So I’m gonna refresh the current argument again lol (doing this so it’s easily accessible when people return).
Requirement 1: Soul King is stabilizing the Soul Society and everything connected (because we are outright told so) and he is doing so on a “universal” scale as mentioned in CFYOW II (I’d drop the scan but I’m on my phone rn it’s in the original CRT).
Requirement 2: We know the Soul King is doing so with his reiatsu.
Requirement 3: As soon as the Soul King is killed everything begins collapsing and getting destroyed. As soon as the Mimihagi stops the Soul Kings death everything is stabilized instantly. Multiple characters make a point of saying without the Soul King the entire bleach universe would cease to be.
Requirement 4: Reiatsu directly correlates to stats as per the entire series.
Claim: Weakened Soul King’s durability scales to his stabilization feat.
Primary Reasoning: Throughout Bleach we are shown countless times that if a character can’t withstand their own reiatsu it crushes and damages them. Ichigo’s bones are crushing whilst fighting Byakuya the first time. Toshiro needs to mature his body so it can withstand his true Bankai. Kenpachi’s arm is torn off because he released too much power. Therefore, the fact the Weakened Soul King takes no visible damage from the weight of his own reiatsu means his durability is relative.
Secondary Reasoning: Kenpachi says that someone’s minimum durability is relative to their passive reiatsu. The Weakenes Soul King is a vegetable meaning everything he does is passive -> he passively stabilizes the entire bleach universe.
Implications of my claim:
- WSK Dura: 3-A, possibly Low 2-C (FRA)
- TS Ichigo: 3-A, possibly Low 2-C (Killed the Soul King, Yhwach said Ichigo’s level of power was necessary to kill the Soul King, this Ichigo was powerful enough where Ichibe was going to make Ichigo into the next Soul King, Yhwach called this the power Ichigo was meant to have)
- FGT Ichigo: 3-A, possibly Low 2-C (Yhwach said the power that defeated Aizen is the same as his True Shikai)
Possible Implications:
- Dangai Ichigo: 3-A, possibly Low 2-C (if you argue that FGT is just an attack and not a new form that amps Ichigo)
- God Aizen: 3-A, possibly Low 2-C (burnt Dangai Ichigo’s arm)
Other Implications:
- Dangai Ichigo: [whatever tier God Aizen is] (bullied Aizen)
- God Aizen: At least [previous tier or calc I haven’t gotten evaluated yet] (stronger than before, did calc I haven’t gotten evaluated yet)
Current Counter-Argument:
- WSK purposely lowered his durability to allow Ichigo to cut him.
- WSK is in a vegetative state and implied to be without a brain, I don’t see how he’s making any conscious action in that state. It makes no narrative sense for the Soul King to lower or have super low durability. He’s supposed to be the only thing that keeps the entire Universe from collapsing, it’s nonsensical to have the lynchpin so weak. There’s no visual indication or evidence that his durability was lowered.