Another Bleach chapter is out, so let's talk about it.
Spoilers and sarcastic applause after the cut.
I'm not sure why I didn't think of it before. However, it does make a weird sort of sense.
The elite Stern Ritter known as Pernida is actually the left arm of the Soul King.
Obviously, the Soul King before his demise was missing both arms. It's therefore not surprising to find that said arms had taken up residence with spiritually powerful entities, namely Ukitake and Pernida.
In this case, I have to wonder whether or not Pernida's power ("The Compulsory") was innate, or whether he acquired it thanks to holding the left arm of the Soul King. Given how Bach's power is to share parts of his soul with the rest of the Stern Ritter, there is an argument to be made that "The Compulsory" resulted from Pernida meeting Bach.
Still, there is much to be seen and this chapter was not especially indicative of what Pernida can do, or his origin.
So I guess we'll find out more about Pernida in the next couple of weeks.
This was not the development I was expecting, and since Mayuri and Kenpachi are involved, it's not as interesting as it could be. But it has been a nice change-of-pace, even though recent chapters have kept crucial information close to the vest and haven't really explained anything. They've been really short and haven't said much of anything, thanks to being focused on dialogue between various shinigami that I care about even less than Mayuri and Kenpachi.
There are probably worse things to concentrate on, but a chapter like this one just solidifies my theory that the manga won't end until at least 700 chapters have been released.
