Reiryoku

**Reiyroku** (*Spiritual power*) is a power aligned with the spiritual sensitivity and will power of the user. It is used by Shinigami and other spiritual beings to provide power for their various abilities.

## Overview

Every spiritual being and every Human has a certain amount of Reiryoku. If this amount is higher than a certain degree, it grants the person superhuman abilities. Those with such an above-average level of Reiryoku are very rare among living Humans. It seems to be that the most basic ability that Humans with a higher level of Reiryoku have is the ability to see ghosts: Pluses, Shinigami and Hollow alike. Shinigami are essentially souls in Soul Society with very high levels of Reiryoku who receive special training to utilize their powers. Hollows and other spirits use their Reiryoku to catch their prey.

## Spiritual Power Levels

 **Immense Spiritual Energy** | This level of spiritual power corresponds to those possessing an enormous amount of spiritual power which is finely controlled. This level of spiritual power is reflected in its ability to enhance a user during combat as well as its ability to affect the surrounding environment on a controlled level, allowing the wielder to use it in combat to startling degrees. (Advanced Captain-class)

## Sensing Reiryoku

Another basic ability that beings with higher-than-average levels of Reiryoku possess is the ability to sense other spiritual beings without relying on their five basic senses. This is possible because every spiritual being emits a certain amount of his/her own Reiryoku in the form of Reiatsu, which can be sensed. This ability apparently requires some innate skill, but can be increased with training. Initially, Ichigo Kurosaki's ability to sense the spiritual energy of others was very poor, but gradually grew much more proficient in it, even being able to use various high-level techniques to locate or detect particular people, such as his close friends.

Every spiritual being has a unique pattern to his/her emitted Reiryoku. One can recognize the pattern of their friends and acquaintances after some time, being able to sense their presence and their physical and mental state from relatively great distances. Sudden changes in Reiryoku pattern can mean that the person in question is in great stress (i.e. fighting) or has received a grave wound.

Different types of spiritual beings have greatly different patterns, the Reiryoku pattern of Hollows for example is easily distinguishable from that of Pluses or a Shinigami. The Visored are a special case, because when their Hollow mask is donned, their pattern of Reiryoku resembles that of a Hollow, rather than that of a Shinigami.

There are a few possibilities to block Reiryoku. One is the usage of Sekkiseki, a special kind of stone that completely blocks Reiryoku from both sides. The walls of Seireitei, and the walls of the Senzaikyu are built from this stone. As Sekkiseki blocks even the strongest Reiryoku emissions, it does not just inhibit the sensing of one's Reiryoku pattern, but effectively closes out most unwanted visitors in the case of Seireitei, and prevents the escape of even the strongest prisoner from the Senzaikyu.

Another means of blocking Reiryoku is a special garment invented by Kisuke Urahara, which completely hides any emission of Reiryoku coming from the wearer, enabling him/her to escape from somewhere or approach someone while being impossible to notice via sheer sensing of Reiryoku.