It Feels Like The Whole Using Mentally Broken Shinigami Souls For Asauchi System Implies It's A Recycling
It feels like the whole using mentally broken Shinigami souls for asauchi system implies it's a recycling process. Like the post says the Shinigami in Maggot Nest's are being broken down for this but there's also the chance of Shinigami that survive war and fighting but come out mentally broken, they would also get turned into asauchi if they're not of noble upbringing.
How Zanpakutō Are Made
We have enough pieces of the puzzle to guess how zanpakutō are made and how and why zanpakutō spirits manifest the way they do. I'm going to outline it for you presently.
We're told in chapter 540 that:
Asauchi are created in the same way as White was: many different Shinigami souls are used to create them; both are examples of what I call a "Cyber-Hollow".
With natural Hollow evolution, Hollows will eat other souls (with all of these being "interned" rather than destroyed) and each other until they gain enough "mass" to become a Gillian, all of which look and act totally identical. Asauchi are actually essentially Cyber-Gillians. They too look and act identical, as we're shown in chapter 523:
Ōetsu goes on to call them:
This is akin to how an individual Gillian can become just about anything when it transforms into an Adjuchas, after one soul achieves supremacy over the others. Now there's an interesting point to make here: Ōetsu claims White was made from the souls of many Shinigami, whereas Kaname says in chapter 532 and 533:
Now it could be that this is yet more singular/plural confusion in the translations here, but Kaname seems to be suggesting that White was made from a single Shinigami.
At any rate, White's purpose is confirmed in Kaname's second statement: White was meant to infect Shinigami as it did Masaki. It is, in effect, a Hollow equivalent of a zombie carrier for a zombie virus, a refined "bioweapon" compared to direct infection with the Hollowfication agent as seen in TBTP; Kaname & Co. were basically playing Umbrella Corporation from Resident Evil or Weyland-Yutani from Aliens and creating Bio-Organic Weapons for military purposes. The infection vector being through bites is more readily controlled and less dangerous to the operators than the original form of a loose agent. This is again confirmed by chapter 529:
Whatever the truth is with regards to Kaname's construction of White, it's sort of immaterial as Ōetsu tips his hand: his Asauchi are made from many Shinigami souls layered together. Before we go on to the obvious problem of "Where does Ōetsu get the souls from?" we should finish up with the distinction between asauchi and zanpakutō. Our first clue is in chapter 522:
You can visually see the difference between the two entities. Asauchi are "blank", zanpakutō are "actualized" and can seem extremely human. He goes on to openly mock Ichigo and Renji's inability to distinguish them from Shinigami:
We get told in chapter 523 that:
This hints at the full story, as does chapter 529:
Until finally, we're told the truth in chapter 540, right before and after the comments about White:
So we need to take a step back and clarify something here as Ōetsu is being sloppy: Zangetsu is not White, or the remnants of White. White did not "enter" Masaki. Kaname tells us directly that White is a Hollow with "the ability to convert others into Hollows like itself," emphasis mine. White infected Masaki and Masaki began to Hollowfy, a process arrested by Kisuke. So what Ichigo absorbed was not White, but rather... Hollow Masaki.
This, plus her Quincy blood, fused with his Shinigami powers from Isshin. This is "the will and destiny Ichigo inherited." In a very real sense (in the same sense that Ichigo is Masaki and Isshin's flesh and blood) Hollow Masaki is Ichigo's zanpakutō.
Certainly puts the "I will protect" lines during the fight with Ulquiorra in a different light, doesn't it?
It was never about Orihime. It isn't, "I will protect her," in the original Japanese, it was only, "I will protect," and it is Zangetsu speaking about Ichigo. This is confirmed by 1. Zangetsu almost immediately taking several actions that threaten to kill Orihime (and Uryū) and 2. by Tensa Zangetsu later saying during Dangai training that the things Ichigo wants to protect are not what he wants to protect. Orihime almost dies during the fight because Zangetsu doesn't care about her, just like Zangetsu doesn't care about Karakura, as we're told in chapter 429 (admittedly also involving the sentiments of "Zangetsu", that is to say, not-Yhwach, which is also why Yhwach claims to be Ichigo's "father" later on):
In a very real sense, "Full Hollow Ichigo" can be read as Hollowfied Masaki protecting Ichigo yet again. Don't believe it? This parallel from chapter 680 ain't for nothing:
The Quincy power was mingled with the Hollow power because both were Masaki.
