Peace from Shadows (episode)

For the chapter of the same name, see Peace from Shadows.

Peace from Shadows is the fifteenth episode of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War and the three hundred and eighty-first episode of the Bleach anime overall.

The Wandenreich begin their second invasion of the Seireitei as the captains of the Gotei 13 battle the Sternritter.

Summary
In the past, within the Wörtlicht hall of Silbern, Jugram Haschwalth sits at the end of a long table across from his fellow Sternritter, where Robert Accutrone questions why they have been ordered to defeat the captains whose Bankai they stole and BG9 points out that the Soldat should be able to handle such powerless Shinigami. In response, Haschwalth asserts that the Shinigami can also have their pride taken and brings up Yhwach's assumption that the captains who have lost their Bankai will use the limited time available to them to compensate by training their other powers.

Noting that the captains believe they can win without Bankai and reclaim their Bankai in the process, Haschwalth concludes that striking down both their pride and Zanpakutō at once to etch true defeat into the hearts of the Shinigami is Yhwach's intention. In response, Äs Nödt muses that this disturbing plan sounds fun and Bambietta Basterbine promises to kill 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura and anyone else who gets in her way before Haschwalth reiterates Yhwach's order for them to annihilate the enemy instantly. In the present, the Schatten Bereich engulfs the Seireitei.

Watching this from miles away in the Sakahone district of the Rukongai, 13th Division 3rd Seats Sentarō Kotsubaki and Kiyone Kotetsu call out to their captain, Jūshirō Ukitake, in panic as he sits shirtless within a strange temple. Within the Seireitei, Captain-Commander Shunsui Kyōraku looks out over the frozen city with his lieutenant, Nanao Ise, and admits that he was not expecting them to lose their territorial advantage when he set traps across the Seireitei in anticipation of another unannounced invasion. In his throne room within Silbern, Yhwach sits on his throne overlooking the city as Uryū Ishida stands beside him.

Yhwach declares that the Shinigami could never comprehend this and explains how the Quincy had to flee from the Human World to Soul Society a thousand years ago after they lost the war and were left with nowhere else to go, where they were able to use Reishi to form a hidden city in the shadows of the Seireitei where the Gotei 13 did not expect them to hide and call it the Wandenreich. Meanwhile, in the former Shinigami Research and Development Institute, Hiyosu demands to know what is going on, prompting Askin to call the invasion successful and point out that, unlike the Human World, Soul Society is brimming with Reishi.

With Askin revealing this let the Quincy build up their strength for a thousand years within the shadows, Haschwalth approaches Shunsui and Nanao to inform them that the Wandenreich simply appeared within the Shakonmaku once more rather than breaking through it, just as they did last time they invaded. Though Nanao is shocked by this, Shunsui thanks Haschwalth and welcomes him to the Captain-Commander's office, musing that Yhwach has capable subordinates. Once Haschwalth introduces himself as the Sternritter Grandmaster, Shunsui introduces himself as the Captain-Commander and apologizes for only being recently appointed.

After a pause, Shunsui questions if Haschwalth came here because he already knew that, leading Haschwalth to confirm this, and when Shunsui calls him impatient for not wanting to enjoy the battle he has waited a thousand years for, Haschwalth asserts Yhwach loves peace and believes shorter battles are better, which is why he ordered the Wandenreich to annihilate the enemy instantly. Back in the former SRDI, Askin responds to the technicians demanding to know how he got here by reminding them that he has always been here and wondering if their department is intelligent in name only. Suddenly, 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi confirms this.

With a doorway appearing in the air behind Askin, Mayuri's face emerges from the light within as he notes that the Quincy operating from within the shadows meant that there were two worlds existing in the same space without ever interacting, which he finds to be absurd. Stepping out of the doorway with both himself and his lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi, clad in garments emitting bright light, Mayuri clarifies that he does not mind absurdity and responds to his subordinates' shock over his attire by explaining that the data he collected from the last invasion let him deduce that the Wandenreich were somehow making use of shadows.

Declaring that he simply modified his laboratory to not emit any shadows as a result, Mayuri invites Askin to find out whether his department is intelligent in name only before he leaves, to Askin's irritation. Simultaneously, in front of the former Tenth Division barracks, dozens of Shinigami battle the Soldat across the large set of stairs, where one Shinigami tells a group behind him to not let the Quincy through before Bazz-B engulfs them in flame and calls him an idiot for saying this when the invasion is already complete, which means the Shinigami are way past the point of preventing their enemy from getting in.

