10 strongest lieutenants in Bleach, ranked based on strength
Bleach's Gotei 13 captains usually command the respect of the entirety of Soul Society, but their lieutenants aren't pushovers by any means. It was Renji who pushed Ichigo to exhaustion in the first quarter of the Soul Society arc, after all.
This list will chronicle the 10 strongest lieutenants in Bleach, with a specific focus on current lieutenants. As the post-timeskip era has shown, the lieutenants have grown as much as the captains have, so it's foolhardy not to rank them.
Note: This article will contain spoilers for Bleach. The article is likewise just the author's opinion.
10 of the strongest current Bleach Lieutenants, ranked based on their strength
10) Akon
The only advantage Akon his mind and his intellect, which can help him when push comes to shove. Akon mostly stuck to the background, giving other Shinigami intelligence reports regarding threats, invasions, Hollows, and providing power enhancing Gegai to other Shinigami.
It wasn't until Bleach's Thousand Year Blood War arc that he got a chance a to shine, by reopening a barrier that held Ichigo from fighting. It gave the shot that Ichigo needed, but Akon passed out afterward and had to be treated for a while.
His signature technique is his Róng, making a strong acid by sprinkling liquid from a vial into a larger pool of a different liquid and reciting the number string 33445588812366. It was strong enough to melt a massive Hollow known as a Jigoku no Gaki.
9) Marechiyo Omaeda
A rather rich and heavyset Lieutenant, Marechiyo Omaeda would be considered Bleach's version of Guy Gardner from DC Comics: arrogant and cowardly. He uses this to his advantage, as it leads to people underestimating him and his actual strength.
The thing is, he got knocked out by Ichigo Kurosaki in two punches during Bleach's Soul Society Arc, but faired better against Nirgge Parduoc the 27th Arranac in Bleach's Fake Karakura Town Arc. His size belies great speed with Shunpo, able to outrun BG9, and his skills with his Zanpakuto make him capable of fighting on equal ground with lieutenant-level Arranac.
One of his weaknesses is that he's not good with Kidō, meaning casting spells is his bane. He's also rather cowardly unless his family is threatened. His Zanpakuto, Gegetsuburi, is likewise more offensive than defensive and can be easily cracked, and even shattered, by stronger opponents such as Ichigo.
8) Atau Rindō
One of the newer lieutenants during Bleach's Echoing Jaws of Hell arc, Atau is polite and fond of animals to the point where he temporarily shirks his duty to spend time with the wildlife in the gardens of the Seventh Division barracks. He is also deaf, communicates entirely in sign language, and is trained to read lips.
Despite the brevity of his appearance, he boasts high amounts of spiritual power and his Shikai's special ability gives him the ability to summon different animals to attack by inscribing release commands on the blade.
The one the audience sees in the Bleach's NO BREATHES FROM HELL manga chapter is a swarm of hawks that rapidly consume a Jigoku no Gaki in seconds. Because not much else is known about him, he's low on the list for this reason.
7) Hinomori Momo
Despite Hinomori's appearance and general good nature, she's no slouch in the power department. She's considered an expert with Kido, can use multiple spells at once, is an expert swordsman and nearly took out three of the Fracción with a powerful combined net technique.
She also subdued quite a few of the Zanpakuto spirits during the rebellion, catching them all in a Kido net. Hinomori is also a great tactician, using what she lacks in direct battle for combination attacks and feats, especially with her Zanpakuto being able to stop or at least slow a Cero blast.
The problem with her is that, despite growing as a person and a fighter, she hasn't had any wins on her own, preferring mostly to play the support role. This isn't bad at all, mind, it just makes for a rather frustrating experience as she does always try to help.
6) Mashiro Kuna
A member of the Visored, a group that can use Hollow masks to boost themselves, Mashiro is the co-lieutenant of the 9th division. She's unique for dressing like a super sentai character and having enhanced strength.
During the Fake Karakura town arc, she was able to destroy large Hollows with just a kick. She also stunned the Wonderweiss, forcing it to level up in order to withstand her blows and techniques. She got too overconfient in thinking it was defeated, which is what led to her downfall.