In another sense though, Zangetsu is Ichigo, as chapter 221 shows up with Ichigo beginning to dehollowfy Zangetsu into himself:
This presages the final revelation of the reforging of Zangetsu in chapter 542:
Now, we can all readily see that Ichigo's backstory is extremely convoluted compared to every other Shinigami's, but from his example we can generalize the truth of how an asauchi becomes a zanpakutō. It lies within two statements from Ōetsu:
"I used the asauchi just now as a trigger to extract this zanpakutō from within you."
"… And became your zanpakutō."
Again, Ōetsu is being a little sloppy in his terminology here, but we can divine the basic truth: your zanpakutō (essence) is something that's inside you all along. The asauchi is simply a mechanism for drawing it out and materializing it. So if you ever wondered why Tōshirō already has Hyōrinmaru in his soul in chapter -16, that's why:
The essence of a zanpakutō comes from within, not from without. In some sense, Hyōrinmaru is and always was part of Tōshirō. The same is true of every other Shinigami as well. (The correct way to think about Kusaka, if one credits that movie, is therefore that he shared an essence with Tōshirō.) It is the form of it that changes... on exposure to an asauchi.
To recap:
all Shinigami have a zanpakutō essence within them already
an asauchi serves to draw out this zanpakutō essence and fuse with it, creating a zanpakutō sword
this zanpakutō sword can manifest a zanpakutō spirit, its own personification
At this point you should be wondering: why do zanpakutō spirits look so different from their wielders if they are their wielders?
Well that's very simple: they're mixed with the asauchi. Remember: the asauchi is a collection of Shinigami souls (or parts of them, it's not clear). The essence of a zanpakutō is absorbed from the wielding Shinigami, creating a new entity. But that collection of Shinigami souls still has a massive influence on the manifestation of the completed zanpakutō, thus its radically different appearance and personality. These come from some kind of amalgamation of the souls used to create the asauchi.
Ichigo did not have this issue because there "was nobody else" influencing the expression of his zanpakutō (except the shard of Yhwach, which was also dormant until his powers woke up). Zangetsu simulated a normal zanpakutō using Hollow mask matter, but there were no "outside influences" in the form of an asauchi to change his appearance or behavior, hence why he's a mirror of Ichigo. Not so with every other Shinigami.
(This is bolstered by the assertion by Kubo that when someone else comes into possession of a deceased Shinigami's zanpakutō, although it can be completely overwritten, there is sometimes a "mixing" where the current owner's aspects mix with the previous one's.)
In other words, just like an asauchi is a Cyber-Gillian, a zanpakutō is a Cyber-Adjuchas. The wielding Shinigami provides the dominant soul to bring the component souls of the asauchi into order and advance their evolution to the next step. However, whereas natural Hollows become more animalistic as Adjuchas, Cyber-Hollows become more human as Adjuchas. This is why Ichigo and Renji couldn't tell the difference between all of Ōetsu's zanpakutō and Shinigami.
This also strongly suggests that the zanpakutō essence already residing within oneself is also what is unleashed via Hollowfication. It's simply that in Hollowfication, this essence is twisted and corrupted by the loss of heart, whereas in an asauchi-release, it's kept whole and pure. This in turn suggests that the zanpakutō essence is essentially a personification of the individual's will. This will be important momentarily.
So now we know how this process occurs once someone is handed an asauchi. But where do the components for asauchi come from? Well...
As @uraharashouten has recently noted, the Maggot's Nest is a prison exclusively for Shinigami who are believed to potentially be future problems. It's essentially the Shinigami equivalent of a CIA black site used by Minority Report's Pre-Crime Division.
Notice also what Kisuke says here in chapter -106:
The Maggot's Nest is not Kisuke's main responsibility, nor is it where people who have done normal crimes end up. There is an entirely separate facility for those, which is his main duty, and the Maggot's Nest is just a side-gig. That's why it's such a rinky-dinky little jail. We know of exactly one big prison in the Seireitei: the Central Great Underground Prison. That was his actual main job (although that facility is likely under Central 46's direct supervision, not the Onmituskidō/2nd Division). This is why Kisuke's punishment in TBTP was to be depowered—the warden of the CGUP would know too much to be imprisoned within it.
Now, why would you put the pre-crime prisoners in a separate facility from the normal crime prisoners? Because you want to do something else with them, of course.
Haven't you ever thought it was weird the Maggot's Nest looks more like a psych ward?
I'm going to move a little faster now. We get told in Can't Fear Your Own World, volume 3, chapter 21:
Oh-Etsu had initially planned to hold back the thing by turning him into a full Asauchi, but the Soul Reaper was still in the process of doing that research and was not capable of entirely erasing individuality in those days, so the monstrosity ended up becoming a demonic sword with the ability to devour his own wielder’s konpaku.
