Aaroniero Arruruerie

is an Arrancar in Sōsuke Aizen's army and the Noveno (9th) Espada.

Appearance
Aaroniero's face is usually concealed behind an elongated, white mask covered with eight holes. He dons this while in the light and also while around his fellow Espada, as he has grown weary of questions and offhand remarks regarding his appearance. In place of a normal head, he has a large, cylindrical glass capsule filled with red liquid, with two small Hollow heads suspended within its confines. The two heads are both tattooed with the number 9 and tend to talk in tandem when revealed, giving the effect of two people speaking in turn. The upper head speaks with a deep voice, while the other speaks in a high-pitched, childlike voice. Each head appears to have its own level of individuality.

His outfit, like that of most Espada, is customized: he wears a dress garb that covers his entire body as opposed to the normal jacket and hakama. He also wears a frilly nobles' coat that acts as his replacement jacket and a single white gentleman's glove. The remains of his Hollow mask are on both of his heads, the upper head having three-quarters of itself covered with the mask, and the lower head having only half of itself covered. His Hollow hole is located in the left thigh area.

Personality
Aaroniero expresses some amount of pride in his ability to "continue evolving" and his position as an Espada, despite his Gillian status. Somewhat cruel and sadistic, Aaroniero enjoys toying with his opponents, particularly those he has information on from his absorbed memories, asking Rukia to kill her comrades to make up for Kaien's death. Interestingly, his two heads have a degree of individuality, since they refer to themselves in plural when exposed, and each reacted differently to the idea of death (the bottom head panicked and screamed for Aizen's aid while the top one merely cursed Rukia).

History
Aaroniero was a Gillian, the weakest class of Menos, before becoming an Arrancar, and the last of the first-generation Espada.

At some point in the past, Aaroniero gained the powers of former Shinigami Lieutenant Kaien Shiba by absorbing Metastacia, the Hollow who killed and fused with Kaien. By doing this, Aaroniero was able to gain not only Metastacia's power to fuse with others, but Kaien Shiba's powers and abilities as well as his Zanpakutō.

Arrancar arc
Aaroniero is present when Sōsuke Aizen is creating Wonderweiss Margela. He only stands and watches, with the upper half of his body covered in shadow, without his mask.

Hueco Mundo arc
He puts his mask on when the Espada are gathered by Aizen about Ichigo Kurosaki, Yasutora Sado, and Uryū Ishida entering Hueco Mundo to save Orihime Inoue. He sits between Tier Harribel and Yammy Llargo and complains about the intruders, along with Baraggan Louisenbairn, Szayelaporro Granz, Yammy and Nnoitra Gilga.

Rukia Kuchiki encounters Aaroniero on the bridge outside his palace. He leads her inside the dark tower and explains that he cannot stand sunlight. He takes off his mask while introducing himself as the 9th Espada Aaroniero Arruruerie, who, upon removing his mask, is immediately recognized by Rukia as Kaien Shiba. Rukia is confused by the sight of her deceased mentor. Aaroniero pulls out a cushion and tells her to sit, as they have much to discuss.

Aaroniero then explains to her that the night he was possessed, his spirit began to crumble after the battle and by the time she had brought his lifeless body back to the Shiba house, it had completely shattered, and from there it was thrown into Hueco Mundo. He explains that the Hollow he fought was one of Aizen's experiments and that every time it was destroyed, it would come back to Hueco Mundo and regenerate. However, since the Hollow had fused with him, the regeneration restored his body, but instead of the Hollow being in control, he was. At first, Rukia has a hard time believing such a thing, but Aaroniero assures her that he is serious. He then explains that as he ended up taking control of his body again, he went on to become an Espada to aid in his revenge against Aizen. Aaroniero states that the blue sky outside is the dome of Las Noches created by Aizen and that the light of the blue sky allows Aizen to see anywhere he wishes.

