The Underscore's Bleach review, 458: End of All Bonds

[The Underscore]

458 End of All Bonds

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~~, man I enjoyed this chapter. Sure, we saw this coming from the moment this arc started, but the way Kubo executed is really made my day. I liked it so much that I'm actually writing this review on a Wednesday for the first time in ages . Well then, without further ado, let's get to this week's review! Thanks to Mangastream/Binktopia for their timely release.

Bleach chapter 457, End of Bond 3, rated by 10 voters, gets an average score of:

8.0

Great

Ishida was on his way at the end of last week's chapter. With five options surrounding his upcoming appearance, here's what you guys thought:

No one believed that Ishida would be one of Tsukishima's flunkies. Which makes sense as there's more hints at Ishida not being allied with Tsukishima.

Two people felt Ishida to be a Zero. Ichigo will end up doing everything, so his appearance is nothing short of useless.

Then we have a tie between the people who believe Ishida to be a hero and the people who just don't know what could happen with Ishida. It would be nice for Ishida to finally shine as he did during his fight with Mayuri -without the loss of his powers that is. Then again, who knows what Kubo has in plan with Ishida?

But with nine votes, it looks like Ishida will be there as a friend of Ichigo's. He'll make sure Ichigo has his chance at Tsukishima. It turns out that these voters were half right .

The last man down

Ri~~ght, we get what you're saying Kuugo >Wink<

Last week's chapter ended with Kuugo taking a hit for Ichigo. After getting split in twine, Kuugo is returned to his previous state thanks to Tsukishima's Fullbring leaving no mark. In spite of there being no physical trauma, the blow did put Kuugo into a shock, preventing him from staying in the air or regaining his balance as he falls down. As Kuugo falls flat down on the roof of the mansion -Ichigo could've at least tried to break his fall, couldn't he?-, Ichigo decides to check up on him. As Ichigo descends to the roof, he prays that Kuugo isn't affected by Tsukishima's ability.

During his descent to the roof, Ichigo recalls how Tsukishima's ability works. Though the ability still is as vague as can be, the gist is that Tsukishima inserts his presence into his target and makes his target create a past with Tsukishima as an ally. With what happened to all the other of Ichigo's friends, the situation looks grim for Kuugo.

As Ichigo kneels next to the hurt Kuugo, he asks him if he's all right. Kuugo starts regaining consciousness, showing us once more that the 'Book of the End' doesn't kill its targets once Tsukishima decides to activate its effect. Ichigo immediately tries to see if Kuugo's still on his side, but Kuugo's initial reaction makes it seem like he's too happy to see Ichigo sitting next to him. But the panic is short lived as Kuugo reacts in his usual way by telling Ichigo to shut up and focus. He reminds Ichigo that if he's struck by Tsukishima it will all be over. No sooner does he say this, or...

Clash of Fullbrings

Tsukishima really is on and off when it comes to his ability, isn't he?

No sooner does Kuugo warn Ichigo that he might be attacked from behind, or Tsukishima dives in to complete the attack he initiated last week. This time, Ichigo's hands are free, giving him the opportunity to easily block Tsukishima's attack. With enough force to blow Tsukishima away a couple of feet, Ichigo turns to Kuugo to ask him if he's really okay.

Kuugo explains that he isn't sure, but that he still sees Tsukishima as the enemy and Ichigo as his ally. Ichigo sighs in relieve after hearing this. Though you'd expect Ichigo to be the one to be wary of the time when Kuugo might switch allegiance, it is Kuugo who addresses this matter. Even though Kuugo is alright for now, the same could be said about Orihime and Chad before. It is still unknown when and how Tsukishima's ability materializes itself and this isn't the time for Ichigo and Kuugo to find out either. The only thing they can do right now is to finish Tsukishima off right now. Because once Kuugo joins Tsukishima's ranks, it will clearly won't be in their advantage.

What's funny here is that they don't even consider what would happen if Tsukishima's ability still works even after his defeat/death. What if Ichigo kills Tsukishima and Kuugo forgets that he contributed to that plan? That would leave Ichigo as a murderer with only his own word against that of the world. Whatever the case, Tsukishima's a more pressing matter at this time. Then again, he was until Ishida showed up...

Be my friend or not

Ishida did start out as your enemy... why would you be surprised now?

The white archer makes his appearance. Sadly, the traditional Quincy clothing are lacking. Could this be a sign of the young Quincy being under the influence of Tsukishima's ability, preventing him from wearing the unsoiled white Quincy robes? Ishida addresses Ichigo, causing Ichigo to instantly analyze his current situation.

The first one to have been attacked by Tsukishima was Ishida. Though he was injured, he is now standing in front of Ichigo unharmed. The only one who could heal him so easily is Orihime. But Orihime is also under the influence of Tsukishima! But did she heal Ishida while thinking Tsukishima is an ally, or was it before that happened? If she did think of Tsukishima as an ally, would that mean that Ishida was healed to be part of Tsukishima's attack force? Boy did I enjoy this little mental rant by Ichigo . Usually, Ichigo isn't exactly wary of such psychological intricacies surrounding friends and foes. Of course, after the psychological warfare done by Aizen and all that he's seen in the last couple of hours, Ichigo is forced to think this way. The gist of it all is that Ichigo has only a few moments to decide whether Ishida's on his side now. But Ishida spares Ichigo the trouble of figuring it out.

Treachery

Rhymes with archery...

Ishida pulls out his Ginrei Kojaku and points it in Ichigo's direction. Though Ishida's case seemed to be different from the other of Tsukishima's victims, this proves that Ishida was affected as well. This is the only conclusion Ichigo can come to as he can't hide his disappointment at seeing Ishida aiming at him.

Ishida finally decides to say something more, only to tell Ichigo to come to him. Ichigo sees this as one of Ishida's taunts, staying on guard. Ishida explains that he's seen what has been happening to Ichigo. Even though he saw Ichigo fighting Chad and Orihime who were protecting Tsukishima -did he really?- he is still on Ichigo's side as he understands the situation somewhat. But Ichigo doesn't trust Ishida's words as he is the most likely person to be under Tsukishima's influence. But Ishida doesn't understand what Ichigo's talking about, which makes sense as no one under Tsukishima's influence understands what Ichigo's on about.

