VS.
What sorcery is this? We've just cracked the ice. Way to be green bro. These puns are dragging on. What's the attraction behind this? If you haven't realized by now, the bolded words are hints of our competitor's powers. Magic vs. Ice is quite an odd matchup, but both are deceptive, intelligent, & have an assortment of attacks. You happen to cross paths with them and you're in for a treat ~ bashing green skulls & blistering cold ice blasts. One is a bald-headed looking Mofo who probably had his d*ck circumcised and the other has a full head of white hair who most likely tapped every 18yr old at a titty bar. Today's Round is between MK's Quan Chi and Bleach's Toshiro Hitsugaya. The current Scoreboard for BK Month is 8-5 with Bleach in the lead. The following will be incorporated: Backstory/Role in Story, Powers/Abilities, & Verdict (By MechG).
Backstory/Role in Story (Toshiro Hitsugaya)
Toshiro Hitsugaya is a pivotal character in Tite Kubo's Bleach and is one of the main allies of our protagonists, Ichigo Kurosaki. However, way before Hitsugaya was part of the 10th division, he was spending time with childhood friend Momo Hinamori & his grandmother. Sometime after Momo Hinamori left to join the Gotei 13 in pursuit of serving under Aizen Sousuke, Toshiro's powers awakened. He met, in his youth, Rangiku Matsumoto, who noticed that the boy needed to join the Gotei 13 to control & harness his power of Hyorinmaru (Ice Ring) or else his own power will end up ending his grandmother's life. Hoping to learn the truth behind Hyorinmaru, Hitsugaya enlists in the Gotei 13 and becomes part of the 10th division starting off as 3rd Seat and making his way up to Captain. Coincidentally, the very person who told him to enlist in the Gotei 13, Rangiku Matsumoto, is his lieutenant, and his previous superior was Isshin Shiba, Ichigo's father. Often, Hitsugaya & Rangiku would bicker about, much like a older sister and younger brother. Isshin, the father-figure & Captain of the 10th division, sensed that something was amiss with the deaths and disappearances of Shinigami in Naruki City and went forth in pursuit of this tragedy, leaving Hitsugaya & Rangiku behind due to their inexperience and wanting to protect them from harm's way. Sometime after Isshin disappears during that fateful day, Toshiro becomes the next Captain of the 10th division with Rangiku Matsumoto, his former superior, now his Lieutenant. [It is also noted that during his training and taking classes at Shin'o Academy, he befriended a man names Sojiro Kusaka, who, coincidentally, possessed Hyorinmaru. The two had to battle it out since it was unheard of of two of the same Zanpaktou appearing together and wielded by multiple people. Hitsugaya ended up the victor, which led Sojiro Kusaka to be killed right before his eyes ~ his friend now wanting to extract vengeance against the very people who put him to death after his fateful fight against the true wielder of Hyorinmaru, Toshiro Hitsugaya] The last component of Hitsugaya's backstory is based off the 2nd Bleach Movie - Diamond Dust Rebellion
Hitsugaya makes his first appearance when then 1st Division Captain, Genryusai Shigeukuni Yamamoto, summons them about the invading Ryoka (Ichigo, Orihime, Uryu, Chad, & Ganju). It is during this time where Hitsugaya suspects something is amiss with former Captains of the 3rd and 5th divisions ~ Gin Ichimaru & Aizen Sousuke. It wouldn't be long before Aizen Sousuke is "dead" and his lieutenant, Momo Hinamori, is in complete shock and horror at the death of her Captain & admirer. Momo begins to strike down the 3rd Division, Gin & Kira, as she presumes it was Gin's doing. Just as Momo & Kira fight out of a misunderstanding surrounding Aizen's death, Toshiro intervenes and imprisons them. Hitsugaya, like Momo, believes this was Gin's doing since it appears that the two have a history together and it unaffected by a Captain's death. By trying to put the pieces together surrounding Aizen's death, Hitsugaya firmly believes it was Gin's doing and challenges him Captain-to-Captain. However, just as the two were about to fight, Momo Hinamori intervenes and points her blade at Hitsugaya, her childhood friend and "brother." Hitsugaya, not wanting to put Hinamori in harm's way, easily knocks her out only to have his confrontation with Gin, who proves to be quite a handful. Sometime after this fight, Hitsugaya & Rangiku notice the corpses surrounding the Central 46; wanting to help resolve stopping Rukia's execution from taking place and forewarning Gin Ichimaru's possible involvement. However, Kira baits Hitsugaya into giving chase as Momo Hinamori stumbles