After sending the Soldat behind him off to attack other targets, Bazz-B stretches his arms over his head and prepares to move on as well, only to stop in surprise when his flames clear to reveal the Shinigami unharmed behind a wall of ice. Approaching Bazz-B with his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya admits that it is too late to stop the Wandenreich from getting through before pointing out that Bazz-B's flames did not get through. Bemused by this, Bazz-B recognizes Hitsugaya as the ice captain who got his Bankai stolen by Cang Du, which prompts the latter to introduce himself.

As he reciprocates this, Bazz-B declares that the two of them are a good match, which Hitsugaya agrees with. Elsewhere, at the former location of his family mansion, 2nd Division Lieutenant Marechiyo Ōmaeda looks up at the Wandenreich city around him while internally questioning what happened and where the mansion went. When Mareyo Ōmaeda pulls on his shihakushō and begs him to not leave because she is scared, Marechiyo kneels, insists he has to go, and assures Mareyo he is not doing so to scare her, but rather to protect her, the rest of his family, their neighbors, and all of Soul Society as a member of the Gotei 13.

Suddenly, with Marechiyo telling Mareyo to not cry and promising to come back safely, BG9 slams into the ground near them, leading Marechiyo to recognize him as the one who stole his captain's Bankai. While Uryū continues to watch the battles next to Yhwach, an explosion engulfs several buildings, sending a shockwave rippling over the city and forcing the Shinigami on the ground to brace themselves before Rangiku orders them to fall back and protect other areas, which they acknowledge. Rushing through the air, Rangiku is protected from Bazz-B's flames by a thin layer of ice that quickly shatters, leaving Bazz-B to catch a piece of it in his hand.

Though Bazz-B points out how flimsy the ice is while crushing the piece in his hand and suggests that Hitsugaya beg for mercy rather than continue this meager resistance, Hitsugaya counters that the winning side would not beg for mercy, which prompts Bazz-B to call him cocky and unleash a torrent of flame that Hitsugaya is forced to leap out of the path of into the air. As she moves next to him, Rangiku offers to help, and when Hitsugaya thanks her since he still has trouble controlling it by himself, a startled Rangiku smiles at him and explains that she believes him losing his Bankai produced something nice when Hitsugaya notices this.

With Hitsugaya aggravated by her calling him cute for relying on her like this, Rangiku releases her Shikai, Haineko, and spreads the ash out across the air in front of her while telling Hitsugaya to prepare for "Operation Mille-feuille", though Hitsugaya protests that he did not name it this as his ice spreads over the ash. On the ground, Bazz-B assumes that this is just an ordinary ice wall and launches more fire at it just as Rangiku uses House, leaving the ice completely intact once the flames clear. When a confused Bazz-B demands to know what this is, Rangiku decides to tell him how it works due to feeling generous.

Rangiku details how she separates the ash of Haineko into multiple thin layers for Hitsugaya to cover in thin ice using his Shikai, Hyōrinmaru, before retracting it to leave a vacuum layer behind the ice that prevents the heat from piercing it like a thermos bottle. Seeing Bazz-B's bewilderment, Hitsugaya notes that Hyōrinmaru has the least difference in powers between its Shikai and Bankai of all the captain-level Zanpakutō and reveals that his Shikai simply lets him produce much less ice than his Bankai does, which is why he trained to fight with less ice, before musing that it was enough to stop flames of Bazz-B's level.

Though an angered Bazz-B blasts them with a powerful fireball, Hitsugaya and Rangiku remain unharmed behind the ice, and after separating the ice walls in two to level his Zanpakutō at Bazz-B, Hitsugaya attacks him with Shinkū no Kōri no Yaiba, pinning Bazz-B against a nearby pillar with a large hollow blade of ice. Looking down on the aftermath, Rangiku praises Hitsugaya for proving that they can battle the Quincy without their Bankai, which Hitsugaya smiles at. Meanwhile, in the former Captain-Commander's office, Haschwalth is cut off from Shunsui and Nanao by Hakudan Keppeki, which he creates a ripple in by tapping it with his sword.

With Nanao explaining that this barrier temporarily protects against all Quincy powers, Haschwalth infers that she created this Kidō, which leads Nanao to assert that her talent with it is the only reason she is a lieutenant, though Shunsui denies this, and that creating something like this is easy prior to criticizing the Wandenreich for leaving traces of their Reiatsu all over the Seireitei during their first invasion because it made the development of such countermeasures almost inevitable. Simultaneously, Marechiyo is pierced through the shoulder and slammed against a wall by three tendrils from BG9.

