THE MASTER (episode)

For the chapter of the same name, see THE MASTER.

THE MASTER is the twenty-fifth episode of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War and the three hundred and ninety-first episode of the Bleach anime overall.

The Royal Guard take on the remaining elite members of the Sternritter while Yhwach battles Ichibē Hyōsube.

Summary
As rain begins to fall across the replaced Seireitei, Yūshirō Shihōin leaps across the rubble with a large bundle of items held above his head and urges Yoruichi Shihōin to wait for him. Elsewhere, Kisuke Urahara draws a line in the mud with his cane before being approached by Hiyori Sarugaki, who questions why he is doing this instead of making preparations inside with the others. In turn, Urahara asserts that he was preparing while waiting for Hiyori, Love Aikawa, Hachigen Ushōda, and Lisa Yadōmaru to get here.

When Hiyori asks him where the "cat hag" went, Urahara informs her that Yoruichi has already departed for the Soul King Palace, and as a smirking Hiyori promises to tell Yoruichi that Urahara knew she was the one being referred to, Urahara attempts to have the Visored come inside. However, Hiyori stops him and inquires about his reasoning for letting Ichigo Kurosaki and the others go on ahead instead of waiting for the Visored to arrive so they could all go together, prompting Urahara to state that the situation has changed. In turn, Hiyori denies this being relevant and demands to know what Urahara will do if the group dies from going ahead.

With Hiyori warning Urahara against being willing to let Ichigo and Yoruichi die solely to delay the enemy, a shocked Yūshirō expresses disbelief at Yoruichi having already left from behind them and falls to his knees as he laments having brought so many things to help her when Yoruichi contacted him after not hearing from her for a long time. Apologizing to Yūshirō, Urahara explains that Yoruichi had to go ahead for the sake of the Seireitei and assures Yūshirō that the items he brought will still be of use to her before having Yūshirō follow him inside, leaving Hiyori to recall how much she hates him using this phrase to justify his actions.

Meanwhile, in the Soul King Palace, with Yhwach confronting Ichibē Hyōsube, Ōetsu Nimaiya levels Sayafushi at Uryū Ishida and Jugram Haschwalth while lambasting Yhwach for running away like this and deciding to kill his successor instead, though he is not sure whether this title belongs to Uryū or Haschwalth. On the upper walkway nearby, Ichibē draws two lines several meters apart across the platform with his Zanpakutō brush and promises to defeat Yhwach within this space, only for Yhwach to observe that this seems a bit small since Ichibē will die three steps away from the boundary.

After drawing a Seal on the other end of the walkway to bar entrance to the Greater Soul King Palace, Ichibē turns back and tells Yhwach to not to say his name so lightly before a gigantic hand created by Senri Tsūtenshō slams into a startled Yhwach from the front, sending him hurtling back through the air. Appearing next to Yhwach in the air with Shunpo, Ichibē explains that this technique sends anything it hits flying 1,000 ri away, and when Yhwach finds himself unable to speak as he tries to attack in turn, Ichibē reminds him that he was warned of the possibility of losing his voice from saying Ichibē's name.

Upon manifesting another Senri Tsūtenshō hand in the air, Ichibē orders Yhwach to fly back another 1,000 ri and reflect on what he has done before bringing the hand down on Yhwach, who is left falling toward the ground at high speed. However, Yhwach digs his fingers into his own throat with enough force to draw blood and infuses it with Reishi, allowing him to give himself a voice and manifest his Sankt Bogen in the air below to fire six massive Heilig Pfeil upward, one of which impales Yhwach himself and propels him back up to a surprised Ichibē's level as the latter narrowly evades the other projectiles.

Having been lightly scratched by one of the Heilig Pfeil, Ichibē stands behind Yhwach and comments on the absurdity of him shooting himself to get back up before calling him a rascal despite his age because of his refusal to avoid saying Ichibē's name and insistence on coming back after being slapped away as punishment. With Yhwach breaking the Heilig Pfeil in his abdomen without injury, Ichibē promises to kill him for not listening. Back in the Cage of Life, Nimaiya promises to wait until Uryū and Haschwalth are ready, though he notes that it will not make a difference either way, while Haschwalth draws his sword.