We're told in Spirits Are Forever With You that it takes much more time for Azashiro to assimilate people than objects, because their reiatsu resists the effects of his Bankai. As is usual, everything in Bleach is a test of will. So, in other words, the Maggot's Nest exists to break down a Shinigami's will:
This way it's much easier to erase their individuality before shredding their souls and forging asauchi out of them. The listless and broken cannot resist.
Which in turn ensures that the soul of the wielder of an asauchi will always be the dominant soul and properly inject their zanpakutō spirit into it. It's like a rigged version of a Gillian where a particular soul will always effortlessly dominate the others, regardless of how strong it is. There is no competition as in wild Hollows. Even the weakest Shinigami can subjugate an asauchi. And when that soul is strong enough...
They will all acknowledge it and submit automatically.
So there you have it: potentially dangerous Shinigami are mentally broken before being turned into asauchi, those asauchi then draw out an inner zanpakutō essence in a Shinigami and actualize it into a weapon, eventually forming its own "person" which is the same-as-but-different-from the wielder. All of the unsightly Hollow aspects of this are conveniently hidden from all parties, and no Shinigami ever suspects that they're using tame Hollows made from their dead comrades.
It's all nice and "clean".
More Posts from Takibikaen and Others
Ise Clan
I thought Shinken Hakkyōken was a cool reveal and I wished we got more backstory to it and I'm hoping we might get some in the anime and/or hell arc.
I always thought it was a failsafe in case the Soul King broke free. When the seals on him were removed his powers did attack the Sereitei and the Shinigami.
My guess is that it was specifically designed by Oetsu to combat the Soul King. Oetsu's bodyguards are examples of zanpakuto with built in powers.
It was revealed that the Ise Clan suffers from a curse that kills all men that marry into the family and also that they only birth daughters.
Nanao's mother speculated that it was Shinken Hakkyōken's doing.
It made me think about the incorrect relationships between Shinigami and zanpakuto that could develop which were mentioned by Oetsu.
I also thought of Oetsu having a harem of female zanpakuto spirits to serve him. I think maybe Shinken Hakkyōken has a similar mindset as his creator and sees the Ise Clan as his wives and him as their true husband.
Oetsu regulates male zanpakuto to working behind the scenes. But I think Shinken Hakkyōken is more extreme so kills off their husbands and ensures they only have daughters.
When starbucks is higher on your priority list than taking over the world
Also can we appreciate the fact that Kazui actually knows about shinigami (and probably about the Soul Society, Hollows, etc..) because Ichigo and Orihime took the time to tell him about everything. Like…Ichigo was never told about his heritage, and ended up in the situation with Grand Fisher when he was younger because no one ever told him what hollows were.
But with Kazui it will never be like that, because Ichigo and Orihime want to keep their precious son safe, and that involves letting him know about the world around him.
Like…Imagine Kazui knows about Soul Society and Hueco Mundo because he’s heard hundreds of stories from his parents about it. Ichigo’s probably told him several times about his first meeting with Rukia, his fight with Kenpachi, how hard he fought to keep Orihime safe. And Orihime probably told Kazui about how she awakened her powers, her healing everybody, her confession to Ichigo.
And Kazui knowing he’ll always be safe and happy because of how strong, courageous, and loving his parents are.
Happy birthday to the shinigami that's been in the series from beginning to end, Rukia Kuchiki! One more year of being older than all of my living relatives, yet looking better than any of them. A wonderful, fantastic character me and so many others love, write, read, watch, and think about so much.
Credit to @ak47melee for the edit
Ever I began Bleach and experienced what it had to offer, Rukia's been one of my favorite female characters ever to a lot of people. The way that she lived her life through different stages and created meaningful connections with those she met, her heart inspires me. What she presents through her actions is something I wrote about once about her themes.
Credit to @ffffcoffee on Twitter
“We must not shed tears. That is the defeat of the body by the heart. Because, for us, this thing called ‘the heart’ can become nothing less than proof that one’s existence is superfluous.”
Happy Birthday Rukia!
What could have been....Uryu vs Senjumaru to see who is the best tailor of Bleach.....
……………= _,= ★
My top 5 Bleach women and why I love them: Part 3
If you haven't seen Part 1 and 2 of this, here's the link.
1/5. Rukia Kuchiki ~ Squad 13 captan and Number One
I don’t think I have to explain this but I’ll touch over what themes I love, some of it’s duality and how it all helps encompass her character as one of Kubo’s best.
