Leonard Burns

is a Third Generation Battalion Commander of Special Fire Force Company 1.

Appearance
Leonardo is a tall man with wavy blonde hair, with some of it being styled into a ponytail in the back. He has a bearded chin-strap and green-colored eyes, over one of which he wears a black eye-patch, which becomes enveloped in flames when Leonardo uses his Ignition Ability. Leonardo's outfit consists of a protective outer jacket, which he wears over his shoulders, a white collared shirt, dark-colored trousers and boots and a light-colored belt. His protective outer jacket is coated with blue lines and the buttons on it are in shape of cross-like symbols. Leonardo's outfit contain patches with "1" on them, to signify his affiliation to Special Fire Force Company 1.

Personality
Leonardo is a somewhat intimidating, but nice person, who is respected by his fellow team-mates. He values his recruits and is willing to save them from jeopardy. Leonardo has a secretive and stoic presence, which leads Shinra to believe that he is carrying within him a secret that he doesn't want others to know. He is generally calm, even in dire situations, and has a tendency to have his arms folded. When it comes to fighting, Leonardo has shown to have a very serious attitude, showing little to no facial expressions and being ruthless with his opponents, even when they severely lack in skill in comparison to Leonardo.

Abilities
Leonardo is a veteran, who has made a name for himself and his abilities. Burns' Ignition Ability is referred to as ’The Incarnation of Flames’. Instead of releasing the energy flowing through his body in the form of flames like other members of the Third Generation, Burns stores all of this energy inside his body and releases his energy as pure heat. With his Ignition Ability, Leonardo was able to push away the plasma on Arthur Boyle's Excalibur back at him and redirect the flames of Shinra's kicks by intercepting the kicks with his palms. Additionally, Burns is able to deal a heavy concussive blows to his opponents through the use of this intense heat, without touching them. Leonardo's sturdy body allows him to land from extraordinary heights without repercussions, withstand critical attacks without flinching, and his speed grants him the ability to react to and deflect enemy attacks with ease.

Background
At some point, Leonardo's right eye was burned from looking at the light of Hell. In Year 186, when the Kusakabe's house caught fire, Leonardo attended the scene fifteen minutes after it started with Onyango. As he entered and searched for Shinra's mother and baby brother, Burns encountered a Demon Infernal holding Shō. When the Infernal left the house, it began to collapse, leading to the brigade evacuating outside. Afterwards, Leonardo lied to Shinra about his family perishing in the fire, in an attempt to make the boy fear the flames to ultimately avoid him using his Ignition Ability and joining the Special Fire Force.

Introduction arc
Leonardo attends the Rookie Fire Soldier Games to support his brigade's new officer, where he is stumbled upon by Shinra. When the boy introduces himself, Leonardo realizes that he knows who the boy is, and tells him that he has no time for idle chit-chat. Shinra attempts to catch up to him, asking if he remembers an incident twelve years prior, but Leonardo replies that he doesn't and advises him to go get prepared for the tournament, which leads Shinra to believe that the man is hiding something from him. When the building, the tournament was held in, catches fire, Leonardo rescues his recruits and later thanks Shinra for helping her out. Afterwards, he asks for an explanation on what happened inside the building, as the tournament gets halted.

VS. 1st Special Fire Brigade arc
After the scuffle between Special Fire Force Companies 5 and 8, Karim Fulham, Rekka Hoshimiya and Foien Li are approached by Leonardo and together they discuss the event. When trainees from the 2nd, 5th and 8th Brigades arrive at the 1st Special Fire Fighting Cathedral, Leonardo directs their training regiment, dictating the fights. Later, Leonardo fights Arthur and makes quick work of him, putting out his Excalibur's plasma by bending it back at him. Shinra then jumps in to fight him, attempting to kick him with his Ignition Ability, but Leonardo manages to intercept all of the Fire Soldier's kicks with his palms. When Shinra manages to hit Leonardo's stomach, the Battalion Commander, without flinching, uses it as an opportunity to inflict a heavy blow to Shinra without touching him, which ends the fight in his favour and finishes the combat training of the trainees. Leonardo and his brigade later confront and defeat giant Infernal in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo.

Preacher Pursuit arc
Leonardo and Karim, alongside the seven Battalion Commanders and Fire Soldiers of the Special Fire Forces, attends a meeting with Raffles III, where Adolla Burst and the issues involving the Human Body Ignition Phenomenon are brought up.

Netherworld arc
Burns is seen alongside the other members of Company 1. He apologises to Captain Onyango for interrupting his retirement after the Hoshimiya incident. Onyango dismisses his concerns and instead asks Burns if his right eye was feeling given the frequency of the small earthquakes recently, Burns simply replies he didn't want Shinra to come to Company 1.

Fifth Pillar arc
Within Company 1's church, Leonardo and Onyango discuss Company 8 moving against the Preacher. The priest asks if their brigade will cooperate with them, which Leonardo replies with telling him there's not much more Company 1 can do other than what Tamaki and Karim are already doing.