The White Haze (episode)

For the chapter of the same name, see The White Haze.

The White Haze is the nineteenth episode of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War and the three hundred and eighty-fifth episode of the Bleach anime overall.

13th Division Lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki faces off against Äs Nödt and reveals the true power of her Shikai, Sode no Shirayuki.

Summary
In the Soul King Palace, Tenjirō Kirinji stands on the Vestibule Road with Senjumaru Shutara and Kirio Hikifune, where he announces that the Royal Guard are ready and tells Ichigo Kurosaki that he should be too, prompting Ichigo to step forward in a heavily-layered garment and confirm this. When Ichigo questions if he is not wearing a few too many layers, Senjumaru notes that the clothing will allow him to break through the 72-layer barrier between the Soul King Palace and the Seireitei.

Upon being tapped by Senjumaru, a large circular portion of the platform retracts and begins extending a circular flight of stairs down into the clouds below. With Ichigo staring down in confusion, Kirinji explains that his trip down will be on foot since the Royal Guard cannot be sending the Tenchūren down all the time even though they would love to help him and asserts that it will simply take Ichigo a week if he uses Shunpo, but Ichigo readily acknowledges this and declares that it will only take him about half a day if he hurries, though he hopes that he can just make it back in time before the Wandenreich attacks again.

However, Ichibē Hyōsube approaches them from behind and assures Ichigo that he does not need to worry about this since the second invasion began three hours ago, and after a brief pause of disbelief, Ichigo hurtles down the gap in the center of the stairs and reprimands Ichibē for not telling him earlier, prompting Ichibē to remind Ichigo that he was training three hours ago. Upon being thrown a pack of onigiri by Hikifune, Ichigo catches them and thanks her, leaving Hikifune to observe that he has changed and Ichibē to confirm that Ichigo has become a true Shinigami who has surpassed the existence of ordinary Shinigami.

Simultaneously, in his hidden laboratory, 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi asks Kisuke Urahara how they should turn the tide of battle from here before Urahara is contacted by Ichigo, to his surprise. After detailing the situation and how it will take him a little bit longer to get there, Ichigo responds to Urahara telling him to be safe by requesting that the Gotei 13 hold out until he gets there even if the situation starts to look bad because he will handle the rest, which leads a bemused Urahara to promise that they will wait for him. Once the call ends, Ichigo muses on Urahara not telling him how the battle is going and covers his face.

Meanwhile, in Silbern, Jugram Haschwalth decides to tell Uryū Ishida about what kind of man Yhwach is since he is the latter's successor and takes him to the Execution Ground, where the defeated BG9 and Cang Du kneel while tied to posts. Once there, Haschwalth draws his broadsword and swings it at Cang's neck, only for the blade to be deflected by the left side of Cang's face and neck turning to metal. Naming this as The Iron, Haschwalth muses that Cang was fortunate to avoid the blade of judgement, but asserts that the life which was saved by his good fortune will now be ended by misfortune.

Alarmed by this, Cang looks up to see a massive set of scales emblazoned with the Wandenreich emblem tipping in the air behind Haschwalth just before the latter decapitates him in a large spray of blood, leaving Uryū and BG9 watching in shock as Haschwalth decapitates the latter as well, resulting in a spray of oil that douses two of the nearby torches illuminating the chamber. Noting Uryū's confusion, Haschwalth reveals that all those who are given a portion of Yhwach's soul have their powers, knowledge, and skills absorbed by Yhwach along with their Soul upon dying while the attending Soldat wheel away BG9 and Cang's corpses.

When Uryū points out that BG9 and Cang were strong combatants and questions the need to kill them, Haschwalth counters that Yhwach's true plan is not the conquest of Soul Society and that it is up to him what is and is not necessary for his goal. After bringing up Uryū drinking Yhwach's blood and having a Schrift engraved on his soul with no way to escape it, Haschwalth concludes that Yhwach must continue to fight and absorb Souls to avoid a certain fate, to Uryū's shock. Elsewhere, Rukia Kuchiki moves through the air and mentally notes that she cannot sense the Reiatsu of any of the Gotei 13, which she takes as an ill omen.

Suddenly, when she lands on a rooftop and considers meeting up with 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai, Rukia experiences the sensation of a thin hand gripping her wrist, causing her to instinctively pull it back and realize someone is nearby. Asking Rukia if she is scared, Äs Nödt appears behind her and claims to be lonely before asking her where his Senbonzakura Kageyoshi is. Once he and Rukia identify each other, Äs discards his cloak and questions her about 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki's whereabouts, and when Rukia declines to answer this, Äs wonders if Byakuya would come here if he kills Rukia.

