[Spirit Class 5] Kazuo Kurobe [ARC]

» Name: Kazuo Kurobe (畔裵 一雄)
» Alias:
» Age: 280
» Gender: Male
» Build: Lithe
» Association: Kurobe Family Head


Cunning, coniving, and downright despicable are all badges of honor on Kazuo Kurobe's vest. He is a man who refuses to wear traditional noble garb simply because it is reeks of tradition. There is a time and a place for such things—and to the head of the Kurobe, the answer to both is in a museum. He strongly believes that the reason the Gotei Thirteen and the Gotei United have failed is only because they stick to asanine traditions. Swords are from a bygone era—they should have long-since switched to ranged combat as a primary method. If they had, perhaps their losses would have been far less.

"If you can't fight for something, you shouldn't have it" is his motto. His family's unofficial motto is something similar: "We Make Victory Happen." If it will bring victory to his ideas, Kazuo will do it. He's wounded himself just to win sympathy in the past, and those self-inflicted scars are a funny inside joke to him. He's an opportunistic snake who likes when others fail—all so he can build from the ashes. In the wake of this recent disaster, Kazuo wishes to arm every able-bodied person with the means to protect themselves. Someone who can defend themselves should. If they don't defend themselves, then they get what was coming to them.

A not-so-fun tidbit about Kazuo is his opinion on those that live beyond the Rukongai. The Suika are built for hard labor and should be brought into matters as disposable, muscled walls of flesh. The Beastman "souls?" Their whole thing is being cursed, why should they be allowed into society? They are subhuman and don't deserve a single right—let alone designations other than as a family pet or as hunting prey.


The Kurobe family has been around for quite some time, but it is only within the past two centuries that their work has been fruitful. It used to be that people only wanted metal to be worked for household goods. Other nobles wanted good tools for the farms ran by the Seireitei. Only criminals wanted weapons. But there was some turmoil that started throughout the Rukongai around the time Kazuo took over the Kurobe family. He saw a coming storm and began enforcing new training regiments for the family's smiths—he saw the storm of war before anyone else.

Originally a vassal of the Shiba, the Kurobe were the first to start arming the Rukongai. From Hollows like Metastacia that ran rampant to internal threats like Aizen, there was quite evidently a need to arm oneself. Their skills landed them in the good graces of the Tsunayashiro, who they now "serve" but would just as quickly abandon. Even during the Demon Incursion, it was the Kurobe who would come out on top. Faith in the Gotei was briefly shattered, and sales went through the roof. Even now, the Kurobe are taking advantage of the destruction and tumult caused by the Arrancar Invasion with their patented tricks.

As for Kazuo himself, his history is pretty normal. He was a spoiled brat who, after graduating top of his class a year early, served as a low-seated officer of the Gotei 13's 2nd Division. He was an expert tracker—few rogue Shinigami escaped his sights. He had learned from his grandfather who had participated in the "retaliation efforts" from the Quincy Invasion (AKA the first Quincy Genocide). He learned how to detect those who did not wished to be detected and how to smoke out accursed Quincy and their sympathizers.

When his sickly father passed away, Kazuo succeeded him and continued to serve in the 2nd Division. He fought in the Winter War and was one of the many hooded Shinigami defeated by Yoruichi Shihōin before her fight with his then-Captain. He was able to claim a wartime injury thanks to that and was placed on an indefinite medical leave. He no longer had to fight. Even so, he was seen defending the Kurobe family's facilities during the Demon Incursion a hundred years later.

That century was spent training and refining his methods. He blamed his defeat not on himself—no, it wasn't that he was that subpar. Kazuo blamed the tactical doctrine of the 2nd Division. This led to him believing the entire Gotei's tactical doctrine was fundamentally flawed. This led to a shift in production from bladed weapons to ranged. And now, the Kurobe family has an ironclad stranglehold on the clandestine production of firearms assembled in the Soul Society.



» Manhunter: Despite being seen by others as a coward who observed, Kazuo was well-skilled in the art of murder and the art of hunting. With his favorite prey being the ultimate game, he knows the ins and outs of the human body. He was a seated officer in the 2nd Division well over a hundred years ago. That time did not go to waste as he has spent it learning how to hunt other prey—usually the subhuman. Beyond that, Kazuo is naturally hard to detect. He keeps his own presence, beyond just his Reiatsu, as minimal as possible. Footsteps, audible breathing, even the rustling of clothes are practically nonexistent. He usually has to announce himself to be noticed.

» Business Acumen: Kazuo is a sly individual whose predictions on the societal climate finally came true. The Kurobe family will soon be swimming in money, and it's all thanks to him understanding that eventually the Gotei would find another way to fail.


