BLEACH: Who is Hikone Ubuginu?

Key conclusions

• Takinada Tsunayashiro's manipulations reveal the dark secrets of the Soul Society, leading to attempts to overthrow the order.
• Hikone Ubuginu, a unique hybrid, was artificially created by Takinada to become the next Soul King.
• Hikone's Resurrección showcases multiple abilities from various races aimed at absorbing the Soul King.

The I can't be afraid of my own world Ryo Narita's novels add a lot of interesting lore BLEACHincluding revealing the identity of one of the original five Great Noble Families, as well as adding context to the series' cosmology regarding the truth behind the Soul King.

The introduction of the antagonist of the Takinada novel trilogy, Tsunayashiro, and his mysterious assistant, Hikone Ubuginu, revealed a lot about BLEACH A universe that wasn't fully explored in the manga, including some bits of information about an earlier time. Who are the Hikone Ubuginu and what is their significance for BLEACH history?

An incredible existence

A complete hybrid

Takinada Tsunayashiro, a member of a branch of the Tsunayashiro clan, one of the Four Great Noble Families of the Soul Society, orchestrated a series of assassinations in order to become the head of the family and thus control the Department of Visual Aids and CCTV. It also gave him access to records detailing Soul Society's darkest secrets, including the original sin of the Shinigami.

After learning about the warped sense of justice that the Shinigami were putting in jeopardy to protect, Tokinada came to the conclusion that being conniving, sadistic, and violent was the right way to be a Shinigami. Takinada's influence is understated but significant – he is the Shinigami that former 9th Squad Captain Kaname Tosen recalls killing his best friend, a woman named Kakyo, who was killed by her husband, who was let go because he was a member of one of the Four great noble families.

Anyway, this person is the reason that the former leader of Xcution Gindjō Kugo was accused of killing an innocent Shinigami – Takinada learned that the Fullbringers were not the ones whose mothers were attacked by voids during pregnancy, exposing their unborn children to hollow reiatsu in vitro, but rather those whose souls contained fragments, or “Nails,” of the King of Souls himself.

Tokinada enlisted the abilities of 4th Squad 3rd Rank Hanatara, Yamada Seinasuke's older brother; a former lieutenant of the 4th Squad who is many times more knowledgeable in Kidō, and a woman named Aura Michibein, a Fullbringer who leads a religious cult born from the ashes of Xcution to create an artificial hybrid soul from the souls of thousands of Shinigami, Hollows, Quincy, and Fullbringers. The artificial soul was unstable to A thousand-year bloody warwhere Takinada was able to access the brain of Sternritter V – The Visionary, Gremmy Thoumeaux, spawning an androgynous, bubbly personality known as Hikone Ubuginu, a servant of the Tsunayasira clan and an entity similar in composition to the series' protagonist. Ichigo Kurosaki.

A candidate for the king of souls

Tokinada created Hikone to usurp the King of Souls

The reason for combining the souls of different races in Hikone's composition is because of Tokinada's desire to overthrow the current order and make them the new King of Souls. Incorporating countless Fullbringers, many of whom were Jinjo's comrades, into Hikone's creation means that several fragments of the Soul King are reunited within their bodies, making Hikone's facial expression different from Ichigo's.

This is due to the strange quality of the Soul King's fragments, which have a reality warping power similar to the Hogyoku, making them a hybrid with a completely different trajectory. Hikone's Zanpakutó̄, Ikomikidomoe, is a once-sealed weapon created from an ancient Lagina, which Ichibe Hyosube renamed with the power of his Zanpakutó̄, Ichimonji, because it was too powerful and comprised of too many souls to purify through normal means.

