Kenpachi vs. Yhwach: Who Would Win in a Fight & Why?

The number of epic duels in Tite Kubo’s Bleach is simply amazing and over the years, the manga has provided us with some truly amazing fights. Some of them have even become part of anime history. Now, this duel might not be among the best-known and most epic of the series, but it holds an important place in the story and it focuses on two extremely important characters from the Bleach franchise. One of them is Kenpachi Zaraki, the 11th Division Captain of the Gotei 13, while the other is Yhwach, the leader of the Quincy. In this article, we are going to find out who the stronger of the two is and who would win in a direct fight.

Yhwach is stronger than Kenpachi, although the difference is not as it seemed when Kenpachi clashed with Royd Lloyd pretending to be Yhwach. Kenpachi later unlocked his true powers and gained a significant power boost, but due to Yhwach’s special Quincy powers, the Quincy Emperor would still be able to defeat Kenpachi, even in his Bankai form.

Now that you have the short version of the answer, the rest of the article is going to be divided into three sections. The first two will the characters, their powers, and their abilities, whereas in the final one, we’re going to give our verdict and explanation of why Yhwach would still be able to defeat Kenpachi, regardless of the conditions.

Kenpachi Zaraki and his powers

Kenpachi Zaraki is the captain of the Eleventh Division of the Gotei 13. He is the eleventh Kenpachi in holding such a position. His lieutenant was Yachiru Kusajishi, and his current lieutenant is Ikkaku Madarame.

Kenpachi is introduced as one of the most fearsome Captains, being the most combat-loving among his peers. He has the title of Kenpachi which designates the best fighter of his generation and he honors his title by being able to dominate Kaname Tōsen and Sajin Komamura, both Captains. Due to his excessive strength, Kenpachi imposes handicaps on himself such as fighting with his sword using only one hand or even sealing a large part of his Spiritual Power in his eye patch, which has become iconic.

Prior to the time skip, he even wore bells on several strands of his hair so his opponent could hear him move. On top of that, Kenpachi instinctively holds back in his fights ever since his first fight to the death against Unohana when he was still just a child. It is only by facing opponents powerful enough to kill him that he removes these psychological seals and unfolds his full strength.

After his ultimate fight against Unohana, which changed him by removing all those psychological seals, Kenpachi became an even more formidable fighter, having become so physically powerful that even Gerard Valkyrie, yet an example of raw power, will be unable to fight him. trample and will be lifted when it is of gigantic size. The awakening of his Zanpakutō in the Quincy War will make him a first-rate fighter, further legitimizing his place among the five Shinigami most feared by the Wandenreich.

Zanpakutō

Kenpachi has been using a Zanpakutō since his childhood when he picked it up from the corpse of Shinigami. He even ended up imprinting his Asauchi on it but found himself unable to hear his Zanpakutō for a very long time due to his personality changing after his loss to Ichigo. The sword is longer than a katana, the size of a nodachi.

Initially, Kenpachi was the only Shinigami who couldn’t hear his Zanpakutō’s voice and therefore couldn’t use it at full power. However, Kenpachi was able to slice through most objects with his sword. After his ultimate fight against Unohana, he finally manages to hear the voice of his Zanpakutō and can finally summon it, drastically increasing his already enormous punching power.

Before Kenpachi named his Zanpakutō, people in Soul Society believed that Kenpachi’s Spirit Power was so powerful that it forced his sword to have a constant shape. His release command is “Swallow”. Kenpachi’s Shikai takes the form of a huge hatchet, with a cap on the top and a green bow on it. Shikai Special Ability: His Shikai drastically increases his punching power, now allowing him to slice through extremely solid objects. He can even slice through the void of space, displaying limitless power.

Completely overwhelmed by Gerard Valkyrie, Kenpachi once again pushed his limits and activated his Bankai. Upon his release, his Spiritual Power releases a huge wave that destroys the landscape. This Bankai greatly affects Kenpachi, starting with his appearance, which makes him look like a demon with horns like an oni.

The blade is also modified a bit, being a shorter version as if broken by the Shikai. His Bankai further boosts his punching power, now being able to cut Gerard Valkyrie in half with a single attack despite the power he has accumulated from his power. With Kenpachi being able to control his Bankai very little or not at all, the Bankai robs him of his sanity, causing the Shinigami to act unconsciously and without concern for the damage, he is inflicting on himself.

