BLACK

It is asserted that a lethal dose refers to the fatal amount of a substance when consumed by an organism, with an exact amount being impossible to extract because the lethal dose of any substance depends on factors like the species consuming it, the stage of the subject's growth, the manner in which the substance is consumed, and the period of ingestion, resulting in a median lethal dose that kills half of all subjects being commonly used as a benchmark; the lethal dose for tetrodotoxin found in blowfish is 0.01 milligrams, aconotine found in wolfsbane is 0.1 milligrams, nicotine is 1-7 milligrams, caffeine is 200 milligrams, and 12,000 milligrams for vitamin C.

Within the Cage of Life on the Vestibule Road, Sternritter "D" Askin Nakk Le Vaar informs Ōetsu Nimaiya that his Schrift is The Deathdealing and details how this allows him to accurately calculate the lethal dose of any substance and adjust it at will. When Nimaiya expresses confusion at this, Askin admits that he found it confusing as well, but assures Nimaiya that he does not need to understand it since he is about to die anyway before licking more blood off the back of his hand, causing Nimaiya to fall to his knees. Askin details how he is lowering the lethal dosage of Nimaiya's blood and licks more blood off his palm while noting that the blood that allows Nimaiya to move will now bring him closer to death the more it flows through his body, which Nimaiya cannot do anything about. With Askin concluding that this is a fatal feeling which he shares and gulping down more blood from his palm, Nimaiya fully collapses on the ground.

After getting to his feet, Askin approaches Nimaiya and observes that the latter is at his limit. Inferring that Nimaiya underestimated him and acknowledging that he looks and talks like an underling, Askin admits that he is okay with this even though it used to bother him because he has convinced himself it is one of his charms and draws his Heilig Bogen out of the bracelet on his left wrist prior to apologizing for sounding pessimistic since that is another of his fatal flaws. Suddenly, Nimaiya thanks Askin for the information and uses Sayafushi to cut open the side of his neck, causing a large amount of blood to spurt into the air and alarming Askin just before Nimaiya reappears next to him with Shunpo and slashes at him. With Askin narrowly evading this by rolling away and losing his cape in the process, Nimaiya infers that the lethal dosage of his blood being lowered means he will die from having a lot of blood in his body and concludes that he simply needs to lose enough blood to lower the quantity in his body underneath the lethal dose.

Shaking his head at Nimaiya's recklessness, Askin warns him that it is not that simple and estimates from his physique that Nimaiya weighs about 60 kilograms, with Nimaiya praising his deductive abilities and clarifying that he weighs 62 kilograms, before noting that the approximate volume of blood per kilogram is 65.7 milliliters. Askin elaborates that a body weighing 62 kilograms would have about 4 liters of blood in it, losing 2 liters of which would be enough to kill Nimaiya, and reveals that the lethal dosage for Nimaiya's blood is currently set to about 1.6 liters, meaning that Nimaiya's own blood will kill him unless he bleeds himself to death. Despite this, once Askin assumes that he is having a hard time determining whether he is standing or collapsing, Nimaiya merely wonders what he should do before calling on Tenjirō Kirinji, who envelops him in a massive wave of water from the Blood Pond Hell as Nimaiya informs Askin of the water's ability to wring out blood and Reiatsu.

Once Kirinji clarifies that only the White Bone Hell water does this, Nimaiya reveals that the Blood Pond Hell water replaces lost blood with new blood, astonishing Askin, prior to attacking the latter faster than he can perceive, coming to a halt several feet behind Askin, and inquiring if he looks cool after being reborn. Admitting that Nimaiya does look cool, Askin chastises himself for prematurely thinking he had won because he was ultimately the one underestimating his opponent and concludes that this was fatal before blood spurts from a stab wound in the center of his chest, causing him to collapse behind Nimaiya, who turns to Yhwach and announces that it is his turn as the latter's hands begin glowing with energy.

With Yhwach extending his hands as they glow with energy, Ōetsu Nimaiya readies Sayafushi and internally debates on whether to close in on Yhwach or let him attack first, as the only data available on his powers comes from his battle with Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto 1,000 years ago and Royd Lloyd copying him during the earlier invasion of the Seireitei. Unable to discern what Yhwach is planning to do, Nimaiya mentally admits that he likely cannot cut him in two in one swing and decides to instead take off one of Yhwach's arms with his first slash before the Cage of Life glows with a bright light.

