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Deleted line(s) 729,730 (click to see context) :
Jossed. [[spoiler:It's the other way around.]]
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Changed line(s) 728 (click to see context) from:
Basically, Mask uses reishi manipulation to conjure an undying sidekick. [[GameBreaker Thus his powers allow him to boost his own powers]].
to:
Basically, Mask uses reishi manipulation to conjure an undying sidekick. [[GameBreaker Thus his powers allow him to boost his own powers]].powers]].
Jossed. [[spoiler:It's the other way around.]]
Jossed. [[spoiler:It's the other way around.]]
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Changed line(s) 719 (click to see context) from:
No matter ''how'' many times they kill this guy, James always reappears and makes him more powerful than ever. Even after having been defeated in flashy ways a good two or three times, the luchadore keeps getting up and stronger than ever. Kubo stretched the Arrancar arc because fans demanded to see more of them, and historically, fans have done stuff like bring characters back from the dead and prolong other series. This sounds ''very'' much like a subtle jab at how fans demand to see more and have kept things going longer and longer.
to:
No matter ''how'' many times they kill this guy, James always reappears and makes him more powerful than ever. Even after having been defeated in flashy ways a good two or three times, the luchadore keeps getting up and stronger than ever. Kubo stretched the Arrancar arc because fans demanded to see more of them, and historically, fans have done stuff like bring characters back from the dead and prolong other series. This sounds ''very'' much like a subtle jab at how fans demand to see more and have kept things going longer and longer.longer.
[[WMG: James is Mask de Masculine's spirit weapon.]]
1. James obviously isn't an ordinary living being. NOBODY stays alive after getting minced into pieces.
2. Mask only uses his fists and shoots energy beams, he doesn't seem to be using any sort of spirit weapon like Opie's saber or Royd!Yhwach's sword.
3. James wasn't seen around during Mask's previous appearances.
Basically, Mask uses reishi manipulation to conjure an undying sidekick. [[GameBreaker Thus his powers allow him to boost his own powers]].
[[WMG: James is Mask de Masculine's spirit weapon.]]
1. James obviously isn't an ordinary living being. NOBODY stays alive after getting minced into pieces.
2. Mask only uses his fists and shoots energy beams, he doesn't seem to be using any sort of spirit weapon like Opie's saber or Royd!Yhwach's sword.
3. James wasn't seen around during Mask's previous appearances.
Basically, Mask uses reishi manipulation to conjure an undying sidekick. [[GameBreaker Thus his powers allow him to boost his own powers]].
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Changed line(s) 641,642 (click to see context) from:
** Not as ironic as it sounds. [[TheBible Elisha's bones revived a dead man.]]
to:
** Not as ironic as it sounds. [[TheBible [[Literature/TheBible Elisha's bones revived a dead man.]]
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[[WMG: The recent [[ArcFatigue neverending fight]] is a subtle jab at [[StrawFan demanding fans]] and their impact on manga]]
No matter ''how'' many times they kill this guy, James always reappears and makes him more powerful than ever. Even after having been defeated in flashy ways a good two or three times, the luchadore keeps getting up and stronger than ever. Kubo stretched the Arrancar arc because fans demanded to see more of them, and historically, fans have done stuff like bring characters back from the dead and prolong other series. This sounds ''very'' much like a subtle jab at how fans demand to see more and have kept things going longer and longer.
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Changed line(s) 198 (click to see context) from:
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*** Even that can be called into question: [[spoiler: Urahara's method of freeing bankai from the Wandenrecih medals involves hollowifying said bankai, and as shown, once a bankai becomes hollowified, the medal instantly expels them. Probably the true reason Ichigo's bankai cannot be stolen is not because it's a Quincy power, but because Ichigo inherently has hollow powers, and the medals have a failsafe that prevents them from stealing hollow powers.]]
Changed line(s) 280 (click to see context) from:
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** To be more precise, Urahara and Mayuri suspects that Resurreccions ''can'' be stolen, but because hollow energy is dangerous to Quincies, the medals have a sort of failsafe that expels Hollow energy.
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** I agree. I suspect that holy drink he gives to Ishida is spiked with something to facilitate this.
Changed line(s) 693,695 (click to see context) from:
[[WMG: Yhwach's ritual of appointing successors actually also serve as implating SoulJar onto said successor.]]
Looking at how Yhwach performs a ritual to appoint his next successor, which includes drinking something like sacred wine, I have suspicions that Yamamoto failed to kill Yhwach the last time because Yhwach managed to flee in some unorthodox manner (as in, his body probably went up in flames, but he survived). Add that to the fact that somehow the Quincy managed to concoct some weird myth about him (the 900 years to wake up, 90 years to get sober, 9 years to gain power etc), I suspect that he was absent for so long because he got 'killed' by Yamamoto, and needed to recover his strength. How? Perhaps by overtaking his so-called heir's body and soul and transform them into himself. Another reason for this theory is his IKnowYouKnowIKnow relationship with [[spoiler:Uryu Ishida, deliberately [[KickedUpstairs kicking him upstairs]] so that he can't revolt against him, but at the same time takes the time to ceremonialize his appointment so that in case Uryuu did manage to revolt, Yhwach wins anyway]].
Looking at how Yhwach performs a ritual to appoint his next successor, which includes drinking something like sacred wine, I have suspicions that Yamamoto failed to kill Yhwach the last time because Yhwach managed to flee in some unorthodox manner (as in, his body probably went up in flames, but he survived). Add that to the fact that somehow the Quincy managed to concoct some weird myth about him (the 900 years to wake up, 90 years to get sober, 9 years to gain power etc), I suspect that he was absent for so long because he got 'killed' by Yamamoto, and needed to recover his strength. How? Perhaps by overtaking his so-called heir's body and soul and transform them into himself. Another reason for this theory is his IKnowYouKnowIKnow relationship with [[spoiler:Uryu Ishida, deliberately [[KickedUpstairs kicking him upstairs]] so that he can't revolt against him, but at the same time takes the time to ceremonialize his appointment so that in case Uryuu did manage to revolt, Yhwach wins anyway]].
to:
Looking at how Yhwach performs a ritual to appoint his next successor, which includes drinking something like sacred wine, I have suspicions that Yamamoto failed to kill Yhwach the last time because Yhwach managed to flee in some unorthodox manner (as in, his body probably went up in flames, but he survived). Add that to the fact that somehow the Quincy managed to concoct some weird myth about him (the 900 years to wake up, 90 years to get sober, 9 years to gain power etc), I suspect that he was absent for so long because he got 'killed' by Yamamoto, and needed to recover his strength. How? Perhaps by overtaking his so-called heir's body and soul and transform them into himself. Another reason for this theory is his IKnowYouKnowIKnow relationship with [[spoiler:Uryu Ishida, deliberately [[KickedUpstairs kicking him upstairs]] so that he can't revolt against him, but at the same time takes the time to ceremonialize his appointment so that in case Uryuu did manage to revolt, Yhwach wins anyway]].
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Changed line(s) 653,654 (click to see context) from:
G = ???, Lilotto
to:
G = Game (?), ???, Lilotto
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I = Iron, SuperToughness, Cang Du (heavily-implied)
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I = Iron, SuperToughness, Cang Du (heavily-implied)
(confirmed)
Changed line(s) 677,678 (click to see context) from:
S = Strength (?), TheBrute, Mask
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S = Strength (?), TheBrute, Mask
Superstar, ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve / GodNeedsPrayerBadly, Mask (confirmed)
Changed line(s) 683,684 (click to see context) from:
V = ?
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V = ?
Vision (?), EyeSpy / Clairvoyance (?), ???
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Changed line(s) 706 (click to see context) from:
* With every captain having received a Hollow pill, it's unlikely any more bankai will be stolen.
to:
* With every captain having received a Hollow pill, it's unlikely any more bankai will be stolen.stolen.
[[WMG: Haschwalth is being set up as Ryuuken's EvilCounterpart.]]
Don't have quite enough yet to put this on the character page, but: Haschwalth already has an OnlySixFaces resemblance to Ryuuken, and Kubo's started to exploit those for plot purposes. They've also got a similar stoic, dutiful demeanour. Teenage!Ryuuken shared Haschwalth's concern for the Quincy Clan above his own needs. Both were heirs apparent to powerful positions within clan (and Souken is being set up as the leader of [[BlackAndGreyMorality good-ish]] opposition faction, a possible counterpart to Yhwach) before unexpected events intervened. Haschwalth's scene with his female servant (whom he treats with unusual familiarity and warmth) where he explains why Yhwach appointed Uryuu heir echoes Ryuuken's exposition scene with Kanae about his unhappy engagement. The difference between them seems to be that while Ryuuken turned his back on the clan when the cost to his loved ones grew too high, Haschwalth has remained loyal to Yhwach no matter what. This may be setting up a showdown between them when Ryuuken finally cannot avoid fighting any longer.
[[WMG: Uryuu's ability to channel Ichigo's raw power is going to become significant again.]]
Remember the whole crazy Freudian [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything step-on-your-sword-and-my-bow-gets-big]] thing? One of Ichigo's biggest weaknesses as a fighter has always been his lack of fine controL, which Uryuu has in spades. Ichigo has newly discovered Quincy powers and no one to teach him to use them. The story is pushing them towards confrontation again but Ichigo and Uryuu have a common goal in avenging their mothers' deaths, like they did against the Menos Grande. Given their whole {{Foil}}[=/=]GenerationXerox[=/=]IronicEcho thing I think it's going to end the same way the second time around.
[[WMG: Haschwalth will betray Ywach but not the Vandenreich]]
Ywach killed Yamamoto, who was the only person in the Gotei 13 who could've stood against him at that point, upsetting the balance of strength between the Vandenreich and Gotei 13, which is why Haschwalth didn't tell Ywach that his time limit was approaching, Haschwalth was hoping to get rid of Ywach without lifting a finger, since that failed he's probably hoping that Uryu will be able to kill Ywach somehow.
[[WMG: Haschwalth is being set up as Ryuuken's EvilCounterpart.]]
Don't have quite enough yet to put this on the character page, but: Haschwalth already has an OnlySixFaces resemblance to Ryuuken, and Kubo's started to exploit those for plot purposes. They've also got a similar stoic, dutiful demeanour. Teenage!Ryuuken shared Haschwalth's concern for the Quincy Clan above his own needs. Both were heirs apparent to powerful positions within clan (and Souken is being set up as the leader of [[BlackAndGreyMorality good-ish]] opposition faction, a possible counterpart to Yhwach) before unexpected events intervened. Haschwalth's scene with his female servant (whom he treats with unusual familiarity and warmth) where he explains why Yhwach appointed Uryuu heir echoes Ryuuken's exposition scene with Kanae about his unhappy engagement. The difference between them seems to be that while Ryuuken turned his back on the clan when the cost to his loved ones grew too high, Haschwalth has remained loyal to Yhwach no matter what. This may be setting up a showdown between them when Ryuuken finally cannot avoid fighting any longer.
[[WMG: Uryuu's ability to channel Ichigo's raw power is going to become significant again.]]
Remember the whole crazy Freudian [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything step-on-your-sword-and-my-bow-gets-big]] thing? One of Ichigo's biggest weaknesses as a fighter has always been his lack of fine controL, which Uryuu has in spades. Ichigo has newly discovered Quincy powers and no one to teach him to use them. The story is pushing them towards confrontation again but Ichigo and Uryuu have a common goal in avenging their mothers' deaths, like they did against the Menos Grande. Given their whole {{Foil}}[=/=]GenerationXerox[=/=]IronicEcho thing I think it's going to end the same way the second time around.
[[WMG: Haschwalth will betray Ywach but not the Vandenreich]]
Ywach killed Yamamoto, who was the only person in the Gotei 13 who could've stood against him at that point, upsetting the balance of strength between the Vandenreich and Gotei 13, which is why Haschwalth didn't tell Ywach that his time limit was approaching, Haschwalth was hoping to get rid of Ywach without lifting a finger, since that failed he's probably hoping that Uryu will be able to kill Ywach somehow.
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Changed line(s) 372 (click to see context) from:
*** Bankai are almost always significantly larger than Shikai so it is unlikely that Minazuki's Bankai isn't very large. considering Minazuki's size and how much larger than Shikai Bankai can be it is reasonable to think that it would be Kaiju sized and capable of causing a lot of damage even if that isn't what it's ability is. its ability is difficult to guess until we know what Minazuki's Shikai ability actually is.
to:
*** Bankai are almost always significantly larger than Shikai so it is unlikely that Minazuki's Bankai isn't very large. considering Minazuki's size and how much larger than Shikai Bankai can be it is reasonable to think that it would be Kaiju sized and capable of causing a lot of damage even if that isn't what it's ability is. its ability is difficult to guess until we know what Minazuki's Shikai ability actually is. if what we have seen is all it can do than it's Bankai is probably something along the lines of a even bigger version of the manta ray thing with an improved version of its healing ability.
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*** Bankai are almost always significantly larger than Shikai so it is unlikely that Minazuki's Bankai isn't very large. considering Minazuki's size and how much larger than Shikai Bankai can be it is reasonable to think that it would be Kaiju sized and capable of causing a lot of damage even if that isn't what it's ability is. its ability is difficult to guess until we know what Minazuki's Shikai ability actually is.
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Changed line(s) 576 (click to see context) from:
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* And now Bambietta has been beaten, and her friends are nearby seemingly to finish her off.
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Because why wouldn't ripping your own heart out be fatal?
to:
Because why wouldn't ripping your own heart out be fatal?fatal?
* All but Jossed, since his great-grandfather hinted Komamura is now doomed to a mindless animal's life.
[[WMG: Haschwalth is 'The Balance'.]]
It's a pretty obvious conclusion, given the theme of chapter 559.
[[WMG: Haschwalth will steal Shunsui's Bankai and be killed by it.]]
Ukitake told Shunsui not to release his Bankai where other people can see indicating that if other people see it there's consiquences. It's possible that people seeing it could result in the user's death...
* Given there are apparently 'rules' to using Shunsui's zanpakuto, it would be rather satisfying for these Bankai thieves to die because they don't know what they're dealing with. That said, no-one else seems to have trouble getting the bankai to work even if - in the case of Sasakibe's killer - they don't use them very ''well''.
* With every captain having received a Hollow pill, it's unlikely any more bankai will be stolen.
* All but Jossed, since his great-grandfather hinted Komamura is now doomed to a mindless animal's life.
[[WMG: Haschwalth is 'The Balance'.]]
It's a pretty obvious conclusion, given the theme of chapter 559.
[[WMG: Haschwalth will steal Shunsui's Bankai and be killed by it.]]
Ukitake told Shunsui not to release his Bankai where other people can see indicating that if other people see it there's consiquences. It's possible that people seeing it could result in the user's death...
* Given there are apparently 'rules' to using Shunsui's zanpakuto, it would be rather satisfying for these Bankai thieves to die because they don't know what they're dealing with. That said, no-one else seems to have trouble getting the bankai to work even if - in the case of Sasakibe's killer - they don't use them very ''well''.
* With every captain having received a Hollow pill, it's unlikely any more bankai will be stolen.
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Changed line(s) 693 (click to see context) from:
Looking at how Yhwach performs a ritual to appoint his next successor, which includes drinking something like sacred wine, I have suspicions that Yamamoto failed to kill Yhwach the last time because Yhwach managed to flee in some unorthodox manner (as in, his body probably went up in flames, but he survived). Add that to the fact that somehow the Quincy managed to concoct some weird myth about him (the 900 years to wake up, 90 years to get sober, 9 years to gain power etc), I suspect that he was absent for so long because he got 'killed' by Yamamoto, and needed to recover his strength. How? Perhaps by overtaking his so-called heir's body and soul and transform them into himself. Another reason for this theory is his IKnowYouKnowIKnow relationship with [[spoiler:Uryu Ishida, deliberately [[KickedUpstairs kicking him upstairs]] so that he can't revolt against him, but at the same time takes the time to ceremonialize his appointment so that in case Uryuu did manage to revolt, Yhwach wins anyway]].
to:
Looking at how Yhwach performs a ritual to appoint his next successor, which includes drinking something like sacred wine, I have suspicions that Yamamoto failed to kill Yhwach the last time because Yhwach managed to flee in some unorthodox manner (as in, his body probably went up in flames, but he survived). Add that to the fact that somehow the Quincy managed to concoct some weird myth about him (the 900 years to wake up, 90 years to get sober, 9 years to gain power etc), I suspect that he was absent for so long because he got 'killed' by Yamamoto, and needed to recover his strength. How? Perhaps by overtaking his so-called heir's body and soul and transform them into himself. Another reason for this theory is his IKnowYouKnowIKnow relationship with [[spoiler:Uryu Ishida, deliberately [[KickedUpstairs kicking him upstairs]] so that he can't revolt against him, but at the same time takes the time to ceremonialize his appointment so that in case Uryuu did manage to revolt, Yhwach wins anyway]].anyway]].
[[WMG: Komamura is going to die from his own transformation.]]
Because why wouldn't ripping your own heart out be fatal?
[[WMG: Komamura is going to die from his own transformation.]]
Because why wouldn't ripping your own heart out be fatal?
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Changed line(s) 637 (click to see context) from:
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** Not as ironic as it sounds. [[TheBible Elisha's bones revived a dead man.]]
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** Funny thing is that Yhwach has appointed an Ishida to be his successor, so if this goes through, an Ishida really will lead Wandenrecih in the future.
Changed line(s) 183 (click to see context) from:
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* Seeing that Yhwach says "(Uryuu) will be the same as me", it's also possible that Yhwach himself is the Stern Ritter A, where A stands for Alpha (leader).
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[[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WMG/BleachShikaiEdition Previous Page]]
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[[WMG: The dark skinned, bald Stern Ritter with a white beard that appeared in Chapter 543 is Stern Ritter V.]]
for The Vision since his staff has an eye in it.
[[WMG: Giselle Gewelle is Stern Ritter Z, The Zombie]]
We've received her letter, which is "Z". There aren't a great many Z words that could be used for a power, however, not only that, when Bambietta was defeated and Giselle and the rest of the Quincy Clique loomed over her, saying they'd be sad if she wasn't with them, Bambietta specifically looked at Giselle, terrified as all hell, and begged her not to do "it". Her power could very well allow her to turn people into mindless puppets, and this is what she is about to do to Bambietta.
* Following this, her Vollständig would most likely be '''Abdiel''' – ''Servant of God''. Or, for added irony, depending on how she views of the above power, '''Elisha''' – ''Salvation of God''.
for The Vision since his staff has an eye in it.
[[WMG: Giselle Gewelle is Stern Ritter Z, The Zombie]]
We've received her letter, which is "Z". There aren't a great many Z words that could be used for a power, however, not only that, when Bambietta was defeated and Giselle and the rest of the Quincy Clique loomed over her, saying they'd be sad if she wasn't with them, Bambietta specifically looked at Giselle, terrified as all hell, and begged her not to do "it". Her power could very well allow her to turn people into mindless puppets, and this is what she is about to do to Bambietta.
* Following this, her Vollständig would most likely be '''Abdiel''' – ''Servant of God''. Or, for added irony, depending on how she views of the above power, '''Elisha''' – ''Salvation of God''.
Changed line(s) 630,631 (click to see context) from:
B = Blade (?), MasterSwordsman, Haschwalth
to:
B = Blade Balance (?), MasterSwordsman, ???, Haschwalth
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Changed line(s) 630,631 (click to see context) from:
B = Blade, MasterSwordsman, Haschwalth
to:
B = Blade, Blade (?), MasterSwordsman, Haschwalth
Changed line(s) 644,645 (click to see context) from:
I = Iron, ???, Cang Du
to:
I = Iron, ???, SuperToughness, Cang Du
Du (heavily-implied)
Changed line(s) 664,665 (click to see context) from:
S = Strength, TheBrute, Mask
to:
S = Strength, Strength (?), TheBrute, Mask
Changed line(s) 668,669 (click to see context) from:
U = ???, Nanana
to:
U = Undermine (?), ???, Nanana
Changed line(s) 681 (click to see context) from:
Looking at how Yhwach performs a ritual to appoint his next successor, which includes drinking something like sacred wine, I have suspicions that Yamamoto failed to kill Yhwach the last time because Yhwach managed to flee in some unorthodox manner (as in, his body probably went up in flames, but he survived). Add that to the fact that somehow the Quincy managed to concoct some weird myth about him (the 900 years to wake up, 90 years to get sober, 9 years to gain power etc), I suspect that he was absent for so long because he got 'killed' by Yamamoto, and needed to recover his strength. How? Perhaps by overtaking his so-called heir's body and soul and transform them into himself. Another reason for this theory is his IKnowYouKnowIKnow relationship with [[spoiler:Uryu Ishida]].
to:
Looking at how Yhwach performs a ritual to appoint his next successor, which includes drinking something like sacred wine, I have suspicions that Yamamoto failed to kill Yhwach the last time because Yhwach managed to flee in some unorthodox manner (as in, his body probably went up in flames, but he survived). Add that to the fact that somehow the Quincy managed to concoct some weird myth about him (the 900 years to wake up, 90 years to get sober, 9 years to gain power etc), I suspect that he was absent for so long because he got 'killed' by Yamamoto, and needed to recover his strength. How? Perhaps by overtaking his so-called heir's body and soul and transform them into himself. Another reason for this theory is his IKnowYouKnowIKnow relationship with [[spoiler:Uryu Ishida]].Ishida, deliberately [[KickedUpstairs kicking him upstairs]] so that he can't revolt against him, but at the same time takes the time to ceremonialize his appointment so that in case Uryuu did manage to revolt, Yhwach wins anyway]].
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Changed line(s) 634,635 (click to see context) from:
D = Darkness, CastingAShadow, Askin
to:
D = Darkness, Darkness (?), CastingAShadow, Askin
Changed line(s) 648,649 (click to see context) from:
K = Killer, ???, BG 9
to:
K = Killer, Killer (?), ???, BG 9
Changed line(s) 658,659 (click to see context) from:
P = ???, Meninas
to:
P = ???, Play (?), MindScrew (?), Meninas
Changed line(s) 666,667 (click to see context) from:
T = ???, Candice
to:
T = ???, Toy (?), PeoplePuppets (?), Candice
Changed line(s) 678,679 (click to see context) from:
Z = Zombie, {{Necromancer}}, Giselle
to:
Z = Zombie, Zombie (?), {{Necromancer}}, Giselle
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Changed line(s) 628,629 (click to see context) from:
A = Alpha, BigBad, Yhwach.
B = Blade, MasterSwordsman, Haschwalth.
B = Blade, MasterSwordsman, Haschwalth.
to:
A = Alpha, BigBad, Yhwach.
Yhwach
B = Blade, MasterSwordsman,Haschwalth.Haschwalth
B = Blade, MasterSwordsman,
Changed line(s) 637 (click to see context) from:
J = Jail, TheJailer, Quilge
to:
J = Jail, TheJailer,
Changed line(s) 644,645 (click to see context) from:
Q = Question, TalkingTheEnemyToDeath (?), Berenice (confirmed except for exact power)
R = Roar, MakesMeWannaShout, Jerome (confirmed)
R = Roar, MakesMeWannaShout, Jerome (confirmed)
to:
Q = Question,
R = Roar,
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[[WMG: On that note, let's just speculate on the rest of the Stern Ritter letters, shall we?]]
A = Alpha, BigBad, Yhwach.
B = Blade, MasterSwordsman, Haschwalth.
C = ?
D = Darkness, CastingAShadow, Askin
E = Explode, StuffBlowingUp, Bambietta (confirmed)
F = Fear, EmotionBomb, As Nodt
G = ???, Lilotto
H = Heat, PlayingWithFire, Bazz-B (confirmed)
I = Iron, ???, Cang Du
J = Jail, TheJailer, Quilge
K = Killer, ???, BG 9
L = ?
M = ?
N = ?
O = Overkill, ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill, Driscoll (confirmed)
P = ???, Meninas
Q = Question, TalkingTheEnemyToDeath (?), Berenice (confirmed except for exact power)
R = Roar, MakesMeWannaShout, Jerome (confirmed)
S = Strength, TheBrute, Mask
T = ???, Candice
U = ???, Nanana
V = ?
W = ?
X = ?
