Shunsui Kyōraku leads the Gotei 13 as Captain-Commander and captains the 1st Division, having formerly commanded the 8th Division. His lieutenants are Nanao Ise and Genshirō Okikiba. As the second son of the noble Kyōraku family, he disdained formal studies and training, favoring leisure. Captain-Commander Yamamoto, recognizing his innate wisdom and perceptiveness, compelled his enrollment at the Shin'ō Reijutsu Academy. There, Shunsui trespassed into Yamamoto's quarters to inquire about a painting of a strife-causing monster, forming a lifelong bond with Jūshirō Ukitake. Both became among the first academy graduates to achieve captain rank, personally trained by Yamamoto. Shunsui, Ukitake, Retsu Unohana, and Yamamoto served as captains for over a century by 110 years before the present. Over 110 years ago, his early captaincy featured a dynamic with his outgoing, perverted lieutenant, Lisa Yadōmaru, contrasting his later lieutenant Nanao Ise. During this time, he casually informed Lieutenant Sōsuke Aizen that the previous 12th Division captain joined the Royal Guard and attended Kisuke Urahara's promotion. Nine years later, during an investigation into missing squad members, he advised Yamamoto on deployments, reassigning Lisa while reassuring Urahara about his own lieutenant. Young Nanao Ise often visited the 8th Division barracks for Lisa to read to her. Shunsui later witnessed Isshin Shiba report on a mysterious Hollow, amused by Mayuri Kurotsuchi's frustration at lacking a specimen. He possesses a tall, light-skinned build at 192 cm (6'3½") and 87 kg (191 lbs.), with grey eyes and long wavy brown hair tied in a ponytail, bangs framing his left cheek. His signature look includes a straw hat (sakkat), a pink flowered lady's kimono over his uniform, and expensive pin-wheel hairpins, contrasting with his cheap haori and obi. He avoids wearing tabi with his sandals. He sports facial hair on his mouth and cheeks, though only on his upper lip over a century prior. Severe injuries from the Wandenreich conflict left permanent damage: an eyepatch covers his right eye, the top half of his right ear is severed, and a scar marks his right temple. As a child, he had shorter, messier hair and wore flower-patterned kimonos. His personality merges laid-back flamboyance with deep insight. Often seen smiling, he enjoys drinking sake with steamed buns, napping, and pursuing women, particularly Nanao Ise and Lisa Yadōmaru. He speaks casually, using first names with honorifics for peers, and authored the unpopular romance novel "Rose-colored Path," indifferent to its failure. Preferring peace, he negotiates to avoid conflict but fights seriously when necessary, as against Coyote Starrk. He maintains combat integrity, refusing to fight children or in their presence, respects opponents, prefers one-on-one engagements, and stays composed against powerful foes like Starrk or Aizen. Despite his strength and seniority, he humbly acknowledges peers' potential, like Tōshirō Hitsugaya's capacity to surpass him. He expresses distaste for combat, believing fighting inherently wrong, and avoids harming innocents, sparing Yasutora Sado (Chad) when prompted. As Captain-Commander, he makes high-risk decisions for the greater good, including appointing dual lieutenants, arranging Kenpachi Zaraki's zanjutsu training, and temporarily releasing Sōsuke Aizen from Muken during the Wandenreich invasion. He harbors deep guilt over tragedies affecting loved ones, including his brother's death and the execution of Nanao's mother, Isuzu Ise, who entrusted him with the Ise family's Zanpakutō, Shinken Hakkyōken, before her death. His Zanpakutō spirit later created a second spirit to store this blade. His combat abilities rank among the Gotei 13's strongest. Trained by Yamamoto, he wields dual Zanpakutō ambidextrously, varying strike speeds between his tachi (power) and wakizashi (speed) to disorient. He employs evasion and surprise, overwhelming with frontal and rear assaults. Though rarely using Hakuda, he demonstrated proficiency by repelling Chad with Tsukiyubi (Thrust Fingers). As a Shunpo master, his speed allows evasion of attacks like Starrk's Cero barrage without disturbing his attire. His immense spiritual pressure rivals Yamamoto's, enabling him to withstand Aizen's force, Starrk's point-blank Cero, Lille Barro's shots, and Yamamoto's flames. His strategic acumen is notable; Yamamoto noted his youthful ability to discern true character, leading him to suspect Aizen early and see through Mayuri's deceptions. He rapidly analyzes opponents' patterns, warning Chad about life-energy depletion from Reiatsu-based attacks. His Zanpakutō, Katen Kyōkotsu (Flower Heaven, Crazy Bone), manifests as twin swords sealed. Its Shikai release command, "Flower Wind Rage and Flower God Roar, Heavenly Wind Rage and Heavenly Demon Snear," transforms them into large, curved black scimitars with red tassels. The Shikai imposes reality-altering children's games governed by the sword's mood: Takaoni grants advantage to the higher-positioned combatant; Bushōgoma generates spinning top-like wind blades; Kageoni allows shadow traversal and penalizes stepping on shadows; Kageokuri creates shadow afterimages; Irooni permits cutting only a declared color, increasing damage for brighter hues—this technique defeated Starrk. These games risk harming allies. His Bankai, Katen Kyōkotsu: Karamatsu Shinjū (Bones of Heavenly Blooming Madness: Withering Pine Lovers' Suicide), manifested against Lille Barro. Activated by touching sword tips to the ground, it envelops a vast area in a kabuki theater motif with golden skies and pine tree shadows. The Bankai forces a tragic four-act play where the opponent becomes the "regretful man" and Shunsui's Zanpakutō spirit, Katen—manifested as a violet-haired woman named Ohana wearing an indigo cape and matching eyepatch—plays the woman. Act One: Tameraikizu no Wakachiai shares wounds between combatants, preventing death but inflicting shared pain. Act Two: Zanki no Shitone causes terminal illness with bleeding black spots on the opponent. Act Three: Dangyō no Fuchi traps both in a spiritual pressure-draining sea until one drowns. The Final Act: Itokiribasami Chizome no Nodobue severs the opponent's neck with a thread, exploding their head. This Bankai counters even intangible abilities like Lille Barro's, ensuring mutual suffering until the opponent's demise. Following the deaths of Yamamoto, Unohana, and Ukitake, Shunsui Kyōraku assumes the mantle of the Gotei 13's strongest captain. His tactical brilliance, versatile Zanpakutō abilities, and leadership during the Thousand-Year Blood War solidify this status.