Fanfic / The Vasto of White

One's fate is not decided by chance, but by choice. A hero will rise from the desolate sands of Hueco Mundo.

— Summary

The Vasto of White is a Bleach/Fate/stay night crossover by Parcasious.

The story begins with Hollows Coyote Starrk and Lilynette Gingerbuck, all by their lonesome in the vast desert of Hueco Mundo. A mysterious Vasto Lorde calling himself "Shirou" approaches them and, moved by Lilynette's tears, befriends them, though not before using a mysterious power to create a mass of swords made out of reishi. Before long, other Hollows gather around them for protection, feeding on the swords to sate their hunger and increase their power. Eventually, they crown Shirou as their leader, dubbing him "the Vasto of White." But Shirou's growing reputation quickly attracts unwelcome attention as well.

It stands, completed, at 82 chapters^note Technically 83, but one is just an announcement. A sequel is in the planning stages.

The author has also released A Different Kind of War, a Massive Multiplayer Crossover of many of their fics where the casts of each fic plus the cast of the original Fate/stay night are gathered and go to war in a Singularity.

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This fanfic contains examples of:

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• Achievements in Ignorance: Shirou is immune to Kyoka Suigetsu's "Complete Hypnosis", to the point of not even noticing when Aizen attempts to use it on him. Because of this, when he learns about her powers, he wonders why Aizen never tried to use it on him.
• Actually a Doombot: Shirou seemingly turns Yhwach into a pincushion, but it turns out to be Loyd Lloyd impersonating him.
• A-Cup Angst: Apacci and Mila Rose really bring the hammer down on Sung-Sun's lack of "development" in Chapter 53.
• Adaptational Badass:
  • Apacci, Mila Rose, Sung-Sun, and Grimmjow are all Vasto Lordes before being turned into Arrancar in this story, due to feeding on the reishi swords that Shirou creates.
    • Because of their increased power, all three girls are given ranks among the Espada instead of just being Harribel's subordinates; and when they create Ayon a second time, he is much more powerful, including being able to recover from being torn to shreds.
  • Karin has Shinigami powers in this story. She also mentions that her father would periodically attack her the way he does to Ichigo in canon, so she knows how to fight and can take a lot of pain. When Yoruichi and others train her, they mention her power level is similar to Ichigo and she is strong enough that it takes multiple Shinigami to restrain her.
  • Baraggan, thanks to a combination of Break the Haughty and Character Development, is the Primera^note 1st Espada.
  • Baraggan, Harribel, Nelliel, Grimmjow, and Starrk eventually achieve Segunda Etapa.
• Adaptational Expansion: Starrk and Lilynette's backstories are explored. They were originally a single, female Vasto Lorde named Coyote Gingerbuck whom, at some point, met and befriended Shirou before he became a Vasto Lorde, dubbing him "Starrk." Lilynette was originally a spiritually aware girl who also befriended them and eventually gave her reishi to Coyote after becoming a plus so she could recover after a fierce battle with Yamamoto. After Coyote and Shirou were separated during said battle, the latter tapped into his powers, created the first Garganta, thus allowing Hollows around the world—including Baraggan—to seek refuge from the Gotei 13 in a world Shirou had unknowingly played a role in creating.
• Adaptational Heroism: With some exceptions^note Namely Ulquiorra, Aaroniero, and Grimmjow, the Espada are essentially mercenaries that Aizen hires to aid in his war on Soul Society, with his turning them into Arrancar serving as their payment for their services. Beyond that, they could care less about his goals, or causing trouble in general, and Shirou's presence ensures that Aizen can't force them to do his bidding.
• Adaptational Superpower Change: Aaroniero doesn't seem to have his weakness to sunlight here.
• Adapted Out:
  • The joke where Ichigo and his friends assumed Yoruichi was male because her voice in cat form sounds like a man is removed. Ichigo and his friends somehow know Yoruichi is female though they thought she was a talking cat.
  • The plotline of Aizen faking his death doesn't happen here.
  • Orihime Inoue is never abducted. Instead, Ichigo is taken to Hueco Mundo (at the insistence of Lilynette) at the end of the Soul Society arc and is placed under Nelliel's tutelage.
  • Loly, Menoly, Zommari Rureaux, and Yammy Llargo do not appear.
  • The Xcution arc is skipped, so the Fullbringers do not appear.
• Affably Evil:
  • The worst of the Hollows in Shirou's army are this. While not Martial Pacifists like him or his lieutenants, they're still True Companions.
  • Aizen develops into this trope—at least towards Shirou. To everyone else, he's the exact opposite.
• Anti-Regeneration: Thanks to Silent's new power, "Zero - The Origin", her attacks absorb the target's energy, meaning their Healing Factor won't work.
• Ascended Extra: The Espada and their subordinates get more focus due to their affiliation with Shirou.
• Asshole Victim: The Royal Guard are all killed by Shirou. Considering that they're all sanctimonious, ungrateful backstabbers, their deaths are well-deserved.
• Assimilation Backfire: Aaroniero consumes some of Pernida's flesh in a power-up attempt, but Pernida starts taking him over and poisoning him.
• Awesomeness by Analysis:
  • While fighting one of Baraggan's lieutenants, Starrk deduces how the Hollow can avoid his attacks and quickly zeroes in on a weak spot, much to the Hollow's shock and horror.
  • Hitsugaya deduces that Shirou can make copies of Zanpakuto and use them against their original owner after the former uses Kenpachi Zaraki's Shikai.
  • Baraggan quickly figures out the nature of Kyoraku's ability and the rules of the games they are forced to play.
• Back from the Dead: Yhwach uses the Auswählen to sacrifice weaker Quincy and bring back ones who were more useful, including Lille Barro.
• Badass and Child Duo: Starrk and Lilynette.
• Badass Army: The Hollows loyal to Shirou are a force to be wary of, with even the weakest of them being high-level Adjuchas.
• Badass Boast:
  • Shirou gives ones as he prepares to activate his Resurrección:
  "Who am I? What am I? Don't you already know?! I have created over a thousand blades! I... Am the Vasto of White! Lord of Hueco Mundo, Sovereign of Hollows!"
  • Baraggan is prone to making boasts thanks to his Superpower Lottery. He can back them up, too:
  (To Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Hitsugaya) "Shikai, Bankai, whatever you Shingami call it. They all pale in comparison to my might. I will show you the power of a Fallen God-King."
  (To Quilge and Giselle) "You speak in the presence of the God-King of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan Louisenbairn. The sky itself once represented the roof of my domain, my kingdom stretching beyond the horizon! And you have stepped within it! You seek to fight against the God-King? Know. Your. Place."
  (To As Nodt) "Fear? Would a god know fear? I am desolation. I am ruin. I am despair. I am the sovereign of time and aging. The Primera Espada! The Grand Emperor of Skulls! Know of death found in the truest fear and speak of its name no longer."
  (To Gerard Valkyrie) "Fool, did you not know? Your version of a miracle is only a miracle if a chance exists. A scenario without a chance is not called a miracle, but a death sentence."
• Badass Creed: Shirou's Unlimited Blade Works aria.
  Shirou: I am the bone of my sword.
  Steel is my body and fire is my blood.
  I have created over a thousand blades.
  Unknown to life.
  Nor known to death.
  The path forward slowly reaches its end, the sharpest of swords dulling in the dusk.
  I have no regrets. An empty crucible.
  And so, as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works.
  • Shirou later changes it to Archer's original aria.
• Batman Grabs a Gun: Baraggan faces Ichibei and finds all his usual powers have no effect. He decides his only option is to use the sword Shirou gave him even though he swore never to use it.
• Battle in the Rain: Aizen creates a thunderstorm during Ayon's fight with Pernida, giving the chimera a boost since he's wielding the axe-sword of Heracles, a child of Zeus.
