Kenpachi Zaraki

Overview

Strictly speaking, Kenpachi has no name.

He was raised in the Notorious Zaraki district, renown for being the most lawless and simply described as some kind of hell. When he left that place it is guessed that he had no more opponets worth facing as he'd become a swordman without peer. Soon after he met a young girl who did not fear the swath of violence he cut wherever he went. Zaraki named her Yachiru after the only person he admired. The original Yachiru has very little revealed. The Yachiru who is the pink hair girl half his size is his truest supporter and lieutenant. In that naming conversation he takes the name Kenpachi, or the title given to the Soul reaper who has killed more than anyone else and is considered the best swordsman alive.

He walked into the very heart of the Soul Society with Yachiru perched over his shoulder. It's not very clear if he attended the Soul Reaper academy, but it would be very much like him to go to the Strongest Shingami he knew about, and kill him. With that done he became the defacto Captain of the 11th Division. He is totally self taught, and loves the act of fighting. He is the least 'Shinigami' of all the Soul Reapers because he cares not at all for Shinigami and totally for fighting powerful opponents.

He's very, very confident. This can't be overstated. No matter who he's fighting he refuses to even let himself consider the possibility he could lose. Not only will he win, but win easily as soon as he puts in a little effort. Even if he's wounded to the point where he acknowledges the blood loss might kill him soon, he has no fear of failure. He loves to fight above everything else. Prolonging his fights is key to Kenpachi. It might seem strange that he has no Banki, which is something Captains are mostly required to have so they can fight, but he has no Shikai either. And doesn’t seem very motivated to learn them. A Shikai is an 'Initial release' of power. A Bankai is a 'Final Release'. Both radically increase the user's fighting ability. And even without them he's held onto the title of best swordsman.

And on top of that, Kenpachi goes through a great deal of trouble to make himself weaker than he would be normally. At some point he learned some Kendo, but rarely thinks to use it because it makes him a better fighter. He ordered R&D to make an eye patch that sucks away a large part of his energy. He wears bells on his hair, meticulously applied every day, so his enemies can hear him when he moves. Even when he's fighting he rarely 'goes all out' and plays around with his opponents until he's had some fun. And usually he tells them as much while fighting. His sword looks like it's never been treated well, and he doesn’t know it's name which is something considered very basic. This both weakens his own abilities and that of his sword. He is in a active disharmony with it despite the fact that the sword is a reflection of part of his soul.

And even with all these handicaps he's still on par with the strongest opponents.

So, if Kenpachi ever took off his eye patch, removed the bells from his hair, somehow released his Bankai and took a kendo stance, he'd arguably be the strongest fighter in the Bleach universe. Such a thing can't truly be measured, but Kenpachi is defined as a man who desperately tries to hold himself back so he doesn’t instantly destroy his enemies. If all of those things were finally removed it would be anyone's guess how strong he would become.

Appearance

Kenpachiis a muscular Shinigami with a wild and aggressive appearance that fits his personality. He wears a sleeveless captain's haori that has a ragged look to it (which belonged to the previous captain and was taken after his defeat). He styles his spiked-hair with small bells at its tips and wears a special eyepatch on his right eye, created by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, to suppress his vast amount of spiritual energy. When he makes his first appearance the eyepatch is more elegant having a gold-like lining and a chain as one of the straps, this changed after his defeat by Ichigo and has since become a normal black eyepatch with normal straps. He has green eyes, pronounced hairless eyebrow ridges and a huge scar running down the left side of his face, which he gained before finding his future lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi. He is also one of the tallest Shinigami, towering at 202 centimeters (approximately 6 feet 6 inches), making him slightly taller than Yasutora Sado and almost double the height of his lieutenant. His stature is often exaggerated even more for dramatic purposes, especially in contrast with Yachiru's.

Kenpachi's unique hairstyle is partly due to the result of his habit to take a bath everyday before going to sleep, which is a necessity to him due to his strong perspiration. During these baths, he usually washes his hair with soap, making it stiff. He enjoys doing so because it's easy for him to set his hair to his preferred style. He once tried a hair treatment recommended by 1st Division Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe, but his hair became too silky and was impossible to set for a while. Since then, Kenpachi has greatly disliked the lieutenant.

Personality

Although he's known to be a violent fighter, Kenpachi's actions tend to be for the best. He has a very poor sense of direction, at times asking Yachiru for help (even though her sense of direction is just as bad). Kenpachi lives for battle and enjoys a good fight more than anything. He even holds back in an effort to make any fight last longer. He also claims that injury and death are nothing but the price one pays for a good fight. Despite his division being the most blood-thirsty squad of the Gotei 13, the 11th Division have their own code of ethics, which is different from the rules and regulation of Soul Society.

Although he thrives for battle, Kenpachi has shown to have emotions. Kenpachi and his lieutenant, Yachiru, have been close ever since they met and have a father-daughter-like relationship (making Yachiru one of the few people he cares for, along with 11th Division 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame and 11th Division 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa).

Aside from Yachiru, Kenpachi deeply gives meaning to his name. Following his fight with Ichigo Kurosaki, Kenpachi talks about the pain of not having a name, as he lived his early years without one. This causes him to feel guilty that his sword isn't acknowledged by its own name. Since then, he has strived to learn its identity.

