FRIEND

With Yhwach revealing that he knows Jugram Haschwalth's name and identifying the latter as his other half, Haschwalth expresses confusion at what this means, but Yhwach asserts that he does not need to understand and will be joining the Lichtreich as his advisor, to the bewilderment of his elite guard. Internally, Haschwalth ruminates on this being the position that he and Bazz-B always wanted to achieve and have been training so hard for all this time. Despite this, when he turns to Bazz-B for advice on how to proceed, Haschwalth is astonished to find the former glaring at him while Bazz-B mentally wonders how this could have happened when he has talent where Haschwalth does not, meaning that he should have been the one chosen if both of them could not get the position. As Bazz-B continues angrily staring at him and questioning why he was the one chosen, an upset Haschwalth internally pleads with Bazz-B to not look at him like this and asks why Bazz-B is mad at him.

Meanwhile, Yhwach tells Huburt Alexander Kleich to return to his castle and bring his carriage so Haschwalth can be brought back to the castle. Suddenly, Haschwalth speaks up and tells Yhwach that there has been a mistake, and though Huburt lectures him for daring to suggest that Yhwach made a mistake in choosing him, Haschwalth informs them that he hardly has any talent as a Quincy, to the point of being unable to form a Heilig Bogen and Heilig Pfeil, and suggests that Bazz-B is much better fit to be Yhwach's advisor, leaving a stunned Bazz-B to grit his teeth in frustration. Though Huburt grows angrier at Haschwalth for this and begins to approach him, Yhwach gets off his horse to stand before an alerted Haschwalth, where he notes that it is just as his eyes foresaw.

With Haschwalth backing up slightly as he approaches, Yhwach muses that Haschwalth is still unaware of his own power and clarifies he is unable to form a Heilig Bogen because he is a Quincy with the power to share power like Yhwach himself, one who has not been born in the last 200 years, which causes Bazz-B to remember how Haschwalth reminded him of the folk tale he heard. Yhwach elaborates that Haschwalth cannot absorb Reishi from his surroundings like other Quincy and instead unconsciously gives power to others, and after recalling how he took the power he shared out to gain his own power, Yhwach observes Haschwalth cannot do this. Turning to Bazz-B, Yhwach infers that the former felt his power growing every day that he spent with Haschwalth, but mocks him for believing that it was his own talent which caused this and declares that he should thank Haschwalth for turning someone without talent like himself into a genius as Haschwalth stares calmly at Bazz-B. Once Yhwach places his hand atop Haschwalth's head and concludes that he needs the latter at his side, which leaves Haschwalth touched, a screaming Bazz-B flares with Reiatsu and tells Yhwach to die before firing a Heilig Pfeil at him, only for Haschwalth to stoically catch it at the last second, to Bazz-B's shock.

In the present, Haschwalth catches the Heilig Pfeil that Bazz-B fires through his flames in an identical manner, leaving Bazz-B stunned, prior to slashing him horizontally across the stomach.

Sternritter "B" Jugram Haschwalth's horizontal slash across Sternritter "H" Bazz-B's stomach cuts through the wall behind the latter, sending Bazz-B crashing back onto the ground outside alongside the rubble. When Haschwalth approaches him and states that them fighting does not benefit Yhwach, a bleeding Bazz-B counters that he does not want it to because he came here to kill Yhwach and initiates Burner Finger 4 to create a large flaming sword around his right hand, leading Haschwalth to reiterate that he needs to stop. With a grinning Bazz-B getting to his feet and preparing to attack, a frustrated Haschwalth calls him by his full name of Bazzard Black just before Bazz-B runs forward and slashes horizontally, cutting through a thick pillar behind Haschwalth while he leaps away at the last second. Seeing Haschwalth landing on a lower level at the end of a set of stairs, Bazz-B questions why he is running away from a fight again and if Haschwalth is that scared of losing to him.

In the past, an adult Haschwalth sheathes his broadsword after Bazz-B fires a Heilig Pfeil at the ground near his feet and tells the confused latter that this is enough. Haschwalth reminds Bazz-B that infighting among the Sternritter is an offense punishable by death and asserts that he has no intention of fighting the latter no matter how much he is taunted prior to walking away, leaving Bazz-B staring in disbelief. As he leans against a nearby column, Huburt Alexander Kleich notes that it is bad luck to have a newcomer challenge Haschwalth and suggests that Bazz-B does not respect his title of Sternritter Grandmaster, but Haschwalth merely observes that he will have to follow the example of Huburt as the Lieutenant Grandmaster if this is the case, causing Huburt to narrow his eyes in annoyance. Upon recognizing Bazz-B as the one who challenged him years ago, Huburt decides to beat some manners into him, and when Haschwalth reminds him of infighting among the Sternritter being an offense punishable by death and wonders if he is really willing to die over someone like Bazz-B, Huburt asserts that Yhwach will not find out if no one is watching, only for Haschwalth to coldly inform Huburt that he is watching, to the latter's irritation. Watching this, Bazz-B ruminates on how it had been three years since Haschwalth joined Yhwach and how it took the same amount of time for him to join the Sternritter, during which Haschwalth had become their Grandmaster.