• Beat Them at Their Own Game: Shirou defeats Grimmjow by projecting Gae Bolg and channeling its inherent blood lust and berserk fighting style to match Grimmjow's own.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Askin Naak Le Vaar is quite ridiculous, and then he comes within a hair's breadth of killing Harribel.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • During the attack on the Soul Society, Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun summon Ayon by sacrificing one arm each. However, he is swiftly killed by Yamamoto, leaving his creators surrounded and exhausted. Sensing their plight, Shirou and Harribel cut a bloody swathe through the ranks of the Gotei 13—with more and more Hollows following them as they advance—until they reach the trio and rescue them.
  • Silent is the first one to locate the Vandenreich when they invade Hueco Mundo, but when she leaves to confront them, Baraggan is the only one to truly notice and follows her. He ends up bailing her out of danger when two of the Sternritter overpower and attempt to capture her.
  • When Gin and Rangiku are about to be killed by the Vandenreich, the former's Zanpakuto, Shinso, telepathically reaches out to Shirou and begs for the strength to manifest in the physical world in order to save them. Shirou obliges, and Shinso covers their escape.
  • When Mimihagi erupts out of Ukitake, draining his energy and removing his lungs, the Zanpakuto spirit of Excalibur inserts Avalon into him to heal him.
  • Szayelapporo Granz blasts Askin Naak Le Vaar before he can take off Harribel's head.
• Bittersweet Ending: Yhwach and the Royal Guard are gone, and a new balance is created, with the Gardens of Avalon serving as a paradise. Masaki and Uryuu start teaching Ichigo's school friends and Yuzu the Quincy techniques; Ichigo is at peace now that he has reunited with his mother and is still friends with Rukia and Renji; and Shirou retires to a temple in the human world with Coyote Gingerbuck, Harribel, Nelliel, and their respective Fraccione. However, all is not sunshine and rainbows: extremist factions amongst Hollows and Shinigami exist, Urahara and Yoruichi are on the run (with the former on death's door due to being exposed to Baraggan's Respira and having to devote energy to stop the rotting effect on his heart), and the western faction looks like its about to get involved...
• Blasting It Out of Their Hands: Lille Barro shoots the sword that Shirou gave to Baraggan to make him drop it, then shoots Baraggan in the hand when he tries to catch it. Later, Lille shoots the axe-sword of Heracles to make Ayon drop it.
• Break the Haughty:
  • Baraggan's god complex gets knocked down a few pegs after his defeat at Shirou's hands. It leads to some Character Development that ultimately makes him more powerful and dangerous by the time he becomes an Arrancar.
  • When Uryu Ishida sees how insanely powerful the Shinigami and Hollows are, he quickly loses his delusions of thinking he is superior just because he is a Quincy.
  • Baraggan proceeds to inflict this trope upon Quilge Opie and Giselle Gewelle, turning them from being supremely confident in an easy victory to running for their lives.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Starrk is one of the most powerful Hollows in existence, and is highly intelligent, to boot. The problem is he's, well, lazy. He doesn't like fights and prefers napping over anything else.
• Broken Pedestal: Kyoraku starts to become disillusioned with the Royal Guard when they start doing foolish things like needlessly antagonizing Shirou during a truce. The fact that they didn't help Yamamoto when he fought Yhwach further damages his opinion of them.
• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Shirou manages to kill Yhwach, but is so exhausted from the effort that he collapses, whereupon the Gotei 13 ambush him.
• Bucket Booby-Trap: Urahara gets bored and puts a chalk eraser above the door of his shop. It falls on Rukia when she opens it, getting her covered with chalk dust.
• Bullying a Dragon:
  • Quilge Opie does not take Baraggan seriously at all simply because he's a Hollow and tells the Arrancar bluntly and to his face that he will be crushed effortlessly. Baraggan is royally pissed, but he keeps his cool—a rarity for him—and just laughs... before proceeding to destroy the reishi prison Quilge attempted to trap him in with Respira. Quilge and Giselle can only gawk in mortal terror and surprise.
    • As Nodt makes the same mistake, and is only spared from near-instant disintegration by the timely arrival of Clone!Senbonzakura, who reserves the right to kill the Quincy for himself.
  • While not necessarily "bullying" him, the Royal Guard keep trying to approach Shirou for something he (justifiably) suspects is nefarious, even after he makes it clear the first time around that he hates their guts and refuses to even say anything to them. Compounding the problem is the fact that they, together with the Gotei 13, are being (begrudgingly) sheltered by him—to which they respond by expecting him to treat them like honored guests when he has no reason to—and he's made it clear that he'll unleash his Badass Army upon them if they don't behave.
  • Soifon keeps trying to attack Aizen, refusing to accept that he could crush her like a bug—or because she thinks that having strong allies with her will protect her from retribution. She's proven wrong each time, and the only reason she is still alive is because he considers her so far beneath him that she's Not Worth Killing... aside from one incident where he near-fatally slits her throat (or uses an illusion to make her think he did) just to show off, and she still doesn't let up.
• The Butcher: Baraggan really enjoys slaughtering Shinigami.
• Cain and Abel: Ichigo finds himself on opposing sides with not only his friends but his sister Karin as well.
• Calling Your Attacks: Weaponized by Askin Naak Le Vaar. He keeps calling an attack but not doing anything, then laughing at Harribel when she dodges a nonexistent attack. Eventually, he calls the attack again and a pissed off Harribel says she's not falling for that again and charges him. This time, he's not bluffing and hits her with the attack which incapacitates her.
• The Cameo: Nnoitra Gilga makes a brief appearance as a member of Baraggan's army in Chapter 40.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You:
  • Aaroniero is confident that Aizen invested too many resources to create and strengthen him and he is far too useful for Aizen to kill.
  • The Shinigami have an opportunity to kill an unconscious Ichigo. Kyoraku points out that since they are about to ask Shirou for an alliance, it would be a bad idea to kill one of his subjects.
  • Aizen persuades Shirou to grant the Shinigami asylum by saying the Arrancar might be able to achieve Resurrección: Segunda Etapa by studying the Shinigami and their Zanpakuto.
  • After Aizen absorbs the remaining power of the Soul King, which renders the Royal Guard utterly powerless, Tosen tries to kill them, but is stopped by the Gotei 13—not because they like the Royal Guard (Shunsui personally feels they deserve such a pathetic end), but because they can still be used as vessels for the Soul King's power later.
• The Cavalry:
  • Attempted by the Royal Guard at the end of Chapter 41. Shirou and Baraggan, realizing that this would present a HUGE problem for their forces if the group arrives, attempt to prevent this, and ultimately succeed.
  • The Espada, after unlocking Segunda Etapa at the end of Chapter 62, arrive to aid Aizen in warding off seven Sternritter whom Yhwach is keeping out of harm's way (and is gradually strengthening). Somewhat downplayed in that Aizen wasn't in any real danger, though it did make dealing with the problem easier.
• Chick Magnet: There are hints that Harribel, Apacci, Mila Rose, Sung-Sun, and Nelliel are attracted to Shirou, though it isn't brought up often.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: When Shirou and Harribel rescue the latter's Fraccione, Harribel suddenly feels rather angry when she sees them blushing as they look at Shirou. Later, they and Nelliel are all jealous of Coyote Gingerbuck, since she is closer to Shirou.
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: After using the Hogyoku to turn all the Hollows into Arrancar, Aizen provides them all with white uniforms, claiming it will be a symbol of their unity and contrast against the black uniforms of the Shinigami. Aizen gets annoyed when Shirou will have none of it and Traces himself a copy of Archer's red and black outfit.
• Composite Character: Shirou has Archer's backstory, but still retains his hero complex and (murky) memories of Saber.
• Cool Sword: Shirou has a ton of them.
  • He later gives Baraggan one, which gains strength from the latter's Respira—though it will also kill Baraggan if Shirou invokes its true name as that's its curse, something the former is unaware of.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Starrk is incredibly lazy and allows Lilynette to abuse him physically. He's also one of the most powerful Hollows in existence.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Shirou dishes these out with alarming frequency, especially after he begins to understand and gain control of his powers. As of the battle of Fake Karakura Town, only Yamamoto himself can fight him evenly.
