User blog:Xilinoc/Ch. 678 - The Future Black

Song to listen to while reading this chapter: "Fire It Up" by Disturbed

Well that was legitimately hilarious, partially because of all the butthurt it's generating.

So we start off with a short rehash of last chapter's last page, with Ichigo recalling all the times he's ever despaired until this point (with the obligatory Masaki flashback) before activating his Bankai in a big burst of energy. Turns out, it's another fancy khyber knife or whatever with, as some people guessed, the smaller Zangetsu blade inside of the larger one and the name still being Tensa Zangetsu. However, literally the next spread after the reveal, half the blade is missing, leading Ichigo to realize that Yhwach is the culprit as the latter smugly drops the broken blade from his hand (callback to Ichigo's first "fight" with Byakuya). Ichigo's not quite sure how Yhwach did this without moving an inch, but Yhwach says that he was merely acknowledging the fearsome power of Ichigo's Bankai by using the future to break it.

With Ichigo rightly confused, Yhwach reminds him to keep his guard up before tossing his own severed horn right at him. Though Ichigo bashes it away, (callback to his inner Hollow's fight with Ulquiorra) Yhwach appears behind him and boots him into the ground, where Ichigo leaps into the air only for Yhwach to slash him right into a pillar. Surprisingly, Orihime blocks his next attack, but Ichigo still gets a large cut on his chest for his troubles. Finally, Yhwach explains what's been going down; he's been able to place traps with extreme accuracy, troll Ichigo by breaking all his cool stuff, and bypassing any defenses in his way because, as Haschwalth hinted a few weeks ago, The Almighty lets him not only foresee the future, but transform it to his liking. So despair, Ichigo.

Again, hilarious chapter this week for Kubo actually living up to his moniker of troll for the first time in a long time, as well as the reactions to it. I legitimately was not expecting Ichigo wielding Tensa Zangetsu to get rekt so easily and so quickly, but in all honesty this is the realistic outcome given the situation. Short of Tensa Zangetsu somehow being a specific counter to The Almighty along the lines of the now-infamous Shinken Hakkyōken situation, there wasn't really any way for Ichigo to get around the truly god-like power he's currently facing, and this was a wake-up call for that; this can't be resolved through sheer force alone. My guess is that somehow, Yhwach's gotta be brought down from his current level of power or have the weakness to The Almighty exposed - after all, Yamamoto apparently beat him while it was active 1000 years ago, so that has to count for something.

Thoughts on this chapter? I am indeed letting the rage flow through me While we've all been playing checkers, Kubo has been playing chess for years Tensa Zangetsu looks cool I guess Aaaaaaaand Orihime's useless again