a Devilish Perspective

Inside the Fourth Division's makeshift aid post, Isane Kotetsu hurries to a bloodied Yachiru, who cannot say what struck her. The culprit, Guenael Lee, reveals himself as Sternritter "V" and brags that his Vanishing Point keeps enemies from perceiving or recalling him at all. He works through its layers as the fight unfolds: one setting hides his body, another erases his very existence, and blending the two lets any strike pass through a phantom while he cuts from concealment. A third stage wipes him from memory entirely.

None of it holds against Yachiru. She keeps lashing out on reflex, grazing him again and again without ever knowing who he is, which baffles both Guenael and a scolding Isane. Yachiru simply says the man gave her a funny feeling, the same instinct her captain Kenpachi trusts when he picks a fight. Unsettled by her oddly colored hair and feral air, Guenael dismisses her as a wild animal he must put down before she runs loose.

When he lunges to stab her from behind, Yachiru spins and slashes, and though he shifts away untouched, the return of his form leaves the bridge of his nose split open. He insists his dodge was perfect, but she explains that her sword trails mimic blades before and after each swing, so the harder a foe times her, the surer the cut lands. She then calls forth the two beasts of Sanpo Kenju and brings them down in a heavy strike.

Guenael Lee corners Yachiru and Isane and demonstrates the three tiers of his Vanishing Point ability. Yachiru repeatedly wounds him by attacking on pure instinct rather than sight. She unveils the copycat-blade property of her Shikai, Sanpo Kenju, which strikes foes even as they dodge, and manifests its two beasts to press the attack.

This chapter opens Volume 64, DEATH IN VISION, whose cover features Gremmy Thoumeaux. Its events were adapted in Episode 386, I AM THE EDGE. It follows Closer, Closer and precedes The Blaster.