  • Baraggan mops the floor with Quilge Opie and Giselle Gewelle.
  • Aizen thoroughly wrecks Gremmy Thoumeaux.
  • Senbonzakura kills As Nodt with just one strike.
• Death by Adaptation: Byakuya dies during the Quincy invasion.
• Detect Evil: As soon as Shirou meets Grand Fisher, he senses that he's pure evil, so Shirou kills him on the spot.
• Didn't See That Coming: Aizen is utterly shocked when Shirou proves immune to his Shikai. Later, he is rendered speechless when Shirou summons the spirit of Kyoka Suigetsu to the real world.
• Disappointed in You: The spirit of Excalibur says this to herself then the Shinigami won't believe her about Shirou being a good person and still plot against him.
• Domain Holder: Since Hueco Mundo is Unlimited Blade Works, Shirou can change it at will and is aware of almost everything that happens in it. If he is concentrating, he even has control of distance, force, gravity, and energy. His control over energy means Quincies cannot use their powers since they rely on energy control. However, when he changes it to the true Unlimited Blade Works, Quincies are able to use their powers because there is so much energy in the air.
• Don't Think, Feel: Nelliel teaches Ichigo that a Hollow's true power comes from instinct and true emotion, not thought. He later achieves Bankai by giving in to his pure desire to protect.
• Dramatically Missing the Point: When Ichigo labels Karin and Silent as "family," Nelliel and the Arrancar under her assume he has formed a bond with them since they don't know (and, in Lilynette's case, refuses to believe) that he isn't a true Hollow. It's not until he releases his Bankai that they start to comprehend what he means.
• The Dreaded: The Shinigami quickly fear both Shirou and Baraggan after seeing their powers in action.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: Aizen manages to hold Yhwach off long enough for Shirou to forge a new sword that is specifically designed to slay the Quincy Emperor, at the cost of the rogue Shinigami's life. Even when Yhwach has punched a hole in his chest and is gruesomely ripping his heart out, Aizen just gives a mocking smile and uses his favorite kido spell.
• Eating Optional: Hollows don't need to eat human food so most don't see the point. Lilynette changes her mind when Ichigo gives her ice cream and Shirou steals some human food just to cook his subjects a meal that delights them and makes them want more.
• Enemy Mine:
  • Defied. Apparently, one of the tasks given to Quilge and Giselle was to recruit Shirou. When a captured Giselle makes the offer, Shirou refuses without hesitation.
  • Mocked in Chapter 58 when the surviving Shinigami try to make an alliance with Shirou against the Vandenreich. He gives them asylum (begrudgingly), but they're too untrustworthy to be effective partners, so he refuses.
    • Even when Yhwach's palace is stormed, there is no coordination between each respective group, with the Royal Guard actively trying to prevent the Arrancar from reaching the center of the palace before they do so they can conduct their ritual to force either Shirou or Ichigo to become the next Soul King, which only makes the Espada more suspicious, and thus determined to get there first.
  • A small example occurs in Chapter 68: when Nelliel fires a Cero Doble at a barrier created by the Royal Guard to keep anyone from interfering with their plans, the Quincies in the room—who were just about to attack her—just step aside, with some of them even mockingly bowing towards the Royal Guard as they do so.
  • The remaining Schutzstaffel form a protective ring around Silent in Chapter 79.
  • In the same chapter, the treacherous actions of the Royal Guard unites everybody against them.
• Entertainingly Wrong:
  • Urahara and the Visoreds think Shirou was made from one of Aizen's experiments. Yamamoto eventually shuts this down by pointing out Shirou first appeared over a thousand years ago, which was before Aizen was born.
  • Because of Shirou's advanced powers and the fact that he cannot see Shirou's future, Yhwach believes Shirou is a son of the Soul King and thus his long-lost brother.
  • When the Zanpakuto spirit of Excalibur chooses to help the Shinigami, they think her wielder must be an outstanding Shinigami, because there is no way such a good spirit could be associated with Shirou, when in reality, her wielder was Arturia Pendragon, Shirou's lover when he was alive.
• Everyone Has Standards: Both the Hollows and the Gotei 13 (whether they have relation with Shirou or not) are disturbed by how Shirou originally died.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good:
  • When Aizen tries to recruit Shirou, he is dumbfounded by the latter's lack of desire for more power.
  • More "morally ambiguous" than outright evil, but the Gotei 13 cannot believe that a large army of incredibly powerful Hollows would attack the Soul Society only to rescue one Hollow. They comprehend even less that the leader of this army isn't evil in the slightest.
• Evil Counterpart: Yhwach is one to Shirou. They have similar origin stories and powers, and both granted power to their followers. Shirou has no ambition, treats his followers as True Companions, and only wants to help and protect people. Yhwach treats his followers like disposable pawns and wants to destroy and rebuild the world with him as its god, no matter how many people die in the process. Both of them have commented on their similarities and differences. In fact, due to their similarities, Yhwach mistakenly believes Shirou is his brother.
• Expendable Clone: The Shinso who manifests to save Gin and Rangiku is just a copy created by Shirou's powers. As he knows he's a copy and that the real Shinso is still with Gin, he has no problem turning himself into a Broken Phantasm/Final Zanpakuto to save them.
• Fantastic Racism: Shinigami and Quincies regard Hollows as vermin. Even after being forced to seek shelter in Hueco Mundo, the Gotei 13 still see fit to act like assholes towards the Espada.

• Feeling Their Age: At several points, Yamamoto laments that he's not as powerful and cannot exert himself as much as when he was younger.
• For Want Of A Nail:
  • Karin awakened her powers and joined Ichigo and his friends in rescuing Rukia.
  • Because Soul Society captured Silent, Shirou and his army invaded Soul Society around the same time that Ichigo and his friends tried to rescue Rukia. Due to all the disruptions, Ichigo doesn't have any opportunity to train to achieve Bankai. When Shirou's army leaves, Ichigo goes with them.
  • The disruptions caused by the Battle of Karakura Town cause Yhwach and the Vandenreich to arrive early. Since they came so early, they have no time to recruit Uryu Ishida into their ranks and he doesn't know about them.
  • Since the Royal Guard was summoned during the Battle of Karakura Town, they stuck around and helped when the Vandenreich invaded Soul Society. Since Ichigo joined Shirou's army, he doesn't show up to help. Instead, Gin Ichimaru, who decided to defect back to Soul Society, shows up and fights, only interested in saving Rangiku.
  • Prolonged exposure to Karin and Isshin's Reiatsu causes Yuzu to begin to awaken spiritual powers and be able to see spiritual beings.
• Fountain of Youth: Averted. Shirou seems to turn into a child – specifically, the age he was at when Kiritsugu Emiya found and rescued him – after being stabbed by a trio of reishi swords created by Urahara, but it's really just an illusion.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Gin gets captured by Soul Society and decides to explain his motives. When he and his best friend Rangiku were children, Aizen seriously injured her. Gin dedicated his life to revenge, but knowing he couldn't beat Aizen head on, decided to pretend to join him so that he could one day stab him in the back. Everyone, including Rangiku, points out that is no excuse for being a total asshole, helping Aizen help their enemies, and hurting a bunch of people.
• Friendly Address Privileges: The higher-echelon members of Shirou's army are on First-Name Basis with him, though he wouldn't mind if the rest of them were, too.
• Frontline General: Unlike canon, Yamamoto discards his captain's haori and decides to get involved in the battle of Fake Karakura immediately, due to knowing just how dangerous Shirou is.
• Gender Bender: Considering Coyote Gingerbuck was originally a girl, her split form as Starrk counts since he retains most of her original appearance. Doubles as Opposite-Sex Clone.
• A God Am I: Aizen calls himself a god when he absorbs the power of the Soul King.
• A God I Am Not: Shirou really doesn't like being worshiped, nor does he even like being called "the Vasto of White". He finally embraces it in Chapter 67.