Admitting that he might, Rukia dodges dozens of Reishi Thorns fired by a smiling Äs and sees them spread purple liquid across the surfaces they hit behind her, causing her to realize that this is his fear-inducing ability. Upon seeing another volley of Reishi Thorns hurtling toward her, Rukia intercepts them by creating a wall of ice with her Shikai, Sode no Shirayuki, but a chuckling Äs calls this useless because fear cannot be stopped by ice as the liquid spreads through the wall, down Sode no Shirayuki, and up Rukia's arm, which results in her freezing and dropping Sode no Shirayuki into the roof.

Despite this, once Äs gloats to her that this is what fear feels like, an unaffected Rukia questions if his fear is fear having no affect and looks at Äs calmly, prompting the latter to coldly assert that this is impossible. In turn, Rukia invites Äs to fire more Reishi Thorns at her and tells him to behold the true power of Sode no Shirayuki, and when Äs attacks with more Reishi Thorns, Rukia catches one with her left hand and freezes it solid from the point of contact, to Äs' disbelief, before letting the frozen chunks fall to the ground and explaining that it takes some time for her to draw out the true power of Sode no Shirayuki.

With Rukia concluding that she could not afford to be hit by one of his attacks until then, Äs dismisses this because fear cannot be stopped by ice and elaborates that instead of entering through wounds, the fear-inducing liquid dissolves and seeps in from the slightest skin contact, such as Rukia's hand, without any way to stop it. Äs explains that every person has places of safety and places of fear, with them unable to concretely state why a given place makes them feel safe but always able to explain why they feel afraid of something for any reason, because the feeling of safety is tied to life and the feeling of fear is tied to death.

Claiming that even those who cannot come up with a reason for living can explain why they do not want to die, Äs declares that all living things avoid death and consequently fear, which means that they live, strengthen themselves, and grow solely to evade fear, meaning that fear will always have an effect so long as Rukia is alive. However, Rukia clarifies that she is saying she is not alive right now, and when Äs expresses confusion at this, Rukia reveals that rather than emitting frozen air from its blade, Sode no Shirayuki lowers her own body temperature to below freezing to freeze everything that it comes into contact with and extend her range.

Though Äs calls this ridiculous because Rukia's body would be unable to function and she could not stay alive if its temperature were reduced below freezing, Rukia confirms that she is currently dead and has gained the ability to temporarily kill her body by controlling its Reishi, causing her molecular movement to cease and the fear seeping in from her palm to stop functioning altogether. With Äs shocked by this, Rukia moves past him with Shunpo, cuts deeply into and freezes his left shoulder, and announces that she is currently at -18 degrees Celsius, where blood freezes and will not flow out of any wound.

Upon reaching -50 degrees, Rukia details how the ground shaking around them is from her freezing the water beneath the ground to cause an ice quake, and as Äs rushes toward her, Rukia reaches -273.15 degrees and internally muses that she can only function at absolute zero for four seconds before freezing Äs completely solid. Standing several meters behind Äs, Rukia begins slowly raising her body temperature and mentally notes that she needs to train with this power more since it takes time to undo it and notices a small cut on her thumb, which she takes as an indication that she spent slightly longer than four seconds at absolute zero.

Suddenly, Rukia experiences a vision of a demonic Äs, who disparages the idea of this being fear. In the past, Äs lies in a hospital bed while attached to a ventilator and thinks about how painful it is just to breathe and live, which makes life inconvenient. As Äs wonders if Heaven is a place where it is easy to breathe and Hell is a place even more agonizing than this, Yhwach appears next to his bed and decides to grant Äs power for surviving. In the present, Äs proclaims that the only thing he fears is being rebuked by Yhwach and that this is nothing by comparison while the ice encasing him shatters, ripping large chunks of flesh off his face.

With his eye rolling back into his head to expose a Wandenreich emblem, Äs activates his Quincy: Vollständig, Tatarforas, causing his internal organs to briefly bulge out of his body before being sown up in a straight vertical line along his torso and neck. Upon landing before Rukia, Äs stands still when she leaps forward and slashes at him several times, only for her blade to not reach his body each time, which he attributes to her becoming afraid. Though Rukia calls this impossible, Äs points out that she is seeing him since her nerves are still active and reveals that Tatarforas instills fear through the optic nerves.

Rukia finds herself standing inside a large dome of diamond-shaped plates, each of which forms a large eye that looks at her, and Äs declares that she will not be able to escape his gaze. When Rukia frantically closes her eyes, Äs decries this as useless because bad memories last much longer than good ones do and claims that a fear experienced once will resonate even stronger within the depths of Rukia's mind once she closes her eyes, akin to fears surfacing at night. Envisioning Ichigo, Byakuya, and Orihime Inoue rotting and producing vast legions of flies from their mouths and eyes, Rukia feels the flies enveloping her body.

