A Substitute Shinigami is a human who became Shinigami by obtaining another Shinigami’s power, or by going through a much harder and riskier process to transform him/herself into one.
In order to be able to fight as a Shinigami, he has to leave his body and get into soul state, which can only be by use of a Gokon Tekkō or Soul Candy. In the former case, his body needs to be taken care of until he finishes his job and re-enters it.
If a Substitute Shinigami appears, Soul Society gives that Shinigami a special badge which they use to monitor and restrict the Substitute. However, the Substitute is told that it is a license which is given to Substitutes that prove beneficial to Soul Society to allow them to do their work and identify them as a Substitute. The badge alerts the user if Hollows are nearby via an alarm sound which can only be heard by the owner and the item itself is only visible to other spiritually aware beings. The Badge can also allow the soul to leave the body.
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