across the Central 46 where she is met by Gin. She follows Gin and sees a very-much-alive Aizen Sousuke, who murders her coldly before Hitsugaya himself discovers this. Finally seeing that Aizen's death was planned and Gin & Kaname were pawns in his schemes, Hitsugaya personally goes rampant on the 2 Captains not only for betraying the Gotei 13, but for nearly killing Momo Hinamori and using Kira as their pawn, Hitsugaya is brutally defeated by Aizen, but is seen later recovered and awaiting the fate of Momo Hinamori. Sometime later, Hitsugaya, along with Rangiku, Renji, Ikkaku, & Yumichika, go to Karakura Town in their Gigai bodies to forewarn Ichigo of Aizen's growing army of Arrancars and of the 10 Espada who are said to be just as strong/stronger than Captain-class Shinigami. Hoping to preserve Karakura Town, Hitsugaya's team & Ichigo are o the look-out of potential threats and it wouldn't be long before 6th Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, and his fraccion, appear wanting to challenge anyone who has spiritual power. Hitsugaya & Rangiku challenge Shawlong & Nakeem and it seems that these Arrancars prove to be a handful. However, a limiter is put on Hitsugaya's group, which allows Hitsugaya to easily deliver the final blow against Shawlong, who, at first, was doing considerable damage despite being a Fraccion. After debriefing with Captain Yamamoto with the enemy's power and plan, Hitsugaya & Hinamori finally have their talk on how things are and a question comes to boggle Hitsugaya's conscious - Is he going to kill Captain Aizen? This greatly upsets Hitsugaya to no end because his childhood friend's life is at stake and Hitsugaya and Aizen once were acquaintances. Hitsugaya and his group would find trouble once more as Luppi Antenor, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Yammy Llargo, and Wonderweiss Margera invading Karakura Town in hopes to cause more damage (later revealed as bait to kidnaa Orihime for her powers). Upon hearing of Orihime's "defection" and Aizen's place in this, Captain Yamamoto orders Hitsugaya's group to return to Gotei 13 to prepare for the upcoming war. During the war, Hitsugaya and the Gotei 13 face off against the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Espada with Hitsugaya personally facing the 3rd Espada, Tier Harribel. In a battle of Ice & Water, it seemed as if they were evenly matched up until Hitsugaya used Hyoten Hyakkaso (Frozen Heaven Hundred Flower Funeral) where anything the ice touched froze anything in its path (in this case Harribel). However, Wonderweiss appears and breaks the Ice confining Harribel and Hitsugaya has to now battle alongside the incoming Visored, who bear a grudge against Aizen. As Tier Harribel is betrayed and cut down by her superior, Aizen Sousuke, Hitsugaya challenges him alongside the Shinigami & Visored. With some teamwork, it seemed as if this was it ~ Hitsugaya impaled Aizen from behind. However, it was revealed that Hitsugaya impaled Hinamori, sending him into a furious rage. Soon after, everyone fell one by one and 10 days after Aizen's confinement, Hitsugaya relentlessly trains ~ wanting to become stronger as he was unable to protect Hinamori despite her surviving. During the Fullbringer Arc (time-skip), Hitsugaya appears once more with a new look and helps Ichigo fight the Fullbringers, challenging Yukio. Yukio didn't prove to be much for Hitsugaya as he easily defeats him and forewarns Ichigo of Ginjo Kugo's place as the 1st Substitute Shinigami. He, alongside Byakuya, Kenpachi, Ikkaku, Renji, & Rukia, leave Ichigo to find Ginjo one-on-one. Hitsugaya, just as we first met him, is in a Captain's meeting forewarning them of the Wandenreich's invasion. Just as the Captains were facing this new menace (Thousand Year Blood War Arc), Hitsugaya, along with other Shinigami, had their Bankai stolen from them (Cang Du stole Hitsugaya's Bankai). This puts the Shinigami at a complete disadvantage as Hitsugaya was unable to summon Daiguren Hyorinmaru (Grand Crimson Lotus Ice Ring). Afterwards, he relentlessly trains with a handicap and hopes to still be an asset during the war. Hitsugaya & Rangiku then face-off against Bazz-B, only to be interrupted by Cang Du, the man who originally stole his Bankai. Kisuke Urahara & Mayuri Kurotsuchi initially find a way for the Shinigami to retrieve their Bankai and Hitsugaya ends up freezing Cang Du before any more damage can be done. It is noted that they are currently active and are weak due to Bazz-B's attacks. However, it is soon discovered that Giselle has made Hitsugaya a zombie and he is now forced to fight Mayuri & his Arrancars.
