Kaname Tōsen

**Kaname Tōsen** was the captain of the 9th Division of the Gotei 13 until he betrayed Soul Society, alongside Sōsuke Aizen and Gin Ichimaru. This betrayal put him at odds with his former best friend Sajin Komamura, as well as his former lieutenant in the 9th Division, Shūhei Hisagi.

## Physical Appearance

Tōsen has dark skin and dark-brown braids that move down to his shoulders. He has pupil-less eyes that are a pale lavender and has been blind since birth.

Tōsen wears clothing similar to that of the Arrancar since he left Soul Society with Aizen and Gin; he wears a white sleeveless coat over his standard black shihakusho, black hakama, white boots, black long, fingerless gloves, a band-like visor and an orange rope coming from his right shoulder running across his chest to under his left arm. With this outfit, he carries his Zanpakutō.

## Personality

Tōsen's creed in life is to "take the path with the least bloodshed"; it was for this reason that he felt it necessary to follow Sōsuke Aizen. Despite this, he knows of Aizen's plan to create the King's Key, which will require the deaths of thousands of innocent people. He was also willing to attack and kill members of his own division while acting as the 5th seat, including Hollowfying his own captain. Tōsen, along with Gin Ichimaru is identified by Kenpachi Zaraki as being afraid of death, this is later confirmed with him saying he only feared being assimilated into the Shinigami culture and dying a pointless death. Also, despite stating many times how much his friend loved the world, he himself never said so, and in fact hated the world that took away his friend.

As former captain of the 9th Division, which is charged with the editing of Seireitei Communication, Tōsen was the chief editor of the journal. He himself wrote a serialization titled "The Path of Justice", which was not very popular, until he began to publish cooking recipes in his articles, which made them more popular among female Shinigami. This also indicates that his specialty is indeed cooking, his favorite dishes being chicken stewed with carrots and other sophisticated ones. He does not like pickled food.

## Abilities

**Master Swordsman Specialist**: Though he has a personal philosophy that questions the need for violence, Tōsen is highly proficient in the use of his Zanpakuto, which is further impressive with his blind status. During his days as the 5th seated officer of the 9th Division, he was able to fight at a captain's level, going toe-to-toe with Shinji Hirako (although Shinji was focused on halting his Hollowfication process at the time). Tōsen's swordsmanship mastery is even further emphasized by him holding his own against Kenpachi Zaraki, one of Soul Society's foremost experts in swordsmanship, even if it was only for a short time, as well as in a two-on-one battle with 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura and 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi, holding his own against the two without any trouble.

**Shunpo Expert**: Tōsen was fast enough to sneak up behind Grimmjow (when he attacked Karakura Town) before he realized it. Tōsen was able to cut off Grimmjow's arm before he felt any pain, and obliterate the arm with a mid-level Kidō before it hit the ground, a testament to his speed. He quickly protected Aizen from Shinji's attack.

**Kidō Expert**: Tōsen has been shown using high-level Kidō spells without incantation.

**Hakuda Combatant**: While relying mostly on his sword skills, Tōsen is also competent in hand-to-hand combat, using swift and powerful kicks to easily overpower and throw around other skilled fighters like Sajin Komamura, despite the massive difference in size.

**Descorrer** (*Splitting Void*): A technique used by Espada-level Arrancar, and sometimes others, to open a Garganta between the Human World and Hueco Mundo. Tōsen used this to return to Hueco Mundo from Karakura Town.

**Great Spiritual Power**: As the former captain of the 9th Division of the Gotei 13, Tōsen boasts a great amount of spiritual energy. His skill in the use of his spiritual power is evident, as he uses his spiritual sense to "see". His Reiatsu is pink.

### Zanpakutō

**Suzumushi** (*Cricket*): In its sealed state, Suzumushi looks like a regular *katana* with an orange hilt. The tsuba has a teardrop shape, with the base of the drop arching over the top of the blade, and the point of the drop pointing below the cutting edge. A row of several tiny teardrop-shaped holes decorates the bottom of the curve, and a small ring, approximately 2" in diameter, dangles off the tip of the tear-drop. The ring itself plays a vital role in the activation of Tosen's Bankai.

* **Shikai**: Unlike most Zanpakutō, Suzumushi has two Shikai commands, each producing a unique automatic effect.

**Shikai Special Ability**: Suzumushi maintains its form of a regular katana. Suzumushi's release command is "**Cry**", which projects a high-pitched tone over a wide area, overloading the hearing of anyone in range and knocking them unconscious. This comparatively humane and painless technique fits with Tosen's self-presentation as a proponent of justice. The ring tone is produced by the vibration of Suzumushi, which Tosen used to free his sword from the chains of Hisagi's Kazeshini.
* **Suzumushi Nishiki: Benihikō** (*Cricket Second Movement: Crimson Flying Locusts*): A technique which changes Suzumushi into its Benihiko form. Suzumushi vibrates momentarily and, after Tōsen moves the blade around him in a semi-circle, a trail appears, following the sword's path. The trail turns into hundreds of blades, which rain down on his opponents.
* **Bankai**: **Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Emma Kōrogi**(*Cricket Final Form: Devil Cricket*): Suzumushi maintains its form of a regular katana, though without the small ring. Tōsen holds up his sword in his right hand, and places his left palm against the ring on his cross guard. The ring begins to spin as it releases spiritual energy. As it spins faster, the circle grows bigger and bigger until it's large enough to surround his body. The ring then splits into ten other glowing rings of similar size that encircle Tōsen. With a slash of his sword, the circles go flying outwards and form a circular perimeter over a large area. Once in position, the ten rings begin to generate a black void, which grows in size until it forms a large black dome, which is centered around Tōsen's body and anchored to the ground by the ten rings.

**Bankai Special Ability**: The dome creates a vacuum that nullifies the senses of spiritual energy, sight, sound, and scent, what Tōsen calls **Mumyō** (*No Light*). The only sense the victim retains is that of touch. Unlike with some Zanpakutō, Suzumushi does not convert itself into the massive dome that it creates during Bankai. Instead, the dome serves as a separate extension of Suzumushi itself, allowing Tōsen to wield its sealed form as a weapon while inside the dome, but preventing him from using its abilities. The technique's main shortcoming is that anyone, not just Tōsen himself, touching Suzumushi's hilt is immune to the dome's effects, so anyone able to grab Suzumushi recovers their senses. The dome only exists as long as Tōsen wills it to, or if he happens to become seriously injured; in either circumstance, the dome shreds apart and dissipates.