» Zanjutsu: Kazuo would have already attained Bankai had he not done irreparable harm to his Zanpakutō. However, that only limits what is capable of attaining in the future. He had Shikai before doing what he did, and if he had thought about it hard enough, the shape could have turned into something more useful.

» Hakuda: It was not his specialty during his time in the 2nd Division; and he has let his skills get rusty since "leaving" the Gotei Thirteen.

» Hohō: Kazuo was skilled enough in this to serve as part of the 2nd Division, but like his Hakuda, his skill in it is rusty compared to when he was at his peak.

» Kidō: A true savant in Kidō, Kazuo briefly held records on his spells' accuracy at a distance. He specializes in condensing spells to a smaller, more compact form that loses less energy as it goes on.

» Saisenkō: Kazuo's trump card that he has developed in order to better hunt the more "talented" prey. He does not have a name for it, for naming it allows others to know of it and counter it. His Saisenkō has the element of Metal—an odd element, but one that fits him better than others. Overall, it gives him a 100% boost while utilizing Saisenkō. However, if he concentrates on it and does not move, the boost increases by 50% per post he does not move up to a total of a 300% boost. His current skill level with Zanjutsu and Kidō have offered him two main usages.

• Teppunsai: (鉄粉砕; Iron Powder Smasher) Kazuo condenses Reiryoku that is then launched from his Zanpakutō as a cylinder. Upon contact with another surface or Reiryoku, the cylinder bursts as a cloud of fine iron powder. The powder is not launched with enough velocity to cause anything other than abrasions. However, it is still a powder. It can cause eye irritation, coughing, etc. just like any other fine powder. He can fire one burst of powder per post.
  
• Teppōgyokuto: (鉄砲玉兎; Gunshot Moon) Kazuo condenses Reiryoku that is then fired as a metallic ball. This ball is attracted to other sources of metal—as such, they regularly go towards an opponent's weapon. But there is one target it swerves towards above all else: the powder from Teppunsai. Because it should be spread over a large area, this attack is not a guaranteed hit. It goes towards the nearest source of the powder. Although it can curve some, there is no fine control or crazy maneuvers whilst homing to a magnetic target. How many of these he can fire depends on the "caliber" of the attack—a larger attack means a longer cooldown. The fastest he can fire is 4 per post of what would be the equivalent of a half-inch ball whilst the slowest is 1 per post for the one-inch ball.
  

» Zanpakutō Name: N/A

» Zanpakutō Spirit: N/A

» Inner World: N/A

» Sealed Zanpakutō Appearance: Before Kazuo effectively destroyed his own Zanpakutō, it was a blue-hilted, straight-bladed sword. Now, he has melted it down and re-forged it into a rifle bolt.

» Sealed Zanpakutō Ability: Although the spirit is effectively dead at this point, there remains a sliver of an ability. The bolt can modify itself to be able to fit any bolt-action rifle platform, and allows him the usage of Zanjutsu techniques through the new weapon. This does not modify the weapon to handle increased pressure and, as such, most of these weapons are single-shot devices that destroy themselves upon use.




» Arsenal: From matchlocks to cannons, the Kurobe family has made just about every kind of pre-modern firearm. Although the distribution of them is highly-regulated by the Kurobe family, usage by the family itself is widespread.
» Fake Cane: What is disguised as a tool for sympathy is actually a secret weapon. Kazuo's metal cane that he definitely needs is secretly a firearm that only needs the head of the cane pulled back to reveal a concealed slot for a rifle bolt...




General Attributes
» Durability: SS/S/A/B/C/D/E
» Speed: SS/S/A/B/C/D/E
» Strength: SS/S/A/B/C/D/E
» Soul: SS/S/A/B/C/D/E

Will Skills
» Willpower: Elite/Advanced/Adept/Beginner/Untrained
» Deduction: Elite/Advanced/Adept/Beginner/Untrained
» Focus: Elite/Advanced/Adept/Beginner/Untrained

Shinigami Skills
» Hoho: Elite/Advanced/Adept/Beginner/Untrained
» Kidō: Elite/Advanced/Adept/Beginner/Untrained
» Zanjutsu: Elite/Advanced/Adept/Beginner/Untrained
» Hakuda: Elite/Advanced/Adept/Beginner/Untrained


» Character Intent: Woo, more skeevy nobles for noble plot! He's a man who can get things that others might want, likely through unsavory means. The current set of laws are still too steeped in tradition for Kazuo to accept. He is meant to foster ideas outside of the norm for nobles whilst staying in with a "noble's mindset." Kazuo is meant to die or disappear again into the shadows after the arc is completed, as I see conflict with one of his own prey as all-but-guaranteed in the end.