Backstory/Role in Story (Quan Chi)
Not much is known
about Quan Chi’s origin, but it is said that he was more of a free roamer,
journeying throughout realms without being spotted by the Elder Gods and
mastering powerful sorcery as he visited one realm after another. While
traveling to the Netherealm, he encountered Shinnok bearing eternal suffering
from the realm’s ruler, Lucifer. Quan Chi proposed a ploy with the fallen Elder
God to overthrow Lucifer so that Shinnok can rule the Netherealm and Quan Chi
himself, will serve as his right hand man. The two managed to defeat Lucifer
and Shinnok bestowed Quan Chi with immense power as a sign of gratitude. Some
years later, Quan Chi would come in contact with fellow sorcerer Shang Tsung.
Tsung gave Quan Chi the whereabouts of Shinnok’s lost amulet after consuming
the Great Kung Lao’s soul. Shang Tsung would give the Map of Elements leading
to the Temple of Elements to Quan Chi in order to retrieve the amulet in
exchange for another favor: he and Shinnok would help revive Shao Kahn’s queen,
Sindel so that Kahn can break the sacred rules of Mortal Kombat and invade
Earthrealm. Before that would happen, Quan Chi ventured into the Lin Kuei
hideout during MK Mythologies and
proposed a deal with the Grandmaster to kill off their opposing clan, the
Shirai Ryu in exchange for one of their warriors. Bi-Han, the original Sub-Zero
volunteered and helped the sorcerer break through the Temple of Elements one by
one to reclaim Shinnok’s amulet. Unknown to Shinnok, Quan Chi created a duplicate
so he can keep the real one to himself. Quan Chi was challenged by Bi-Han after
the thunder god, Raiden sent him to the Netherealm to reclaim the amulet. He
was temporarily defeated by the Lin Kuei ninja with the help of the Netherealm
demon, Sareena.
Quan Chi and Shinnok
would honor their ordeal by bringing Sindel back from the dead in Earthrealm,
allowing Shao Kahn to break through the dimensional gates and launch a full
scale invasion on the realm. However, Shao Kahn’s invasion would eventually be
thwarted by the Forces of Light. During Shinnok’s invasion of the realms, Quan
Chi would successfully manipulate Scorpion’s mind to convince him that the
younger Sub-Zero, Kuai Liang was the murderer of his Shirai Ryu clan. As
Scorpion was about to finish Sub-Zero off, Quan Chi revealed that he was
responsible for the Shirai Ryu’s demise and attempted to banish Scorpion back
to the Netherealm. However, Scorpion would get his hands on the sorcerer,
taking him to the Netherealm. Quan Chi managed to escape Scorpion’s torture,
bribing fellow demons, Drahmin and Moloch to protect him. Quan Chi escaped to
Outworld and discovered the tomb of Onaga’s undefeated Army of the Dead. After
fighting Scorpion, Quan Chi encountered Shang Tsung and proposed a plan that he
would open a Soulnado to the Heavens and provide him with an infinite amount of
souls while he would use the souls to resurrect the Dragon King’s army. Shang
Tsung reluctantly agreed and the Deadly Alliance was formed. To pave way for
their domination of the realms, they killed off an incredibly weak Shao Kahn
and proceeded to Earthrealm to attack and kill Liu Kang by surprise. Their
dominance started taking full effect and Raiden’s Forces of Light were no match
for their combined might as they fell one by one. The thunder god challenged
both sorcerers to Mortal Kombat for one last ditch effort. Raiden fought
valiantly, but the sorcerers’ combined might overwhelmed the thunder god. With
Raiden’s defeat, Quan Chi and Shang Tsung’s lust for power and suspicion to one
another proved to be the better of them as both fought, ending the alliance.
