shikai

ZANPAKUTOU: Kinshimaru (禽觜丸 lit. Raptor Beak) 

Kinshimaru is the name of the hyper-deadly zanpakutou that Zhi Mubiao uses. When he was younger, the blade earned a reputation for killing targets with the lightest of scratches, earning Zhi the moniker “the Scratch-Cut Killer.” Even after his retirement into the Uneitai, he used it to train many Onmitsukido and to properly display how a proper assassination should be carried out. Additionally, he uses it to gauge the intelligence and perceptiveness of opponents. Targets who can gauge the true abilities of Kinshimaru are handled with more caution then those who cannot, making it a great tool for analyzing group dynamics and for weeding out the strongest opponents. 

In its sealed form, Kinshimaru is a plain katana with a blade half a foot shorter than a normal sword. It is dull in sheen but carries an uncannily sharpened edge. The guard is rectangular and gunmetal-grey in color. Likewise the hilt, once wrapped in coarse black fabric, has become a faded grey from centuries of use. Kinshimaru has a dull pommel and no tassel. 

Unlike many zanpakutou, who have a causal relationship with their owner, Kinshimaru is unique when it comes to Zhi. It only speaks to him when he has someone he needs to kill. As such, their relationship is strictly professional, and neither zanpakutou nor shinigami cares to improve this. 

Kinshimaru takes the form of what appears to be a hippopatumus, black in color, perpetually floating down an abnormally thin and shallow river. It is lined by impossibly thick forest and foliage, making it so Zhi must stand on the rocky shore in order to find the spirit. Entering the water is dangerous, as Kinshimaru attacks him when he does, and the water is too murky to see below the surface. 

SHIKAI: “Stop their pulse, Kinshimaru.” 

There is a reason Kinshimaru is praised as one of the best assassination-class shikai in the Onmitsukido. When released into shikai, there is no ritual and no transformation. The only notification that the blade has transformed is Zhi speaking, and even then he is capable of lowering his voice to the point that it is unintelligible. Even the rise in spiritual power common to all shikai is suppressed. 

ABILITIES:

HITOARE “Burst of Anger” is the sole ability of Zhi’s zanpakutou, which no shinigami has ever fully guessed or understood that still lives. This is because those that do figure out the blade are generally killed in one way or another. Even students who figure out the ability eventually die. While this is generally coincidence, many believe Kinshimaru to be cursed because of this fact. 

When Kinshimaru is swung, it releases a blade of wind that is a nanometer thick. This makes it infinitely sharp, but extremely fragile. When it strikes a target it can pierce through any defense, even hierro, but it fades the moment it hits blood. This leaves glancing and negligible wounds on the target; however, the air from the slash is not dispersed. Instead it is absorbed into the vein it cut and becomes a bubble of air that travels to the heart, where it then bursts and kills the target. This process takes ten posts, though for every additional post this count is lowered by two. Beings with immense spiritual power are capable of crushing the bubbles in their veins passively, though as Zhi grows stronger this weakness is removed.