Barragan, Aizen and the "Ants and Dragons"[Theory]

[Ryin]

I have been wondering a lot about the recent Ants and Dragons fights and what purpose they may serve. Barragan's actions have seemed rather suspicious to me. Here are some points of note to consider before I give my theory.

Aizen specifically said that it didn't matter that Karakura Town was switched because he could kill the captains and just go to Soul Society.

Aizen "allowed" himself to be "trapped" by Yamamoto. If Yamamoto really was that pissed, why didn't he just go all out from the beginning and defeat Aizen? Let's assume that Yama simply didn't have the power to. If that's the case, then why did Aizen not have the power to stop that attack?


It's clear that Barragan is acting independently and feels that his strategy is the best choice but wouldn't go through with it until he was in a position to. Simply outright defying Aizen's orders would get him killed.


The theory also assumes the following:

Barragan has or had some influence within Hueco Mundo amongst the hollows/arrancar in Hueco Mundo before Aizen got there, if he wasn't the leader.

Aizen has been going back and forth between Hueco Mundo and Soul Society before he betrayed Soul Society.

What is the point of all of this? As we have learned from the TBTP arc you must keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I believe that this is an attempt by Aizen to use the shinigami to root out the last remaining resistance in Hueco Mundo while he prepares for the real war that's going to begin later (In the Winter)


We all know that Barragan thinks of himself as a king and/or god. This point is expressed many times throughout the recent chapters. By his crown, his fraccion always referring to him as king or god-king and his throne, just to name a few things. I think that when Aizen first arrived in Hueco Mundo that Barragan was, essentially, the man in charge. While Aizen might have had the power to simply come in and slaughter Barragan and take his place I think that Aizen had something else in mind.

Barragan must have known (Again, this is at the time when Aizen first arrived in HM so it may have been a while) That he couldn't outright kill Aizen either. An incident between the two, especially if Aizen had garnered favor of many of the hollows( As he is quite capable of doing with his charisma alone) would have led to possibly a civil war or at least a state of chaos in which one or both would have been killed and the masses of hollows simply ravaged Hueco Mundo, possibly spilling out into the human world simply to pillage or cause havoc and thus alerting Soul Society to something fishy and putting them in a position to go and deal with it, be prepared for something coming, and/or even being informed of Aizen's dealings with Hueco Mundo.


For this reason Barragan and Aizen struck a deal. Aizen would be the "leader" and Barragan would be appointed the Primera Espada (or at least in the top 3) and all of the forces he controlled would be at Aizen's beck and call.


Now that Aizen has the threat of Barragan under control he goes out and captures/kills/recruits any of the other hollows(Vasto Lordes) that might interfere, or even might be a part of Barragan's forces(though I think Barragan would know about this) Through rumblings, the remaining Espada/hollows, keep on going like nothing has happened but are still aware of the situation. While their loyalties lie with Aizen, this does not mean that Barragan can't attempt a coup.


What does all of this mean? Aizen has always been someone who knows what's going on and reads the situation and people perfectly. If he didn't know exactly what the shinigami were up to when they switch Karakura Town and/or entering the captains entering HM, he had to have at least some idea and did not seem surprised at all. Using the captain's entrance into HM as the perfect opportunity to try eliminate his enemies he goes to Karakura and shows up to have his big battle. It's easy enough to read the actions of the captains who he has studied for centuries. He knows how people think even before they do. He comes out, calls out his Espada and goads Yama into "trapping" him, thus ensuring that Barragan would take control in an attempt to prove that he has a better tactical grasp and control as a leader than Aizen does.


Aizen knows how Barragan will react to the situation and knows he will send out his "dragons". Aizen also knows that Yama will be ready with the "elites" who we have seen have been disposing of the fraccion as well.

This is the big leap of the theory, The fraccion will all be defeated and Barragan will be looked to made a fool of in the eyes of the other Espada. They will finally see that there is no hope for him and as the shinigami close in, they themselves(Halibel and Stark) will kill Barragan. I also think that Lilinet will fight the sabertooth fraccion, but I'm just kind of throwing it in for kicks.


Aizen will have exposed the Shinigami's hand and will have succeeded in defeating the one remaining threat inside of Hueco Mundo. Hence these "Ants and Dragons" fights do have a point besides showcasing minor character's abilities. I would like to hear what everyone thinks.