• Godzilla Threshold:
  • Shirou is such an overwhelming powerhouse that Yamamoto orders the rest of the Gotei 13 to never face him in combat – only the Captain-Commander himself may face him. And even then, Yamamoto sends a distress call to the Royal Guard right before the battle of Fake Karakura Town commences just in case he's unable to defeat Shirou. The Royal Guard attempt to respond, but Shirou and Baraggan prevent their arrival. The fact that they responded at all is also a big sign of how much a threat Shirou is considered as the Royal Guard are noted to be Badass Bystanders unless there is a direct threat to the Soul King.
  • After getting their asses kicked by the Vandenreich and then Yhwach attempting to merge the realms together, the Shinigami realize they have no choice but to ask Shirou for help.
• Gone Horribly Wrong: The Vandenreich's attempt to perform a covert scouting mission in Hueco Mundo in order to prepare for their conquest of it ends in total failure. First, their enemies' strongest combatants are alive and well; second, their presence is detected; third, the two scouts, Quilge Opie and Giselle Gewelle, come face-to-face with Baraggan, an exceptionally powerful Hollow whose time-dilation powers renders their own abilities useless; fourth, they waste so much energy trying to both contain him and escape that they are quickly exhausted, and when Quilge tries to steal Silent's reishi to revitalize himself, she ends up draining and killing him instead; and fifth, with Quilge dead, the barrier he had created to mask his and Giselle's presence (which only succeeded in keeping the inhabitants – bar Silent – from pinpointing their exact location) disappears, prompting Shirou – a being so powerful that Yhwach ordered the Sternritter not to confront him – to appear on the scene.
• Gray-and-Grey Morality: Shirou and his army of Hollows have no interest in eating souls or causing trouble, but many of them are still Blood Knights who are not inclined to be merciful. The Gotei 13, on the other hand, are led by a Knight Templar and employ a Mad Scientist, but some of the captains are Martial Pacifists who don't like violence, either. It doesn't help that Aizen is involved and with Shirou's side for his plans with the Soul King, and while it's more of an alliance of necessity than sharing of goals, it only makes even the more reluctant Shinigami (such as Urahara) all the more ready to fight Shirou and his Hollows to defeat him.
• Hate Sink:
  • The Gotei 13 are, with some exceptions, a bunch of sanctimonious, ungrateful, bigoted control freaks who keep trying to kill (or at least control) Shirou no matter how blindingly obvious it is that he isn't a threat to them and is perfectly content to leave them alone as long as they extend him the same courtesy. Not even giving them asylum after the Vandenreich destroy Soul Society earns him even an iota of gratitude from most of them, nor does killing Yhwach, the latter prompting them to ambush him when they see how exhausted he is.
  • The Royal Guard are even worse. They possess all of the negative qualities of the Gotei 13, albeit cranked up to eleven, and they are so fanatically self-righteous that they simply cannot be reasoned with. This culminates in a brutal backstabbing of Excalibur after she offers the Shinigami, Quincies, and Hollows an alternative solution that would mutually benefit everybody, and attempting to force Shirou to become the new Soul King in a final attempt to re-establish the status quo they so fanatically worship. Everyone else—including the Gotei 13—are so enraged by this act of supreme treachery that they put their grievances with each other on hold and swarm the quintet.
• Hazy-Feel Turn: Ichigo ends up joining Shirou's army during the assault on Fake Karakura Town due to his mother also being part of it, only to find out that his sister, Karin, took his place as a substitute Shinigami.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: Ichigo, of all people. The story has not been kind to his sense of loyalty as the people he cherishes the most, his mother and sister, have been found on opposite sides of the battle, resulting him in betraying both the Shinigami and Arrancar armies to keep them safe. In the end, this is taken to its extreme by Ichigo utilizing Bankai and transforming the battle into a Mêlée à Trois by becoming his very own faction. After he secures a guarantee that his sister and friends won't be harmed, he goes back to fighting for Shirou.
• Heroic Neutral: In truth, Shirou and his group would rather much be left alone by any- and everyone else. The actions committed by the Gotei 13 have pretty much forced their hands into joining with Aizen, but have no interest in his ambition.
• Heroic RRoD:
  • Nelliel manages to absorb and redirect a Gran Ray Cero from Coyote Gingerbuck with her Cero Doble, but the effort that took causes several of her blood vessels to burst and she faints.
  • Aizen absorbs the power of the Soul King, but even with the Hogyoku, it is too much for his body and it starts falling apart, and even seemingly destroys the spirit of Kyoka Suigetsu. He resorts to his Bankai, which turns him into a Reality Warper, to survive it. The reason he never used his Bankai before is that it cost too much energy to use.
• Hoist by His Own Petard:
  • Quilge Opie tries to drain Silent's reishi, but because her soul was purified by, and now slightly connected to, Balmung, she ends up draining his instead, resulting in his death.
  • Gremmy Thoumeaux tries to use his reality-warping powers on Aizen, but the latter turns the tables using his Shikai, causing Gremmy to go insane due to being unable to tell if what is in front of him is truly real or one of Aizen's illusions.
• Holier Than Thou: The Shinigami adopt this stance whenever interacting with Hollows. The Quincies are no better.
• Hope Spot: Shirou kills Yhwach and loses consciousness, causing Unlimited Blade Works and then the worlds to start falling apart since there is no Soul King. The Shinigami try to turn Shirou into the new Soul King while the Hollows try to stop them. The spirit of Excalibur unleashes the Garden of Avalon, which saves the worlds and she says it will be a new afterlife for all to enjoy. Since Avalon is like Heaven, the Shinigami and Hollows start to lay down their arms and talk peace, but the Royal Guard stab Excalibur in the back, too stubborn to accept a change. On the plus side, this unites everyone against the Royal Guard.
• How Is That Even Possible?: Everyone is baffled by Shirou's ability to copy Zanpakuto. They get even more shocked when he unleashes the true Unlimited Blade Works to combat Yhwach and this sends everyone to a world of endless swords where the Zanpakuto Spirits can take physical form.
• Humanity Ensues: Sort of. The Arrancar lose their mask fragments and their Hollow holes close up after Shirou uses Excalibur.
• Humans Are Ugly: Baraggan remarks that he finds his human form ugly and prefers his skeletal form.
• Hypocrite: Sternritter As Nodt likes to prey on his victims' fears, and yet Clone!Senbonzakura accurately theorizes that he feared Byakuya Kuchiki's powers, which is why he stole the captain's Bankai before killing him.
• I Can't Sense Their Presence: While scouting Hueco Mundo, Quilge Opie surrounds himself and Giselle Gewelle with a cage from his The Jail power, preventing them from being sensed. Unfortunately for them, Silent, as a former Quincy, can sense them just fine, and Shirou can vaguely tell where they are since they are inside his world.
• Identical Stranger: Just as Ichigo looks like Kaien Shiba, Karin looks like a younger version of Kukaku Shiba.
• I Just Want to Be Free: This is Aizen's true motivation. He wants a world where no one is bound by limitations or authority.
• "I Know You Are in There Somewhere" Fight: Ichigo eventually loses himself to his instincts and goes completely berserk. Nelliel confronts him, telling him to control his instincts instead of the other way around, but he attacks her. She gets through to him by howling to communicate with his inner self, as Hollows howl to communicate and unite.
• I Know Your True Name: Shirou can't use his weapons' active abilities unless he can commune with them and learn their true name.
• Immune to Fate: It is implied that Shirou, being from another world, is not bound by fate. The Soul King detects him and gets confused because he did not predict him at all. Yhwach cannot predict him with his A - The Almighty power.
• Intimidation Demonstration:
  • Ichigo does it once he finally goes Bankai, his power swelling to the point his spiritual pressure is comparable to a high-end Vasto Lorde. Once he demolishes Sajin's Bankai with a Cero but doesn't kill the Captain himself, he basically parks himself right between the Soul Reapers and Arrancar fighting near the pillar and makes it clear anyone who thinks about fighting will have to go through him first. Predictably, no one is stupid enough to try.
  • Later, when Shirou realizes that Hueco Mundo is being invaded by the Vandenreich and orders his forces to withdraw from Karakura Town, the Gotei 13 try to threaten him, to which he responds by casually destroying all four pillars that maintained Fake Karakura Town, just to shut them up.
