The Fundamental Virulence (episode)

For the chapter of the same name, see The Fundamental Virulence.

The Fundamental Virulence is the sixteenth episode of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War and the three hundred and eighty-second episode of the Bleach anime overall.

Summary
In the Wandenreich city occupying the former location of the Seireitei, an army of Soldat advance through the streets and attack the Shinigami of the Seventh Division, where Lieutenant Tetsuzaemon Iba blocks one of their swords with his Zanpakutō. While 5th Division Lieutenant Momo Hinamori is pushed back across the ground by other Soldat and forces herself to halt by embedding her Zanpakutō in the stone, 4th Division Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu hides from more Soldat while healing a Shinigami.

Meanwhile, Bazz-B fires Burner Finger 2 at 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya, who attempts to block it with a wall of ice from his Shikai, Hyōrinmaru, only for the flames to break through the ice and slash him across the chest, incapacitating him. With 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi running from two more Soldat as 11th Division 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame and 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa rush through different parts of the city, Cang Du lands next to Bazz-B and announces that he will be finishing off Hitsugaya, only for an annoyed Bazz-B to assert that Yhwach will punish him for stealing a kill.

In response, Cang reminds Bazz-B that it was Yhwach's order for the captains to be killed by their own Bankai, which Bazz-B scoffs at, and pushes his cloak aside to reveal and drop 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, who has been slashed across the side of her neck, to Hitsugaya's alarm. Bringing up Rangiku being Hitsugaya's precious lieutenant, Cang declares this is why they will die together, introduces himself, and activates Hitsugaya's Bankai, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru, while noting this must be the first time Hitsugaya is seeing it from the other side and calling it beautiful prior to apologizing for how it will survive Hitsugaya's death.

Simultaneously, in the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi is contacted by Kisuke Urahara, who reveals that he has discovered a way to reclaim the stolen Bankai. With Mayuri surprised by this, Urahara elaborates that he found a flaw in the method used by the Quincy to steal Bankai that will not only let them prevent any more from being stolen, but return the currently stolen Bankai to their owners as well, impressing one of the technicians as the other hushes him. However, Mayuri brushes this off to focus on Urahara installing a communication device in his clothes without permission.

Calling this a serious crime as Urahara realizes that he is about to hang up and begs him not to do so, Mayuri presses the device in his headpiece to end the transmission, only for Urahara to emerge from a Senkaimon behind him and announce that he was joking. After hopping out, Urahara explains that he was calling from the Dangai and asks for Mayuri's help, and when Mayuri points out how the Wandenreich has crippled the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, Urahara reminds him that they still have access to Mayuri's hidden laboratory and commends him for deducing the Wandenreich's usage of shadows.

With Urahara once again requesting his help and his 3rd Seat, Akon, appealing to him, Mayuri has Urahara and his technicians move into the lab, where Akon has them confirm the locations of all the captains and lieutenants while having their insects move out to infiltrate the Wandenreich's systems and technology so it can be linked to this room. Though the systems initially fail to connect, Akon asserts that this is to be expected since they have never done this before and orders the technicians to keep trying until it works. From within his robe, Urahara pulls out a small pile of black pills on a cloth and identifies them as Shin'eiyaku.

After confirming to Mayuri that this is his invention, Urahara details how he decided to stay in Hueco Mundo when he heard of Bankai being stolen because he witnessed the clue to preventing that while he was there during the battle against Quilge Opie, where the latter's appearance changed upon absorbing Ayon because he was unable to fully control that power. Bringing up how an Arrancar's Resurrección is nearly identical to Bankai because it consists of them releasing the true form of their power stored within their Zanpakutō, Urahara posits that Quincy should be able to steal them just as they can Bankai.

However, Urahara points out how not a single Resurrección has been stolen by a Quincy even though the Wandenreich took enough of an interest in the Arrancar to forcibly conscript them as soldiers and concludes there can only be two reasons for this, which Mayuri infers are a complete inability to steal Resurrección or a disadvantage that would come from doing so, and with Urahara smiling at this, Mayuri notes Urahara's research ruled out an inability to steal Resurrección, which means there logically must be a disadvantage from doing so. Suddenly, the technicians successfully locate the captains and lieutenants inside and outside the Seireitei.

