[Manga] Chapter 262 Discussion

[NoSanninWa]

Here's what everyone wants to talk about.

Spoiler for bad manga scans:

What is going on? I haven't the slightest idea. I'm waiting for the translation. I don't even know if this and other recently seen pictures are fakes. I just want to get the chatter out of threads where it does not belong.

[sx3]

i hope thats real, would make excellent shocker/storyline

Spoiler:

whoa thats a brave move orihime.

[NoSanninWa]

I'll admit that I'm rather gaping about it... Kaien became an arrancar instead of dying?! WTF?! I really hope this is translated SOON because it looks like a heck of a surprising episode.

On top of that I'm seeing more chatter about Chad's abuelo turning out to be an arrancar also. Huh? At least that is mostly speculation based on some much less reliable looking scans.

[sx3]

Espada #9: Arronio Alulueri

Kaien sure is weak, number 9 only. that helmet is really stupid looking to me lol

[hdx514]

Originally Posted by The Small One

Somehow it feels like the whole story is breaking apart.
Kaien/Hollow was dead. If they were just heavily wounded, I could understand, that they may have escaped to Hueco Mundo afterwards, but this feels just wrong. Except maybe its his Zanpakutou, was it mentioned how it was named?


And what happend to the Abuelo-story? Somehow it was too strange to be a fake, however it should have been a pretty long chapter if this also happened.

don't rush to conclusions and critisize the creator of bleach when we haven't even got half a script.
death in real life =/= death in bleach. kaien wasn't killed by a quincy. dead human turn up in S.S., H.M. and hell all the time. nothing wrong with that. we all know dead shinigamis must turn up somewhere else due to principle of conservation of souls. plus there's no telling if this could be aizen's illusion, or a special ability of the espada

[shenzu]

Originally Posted by striderm

Arrancar under the mask revealed to Rukia.

Spoiler for super spoiler pics:

Orihime slapping Ulqi after he said some things to her, those things are unknown so far.

Spoiler:

OMG!! That actually put a tear to my eye, so shocking (ong its Kaien!)..

that is TOTALLY unexpected...

now i wish i didnt succumb to curioisity lol..but im kinda glad i did

[Ichimaru]

espada 9 = tampon? hahahaha

[shenzu]

Originally Posted by The Small One

No, I meant the name of Kaien's Zanpakutou. Did we ever hear it?

Nejibana.

If this is true, this is just a shocker- makes up for not seeing Rukia for so long...

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by NoSanninWa

I don't even know if this and other recently seen pictures are fakes. I just want to get the chatter out of threads where it does not belong.

Chances of it being fake is low since it was confirmed by reliable 2chan spoiler posters.

The Abuelo-talk seems to be fake, as the spoilers seem to indicate that the chapter goes in the chronological order of Chad getting his ass owned by Noitora => Everyone feels the reiatsu change and realises Chad lost => Ulqi talks to Orihime and gets slapped => Sausage Head revealing himself to Rukia as no.9 Espada and...KAIEN!?

Though I think it IS too early to say Espada-Head no.9 is him. After, it's possible that Espada No.9's power is a Super Version of Grandfisher's, where he can emulate image and search/look into the memories of others. Only that this time, he doesn't need to stick in any tentacles and just needs a look at the enemy.

The problem with HIM being Espada no.9.... is that Kaien DIED an Arrancar. Yes, the Hollow that caused Kaien's death is an Arrancar, a very experimental incomplete one without a Zanpakutou, but it is an Arrancar in the nature that it was different from regular Hollows. Even if we ignore the fact that Kaien DIED, I don't think an INCOMPLETE Arrancar can be Hougyokued again into a COMPLETE Arrancar. It's just weird.

At least that's what I believe. I do recall Aizen talking about his 5th rate hybrid creations.

[Zu Ra]

If thats Kaien its more to do with reincarnation ie reborn into the human world thats the basic beleif of Budhism and even Shinto . If Espda 9 is Kaien he was most likely born in human world then died became a hollow then went to become a menos ( or directly adjucas ) .

If its look alike, hdx theory makes more sense of a shape shifting Espada like GF but here instead of the doll its his face . Espada 9 IMHO is Kaien impersenator as the above theory is too far off but you never know

[Sabaku Kyu]

Wow. No one saw that coming. Those scans look pretty authentic to me. This really makes it tough for Ichigo=reincarnated Kaien enthusiasts, but we still have to take into account that this could be an Aizen-induced illusion or that the Espada has the ability to shape-shift like hdx514 and Nightengale said. I'm pleased that it seems the cheesy spoiler about Chad's grandfather being an Espada is fake, though this is something similar.