Y = Yourself, VoluntaryShapeshifting, Lloyd (confirmed)
Z = Zombie, {{Necromancer}}, Giselle
A = Alpha, BigBad, Yhwach.
B = Blade, MasterSwordsman, Haschwalth.
C = ?
D = Darkness, CastingAShadow, Askin
E = Explode, StuffBlowingUp, Bambietta (confirmed)
F = Fear, EmotionBomb, As Nodt
G = ???, Lilotto
H = Heat, PlayingWithFire, Bazz-B (confirmed)
I = Iron, ???, Cang Du
J = Jail, TheJailer, Quilge
K = Killer, ???, BG 9
L = ?
M = ?
N = ?
O = Overkill, ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill, Driscoll (confirmed)
P = ???, Meninas
Q = Question, TalkingTheEnemyToDeath (?), Berenice (confirmed except for exact power)
R = Roar, MakesMeWannaShout, Jerome (confirmed)
S = Strength, TheBrute, Mask
T = ???, Candice
U = ???, Nanana
V = ?
W = ?
X = ?
Y = Yourself, VoluntaryShapeshifting, Lloyd (confirmed)
Z = Zombie, {{Necromancer}}, Giselle
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Changed line(s) 622 (click to see context) from:
to:
* Confirmed, essentially. Her E is "The Explode", but that's close enough.
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Changed line(s) 624 (click to see context) from:
If only because it's [[BlackComedy darkly funny]].
to:
If only because it's [[BlackComedy darkly funny]].funny]].
[[WMG: Yhwach's ritual of appointing successors actually also serve as implating SoulJar onto said successor.]]
Looking at how Yhwach performs a ritual to appoint his next successor, which includes drinking something like sacred wine, I have suspicions that Yamamoto failed to kill Yhwach the last time because Yhwach managed to flee in some unorthodox manner (as in, his body probably went up in flames, but he survived). Add that to the fact that somehow the Quincy managed to concoct some weird myth about him (the 900 years to wake up, 90 years to get sober, 9 years to gain power etc), I suspect that he was absent for so long because he got 'killed' by Yamamoto, and needed to recover his strength. How? Perhaps by overtaking his so-called heir's body and soul and transform them into himself. Another reason for this theory is his IKnowYouKnowIKnow relationship with [[spoiler:Uryu Ishida]].
[[WMG: Yhwach's ritual of appointing successors actually also serve as implating SoulJar onto said successor.]]
Looking at how Yhwach performs a ritual to appoint his next successor, which includes drinking something like sacred wine, I have suspicions that Yamamoto failed to kill Yhwach the last time because Yhwach managed to flee in some unorthodox manner (as in, his body probably went up in flames, but he survived). Add that to the fact that somehow the Quincy managed to concoct some weird myth about him (the 900 years to wake up, 90 years to get sober, 9 years to gain power etc), I suspect that he was absent for so long because he got 'killed' by Yamamoto, and needed to recover his strength. How? Perhaps by overtaking his so-called heir's body and soul and transform them into himself. Another reason for this theory is his IKnowYouKnowIKnow relationship with [[spoiler:Uryu Ishida]].
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She has an explosion of rage chapter 554.
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She has an explosion of rage chapter 554.554.
[[WMG: BG9's letter K is for "The [[KillerRobot Killbot]]"]]
If only because it's [[BlackComedy darkly funny]].
[[WMG: BG9's letter K is for "The [[KillerRobot Killbot]]"]]
If only because it's [[BlackComedy darkly funny]].
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This would explain how the characters that Genryuusai burned are back in the most recent chapters, as for the reasons why some characters haven't been brought back, Juha Bach may simply have no use for them.
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This would explain how the characters that Genryuusai burned are back in the most recent chapters, as for the reasons why some characters haven't been brought back, Juha Bach may simply have no use for them.them.
[[WMG: Bambietta's epithet is "The Explosion"]]
She has an explosion of rage chapter 554.
[[WMG: Bambietta's epithet is "The Explosion"]]
She has an explosion of rage chapter 554.
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* Jossed, they cannot steal Resurreccions. Hollow reiatsu is poisonous to Quincies.
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* All but Jossed, BG9 seems to be neither a man or a woman, but a robot.
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* Jossed, it was a shadow. Yhwach was being dragged back to the shadow realm underneath Seireitei.
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* Semi-confirmed by Quilge Opie. Souken Ishida denied the development of new Quincy techniques that Wandenreich uses, and stayed true to the old ones.
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* It's been revealed that Hollow reiatsu is deadly poison to Quincies, so if that mark was really from a Hollow, Ryuken's mom would've died before Yhwach could do anything to her.
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* Confirmed, he has found a way to stop Quincies from stealing bankai and even return the stolen bankai.
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* Jossed.
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* Byakuya has regained his bankai, so one half of the prediction has come true.
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*** ''TRIPLE-Jossed": We find out that [[spoiler: Ichigo's "bankai" is actually a manifestation of his Quincy powers, and not a true bankai.]]
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*** ''TRIPLE-Jossed": We find out that [[spoiler: Ichigo's "bankai" is actually a manifestation of his Quincy powers, and not a true bankai.]]
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*Somewhat jossed by the fact that we find out that the name Vandenreic refers to [[spoiler: Their status as a hidden organization with a king that stayed invisible within Soul Society, and that the Gotei 13 fought the Vandenreich in the past as well, not the 0 squad.]] However, it's also somewhat confirmed because [[spoiler: Isshin was head of the Shiba clan.]]
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[[AC:Manga/{{Bleach}}]]
[[AC: Please add new theories at the ''bottom'' of the page.]]
[[WMG: [[spoiler: The two shinigami introduced in chapter 480]] ]]
[[spoiler: They gonna somehow end up staying at Ichigo's place. Why. [[RuleOfFunny Because it would be funny,thats why.]] ]]
* [[spoiler: Jossed-ish, one of them is dead.]]
** This isn't confirmed yet.And afterall [[MemeticMutation nobody dies in Bleach]]. And Orihime isn't that far away either.
*** Chapter 481 came out, and it seems like my prediction was right.
**** They didn't stay for long, they had to go back to SS to attend Sasakibe's funeral. And then Vandenreich invaded.
[[WMG: Ivan is a Hollow/Quincy hybrid]]
So you have a Quincy who has died, and due to sercomstances become a Hollow, this Hollow merges with others to become a Gillian and eventualy dominates to the point of becoming a Adjuchas or Vasto Lorde. This Menos level Hollow eventualy is rips off their mask which would normaly result in an Arrancar but due to the Quincie orrigin they have Quincy powers instead of Soul reapers.
* It gets worse, actually. Chapter 483 shows that he's actually also capable of chanting something. Could be a kido, or since he's a Quicy, just another one of their spells. If that is kido.... Shinigami-Quincy-Hollow-everythingelse hybrid?
[[WMG: The Vandenreich are soul amalgamations.]]
They operate on the same general idea as powerful hollows, which are made from a large number of lesser hollows that have been devoured by another. The main difference being they're born from the fusion of the remnants of multiple types, such as shinigami, Quincy, hollow (including Arrancar) and spiritually aware humans. Possibly 'trash' parts of destroyed or damaged souls that become naturally drawn into a lesser level of reality where it all gathers, eventually forming an individual.
* Alterativly there part Zanpakuto not part shinigami
[[WMG: The Vandenreich are the antagonist version of Squad 0, their name denoting they are from the Spirit King's dimension.]]
Aizen was working with Vandenreich all the time (possibly a member, or trying to attain that higher being), the purpose is to foster and grow Ichigo's power to be able to kill off the Spirit King - only possible with Ichigo's fittingly named main attack. Yamamoto will eventually die as a final show off of how bad-ass the Vandenreich are, leaving the Spirit Kings key to Ichigo, who will then travel to the Spirit King's dimension for some serious whop-ass and endgame series. Series will end with Ichigo finding his destiny (i.e. realizing he's heir appearant to one of the four noble clans and successor to the Spirit King), but when it all comes down to business he will stay human and substitute shinigami.
[[WMG: Vandenreich is divided into two groups]]
The first group are the Quincies, who are on missions in the Human world and Hueco mundo exterminating Hollows, causing the barrier between Soul Society and the Living World to deteriorate. The second group is a "third spiritual race" whose powers can be described as the combination of Hollow and Fullbring powers, with the "manipulation of souls" mechanic of the latter. The Messenger and the Leader are members of this "Third Race"; they are the remnants of the original maintainters of souls in the world, alongside the Shinigami, until they were all but wiped out in a war between the two races 1000 years ago.
[[WMG: Vandenreich are making Arrancar with Quincy powers]]
Because Aizen made Arrancar with Soul reaper powers and....i'm just trying to make sense out of Ivan.
* Jossed. They are taken from Hueco mundo as a vanguard, not created.
** Still doesn't really disprove this, if we take "make" in the sense of granting them new power. Aizen "made" Arrancars by giving Hollows Shinigami powers with the Hogyoku, these guys "make" Quincy Arrancars by giving Arrancars Quincy powers through unknown means.
*** Not quite. First of all, arrancars are hollows who've broken (parts of) their masks. From my memory, the only time this has been achieved was by the usage of the hogyoko. Further, quincies are humans that have learned to sense and control reishi and reiatsu. While it's not completely impossible quincies could exist in soul society, there's really nothing supporting quincies being able to exist as quincies after death, as they would be reincarnated in soul society. Would they continue being quincies there, they'd be hunted down as per the old war. If they're not going to SS, they're going to Hueco mundo as hollows. As far as character storytelling goes, it's pretty obvious any quincy would kill himself sooner than becoming a hollow, not to mention that understanding the process of becoming a hollow diminishes the possibility of becoming one. While it's absolutely possible Vandenreich could've made 'quincy arrancars', it rhymes very bad with the bleach story so far. We now know Ivan along with probably other arrancars are forced to do Vandenreich's bidding, not created. While on the subject, it's more likely (IMHO) the Vandenreich are another 'clan' of hunters, similar but not identical to quincies. (Tessai originally describes the quincies as an offspring from these hunters). TL;DR: You may be right, but everything points to the arrancars employed by Vandenreich are taken from Hueco mundo, not created anew.
[[WMG: Ryuuken was once a member of the Vandenreich]]
He left when he was younger. He did not want Uryu to become a Quincy at first because he feared the Vandenreich would try and recruit him.
* Note that he seems to have been aware of Vandenreich methods for restoring one's powers after use of the Sanrei glove.
[[WMG: Ryuuken was trying to protect Uryuu from getting caught in the war between the Shinigami and the Vandenreich.]]
Whether he was personally involved with the Vandenreich or not, Ryuuken seems to have been aware of their existence and therefore likely realized that they would, inevitably, restart the conflict with Soul Society. The Shinigami would have been immediately suspicious of the Ishida Quincies, even if they were noncombatants...and Shinigami taking an interest in their family has never, EVER ended well. Likewise, the Vandenreich would not be kind to a tiny family of near-pacifist Quincies, one of whom had even negotiated with the Shinigami for peace. Ryuuken's complete withdrawal from the spirit world was the only way to guarantee that he and his son would not be drawn into the coming war. Remember that Souken said Ryuuken was protecting something specific through his decision to withdraw, and Isshin and Urahara have respected his decision to do so despite how much they could have used his help during the Winter War.
[[WMG: The Vandenreich capture and use Bankai for their own ends]]
Several members of the Vandenreich talk about "capturing Bankai" and back is Soul Society it was mentioned Sasakibe was able to use Bankai as well. As such I theorize that the Vandenreich actually steal bankai and become able to use it themselves.
* Just adding that I KNEW IT. At least they have shown that they steal Bankai, now to see if they can actually use them.
[[WMG: Ivan and Luders were Privaron Espada]]
Ivan was rather strong for your average Arrancar (assuming average is Numeros-level), having been sent to try to capture Ichigo's Bankai, and Luders was put in charge of the Vandenreich squad that declared war on Soul Society. Granted, both were killed off immediately, but it doesn't really change what they might have been in the past. The Privaron Espada were all Arrancar that were once Espada, but we only saw three such Arrancar. There are implied to be generations of Espada, with Aaroniero being the oldest of the Espada, apparently even before Aizen usurped Barragan as King of Hueco Mundo. If that is true, there were potentially more Privaron Espada than the ones Ichigo and Co encounter, unless the rest died over the years.
[[WMG: The Vandenreich Leader will curb-Stomp Ichigo and the gang]]
This is obviously going to happen, but when it does, i'll look like a genius.
[[WMG: The Vandenreich's power to seal Bankais is based on Szayel's research.]]
Szayel Aporro displayed the ability to prevent a Shinigami from entering Bankai from within a certain area (his room). The Vandenreich raided what was left of Szayel's research when they conquered Hueco Mundo, and improved upon it to create their Bankai sealing medallion.
* YES. Troper sir/ma'am, you're a genius!
[[WMG: The Vandenreich will kill Mayuri]]
The Vandenreich Quincies seek to destroy Soul Society for the Quincy genocide. Now, who within Soul Society had the most to do with that genocide? Who bragged about it to the person he presumed was the last Quincy? Who inexplicably carries photos of the "experiments" he conducted on Quincy subjects for shits and giggles?
My guess is this arc will give Mayuri a battle far more epic than his fights with Ishida and Aporro, possibly even killing him. We know now that Kubo is going to be less than hesitant about killing characters, and it only makes sense that the Vandenreich would be especially eager to see to it that Mayuri suffers. Considering the only reason a Bankai'd Mayuri wasn't killed by Ishida was because Ishida's aim was slightly off, he doesn't seem to have much of a chance against the enhanced powers of these new enemies (unless he has time to get CrazyPrepared like he did with Aporro).
The arc itself began with Mayuri, and it's been reminding us rather heavily that he is the one most involved with what happened to the Quincy. His new look even carries with it less of the comical CloudCuckooLander aura of the previous look and a return to the more sinister man he was when we first met him.
Mayuri's death could leave the door open for Kisuke to come back to Soul Society, which would be an interesting development in itself.
* Mayuri wasnt behind the genocide. Yamamoto was. It only seems like hes the most involved with the genocide because hes always with Uryu. Also, I remember reading that Kubo said Urahara wasnt going back to the Soul Society.
[[WMG: The final arc will see the return of characters from throughout the series, eventually resulting in a gigantic climactic battle featuring everyone.]]
We already know the Arrancar and surviving Espada are back. The Quincies as a race have returned as the Vandenreich. As Ichigo and co. are now technically aiding the Hollows, they as a race may work alongside the shinigami for now. As some [=WMGs=] above postulate, Aizen may return in some form. Hopefully this arc will involve Isshin enough to finally reveal his backstory. The Shibas will probably get involved. The budding spiritual powers of Karin and Tatsuki may develop. The other Visoreds will definitely come back.
What I think most likely though is that we haven't seen the last of the (surviving) Fullbringers. Sure, Jackie's just a regular human now, but Riruka and Yukio still have their powers and are just wandering around the place. Considering that they're proper canon characters, it seems unlikely that they'll disappear forever just because the Fullbring arc is over. How awesome would it be for one of our heroes to be cornered by a powerful bad guy, all hope nearly lost, everything goes silent, then... "Invaders Must Die"
* Mostly confirmed. Aizen is partly involved in the new arc; the Shibas have made an appearance with an uncle who is heavily implied to be Isshin, but it is the [[spoiler: DEAD Fullbringers]] who make a return to the story. It is a given for the other Visoreds to reappear in the story as well.
[[WMG: The Vandenreich are the murdered Quinces.]]
The Shinigami went genocidal on the Quinces years ago, killing hundreds of humans. What did they do with the souls? As far as I know, they can't force them into hell, they might have taken them to Seireitei and inprisoned them, which seems logical, or them might have attacked the souls. I don't know what happens when a plus soul is cut by a zanpakto, but I assume it's similar to when two shinigami fight and kill each other.
So if the Shinigami were so prepared for the Vandenreich, or at least seemed to be pretty quick to assume them Quinces, I think that after they killed the Quinces, some must have fled as souls, possibly to Hueco Mundo. Uryu stated that the increased reishi in the air increased his powers in Hueco Mundo, so I assume a large group of trained Quinces would be able to survive just fine for years, training, growing stronger and hating the shinigami. In the end, they hate them enough to even ally with arrancars in an attempt to destroy them.
* Force the arrancars to work for them*, other than that I like this WMG.
** It seems likely if you consider things like Mayuri saying that a human can't withstand the power that Uryuu gained when he removed the Sanrei Glove and Quilge Opie saying that the limited version of the Sanrei Glove went extinct 200 years ago (when the genocide of the Quincy's happened). Though I would like to add to the theory with the following: that the Quincy's split at some point in the past with one half chosing to wage a deliberate war against the Shinigami (which they lost a thousand years ago) and the second group that chose to only purge Hollows while still alive in the human world (and after death they may possibly have chosen to become Shinigami). The last group would then be the ones purged by Soul Society, 200 years ago.
[[WMG: The Vandenreich will succeed.]]
It will be the end of the soul Gotei 13 ''as we know it''.
[[WMG: Vandenreich Leader is named Ishida and is ancestor to modern Ishidas]]
That'd explain why Kirge was surprised that Uryuu arrows are weaker than his- Uryuu, as descendant of Leader, has to be powerful.
* Jossed his name is Juha Bach
Given what Ryuuken said in 531 about pure vs. mixed Quincy ancestry, Kirge may have expected Uryuu to be pure-blooded, not realizing that Ryuuken married beneath his station.
[[WMG: The Emperpor of the Vandenreich's surname will be revealed to be Uryuu's mother's maiden name.]]
Perhaps there's a ''reason'' she's never talked about or mentioned.
[[WMG: Ishida is one of the Stern Ritter]]
My money would be on the hooded dude.
* He's not that guy, but he has joined Vandenreich.
[[WMG: List of future battles]]
The following battles will happen eventually, but not necessarily during the Stern Ritter's invasion of SS (since said invasion is unlikely to be the only major confrontation between the 'Reich and SS):
* Mohawk Man vs Unohana
* Masked Woman vs Soi Fon
* Black Haired Girl vs Hitsugaya
* Blonde Member vs Kenpachi
And of course the Emperor vs Yamamoto.
[[WMG: Michael Jackson is a Stern Ritter]]
Take a look at the [[http://www.mangahere.com/manga/bleach/v53/c494/16.html guy on the far left]] and tell me that doesn't look like Michael Jackson? When he died, he became a Bleach Nazi, it's that simple.
[[WMG: After the Vandenreich prove too strong, and pretty much [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill annihilate everyone and everything]], the survivors will fall into a DespairEventHorizon and realize that they are [[OhCrap truly fucked]]. When all seems lost however...]]
[[BigDamnHeroes The Royal Guard]] will arrive and royally kick some ass.
[[WMG: There are 26 members in the Stern Ritter.]]
Based on the recent chapter, they have a letter added to each of them with "Stern Ritter -Insert letter-". This likely means that there is a theme where there are 26 of them total with the strongest being A, B, and C. The leader is likely Stern Ritter A with a hierarchy applied to the other 4 in command power.
* Putting my money on Stern Ritters letters will form a german word, allowing AllYourPowersCombined when we think they're toast.
** Two coming sternritters will have H and R, R will be a split body/personality type. And the word if fuhrer (führer).
* 26 Stern Ritter and 13 lieutenants (technically twelve) and 13 captains. Coincidence?
** Too easy. Count in Urahara shop-team, Squad 0, Isshin and Ryuken, Ichigo with gang and Iacto Arme. While Kubo does seem to like to introduce new characters, I highly doubt we'll see 26 Stern Ritters. But 26+ antagonists in total for the entire arc, why not.
[[WMG: Uryu is a Sleeper Agent and Ryuuken is a former Vandenreich]]
His father was a member of their group before he grew to dislike their cause (and overall dislike of his species as a whole), however, Uryu was exposed to the group before Ryuuken's defection, and they managed to mess with his mind, installing a "order" that he has to obey when certain criteria will be met, and he will be a loyal servant to the Vandenreich.
[[WMG: Ichigo's group will expand in the final arc]]
Ok, so far we've had the basic [[FiveManBand group]] in Bleach. Given that Nel has already returned, one can probably include her given that the Vandenreich will pose the biggest threat.
So, not counting any captains that may or may not survive the Vandenreich's invasion, it will be; Ichigo,Rukia, Chad, Orihime, Ishida, Renji, Nel, Grimmjow, (who'll probably start as Renji did, being a more vicious rival until a key moment), Harribel (Possible, if Ichhigo and co rescue her from the Vandenreich, and she decideds to join. Given how she hates wanton destrucion,and given that the Vnadenreich do just that, it's ample motivation for her)
* Grimmjow and Nel I can see but Harribel is too mature to become another member of the core group.
[[WMG: Ishida's loyalties will come into question, given that the Vandenreich are Quincies. Either way, he will regain his Letz Still form.]]
Ishida will be forced to decide whether or not he joins up with the Vandeenreich, or sticks with Ichio and co. Another possibility is that he will go to them simply for more power. It wouldn't be the first time that he's done something as such.
[[WMG: Mayuri Kurotsuchi is behind the Vandenreich]]
A while back, Kurotsuchi found the lab belonging to Szayel Aporro Granz. Inside, there were what looked like two bodies, hanging from the ceiling. After that, it was stated he made recurring visits to Hueco Mundo. In an interview, Tite Kubo was asked if the things Kurotsuchi found would be showing up. He answered, they wouldn't be showing up alone. I believe Mayuri Kurotsuchi found the corpses of several Quincy, and somehow managed to bring them back to life in some form or another. This would also explain why they started their takeover with Hueco Mundo; they were already there when they came back to life.
* This troper agrees. Besides, who knows more about Quincies than anyone else, due to cutting up a couple of thousand of them? And I'm still very suspicious about the whole "murdering innocent Rukongai citizens" thing.
[[WMG: The remaining Fullbringers will play a role in the final arc]]
They will help to hold off a Quincy invasion of the world of the living. Jackie will act as MissionControl for the surviving Fullbringers, using equipment given to her by Yukio. Oh, and Tsukishima is among the Fullbringers who survived.
** I hope so, Does anyone else wanna see Tsukishima becoming the SixthRanger of the main FiveManBand?
*** Well...[[spoiler: the ''dead'' Fullbringers are playing a role]].
[[WMG: The person who [[spoiler: sliced Kirge Opie in half was Grimmjow]].]]
It was mentioned he was supposed to return in the final arc. Also would explain why Urahara would be shocked and how [[spoiler: it looks like a zanpakuto is near his face]]. What better way to reintroduce the guy?
* My cents: [[spoiler:Kirio Hikifune]]. Why is Urahara shocked? Because ([[spoiler:Royal Guard]]) GoodIsNotNice, and Urahara knows that. [[spoiler:Royal Guard is also to be revealed in the final arc according to Kubo, and their assumed power level is in line with Kirge's slasher. Also, now's a good time for them to come save the day in SS.]]
** All but [[spoiler: confirmed]] in Chapter 518.
[[WMG: Kenpachi will OWN the Vandenreich.]]
After all, he doesn't have a Bankai to steal!
* Confirmed as of 502, at least two of them.
** And GLORIOUSLY JOSSED two chapters later.
*** However, he's received a huge power-up and will no doubt massacre the Vandenreich, given the chance.
[[WMG: Possible letter meanings for the Stern Ritter lettering.]]
We know [[spoiler: Kirge Opie is Stern Ritter J, which means "The Jail"]], so there is a meaning behind the letters. Another possible one to mention is As Nodt, who is F which could be "The Fear". Other suggestions could be listed bellow...
** A = TheAce or The Archangel given their themes.
** P = [[MarionetteMaster The]] [[PeoplePuppets Puppet]] given there was someone in the group who could control the bodies of several Soul Reapers.
** That would make him the puppeteer, not the other way around.
[[WMG: Ishida's actions in the story have given the Vandenreich an advantage against Soul Society.]]
This troper was reviewing Ishida's actions through the story, and realized something. Since the Vandenreich know of Ishida, what if they used him to observe Ichigo and Soul Society the entire time?
* In the Soul Society Arc: Self explanatory. Learn of SS defenses and (then) Captain and Lieutenant roster, (ESPECIALLY Mayuri, who given his actions and thoughts in the current arc is the biggest threat to them).