Despite his tendency to be brutal, Kenpachi usually stops a fight if his opponent is too injured to fight back, claiming that he isn't interested in fighting "weaklings who can't fight anymore; nor is he obligated to deal a death blow to anyone who isn't capable of fighting any longer". However, he will unhesitatingly kill his opponent if they refuse to end their fight, as seen during his battles with Kaname Tōsen and Nnoitra Gilga.

On multiple occasions, Kenpachi has shown to greatly respect those who can defeat him in a fight and to those who can push him to his limit. Ever since Ichigo handed him his first known loss (though Ichigo also considers their fight a loss for him), Kenpachi has considered the latter a member of his division. He also expresses his willingness to engage him in a rematch every time they meet, only to be turned down as Ichigo already considers themselves as friends. Nevertheless, Kenpachi still challenges him in a duel, as evidenced when he aided Ichigo in his fight against the Bount (where he gave "his blessing," stating that in doing so would make Ichigo stronger for "their anticipated fight").

History

Kenpachi's surname came from the district he once resided in, Zaraki, which was district #80 of the North Alley of Rukongai. District #80 was the worst, most lawless region of Rukongai, full of thieves and murderers (whereas area #1 was the most orderly and law-abiding). While residing in District #80, Kenpachi was nameless. During that time, he became proficient in swordsmanship and killed numerous enemies. During his travels outside of District #80, he found a small girl and named her Yachiru, in remembrance of the only person he ever admired, after she showed no fear of his sword. Yachiru came from area #79, Kusajishi, where her parents were murdered. The two events were apparently quite close. On that day, he also took on a name: Kenpachi, the title bestowed upon the strongest Shinigami in every generation, the one who has slain the most enemies and won the most battles.

They would later have an encounter with Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa before they entered Seireitei. Yachiru warned Ikkaku that messing with Zaraki while he was in a good mood was a bad idea, though Ikkaku didn't take the warning seriously. When Kenpachi and Ikkaku meet face to face he immediately became alarmed by his reiatsu but was happy to finally have a real challenge. Kenpachi attacked with enough force to crater the ground under Ikkaku which somewhat alarmed Yumichika. Due to Zaraki's strength, Ikkaku was on the defensive, holding off Zaraki's relentless strikes. The two continued to battle with Ikkaku trying to overwhelm Kenpachi, though he failed to do so, only succeeding in him getting wounds while his opponent remained untouched by his blade. While Kenpachi mentioned he was having fun, he decided to finish Ikkaku with one quick strike resulting in his loss of the fight. Ikkaku became mad that Kenpachi would just walk away without finishing him off. Kenpachi plainly told him that he had no interest in weaklings who couldn't fight. He noted that he didn't have any obligation to finish Ikkaku off, to which Ikkaku thought he was toying with him and demanded that Kenpachi killed him. He lost his patience and grabbed hold of Ikkaku and asked him that if he loved to fight so much, then why was he screaming for death. Kenpachi explained to him a philosophy to follow for people like them. "Don't admit defeat and seek death, die first, then admit defeat. When you lose, but don't die it just means you were lucky. At those times, think only about survival. Survive and think only about killing the guy who failed to kill you". Zaraki then smiled at him and stated that it was not like he went easy on him; he was just lucky to escape death. He expressed that Ikkaku should live, come back, and try to kill him again. As Zaraki went to leave Ikkaku asked him his name and is told he is Kenpachi from ZarakiSometime later Zaraki killed Kenpachi Kiganjō, the captain of the 11th Division, in a single blow, in front of over two hundred members of the Division. Zaraki became the new captain of that division (as per the 3rd Captain Qualification Trial). By killing Kenpachi Kiganjō, Zaraki became the eleventh person to hold the title of Kenpachi. The following day upon Zaraki's first addressing of his division, he was greeted by Ikakku and Yumichika who had presumably already become Shinigami and joined the division. Ikkaku told Zaraki that he had come back just as he suggested, causing Kenpachi to smile. Later they were present at the battle of the division verses a caterpillar Hollow, while initially the division lost, Ikkaku showed up to fight it but was stopped by Kenpachi who decided to kill it himself. After the Hollow was dispatched, more came, prompting Ikkaku and Yumichika to join in the fight. Though at first he was against it, he was persuaded upon realizing the two had similar fighting traits and as such, would like to fight by his side; Kenpachi allowed them to participate after.

Powers and Abilities

1. Master Swordsman
2. Hakuda Expert
3. Vast Spiritual Power
4. Highly Perceptive Combatant
5. Immense Speed and Strength

Trivia

• He was Born on Novemeber 19th. He's nearly 6'8, and weighs about 200 pounds.
• Kenpachi also does not know the name of his zankaputo and has not achieved Bankai yet.
• the latest popularity poll, Kenpachi came 15th (in previous ones he came 27th and 9th), and in the Zanpakutō poll, his unnamed Zanpakutō came 29th.
• In the Bleach best bout poll Kenpachi's fight with Nnoitra came in tenth place.