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According to the Wikia, Yachiru disappeared leaving her belongings after the fight with Gremmy. She is said to be "gone" by Kenpachi in the penultimate chapter of the original series.

I use "original" because there might be extra chapters announced as the other big announcement.

So, what happened to her? Was she part of his Zanpakutou or something?

Aki Tanaka
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Jack Pan
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8 Answers8

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The very last page of Bleach #668 gives a few clues.

Yachiru suddenly appears out of nowhere and says to Kenpachi:

Silly goose, if you would just use me properly, there wouldn't be anyone you wouldn't be able to cut down.

She then touches him, which causes:

him to get a power boost, which he wonders about.

She ends the exchange with explaining to him:

That power is what everyone's been calling "Bankai".

All of these suggest the following:

Yachiru is Kenpachi's Bankai. He is unable to call out his Bankai anymore (he was never able to, consciously - the original appearance may have happened subconsciously), therefore, Yachiru is gone.

Alternatively:

Yachiru is his Zanpaktou spirit, again, one he has never been able to consciously communicate with. Though, I can't explain her disappearance if that were the case.

Aki Tanaka
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Oded
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    WHo says he can't go bankai anymore? This is also all also explained if you instead say Yachiru is his Zanpaktou spirit. – Ryan Aug 04 '16 at 17:19
  • @Ryan - he was never able to, consciously. – Oded Aug 04 '16 at 17:21
  • @Ryan and explaining her as his Zanpaktou spirit doesn't explain why she would suddenly be gone. – Oded Aug 04 '16 at 17:24
  • It does actually. she went back into his body, instead of being physically maifested 24/7. He was conscious and practically talking to Yachiru when he went bankai. – Ryan Aug 04 '16 at 17:26
  • Did Yachiru knew all along who she was? if not do you know when she became aware? – Memor-X Aug 05 '16 at 07:32
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    @Memor-X - there is no indication anywhere that she did know or, if she did know, when she was aware. It stands to reason that she always knew. – Oded Aug 05 '16 at 07:39
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It would most likely because that she is a Zanpakuto who had split herself and physically manifested as a spirit. Kenpachi and Coyote Starrk are similar as they have their souls/powers split resulting in Yachiru and Lilynette.

Like many people who already mentioned it, when Yachiru disappeared, she most likely fused back into Kenpachi's Zanpakuto just like Starrk did with Lilynette.

Aki Tanaka
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Juke_Ninja
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    Dont forget that when Lilynette was split she gained her own sword/ Zanpakuto so that could also be the case for Yachiru – Juke_Ninja Aug 17 '17 at 04:21
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Short answer: Yachiru is with Kenpachi; as his Zanpakutou's personality.


Long answer:

I cannot cite manga pages and chapters but if you follow the story, you should remember these.

Yachiru has always been beside or around Kenpachi as a human. Kenpachi's Zanpakutou has never had a name. There was once when Kenpachi lay on the ground trying to ask his Zanpakutou what its name was; no response. Kenpachi's mode of fighting has been brutal which damages his sword.

Fast-forward to Yhwach's arc as Soul King, Yachiru makes Kenpachi know that the power he feels is what others call Bankai. This is after she fused with his Zanpakutou.

I believe Kenpachi would now be able to call out his Zanpakutou and her name would Yachiru.

Aki Tanaka
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Igbanam
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  • His Zanpaktou's name is Nozarashi. Yachiru is the name Kenpachi gave to the girl who did not tell him her name, and she accepted it. In truth, even if she told him, he wouldn't have been able to hear it. Shinigami do not name their Zanpaktou, and can not hear its name until they are ready. Kenpachi had already unconsciously suppressed his power and was not ready to hear its name at the time (beat Yachiru Kenpachi as a teenager which triggered the suppression, met the girl he named Yachiru as an adult). – Ryan Oct 12 '17 at 18:02
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With the release of the thousand year blood war, felt like rereading the manga. In chapter 577, just before vanishing, she is recalling her first meeting with Kenpachi, personally, I think she might be caught in a time loop.
Meets Kenpachi, spends years with him till that final battle, thinks strongly about the first meeting and since some residue of Gremmy's power was affecting her, returns to that original meeting as that Yachiru and repeat

Donnyton
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I think Yachiru is a physical manifestation of Zaraki's power. When Gremmy said that "he would imagine a world without imagination", Yachiru also vanished.

Aki Tanaka
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Eli
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Yachiru was Zaraki's true spirit. As for Nozarashi, it was the Zanpakuto of a dead Shinigami that Zaraki took the sword from. It's explained by Ōetsu Nimaiya.

Remember that Zanpakuto's real name is Asauchi. If he dies there, Zanpakuto and the spirit inside still reside there. So, Zaraki had two spirits.

Aki Tanaka
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-1

It isn't a matter of debate. Yachiru is his Zanpakuto spirit. Her talking about herself as his Zanpakuto is fairly evident. The manga shouldn't have to have her say, "I'm your Zanpakuto, Kenny!"

F1Krazy
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Yachiru is not Kenpachi's Zanpakuto or the spirit of his Zanpakuto. She is a Shinigami who has her own Zanpakuto as shown in her battle against Gremmy 'the Quincy who could make things he imagined real'. She is a soul from Kasajishi district of Rukongai. She may or may not have been near Kenpachi before he gained his Bankai as she disappeared immediately after seeing Kenpachi slice the meteorite.

The only reasons I have for Kenpachi seeing Yachiru before releasing his Bankai are:

  • He may have only imagined her, or
  • His Zanpakuto might have taken the form of Yachiru as she is the only one Kenpachi ever listens to
Aki Tanaka
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Agent
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    Do you maybe have some chapter/episode numbers to go along with those statements? – Dimitri mx Oct 14 '16 at 07:50
  • Juke pointed this out in a comment, but Remember Lilynette? She was a physical manifestation of Stark's Weapon, and even had her own sword. Renji also showed that Zanpaktou manifestation is a requirement to learn Bankai around when both he and Ichigo were training to obtain Bankai. – Ryan Oct 12 '17 at 18:07