However, as Äs promises to burn Rukia's soul away with her past fears and Rukia screams in terror, the dome is vertically cut open behind her, releasing hundreds of blade petals and revealing Byakuya standing in the air. With the rest of the dome crumbling, Äs welcomes Byakuya's arrival because he has been looking for the latter and inquires about how the internal organs he gouged out are doing. When Byakuya and Rukia descend to the ground below, Äs reminds Byakuya of how his stomach was scraped out, meaning that he must not have been able to eat, and begins summoning the pieces of the dome to reform it around Byakuya, to Rukia's alarm.

Despite Rukia warning him to not look at Äs and the latter proclaiming that it is too late, Byakuya simply destroys the assembling pieces of the dome with large masses of blade petals, and when a descending Äs assumes he has surrounded the area with his Senbonzakura Kageyoshi and expresses a desire to have kept this Bankai, Byakuya indicates the bladeless hilt he is carrying and reminds Äs that this means he is using his Shikai, Senbonzakura. With Äs bewildered by this, Byakuya asserts he was able to rediscover the true essence of Senbonzakura due to Äs stealing his Bankai because he was able to examine his bond.

Once Byakuya thanks him for this, an enraged Äs refuses to kill him and pushes his organs out of his chest while the material comprising the eyes gathers around his body, creating a larger being as he promises to engulf Byakuya in a sea of pain and fear while keeping his mind intact so he begs for a peaceful death for all of eternity. Walking up to Rukia, Byakuya notes that he could sense her Reiatsu even as he was approaching the Seireitei and praises her strength, to Rukia's tearful awe, before asserting that fear is born from the insecurity in one's heart rather than in a vacuum and asking Rukia if she still has any fear, which she denies.

Having formed a much larger, misshapen, and grotesque version of his body with his skin hanging off its chin, Äs declares that it is time to end this, but Byakuya apologetically reveals that he is not the one putting an end to this and walks away, leaving Rukia to hold up Sode no Shirayuki in a battle stance. Though Äs claims that he has had enough of Byakuya's mockery, Byakuya points out to Rukia that he does not see any fear in her, which means the only fear here is what Äs feels, prompting Rukia to activate her Bankai, Hakka no Togame, in a pillar of ice that engulfs Äs in a vast cloud of freezing air.

In the aftermath, Äs realizes he is going to die, apologizes to Yhwach, and agonizes over the pain he is feeling before the top half of his larger body's head is destroyed, leaving the rest of the body to crumble and fall apart in large chunks. Standing in front of Äs' remains in an icy kimono with transparent adornments and lilac hair, Rukia's hand begins to crack, only for Byakuya to grasp it with his own, causing his fingers to become encrusted with ice, and encourage her to undo it slowly. With Rukia exhaling cold air, Byakuya calls her Bankai magnificent, but warns her that it is perilous and could take her life with a single misstep.

After advising Rukia to handle Hakka no Togame with caution and never be impatient with it, Byakuya concludes that nothing can be won by a sword swung in exchange for one's life and invites Rukia to come with him and protect Soul Society, which she accepts. Meanwhile, 4th Division Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu watches over the unconscious 3rd Division Captain Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi and 9th Division Captain Kensei Muguruma before being approached by 11th Division Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi, who has returned with more bedding for her to use. Though Isane apologizes for giving her such a dangerous assignment, Yachiru insists it is not a problem.

Yachiru explains that she has nothing else to do since her captain, Kenpachi Zaraki, is taking a while to return and that she simply runs in to get what she needs whenever she spots bedding or medicine, leaving Isane beginning to express surprise at them not being discovered yet. However, Isane's thought is finished out loud by Guenael Lee, causing her to begin looking around for him before he appears on her back. In response, Yachiru punches him in the face, but Guenael vanishes from sight, leaving Yachiru confused since she thought she hit him and wondering what she was trying to hit. Hitting Yachiru in the face in turn, a laughing Guenael questions if Yachiru thought she hit him and claims this will never happen because his presence will completely disappear from their sight and minds.

Fights & Events

 * Rukia Kuchiki vs. Äs Nödt (concluded)
 * Yachiru Kusajishi vs. Guenael Lee

Powers and Techniques Used
Zanpakutō Techniques:
 * (flashback)

Hohō Techniques:

Quincy Techniques:

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Bankai:
 * (flashback)

Spirit Weapons:
 * Reishi Thorns

Schrifts:
 * The Fear
 * The Fear
 * The Fear

Resurrección released:
 * (flashback)

