THE QUINCY EXTERMINATION OPERATION FROM 1,000 YEARS AGO
A thousand years ago?
It wasn't 200 years ago?
What's this...?
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's been a thousand years, hasn't it, Yhwach?
I've come to put an end to your life.
Good indeed.
It's always nice to see one's spirits lifted.
That is for certain.
But you people... have misjudged one thing.
Your boss will lose to our boss.
Because it's not just you people whose spirits are lifted...
from knowing that our bosses are fighting!
Die, old man!
You're right.
Someone misjudged.
Your conventions don't apply to Old Man Yama...
Fools...!
That's what they get for interfering in my battle.
What? You look like you want to say something—
Your Majesty!
You haven't changed, Yhwach.
But know that your habit of selling your subordinates short...
will end here.
You've grown old, Shigekuni Yamamoto.
However...
seeing you let your rage take over like that...
reminds me of when you were younger.
Nonsense!
You've finally drawn it...
You talk as if you've been waiting for me to draw my sword.
Do you know why I was waiting?
Your flesh, blood, sword, and soul...
I intend to crush you until there's nothing left!
My throat feels dry...
My lips cracked open...
Captain Unohana...
Does your skin feel kind of dry all of a sudden?
Oh my, Isane.
How cute of you to worry about your skin.
N-No, that's not what I meant...!
Please settle this quickly...
before your power itself destroys the Soul Society.
You can't use Hyorinmaru anymore.
You've noticed, haven't you?
Every drop of water in the Soul Society
is quietly evaporating little by little.
There's no mistake...
This is...
Bankai... Zanka no Tachi!
Bankai?
That scorched little sword is his Bankai?
Don't underestimate it.
Zanka no Tachi is a Bankai that seals all of his flames
within that single blade.
One swing and it's all over.
Everything it cuts is burnt by an explosive flame.
It is a sword of hellfire.
That's right...
You've seen this Bankai a thousand years ago, haven't you?
But are you sure about that?
Feel for yourself whether it's still the same
as a thousand years ago.
He cut me...!
But where are the flames?
Is his Bankai really different
from the way it was a thousand years ago?
Flames are his Bankai's power.
There's no mistake about that.
Then, where did all that flame disappear to?!
The tip of his sword!
Correct!
Zanka no Tachi, East! Kyokujitsujin!
I've focused all the heat of my flames
into just the tip of my blade.
It does not burn, nor does it emit an explosive flame.
It merely blows away everything it touches without a trace.
All it means is that I just have to cut you down
without letting your sword touch me!
What?
A thousand years ago, all of you died.
Today, I will force you to remember...
that all of you are nothing but a horde of corpses
just waiting to be burned!
These flames...
I just told you about my Zanka no Tachi, East...
If there is an East, there is also a West.
Zanka no Tachi, West. Zanjitsu Gokui!
Its heat... is 15 million degrees Celsius.
You can no longer touch me now.
When I use my Bankai, think of my body and blade
as being enveloped by the sun.
Flames.
15 million degrees Celsius...
There's no way such immense heat would be visible as flames.
Is this an illusion?
Wait...
Perhaps his Spiritual Pressure is so overwhelmingly powerful
that it looks like flames as it bursts out of him...
Shigekuni Yamamoto!
Now then...
I'm ending this, Yhwach.
If I don't end this soon, you...
and I, as well as the Soul Society, will burn to ashes.
"A thousand years ago,"
"the Quincy empire known as the Licht Reich"
"intended to annihilate all Hollows."
"They invaded the Soul Society, who had opposed them,"
"but were wiped out by the Thirteen Court Guard Squads..."
"Then 200 years ago..."
"The Soul Reapers unilaterally decided to"
"exterminate the surviving Quincies,"
"believing that they would disrupt the circulation of souls."
I guess this means that no matter how much we try,
Quincies and Soul Reapers will never get along...
The Soul Society isn't involved, but I'm still a Soul Reaper!
No. You're a Substitute Soul Reaper.
Furthermore, the Soul Society has abandoned you.
I'm a Quincy.
I cannot help Hollows or Arrancars.
I know.
Quincies exist to destroy Hollows, right?
Kurosaki...
It feels like I'm burning...
My eyes, my hair, my throat...
If it weren't for Blut,
I probably would have turned into ashes even at this distance.
What's the matter?
Are you just going to watch?
Wait, that question was a bit spiteful.
Your sword is broken and there's nothing you can do.
