BLEACH: FINAL ARC — THOUSAND-YEAR BLOOD WAR

(千年血戦篇, Sennen Kessen-hen)

ACT I: THE BLOOD WARFARE

Manga Volumes 55 – 60 | Chapters 480 – 540

"The peaceful days are over. The invisible empire rises from the shadows."

• The Declaration of War (Ch. 480–499)

  The Wandenreich invades. Lieutenant Sasakibe falls. Ichigo Kurosaki encounters the enemy in Hueco Mundo.

• The First Invasion: Trampled by Shadows (Ch. 500–510)

  The Sternritter assault the Seireitei. Captains' Bankai are stolen. The Gotei 13 crumbles under the might of the Quincy.

• The Fire (Ch. 511–514)

  Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto vs. Yhwach. The Head Captain falls. The Soul Society is devastated.

• The Royal Guard Descends (Ch. 515–522)

  Squad Zero arrives to retrieve Ichigo, Renji, Rukia, and Byakuya. The healing at the Soul King Palace begins.

INTERLUDE: EVERYTHING BUT THE RAIN

Manga Volume 60 | Chapters 528 – 537

"The sins of the father. The truth of the mother."

• The Truth of the Past (Ch. 528–537)

  Isshin Kurosaki reveals his origins as a Captain. The story of Masaki Kurosaki (Quincy) and the Hollow "White." The birth of a hybrid soul.

• The Blade Is Me (Ch. 538–542)

  Ichigo reforges Zangetsu. He accepts both his Hollow and Quincy sides as his true power.

ACT II: THE SEPARATION (THE LAST 9 DAYS)

Manga Volumes 61 – 67 | Chapters 543 – 611

"The King awakens. The world begins to end in nine days."

• The Kaiser's Successor (Ch. 543–546)

  Uryū Ishida joins the Wandenreich and is named Yhwach's heir (Antithesis). The friendship is severed.

• The Second Invasion: Shadow Realm (Ch. 547–588)

  The Wandenreich replaces the Seireitei with the Schatten Bereich. Major battles: Komamura’s Humanization, Rukia’s Hakka no Togame, Kenpachi vs. Gremmy ("The Visionary").

• The March of the Zombies (Ch. 589–611)

  Giselle Gewelle’s zombie army. Mayuri Kurotsuchi opens his laboratory. The Gotei 13 pushes back.

ACT III: THE CONFLICT (ROYAL PALACE INVASION)

Manga Volumes 68 – 72 | Chapters 612 – 659

"To shoot down the God."

• Storming the Heavens (Ch. 612–634)

  Yhwach invades the Soul King Palace. Squad Zero vs. The Schutzstaffel (Elite Guard). Ichibei Hyōsube paints the world black.

• The Soul King Falls (Ch. 635–644)

  Yhwach kills the Soul King. Mimihagi intervenes. The worlds begin to collapse.

• FRIEND (Ch. 645–659)

  Shunsui Kyōraku vs. Lille Barro. Mayuri vs. Pernida. The tragic history of Bazz-B and Haschwalth.

ACT IV: THE DEATH AND THE STRAWBERRY

Manga Volumes 73 – 74 | Chapters 660 – 686

"The blade that shatters fate."

• Wahrwelt (True World) (Ch. 660–679)

  The final reshaping of the Royal Realm. Urahara vs. Askin Nakk Le Vaar. Kenpachi, Byakuya, and Toshiro vs. Gerard Valkyrie.

• The Almighty (Ch. 680–684)

  Ichigo and Orihime confront Yhwach. The power to alter the future. Aizen joins the fray. The Silver Arrow.

• Death & Strawberry (Ch. 685–686)

  Conclusion. Ten years later. The final traces of Yhwach vanish. A new generation rises.