Bleach: What Is Sayafushi & Does It Really Kill with Just One Strike? Oetsu Nimaiya’s Zanpakuto Explained!

When the Royal Guard was first introduced in Bleach, the five members of this elite unit proved to be – each of them in their own way – quite eccentric. In this article, we are going to talk about the most flamboyant member of the Royal Guard, the “God of the Sword” and the “Divine General of the West,” also the Third Officer of the Zero Division, Oetsu Nimaiya, the creator of the Zanpakuto. In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know about his Zanpakuto, Sayafushi.

Sayafushi is Oetsu Nimaiya’s Zanpakuto and is an incredibly powerful weapon that can kill an opponent with simply one proper slice. It is highly unstable due to its power, and Oetsu Nimaiya considers it a failed creation as it does not meet the standards of a classical sword. Namely, it cannot be sheathed, so Nimaiya must keep it in a tank with a special fluid. On top of that, its blade is too sharp and too smooth; all blood simply slides off, and it never breaks or shows signs of wearing. Due to not being used often, it is also somewhat unstable, and Nimaiya is the only one who can wield it effectively.

The rest of this article will tell you about Oetsu Nimaiya and his Zanpakuto, Sayafush, shown when Quincy entered the Soul King’s Palace. We will give you a general outlook of the Zanpakuto and answer several important questions about Sayafushi that will help clear everything up so you will know all you need to know about the blade. Of course, a fair amount of spoilers will be present, so be careful how you approach the article.

Sayafushi is undoubtedly one of the strongest Zanpakuto, but it seems that only Nimaiya can wield it

The Royal Guard members were first introduced after the first invasion of the Seireitei, and Oetsu Nimaiya played a major role in Renji’s and especially Ichigo’s training, as he was tasked with fixing their Zanpakuto. Namely, the third officer of the Royal Guard was also the creator of the Zanpakuto, and from that perspective, it makes sense that he was assigned to this aspect of Ichigo’s training. Initially, we only saw his forging skills, but when Quincy finally invaded the Soul King’s Palace, we actually saw Nimaiya fight.

After Yhwach and the Schutzstaffel arrived, they were first met by Senjumaru, who deceived them while Kirio Hikifune activated the Cage of Life. When the Quincy realized they were trapped, Tenjiro and Oetsu arrived, and Oetsu decided to fight them. With him, he was carrying a tank from which he drew out a very unstable Zanpakuto.

That was his Sayafushi, a very specific blade that even Nimaiya himself considered a failure, as it was not functional as a regular sword. It’s name is written as 鞘伏 in Japanese and can be translated as either Sheath Cover or Sheath Dodger.

Its Shikai and Bankai have not been revealed. However, Nimaiya can certainly activate both, which is a shame (but we can understand why it made sense plot-wise, as the Royal Guard, with their Bankai, could’ve trashed the Elite Guard), but even in its unreleased form, it was extremely powerful, as the series showed.

Namely, Sayafushi had the special ability that it could kill its opponent with one proper slice, which is how and why Nimaiya killed Gerard, Lille, and Pernida so easily; Askin managed to survive only thanks to the fact that he managed to avoid being properly sliced, but Nimaiya finished him off later.

(Yhwach would use Auswahlen to bring them back to life, but that’s a completely different issue.)

Having said this, one cannot but ask themselves whether Sayafushi is the strongest Zanpakuto in the series, and we can certainly confirm that it is among the strongest. Ryujin Jakka and Ichimonji are among those that measure up to it, and so does the dreadful Ikomikidomoe, which was introduced in the Can’t Fear Your Own World light novel, which suggested that Ikomikidomoe could be stronger.

But, we can confirm that it was immensely powerful, as it was the only known weapon that killed Gerard Valkyrie immediately (as Gerard can basically always revive himself) and even Askin. However, it took some effort to do it. This proves that Sayafushi is one of the series’s strongest Zanpakuto. Now that we have provided you with an answer to this question allow us to tell you a bit more by answering some additional questions about it.

Why does Nimaiya have to keep his Zanpakuto in a tank?

One of the first things we noticed about Sayafushi is that Nimaiya kept in a large tank filled with blue liquid; it wasn’t water, but a jelly-like liquid that is, according to Nimaiya, the only place where he can actually keep it. Namely, as we will explain in the next section, Sayafushi is exceptionally unstable and volatile. Because of that, no sheath can actually hold it, as it would simply be destroyed upon contact with it.

This is why Nimaiya has to keep it in a special liquid that can neutralize its effects, as it cannot cut through the liquid, and that was the only way he could actually use it properly. Due to that fact, he considered Sayafushi, despite all of its might and power, a failed creation, as it did not satisfy the basic functions of a sword, so he could not really use it normally. But nevertheless, he respected its power.

Why Did Nimaiya say his Zanpakuto was unstable, and why is it shaking?

One of the first things we noticed about Sayafushi when Nimaiya took it out of the tank was that it was shaking, which is why Nimaiya described it as being exceptionally unstable in that aspect. He had not used it for a long time, and a blade as volatile as Sayafushi needs care, which Nimaiya did not provide because he thought Sayafushi was a failure.

This is why Sayafushi is so hard to control and why, as a very strong-willed Zanpakuto, it is shaking, as it needs to be used. Nimaiya is, seemingly, the only one who can control it, and combined with his epic fighting style, this instability makes him exceptionally dangerous, and it allows him to slay his opponents with just one slice, as he did to most of the Elite Guard Members; had Yhwach not used Auswahlen, all four of them would have been killed.

Can Nimaiya’s Zanpakuto be destroyed or broken?

Another interesting aspect of Sayafushi is its durability. Namely, despite being unstable and shaking, Sayafushi is seemingly an indestructible blade. As Nimaiya himself said, it cannot be broken, no… it cannot even be chipped, which is exceptionally rare for a Zanpakuto. It also shows no signs of wear, regardless of how much he uses it, which is strangely a reason for Nimaiya to consider it a less worthy blade.

He doesn’t have much to do around it, which makes sense, seeing how special it is. This implies that it cannot be broken or destroyed, which makes it impressive, but all this adds to the fact that Sayafushi is not a normal blade, which is why Nimaiya was not such a big fan of it.