Who defeated Tokinada in Bleach? Explained

Bleach is a manga series that doesn't get enough credit for its worldbuilding, and that is because author Tite Kubo was often pressured by his editors when writing the series. This is shown in the ending of the Thousand-Year Blood War arc in the manga, when Kubo was forced to wrap it all up in five chapters as a result of which, there was little aftermath to Yhwach's defeat, which frustrated fans.

In that regard, Tokinada Tsunayashiro and the Can't Fear Your Own World novels were a breath of fresh air for fans as they got more Bleach material and a new antagonist. While certainly no Aizen or Yhwach, Tokinada stood out for his intelligence and the way he went about things, so it's not surprising to see a lot of fans wondering how he was defeated in those novels written by Ryogo Narita.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Bleach novels.

---

Bleach and how Tokinada Tsunayashiro was defeated

The plot of the novels and Tokinada's role in them

One of the biggest criticisms that Bleach author Tite Kubo received after the manga was that there was very little aftermath to Yhwach's defeat. The manga shifts to a 10-year time-skip and readers don't get to see how Soul Society, the human world, and Hueco Mundo fared after such a war against the Quincy.

The Can't Fear Your Own World novels try to remedy that and add more content to the series, which also serves to steer the focus away from main protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends. Instead, the protagonist of the novels is Shuhei Hisagi, who has to solve a murder case that is happening within Soul Society's Five Noble Houses, which leads to Tokinada Tsunayashiro.

Tokinada became head of his house by committing multiple murders and manipulating people around him, as he had the intention of turning his student, Hikone Ubuginu, into the new Soul King. To do this, Tokinada caused chaos across the three realities, including dealing with some of the Arrancar and Quincy that had survived the main events of the manga.

---

Explaining Tokinada's defeat

Tokinada had bided his time for years to gain power across Soul Society and be able to reach the Soul King position through Hikone, but in the third volume of the novels, his vision came crashing down because of Hisagi and his allies. By the time the final battle takes place, the leader of the Tsunayashiro House has to face multiple Shinigami, Fullbringers, Arrancar, and Quincy, much to his dismay.

Mayuri, one of the Captains of the Gotei 13, breaks into the Tsunayashiro mansion as Tokinada is hiding there, much to the latter's surprise. Instead of engaging in battle, the two mad men start talking about the reasoning behind their actions and Tokinada goes as far as mentioning the likes of Aizen and Kisuke Urahara and why they did the things they did. However, as this happens, he is stabbed in the back.

One of the most notorious moments of these Bleach novels was finding out how it wasn't Hisagi, Mayuri, or any other major character who stabbed Tokinada, but rather a normal assassin from one of the houses in Soul Society. She basically murdered him out of spite for his actions and Tokinada laughs maniacally and shows nothing but spite to his enemies before dying.

---

Final thoughts

Tokinada is a special character in the Bleach lore because of how mentally unstable he is and how he was willing to do a lot of messed up things to get what he wants. He isn't an all-powerful villain like Aizen or Yhwach but rather had delusions of grandeur and wanted to see the world burn.