* In Hueco Mundo Arc: Vandenreich gets the full lowdown on hollows, and sees the strength of the Espadas and other Arrancar.
* Also, the Vandenreich probably finalized their assault's planning stages during the time skip. This means that they knew SS was transitioning again (reinstating the disgraced Viscored captains, Ichigo's depowerment, and SS potential to make Substitute Shinigamis)
** Brilliant except for one flaw: If they had -that- good intel, they'd attack right after Ichigo lost his powers and SS was still in turmoil. Ishida was back, unharmed, practically the same day the fighting ended, where lots of people had taken damage. Also, Vandenreich didn't seem to think they'd have a problem power-wise against SS now at full strength, so why not attack during the 17 months? I like wehre you're going, though.
** Considering the attitudes of the Vandenreich's forces, it seems to be more of a matter of crushing their spirit completely, something that Aizen pulled off multiple times against anybody, and [[spoiler: As Nodt pulled off on Byakuya.]] Hell, if their leader is strong enough to pose a challenge to Yamamoto, then he may have the right to gloat a bit. Not exactly pragmatic, I'll admit.
[[WMG: The Leader is the another usurper...]]
Like Aizen, his goal is actually to assert himself as a "god" by killing the soul king. Thus, he will have god like powers, and is also vastly more powerful than any of the Sternritter. Reasons? Ichigo vs Aizen was called Deicide. While Ichigo seems much weaker now, it would totally suck if the final arc ended with a less over-the-top battle than the Aizen/Soul Society/ Arrancar arc did. So, Ichigo will gain more ridiculous abilities and in the end, when everyone's tired from all the fighting, Sousuke will arrive and declare this "all part of my plan to eliminate my competitors for godhood!"
[[WMG: Ishida is already a member of the Vandenreich.]]
He opts out of the mission to Hueco Mundo without giving a reason, and when Ichigo assumes his motivation, he looks ''hella'' guilty. Also, Kirge's cryptic remarks about Ishida being stronger than him, along with him suddenly shutting up, suggests that there's something more to Ishida's absence than what Ichigo assumed. The supposed reason for Ishida's absense is also quite weak: in the SS arc he went with Ichigo despite having little interest in saving Rukia, so him not accompanying his friends to Hueco Mundo just because they are rescuing an Arrancar seems suspect.
* Opposing thought: Uryu Ishida is captured by VR, just as Harribel. This arc will be about Ichigo saving the last friend (Uryu). I'm guessing Uryu wasn't willing to aid the Vandenreich with his 'more pure' quincy powers --> captured. His father is an unknown survivor, just as Isshin is for SS.
* Jossed, but Uryu does join Vandenreich later.
[[WMG: The enemy that took out Rukia is Ishida]]
Nothing to go on except the above WMG and the fact we haven't been shown the assailant's face.
[[WMG: Ginjou will return as Sternritter "X"]]
For "Xcution". He was revived by the Vandenreich Leader and given Quincy powers.
* Jossed, [[spoiler: Ginjo ended up in the Rukongai and it looks like he's siding with the Soul Society on this one]].
[[WMG: Uryu will show up as Sternritter "A"]]
For "The Archer". He has shown a dedication to the bow and arrow unlike a lot of the other Sternritters.
* Semi-confirmed: he received letter "A", but it's not known yet what it stands for.
[[WMG: Ishida and the Emperor are related]]
It would explain why we haven't been told his name yet, and why Opie didn't think that he could be more powerful than Uryu.
* Since Yhwach's blood flows in every Quincy, they are related.
[[WMG: One of the Sternritter will have the power of resurrection.]]
There will be many more battles, both sides will suffer many casualties, but in the end, the good guys win. Suddenly, one of the Sternritter walks into the middle of the battleground, activates it's power, and all of the fallen Sternritter will get back up, perfectly fine and possibly even stronger than before.
[[WMG: The Vandenreich can't steal Ichigo's Bankai because:]]
His powers are too varied from all his battles. The Vandenreich know the basic structure of the captains, shikai, bankai, etc. Ichigo falls outside this area becasue he has the basics AND his hollow form, resurreccion (possibly), and fullbring powers. Added to this is that he's the only Shinigami thus far that has lost and restored his powers multiple times, then he's jsut too "unstable" for the bankai-sealing method to work.
** {{Jossed}}: In order for them to seal a Bankai, they have to know its full power and it has to be fully developed. Ichigo's isn't fully developed yet so they can't steal it.
** ''Double-Jossed'': Information in the latest chapter hints that [[spoiler: in-order to steal a Bankai, you must be stronger than the original wielder, since Ebern and Quilge were nowhere near Ichigo's strength, they couldn't take it, all they need is someone stronger than Ichigo to steal it]]...though considering that this is ''Ichigo'', they're probably not gonna have an easy idea with that...
[[WMG: Projected Stern Ritter fights]]
Since the fights are underway, I'll predict the wins and losses.
* Buckbeard vs Zaraki - Buckbeard wins.
** Status: '''Confirmed'''.
* Shunsui Kyoraku vs Commissioner Gordon - Kyoraku wins.
** Jossed, though he fails to kill Kyoraku.
* Hitsugaya and Matsumoto vs Scar - Scar wins.
* [=NaNaNa=] Najahkoop vs Rojuro Otoribashi - Rose wins.
** Status: '''Jossed'''. Najahkoop left without sustaining a scratch.
* Soifon and Omaeda vs Helmet Quincy - Helmet wins.
* Komamura and Iba vs Bambietta - she wins.
[[WMG: The Vandenreich will win]]
...and kill all the remaining Soul Reapers. Thus ending the Bleach series. The lesson will have been "attempted genocide against a highly proud race with powers to rival the Shinigami's was a ''very bad idea, Yamamoto''"
[[WMG:Affiliation of the Ishidas]]
Ryoken knew about the Vandenreich's existence and refused to associate himself with them and be known as a Quincy. He is working against them.
Uryu did not know until much later and is probably working with them now as a double agent.
The climax will most likely will be a battle between Ichigo and Uryu and end with one of them dying.
[[WMG:Ryuken Ishida has invaded Soul Society along with the other Quincies]]
Several of them have their faces hidden (for example the hooded guy, or the knight-helmet guy). And beyond one of those masks, Ryuken is hidden. Due to this revelation, Uryu will be forced into an internal conflict, having to choose between his friends or his family.
[[WMG: Bach has a way of resurrecting his followers]]
Assuming the three VR that Yama roasted are actually Dead, Bach has an ability that lets him resurrect them, along with the three Kenpachi ganked. He just seems way too calm about losing nearly half of his soldiers to two guys, and As Nodt and Busby at least had big introduction panels, which implies some more importance than being simply fodder.
* So has Unohana. \;D/
* Seemingly [[spoiler:confirmed]]. In chapter 513, Juha Bach stated [[spoiler:he plans to kill Ichigo, take him to their base, and revive him as an ally.]]
[[WMG: Ryuuken used to be a member of the Vandenreich, and that's why Opie assumed Uryuu must be powerful]]
In his youth, Ryuuken joined the VR and learned their techniques, and then left some time later. One of those techniques was how to restore Quincy powers (which explains why Soken told Uryuu the loss is permanent- he didn't know a restoration method). The VR assumed that because Ryuuken trained Uryuu, he must have taught him VR techniques, which is why he is assumed to be powerful by Opie.
[[WMG: Juhabach was the first Quincy.]]
This would just make a very good plot twist, the story possibilities are endless.
** Called it.
[[WMG: The Stern Ritters can be revived via Sklaverei.]]
You know, by having Juhabach, who is probably the strongest Quincy, simply put the Spirit Particles their bodies are composed of back together by "enslaving" them. It would explain why there are still so many of them when allegedly nearly all of the Quincies were wiped out long ago, with Juhabach apparently being the only survivor. [[spoiler: Also, it would explain why some seemingly rather important characters such as Busby (the guy who blew a hole through Kira!) and As Nodt (KILLER OF BYAKUYA KUCHIKI!) were wiped out without further ado by Yamamoto, when they could have played such major roles in the story later on.]]
[[WMG: Stern Ritter will invade Karakura Town.]]
Since their goal is genocide, they won't stop with conquering the Soul Society. Once they finish with Soul Society, they'll turn their sights toward exterminating the remaining Shinigami in Karakura Town: namely, Urahara's shop and the Kurosaki family.
* Who says they will [[TakeOverTheWorld stop with just Shinigami?]]
[[WMG: The real Juhabach is...]]
* Chilling out at the Ice Palace watching the show
* Pointing a sword at Urahara
* Actually Blondie OR swapped places with Blondie at the last minute
** That would explain why Blondie is the only member of the Vandenreich who was shown interacting with the fake Juhabach, talking to him in a very casual tone and even scolding him for killing the Arrancars. Well, if he's the real boss, that's natural.
** It would suck royally if the new antagonist couldn't handle Kenpachi's reaitsu while his henchman could (Blond SR was suffocated by Kenpachi's reiatsu). Even Espada #5 wasn't affected in that way.
** If it's really Blondie, he was most likely faking it. The enemies weren't supposed to know he was the real deal yet, he had to get Yamamoto to fight Fake Juhabach and use the full extension of his Bankai so it could be stolen.
* It's neither of those, the real Juhabach was [[spoiler: in the underground prison, talking to Aizen]].
[[WMG: None of the SR are actually the real deal]]
Related to the above WMG, the SR participating in the invasion are actually all puppets being controlled remotely by the real SR for the purpose of gathering information, and will now reveal themselves
[[WMG: The Real Juhabach is a woman.]]
Or more rather, Uryuu's mother.
* It would be so nice to have a female BigBad for a change.
** Subverted, The man we thought was Juhabach...[[ItMakesSenseInContext was Juhabach]].
[[WMG: Juhabach is Ryūken Ishida]]
And Uryu is on his side. That's why he was not with Ichigo.
* And maybe they have freed Aizen when they past in the Garganta like thing they use to travel.
[[WMG: We're going to find out that the Quincy were a lot worse than we thought when they had their war with the Shingami.]]
Okay so we know that when a Quincy kills a Hollow, and presumibly a Shingami, the soul is destroyed. This upsets the balance between worlds, and could destroy everything if it happens too much. Now it was stated that the Quincy didn't listen to the Shingami warnings about this. But now we are seeing some things that imply that Quincy powers could do even more awful things. As we saw with Kirge/Quirge, whatever, Volstandung can absorb even sentient biengs. And it seems like Jura Bach was in charge of the Quincys a thousand years ago. Back is not a nice guy. So we'll find out that even back then the Quincy had a fondness for absorbing or enslaving sentient biengs, and that Bach was already promoting a philosophy of being chosen ones who should rule.
* Think we're going to find out that the shinigami were a lot worse than we thought. Uruy's and other quincies hatred toward the shinigami must be backed up, otherwise the quincy could just as well have been allies.
** Well seems like the original members of the 13 Divisions were bloodthirsty and violent, and would use any means to win. Now we just have to find out what the Quincy were like.
[[WMG: Juha Bachs plan]]
In Chapter 510 I think I figured out the reason multiple Quincy got a bad case of stupid and tried to rush Captain Murder. They were ordered to. It was the real Bach that fought and defeated Zaraki and when Yamamoto confronted him he had a plan that when that happened a bunch of quincies would rush him to distract him for an instant, giving time for Royd to switch places and Bach to attack 1st division headquarters and weaken Yamamoto enough to seal his bankai.
[[WMG: Juha Bach killed Aizen when he refused.]]
What better way to say "fuck you" than killing the man your greatest enemy couldn't?
* This actually brings another WMG:
[[WMG: Juhabach does NOT kill Aizen when he blows up 1st Division's office, but rather knocks Aizen out to take him back to Hueco Mundo to reforge him into a Quincy.]]
Let's rewind back to how Opie recruits arrancars: If they simply accept the offer, they die. But if they refuse, they will be considered for joining. [[spoiler:Not to mention that a little later, when Juhabach manhandles Ichigo, he doesn't flat out kill Ichigo despite being capable to do so. Rather, he simply 'nearly' chops Ichigo's head off, then muses about reforging Ichigo into Quincy.]]
[[WMG: The Vandenreich's Bankai-stealing medallions can also steal an Arrancar's Resurrecion]]
It helped them conquer Hueco Mundo. However, due to the nature of Ressurecion as an Arrancar's sealed Hollow powers, the Quincies can not use them and can only take them away.
[[WMG: The new arrival at the end of 511 is...]]
* ...Ichigo, having broken out of the cage with a new powerup
** Confirmed!
* ...Ishida, having finally got off his ass and decided to get involved
* ...The Zero Division, having arrived earlier than Bach expected
* ...One of the war potentials that was being stored at the research department building.
* ...Aizen, pulling a [[BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork Big Damn Villain Moment]]
** Or less likely, DefeatMeansFriendship but with [[TrollingCreator Tite Kubo]] you never know
* ... Harribel, having escaped from the Vandenreich while their best fighters were busy elsewhere
* ... Isshin, rockin' it hard now that Yamamoto is gone.
** .. Bonus points if Ryūken is with him
* ... The so far unseen remaining Visords
* ... Kyon!!!
* ... The surviving Fullbrings
* ... Don Kanojii having gone through some major TrainingFromHell
[[WMG: Juha Bach is not as in charge as he thinks.]]
And he's about get his ass whupped for insubordination by whoever that new arrival is.
* I personally agree, with the caveat that the blondie that follows him around all the time is the one ACTUALLY in charge. There is no real reason for blondie to exist, he doesn't fight, and Bach has already proven himself more than willing to execute minions on a whim. So why would he need a sycophantic yes-man to follow him around all the time? ESPECIALLY due to the fact that blondie apparently could tell that Bach was out of time before he realized it himself.
[[WMG: The monster mentioned by Yamamoto in the flashback was sealed inside his body]]
The fire monster is probably the origin of where his powers came from and may very well have been the personification of his Zanpakto, when Yamamoto defeated it thousands of years ago he sealed it inside of himself. He mentions that in the event this monster would come back that he probably wouldn't be alive to see it, this seems to imply to me that with his death the monster will be free to roam. Juhabach killing Yamamoto is the worst mistake he could have made, now he is going to face an opponent even more dangerous.
* I interpreted it as the picture being of Yamamoto himself: "It's a monster that appeared in Soul Society a long time ago." - Yamamoto became Head Captain a long time ago. "It appeared when Soul Society was already in a difficult situation, and made it even worse." - According to Juhabach, the Gotei 13 that Yamamoto founded used to be blood-thirsty killers. "But it won't appear ever again." - Yamamoto is an [[TheAtoner atoner]], who doesn't want others to get caught up in Soul Society business. "[If it one day appears again] I probably won't come back." -Yamamoto didn't want to release his full power, but Juhabach forced him which lead to [[spoiler: Yamamoto's death]].
[[WMG: The knowledge Kurotsuchi obtained from dissecting Uryuu's grandfather will prove instrumental in defeating Vandenreich]]
Who else has studied Quincies well enough to know the perfect ways to fight back? It might even be retconned that preparing for this is why he did it in the first place .
[[WMG: Rukia will fight As Nodt]]
Given how Mohawk Quincy has apparently survived Yama's attack, its possible that As Nodt did. Perphaps Rukia will take him/her down in order to avenge Byakuya.
* Since Byakuya isn't dead, I think it's more likely that if As Nodt did survive Byakuya himself will take him down for poetic justice.
[[WMG: The Stern Ritter are all dead.]]
Because honestly, Quincies may be powerful, but they're still human beings. There's no way they could live for a thousand years. No, these are Quincies who have lived throughout the ages and long since died and gone to the Soul Society. Unbeknownst to the Soul Reapers, these Quincies retained their memories and powers and have been plotting their revenge for centuries, training and studying until they could overcome the Soul Reapers and destroy them.
* Confirmed. Three times.
[[WMG: The war potentials...]]
Are all descendants of the Spirit King. The reason why the war potentials confirmed so far are so ridiculously strong is because of the powers they have inherited.
[[WMG: Aizen SOMEHOW used Kyoka Suigetsu on Juhabach.]]
Juhabach only THINKS he [[spoiler: killed Yamamoto and saw Ichigo use Blut Vene. In reality, hes still in front of Aizen.]] Yes, Aizen mentioned seeing his zanpakuto break in front of him but whats to say the Hogoyku merely allowed him to [[FridgeHorror fuse his power with it, allowing him to control it whenever he wants?]]
** [[spoiler:Confirmed/Jossed. Juhabach did all that stuff, but Aizen apparently did something to screw with Juhabach's perception of time, making him miscalculate the time he could still safely remain outside of Vandereich. If his subordinate hadn't warned him about this things could have gone very badly for Juhabach.]]
[[WMG: The Vandenreich are people with Quincy Powers who have been ostracized by the "real" Quincies.]]
* After all, Ishida and his father have both claimed the title of the last Quincy, but when the Vandenreich show up, Ishida doesn't seem to question the use of another person using Quincy powers despite the fact that they are all supposed to be dead. Plot Hole? I think not. The Vandenreich are so bloody and violent that "true" Quincies ignore their order, but did not attempt to exterminate them due to the fact they still happened to be fighting a war with the Soul Society and knew they couldn't fight a battle on two fronts. It also explains why Vandenreich were able to hide for so long, Ishida was never told about the evil sect of quincies that use the alphabet to murder people.
** We don't know whether Ichigo actually told Ishida about Ivan using a quincy cross or not.
*** It seemed pretty clear that Ichigo told him, especially considering Ishida is seeming to stay out of the fight for that very reason.
**** Actually, Ishida stayed out of the fight because he didn't like the idea of helping Arrancar. At no point did he mention the Quincy- which he definitely would have if Ichigo had told.
***** And it would not be the first time Ishida used a convenient excuse to get his way. After all, he knows Nel, Don Don Chakka and Pesche aren't on the scale of evil hollows who eat people.
[[WMG: Ryuken will be Bleach's Snape.]]
Spoiler for those who didn't read the last Harry Potter book: [[spoiler:Just like Snape was in love with Lily and despised James and therefore Harry, Ryuken was in love with Masaki, but she'd rather choose the enemy, the Shinigami. They got married, and we know Ryuken eventually got married (or not) and had a child of his own too. When Masaki died, Ryuken was heartbroken and that's why he retired as a Quincy. He blames Isshin, that's why he's cold towards him (and well, because he took her away from him to begin with)]]. Additionally, we probably won't know what side he really is until the end, just like Snape.
[[WMG: By the end of this arc...]]]
Ichigo will be captured by the Vandenreich.
[[WMG:Shutara is the co-creator/mother of Nemu.]]
Or at least influenced her design
* it's implied that she and Mayuri apparently know each other.
[[WMG:Shutara was in charge of the Nest of Maggots before Urahara.]]
Or was the one one to put Mayuri in there.
[[WMG: At least one of the Zero Squad 'Captains' is a Hollow or a Quincy]]
Why? Because at this point Tite Kubo has kind of written himself into a corner. The Quincies can steal Bankai, and it was just demonstrated that their high-level fighters are ALL more powerful than the Captains at their Shikai level. The only real way to deal with that? Either somebody like Zaraki, who doesn't HAVE a Bankai, or to have a Hollow or Quincy fight them - since their power doesn't come from a Bankai. Since the Shinigami aren't trying to wipe out the Hollows (By definition, they CAN'T, as new Hollows will always be created), it stands to reason that at least one Vasto Lorde or Quincy saw the damage the Quincy were doing by actually DESTROYING Hollows, and decided that it would be a good idea to side with the Shinigami to help maintain balance. Since nobody from the Gotei 13 ever really sees Zero Squad, none of them knew who Juha Bach was, and only the oldest Captains had met a couple of them personally, it really wouldn't be that hard to slide a Hollow or Quincy into the squad at the end of the Quincy war and claim he was 'former captain of the 2nd Squad', or something like that. Really, of the Gotei 13, only Yamamoto or Unohana would know for sure at this point.
* To elaborate further, so far, we have only seen THREE Vasto Lorde class Hollows in the series - Starrk, Barragan, and Hallibel. Since there were a LOT of Adjuchas seen (most of the Fraccion, remaining Arrancar and rejected experiment Arrancar were former Adjuchas - I think the total number is around 50 or 60), there have to be at least a couple more.
* They make it sound like the zero squad members are stronger than yamamoto, and the only quincy powerful enough to steal yamamoto's bankai was juhabach... so their bankais should at least be safe against everyone except for juhabach
[[WMG: Byakuya didn't die because of ExecutiveMeddling.]]
Almost everything in the manga suggested that he would really die (including the volume 57 poem). The editors ordered Kubo to keep him alive because of his PopularityPower.
* Maybe Kubo kept him after realizing that would mean he wouldn't be able to design any new outfits for him.
[[WMG: The hooded Sternritter is a Shiba]]
A lot of attention was paid to this random character's hood coming off, so we know he's going to be important. We've also learned that the Shiba siblings have an uncle who would disapprove of Ichigo going into danger, and the overwhelming fan consensus is that this is Isshin. The Sternritter losing his hood revealed hair very similar to that of the Shibas, so perhaps this Quincy was an older child of Isshin and Masaki's from before they settled down in the human world that inherited only Quincy genes, and his birth is what disgraced the family and forced Isshin into hiding?
* His name is Cang Du. Sounds Chinese, so it's unlikely he's related to Shibas.
[[WMG: Once Zaraki finishes his training, he will be pissed]]
I'm not even talking about just pissed at the Vandenreich, but at Shunsui as well and possibly Unohana. Think about it, he has only used kendo ONCE and he even states that he hates it because it ends the battles way too soon, but he couldn't get openly angry at Yamamoto for making him learn it due to just how much more powerful Yamamoto still was compared to him. Now they are going to unleash his full potential and then when he sees how quickly his battles end (even if he still handicaps himself) he is going to be angry at those who forced him to learn this and caused him to never be able to have fun again. Shunsui might be able to take him, Unohana has a strong possibility of taking him, but they won't be able to stop him in time and he goes on a rampage causing massive collateral damage.
[[WMG: Contributions to Soul Society is more important than power when determining the potential to enter the Royal Guard]]
It's only when you're training in there that you become so much more powerful than the entire Gotei 13. Hence why Aizen would have wanted it so much. It would have been awful if Aizen and Tosen got in there.
* Urahara was probably not considered eligible for several reasons: '''a)''' He was expelled from Soul Society. Had they known about all his accomplishments, he might have been accepted. '''b)''' He might have been seen as "too derivative" or not original enough like the other five.
[[WMG: Unohana's Bankai is going to be similar to Tsunade's Genesis Rebirth technique]]
What the technique does is literally allows you to regenerate any physical wound as long as you have chakra (or reiatsu, as it were). This would explain why SHE is Kenpachi, rather than Yamamoto - as this would make Unohana literally unkillable unless you could outlast her. And in a long, drawn out, fight to exhaustion, where YOU are taking damage but SHE isn't, the odds are stacked HEAVILY on her side. Even minor wounds will start to add up, as she remains pristine until she reached CriticalExistenceFailure at the limit of her reiatsu.
* This would also explain her relative youth.
** We should also consider Unohana's battle data and the abilities of her Shikai, not to mention her personal history. These are the facts: Unohana was the First [[spoiler:Kenpachi.]] This is an extremely battle-oriented position, obviously. Her battle data- offense comparable with Yamamoto- also reflects this. At some point, presumably afterwards, she was taught the art of healing and became largely nonviolent, although still Soul Society's great Kendō master. Now, most important of all is the ability of her Shikai. Bankais are, without exception, exaggerations or compressions of the fundamental nature of the Shikai. Unohana's Shikai is the ability to turn her blade, Minazuki, into a green gas capable of transforming into a giant, flying medevac manta ray, itself capable of transforming(sprouting feet, for instance). Who knows what else Minazuki can transform into ''just in Shikai.'' This evidence points me to only one, horrifying conclusion: Unohana Retsu's Bankai is ''whatever she damn well wants it to be.'' She could probably transform it- or fuse with it- to become a giant Kaiju-like monster ''specifically designed to exploit their opponent's greatest weaknesses and worst nightmares.''