Sorry that it's kind of long and if this belongs in another place please have a mod move it.

[Rain]

interesting theory

although I slightly doubt it


Aizen doesn't need to look for or root out the resistance, he must be aware of GJ's feelings, but he doesn't care, why, because GJ isn't enough to worry him

same with barragan


I think the reason Barragan waiting was just because he didn't have any orders from Aizen, then he took over when Aizen was trapped, not that he couldn't have before or anything

[Ryin]

The difference between the two I see at least is that Grimmjow just has some attitude and tells Aizen ot piss off sometime where as Barragan has influence among the vast populous of hollows/arrancar that live in Hueco Mundo.

I do understand the comparison though.

I know there isn't any evidence to prove that Barragan has any control over any more than his few fraccion, so that is just an assumption on my part.

EDIT: I edited the post so that it makes a bit more sense for the sake of arguement.

[Primera Espada]

I believe that barrigan was most likely one of the vastarodes that Nel was looking for.

Nel was number 3, but she's obviously not stronger than Ulquiorra. She even seems to be a bit weaker than Nnoitra's current form (she had to release to close the gap between their power). If Nel was sent after finding Vastarodes, I doubt that at the time any espada was a vastarode.

Likely Nel was looking for her own replacement and didn't even know it.

That being said, it is likely that Barrigan WAS likely the King of Hueco Mundo, and that Aizen basically approached him and said "Hey, if you join me, I'll kill the King of Soul Society, and I'll call off the war on hollows" and Barrigan thought "sounds good" cause he (if he's truly primera) is likely on par with aizen's power (though not intellect)

I think it's more likely that Aizen planned to use the war to get BOTH sides weakened, then take over one after the other and rule both.

I don't see barrigan as being a rebel, so much as seeing himself as an equal to Aizen.

[Princeps]

I really like this theory. It makes alot of sense to me. Killing the hollow leaders outright would not lead to Aizen's true dominance in HM, but if they were to die to shinigami, Aizen can blame Soul Society and rally the hollows around him without lifting a finger. It seems like a plan he would adopt.

I've always put forth that the deaths of the Espadas below 4 were mostly house cleaning. Aizen getting rid of all the non Vasto Lord espadas. After all, it seemed clear that Aizen expected Ichigo to be powerful, he actually expected him to be more powerful.

I really do think its another case of Aizen getting others to do his work for him.

It is an important question to ask why Yama only trapped Aizen and didn't try to defeat him. Your explanation seems plausible to me.

[鬼鬼]

I like your theory! :D:D

They will finally see that there is no hope for him and as the shinigami close in, they themselves(Halibel and Stark) will kill Barragan.

However, I don't think it'll be plausible for this to happen. Halibel and Stark will only see how weak Barragan's fraccion is, and there is no hope for his fraccion.

Since Barragan is among the top 3, I don't think he'd be killed so easily. :D:D

[Rain]

Well, I don't see barragan having a strong influence either, but to each their own

I think Barragan was the former primero before Aizen got the hougyoku, so that is why he was so quick to make it clear he was in charge, because he used to be number 1 (and couldn't accept being dropped)


but its a fun theory, I hope Kubo provides more flashbacks to answer it one way or another

[WatanukiXXX]

The theory assumes that Aizen hasnt really established himself as the de facto ruler of Las Noches, thus the need for using the Shinigami to wipe out the vestiges of Barragan's authority as prior ruler and cement Aizen's own.

But it contradicts what the manga makes clear, Aizen's word is law and his authority is supreme. Grimmjow, Szayel, and the other Espada are to varying degrees beholden to Aizen. Aizen doesn't need to shore up anything. By his actions he genuinley doesn't care what the Espada are up to, so long as they don't interfere with his plans.

I'm with Rain in that it gives Barragan far too much credit. The way i see it, Barragan's relationship to Aizen is similar to that of Franky Pantangili to Micheal Corleone in The Godfather II. Franky wanted to kill the Rosatto Bros. and Micheal said no. Franky was head of his family, but as Micheal makes clear, his family is still Corleone and he has to abide by Micheal's decisions.
Similarly Barragan is likened to a chieftain or lord, but Aizen is his liege. Barragan has some independence but in the end he has to obey Aizen.

