Jiūkǔndao

This article, Jiūkǔndao, is property of Zf6hellion

Jiūkǔndao
Kanji	阄捆刀
English	Fate-Binding Sword
Item Statistics
Use	Primary Weapon
Created By	Soul King
Used By	Balancers

A Jiūkǔndao (阄捆刀, "Fate-Binding Sword") is the signature weapon of the Shinigami and Sōzōshin that served the Balancers of Souls. It is the weapon that preceded the Zanpakutō. The art of wielding a Jiūkǔndao, like its successor, is Zanjutsu (斬術, swordsmanship).

Overview

They are said to have been forged by the Soul King.

The trademark weapon of the Balancers. It is capable of cutting spiritual bodies, and is one of the few weapons which can be used to combat Hollows. Every Balancer carries a Jiūkǔndao, and each one is unique: they are physical manifestations of fate molded into the form of a blade. A Jiūkǔndao's shape and abilities are based upon the fate of the wielder, particularly the moment that brought them to Soul Society, the moment they died as Humans.

The power of a Jiūkǔndao is remarkable, as "fate" is said to stand on a higher plane than spirits, the blades are physically unbreakable, though they can be damaged and there are ways to render them unusable if only temporarily. Jiūkǔndao are capable of harming, and even killing the wardens of Hell.

Every Jiūkǔndao has its own name which must be learned before its wielder can access its full power. The form it takes varies between users with no two Jiūkǔndao being the same, though Chinese-style weapons are more common than other types. The weapons are semi-sentient and can only be wielded by the one that the blade was created for, outside of specific circumstances, they will also naturally seek out their wielder through various means. Jiūkǔndao have their own source of Reiryoku which can be sensed by others, the weapons can amplify their Reiryoku like a beacon should they become lost in order for their wielder to find them. Others have reported their blades "whispering" to them and some have even emitted auras of Reiatsu.

Powers

• Konsō (魂葬, Soul Burial): the process by which a Shinigami sends wandering Souls in the living world to their respective place. Either Soul Society if they are good in life, or to Hell if their life was full of evil acts (such as murders, theft, etc). Konsō is performed by using the pommel of the Jiūkǔndao to tap the head of the soul, thereby transporting them to the afterlife.
• Shōka (昇華, Sublimation): When a Hollow is dealt a fatal wound by a Jiūkǔndao, it is cleansed of the sins it had committed as a Hollow, and is led into Soul Society. Souls that live in Soul Society are reborn again in the Human World.
• Transference: Though frowned upon amongst the Balancers of Souls, its wielders are capable of imprinting the spiritual energy of another into the blade causing it to recognize them as its wielder.
• Unique Powers: Like Zanpakutō, each Jiūkǔndao has access to a power specific to each wielder. This power is an interpretation of their last moments, a manifestation of their fate as Humans. Though many deaths are common, the way a Jiūkǔndao interprets that event are rarely the same, as such one who was struck by lightning may be granted the ability to generate and manipulate lightning or they might be granted the power to liquify flesh, a representation of the damage that high-intensity lightning can cause. While Zanpakutō limit their wielders access to their power through the use of Shikai, the Jiūkǔndao do not, allowing their users free access at all times, as such they could be considered a parallel to the rare constant release-type Zanpakutō.

Shìfàng

Though Jiūkǔndao allow constant access to their powers, they too have a release form, considered an equal to Bankai. This release form is known as Shìfàng (釋放, "Release"). It is the truest expression of a Jiūkǔndao and is many magnitudes more powerful than when unreleased. At its lowest point, the release of a Jiūkǔndao is said to grant its wielder power ten times greater than what they had before and even greater for those on a higher level. In order to utilize Shìfàng the wielder must recite simply say the word Shìfàng.

The one weakness of using Shìfàng is that it requires the wielder to be "close to their fate" in order for it to awaken. This means that the user must be heavily wounded and in critical condition for Shìfàng to work, as such, it is rare that a wielder will utilize this power more than once in their life time.

