Zaraki - History

History

Prior to entering the Soul Reaper ranks, Zaraki resided in District 80, the most lawless district surrounding Soul Society. He became very proficient with swordsmanship, or at least fighting, while he was there, and eventually adopted the district's name, "Zaraki", as his surname. After leaving the district he found a small girl who, despite her young age, did not fear his sword. Since she had no name, he named her Yachiru (やちる) in remembrance of the only person he ever admired, the current captain of the 4th division and the first Kenpachi, Yachiru "Retsu" Unohana. At the same time he also took on a name for himself: Kenpachi, the title bestowed upon the strongest swordsman, the one who has killed the most, and a tradition amongst captains of the 11th Division. Yachiru became inseparable from Zaraki from that point further, following him wherever he went, usually clinging to his back.

After some time had passed, Zaraki found his way into Soul Society and killed the previous captain of the 11th Division, thus gaining his seat in the Gotei 13. As a new captain, Zaraki was begrudgingly forced to learn Kendo, something he hated because it personified his sword, though he did agree on one point: a blade swung with both arms is more powerful than with one arm. As such he makes it a point to avoid using it in battle in order to prolong the experience of fighting as long as possible.

In an interview, Tite Kubo noted that he would like to go into more depth about Zaraki.