Ishida ignores Ichigo's banter and tells him to quickly come to him. Ichigo tries to talk some sense into Ishida as he calls out to him. But just as he tries to do that, Ishida suddenly does the same. And Ishida has a good reason to do so.

The unexpectedly expected

I'll admit, I never would've thought Kuugo would be the one who attacked Ishida

Man did I enjoy this part. Kubo finally decided to show us that Kuugo really is one of the bad guys and he couldn't have done it in a better way. Though it wouldn't have been strange for Kuugo to turn on Ichigo after being cut by Tsukishima, Ishida reveals that Kuugo already worked against Ichigo before this time. Though Kuugo told Ichigo that Tsukishima attacked Ishida, Ishida reveals that it was in fact Kuugo who dealt the finishing blow. Surprised by this revelation, Ichigo turns around to see a changed Kuugo.

Ishida tries to protect Ichigo by firing some arrows at Kuugo, but he easily sweeps them away. With this same move of the blade, Kuugo swings it back down to strike at Ichigo. Ishida wants to get Ichigo to safety as quick as he can, but before he can move from his position, Tsukishima reminds us that he's still around. As Tsukishima strikes down Ishida, and Ichigo succumbs to his injury, a mad man's laugh fills the skies.

End of schemes

Does this mean that Kuugo was the first Shinigami substitute?

With Kuugo towering over him, Ichigo can't believe that he has been affected by Tsukishima's powers. But Kuugo can no longer hide his annoyance towards Ichigo's naivety as he decides to reveal the truth to Ichigo. As Kuugo takes out his own Shinigami representative badge, he explains that he had been affected by Tsukishima's powers. But it wasn't because of Tsukishima's powers that he turned into Ichigo's enemy, but it was because of his powers that he became his ally! Much like Yukio hinted to a couple of chapters back, Kuugo now remembers the truth.

As Kuugo's real memories return, he combines his representative badge with his Cross of Scaffold, adding a skull to the design and what looks like a spine to the second handle inside the blade. As he points he improved blade at a stunned Ichigo, he tells Ichigo that he's planning on relieving Ichigo of his Fullbring. He then hits Ichigo in an all too familiar spot -remember the volume the broken coda?- as a means to take out Ichigo's powers. Could this be Ichigo's end? Did Xcution somehow complete their plans?

I could go over what happened during the chapter like I usually do in this part of the review, but this chapter serves better to take a look at what has happened throughout this arc and how it all ties in with each other.

Let's start at the beginning. Kuugo introduces himself to Ichigo in an elaborate manner by pretending to get mugged by some thugs. At this point of the story, Ishida was still unharmed, meaning he hadn't been put under 'Book of the End's spell yet. This of course raises one important question, which will be covered in this week's headspinner along with a second question.

Anyways, when Kuugo first introduced himself to Ichigo he did his best to get him into a state where he would trust him. He tried to do this by throwing suspicion on Ichigo's father and Urahara. This probably didn't have the effect he wanted, forcing him to rethink his plans. This made him turn to Tsukishima and his ability.

More than likely, Kuugo wouldn't be able to act his way into being Ichigo's ally, as was proven by the first attempts he made. The only way to truly become Ichigo's ally would be to erase all his knowledge of ever trying to trick Ichigo. The reason he wanted to trick Ichigo for now seems to be in order to get Ichigo to obtain a Fullbring -which still hasn't been named, which is odd if it were to disappear right now. But for Ichigo to obtain his Fullbring at a good pace, a few elements were required. For one, Ichigo would need to have a reason to want powers. Thus Ishida was targeted. Why Kuugo would personally harm Ishida is beyond me, but it could be that Ishida was too much for Tsukishima to handle. In any case, Ishida fell, leaving Ichigo frustrated with the fact that something like this happened so close to him -both literally and figuratively.

Besides a goal, Ichigo needed a couple of other things. Examples, a reason to trust, and the means to develop his powers. The examples came in the form of the other Xcution members, along with the means/locations to develop the powers. The reason to trust Xcution, however, still wasn't there. Here's where Chad came in.

With these elements in check, all Ichigo needed was something to keep him motivated. Something similar to what helped him develop his Shinigami powers under Aizen's plans. Tsukishima, the only one who would know the truth with everyone else under his Fullbring's spell, would serve as the perfect antagonist. With the same swipe that made Kuugo think of Tsukishima as an enemy, he rewrote some other memories as well. This explains why Kuugo thought Tsukishima had a different ability in the first place. But with Kuugo not knowing why he never knew, he deduced the ability in the same way he would have otherwise.

Going back a bit before Kuugo solving the 'Book of the End's riddle, there's the convenience of Ichigo being sealed in 'Invaders must die' as Tsukishima manipulates the rest of Ichigo's friends and his sisters. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Tsukishima didn't plot anything himself, but that it was all Kuugo who planned every move of Tsukishima's. Thus, as Kuugo trained Ichigo, Tsukishima was able to cause events to which Kuugo would react in a natural way. From using the 'Dollhouse' to having Yukio use 'Invaders must die'. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that Kuugo taking in the blast of Ichigo's Fullbring completing also had something to do with what happened at the end of this chapter.

With all cards played, everything in this arc led to what happened in this chapter. Kuugo finally woke up from his trance after Tsukishima confirmed that Ichigo had completed his powers. Ishida showing up probably wasn't intended, but nothing they couldn't handle. Kuugo then takes out the Shinigami representative badge, which has the ability to draw out a person's spiritual powers/manifest a spiritual body, in order to draw out Ichigo's Fullbring powers.

Though Kuugo's betrayal was something most of us saw coming from the moment we laid our eyes on him, I'm still satisfied with the way Kubo handled it. I can imagine there being mixed feelings about this, as it was in a way almost too predictable. But I can't deny that Kubo didn't manage to take away my attention from the whole 'Kuugo's the villain' thing I had going. Sure, I was hoping for Tsukishima and Kuugo to be on different sides, but this was also in the range of possibilities as some of you already pointed out over time in replies and in discussions. Still, the way this chapter wrapped this part of the arc up was more than I was hoping for when I was waiting for this chapter.