Not sure on him being the former Primero. It's possible. Need more evidence for or against to be sure.

I do think Barragan himself views their roles as less liege lord and vassal, and more along the lines of primus inter pares or 'First Among Equals'. He sees himself as Aizen's peer if not equal, perhaps only acknowledging Aizen's authority as decision maker grudgingly. Perhaps believing that by letting Aizen lead, the benefits are greater then if he himself did.

This is why he never (or hasn't yet) referred to Aizen with the -sama honorific. Instead the closest we get is something akin to 'Boss' perhaps in a crime family or Yakuza sense.

As for the current fraccion fights, I see them as KT's way of establishing Barragan's, Halibels and Starks characters and the dynamics of their relationship.

Already we see Barragan taking charge, almost brashly. Halibel is more cautious, always having Aizen in mind and Stark seems not to care. This will probably be developed further as we see their reactions to Barragan's fraccions inevitable defeats.

[Ryin]

The theory does assume that Barragan has or Had some initial power within Hueco Mundo so if you don't think that he could have ever had that kind of power in the first place, the theory is kind of moot.

I'm not suggesting that Aizen's word isn't law within Hueco Mundo currently, Merely suggesting that at some point Aizen had to establish that and the two most likely ways are to either kill anyone who disagrees with you, curry favor with the majority of the people in that realm or a combination of the two. It's apparent, through the Nnoi/Nel Flashback that someone somewhere still doesn't like Aizen, or at least didn't at one point. I would guess that Aizen probably used more of his charisma and less of a display of his power, using only when absolutely necessary, to gain his position in HM.


With that in mind It's not out of the real of possibility that Barragan can follow Aizen's law and still plot a coup of some sort. In fact I think the mafia/yakuza analogy really helps to illustrate the theories point. If you have a boss in charge of a syndicate than it is most definitely a word is law type of deal. Underbosses who are planning to take over as the new boss have to show they have what it takes and can't simply challenge the standing boss even if they might be able to kill that boss. Faith in the underboss has to be garnered amongst the other members of the syndicate and power plays and shows of strength must be displayed so that there will be backing when a coup is attempted.


As for my statement about Halibel and Stark killing Barragan, it's true that one of them may not be able to beat him alone, but in the interest of dispatching someone who has shown a play against Aizen, the two of them should be able to dispatch Barragan fairly easily.


Either way there is a lot of room for different interpretations within the theory itself if you buy the initial premise. Even if you don't buy the theory, there can't be zero consequences for Barragan's obvious failure.

[oppressor]

Maybe it was true that they made a pact of some sort and that Barrangan still have influece but nonetheless Barrangan called Aizen boss and for sure none of his espada will rebel as Kubo is already short on the bad guys list...

[SightUnseen]

All this says to me is that Barragan is the #1 Espada, and that should Aizen, Gin, and Tousen be absent, he's in command.

[Tanequil]

Imho, Aizen doesn't need the shinigami to kill Barragan, even if he were so inclined to, which I dispute.

Firstly, Aizen has crazy pwnage power. Remember back when he frizzapped Komamura with a level NINETY+ Kido that in his own words was weak? Yeah... That's how crazy he is. And even if he can't kill Barragan, which is supremely unlikely, he has Gin and Tousen to back him up. And as much as we would like to think that Tousen is a lousy wimp, 3 vs 1 means that Barragan is unlikely to win. [Because if he could have won a 3 on 1, then he would have killed Aizen ages ago...] Thus, Aizen can kill Barragan without needing the shinigami to do that.

Perhaps you might then wonder about the repercussions of Aizen personally killing Barragan. I personally doubt that the hollows would take up arms and revolt against Aizen because he killed their leader, if Barragan was a leader in the first place. Imho, hollows are either bloodthirsty, in which case they won't take no shit from others, or are fearful of the bloodthirsty ones. Aizen stands at a score of 100 out of 10 for willingness to commit necessary violence. They will not dare to challenge him, especially since he has already killed such a powerful leader. Which of them would be able to kill him?