Meanwhile, in a cave formed by the rubble in the replaced Seireitei below, Sternritter "Z" Giselle Gewelle sucks on the flesh of a zombified Bambietta Basterbine to ingest the latter's blood, and when the latter pleads with Giselle to not take too much blood because she does not want to die yet, an enraged Giselle grabs Bambietta's face to slam her head into the ground and demands to know what she is talking about. While repeatedly bashing Bambietta's head into the rocks beneath her, Giselle reminds her that she is already dead and that the blood in her body is Giselle's, which she wants back, prior to cracking Bambietta's head open with her final slam, which kills her. Momentarily startled by this, Giselle cradles Bambietta's body and proclaims that she is cute when she is dead as Sternritter "G" Liltotto Lamperd peers in from the entrance behind them with her Quincy: Vollständig, Gagael, active and confirms that Giselle is not dead, as she suspected.

Having activated her own Quincy: Vollständig, Azhalbiora, Giselle affirms this. Upon noticing the blood and scuff marks on Liltotto's face, Giselle questions what happened to it and if she lost her fight, prompting Liltotto to clarify that Sternritter "L" PePe Waccabrada did this. With Giselle calling this embarrassing and wondering what happened to PePe, Liltotto reveals that she ate him and that he tasted terrible prior to informing Giselle that the enemy defeated Candice Catnipp and she had to incapacitate Meninas McAllon because PePe took control of the latter. Suddenly, as Liltotto assures Giselle that Candice and Meninas should still be alive and that they can be recovered, Sternritter "N" Robert Accutrone presses his Reishi Pistol against the side of her head.

When Liltotto questions what he is doing, Robert inquires if she knows about Yhwach going to the Soul King Palace, and when Liltotto repeats her question, Robert points out that he did not take them with him, leading Liltotto to claim that they will simply fight until he returns. However, a panicking Robert reveals that this means they are doomed because they have been deemed unnecessary for the coming battle, to Liltotto's shock, and notes that the younger generation of Sternritter have no idea how terrifying Yhwach can be before explaining that the Sternritter exist to serve Yhwach in any capacity he deems useful, and since they have been deemed unnecessary, they will become fuel for the next Auswählen. Immediately after saying this, Robert is struck by a thick beam of light from above, stripping the flesh from his bones, and two more follow nearby, prompting an aghast Liltotto to tackle Giselle and pull her back inside the cave of rubble just before one of the pillars strikes the ground where they were standing, only to be bewildered when the wings and halos of their respective Quincy: Vollständigs begin disintegrating from their Reishi being pulled into the pillar.

Realizing that the pillar is draining their powers even if they do not make direct contact with it as Sternritter "U" NaNaNa Najahkoop and "H" Bazz-B are struck by other beams, a furious Liltotto demands to know what they even mean to Yhwach, who simply calls them comrades and asserts that comrades help each other so they can resurrect and move forward as Sternritter "M" Gerard Valkyrie and "X" Lille Barro are revived by feathery Quincy: Vollständigs partially activating in turn. With Sternritter " Askin Nakk Le Vaar regaining consciousness as well, Yhwach tells a stunned Nimaiya and the rest of the Royal Guard to prepare themselves.

Screaming in agony from being caught in the center of one of the beams produced by Yhwach's Auswählen, Sternritter "H" Bazz-B responds to 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai wondering what is going on by asserting that this is what he wants to know and angrily inquiring if this is Yhwach's way of doing things. With 13th Division Lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki watching in concern, Sternritter "Z" Giselle Gewelle frantically assures Bambietta Basterbine's corpse that she will not die, leading Sternritter "G" Liltotto Lamperd to refuse to die here as well alongside Bazz-B. During this, as 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki notices the light shooting up from the Seireitei toward the heavens, Captain-Commander Shunsui Kyōraku tells his lieutenants, Nanao Ise and Genshirō Okikiba, that he is leaving the barracks because the Soul King Palace is in danger.

Seconds later, on the Vestibule Road far above, Ōetsu Nimaiya finds two fist-sized holes punched in his left shoulder by Sternritter "X" Lille Barro and questions what this is, leading Sternritter "B" Jugram Haschwalth to explain that Auswählen collects the lives and power from unnecessary Quincy to redistribute them to others in need, with those taken from dying and those given to receiving additional power and coming back to life. After Haschwalth concludes that it being a transfer of power prevented the Cage of Life from blocking it, Nimaiya assumes that his wounds are the result of the power increase granted by Auswählen because Lille's Heilig Pfeil were not able to reach him before now.

