Bleach: What Is the Cage of Life? Kirio Hikifune’s Special Ability Explained!

Even though the final saga of the Bleach manga has been rushed, and many fans criticized how the story was executed under such circumstances, the story itself still had enormous potential, and some moments were truly epic. The Cage of Life, Kirio Hikifune’s special ability, was one such epic moment that happened when the Schutzstaffel invaded the Soul King’s Palace. In this article, we will talk about Kirio Hikifune, her Cage of Life, and how powerful it is.

The Cage of Life is Kirio Hikifune’s Trump Card

We know that the Royal Guard, i.e., the Zero Division, is said to be the most powerful Shinigami in the series. In most cases, this is a self-proclaimed evaluation, but it cannot be denied that the five members of the Royal Guard were exceptionally powerful. Some of these characters had special abilities, but all of them, as the anime proved (giving them, finally, worthy fight scenes), were true powerhouses that had to be feared. This article will focus on Kirio Hikifune, the Second Officer of the Zero Division, who is known as the “Ruler of Grain” and the “Divine General of the South.”

Kirio Hikifune initially appeared as a plump woman with squinty eyes; this was such a drastic change from her original appearance that no one among the Gotei 13 recognized her despite having served as Captains simultaneously. The Kirio Hikifune they remember was a slender, tall woman who appeared later in the series when it was explained that she had to consume a lot of food to maintain her powers. When she exhausts herself, she returns to her original, slender form. This is relevant to the story of the Cage of Life.

Very little is known about her other than that she left Soul Society shortly before the Turn Back the Pendulum Arc under the pretense of retiring. However, she only did so to join the Royal Guard, as she got promoted because she created the Gikon. Her Lieutenant at the time, Hiyori Sarugaki, was very sad about this development because she had a mother-daughter-like relationship with Kirio Hikifune. Her successor was Kisuke Urahara.

During her time in the Royal Guard, she had to put on some pounds because her cooking methods used a lot of Reiatsu, so even Shinji hardly recognized her later. After the Soul Society was attacked by the Wandenreich, which ended in the deaths of Yamamoto and several other Shinigi, the Royal Guard appeared to help rebuild the Soul Society. The surviving Captains greeted the members of the Royal Guard when they arrived.

After the Royal Guard returned to the Reioukyuu, Ichigo visited Kirio’s Gatonden palace with Renji during their training/healing journey. There, she served them both a feast so big that she lost all of her excess weight. As it turned out, the food Renji and Ichigo ate wasn’t normal food but a special meal that elevated their Reiatsu to a new level. As the two set off for the next palace, Kirio warned them to be careful because she didn’t know what Ōetsu Nimaiya had prepared for them.

She was later seen greeting Ichigo as he returned to the Seireitei, and that was it for her until Yhwach and his Schutzstaffel arrived. Senjumaru Shutara initially greeted the enemies, but as it turned out, when she was apparently defeated and killed, it was just a ruse. Namely, the Royal Guard created a deception so that Kirio Hikifune would have enough time to create her Cage of Life. She succeeded in doing that while Senjumaru was keeping the Schutzstaffel busy. When the trick was revealed, Quincy was already trapped inside the Cage.

The Cage of Life was actually a large tree, or, more precisely, a tree-like structure whose branches created a large cage-like structure. It wasn’t physically impenetrable, as the branches had a lot of space between them. Still, the trick was that the Cage was actually like a living being, as it was tied to Kirio Hikifune’s powers and her body. So, as long as she is there, the Cage is very difficult to destroy, as only an enormous force can actually do it (e.g., the Vollstanding of the Schutzstaffel or Yhwach’s attack). Of course, she can also restore the tree by using her special seeds.

The Cage of Life is actually very specific in that it is drawn to Reiatsu. It absorbs Reiatsu and can detect it, allowing for its constant growth and evolution, a very specific moment in the series. Namely, Lille Barro’s X-Axis was thought to be able to destroy anything, but when it attacked the Cage of Life, the branches would simply absorb the attack and further grow. This makes the Cage of Life exceptionally difficult to destroy, especially if Kirio Hikifune is there to take care of it.

It doesn’t allow any attack or technique that is based on Reiatsu to pass, but, interestingly enough, non-Reiatsu-based techniques, as well as objects that the Cage itself deems harmless, will be able to pass through it. This is why the Medallion that was thrown was able to pass through it, and Ishida was able to use his Antithesis technique to send Yhwach out of the Cage of Life, something he would not have been able to do – as has been implied – had the Medallion not been outside.

The Cage of Life is an exceptionally powerful technique that shows just how powerful the members of the Royal Guard were. This technique was enough to immobilize the Schutzstaffel, and it was powerful enough to make Yhwach use a trick to escape it. Kirio Hikifune did not battle too much in the series, but this technique was enough for us to call her an extremely powerful and dangerous character.

The Cage of Life is one of the most powerful techniques we’ve seen in the series, and there is absolutely no doubt that it was a threat to the Schutzstaffel and that it deserved a standalone article like this, in which we have explained everything related to it.

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