Suddenly, Haschwalth warns Nimaiya that he will soon regret his good fortune of not having to battle Yhwach as the branches of the Cage of Life begin to creak and rattle around them, to the confusion of the Royal Guard. Upon seeing the branches twist and break sufficiently to separate the Cage of Life into top and bottom halves that begin to fall away from each other, Kirio Hikifune runs along one of the branches and asserts that her womb cannot be so easily destroyed even if she does not know what power was used here prior to reaching the top and blowing several seeds from her hands that rapidly sprout and grow along the branches.

The sprouting seedlings wind along and bind the two halves of the Cage of Life back together, resealing it around the platform, and Tenjirō Kirinji announces that he is also joining the battle before throwing a giant sphere of White Bone Hell water at Uryū and Haschwalth. With the water engulfing part of the platform, Uryū reappears near Senjumaru Shutara with Hirenkyaku, leading the latter to ask him if he is sure he wants to pass up a bath in the water since it is the right temperature before attacking him several times with her needles, with Uryū blocking her strikes with his Blut Vene-infused hands.

After leaping into the air and forming his Heilig Bogen, Uryū promises to consider it once he defeats Senjumaru and fires a Heilig Pfeil at her. Simultaneously, Kirinji suggests that Haschwalth treat himself to a sunbath after his outdoor bath and releases his Shikai, Kinpika by pulling the sheathe off his paddle to reveal a glowing blade prior to leaping down toward the water surging around Haschwalth and slashing, with Haschwalth defending himself by raising Freund Schild to intercept the blade. Nearby, Nimaiya walks up the stairs and laments having his prey stolen after returning to the stage for the first time in years.

However, while musing on Yhwach not even being here for him to fight, Nimaiya is struck by a strange sensation and expresses shock as Askin Nakk Le Vaar asserts that their battle is not over yet because the wounds he received were not fatal enough. With Nimaiya wondering what is going on, Askin reveals that Yhwach selected him for the Schutzstaffel because he simply would not die, an ability he considers disgraceful, and describes how he always gets a fatal feeling when he thinks about this ability prior to licking the blood dripping from his face off the back of his hand and identifying his Schrift as The Deathdealing.

Askin details how this allows him to accurately calculate the lethal dose of any substance and adjust it at will, and when Nimaiya expresses confusion at this, Askin admits that he found it confusing as well, but assures Nimaiya that he does not need to understand it since he is about to die anyway. When Askin licks more blood off the back of his hand, Nimaiya falls to his knees, which prompts Askin to detail how he is lowering the lethal dosage of Nimaiya's blood and lick more blood off his palm while noting that the blood that allows Nimaiya to move will now bring him closer to death the more it flows through his body, which Nimaiya cannot do anything about.

With Askin concluding that this is a fatal feeling which he shares and gulping down more blood from his palm, Nimaiya fully collapses on the ground. Meanwhile, Senjumaru follows Uryū as he flies up through the branches and muses on the difficulty of collecting Reishi while the Cage of Life is absorbing it prior to evading a Heilig Pfeil fired by Uryū once he lands on a branch. Jumping back to dodge two strikes from Senjumaru once she joins him on the branch, Uryū leaps high into the air and unleashes Licht Regen on Senjumaru, who extends her mechanical arms above herself and stretches out their fingers.

Rapidly running a needle and thread between the outstretched fingers to create an umbrella, Senjumaru shields herself from the barrage of Heilig Pfeil without injury, to Uryū's shock, and compares the attack to gentle spring rain. Simultaneously, Kirinji brings Kinpika down onto a defending Haschwalth's Freund Schild several times while moving around him with Shunpo and promising to crack his shield in two if he does not fight back. Though Haschwalth questions if he can really do so, Kirinji counters that he does not need to answer this and thrusts Kinpika toward Haschwalth, who intercepts it with Freund Schild.