The way this chapter depicted everything is just trademark Bleach. The art looks sublime and fits the situations. Ichigo's despair in every step of the chapter is drawn in a way only Kubo can. Kubo even used several panels without words to depict what was happening, leaving out the use of words. I'm more than satisfied with this week's chapter and I'm even more eager to see what will happen next week. So on to the headspinners and the prediction!

Like I said in the overview, I'll put up two headspinners here. Simply because the review is early and it could be that you'll have to wait for one and a half week until the next one .

Here's the first one: Xcution set out to have Ichigo obtain a Fullbring as we are shown in this week's chapter. As I hinted in the overview, Chad's support of Xcution was rather strange. Admittedly, with the way things are standing now, it wouldn't be strange for Chad to have been affected by 'Book of the End'. But here's my question for you: How many times has Chad been affected by 'Book of the End and how often has it been?

The second headspinner has to do with Ishida. This one's rather simple: Why didn't Tsukishima erase Ishida's memories of Kuugo attacking him? Could this have something to do with Kuugo's Fullbring affecting the 'Book of the End?

Personally, I'm hoping that Ichigo will lose his Fullbring powers to Kuugo right now. Next week's chapter will be all about how Xcution's plot was put into place, so I'm not expecting a lot to happen, but I'm hoping Ichigo will be powerless at the end of the chapter. The chapter after that Ichigo and Ishida will learn what Kuugo's real goal is and they will still try to stop him. As they fail, Isshin and Urahara will show up with the Spirit Zanpakutou in order to restore Ichigo's powers. Ichigo will regain his Shinigami powers and fight Kuugo as Ishida takes on Tsukishima. Urahara will use one of his wacky inventions to snap Chad and Orihime out of their spell as they will fight the other Xcution members. Isshin and Urahara will be trapped by Riruka's Dollhouse, leaving Chad and Orihime outnumbered. Kuugo in the meantime will decide to stop Ichigo by destroying his body as he can't win against a Bankai/Hollowfied Ichigo. Luckily, Rukia appears and inserts KON into Ichigo's body! At the end of the arc, Ichigo will take back his Fullbring powers and fuse them with his Shinigami powers.

Admittedly, things won't go this smoothly, but a prinny can hope, can't he? .

That’s it for this week’s review. I hope you guys enjoyed it even though I had to rush it a bit. On that note, I'll add a post's that were lost, but not forgotten section tomorrow. I'm running out of time right now . Maybe I'll add a few notes as well, but I might as well do that to your replies. So be sure to let me know what your thoughts are on this week’s chapter and/or review, give any theories that you may have and to vote in this week’s poll. Don’t forget to rate this week’s chapter! I’ll see you guys again next week!

Rate this week's chapter by clicking on the picture above!

[MonsterEnvy]

This surprised me and a lot of others as Ginjo had tricked us

anyway you asked why Tsukishima did not erase Ishida's memory's its because he can't he does not have that power

His power is he can put his presence in someone's memory's and then make up details about him self in your memory's normally being a good friend and ally

With Ginjo he did the same thing just he made Ginjo think he was an enemy in order for Ginjo to fool Ichigo

[Tsukisama]

Awesome review as ever!

Like always, you help me read more deeply into this chapter, as I did not consider upon reading this chapter that the other members of Xcution were in on this just like Ginjou the entire time, which makes for a much better twist and also might explain Yukio's ability to track people. Similar to you, I was sort of surprised but not really by Ginjou turning out to be a villain since I never trusted completely, but I was pleasantly surprised at how the events unfolded and now think that this arc was pretty well done on Kubo's part.

Like MonsterEnvy, I initially thought that the answer to your second headspinner was that Tsukishima can only alter memories related to himself, but then I thought about Ginjou not knowing something that he should have known about Yukio's FB, which could then mean that Tsukishima can alter other memories as well since Yukio's FB isn't about Tsukishima. Maybe Tsukishima could alter Ginjou's memory of Yukio's FB because Tsukishima was present at the time it was revealed to Ginjou whereas Tsukishima was not present when Uryuu was attacked, making it impossible for him to alter that memory.

Concerning your first headspinner, I'm thinking that Chad has only been affected by Tsukishima once. Ginjou's statement about having Tsukishima cut him twice so that he would return to normal makes me think that is how Tsukishima's FB works: one cut allows him alter the past and another one removes the effect. That would make Book of the End a lot less broken of an ability, which I think works well in the event that Tsukishima is the beta to Ginjou's alpha. If this is the case, then I don't think they would risk letting Chad realize he's been brainwashed with multiple strikes.

So Chad would have to have been swayed into joining Xcution just using their words. Chad never seemed like the brains of the team, and I could believe him falling with the wrong crowd. This also might support your theory of Ginjou originally trying to convince Ichigo simply with the persuasive power of his acting and then deciding to go with Book of the End if Ginjou felt confident in this approach with it having worked on Chad.

The question for me becomes whether the other members of Xcution were really ever the power of Book of the End and, if so, when in relation to Kuugo were they affected by it. Chad didn't seem know about Tsukishima and his powers when Ichigo first joined, meaning that Tsukishima must have been made to seem like the enemy back when Chad joined the group, before Ginjou was affected by Book of the End (henceforth abbreviated as 'BotE'). If Kuugo felt confident enough to go into the plan without the mind wipe, then maybe the others did too.

I could see the plan working without all of them being under the influence of Book of the End. Giriko, Yukio, and even Jackie who otherwise underwhelms me in just about every aspect of her character seem like the types that could keep up pretenses; the only one in whose acting abilities I lack confidence is Riruka. She too could possibly have been acting, but her apparent crush on Ichigo makes me think that she might have been under BotE's spell as I don't see her as being that type of character who could develop feelings for a character and not show some signs of regretting putting on an act to fool him. Worth noting, she is the only one of them show any sort of significant emotions towards Ichigo besides Kuugo who was under the BotE effect.

I am sure you were probably already thinking this, but since you didn't mention him, I think that Shishi has been always a member of Xcution and just was assigned to assist Tsukishima during the operation. If so, then Kuugo not knowing Shishi could be explained the same way as him not knowing Yukio's tracking ability.