Anime Notes
Removed Content= Added/Expanded Content= Changes=
 * Ichigo Kurosaki looking for the Tenchūren that the Royal Guard use, only for Tenjirō Kirinji to tell him that it is not here.
 * Ichigo being surprised upon being told that he is traveling on foot and Kirinji telling Senjumaru Shutara to bring out the stairs.
 * A grinning Kirinji preparing for Ichigo to be shocked at the seven-day travel time.
 * Kirinji being nonplussed at Ichigo's reaction, prompting Ichigo to remind him that he is the one who said it is not that far.
 * Ichibē Hyōsube praising Ichigo's courage.
 * Kirio Hikifune asking Kirinji where Ichigo is and being told that he just left.
 * Ichigo promising to sneak off and eat the onigiri if he gets hungry in the middle of battle.
 * Hikifune musing on how much Ichigo has changed and how much his Reiatsu has solidified, prompting Ichibē to note that he has grown and become stronger in body and spirit.
 * Yhwach announcing that judgement for the defeated Sternritter is about to be made.
 * BG9 pleading for mercy since he and Cang Du have been revived by the Quincy: Vollständig and can still fight for Yhwach.
 * Cang asserting that it is not difficult for him to stop Haschwalth's blade and refusing to be killed by anyone other than Yhwach.
 * Rukia Kuchiki telling Renji Abarai to conceal himself after each battle to avoid drawing additional enemy attention since they will be at a disadvantage in this invasion.
 * Renji waking up and heading out to battle another Sternritter, leaving NaNaNa Najahkoop to express disbelief at him actually sleeping through the whole night and promising to kill him since he has never observed someone for so long.
 * Rukia musing that the low number of combatants let her easily locate Isane Kotetsu and that she cannot sense any Quincy either.
 * Äs Nödt mocking Rukia for being so confident about his Reishi Thorns since she was running away from them seconds ago.
 * Ichigo questioning why he is wearing so many layers, prompting Senjumaru to inform him that they are needed to break through the 72 barriers between the Seireitei and the Soul King Palace.
 * Ichibē musing that Ichigo has surpassed the existence of ordinary Shinigami.
 * Haschwalth decapitating BG9, spraying oil onto two of the torches lighting the chamber, before the Soldat take the bodies away on carts.
 * A demonic version of Äs's face briefly appearing as Rukia turns around.
 * The letter "F" being formed out of dripping blood.
 * An extended flashback to Byakuya's usages of Senbonzakura and Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.
 * The letter "F" being frozen and shattering.
 * In the manga, Ichigo leaves the Soul King Palace and begins falling toward the Seireitei during Komamura's second battle against Bambietta; here, he instead does so just before Rukia's encounter with Äs, aligning with his time estimate of being able to complete the trip in roughly half a day.
 * In the manga, Hikifune only reaches the Vestibule Road after Ichigo begins falling; here, she is instead standing there from the beginning.
 * In the manga, Kisuke Urahara being contacted by Ichigo takes place before the latter leaves the Soul King Palace; here, it instead takes place after Ichibē comments on Ichigo's strength.
 * In the manga, Haschwalth's execution of BG9 and Cang takes place before he decides to tell Uryū Ishida about Yhwach's powers; here, it instead takes place afterward.
 * In the manga, Yhwach was present for BG9 and Cang's execution; here, he is instead not because Haschwalth has traded places with him while he sleeps, with several Soldat standing guard instead.
 * In the manga, Yhwach tells BG9 that he was fortunate to escape death before the execution begins; here, Haschwalth instead tells Cang this after The Iron blocks his blade.
 * In the manga, Cang uses The Iron on the right side of his face and neck and names it; here, he instead uses on the left side of his face and neck while Haschwalth names it.
 * In the manga, Haschwalth vertically bifurcates Cang along his right side; here, he instead decapitates Cang, spraying blood across the room.
 * In the manga, Haschwalth tells Uryū that he had his soul marked to be absorbed by Yhwach during the engraving ceremony before revealing that all the Sternritter have their souls absorbed by Yhwach upon death; here, he instead tells Uryū about this afterward.
 * In the manga, Rukia and Äs move to a lower level of the terrain as she explains how Sode no Shirayuki works; here, they instead remain stationary.
 * In the manga, Äs's flashback to his encounter with Yhwach in hospice takes place after he is defeated by Rukia; here, it instead takes place just before he activates his Quincy: Vollständig.
 * In the manga, Äs lands behind Rukia, who turns to attack him; here, he instead lands in front of Rukia, who leaps forward to attack him.
 * In the manga, Rukia's affliction of fear was represented by Ichigo, Byakuya, and Orihime Inoue's eyes turning black in her memories of them; here, it is instead represented by the three of them rotting and spewing flies from their mouths and eyes that cover her while she screams.
 * In the manga, Byakuya cuts through the section of the dome behind Äs; here, he instead does so behind Rukia.
 * In the manga, Yachiru Kusajishi punches Guenael Lee's left cheek; here, she instead punches his right cheek.
 * In the manga, Guenael introduces himself and names his Schrift while promising that Yachiru and Isane Kotetsu will not remember his existence; here, he instead does not.