Seemingly shocked by Haschwalth stopping his attack, Kirinji reveals that he was joking and takes advantage of his blade being embedded in Freund Schild to change his grip on Kinpika, rip the former out of Haschwalth's grasp, and slam it hard into the ground, sending it flying toward the edge of the platform. After drawing his broadsword once more, Haschwalth performs a final clash with Kirinji and ends up several feet behind him, where he collapses as a large amount of blood spurts from a wound on his chest while Kirinji remains unharmed. Nearby, Askin approaches a prone Nimaiya and observes that the latter is at his limit.

Inferring that Nimaiya underestimated him and acknowledging that he looks and talks like an underling, Askin admits that he is okay with this even though it used to bother him because he has convinced himself it is one of his charms and draws his Heilig Bogen out of the bracelet on his left wrist prior to apologizing for sounding pessimistic since that is another of his fatal flaws. Suddenly, Nimaiya thanks Askin for the information and uses Sayafushi to cut open the side of his neck, causing a large amount of blood to spurt into the air and alarming Askin just before Nimaiya reappears next to him with Shunpo and slashes at him.

With Askin narrowly evading this by rolling away and losing his cape in the process, Nimaiya infers that the lethal dosage of his blood being lowered means he will die from having a lot of blood in his body and concludes that he simply needs to lose enough blood to lower the quantity in his body underneath the lethal dose. After shaking his head at Nimaiya's recklessness, Askin warns him that it is not that simple and estimates from his physique that Nimaiya weighs about 60 kilograms, with Nimaiya praising his deductive abilities and clarifying that he weighs 62 kilograms, before noting that the approximate volume of blood per kilogram is 65.7 milliliters.

Askin explains that a body weighing 62 kilograms would have about 4 liters of blood in it, losing 2 liters of which would be enough to kill Nimaiya, and reveals that the lethal dosage for Nimaiya's blood is currently set to about 1.6 liters, meaning that Nimaiya's own blood will kill him unless he bleeds himself to death. Despite this, once Askin assumes that he is having a hard time determining whether he is standing or collapsing, Nimaiya merely wonders what he should do before calling on Kirinji, who envelops him in a massive wave of water from the Blood Pond Hell as Nimaiya informs Askin of the water's ability to wring out blood and Reiatsu.

Once Kirinji clarifies that only the White Bone Hell water does this, Nimaiya reveals that the Blood Pond Hell water replaces lost blood with new blood, astonishing Askin, prior to attacking the latter faster than he can perceive, coming to a halt several feet behind Askin, and inquiring if he looks cool after being reborn. Admitting that Nimaiya does look cool, Askin chastises himself for prematurely thinking he had won because he was ultimately the one underestimating his opponent and concludes that this was fatal before blood spurts from a stab wound in the center of his chest, causing him to collapse behind Nimaiya.

Above them, Senjumaru stands with spheres of Reishi from Licht Regen bobbing up and down on her umbrella and clarifies that she does not like her clothes getting wet even though she does not despise the rain before grinning and separating the spheres into smaller pieces, which proceed to burst upward and away from her as thick tendrils of Reishi that a startled Uryū tries to flee from, only for three of them to slam into his stomach, incapacitating him enough to fall back down to the platform. At the top of the Cage of Life, Hikifune comments on this being what she expects from a Royal Guard fight and tells Ichibē that he is the last one.

In the air several hundred meters away from the Greater Soul King Palace, Ichibē and Yhwach clash with great force as Yhwach notes that Ichibē's expression has changed quite a bit and admits that he did not think the latter's face could become so terrifying just from making up his mind to kill Yhwach. Separating from Ichibē, Yhwach thrusts his sword at the former's head, and after being propelled backward by blocking a strike of Ichibē's brush with his left arm, Yhwach declares that this seems to be the extent of Ichibē's change. However, Ichibē points out Yhwach using his arm to block the brush and reveals that it cuts names, not flesh.

