BORN IN THE DARK (episode)

For the chapter of the same name, see BORN IN THE DARK.

BORN IN THE DARK is the seventh episode of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War and the three hundred and seventy-third episode of the Bleach anime overall.

With Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto being cut down by Yhwach, Ichigo Kurosaki finally enters Soul Society to confront the latter.

Summary
A thousand years in the past, with the Seireitei heavily damaged and burning in several areas, Yhwach leads his army of Quincy toward Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto and the original captains of the Gotei 13, who begin slaughtering the assembled Quincy with their respective Zanpakutō. When only Yhwach is left, Yamamoto approaches the former with his Bankai, Zanka no Tachi, burning the mountain of dead and dying Quincy that they are standing on.

Grinning widely at this, Yhwach prepares to battle Yamamoto one-on-one, but Chōjirō Sasakibe suddenly rises out of the corpses behind him and stabs Yhwach in the back with his Shikai, Gonryōmaru, drawing blood and distracting Yhwach long enough for Yamamoto to deliver a powerful strike that engulfs him in a large explosion. Centuries later, a young Shunsui Kyōraku stares at a painting of Yamamoto using Zanka no Tachi in the latter's private quarters prior to Yamamoto angrily opening the door, chastising Shunsui for entering his room without permission once again, and chasing him around as Shunsui profusely apologizes.

Though Yamamoto refuses to accept this, Shunsui admits that he was surprised to find a painting in Yamamoto's room after he snuck in, prompting Yamamoto to release Shunsui from the chokehold he had placed the latter in and explain that the painting depicts a monster which appeared in Soul Society a long time ago to make a crisis they were facing much worse. As he promises that the monster will never reappear again, Yamamoto notes that he will probably not survive if it does. In the present, having been cut through diagonally by Yhwach's Reishi Broadsword, Yamamoto coughs up blood while his top half falls to the ground.

Around the Seireitei, the other captains are alarmed upon sensing this, with 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku desperately calling out to Yamamoto before Robert Accutrone shoots him four times in the chest with his Reishi Pistol. With the rain continuing to fall heavily across the Seireitei, Yhwach looks down disdainfully at Yamamoto's motionless body and asserts that his demise was pitiful despite his station as the Captain-Commander. However, when Yhwach attempts to leave with Jugram Haschwalth, he is stopped by Yamamoto grasping his leg with his remaining arm, prompting Yhwach to sever his hand after a brief pause.

Assuming that this was Yamamoto's attempt to demonstrate that he will not allow Yhwach to get away even in death, Yhwach stomps on Yamamoto's head and reveals that he did not have the latter counted among the Special War Powers because he did not have his left arm restored after sacrificing it to use '''Hadō #96. Ittō Kasō''' even though Orihime Inoue could have done so. After attributing this to Yamamoto not wanting the aid of Humans since he did not even want Ichigo Kurosaki getting involved in his battle against Sōsuke Aizen, Yhwach observes that Yamamoto tried to carry the burden of the two worlds on his shoulders and has failed.

Though he calls Yamamoto weak, Yhwach admits that he was not always this way because the original captains of the Gotei 13 that he used to lead were guards in name only, being more a group of bloodthirsty killers that Yhwach himself respected, with Yamamoto himself being a demon with a sword that would use anything and everything to win and who considered the lives of everyone around him to weigh as much as ashes. Despite this, Yhwach derides Yamamoto and the Gotei 13's progression into peace following their war now that they had people and things to love and protect because it made them hesitate to take action in order to satisfy their sense of justice.

Stepping back from Yamamoto, Yhwach decides to tell him this before he dies and declares that the Gotei 13 died with the Quincy 1,000 years ago even if Soul Society is only going to be destroyed now before raising his index finger and firing a barrage of Heilig Pfeil that obliterate Yamamoto's remains, to the horror of the captains around the Seireitei. With Yhwach commanding that the Sternritter completely crush Soul Society, Robert, Bambietta Basterbine, Mask De Masculine, and the others summon the Soldat with Shadows and tell them to advance, leading them to begin massacring the remaining Shinigami.

Unseated Shinigami across the Seireitei are cut down, impaled, shot, and decapitated by the Soldat, and when one of them tries to get help while struggling to stand up, Bazz-B steps on and crushes his head underfoot as the Soldat rush past him. While watching the Seireitei burn and collapse around him, Yhwach declares that it is finished. Meanwhile, Ichigo Kurosaki senses the disappearing Reiatsu of the dying Shinigami and begs them to stay prior to breaking through the Reishi cage surrounding him with a furious strike, revealing a bloodied 12th Division 3rd Seat Akon in the side aperture above the Seireitei.

After apologizing for not being able to let Ichigo through sooner and musing that they do not seem to ever get what they want, Akon collapses with four Reishi Knives embedded in his back and the other researchers in the aperture lying wounded on the ground as well. From outside a hole in the aperture, Shaz Domino wonders who Ichigo is and begins to introduce himself, but is cut off when Ichigo rushes toward him and attacks him in an explosion of Reiatsu, alerting Yhwach and the rest of the Sternritter as well as the remaining captains and lieutenants. Leaping out of the aperture with Akon, Ichigo deposits him near some surviving Shinigami and departs.