After BG9 pulls the tendrils out, Marechiyo assures a tearful Mareyo that he will be fine, only to be interrupted when BG9 points a tendril at his face and demands to know where his captain is, noting that it is the third time he is asking. In response, Marechiyo calls BG9 an idiot for not understanding that he does not know where his captain is and proclaims that there is no reason to hide her because she would not lose to someone like him anyway. However, BG9 simply decides to ask him in another way and fires his tendril at Mareyo, but Marechiyo intercepts it with his back to protect her, drawing a large amount of blood in the process.

While Marechiyo refuses to let him harm Mareyo, BG9 reveals his Reishi Minigun and opens fire on a cursing Marechiyo, only to find the barrel broken off seconds later as 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng holds the broken part in one hand, drops the bullets he fired from the other, and muses that BG9 is much more advanced than she expected since Quincy are supposed to use bows and arrows. BG9 notes there was no reading on his sensors to indicate her presence, and when Suì-Fēng questions if he did not think the Onmitsukidō could conceal their Reiatsu, BG9 notices the wind-like Kidō swirling behind her shoulders.

Revealing that this is Shunkō and pointing out how BG9 should know this from the amount of data he has on her, Suì-Fēng finishes his next sentence and confirms that it was not perfected the last time they fought, and as BG9 expresses disbelief at her accomplishing this in the interval between their battles, a grinning Suì-Fēng fully unleashes the wind-like Kidō around her body, moves down next to BG9, and identifies this as Mukyū Shunkō prior to unleashing a powerful blast from her fist that sends BG9 hurtling back. Back in the former SRDI, Askin examines Mayuri between his fingers and gives up on fighting him.

Askin bluntly states that Mayuri will take too much time to defeat, and when Mayuri wonders what this means, Askin clarifies that killing Mayuri would require trying too many scenarios, something which he is bad at since he prefers getting fights over with as quickly as possible, and tells the latter to fight someone else. However, when he tries to leave and finds himself unhindered, a surprised Askin turns back to Mayuri and questions if the latter is not going to come out of here, prompting Mayuri to confirm this and tell Askin that he can go wherever he wants since he needs more time to analyze Askin's Reiatsu.

Additionally, Mayuri surmises Askin is trying to goad Mayuri into entering his territory, leading Askin to call him scary and express relief at not giving away his abilities. Suddenly, the whole building shakes and Mayuri recognizes Suì-Fēng's Reiatsu as one of his technicians announces that she is overwhelming the enemy without her Bankai, which prompts Askin to muse this is just as Yhwach predicted and confirm to a shocked Mayuri that the battles still falling under predictions means the Gotei 13 is still in danger. Back outside, Rangiku watches the plume of dust from Suì-Fēng's attack with Hitsugaya and notes she seems to be winning too.

However, when Rangiku inquires about whether they should go help the other captains, Bazz-B tells them to not give him the cold shoulder and laments being left here while they're still learning about each other because he has not even begun to fight as he melts the ice encasing him with a single hand. Removing his tattered mantle, Bazz-B brings up Hitsugaya's statement about blocking flames of his level and expresses disappointment at the latter not having his Bankai right now since he would have loved to prove that he could melt the ice of Hitsugaya's Bankai with just one finger, leading Hitsugaya to slash a wave of ice at him.

When Bazz-B casually melts the ice with a wall of flames in front of himself and asserts that it will not reach him, Hitsugaya orders Rangiku to regroup while he holds off Bazz-B with Ryōjin Hyōheki, and while Hitsugaya forms a wall of finely-woven ice in front of himself as Rangiku departs, Bazz-B declares that nothing Hitsugaya does will work and fires Burner Finger 1 from his index finger at the wall, piercing through it and Hitsugaya's side with a concentrated beam of fire. Simultaneously, upon seeing a tendril hurtling toward her from the dust cloud, Suì-Fēng grabs it and swings around to slam BG9 into another building.

With Suì-Fēng expressing disbelief that he is still breathing, BG9 emerges without his cloak and states that he was never breathing to begin with prior to dozens of pods emerging from his body, to Suì-Fēng's alarm. As Reishi begins to coalesce from the air around him, BG9 thanks Suì-Fēng for providing him with useful data on her Mukyū Shunkō, but expresses disappointment at this being the extent of her power since it means he will have no need of the Bankai he stole from her before firing off all the missiles to engulf the surrounding area in explosions. While Marechiyo calls out to her in concern, Suì-Fēng leaps out of one of the clouds of smoke.