I really liked your predictions, by the way. I definitely wouldn't mind if they came true.

[The Underscore]

This surprised me and a lot of others as Ginjo had tricked us

anyway you asked why Tsukishima did not erase Ishida's memory's its because he can't he does not have that power

His power is he can put his presence in someone's memory's and then make up details about him self in your memory's normally being a good friend and ally

With Ginjo he did the same thing just he made Ginjo think he was an enemy in order for Ginjo to fool Ichigo

I'll have to say that I didn't expect Kuugo to betray Ichigo at this point. In fact, I was borderline on trusting Kuugo when I started looking at his actions from the last couple of chapters. Where I expected him to betray Ichigo only after getting rid of Tsukishima, it turns out he even deceived himself by getting affected by Tsukishima's ability! Talk about dedication for the cause .

Though this pertains the headspinner, I'll just have to make one note. As far as we know, Tsukishima's ability erases the moment where people are cut from their memories. I mean, don't you think everyone would be mistrusting of Tsukishima if they could remember being split in two, even if they were to think it was just a dream?

Awesome review as ever!

Like always, you help me read more deeply into this chapter, as I did not consider upon reading this chapter that the other members of Xcution were in on this just like Ginjou the entire time, which makes for a much better twist and also might explain Yukio's ability to track people. Similar to you, I was sort of surprised but not really by Ginjou turning out to be a villain since I never trusted completely, but I was pleasantly surprised at how the events unfolded and now think that this arc was pretty well done on Kubo's part.

Like MonsterEnvy, I initially thought that the answer to your second headspinner was that Tsukishima can only alter memories related to himself, but then I thought about Ginjou not knowing something that he should have known about Yukio's FB, which could then mean that Tsukishima can alter other memories as well since Yukio's FB isn't about Tsukishima. Maybe Tsukishima could alter Ginjou's memory of Yukio's FB because Tsukishima was present at the time it was revealed to Ginjou whereas Tsukishima was not present when Uryuu was attacked, making it impossible for him to alter that memory.

Concerning your first headspinner, I'm thinking that Chad has only been affected by Tsukishima once. Ginjou's statement about having Tsukishima cut him twice so that he would return to normal makes me think that is how Tsukishima's FB works: one cut allows him alter the past and another one removes the effect. That would make Book of the End a lot less broken of an ability, which I think works well in the event that Tsukishima is the beta to Ginjou's alpha. If this is the case, then I don't think they would risk letting Chad realize he's been brainwashed with multiple strikes.

So Chad would have to have been swayed into joining Xcution just using their words. Chad never seemed like the brains of the team, and I could believe him falling with the wrong crowd. This also might support your theory of Ginjou originally trying to convince Ichigo simply with the persuasive power of his acting and then deciding to go with Book of the End if Ginjou felt confident in this approach with it having worked on Chad.

The question for me becomes whether the other members of Xcution were really ever the power of Book of the End and, if so, when in relation to Kuugo were they affected by it. Chad didn't seem know about Tsukishima and his powers when Ichigo first joined, meaning that Tsukishima must have been made to seem like the enemy back when Chad joined the group, before Ginjou was affected by Book of the End (henceforth abbreviated as 'BotE'). If Kuugo felt confident enough to go into the plan without the mind wipe, then maybe the others did too.

I could see the plan working without all of them being under the influence of Book of the End. Giriko, Yukio, and even Jackie who otherwise underwhelms me in just about every aspect of her character seem like the types that could keep up pretenses; the only one in whose acting abilities I lack confidence is Riruka. She too could possibly have been acting, but her apparent crush on Ichigo makes me think that she might have been under BotE's spell as I don't see her as being that type of character who could develop feelings for a character and not show some signs of regretting putting on an act to fool him. Worth noting, she is the only one of them show any sort of significant emotions towards Ichigo besides Kuugo who was under the BotE effect.

I am sure you were probably already thinking this, but since you didn't mention him, I think that Shishi has been always a member of Xcution and just was assigned to assist Tsukishima during the operation. If so, then Kuugo not knowing Shishi could be explained the same way as him not knowing Yukio's tracking ability.

I really liked your predictions, by the way. I definitely wouldn't mind if they came true.

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the read.

I'll admit that Kuugo having deceived the rest of Xcution along with Tsukishima could've been fun as well. But I think it's for the better that Kubo decided to manipulate everyone in Xcution. I am curious whether Kuugo and the others remember everything that happened from the moment they were first cut by Tsukishima to the moment he undid the spell though... If they do remember what happened, it's possible one or two members will have a change of heart. Then again, I'm just waiting to see Ichigo, Ishida, Chad, and Orihime fighting Kuugo, Tsukishima; Yukio, Jackie, and Sushi; and Giriko and Riruka respectively. Then again, having Chad go up against three opponents at a time and Orihime up against two could be too much for them... it's not like we can have Keigo join the battle as it would make things too easy for Ichigo and the others .

I can't really go into the headspinners, but I like what you said about Tsukishima's ability only working per slash. Where the first slash activates the ability and the second one automatically deactivates it. It would most certainly help to keep it a less broken ability.

As for Shishi always having been a part of Xcution. I did imply it during one of the rants in the overview. I believe I said something along the lines of the Xcution members being present during Ichigo's stay with them being chosen because they could help with the training sessions using their abilities. Though I do recall not mentioning Sushigawara in that rant .

Also, I'd love to see my predictions come true. But I'm hoping Kubo will do it in the same way he revealed Kuugo to be a real villain: Where almost everyone already knew he was evil and that it would be revealed sooner or later, but that he reveals it at a most unexpected moment in a way we wouldn't quite expect it . I know it's asking much, but Kubo's pulled a couple of similar things in the past .