  • When Yhwach tries to merge the realms after killing the Soul King, Shirou at first summons a storm of swords to stop him. After a brief clash, Shirou dispels them and summons two specific weapons that could destroy all of reality if he unleashed them, forcing Yhwach to temporarily stop his assimilation attempt.
• I Thought Everyone Could Do That: Lilynette has only known of Hollows her whole life, so she does not know that humans and Shinigami do not normally have a Healing Factor.
• It Only Works Once: Thanks to wielding the axe-sword of Heracles and gaining his God Hand, Ayon cannot be damaged by the same technique more than once, as long as it isn't strong enough to kill him twelve times over.
• It's Personal: Starrk bears a grudge against Mayuri Kurotsuchi for abducting (and planning to experiment on) Silent, and after remembering their past, he and Lilynette develop a grudge against Yamamoto, as well.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Baraggan mocks all the female Arrancar who are infatuated with Shirou and points out they do not actually know anything about him. Later, when Nelliel has a talk with Shirou, she grudgingly admits Baraggan was right. Harribel also admits he was right and attempts to rectify this.
• Kick the Dog: Yhwach brutally drains most of the Sternritter of their reishi once they prove incapable of touching Aizen, but not before taking the time to openly call them "useless".
• Know When to Fold 'Em:
  • When the female Arrancar start fighting over Shirou, Grimmjow, who had wanted to challenge them or Shirou to a fight, leaves. He says he likes to fight, but he's not suicidal.
  • Once Yhwach realizes he is not strong enough to face Shirou in his current state, he decides to attack Soul Society first rather than Hueco Mundo.
• Last Request: Aaroniero get arrested by Soul Society while in Kaien Shiba's form and sentenced to an execution for being a Hollow. He asks that Kaien's siblings not be informed of this to spare them unnecessary grief. This is granted. However, the siblings find out anyway and bust him out, then he returns to Hueco Mundo.
• The Law of Diminishing Defensive Effort: Senjumaru Shutara attempts to tank a Sword Beam from the sword Baraggan borrowed from Shirou using her cloth barriers. Ichibei yells at her not to block it with her body and she listens and sidesteps. A good thing she listened because the beam tore through her barriers like tissue paper.
• Literal Split Personality: Coyote Gingerbuck was remade by having Starrk and Lilynette truly fuse together, but she is later able to give Starrk and Lilynette their own bodies.
• Logical Weakness: Yhwach makes sure not to look at Aizen and uses his Reiatsu senses to find him. Then he animates several fallen Quincies like puppets and has them attack. The dead and unconscious cannot see, making Kyoka Suigetsu useless. It doesn't do him much good, as Aizen is a One-Man Army even without his illusions.
• Magic Prerequisite: Ayon's power increases as its battle against Pernida goes on, since every aspect of the battle (a mighty titan fighting an eternally regenerating monster he can only defeat with the help of another) mirrors the history of its borrowed Noble Phantasm (Heracles' defeat of the Lernaean Hydra) until it can use the Nine Lives: The Shooting Hundred Heads technique.
• Manipulative Bastard:
  • Aizen, of all people, downplays this. He's an ambitious schemer, don't get us wrong, but once he realizes that Shirou is simply too powerful and charismatic to use as a simple pawn, he decides that the best way to get what he wants is to be honest with him.
  • Ichibei, leader of the Royal Guard, is a more straight example, nearly convincing Shirou's inner circle to aid in their plans by falsely claiming that doing so would be beneficial to Shirou. Fortunately, Aizen interrupts him.
• Man of Kryptonite:
  • Shirou can fight Baraggan because his weapons cannot be decayed by Baraggan's Respira. They become Stronger with Age, so accelerating time on them only makes them become more powerful instead of fall apart. Shirou still has to be careful because his body is not immune to Rapid Aging.
  • Yamamoto is able to handle Baraggan because his flames are eternal. No matter how much Baraggan accelerates time, his flames will only go out when Yamamoto wants them to go out.
  • Ichibei is yet another one to Baraggan and everyone else because he can erase the true name of anything, including Respira, to depower it. However, Baraggan turns the tables by using the sword he got from Shirou, which has become so powerful that Ichibei cannot depower it.
  • Thanks to the "Zero - The Origin" power Silent got from Shirou, Silent can suck a Quincy's power out of them.
• The Men First: When the Hollows following Shirou realize he has this mentality, they all muster around him to rescue Silent knowing he would do the same for any of them.
• Mental World: Hueco Mundo is eventually revealed to actually be Unlimited Blade Works.
• The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: Aaroniero finds himself caring for Kaien Shiba's loved ones, the longer he stays in Kaien's form. He starts to get angry about this in Chapter 72, as Kaien is slowly taking away his identity.
• Mistaken for Badass: Several characters think that Lilynette is über-powerful because the other Hollows obey her (it's actually only because she is partners with Starrk).
• Moral Myopia: The Gotei 13 think nothing of abducting a Hollow (with the intent of letting their local Mad Scientist experiment on her), yet they get up in arms when Shirou takes Captain Ukitake hostage. Shirou calls them out on this. After seeing Shirou's memories, many of them begin to doubt whether their view was true, even if they don't wish to dwell on the topic.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Byakuya gets one even worse than in canon, as here he discovers Central 46 had been murdered and they were being manipulated, so he goes to confront Aizen and save Rukia himself...but Aizen uses his illusions to trick him into cutting down the rescue team and hurting Rukia. He tries to shrug it off to focus on beating Aizen, but he's ultimately defeated.
• Mythical Motifs: When Coyote Gingerbuck uses her true Segunda Etapa, her new form is based on Fenrir from Norse Mythology.
• Mythology Gag: Shirou interrupts Yhwach's speech by grabbing him by the face and dragging him away, similar to what Ichigo did to Aizen in canon.

N-Y

• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Kisuke Urahara creates a trio of special reishi swords, made with extractions of Shirou's essence, that the Visoreds use to successfully wound Shirou during the battle of Fake Karakura. Unfortunately, not only does this fail to kill him, but it seemingly unlocks his memories of his past life and the full extent of his powers, making him stronger.
• No-Sell:
  • Due to Shirou's affinity with swords, many Zanpakutos actively refuse to be used against him in combat, putting their wielders in a pinch.
  • Baraggan's Respira doesn't work on Shirou's summoned weapons since they get Stronger with Age, which is a good thing since Shirou himself is not immune to it. Baraggan also exploits this with an unnamed Noble Phantasm that Shirou gave him, using his Respira to strengthen its capabilities and keeping it as a trump card.
  • When Kyoraku faces Baraggan, Katen Kyokotsu makes them play a game of tag. Since in tag, projectiles are not allowed, Respira is considered cheating, so it has no effect on Kyoraku.
  • As Nodt's fear-based powers have no effect on Baraggan because he's just too proud and powerful to be scared; and (the copy of) Senbonzakura is immune to them because he's a Zanpakuto Spirit.
  • Gerard Valkyrie tries to block Baraggan's Respira with a reishi shield. It melts down very quickly and attack hits him and starts disintegrating his arm, much to his shock.
• No Social Skills: Coyote Gingerbuck doesn't do well in crowds, though that's slowly starting to change.
• No Sympathy: When the surviving Gotei 13 and the Royal Guard come tumbling into Hueco Mundo with the intent of asking Shirou for help against the Vandenreich, he is unmoved and considers unleashing his army upon them. Aizen, Nelliel, and Aaroniero convince him to stay his hand for the moment.
• Not Quite Dead: It was implied that Aizen had murdered Mayuri Kurotsuchi during the Soul Society arc, but Mayuri saved himself with his liquefying drug.
• Not So Stoic: The normally level-headed Harribel erupts when the Visoreds manage to stab Shirou In the Back.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Gin is horrified when Shirou demonstrates his control over Hueco Mundo's environment and when Shirou casually whispers the name of Gin's Bankai.