[Zu Ra]

IMHO Kubo introducing Kaien or Kaien like chara is a stroke of genius . All of us are excited and upbeat arnt we ? Also ratings , ratings are gonna pick up . Naruto manga was easily ahead of Bleach these past weeks in terms of ratings now its going to be reversed with chapter 260 and 262

[Scep]

omg! this is worse than that old geezer being abuelo!!! Well this brings several questions to mind: What happens when shinigami or hollow die? I think the consensus before this was that they get reincarnated, but now kaien is like this... its confirmed that kaiien died right?

*confused*

good plot change though.

[Zu Ra]

Some Kaien/Espada 9 crack

[kagato3]

What I find odd in those pictures is that "Kaien" has no pieces of his mask on once he removed the big mask. Odd that someone that low on the power scale would be what looks almost like a perfect hybrid.

[Lendial]

ugh cool plot twist but this seems really pushing it on the logical scale

[michaelman90]

It might not even be Kaien. Perhaps maybe the hollow DID somehow get away (yet to be explained) and was returned to HM, still inside Kaien's body, and then became a more perfect arrancar? It was an inferior arrancar before, but perhaps possessing Kaien's body made it stronger...even though he said that he devoured the bodies he possessed iirc. Oh well, there's nothing for it but to wait until it's out.

[hdx514]

kaien's uncertainty aside, something IS pretty certain. but i see nobody want to talk about that. may i remind you that:

now what have i always said about him and renji being utterly useless in S.S. arc, and hence tag alongs/"same shit all over again" in this arc huh? what did i say about kubo simply trashing characters immediately after powerup/training for no good reason simply because he doesn't have enough love for them? hell for all we know noitora could be no.8. you guys see who's the one not getting the point of bleach now?

next up, rukia and renji. let's see who's got common bleach sense and who's the stupid fanboy

[Naive]

Great Plot twist if it's Kaien. This opens up so many possibilities, and honestly it's far less cheap than having Ichigo = Kaien's reincarnation, so I'm happy with it. Though the cheapest thing Kubo could do would be to have this one being a mirage, it's so cliche.

If it is Kaien, I think KT could come up with a valid explanation. Either way, this twist has made the arc come alive and Rukia's going to go through some angst again.

[Sabaku Kyu]

I see that spoiler about Chad's arm was partially true, so it is likely that Orihime will restore his arm.

Originally Posted by hdx514

kaien's uncertainty aside, something IS pretty certain. but i see nobody want to talk about that. may i remind you that:

now what have i always said about him and renji being utterly useless in S.S. arc, and hence tag alongs/"same shit all over again" in this arc huh? what did i say about kubo simply trashing characters immediately after powerup/training for no good reason simply because he doesn't have enough love for them? hell for all we know noitora could be no.8. you guys see who's the one not getting the point of bleach now?

next up, rukia and renji. let's see who's got common bleach sense and who's the stupid fanboy

I think everyone knew it was inveitable that Chad would lose once he faced an Espada. In fact, I noted this as soon as he got his R.A.D powerup (I like that acronym) in 260.

Originally Posted by Sabaku Kyu

Yeah, but let's not forget that the Tres Cifras aren't the true enemies of this arc. They are captain-level at best and probably not the stronger captains either (Dol Doni stated that Ichigo in just his bankai form could've easily defeated him). So Chad and Ishida have indeed been powered up, but this might just be a set up for them to take a big fall later on when they start fighting the real opponents. When they start fighting the Espada, Chad might once again find himself in a situation similar to when he tried to fight Shunsui.

It is a surprise to me the that the Espada would appear to do combat so soon though. If Kubo is indeed following the same trends he used in the SS arc, Renji and Ishida should do better in their battles and Ishida might actually pull out a win. I doubt Rukia will actually do battle with an Espada (at least not alone). IMO, the Espada will be vaizard prey for the most part and I've seen a couple of posts with the same opinion. As for Noitora, based on the way he confronted Ulquorria (who is likely a vastrolorde) I seriously doubt he's no.8 but who knows? Luppi was weak and he trash-talked Grimm before being killed by him. Something tells me Noi is one of the higher ranks though.

Originally Posted by Naive

Great Plot twist if it's Kaien. This opens up so many possibilities, and honestly it's far less cheap than having Ichigo = Kaien's reincarnation, so I'm happy with it. Though the cheapest thing Kubo could do would be to have this one being a mirage, it's so cliche.

If it is Kaien, I think KT could come up with a valid explanation. Either way, this twist has made the arc come alive and Rukia's going to go through some angst again.

I dunno, kagato's point about the lack of a real mask makes me lean more to the opinion that this is an illusion.

But the possibility of Kaien being an arrancar does bring up some questions for me. What would happen to the shikai and bankai of shingami turned arrancar? Do they maintain the same abilities or would they get replaced with an arrancar-type release