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- "Who is the Illusive Man? If I knew that he wouldn't be breathing. I don't think anyone except Jimi knew his identity and your old man silenced that loose end a long time ago. All I can say is that we have a few possibilities but that's about it and none of them are concrete."
- —Kusaka to Kay Hiroshi.
Template:Shinigami Infobox (Seventh Division) Kagura (神楽) is a spiritual being of unknown origin and race who is better known to many individuals and organizations as the Illusive Man, also being a leading member in the resurgent Kikkashō organization uncovered by Kentaro Hiroshi. He is a well connected and well funded man and an accomplished alchemist and scientist. He frequently works through various mercenary groups and specialized persons who suit his needs, such as Rosa and Rozhar, both of whom received greater power in exchange for their loyalty. Although he was viewed in an antagonistic light by many, including the likes of Kenji Hiroshi and the Gotei 13, Kagura himself was usually content to remain a neutral party; though at times he leaned more heavily towards a side. He miraculously survived a battle with an enraged Meian Shiba during the events taking place in Heisekai and would not re-emerge until some time after the Collapse.
Appearance[]
Kagura makes his return.
Personality[]
History[]
- "I am a shadow. And that is all you need to know."
- —Kagura.
Kagura as a child.
Kagura's origins lie in the slums of Northern Rukongai. He scraped a living first as a petty thief and pickpocket and later as an enforcer for a local drug runner, which he would eventually seize control of by murdering his benefactor and stealing his Bakkōtō. Even as a child Kagura's prowess was a step above his peers. He was responsible for the murder of a Shinigami patrol when he was just a child, with authorities in Soul Society referring to the criminal as "an illusive man". He was never caught and he subsequently adopted the description as an alias.
Kagura, seeking wealth, knowledge, and personal power, set his sights on the Seireitei. Whilst known as Kagura to the Gotei 13, Kagura adopted the Illusive Man moniker as his primary alias, and continued to run his Rukongai operations through proxies and subordinates. He infiltrated the Gotei 13 through the Shinō Academy, under the name Kyoshiro, and eventually graduated with excellent marks in all fields. He joined the 12th Division and became one of the top researchers in the S.R.D.I. The loose morals of the 12th Division enabled Kagura to easily experiment to his heart was content.
Kagura descends into darkness and feeds his fellow researchers to his Bakkōtō.
For a time it could be said Kagura was truly happy. He found a sense of fulfilment through his work and even assisted his fellow researchers, though it was not destined to last. For reasons unknown to all save Kagura himself he slaughtered numerous members of the S.R.D.I, feeding them to his Bakkōtō, and then dropped off the grid. He claimed he was going to "purge" the darkness that was the Gotei 13. At this time he had been a student of Maki Zhijun; Kagura would later introduce himself to Kenji Hiroshi as a "sibling student of Maki", whilst Maki himself would later describe Kagura as his greatest failure.
Kagura resolves to destroy the Gotei 13 from within and begins experimenting on academy students.
Kagura remained active in the shadows and secured the loyalty of the highly skilled Onmitsukidō operative Jimi, who became his right-hand man, though Rosa and Rozhar where also closely affiliated with him. Kagura began conducting illegal and highly dangerous experiments on his fellow Shinigami and used the Shinō Academy to scout potential targets. Van Satonaka, Sojiro Kori, Shiju Shūdō and various others all found themselves targeted by Kagura at one point or another. He was also responsible for the exile of Yoshiaki Hiroshi, and was also the man who directed an amnesiac Dastan Shiba to attempt an assassination of Dastan's own son Rōnin Shiba, who was known in later life as Kenji Hiroshi.
He eventually arrived at the same conclusion as Kisuke Urahara and Sōsuke Aizen through the creation of his own Hōgyoku, which Rosa helped him create through presenting hundreds of Rukongai citizens and Shinigami to it. With it in-hand Kagura was directly responsible for Van Satonaka gaining Tenshi-like powers, as well as Kusaka Kori and Ino Choyo gaining powers similar to Kenji Hiroshi, by using it to erode the racial boundaries of his victims. He was also directly responsible for the experimentation forced on Kazuma Nishiki which resulted in him gaining not only the powers forced upon Kusaka and Ino, but those forced upon Van as well.