The other thing is that once the Hollow mask broke, she was handily defeated by the Wonderweiss and Kensei had to bail her out. She thankfully lived and was still able to aid everyone, but her confidence never faltered from this.
5) Izuru Kira
Kira accelerated at the Shinigami Academy against all others using Hado, and is condiered Renji's friend. He was top of his class in the academy and defended everyone from a Hollow attack after their training session was interrupted. After being saved by Aizen, he became a rather useful puppet.
But after Aizen's betrayal and a slew of other things, he eventually got his head on straight and fought alongside everyone. One of his achievements was in the New Captain Shūsuke Amagai arc when he fought and defeated his former partner.
He's defeated Arrancar, bested more than a few Hollows, and even survived an attack that devastated the land. His Zapakuto/Shikai ability is to increase the weight of any object it strikes. It even worked against the massive Jigoku no Gaki.
4) Shūhei Hisagi
Aside from being a drinker, Bleach's Hisagi isn't to be underestimated. He's very crafty as a swordsman, and despite being afraid of his Shikai, he's still good enough with his Zanpakuto to use it as a blade. He's fast enough with Shunpo to dodge multiple blasts, and is a proficient, unnarmed fighter with incredible strength.
His Shikai allows him to immobilize opponents with a chain, ensnaring and even strangling them. He fought a fraccion with Captain level spiritual power and defeated him without great effort and also helped defeat the Visored member Tosen.
He demonstrated great skill and intelligence against the fraccion in a fight where even the captains had to struggle to beat him. He is also able to incorporate mid-level kido in his fights, improving his versatility and lethality.
3) Ikkaku Madarame
Bleach's Ikkaku loves a good fight, and fighting against Ichigo during Bleach's Soul Society arc was one of them. Though he lost that fight, he never let himself be defeated afterward, especially considering his stubbornness in battle. That's a problem because he also drags fights out.
Regardless, he blocked the Eread Lions' final blow and defeated him at the loss of his Bankai. He was able to defeat a Jigoku no Gaki by cutting it's head off, and he's an expert swordsman at using misdrection, plus enhanced strength, and his Zanpakuto can heal as well as slay.
The problem is his Bankai is so powerful his Zanpakuto's edge gets brittle and his Shikai isn't very durable. As mentioned during the Eread Lions' fight, it shattered hard against him after being unleashed. It's also got a waning power problem as he uses too much of it.
2) Rangiku Matsumoto
Don't be fooled by her curvaceous appearance, Bleach's Rangiku is one of the more serious-minded and powerful of the Lieutenants. Rangiku can take on large groups with her skills with a blade, is able to use certain Kido spells without incantations, and she's got some well versed hand to hand.
She held back a massive Arrancars stomping foot with a hand, was able to fight off three of Espada's Fracción without breaking a sweat and took a direct hit from a tremendously large Hollow named Ayon that ripped through her right side and lived. Her Shikai transforms her sword into an ash cloud that can tear opponents asunder.
Ranhgiku may be a slacker and a dunk, but she does manipulate quite well as she manipulated the Third Espada's Fracción into lowering their guard. She managed to beat Izuru when he was under Aizen and Gin's manipulations, stopped the massive Nakeem in his tracks and finished him off, and plenty more.
1) Renji Abarai
Despite never having particularly high skills in Kido throughout Bleach, Renji Abarai makes up for it in melee combat. He was good enough to duel on par with Ikkaku's Shikai and hold his own against captain-level fighters. He's also one of the only leiutenants to achieve Bankai, is a Shunpo expert and has great spiritual energy that overpowered a captain level combatant that had trounced him handily earlier.
His enhanced strength allows him to toss people into the air, withstand punches from strong people and blow all of Szayelaporro's Fracción several yards away, despite their massive size. After training with the Royal Guard, Renji's strength increased to the point where he created a large crater by elbowing Mask De Masculine in the back of the head and stopping Star Satsujin Punch with just his bare hands.
He also took multiple swords to his body and kept going and his Zanpakuto has several Bankai techniques that he can use along with his extended sword Shikai. He also has the highest winning record of the lieutenants.
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