Quan Chi emerged victorious, but his victory was short lived as Onaga appeared
from the shadows ready to kill those who stand in his way. Quan Chi tried to
fend off the Dragon King in an unlikely alliance with Shang Tsung and then
Raiden. However, the three weren’t able to break through Onaga’s invincibility
and Raiden’s sacrifice releasing a godlike energy blast had little effect on
Onaga. It was revealed Quan Chi survived the blast and returned to Shinnok’s
side in the Netherealm. Knowing that the realms were gaining too much power,
they helped form an unholy alliance, a league of evil of their own consisting
of Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, and even the Onaga himself in order to help reach
the top of Argus’ Pyramid and defeat the powerful Elemental, Blaze to gain
immense power, though it was obvious they wanted for themselves also. During
the Battle of Armageddon, Quan Chi fought against Jax and bested Kenshi in a
sword fight during the race to the top of Argus’ Pyramid before being thrown
off by Shang Tsung disguised as Ermac. In MK9,
Quan Chi was matching wits with Raiden to shift events to alternate the
timeline. This would prove to be successful as Earthrealm and Outworld became
weak as a result of Shao Kahn’s invasion and the Elder Gods intervening to stop
the Emperor. This would allow Shinnok to unleash his reign of terror on both realms.
Powers/Abilities (Toshiro Hitsugaya)
Toshiro Hitsugaya, being a Captain-class Shinigami, possesses incredible spiritual power, is a master swordsman, can use Bankai, Shunpo (Flash Step), Kido (Demon/Spirit Way), Hakuda (White Hits ~ Hand-to-Hand), and to top it all off - is a child prodigy, being the youngest person to graduate from Shin'o Academy within a year and shortly after becoming 10th Division Captain (Gin Ichimaru is also said to have been a child prodigy). Knowing this, Captain Hitsugaya is highly tactful, perceptive, and strategical in combat. As I said above, Hitsugaya's sword, Hyorinmaru, is a Ice-based Zanpaktou in which he has complete control of water & ice just from slashing his blade in any direction, forming water & ice Dragon. He has a limit, however, which, like a timer, is how long he can fully utilize Hyorinmaru. Some of his Shikai Techniques include Tenso Jurin (Subjugation of the Heavens) which allows Hitsugaya to take control of any surrounding water or weather in the vicinity, Shinku Taso Hyoheki (Multilayer Vacuum Ice Wall) which allows him to form a Ice wall + blades in conjunction with Rangiku's Haineko (Ash Cat), Ryojin Hyoheki (Woven-Ice Wall) which is pretty much a wall of ice as defense, Rokui Hyoketsujin (Six-Clothed Ice Binding-Array) which allows Hitsugaya to form a snowflake-shaped ice crystals in a pentagonal formation and, when stepped on, encases anyone in a large pillar of ice. In his BANKAI form, not only is his Zanpaktou more durable and stronger, but it also has the abilities to: regenerate, use Hyorinmaru's tail as a weapon, Zanhyo Ningyo (Lingering Ice Puppet) which is pretty much a Ice clone, create wings from Ice, Ryusenka (Dragon Hail Flower) which allows Hitsugaya to stab an object and that object is then encased in ice, Sennen Hyoro (Thousand Years' Ice Prison) which envelops anyone in a large LARGE pillar of Ice when forming Ice pillars that crush and come together, Hyoten Hyakkaso (Frozen Heaven Hundred Flower Funeral) which allows snow to come down from the ice and freezing anything it comes in contact with, Guncho Tsurara (Icicle Flock) which allows Hitsugaya to freeze water into ice and use that as a weapon, and finally Hyoryu Senbi (Ice Dragon Swirling Tail) which allows Hitsugaya to swing in a linear direction that creates overflowing ice that represents his blade in the form of a crescent.
Powers/Abilities (Quan Chi)
In terms of powers
and abilities, Quan Chi is an exceptionally powerful sorcerer and possessing
physical brute force based on his build as evident in his manhandling of Shang
Tsung during Deception. He has shown
that he can be proficient with weapons, such as the broadsword as he was able
to fend off the blind swordsman, Kenshi while dual wielding two broadswords in Armageddon. Quan Chi throughout the MK
series has proven to be a master manipulator, able to trigger events in
accordance his plan and he is able to bribe so many to do his bidding. In terms
of abilities as a sorcerer, he can cast powerful dark magic spells as well as
performing powerful necromancy. As a necromancer, Quan Chi can summon skulls or
skeletons that emit an eerie green glow of energy and can use the skeletons as
distraction or create a barrier of skulls for defense. He is able to fire green
energy skulls, which are powerful enough to almost knock an opponent back (his
energy skulls were able to weaken Raiden and minimally knock Onaga back). Due
to his dark magic prowess, Quan Chi is able to manipulate Soulnado, a tornado
containing a great amount of spiritual energy from trapped souls. Other
abilities in his dark magic include: shapeshifting, soul stealing, nullifying
other powers/abilities, able to create portals to travel across realms, and put
opponents into a trance, hypnotizing them under his control. Since Quan Chi is
currently in possession of Shinnok’s amulet, he is able to control any form of
magic and he shows he is good at duplicating as he created a fake version of
the amulet for Shinnok to keep while he retained the real one. He doesn’t have
any fatalities that go in accordance with his magical abilities but his two
notable fatalities are the Leg Beatdown, ripping an oppponent’s leg off and
beating him/her to death and the Neck Stretch, stretching an opponent’s neck
causing the opponent to lose balance and leading to instant death.
