A new chapter of Bleach is out, so let's talk about it.
Spoilers and black cats after the cut.
Apparently, Yoruichi is now Lord Raiden.
It's always a little weird and/or off-putting to move elsewhere while a battle is ongoing. Last chapter looked to be the start of a lengthy battle between Valkyrie and Renji/Byakuya.
Instead, we've moved from Valkyrie to Nakk le Varr. And being the talkative fellow he is, Nakk le Varr has obliged us by revealing information we probably didn't care about beforehand that doesn't really answer any questions we had previously.
Case in point, he tells us that Barro was the nominal head of the "elite" Stern Ritter, a.k.a. the Schutzstaffel. He had his letter (Schrift) the longest and as such his position was "iron-clad". Valkyrie and Pernida, on the other hand, were relative noobs (though how long they've both been around is obviously a matter for debate), so the rest of the Stern Ritter naturally assumed they had other identities.
Valkyrie is thus revealed to be the "heart" of the Soul King. Whether this is true or just Nakk le Varr bullshitting us, I'm not sure. But would it really matter? The Soul King is a non-entity at this point, having been replaced by Bach many chapters ago.
I mean, it's starting to turn into something out of Castlevania 3 with this guy, who wasn't as interesting as he could've been. I guess a lot of that has to do with the fact that his parts were scattered all over kingdom come, but still. The Soul King as portrayed in the manga was not an interesting character.
At any rate, Yoruichi then takes on Nakk le Varr and looks to have dealt a nice blow to him. Knowing how Bleach works, that was obviously not the final blow, but merely the first salvo in a protracted battle.
If Ichigo can't even touch Nakk le Varr, I'm not sure what Yoruichi can do to stop him. Of course, this is a nice start. But at the moment, that's all it is.