However, Lille counters that Nimaiya has two things wrong and clarifies that rather than being a power increase, this is a power he has always possessed and simply did not have time to use earlier, prior to asserting that Nimaiya's body was not pierced by a Heilig Pfeil and firing another shot directly at Nimaiya's chest with his Spirit Weapon, Diagramm. Though Tenjirō Kirinji and Kirio Hikifune intercept the shot with their Zanpakutō, they are shocked to find that a hole has been punched between their Zanpakutō and through Nimaiya's chest regardless as Lille reveals that this power cannot be blocked by anything. Explaining that his power is The X-Axis and that it allows his gun to uniformly pierce everything between its muzzle and his target regardless of durability, which is why he would like the remaining Royal Guard to line up so he can kill them all with one shot.

During this, Sternritter "C" Pernida Parnkgjas uses The Compulsory to break open a section of the Cage of Life, allowing Yhwach to move outside of it with Hirenkyaku and appear before a sitting Ichibē Hyōsube. When Yhwach addresses him by name and asserts that Ichibē will let them through, a grinning Ichibē gets up and observes that Yhwach says his name so lightly before warning Yhwach that he risks losing his voice from this.

In the replaced Seireitei below, Captain-Commander Shunsui Kyōraku observes the rubble and wonders if the structures of the Seireitei will return intact even if they remove the Wandenreich before turning to 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake, who assures him that they will just rebuild if this does not happen. Admitting that he knew Ukitake would say this, Shunsui hops down to his level and responds to Ukitake stating that the Kamikake was prepared in expectation of the enemy being allowed to invade the Soul King Palace by musing that it was successful. With Ukitake's shadow lengthening to form a humanoid silhouette framed by a large ring and with an oversized eye in the center of its chest, Shunsui assumes that Ukitake can push himself to some degree now, and while a smiling Ukitake chastises him for speaking like a doctor, Shunsui walks past him and promises to catch up later. When Ukitake inquires about where he is going, Shunsui casually notes that he is going to see Central 46.

Meanwhile, in the Soul King Palace above, Ichibē draws two lines several meters apart across the platform with his Zanpakutō brush and promises to defeat Yhwach within this space, only for Yhwach to observe that this seems a bit small since Ichibē will die three steps away from the boundary. After drawing a Seal on the other end of the walkway to bar entrance to the Greater Soul King Palace, Ichibē turns back and tells Yhwach to not to say his name so lightly before a gigantic hand created by Senri Tsūtenshō slams into a startled Yhwach from the front, sending him hurtling back through the air. Appearing next to Yhwach in the air with Shunpo, Ichibē explains that this technique sends anything it hits flying 1,000 ri away, and when Yhwach finds himself unable to speak as he tries to attack in turn, Ichibē reminds him that he was warned of the possibility of losing his voice from saying Ichibē's name.

Upon manifesting another Senri Tsūtenshō hand in the air, Ichibē orders Yhwach to fly back another 1,000 ri and reflect on what he has done before bringing the hand down on Yhwach, who is left falling toward the ground at high speed. However, Yhwach digs his fingers into his own throat with enough force to draw blood and infuses it with Reishi, allowing him to give himself a voice and manifest his Sankt Bogen in the air below to fire six massive Heilig Pfeil upward, one of which impales Yhwach himself and propels him back up to a surprised Ichibē's level as the latter narrowly evades the other projectiles. Having been lightly scratched by one of the Heilig Pfeil, Ichibē stands behind Yhwach and comments on the absurdity of him shooting himself to get back up. With Yhwach breaking the Heilig Pfeil in his abdomen without injury, Ichibē promises to kill him for not listening.

Ichibē Hyōsube calls Yhwach a rascal despite his age because of his refusal to avoid saying Ichibē's name and insistence on coming back after being slapped away as punishment. With Yhwach standing before him, Ichibē gravely promises to kill him for not listening before the two draw their respective Zanpakutō and Reishi Sword.

Meanwhile, as rain begins to fall across the replaced Seireitei below, Yūshirō Shihōin leaps across the rubble with a large bundle of items held above his head and urges Yoruichi Shihōin to wait for him. Elsewhere, Kisuke Urahara draws a line in the mud with his cane before being approached by Hiyori Sarugaki, who questions why he is doing this instead of making preparations inside with the others. In turn, Urahara asserts that he was preparing while waiting for Hiyori, Love Aikawa, Hachigen Ushōda, and Lisa Yadōmaru to get here. When Hiyori asks him where the "cat hag" went, Urahara informs her that Yoruichi has already departed for the Soul King Palace, and as a smirking Hiyori promises to tell Yoruichi that Urahara knew she was the one being referred to, Urahara attempts to have the Visored come inside.

