Taikon

Taikon is confident in the protection offered by his unusual body and initially treats direct spiritual attacks as harmless. He fights aggressively but is less talkative than some of Shuren’s other followers, generally carrying out orders without questioning their purpose.

His self-assurance falters when an enemy finds a way around his absorption ability. Like the rest of the group, he readily participates in taking hostages and exploiting the rules of Hell.

Taikon can form multiple fanged mouths on his torso and limbs. These mouths swallow spiritually generated attacks, including energy projectiles, before the absorbed power can damage him. He can subsequently expel the stored energy from his lips as concentrated pink blasts; the impacts leave conspicuous heart-shaped marks.

The absorption is not an unlimited defense. It depends on the mouths successfully taking in the attack, leaving Taikon vulnerable to traps and techniques that activate around or inside his guard. He also displays considerable physical durability, surviving a Getsuga Tenshō from Ichigo Kurosaki without visible injury.

As a Togabito, Taikon is bound by the chains of Hell. Its regenerative cycle makes conventional death unreliable: a condemned soul destroyed within Hell can eventually reform unless the realm’s custodians carry it deeper.

Taikon accompanies Gunjō, Garogai, and Murakumo in Shuren’s attack on Karakura Town. Their abduction of Ichigo’s sisters is intended to force Ichigo to enter Hell.

On Hell’s second level, Taikon battles Ichigo’s rescue party and absorbs Ichigo’s Getsuga Tenshō. Uryū Ishida studies the mouths’ defensive mechanism and catches him inside a Quincy technique whose energy attacks from multiple directions.

Taikon later reforms and joins Shuren’s assault on Kokutō. After Shuren’s plan collapses, the Kushanāda drag Taikon and the other conspirators into the depths of Hell.

Shuren is Taikon’s leader and the architect of the attempt to use Ichigo’s power to break the group’s chains.

Gunjō, Garogai, and Murakumo are his fellow Togabito and combat partners.

Ichigo Kurosaki is the principal target of the group’s scheme, while Uryū Ishida is the opponent who overcomes Taikon’s absorption defense. Kokutō later fights Taikon after revealing his own agenda.