Though she proclaims that it will take more than this, Suì-Fēng is caught off-guard when BG9 impales her wrist with one of his tendrils, catches up to her in midair, and engulfs her in a massive explosion. Watching this from the former Captain-Commander's office, Haschwalth asks Nanao if the other captains are able to use Hakudan Keppeki as well, and when Nanao admits that they cannot, Haschwalth admonishes her for just perfecting the spell and not refining it to be used by others because it has prevented the captains from dying in battle instead of being subjected to a one-sided slaughter. Down on the ground, Hitsugaya runs from Bazz-B.

Having sealed up his wound with ice on both ends, Hitsugaya responds to Bazz-B taunting him for fleeing by erecting a wall of ice between them, though Bazz-B immediately cuts through this with a flaming wave of his hand, and surrounding them with a thick icy fog. Annoyed by this, Bazz-B disperses the fog with Burning Stomp to see Hitsugaya standing a few meters away, and when Bazz-B chastises him for not coming up with a better plan while within the fog, Hitsugaya admits that there was no time to plan, but reveals that he set a trap as Bazz-B notices six sigils surrounding him on the ground prior to initiating Rokui Hyōketsujin.

Despite this, Bazz-B quickly melts the ice and responds to Hitsugaya's disbelief by claiming that he feels the same and questioning if Hitsugaya is trying to make him angry enough to use a second finger. With Hitsugaya erecting another wall of ice in front of himself, Bazz-B fires Burner Finger 2 at him, creating two vertical slashes of fire that travel across the ground, burn through the ice, and cut into Hitsugaya himself, breaking his Zanpakutō as he collapses. Suddenly, Cang lands behind Bazz-B and asserts that he will be taking over the fight from here because of their agreement to leave the captains to the ones who stole their Bankai.

In the former SRDI, Mayuri observes that two Reiatsu have disappeared and is informed that they belonged to Hitsugaya and Suì-Fēng, leading him to note that he is indeed the only one who can fight without Bankai. Suddenly, Kisuke Urahara contacts Mayuri, affably greets him, and reveals that he has completed the method for regaining Bankai. Meanwhile, with Ichigo Kurosaki continuing to walk through the alternate dimension in the Soul King Palace, Ichibē Hyōsube recites a poem about something beginning without end, names withering in the silence, and raindrops filling an empty vessel in an abyss of rolling clouds.

As a struggling Ichigo wonders how it can be so heavy in here and forces himself to keep going, Ichibē continues the poem about those who are unworthy feeling the weight as they turn to stone and are reduced to gravel, which pounding rain reduces to dust, and how there is no way out for such vessels. However, Ichibē notes that there is no path for those who do not enter and concludes that those who are about to perish call it Irazu Sandō.

Fights & Events

 * Tōshirō Hitsugaya & Rangiku Matsumoto vs. Bazz-B (concluded)
 * Suì-Fēng vs. BG9
 * Royal Training

Powers and Techniques Used
Zanpakutō Techniques:

Kidō Techniques:

Quincy Techniques:
 * (flashback)

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Bankai:
 * (flashback)

Spirit Weapons:
 * Reishi Minigun

Schrifts:

Anime Notes
Removed Content= Added/Expanded Content= Censorship= Changes=
 * Several unseated Shinigami, Momo Hinamori, Shinji Hirako, Isane Kotetsu, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi, and Tetsuzaemon Iba reacting to the Schatten Bereich engulfing the Seireitei.
 * Akon and Hiyosu arguing over the effectiveness of their measuring instruments and the reality of what is happening to the Seireitei.
 * Marechiyo Ōmaeda panicking over the invasion occurring while Suì-Fēng is not here.
 * Mareyo Ōmaeda telling Marechiyo that he does not have to play with her anymore.
 * Two Shinigami realizing how thin the ice used to protect them was and wondering if Hitsugaya is going to be okay.
 * Bazz-B promising to raise the humidity by continuing to melt the ice as Hitsugaya internally notes that he only needs to do this a little longer before Rangiku informs him that their subordinates have retreated.
 * Bazz-B realizing that only the surface of Shinkū Tasō Hyōheki was melted by his flames.
 * Hitsugaya and Rangiku's subordinates cheering them on after Bazz-B's apparent defeat.
 * BG9 noting that he was unable to find Suì-Fēng by searching the area with Reiatsu samples he acquired from their previous battle and even when he expanded the perimeter to outside of the Seireitei.
 * Marechiyo asserting that he does not know Suì-Fēng's location because she did not tell him and that he would let it slip even if he was told not to if he did know it.
 * BG9 describing Shunkō as the highest form of Hakuda where the practitioner shrouds their back and shoulders in Kidō.
 * Suì-Fēng revealing that she perfected her Shunkō after her battle with Yoruichi Shihōin and has been training to improve it even further until today before identifying it as wind-type, explaining how she has discovered a way to wrap her body in a vortex of Reiatsu so she can keep fighting with Shunkō active, and thanking BG9 because she may not have ever accomplished this without him stealing her Bankai.
 * Suì-Fēng stopping in shock as BG9 appears in the dust cloud several meters behind her.
 * Hitsugaya's subordinates expressing disbelief at Bazz-B not being ripped apart by Hitsugaya's ice, prompting Bazz-B to point out that his cape was indeed ripped apart.
 * BG9 reiterating that he has received useful data on Mukyū Shunkō just before engulfing Suì-Fēng in an explosion.
 * Bazz-B revealing that he, Äs Nödt, and NaNaNa Najahkoop survived Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's Ryūjin Jakka because he offset the latter's flames with The Heat before melting a large wall of ice next to him by simply placing his palm on it.
 * Bazz-B musing that Hitsugaya has a lot of techniques.
 * Haschwalth internally wondering if his power is being deflected or absorbed by Hakudan Keppeki.
 * Shunsui Kyōraku insisting that he did not appoint Nanao Ise solely for her Kidō talents, only for Nanao to tell him to shut up.
 * Haschwalth holding a meeting with the other Sternritter and informing them of Yhwach's command.
 * Flashbacks to Asguiaro Ebern, Mask De Masculine, Bambietta Basterbine, Bazz-B, and several Soldat using Shadow.
 * Bazz-B ordering the Soldat elsewhere and stretching his arms above his head.
 * Uryū Ishida continuing to watch the battles with Yhwach.
 * The two flame slashes of Burner Finger 2 traveling across the ground and colliding with Hitsugaya's ice wall.
 * Ichigo Kurosaki continuing to walk through the Irazu Sandō and experiencing a great weight as Ichibē Hyōsube muses on the dimension's nature.
 * Mareyo is not impaled by BG9's tendril.
 * In the manga, Shunsui musing on the Gotei 13 losing their territorial advantage takes place before Jūshirō Ukitake's 3rd Seats alert him to the event; here, the order of the two scenes is instead reversed.
 * In the manga, Yhwach's monologue about the origin of the Wandenreich takes place while he is standing alone atop Silbern; here, it instead takes place while he is sitting in his throne room with Uryū.
 * In the manga, Marechiyo's talk with his sister takes place before Hitsugaya begins fighting Bazz-B; here, it instead takes place after Hitsugaya begins fighting Bazz-B and before Rangiku tells the other Shinigami to fall back.
 * In the manga, Hitsugaya explains how Shinkū Tasō Hyōheki works to Bazz-B; here, it is instead Rangiku who explains it after stating that she feels generous, with Hitsugaya only correcting her on the name.
 * In the manga, Hitsugaya creates an opening for his sword in Shinkū Tasō Hyōheki by dissolving part of the wall; here, he instead cleanly separates the wall into two halves and draws them apart.
 * In the manga, Nanao's explanation of Hakudan Keppeki takes place after Bazz-B attacks Hitsugaya with Burner Finger 1; here, it instead takes place after Hitsugaya overpowers Bazz-B with Shinkū no Kōri no Yaiba.
 * In the manga, Marechiyo releases Gegetsuburi against BG9 and is thrown against a wall; here, he instead does not and is pushed into the wall by three tendrils stabbing into his shoulder.
 * In the manga, BG9 impales Mareyo on one of his tendrils through a wall, identifies her as a relative of Marechiyo by her similar Reiatsu, and threatens to do the same to the three other individuals he has detected with similar Reiatsu to Marechiyo if he does not provide Suì-Fēng's location, prompting a furious Marechiyo to slam Gegetsuburi into his head before BG9 impales his shoulder with two more tendrils, points out that Mareyo will die if the tendril is removed from her, and gives Marechiyo fifteen more seconds to answer, only for Marechiyo to curse at him; here, he instead points his tendril at Mareyo while she is standing next to Marechiyo and attempts to impale her, only for Marechiyo to intercept the tendril with his own body, to Mareyo's concern.
 * In the manga, BG9 completes his sentence about Suì-Fēng's Shunkō supposedly being unperfected; here, Suì-Fēng instead finishes it for him.
 * In the manga, Hitsugaya and Rangiku's subordinates notice and identify Suì-Fēng's Reiatsu; here, Rangiku does so instead.
 * In the manga, Burner Finger 2 creates a tall and thin explosion upon contact with Hitsugaya; here, it instead does not.