However, Hiyori stops him and inquires about his reasoning for letting Ichigo Kurosaki and the others go on ahead instead of waiting for the Visored to arrive so they could all go together, prompting Urahara to state that the situation has changed. In turn, Hiyori denies this being relevant and demands to know what Urahara will do if the group dies from going ahead. With Hiyori warning Urahara against being willing to let Ichigo and Yoruichi die solely to delay the enemy, a shocked Yūshirō expresses disbelief at Yoruichi having already left from behind them and falls to his knees as he laments having brought so many things to help her when Yoruichi contacted him after not hearing from her for a long time. Apologizing to Yūshirō, Urahara explains that Yoruichi had to go ahead for the sake of the Seireitei and assures Yūshirō that the items he brought will still be of use to her before having Yūshirō follow him inside, leaving Hiyori to recall how much she hates him using this phrase to justify his actions.

Back in the Soul King Palace, Ichibē and Yhwach clash with great force as Yhwach notes that Ichibē's expression has changed quite a bit and admits that he did not think the latter's face could become so terrifying just from making up his mind to kill Yhwach. Separating from Ichibē, Yhwach thrusts his sword at the former's head, and after being propelled backward by blocking a strike of Ichibē's brush with his left arm, Yhwach declares that this seems to be the extent of Ichibē's change. However, Ichibē points out Yhwach using his arm to block the brush and reveals that it cuts names, not flesh. A surprised Yhwach's arms swiftly fall limp as Ichibē informs him that the name of his arm has been cut in half, leaving him with an "ar", and that his arms have consequently lost half of their strength and capability, which is why they feel so heavy.

With Yhwach struggling to raise his sword with both hands and lunging forward to slash at Ichibē, the latter casually dodges this and observes that Yhwach's attacks have become so gentle before slashing his brush down the length of Yhwach's body and smacking it into his chest to send Yhwach hurtling back, where he crashes into the edge of the platform and lands between the two lines Ichibē drew earlier. Noting that Yhwach is now just "Yhw", a manically grinning Ichibē inquires about how it feels for the leader of the Quincy whose power has been halved to be smashed to pieces by the leader of the Shinigami he despises. However, with long and thin tapestries of energy beginning to rise from a circle of energy on the floor around him, a smirking Yhwach simply inquires about whether he looks like he is feeling low.

With long and thin tapestries of energy beginning to surround him, Yhwach asks Ichibē Hyōsube if it looks like he is feeling low and explains that nothing can feel better than the leader of the Royal Guard fearing his power enough to cut it in half, only to reveal that he can simply give this stolen power back to himself as he presses some of the tapestries into his chest to restore his strength, to Ichibē's surprise. After asserting that no one can take anything away from him, Yhwach tells Ichibē to understand this right now and declares that no one can take anything from him because everything in the world exists for him to take before sending the other tapestries hurtling toward Ichibē as sharp beams of energy.

In turn, Ichibē merely clasps his hands together around the ends of the beams when they reach him, crushing them in his grasp, and shakes his head while asserting that Yhwach does not know how generous he has been. Claiming to have reduced Yhwach's power by half for his sake, to Yhwach's confusion, Ichibē proclaims that Yhwach would have his reputation tarnished among the Quincy if he lost while at full strength and launches himself down toward Yhwach, where he admits that reputation does not matter when one is dead prior to unleashing Bakudō #62. Hyapporankan, prompting Yhwach to extend Blut from his hand and form a spherical barrier around himself with Blut Vene Anhaben that intercepts and destroys the beams before they can touch him. With Ichibē's interest piqued by this, Yhwach explains that the technique extends Blut Vene outside of the body to increase the range of its protection.

In response, Ichibē performs Ura Hadō: Sannodō — Teppūsatsu, manifesting a large dragon's head around himself that blows a powerful wind at Yhwach, shattering the Blut Vene Anhaben barrier and allowing Ichibē to grab Yhwach by the throat. Though Yhwach observes that Ichibē has touched him and Blut veins begin encroaching on the latter's body up to his face as Yhwach elaborates that Blut Vene Anhaben corrodes everything that comes into contact with it, which means that he is going to take the left half of Ichibē's body, Ichibē decries this being possible and simply flexes the muscles in his face and left arm, shattering the Blut and causing Yhwach's facial veins to bulge before exploding in a shower of blood. Leaping back from Yhwach, Ichibē expresses disbelief at him trying to trespass in a Royal Guard's body and decides that it is time for Yhwach to be punished for his insolence prior to releasing his Shikai, Ichimonji, which paints a black streak through the air in the wake of his brush as its head transforms into a blade.