A surprised Yhwach's arms swiftly fall limp as Ichibē informs him that the name of his arm has been cut in half, leaving him with an "ar", and that his arms have consequently lost half of their strength and capability, which is why they feel so heavy. With Yhwach struggling to raise his sword with both hands and lunging forward to slash at Ichibē, the latter casually dodges this and observes that Yhwach's attacks have become so gentle before slashing his brush down the length of Yhwach's body and smacking it into his chest to send Yhwach hurtling back, where he crashes into the edge of the platform and lands between the two lines Ichibē drew earlier.

Noting that Yhwach is now just "Yhw", a manically grinning Ichibē inquires about how it feels for the leader of the Quincy whose power has been halved to be smashed to pieces by the leader of the Shinigami he despises. Meanwhile, in a cave formed by the rubble in the replaced Seireitei below, Giselle Gewelle sucks on the flesh of a zombified Bambietta Basterbine to ingest the latter's blood, and when the latter pleads with Giselle to not take too much blood because she does not want to die yet, an enraged Giselle grabs Bambietta's face to slam her head into the ground and demands to know what she is talking about.

While repeatedly bashing Bambietta's head into the rocks beneath her, Giselle reminds her that she is already dead and that the blood in her body is Giselle's, which she wants back, prior to cracking Bambietta's head open with her final slam, which kills her. Momentarily startled by this, Giselle cradles Bambietta's body and proclaims that she is cute when she is dead as Liltotto Lamperd peers in from the entrance behind them with her Quincy: Vollständig, Gagael, active and confirms that Giselle is not dead, as she suspected. Having activated her own Quincy: Vollständig, Azhalbiora, Giselle affirms this.

Upon noticing the blood and scuff marks on Liltotto's face, Giselle questions what happened to it and if she lost her fight, prompting Liltotto to clarify that PePe Waccabrada did this. With Giselle calling this embarrassing and wondering what happened to PePe, Liltotto reveals that she ate him and that he tasted terrible prior to informing Giselle that the enemy defeated Candice Catnipp and she had to incapacitate Meninas McAllon because PePe took control of the latter. As several Soldat stand nearby, Liltotto assures Giselle that Candice and Meninas should still be alive and that they can be recovered.

Once Liltotto states that they cannot allow their forces to be diminished while Yhwach is gone, Giselle questions if he is actually going to come back down, which Liltotto grimaces at. Back in the Soul King Palace, Ichibē observes that a thousand years was too short for Yhwach to repent and dismisses this since he will ensure Yhwach repents for all eternity this time, only for a chuckling Yhwach to begin gathering Reishi into an orb in his palm while he recites an incantation, which culminates in the collected Reishi surging outward and forming a massive ring around the Greater Soul King Palace as Uryū regains consciousness and sees this.

With the spell complete, a smirking Yhwach initiates Auswählen, causing bells to toll and thick, vein-like pillars of Reishi to descend from the ring to the replaced Seireitei below, where the Soldat finishing off Shinigami are confused by the sight of the pillars hitting the ground in the distance. Upon seeing this, a nervous Liltotto tackles Giselle to pull her back inside the cave of rubble just before one of the pillars strikes the ground where they were standing, but is bewildered alongside Giselle when the wings and halos of their respective Quincy: Vollständigs begin disintegrating from their Reishi being pulled into the pillar.

While Giselle realizes that the pillar is draining their powers and Liltotto questions what is happening, 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi watches NaNaNa Najahkoop be struck by one of the pillars alongside his lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi, and deduces that the power inside the Souls of the stricken Sternritter is being absorbed. Elsewhere, as Meninas helps Candice walk through the rubble, they are both struck by a pillar, and with the stricken Soldat screeching in pain from the flesh being ripped from their bones, a furious Liltotto demands to know what they even mean to Yhwach, who simply calls them comrades.

