To all captains, lieutenants,
and squad members of all ranks within the Seireitei!
Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki
is heading to the Soul Society!
His Bankai cannot be stolen by the Quincies!
What?!
Ichigo is...
He's on his way, huh?!
Ichigo...
Ichigo...!
Akon, huh?
How dare he act on his own.
Once Ichigo Kurosaki joins us,
the tide of battle will turn in our—
– Wait. – What is it, Third Seat Akon?
Something's wrong.
Ichigo Kurosaki's Spiritual Pressure in the Garganta...
It disappeared.
"DISCONNECTED"
Look into it right away.
And also send the Secret Remote Unit
to the Senkaimon exit!
Yes, sir!
Jidanbo?!
What the hell are you doing?!
Damn it... What the hell is this?!
"AKON"
Sorry! I don't know how, but I got trapped—
What's going on?! What's happening, Akon?!
– Akon! – Evacuate!
– Hiyosu! – You too, Akon! Get going!
"AKON"
– Damn it. All I can hear are – Rukia!
– screams and explosions! – Renji!
Help... Somebody help us! Help!
– I'm going to kill you, bastards! – No! I can't take this anymore!
You call yourselves members of the 13 Court Guard Squads?!
It hurts... It hurts!
Don't give up...!
We must stand our ground!
Ichigo will come... I know he will!
The blue skies above are hopelessly clear
At my wit's end, I feel a growing frustration
As if to laugh at us hopeless cowards
Countless eyes stare at us
This soul of mine breaks again and again
All I can do is hold it tight
Until the day it turns to ash
I've absorbed all of this sorrow
It has shaped me, painted me
But that's how we got here, right?
One step at a time, just like breathing
These countless scars on my palm
That no longer fade
Are my badge, my story
I faced the fear and shred it to pieces
And let it walk beside me once more
BLEACH: THOUSAND-YEAR BLOOD WAR
It seems he's on a rampage inside.
But it's no use...
His Majesty granted me the letter "J"!
Quilge Opie, "The Jail"!
There's no way you can escape from that prison!
Now then...
Before the power that I absorbed from that monster disappears...
I should eliminate all of you as well...
No!
Who could have done that?!
Shit...!
Damn it...
Even with Getsuga...
I can't break this thing even with Getsugatensho?!
– Captain! – Stay back!
Watch me fight...
and figure out his abilities!
I-If that's the plan, then let me go first!
Since my Senbonzakura has been stolen,
your Bankai is our last hope...
Captain...
I'm going to draw out his abilities.
I want you to stay there and watch for now...
Why does it feel like my limbs are freezing?
Are those thorns of light covered with some kind of poison?!
I see you've noticed...
You're wondering if it's poison, aren't you?
It's not.
This is something that you lost a long time ago.
Retrace your memories.
You became a captain...
You became strong...
You became able to overpower your enemies...
It's a sensation you haven't felt in a long time, isn't it?
That is the most important sensation for a person to survive.
It is called "fear."
Fear? The Captain?
For those who have been struck by my arrows,
all sorts of things turn into fear.
"What if I reach for my sword, or if I draw it?"
"What if I swing it up, or swing it down?"
"What if I move my fingers, or shift my gaze?"
"What if I breathe in, or breathe out?"
"Maybe something fatal will occur."
Anything and everything is suspicious,
making it impossible to even think straight.
But you are enduring it so far by sheer force of will.
You are a threat.
But that's all it is. A threat.
It can hardly compare to "fear."
The core of your soul is already...
consumed by your fear of me.
Ridiculous.
There is no battle without fear.
I have accepted and overcome my fear of battle.
I gained the strength to move forward.
I have nothing to fear—
"Fear can be conquered with experience."
The stronger and more experienced you are,
the harder you fall for that illusion.
Fear that has a cause is easy.
If there is a cause to it,
then by removing that cause,
you also remove what you think is fear.
But true fear has no cause.
That's because it's not an emotion. It is instinct.
True fear...
has no cause or limits.
It crawls up your body
like countless flies.
We cannot... escape our instincts.
What?!
Brother?
There is nothing you can do.
You cannot defeat your own Bankai with just your Shikai.
Senbonzakura... doesn't belong to a bastard like you!
Brother!
Are you turning your back toward the enemy during battle?
I feel insulted.
Zabimaru!
Stop it...
Stop it!
Ban—
You fool.
He was about to use his Bankai.
You could have stolen it.
What?! I thought only captains had Bankai!
You need to go back and reread His Majesty's Daten.
Renji...
Rukia...
Forgive me.
THE SEIREITEI – NEAR SHORYU GATE
Hey.
Are you the boss of these losers?
Kenpachi Zaraki!
Three Stern Ritters dead?
STERN RITTER "Q" "THE QUESTION" / "R" "THE ROAR" / "Y" "THE YOURSELF"
But how...?!
There's not much to explain.
The first one, the big guy, was trash.
He attacked me by turning into a giant monkey
that could blast his enemies with just his voice.
So I split him in two.
– "The Question"! I object to everything – The second one
– about you, Kenpachi Zaraki! – got on my nerves talking about
– Anyone that I object to will be— – objecting to everything about me.
So I tore out his throat.
The third guy wasn't too bad.
He transformed into me, after all.
I struggled a bit because I was fighting myself.
But that just meant I had to become stronger than his impression of me.
I heard you were a monster...
but now I understand.
I've got no business with a scrawny pale guy like you.
I came here...
to fight you!
Your Majesty!