Upbringing and Human Nature ~ Throughout the first arc, we get glimpses into how Rukia was raised and what kind of warrior culture the Soul Society had. Despite her life in the Rukon District and being treated horribly in the Kuchiki Clan, Rukia maintains that Soul Society is better than the human world, that letting an inexperienced Ichigo fight Grand Fisher on his own was considered right by her captain’s standards. However, there’s cracks in these beliefs even from the moment she met Ichigo and began making friends in the human world. It’s especially more painful when she didn’t see Renji for 40 years, and knew she would have to return to Soul Society, that her brief stay with humans was where she felt she belonged, where she didn’t feel empty in the heart.
Self-Worth and Finding the Heart ~ Saving someone usually means the rescuee wants to be saved right? Not in Rukia’s case, her self-loathing over her execution is visible throughout the SS arc. It’s tragic, she was forced to kill Kaien to stop Aizen’s Hollow experiment from continuing to use his body, that she besmirched the Kuchiki name by giving Ichigo her powers, the guy who looks alike to Kaien. Renji and her split up decades ago due to the divide between them, and compounding all of that corroded her self-esteem to the point of her accepting her execution. However, she finds what connects her to those important people and how they care for her, the heart. Therefore, deciding to stay in Soul Society and reclaiming her self-worth.
Renji declares he won’t leave her in the face of Aizen.
Byakuya Kuchiki protects her to fulfill his promise to Rukia’s sister.
Kaien’s relatives forgive her for being the one to end Kaien’s suffering.
If it can be said that the heart is unchanging, then that is strength. - Bleach Vol. 54 poem
A Soldier’s Heart and It’s Duality ~ At the crux of Rukia’s character is her bonds and how she got there through becoming a Shinigami. Kaien was her mentor who taught her to fight and the theme of “The Heart”. To not die alone, to have meaningful connections is where Rukia ensures she makes sure to support her friends through her manner. I think it’s really poignant that the way she tries to sway Ichigo out of his doubts and fears of his inner Hollow…that it doesn’t work because Ichigo hasn’t been in the shinigami life as long as she had. Ichigo’s issues are far more embedded due to how he’s been changed by them….while Kaien’s heart which Rukia metaphorically holds in her, hasn’t changed at all.
Emulating Kaien’s mannerisms because Kaien’s heart carried strength, Rukia’s way contrasts with Orihime’s nature, which ends up helping out Ichigo even for a moment in the Hueco Mundo arc. However, the soldier’s heart is what allows Rukia to continue fighting against Aaroniero the 9th Espada, because she finds strength in it to want to save Orihime, protect her loved ones, and move past the obstacle, because she cares about the reawakened connections she has.
The top three art pieces are made by @srkbom108 on Twitter. Black and White background art is done by @Mak_ai_ on Twitter. The last two art pieces are by @rakusakugk on Twitter.
Thanks for reading, if you want to see my full-length post of all three 3 parts, then here's the Quora link for it!
◤BLEACH WORLD◢
CAPTAIN KUCHIKI RUKIA ver.
I would love to see a fic on this.
What if Renji were the one who initially gave Ichigo his powers?
As requested by our-flame-never-goes-out. :)
Of course, it was Rukia who, in canon Bleach, gave Ichigo his original powers and then trained him in the ways of being a shinigami. But what if it were Renji who was sent to Karakura Town on a supposedly routine assignment, only to find himself losing his powers to some weird human? How would Bleach be different then?
1. Renji would sacrifice his powers out of “weird-hair solidarity.”
In canon, Rukia’s motivation for giving Ichigo her powers was based partly on not wanting a family of humans to die, but mostly on the fact that Ichigo just looked so much like Kaien. But in this new reality, Renji’s motivation would be based largely on the fact that Ichigo has weird hair, just like him.
(later)
Byakuya: Renji….I understand.
Byakuya: This boy….has weird orange hair that reminds you of your own weird red hair.
Ichigo (bleeding on the ground): THAT was your motivation??
Renji: Hey! Don’t judge me!
2. Renji would follow Ichigo to school (in terrible clothes).
Like Rukia, Renji would stalk Ichigo until Ichigo agreed to be a shinigami. Unlike Rukia, though, Renji would show off his penchant for, just, really terrible clothing.
Renji: Yo.
Ichigo: WE HAVE A UNIFORM HERE, MAN!
Ichigo: Also what are you doing here?
Renji: Being a lot cooler than you, to be honest.
Ichigo: That is just not true.
3. Renji would sleep under Ichigo’s bed.
Unable to fit in Ichigo’s closet due to being giant, Renji would instead just sleep under Ichigo’s bed.
[hollow warning sound]
Ichigo: Where the hell is that noise coming from?
Renji (appearing suddenly from beneath the bed): Ichigo, let’s go!