[g0dzax]

Thanks for the review,Underscore,it was very enlightening.I'd like to share my thoughts on several things(prepare for a medium rant):
-first,I have to dissagree with what you said :

In spite of there being no physical trauma

,on the first page of the chapter on the left we see Kuugo going down and there is some blood flying in the air,noticeably from Ginjou if you look closely,I am referring to the dark spots that look like drops of water,that's actually blood from Ginjou(for example,there is one drop of blood above Ginjou's head to the left),so I would suggest that Tsukishima's cut actually injured Ginjou;

-to be honest,I still haven't understood how they are able to stand in the air,I guess they fullbrought the air to be more dense or smth like this,though I hate the fact that they can walk in the air,only Shinigamis and Hollows should do that;

-Ichigo's face expressions are priceless in this chapter,they range from shock and anticipation and dissapointment and fear,to relief and yet again back to shock and fear and despair(thanks Kubo,your art expresses more than a thousand words the feelings of the characters);

-if Ginjou returned to normal after being hit by Tsukishima,I wonder why the heck did he warn IChigo to watch out for Tsukishima,I mean he could have said nothing and Tsukishima would have cut Ichigo(this makes me think about Ginjou's reasons);

-oh well,I was expecting Ishida to show up,and I also enjoyed Ichigo's rant,which shows some minor character development,Ichigo is not like he was before,when he would just swing his sword,crush and attack,no thinking at all,I'm actually glad Ichigo is now thinking,maybe in the future we'll see him devising attack plans before engaging enemies;

-I wonder what Ishida meant by his words:"I saw what was going on downstairs,rest assured I am on your side."-by downstairs maybe he meant Ichigo's friends who explained to Ishida everything that was going on,or maybe he saw Ichigo's fight,either way I am glad he came to rescue Ichigo but ended up to need rescue himself too,also I think why he told Ichigo "Don't you understand?!",it's like Ishida thought that Ichigo already knew that Ginjou attacked him,which seems a bit weird to me;

-I also wonder why the heck Ishida believes that Ginjou attacked him,to be honest I believe that prior to this point Ishida was not under Tsukishima's control,but rather he was telling the truth and Ginjou trully attacked him,with Tsukishima being nothing more than a distraction and this may be true because of the fact that Ishida simply chose to protect Ichigo from Ginjou by firing arrows at him,if Ishida truly was under Tsukishima's control then he wouldn't have done so and would have attacked Ichigo,though Kubo really managed to surprise me this time,I completely did not expect Ginjou to have been the one to attack Ishida ;

-Ichigo and Ishida ended up down on their knees,and now I finally have a theory(maybe a good one)regarding Tsukishima's powers : to be able to activate this ability,he has to pierce the heart of the target since the "heart"itself contains the memories and whatsoever,however now he didn't pierce Ishida's heart,but slashed him and thus I consider Ishida to be "clean" for now(from what I remember,Ginjou,Chad,Inou were pierced in their hearts),so I think that this is another limitation of Tsukishima's ability : it must pierce the heart for the power to activate,otherwise it's just a normal swing of a sword,the more I think about it,the more it seems probable for my theory to be a valid one,in the last chapter you (The Underscore) mentioned a seemingly unimportant fact : when Ginjou went to protect Ichigo,Tsukishima's sword changed it's path and direction,at first it seemed a regular slash but as Ginjou appeared Tsukishima delibaretely changed his attack so that he would "awaken" Ginjou,this also confirms the fact that Tsukishima is Ginjou's underling;

-soooo Ichigo gets a full huge sword hit in his chest(and heart I guess),I guess the next chapter will be pretty important,since the last Ichigo had problems with his chest(Ulquiorra blowing his chest),Ichigo turned into a monster who easily killed Ulquiorra,I expect something similar to happen in the next chapter,or maybe Ichigo will simply die and become a Shinigami(less likely to happen);

-Ginjou ...morphed !?! his own FB with the badge,I wonder if it's possible to merge different FBs in one FB,I think that the badge's original powers(to draw out the spiritual body) have been modified by Ginjou so that instead of drawing out the spiritual body it will draw out Ichigo's own FB;

-I can't help but wonder what are Chad and Inoue are doing right now?!?!They should have seen everything that was going on,they should have heard Ishida and what he said,so I expect (at the very least)that they will question Tsukishima or (better) to help Ichigo and defend him,I mean maybe Ichigo was fighting Tsukishima,but right now the very Tsukishima they hold tear cut Ichigo's friend and Ishida,I mean Chad and Inou must do something for Ichigo the next chapter,I also wonder what the heck are the other members of Xcution are doing;

-

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Tsukishima didn't plot anything himself, but that it was all Kuugo who planned every move of Tsukishima's.

,I completely agree with you here,I also think this was all Ginjou's plan and Tsukishima simply had a role to play(remember his words,"It's over for me");

-regarding your first question

How many times has Chad been affected by 'Book of the End and how often has it been?

,my answer is a simple one : Chad was only affected once,when Tsukishima visited the Xcution headquarter,I believe this since if he gets slashed a second time,his original memories would return,and from what we have seen from Ginjou it seems that after getting slashed twice you still remember the "original"past and also the "changed" past;

-regarding the second question

Why didn't Tsukishima erase Ishida's memories of Kuugo attacking him? Could this have something to do with Kuugo's Fullbring affecting the 'Book of the End?

,it's rather simple,Tsukishima can insert his presence in the target's past,and from what we have seen it's also possbile to remove himself from the target's past,his sword is only able of inserting/removing only Tsukishima in the target's past,another theory may be that the sword can insert in the target's past the one who holds the sword itself(somehow this resembles Tousen's Bankai,in which you have the touch the sword to regain your senses)maybe Tsukishima's FB works in a similar way,let's say he give the sword to Ginjou and Ginjou can use it to insert himself in the past,anyway,I hope you've understood my theory(though it's a rather poor one);

-after how this chapter has unfolded,it seems a bit more unlikely that Urahara and Isshin have been working with Xcution,it seems just too far-stretched to assume that all this was Urahara's plan to restore Ichigo's powers;

My predictions for the next chapter (that I do not expect to be true): Ichigo goes down,everything goes dark,he hears a voice,Urahara and Isshin appear,Ichigo is on the brink of death,Isshin strikes his heart with the sword and Ichigo enters his inner world where he sees someone who says "Hello,Ichigo." though we won't be able to recognize him and that'll be the cliffhanger.

[Jiggy-Ninja]

Remember, there's no guarantee that these are Kuugo's real memories. Tsukishima's powers are equally as mind-screwy (and possible even more so) than Kyouka Suigetsu.

