User blog:Xilinoc/Ch. 618 - The Dark Arm

Song to listen to while reading this chapter: "Actions and Motives" by 10 Years

This chapter's sass game is too strong.

So we start off with Shunsui deciding to counter Aizen's trollery with his own by using the other two keys for his left eye and ankles because, well, he's Shunsui, as noted by Aizen. Aizen then poses the question of why on earth Shunsui's freeing him when he didn't ask to be freed (OH SNAP), which Shunsui responds to by pointing out how Aizen wouldn't have asked him to use the other keys if he didn't want to leave. After Aizen's all "why you got those keys bruh", Shunsui reveals that he had to store the keys in his chest to bring them here, and that he could only use three. This makes Aizen realize that Central 46 knew he would try to get out, and that in order to do so, he would have to kill Shunsui to get the keys - which, in turn, would trap him in Muken forever. Ladies and gentlemen, Aizen has been trolled by a bunch of politicians. Wow.

Moving along, Shunsui reveals a chair and several attendants behind him for Aizen's transport to the surface. However, some idiot attempts to bind Aizen once more, only to find himself suffering from a mysterious and sudden case of "no hands" upon getting too close to Aizen. Turns out, this wasn't Aizen swiping them with his super speed or whatever, it was his sheer Reiatsu damaging souls that come into contact with it. Wow, guess Kubo hasn't forgotten about his Hogyoku-amplified power. Oh, and Shunsui's only bringing Aizen up because they're in the same predicament, not because he thinks Aizen will automatically help Soul Society. Fair enough. Also, fresh air as an analogy for devastation, yaaay.

Back to the lab again, yo in the palace, Yhwach attempts to destroy the Soul King and Mimihagi ASAP with what looks like some kind of shadow javelin, but is foiled by Ichigo, who grabs him with his powerful protagonist hands. I love Yhwach's response of "Move, Ichigo.", that's so underplayed it's hilarious. This allows Yoruichi to move past them and get to the king, whom she creates a barrier around with what look to be Shihōin Clan/2nd Division tags of some sort. Apparently, this will help them replace the Soul King now that Mimihagi's stabilized him. After some banter about saving the world, which features a hilarious bit about Yhwach wondering if Ichigo believes he is the only one who can do this - silly Yhwach, we're talking about the main character here - Ichigo effectively bitchslaps Yhwach out of the palace with a Getsuga Tenshō and says he won't be controlled, only for Yhwach to say his eyes will decide this. Back to "my eyes are sooper cool u gaiz", I see.

Overall, une bonne chapitre. The counter-trolling in the first half was fun to watch, although the conversation it was the backdrop to was just a bit confusing - with any luck, Stream's version will make more sense. It's nice to see that someone already in the palace is taking action about the king rather than just waiting for reinforcements to arrive, and I'm curious to know if this sort of thing is already a duty of the Shihōin clan or 2nd Division - those tags seemed pretty specific, and so does this barrier. And, of course, Ichigo's about to get his rematch with Yhwach, so the hype is real.