With '''Bakudō #77. Tenteikūra''' set up, Urahara begins speaking to the captains and lieutenants by introducing himself and claiming that they may not know who he is, though a grinning 5th Division Captain Shinji Hirako counters that everyone knows who Urahara is. As Ikkaku and Yumichika, Hisagi, and 2nd Division Lieutenant Marechiyo Ōmaeda see a Shin'eiyaku on the ground near them, Urahara explains that he has sent these to them and that they will react to anyone who possesses Bankai that touches them with a hand, foot, or sword by evaporating from the touchpoint and permeating the inner part of the recipient's Soul.

Seeing a Shin'eiyaku in front of him, Hitsugaya slowly reaches out and touches it with his finger, causing it to begin disappearing in black smoke. Back in the laboratory, Mayuri admits that something about the Quincy had always bothered him because he did not believe their hostility against Hollows was based on resentment as the legends about them claim, since hostility stems from a difference in ideology and it is impossible to continue hating those who do not possess will or ideology, leading him to hypothesize that such a fundamental and intrinsic fear could only come from that which endangers one's life.

Urahara concurs with this and elaborates that Quincy have no antibodies against Hollows, making the latter poison to them and causing Encroachment induced by Hollows to not only weaken their spiritual powers, but decay their Souls and eventually kill them, which means that they cannot even undergo Hollowfication like Shinigami can. After concluding that this is why they must hunt Hollows, Urahara muses that if the Shinigami absorb a small amount of Hollow power for a short period of time, their Bankai will also become poison to Quincy as a shocked Cang's left ice wing breaks off in a shower of blood.

While wondering what just happened, Cang sees Hitsugaya standing up with a left wing of ice forming on his back, and when Cang demands to know what he did, Hitsugaya admits that he does not know and theorizes that Hyōrinmaru wants to come home. Meanwhile, on a rooftop, BG9 kneels over an incapacitated 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng behind a Reishi wall and extends tendrils from his chest toward her body, but Marechiyo grabs her and moves her to a nearby rooftop with Shunpo before the tendrils can reach her. Expressing surprise at Marechiyo still being able to move, BG9 dissipates the wall and stands up.

As BG9 states that he wished to extract more data from Suì-Fēng before she dies, Marechiyo drops a Shin'eiyaku into Suì-Fēng's palm, causing it to evaporate in a golden glow, and tells her that it should bring her Bankai back, though he admits that he did not understand Urahara's explanation. However, when BG9 begins walking toward them and asks Marechiyo to speak up since the sensitivity of his sonic collector automatically drops after a close-range explosion, he stumbles and realizes with disbelief that his connection is weakening, prompting Suì-Fēng to inform him that her Hollowfied Bankai is weakening him.

Though Marechiyo is startled by her having heard the announcement as well, Suì-Fēng counters that it was impossible for her to stay asleep with that annoying voice in her ear and activates her Bankai, Jakuhō Raikōben. After ordering Marechiyo to brace himself, which he readily affirms, Suì-Fēng responds to BG9 questioning why her Bankai is with her by suggesting he analyze it himself and firing the missile at BG9, who is engulfed in a massive explosion that blasts through the clouds. During this, Cang sends several shards of ice flying toward Hitsugaya, only for them to stop and expand outward before they can hit his wing.

When Hitsugaya tells a confused Cang that he should stop since Hyōrinmaru cannot attack himself, Cang comes down on his wing with a powerful kick, tells him to stop acting like Hyōrinmaru has a mind of its own, and delivers several more rapid kicks to Hitsugaya's wing prior to kicking him into the air and asserting that he does not believe in pantheism. Suddenly, upon following Hitsugaya into the air, Cang experiences a strange shock as Hitsugaya refers the matter of Cang's belief to Hyōrinmaru, who confirms it, and notes that it has been a while since he heard Hyōrinmaru's voice before welcoming him back as an altered Hyōrinmaru appears behind him.