In the present, musing that Haschwalth might have been the Grandmaster from the start and he would have no way of knowing since he was not there, Bazz-B leaps toward Haschwalth and recalls how the latter continued to ignore his challenges, no matter when and how many times Bazz-B taunted him, prior to cursing him and insisting that he still has not lost to Haschwalth. Despite this, with Bazz-B coming down on him, Haschwalth slashes his broadsword through the air and cuts off Bazz-B's arm near the shoulder, sending the flaming blade flying through the air at high speeds until it cuts through another thick pillar at the top. Watching this in shock, Bazz-B quickly channels fire into the arrow-shaped pads on all five fingers on his left hand and points his palm at Haschwalth before unleashing Burning Full Fingers, a whirling, five-pronged cone of flame that expands outward from his palm and surges across the ground in front of him.

However, from within the flames, an unharmed Haschwalth rushes forward and slashes Bazz-B down his chest, instantly ceasing the flames emanating from Bazz-B's fingers, and a massive amount of blood spurts from Bazz-B's chest as he stumbles in shock. After spitting up blood in turn, Bazz-B turns around and slowly walks over to a stoic Haschwalth, where he grabs onto the latter's lapel just as the heat fades from his fingers and admits that the latter has won. Though he observes that things never work out the way he expected them to, a smiling Bazz-B concludes that he thought he would feel much worse when he finally lost to Haschwalth. In the aftermath, Haschwalth walks up the stairs, and Bazz-B is left bleeding out on the ground as he remembers inviting Haschwalth to become his underling. Recalling how he promised to teach Haschwalth everything he needs to know regardless of what the adults think and asserted that they will become the strongest Quincy ever, Bazz-B closes his eyes and dies.

In an open-air throne room overlooking Wahrwelt, Sternritter "G" Liltotto Lamperd criticizes Sternritter "H" Bazz-B for going down after she let him fight Sternritter "B" Jugram Haschwalth alone, only to admit that she and Sternritter "Z" Giselle Gewelle are no better for being unable to kill Yhwach as she stands with blood gushing from a wound on her stomach and Giselle lies in a pool of her own blood. With Liltotto collapsing, Yhwach returns to his throne, expresses relief at finally having some peace, and decides to sleep for a while, which transfers The Almighty to Haschwalth while he comments on how cruel it is to be able to see the future.

In one of the cities below, Sternritter "M" Gerard Valkyrie skids to a halt just before the edge of the platform and deduces that there is no one else around, including enemies, before loudly berating his fellow Schutzstaffel for tricking him into going to the only area without invaders.

Elsewhere, with Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez having disappeared from their view, Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends are left panting in exhaustion in a pavilion. As Ichigo laments having completely lost sight of Grimmjow and Sternritter "D" Askin Nakk Le Vaar, as he did not expect the former to try and fiight alone, Ganju Shiba admits that he did not expect them to run that fast prior to Ichigo telling his friends to split up so they can look for Grimmjow. From a nearby rooftop, Askin peers over the edge to watch this and sighs in relief at having escaped Ichigo's group and Grimmjow. However, as he pours café au lait out of a thermos for a short break, Askin realizes Grimmjow is standing behind him and quickly flees again. Grimmjow asserts that Askin is not getting away again, but after begging Grimmjow to overlook it this once, to the former's aggravation, Askin decides to give him a gift and throws back a Gift Ball, which Grimmjow cuts through with his re-transformed hands and refuses to fall for. Suddenly, with the pieces of the Gift Ball exploding in his face, Grimmjow's eyes widen in shock and he finds himself unable to move while tripping over the ground and rapidly spinning in the air before collapsing, where Askin reveals that he gave Grimmjow a ball laced with poison and mocks him for not being taught to avoid accepting gifts from strangers as a child.