Which really pisses me off. Is Kubo completely incapable of making a good, strong villain without making another Captain Frickin' Broken. Seriously, Book of the End is even more ridiculously powerful than Kyouka Suigetsu. Kyouka Suigetsu just made you hallucinate the here and now. BotE makes your entire damn past a hallucination, and you have no way of knowing it.

Kyouka Suigetsu = instantly incapacitated opponent
Book of the End = INSTANT MIND SLAVE ( I guarantee you he used BotE on Sushigawara )

I can hardly bring myself to be more then mildly interested in Bleach anymore.

[g0dzax]

Actually I think there is a guarantee that these are Kuugo's real memories : being cut twice by the Book of the End returns your original memorie,as stated by Kuugo himself.
I have to disagree with your opinion over Tsukishima's powers : in my humble opinion they are far beyond that of Kyouka Suigetsu,mainly because Tsukishima's powers does not make them slaves,they still have their independent will and will judge things the way they want,the only thing that changed in people affected by the Book of the End is the fact that they see Tsukishima as a very close friend,however they are not! mind-slaves,it's just a very strong (imaginary) bond with Tsukishima but they retain their thinking way and personality.For example if your words were true (Book Of The End > Kyouka Suigetsu) then let's imagine the next scenario :
-first Chad is under the effect of Book Of The End and Tsukishima tells him to kill a random human or even Orihime or Ishida or Ichigo,despite the fact that Chad honors Tsukishima as his closest friend,he will not do Tsukishima's order,simply because Chad thinks it's totally wrong to do something like that and Chad himself would not kill other friends,despite the fact that Tsukishima(his closest friends)asked him to do this;
-second,Chad is under the effect of Kyouka Suigetsu,it's quite easily to make Chad kill a random human,let's say he's walking down the street and Aizen uses Kyouka Suigetsu to create the illusion that one of the random passing humans turns into a Hollow,Chad will naturally think that it's real and will attack the Hollow to prevent it from attacking other people,however Chad would be killing a human,not the Hollow itself;

That was just a simple example in which I've expressed the basic differences between Book Of The End and Kyouga Suigetsu,I shall be a bit more clear:
-Book Of The End affects you on a subconscious level and it makes you believe that Tsukishima is a very close friend and you have a very strong bond with him,but you would react to Tsukishima the same way you would react to a real very close friend(I shall give another example,let's imagine there is no Tsukishima in the world and Ichigo orders Orihime to kill Tatsuki or Chad or Ishhida,just imagine the face Inoue would make,now the Book of the End will basically replace Ichigo with Tsukishima and Inoue will react the same because Tsukishima is simply a very close friend);
-Kyouka Suigetsu affects you on a conscious level and it affects all your sense and can trick you into seeing,hearing,smelling,touching things that are illusions,it is vastly above Book Of The End,for example Aizen can KS someone(random person) and create the illusion that Aizen is his best friend,but at the same time Aizen can create the illusion that that person lives in a palace with servants and everything else when in reality he lives in a cave;

Seriously, Book of the End is even more ridiculously powerful than Kyouka Suigetsu. Kyouka Suigetsu just made you hallucinate the here and now. BotE makes your entire damn past a hallucination, and you have no way of knowing it.

Yeah,Book Of The End creates the hallucination that you've had a very close friend with you everytime(and that's everything),and KS can make you believe you're living in a medieval age or make you see everywhere Hollows,or make you hear sounds or make you think you are an American when you're Chinese or create the illusion that you're playing at the PC when you actually don't even have a PC.

A new prediction just arose from my mind : Urahara and Isshin will not show up the next chapter,actually they will be the cliffhanger,I think we'll see Ichigo either dying or entering his inner world,while on the outside world Chad and Inou will be revolted to see Ichigo dying and will go against Tsukishima and Ginjou,we'll also see Ginjou morphing Ichigo's FB with his own.

[The Underscore]

Thanks for the review,Underscore,it was very enlightening.I'd like to share my thoughts on several things(prepare for a medium rant):
-first,I have to dissagree with what you said : ,on the first page of the chapter on the left we see Kuugo going down and there is some blood flying in the air,noticeably from Ginjou if you look closely,I am referring to the dark spots that look like drops of water,that's actually blood from Ginjou(for example,there is one drop of blood above Ginjou's head to the left),so I would suggest that Tsukishima's cut actually injured Ginjou;

-to be honest,I still haven't understood how they are able to stand in the air,I guess they fullbrought the air to be more dense or smth like this,though I hate the fact that they can walk in the air,only Shinigamis and Hollows should do that;

-Ichigo's face expressions are priceless in this chapter,they range from shock and anticipation and dissapointment and fear,to relief and yet again back to shock and fear and despair(thanks Kubo,your art expresses more than a thousand words the feelings of the characters);

-if Ginjou returned to normal after being hit by Tsukishima,I wonder why the heck did he warn IChigo to watch out for Tsukishima,I mean he could have said nothing and Tsukishima would have cut Ichigo(this makes me think about Ginjou's reasons);

-oh well,I was expecting Ishida to show up,and I also enjoyed Ichigo's rant,which shows some minor character development,Ichigo is not like he was before,when he would just swing his sword,crush and attack,no thinking at all,I'm actually glad Ichigo is now thinking,maybe in the future we'll see him devising attack plans before engaging enemies;

-I wonder what Ishida meant by his words:"I saw what was going on downstairs,rest assured I am on your side."-by downstairs maybe he meant Ichigo's friends who explained to Ishida everything that was going on,or maybe he saw Ichigo's fight,either way I am glad he came to rescue Ichigo but ended up to need rescue himself too,also I think why he told Ichigo "Don't you understand?!",it's like Ishida thought that Ichigo already knew that Ginjou attacked him,which seems a bit weird to me;

-I also wonder why the heck Ishida believes that Ginjou attacked him,to be honest I believe that prior to this point Ishida was not under Tsukishima's control,but rather he was telling the truth and Ginjou trully attacked him,with Tsukishima being nothing more than a distraction and this may be true because of the fact that Ishida simply chose to protect Ichigo from Ginjou by firing arrows at him,if Ishida truly was under Tsukishima's control then he wouldn't have done so and would have attacked Ichigo,though Kubo really managed to surprise me this time,I completely did not expect Ginjou to have been the one to attack Ishida ;

