The Soul King's Legs

Written by The Inquisitor

Ever since the introduction of Mimhagi, the Soul King’s right hand, there has been one question burning in the mind of everyone who reads Bleach: if the Soul King’s right hand is sentient and separate from the main body, are the other appendages separate as well?

Am I the only one that thinks its strange that he's missing both arms, but he's missing only the bottom half of his legs? 

At the moment only two of the limbs are accounted for: the right hand that has been absorbed by Yhwach, and the left hand, the Quincy Pernida. However, the whereabouts of the legs are still unknown. The question is: where are they? Are they just sitting around waiting to jump in when they feel like it? Do they need someone to summon them? Do they inhabit someone like the Tailed Beasts? Or are they secretly a character that we’ve already met? Either one of these is a definite possibility, but after thinking out all of them carefully, only the fourth one gave me names.

A character having powerful a being living inside them is a rather common theme, one that has been used in both Naruto and Fairy Tail, with the Tailed Beasts and the Dragons, it wouldn’t be surprising for Bleach to use it as well. Now that this theory has answered the question of where the Legs are, the question that needs to be answered now is: who do they inhabit?

If the Legs do in fact inhabit two separate individuals, it wouldn’t be surprising for those individuals to share a similar characteristic. My first thought was immense spiritual power, but the list that that left me with was way too long for it to be helpful. My second thought was that they would probably have some sort of special power. That’s when it hit me, a unique unexplained power. Imagine my surprise when that left me with two people: Ganju Shiba and Orihime Inoue.

There are two reasons why I suspect that Ganju may be one of the legs. First, he does have a unique power: his sand magic. It is possible that the magic is only Kido but, as seen during his battle with Yumichika, Ganju’s magic and Kido do slightly differ from each other. Unlike Kido, Ganju’s magic doesn’t have an incantation, and it also is not numbered.[1]

It's fine. my back broke my fall.

And second, it would give Ganju a role to play. Based on recent chapters, it would appear that Ganju is going to play a part in the final battle against Yhwach. But when comparing their powers, it makes me wonder how the hell Ganju is going to help at all. Even when they first set off in chapter 598, it felt like the only real reason he was there was so that the could have a “the gangs back together” moment.[2] If Ganju really is connected to one of the legs, it would give him an important role. He won’t be there just for the sake of nostalgia.

See? Even Ichigo wants to know.

Next is Orihime, unlike Ganju there is only one reason that I suspect that Orihime is connected to the Soul King. That reason is: Orihime’s power, Shun Shun Rikka. Ever since its introduction, Shun Shun Rikka has raised many questions. How does she have that power? Are there others with similar abilities? And what type of power is it?

The first question was thought to have been answered by Aizen in chapter 401. The special abilities of both Orihime and Yasutora Sado were given to them by the wish granting Hougyoku. However in the same chapter Aizen also implies that the Hougyoku can only grant a wish if the receiver has the power to do accomplish whatever it is they desire. This could mean that Chad and Orihime already had these powers their whole lives, and would have activated them on their own eventually.[3] This guess is later confirmed in the Fullbringer Arc where it is revealed that Chad is actually a Fullbringer[4].

As for the second question, there is one person who has similar abilities to Orihime. The Vizard Hachigen Ushouda. However, while their abilities may be similar, there are two differences that made it so that Orihime is on my suspect list, but Hachi is not.

First, as we all know, Orihime usually uses her ability to heal the injuries of others. For example, in chapter 240, she healed the arm of Grimmjow, which had been cut off and destroyed by Kaname Tosen. However, her abilities greatly transcend mere healing. According to Aizen it is “rejection of events” Orihime is able to take any event and reject the fact that it ever happened, returning the item of focus to the way it would have been if the event never occurred [5]. This power allows her to heal injuries, and even bring back the dead [6]. While the healing capabilities of Hachi’s ability are incredibly similar to Orihime’s, Hachi’s ability doesn’t “reject”, it regresses time and space, making them two completely different abilities [7].

Damn, has he always been that huge?

Second, unlike Orihime, Hachi's power can be easily explained. During his Soul Reaper days Hachi was the vice-captain of the Kido Corps. The second most proficient Kido user in the universe. It wouldn't be too far fetched to say that his abilities are just another form of Kido that he invented himself.

                 

This gif made me realize how much I like this guy.

Now for the final question, what type of power is it? Does Shun Shun Rikka have a category it can be put into? Out of all the types of powers in the Bleach universe the only one it has a possibility of being, is Fullbring. However as witnessed with Chad and Ichigo, and then confirmed by Ginjo, we know that Fullbring evolves and develops over time, and Orihime’s power has remained virtually the same over the course of the series. Out of all the powers seen in Bleach, Shun Shun Rikka doesn’t seem to be connected to any of them. However, it may be connected to a type of power that has yet to be seen in Bleach. Using her powers, Orihime can reject events and resurrect the dead, powers that are akin to that of a god, the powers of the Deity that she is hosting.

Well, that ends this theory, and, as with every theory I am sure there are a few flaws. Do you see any? Or do you have a theory that you would like me to take a look at? Let me know in the comments section.

Ladies and gentleman I present to you, God. or a fifth of him.

1. Bleach chapters 86-90.
2. Bleach chapter 598.
3. Bleach chapter 401.
4. Bleach chapter 433.
5. Bleach chapter 240.
6. Bleach chapter 274.
7. Bleach.wikia.com/wiki/Hachigen_Ushoda. Actual chapter unknown.

TheInquisitor   .

The Inquisitor is an autistic otaku with little social life. If, for any reason, you need to contact him the preferred method would be to email him at Steven.conner839@gmail.com, or you can go to his ask.fm account: ask.fm/guardiansandfollowers. He likes to get straight to the point.