During this, Sternritter "X" Lille Barro adjusts a dial on his Spirit Weapon, Diagramm, and looks through the scope at the various Shinigami captains and lieutenants running down the street. Observing that the group is slowly breaking up due to each individual's stamina, ability to adapt to the Reishi-dense environment of the Soul King Palace, and preexisting injuries, Lille focuses on 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi and fires a Heilig Pfeil through Hisagi's upper arms and chest, knocking him down and leaving a large hole running through his torso from the side. After musing that all living things die when they stray from the pack, Lille concludes that he simply needs to wait for the Shinigami to keep straying one by one.

Simultaneously, on Vier Ast, 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki and 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi come to a halt upon seeing Sternritter "C" Pernida Parnkgjas standing before them, and when Kenpachi wonders what it is, Mayuri questions if he is actually asking this or just talking to himself because there cannot be anyone in the Gotei 13 stupid enough to ask someone about something that neither of them has ever seen before. While Mayuri continues to insult his intelligence, Kenpachi decides to kill Pernida and rushes forward, leaving Mayuri to bluntly ask his lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi, if there is anything she wishes to say and Nemu to deny this. However, just as Kenpachi begins to slash at Pernida, a shocked Mayuri warns him to wait, prompting a startled Kenpachi to stop his attack and leap backward. When Mayuri addresses him after he lands, Kenpachi claims that he is fine and simply lost an arm, which has been heavily twisted and mangled, in exchange for cracking open Pernida's head, which bleeds heavily into the air. Despite this, Pernida remains upright and contorts its body further underneath the hood before several tendrils appear around itself. With a bewildered Kenpachi questioning what this is, a grinning Mayuri simply asks him if he is asking a question or talking to himself again.

As Sternritter "C" Pernida Parnkgjas's body continues to ripple underneath its hood, 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki observes that its head is growing bigger, and when 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi admits that these changes seem unsuitable for combat and calls it creepy, Kenpachi counters that he is not fit to call anything else creepy. From far behind them, 11th Division 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame watches the confrontation in an alleyway with 11th Division 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa and 12th Division Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi, where he muses that they missed their opportunity to join the battle. When an aghast Yumichika points out that they were never going to do this because Kenpachi would get upset, Nemu concurs with this and responds to Ikkaku noting that it is rare for her to voice her opinion by explaining that she is always under orders to stand by until Mayuri calls for her, though she does not think that Mayuri will ever feel threatened enough to require her assistance. In turn, a smirking Ikkaku asserts that the same holds true for them and Kenpachi.

Suddenly, Kenpachi's mangled arm begins rotating and twisting even further, spraying blood in all directions, before beginning to move his Zanpakutō in the direction of his head, forcing Kenpachi to grab his right arm by the fist and rip it off at the shoulder. After retrieving his Zanpakutō from the relaxed grip of his severed arm, Kenpachi watches as it is drawn toward Pernida and contorts further until it is ripped apart in a shower of blood in front of Pernida. With Ikkaku and Yumichika astonished by this, Mayuri approaches Kenpachi and praises his decision to rip off his arm immediately because his body would have been reduced to meatballs otherwise. After wondering if Mayuri is praising him or looking for a fight, which Mayuri declines to answer, Kenpachi questions how Pernida's power works, leading an exasperated Mayuri to point out that he is asking a question with no answer again and state that the best option right now is to stay away from Pernida, to Kenpachi's surprise.

While Nemu bandages his stump at Mayuri's behest, Kenpachi curses and wonders how he is supposed to cut Pernida without getting close to it, but when Mayuri asserts that cutting is not the only way to fight and promises to find a way to deal with Pernida without going near it, Kenpachi claims that he was talking to himself. Running forward despite Mayuri's protests, Kenpachi declares that he does not need to know how Pernida's power works if he can just cut it in half before its power reaches him and slams his Zanpakutō down onto Pernida, whose head folds around the blade. With Mayuri drawing his own Zanpakutō, a grinning Kenpachi finds his entire body beginning to twist and fold in on itself, resulting in his legs breaking and blood gushing out from several parts of his body.

As Ikkaku and Yumichika call out to him in concern, a groaning Kenpachi is stabbed through the chest from behind by Mayuri's Shikai, Ashisogi Jizō, which paralyzes his limbs. Kenpachi drops his Zanpakutō and looks back incredulously at Mayuri, whom he curses, as the latter confirms his hypothesis of the rest of Kenpachi's body breaking when his limbs are paralyzed. When Mayuri initiates Ashisogi Jizō, Kyōdo Yon by sticking his thumb into the left eye on his Shikai, causing it to begin screaming, Nemu warns Ikkaku and Yumichika to cover their ears because hearing this for four seconds will paralyze them. Four seconds later, Kenpachi's entire body is paralyzed and Mayuri seals his Zanpakutō while expressing relief at the anesthesia working, as he can still make use of Kenpachi's physical strength later.

