moon rising

Obviously, Byakuya's rank in Soul Society is that of a Captain in the Gotei 13. Aside from running the Sixth Division, he is also the head of one of the four main noble families, and presumedly, the Kuchiki clan is the most prominent. That ranks him just below the unseen emperor, in other words, so Byakuya's pretty far up there.

scratch the sky

Byakuya's zanpakutou (literally soul cutting sword) is named Senbonzakura (literally 1000 Cherry Blossoms). It looks just like an ordinary sword, save for its hand guard (a dull gold color) is nearly not there. It also has a faint pink-lavender hilt wrap and has a white sheath. Senbonzakura is also recognized as a kidou type zanpakutou. Its initial release is triggered by the phrase, "Chire (scatter!), Senbonzakura." At this point the blade dissolves and scatters into thousands of tiny blades that look like cherry blossoms because of the way the light shines on them. These petals can pierce the opponent, heavily wounding and incapacitating them completely with the elegant sight.

Senbonzakura's bankai is called Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (literally Vibrant display of the thousand cherry blossoms), which in its initial state is merely an amplified version of his shikai. Byakuya drops his sword to the ground where it sinks through a white portal and two rows of giant blades then rise up from the ground behind him. These then scatter into millions of tiny blades that appear as glowing petals, drastically higher in number than in the initial release, all controlled by Byakuya.

The second form of Senbonzakura's bankai is called Senkei Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (senkei means scene of a massacre). Senkei unites the scattered petals into complete swords that form four rows around Byakuya and his opponent and seem to enclose them within a black dome. The swords do not have to attack all at once; Byakuya can call single blades down and into his hands one by one as needed. He can, however, use all the blades at once in one immensely powerful strike. This form dramatically increases attacking power by sacrificing all of the defensive power it had in the previous form. It does not affect Byakuya's speed.

Senbonzakura's final form is called shuukei (literally final scene). It compresses all of the swords into a single blade, further enhancing his power. This is called hakuteiken (white imperial sword). In this form, Byakuya grows pure white wings and a halo-like circle in the back, made of spiritual power. The sword also gains a pure white aura, and in the anime, dragon-like beings sprout out of Senbonzakura to create the wings. Obviously, Byakuya has a good relationship with his zanpakutou - one must, with the level of skill he has achieved. It is also my opinion Senbonzakura has a good sense of humor; notice the cherry blossoms whenever Byakuya arrives? The sword knows his cliches about bishonen well.