"GENJI-JUKU"
Rukia...
Damn it...!
Damn it!
Break!
Break, damn it!
I won't let you die...
I won't let any of you die...!
I'm going to...
I will protect you all!
GARGANTA – SEIREITEI SIDE APERTURE
– Y-Yes, sir! – Y-Yes, sir!
FRONT OF SQUAD 9 BARRACKS
It sucks!
It sucks, it sucks, it sucks, it sucks!
It sucks to be so weak, doesn't it, Lieutenant?!
STERN RITTER "O" "THE OVERKILL"
Damn it! I'm no match for him...
Are you scared of my strength?
His Majesty granted me the letter "O"!
"The Overkill."
Whether it be friend or foe or beast,
the more I kill, the stronger I get!
I've already killed a hundred people
since I got here today.
The last time I came, it was also a hundred.
I remember killing a lieutenant just like you!
So it was you...!
I did it...
like this!
H...
Head Captain!
This is my lucky day!
Head Captain!
I came here for you!
I'm going to use your subordinate's Bankai...
...to end your life!
Bankai...
BANKAI
KOKO GONRYO RIKYU
Doesn't this bring back memories?!
I heard this guy hadn't used this Bankai in over 2,000 years!
You get to see it once more!
You should be thanking me!
So this is Lieutenant Sasakibe's Bankai?!
I had no idea there was a Zanpakuto aside from Hyorinmaru...
that could control the weather!
Master Eijisai...
Master Eijisai Yamamoto!
FOUNDER OF GENRYU STYLE / GENJI-JUKU GRAND MASTER SHIGEKUNI YAMAMOTO
Hey! Don't call me Eijisai!
F-Forgive me, sir!
For some reason, each time I distinguished myself in battle,
the name Eijisai became more widely used.
I didn't care much for that.
But, Master Eijisai, I cannot be so audacious
as to call you by your real name!
What is with you, anyway?!
You're not even one of my students,
and yet, you hang around here every day!
I come here hoping to be your right-hand man!
In that case, all the more reason for you to become my student!
If you rise to the rank of master,
you'll naturally become my right-hand man!
No, Master Eijisai, if I become your student,
then I will only be mimicking you.
A right-hand man must be one who can compensate
for the things you are unable to handle!
You're always splitting hairs...
Also, I haven't shown up every day.
This is my first time here in a month.
As you told me to a month ago,
I have acquired a Bankai.
Oh?
In that case, try to defeat me with that Bankai of yours.
RUKON DISTRICT – EAST 37 DISTRICT, RYUGON
Bankai!
Koko Gonryo Rikyu!
It was a magnificent Bankai.
He wasn't able to defeat me, but...
His Bankai left a permanent scar on my forehead.
That Bankai is like a newborn.
That's right.
I intend to spend the rest of my life honing this Bankai
so it can be helpful to you, Master Eijisai!
His words contained no lies.
After years of grueling training,
everybody in the Soul Society came to know Chojiro's name.
When my scar dried, it looked like the Japanese character "Ju,"
so everyone started calling me Jujisai.
I cannot allow the scar I gave you
to be a reason to change your name, Master Eijisai.
Everyone except Chojiro...
He stubbornly continued to call me Eijisai.
"RYU (WILLOW)"
So for Chojiro's sake,
I took on the name Genryusai.
"GENRYUSAI"
Head Captain!
Hey! What's the matter, old man?!
Have you lost the strength to even retaliate
after getting hit by your subordinate's Bankai?!
Come on, say something!
Chojiro...
I can feel your frustration...
I understand your anger... very well...
Because I know... the Bankai that you had honed...
is absolutely not this weak!
Burn...
I'm finally able to give you a proper send-off.
Chojiro...
Farewell.
Do not worry.
Every last member of the rebel army...
I will slaughter them with my own hand.
The Head Captain...
The Head Captain is furious!
I've... never felt the Head Captain get this angry before...
You idiot. Neither have I.
That includes him fighting on the front lines.
Look at how hard the Head Captain is fighting.
We captains and lieutenants can't let ourselves be defeated.
You're right, sir.
Get up!
We cannot let ourselves lie on the ground
while Master Genryusai still stands!
As a Court Guard Squad member,
that would be an unacceptable disgrace!
– Sir! – Yes, sir!
Whoa, wait a minute...
You guys were as good as dead a second ago...
What's going on here?
This is a real problem, isn't it?
Old Man Yama's Spiritual Pressure
is reverberating throughout the Seireitei.
It's giving me goosebumps.
Like he's scolding me...
As if he's saying, "I don't remember raising you to be a coward..."
"who'd struggle against an enemy of this level!"
Everything we had left behind
Our breaths blending as mist
without form or expression
We lie buried as we glare into the distance
I can't hear anything
I can't seem to cut anything
It feels like I'm sinking
Falling, falling
Touching
Eyes struck wide open
Something no one has ever seen
The furthest reaches are now visible to us
It cannot be undone and cannot be stopped
This ensuing struggle
Whisk it away beyond the ends of the earth
Along with our breaths
Take everything
Whisk it away beyond the ends of the earth
Along with our futures
Along with our world
Something no one has ever seen
The furthest reaches are now visible to us
Don't you know God's demand?
As we tear each other down
One of the Special Threats, Kenpachi Zaraki.
Is this the best you can do?
How frail.
It seems I've overestimated you people.
Go to sleep.
It's been a thousand years, hasn't it, Yhwach?
I've come to put an end to your life.
"The heart burns."
"Even though the rain falls."