After approaching Pernida and stopping several feet away, Mayuri observes that the success of the anesthesia explains the nature of Pernida's power and reveals that The Compulsory consists of Pernida slipping its nerves into its enemies' bodies to control their movements. Recalling how Quincy can turn Reishi into physical power by pouring it into their veins, Mayuri asserts that it is reasonable to assume some can go further and control parts of their bodies with Reishi before concluding that there is no need to fear Pernida's power now that he understands it. In response, Pernida rips up the ground with several thick nerves. However, when the nerves hurtle toward him, Mayuri simply takes out a vial of acid and splashes it across them, causing Pernida to screech in pain and hunch over as the nerves retract. While Mayuri calls Pernida's power intriguing and promises to take his time enjoying it since he has countless drugs for the nervous system, Pernida continues to writhe in agony and begins to tear its coat apart.

12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi walks over to 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki and asserts that he paralyzed the latter for his own good, which is why he does not deserve to be looked at like this. With Kenpachi moving his eye to glare at him, Mayuri calls him a monster for still being able to move even this and decides to improve the paralyzing capabilities of his Shikai, Ashisogi Jizō, before proclaiming that he has nothing but gratitude for Kenpachi because the latter helped him identify both the enemy's power and an area of Ashisogi Jizō that needs improvement. Nearby, 11th Division 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame curses Mayuri for intentionally letting Kenpachi charge in to test The Compulsory, and after musing that Kenpachi was in the way of Mayuri getting to fight an intriguing enemy alone, 11th Division 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa tells 12th Division Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi that her captain has not changed at all, but Nemu merely states that she hopes this is true, to Yumichika's confusion.

Returning to Sternritter "C" Pernida Parnkgjas, Mayuri clarifies that they have obtained valuable information about its abilities by sacrificing a Gotei 13 captain. With Pernida not responding to him asking it if it knows what this means, Mayuri elaborates that this touching sacrifice brings tears to his eyes because noble victories are always achieved through noble sacrifices, to Ikkaku's frustration, before concluding that Pernida should honor this sacrifice by offering itself to Mayuri as a test subject. However, Pernida begins screeching as the two dots of light underneath its hood rapidly move around, leading Mayuri to assume that it does not understand the beauty of this, prior to expand its body far enough to rip through its cloak, revealing itself to be a giant left hand with a dual-pupiled eye on its palm. Initially surprised by this, Mayuri admits that this is not what he was expecting and identifies Pernida as the left arm of the Soul King just before Pernida grows a full arm from the bottom of its body and extends nerves from the end of it to anchor itself into the ground and raise its body upright to tower over the Shinigami.

As a shocked Ikkaku and Yumichika wonder if this means the Soul King was a giant, Mayuri states that he does not know since he has not met the Soul King and clarifies that Pernida's Reiatsu is almost identical to what he collected from 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake after the latter performed Kamikake. After recounting how Ukitake formed a contract with Mimihagi, the right arm of the Soul King, Mayuri points out that it is not surprising for the left arm of the Soul King to also be detached and roaming around freely, though Yumichika disputes this, and that Pernida's form of a large hand with a single eye matches the legend that Kisuke Urahara recounted.

When a roaring Pernida extends several nerves into the ground, forcing Ikkaku and Yumichika to flee, Mayuri simply extends a Kikaisan above himself to intercept them, which causes it to scream in pain, and wonders why the left arm of the Soul King is choosing to work for Yhwach. Extending another Kikaisan to intercept more nerves, Mayuri admits that this question pales in comparison to the joy he feels right now, and when Pernida inquires about this while firing more nerves, Mayuri continues protecting himself with multiple Kikaisans and praises the development of Pernida being able to speak as he wonders what organs are being used to produce its voice. Far behind Mayuri, Ikkaku tells him to run and questions how he can be so happy under these circumstances, only for Mayuri to explain that he has found a subject to observe which he has never met before and who is exceeding every expectation, which completely thrills him. Pernida rears up and begins rapidly firing nerves around itself in all directions, tearing up the ground and forcing Mayuri to move back while encouraging it to show him more and addressing it as the left arm of the Soul King, only for Pernida to slowly assert that its name is Pernida.

