Impero Nascosto

The Impero Nascosto (仮面帝国 (隠された帝国), Kamen no Teikoku; Italian for "Hidden Empire", Japanese for "Masked Empire") is a group of mixed spiritual beings and the final antagonists of Bleach: Second Act.

History
Following the experiments of on the breaking of the barriers between Shinigami and Hollows; a group called the Order of the Visored appeared alongside the original Visored group. Following Akujin's defeat at the hands of Raian Getsueikirite, the Order became Suneku, under Seireitou Kawahiru, before declining and fading into obscurity. Soon after, a group of Visoreds under the now rogue Raian, called the Kinenbuke, arose and fell in a similar manner. It was not long after this that Akujin, who had survived his supposed death, gathered together the remnants of these former Visored and formed the Impero.

The Impero remained in the shadows during Soul Society's war with Yāolù. Following Yāolù's defeat at the hands of Seireitou and Raian, Akujin swooped in and took the reigns of Yāolù's empire, naming himself the new Emperor and absorbing Yāolù into his Impero. With this, he could add pure Shinigami to his ranks.

Following the destruction of the at the hands of Ichigo Kurosaki, the surviving Quincy were also approached by Akujin, allowing him to absorb them as well into his empire before he made plans to attack.

Structure
The Impero Nascosto is made up of several components, making it similar in format to the Gotei 13. There are multiple units with different purposes and specialties, though the exact number is unknown.

The Impero is lead by an "Emperor", who directly controls the affairs of the entire army and its workings.

As in the Gotei 13, and any army for that matter, the Impero has ranks to title its soldiers. The basic front line foot soldiers are simply known as soldiers. There are hundreds of thousands of these soldiers that make up the Impero's ranks. It is unknown how ranks are handed out to the soldiers of the Impero, but it is suspected that, like the Gotei 13, it is ability-based.

The highest rank, other than those held by Akujin and Muramasa, is General (司令官, Shireikan). It is equivalent to the Gotei 13's Captain, and those with the rank are usually captain-level strength or stronger. A general leads one of the Impero's many separate divisions.

Tiro con L'arco
The Tiro con L'arco (射撃課 (アーチェリー), Tīrō con Lārcō; Italian for "Archery", Japanese for "Marksmanship Division") is a small division, composed of, within the Impero's army. It is lead by General Aldolfo Benttino and Halberd Celeste Agostino.

Headquarters
The is based out of Yāolù, due to Akujin's conquests of the deteriorating Yāolù Empire following their defeat by Soul Society. For this reason, the Impero possess a large palace within the Yāolù.

It also has control of in Hueco Mundo, having restored the demolished fortress after Aizen's defeat and the fall of the. The entirety of Hueco Mundo seems to be their domain, as they have troops and camps in all corners of the Hollow's realm.

The Impero also have a fortress in Soul Society, in one of its many large forests, which is run by Muramasa Neikan. It is primarily used as a place for Hollow-Shinigami experiments and other illegal activity. Protective Kidō has been placed around it and the surrounding forest to prevent the Gotei 13 from discovering it's location.

Notable Members
(† = confirmed death)

Trivia

 * The uses an Italian motif.
 * The rank of "Emperor", in this situation, is based on that of the.
 * Each general of Impero Nascosto has a name based on a famous dictator.