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| Fast-forward
to Chapter 262, smack in the middle
of the Hueco Mundo story arc... and the plot thickens... |
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| Rukia
is approached by a mysterious, masked Arrancar (a Hollow
that has removed their mask and gained Shinigami powers)
who tells her to follow it into a pitch black room. It does this
for two apparent reasons: 1) it doesn't like the sun and 2) it
wants to get away from Aizen's surveillance. Only inside his
domain does he take off his oversized mask to reveal none other
than... Kaien! Or, as he now calls himself, Aaroniro Aluluerie,
the Ninth Espada. He looks like Kaien, he acts like Kaien,
and he knows Kaien's past... at least how it pertains to Rukia. |
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Chapter 262 |
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| He
even gives an explanation for how he's still "alive."
The Hollow that attacked Kaien was one of Aizen's Hollow-hybrid
experiments that returned to Hueco Mundo to regenerate every
time it was destroyed. Since it was merged with Kaien's Shinigami
soul at the time it was destroyed, it regenerated as Kaien's
body. This was all according to Aizen's plan, except that
Kaien's consciousness was now in control of the new body.
Earlier,
Aizen said that none of his experiments had succeeded in
creating a new being. Yet here was Kaien as a full-fledged Arrancar
and a member of the esteemed Espada. If Kaien had become
a complete hybrid from the get-go, why did Aizen keep looking
for the hou gyoku? Did Aizen use the hou gyoku to
make Kaien into a complete hybrid later? Either the timeline is
a bit hazy or something else is going on. |
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Chapter 263 |
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| Up
to this point, Kaien has been reasonably convincing, but here's
where he starts to throw curveballs. First he tries to kill
Rukia in one blow. When she dodges, he sees that she can be
useful and switches his strategy. He plays up on her guilt over
the night when she killed him - freed him - from the grip of a Shinigami-devouring
Hollow, something that Kaien had thanked Rukia for with his
dying breath. He claims that he had risen in the ranks of the Espada
so that he could extract his revenge on Aizen. To help him with
that, Rukia would need to use her special knowledge of her
friends' weaknesses and bring him back their heads. If she does
this, all would be forgiven.
What
is wrong with this proposition? Well, several things. Out of
Ichigo, Renji, Chad, and Ishida, Rukia is arguably the weakest
fighter, yet this Arrancar singles her out to either kill
or have her kill for him. He says he wants Rukia's help to get
revenge on Aizen, yet he tells her to sabotage those fighting
against him. The only possible way that would make sense is if
he wants to get closer to Aizen by proving his loyalty before he
strikes, and even then it would be more advantageous to secretly
work with the usurpers. He claims to have retained the mind of
Kaien, yet he does and asks for things Kaien never would. Have
Aizen's cruel experiments changed him? Does his Hollow side have
more power over him than he thinks? ...Or is he simply not Kaien? |
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Chapter 264 |
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| Rukia
is not buying it, and her denial alone could be evidence enough
that this Kaien is an imposter. |
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Chapter 264 |
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| Lets
go back to the whole purpose of that room. This Arrancar
does not like the light - why? He always wears a mask outside of
his dark domain - why? If he is Kaien, it's certainly not to
hide his identity from Aizen. He was one of Aizen's experiments
and his progress closely monitored.
The
room he leads Rukia to is pitch black, yet they can see each
other. Not only that! Many scenes display torches, walls,
cliffs, and columns in the background. But every now and again
we get a glimpse of two entities amidst empty blackness. Why? Is
this to remind us of where they actually are? Is everything
Rukia seeing an elaborate illusion?
Use
of illusion is not new to Bleach. Aizen's own abilities are
heavily based on layers of illusion. Could that be this Arrancar's
power, as well? A cunning trickster that lures beings to a
designated space where he could read their memories, project
their desires, and manipulate them with their fears?
Guilt-tripping is a classic staple of this strategy. |
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Chapter 263 |
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| And
who in Bleach is the greatest trickster of all? OK, after
Urahara... Ichimaru Gin!
"The
mysteries of Las Noches where light cannot reach. Is there
malice or tricks...? What are Gin's fingertips
manipulating?" reads the side-script. Ulquiorra comments
that Ichimaru is manipulating hallways. Indeed, it sounds an
awful lot like the light-less room Rukia is in.
Ichimaru
remarks that he's "not too fond of sad stories." As an
ex-Shinigami captain, Ichimaru would be one to know all
about Kaien. Is he playing around with the "sad story"
of that rainy night when Rukia was forced to kill her dear
friend? He does have a history of picking on Rukia. |
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Chapter 264 |
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| Rukia
becomes suspicious of Kaien's intentions in taking her out of the
light, and decides to blast a hole in the wall. Sure enough, her
opponent is not Kaien, but the two-faced Arrankar(s)
Aaroniiro and Alulueri. No wonder it had that oversized mask. |
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Chapter 266 |
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| OK,
so Aaroniro is not Kaien, but he ate Kaien... Or, rather, he ate
the Hollow that was in the middle of eating Kaien. He ate many
Hollows, actually - 33,650 to be exact - and he keeps the
powers, memories, and experiences of each. But are these things
equivalent to a soul? It can be said that all residents of Soul
Society are, by definition, souls... yet they can die, and what
happens then?
Metastasia,
the Hollow that merged with Kaien, said that they were now inseparable,
but when Kaien was dying, he reverted to his Shinigami self.
To what extent is an incomplete hybrid inseparable? When
Metastasia is killed, it crumbles and returns to Hueco Mundo to
regenerate. Can pieces of it fly off before it fully heals? What
do we know of death in the Bleach spirit world? |
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Chapter 267 |
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| Alrightee,
the verdict on what Aaroniro is keeps changing with every
chapter, so I'll keep updating with new developments. |
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