TORU SAITO

Toru Saito was the first known member of the Saito family to enter the Soul Society. Toru was the only son of Shouta and Mao Saito. He was the father of Hitori Saito, grandfather to Arata and Ishizu Saito, and great-grandfather to Takehiko and Yuli Saito. Toru arrived in the Soul Society at the age of around 65 years old. During his time in the Human World he was a successful business owner, running the Saito family supermarket. Ownership of the market transferred to his son after his death.

Upon arriving in Sakahone District, Toru started Saito Store, a general goods shop in Sakahone that quickly became a staple for most of the Sakahone population. Toru was well known as a kind and fun store owner who would sometimes offer discounts to those in need. During the era of the New Head Captain, Toru was a critical member of the opposing faction, as he was responsible for convincing some members of the Gotei 13 to support Arata.

Despite having no training as a Shinigami, nor even being a particularly powerful soul, Toru still had some martial arts training from when he was younger, as well as some basic levels of understanding of Shinigami combat techniques. He was even able to develop his own Hakuda move that he taught to his grandson. Toru lived a total of 152 years in the Soul Society before his reincarnation.