At 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi's prompting for it to speak louder, Sternritter "C" Pernida Parnkgjas asserts that its name is Pernida Parnkgjas, but an unimpressed Mayuri claims that this is too long and that discovering Pernida gives him the right to name it, though he admits that he could make a special exception this time since Pernida is the one making the request on the condition that he decides how the name is spelled, leading an unimpressed Ikkaku and Yumichika to comment on how he is always talking nonsense. Unable to fully understand what Mayuri is saying, Pernida assumes that it is an insult and that it extends to all Quincy, and when Mayuri inquires about what will happen if he was insulting it, Pernida declares this is unforgivable and fires more nerves into the ground, where they spread across the stone and raise a gigantic stone hand in front of Mayuri, who is shocked that it can extend its nerves into inorganic matter and claims to love it just before leaping into the air to avoid the hand as it slams down.

Releasing Jabarakaina with his left hand, Mayuri uses it to grab onto a distant tower and pull himself toward it. With Pernida extending its nerves into the ground and up the side of the tower that Mayuri is reeling himself onto, Mayuri sees them covering the wall in front of him and kicks back from it just before they form another stone hand that rips out of the wall and begins following Mayuri through the air. In turn, Pernida quickly forms another stone hand from a nearby tower and slams both hands into Mayuri from opposite sides, creating a large explosion and seemingly crushing Mayuri. Ikkaku and Yumichika assume with alarm that Mayuri blew himself up, only for Mayuri to emerge unharmed from the cloud of debris without his glowing clothing and reveal that his Explosive Reactive Armor detonated. Refusing to explain how this works and telling Ikkaku and Yumichika to look it up themselves, Mayuri hurtles toward the ground, which is covered in Pernida's nerves, and responds to Yumichika's panicked warning by smirking and pressing a button on his shoes, which creates a disc of blue Reishi underneath each and allows Mayuri to stand on the air above the ground.

With Pernida startled by this, Mayuri infers that this looks familiar to it and reveals that he is using Hirenkyaku, which he describes as the aerial Hohō used by Quincy and admits might have a different original name since this is what Uryū Ishida and Sōken Ishida called it. Mayuri concludes that Pernida's nerves are harmless even if spread through the ground so long as he does not step on them and launches a Jinmen Himo, which groans and laments its situation as it wraps itself around Pernida's pinky finger. Once Mayuri presses a trigger to take a sample as planned, the Jinmen Himo detonates, severing Pernida's pinky in a shower of blood as it screams in pain. With the large pinky flopping on the ground before him, Mayuri douses it in a preservative and explains that he will prepare a storage tank once the battle is over, with the preservative meant to keep the finger fresh until then.

Suddenly, an eye opens on the first joint of the pinky and unleashes several nerves, catching Mayuri off-guard as they begin infiltrating his right arm. Upon seeing his pinky bend backward until it breaks, Mayuri rapidly operates on his right arm with his left arm until it is covered in stitches to reconfigure its arrangements of nerves, muscles, and blood vessels, which he explains to Pernida prior to proclaiming that he will not be controlled so easily.

With 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi calling his reconfiguring of his right arm with his left sloppy and embarrassing because he is out of practice from not performing surgery with one arm for a long time, Sternritter "C" Pernida Parnkgjas wonders if he is referring to himself for panicking. Though a grinning Mayuri denies this, Pernida asks him if he wants to panic more before the severed pinky rapidly grows into a full hand and runs on its fingers toward Mayuri, who launches another Jinmen Himo at it in order to repel it with the explosion and looks at the hand writhing on the ground, now bearing an eye on its palm as well.

Realizing that the severed finger has become a copy of Pernida, Mayuri muses that taking it back with him in pieces is no longer an option just before Pernida rips off its middle finger and repeats its inquiry about Mayuri panicking more while the severed finger begins growing additional fingers. While Pernida complains about blood from the stump dripping into its eye, Mayuri recalls reading a book when he was young that stated the Soul King's right hand controls stillness while the left controls advancement and admits that knowledge gained from books is merely knowledge which he does not believe until he has proven it himself, but expresses delight at being able to experience both in succession like this.

With Pernida and its two clones rearing up before him, Mayuri activates his Bankai, causing 11th Division 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa to assume that he is going to flood the area with poison using Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō and rush toward his captain, Kenpachi Zaraki, in concern alongside 11th Division 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame. However, Mayuri decries the idea of doing something so wasteful as a large mass emerges from the tip of his Zanpakutō and takes the shape of a massive baby supported by several layers of organs, which Mayuri addresses as Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō: Matai Fukuin Shōtai and claims is due because of all the data he has acquired during this fight.