  • Quilge Opie and Giselle Gewelle are left in stunned horror when Baraggan uses his chronokinetic powers against them.
  • Giselle gets another one when Shirou appears.
  • Ichibei loses it in Chapter 68 when he realizes that Nelliel's Cero Doble is strong enough to destroy the barrier he put up.
  • Yhwach curses Aizen when he realizes that the latter fucked with his time perception during their battle in Chapter 78, giving Shirou enough time to create a new weapon.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In Chapter 72, Sung-Sun loudly calls Pernida a "cunt", to the shock of those around her.
• Only Friend: The only being Aizen truly cares for is the spirit of his Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu, who has the form of a woman. Later, after getting to know Shirou, Aizen slowly starts to acknowledge him as a peer and equal.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: The clone of Senbonzakura reserves the right to kill As Nodt, who stole Byakuya's Bankai and slew him, for himself. He succeeds in this venture, and fades away immediately afterward.
• Only the Chosen May Wield:
  • Even after Shirou learns Kyoka Suigetsu's name, he is unable to use the sword because her spirit only respects Aizen and says he is the only one worthy of using her. The only benefit Shirou gets is that he is immune to Aizen's illusions. He is eventually able to make a copy of her, and shows it to Aizen just to show off his powers.
  • Ayon picks up a copy of the stone axe-sword of Heracles. The Zanpakuto spirit judges him for a few minutes before deciding he is worthy of wielding it.
• Original Character: Kyoka Suigetsu and Shinso never manifested in the Bleach canon.
• The Perfectionist: Kyoka Suigetsu longs for a world of perfect tranquility. She believes Aizen is worthy of her because of his perfect discipline and because she thinks his end goals will create such a world.
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: When left to their own devices, Shirou and his comrades prefer to stay out of trouble, rather than go out looking for it. The most they ever do on their own is train; otherwise, they hang out or, in Starrk's case, nap.
• Poor Communication Kills: If everyone was willing to just talk things out peacefully rather than fall back to violence or prejudices, a lot of issues between Shirou's faction and Urahara's wouldn't exist. But because everyone likes to keep important info from each other, this just poisons any chance of coming to a peaceful solution. Shirou even points this out at the end of Chapter 45, declaring that Yamamoto's blind obedience to tradition has led him to make two exceptionally powerful enemies that, up until now, had no grievance with him nor were they giving him any trouble.
• Power Copying: Shirou can copy any weapon he sees, including Zanpakutou. The Shinigami realize with dread that every new Shinigami he meets only makes him more powerful.
• Power Misidentification: Shirou's powers greatly resemble Quincy powers, but they are actually his Magecraft.
• Pragmatic Villainy: His experiences with Shirou have taught Baraggan to embrace this mindset. Notably, when he orders his forces to lay siege to the pillars that are keeping Karakura Town from being exposed, he gives them express instructions to retreat if the Shinigami guarding the pillars prove too strong for them. Not out of concern for their well-being, but because Shirou's acts of mercy towards him allowed Baraggan to get stronger, so he figures that giving his army this same treatment would give good results in the long run. Ironically, this attitude has also started to foster legitimate Undying Loyalty from them, when before they followed him mostly out of fear.
• Quality vs. Quantity: Shirou's army of 6,000 against Baraggan's army of 36,000, respectively. Quality wins without too much trouble.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Being the de facto ruler of Hueco Mundo does nothing more than paint a giant target on Shirou's back, and he often has to resort to violence to maintain that position.
• Red Baron:
  • Shirou Emiya, the Vasto of White.
  • Baraggan Luisenbairn, the God-King of Hueco Mundo. He later calls himself the Fallen God of Hueco Mundo.
• Rerouted from Heaven: In Shirou's original life, when he died, he started to ascend to the Throne of Heroes and was looking forward to reuniting with Saber in Avalon. For some unknown reason, his soul was rerouted to the Bleach universe and was turned into a Hollow.
• Retcon: When Aizen used the Hogyoku to turn Shirou into an Arrancar, in the original version, this caused Unlimited Blade Works to activate and then all the spirits of the weapons in Shirou's arsenal manifest in human form. The chapter ended on a cliffhanger where the weapons say Shirou would have to defeat them all in battle for him to prove himself and to condense his power into a single Zanpakuto, heavily implying that this Zanpakuto would become Tsumukari Muramasa. Then the author inexplicably rewrote the whole chapter so that while the Hogyoku was powering him up, Aizen double-crossed him and blasted him to the human world with amnesia so that Aizen could take over his subjects. After massive fan outcry, the final version had Shirou go on a long vision quest to sort out his earliest memories as a Hollow and then wake up as an Arrancar.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: Because Yhwach thinks Shirou is his brother, he correctly guesses that like him, Shirou started out as an Empty Shell who slowly gained reason and emotions from the people around him. While this is true, this was because he was traumatized by the Fuyuki Fire, not because he was born the way Yhwach was.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: When Rangiku is seriously injured by a Quincy during the Vandenreich invasion of Soul Society, Gin goes ballistic.
• Sequel Hook: The epilogue ends with the implication that the west is about to get involved.
• Ship Tease: The epilogue implies that Karin Kurosaki and Toshiro Hitsugaya might become a couple later.
• Shotguns Are Just Better: In Segunda Etapa, one of Coyote Gingerbuck's pistols turns into a shotgun while the other turns into a rifle. They become much more powerful, firing ceros that destroy space itself, meaning they can injure the intangible Lille Barro.
• Skewed Priorities: Rangiku regards the party consisting of Ichibei, Isshin, Karin, Yoruichi, and the Shiba siblings' attempt to infiltrate Hueco Mundo while the Seireitei is under siege as this.
• Slashed Throat: Aizen slashes Soifon's throat. Fortunately, Orihime is on hand to heal her.
• Smug Snake: The Vandenreich in general are totally full of themselves, but the below examples really take the cake.
  • Quilge Opie is way too full of himself, combining Fantastic Racism, Bullying a Dragon, and Underestimating Badassery into one overly-pompous and borderline comedically dimwitted character.
  • Yhwach is thoroughly convinced that his victory is inevitable, no matter how many times Shirou and his cohorts force him to eat his words.
  • As Nodt believes that his fear-based powers make him invincible. Baraggan scares the crap out of him with his time-dilation powers, and Clone!Senbonzakura slaughters him with minimal effort.
  • Lille Barro fancies himself as an untouchable "envoy of God." He completely snaps when Coyote Gingerbuck bypasses his defenses twice and starts ranting about his supposed invincibility, falling for an obvious trap and getting himself killed in the process.
• So Proud of You: The second time they summon him, Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun say as his mothers, they are so proud of how powerful Ayon has become.
• Spanner in the Works: Gin Ichimaru's Zanpakuto, Shinso, psychically reaches out to Shirou without Gin's knowledge and asks him to aid its master.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • Everybody important survives the Battle of Karakura Town.
  • Yhwach cuts Yamamoto in half like in canon, but the Royal Guard attack him before he can nuke his body and Yhwach decides to leave. This allows Unohana to sustain Yamamoto's body until they can get him to Orihime so she can heal him.
  • Retsu Unohana, Jushiro Ukitake, Nemu Kurotsuchi, Jugram Haschwalth, Askin Nak Le Vaar, and Gerard Valkyrie survive the Thousand Year Blood War.
• The Speechless: One of the Hollows is nicknamed Silent because she seems to be incapable of speaking. She is Masaki Kurosaki.
• Stepford Smiler: Aizen becomes thus once the Vandenreich arc kicks off. While outwardly calm, he is positively enraged that the Vandenreich's presence forced him to withdraw from Karakura Town when victory was just inches from his grasp. He vents his ire by torturing Giselle before having Szayel dissect her, wiping out Yhwach's entire Red Shirt Army by himself, and then brutally mind-fucking Gremmy—and all with the same calm, almost friendly expression on his face.
• Suddenly Speaking: Ayon only speaks to declare, "Nine Lives - The Shooting Hundred Heads."
• Super-Empowering:
  • Shirou feeds the Hollows with his swords, making them stronger and evolve to higher stages.