*** I think you're putting too much stock into the fact that her Shikai can grow legs. If it is simply a massively powerful healing Zanpakuto, there is actually a whole lot more FridgeHorror in what she could do than just having Godzilla. First, of course, is what I already pointed out - if you are basically unkillable, all you have to do is inflict a DeathOfAThousandCuts and bleed your opponent out. In addition, being a healer means that you know exactly how much punishment a body can take - and EXACTLY where [[ForMassiveDamage critical strikes need to be placed to kill.]] But also, you could HEAL them to death. Think about it this way: your body utilizes white blood cells as it heals to combat infection, close wounds, and pretty much keep your body running. Do you know what happens when white blood cells multiply excessively? LEUKEMIA. Do you know what happens when you get an overdose of almost any painkiller? DEATH (and usually not a very pretty one, either). In fact, a sufficient overdose of almost all drugs in a hospital can be fatal. Also, with regards to the brain - while the real science is arguable, since this IS Shonen, if she were to 'heal' somebody's brain back to unmarked perfection - she could theoretically totally [[MindRape wipe a person's entire memory, experience, and personality out - PERMANENTLY]] (in some comic book continuities, this is why Wolverine has huge gaps in his memory - if his brain is damaged, it 'heals' back to normalcy, but he can't regrow his memory). That's not even getting into the more abstract possibility that she could 'heal' somebody's emotional damage (as in, everything even slightly bad that ever happened to them) - totally robbing anybody of their motivation to fight, or do anything but stare blissfully at the sky. I'd be a hell of a lot more afraid of any of those possibilities than just fighting some lame Godzilla like Komamura has.
**** You've gravely misunderstood my point here. Okay, yes, my theory is speculation as well, but at least I provide canonical ''reasons'' why I formulated that hypothesis, instead of just pointing out what I think would be cool or useful in a fight, as you seem to be doing. Look at the evidence: it seems very clear that Unohana was the Kenpachi before she was taught healing, ergo her Bankai and Shikai-which rob her of a handheld sword, despite her best skill being Kendō- presumably have some direct means of offense(consider her 100 offense stat!). Her Shikai is a green gas that can transform into a manta ray, and presumably other things as well, given Minazuki's ability to adapt while in manta form. She can use her Shikai to heal, yes, but the method is extremely roundabout and indirect, as if it were an added feature(fitting my theory), unlike, say, the HealingShiv that is Hanataro's Hisogomaru. More importantly, you've completely missed the point I was trying to make about her Bankai. I said it could be a Kaiju-like monster, yes, ''but only if that's what Unohana decides is should be.'' I hypothesize that her Bankai is an extension of her gaseous, transforming Shikai. Something she could tailor to exploit any opponent's weaknesses and worst nightmares, whether it be a Kaiju, or a LightningBruiser, or a GlassCannon, and so on and so forth. This would also help to explain why she puts the fear of god into hardened soldiers with just a smile.
***** I've got to side with the first guy. You're taking a peripheral travel ability of her Shikai that nobody even mentions in-story or thinks is unusual (allowing it to grow legs to land), and somehow think that it means that her Bankai is literally whatever she wants it to be? That is so stupidly broken that it immediately begs the question of why she didn't use it to slaughter Aizen, the Arrancar, the Quincies, and Juha Bach single-handedly instead of allowing thousands of Shinagami to die. Several other Zanpakuto can change forms as well - Byakuya can go from sword -> petals -> swords -> crazy winged sword, Gin's turns to dust and reforms at a longer length, etc. Kubo has been pretty religious about sticking to a single 'theme' for each Bankai - so far we have ice, fire, wind, lightning, speed, melee power (several), ranged power, sense distortion. You honestly think her 'theme' is 'whatever she wants'? Her Zanpakuto, 'Minazuki', translates as, 'Purify the Flesh'. While a lot could be made of what that may or may not mean, 'transform into whatever I feel like' isn't one of them. More likely it is an acid type zanpakuto (she specifically states that Minazuki's stomach acid is what is healing the ones in its stomach), and it has a number of types of acid she can use.
***** Interesting take. Although it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that I claimed it's anything she wants it to be, in context what I meant was that Minazuki's green gas could transform into any shape or creature, not suddenly turn into some broken Kido-type like Ruri'iro Kujaku or Wabisuke, or an elemental type like Ryuujin Jakka. Again, we always have to defer to the facts- any explanation of Unohana's speculative Bankai has to take into account the little that we already know of her powers and battle data. Those facts are: she is of average speed, with Yamamoto-level offense and above-average defense. Her Kido and Kendo are best in class, and her physical strength exceeds Yamamoto's. Her Shikai, Minazuki, is a rather sinister-looking green gas that can transform into a giant manta ray monster capable of flight and healing via stomach acids(although Nel's healing saliva, for example, didn't end up meaning much about her powers either, no possibility can be ruled out at this stage). Unohana mostly heals using Kido, instead of Minazuki, instead using it to transport the wounded and provide first aid. Minazuki's composition appears to be semi-solid, as its flesh can be seen flowing like viscous liquid to form feet. People are absolutely terrified of her. She was the Kenpachi. This is all we know so far. I maintain that her Bankai is transformation-oriented, with secondary healing powers(similar to how Kyoraku's powers are kid's games with a secondary RazorWind aspect, or Yamamoto's are flames with a secondary Undead aspect), but I'm more than willing to admit a case can be made for an acid- or gaseous- based dissolving attack, which in itself is pretty mortifying. That, or possibly making someone turn into a seeping mass of tumors and cancer(the "over-healing" theory, but who knows how monsters figure into that). Lastly, I'd like to point out that the translation of Minazuki, "Purify the Flesh," is both vague ''and'' a pretty hit-or miss metric of guessing. Some examples: Kyoraku's secondary power, wind, is mentioned in his Shikai command, but its primary power, children's games, is not. Minazuki could possibly be the same, the name(or the as-yet-unheard Shikai command) only referring to the secondary power. Also, there's Ruri'iro Kujaku, whose name means azure peacock. Hardly indicative of vampiric draining, but it does mildly reflect what the thing looks like. This is why I theorize that hearing Minazuki's Shikai command will be both a giveaway of its true power, and a CrowningMomentOfAwesome. Just imagine- "Transform, Minazuki!" Or "Dissolve their flesh, Minazuki!" Or "Suffocate them, Minazuki!" I can't really imagine a cool one for the over-healing theory, though. "Heal, Minazuki!" Just doesn't have much terror or verve to it.
[[WMG: Aizen was once a member of Squad Zero]]
It would explain why he knows the Spirit King's true nature, and why he was so incredibly powerful. And Shutara condemns him so harshly, it seems almost like she has something personal against him.
Think about it- in the Spirit King's realm there are five cities, one for each member of the guard, which indicates that there are always five members of the Royal Guard.
During the Vizard mini arc Kirio Hikifune was promoted to the Royal Guard- which may mean that she was a replacement for somebody who had already left. Aizen was a Lietenant at the time, true, but who's to say that the guard didn't wait a while to find a suitable new candidate to replace him? That would have given him more than enough time to reach a strong position in the Gotei 13.
[[spoiler:It may also be the reason why he knew what the Ouken really was, having once been one himself.]]
(On a silly note, it would also be hilarious if he was the previous owner of the food palace- which could actually explain why no one from the Gotei 13 knew who he was... they may have only ever seen him in his overweight form.)
[[WMG: The final battle will be a coalition of old allies and enemies versus the Vandenreich.]]
Think about it. They've been rapidly reintroducing the Shibas, the slain members of Xcution, Harribel, Nel, the remaining Visoreds, and an implied Grimmjow. I'd be willing to bet that Kukaku, Ganju, Tsukishima, Giriko, Ginjo, Harribel, Nel, Hiyori, Lisa, Mashiro, Love, and Grimmjow are going to aid in the fight, especially because they all (save for Love) likely lack Bankai and fight in other ways, which makes them trump cards. Personally, I'd love to see Kukaku get into a scrap; being that she's the eldest Shiba, she's gotta have some power to her.
[[WMG: Gunslinger Quincy is an Ishida]]
He looks like a skinnier Soken excluding his hairstyle, he even wears identical glasses. It also explains why Quilge thought it was impossible that Uryu's attacks could be weaker than his.
[[WMG: The Helmet Quincy will be a woman]]
* Why? [[TrollingCreator Tite Kubo]], that's why...
** It can't be a woman - they don't have a huge rack, and this is Tite Kubo we're talking about.
** C'mon, not ''every'' woman Kubo draws is that stacked. Many are, but not ''all'' of them.
[[WMG: Unohana Retsu and Unohana Yachiru are effectively two separate people.]]
* Unohana Retsu does not have Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder). Instead, she has completely detached and segregated two aspects of her personality, or soul: Retsu, the motherly doctor, and [[NightmareFuel Unohana]] [[AxCrazy Yachiru,]] [[BloodKnight the first Kenpachi.]] What happens to a soul or a shinigami that has completely suppressed or fundamentally changed their personality? Their Zanpakuto, which is an outgrowth or reflection of their soul, changes ("evolves") as well. Other theories have pointed out that Unohana might do this to alter her sword in the same way Yumichika changes his Shikai. Essentially, whilst there may be a common theme to them, Retsu and Yachiru's Zanpakuto powers manifest themselves completely differently. Retsu uses Minazuki to heal and transport the wounded. Yachiru uses the monster to completely decimate everything around her. [[FridgeBrilliance And Tite Kubo had planned all of this the entire time.]] After Retsu "lets Yachiru out," so to speak, she will have difficulty putting the Genie back into the bottle, and everyone around her will want her to turn back to normal.
[[WMG: Yachiru Kusajishi will kick Vandenreich's ass by releasing her bankai.]]
* Because giving weak characters new devastating powers is so very Kubo. Also, RuleOfCool.
** The same Vandenreich who have been stealing any Bankai that gets used?
** Don't forget about the theory that Yachiru already IS Zaraki's Zanpaktou. Looks a whole lot more likely since the new "Number One Zanpaktou Maker" has a whole bunch of materialized Zanpaktou hanging around him.
*** That theory seems unlikely in light of Chapter 527, [[spoiler:as Unohana notes that Kenpachi's "partner" (i.e. his Zanpakuto) has awakened after his apparent felling of her.]]
[[WMG: Reasons why Unohana develops 'Retsu' and abandoned 'Yachiru' for a long time.]]
Probably we will get a flashback arc later, detailing Unohana's past. And the reason why she went from a psychotic bloodthirsty killer into an unflappably kind and compassionate TeamMom MamaBear? My theory is that she did find a MoralityPet as Yachiru but due to her blood lust, she ended up killing the MoralityPet in accident and this sparked guilt, regret over her actions. She can't erase her criminal record, but at the very least, it spurs her to become a good person as an atonement, thus she develops the motherly persona. She picked the new name 'Retsu' AKA 'violent' as a reminder of what she was before and that she will be forever spending her time doing good and all to atone for her mountainload of sins.
* The alternate theory is that Yachiru is the child of Unohana/Zaraki, and that her big change came when she realized that she would be a TERRIBLE mother. So she left the kid with Zaraki, and worked on her 'mother personality' so she could someday claim the kid.
[[WMG: Zaraki has never been able to talk to his Zanpakuto and unleash his Shikai because he's never been desperate enough to resort to it.]]
His pride subconsciously prevents him from doing so whenever he's wanted to before. Now that he's facing murderous Unohana and faced with the prospect of dying without ever surpassing her, he's willing to resort to anything, which is just what his Zanpakuto needs in order to get through to him.
[[WMG: 525's CliffHanger ending isn't really the end of [[spoiler: Unohana Yachiru]]. [[TrollingCreator Tite Kubo is just trolling us.]]]]
* Consider this: [[spoiler: we are faced with the prospect, as stated by Kyoraku, that]] one of them will die. [[spoiler: as of this chapter, Unohana Yachiru is brutally slashed by Zaraki after killing him over and over again, and reviving him. This is because each time he dies, he subconsciously starts fighting closer to his true limit. This can be construed as Unohana being the one that ultimately had to die; by her own admission, she was the weaker(although deadlier and more skilled) of the two of them.]] '''BUT,''' before speculation runs rampant, even before Kyoraku's revalation, Kubo stated in an interview that [[spoiler: we would see Unohana's "True Power" and her Bankai will be revealed in the Vandenreich arc. This hasn't happened yet, so clearly that wasn't a fatal blow, least of all to someone with the unbelievably broken ability to repeatedly heal FATAL WOUNDS with her SEALED ZANPAKUTO.]]
** Or, alternatively, Yachiru Unohana DOES die, but Retsu survives. True defeat and satisfaction is just what she needed to really move on.
[[WMG: The black stuff that forced Juha Bach to retreat is a marker for hell to track him down]]
* It's been said that humans living lives of sin don't get into the Soul Society when they die, they are dragged to hell when purified by a Soul Reaper, Juha Bach survived the battle with Yamamoto but eventually died making him lose his powers temporarily due to lacking spirit energy, which allowed him to be sent to hell, which he eventually escaped and has to hide in Schatten Bereich to avoid being dragged back to hell.
[[WMG: Ichigo will get a Quincy-style Spirit weapon]]
* Well it looks like he won't have Zangetsu for a while.
** Question is, where is he going to get one powerful enough for him to stand on par with the Vandenreich? Ishida and Ryuken? Ishida was almost always weaker than Ichigo ''before'' the Vandenreich came along.
** He only needs it until he gets Zangetsu back.
*** And then proceeds to [[AllYourPowersCombined combine them together along with his Hollow powers]] to create an upgrade strong enough to defeat Yhwach. Don't look at me like it couldn't happen.
** Don't need to, since he will get a zanpakuto. [[spoiler: Not to mention he always been using a Qunicy-based weapon anyway.]]
[[WMG: Retsu's bankai is..]]
* Shikai and bankai are always related, but hers seem very different, right? But what if her bankai, instead of being a bigger badder version of her shikai, is simply the other side of the same ability. Her shikai heals people, and her bankai melts them away. Her bankai ''absorbs'' flesh, while her shikai ''dispenses'' it.
** You don't even need to dig that far into it. When she was healing people with her shikai, she specifically stated that it's stomach acid was what was healing them. If it is just a straight acid-type, presumably it has a different acid that hurts people.
[[WMG: The Ishidas are Vandenreich Rejects.]]
There's a reason that Arrancar-Vandenreich recruit went after Ichigo and not Uryu. The Ishidas were likely a family of Quincies who chose to go against the Vandenreich in some way, likely because they didn't agree with the proposed Shinigami genocide or something, and thus the Vandenreich rejected them.
[[WMG: Masaki used Letzt Stil.]]
She used Letz Stil to save Isshin from whatever it was he was fighting so she loses her powers explaining why she got killed by Grand Fisher so easily.
* She managed to kill the Hollow without Letzt Stil. She might still use it in the future, though.
** On the other hand, doesn't a Quincy need a Sanrei Glove in order to go Letzt Stil? And the only known Sanrei Glove is currently in Souken Ishida's possession.
[[WMG: The hollow attacking Karakura is a Vasto Lorde, and Issin is in way over his head.]]
He must use the Final Getsuga to defeat it, hence his depowering. That still leaves the fact that [[spoiler: the hollow looks almost exactly like Ichigo]] unexplained, though.
[[WMG:The Vasto Lordes attacking Karakura Town is Zangetsu and is created by both Yuha Bach '''and''' modified by Aizen.]]
Zangetsu is a Vasto Lordes(Created by Yuha Bach and later discovered, named and modified by Aizen) that was sealed in Ichigo and not a true Zanpakuto Spirit. Zangetsu's name while similar to Isshin's Engetsu that is only a Red Herring and the Zanpakuto that Zangetsu is named after is Kyōka Suigetsu. The reason I think Yuha Bach created Zangetsu is that they have similar appearances and that he adressed Ichigo as his "Son born in Darkness" which may have actually been addressed to Zangestu. Grand Fisher's 3 attacks were failed attempts to reclaim Zangetsu for Aizen's purposes.
* ...Holy ''shit.'' That would explain Ichigo's Asuachi debacle; ''he never had his own Asauchi Zanpakuto to begin with.'' Zangetsu was just sort of... There the whole time. And his fused form looks disturbingly like [[spoiler: an amalgamation of this new hollow and a Tensa Zangetsu. And the new hollow just happens to have blades for arms...]] I'm not saying I believe this explanation, but ''damn'' if it isn't internally consistent.
* If this is true, then Ichigo is basically [[AllYourPowersCombined the human reincarnation of a powerful Hollow, born to a depowered Shinigami and a depowered Quincy]]. Which would also make Aizen Ichigo's ''creator''. Yeesh.
[[WMG: The hollow that Isshin and [[spoiler:Masaki]] are fighting is pre-Arrancar Wonderweiss.]]
Just the way Tosen was particular about referring to him as 'pure' and 'light,' in the same way that he did for Wonderweiss in Hueco Mundo... It makes me wonder.
* I doubt it, it was killed.
[[WMG: Zangetsu is actually [[spoiler:the soul of the Shinigami who was used to create the Black Hollow.]]]]
The Black Hollow that was created with [[spoiler:the Shinigami's soul]] "infected" Masaki when it bit her, and its power was passed on to Ichigo. Zangetsu isn't a normal zanpakutou, it's [[spoiler:the Shinigami protecting his host. "Hollow" Ichigo is the manifestation of whatever it was Aizen did to the Shinigami to create a Hollow out of his soul.]]
* As of Chapter 540, this seems to be Jossed. Zangetsu is [[spoiler: a younger Yhwach.]]
[[WMG: Masaki isn't dead]]
And is in fact currently infiltrating the Vandenreich.
* Pretty much Jossed. [[spoiler:She was stripped of her powers and became an easy prey for the Grand Fisher]].
[[WMG: Uryu will develop a Vollständig.]]
Because it's been a while since he received a power-up. And his Quincy training is nowhere near the level of Vandenreich.
* Seems likely, [[spoiler:now that he has joined Vandenreich]].
[[WMG: Ichigo is special because of his unique heritage.]]
Think about it. His dad's Shinigami, his mom's a Quincy who had a hollow inside her when he was conceived, which also makes him a Fullbringer! The combination of these traits makes Ichigo who he his, so that by the time he learns his past, how he came to be, then it will unleash a new power inside him.
[[WMG: Uryuu is a [[spoiler:FakeDefector.]]]]
[[spoiler: He's joined the Vandenreich out of a want for revenge (something he has a history of) and will attempt to off the Emperor. This, of course, will end badly, and he will probably be killed in the attempt.]]
[[WMG: Alternately, [[spoiler: Uryuu is an [[TheInfiltration infiltrator]] into the Vandenreich.]]]]
[[spoiler: Someone, possibly Urahara or Kyouraku, has sent him to spy on the Vandenreich to figure out what their next move will be.]]
* [[spoiler:Ryuuken would be another possibility for Uryuu's Mission Control. As a Quincy, Ryuuken probably knows more about the ideology and internal organization of the Clan than the Shinigami do, he's got a solid motive against Yhwach considering what happened to Kanae, and he's quite capable of playing the LongGame, with or without the help of Soul Society.]]
[[WMG: Third Option: [[spoiler: Uryuu has been ReforgedIntoAMinion by the Vandenreich just like Ichigo was supposed to be.]]]]
[[WMG: Yuha Bach can somehow use Blut Vene and Blut Arterie simultaneously]]
[[WMG:Ryuken will end up getting involved in the fight against Vandenreich.]]
This is only assuming that [[spoiler:Uryu was coerced into joining Vandenreich against his own free will as opposed to being a spy of some sort]]. Thus, we'll get a [[spoiler:father-son fight where Ryuken tries to bring Uryu to his senses, simultaneously showing his true colors and revealing that he truly loves and cares for his son (Katagiri too, if Uryu's MissingMom problems are part of the reason for the schism between parent and child), [[JerkassFacade he just had a really hard time properly showing them]].]]
[[WMG: Haschwalth is a direct descendant of Yuha Bach.]]
I guess any Quincy could be said to be a "descendant" of Yuha Bach, but I'd like to suggest that Blondie's is his son/grandson/something similar. Explaining his Dragon status. Although I'm just saying this because they kind of resemble each other.
* Then what are other Quincies? Great*over 9000 grandnephews and nieces? If Yuha Bach was the very first Quincy (had no Quincy brothers or sisters), then he is everyone's great*over 9000 grandfather.
* It's possible, albeit probably not to that extent. As alluded to, just because every Quincy has Yhwach's blood running through them doesn't mean they're necessarily part of his direct line of descent (which we have no further info on at the time). If anything, his frequent use of addressing other Quincies as "My son" seems more figurative and poetic than outright literal.
[[WMG: Oshō of the Royal Guard is the creator of Kidō and founder of the Kidō Corps.]]
Just a theory, and I'm not sure WHY I think it. I just do.
** Makes sense if you go by character design alone. He seems to be based on a Buddhist monk. Monks are known for their chants, and Kido spells requires incantations/chants to be used. Of course, there's the fact that exceptionally talented ones can use them without it. But the point still stands as basic Kido training requires you to learn the full incantation in the first place.
[[WMG: Grimmjow (assuming he's alive) is now capable of performing Segunda Etapa]]
Seeing as there needs to be a reason why Grimmjow is suddenly capable of defeating Kirge Opie so quickly when he was able to fight with Ichigo in his Bankai for at least a short time, my thoughts is that while the first form Ressureccion is like a Shikai, the Segunda Etapa is like Bankai. Extending from this, it's possible that Halibel has gained the ability as well.
[[WMG: Reforged Zangetsu's release command will be]]
[[spoiler:Bleach]]
* More like "cook," judging by its new appearance.
* Given what his zanpakuto and attack names both were, and given his Quincy heritage, maybe his release command will be [[TengenToppaGurrenLagann"Ten wo Tsuke / Pierce the Heavens"]]?
[[WMG: Ichigo has always been using his quincy powers without anyone realizing]]
The getsuga tensho of his shikai is a massive blast of blue energy. Basic quincy arrows are shots of blue energy. The main ability of Zangetsu is to let Ichigo fire massive quincy arrows.
* Isshin has Getsuga Tensho, too, though. Also, if this was the case Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho would probably destroy souls and while we have no prove that that's not the case, if it WOULD destroy Souls I'd assume the Gotei 13 wouldn't let him destroy Souls left and right. (And, yeah, given what we know of the twelfth division, they would know.) It's not good for the balance, after all.
** True, but "Zangetsu" came into being when Ichigo got Rukia's powers so is it possible that that gave Him the purification abilities of a Zanpakuto? Not OP by the way.
* Quincy arrows are made of reishi, gathered by a Quincy from the surroundings. Getsuga Tensho is a reiatsu blast, which comes from Ichigo and Isshin's own power. They aren't the same.
[[WMG: Old Man Zangetsu is a [[spoiler: Quincy Spirit weapon]] ]]
Unmarked spoilers for the most recent Chapter:
according to Nimaiya the spirit we have been Calling Zangetsu is actually a manifestation of Ichigo's Quincy powers. the Inner Hollow is the real Zangetsu. I postulate that when Rukia gave her powers to Ichigo she partially awakened his Quincy powers. when this happened Ichigo subconsciously conjured a spirit weapon in the shape of a sword. the reason "Zangetsu" Purifies instead of destroying is that Rukia's reiatsu gave it the properties of a Zanpakuto despite not being one, which is also why Ichigo can channel his Shikai and Bankai through him. the reason that he can only use Getsuga and not any other abilities is because Getsuga is the closest thing to a Quincies natural abilities, and is their for the only ability he can borrow from the real Zangetsu.
[[WMG: Yhwach stole Ryuken's mother's powers, too.]]
That mark on her leg was never explained. However, Orihime used to have a similar mark, left by a Hollow, and if the same is true for Ryuken's mother, then Yhwach may have deemed her impure (tainted by a Hollow, just like Masaki) and stolen her powers.
[[WMG: Building on the above, Yhwach may have stolen Blut from the entire Ishida family in one fell swoop.]]
* We have never seen Uryuu use Blut (despite having been in situations like the fight with Szayel where it could've been REALLY useful) and Ryuuken's never offered to teach it to his son despite restoring his powers. Perhaps there's some reason why Ryuuken doesn't want to pass that technique on or perhaps he simply ''can't''.
* Souken--the master who taught Uryuu and Ryuuken--was taken down by a pack of what were by all accounts perfectly normal Hollows. Yes, he was past his physical prime; yes, he was facing multiple opponents; yes, the Shinigami failed to respond. But his (mixed-blood, self-taught) grandson was mowing down that kind of monster like grass by ''age 15''. Was there something else that was holding him back that day--like missing the strongest moves in his arsenal?