Stopping alongside Yumichika while running away with Kenpachi on his back, Ikkaku looks back and demands to know what this is, leading Mayuri to identify it as a Modified Bankai which he created. Mayuri explains that Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō: Matai Fukuin Shōtai has the ability to give birth to a new Ashisogi Jizō based on data that he sends it during combat, and as Pernida's eye widens in confusion at this, Mayuri promises it will understand soon prior to the large infant roaring in pain and splitting its stomach open to produce a large, black-eyed Ashisogi Jizō that falls on the ground and immediately begins screeching in agony while Mayuri details how its nerves are on the outside of its body, causing it immense pain just from touching the air or ground, which he dismisses as an irrelevant aspect of its existence.

When Pernida fires three nerves at the Ashisogi Jizō, they splay across its face as Mayuri reveals that its nerves are separated into 70,000 layers, which means that The Compulsory can only peel back one outer layer at a time. With the areas of its face touched by Pernida's nerves peeling back a single layer of skin, the Ashisogi Jizō roars and charges toward Pernida and its clones, whom it devours whole one at a time. Assuring Pernida that it is okay to resist if it can fire its nerves 70,000 times before being consumed, Mayuri has the Ashisogi Jizō finish devouring it while Nemu watches solemnly from the side.

In the past, an infant Nemu Kurotsuchi wonders if 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi remembers what he called her when she first woke up, as she really liked this name.

In the present, after cackling maniacally at the sight of his modified Ashisogi Jizō devouring Sternritter "C" Pernida Parnkgjas and its clones, Mayuri stops abruptly and inquires about how the stomach of the Ashisogi Jizō is doing since it swallowed Pernida and its clones whole, which will make digestion take some time, though he muses that birthing the Ashisogi Jizō without teeth was the right move because it would not have survived if Pernida was able to continue duplicating itself. Suddenly, dozens of areas of the Ashisogi Jizō rapidly bulge outward and deflate as firing sounds are heard from within, and the Ashisogi Jizō screams in agony before vomiting up its insides and exploding, leaving chunks of its organs lying on the ground before a startled Mayuri.

From within the stomach, a massive Heilig Pfeil punches through the meat and hurtles toward Mayuri, who narrowly evades it before it destroys a tower behind him. As it laughs gleefully, Pernida stands with an equally large Heilig Bogen formed between its fingers and admits it is mimicking Mayuri's laughter prior to reminding him that it is a Quincy who can kill enemies with a bow and arrow, only for a smiling Mayuri to claim that he did not forget this. With Mayuri declaring that he simply did not expect the left arm of the Soul King to shamelessly proclaim itself to be a Quincy, Pernida questions how this is shameless and regrows its missing fingers while its voice deepens and it asserts that it has always been a Quincy. While its voice returns to normal, Pernida tells a perturbed Mayuri that it is tired of his endless badmouthing of Quincy, leading Mayuri to internally pick up on its voice changing momentarily and note that its vocabulary has been steadily improving since the start of the battle, though he is uncertain if it is regaining its memory as the Soul King or somehow evolving.

Straightening up, Pernida creates five Heilig Bogens on the tips of its fingers and begins rapidly firing Heilig Pfeil at Mayuri, who begins dodging between them and is alarmed to see that each has a nerve attached to the end. When the nerves from one of the Heilig Pfeil begin extending through his left arm as he moves back, Mayuri immediately detonates it at the shoulder before the rest of his body can be infiltrated, but the Heilig Pfeil bends before it can touch the ground behind him and turns in midair to hurtle back toward him, prompting Mayuri to realize that Pernida's nerves in the ground can redirect the Heilig Pfeil. However, before Mayuri can be struck by the Heilig Pfeil that he does not believe he can evade, his lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi, leaps into the air, grabs the Heilig Pfeil with her right arm, and cuts off her arm with her left hand before her body can be infiltrated, leaving her and her severed limb to fall to the ground below while Pernida's nerves encroach beneath.

After briefly landing on the ground, Mayuri lunges toward Nemu and pulls her away from the nerves prior to dropping her on a building and berating her for intervening without being ordered to, as she was risking being reduced to a lump of meat by the nerves on the ground. In response to Nemu asserting that she judged he was in need of a shield during this battle, Mayuri counters that he does not recall ever teaching her to assist him at her own discretion, and when Nemu confirms this, Mayuri inquires if she is saying that she learned on her own without him teaching her, though Nemu admits that she does not know. Turning away, Mayuri addresses Nemu as Nanagō Nemuri, to her surprise, and recounts how she has been through many battles and learned too many things since Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends first showed up before asking her if she understands the toll it will take on him to develop the next her to this level. With Nemu affirming that she does not, a yelling Mayuri demands that she not act on her own judgement if she does not understand this because she does not have the freedom to die by her own judgement and will die only when he tells her to die, which Nemu accepts.

