Several characters in the Bleach anime realm remain mysterious, even after the initial series’ finale over a decade ago. While some fans have attempted to come up with their own explanations for these unanswered questions, others are hoping Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War will delve into these mysteries. One character whose fate and true origin still mystifies fans is Yachiru, the former lieutenant of Division 11 under captain Kenpachi Zaraki.
Yachiru was first introduced after a particularly brutal battle where Kenpachi had taken out several men with his unnamed Zanpakuto. She appeared as a young child and wasn’t sure what her own name was, accepting the name offered by Kenpachi. Although she was surrounded by the aftereffects of the battle, she appeared unbothered and seemed interested in the captain’s Zanpakuto. The interaction was seen as foreshadowing by some fans, who began to speculate the young girl was actually Kenpachi’s Zanpakuto spirit.
Is Yachiru actually Kenpachi’s Zanpakuto Nozarashi?
In the time after Kenpachi finds and subsequently adopts Yachiru, she becomes an accomplished Soul Reaper herself, becoming lieutenant under Kenpachi and president of the Soul Reaper Women’s Association. She becomes part of Soul Society, which makes her sudden disappearance all the more jarring. After Kenpachi defeated Gremmy, Yachiru just faded out of existence, leaving only her lieutenant badge and Soul Academy uniform in her wake. She would reappear only once more, talking to a Kenpachi on his last legs right before he unlocked his Bankai. Her sudden reappearance made some fans wonder whether Kenpachi’s Zanpakuto Nozarashi was imitating Yachiru, but it’s implied Yachiru is Nozarashi, or at least a part of the spirit.
Aside from her strange first appearance and her convenient reappearance, Bleach‘s author Tite Kubo confirmed that Yuchiru is essentially Kenpachi’s Zanpakuto. On his fansite Klub Outside (acquired via Reddit), Kubo responded to a question about Yachiru’s true nature, saying Yachiru is as if Kenpachi’s Bankai had manifested as a Soul Reaper. He further elaborated that the relationship between Yachiru and Nozarashi was like Zangetsu and Tensa Zangetsu.
“Yachiru represents a form of Kenpachi’s Bankai that was separated from its main body, and which gained the power of a Shinigami upon receiving a name from Kenpachi. The true embodiment of Nozarashi is that of a grown woman.”
While Kibo’s pretty clear that Yachiru is Kenpachi’s Bankai, he doesn’t explain how she was able to manifest independently from him (though he does suggest that Kenpachi addressing her as a Soul Reaper is what gave her those abilities) nor does he expand on how she was able to have her own zanpakuto. One thing is for sure, Yachiru’s existence is a fascinating one, and hopefully we’ll see this expanded on in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War soon.