From high in the air, Ichigo confirms that 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai and 13th Division Lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki are still alive and disappears with Shunpo, alarming the Sternritter while they question how his Reiatsu suddenly disappeared. Shortly afterward, Ichigo finds a dying 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki embedded in a crater and assures him that Rukia and Renji are alive, to Byakuya's relief. Observing that he does not have much time left, Byakuya admits that he was unable to stop the despicable people who trampled on the Seireitei and that he led many to their deaths, bringing sorrow to their subordinates and families.

As he sheds a tear, Byakuya asserts that he is deeply ashamed of this and points out how Ichigo being a Human means he should not even be here to begin with, let alone be involved in the battle, prior to requesting forgiveness for his final audacious request and begging Ichigo to protect Soul Society. In response, Ichigo's Reiatsu flares up around him, causing the rain droplets falling near him to evaporate and form a cloud of steam, while he glares into the distance. Upon sensing this, Yhwach confirms that it is Ichigo, and when Haschwalth wonders if he should purge the former, Yhwach denies this and states that they will leave.

However, Yhwach is interrupted when the sword of Ichigo's Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, is thrown down from the sky and embeds itself in the ground in front of him just before Ichigo follows and picks it up, leaving Yhwach surprised. Back in the crater, Byakuya muses that he did not get a response from Ichigo and decides this is fine, since he knows what kind of man Ichigo is, before concluding he is counting on Ichigo and dropping his broken Zanpakutō, which disintegrates. Meanwhile, Haschwalth offers to deal with Ichigo, but Yhwach stops him with a hand on Haschwalth's chest and admits he is impressed at Ichigo breaking out of The Jail.

After Yhwach inquires about whether he intends to fight in such a ragged state, Ichigo asks Yhwach if he is the enemy leader, and when a bemused Yhwach observes he both is and is not, an angered Ichigo demands to know if he is the one who wrecked Soul Society, which a grinning Yhwach confirms, causing Ichigo's Reiatsu to violently flare up around him. Telling Haschwalth this is proof he must crush Ichigo here, Yhwach responds to Ichigo lunging at him by forming his Reishi Sword and clashing fiercely with him, generating an explosion that radiates across the battlefield while Ichigo and Yhwach begin rapidly moving across the rubble and crossing swords.

Upon moving into the air, Ichigo and Yhwach clash several more times, with Yhwach repelling Ichigo in a strong burst of force and ultimately sending him crashing back down into the rubble below when they both surge with Reiatsu and slam into each other in the air. Suddenly, once Yhwach lands near Haschwalth and stands in front of the resulting dust cloud with a cocky smile and his hand on his hip, Ichigo fires a Getsuga Tenshō at him, forcing Yhwach to evade, move to Ichigo's location, and restrain the latter's sword arm with his hand while driving his head into the ground with the other before stabbing his Reishi Sword into Ichigo's neck.

With Haschwalth shocked by this, Yhwach notes that Ichigo should still be alive and orders Haschwalth to transport him to Silbern so they can revive him as a member of the Wandenreich, which Haschwalth affirms. Suddenly, Ichigo's limp hand grips his sword once again, and as a stunned Yhwach turns to see Blut Vene flickering on his neck where the tip of the Reishi Sword is piercing it, Ichigo fires another Getsuga Tenshō at Yhwach point-blank, to Haschwalth's alarm. Having withstood this with only his left arm being burnt and his left sleeve being destroyed by the blast, Yhwach mutters that he was careless.

Though Ichigo assumes he is referring to thinking that he won because he withstood a few attacks, Yhwach denies this and rushes forward to slash with his Reishi Sword, initially clashing with Ichigo's sword prior to dragging it down and ripping off Ichigo's left sleeve to expose his forearm, which remains unharmed and glows with Blut Vene as well. After confirming that he was not imagining this, to Ichigo's confusion, Yhwach admits that he made a mistake in using Quilge Opie, an Echt Quincy, instead of an Arrancar to keep Ichigo at bay because it caused the memories within Ichigo's Reiatsu to awaken too soon.

Yhwach explains that while Ichigo was exerting his Reiatsu during his barrage of attacks on the Reishi cage that Quilge imprisoned him in, pieces of this Reiatsu merged with Quilge's and returned to Ichigo's body, with this Quincy Reiatsu seeping into the depths of Ichigo's Soul and drawing out memories from its core, before concluding that The Jail is meant to contain enemies and thus cannot hold Quincy. With Ichigo stunned and bewildered by this, Yhwach deduces that he does not know the truth about himself or about his own mother, which causes Ichigo to remember Masaki Kurosaki lying dead on top of him after protecting him from Grand Fisher.

