Tenjin Raiu
From Inga no Kusari wiki
Tenjin Raiu (Heavenly Being Thunderstorm) is Heihachi Eiishima's Zanpakutō.
Tenjin Raiu's sealed form is pretty much as you see it below. It has a longer than average hilt, being 14" instead of the regular 12". Two slight differences from below would be that Tenjin Raiu's curvature of the blade is more shallow, so much so that it forms a kind of optical illusion, making it near impossible for the untrained eye to decide whether the blade is straight or whether it does have a curvature to it. Also the Tsuba is a burnished bronze and not black.
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Spirit Description
Tenjin Raiu has an odd dual appearance. Initially he appears as a barrel chested large burly man with a large white beard that crawls up his jaw into sideburns, and sports a grubby grey gi and hakama. However, looming ethereally around this form, semi-transparent, is his true appearance, a large dark greenish-grey skinned giant/ogre type being, with blazing red spiky hair, also sporting a rugged grey gi. His feet are normally surrounded by swirling fog/mist.
He is an arrogant and aloof spirit, he demands high things of he who wields him, and is constantly challenging Eiishima to prove himself worthy of commanding him. On a good day he would not at all be out of place were one to find him in a downridden tavern, chugging down a keg of ale and laughing heartily. His roars of laughter are actually the booming rolls of thunder however. He is also quick to anger, and when he does, he is wreathed in crackling electricity.
His inner sanctum is a vast sea of swirling grey clouds, fog and mists, almost dune-like in their rolling profiles. On a good day the clouds will be whiter and move more serenely, but inversely, on a bad day they skies will rage black and grey and crash with thunder and lightning.
Shikai
Release Command: "Tataku!" - Clap!
Eiishima will either hold the blade out in front of him pointing down, or will sling it over his shoulders as he utters the release command.
Shikai Abilities
Tenjin Raiu demands that Eiishima further prove himself before he grants him full access to the shikai abilities. As of now he only has the one latent ability.
Enkou: A latent ability, Tenjin Raiu's "Enkou" or "Halo" is in effect from the moment it is unsealed. The halo is basically an aura of crackling electrical energy that constantly wreathes the gigantic hammer. It provides mild searing damage as well as added electrical damage when striking against opponents. The output of damage is more noticeable against opponents wielding metallic weapons over wooden ones and when fighting in wet conditions or atmospheres with a high water content. At current levels it provides a very mild damage bonus, the lightning energy transferred to the opponent will last fractionally longer due to the wetness.
Strengths
- Tenjin Raiu's extra few inches on its sealed form's hilt give Eiishima an added leverage force when applying swings and cuts due to the distance he can hold his hands at.
- Tenjin Raiu is a colossal hammer, as far as blunt force trauma goes, Tenjin Raiu can deliver one hell of a smash. Anybody of an equal level to Eiishima would have trouble fully blocking/withstanding a head on slam from the mighty hammer.
- The lightning aura can enflict further damage upon enemies after hitting them, as small amounts of electrical energy fizzle over their body before petering out. It is more effective against metallic weapons and water based powers.
-Tenjin Raiu has a long reach and a heavy hit, making it relatively effective at keeping multiple enemies at bay provided one can maintain enough momentum to swing at them.
- Tenjin Raiu has an added effectiveness when fighting in wet or atmoshperically moist conditions, as the high water content in the surrounding air fuels the Lightning aura to do more damage.
Weaknesses
- Tenjin Raiu suffers heavily when fighting in confined spaces such as small rooms and corridors. Wooden and thatched rooms will likely end up a victim in the battle as much as an opponent.
- The Enkou latent/passive ability actually damages Eiishima too. As time goes on the aura of lightning scorches and scars his shoulders, making him reluctant to release Tenjin Raiu at all unless he absolutely must, and even then he prefers to limit his time in the released state.
- Whilst Tenjin Raiu has an added power output to its Enkou in wet weather conditions, or near large bodies of water, this also adversely affects Eiishima, as his arms and upper torsoe suffer from the more fervent lightning lashes that wreath the weapon. It increases the energy strain upon him meaning his reiatsu will be depleted more quickly and if he pushes himself on for too long, can leave him exhausted and at the mercy of his opponent.
- Tenjin is a melee zanpakutō and has no ranged attacks at all, the closest being a mid-distance attack from a currently unachieved ability, and the shockwave from that is only substantial at higher levels.