He then tells her there is a mission of great importance that only she can carry out and they will talk further in a different location. He then takes out his Zanpakutō and attacks her. Rukia becomes confused and listens to him speak so coldly about her involvement in his death, and resigns herself to be a just sacrifice for what she did to him and willingly offers her life to him. But she relents and states that she has come there to save Orihime and that until she does, she cannot give her life to him. He tells her that he was only joking, but there is something only she can do for him if she is to truly sorry for what she did. He asks her to kill her friends, and Rukia quickly realizes something is wrong and that he cannot be who he claims to be, as Kaien would never ask her to do such a thing. She releases her Zanpakutō, Sode no Shirayuki and begins to attack him.

The two engage in battle for a brief period, with Aaroniero goading her with his knowledge of her fighting style. He then releases Kaien's Zanpakutō, Nejibana and begins to relentlessly attack Rukia. As such, Aaroniero uses Kaien's Zanpakutō to easily overpower her in the course of their battle. Rukia eventually concludes that everything Aaroniero said was a lie and notices him running from the sunlight when a wall is damaged. She uses a Kidō combination to restrain him and then blows a hole in the wall, forcing him to remain in the sunlight; thus revealing Aaroniero's true face - a cylinder filled with liquid containing two small, floating heads inside.

Aaroniero then reveals that had she used her Kidō to attack him directly, she might have actually hurt him. Rukia claims that now that she knows that he is not Kaien, she will not have to hold back anymore. Aaroniero questions if she thinks that holding back is really what kept her from actually harming him. He then explains that although he can't use his powers in sunlight, all he needs is the shadows and he can use it again as many times as he wants, as he resumes Kaien's form. He then comments on the annoyance of the sun under the dome of Las Noches as his powers only work in the darkness. Aaroniero then corrects her previous assumption that his power was transformation, as he is the only Gillian-class Menos Hollow out of all the Espada. In general, no Gillian would be powerful enough to join the ranks of the Espada. Yet he is an Espada because he is the only Arrancar in existence that has limitless potential for evolution. He reveals that his original story about what happened after Kaien's spirit died was partially true. In fact, Aaroniero consumed the Hollow Metastacia and absorbed its ability. It was through eating that Hollow and gaining its abilities that he gained access to Kaien's body. He then reveals his Zanpakutō, Glotonería, as he explains that he, in fact, is using the spirit body of Kaien Shiba and all his experiences and memories are still intact. Aaroniero was using them to impersonate Kaien and manipulate Rukia in turn. Rukia noticeably gives up her will to fight upon seeing his form and realizing the ramifications of his words. Aaroniero releases his Zanpakutō and impales Rukia on the end of Nejibana.

Aaroniero notices that Rukia is still conscious and states the it is admirable that she fights for survival, but it is pointless as she can never strike him down. Rukia grabs Nejibana and states that she just remembered as she lifts her sword to his face. Aaroniero makes fun of her asking if she remembered how to pretend to fight with a broken sword. Rukia then reveals her  San no mai, Shirafune technique, which impales Aaroniero through his head. The bottom face dies, screaming in agony while feeling betrayed by Aizen's promise that he would never be in pain again, while the top face curses one last time before splitting in half.

Powers & Abilities
Expert Swordsman: By absorbing Kaien Shiba (albeit indirectly), Aaroniero was a highly skilled swordsman fighting Rukia based on Kaien's memories. He uses Kaien's techniques and form during the battle, and are described by Rukia as "His upper-body stance. Spear technique reminiscent of a dance, using one wrist as the center of its rotation. Then crushing the opponent between the spear's thrust and the rising waves".

Keen Strategist: Aaroniero has proven to be rather cunning in his efforts to dispatch Rukia, using his shape-shifting ability to try to deceive and sneak attack her. Then going as far as to try and manipulate her, first into killing herself as penance for killing him, and then trying to get her to kill her friends. Throughout the whole fight, even after releasing, he used the psychological edge of having her fight against her former mentor, effectively hindering her performance.

Sonído Expert: After Rukia's Kidō spells wore off, Aaroniero used Sonído to appear behind Rukia almost instantly, surprising her.