  • When Shirou partially purified Silent with Balmung, he inadvertently gave her a power in a similiar principle to Yhwach's Schrift. He gave her "Zero - The Origin", through a process (creating a blank slate that should've been stillborn and forcing it to live anyway; causing someone to both 'die' and 'not die' at once) that more than a little echoes the origin story of either Shiki.). This seems to give her a connection to The Root and allow her an infinite capacity for absorbing things, including another Quincy's powers.
• Superpower Lottery:
  • Shirou has immense spiritual power, can make copies of any zanpakuto he sees and utilize their powers, has a vast arsenal of Noble Phantasms with truly godlike destructive power, and is utterly omnipotent inside Hueco Mundo since he created the place.
  • Aizen's shikai allows him to control the five senses of anyone who looks at it (except Shirou, who's immune due to his psychic connection with swords) in any way he chooses. In addition, he's a master of Kido and Shunpo, and possesses enough stamina to keep fighting for hours on end without showing any signs of fatigue. Even when his illusions become a non-entity, he's still a deadly swordsman.
  • Baraggan's Respira can destroy anything it comes into contact with (except Noble Phantasms, with are inexplicably strengthened by it), to the point of where Shirou acknowledges that it could kill him if it touched him. He can surround himself with it, thus ensuring that close-quarters combat with him is impossible, and most projectiles will be reduced to dust before they can even reach him. While a couple of Captain-class shinigami find ways of countering it, the Sternritter have no answer to it and are left utterly powerless before it. And that's not even getting into the fact that Baraggan himself has all the powers of a Vasto Lorde-level Arrancar and is an experienced combat veteran, to boot.
  • Coyote Gingerbuck can fire massive ceroes without warning and from any limb she desires, has a level of spiritual power so great that she can erase weaker beings from existence by sheer force of will, and can summon an army of wolves that explode with the force of a mini-nuke when they make physical contact with a target. And like Baraggan (who freely acknowledges her formidability), she's got a doctorate in ass-kicking, having spent the early years of her existence butchering any shinigami that crossed her path, up to and including captains. Even the Captain-Commander will not permit his subordinates to face her, and insist on doing so himself using his Bankai.
• Surrounded by Idiots: Byakuya figured out the orders to apprehend and execute Rukia were falsified when he visited Central 46 and found that everyone was dead. Aizen gets annoyed and says he left Central 46 after killing the council members because he assumed his assistants would be smart enough to dispose of the bodies without him having to tell them to do so.
• This Cannot Be!:
  • Ichibei freaks out when he realizes he doesn't know the name of the sword Shirou gave to Baraggan nor the names of any of Shirou's other Noble Phantasms despite him being the master of names. He and everyone else freaks out again when he uses his name-erasing ink on the sword's Sword Beam, but it is so powerful it barely gets reduced at all.
  • Pernida freaks out when he cannot assimilate or get past Ayon's borrowed God Hand and again when Silent injures him and his Healing Factor cannot fix it.
  • Lille Barro reacts the exact same way when Coyote Gingerbuck manages to injure him, being legitimately unable to believe it happened.
• Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: Shirou isn't short by any means, but one of his potential love interests, Coyote Gingerbuck, is taller than him. The height difference seems to annoy her.
• Token Evil Teammate: None of the Espada nor their subordinates are particularly moral, but they do have their own set of standards. Aizen, on the other hand, is utterly ruthless.
• Too Dumb to Live:
  • Even if Shirou's child form was as helpless as the Gotei 13 assumed he'd be (the chapter's final line shows that he very much isn't), his Badass Army of fanatically loyal followers had already formed a protective wall around him, with the strongest one – who just so happens to be the strongest Hollow in existence – going all Mama Bear and outright threatening them to keep their distance. They're not prepared to listen, until they realize it's all an illusion.
  • Even after being forced to ask Shirou for help, the Gotei 13 try to attack Aizen, Shirou's partner, anyway. Only Coyote Gingerbuck's threatening presence, which Aizen reminds them of, makes them back off.
    • As the next chapter shows, they still haven't learned: Ikkaku Madarame tries to start a fight out of boredom; the Royal Guard act like they can just approach Shirou and have a conversation with him, and whine that he's being a "bad host" when he refuses because he (rightly) doesn't trust them; and Renji manhandled Lilynette, Shirou's surrogate little sister and a soul fragment of one of the most powerful Hollows in existence—and who is currently chomping at the bit to wipe out the entire Gotei 13 at the slightest provocation, which the Royal Guard would not be able to stop. Later, Kukaku actually tries to assault Shirou himself, with her brother's timely intervention and Shirou's laid-back nature being the only factors keeping her from suffering a very messy demise.
• Tranquil Fury: Aizen is enraged by the Vandenreich's attempt to invade Hueco Mundo—not because he's fond of the place, but because it forced him and his cohorts to cease their attack on Karakura Town and withdraw when they were on the cusp of slaughtering the Gotei 13 and confronting the Soul King. However, he maintains an outwardly calm, yet condescending demeanor as he tortures Giselle.
• True Companions: Shirou and his Badass Army. So much so that, when one of their members – Masaki Kurosaki – is abducted by the Gotei 13, they follow Shirou en masse into the heart of the Soul Society to rescue her, uncaring that this will put their own lives at risk.
• Unblockable Attack:
  • Shirou has the spear Gae Dearg, an Anti-Magic weapon. Due to its nature, it passes through any construct of spiritual energy, so nothing the Shinigami try can block it except for catching or redirecting it with their own hands.
  • In Shinso's Final Zanpakuto form, it simply points at the enemy and the enemy is annihilated, bypassing anything in its way. Lille Barro turning intangible didn't save him.
  • Like in canon, Lille Barro's bullets can punch through anything, even Baraggan despite his Respira, time-slowing powers, and Hierro shielding him.
• Underestimating Badassery:
  • Aizen toys with Yoruichi and Ichigo. He puts Yoruichi in an illusion, leading to her fighting an imaginary opponent, but says to himself that he won't bother to do it to Ichigo because he is weak and unworthy. While he's busy taunting Ichigo, Yoruichi manages to stab him by using her instincts instead of her eyes, then Ichigo almost manages to slash him while he was distracted by the pain.
  • The Vandenreich are clearly underestimating Shirou and his forces, if Quilge and Giselle's contemptuous and dismissive behavior towards Baraggan simply because he's a Hollow is anything to go by.
    • Yhwach, in particular, underestimates Aizen something fierce, assuming that any one of his Sternritter could take him. He sics Gremmy Thoumeaux on Aizen, thinking that the boy's reality-warping powers can counter Aizen's illusions, but Aizen turns the tables completely with minimal effort.
• Undying Loyalty:
  • To the Hollows who follow Shirou, he's their god. He, in turn, is just as devoted to them.
  • By the time of the Winter War, the Arrancar under Baraggan seem to follow him out of genuine loyalty, as well.
• Unfriendly Fire: In Chapter 75, Szayelapporo Granz launches a surprise attack on Askin Naak Le Vaar that also hits Harribel. He casually declares that he calculated she would be strong enough to tank it before confronting Askin by himself while she recovers.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Even after he begrudgingly gives them asylum in Hueco Mundo after Yhwach takes over the Soul Society, the Gotei 13 still try to act all high-and-mighty around him and his cohorts. Kisuke Urahara and the Royal Guard are the worst of the lot, as they intend to backstab Shirou because he's too powerful to defeat in open combat and not someone they can control. His being allied with Aizen, while considered a problem, seems to be more of an excuse on their part than anything else. Even defeating Yhwach changes nothing, as they immediately ambush him afterwards.
• Unskilled, but Strong:
  • Shirou isn't a bad swordsman, but his skills are relatively average. He even notes after defeating Captain Ukitake that the latter displayed greater swordsmanship skills than him, but was handicapped by his illness.
  • Nelliel completely schools Ichigo in hand-to-hand combat, but he is so strong that any blow he lands bruises her even through her Hierro.