-Ichigo and Ishida ended up down on their knees,and now I finally have a theory(maybe a good one)regarding Tsukishima's powers : to be able to activate this ability,he has to pierce the heart of the target since the "heart"itself contains the memories and whatsoever,however now he didn't pierce Ishida's heart,but slashed him and thus I consider Ishida to be "clean" for now(from what I remember,Ginjou,Chad,Inou were pierced in their hearts),so I think that this is another limitation of Tsukishima's ability : it must pierce the heart for the power to activate,otherwise it's just a normal swing of a sword,the more I think about it,the more it seems probable for my theory to be a valid one,in the last chapter you (The Underscore) mentioned a seemingly unimportant fact : when Ginjou went to protect Ichigo,Tsukishima's sword changed it's path and direction,at first it seemed a regular slash but as Ginjou appeared Tsukishima delibaretely changed his attack so that he would "awaken" Ginjou,this also confirms the fact that Tsukishima is Ginjou's underling;

-soooo Ichigo gets a full huge sword hit in his chest(and heart I guess),I guess the next chapter will be pretty important,since the last Ichigo had problems with his chest(Ulquiorra blowing his chest),Ichigo turned into a monster who easily killed Ulquiorra,I expect something similar to happen in the next chapter,or maybe Ichigo will simply die and become a Shinigami(less likely to happen);

-Ginjou ...morphed !?! his own FB with the badge,I wonder if it's possible to merge different FBs in one FB,I think that the badge's original powers(to draw out the spiritual body) have been modified by Ginjou so that instead of drawing out the spiritual body it will draw out Ichigo's own FB;

-I can't help but wonder what are Chad and Inoue are doing right now?!?!They should have seen everything that was going on,they should have heard Ishida and what he said,so I expect (at the very least)that they will question Tsukishima or (better) to help Ichigo and defend him,I mean maybe Ichigo was fighting Tsukishima,but right now the very Tsukishima they hold tear cut Ichigo's friend and Ishida,I mean Chad and Inou must do something for Ichigo the next chapter,I also wonder what the heck are the other members of Xcution are doing;

-,I completely agree with you here,I also think this was all Ginjou's plan and Tsukishima simply had a role to play(remember his words,"It's over for me");

-regarding your first question ,my answer is a simple one : Chad was only affected once,when Tsukishima visited the Xcution headquarter,I believe this since if he gets slashed a second time,his original memories would return,and from what we have seen from Ginjou it seems that after getting slashed twice you still remember the "original"past and also the "changed" past;

-regarding the second question ,it's rather simple,Tsukishima can insert his presence in the target's past,and from what we have seen it's also possbile to remove himself from the target's past,his sword is only able of inserting/removing only Tsukishima in the target's past,another theory may be that the sword can insert in the target's past the one who holds the sword itself(somehow this resembles Tousen's Bankai,in which you have the touch the sword to regain your senses)maybe Tsukishima's FB works in a similar way,let's say he give the sword to Ginjou and Ginjou can use it to insert himself in the past,anyway,I hope you've understood my theory(though it's a rather poor one);

-after how this chapter has unfolded,it seems a bit more unlikely that Urahara and Isshin have been working with Xcution,it seems just too far-stretched to assume that all this was Urahara's plan to restore Ichigo's powers;

My predictions for the next chapter (that I do not expect to be true): Ichigo goes down,everything goes dark,he hears a voice,Urahara and Isshin appear,Ichigo is on the brink of death,Isshin strikes his heart with the sword and Ichigo enters his inner world where he sees someone who says "Hello,Ichigo." though we won't be able to recognize him and that'll be the cliffhanger.

You're welcome. Let's take a look at your medium sized rant .

I was only referring to the injury dealt by Tsukishima. The blood on Kuugo's forehead was already there before he got cut, while facing Sushigawara.

The standing in the air doesn't really make much sense, I agree. I had some trouble with this as well, but I just ignored it as they never explained how the walking on air would be different from standing in the air.

Ichigo's facial expressions really were drawn nicely. For everything that people complain about Bleach being whatever bad thing they say about it, you can't say Kubo's art is lacking.

Kuugo warning Ichigo could have something to do with him wanting to catch Ichigo off guard with his own Fullbring. Divert the attention to Tsukishima so Kuugo can attack Ichigo when he least expects it. Ishida almost ruined this simple plan .

I honestly doubt Ichigo will do a lot of thinking before fighting. He's always had the simple determination to beat up people as hard and often as is needed. Still, his inner dialogue was entertaining enough.

Ishida's words were a bit confusing, I agree. I couldn't really make out what he meant by it, but I'm sure he was referring to what was going on at the ground level, rather than 'downstairs'. When asked Ichigo why he didn't understand, he was probably referred to the reason for him to point his arrow in Ichigo's direction.

I don't have any doubts about Ishida not being under Tsukishima's control at this time. Next week might be a different story, but I'm hoping Ishida will be key to solving the matter with Tsukishima's Fullbring. Like I've mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I believe that Ishida is capable of sucking away Reiatsu from the Fullbring items with his ability. As such, he should be capable of doing some good things in the fight against Fullbring users. Remember, this is the reason why he didn't train with Orihime and Chad under Yoruichi.

I have to agree with your theory on Tsukishima's ability. I have little to add with the information we have right now.

My guess is that Ichigo isn't going to die or anything. Let's face it, Chad's had worse happen to him, and he isn't the main character .

I wasn't quite sure how or why the Fullbring would combine two items into one. It's possible that the cross itself was part of the badge Kuugo was holding. This would explain why he could fuse it.

I'm not sure why no one else's around right now. Maybe Tsukishima asked them to stay back for a moment when Ishida arrived. Either that, or Ishida took the two of them out using a Quincy tool .

Honestly, I'm expecting Tsukishima to be a complete airhead or something. Where he seems calculating and such because he reads a lot of books, I wouldn't be surprised to see him act more along the lines of say Rose from the Visoreds. He would be smart enough, just not as smart as we were lead to believe.

Can't really comment on the headspinners any more than I already have .

