Hayate Gato

**Hayate Gato** was the former captain of the 10th Division 100 years ago before he died while fighting a Hollow. He was later revived through Keyes' Necromancer and became a prominent member of the Dark Guild Tartaros.

## Physical Appearance

Hayate has pale skin and golden eyes, as well as a mop of dark hair that hangs over his face, tied in the back into a ponytail which he keeps draped over his shoulder. He is rather muscular, and extremely tall, going over six feet in height. Even though exiled, he still dons the traditional Shinigami *shihakushō*, and wears the standard captain's haori draped over his shoulders, much like one would a cape.

## Personality

Hayate can be described as a battle-junkie. He loves to fight strong opponents, but will never kill without reason, even when ordered by Tartaros. He is also respectful to his superiors, even if they are of a younger age. But, he has been described by Urahara as "deadly and frightening", and this side is shown in serious battles, when he is intent on killing, he can strike fear into even the most hardened of hearts.

## Abilities

**Master Swordsman Specialist**: Hayate is highly proficient in combat, despite his blade's short length. Due to the sword's length, he prefers to wield is one-handed, which, while it lessens the strength impacts would have, allows for quicker and more precise blade strikes. These are also Hayate's prime method of attacking. He was able to hold his own against both Ichigo and Rukia, as well as gaining the upper hand against Tōshirō Hitsugaya, a Shinigami captain and swordsman prodigy, as well as a 1st Generation Dragon Slayer, during each of their three separate encounters.

**Shunpo Master**: Hayate is quite masterful in Shunpo. His skill is notable in that he was able to overwhelm Hitsugaya, a Shunpo expert, in terms of speed.

**Hakuda Expert**: Hayate excels in hand-to-hand combat, even though he prefers swordsmanship; he was able to use one hand to catch the sword of Captain Hitsugaya, leaving him wide open to kick the young Shinigami in the stomach and send him a few meters away from the former. He can also mix his unarmed combat skills with his swordsmanship in dangerous ways.

**Kido Practitioner**: Hayate's skill with Kidō is unknown, but he has shown to be capable of the translocation Kidō Sentan Hakuja, as well as **No. 33: Sōkatsui** without incantation.

**Enhanced Strength**:

**Immense Durability**:

**Immense Spiritual Power**: Even by captain-level standards, Hayate has a tremendously high amount of Reiatsu. To those of a weak nature, Hayate's very presence is overwhelming, however, he is capable of reigning this in, initially with difficulty, but the ease of controlling it came with the years. The assumption is that his level of Reiatsu is at least twice the strength of an average captain. According to Rukia, his Reiatsu was noted as "oppressive" when he first appeared to fight both her and Ichigo. His Reiatsu is colored light-green when exerted.

### Zanpakutō

**Tentōkūshi** (*Satirical Counter*): His Zanpakutō's sealed state takes the form of a standard sized wakizashi with a black handle and and blood-red sheath. The guard has two curved extensions from its long sides, with a line going through both sides to give it an eye-like appearance. Hayate explains that his Zanpakutō is one-of-a-kind, being the only *Satirical-type Zanpakutō* in all of existence.

* **Mukei Hachō** (*Spiritual Wavelength*): By gathering spiritual energy in his blade, Hayate can fire a massive wave of spirit energy in the form of a cresent fang. At the instant of the slash, Tentōkūshi absorbs his spiritual energy and releases highly condensed spiritual energy at the tip of the blade, magnifying the slash attack and then flies forward. The Mukei Hachō is a powerful technique with great force, capable of causing large-scale damage and destruction. Hayate has used this technique in several different manners, such as striking the ground to create an omnidirectional blast to knock away incoming attacks or slashing at the ground to upturn it and crush everything in its path.
* **Shikai**: It is triggered by the command, "*Enlighten him*".