Yhwach and his powers

Yhwach is the Father of the Quincy and the emperor of the Wandenreich, with the designation “A” – “The Almighty”. He is the son of the Soul King and also the leader of the Sternritter, as well as the leader of the Quincy rebellion against the Shinigami. Yhwach is one of the most powerful characters in the series and is, by all means, almost invincible.

Yhwach is one of the most powerful spirit beings in the Bleach universe, recognized as being the most powerful Quincy. Already as a child, his power gathered people around him, who considered him a miracle. He subjugated all of Quincy’s territories in less than 200 years single-handedly. History remembered him as one of the only opponents Yamamoto could not defeat and the only one to survive his Bankai.

He was able to kill the Captain General of the 13 Divisions with amazing ease, destroy the Seireitei, and even invade the Royal Palace. Even Ichibē Hyōsube, the leader of the Royal Guard, who can be described as an invincible fighter with his many abilities, was defeated by the Quincy. During his final fight against Ichigo and Aizen, it took Yhwach’s power to be negated for a short time for King Quincy to be defeated.

Yhwach is able to use the whole plethora of Quincy techniques, both the basic techniques and those that only he masters. He can of course absorb spirit particles to move through the air, levitate, harden his body, create a spherical barrier, create a giant spirit bow, or even shoot arrows from his finger. His mastery of absorbing spirit particles goes as far as stealing power from the enemy through the Sankt Altar technique.

Even by Quincy standard, Yhwach possesses very strong spiritual power. This spiritual power is so powerful that it is able to annihilate the body of the Arrancars, yet covered with the Hierro. His Reiryoku reserves allow him to be able to use Yamamoto’s Bankai, Zanka no Tachi, which not only dries up the environment but also destroys the user’s body.

He can even make his spiritual pressure take shape, under the guise of an overflowing aura. He can absorb the spiritual power of his opponents, without great difficulty, especially with the Sankt Altar. His powerful Reiatsu allows him to take a Getsuga Tenshō without taking any damage or exploding Ichibē Hyōsube’s body after a huge fight.

Even after his death, his spiritual power was strong enough to survive for 10 years. He has also demonstrated immense strength on multiple occasions. He sliced ​​Yamamoto’s body from left shoulder to right leg in a single blow, slicing him in half and condemning him to death. He stopped Ichigo’s first Bankai with his bare hands and even grabbed Aizen’s body with his arm.

His skill as a warrior is unparalleled. He was able to overtake Ichigo, yet in Bankai, tackle him to the ground and plant his sword in his neck, without him being able to defend himself. He has considerable mastery of the sword, often using it as his primary weapon in battle, being able to face Ichibē Hyōsube on equal terms and overpower Ichigo in a two-sword duel. His pain tolerance is also very high, using gigantic arrows that pierce his body to allow him to gain momentum.

Kenpachi Zaraki vs. Yhwach: Who would win?

And while people thought that Kenpachi fought Yhwach, the two never actually clashed. Kenpachi fought the impostor Yhwach, who was actually Royd Lloyd pretending to be Yhwach and he lost. Lloyd was almost a perfect copy of Yhwach but he wasn’t as powerful as the original, that much was obvious when the original approached Yamamoto. And yet, Royd Lloyd as Yhwach managed to almost kill Kenpachi. Truth be told, Kenpachi had not awakened his true powers at the time so we have to take that into consideration; with his true powers, Kenpachi would probably have defeated fake Yhwach… but what about the real one?

Well, we know that Kenpachi’s true powers literally turn him into a beast. He has been able to slice up very powerful opponents in his Bankai state, although he was not overpowered, as Gerard Valkyrie managed to defeat him. Even in his Shikai state, his Zanpakuto was powerful enough to take on some of the most powerful Sternritter of Yhwach’s army. Still, we don’t think that this would be enough to defeat Yhwach.

Yhwach, as a Quincy, had some amazing powers that actually made him immune to a lot of Shinigami techniques. We’ve seen the ease with which he took on Yamamoto, and we also know that Yamamoto, who was at the height of his ferocity at the time, wasn’t able to kill him even 1,000 years before the war when Yhwach was somewhat weaker than he was during the Quincy War.

Yhwach has some truly amazing powers and he is immune to a lot of attacks that Kenpachi might have. On top of that, in his Bankai form, Kenpachi is just raw power and Yhwach would be able to deal with that easily. On the other hand, he would probably have a lot more trouble dealing with him than when Royd Lloyd pretended to be him and trashed Kenpachi, but he would eventually be able to do it in our opinion.