Hikone's unique composition is the only reason they can wield Ikomikidomoe, which is itself a hybrid existence rather than a standard Asauchi turned Zanpakutо̄, but Hollow's voracious nature ultimately means that it robs Hikone of a huge part their reiatsu, consuming the Soul King shatters within them in pursuit of the insane ambition that got him destroyed: long ago, the Void that became Ikomikidomoe wanted to eat the Soul King. So Tokinada presented it to a vassal; which he created with the desire to usurp the Soul King, with a Zanpakutо̄ that was the result of a certain Hollow's greed, combining two hybrid powers somehow related to the Soul King.

Hikone Ubuginu's many abilities

Freedom from restrictions

When Hikone activated their Resurrección, their appearance became more and more void, and the Zanpakuto revealed different abilities depending on the activation phrase that was used. In addition to void abilities such as Sonido, Hierro, Gran Rey Cero, and rapid regeneration, Hikone also has access to a variety of Quincy and Fullbringer techniques, including Blut Vene, the ability to summon Heilig Bogen, reishi manipulation, and the use of Bringer Light. There is also great mastery over these opposing abilities, with Hikone being able to combine abilities to devastating effect, such as when they combine a flurry of shots from their Heilig Bogen with Cero or Blut Vene with Hierro.

In addition to the immeasurable reiatsu that results from their composition, Hikone has incredible fighting instincts and the satisfaction of fighting strong enemies that comes from the brain of Grammy. During Art Can't Fear Your OwIn the world story, Hikone fights and defeats several powerful opponents, including Kenpachi Zaraki (who has reached his bankai at this point), Neliel Tu Odelshwank, Candice Catnip, Lupi Antenara, Tierra Haribel, Grimmjow, and a few others. Their Resurrección, Ikomikidomoe Hō'ōraku Hakkei is a brilliant work. It translates as Ikomikidomoe, Eight Views of the Fall of the Phoenix or Ikomikidomoe: Eight Scenic Sights Fenghuang A drop that represents the full name of the Zanpakuto. The name “Ikomikidomoe”, written 已己巳己巴, comes from the combination yodijukugo; a Japanese idiom consisting of four characters and “-tomoe”, a word referring to the Japanese comma.

The final resurrection

Sun absorber

“Ikomiki” means “things that resemble each other”, while the character 巴, which gives us the last part of the name, is also understood in Chinese to refer to “ba”, the giant snake that is part of the idiom ” bā shé tūn” xiàng” – the snake swallows the elephant; a description of insatiable greed. As empty, this idiom reflects the ancient attempt of Ikomikidomoe to eat the soul king. The actual title of Ikomikidomoe Hō'ōraku Hakkei, written 鳳落八景, evokes Fenghuang (known as Hō'ō in Japanese), the phoenix in Chinese mythology, which is an immortal bird whose rare appearance is said to be a harbinger of harmony at the ascension of a new emperor or era.

This is a representation of syzygy; a harmonious combination of male and female aspects (hence the genderless hybrid soul, Hikone). The full name Ikomikidomoe is similar to “That which devours such as itself”, but the eight species part comes from the auspiciousness of the number eight in Buddhism, which may refer to the Noble Eightfold Path; practices that can lead one to release from the cycle of reincarnation; or Ashtamangala; the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism and various other Eastern religions associated with enlightenment.

“Eight Species” is also an East Asian concept associated with the eight most beautiful species in the area, again reflecting the wealth associated with the number 8. Thus, “Ikomikidomoe Hō'ōraku Hakkei” can be understood as “That which devours those who loves By Herself, the eight picturesque sights of Fenghuang's fall', the Fenghuang in question being the asexual soul king, and the expression of the eight picturesque sights refers to Ikomikidomoe's desire to see her devour the soul king; but also shows how such an event leads not only to its own destruction but also to a return to chaos. This gives Ikomikidomoe a role similar to Apep in Egyptian myth: the serpent that swallows the sun, the complete destruction of the life-giving force and thus the denial of any chance of attaining enlightenment due to its gluttony; a gluttony that eventually led to his inability to purify himself through normal means and meant that the millions of souls he absorbed were excluded from the cycle of reincarnation.