Grantz, Ilforte

イールフォルト・グランツ

I. History
Ilforte was a Gillian-class Menos, existing years before Aizen took control of Las Noches and reached Hueco Mundo with the Hōgyoku. Ilforte was part of the group of advanced Gillians led by Shawlong Kuufang and trained by Edorad Leonnes, Nakim, and D-Roy. Besides himself, Ilforte formed a partnership to devour as many Hollows as possible to advance to the Menos Grande class and to avoid descending into a simple evolutionary scale of unwise Gillians.
After a while, they found a powerful Adjuchas called Grimmjow Jaggerjack, shaped like a panther, who achieved wounding D-Roy before D-Roy could even attack. Shawlong, as leader, knelt before Grimmjow (followed by all others) and requested him to be their king, stating that under his leadership they would achieve becoming the most powerful class of Less, the Vasto Lorde.
After some time hunting and preying on Hollows, Ilforte and the others realized that their development had stopped after eating more than 3,000 Hollows. All realized this; Ilforte noted that after the 1,000th Hollow, power ceased to increase, except for Grimmjow, who did not seem ready to leave and was disdained by cowards. Shawlong then asked if they should eat to halt its development and thus avoid retreat in the evolutionary scale. Grimmjow agreed.
II. First Appearance in Bleach
Ilforte Grantz is a sarcastic, effeminate Arrancar with long blond hair. What remains of his Hollow mask is on the top of his head and looks like a broken helmet. He commonly refers to other characters as "brother" when speaking. He was the older brother of Szayelaporro Granz, the 8th Espada. Ilforte is fairly powerful for his rank, able to fight off Renji Abarai's Bankai (at 20% power) without releasing his Zanpakutō. In contrast, however, he is little match for the surprisingly strong Ururu Tsumugiya in his normal state, but easily dispatches her once he releases his Zanpakutō. He is eventually killed by Renji, who notes that if Ilforte hadn't been distracted, he might have been able to defeat him.
III. His Zanpakutō
Ilforte's Zanpakutō is named Del Toro (Spanish for "of the bull," Japanese for "pale-horned prince") and is released by the phrase "skewer." When Del Toro is released, Ilforte's upper body enlarges and is covered in bull-like armor, while his mask seems to completely regenerate, giving him horns. In this form, he walks on four legs and uses his horns to skewer opponents.