Bleach: Is NaNaNa Najahkoop Alive? What Happened to Him?
Several Sternritter have made a name for themselves in the story, while others have become a thing of the past, as they haven’t really made a major impact. This article will be dedicated to a character from the first group who, although he was not a major character in the series, remains important and talked about because of his role in the story. The character in question is NaNaNa Najahkoop, the Sternritter “U” – “The Underbelly,” and in this article, you will find out what exactly happened to him in the series.
NaNaNa Najahkoop was the Sternritter “U” – “The Underbelly,” although we haven’t seen much of him in action. We know that, initially, during the first invasion, he engaged Captain Rojuro Otoribashi and did not lose (although he did not win either), as he was seen engaging Yamamoto with two other Sternritter, but the Captain-Commander simply pushed them away. Later, he tries to engage both Ichigo and Byakuya but fails and is ultimately shot by Bazz-B when he tries to oppose the Sternritter, who decides to rebel against Yhwach. He did not die, though, and his body was retrieved by Mayuri, who used him as a test subject alongside Candice Catnipp and Meninas McAllon.
The remainder of this article will give you a detailed overview of NaNaNa Najahkoop’s fate in the Bleach series, especially in light of what happened to him after the Quincy Blood War and his story after being captured by Mayuri Kurotsuchi. You already know what happened and how it happened, so we will just bring you the details so you know the whole context. Be careful, though, as the article will contain many spoilers, so if you don’t know all the details, be careful how you approach the text.
NaNaNa Najahkoop survived the Quincy Blood War
NaNaNa Najahkoop is the Sternritter “U” – “The Underbelly,” who was first introduced during the first invasion of the Seireitei. He had a strange haircut, and his checkered teeth were another visual trademark of his. He didn’t have much dialogue, save for the fact that he fought against Captain Rojuro Otoribashi, whom he failed to defeat but did not lose.
Not much has been revealed about him and his story during the Quincy Blood War, but his story is interesting because it extends beyond this saga. This article will tell you everything you need to know about NaNaNa Najahkoop and his story.
NaNaNa attacked Soul Society with the other Sternritter and killed several Shinigami. Just as he had defeated several more Shinigami, Captain Rojuro Otoribashi appeared and confronted him. At that moment, Otoribashi received news that Kira and three other officers had apparently been killed by a Sternritter, whereupon NaNaNa, who had overheard the conversation, explained that this was probably his companion Bazz-B. Hoping that he had really done his job as he was supposed to. NaNaNa then taunts the Captain and declares that he will kill him within 5 minutes so that he would not have time to mourn his Lieutenant; in return, Otoribashi promises not to let him escape alive.
It is not known how their battle ended, but because Otoribashi wasn’t fatally injured, and neither was NaNaNa, we can assume that their battle was without a victor and that neither of them managed to overpower the other. Shortly after Yamamoto defeated Driscoll Berci and launched his attack on Yhwach, NaNaNa Najahkoop, Äs Nödt, and Bazz-B all rushed to his aid.
But they were quickly caught by Ryūjin Jakka’s flames and were quickly defeated, although not killed. Yhwach didn’t seem to have any compassion for them. He said it was their own fault for daring to interfere in his fight. However, all three seem to have survived the attack and later withdrew from the Soul Society with the remaining members of the Wandenreich when Yhwach gave the order to do so.
A few days later, during a meeting of the Sternritter, NaNaNa was seen again. He witnessed Yhwach accepting Uryu Ishida into the Sternritter circle and declaring him his successor, shocking all the Sternritter. After Mask De Masculine was defeated, NaNaNa set out to find the murderer. He finds Lieutenant Renji Abarai, who fell asleep from exhaustion after his fight. NaNaNa initially suspected that it was a trap and watched Renji for the time being. To NaNaNa’s amazement, however, this wasn’t an ambush, as Renji simply slept through until the next morning.
NaNaNa was very surprised that Renji just napped in the middle of the enemy’s territory without worrying about his life. NaNaNa says that he hasn’t been able to observe an opponent for as long as Renji and that the “red monkey” is already as good as defeated, referring to Renji’s hair color and his Zanpakuto.
NaNaNa later appears along with Bazz-B, Robert Accutrone, and PePe Waccabrada to stand in the way of the newly arrived Ichigo along with Giselle Gewelle, Meninas McAllon, Candice Catnipp and Liltotto Lamperd. NaNaNa briefly joins in an attack but is then stopped by some of the remaining Shinigami.
Later, like all the other Sternritter remaining in Seireitei, he falls victim to Yhwach’s Auswahlen, which robs him of much of his strength and abilities, but survives. After Sosuke Aizen is released from the Muken and goes on to save the Seireitei from the shadows falling down from the Royal Palace using his Reiatsu, NaNaNa appears again along with Bazz-B, Liltotto, and Giselle and interrupts it with his “The Underbelly” abilities.
Thanks to Aizen’s severely limited state, he manages to immobilize him for five minutes, whereupon he wants to confront the Gotei members gathered in the ruins of Mayuri’s laboratory to prevent them from completing the gate to the Soul King’s Palace.
But apparently, the other Sternritter who came with him had other plans, and Bazz-B surprisingly shoots NaNaNa with a beam of fire from the back; NaNaNa is surprised and collapses. The remaining Quincy then join the Shinigami to take revenge on Yhwach. Whether he survived or not was never revealed in the original manga, but the sequel light novel, Can’t Fear Your Own World, which follows the events that happened right after Yhwach’s demise and can be considered canon, revealed his ultimate fate.
Namely, it turns out that NaNaNa survived being attacked by Bazz-B and his weakened body was then taken by Mayuri, alongside the bodies of Candice Catnipp and Meninas McAllon, which also remained in the Seireitei. Mayuri then altered their bodies and made them his test subjects and lackeys, using them for various purposes in the light novel series. As the light novel officially reveals, he has survived and is no longer a threat since the Sternritter has been made a thing of as far as being a threat is concerned.