12th Division Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi hands her captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, a Hojiku-Zai, which she reveals is what she intervened in the battle to give him, and Mayuri uses it to regenerate his missing left arm while inferring that Nemu noticed he failed to bring it with him from the start of the Wahrwelt incursion. Confirming this, Nemu takes the Hojiku-Zai back from Mayuri and uses it to regenerate her missing right arm as she explains how Mayuri did not go through the medicine cabinet as he always does ahead of a battle when this conflict began, which Mayuri calls a creepy attention to detail while staring at Sternritter "C" Pernida Parnkgjas alongside Nemu, who apologizes. After a pause, Mayuri jumps off the roof and presses a button on his Hirenkyaku Shoes to initiate a more powerful jet burst from them so he can begin evading hundreds of Heilig Pfeil fired by Pernida and its clones, who surround him with individual Heilig Bogens formed on their fingertips.

After flying around for several seconds and narrowly dodging the Heilig Pfeil, Mayuri contacts Nemu, who is running down the side of the building they were standing on, and details how he is releasing a highly concentrated anesthetic across the area because he measured the nerve density of the Heilig Pfeil during his last encounter with Pernida and is certain that this concentration is high enough to neutralize them. Admitting that Pernida and its clones will have an unknown reaction to the anesthetic and it is high enough to slightly affect him as well, Mayuri dismisses this as unavoidable while Nemu leaps off another building. Mayuri informs Nemu that her job is to inject his Nerve-Freezing Agent directly into one of the nullified Heilig Pfeil, and as he rushes along the ground to avoid a burst of Heilig Pfeil from one of Pernida's clones, Mayuri notes that this does not weaken nerves by obstructing transmission like an anesthetic does, but instead freezes those transmissions and forcibly stops all organs connected to the nerves in the state they were in when the Nerve-Freezing Agent reached them, meaning that open eyelids cannot close, contracted hearts will not expand, and open mouths cannot close, which he ecstatically shouts about.

After reprimanding Nemu for telling him that he is being too loud, Mayuri recalls confirming that Pernida has blood even though he cannot tell what organs are in its body and announces that the Nerve-Freezing Agent will kill it by coagulating the blood in its body. With Nemu running across the ground that Pernida's nerves are embedded in, Mayuri assures her that his anesthetic has neutralized them, making the ground safe to step on, and orders her to inject the Nerve-Freezing Agent into a Heilig Pfeil before Pernida retracts its nerves from it, which Nemu does, causing Pernida and one of its clones to be frozen. However, though Pernida and the one clone turn dark purple and Mayuri proclaims that it is over, the remaining clone severs its thumb before the coagulation can spread beyond it, to Mayuri's astonishment, and demands to know if he thinks he can kill it with this while addressing him by his last name.

In turn, Mayuri notices that it is speaking like 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki and deduces that it evolves by absorbing data from everything its nerves touch, leaving him nervous since Nemu's reaction speed will not be sufficient if its nerves have evolved to Kenpachi's level and leading him to tell Nemu to get back. Suddenly, Pernida sheds the dark purple layer of skin and shreds the remnants of its coats as it overcomes the Nerve-Freezing Agent, which a shocked Mayuri identifies as the layered skin ability of the modified Ashisogi Jizō he created earlier. With Pernida arching over Mayuri, Nemu glares at it from the ground and expresses concern for Mayuri.

In the past, 12th Division 3rd Seat Akon is confused by a young Nemu Kurotsuchi informing him that Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi will not address her by her name, and when Nemu states that he has been calling her Nemu instead, Akon points out that this is her name, only for Nemu to remind him that it is Nanagō Nemuri.

In the present, Niko Kuna is startled in the returned Shinigami Research and Development Institute in the Seireitei below when she inadvertently raises three vials containing small clumps of flesh, which she claims did not happen because of anything she did. Walking over to them, Akon reminds Kuna that they are supposed to get the SRDI running again before the captains returns, but is surprised by what he sees and identifies the vials as early relics from the Artificial Soul Project: Nemuri, which he has not seen in a long time. With Kuna making the connection between Nemuri and Nemu, Akon identifies the vials as the first three iterations. Kuna is shocked to learn that the flesh clumps are essentially corpses as Akon explains how the beginning of the project only produced failures and reveals that the fourth iteration finally resulted in a brain, which Bungarō infers led to the technology that fixed his bandaged head. Affirming this, Akon elaborates that the fifth iteration reached the fetus stage and let Mayuri modify his Zanpakutō, resulting in his promotion to captain, which Kuna admits makes sense, while the sixth lived to be two years old until it died from its cell division ceasing, as that is the natural lifespan for artificial Souls' cells. While Akon reveals that Mayuri was overjoyed when Nemu survived past the two-year mark, Nemu crouches prior to launching herself toward Mayuri with enough force to shatter the ground.

