Finally, the epic moment that Bleach fans have been waiting for is here at last.
Bleach Thousand Year Blood War S017E06 “The Fire” depicted Captain Commander Yamamoto vs Wandenreich leader Yhwach.
The Sixth episode of Bleach Sennen Kessen-hen was blazing hot (no pun intended) as Yamamoto unleashed his powerful Bankai.
The real question is whether Yamamoto can defeat Yhwach and drive the Quincies.
Will Yamamoto’s Bankai get stolen? How powerful is Yamamoto as his true powers were never unleashed in Bleach?
What is Uryu upto in Bleach S017E06 “The Fire”?
The scenes with Uryu Ishida reading about the Quincy extermination were anime original scenes.
The scenes were not in the manga, however, the scene was quite impactful.
Ishida discovered the real “Quincy Extermination” 1000 years ago, not 200 years ago as we know it.
The pictures depicted a young Yamamoto purging Quincy King Yhwach and his army.
Parallelly, Yamamoto reached where Yhwach and Stern Ritter “B” Jugram Haschwalth were along with a defeated Zaraki Kenpachi.
Meanwhile, Shunsui Kyoraku is still busy dealing with Stern Ritter “N” Robert Accutrone.
The exchange of fists between them was a good foresight as both of them bet on the victory of their bosses.
As Accutrone mocked Yamamoto, the Stern Ritter “N” was confident that Yhwach would win.
The same goes for Kyoraku who was confident as Yamamoto is enraged and his flames could be felt all over Soul Society.
The captains who were fighting had their spirits lifted and knew that Yamaji was on the battlefront.
Yamamoto vs Yhwach
It was right to be wary of Shigekuni Yamamoto, the foundation of the Gotei 13.
Yamamoto is the most powerful Captain in Soul Society and the only one who can defeat Yhwach.
When Yamamoto was in his prime, he easily defeated Yhwach, so it’s possible, he can do it once more.
There’s a reason why both Yhwach and Haschwalth are wary of Yamamoto.
He’s not the captain commander for the show or for name sake; Yamamoto is quite powerful.
Yhwach isn’t exactly known for playing with fair strategies, so it’s very unlikely that Yhwach would easily go down.
One of the most fearsome and fiery Bankai belongs to Shigekuni Yamamoto, the Captain of Division One.
Three Stern Ritters tried to attack Yamamoto, but were instantly burned to a crisp.
Yamamoto didn’t hesitate even once as he lashed his sword at the enemy.
The casual banter and chatter between Yamamoto and Yhwach was a pleasure to watch, yet it felt so condescending as both of them looked down at each other.
It wasn’t just a physical battle but psychological warfare as well.
The one who has the upper hand would win, or so it seemed. It felt like the entire Soul Society could burn down to a crisp if Yamamoto didn’t end the fight soon.
Captain Unohana Retsu remarked that Yamamoto can destroy the Soul Society as he is extremely powerful.
As Yamamoto unleashed his Bankai, the immense heat made Cang Du unable to use the stolen Bankai Hyorinamru.
Every drop of water was quickly evaporating and Hyorinmaru is no exception either.
What is Yamamoto’s Bankai?
Shigekuni Yamamoto finally unleashed his Bankai Zanka no Taichi. The Bankai allows Yamamoto to seal all the flames at the tip of his blade.
The blade might look old and rusty, but the immense power that Zanka no Taichi has can obliterate everything it touches.
The Sword of Hellfire is a very apt name for Yamamoto’s Bankai. Yamamoto cut Yhwach without even realising as the Quincy Leader kept wondering where the flames went.
Yamamoto can use Zanka no Taichi “East, West, South and North” to attack his opponents as he sees fit.
Yhwach did unleash his “Sankt Zwinger” allowing him to use both offense on defence at once. As if it is enough when dealing with Yamamoto’s Bankai.
Yamamoto used Zanka no Taichi “South” to bring the power of the dead, the people who were killed by his blade.
The army of the dead was quite terrifying momentarily throwing Yhwach off guard. This won’t be a worthy match if Yhwach couldn’t defeat this.
Yamamoto used Zanka no Taichi North Tenchi Kaijin to strike down Yhwach only to deal with an expected plot twist.
Unfortunately, Yamaji wasted his Bankai fighting the imposter Stern Ritter “Y” “The Yourself” - Royd Lloyd.
When Royd apologised, this is when Yamaji realised the elaborate trap.
Before Yamamoto can use his Bankai again, the real Yhwach appeared and stole his Bankai.
This was the end of the road for Yamamoto. RIP Captain Commander.
It was because of Stern Ritten “Y” Royd Lloyd, Loyd’s identical twin brother, the game changed completely.
Why didn’t Yhwach Steal Yamamoto’s Bankai?
The biggest reason stated by Yamamoto was that they can’t steal his Bankai because they didn’t have any idea of the true power.
Captain Commander never revealed his true power even 1000 years ago.
However, the real reason is that other than Yhwach, no one can steal Yamamoto’s Bankai.
The Stern Ritter “Y” didn’t have the ability to steal Zanka no Taichi which is why it was until Yhwach came back from the underground prison, he finally stole Yamamoto’s Bankai.
Why did Yhwach visit the Underground Prison?
Yhwach needed to stall and make sure Yamamoto exhausted his Bankai which is why he left all the work to his Stern Ritters to keep Captain Commander occupied.
Meanwhile, Yhwach visited the underground prison to pay Sosuke Aizen a visit, asking him to join him.
It was good to see Aizen, sassy as he always is, he rejected Yhwach with style and a cold attitude. Aizen couldn’t care any less even if the world is burning down.
The next episode of Bleach Thousand Year Blood War S017E07 is “Born in the Dark”. We might get to see Ichigo in action.