 * Aaroniero has the ability to broadcast information of whatever he is currently seeing or experiencing to all of his comrades instantaneously, which he does prior to his death at the hands of Rukia.

Great Spiritual Power: Having absorbed thousands of Hollows and indirectly absorbing the fairly powerful Shinigami Kaien Shiba, Aaroniero has accumulated a rather large amount of spiritual energy. He has enough spiritual power to mimic the levels possessed by Kaien Shiba, going as far as being able to use Kaien's Zanpakutō with presumably the exact amount of spiritual energy required to wield and use its abilities. His Reiatsu is dark purple.

Zanpakutō

 * Aaroniero's Zanpakutō takes the form of a deformed, brown-tentacled appendage with a gaping maw at the center, surrounded by various tentacles. He commonly hides it under the glove on his left hand.
 * Hollow Absorption: While all Hollows can cannibalize each other to gain power, Aaroniero has the unique ability to devour a dead Hollow and receive all its abilities and Reiatsu. This ability allows him to evolve without limit, unlike normal Hollows, which is why he is the only Gillian-class Menos among the Espada. By the time of his confrontation with Rukia Aaroniero claims to have eaten approximately 33,650 Hollows and gained their strength, one of which was Metastacia, the eating of which gave him the Shinigami abilities of Kaien Shiba.


 * Aspect Manifestation: While sealed, Glotonería allows Aaroniero to perfectly manifest any aspect of those he has absorbed, including their knowledge, muscle memory (and thus their battle styles), physical form, and powers. He has only manifested the aspects of one individual at a time while in sealed form. While released, Aaroniero can manifest as many of the absorbed powers as he wishes.


 * Spirit Body Fusion: Aaroniero is able to merge his spirit body with other beings, including Shinigami. This was originally Metastacia's ability.


 * Zanpakutō Destruction: When a Shinigami touches a specific set of tentacles on Aaroniero's released form, their Zanpakutō is destroyed. It was originally Metastacia's ability.


 * Nejibana: Aaroniero is able to use Kaien's Zanpakutō as if he were Kaien. It was originally Kaien's ability, but was absorbed by Metastacia.


 * Resurrección: It is activated by the command . When released, it turns Aaroniero's lower body into a huge, purple blob-like mass resembling an incredibly bloated invertebrate or octopus, with dozens of stubby tentacles, large red eyes, and large mouths complete with teeth. In the center of this mass there is a bubbling area that seems to boil.

Weaknesses
Sunlight: The weakness of his aspect manifestation is sunlight, which nullifies it on contact and reveals Aaroniero's true form.

Glass Capsule: The glass capsule is easily broken if hit, instantly dealing Aaroniero critical damage.

