Manga Read: Bleach Chapter 372 to 375

After the defeat of Barragan in Chapter 370, Chapter 371 continues on with the battle focus on Starrk. He was momentarily affected by Barragan's death and almost wanted to give up fighting. Only Lilynette managed to persuade to fight back to avenge his ally. And so, in his battle against vizard Love Aikawa, he produced animals, as can be seen in the picture below.

How will the battle turns out for both of them? Starrk certainly looks impressive enough to reclaim his position as the no. 1 among the arrancars.

As it turned out, those animals that looked like wolves are actually the combined powers of both Starrk and Lilynette. It took out quite a lot of energy from Rose and Love in trying to deflect them. In chapter 373, we can see how impressive Starrk can get during battle when he is serious.

Look at that serious posture of Starrk's.

However in mid-battle, he gets stabbed by a blade. Where did that come from? Was it a secret enemy hiding somewhere from him?

In Chapter 374 we get the answer from Kyoraku Shunsui, captain of the 8th division. His zanpakuto is actually twin swords that has the ability to influence all players, including the owner, into abiding by its rules through turning child's game into reality. 


One of the game techniques, Kageoni or Shadow Demon, forces the players to alter their own shadows; whoever steps on a shadow, even their own, is declared the loser. Another game technique, Irooni or Coloured Demon, involves the players calling out a name of a color and then slicing the enemy where that color is displayed. However, if the color is not on the body of the person who called it out then the damage given is minimal; the more that the declared color is prevalent on the declarer's body, the more damage the attack will commit.

The final page for this chapter ends below: 

Is that the end for Starrk and Lilynette? How will their battle end? We can see that in chapter 375. I suppose this chapter also counts as a tribute to Starrk and Lilynette. 


Starrk is totally defeated by Shunsui and as he fell, memories from his past are flashed before the reader. We see how he met Lilynette for the first time and how Aizen approached him too. It was all loneliness before he had known Lilynette. 


We see Lilynette for the last time as Kubo sensei dedicated a page to her and Starrk as seen in the picture below.

No matter what happens, Lilynette will stay with Starrk forever, even in death. How poignant. As for Aizen, he continues to be a heartless bastard. With the end of Starrk's battle, the focus now turns back to Halibel. 


As Halibel faces off against attack from 2 vizards and 1 shinigami, Aizen made a sudden move in her battle. A shocking move, I would say. In a sudden about turn, Aizen decided that Halibel is no longer strong enough to fight for him and thus he proceeds to kill her off himself. See the picture below.

He is truly a heartless man and he spares no mercy to anybody. Perhaps the only exceptions are Gin and Kaname. So far they have remain constant by his side and they did not need to engage in battle the way Aizen made the arrancars do. 


How will the plot turn next? I am curious to find out in the next chapter.