Touba

Tōba is calmer and more personable than many of the criminals he commands. He receives unfamiliar visitors without immediate hostility and explains the customs of Soul Society before resorting to violence.

Beneath that affability is longstanding anger toward the Seireitei. He believes Rukongai’s residents have been abandoned to poverty while the Gotei 13 protects the privileged center. Kariya’s promise of equality and upheaval appeals to this resentment.

Tōba is also loyal to his followers. When he discovers that Kariya never intended to honor their agreement, he refuses to abandon the people he mobilized, even though confronting a Bount is clearly suicidal.

Tōba possesses no demonstrated spiritual powers. He commands influence among Kusajishi’s criminals and can gather hundreds of fighters on short notice.

He carries a single-edged knife but shows no exceptional proficiency with it. His principal strengths are organization, persuasion, and access to local manpower rather than supernatural combat ability.

Under his supervision, the Kusajishi residents construct large wooden siege engines capable of lifting Seireitei’s fortified gates after the gatekeepers have been defeated.

Jin Kariya enters Tōba’s gambling hall and wagers his life in a card game. After Kariya, Gō Koga, and Maki Ichinose overpower the resident criminals, Kariya offers Tōba a chance to overturn Soul Society’s hierarchy.

Koga’s explanation of the Bounts’ regenerative power convinces Tōba that victory is possible. He gathers fighters, has the surrounding forest cut for siege materials, and helps raise the Seireitei gates.

Once the breach is complete, Kariya reveals that the Kusajishi force was merely a disposable tool. Tōba leads an enraged attack against him, but Kariya kills Tōba and the assembled criminals with Messer’s wind.

Jin Kariya recruits and ultimately betrays Tōba.

Gō Koga persuades Tōba that the Bounts can provide Kusajishi with a genuine chance against the Gotei 13. Maki Ichinose accompanies Kariya during the initial meeting.

Sawatari uses Baura to help move Tōba’s siege engines. Jidanbō Ikkanzaka and Danzōmaru guard the gates targeted by his force.