don't have a choice here... I must be ready. I refuse to let everybody down."
 * "Having this sort of power and using it only to hurt others with a closed heart... It's just senseless violence! There's nothing valuable about that at all!"