With Cang realizing that his remaining wing has disappeared, Hitsugaya stands in the air with both wings and notices a mask-like fragment of ice covering his left eye, which he attributes to the momentary Hollowfication of his Bankai that Urahara mentioned. Alarmed by this, Cang fires Shé Jìn Zhǎo at Hitsugaya, but the latter merely points his sword down at Cang and unleashes a wave of ice that freezes the energy blast and engulfs a screaming Cang. In the aftermath, with Cang frozen inside the center of a massive cross of ice, Hitsugaya stands on a rooftop, details how this is the symbol of Hyōrinmaru, and apologizes for not making it a pentacle.

Having watched this from afar, an unimpressed Bazz-B disparages Cang for losing like this and departs. Back on the rooftop, Hitsugaya notes that it is over and begins walking toward Rangiku, only to collapse while his right wing shatters and a shadow approaches him. As Bambietta Basterbine and Äs Nödt watch the Bankai leave their Medallions, Uryū Ishida stands beside Yhwach in the latter's throne room and expresses disbelief at this development. Elsewhere, Shinji stands among dozens of dead Shinigami before the Soldat that killed them, absorbs a Shin'eiyaku, and declines to give up just because he is outnumbered.

Despite his anger over his comrades being killed, Shinji admits that there are some techniques he cannot use with them around, and as the Soldat ready their Heilig Bogen and aim Heilig Pfeil at him, Shinji promises to turn their logic and reality upside-down as he activates his Bankai, Sakashima Yokoshima Happōfusagari, which engulfs him in the petals of a large metal flower just before the Soldat begin killing each other around him. Shinji explains that his Bankai reverses perceptions so everyone sees their allies as enemies and attacks them prior to slashing a Soldat across the back.

Elsewhere, Ikkaku absorbs a Shin'eiyaku, leading Yumichika to muse that he no longer has to worry about his Bankai being stolen and suggest that they go on the offensive, but Ikkaku counters that it is not a good idea to act without a plan and points out how night is beginning to fall. Above them, Hisagi climbs over a pile of rubble and recognizes Ikkaku and Yumichika, who wonder what he is doing here. As he approaches them, Hisagi explains that the different terrain made him lose his way and that the Wandenreich have spread high-density Reishi across the Seireitei to prevent the Gotei 13 from tracking them.

Suddenly, with Ikkaku bringing up how the Wandenreich have been appearing from the shadows and warning Yumichika and Hisagi that this means they could come from anywhere, Mask De Masculine crashes down onto them with enough force to create a large crater, though the trio manage to evade him at the last second. At the bottom of the crater, Mask pulls himself out of the ground and commends Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Hisagi for dodging this despite being an "undercard", prompting Ikkaku to deny being an undercard and Yumichika to threaten to rip off his mask so they can take a look at the ugly face underneath it, to Mask's bemusement.

Deciding to make this a 3-on-1 deathmatch to peel off his mask, Mask has James ring a gong and unleashes a shockwave while inviting the Shinigami to attack him, which leads Ikkaku to attack him with his Shikai, Hōzukimaru, and Yumichika to slash at Mask with his Zanpakutō. Despite this, Mask merely grabs their weapons with his hands to stop their attacks mid-swing, holds them up in the air as Ikkaku and Yumichika express shock, and proclaims that it is impossible to defeat a superstar while they are hiding their powers prior to throwing Yumichika into a nearby building and whipping Ikkaku through the air by spinning him around.

Before Mask can throw Ikkaku as well, Hisagi wraps the chain of his Shikai, Kazeshini, around Mask's arm to stop him and asserts that they are making this a chain deathmatch as well. Simultaneously, Bambietta walks down a street with Liltotto Lamperd, Meninas McAllon, Giselle Gewelle, and Candice Catnipp with several Shinigami watching them from a rooftop above, where she contemptuously tosses away her Medallion, causing it to explode right in front of the Shinigami and blow off one of their heads, and claims that it does not matter if they lost the powers they stole because 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura is not even here.

After complaining that someone should have told her this since Komamura is supposed to be her opponent, Bambietta turns around and questions if her friends are even listening, only to discover that they have disappeared. Angered by this because it makes her look like she is talking to herself, Bambietta demands that her friends show themselves and unleashes a vast explosion from her body that levels the surrounding area, leaving more Shinigami trapped and bleeding underneath rubble. With Bambietta promising to smoke out her friends as retribution for them embarrassing her, Komamura tells her to stop and crashes down in front of her.