Types

Known Jiūkǔndao
Name	Information	Shìfàng
Bēngdài (繃帶, "Bandage")	Máo Yǒng's Jiūkǔndao. It is a long Jiujiebian with a hooked blade on one end and a dark purple hilt on the other. There is a ruby embedded on the pommel of the hilt.	Guān Zhào (棺罩, "Pall")
Hyeongi (현기, "Vertigo")	Ren Nakatani's Jiūkǔndao. It takes the appearance of a pair of Jī Dāo Lián with golden blades and dark red hilts. Emeralds are embedded in the bases of each blade.	Mujilseo (무질서, "Disorder")
Jīngshénbìng (精神病, "Psychosis")	Hyo Seung's Jiūkǔndao. A Podao, it's blade resembles that of a traditional Chinese Dao and the long handle of the weapon is reminiscent of a Japanese Katana's hilt.	Jièyìànliàn (介意暗恋, "Mind Crush")
Jiǎké (甲殼, "Carapace")	Daisuke Takeda's Jiūkǔndao. It takes the form of a Zhanmadao, it has an extremely large blade along with a 30cm hilt for use of two hands easily. The hilt is wrapped in a simple, plain cloth which has a tassel tied to the end of it. The blade itself is very much like a katana, showing a Hamon and it looking more matted at the blunt edge of the blade.	Guòdù Fāyù (過度發育, Overgrowth)
Lièkāi (裂开, "Rend")	Han Zhang's Jiūkǔndao. It is a Changdao with a one hundred and ninety five centimetre long blade with a shallow curve and a long hilt roughly half the size of the blade made out of red wood. The hilt has a shallow curve of its own near the end and a large ring is formed into a pommel at the bottom.	Qián Kūn Bēng Lièkāi (乾坤崩裂开, Heaven and Earth Rent Asunder)
Lìliàng (力量, "Force")	Han Fang's Jiūkǔndao. It takes the form of a Miao dao with a one hundred and eighty centimetre blade and a simple black long hilt with a design similiar to a basic carving knife. The rainguard and crossguard are both gold with the crossguard made out of simple prongs that form the shape of a square.	Lìliàng de Rì Yuè (力量的日月, "Force of the Sun and Moon")
Mugilyeog (무기력, "Torpor")	Mamoru Nakatani's Jiūkǔndao. It exists as a pair of Shuang gou with golden blades and dark red hilts. There are sapphire gems located at the bases of each blade.	Muji (무지, "Nescience")
Qīng Zhàng Chē (清障车, "Wrecker")	Wú Lanfên's Jiūkǔndao. It exists as a double-headed Liúxīng chuí with a very long, dark silver chain and black, spiky heads.	Qūzhújiàn (驅逐艦, "Ruiner")
Shǎndiàn (闪电, "Lightning")	Naoko Murakami's Jiūkǔndao. It takes the form of a Nandao, it has a rather wide blade with a blue cloth wrapped hilt which extends from the bottom of the blade to the ring of the hilt.	Shìjì Fēngbào (世紀風暴, "Storm of the Century")
Unknown	Xiang Yu's Jiūkǔndao. Hers is comprised of three blades, each of which share a design comprised of a cylindrical hilt that is wrapped in a vibrant green cloth accompanied by a triangular guard and diamond-shaped pommel. The difference in each blade is their size and their blades which evoke the style of a Jian, Zhanmadao, and, Dao.	Sīhuǎng (絲謊, "Web of Lies")
Wēnyì (瘟疫, "Plaguebringer")	Sun Zhong's Jiūkǔndao. It is a Liaoning bronze dagger, it has a double-sided violin-shaped blade with a single line running down the center and is large enough to be considered a short sword. It has an ornate hilt that resembles that of a tachi with a three pronged tsuba that spreads out into a triangular shape though it curves inward instead of being a flat connecting line.	Kùxíng Wēnyì (酷刑瘟疫, "Torturous Plaguebringer")
Xū (虚, "Void")	Dan Tai Sin's Jiūkǔndao. It is a pair of Lùjiǎodāo. Each knife consists of two crossed over crescents, creating four claw-like protrusions with one being larger than the others to signify itself as the main blade. The edge consisting of the main blade is made out of silver and its center, acting as a grip, is wrapped up on red cloth wrappings while the opposite edge, acting as a guard, is made out of gold.	Lěngkù Xū (冷酷虚, "Unrelenting Void")
Zhōngsī (螽斯, Tettigoniidae)	Ksenija Gregorovich's Jiūkǔndao. A Jiǔhuándāo, a long dadao with a broad and wide blade that has nine rings on the back, set into several descending insets. The blade and rings are a simple steel colouration with a wide circular handguard beneath it with a more golden pigmentation, the hilt is wrapped in brown cloth.	Wōshōuchóng (窝收虫, "Lair of the Harvest Insects")