Warning: Spoilers for Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War Episode 5In Bankai has lived on after his death in Bleach, and now it's a threat to the one man he wanted to protect most.
Of all the Lieutenants in the Soul Society's 13 Court Guard Squads, Lieutenant Chojiro Sasakibe of Squad One may be one of the least well-known. He had a fairly minimal role in the original Soul Society arc, then mostly appears (outside of filler) in background shots standing alongside his boss, Head Captain Yamamoto. Since most at the lieutenant rank (aside from Ikkaku and Renji) haven't achieved their Bankai, there wasn't much reason to suspect that Sasakibe had one. Sasakibe was killed back in the first episode of The Thousand-Year Blood War by the first Quincy to arrive, but he was able to relay their ability to hamper Bankai use before ing away--a vital clue that several of Bleach's Soul Reaper Captains forgot to take into .
In episode 5, Sasakibe's killer, a Quincy named Driscoll Berci, is attacking Shuhei Hisagi, another Lieutenant, but the one-sided fight is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a very angry Yamamoto. Berci gloats that he will use Sasakibe's stolen Bankai to kill Yamamoto, probably the greatest insult to Sasakibe's legacy one could imagine. The episode also includes a flashback to when Sasakibe and Yamamoto first met, showing the Lieutenant's loyalty has lasted for generations, and it explains that the scar on Yamamoto's head was caused by Sasakibe's Bankai when it was new. Berci begins to summon the Bankai, causing a storm of purple lightning to erupt around the area and striking Yamamoto with several bolts. Yamamoto is unharmed, however, and retaliates at full force, incinerating Berci and reclaiming his subordinate's Bankai.
Sasakibe Was Rare Among Lieutenants for His Bankai
As stated earlier, few lieutenants have earned their Bankai, but as the top subordinate in the Head Captain's personal squad, it's perhaps to be expected that he might be a special circumstance. And it's not unheard of for those below the rank of Captain to hold a Bankai, as several of Squad 10 had secretly achieved that power. What is much rarer is that a Soul Reaper would unlock their Bankai, and then proceed to not use it for 2,000 years. Interestingly, despite having not been revealed yet, the ability was hinted at during the anime's Zanpakuto Unknown Tales filler arc, where Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto took humanoid forms. There, Sasakibe's Zanpakuto, Gonryumaru, had the ability to control lightning, and was angry that his master would let his power go unused. No doubt Gonryumaru's spirit was relieved to not have failed Sasakibe by injuring the Head Captain.
Lieutenant Sasakibe may not be one of Bleach's most popular characters, but it seems his Bankai was at least one worthy of respect, even if fans never got to see him use it seriously.
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