I don't blame you for not being able to move.
You can run if you'd like.
Except I'll quickly catch up and kill you!
Of course...
Your sword is broken.
All you have left are your arrows.
Now then...
Shall we?
Kirchenlied...
Sankt Zwinger!
This is a Quincy's ultimate defensive incantation
that combines offense and defense!
Step into this and you will be torn apart by God's light!
I told you, you cannot harm me!
The dead...
The ashes of those who perished by my flame.
Give me a hand...
And I will give you a moment's joy of battle.
Zanka no Tachi, South...
Kakajumanokushidaisojin!
What is this?
What in the world is this?!
Kakajumanokushidaisojin...
I awaken those I have slain by heating their ashes with my blade.
These awakened dead become my limbs
and chase down those I deem to be enemies until they turn into dust!
How laughable that the head of the Soul Reapers
would awaken the dead!
You don't deserve to be called a Soul Reaper, Shigekuni Yamamoto!
Don't think you can stop me...
with something like this!
Your mouth works well, but your eyes don't work at all.
Seydlitz...!
Argola! Hubert!
Do you see the subordinates that you mercilessly killed?
Shigekuni Yamamoto, you bastard!
Are you regretting not stealing my Bankai earlier?
No, that's not it.
It's not that you decided not to steal my Bankai.
You couldn't.
You people steal Bankai by learning its power and understanding it.
Am I wrong?
I haven't shown my true power even a thousand years ago.
You cannot steal what is beyond your understanding.
It's as simple as that.
Wait! Where are you going?!
Don't make a fuss.
If you want to kill me, then come after me.
After you defeat your subordinates who stand before you, that is.
You bastard...
It seems that even you still had a shred of humanity left.
Don't talk as if you know me!
I thought I told you...
don't assume you can stop me with the likes of this!
I can see your tears, Yhwach.
Painful, isn't it?
To have to destroy the corpses of your subordinates...
just to reach me.
You must hate me, don't you?
For using such a dirty tactic as
bringing your dead subordinates back to the battlefield.
But none of what you're experiencing...
could compare to the hatred and suffering...
of the Soul Reapers that you have killed!
Zanka no Tachi, North...
Tenchi Kaijin!
I-I wasn't...strong enough...
Please forgive me...
Wait, who would the boss be apologizing to?
This war was started by you. And you've lost.
Who are you apologizing to?
I wasn't able to... carry out your orders...
Who in the world are you?!
Your Majesty Yhwach...!
The Squad 1 Barracks...!
Okikiba!
Damn you, Yhwach...
Stern Ritter "Y"...
"The Yourself."
The "R" of Royd Loyd.
You made sure that no one noticed I wasn't present.
Well done.
You...
said...I did well...
W-What an...honor to—
You bastard...
What have you been up to until now?
What's beneath the Squad 1 Barracks?
The Central Underground Great Prison!
I went and met with Sosuke Aizen.
THE CENTRAL UNDERGROUND GREAT PRISON
Sosuke Aizen.
Yhwach, huh?
I have many ways of finding out your name.
Though I didn't think I would get to see you with my own eyes...
I won't ask why you're here.
The unpleasant Spiritual Pressure swirling on the surface above
is enough to tell me what is happening.
In that case, this simplifies things.
One of the Special Threats, Sosuke Aizen...
come under my command.
The Quincy King is welcoming me into the Wandenreich?
We share the same path—
the goal of destroying the Soul Society, don't we?
The same path, huh?
I refuse.
What?
I cannot stand to see the Quincy King
following in the footsteps of a Soul Reaper.
Is that your answer?
We're done talking here.
Are you leaving already?
You came here because you saw my power as a threat, didn't you?
That's right.
But since you are fused with the Hogyoku,
it would take too long to kill you
or take you with us to restrain you.
A wise decision.
It is best to minimize the time we spend sharing the same path.
Especially when dealing with someone
who should eventually be eliminated.
Now then...
I see you've exhausted your powers in your battle with my impostor.
Haven't you, Shigekuni Yamamoto?
Shut up! Bankai!
It's not that we couldn't steal your Bankai.
But your power is so strong that no one other than I can handle it.
Therefore, I ordered Royd to leave it alone until I returned.
So what now?
I can use the power of this Bankai
to awaken the corpses of your subordinates,
Genryusai Yamamoto.
You bastard!
Farewell, Shigekuni Yamamoto.
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
"A petal falling, never to bloom again."
"A petal in flames, full of beauty."