Upon seeing Komamura is wearing full-body armor and a helmet, Bambietta wonders why and assumes he is too scared to look at her face, only for Komamura to assert he has no time for her because he intends to avenge Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's death by taking Yhwach's head. Inferring that Komamura changed course to come here and protect the Shinigami from her because he is a good man, Bambietta suggests this is too early for the hero to show up and that Komamura should have waited until the Seireitei had been further destroyed, but Shinji appears behind her and decides they cannot be heroes because they are not patient enough.

When Shinji assures Komamura that he has it from here and that he can leave, Komamura thanks him and leaps away, leaving Bambietta to protest this just as she begins to see the world around her warp and twist. When a grinning Shinji inquires if she is feeling sick, Bambietta wonders what is happening, prompting Shinji to reveal that this is the effect of his Shikai, Sakanade, reversing her sense of direction and making it impossible for her to fight effectively, and admit that he has also been practicing speaking backward so his opponents can still understand him while Bambietta rushes toward him in frustration.

Reappearing behind Bambietta and telling her that it is useless, Shinji introduces himself, though Bambietta is unable to understand him due to hearing his words reversed, and disappears when the world warps around Bambietta once again, causing her to collapse. As he approaches her from behind, Shinji muses that he is not a fan of killing girls and asks for Bambietta's forgiveness, only for her to throw out several Reishi projectiles and warn Shinji not to underestimate her while the projectiles create more explosions across the surrounding area prior to creating a larger explosion centered around herself that engulfs multiple buildings.

Despite this, Shinji remains unharmed and simply reminds Bambietta of everything being reversed prior to suggesting that she call her friends for help, only to assume that she does not have any friends when Bambietta glares at him in turn. With Bambietta promising to blow the smirk off Shinji's face before she goes after Komamura, Shinji asserts that it is useless and distorts into a spiral before a shaking Bambietta's eyes. Meanwhile, a grinning Mask flexes his muscles to break free of Kazeshini, but Hisagi exploits his new posture to wrap more chains around him, binding Mask's arms to his side, before Ikkaku stabs Hōzukimaru into Mask's face.

Despite Mask seemingly being incapacitated by this and Yhwach remaining solemn, Bambietta suddenly has a roiling spike of red Reishi jut out of her chest, prompting a grinning Yhwach to tell the Sternritter to rejoice while the Reishi expands to surge around Bambietta's entire body in a massive column topped by a pentacle. With Komamura noticing the light and Shinji questioning what this is, Bambietta reveals that it is Quincy: Vollständig and that she had been unable to use it until now because keeping Komamura's Bankai prevented her from doing so, making her grateful toward the Shinigami for letting her use it.

As several other Sternritter, including Cang and BG9, have their Quincy: Vollständig activate as well in multi-colored pillars of Reishi, Yhwach proclaims that the Shinigami will soon regret regaining their Bankai and that the hope-filled battles are now over because true despair begins here. During this, in the Irazu Sandō within the Soul King Palace, Ichigo Kurosaki continues walking toward the gate at the end of the path despite the immense pressure building with every step. However, upon taking a step, Ichigo experiences rapid and inexplicable visions of a man in a pool of Reishi, which he is left bewildered by.

Attempting to ignore this and continue progressing, Ichigo receives the same visions again at a slower rate, letting him see a man stabilizing Reishi in four separate pools with arrows, having his arms and legs cut off, and ultimately being sealed in a crystal to become the Soul King, leaving Ichigo speechless while the pupils of his eyes are surrounded by four additional, mirage-like pupils in the corners.