As living beings in the Seireitei below begin to have black leech from their bodies, Ichibē Hyōsube releases his Shikai, Ichimonji, prompting Yhwach to look over the blade and note that he does not sense any Reiatsu from it even though it is quite large. However, Yhwach's eyes widen in alarm upon seeing the blade briefly transform back into a brush, leaving him confused, and Ichibē questions if Yhwach cannot understand what he is seeing. After summoning his Reishi Sword, Yhwach clashes with Ichibē three times, each splashing more ink onto his blade, and separates from him before wondering what Ichimonji is supposed to do since it has only splashed ink around without cutting anything.

Yhwach inquires if the ink can cut names in half like the brush can, which he mocks since Ichibē knows Yhwach can restore names and capabilities cut in half with his own sword. However, upon concluding that Ichibē cannot defeat him with Ichimonji and vowing to win with his Spirit Weapon, Yhwach finds himself unable to actually say the name of his sword and is left speechless, leading a grinning Ichibē to invite him to say the sword's name prior to revealing that Yhwach knows it no longer has a name. Informing Yhwach that Ichimonji removes the names of anything it coats with its ink, Ichibē elaborates that this also strips the afflicted things of their power, which means that both Yhwach's sword and his Quincy Cross are now useless, before wondering if Yhwach really believed he could win with those.

In turn, Yhwach decides to simply steal Ichibē's power by using his own power instead of something with no name and initiates Sankt Altar, which forms a large Quincy Zeichen above Ichibē. However, as the energy accumulating around Yhwach's hand begins to draw the black color from Ichibē's beard and eyebrows into itself, Ichibē simply shrugs it off with a shockwave and returns to his normal coloration prior to explaining to a stunned Yhwach that while the latter did steal his power, it does not belong to him. After revealing that the power of Ichimonji encompasses all of the color black in the world and beings of all species, living and dead, contribute their black to his power, Ichibē slashes Ichimonji at Yhwach and covers most of his body with a massive splash of ink.

Creating a massive splash of ink that extends off either side of the walkway and almost completely coats Yhwach, Ichibē Hyōsube addresses the man formerly known as Yhwach. After musing that losing his name must be agonizing for Yhwach, Ichibē decides to give him a new name and activates his Shin'uchi, Shirafude Ichimonji, which turns the blade of his brush back into bristles that emit a white energy, forming a large circle around Ichibē himself. Ichibē observes that the modern term for this would be Bankai, though he does not use it because Ichimonji became the first evolved Zanpakutō long before the term Bankai existed, and informs Yhwach that Shirafude Ichimonji can be used to write a new name on anything that has had its name removed by the ink of Ichimonji. As he uses Shirafude Ichimonji to write "Black Ant" on Yhwach's body, Ichibē addresses him as such and inquires about how it feels to possess the power of a black ant, which he describes as a frail and fleeting life.

When Yhwach admits that he never could have imagined this, Ichibē assumes that he is referring to the gap between their powers and asserts that Yhwach's fate ends here. Demanding that Yhwach atone for all the Shinigami he has killed by being crushed to death, Ichibē uses Senri Tsūtenshō to stomp Yhwach through the platform with a massive leg, bids him farewell, and crushes him between two massive palms while Sternritter "B" Jugram Haschwalth looks over in shock. However, while continuing to hurtle through the air, Yhwach clarifies that he never could have imagined being able to see this much with his eyes closed just before his eyes suddenly gain an additional pupil, pushing both to the corners of each socket. With the fabrics containing the Schutzstaffel glowing with bright blue energy, the platform behind Ichibē is pierced by a thick beam of Reishi, and as he turns around in confusion, Ichibē spits up blood upon finding himself being stabbed in the chest by a Reishi sword held by Yhwach, still covered in ink.

Grabbing the blade with both hands, Ichibē demands to know why Yhwach isn't dead yet and is shocked to see the characters that he wrote on the latter's chest starting to flake off alongside the ink covering his body. Within the Cage of Life, Haschwalth reveals that Yhwach now has access to his true power and can see everything that is about to happen, with the power he witnesses being unable to kill, before concluding that the name of the power befitting Yhwach is The Almighty as Yhwach finishes his sentence.