* If Yhwach defined "impurity" BOTH as "mixed-blood ancestry" AND as "pure-blood contaminated by contact with Hollows", it's not much of a stretch to surmise that "marrying outside blood caste" and "advocating peace with the Shinigami" might also strip pure-bloods of their purity in his eyes...in which case both Ryuuken and Souken would also have lost their Blut ability in ThePurge.
* This makes sense for Yhwach in practical terms: two more powerful Bluts with which to restore his own abilities, two fewer powerful Bluts among a bunch of dissidents who might later object to his plans.
* Like Masaki, the Ishidas were probably strong enough to survive the initial loss of power but it would have made fighting major Hollows or Arrancar much more dangerous. That makes sense with what we know of Souken's death and also with Ryuuken's TrueNeutral status: without Blut, Ryuuken may hate the Vandenreich but he really doesn't have the power to be able to risk pissing them off either.
* Which would then lead to a possible answer as to why [[spoiler: Ishida has joined the Vandenreich. He wants to attain Blut and help take them down from the inside.]]
* Jossed. Yhwach attempted to steal Uryu's powers, but it failed. However, Uryu never had Blut in the first place because he's a Gemischt.
[[WMG: Ichigo's bankai will be stolen, and then he'll have to learn Quincy powers.]]
Because otherwise, it makes no sense for him to have used a Quincy power once, only to never use them again.
* On the contrary, wouldn't it be equally nonsensical for Ichigo to lose his Bankai after just going through all of the trouble of getting his Zanpakuto reforged[[spoiler:, learning about the true nature of his weapon, and no longer having his actual Soul Reaper powers suppressed]]? Yes, the fact that Vandenreich can steal Bankai is still problematic, but I feel that (or at least hope that) Ichigo isn't stupid enough to make the same mistake the Gotei 13 captains did during the first battle with Vandenreich. I don't think Ichigo's Quincy powers will be going on the back burner either, considering that the sole ability he's demonstrated so far was a specialty of his mother's. It'd make sense that, as suggested above, Ichigo fights with the sum total of his Soul Reaper, Hollow, and Quincy powers.
[[WMG:Zangetsu is [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha the Rose to Yhwach's M. Bison]]]]]]
I'll probably end up being wrong on most accounts, but work with me here. Zangetsu's [[spoiler:appearance as that of a younger Yhwach might be symbolic of whatever good in his heart the Vandenreich Emperor cast away, manifesting as an EnemyWithout(?) that ended up resonating with Ichigo's Quincy powers, thus taking on the form we all know]]. After all, both that scene with [[spoiler:Tensa Zangetsu (who was made up of both "Old Man" Zangetsu and Ichigo's Hollow at the time) crying BerserkerTears and revealing that it was Ichigo he wanted to protect]] and his words in 541 to Ichigo were genuinely sentimental.
[[WMG: Tenjiro Kirinji is a former Kenpachi.]]
Have you seen him talk to [[PersonOfMassDestruction Unohana]] like she's a rookie? This dude's got some balls.
* Dude, Tenjiro is probably so badass that the only reason he didn't officially become the first Kenpachi (as is Unohana's honour) was because he was inducted into the Zero Division. And not just for his badassery, but because of the sheer amount of death that would happen in this guy's wake! He was probably transferred out of the safety of the people of Soul Society!
[[WMG: Uryu joined Vandenreich on one condition: Orihime (and probably some other friends of his) will be spared in the war.]]
Let's face it: Uryu is quite a decent guy. Despite his rivalry with Ichigo, he has friends and people he cares about, just like everybody else. He is not the type who would suddenly devote himself to mass killing and destruction which Vandenreich craves. Why would he side with the worst sort of bad guys, then? Why, because there is someone he doesn't want to be harmed! And the best candidate for such a person could be... who else but Orihime?
With the recent chapter 543, it starts to look like the current arc mirrors the Hueco Mundo arc. Stern Ritters have strikingly similar personalities to those of Espadas: Haschwalth=Ulquiorra, Bazz-B=Grimmjow or Nnoitra, luchador Quincy=Yammy... And Uryu acts an awful lot like Orihime when she was captured! He hasn't spoken a single word since he was shown in a Stern Ritter uniform; he looked unusually sad when he told Ichigo he couldn't accompany him to Hueco Mundo, and he seems oddly indifferent through the whole chapter 543. He appears neither glad nor honored to stand by Yhwach's side and become his successor. Is he really there to fight and kill Soul Reapers... or maybe there's an unrelated, more personal reason?
* Or maybe Uryuu has joined as TheMole.
[[WMG: Yhwach wants to perform GrandTheftMe on Ishida]]
It seems strange that Yhwach would name Ishida his successor, because there's no way he can trust such a newcomer to carry out his vision once he's dead. However, Yhwach ''won't'' be dead. His body is a thousand years old and failing him, and he wants a new one to replace it with. Ishida is the perfect candidate- he's the only 'living' Quincy, he's young, and he's implied to be potentially very powerful. Yhwach is grooming Ishida to be powerful enough to act as a vessel for his soul once his current body gives out.
The twist? Ishida knows this is what Yhwach has planned for him, and is the reason he joined him. Ishida hopes that when Yhwach tries to hijack him, he'll be able to keep control for long enough to kill them both, or have one of his friends do so.
[[WMG: Urahara is working on a way to negate the effects of the Vandereich's Medallions]]
One of the biggest advantage the Stern Ritter have on the Gotei 13 is the ability to steal their Bankai. The captains can't use Bankai against opponents that they would NEED to use Bankai on. Urahara, being the genius scientist, is currently examining Opie's medallion to see if he can reverse it's effects and allow the captains to use Bankai when they fight the Stern Ritter again.
[[WMG: Uryuu is a mole, and he doesn't have to ever act against the Vandereich to help the Soul Sociery]]
Remember when Uryuu and Renji were fighting Szayel? Mayuri knew exactly where they were, because he'd planted camera-like bacteria in Ishida aaaalll they way back when they first fought. So Mayuri can track Ishida anywhere he goes, and Ishido didn't even have a clue about it until he was told. Now, Uryuu has some pretty good Reishi-sensing skills, so Mayuri's bacteria has to be pretty well hidden. Which means that even if Ishida never reports back to the Soul Society, gets any info from them, or does ''anything'' to help the Soul Society, he'd still be spying on the Vandereich every time they tell him anything. Hell, even just walking through the palace gives the Seireitei (at least part of) a map of the Vandereich's headquarters. Anything he does or learns will be reported back to the Soul Society through the bacteria.
The best part? Since the bacteria was hidden from Uryuu so well, even if someone discovers it he can always claim he had no clue it existed. Unless Yhwach had spies in Las Noches, in the same room as that particular battle, during the thirty seconds Mayuri spent explaining the bacteria in Ishida's presence, there's no evidence that Uryuu was aware he's being spied on. Granted, when push comes to shove that may not work, but it's worth a shot at least.
So Uryuu can be the perfect spy, without ever putting himself under suspicion. The only way he'd screw up is if he asked a question about information the Soul Society needed to know, but that Uryuu Ishida has no reason to interested in. And personally, I thing Uryuu's too smart to screw up like that.
[[WMG: Bambietta's change in appearance isn't a RetCon]]
Mostly because I can't think of a reason Kubo would change it without some sort of ExecutiveMeddling but her change in appearance has something to do with her powers, perhaps the more blood she spills the younger she appears thus why she occasionally kills recruits in her spare time.
* Bambietta's appearance never changed. It's just that we never saw her without her cape prior to Chapter 544, so we couldn't take a good look at her body.
[[WMG: Uryu will steal Ichigo's bankai.]]
Even though it's a plotkai, Uryu is apparently the strongest Quincy, even more powerful than Yhwach. Now, we know from Yhwach that not everyone is capable of stealing bankai; you need to be powerful enough to handle what you are stealing. Seeing how Ichigo is a freak who has the power of every force in existence, '''that''' may be the true reason why his bankai is unstealable. Maybe you need an equally strong opponent for that... And maybe that's why Yhwach recruited Uryu? Something like that would add a fuckton of awesomeness to their rivalry.
[[WMG: Uryu will [[spoiler:kill Yuzu]]]]
It's been shown already that he's joined the Vandenreich. Given that he has a personal reason for joining, making it a true FaceHeelTurn, Juhabach might ask him to prove his loyalty.
Why [[spoiler:Yuzu]]? [[spoiler:She and Karin are Ichigo's sisters, the children of a shinigami-human hybrid and a quincy-hollow hybrid. Judging by the freakish level of power Ichigo has, his sisters might also be decided as a threat by Juhabach. Uryu kills Yuzu, but Karin escapes due to timely intervention by Isshin, who escapes with her. Yuzu's death might also give Karin a motive to develop her powers, which, right after the time-skip, Ichigo says have been growing, according to Karin's own words, hence the above WMG.]]
[[WMG: Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro will become Substitute Soul Reapers.]]
Currently, Ichigo is busy preparing for the war with Vandenreich, Uryu has sided with Vandenreich (even though nobody knows about it yet), the rest of the gang are either in Hueco Mundo or in the Soul Society, leaving Karakura Town without anyone to protect its citizens from Hollows. That may be the reason why [[spoiler:Kyoraku]] is meeting with Ichigo's friends - to offer them Soul Reaper powers.
[[WMG: Lt. Yachiru will get into a DesignatedGirlFight with Bambietta.]]
Allowing us to finally see her combat skills and her zanpakuto.
* Seeing Bambietta's black widow status, Rangiku sounds like a more appropriate opponent for her. Yachiru can have Liltotto (Designated Loli Fight!).
[[WMG: Aes Noedt is a woman who looks like Unohana under that mask.]]
The shape of Aes Noedt's head does vaguely resemble Unohana.
[[WMG: Cang Du doesn't speak Japanese.]]
He never speaks because he is Chinese and can't communicate with others.
[[WMG: Yhwach is going to win.]]
''Bleach'' has taken a 6-week hiatus before the "final battle," and [[spoiler:Yhwach says he is going to conquer the world in 9 days]]. However, Kubo said this arc will be the longest in the series, and it's only been a year. So unless [[spoiler:those 9 days will be expanded to hundreds of chapters]], Yhwach is going to conquer the Soul Society, forcing the good guys to retreat and try later to take it back.
* The entire Hueco Mundo Arc occurred in a single day in-universe, but it took so long to write that the anime inserted filler arcs TWICE DURING the adaptation of the Hueco Mundo Arc because they OvertookTheManga. I see no reason to assume that it won't take the rest of the decade for Kubo to write nine days in-universe. (Timestamp: July 17, 2013)
[[WMG: Ichigo's friends...]]
[[spoiler:...will be forced to escape to the Soul Society - that's the reason they were given those tickets. Same with Ichigo's family.]]
* Soul Society isn't the safest place right now, with Seireitei gone and Quincies taking over.
[[WMG: Haschwalth is a brainwashed former Shinigami]]
This one is really wild, but I like it anyway, so there.
* His "B" will be revealed to stand for "Blade". Why would a Quincy of all people have a specialty that involves blades? Because he used to work with them before becoming a Quincy.
* He has an unhappy reaction when Bach mentions brainwashing Ichigo into a loyal soldier. Perhaps he was not aware Bach could do this before this moment and is suddenly complementing his own situation? Or it just makes him feel uneasy on a subconscious level.
* This would explain his rather distinct lack of personality aside from "Yes, your majesty". He probably has some sort of actual character, but it's just suppressed by the brainwashing along with his memories.
* Haschwalth is always seen in the general vicinity of Juha Bach, which is interpreted as him having Special Rights. But maybe his case is exactly the same as Uryuu's - Bach keeps him close so he can see if the brainwashing is working properly.
* Similarly, the serving lady is not there to signify his status, but to keep an eye for him.
* The other Sternritters' reactions to Haschwalth speak against this theory, but maybe most of them are not on it. Assuming that 'Haschwalth' is a fake identity with a fake name that he got after the brainwashing, it would make sense to only tell a few of other Sternritters the truth, so no one would accidentally spill the beans. The rest was told the lie and simply is misinterpreting Haschwalth's closeness to the Emperor, similarly as they misinterpret Uryuu being named the successor.
* The last time Juha Bach had a chance to brainwash anybody was 1000 years ago. This would explain why no one from the Shinigami side recognizes Hashwalth during the Invasion - most of them were not there 1000 years ago and the few who were (Yamamoto comes to mind) did not necessary remember the face of every Shinigami who went missing and was believed dead in the previous war - there probably was a lot of them. Plus, you know, there is an invasion going on. Not necessary the best time to wonder where one saw that blond dude before.
Bonus points if Haschwalth actually managed to fuck something up for Juha Bach last time around and this is an art of elaborate revenge or if he was one of the War Potentials in the previous war. If not - hey, someone had to be a test subject for the technique.
* Problem with that theory is that a few of the quincy use swords or knives and he was probably trained personally by the Emperor in sword fighting.
[[WMG: Byakuya will regain his bankai and use Shukei: Hakuteiken on As Nodt.]]
Because fuck yeah, that would be awesome.
[[WMG: Uryu will kill Kurotsuchi]]
Already mentioned in short above, but expanding:[[spoiler: Regardless of whether he's a mole or not, it'll be]] Because he has enough reasons to hate him and the way this issue was "resolved" kind of sucked. (Ishida ''nearly'' killed Kurotsuchi and afterwards, everything's just fine and that's it? Really?)
Also, Kurotsuchi doesn't seem particularly well-liked inside the Soul Society and he doesn't have that many fangirls either, so he can be killed off without angering too many and, possibly, without lasting consequences for Uryu. [[spoiler: He had to "prove his loyalty", maybe?]] And with Urahara being innocent there's a smarter, more powerful and allegedly less insane scientist around to fill the "hole", anyway.
[[WMG: Shutara is the creator of the Kōtotsu]]
The Dangai used to be a penal colony and is now a defence to prevent unauthorised people from entering soul society easily with the Kōtotsu coming along to clean out the Dangai every week, it's been shown to have time/space altering effects when messed with and Squad 12 mentions a Shutara Scale in relation to the vandenreich slaying hollows in large numbers and upsetting the balance.
She is a Space and Time master who is responsible for ensuring the balance is maintained by slaying Menos to balance the worlds, the Kōtotsu is just a way to ensure that people dont exploit the Dangai's time dilation effect.
[[WMG: Liltotto Lamperd's epithet is "the Giant."]]
Because what can be deadlier than [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever the attack of a 50 ft loli]]?
[[WMG: The Stern Ritter (as in the characters themselves) were created by Juha Bach]]
This would explain how the characters that Genryuusai burned are back in the most recent chapters, as for the reasons why some characters haven't been brought back, Juha Bach may simply have no use for them.
[[AC: Please add new theories at the ''bottom'' of the page.]]
[[WMG: [[spoiler: The two shinigami introduced in chapter 480]] ]]
[[spoiler: They gonna somehow end up staying at Ichigo's place. Why. [[RuleOfFunny Because it would be funny,thats why.]] ]]
* [[spoiler: Jossed-ish, one of them is dead.]]
** This isn't confirmed yet.And afterall [[MemeticMutation nobody dies in Bleach]]. And Orihime isn't that far away either.
*** Chapter 481 came out, and it seems like my prediction was right.
**** They didn't stay for long, they had to go back to SS to attend Sasakibe's funeral. And then Vandenreich invaded.
[[WMG: Ivan is a Hollow/Quincy hybrid]]
So you have a Quincy who has died, and due to sercomstances become a Hollow, this Hollow merges with others to become a Gillian and eventualy dominates to the point of becoming a Adjuchas or Vasto Lorde. This Menos level Hollow eventualy is rips off their mask which would normaly result in an Arrancar but due to the Quincie orrigin they have Quincy powers instead of Soul reapers.
* It gets worse, actually. Chapter 483 shows that he's actually also capable of chanting something. Could be a kido, or since he's a Quicy, just another one of their spells. If that is kido.... Shinigami-Quincy-Hollow-everythingelse hybrid?
[[WMG: The Vandenreich are soul amalgamations.]]
They operate on the same general idea as powerful hollows, which are made from a large number of lesser hollows that have been devoured by another. The main difference being they're born from the fusion of the remnants of multiple types, such as shinigami, Quincy, hollow (including Arrancar) and spiritually aware humans. Possibly 'trash' parts of destroyed or damaged souls that become naturally drawn into a lesser level of reality where it all gathers, eventually forming an individual.
* Alterativly there part Zanpakuto not part shinigami
[[WMG: The Vandenreich are the antagonist version of Squad 0, their name denoting they are from the Spirit King's dimension.]]
Aizen was working with Vandenreich all the time (possibly a member, or trying to attain that higher being), the purpose is to foster and grow Ichigo's power to be able to kill off the Spirit King - only possible with Ichigo's fittingly named main attack. Yamamoto will eventually die as a final show off of how bad-ass the Vandenreich are, leaving the Spirit Kings key to Ichigo, who will then travel to the Spirit King's dimension for some serious whop-ass and endgame series. Series will end with Ichigo finding his destiny (i.e. realizing he's heir appearant to one of the four noble clans and successor to the Spirit King), but when it all comes down to business he will stay human and substitute shinigami.
[[WMG: Vandenreich is divided into two groups]]
The first group are the Quincies, who are on missions in the Human world and Hueco mundo exterminating Hollows, causing the barrier between Soul Society and the Living World to deteriorate. The second group is a "third spiritual race" whose powers can be described as the combination of Hollow and Fullbring powers, with the "manipulation of souls" mechanic of the latter. The Messenger and the Leader are members of this "Third Race"; they are the remnants of the original maintainters of souls in the world, alongside the Shinigami, until they were all but wiped out in a war between the two races 1000 years ago.
[[WMG: Vandenreich are making Arrancar with Quincy powers]]
Because Aizen made Arrancar with Soul reaper powers and....i'm just trying to make sense out of Ivan.
* Jossed. They are taken from Hueco mundo as a vanguard, not created.
** Still doesn't really disprove this, if we take "make" in the sense of granting them new power. Aizen "made" Arrancars by giving Hollows Shinigami powers with the Hogyoku, these guys "make" Quincy Arrancars by giving Arrancars Quincy powers through unknown means.
*** Not quite. First of all, arrancars are hollows who've broken (parts of) their masks. From my memory, the only time this has been achieved was by the usage of the hogyoko. Further, quincies are humans that have learned to sense and control reishi and reiatsu. While it's not completely impossible quincies could exist in soul society, there's really nothing supporting quincies being able to exist as quincies after death, as they would be reincarnated in soul society. Would they continue being quincies there, they'd be hunted down as per the old war. If they're not going to SS, they're going to Hueco mundo as hollows. As far as character storytelling goes, it's pretty obvious any quincy would kill himself sooner than becoming a hollow, not to mention that understanding the process of becoming a hollow diminishes the possibility of becoming one. While it's absolutely possible Vandenreich could've made 'quincy arrancars', it rhymes very bad with the bleach story so far. We now know Ivan along with probably other arrancars are forced to do Vandenreich's bidding, not created. While on the subject, it's more likely (IMHO) the Vandenreich are another 'clan' of hunters, similar but not identical to quincies. (Tessai originally describes the quincies as an offspring from these hunters). TL;DR: You may be right, but everything points to the arrancars employed by Vandenreich are taken from Hueco mundo, not created anew.
[[WMG: Ryuuken was once a member of the Vandenreich]]
He left when he was younger. He did not want Uryu to become a Quincy at first because he feared the Vandenreich would try and recruit him.
* Note that he seems to have been aware of Vandenreich methods for restoring one's powers after use of the Sanrei glove.
[[WMG: Ryuuken was trying to protect Uryuu from getting caught in the war between the Shinigami and the Vandenreich.]]
Whether he was personally involved with the Vandenreich or not, Ryuuken seems to have been aware of their existence and therefore likely realized that they would, inevitably, restart the conflict with Soul Society. The Shinigami would have been immediately suspicious of the Ishida Quincies, even if they were noncombatants...and Shinigami taking an interest in their family has never, EVER ended well. Likewise, the Vandenreich would not be kind to a tiny family of near-pacifist Quincies, one of whom had even negotiated with the Shinigami for peace. Ryuuken's complete withdrawal from the spirit world was the only way to guarantee that he and his son would not be drawn into the coming war. Remember that Souken said Ryuuken was protecting something specific through his decision to withdraw, and Isshin and Urahara have respected his decision to do so despite how much they could have used his help during the Winter War.
[[WMG: The Vandenreich capture and use Bankai for their own ends]]
Several members of the Vandenreich talk about "capturing Bankai" and back is Soul Society it was mentioned Sasakibe was able to use Bankai as well. As such I theorize that the Vandenreich actually steal bankai and become able to use it themselves.
* Just adding that I KNEW IT. At least they have shown that they steal Bankai, now to see if they can actually use them.
[[WMG: Ivan and Luders were Privaron Espada]]
Ivan was rather strong for your average Arrancar (assuming average is Numeros-level), having been sent to try to capture Ichigo's Bankai, and Luders was put in charge of the Vandenreich squad that declared war on Soul Society. Granted, both were killed off immediately, but it doesn't really change what they might have been in the past. The Privaron Espada were all Arrancar that were once Espada, but we only saw three such Arrancar. There are implied to be generations of Espada, with Aaroniero being the oldest of the Espada, apparently even before Aizen usurped Barragan as King of Hueco Mundo. If that is true, there were potentially more Privaron Espada than the ones Ichigo and Co encounter, unless the rest died over the years.
[[WMG: The Vandenreich Leader will curb-Stomp Ichigo and the gang]]
This is obviously going to happen, but when it does, i'll look like a genius.
[[WMG: The Vandenreich's power to seal Bankais is based on Szayel's research.]]
Szayel Aporro displayed the ability to prevent a Shinigami from entering Bankai from within a certain area (his room). The Vandenreich raided what was left of Szayel's research when they conquered Hueco Mundo, and improved upon it to create their Bankai sealing medallion.
* YES. Troper sir/ma'am, you're a genius!
[[WMG: The Vandenreich will kill Mayuri]]
The Vandenreich Quincies seek to destroy Soul Society for the Quincy genocide. Now, who within Soul Society had the most to do with that genocide? Who bragged about it to the person he presumed was the last Quincy? Who inexplicably carries photos of the "experiments" he conducted on Quincy subjects for shits and giggles?
My guess is this arc will give Mayuri a battle far more epic than his fights with Ishida and Aporro, possibly even killing him. We know now that Kubo is going to be less than hesitant about killing characters, and it only makes sense that the Vandenreich would be especially eager to see to it that Mayuri suffers. Considering the only reason a Bankai'd Mayuri wasn't killed by Ishida was because Ishida's aim was slightly off, he doesn't seem to have much of a chance against the enhanced powers of these new enemies (unless he has time to get CrazyPrepared like he did with Aporro).
The arc itself began with Mayuri, and it's been reminding us rather heavily that he is the one most involved with what happened to the Quincy. His new look even carries with it less of the comical CloudCuckooLander aura of the previous look and a return to the more sinister man he was when we first met him.
Mayuri's death could leave the door open for Kisuke to come back to Soul Society, which would be an interesting development in itself.
* Mayuri wasnt behind the genocide. Yamamoto was. It only seems like hes the most involved with the genocide because hes always with Uryu. Also, I remember reading that Kubo said Urahara wasnt going back to the Soul Society.
[[WMG: The final arc will see the return of characters from throughout the series, eventually resulting in a gigantic climactic battle featuring everyone.]]
We already know the Arrancar and surviving Espada are back. The Quincies as a race have returned as the Vandenreich. As Ichigo and co. are now technically aiding the Hollows, they as a race may work alongside the shinigami for now. As some [=WMGs=] above postulate, Aizen may return in some form. Hopefully this arc will involve Isshin enough to finally reveal his backstory. The Shibas will probably get involved. The budding spiritual powers of Karin and Tatsuki may develop. The other Visoreds will definitely come back.