  • Despite them being Vasto Lordes, Byakuya is able to handle Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun, due to the fact they're nascent and thus are unable to utilize their power fully.
  • Kyoraku is able to do the same as Byakuya to the three nascent Vasto Lordes, and then takes it even further fighting and defeating Ayon, who's even stronger than the three put together but who has the mental capacities of a newborn. It's even compared to a child trying to fight an adult.
• Unstoppable Rage: Subverted. The Espada and their underlings go berserk when Shirou is stabbed by three Visoreds, but this allows the Gotei 13 to concentrate their forces and mount a more effective defense. Played straight when it comes to Coyote Gingerbuck, however.
• Unwanted Assistance: During his clash with Shirou, Baraggan is forced to rely on a Noble Phantasm he strengthened from exposing to his Respira to survive against Shirou's Balmung. However, the fact he had to rely on a power that wasn't even his to survive is just the final proof he needs that he truly isn't the strongest king of Hueco Mundo anymore and prompts him to throw it and his crown away and tell Shirou to kill him already. Shirou chooses to spare him, however, noting that Hueco Mundo needs someone fearsome like Baraggan to keep the truly unruly Hollows in check.
• Vampiric Draining: Silent can absorb the power of Quincies by draining their reishi.
• Victory by Endurance: Coyote Gingerbuck takes on Lille Barro, but since he can turn intangible at will, none of her attacks can hurt him while his can hurt her. After a while, she starts to get tired while he is still fresh. Fortunately, the Zanpakuto Spirit of Fragarach shows up to lend a hand.
• Villain Has a Point: Yhwach isn't wrong to label the Gotei 13 as treacherous, as they try to backstab Shirou immediately after he vanquishes the Quincy Emperor.
• Villainous Breakdown:
  • Gremmy Thoumeaux suffers an epic one at the end of Chapter 61 after Aizen toys with his mind using his Shikai. It eventually drives him to erase himself from existence!
  • Yhwach finally loses his composure in Chapter 63 after Shirou absorbs Hueco Mundo back into his being, and then re-creates it in his own dimension. He freaks out as Shirou does this, then loudly screams that someone who would (supposedly) sacrifice their power base does not deserve to be in his presence.
  • Lille Barro, initially stoic and smug, is left in utter disbelief after Coyote Gingerbuck manages to wound him with her Segunda Etapa. After he responds and scores a hit of his own, he drops his stoic facade and excitedly insists that she only landed that hit because he "wasn't ready." When she scores another one that forces him to go One-Winged Angel, he rants about how he is the "Ultimate Quincy" and that showing said form to a "mere Hollow" is tantamount to heresy. He then rashly uses his strongest attack, which is exactly what she planned for, as it allows her to use Fragarach to counter the attack and kill him.
  • Ichibei begins to lose it when his powers prove ineffective against Shirou.
• Virtue Is Weakness: Shirou is powerful enough to kill Yhwach, but if he powered up enough to do that, his Reiatsu would kill his comrades, so he doesn't. Yhwach mocks him for lacking the will to sacrifice a bunch of insignificant pawns to achieve victory. Aizen, who doesn't care about the Arrancar, groans that Shirou should have just killed the enemy no matter who was sacrificed.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Apacci, Sung-Sun, and Mila Rose butt heads frequently, but are deeply devoted to each other.
• Weapon for Intimidation: Shirou scares the Gotei 13 by summoning copies of all their Zanpakuto, including Ryujin Jakka. What they didn't know is that for the moment, it was a bluff: Shirou had not communed with any of the Zanpakuto and learned their true names, thus he couldn't use any of their powers at that time.
• Wham Line: Chapter 47. Giselle recalls Yhwach speculating about the Vasto of White. "Her King had called him 'Brother'."
• What Is This Feeling?: Many of the female Arrancar are clearly in love with Shirou, but get confused by this.
• What You Are in the Dark: When invading Soul Society to rescue Silent, Ulquiorra repeatedly reminds Shirou that he is in a fool's errand which will cost the lives of his men. Harribel responds by pointing out that Ulquiorra could have simply refused to come along, or turn around and leave at anytime, but he doesn't. Ulquiorra doesn't have a response.
• Wistful Amnesia:
  • Shirou starts out with no memory of his past, but certain things remind him of his loved ones like Saber. He eventually remembers everything.
  • Silent does not remember her past, but finds herself drawn to certain things like her children Ichigo and Karin. Like Shirou, she eventually regains her memories.
• The Worf Barrage: Baraggan keeps running into opponents who can handle his supposedly unstoppable Respira, much to his chagrin. He finally catches a break when he faces Quilge Opie and Giselle Gewelle, whom are not only completely vulnerable to it, but their own powers are rendered completely useless by it; and judging by Quilge's internal monologue, the only Quincy with any hope of countering it is Yhwach himself.
• Worf Had the Flu: Ukitake battles Shirou and has the upper hand for a bit, but he's suddenly crippled by a coughing fit from his illness, allowing Shirou to defeat him and take him hostage.
• Worthy Opponent:
  • Shirou and Baraggan come to respect one another in this manner.
  • Grimmjow comes to see Shirou as one after barely surviving a Gae Bolg through the chest thanks to Aizen saving him and turning him into an Arrancar.
  • Yhwach ends up regarding Shirou as one in his dying moments
• Would Hurt a Child: The Gotei 13 have no compunctions about this, seeing Shirou supposedly being reduced to a child as a perfect opportunity to kill him. They're very wrong.
• Wound That Will Not Heal: Both Gae Bolg and Gae Buidhe cause these. Toshiro take some pretty bad wounds, including one through his gut, that no amount of Unohana's medical kido can fix so they're forced to just bandage him up and let him heal on his own. Grimmjow finds that his Vasto Lorde high-speed regeneration can't heal them quickly either and he nearly dies from them (plus a blow to his heart) before Aizen finds him and uses the Hogyoku to turn him into an Arrancar, and he's still Covered in Scars from the ordeal.
• Wrong Context Magic: Shirou's ability to Trace and Project weapons baffle everyone, as it is different from the usual Hollow techniques. Urahara can only compare it to Quincy abilities.
• You Are Already Dead:
  • Aizen says this almost word-for-word^note "You're" instead of "You are" to a bunch of Vandenreich mooks who are under the spell of his Shikai.
  • Fragarach says this right before she kills Lille Barro.
• You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good!: From his own twisted point of view, Yamamoto laments that Shirou would have made for an "unparalleled shinigami" had he not been made a Hollow.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!:
  • Baraggan can grudgingly accept the fact that his Respira cannot destroy Shirou's weapons and Yamamoto's flames. However, when he scores a direct hit on Shunsui Kyoraku, only for it to do nothing because it violates the rules of the game, he complains that this is getting ridiculous.
  • Baraggan does this again when he slices the Soul King in half, only for Mimihagi to put him back together.
  • Ichigo and Aaroniero get weirded out by Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun constantly bickering in the middle of a battle.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Yhwach strips all but his guards of their powers, possibly killing them in the process, when they prove unable to harm a powered-up Aizen.
• You Have No Chance to Survive: Every other sentence out of Yhwach's mouth is just him droning about how his victory is inevitable and how every setback he suffers at the hands of Hueco Mundo's residents is insignificant. It gets to the point of being legitimately baffled that Aizen is looking down on him because he thinks the rogue shinigami is that immaterial. Each time, he's proven wrong, physically or verbally (sometimes both).
• You Remind Me of X:
  • Harribel reminds Shirou of Saber, though he can't completely remember the latter.
  • Yachiru reminds Shirou of Lilynette.
  • Aizen reminds Shirou of Kirei Kotomine.
  • Ichigo's protective nature reminds Nelliel of Shirou. Later, when Shirou meets Ichigo, Shirou notes that Ichigo reminds him of his younger self, and now he knows how Archer felt.
• Zerg Rush: At the start of the battle in Chapter 61, the Vandenreich charge into Hueco Mundo like angry bulls, hoping to overwhelm and slaughter the inhabitants. Unfortunately for them, their first obstacle is Aizen.

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