Appearances in Other Media

 * Aaroniero features in the fourth volume of Bleach "B" Station's third season.
 * BuriCon - Bleach Concept Covers features Aaroniero performing "Sakurabito."
 * In Heat the Soul 5, 6 and 7, as well as Versus Crusade, Aaroniero takes the appearance of Kaien Shiba in addition to being able to perform his Resurrección.
 * In the Heat the Soul series, his tentacles are a golden color, rather than the dark purple color shown in the anime.
 * In Versus Crusade (only in his released form), he can shoot a light-blue Cero from his tentacles.
 * Brave Souls features a unique form for Aaroniero to commemorate the inclusion of the Can't Fear Your Own World light novel. Designed by Tite Kubo, this appearance mirrors Ulquiorra's own Hōgyoku-enhanced power, transcending Resurrección.
 * This form is much smaller and more humanoid than Aaroniero's regular Resurrección while incorporating many of its features. Aaroniero's body is patchwork and asymmetrical in its colors and patterns, though it is predominantly gray with sections of purple and dark red on his arms and legs, and possesses cracks filled with dark pink Reiatsu in several places. He has a skirt of red-black Reiatsu originating in the shape of a gash on his torso, giving the illusion of it being split open. Six large, toothed tentacles transitioning from black to purple with four suckers that have red centers originate from three mouths circling his pelvis next to a giant eye on his back, while the Hōgyoku floats in his Hollow hole on his left thigh.
 * Notably, his feet have been replaced with two hands corresponding to their original orientation, while his left hand retains its base appearance of the sealed form of Glotonería, only much larger with additional tentacles and teeth as well as a tendril of red-black Reiatsu extending from the center looking like a tongue. Aaroniero's two heads grow in size and become attached to his body by two individual necks, around which lies an obscuring and shifting veil of red-black Reiatsu that crosses the center of one head's face while encircling the left eye of the other head. Both heads have visible, pulsing veins on their left side, one of which extends to their chest. Behind the head lies a maroon hood resembling flesh stretched between phalanges.
 * In this form, Aaroniero is a melee character with the "Shinigami Killer" ability who can inflict Weaken with every attack and unlock skills that reduce the duration of Paralysis and Weaken by 100%. His special attack is, which consists of him grabbing his opponent with his feet hands while emitting pink drool. As the opponent looks up to see Aaroniero's Reiatsu tongue licking around, he slams his tongue down, unleashing a wave of dark pink liquid that inflicts immense damage and Weaken while healing all teammates.

4th Movie Tie-In
In episode 299 and manga one-shot imaginary number 01. the unforgivens, both promotions for Bleach: The Hell Verse, Aaroniero and Szayelaporro fall into Hell together. Szayelaporro says he's surprised to see him and notes the sturdiness of Aaroniero's tank. Aaroniero questions why he brought it up, suggesting that he wished it to crack. Szayelaporro states he meant nothing by it, meaning only that if it had cracked, he could study the liquid inside it. Aaroniero tells him that he's never liked him and moves to attack him with Glotoneria. However, Szayelaporro yells at him to wait, saying that they should work together to figure out where they are. Aaroniero states he doesn't care about that, to which Szayelaporro reminds him of the difference in their ranks. Aaroniero states those ranks don't matter outside of Hueco Mundo.

A voice interrupts the two. Aaroniero sees a man standing on a tall rock who informs them that they are in Hell. Aaroniero demands he come down and explain, but the man mocks him and informs them they are both already dead. Aaroniero doesn't understand, but Szayelaporro remembers his death and moves to attack the man. The man introduces himself as Shuren, and says they must follow him in order to survive in Hell. Three more beings appear behind Shuren. Shuren introduces them as Taikon, Gunjō, and Garogai and orders them to attack the two Arrancar. Aaroniero releases his Resurrección and attacks. He tells his enemies not to underestimate the Espada and attacks Taikon. Both Arrancar are defeated and left slumped over some rocks.

Trivia

 * Aaroniero's aspect of death is Greed.
 * Aaroniero's name stems from that of Eero Aarnio, a Finnish interior designer noted for designing plastic and fiberglass chairs.
 * The theme song that Kubo chose for Aaroniero is "Deeper Underground" by the band Jamiroquai on their album Synkronized.
 * In the first best bout poll, Aaroniero's fight with Rukia Kuchiki ranked 7th; in the second, it ranked 2nd.
 * Aaroniero wears a set of white gloves during the Espada meeting, but wears only a single glove when in his own chambers.
 * In Episode 299, Aaroniero's Resurrección is colored yellow instead of the previous dark purple.
 * In the manga and anime, Glotonería is Aaroniero's left hand, but in the special chapter imaginary number 01. the unforgivens, it is his right hand.

Quotes

 * (To Rukia Kuchiki) "Sorry, but I simply can't stand the sunlight, and the sunlight can't make it in here."


 * (To Rukia Kuchiki) "If it's about our faces, keep it to yourself. We got tired of hearing people's thoughts about them a very long time ago."

Battles & Events

 * Rukia Kuchiki vs. Aaroniero Arruruerie
 * Enter The Home of Hollows
 * Invasion of Hueco Mundo
 * Visored Training

Navigation
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