Bleach Cliffhanger Teases Kazui's Own Journey

Bleach has returned thanks to Tite Kubo giving anime fans a brand new chapter in the Soul Society in the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump, and with it, has seen Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends far in the future following the conclusion of the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc. With a number of Soul Reapers now having children of their own in this new installment of the Shonen series, Ichigo Kurosaki and his partner Orihime have a son of their own who clearly has inherited a number of abilities from both of his parents that links him to the spirit world.

In the latest special chapter, Kazui is shown having built a strong relationship with Kon, the spirit currently residing within a teddy bear that was the comic relief of the original series, with the son of Ichigo and Orihime sneaking out into the middle of the night to encounter a spirit on the road. Being able to travel through the air on a floating fish, it seems that even at his young age, Kazui has an amazing understanding of the afterlife and the inner workings of the Soul Society from which he has inherited his amazing abilities.

During this new installment, readers were able to witness Ichigo and his fellow Shinigami discovering one of the most terrifying secrets of their universe's version of hell, in that captains of the Soul Society are banished to this realm when they die. Learning this unfortunate revelation as the Soul Reapers attempt to pay homage to one of their fallen comrades, a former member of the Soul Society, Szayelaporro, breaks free from hell and attempts to kill all of the Reapers he appears before.

While Kazui is far too young to enter the fray, the final page of the chapter focuses on a skeleton latched to the gates of hell take notice of Kazui, who responds with a giant smile, hinting that the son of Ichigo Kurosaki might have a big future in the Shonen series.

There has yet to be confirmation that Bleach will continue with new chapters in its manga, but an upcoming event featuring the series' creator, Tite Kubo, has many anime fans believing that the printed story is set to return to the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump on a regular basis.

What do you think of Kazui's new journey? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Soul Society.