User blog:Xilinoc/Ch. 614 - KILL THE KING

Song to listen to while reading this chapter: "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" by AC/DC (D4C, anyone?)

Well...that happened.

So we start off with more stuff in Soul Society as the Visored have appeared once more, this time with Hiyori carrying what is either a giant teapot or an Aladdin lamp. Hey, either or, really. This thing contains most of the energy Yoruichi gathered in the Human World, and it's what Urahara's gonna use to fuel their travel. Makes sense, really, they're gonna need a lot of energy for this. Of course, we couldn't have Hiyori and Shinji on-screen at the same time without at least 1 insult volley, which is hilarious as always (gotta love Suì-Fēng's deadpan reaction of "I'll kill you" when Shinji tries to get her to back him up). As it turns out, rather than flying up to the palace all Peter Pan-like, as Kenpachi thought, they will instead be creating doors to the Royal Realm, which is, of course, only possible because of Ichigo breaking the barriers and stuff. Seems legit, I guess, although I'm not completely sure why the ceiling needs to be open for this. Oh, and everyone's cool with the possibility of not being able to come back. Yaaaay.

Back to the palace, Yhwach explains his snazzy new eyes and ability to Ichigo and the gang after they (justifiably) express confusion at his words and appearance. He then casually steps aside to reveal the impaled Soul King behind him, which prompts Ichigo to leap...past him, in an attempt to save the poor guy. Surprisingly, Yhwach just lets this happen, but warns Ichigo that he'll have to be prepared to destroy Soul Society. Then, more Blut lines appear when Ichigo touches the sword, freaking everyone the hell out, and a4gfhnvw;ogriwgnv385hg3p98hg398hgv3w



YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE YHWACH, BUT IT WAS ME, DIO ICHIGO!

Yup, that's right. Yhwach (and by extension, Kubo) just pulled the troll move of the century by having Ichigo, the main character, the good guy, the one we thought would adhere strictly to the shōnen formula, be the one to deal the real finishing blow to the Soul King. Dem fellas in the lab better get out of there quick, it's all gonna come down.

Man, what a chapter. The stuff in the first half with Urahara further explaining his plan was alright, as have been all instances of that over the past few chapters, but man oh man does that ending shake things up a lot. I hope Kubo will explain just why the Quincy blood won't tolerate the Soul King, and he probably will, but here comes the boom, everyone. Prepare yourselves.