Tetsuzaemon Iba

Iba has a distinctive hair cut and wears black sunglasses with his standard Shinigami uniform. He collects sunglasses, his main source being "Silver Dragonfly Glasses Store," the same shop where fellow lieutenant Renji Abarai purchases his goggles. He also smokes and carries his Zanpakutō as a small blade inside his uniform. He has a large tattoo on his back consisting of a cat on fire and the kanji shōfuku (inviting luck). These features, plus his informal style of speech, are all strongly reminiscent of a typical yakuza.

Iba is very loyal to his captain, though in the week after Kaname Tōsen's betrayal he spent a lot of time at the Eleventh Division headquarters in order to give his captain some space. Preceding their fight, Ikkaku mentions that Iba has become cockier since he left the Eleventh Division to become a lieutenant. Iba also seems to have recurring stomach problems, which he notes with shame on a few occasions. He and Ikkaku Madarame seem to have something of a working relationship, though it consists mainly of them dueling, drinking sake, then dueling again to see who has to get more.

Not much is known about Iba's Zanpakutō, strength, or general personality. Iba is seen frequently in the company of the other male lieutenants and seated shinigami. He seems to share their pension for perverted things related to the female Shinigami of the Gotei 13. He is also both extremely loyal and decisive, as seen when the Arrancar, Pō sent his captain flying right before unleashing his Zanpakutō, turning into a colossal creature. With his captain briefly sent out of the battlefield, Iba grabbed the injured Ikkaku (his former squad mate) and ran, knowing that even if Ikkaku was in primed shape and the two of them were to take on Pō's released state at the same time, they would never have a chance to survive against someone with immense power to briefly overwhelm a Shinigami captain. His loyalty to both his former and current squads became visible when he refused to abandon Ikkaku just as Pō was about to attack the two of them, ignoring the former's protests and reasoning that Iba has a better chance of surviving Pō's attack if Iba would just let him be; not soon after that when Komamura rise up again to counter the Arrancar's attack, and then telling Iba to not stray by his captain's side, to which Iba immediately complied.

Iba seems to enjoy fighting, like the other members of the 11th division, but unlike many of them, puts his loyalty to his division above his desire to fight, and is not above retreating from battle.