What I think most likely though is that we haven't seen the last of the (surviving) Fullbringers. Sure, Jackie's just a regular human now, but Riruka and Yukio still have their powers and are just wandering around the place. Considering that they're proper canon characters, it seems unlikely that they'll disappear forever just because the Fullbring arc is over. How awesome would it be for one of our heroes to be cornered by a powerful bad guy, all hope nearly lost, everything goes silent, then... "Invaders Must Die"
* Mostly confirmed. Aizen is partly involved in the new arc; the Shibas have made an appearance with an uncle who is heavily implied to be Isshin, but it is the [[spoiler: DEAD Fullbringers]] who make a return to the story. It is a given for the other Visoreds to reappear in the story as well.
[[WMG: The Vandenreich are the murdered Quinces.]]
The Shinigami went genocidal on the Quinces years ago, killing hundreds of humans. What did they do with the souls? As far as I know, they can't force them into hell, they might have taken them to Seireitei and inprisoned them, which seems logical, or them might have attacked the souls. I don't know what happens when a plus soul is cut by a zanpakto, but I assume it's similar to when two shinigami fight and kill each other.
So if the Shinigami were so prepared for the Vandenreich, or at least seemed to be pretty quick to assume them Quinces, I think that after they killed the Quinces, some must have fled as souls, possibly to Hueco Mundo. Uryu stated that the increased reishi in the air increased his powers in Hueco Mundo, so I assume a large group of trained Quinces would be able to survive just fine for years, training, growing stronger and hating the shinigami. In the end, they hate them enough to even ally with arrancars in an attempt to destroy them.
* Force the arrancars to work for them*, other than that I like this WMG.
** It seems likely if you consider things like Mayuri saying that a human can't withstand the power that Uryuu gained when he removed the Sanrei Glove and Quilge Opie saying that the limited version of the Sanrei Glove went extinct 200 years ago (when the genocide of the Quincy's happened). Though I would like to add to the theory with the following: that the Quincy's split at some point in the past with one half chosing to wage a deliberate war against the Shinigami (which they lost a thousand years ago) and the second group that chose to only purge Hollows while still alive in the human world (and after death they may possibly have chosen to become Shinigami). The last group would then be the ones purged by Soul Society, 200 years ago.
[[WMG: The Vandenreich will succeed.]]
It will be the end of the soul Gotei 13 ''as we know it''.
[[WMG: Vandenreich Leader is named Ishida and is ancestor to modern Ishidas]]
That'd explain why Kirge was surprised that Uryuu arrows are weaker than his- Uryuu, as descendant of Leader, has to be powerful.
* Jossed his name is Juha Bach
Given what Ryuuken said in 531 about pure vs. mixed Quincy ancestry, Kirge may have expected Uryuu to be pure-blooded, not realizing that Ryuuken married beneath his station.
[[WMG: The Emperpor of the Vandenreich's surname will be revealed to be Uryuu's mother's maiden name.]]
Perhaps there's a ''reason'' she's never talked about or mentioned.
[[WMG: Ishida is one of the Stern Ritter]]
My money would be on the hooded dude.
* He's not that guy, but he has joined Vandenreich.
[[WMG: List of future battles]]
The following battles will happen eventually, but not necessarily during the Stern Ritter's invasion of SS (since said invasion is unlikely to be the only major confrontation between the 'Reich and SS):
* Mohawk Man vs Unohana
* Masked Woman vs Soi Fon
* Black Haired Girl vs Hitsugaya
* Blonde Member vs Kenpachi
And of course the Emperor vs Yamamoto.
[[WMG: Michael Jackson is a Stern Ritter]]
Take a look at the [[http://www.mangahere.com/manga/bleach/v53/c494/16.html guy on the far left]] and tell me that doesn't look like Michael Jackson? When he died, he became a Bleach Nazi, it's that simple.
[[WMG: After the Vandenreich prove too strong, and pretty much [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill annihilate everyone and everything]], the survivors will fall into a DespairEventHorizon and realize that they are [[OhCrap truly fucked]]. When all seems lost however...]]
[[BigDamnHeroes The Royal Guard]] will arrive and royally kick some ass.
[[WMG: There are 26 members in the Stern Ritter.]]
Based on the recent chapter, they have a letter added to each of them with "Stern Ritter -Insert letter-". This likely means that there is a theme where there are 26 of them total with the strongest being A, B, and C. The leader is likely Stern Ritter A with a hierarchy applied to the other 4 in command power.
* Putting my money on Stern Ritters letters will form a german word, allowing AllYourPowersCombined when we think they're toast.
** Two coming sternritters will have H and R, R will be a split body/personality type. And the word if fuhrer (führer).
* 26 Stern Ritter and 13 lieutenants (technically twelve) and 13 captains. Coincidence?
** Too easy. Count in Urahara shop-team, Squad 0, Isshin and Ryuken, Ichigo with gang and Iacto Arme. While Kubo does seem to like to introduce new characters, I highly doubt we'll see 26 Stern Ritters. But 26+ antagonists in total for the entire arc, why not.
[[WMG: Uryu is a Sleeper Agent and Ryuuken is a former Vandenreich]]
His father was a member of their group before he grew to dislike their cause (and overall dislike of his species as a whole), however, Uryu was exposed to the group before Ryuuken's defection, and they managed to mess with his mind, installing a "order" that he has to obey when certain criteria will be met, and he will be a loyal servant to the Vandenreich.
[[WMG: Ichigo's group will expand in the final arc]]
Ok, so far we've had the basic [[FiveManBand group]] in Bleach. Given that Nel has already returned, one can probably include her given that the Vandenreich will pose the biggest threat.
So, not counting any captains that may or may not survive the Vandenreich's invasion, it will be; Ichigo,Rukia, Chad, Orihime, Ishida, Renji, Nel, Grimmjow, (who'll probably start as Renji did, being a more vicious rival until a key moment), Harribel (Possible, if Ichhigo and co rescue her from the Vandenreich, and she decideds to join. Given how she hates wanton destrucion,and given that the Vnadenreich do just that, it's ample motivation for her)
* Grimmjow and Nel I can see but Harribel is too mature to become another member of the core group.
[[WMG: Ishida's loyalties will come into question, given that the Vandenreich are Quincies. Either way, he will regain his Letz Still form.]]
Ishida will be forced to decide whether or not he joins up with the Vandeenreich, or sticks with Ichio and co. Another possibility is that he will go to them simply for more power. It wouldn't be the first time that he's done something as such.
[[WMG: Mayuri Kurotsuchi is behind the Vandenreich]]
A while back, Kurotsuchi found the lab belonging to Szayel Aporro Granz. Inside, there were what looked like two bodies, hanging from the ceiling. After that, it was stated he made recurring visits to Hueco Mundo. In an interview, Tite Kubo was asked if the things Kurotsuchi found would be showing up. He answered, they wouldn't be showing up alone. I believe Mayuri Kurotsuchi found the corpses of several Quincy, and somehow managed to bring them back to life in some form or another. This would also explain why they started their takeover with Hueco Mundo; they were already there when they came back to life.
* This troper agrees. Besides, who knows more about Quincies than anyone else, due to cutting up a couple of thousand of them? And I'm still very suspicious about the whole "murdering innocent Rukongai citizens" thing.
[[WMG: The remaining Fullbringers will play a role in the final arc]]
They will help to hold off a Quincy invasion of the world of the living. Jackie will act as MissionControl for the surviving Fullbringers, using equipment given to her by Yukio. Oh, and Tsukishima is among the Fullbringers who survived.
** I hope so, Does anyone else wanna see Tsukishima becoming the SixthRanger of the main FiveManBand?
*** Well...[[spoiler: the ''dead'' Fullbringers are playing a role]].
[[WMG: The person who [[spoiler: sliced Kirge Opie in half was Grimmjow]].]]
It was mentioned he was supposed to return in the final arc. Also would explain why Urahara would be shocked and how [[spoiler: it looks like a zanpakuto is near his face]]. What better way to reintroduce the guy?
* My cents: [[spoiler:Kirio Hikifune]]. Why is Urahara shocked? Because ([[spoiler:Royal Guard]]) GoodIsNotNice, and Urahara knows that. [[spoiler:Royal Guard is also to be revealed in the final arc according to Kubo, and their assumed power level is in line with Kirge's slasher. Also, now's a good time for them to come save the day in SS.]]
** All but [[spoiler: confirmed]] in Chapter 518.
[[WMG: Kenpachi will OWN the Vandenreich.]]
After all, he doesn't have a Bankai to steal!
* Confirmed as of 502, at least two of them.
** And GLORIOUSLY JOSSED two chapters later.
*** However, he's received a huge power-up and will no doubt massacre the Vandenreich, given the chance.
[[WMG: Possible letter meanings for the Stern Ritter lettering.]]
We know [[spoiler: Kirge Opie is Stern Ritter J, which means "The Jail"]], so there is a meaning behind the letters. Another possible one to mention is As Nodt, who is F which could be "The Fear". Other suggestions could be listed bellow...
** A = TheAce or The Archangel given their themes.
** P = [[MarionetteMaster The]] [[PeoplePuppets Puppet]] given there was someone in the group who could control the bodies of several Soul Reapers.
** That would make him the puppeteer, not the other way around.
[[WMG: Ishida's actions in the story have given the Vandenreich an advantage against Soul Society.]]
This troper was reviewing Ishida's actions through the story, and realized something. Since the Vandenreich know of Ishida, what if they used him to observe Ichigo and Soul Society the entire time?
* In the Soul Society Arc: Self explanatory. Learn of SS defenses and (then) Captain and Lieutenant roster, (ESPECIALLY Mayuri, who given his actions and thoughts in the current arc is the biggest threat to them).
* In Hueco Mundo Arc: Vandenreich gets the full lowdown on hollows, and sees the strength of the Espadas and other Arrancar.
* Also, the Vandenreich probably finalized their assault's planning stages during the time skip. This means that they knew SS was transitioning again (reinstating the disgraced Viscored captains, Ichigo's depowerment, and SS potential to make Substitute Shinigamis)
** Brilliant except for one flaw: If they had -that- good intel, they'd attack right after Ichigo lost his powers and SS was still in turmoil. Ishida was back, unharmed, practically the same day the fighting ended, where lots of people had taken damage. Also, Vandenreich didn't seem to think they'd have a problem power-wise against SS now at full strength, so why not attack during the 17 months? I like wehre you're going, though.
** Considering the attitudes of the Vandenreich's forces, it seems to be more of a matter of crushing their spirit completely, something that Aizen pulled off multiple times against anybody, and [[spoiler: As Nodt pulled off on Byakuya.]] Hell, if their leader is strong enough to pose a challenge to Yamamoto, then he may have the right to gloat a bit. Not exactly pragmatic, I'll admit.
[[WMG: The Leader is the another usurper...]]
Like Aizen, his goal is actually to assert himself as a "god" by killing the soul king. Thus, he will have god like powers, and is also vastly more powerful than any of the Sternritter. Reasons? Ichigo vs Aizen was called Deicide. While Ichigo seems much weaker now, it would totally suck if the final arc ended with a less over-the-top battle than the Aizen/Soul Society/ Arrancar arc did. So, Ichigo will gain more ridiculous abilities and in the end, when everyone's tired from all the fighting, Sousuke will arrive and declare this "all part of my plan to eliminate my competitors for godhood!"
[[WMG: Ishida is already a member of the Vandenreich.]]
He opts out of the mission to Hueco Mundo without giving a reason, and when Ichigo assumes his motivation, he looks ''hella'' guilty. Also, Kirge's cryptic remarks about Ishida being stronger than him, along with him suddenly shutting up, suggests that there's something more to Ishida's absence than what Ichigo assumed. The supposed reason for Ishida's absense is also quite weak: in the SS arc he went with Ichigo despite having little interest in saving Rukia, so him not accompanying his friends to Hueco Mundo just because they are rescuing an Arrancar seems suspect.
* Opposing thought: Uryu Ishida is captured by VR, just as Harribel. This arc will be about Ichigo saving the last friend (Uryu). I'm guessing Uryu wasn't willing to aid the Vandenreich with his 'more pure' quincy powers --> captured. His father is an unknown survivor, just as Isshin is for SS.
* Jossed, but Uryu does join Vandenreich later.
[[WMG: The enemy that took out Rukia is Ishida]]
Nothing to go on except the above WMG and the fact we haven't been shown the assailant's face.
[[WMG: Ginjou will return as Sternritter "X"]]
For "Xcution". He was revived by the Vandenreich Leader and given Quincy powers.
* Jossed, [[spoiler: Ginjo ended up in the Rukongai and it looks like he's siding with the Soul Society on this one]].
[[WMG: Uryu will show up as Sternritter "A"]]
For "The Archer". He has shown a dedication to the bow and arrow unlike a lot of the other Sternritters.
* Semi-confirmed: he received letter "A", but it's not known yet what it stands for.
[[WMG: Ishida and the Emperor are related]]
It would explain why we haven't been told his name yet, and why Opie didn't think that he could be more powerful than Uryu.
* Since Yhwach's blood flows in every Quincy, they are related.
[[WMG: One of the Sternritter will have the power of resurrection.]]
There will be many more battles, both sides will suffer many casualties, but in the end, the good guys win. Suddenly, one of the Sternritter walks into the middle of the battleground, activates it's power, and all of the fallen Sternritter will get back up, perfectly fine and possibly even stronger than before.
[[WMG: The Vandenreich can't steal Ichigo's Bankai because:]]
His powers are too varied from all his battles. The Vandenreich know the basic structure of the captains, shikai, bankai, etc. Ichigo falls outside this area becasue he has the basics AND his hollow form, resurreccion (possibly), and fullbring powers. Added to this is that he's the only Shinigami thus far that has lost and restored his powers multiple times, then he's jsut too "unstable" for the bankai-sealing method to work.
** {{Jossed}}: In order for them to seal a Bankai, they have to know its full power and it has to be fully developed. Ichigo's isn't fully developed yet so they can't steal it.
** ''Double-Jossed'': Information in the latest chapter hints that [[spoiler: in-order to steal a Bankai, you must be stronger than the original wielder, since Ebern and Quilge were nowhere near Ichigo's strength, they couldn't take it, all they need is someone stronger than Ichigo to steal it]]...though considering that this is ''Ichigo'', they're probably not gonna have an easy idea with that...
[[WMG: Projected Stern Ritter fights]]
Since the fights are underway, I'll predict the wins and losses.
* Buckbeard vs Zaraki - Buckbeard wins.
** Status: '''Confirmed'''.
* Shunsui Kyoraku vs Commissioner Gordon - Kyoraku wins.
** Jossed, though he fails to kill Kyoraku.
* Hitsugaya and Matsumoto vs Scar - Scar wins.
* [=NaNaNa=] Najahkoop vs Rojuro Otoribashi - Rose wins.
** Status: '''Jossed'''. Najahkoop left without sustaining a scratch.
* Soifon and Omaeda vs Helmet Quincy - Helmet wins.
* Komamura and Iba vs Bambietta - she wins.
[[WMG: The Vandenreich will win]]
...and kill all the remaining Soul Reapers. Thus ending the Bleach series. The lesson will have been "attempted genocide against a highly proud race with powers to rival the Shinigami's was a ''very bad idea, Yamamoto''"
[[WMG:Affiliation of the Ishidas]]
Ryoken knew about the Vandenreich's existence and refused to associate himself with them and be known as a Quincy. He is working against them.
Uryu did not know until much later and is probably working with them now as a double agent.
The climax will most likely will be a battle between Ichigo and Uryu and end with one of them dying.
[[WMG:Ryuken Ishida has invaded Soul Society along with the other Quincies]]
Several of them have their faces hidden (for example the hooded guy, or the knight-helmet guy). And beyond one of those masks, Ryuken is hidden. Due to this revelation, Uryu will be forced into an internal conflict, having to choose between his friends or his family.
[[WMG: Bach has a way of resurrecting his followers]]
Assuming the three VR that Yama roasted are actually Dead, Bach has an ability that lets him resurrect them, along with the three Kenpachi ganked. He just seems way too calm about losing nearly half of his soldiers to two guys, and As Nodt and Busby at least had big introduction panels, which implies some more importance than being simply fodder.
* So has Unohana. \;D/
* Seemingly [[spoiler:confirmed]]. In chapter 513, Juha Bach stated [[spoiler:he plans to kill Ichigo, take him to their base, and revive him as an ally.]]
[[WMG: Ryuuken used to be a member of the Vandenreich, and that's why Opie assumed Uryuu must be powerful]]
In his youth, Ryuuken joined the VR and learned their techniques, and then left some time later. One of those techniques was how to restore Quincy powers (which explains why Soken told Uryuu the loss is permanent- he didn't know a restoration method). The VR assumed that because Ryuuken trained Uryuu, he must have taught him VR techniques, which is why he is assumed to be powerful by Opie.
[[WMG: Juhabach was the first Quincy.]]
This would just make a very good plot twist, the story possibilities are endless.
** Called it.
[[WMG: The Stern Ritters can be revived via Sklaverei.]]
You know, by having Juhabach, who is probably the strongest Quincy, simply put the Spirit Particles their bodies are composed of back together by "enslaving" them. It would explain why there are still so many of them when allegedly nearly all of the Quincies were wiped out long ago, with Juhabach apparently being the only survivor. [[spoiler: Also, it would explain why some seemingly rather important characters such as Busby (the guy who blew a hole through Kira!) and As Nodt (KILLER OF BYAKUYA KUCHIKI!) were wiped out without further ado by Yamamoto, when they could have played such major roles in the story later on.]]
[[WMG: Stern Ritter will invade Karakura Town.]]
Since their goal is genocide, they won't stop with conquering the Soul Society. Once they finish with Soul Society, they'll turn their sights toward exterminating the remaining Shinigami in Karakura Town: namely, Urahara's shop and the Kurosaki family.
* Who says they will [[TakeOverTheWorld stop with just Shinigami?]]
[[WMG: The real Juhabach is...]]
* Chilling out at the Ice Palace watching the show
* Pointing a sword at Urahara
* Actually Blondie OR swapped places with Blondie at the last minute
** That would explain why Blondie is the only member of the Vandenreich who was shown interacting with the fake Juhabach, talking to him in a very casual tone and even scolding him for killing the Arrancars. Well, if he's the real boss, that's natural.
** It would suck royally if the new antagonist couldn't handle Kenpachi's reaitsu while his henchman could (Blond SR was suffocated by Kenpachi's reiatsu). Even Espada #5 wasn't affected in that way.
** If it's really Blondie, he was most likely faking it. The enemies weren't supposed to know he was the real deal yet, he had to get Yamamoto to fight Fake Juhabach and use the full extension of his Bankai so it could be stolen.
* It's neither of those, the real Juhabach was [[spoiler: in the underground prison, talking to Aizen]].
[[WMG: None of the SR are actually the real deal]]
Related to the above WMG, the SR participating in the invasion are actually all puppets being controlled remotely by the real SR for the purpose of gathering information, and will now reveal themselves
[[WMG: The Real Juhabach is a woman.]]
Or more rather, Uryuu's mother.
* It would be so nice to have a female BigBad for a change.
** Subverted, The man we thought was Juhabach...[[ItMakesSenseInContext was Juhabach]].
[[WMG: Juhabach is Ryūken Ishida]]
And Uryu is on his side. That's why he was not with Ichigo.
* And maybe they have freed Aizen when they past in the Garganta like thing they use to travel.
[[WMG: We're going to find out that the Quincy were a lot worse than we thought when they had their war with the Shingami.]]
Okay so we know that when a Quincy kills a Hollow, and presumibly a Shingami, the soul is destroyed. This upsets the balance between worlds, and could destroy everything if it happens too much. Now it was stated that the Quincy didn't listen to the Shingami warnings about this. But now we are seeing some things that imply that Quincy powers could do even more awful things. As we saw with Kirge/Quirge, whatever, Volstandung can absorb even sentient biengs. And it seems like Jura Bach was in charge of the Quincys a thousand years ago. Back is not a nice guy. So we'll find out that even back then the Quincy had a fondness for absorbing or enslaving sentient biengs, and that Bach was already promoting a philosophy of being chosen ones who should rule.
* Think we're going to find out that the shinigami were a lot worse than we thought. Uruy's and other quincies hatred toward the shinigami must be backed up, otherwise the quincy could just as well have been allies.
** Well seems like the original members of the 13 Divisions were bloodthirsty and violent, and would use any means to win. Now we just have to find out what the Quincy were like.
[[WMG: Juha Bachs plan]]
In Chapter 510 I think I figured out the reason multiple Quincy got a bad case of stupid and tried to rush Captain Murder. They were ordered to. It was the real Bach that fought and defeated Zaraki and when Yamamoto confronted him he had a plan that when that happened a bunch of quincies would rush him to distract him for an instant, giving time for Royd to switch places and Bach to attack 1st division headquarters and weaken Yamamoto enough to seal his bankai.
[[WMG: Juha Bach killed Aizen when he refused.]]
What better way to say "fuck you" than killing the man your greatest enemy couldn't?
* This actually brings another WMG:
[[WMG: Juhabach does NOT kill Aizen when he blows up 1st Division's office, but rather knocks Aizen out to take him back to Hueco Mundo to reforge him into a Quincy.]]
Let's rewind back to how Opie recruits arrancars: If they simply accept the offer, they die. But if they refuse, they will be considered for joining. [[spoiler:Not to mention that a little later, when Juhabach manhandles Ichigo, he doesn't flat out kill Ichigo despite being capable to do so. Rather, he simply 'nearly' chops Ichigo's head off, then muses about reforging Ichigo into Quincy.]]
[[WMG: The Vandenreich's Bankai-stealing medallions can also steal an Arrancar's Resurrecion]]
It helped them conquer Hueco Mundo. However, due to the nature of Ressurecion as an Arrancar's sealed Hollow powers, the Quincies can not use them and can only take them away.
[[WMG: The new arrival at the end of 511 is...]]
* ...Ichigo, having broken out of the cage with a new powerup
** Confirmed!
* ...Ishida, having finally got off his ass and decided to get involved
* ...The Zero Division, having arrived earlier than Bach expected
* ...One of the war potentials that was being stored at the research department building.
* ...Aizen, pulling a [[BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork Big Damn Villain Moment]]
** Or less likely, DefeatMeansFriendship but with [[TrollingCreator Tite Kubo]] you never know
* ... Harribel, having escaped from the Vandenreich while their best fighters were busy elsewhere
* ... Isshin, rockin' it hard now that Yamamoto is gone.
** .. Bonus points if Ryūken is with him
* ... The so far unseen remaining Visords
* ... Kyon!!!
* ... The surviving Fullbrings
* ... Don Kanojii having gone through some major TrainingFromHell
[[WMG: Juha Bach is not as in charge as he thinks.]]
And he's about get his ass whupped for insubordination by whoever that new arrival is.
* I personally agree, with the caveat that the blondie that follows him around all the time is the one ACTUALLY in charge. There is no real reason for blondie to exist, he doesn't fight, and Bach has already proven himself more than willing to execute minions on a whim. So why would he need a sycophantic yes-man to follow him around all the time? ESPECIALLY due to the fact that blondie apparently could tell that Bach was out of time before he realized it himself.
[[WMG: The monster mentioned by Yamamoto in the flashback was sealed inside his body]]
The fire monster is probably the origin of where his powers came from and may very well have been the personification of his Zanpakto, when Yamamoto defeated it thousands of years ago he sealed it inside of himself. He mentions that in the event this monster would come back that he probably wouldn't be alive to see it, this seems to imply to me that with his death the monster will be free to roam. Juhabach killing Yamamoto is the worst mistake he could have made, now he is going to face an opponent even more dangerous.
* I interpreted it as the picture being of Yamamoto himself: "It's a monster that appeared in Soul Society a long time ago." - Yamamoto became Head Captain a long time ago. "It appeared when Soul Society was already in a difficult situation, and made it even worse." - According to Juhabach, the Gotei 13 that Yamamoto founded used to be blood-thirsty killers. "But it won't appear ever again." - Yamamoto is an [[TheAtoner atoner]], who doesn't want others to get caught up in Soul Society business. "[If it one day appears again] I probably won't come back." -Yamamoto didn't want to release his full power, but Juhabach forced him which lead to [[spoiler: Yamamoto's death]].
