So, what the heck is that thing? Now they said they started using a Shinigami soul as a base, I guess instead of starting with a hollow. I guess the question now would be whose soul did they use? Could it just be any old Shinigami, or did it need to be one with a certain level of power?

And then we have Masaki... no hesitation there. She took the hit and blasted him in the head. Question now is whether that got him, or whether it'll keep going and then either she or Ryuken will have to finish it off.

I do have to admit, the behavior of the thing is very reminiscent of Ichigo's "evolved" hollow form. Not the version that shows up in his inner world, or the one that showed up when he fought Byakuya. The one that showed up in Las Noches when he fought Ulquiorra. As much as it would make no sense to have a connection, I want to say there is a connection. Of course, that could be exactly what they want us all to think.

Well, considering that this arc has plenty of connect-the-dots elements going for it, it would be quite strange for Kubo to introduce such a similar entity into the mix and not have it connected to Ichigo.

But damn. Masaki had bigger stones than most of the male cast of this series. I don't remember anyone beside Zaraki and Yamamoto taking a clean hit like that, just to open up the enemy for a proper counter.

Edit: Ah, right you are xdude101 ! I had completely forgotten about that one. She does lose some cool points due to her inherently pacifist nature, but she does pack some major testicular power as well. The reactive armor -type shield she used when standing up to Ginjo was all kinds of awesome.

[img]http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/028/438/5700.necropost4kobf7.png[/img]

yeah, i'd agree to that, the hollow looks and acts almost exactly like the final hollowfied ichigo
maybe right now when masaki lured it, it infected her or something? so then it showed up in ichigo?
and maybe the "other ichigo" inside zangetsu (the white guy) is this hollow?
or maybe the shinigami from which this hollow was made, is the other ichigo?
maybe there was some unruly shinigami who was punished, and aizen took him on for experimenting?
then the hollow might pass on its soul to ichigo thru masaki, and its soul may be the reason ichigo can see ghosts
coz yuzu can't, right?
too many questions
gotta hand it to kubo tite, let's just hope he unfolds all this properly
i guess the hollow's not finished yet, coz when they showed masaki healing isshin, he was more heavily damaged, right?

Quote from Baalzebup

But damn. Masaki had bigger stones than most of the male cast of this series. I don't remember anyone beside Zaraki and Yamamoto taking a clean hit like that, just to open up the enemy for a proper counter.

Add Orihime to the list. She took the attack from her brother toward the beginning. Granted, she didn't counterattack because she didn't have any powers, but she should be on the list of people with the stones to do it.

First off...Masaki, no doubt is freakin' awesome...notice the end part where she creates the Quincy bow & arrow with just her fingers 😃

Also what I think is that the reiatsu of "Whitey" infects or inhabits Masaki and Isshin and when they give birth to their first child, it is passed down to ichigo 😛

the new chapters are great this will shed more light on her death? maybe ichigo and orihime will start showing more Romance after tite gets more experience on the romance of ichigo's parents 😕 😲