Verdict (By MechG)
And the winner is...
This is a vintage
battle between youth and experience and in between prodigies in their own
right. After careful evaluation between the two, I look at their involvement in
their respective stories and powers/abilities and between the two, Quan Chi
takes the cake. If you recall from Bleach Fantasy, I gave praise to Hitsugaya
being active and training hard to overcome all his weaknesses, not to mention,
he saw action early on in his storyline, but looking at Quan Chi’s story, it
reflects his character as being a cunning and deceitful man. Every character in
MK that come across him, they have that “don’t trust him” clause on Quan Chi
because even though it looks like he’s triggering all these events in favor of
Shinnok, he’s doing them on his own accord and he’s in possession of the real
copy of Shinnok’s amulet, making him even more dangerous to even the evil of
evils among men. He also doesn’t live up to his end of his bargain in his
ordeals, reflecting his deceptive prowess. Quan Chi is an opportunist because
he’s able to cash in at the right place at the right time throughout the MK
story arc. You could say that I’m also taking an empty plate over a full plate
because Quan Chi’s story is still shrouded with mystery whereas Hitsugaya has a
proven backstory and has a structured mindset on what he does to reflect his
role and character. Quan Chi just leaves you guessing on what his motives are
going to be, even though he’s primarily evil, he acts like a double agent
serving Shinnok and serving himself. In terms of powers/abilities, I still find
Hitsugaya’s powers/abilities to be impressive, but we all know dark magic and
necromancy are incredibly powerful and they are the primary abilities for almost
all villainous sorcerers in the pop culture of fantasy. I find Quan Chi’s
powers/abilities to be more balanced because he shows more than sorcery, he can
be physical and he’s skillfully impressive as a swordsman, not to mention as I
said before, he has Shinnok’s amulet in his possession so he’s able to
manipulate literally any form of magic and he can control Soulnado. Add that to
his incredible skillset of dark magic and necromancy and they are just about
enough to take down Hitsugaya and his manipulation of ice and water. ~ QUAN CHI
WINS
So who do you think won? Quan Chi from MK or Toshiro Hitsugaya from Bleach? Comment below and let us know. As always, look forward to BK Month (July 4th-August 25th) on Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays.Wednesday's Round (15) will be handpicked and decided by MechG. Until then, you all stay classy now. Here's the current Scoreboard for BK Month:
1) Jax Briggs vs. Yasutora "Chad" Sado ~ MK (July 4th)
2) Jade vs. Yoruichi Shihoin ~ Bleach (July 7th)
3) Johnny Cage vs. Mask De Masculine ~ MK (July 9th)
4) Sonya Blade vs. Sui-Feng ~ Bleach (July 11th)
5) Kenshi vs. Byakuya Kuchiki ~ Bleach (July 14th)
6) Mileena vs. Bambietta Basterbine ~ Bleach (July 16)
7) Kung Lao vs. Uryu Ishida ~ Bleach (July 18th)
8) Reptile vs. Sajin Komamura ~ Bleach (July 21st)
9) Sektor vs. Renji Abarai ~ Bleach (July 23rd)
10) Sindel vs. Tier Harribel ~ MK (July 25th)
11) Sub-Zero vs. Rukia Kuchiki ~ MK (July 28th)
12) Baraka vs. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez ~ Bleach (July 30th)
13) Fujin vs. Candice Catnipp ~ MK (August 1st)
14) Quan Chi vs. Toshiro Hitsugaya ~ MK (August 4th)
Bleach currently leads 8-6
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