**Shikai Special Ability**: Hayate's Shikai is considered out of the ordinary for any Zanpakutō, as it makes Hayate untouchable until his opponent defeats his Zanpakutō. The barriers that are formed around Hayate are formed, not out of spiritual energy, but out of pure reason. Because of this, it is considered on the same frequency as the Hōgyoku. These barriers break down any spiritual, physical, or mental attack instantly as they come into contact. The secret to destroying these barriers is to defeat his Zanpakutō's "*tests*", but because Hayate never explains his powers, his opponent's find it impossible to defeat it. In reference to his Zanpakutō's unique type, the opponent must deal with the tests in their own way, as no two tests are the same for different opponents.
* **Ikikōsa** (*Spiritual Exam*): The first of the five tests, Hayate's blade shatters into pieces as the pieces fade out of sight. The opponent is then attacked persistently by a wild torrent of flames, rainbow-colored in reference to his spiritual power. These flames are strong enough to melt concrete, and unique in the idea that they cannot be put out by water or natural means of putting out fire, even by Ice Dragon Slayer Magic to freeze even the strongest of flames. Hayate can control the movement of these flames with the hilt, and form unique shapes, sizes and methods to utilizing the flames. To pass Ikikōsa, an opponent(s) must understand how to defeat the flames without confronting them head-on. Hayate explains that "*fighting fire with fire will burn down everything*", and so the first test teaches an opponent to overcome opposition without confrontation.
* **Yushikōsa** (*Reasoning Exam*): The second of the five *tests*, the interior of his barrier is covered in a dense pool of energy, making it impossible to be seen by his opponents. As this occurs, a solid clone of Hayate appears outside of the barrier to do battle with the opponent. When the opponent is able to defeat Hayate, two more appear outside the barrier and continues the fight; the numbers double with every one defeated. This process continues without end, unless the opponent can figure out why this event continues to occur with every defeat. According to Hayate, it is called the "*reasoning exam*" because it involves finding a way to defeat an opponent with their mind, not brute force.
* **Shinkōsa** (*Truth Exam*): The third of the five *tests*, Hayate forces his spiritual energy inside the opponent which ravages their mind and painfully forces out five black puffs of smoke from their head. These puffs take the forms of five demons that embody the negative traits of the victim. The powers shown by these demons vary depending on the traits they represent; one that embodies anger, will possess manipulation of fire and lightning; one who embodies coldness and loneliness, will have the power of complete hypnosis; and one with the embodiment of fear, will possess the power to absorb spiritual energy. It seems that Hayate, from inside the barriers, can mentally control these five demons, despite their origins. Also, the demons share the same eyesight, leading up to Hayate's eyesight, being the one who controls the five's actions and movements. Using this, Hayate has the habit of considering himself "*a God*". Defeating the Shinkōsa is particularly difficult, in that it doesn't seem to have any ulterior motive other than forcing an opponent to confront their deepest faults. In that sense, it is actually the most straight-forward of the five exams, in that all that is needed is to defeat the five demons.
* **Ikyokōsa** (*Dependence Exam*): The fourth of the five *tests*, the barrier emits a wave of energy that affects all opponents within the range of his spiritual pressure. The Zanpakutō are let loose from their Masters, and all combine into one being with all their powers put together. Because they were not just manifested, like that of Muramasa, the users cannot even access Shikai or any of their abilities whatsoever, though it doesn't effect Hitsugaya from using his Dragon Slayer Magic. However, even if the Zanpakutō-combined being is defeated, it splits into the seperate spirits; if they are defeated, then they once more combine into a single entity. This process continues without stop, unless the opponent can learn to fight on their own, and not depending on their Zanpakutō.
* **Fijikarukōsa** (*Physical Exam*): The fifth and final of the tests, Hayate is down to one barrier and enters battle directly. Using the barrier as an ultimate defense, Hayate can force massive bursts of spiritual energy from the barrier's exterior using his hands, legs or even blade as a means of aim. What's more, Hayate seems to hold manipulation of space-time, in that he can teleport, barrier and all, as well as slow down time. It is explained that this is done by expanding and contracting reishi particles. Defeating this test is considered the most difficult, because it involves using one's unique abilities to overcome Hayate's powers and effectively render him powerless.

## Relationships

### Allies

* Tartaros
* Unified Axis

### Enemies

* Team Warriors
* Unified Army