In the past, Akon walks through a hallway with a young Nemu and questions why she is asking him about Mayuri's reason for calling her Nemu instead of Mayuri himself, leading Nemu to state that she does not think Mayuri will give her an answer even if she asks, to which Akon retorts that she should know he will not know either if she knows this about Mayuri. When Akon deduces that it is most likely embarrassment on Mayuri's part, Nemu asserts that he is unlikely to feel this emotion. Expressing bemusement at this, Akon recounts Mayuri's words about creating an artificial Shinigami from nothing being the dream of all Shinigami and deciding to call the project Nemuri since it is ridiculous to dream while awake, which he attributes to Mayuri's sense of sarcasm, and admits that he will be speaking speculatively here before theorizing that this is Mayuri's personal dream rather than that of all Shinigami, with Nemu eating, sleeping, breathing, learning something, and growing every day being what Mayuri has dreamed about. Once Akon concludes that Mayuri was probably embarrassed she would notice this, Nemu admits she had not noticed. As they continue walking, Akon states that even he could tell Nemu would one day figure this out due to her rate of growth, and when Nemu inquires if Mayuri would have continued to call her Nanagō if she had not noticed this, a smiling Akon denies this informs Nemu that there is no way she would not evolve because she is Mayuri's greatest creation.

In the present, Nemu grabs Mayuri and smashes through Pernida, leaving a massive hole in the center of its palm while a bewildered Mayuri demands to know where she got this power. In response, Nemu reveals that this is the power Mayuri gave her by bestowing Nemu with the body of a Shinigami. Nemu details how she has enhanced its power to 0.8% below the threshold where it would break down and responds to Mayuri's shock by assuring him that she can last for another 400 seconds, but Mayuri angrily declares that this is not what he is mad about because he did not give Nemu the order to do this. When Nemu clarifies that it is her mission to protect him, Mayuri counters that her mission is to continue to grow, only for Nemu to assert that she can show her growth by protecting him.

After Nemu places him on a rooftop and departs, Mayuri wonders where she learned to talk back like this and admits that he never thought he could leave a battle to her. With a disheveled Mayuri calling this humiliating, Nemu hurtles toward Pernida's remaining clone and gathers energy around her right palm as she internally notes that she is shaving off 6% of her Soul to fire it at the clone in the form of Gikon Jūrinjū, which takes the form of an energy blast that warps the clone's flesh around itself.

Prior to the second invasion of the Seireitei, as 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi prays at Hotaru Kanisawa's grave, Aoga approaches with cleaning supplies and expresses surprise at seeing Hisagi here when he has not visited in years, prompting Hisagi to assert that Aoga should not say this as though he comes here more frequently, only to be left staring solemnly when Aoga reveals that he visits Kanisawa's grave every month on the day that she died. With Aoga claiming that Kanisawa would be happy to see him here because she loved him, Hisagi denies this and explains that he wanted to come by and see Kanisawa before leaving to train with his captain, Kensei Muguruma, which leads Aoga to theorize that the Quincy will be attacking again by the time Hisagi's training is completed and note to a startled Hisagi that even the lower-ranked Shinigami have heard rumors about this.

Splashing water over Kanisawa's grave, Aoga calls Hisagi amazing, and when Hisagi questions this assessment because he has been too afraid to fight since the day of Kanisawa's death, Aoga muses that he joined the Fourth Division to avoid the battlefield, though he admits that things have not been easy there either, before pointing out that Hisagi conquered his fear to become a lieutenant, something Aoga himself could never do, and calling him special for it. After wishing Hisagi good luck, Aoga muses that all he can do is cheer for Hisagi and advises him against pushing himself too hard so he can come back to Kanisawa's grave once the battle is over, as Kanisawa will be sad if he dies.

Internally, Hisagi ponders Aoga believing he is an amazing guy who conquered his fear and his own perception that everyone else was amazing enough to fear nothing, which he realizes are both incorrect because fear is in all of them. With Captain-Commander Shunsui Kyōraku waving to 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake as he heads off with his 3rd Seats, Sentarō Kotsubaki and Kiyone Kotetsu, and 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi reconstructing a critically-injured 3rd Division Lieutenant Izuru Kira's body, Hisagi concludes that they walk with fear in hand, never falling to or conquering it, as they protect under the letters of the Gotei 13.