Fights & Events

 * Tōshirō Hitsugaya vs. Cang Du (completed)
 * Sajin Komamura vs. Bambietta Basterbine

Powers and Techniques Used
Hohō Techniques:

Kidō Techniques:

Shinigami Techniques:

Quincy Techniques:
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)



Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Bankai:
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)

Spirit Weapons:
 * Reishi Claws
 * Reishi Claws

Schrifts:

Resurrección released:

Items:

Anime Notes
Removed Content= Added/Expanded Content= Changes=
 * Cang Du noting that there are no irregularities with his Medallion and questioning why Tōshirō Hitsugaya's Bankai is returning to him.
 * BG9 wondering what Marechiyo Ōmaeda is whispering to Suì-Fēng.
 * Cang asserting that the Sternritter trained to control the Bankai they stole.
 * Bambietta Basterbine pointing out how it was Liltotto Lamperd who said the five of them would act as a group today.
 * Yhwach detailing how he knew the Shinigami would eventually find a way to recover their Bankai from the Sternritter.
 * Tetsuzaemon Iba, Momo Hinamori, and Isane Kotetsu struggling against or hiding from the Soldat.
 * Shūhei Hisagi, Ikkaku Madarame, and Yumichika Ayasegawa running across the city.
 * Akon pleading with Mayuri Kurotsuchi to accept Kisuke Urahara's help.
 * The Shinigami Research and Development Institute's insects flying across the city and connecting to the Wandenreich's technology.
 * Urahara recounting how he saw that Quilge Opie was unable to fully control the power of Ayon after absorbing the latter.
 * Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Hisagi narrowly evading Mask De Masculine's ground slam, prompting him to accept their challenge as a 3-on-1 deathmatch and having James ring a bell before easily overpowering Ikkaku and Yumichika's attacks prior to Hisagi restraining his arm with Kazeshini.
 * Shinji Hirako using his Bankai to force dozens of Soldat to kill each other as retribution for them killing his comrades.
 * Liltotto, Meninas McAllon, Giselle Gewelle, and Candice Catnipp walking with Bambietta.
 * Sajin Komamura asserting that he does not have time for Bambietta since he intends to take Yhwach's head to avenge Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, only for Bambietta to infer that he redirected his route to protect the Shinigami from her.
 * Bambietta fighting back against Shinji by creating explosions across the surrounding area and around herself, only for Shinji to evade them easily and remind Bambietta that everything is reversed before realizing she has no friends to call for help from and disappearing into another spiral.
 * Hisagi fully restraining Mask with Kazeshini, allowing Ikkaku to deliver a powerful blow to his head with Hōzukimaru.
 * Ichigo Kurosaki receiving visions of the Soul King's past while within the Irazu Sandō, causing him to briefly gain four additional and mirage-like pupils in each eye.
 * In the manga, when Urahara compares Resurrección to Bankai, Coyote Starrk, Baraggan Louisenbairn, Ulquiorra Cifer, and Yammy Llargo are depicted; here, it is instead Ulquiorra, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, and Szayelaporro Granz who are depicted.
 * In the manga, when Urahara describes the Wandenreich's interest in the Arrancar, Emilou Apacci, Franceska Mila Rose, Asguiaro Ebern, and Tier Harribel are depicted; here, it is instead the lineup of Arrancar that Loly Aivirrne and Menoly Mallia were placed in, Ebern, and Luders Friegen who are depicted.
 * In the manga, Hitsugaya's fingers begin glowing immediately after he absorbs the Shin'eiyaku; here, they instead only begin glowing as Urahara describes how the Shin'eiyaku briefly makes Bankai poisonous to Quincy.
 * In the manga, after the captains reclaim their stolen Bankai, Yhwach muses on this development and Uryū Ishida infers that Yhwach predicted it would happen, which Yhwach confirms; here, Yhwach instead remains silent while Uryū expresses shock at this happening.
 * In the manga, Ikkaku and Yumichika preface the former's observation that the shadows are darker by discussing it now being night across Soul Society; here, they instead do so with Ikkaku receiving a Shin'eiyaku and Yumichika deciding that they should go on the offensive now that his Bankai cannot be stolen.
 * In the manga, Mask attacks Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Hisagi after Komamura's battle against Bambietta concludes; here, he instead does so right after the captains and lieutenants receive the Shin'eiyaku.
 * In the manga, Bambietta blows up a wall behind several Shinigami standing on the ledge of a building behind her; here, she instead tosses her Medallion up to a group of Shinigami standing on the edge of a rooftop behind her just before it explodes.
 * In the manga, when asked about his helmet, Komamura states that it was a gift, prompting Bambietta to promise to rip it off him later.
 * In the manga, Komamura stays near Bambietta as Shinji begins battling her; here, he instead leaves after thanking Shinji for taking over the fight.