[[WMG: The knowledge Kurotsuchi obtained from dissecting Uryuu's grandfather will prove instrumental in defeating Vandenreich]]
Who else has studied Quincies well enough to know the perfect ways to fight back? It might even be retconned that preparing for this is why he did it in the first place .
[[WMG: Rukia will fight As Nodt]]
Given how Mohawk Quincy has apparently survived Yama's attack, its possible that As Nodt did. Perphaps Rukia will take him/her down in order to avenge Byakuya.
* Since Byakuya isn't dead, I think it's more likely that if As Nodt did survive Byakuya himself will take him down for poetic justice.
[[WMG: The Stern Ritter are all dead.]]
Because honestly, Quincies may be powerful, but they're still human beings. There's no way they could live for a thousand years. No, these are Quincies who have lived throughout the ages and long since died and gone to the Soul Society. Unbeknownst to the Soul Reapers, these Quincies retained their memories and powers and have been plotting their revenge for centuries, training and studying until they could overcome the Soul Reapers and destroy them.
* Confirmed. Three times.
[[WMG: The war potentials...]]
Are all descendants of the Spirit King. The reason why the war potentials confirmed so far are so ridiculously strong is because of the powers they have inherited.
[[WMG: Aizen SOMEHOW used Kyoka Suigetsu on Juhabach.]]
Juhabach only THINKS he [[spoiler: killed Yamamoto and saw Ichigo use Blut Vene. In reality, hes still in front of Aizen.]] Yes, Aizen mentioned seeing his zanpakuto break in front of him but whats to say the Hogoyku merely allowed him to [[FridgeHorror fuse his power with it, allowing him to control it whenever he wants?]]
** [[spoiler:Confirmed/Jossed. Juhabach did all that stuff, but Aizen apparently did something to screw with Juhabach's perception of time, making him miscalculate the time he could still safely remain outside of Vandereich. If his subordinate hadn't warned him about this things could have gone very badly for Juhabach.]]
[[WMG: The Vandenreich are people with Quincy Powers who have been ostracized by the "real" Quincies.]]
* After all, Ishida and his father have both claimed the title of the last Quincy, but when the Vandenreich show up, Ishida doesn't seem to question the use of another person using Quincy powers despite the fact that they are all supposed to be dead. Plot Hole? I think not. The Vandenreich are so bloody and violent that "true" Quincies ignore their order, but did not attempt to exterminate them due to the fact they still happened to be fighting a war with the Soul Society and knew they couldn't fight a battle on two fronts. It also explains why Vandenreich were able to hide for so long, Ishida was never told about the evil sect of quincies that use the alphabet to murder people.
** We don't know whether Ichigo actually told Ishida about Ivan using a quincy cross or not.
*** It seemed pretty clear that Ichigo told him, especially considering Ishida is seeming to stay out of the fight for that very reason.
**** Actually, Ishida stayed out of the fight because he didn't like the idea of helping Arrancar. At no point did he mention the Quincy- which he definitely would have if Ichigo had told.
***** And it would not be the first time Ishida used a convenient excuse to get his way. After all, he knows Nel, Don Don Chakka and Pesche aren't on the scale of evil hollows who eat people.
[[WMG: Ryuken will be Bleach's Snape.]]
Spoiler for those who didn't read the last Harry Potter book: [[spoiler:Just like Snape was in love with Lily and despised James and therefore Harry, Ryuken was in love with Masaki, but she'd rather choose the enemy, the Shinigami. They got married, and we know Ryuken eventually got married (or not) and had a child of his own too. When Masaki died, Ryuken was heartbroken and that's why he retired as a Quincy. He blames Isshin, that's why he's cold towards him (and well, because he took her away from him to begin with)]]. Additionally, we probably won't know what side he really is until the end, just like Snape.
[[WMG: By the end of this arc...]]]
Ichigo will be captured by the Vandenreich.
[[WMG:Shutara is the co-creator/mother of Nemu.]]
Or at least influenced her design
* it's implied that she and Mayuri apparently know each other.
[[WMG:Shutara was in charge of the Nest of Maggots before Urahara.]]
Or was the one one to put Mayuri in there.
[[WMG: At least one of the Zero Squad 'Captains' is a Hollow or a Quincy]]
Why? Because at this point Tite Kubo has kind of written himself into a corner. The Quincies can steal Bankai, and it was just demonstrated that their high-level fighters are ALL more powerful than the Captains at their Shikai level. The only real way to deal with that? Either somebody like Zaraki, who doesn't HAVE a Bankai, or to have a Hollow or Quincy fight them - since their power doesn't come from a Bankai. Since the Shinigami aren't trying to wipe out the Hollows (By definition, they CAN'T, as new Hollows will always be created), it stands to reason that at least one Vasto Lorde or Quincy saw the damage the Quincy were doing by actually DESTROYING Hollows, and decided that it would be a good idea to side with the Shinigami to help maintain balance. Since nobody from the Gotei 13 ever really sees Zero Squad, none of them knew who Juha Bach was, and only the oldest Captains had met a couple of them personally, it really wouldn't be that hard to slide a Hollow or Quincy into the squad at the end of the Quincy war and claim he was 'former captain of the 2nd Squad', or something like that. Really, of the Gotei 13, only Yamamoto or Unohana would know for sure at this point.
* To elaborate further, so far, we have only seen THREE Vasto Lorde class Hollows in the series - Starrk, Barragan, and Hallibel. Since there were a LOT of Adjuchas seen (most of the Fraccion, remaining Arrancar and rejected experiment Arrancar were former Adjuchas - I think the total number is around 50 or 60), there have to be at least a couple more.
* They make it sound like the zero squad members are stronger than yamamoto, and the only quincy powerful enough to steal yamamoto's bankai was juhabach... so their bankais should at least be safe against everyone except for juhabach
[[WMG: Byakuya didn't die because of ExecutiveMeddling.]]
Almost everything in the manga suggested that he would really die (including the volume 57 poem). The editors ordered Kubo to keep him alive because of his PopularityPower.
* Maybe Kubo kept him after realizing that would mean he wouldn't be able to design any new outfits for him.
[[WMG: The hooded Sternritter is a Shiba]]
A lot of attention was paid to this random character's hood coming off, so we know he's going to be important. We've also learned that the Shiba siblings have an uncle who would disapprove of Ichigo going into danger, and the overwhelming fan consensus is that this is Isshin. The Sternritter losing his hood revealed hair very similar to that of the Shibas, so perhaps this Quincy was an older child of Isshin and Masaki's from before they settled down in the human world that inherited only Quincy genes, and his birth is what disgraced the family and forced Isshin into hiding?
* His name is Cang Du. Sounds Chinese, so it's unlikely he's related to Shibas.
[[WMG: Once Zaraki finishes his training, he will be pissed]]
I'm not even talking about just pissed at the Vandenreich, but at Shunsui as well and possibly Unohana. Think about it, he has only used kendo ONCE and he even states that he hates it because it ends the battles way too soon, but he couldn't get openly angry at Yamamoto for making him learn it due to just how much more powerful Yamamoto still was compared to him. Now they are going to unleash his full potential and then when he sees how quickly his battles end (even if he still handicaps himself) he is going to be angry at those who forced him to learn this and caused him to never be able to have fun again. Shunsui might be able to take him, Unohana has a strong possibility of taking him, but they won't be able to stop him in time and he goes on a rampage causing massive collateral damage.
[[WMG: Contributions to Soul Society is more important than power when determining the potential to enter the Royal Guard]]
It's only when you're training in there that you become so much more powerful than the entire Gotei 13. Hence why Aizen would have wanted it so much. It would have been awful if Aizen and Tosen got in there.
* Urahara was probably not considered eligible for several reasons: '''a)''' He was expelled from Soul Society. Had they known about all his accomplishments, he might have been accepted. '''b)''' He might have been seen as "too derivative" or not original enough like the other five.
[[WMG: Unohana's Bankai is going to be similar to Tsunade's Genesis Rebirth technique]]
What the technique does is literally allows you to regenerate any physical wound as long as you have chakra (or reiatsu, as it were). This would explain why SHE is Kenpachi, rather than Yamamoto - as this would make Unohana literally unkillable unless you could outlast her. And in a long, drawn out, fight to exhaustion, where YOU are taking damage but SHE isn't, the odds are stacked HEAVILY on her side. Even minor wounds will start to add up, as she remains pristine until she reached CriticalExistenceFailure at the limit of her reiatsu.
* This would also explain her relative youth.
** We should also consider Unohana's battle data and the abilities of her Shikai, not to mention her personal history. These are the facts: Unohana was the First [[spoiler:Kenpachi.]] This is an extremely battle-oriented position, obviously. Her battle data- offense comparable with Yamamoto- also reflects this. At some point, presumably afterwards, she was taught the art of healing and became largely nonviolent, although still Soul Society's great Kendō master. Now, most important of all is the ability of her Shikai. Bankais are, without exception, exaggerations or compressions of the fundamental nature of the Shikai. Unohana's Shikai is the ability to turn her blade, Minazuki, into a green gas capable of transforming into a giant, flying medevac manta ray, itself capable of transforming(sprouting feet, for instance). Who knows what else Minazuki can transform into ''just in Shikai.'' This evidence points me to only one, horrifying conclusion: Unohana Retsu's Bankai is ''whatever she damn well wants it to be.'' She could probably transform it- or fuse with it- to become a giant Kaiju-like monster ''specifically designed to exploit their opponent's greatest weaknesses and worst nightmares.''
*** I think you're putting too much stock into the fact that her Shikai can grow legs. If it is simply a massively powerful healing Zanpakuto, there is actually a whole lot more FridgeHorror in what she could do than just having Godzilla. First, of course, is what I already pointed out - if you are basically unkillable, all you have to do is inflict a DeathOfAThousandCuts and bleed your opponent out. In addition, being a healer means that you know exactly how much punishment a body can take - and EXACTLY where [[ForMassiveDamage critical strikes need to be placed to kill.]] But also, you could HEAL them to death. Think about it this way: your body utilizes white blood cells as it heals to combat infection, close wounds, and pretty much keep your body running. Do you know what happens when white blood cells multiply excessively? LEUKEMIA. Do you know what happens when you get an overdose of almost any painkiller? DEATH (and usually not a very pretty one, either). In fact, a sufficient overdose of almost all drugs in a hospital can be fatal. Also, with regards to the brain - while the real science is arguable, since this IS Shonen, if she were to 'heal' somebody's brain back to unmarked perfection - she could theoretically totally [[MindRape wipe a person's entire memory, experience, and personality out - PERMANENTLY]] (in some comic book continuities, this is why Wolverine has huge gaps in his memory - if his brain is damaged, it 'heals' back to normalcy, but he can't regrow his memory). That's not even getting into the more abstract possibility that she could 'heal' somebody's emotional damage (as in, everything even slightly bad that ever happened to them) - totally robbing anybody of their motivation to fight, or do anything but stare blissfully at the sky. I'd be a hell of a lot more afraid of any of those possibilities than just fighting some lame Godzilla like Komamura has.
**** You've gravely misunderstood my point here. Okay, yes, my theory is speculation as well, but at least I provide canonical ''reasons'' why I formulated that hypothesis, instead of just pointing out what I think would be cool or useful in a fight, as you seem to be doing. Look at the evidence: it seems very clear that Unohana was the Kenpachi before she was taught healing, ergo her Bankai and Shikai-which rob her of a handheld sword, despite her best skill being Kendō- presumably have some direct means of offense(consider her 100 offense stat!). Her Shikai is a green gas that can transform into a manta ray, and presumably other things as well, given Minazuki's ability to adapt while in manta form. She can use her Shikai to heal, yes, but the method is extremely roundabout and indirect, as if it were an added feature(fitting my theory), unlike, say, the HealingShiv that is Hanataro's Hisogomaru. More importantly, you've completely missed the point I was trying to make about her Bankai. I said it could be a Kaiju-like monster, yes, ''but only if that's what Unohana decides is should be.'' I hypothesize that her Bankai is an extension of her gaseous, transforming Shikai. Something she could tailor to exploit any opponent's weaknesses and worst nightmares, whether it be a Kaiju, or a LightningBruiser, or a GlassCannon, and so on and so forth. This would also help to explain why she puts the fear of god into hardened soldiers with just a smile.
***** I've got to side with the first guy. You're taking a peripheral travel ability of her Shikai that nobody even mentions in-story or thinks is unusual (allowing it to grow legs to land), and somehow think that it means that her Bankai is literally whatever she wants it to be? That is so stupidly broken that it immediately begs the question of why she didn't use it to slaughter Aizen, the Arrancar, the Quincies, and Juha Bach single-handedly instead of allowing thousands of Shinagami to die. Several other Zanpakuto can change forms as well - Byakuya can go from sword -> petals -> swords -> crazy winged sword, Gin's turns to dust and reforms at a longer length, etc. Kubo has been pretty religious about sticking to a single 'theme' for each Bankai - so far we have ice, fire, wind, lightning, speed, melee power (several), ranged power, sense distortion. You honestly think her 'theme' is 'whatever she wants'? Her Zanpakuto, 'Minazuki', translates as, 'Purify the Flesh'. While a lot could be made of what that may or may not mean, 'transform into whatever I feel like' isn't one of them. More likely it is an acid type zanpakuto (she specifically states that Minazuki's stomach acid is what is healing the ones in its stomach), and it has a number of types of acid she can use.
***** Interesting take. Although it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that I claimed it's anything she wants it to be, in context what I meant was that Minazuki's green gas could transform into any shape or creature, not suddenly turn into some broken Kido-type like Ruri'iro Kujaku or Wabisuke, or an elemental type like Ryuujin Jakka. Again, we always have to defer to the facts- any explanation of Unohana's speculative Bankai has to take into account the little that we already know of her powers and battle data. Those facts are: she is of average speed, with Yamamoto-level offense and above-average defense. Her Kido and Kendo are best in class, and her physical strength exceeds Yamamoto's. Her Shikai, Minazuki, is a rather sinister-looking green gas that can transform into a giant manta ray monster capable of flight and healing via stomach acids(although Nel's healing saliva, for example, didn't end up meaning much about her powers either, no possibility can be ruled out at this stage). Unohana mostly heals using Kido, instead of Minazuki, instead using it to transport the wounded and provide first aid. Minazuki's composition appears to be semi-solid, as its flesh can be seen flowing like viscous liquid to form feet. People are absolutely terrified of her. She was the Kenpachi. This is all we know so far. I maintain that her Bankai is transformation-oriented, with secondary healing powers(similar to how Kyoraku's powers are kid's games with a secondary RazorWind aspect, or Yamamoto's are flames with a secondary Undead aspect), but I'm more than willing to admit a case can be made for an acid- or gaseous- based dissolving attack, which in itself is pretty mortifying. That, or possibly making someone turn into a seeping mass of tumors and cancer(the "over-healing" theory, but who knows how monsters figure into that). Lastly, I'd like to point out that the translation of Minazuki, "Purify the Flesh," is both vague ''and'' a pretty hit-or miss metric of guessing. Some examples: Kyoraku's secondary power, wind, is mentioned in his Shikai command, but its primary power, children's games, is not. Minazuki could possibly be the same, the name(or the as-yet-unheard Shikai command) only referring to the secondary power. Also, there's Ruri'iro Kujaku, whose name means azure peacock. Hardly indicative of vampiric draining, but it does mildly reflect what the thing looks like. This is why I theorize that hearing Minazuki's Shikai command will be both a giveaway of its true power, and a CrowningMomentOfAwesome. Just imagine- "Transform, Minazuki!" Or "Dissolve their flesh, Minazuki!" Or "Suffocate them, Minazuki!" I can't really imagine a cool one for the over-healing theory, though. "Heal, Minazuki!" Just doesn't have much terror or verve to it.
[[WMG: Aizen was once a member of Squad Zero]]
It would explain why he knows the Spirit King's true nature, and why he was so incredibly powerful. And Shutara condemns him so harshly, it seems almost like she has something personal against him.
Think about it- in the Spirit King's realm there are five cities, one for each member of the guard, which indicates that there are always five members of the Royal Guard.
During the Vizard mini arc Kirio Hikifune was promoted to the Royal Guard- which may mean that she was a replacement for somebody who had already left. Aizen was a Lietenant at the time, true, but who's to say that the guard didn't wait a while to find a suitable new candidate to replace him? That would have given him more than enough time to reach a strong position in the Gotei 13.
[[spoiler:It may also be the reason why he knew what the Ouken really was, having once been one himself.]]
(On a silly note, it would also be hilarious if he was the previous owner of the food palace- which could actually explain why no one from the Gotei 13 knew who he was... they may have only ever seen him in his overweight form.)
[[WMG: The final battle will be a coalition of old allies and enemies versus the Vandenreich.]]
Think about it. They've been rapidly reintroducing the Shibas, the slain members of Xcution, Harribel, Nel, the remaining Visoreds, and an implied Grimmjow. I'd be willing to bet that Kukaku, Ganju, Tsukishima, Giriko, Ginjo, Harribel, Nel, Hiyori, Lisa, Mashiro, Love, and Grimmjow are going to aid in the fight, especially because they all (save for Love) likely lack Bankai and fight in other ways, which makes them trump cards. Personally, I'd love to see Kukaku get into a scrap; being that she's the eldest Shiba, she's gotta have some power to her.
[[WMG: Gunslinger Quincy is an Ishida]]
He looks like a skinnier Soken excluding his hairstyle, he even wears identical glasses. It also explains why Quilge thought it was impossible that Uryu's attacks could be weaker than his.
[[WMG: The Helmet Quincy will be a woman]]
* Why? [[TrollingCreator Tite Kubo]], that's why...
** It can't be a woman - they don't have a huge rack, and this is Tite Kubo we're talking about.
** C'mon, not ''every'' woman Kubo draws is that stacked. Many are, but not ''all'' of them.
[[WMG: Unohana Retsu and Unohana Yachiru are effectively two separate people.]]
* Unohana Retsu does not have Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder). Instead, she has completely detached and segregated two aspects of her personality, or soul: Retsu, the motherly doctor, and [[NightmareFuel Unohana]] [[AxCrazy Yachiru,]] [[BloodKnight the first Kenpachi.]] What happens to a soul or a shinigami that has completely suppressed or fundamentally changed their personality? Their Zanpakuto, which is an outgrowth or reflection of their soul, changes ("evolves") as well. Other theories have pointed out that Unohana might do this to alter her sword in the same way Yumichika changes his Shikai. Essentially, whilst there may be a common theme to them, Retsu and Yachiru's Zanpakuto powers manifest themselves completely differently. Retsu uses Minazuki to heal and transport the wounded. Yachiru uses the monster to completely decimate everything around her. [[FridgeBrilliance And Tite Kubo had planned all of this the entire time.]] After Retsu "lets Yachiru out," so to speak, she will have difficulty putting the Genie back into the bottle, and everyone around her will want her to turn back to normal.
[[WMG: Yachiru Kusajishi will kick Vandenreich's ass by releasing her bankai.]]
* Because giving weak characters new devastating powers is so very Kubo. Also, RuleOfCool.
** The same Vandenreich who have been stealing any Bankai that gets used?
** Don't forget about the theory that Yachiru already IS Zaraki's Zanpaktou. Looks a whole lot more likely since the new "Number One Zanpaktou Maker" has a whole bunch of materialized Zanpaktou hanging around him.
*** That theory seems unlikely in light of Chapter 527, [[spoiler:as Unohana notes that Kenpachi's "partner" (i.e. his Zanpakuto) has awakened after his apparent felling of her.]]
[[WMG: Reasons why Unohana develops 'Retsu' and abandoned 'Yachiru' for a long time.]]
Probably we will get a flashback arc later, detailing Unohana's past. And the reason why she went from a psychotic bloodthirsty killer into an unflappably kind and compassionate TeamMom MamaBear? My theory is that she did find a MoralityPet as Yachiru but due to her blood lust, she ended up killing the MoralityPet in accident and this sparked guilt, regret over her actions. She can't erase her criminal record, but at the very least, it spurs her to become a good person as an atonement, thus she develops the motherly persona. She picked the new name 'Retsu' AKA 'violent' as a reminder of what she was before and that she will be forever spending her time doing good and all to atone for her mountainload of sins.
* The alternate theory is that Yachiru is the child of Unohana/Zaraki, and that her big change came when she realized that she would be a TERRIBLE mother. So she left the kid with Zaraki, and worked on her 'mother personality' so she could someday claim the kid.
[[WMG: Zaraki has never been able to talk to his Zanpakuto and unleash his Shikai because he's never been desperate enough to resort to it.]]
His pride subconsciously prevents him from doing so whenever he's wanted to before. Now that he's facing murderous Unohana and faced with the prospect of dying without ever surpassing her, he's willing to resort to anything, which is just what his Zanpakuto needs in order to get through to him.
[[WMG: 525's CliffHanger ending isn't really the end of [[spoiler: Unohana Yachiru]]. [[TrollingCreator Tite Kubo is just trolling us.]]]]
* Consider this: [[spoiler: we are faced with the prospect, as stated by Kyoraku, that]] one of them will die. [[spoiler: as of this chapter, Unohana Yachiru is brutally slashed by Zaraki after killing him over and over again, and reviving him. This is because each time he dies, he subconsciously starts fighting closer to his true limit. This can be construed as Unohana being the one that ultimately had to die; by her own admission, she was the weaker(although deadlier and more skilled) of the two of them.]] '''BUT,''' before speculation runs rampant, even before Kyoraku's revalation, Kubo stated in an interview that [[spoiler: we would see Unohana's "True Power" and her Bankai will be revealed in the Vandenreich arc. This hasn't happened yet, so clearly that wasn't a fatal blow, least of all to someone with the unbelievably broken ability to repeatedly heal FATAL WOUNDS with her SEALED ZANPAKUTO.]]
** Or, alternatively, Yachiru Unohana DOES die, but Retsu survives. True defeat and satisfaction is just what she needed to really move on.
[[WMG: The black stuff that forced Juha Bach to retreat is a marker for hell to track him down]]
* It's been said that humans living lives of sin don't get into the Soul Society when they die, they are dragged to hell when purified by a Soul Reaper, Juha Bach survived the battle with Yamamoto but eventually died making him lose his powers temporarily due to lacking spirit energy, which allowed him to be sent to hell, which he eventually escaped and has to hide in Schatten Bereich to avoid being dragged back to hell.
[[WMG: Ichigo will get a Quincy-style Spirit weapon]]
* Well it looks like he won't have Zangetsu for a while.
** Question is, where is he going to get one powerful enough for him to stand on par with the Vandenreich? Ishida and Ryuken? Ishida was almost always weaker than Ichigo ''before'' the Vandenreich came along.
** He only needs it until he gets Zangetsu back.
*** And then proceeds to [[AllYourPowersCombined combine them together along with his Hollow powers]] to create an upgrade strong enough to defeat Yhwach. Don't look at me like it couldn't happen.
** Don't need to, since he will get a zanpakuto. [[spoiler: Not to mention he always been using a Qunicy-based weapon anyway.]]
[[WMG: Retsu's bankai is..]]
* Shikai and bankai are always related, but hers seem very different, right? But what if her bankai, instead of being a bigger badder version of her shikai, is simply the other side of the same ability. Her shikai heals people, and her bankai melts them away. Her bankai ''absorbs'' flesh, while her shikai ''dispenses'' it.
** You don't even need to dig that far into it. When she was healing people with her shikai, she specifically stated that it's stomach acid was what was healing them. If it is just a straight acid-type, presumably it has a different acid that hurts people.
[[WMG: The Ishidas are Vandenreich Rejects.]]
There's a reason that Arrancar-Vandenreich recruit went after Ichigo and not Uryu. The Ishidas were likely a family of Quincies who chose to go against the Vandenreich in some way, likely because they didn't agree with the proposed Shinigami genocide or something, and thus the Vandenreich rejected them.
[[WMG: Masaki used Letzt Stil.]]
She used Letz Stil to save Isshin from whatever it was he was fighting so she loses her powers explaining why she got killed by Grand Fisher so easily.
* She managed to kill the Hollow without Letzt Stil. She might still use it in the future, though.
** On the other hand, doesn't a Quincy need a Sanrei Glove in order to go Letzt Stil? And the only known Sanrei Glove is currently in Souken Ishida's possession.
[[WMG: The hollow attacking Karakura is a Vasto Lorde, and Issin is in way over his head.]]
