Bleach: What is The Almighty’s true power?

In Bleach, very few antagonists are as intimidating and terrifying as the Quincy King, Yhwach. Introduced as the main villain in the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc, Yhwach considers himself the father of all the Quincies and is a being who has defeated several pillars of Soul Society.

The first hint of Yhwach’s unfair powers came through soul distribution techniques such as the Auswahlen and the skill to bestow Schrifts onto all his Sternritters. However, his main ability is The Almighty. While initially believed to be a simple foresight skill, The Almighty’s true power lies in its ability to alter the future.

The Almighty is an innate skill of the Quincy King, which he has denoted as a Schrift with the letter A. When using it, his irises and pupils split into three and have a distinctive red shade. Notably, during Yhwach’s original attempt to overthrow Soul Society a thousand years in the past, The Almighty was sealed by Ichibe.

Hence, after being defeated and sealed, he had to wait 900 years before his heart started beating, 90 years to regain his mind and self-awareness, and 9 years to attain his strength. Finally, he would regain the world in 9 days, signifying its destruction.

However, Yhwach’s journey was far from simple. When facing Squad Zero, Ichibe and his control over the color black nearly killed him. At this point, Yhwach regained The Almighty and swiftly defeated his opponent.

From then on, Yhwach became a near-invincible figure who seemed to know how every event would transpire. He could foresee Ichigo’s hand in killing the Soul King and used it to his advantage in the final battle against the main characters.

Additionally, Yhwach is not the only one who can use The Almighty. His other half, Jugram Haschwalth, gains this power at night when the Quincy King is asleep. However, there are noticeable differences. Haschwalth can only view the future of the timeline unfolding before him and take the necessary measures. Consequently, events outside his expectations can occur.

Yhwach, on the other hand, can view every possible future. During the final chapters of Bleach, the true power of The Almighty is also spoken of by Yhwach and Haschwalth. This was displayed during the Quincy King’s battle against Ichigo, where he could effortlessly counter the protagonist’s moves and remain several steps ahead of him.

It was then revealed that The Almighty’s true power is not merely seeing the future, but changing it as Yhwach sees fit. Since he knows of every event set to transpire, he can strike his opponent preemptively and set traps that will go off without them knowing any better.

Using this, Yhwach broke Ichigo’s Tensa Zangetsu, evaded Orihime’s defenses, and thoroughly shattered the protagonist’s spirit. Later, when facing the alliance of Ishida, Ichigo, and Aizen, Yhwach could also rewrite his death, though there was little explanation of how he achieved this.

Does The Almighty have any weaknesses in Bleach?

The Almighty is a seemingly all-powerful ability in Bleach that has allowed Yhwach to reach his high position. However, it is not free from its flaws. As seen already, when used by Haschwalth, the skill is restricted and its “true power” cannot be accessed.

Additionally, The Almighty relies on Yhwach’s sight and his belief in what occurs in the future. As a result, if he is fooled by an illusion, the ability can be tricked. This was shown when Aizen used his Kyoka Suigetsu against Yhwach.

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The Almighty also does not match well against powers that can manipulate the past. For instance, Tsukishima’s Book of the End could rewrite the past of his targets and fix Ichigo’s blade before the final struggle against Yhwach.

Finally, the Still Silver is an arrowhead formed from the silver created during the Auswahlen. This can temporarily disable The Almighty, making Yhwach susceptible to damage. This was also a major factor in Quincy King's eventual defeat in Bleach.

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