I never thought Urahara and Xcution were working together. Though I guess I could see why people would think that.

I wouldn't mind seeing Ichigo return to his Inner world soon. I would love to see old man Zangetsu again .

Remember, there's no guarantee that these are Kuugo's real memories. Tsukishima's powers are equally as mind-screwy (and possible even more so) than Kyouka Suigetsu.

Which really pisses me off. Is Kubo completely incapable of making a good, strong villain without making another Captain Frickin' Broken. Seriously, Book of the End is even more ridiculously powerful than Kyouka Suigetsu. Kyouka Suigetsu just made you hallucinate the here and now. BotE makes your entire damn past a hallucination, and you have no way of knowing it.

Kyouka Suigetsu = instantly incapacitated opponent
Book of the End = INSTANT MIND SLAVE ( I guarantee you he used BotE on Sushigawara )

I can hardly bring myself to be more then mildly interested in Bleach anymore.

There's always a possibility for these being fake memories of Kuugo's. But when Kuugo was pretending to be the villain, I'd say signs of his true self were showing. Though I agree that BotE (and Kyouka Suigetsu) are rather broken abilities, they aren't as broken as we are lead to believe. In the end, Kyouka Suigetsu was easier to overcome than we were lead to believe (as shown by Genryuusai and Gin), so I'm expecting BotE to be similar. The thing that makes them look so broken is that there's too little information to work with.

Actually I think there is a guarantee that these are Kuugo's real memories : being cut twice by the Book of the End returns your original memorie,as stated by Kuugo himself.
I have to disagree with your opinion over Tsukishima's powers : in my humble opinion they are far beyond that of Kyouka Suigetsu,mainly because Tsukishima's powers does not make them slaves,they still have their independent will and will judge things the way they want,the only thing that changed in people affected by the Book of the End is the fact that they see Tsukishima as a very close friend,however they are not! mind-slaves,it's just a very strong (imaginary) bond with Tsukishima but they retain their thinking way and personality.For example if your words were true (Book Of The End > Kyouka Suigetsu) then let's imagine the next scenario :
-first Chad is under the effect of Book Of The End and Tsukishima tells him to kill a random human or even Orihime or Ishida or Ichigo,despite the fact that Chad honors Tsukishima as his closest friend,he will not do Tsukishima's order,simply because Chad thinks it's totally wrong to do something like that and Chad himself would not kill other friends,despite the fact that Tsukishima(his closest friends)asked him to do this;
-second,Chad is under the effect of Kyouka Suigetsu,it's quite easily to make Chad kill a random human,let's say he's walking down the street and Aizen uses Kyouka Suigetsu to create the illusion that one of the random passing humans turns into a Hollow,Chad will naturally think that it's real and will attack the Hollow to prevent it from attacking other people,however Chad would be killing a human,not the Hollow itself;

That was just a simple example in which I've expressed the basic differences between Book Of The End and Kyouga Suigetsu,I shall be a bit more clear:
-Book Of The End affects you on a subconscious level and it makes you believe that Tsukishima is a very close friend and you have a very strong bond with him,but you would react to Tsukishima the same way you would react to a real very close friend(I shall give another example,let's imagine there is no Tsukishima in the world and Ichigo orders Orihime to kill Tatsuki or Chad or Ishhida,just imagine the face Inoue would make,now the Book of the End will basically replace Ichigo with Tsukishima and Inoue will react the same because Tsukishima is simply a very close friend);
-Kyouka Suigetsu affects you on a conscious level and it affects all your sense and can trick you into seeing,hearing,smelling,touching things that are illusions,it is vastly above Book Of The End,for example Aizen can KS someone(random person) and create the illusion that Aizen is his best friend,but at the same time Aizen can create the illusion that that person lives in a palace with servants and everything else when in reality he lives in a cave;


Yeah,Book Of The End creates the hallucination that you've had a very close friend with you everytime(and that's everything),and KS can make you believe you're living in a medieval age or make you see everywhere Hollows,or make you hear sounds or make you think you are an American when you're Chinese or create the illusion that you're playing at the PC when you actually don't even have a PC.

A new prediction just arose from my mind : Urahara and Isshin will not show up the next chapter,actually they will be the cliffhanger,I think we'll see Ichigo either dying or entering his inner world,while on the outside world Chad and Inou will be revolted to see Ichigo dying and will go against Tsukishima and Ginjou,we'll also see Ginjou morphing Ichigo's FB with his own.

I agree on these being Kuugo's real memories. But I wonder whether BotE really is more overpowered than Kyouka Suigetsu. Controlling all senses is a lot more devastating than thinking Tsukishima's a swell guy if you were to ask me. Though reading your post I'd say that's exactly the point you're trying to make . So what you're trying to say is Book of the End < Kyouka Suigetsu,right?

I see you're continuing your previous prediction partially, by having Ichigo die . I wonder whether it would take Ichigo's death for them to revolt. This injury should be enough for Orihime and Chad to at least question Tsukishima's actions, don't you think?

[g0dzax]

Though reading your post I'd say that's exactly the point you're trying to make . So what you're trying to say is Book of the End < Kyouka Suigetsu,right?

Exactly,though I approached the matter with examples and a very complicated way of saying BotE<Kyouka Suigetsu .

I see you're continuing your previous prediction partially, by having Ichigo die . I wonder whether it would take Ichigo's death for them to revolt. This injury should be enough for Orihime and Chad to at least question Tsukishima's actions, don't you think?

Wow,I'm amazed you still remember since I myself forgot that I predicted that the last chapter too . Usually I make predictions for the next chapter and don't make predictions for long-terms.
I agree with the fact that this injury (I hope you are refering to Ichigo) should be enought for Orihime and Chad to question Tsukishima(since it was Ginjou who actually cut Ichigo) however I do really damn hope that Chad and Orihime won't be on Tsukishima's side after seeing that Tsukishima himself slashed Ishida!And from Chad and Inoue's POV Ishida was completely normal,so I expect them to not question,but fight Tsukishima for what he did to Ishida.Though it may be possible that Kubo will say(through his characters) that no one saw Tsukishima attacking Ishida or Ginjou attacking Ichigo because they were too far away or another silly reason .