He must use the Final Getsuga to defeat it, hence his depowering. That still leaves the fact that [[spoiler: the hollow looks almost exactly like Ichigo]] unexplained, though.
[[WMG:The Vasto Lordes attacking Karakura Town is Zangetsu and is created by both Yuha Bach '''and''' modified by Aizen.]]
Zangetsu is a Vasto Lordes(Created by Yuha Bach and later discovered, named and modified by Aizen) that was sealed in Ichigo and not a true Zanpakuto Spirit. Zangetsu's name while similar to Isshin's Engetsu that is only a Red Herring and the Zanpakuto that Zangetsu is named after is Kyōka Suigetsu. The reason I think Yuha Bach created Zangetsu is that they have similar appearances and that he adressed Ichigo as his "Son born in Darkness" which may have actually been addressed to Zangestu. Grand Fisher's 3 attacks were failed attempts to reclaim Zangetsu for Aizen's purposes.
* ...Holy ''shit.'' That would explain Ichigo's Asuachi debacle; ''he never had his own Asauchi Zanpakuto to begin with.'' Zangetsu was just sort of... There the whole time. And his fused form looks disturbingly like [[spoiler: an amalgamation of this new hollow and a Tensa Zangetsu. And the new hollow just happens to have blades for arms...]] I'm not saying I believe this explanation, but ''damn'' if it isn't internally consistent.
* If this is true, then Ichigo is basically [[AllYourPowersCombined the human reincarnation of a powerful Hollow, born to a depowered Shinigami and a depowered Quincy]]. Which would also make Aizen Ichigo's ''creator''. Yeesh.
[[WMG: The hollow that Isshin and [[spoiler:Masaki]] are fighting is pre-Arrancar Wonderweiss.]]
Just the way Tosen was particular about referring to him as 'pure' and 'light,' in the same way that he did for Wonderweiss in Hueco Mundo... It makes me wonder.
* I doubt it, it was killed.
[[WMG: Zangetsu is actually [[spoiler:the soul of the Shinigami who was used to create the Black Hollow.]]]]
The Black Hollow that was created with [[spoiler:the Shinigami's soul]] "infected" Masaki when it bit her, and its power was passed on to Ichigo. Zangetsu isn't a normal zanpakutou, it's [[spoiler:the Shinigami protecting his host. "Hollow" Ichigo is the manifestation of whatever it was Aizen did to the Shinigami to create a Hollow out of his soul.]]
* As of Chapter 540, this seems to be Jossed. Zangetsu is [[spoiler: a younger Yhwach.]]
[[WMG: Masaki isn't dead]]
And is in fact currently infiltrating the Vandenreich.
* Pretty much Jossed. [[spoiler:She was stripped of her powers and became an easy prey for the Grand Fisher]].
[[WMG: Uryu will develop a Vollständig.]]
Because it's been a while since he received a power-up. And his Quincy training is nowhere near the level of Vandenreich.
* Seems likely, [[spoiler:now that he has joined Vandenreich]].
[[WMG: Ichigo is special because of his unique heritage.]]
Think about it. His dad's Shinigami, his mom's a Quincy who had a hollow inside her when he was conceived, which also makes him a Fullbringer! The combination of these traits makes Ichigo who he his, so that by the time he learns his past, how he came to be, then it will unleash a new power inside him.
[[WMG: Uryuu is a [[spoiler:FakeDefector.]]]]
[[spoiler: He's joined the Vandenreich out of a want for revenge (something he has a history of) and will attempt to off the Emperor. This, of course, will end badly, and he will probably be killed in the attempt.]]
[[WMG: Alternately, [[spoiler: Uryuu is an [[TheInfiltration infiltrator]] into the Vandenreich.]]]]
[[spoiler: Someone, possibly Urahara or Kyouraku, has sent him to spy on the Vandenreich to figure out what their next move will be.]]
* [[spoiler:Ryuuken would be another possibility for Uryuu's Mission Control. As a Quincy, Ryuuken probably knows more about the ideology and internal organization of the Clan than the Shinigami do, he's got a solid motive against Yhwach considering what happened to Kanae, and he's quite capable of playing the LongGame, with or without the help of Soul Society.]]
[[WMG: Third Option: [[spoiler: Uryuu has been ReforgedIntoAMinion by the Vandenreich just like Ichigo was supposed to be.]]]]
[[WMG: Yuha Bach can somehow use Blut Vene and Blut Arterie simultaneously]]
[[WMG:Ryuken will end up getting involved in the fight against Vandenreich.]]
This is only assuming that [[spoiler:Uryu was coerced into joining Vandenreich against his own free will as opposed to being a spy of some sort]]. Thus, we'll get a [[spoiler:father-son fight where Ryuken tries to bring Uryu to his senses, simultaneously showing his true colors and revealing that he truly loves and cares for his son (Katagiri too, if Uryu's MissingMom problems are part of the reason for the schism between parent and child), [[JerkassFacade he just had a really hard time properly showing them]].]]
[[WMG: Haschwalth is a direct descendant of Yuha Bach.]]
I guess any Quincy could be said to be a "descendant" of Yuha Bach, but I'd like to suggest that Blondie's is his son/grandson/something similar. Explaining his Dragon status. Although I'm just saying this because they kind of resemble each other.
* Then what are other Quincies? Great*over 9000 grandnephews and nieces? If Yuha Bach was the very first Quincy (had no Quincy brothers or sisters), then he is everyone's great*over 9000 grandfather.
* It's possible, albeit probably not to that extent. As alluded to, just because every Quincy has Yhwach's blood running through them doesn't mean they're necessarily part of his direct line of descent (which we have no further info on at the time). If anything, his frequent use of addressing other Quincies as "My son" seems more figurative and poetic than outright literal.
[[WMG: Oshō of the Royal Guard is the creator of Kidō and founder of the Kidō Corps.]]
Just a theory, and I'm not sure WHY I think it. I just do.
** Makes sense if you go by character design alone. He seems to be based on a Buddhist monk. Monks are known for their chants, and Kido spells requires incantations/chants to be used. Of course, there's the fact that exceptionally talented ones can use them without it. But the point still stands as basic Kido training requires you to learn the full incantation in the first place.
[[WMG: Grimmjow (assuming he's alive) is now capable of performing Segunda Etapa]]
Seeing as there needs to be a reason why Grimmjow is suddenly capable of defeating Kirge Opie so quickly when he was able to fight with Ichigo in his Bankai for at least a short time, my thoughts is that while the first form Ressureccion is like a Shikai, the Segunda Etapa is like Bankai. Extending from this, it's possible that Halibel has gained the ability as well.
[[WMG: Reforged Zangetsu's release command will be]]
[[spoiler:Bleach]]
* More like "cook," judging by its new appearance.
* Given what his zanpakuto and attack names both were, and given his Quincy heritage, maybe his release command will be [[TengenToppaGurrenLagann"Ten wo Tsuke / Pierce the Heavens"]]?
[[WMG: Ichigo has always been using his quincy powers without anyone realizing]]
The getsuga tensho of his shikai is a massive blast of blue energy. Basic quincy arrows are shots of blue energy. The main ability of Zangetsu is to let Ichigo fire massive quincy arrows.
* Isshin has Getsuga Tensho, too, though. Also, if this was the case Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho would probably destroy souls and while we have no prove that that's not the case, if it WOULD destroy Souls I'd assume the Gotei 13 wouldn't let him destroy Souls left and right. (And, yeah, given what we know of the twelfth division, they would know.) It's not good for the balance, after all.
** True, but "Zangetsu" came into being when Ichigo got Rukia's powers so is it possible that that gave Him the purification abilities of a Zanpakuto? Not OP by the way.
* Quincy arrows are made of reishi, gathered by a Quincy from the surroundings. Getsuga Tensho is a reiatsu blast, which comes from Ichigo and Isshin's own power. They aren't the same.
[[WMG: Old Man Zangetsu is a [[spoiler: Quincy Spirit weapon]] ]]
Unmarked spoilers for the most recent Chapter:
according to Nimaiya the spirit we have been Calling Zangetsu is actually a manifestation of Ichigo's Quincy powers. the Inner Hollow is the real Zangetsu. I postulate that when Rukia gave her powers to Ichigo she partially awakened his Quincy powers. when this happened Ichigo subconsciously conjured a spirit weapon in the shape of a sword. the reason "Zangetsu" Purifies instead of destroying is that Rukia's reiatsu gave it the properties of a Zanpakuto despite not being one, which is also why Ichigo can channel his Shikai and Bankai through him. the reason that he can only use Getsuga and not any other abilities is because Getsuga is the closest thing to a Quincies natural abilities, and is their for the only ability he can borrow from the real Zangetsu.
[[WMG: Yhwach stole Ryuken's mother's powers, too.]]
That mark on her leg was never explained. However, Orihime used to have a similar mark, left by a Hollow, and if the same is true for Ryuken's mother, then Yhwach may have deemed her impure (tainted by a Hollow, just like Masaki) and stolen her powers.
[[WMG: Building on the above, Yhwach may have stolen Blut from the entire Ishida family in one fell swoop.]]
* We have never seen Uryuu use Blut (despite having been in situations like the fight with Szayel where it could've been REALLY useful) and Ryuuken's never offered to teach it to his son despite restoring his powers. Perhaps there's some reason why Ryuuken doesn't want to pass that technique on or perhaps he simply ''can't''.
* Souken--the master who taught Uryuu and Ryuuken--was taken down by a pack of what were by all accounts perfectly normal Hollows. Yes, he was past his physical prime; yes, he was facing multiple opponents; yes, the Shinigami failed to respond. But his (mixed-blood, self-taught) grandson was mowing down that kind of monster like grass by ''age 15''. Was there something else that was holding him back that day--like missing the strongest moves in his arsenal?
* If Yhwach defined "impurity" BOTH as "mixed-blood ancestry" AND as "pure-blood contaminated by contact with Hollows", it's not much of a stretch to surmise that "marrying outside blood caste" and "advocating peace with the Shinigami" might also strip pure-bloods of their purity in his eyes...in which case both Ryuuken and Souken would also have lost their Blut ability in ThePurge.
* This makes sense for Yhwach in practical terms: two more powerful Bluts with which to restore his own abilities, two fewer powerful Bluts among a bunch of dissidents who might later object to his plans.
* Like Masaki, the Ishidas were probably strong enough to survive the initial loss of power but it would have made fighting major Hollows or Arrancar much more dangerous. That makes sense with what we know of Souken's death and also with Ryuuken's TrueNeutral status: without Blut, Ryuuken may hate the Vandenreich but he really doesn't have the power to be able to risk pissing them off either.
* Which would then lead to a possible answer as to why [[spoiler: Ishida has joined the Vandenreich. He wants to attain Blut and help take them down from the inside.]]
* Jossed. Yhwach attempted to steal Uryu's powers, but it failed. However, Uryu never had Blut in the first place because he's a Gemischt.
[[WMG: Ichigo's bankai will be stolen, and then he'll have to learn Quincy powers.]]
Because otherwise, it makes no sense for him to have used a Quincy power once, only to never use them again.
* On the contrary, wouldn't it be equally nonsensical for Ichigo to lose his Bankai after just going through all of the trouble of getting his Zanpakuto reforged[[spoiler:, learning about the true nature of his weapon, and no longer having his actual Soul Reaper powers suppressed]]? Yes, the fact that Vandenreich can steal Bankai is still problematic, but I feel that (or at least hope that) Ichigo isn't stupid enough to make the same mistake the Gotei 13 captains did during the first battle with Vandenreich. I don't think Ichigo's Quincy powers will be going on the back burner either, considering that the sole ability he's demonstrated so far was a specialty of his mother's. It'd make sense that, as suggested above, Ichigo fights with the sum total of his Soul Reaper, Hollow, and Quincy powers.
[[WMG:Zangetsu is [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha the Rose to Yhwach's M. Bison]]]]]]
I'll probably end up being wrong on most accounts, but work with me here. Zangetsu's [[spoiler:appearance as that of a younger Yhwach might be symbolic of whatever good in his heart the Vandenreich Emperor cast away, manifesting as an EnemyWithout(?) that ended up resonating with Ichigo's Quincy powers, thus taking on the form we all know]]. After all, both that scene with [[spoiler:Tensa Zangetsu (who was made up of both "Old Man" Zangetsu and Ichigo's Hollow at the time) crying BerserkerTears and revealing that it was Ichigo he wanted to protect]] and his words in 541 to Ichigo were genuinely sentimental.
[[WMG: Tenjiro Kirinji is a former Kenpachi.]]
Have you seen him talk to [[PersonOfMassDestruction Unohana]] like she's a rookie? This dude's got some balls.
* Dude, Tenjiro is probably so badass that the only reason he didn't officially become the first Kenpachi (as is Unohana's honour) was because he was inducted into the Zero Division. And not just for his badassery, but because of the sheer amount of death that would happen in this guy's wake! He was probably transferred out of the safety of the people of Soul Society!
[[WMG: Uryu joined Vandenreich on one condition: Orihime (and probably some other friends of his) will be spared in the war.]]
Let's face it: Uryu is quite a decent guy. Despite his rivalry with Ichigo, he has friends and people he cares about, just like everybody else. He is not the type who would suddenly devote himself to mass killing and destruction which Vandenreich craves. Why would he side with the worst sort of bad guys, then? Why, because there is someone he doesn't want to be harmed! And the best candidate for such a person could be... who else but Orihime?
With the recent chapter 543, it starts to look like the current arc mirrors the Hueco Mundo arc. Stern Ritters have strikingly similar personalities to those of Espadas: Haschwalth=Ulquiorra, Bazz-B=Grimmjow or Nnoitra, luchador Quincy=Yammy... And Uryu acts an awful lot like Orihime when she was captured! He hasn't spoken a single word since he was shown in a Stern Ritter uniform; he looked unusually sad when he told Ichigo he couldn't accompany him to Hueco Mundo, and he seems oddly indifferent through the whole chapter 543. He appears neither glad nor honored to stand by Yhwach's side and become his successor. Is he really there to fight and kill Soul Reapers... or maybe there's an unrelated, more personal reason?
* Or maybe Uryuu has joined as TheMole.
[[WMG: Yhwach wants to perform GrandTheftMe on Ishida]]
It seems strange that Yhwach would name Ishida his successor, because there's no way he can trust such a newcomer to carry out his vision once he's dead. However, Yhwach ''won't'' be dead. His body is a thousand years old and failing him, and he wants a new one to replace it with. Ishida is the perfect candidate- he's the only 'living' Quincy, he's young, and he's implied to be potentially very powerful. Yhwach is grooming Ishida to be powerful enough to act as a vessel for his soul once his current body gives out.
The twist? Ishida knows this is what Yhwach has planned for him, and is the reason he joined him. Ishida hopes that when Yhwach tries to hijack him, he'll be able to keep control for long enough to kill them both, or have one of his friends do so.
[[WMG: Urahara is working on a way to negate the effects of the Vandereich's Medallions]]
One of the biggest advantage the Stern Ritter have on the Gotei 13 is the ability to steal their Bankai. The captains can't use Bankai against opponents that they would NEED to use Bankai on. Urahara, being the genius scientist, is currently examining Opie's medallion to see if he can reverse it's effects and allow the captains to use Bankai when they fight the Stern Ritter again.
[[WMG: Uryuu is a mole, and he doesn't have to ever act against the Vandereich to help the Soul Sociery]]
Remember when Uryuu and Renji were fighting Szayel? Mayuri knew exactly where they were, because he'd planted camera-like bacteria in Ishida aaaalll they way back when they first fought. So Mayuri can track Ishida anywhere he goes, and Ishido didn't even have a clue about it until he was told. Now, Uryuu has some pretty good Reishi-sensing skills, so Mayuri's bacteria has to be pretty well hidden. Which means that even if Ishida never reports back to the Soul Society, gets any info from them, or does ''anything'' to help the Soul Society, he'd still be spying on the Vandereich every time they tell him anything. Hell, even just walking through the palace gives the Seireitei (at least part of) a map of the Vandereich's headquarters. Anything he does or learns will be reported back to the Soul Society through the bacteria.
The best part? Since the bacteria was hidden from Uryuu so well, even if someone discovers it he can always claim he had no clue it existed. Unless Yhwach had spies in Las Noches, in the same room as that particular battle, during the thirty seconds Mayuri spent explaining the bacteria in Ishida's presence, there's no evidence that Uryuu was aware he's being spied on. Granted, when push comes to shove that may not work, but it's worth a shot at least.
So Uryuu can be the perfect spy, without ever putting himself under suspicion. The only way he'd screw up is if he asked a question about information the Soul Society needed to know, but that Uryuu Ishida has no reason to interested in. And personally, I thing Uryuu's too smart to screw up like that.
[[WMG: Bambietta's change in appearance isn't a RetCon]]
Mostly because I can't think of a reason Kubo would change it without some sort of ExecutiveMeddling but her change in appearance has something to do with her powers, perhaps the more blood she spills the younger she appears thus why she occasionally kills recruits in her spare time.
* Bambietta's appearance never changed. It's just that we never saw her without her cape prior to Chapter 544, so we couldn't take a good look at her body.
[[WMG: Uryu will steal Ichigo's bankai.]]
Even though it's a plotkai, Uryu is apparently the strongest Quincy, even more powerful than Yhwach. Now, we know from Yhwach that not everyone is capable of stealing bankai; you need to be powerful enough to handle what you are stealing. Seeing how Ichigo is a freak who has the power of every force in existence, '''that''' may be the true reason why his bankai is unstealable. Maybe you need an equally strong opponent for that... And maybe that's why Yhwach recruited Uryu? Something like that would add a fuckton of awesomeness to their rivalry.
[[WMG: Uryu will [[spoiler:kill Yuzu]]]]
It's been shown already that he's joined the Vandenreich. Given that he has a personal reason for joining, making it a true FaceHeelTurn, Juhabach might ask him to prove his loyalty.
Why [[spoiler:Yuzu]]? [[spoiler:She and Karin are Ichigo's sisters, the children of a shinigami-human hybrid and a quincy-hollow hybrid. Judging by the freakish level of power Ichigo has, his sisters might also be decided as a threat by Juhabach. Uryu kills Yuzu, but Karin escapes due to timely intervention by Isshin, who escapes with her. Yuzu's death might also give Karin a motive to develop her powers, which, right after the time-skip, Ichigo says have been growing, according to Karin's own words, hence the above WMG.]]
[[WMG: Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro will become Substitute Soul Reapers.]]
Currently, Ichigo is busy preparing for the war with Vandenreich, Uryu has sided with Vandenreich (even though nobody knows about it yet), the rest of the gang are either in Hueco Mundo or in the Soul Society, leaving Karakura Town without anyone to protect its citizens from Hollows. That may be the reason why [[spoiler:Kyoraku]] is meeting with Ichigo's friends - to offer them Soul Reaper powers.
[[WMG: Lt. Yachiru will get into a DesignatedGirlFight with Bambietta.]]
Allowing us to finally see her combat skills and her zanpakuto.
* Seeing Bambietta's black widow status, Rangiku sounds like a more appropriate opponent for her. Yachiru can have Liltotto (Designated Loli Fight!).
[[WMG: Aes Noedt is a woman who looks like Unohana under that mask.]]
The shape of Aes Noedt's head does vaguely resemble Unohana.
[[WMG: Cang Du doesn't speak Japanese.]]
He never speaks because he is Chinese and can't communicate with others.
[[WMG: Yhwach is going to win.]]
''Bleach'' has taken a 6-week hiatus before the "final battle," and [[spoiler:Yhwach says he is going to conquer the world in 9 days]]. However, Kubo said this arc will be the longest in the series, and it's only been a year. So unless [[spoiler:those 9 days will be expanded to hundreds of chapters]], Yhwach is going to conquer the Soul Society, forcing the good guys to retreat and try later to take it back.
* The entire Hueco Mundo Arc occurred in a single day in-universe, but it took so long to write that the anime inserted filler arcs TWICE DURING the adaptation of the Hueco Mundo Arc because they OvertookTheManga. I see no reason to assume that it won't take the rest of the decade for Kubo to write nine days in-universe. (Timestamp: July 17, 2013)
[[WMG: Ichigo's friends...]]
[[spoiler:...will be forced to escape to the Soul Society - that's the reason they were given those tickets. Same with Ichigo's family.]]
* Soul Society isn't the safest place right now, with Seireitei gone and Quincies taking over.
[[WMG: Haschwalth is a brainwashed former Shinigami]]
This one is really wild, but I like it anyway, so there.
* His "B" will be revealed to stand for "Blade". Why would a Quincy of all people have a specialty that involves blades? Because he used to work with them before becoming a Quincy.
* He has an unhappy reaction when Bach mentions brainwashing Ichigo into a loyal soldier. Perhaps he was not aware Bach could do this before this moment and is suddenly complementing his own situation? Or it just makes him feel uneasy on a subconscious level.
* This would explain his rather distinct lack of personality aside from "Yes, your majesty". He probably has some sort of actual character, but it's just suppressed by the brainwashing along with his memories.
* Haschwalth is always seen in the general vicinity of Juha Bach, which is interpreted as him having Special Rights. But maybe his case is exactly the same as Uryuu's - Bach keeps him close so he can see if the brainwashing is working properly.
* Similarly, the serving lady is not there to signify his status, but to keep an eye for him.
* The other Sternritters' reactions to Haschwalth speak against this theory, but maybe most of them are not on it. Assuming that 'Haschwalth' is a fake identity with a fake name that he got after the brainwashing, it would make sense to only tell a few of other Sternritters the truth, so no one would accidentally spill the beans. The rest was told the lie and simply is misinterpreting Haschwalth's closeness to the Emperor, similarly as they misinterpret Uryuu being named the successor.
* The last time Juha Bach had a chance to brainwash anybody was 1000 years ago. This would explain why no one from the Shinigami side recognizes Hashwalth during the Invasion - most of them were not there 1000 years ago and the few who were (Yamamoto comes to mind) did not necessary remember the face of every Shinigami who went missing and was believed dead in the previous war - there probably was a lot of them. Plus, you know, there is an invasion going on. Not necessary the best time to wonder where one saw that blond dude before.
Bonus points if Haschwalth actually managed to fuck something up for Juha Bach last time around and this is an art of elaborate revenge or if he was one of the War Potentials in the previous war. If not - hey, someone had to be a test subject for the technique.
* Problem with that theory is that a few of the quincy use swords or knives and he was probably trained personally by the Emperor in sword fighting.
[[WMG: Byakuya will regain his bankai and use Shukei: Hakuteiken on As Nodt.]]
Because fuck yeah, that would be awesome.
[[WMG: Uryu will kill Kurotsuchi]]
Already mentioned in short above, but expanding:[[spoiler: Regardless of whether he's a mole or not, it'll be]] Because he has enough reasons to hate him and the way this issue was "resolved" kind of sucked. (Ishida ''nearly'' killed Kurotsuchi and afterwards, everything's just fine and that's it? Really?)
Also, Kurotsuchi doesn't seem particularly well-liked inside the Soul Society and he doesn't have that many fangirls either, so he can be killed off without angering too many and, possibly, without lasting consequences for Uryu. [[spoiler: He had to "prove his loyalty", maybe?]] And with Urahara being innocent there's a smarter, more powerful and allegedly less insane scientist around to fill the "hole", anyway.
[[WMG: Shutara is the creator of the Kōtotsu]]
The Dangai used to be a penal colony and is now a defence to prevent unauthorised people from entering soul society easily with the Kōtotsu coming along to clean out the Dangai every week, it's been shown to have time/space altering effects when messed with and Squad 12 mentions a Shutara Scale in relation to the vandenreich slaying hollows in large numbers and upsetting the balance.
She is a Space and Time master who is responsible for ensuring the balance is maintained by slaying Menos to balance the worlds, the Kōtotsu is just a way to ensure that people dont exploit the Dangai's time dilation effect.
[[WMG: Liltotto Lamperd's epithet is "the Giant."]]
Because what can be deadlier than [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever the attack of a 50 ft loli]]?
[[WMG: The Stern Ritter (as in the characters themselves) were created by Juha Bach]]
This would explain how the characters that Genryuusai burned are back in the most recent chapters, as for the reasons why some characters haven't been brought back, Juha Bach may simply have no use for them.
