Sengo Muramasa/Destiny's Reach

See also: Sengo Muramasa.

Sengo Muramasa is a character in Kingdom Hearts: Destiny's Reach, as an antagonist summoned by Dark Sora. He represents the Kingdom Hearts: Arcana universe. Unlike Nathaniel, Muramasa cannot wield the Keyblade, but he does posess quite fearsome dark-related powers. His opponent "counterpart" is Nathaniel Koroshiya, although he doesn't seem to bear him any real enmity...

Appearance
See: here.

Personality
Unlike his daughter, Sengo Muramasa is utterly ruthless, with no mercy in battle. His Zanapkuto, the name of which translates to "One Thousand Cold Nights", has the power to absorb heat and to induce fear throughout a certain area, which certainly fits, given how cold and terrifying Muramasa usually is. The Vizard generally only shows any degree of warmth around those who have earned his respect, such as Nathaniel Koroshiya, Kisuke Urahara, and Yoruichi Shihoin. The only exception thus far is Naomi Reed, whom he found bleeding in a back alley on Earth, and whom he then nursed back to health and adopted for reasons known only to himself.

Powers and Abilities
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Muramasa's swordsmanship is on par with the other Captains, and can match the likes of even Kenpachi Zaraki in terms of ferocity.


 * Sōkensōin (双剣掃引, Double Sword Sweep): A technique which entails two strikes of a sword of extreme force and speed. The two cuts are made so quickly the target only perceives one swing. Muramasa's variant relies on using two swords to achieve the same effect.

Flash Steps: While not a true master of the technique at the same level as Nathaniel Koroshiya or Yoruichi Shihoin, Muramasa is still an expert in the Flash Step.

Kidō Master: Muramasa is one of the greatest spellcasters still living in Soul Society, at least at the same level as Nathaniel. As a former captain of the Kido Corps, he is known to have cast "Black Coffin" without the incantation with only three seconds preparation, and he used it at its full power.

Master of Subterfuge and Deception: Muramasa posesses great skill in manipulating the vast majority of his opponents, and in one instance a few hundred years before the start of Kingdom Hearts, made a Fourth Seat of the Eleventh Division start to doubt that he was even real, making him commit suicide. The exact speech that Muramasa used is known only to himself.

Immense Spiritual Power: Muramasa is nearly 1000 years old (from when he started keeping track), thus boasting a great amount of spiritual energy, suitable for a Captain and a Vizard. His spiritual energy fluctuates from black to dark purple to ice blue.

Zanpakutō
Sen Yosamu (千夜寒, One Thousand Cold Nights): Its sealed state takes the form of an unmarked katana with a small, circular guard, and the hilt is bound in brown leather. The scabbard is black and unmarked.

The Inner World mainly consists of a seemingly endless frozen plane, although there are massive glaciers in the distance. It is eternal night, similar to Antarctica in the winter, although the Southern Lights are particularly vibrant.


 * Shikai: Its release command is "Encase the heart in frozen terror." (冷凍恐怖で包む心, Reitō kyōfu de tsutsumu kokoro) In this form, it takes a form which is like a fusion of Yamato and Lucifer from Devil May Cry 4. It is clearly a sword, although it's designed more like Lucifer. The blade is black with dark purple lines across it, similar to cracks in a field of ice.
 * Shikai Special Ability: Sen Yosamu's primary and most well-known ability is ____ (Freezing Aura), the name of which is fairly obvious. Sen Yosamu, while in shikai form, has a special property that gradually absorbs all heat within a given radius, generally around 50 feet, and the closer an object is to the blade, the more rapidly its temperature decreases. When used on sentient things, including Hollows, Soul Reapers, and humans, the blade has another, similar power that activates in the same time and in the same way, inducing fear and doubt. Kenpachi Zaraki, Genryusai Yamamoto, and Sosuke Aizen are thus far the only three people shown to be immune to this second effect, while the other Captains, along with Ichigo Kurosaki, Naomi Reed, and Nathaniel Koroshiya also have either great resistance or total immunity as well. Flintlass, being the manifested spirit of a Zanpakuto, is unaffected.
 * Kōrisetsudan no Ken (氷切断の剣, Piercing Ice Blade, lit. Sword of Ice-Cutting): Sen Yosamu's cold-inducing aura effect is ten times more powerful through direct contact withe the sharp edge via cutting. Sengo Muramasa is known to have killed a weak Vasto Lorde by impaling it in the head with Sen Yosamu, freezing it from the inside-out beginning with the brain, and then shattering it.
 * Hyodan: Dairasen (Burst: Glacier Orb, lit. Ice Blast: Great Spiral): Muramasa holds Sen Yosamu in front of him and points it at his opponent, and by focusing his Spirit Pressure, forms and unleashes a massive burst of subzero energy, which can instantly freeze anything and everything it hits. However, it's size is only twice the size as the Rasengan.


 * Bankai: Eien no Mōfubuki no Sen Yosamu (永遠の猛吹雪の千夜寒, Endless Whiteout of One Thousand Cold Nights): Sengo brings the shikai form of his weapon to his side, holding it in the same stance as Sora does his Keyblade for the "Duel Stance" Reaction Command in Kingdom Hearts II. Then, he shifts the sword and impales himself in the chest with it as he says "Bankai". The self-impaling is a symbol of absolute resolve and unwavering conviction -- when Muramasa summons his Bankai, he intends to emerge either victorious or dead. The Bankai weapon completely changes Sengo's appearance, so that his uniform is tattered, and is now colored ice-white. For weaponry, Sengo summons a longsword made of ice-energy for his left hand, and his right arm is covered in ice armor, ending in a powerful gauntlet.
 * Bankai Special Ability: Kami Hachi-tō no Kyodaina Ryū (神八頭の巨大な竜, Eight-Headed Dragon, lit. Eight-Headed Monstrous Dragon God) Muramasa's Spirit Pressure aura manifests as an enormous dragon with eight heads. Muramasa usually starts his Bankai by just using melee attacks, although he then will immediately activate this ability. Each of the eight heads is an extension of Muramasa's own consciousness, meaning that he has access to eight added perspectives should he need them, and can control them with his will. Muramasa can move while using this abiltiy, but controlling all eight dragon heads requires so much concentration that he can't form his weapons for melee combat, so he has to use at least one or two heads for defense in order to protect himself.
 * Hyodan: _____ (Burst: Cryo Force): Muramasa summons a tremendous amount of his spiritual pressure and uses it to form a sphere three times his size, which he then throws at the target. This is well over twenty times more powerful than the Dairasen, and Sengo once defeated Kenpachi Zaraki with one hit using this attack. However, Kenpachi had been overconfident (as usual), and had allowed himself to be hit with it head-on. While certainly powerful, this technique is not practical for fighting enemies who are extremely fast, as the Cryo Force only has a limited tracking ability.

Trivia

 * 1) In Arcana, Muramasa also has Hollow powers, however, they were excluded from Destiny's Reach for two reasons: their inclusion would have made him an unbalanced fighter, and also because his creator hadn't completely decided on what those Hollow powers would be.

Theme
Muramasa's theme song is "Heaven and Hell", by Megadeth.