Ichigo: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN UNDER MY BED?!
4. Renji would still do chores for Urahara.
After all, like Rukia, Renji would need help with his mysterious “powers not coming back” affliction. And so would buy stuff from Urahara’s shop.
Urahara: All right! Your total comes to….sweeping my shop!
Renji: …or I could pay with money?
Urahara: No, that doesn’t feel right.
5. Chad and Renji would send a hollow to hell together.
I bring this up only because I want you to imagine - really imagine - Chad picking Renji up, and throwing him into the air to fight the hollow.
Renji: You are freakishly strong.
Chad: You just watched me swing a telephone pole like a baseball bat.
Chad: This surprises you?
6. Eventually, Byakuya and Rukia would come to arrest him.
I have decided that in this universe, Renji and Rukia have basically switched places: Rukia is the lieutenant of Squad 6, and Renji is an unseated officer. He’s also in Squad 6, though, because Renji still secretly wants to beat Byakuya. Naturally enough, when it comes time for Renji to get arrested, his childhood friend and the super scary captain he admires from afar come for him.
Rukia: Abarai! Abarai Renji!
Renji: K-Kuchiki Rukia, is that you?
Rukia: …
Rukia: You know, it hasn’t been *that* long since we were in school together. Why are we being so formal?
Renji: Well, from my side it’s mostly because of the scary, murderous look you have on your face.
Rukia: That’s fair.
7. Ichigo’s first big fight would be against Rukia.
And he’d nearly lose, too. Because in this universe, Rukia never hesitates to use her shikai.
Ichigo: Ice powers? Do all of you shinigami have elemental powers?
Rukia: How ignorant you are, fool!
Rukia: You don’t even know that my brother, a famous captain, has flower petal powers!
Ichigo: Flowers are basically an element.
Rukia: FLOWERS ARE SO NOT AN ELEMENT
8. In jail, Renji would mostly be sad about losing Rukia.
He just can’t get over how depressing his life became after he and Rukia went to shinigami school. First he ended up in the remedial class while Rukia went to the top, then she got adopted by some hot-shot captain, and then she became lieutenant. And Renji ended up as some unseated officer. It’s no wonder he’s about to be executed, he thinks.
Renji: Maybe if I had trained harder.
Renji: Maybe if I had practiced kido more.
Renji: I just got so tired of blowing myself up!!
9. But Rukia would defect to save Renji.
After her epic fight with Ichigo and 20 minute flashback, I mean.
Rukia: Ichigo, I am on my knees begging you! You have to save Renji!
Rukia: Because sure, he may be a big dumb idiot sometimes, but he is MY big dumb idiot!
Ichigo: …
Ichigo: Man. We’re both so shippy with that guy.
Ichigo: Is this an OT3 sort of situation, do you think?
Rukia: FOCUS
10. Rukia would have to fight Byakuya.
She’d meet Ichigo during his training for bankai, let him know that Renji’s execution has been moved up, and then go off to fight her captain and brother, Byakuya.
Byakuya: Rukia….are you really going to fight me, your brother, in order to defend a scruffy peasant?
Rukia: If I have to, yes!
Byakuya: Respect.
Rukia: What?
Byakuya: I mean I will never let you get away with this.
11. Ichigo would rescue Renji at the very last second.
And then do his best to strike a cool pose on top of the scaffolding…while holding Renji.
Renji: PUT ME DOWN
Ichigo: Dude, I carry a sword bigger than me. I’ve got this.
Renji: THAT ISN’T REALLY THE POINT
12. And would then throw Renji directly at Rukia.
This would not work as well as the opposite did in canon.
Rukia: WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU FOOL?!
Renji: OH MY GOD I’M ABOUT TO KILL RUKIA
Ichigo: Wait, why did I think Rukia could catch Renji?
Ichigo: Oh well I’m sure it’ll be fine.
I honestly wish they would animate some of the comics like as shorts! The pilots and early seasons of Ninjago didn't have the best pacing, while also skipping over fighting the skeletons as villains. That's what made the comics so good with how they characterized the ninja, while going into detail about the skeletons and the Stone Army, and even adding mature lore in later comics.
I’m never going to forgive the fandom for unanimously agreeing the comics aren’t canon even though their legitimately one of the best written ninjago media’s and have been referenced everywhere outside and inside the show itself
THE COMICS ARE GOOD AND IM
TIRED OF PRETENDING THERE NOT
Ninjago rewatches always mess me up because I am now burdened with the knowledge that these two scenes were happening at roughly the same time on opposite sides of town
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Amateur Writer, into Naruto, Bleach, ATLA/LOK, and Ninjago
69 posts