While Yhwach decides to take Ichigo back by force since he no longer has the luxury of slowly reeducating him, Ichigo furiously demands to know what Yhwach is talking about, only for Yhwach to promise to tell him at the Wandenreich and initiate Qualkreis, which causes Reishi to crackle around them like lightning, before inviting Ichigo to demonstrate what he is capable of. The Reishi condenses into large Heilig Bogen that begin firing Heilig Pfeil at Ichigo, who slashes through them and fires a Getsuga Tenshō to intercept several more with an explosion, only for the Heilig Pfeil to begin slamming chunks of rubble into him.

After Ichigo is encased in a mound of rubble, with his Blut Vene shielding his body but leaving him nearly unconscious, Yhwach approaches him, lifts a prone Ichigo's head to expose his neck, and promises to pierce him this time without his Blut Vene being able to save him. Suddenly, shadows begin dripping from Yhwach and pooling around his body, to his shock, as Haschwalth approaches and reveals that it is time for them to return since they have reached their time limit for operating outside of the Schatten Bereich. Though he insists that they should have enough time, Yhwach realizes that Aizen altered his senses during their earlier conversation.

With Haschwalth confirming that he did not stop Yhwach despite knowing this because he believed it would be pointless, Yhwach smiles and asserts that they will leave as Bambietta, Mask, Robert, Cang, and Bazz-B depart through Shadows, with Meninas McAllon doing the same once she bids Rukia farewell and realizes the latter cannot hear her anymore. When Yhwach and Haschwalth attempt to enter Shadows as well following the Soldat doing so, Ichigo blows off the rubble covering him and demands that they wait since he refuses to let them leave so easily after what they have done to Soul Society, but Yhwach continues walking.

However, when Ichigo angrily rushes toward Yhwach and attempts to stab him, Haschwalth draws his sword and effortlessly cuts through the blade of Ichigo's sword, which flies into the air and embeds itself in the ground nearby as a stunned Ichigo is left holding the broken sword. Bidding Ichigo farewell, Yhwach vows to return for him prior to telling Ichigo to heal his wounds and wait as his son, born in the dark.

Fights & Events

 * Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto vs. Yhwach (concluded)
 * Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Yhwach (concluded)
 * Fall of the Seireitei (concluded)

Powers and Techniques Used
Zanpakutō Techniques:
 * (flashback)

Hohō Techniques:

Kidō Techniques:
 * '''Hadō #96. (flashback)

Quincy Techniques:

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:
 * (recollection)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)

Bankai:
 * (recollection)

Spirit Weapons:
 * Reishi Pistol
 * Reishi Broadsword
 * Reishi Sword

Anime Notes
Removed Content= Added/Expanded Content= Changes= Trivia=
 * Shunsui Kyōraku asking Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto if the painting on his wall is depicting a god of fire from an old tale.
 * Yhwach telling Jugram Haschwalth that they will be retreating until the Royal Guard arrive, only to be alarmed by an explosion in the sky behind him.
 * Yamamoto, Yachiru Unohana, and the other original captains of the Gotei 13 battling Yhwach and his Quincy forces 1,000 years ago, with the captains slaughtering the Quincy and Yamamoto defeating Yhwach with the aid of Chōjirō Sasakibe.
 * Yamamoto putting a young Shunsui in a chokehold after finding the latter in his room once again.
 * Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Shinji Hirako, and Suì-Fēng reacting to Yamamoto being cut in half.
 * A recollection of Yamamoto teaching at the Shin'ō Academy.
 * Bambietta Basterbine and Mask De Masculine summoning Soldat alongside Robert Accutrone.
 * The Soldat cutting down, impaling, shooting, and decapitating dozens of Shinigami.
 * Several Sternritter noticing Ichigo Kurosaki's entry into Soul Society.
 * Ichigo carrying an unconscious Akon down to some wounded Shinigami and gently setting him on the ground prior to returning to the air.
 * Ichigo's Reiatsu evaporating the rain falling on him, creating a cloud of steam around his body.
 * Byakuya recalling Ichigo departing to confront Yhwach.
 * Ichigo and Yhwach clashing fiercely around the battlefield and into the air, where they collide with surging Reiatsu that sends Ichigo crashing down into the ground below.
 * Bambietta, Mask, Robert, Cang Du, Bazz-B, and Meninas McAllon departing through Shadows.
 * Haschwalth slashing at Ichigo's sword to cut through it.
 * In the manga, after promising to explain the situation to Ichigo at the Wandenreich, Yhwach pushes his sword aside with a clash, grabs him by the hair, and prepares to stab him again; here, he instead uses Qualkreis to force Ichigo to defend himself from Heilig Pfeil and eventually be crushed by debris, after which he attempts to stab a near-unconscious Ichigo lying prone.
 * In the manga, when severed by Haschwalth, the blade of Tensa Zangetsu flies to Ichigo's right side and embeds itself in the ground near Haschwalth; here, it instead flies to his left side and embeds itself in the ground several yards away from both Haschwalth and Ichigo.
 * Unohana's scar is visible in the flashback, indicating it was inflicted by Kenpachi Zaraki at least 1,000 years before their rematch.
 * The episode uses a unique version of the ED Saihate that depicts the original Gotei 13 captains alongside flickering candles that eventually go out.