Also, I don't think that Aizen would want to kill Barragan at all. He has all the Espada under his control. Even if Barragan was popular and was thinking of leading a rebellion, he would need Espada to fight Aizen. Stark most likely will not bother, Halibel is a staunch supporter of Aizen... Ulquiorra... 'nuff said, Nnoitra and Grimmjow don't seem to give a shit about what's going on other than fights, Zommari is Dead, Szayel is Dead/Dying/MIA, Aaroniero is Dead, and Yammy is basically a dumb extension of Ulquiorra.

Also, if Barragan were planning a rebellion, then he would want to stick close to Aizen and pretend to listen to him and carry out his orders, which would, to Aizen, mean another faithful Ulquiorra Espada. Because as stated above, Aizen can handle Barragan, then a rebellion would be nothing to fear. Once it starts, if it ever starts, he can deploy the Mega Grinning Killing Machine Gin to go kill Barragan.

As such, I choose to believe that the Ants vs. Dragons mini-arc thing is basically fanservice. That and KT is trying to foreshadow that the heroes won't all win immediately... and that perhaps... sometime in the distant future, someone on the good side will die. [In battle. Before Aizen dies.]

[jelome1989]

Good theory, but at this point, seeing Aizen's "crazy ownage power" with his uber imba shikai along with Tousen's Bankai,
I think even a whole squad of VL is not enough for Aizen to even break a sweat.

But, we haven't seen Aizen take a hit in Bleach series.
He has crazy strength but maybe his defense were really not that great.
A "backstab/surprise/sneak" attack may injure him and "give Baragan an edge"

[oppressor]

If by defense not that great you mean stopping ichigo bankai and Rengi + Komamura shikai barehanded then yeah i guess...

[Ryin]

The theory has more to do with politics than outright strength. I have no doubt that if Aizen wanted to simply kill him he could. That's not the point. The deal, if it was indeed made, was made sometime when Aizen initially came to Hueco Mundo. Even though he may have still had crazy strength, it might not have been prudent for him to use it to go wantonly killing hollows. Azen's shown that despite his strength he only ever uses it when absolutely necessary and then only uses the minimum amount of force to deal with the situation. He hasn't used excessive force in any capacity that I can recall.


When you get into a deal or bargain then you perpetuate it until there is a reason to end it. So even if Aizen's power has grown as long as Barragan is happy(or seems to be happy) serving Aizen then why should Aizen simply kill him?


The theory is suspect now that aa tower has fallen. Though just because that has happened it doesn't mean it is completely discounted. We'll still have to see what happens when a tower is destroyed. I still have to ask though .... if Aizen didn't care about KKT beign stuck in Soul Society then why does Barragan?

[jelome1989]

If by defense not that great you mean stopping ichigo bankai and Rengi + Komamura shikai barehanded then yeah i guess...


you're right,
but what i am trying to say about defense is what if Aizen(unprepared) take a direct hit (ex. a Royal Cero from a released espada)

back at soul society right, he BLOCKED (not receive) Ichigo and Renji's attack using his insane power and skills.
He did not TAKE the hit because he knew the attack coming and was prepared

As far as I know, Aizen did not take a massive direct hit in Bleach.
Either he's too alert or maybe, right, he's too strong offensively and defensively

just wondering what if he really did take a hit :D

[zymotic1]

he could just be smart to not get hit at all and bother with it. barrigan good chance he isnt the number one just because stark seems to be the enforcer if aizen wants something done right, like when he kidnapped inoue.

[Fyrefox]

Aizen is the best at every Shinigami skill known. THat's how he does it.

[Rain]

you're right,
but what i am trying to say about defense is what if Aizen(unprepared) take a direct hit (ex. a Royal Cero from a released espada)

back at soul society right, he BLOCKED (not receive) Ichigo and Renji's attack using his insane power and skills.
He did not TAKE the hit because he knew the attack coming and was prepared

As far as I know, Aizen did not take a massive direct hit in Bleach.
Either he's too alert or maybe, right, he's too strong offensively and defensively

just wondering what if he really did take a hit :D

he blocked zabimarus shikai barehanded, and Ichigos bankai barehanded

in a sense, he is much harder to cut than kenpachi even

its not like Aizen really even seemed to act like he had to focus to stop the attack or anything

he is just that much better than everyone else