Bleach stars shonen standout Ichigo Kurosaki, who has a wealth of powers at his command. With his Zanpakuto, Zangetsu, he challenged Soul Society to overturn Rukia's unfair execution, and proved himself in battle against Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, her brother. Byakuya had fought stubbornly to defend the law, but after that moment, Byakuya began to fight for the people who were important to him, which lent him new strength.
Meanwhile, the Captain of squad 10 is the young Toshiro Hitsugaya, a child prodigy who had already achieved his own Bankai, and has yet to reach his full potential. In a theoretical battle between these two Soul Reaper greats, Toshiro would need all of his raw talent and more to overcome Byakuya's experience and discipline.
Byakuya Kuchiki's Powers & Abilities
Captain Kuchiki has a flexible set of moves, and can fight effectively at close range and at a distance. To begin with, he wields a variety of Kido spells, being able to fire mid-level Kido without even needing the incantation. Often, he uses Riku Jokoro, or "Six-Rod Light Restraint," to lock his enemy in place and leave them vulnerable. He can also create a tall, wide, thin barrier called Danku, and on the offensive, Byakuya can fire a beam of destructive white lightning called Byakurai.
As for swords, Captain Kuchiki wields Senbonzakura, a beautiful but deadly Zanpakuto. Its Shikai dissolves the blade into a thousand petal-like blade fragments that can slice the opponent from hundreds of directions at once, making it difficult to block. The Bankai form is Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, which is the Shikai on a much larger scale. Millions of petal-blades swarm in the air and chase the opponent, then slice and crush them with overwhelming force, as they did in Byakuya's battle against the Espada Zommari Rureaux. Byakuya can also create a battle arena out of energy-like Zanpakuto, trapping his opponent inside with him while he focuses all energy on offense. He can even use his final form, Shukei: Hakuteiken, which gives Byakuya white wings and a powerful white sword that can strike down any foe.
Finally, Byakuya has a great deal of experience and training backing him up, including the honing of his Flash Step to an incredible degree, not to mention martial arts. Only Yoruichi Shihoin, "the Goddess of Flash," could outmaneuver him with that move.
Toshiro Hitsugaya's Powers & Abilities
The young Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya wields a Zanpakuto called Hyorinmaru, and its Shikai can form an icy dragon that rushes at the opponent for a powerful strike. Hyorinmaru can also freeze the opponent solid from a distance, and its Bankai mode is even more devastating. Toshiro, despite his youth, wields a mighty Bankai known as Daiguren Hyorinmaru, which grants him icy wings and an even larger ice dragon avatar that fights for him. He can rush his opponent and glide on his wings, then strike them down personally. Bankai mode grants Toshiro a few extra moves, such as an ice clone, which will take a blow for Toshiro and save him from the enemy's attack. Or, he can freeze his enemy solid and shatter that ice, tearing the enemy apart in the process.
Toshiro has a few finishing moves up his sleeve, too, like Sennen Hyoro, or "Thousand-Year Ice Prison." He will form a series of huge ice pillars, then crush the enemy inside that formation. However, it takes time to form those pillars and use them. Hyoten Hyakkaso will open a hole in the clouds and usher in snowfall, which will then freeze on the opponent and trap them in an array of ice flowers. Toshiro claims that 100 of these ice flowers are enough to kill just about anyone.
Otherwise, Toshiro is a capable fighter with an ordinary sword, being a master of the blade despite his age, and can perform the flash step as well. His endurance and stamina are somewhat low, though. He also doesn't the level of experience most of his peers do.
Byakuya vs. Toshiro - Who Would Win?
In this what-if, Byakuya and Toshiro begin their fight blade to blade, each gauging the other's abilities and getting a sense for their battle strategy. Toshiro has more raw talent, but less experienced, and Byakuya can use that against his opponent. That, on top of his superior flash step, will allow Byakuya to outmaneuver Toshiro and land a few glancing blows. Byakuya might throw some Kido in there too, but Toshiro has the reflexes to avoid getting hit with Byakurai.
The escalating battle calls for Shikai mode, and Byakuya has a slight advantage here, too. His petal-blades can outmaneuver Toshiro's ice-based attacks, and Byakuya's flash step will keep him clear of Toshiro's return fire. Bit by bit, Byakuya will keep landing blows on Toshiro, which will cause Toshiro to trigger his Bankai. Taking flight, Toshiro's charge attacks are too strong for Senbonzakura's Shikai to deflect. So, Byakuya will use his own Bankai and resume the offensive. He can shatter Toshiro's ice with his deadly techniques, and before Toshiro can muster his finishing blows, Byakuya can use Riku Jokoro to lock Toshiro in place, then finish him with a final, all-out assault.