Synopsis[]
- Main Article - Bleach (Kenji Hiroshi).
Part I[]
- Main Article - Bleach: Sun and Moon Chronicles.
Days of Carnage arc[]
Exiles arc[]
- Mastering One's Inner Demons Part II (mentioned)
Machinations arc[]
Tsuji arc[]
Part II[]
- Main article -- Bleach: War of the Worlds.
Challenging the Vices Saga[]
Part III[]
- Main Article - Bleach: War of the Worlds.
Rise and Fall of Legends arc[]
Part IV & V[]
- Main Article - To be Announced.
Equipment[]
- Hōgyoku: Kagura created his own Hōgyoku independently from Kisuke Urahara and Sōsuke Aizen, which Rosa helped him develop by presenting Souls -- and occasional Shinigami -- from the Rukongai to it.
Power and Abilities[]
Genius Intellect: Kagura has demonstrated a knack for foresight, plans-within-plans and is noted to be incredibly bright; the only thing that went against him during his battle with Meian, for example, was fighting the latter in his own element. Most of the events surrounding the early exploits of Kenji Hiroshi and Kusaka Kori where directly influenced or planned out by Kagura as a means of progressing his racial research, which ultimately led to the creation of the Tsuji. Even Kenji's rescue of his friends played into his plans as it allowed him to gauge the development of Kusaka, Ino and Kazuma and make further observations.
Zanjutsu: Kagura was capable of killing an entire Shinigami patrol using nothing but a knife when he was only a child. By courtesy of age and experience these Shinigami should have been far more skilled than he. He was also momentarily fit to engage a swordsman of Kusaka Kori's calibre, and later fought an enraged Meian Shiba, albeit the latter bested him.
Kidō Mastery: Kagura's mastery of Kidō surpasses those within the many Kidō organizations of the past and present, as well as the oldest spell-casters throughout history. Garian Shinjo admitted that Kagura's skills had entered into a league of their own, and immediately suspected him of being responsible for The Collapse due to his own belief that only Kagura would be capable of such a destructive feat. His mastery extends to basic, intermediate and extremely difficult applications, as well as forbidden techniques that deal with the destruction of racial boundaries and advanced soul manipulation; such as his creation of the Tsuji and Yakubyōgami. He is capable of utilizing the highest level of Kidō, across all categories, without an incantation and without moving, whilst maintaining their full strength. Kentaro Hiroshi claimed that his own abilities paled in comparison to Kagura's level of skill and stated that he could likely level the entire Reikai should he unleash his full power. His mastery of healing spells enabled him to survive a direct attack from Meian's Bankai.
Zanpakutō[]
Yōkai (妖怪, Spectre). Kagura's Zanpakutō takes the form of a standard katana with a circular guard.
- Shikai: Kagura releases his Zanpakutō with the command "Kill" (キル, kiru).
- Shikai Special Abilities: Kagura can manifest the limbs of a ghostly figure with a demonic visage to strike his targets, greatly augmenting the range of his swordsmanship. Those struck by this apparition risk becoming Kagura's thrall; he can dominate their personalities, suppress their memories, and command their actions. He was capable of using his Shikai to erase the memories of Van Satonaka after abducting him, which led the latter to being unsure of how he obtained Tenshi-like powers.
Kagura's Bankai.
- Bankai: Not yet revealed.
Trivia[]
- Kagura was obsessed with the Tenshi and the attainment of Chiryoku, which most notably played a hand in his racial research and experimentation.
Behind the Scenes[]
- Kagura's appearance is based on Naraku from InuYasha. As a shout-out to the character, I decided that his birth name would also be Naraku, which means Hell.
- Kagura's title, Illusive Man, is deliberate shout-out to the Mass Effect antagonist of the same name. He is also well funded and informed.