Pray for the Mantis

Standing across from a wounded Nnoitra Gilga, Kenpachi Zaraki feels for the eyepatch that was torn away and blames its loss for his sudden lack of restraint. When Nnoitra asks what the patch was, the captain explains it seals his Reiatsu so his fights can last longer, then wonders aloud whether the Espada is still whole or drawing his final breath. Refusing to concede that any strike could end him, Nnoitra swears he will never die and triggers his Resurreccion, Santa Teresa.

The release throws up a wall of sand shaped for a moment like a crescent moon, clearing to show Nnoitra reborn with mismatched horns, a second pair of arms grown from his shoulders, heavy plating over his limbs and torso, and a long, uneven scythe gripped in each hand. Watching from a distance, Ichigo Kurosaki notes that the deep vertical cut Kenpachi landed has already sealed shut.

Asked how it feels to witness an Espada's true form, Kenpachi only grins, savoring the way Nnoitra's Reiatsu seems to hone his blade. He charges and slashes down, but the Espada parries with one scythe, taunts him, and rakes another across his chest, hurling the captain to the sand where he lands motionless as blood sprays from the wound.

The chapter appears in the thirty-fifth volume, HIGHER THAN THE MOON, and was adapted as Episode 201, Nnoitra Released! Multiplying Arms. Kenpachi, Nnoitra, Ichigo, and Orihime Inoue make up its small cast.