Screaming in agony from being caught in the center of one of the beams, Bazz-B responds to 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai wondering what is going on by asserting that this is what he wants to know and angrily inquiring if this is Yhwach's way of doing things. With the stolen power gathering around Yhwach's hands, Giselle frantically assures Bambietta's corpse that she will not die, leading Liltotto to refuse to die here as well alongside Bazz-B. During this, Captain-Commander Shunsui Kyōraku tells his lieutenants, Nanao Ise and Genshirō Okikiba, that he is leaving the barracks because the Soul King Palace is in danger.

Once it finishes gathering power, the ring of Auswählen condenses into a sphere that enlarges to envelop Yhwach, engulfing the nearby Cage of Life with enough force to completely shatter its branches. As Kirinji expresses confusion at this from one of the branch pieces falling through the air, power begins falling from the enlarged sphere onto the unprotected Vestibule Road, where Senjumaru holds out her mechanical hands in confusion while Pernida Parnkgjas's and Askin's Quincy: Vollständigs partially activate, granting them each wings and a halo. Seeing this, Ichibē comments on Yhwach's ruthlessness in sacrificing his comrades.

Yhwach asserts that comrades help each other so they can resurrect and move forward as Gerard Valkyrie and Lille Barro are revived by their respective Quincy: Vollständigs, Jilliel and Aschetonig, partially activating in turn. Getting up alongside Uryū, Haschwalth explains to a perplexed Nimaiya that Auswählen collects the lives and power from unnecessary Quincy to redistribute them to others in need, with those taken from dying and those given to receiving additional power and coming back to life. After noting that this is just one of Yhwach's powers, Haschwalth observes that the scales have tipped.

Drawing his broadsword, Haschwalth concludes that the Royal Guard shall be purged. Meanwhile, in the replaced Seireitei below, Shunsui observes the rubble and wonders if the structures of the Seireitei will return intact even if they remove the Wandenreich before turning to 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake, who assures him that they will just rebuild if this does not happen. Admitting that he knew Ukitake would say this, Shunsui hops down to his level and responds to Ukitake stating that the Kamikake was prepared in expectation of the enemy being allowed to invade the Soul King Palace by musing that it was successful.

With Ukitake's shadow lengthening to form a humanoid silhouette framed by a large ring and with an oversized eye in the center of its chest, Shunsui assumes that Ukitake can push himself to some degree now, and while a smiling Ukitake chastises him for speaking like a doctor, Shunsui walks past him and promises to catch up later. When Ukitake inquires about where he is going, Shunsui simply claims that he is going to get a drink.

Fights & Events

 * Ichibē Hyōsube vs. Yhwach
 * The Royal Guard vs. The Wandenreich
 * Ōetsu Nimaiya vs. the Schutzstaffel (concluded)

Powers and Techniques Used
Zanpakutō Techniques:

Hohō Techniques:

Quincy Techniques:



Other Techniques:

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Bankai:

Spirit Weapons:
 * Reishi Sword
 * Heilig Bogen
 * Heilig Bogen
 * Heilig Bogen

Schrifts:

Other Powers:

Items:
 * Broadsword

Anime Notes
Removed Content= Added/Expanded Content= Changes=
 * The explanation of what constitutes a "lethal dose", the factors that lead to "median lethal dose" being used as a benchmark for substances, and examples of lethal doses for different substances like blowfish poison and vitamin C.
 * Ōetsu Nimaiya asking Askin Nakk Le Vaar if he was watching Tenjirō Kirinji from Yhwach's Shadow.
 * Nimaiya challenging Yhwach as the latter begins gathering power.
 * Nimaiya musing on how to attack Yhwach since he only has information from Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's battle against him 1,000 years ago and the latter's battle against Royd Lloyd recently, eventually settling on cutting off Yhwach's arms first.
 * Yhwach questioning if Ichibē Hyōsube believes he does not feel good.
 * Yhwach telling the Royal Guard to brace themselves.
 * Byakuya Kuchiki noticing the pillars of light created by Auswählen.
 * Jugram Haschwalth explaining that the Auswählen transferring power instead of Reishi is why the Cage of Life could not block it.
 * Nimaiya taunting Uryū Ishida and Haschwalth about Yhwach running away before deciding to kill the latter's successor as he asks them which one of them has that role.
 * Haschwalth responding to Nimaiya promising to let them prepare by using The Balance to shift his good fortune of not having to face Yhwach into bad fortune that splinters the Cage of Life, forcing Kirio Hikifune to reinforce it with rapidly-growing seeds as Tenjirō Kirinji and Senjumaru Shutara engage Uryū and Haschwalth, with Nimaiya lamenting how his prey has been claimed right after he has taken the stage for the first time in years.
 * Ichibē evading Yhwach's Heilig Pfeil.
 * Senjumaru countering Uryū's Licht Regen with an umbrella and and Kirinji disarming Haschwalth of his Freund Schild before cutting him down.
 * Askin admitting that he is the one who underestimated Nimaiya.
 * Senjumaru incapacitating Uryū by turning the lingering Reishi of Licht Regen back on him in the form of strong tendrils.
 * Several Soldat being struck by Auswählen.
 * Mayuri Kurotsuchi observing Auswählen striking NaNaNa Najahkoop and deducing that it is taking power from his Soul.
 * Ichibē commenting on Yhwach's ruthlessness in sacrificing his own comrades.
 * In the manga, Yūshirō Shihōin meeting up with Kisuke Urahara and the Visored takes place after Ichibē decides to kill Yhwach; here, it instead takes place before Ichibē and Yhwach's battle begins.
 * In the manga, Ichibē's battle against Yhwach begins after the Schutzstaffel are revived by Auswählen; here, it instead begins before Askin continues his battle with Nimaiya.
 * In the manga, Askin's battle against Nimaiya begins right after Nimaiya explains the properties of Sayafushi and concludes without interruption; here, it instead begins after Senjumaru and Kirinji engage Uryū and Haschwalth, and is separated after Askin briefly incapacitates Nimaiya by Senjumaru continuing to battle Uryū and Kirinji defeating Haschwalth.
 * In the manga, Ichibē tells Yhwach to split in two after slashing him vertically with his brush; here, he instead does so beforehand.
 * In the manga, Yhwach regains his lost power and name with an unnamed technique that takes the form of lettered scrolls appearing around him; here, he instead does so with Auswählen.
 * In the manga, Yhwach performs Auswählen right after Nimaiya defeats Askin and before leaving the Cage of Life; here, he instead does so after Ichibē cuts his name and power in half and once Haschwalth and Uryū have been defeated as well.
 * In the manga, Liltotto learns of Auswählen from Robert Accutrone, who expresses great fear at what is about to happen, and remains confident that Yhwach will return to the replaced Seireitei eventually; here, Robert does not appear and Liltotto is initially sure that Yhwach will return, only to begin doubting this when Giselle Gewelle questions it.
 * In the manga, Candice Catnipp is left unconscious when Auswählen takes her power; here, she is instead woken by Meninas McAllon, who helps her across the rubble, before the beam strikes them both.
 * In the manga, the Schutzstaffel gain generic feathery wings and plain halos when revived by Auswählen; here, they instead gain partial forms of their unique Quincy: Vollständigs.
 * In the manga, Yhwach claims that comrades help and revive each other immediately after calling the Sternritter comrades; here, he instead does so after Liltotto and Bazz-B refuse to die.
 * In the manga, Haschwalth explains the effects of Auswählen after Nimaiya is shot by Lille Barro, and his statement of Quincy whose power is taken dying is accompanied by a shot of Robert's skeletonized corpse; here, he instead does so after Nimaiya sees Askin getting up with Hasshein partially activated, with his statement being accompanied by a shot of skeletonized Soldat.
 * In the manga, Shunsui Kyōraku tells Jūshirō Ukitake that he is visiting the Central 46, and their conversation takes place just before Ichibē begins battling Yhwach; here, he instead claims to be getting a drink, with their conversation taking place after the Schutzstaffel are resurrected by Auswählen.