Sternritter "B" Jugram Haschwalth asserts that Yhwach has been fighting with his eyes closed this whole time, and after dismissing the possibility of him doing so because he took his enemies lightly, Haschwalth recites the Kaiser Gesang and clarifies to Uryū Ishida that Yhwach opening his eyes before the nine years it took to regain his strength elapsed would have risked his power going out of control. With Haschwalth observing that Yhwach has now opened his eyes and the nine years of regaining his strength have ended, he concludes that their thousand yeas of prayer about to be answered, to Uryū's shock.

Meanwhile, an ink-free Yhwach stands before Ichibē Hyōsube and presumes he wants to know why Yhwach is not dead, why his powers are not working, and why he is going to die before explaining that his eyes opening means he can now see everything into the distant future, know everything that will happen, and render himself immune to death and harm from all powers that he sees, which is what The Almighty does. In turn, though, Ichibē simply refutes the idea of him losing and ridicules Yhwach's arrogance following the removal of his "Black Ant" name. After inquiring about how Yhwach intends to win with all the black covering his body, Ichibē reminds the former that all the black in the world still belongs to him and performs a lengthy ceremony to initiate Futen Taisatsuryō, which creates a massive mausoleum around Ichibē with darkness taken from a hundred nights 100 years in the future.

Describing how the skulls and graves here are dedicated to Yhwach and will turn his flesh, blood, and bones black to completely eradicate them, Ichibē concludes that Yhwach's Soul will not even enter the cycle of rebirth and will be obliterated, only to be shocked when Yhwach mirrors his sentence about falling into a pitch-black hell. As he reminds Ichibē that there is no room for comprehension or countermeasures against his power because all that he sees and knows his powerless against him, Yhwach gains a third pupil in the center of each eye, prompting Ichibē to ready to attack him with his Shikai, Ichimonji. Yhwach asks Ichibē if the latter still believes him to be nameless and proclaims that he is Yhwach, the one who will rob Ichibē of everything, before raising his hand and blasting Ichibē with enough force to destroy his torso, leaving his head and limbs to bloodily fly through the air and land on the ground near Yhwach's feet.

With Ichibē Hyōsube's remains scattered across the floor, Yhwach walks over to the Seal placed by Ichibē, whom he notes died three steps short just as predicted, and destroys it by simply placing his hand on the barrier, opening the path to the stairs approaching the Greater Soul King Palace. Noting the defeat of the Royal Guard, who lie dead within the Cage of Life, Yhwach proclaims that it is now the Soul King's turn to fall.

Some time later, the replica Tenchūren crashes into the Vestibule Road, where Ganju Shiba tumbles out and hits his head once the front opens as Orihime Inoue apologizes for not being able to cushion him with Santen Kesshun, though he assures her that it is fine. Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends disembark as a confused Yasutora Sado wonders if the silence means that the battle is over, only for the group to gasp in horror upon seeing Ichibē's severed head lying on the floor. As Orihime rushes over to Ichibē, Ichigo identifies him to the others as a member of the Royal Guard who trained him and 13th Division Lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki. Suddenly, Ichigo hears Ichibē's disembodied voice telling him to call Ichibē's name, and after expressing confusion to his friends, Ichigo says Ichibē's full name aloud, causing Ichibē's eyes to open as a black mass forms underneath his head, raising it aloft and eventually dissipating to reveal his restored body while a startled Orihime falls back.

After thanking a terrified Ichigo, Ichibē explains that all power resides in names and having Ichigo call his name let him take a tiny portion of Ichigo's power to restore his body with, to Ichigo's bewilderment. Laughing uproariously at this since their combined powers make it quite possible, Ichibē calms himself and requests that Ichigo stop Yhwach due to the Royal Guard being defeated and his own power taking too long to be fully restored. While asserting that there is no one else strong enough to do it, Ichibē assures Ichigo that he can stop Yhwach without killing him and emphasizes that the Soul King is the key to the world, meaning that his death will cause the Human World, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo to collapse. Though apologetic over forcing this task upon him, Ichibē beseeches Ichigo to protect the Soul King, leading Ichigo and his friends to run toward the Greater Soul King Palace.

However, within the Greater Soul King Palace, Yhwach shoves his Reishi Sword through the Soul King's chest and bids him farewell before identifying the latter as his father, the one who has seen the future.