Bankai
Tenrai Taiko no Tenjin Raiu (Divine Drums of the Heavenly Scholar Thunderstorm)
Perhaps the most readily noticeable element of the bankai are the two humongous kanabou which are held, one in each hand. Both are identical, roughly twelve feet in length, with the top eight feet being the primary mass of the giant bludgeons’ body, measuring about three and half feet in diameter at the top end. The bludgeons are hexagonal prisms and taper ever so slightly, being just under three and a half feet in diameter at the widest point before tapering sharply down into the hilt. The hilt is roughly three feet long, and the final foot is a counter weight, which culminates in a stuppy spear type point. Winding down around the bludgeon are raised knobs in a spiral pattern. The Kanabou are primarily burnished bronze in appearance, with white fur binding wrapped tightly around the three feet of handle. Marbled crimson cloth drifts lazily from the top end of the handles, each strip about 2ft in length.
However, these two colossal kanabou, each bigger than the shikai alone, are not the sole elements of the bankai. Hovering behind the wielder, is a large ring, about nine foot in diameter of Taiko drums, each one about two feet in diameter. The Taiko drums are all attacked to each other by red silky billowing bands. The drums skins all have the mitsudomoe on them (trio of comma shaped symbols). As well as these there are two larger taiko that hover around the edges of the circle of smaller taiko, these around about three and a half feet in diameter and also have mitsudomoe on them. The taiko all appear in a gilded bronze/brass fashion and have ornate fittings and clasps that take the appearance of tiny bonze demonic panthers, holding the drum skins tightly between their teeth and paws.
The drums hover behind Eiishima, he has no telekinetic ability to move them at will. Generally they follow the alignment of his hips, meaning he can twist around behind him to look through the drum ring behind him. When he's at rest they hover about three feet back from him, but when he's going full pelt in close combat swinging around his massive kanabou, they back off further so they don't inhibit them. Generally the drum ring maintains a gentle rotation, save for when they spin quickly to fire off a hail of Jinrai, or stay still to fire a Genkotsu.
Bankai Abilities
Thunderclap Fist
- Latent Form: If Eiishima utters no command, Jinrai simply assumes a latent form. It delivers a small thunderclap with each attacking impact, adding to the physical force of the hit. The power of the latent jinrai is equivalent to a #5 hadou performed by Eiishima.
- Jinrai form: By uttering part of its full name Eiishima can deploy a hail stream of up to 20 mid-long range thunderclaps. Each one is the equivalent of a #25 hadou as performed by Eiishima. When deployed it employs a "gatling" style "firing mechanism", with the taiko ring spinning around behind Eiishima's back, and the taiko "firing" off it's thunderclap as it passes the 12'o'clock position above Eiishima's head. It appears similar to a hail of bala. Eiishima can move the target point of the hail to track fleeing enemies but cannot move himself when using this ability.
- Genkotsu Jinrai form: When Eiishima employs the full command, he fires one titanic mid to long range thunderclap from all the taiko simultaneously. It is equivalent to a #90 hadou as fired by Eiishima. The diameter of the blast and the crater it causes is equal to Eiishima's weapon skill i.e. a weapon skill of 90 will result in a crater 90ft wide. When performing Genkotsu the drum ring expands out slightly so the energy can be fired around Eiishima as he is positioned in the centre of it.
Both the semi-voiced and fully-voiced versions have a cooldown of 4 turns.
Lightning Affinity
Eiishima can cast lightning based kidou silently at non-chanted power, and at full power by only using the name of the spell. i.e. He can cast White Lightning silently, and it would be equal to someone else of equal reiatsu saying "Hadou #4 Byakurai!". If he announces "Byakurai!" he can cast it at full power as if it were fully incantated. He can only cast kidou up to the level he knows, it does not unlock higher level lightning kidou.
Spells affected:
- 4 White Lightning
- 11 Bound Lightning
- 63 Thunder Roar Cannon
- 88 Flying Dragon Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon
Strengths
- Tenrai Taiko makes up for the shikai's lack of ranged fighting capabilities, now both excelling at close, mid and far ranged combat.
- Colossal close combat strength.
- Latent Lightning Kidou boost (see above).
Weaknesses
- Tenrai Taiko is positively massive and very ungainly. Eiishima's attack moves are fluid enough, but it restricts shunpo movement, reducing his movement speed by 1/3rd.
- Due to its massive size it and high damage out put, fighting in enclosed spaces is impossible without bringing the roof and walls down.
- The latent lightning energy inherent in the bankai takes its toll on Eiishima's body, scarring him more and more over time.
