Bleach – The Heart of the Matter

By Tayla Drago

(Soul Society Saga: Part 1)

Ichigo Kurosaki, Uryū Ishida, Orihime Inoue, Yasutora "Chad" Sado, and Yoruichi Shihōin cross over into the Soul Society using the gate. They arrive in the Rukon District, where normal spirits reside. Ichigo quickly finds himself in a battle with the gatekeeper Jidanbō when he carelessly tries to enter the Seireitei, where the Soul Reapers reside. Thanks to Urahara's training, Ichigo easily defeats Jidanbō, but when Jidanbō opens the gate in defeat, Ichigo encounters the Squad Three captain Gin Ichimaru. Ichimaru uses his shikai and pushes Ichigo back through the gate. After being "shot" out of the Seireitei by Ichimaru, Ichigo and his friends must find another way in. While searching for a friend of Yoruichi's who supposedly can help, Ichigo meets Ganju Shiba, a man who claims to be the number one hater of Soul Reapers of the west part of the Rukon District. The two hate each other immediately and begin to brawl, but their battle ends abruptly when the clock on the back of one of Ganju's friends goes off. Ganju and his friends leave immediately. Yoruichi solicits the help of Ganju's sister, Kūkaku Shiba, who agrees to send them into the Seireitei using her fireworks cannon. Meanwhile, Rukia's sentence has been moved to fourteen days, and she is transferred into a cell called the Shrine of Penitence. Meanwhile, an emergency meeting is called among all the captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

To use the cannon to enter the Seireitei, Ichigo and his friends must first learn how to focus their spiritual energies to use an item called a Spirit Orb, a task Ichigo finds especially difficult. He finally succeeds with the help of Ganju and creates the shell he will need to ride the cannon. Within the Seireitei a meeting of all the captains in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads is held to discuss how to deal with the invaders. The meeting is interrupted by an alarm, indicating that someone has infiltrated the Seireitei. Before the group launches into the Seireitei, Ganju reveals that the reason he hates Soul Reapers is because his brother was killed by one. In the Seireitei, the Squad Eleven captain, Kenpachi Zaraki, sets out to hunt Ichigo, believing him to be a worthy opponent. Meanwhile, Squad Five captain Sōsuke Aizen confronts Ichimaru in front of the Squad Ten captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya about his flimsy excuse for allowing the invaders to escape, causing Hitsugaya to suspect that Ichimaru is planning something. As the crew passes through the shield surrounding the Seireitei, Ichigo's inability to control his spiritual energy results in the shell exploding, separating the group.

Ichigo lands with Ganju, and Uryū with Orihime, while Chad and Yoruichi are alone. Ichigo and Ganju encounter and fight Squad Eleven members, Third Seat Ikkaku Madarame and Fifth Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa respectively. Ikkaku gains an advantage by using the shikai of his zanpakuto fight Ichigo while Ganju attempts to escape from Yumichika using a series of tricks and fireworks he borrowed from his sister. Ichigo eventually overpowers Ikkaku, although he is injured in the process. Ganju and Yumichika continue their fight, with Yumichika pursuing Ganju throughout the Seireitei. Kenpachi continues to search for Ichigo, but is lost, thanks to the poor directions of his lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi. Ganju manages to defeat Yumichika by exploding fireworks on his face. Meanwhile, Uryū and Orihime are confronted by Jirōbō Ikkanzaka, the Fourth Seat of Squad Seven. Uryū is easily able to destroy the projectiles he sends at them, and destroys his ability to be a Soul Reaper when he threatens Orihime. Meanwhile, the Squad Twelve captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, dispatches teams of Soul Reapers to locate the intruders as he wishes to use them as his test subjects for his horrifying experiments.

Ichigo and Ganju attempt to escape the Soul Reapers following them by using Hanatarō Yamada, a Squad Four officer, as a distraction. They fail, but the Soul Reapers are distracted by Chad's energy blasts elsewhere, enabling them to escape. Hanatarō then promises to take Ichigo and Ganju to Rukia as he is a friend of hers too. Kenpachi is still attempting to find Ichigo, but Yachiru's directions are leading him in the opposite direction. He then visits Ikkaku in the hospital and stops Mayuri from attacking Ikkaku when the latter refuses to answer any questions. As Mayuri leaves, Ikkaku tells his captain about Ichigo. With Hanatarō's help, Ichigo and Ganju begin to head towards Rukia's location. However, Renji confronts them. Ichigo begins to fight him, and Renji reveals that he is five times more powerful than when they fought previously as Soul Reapers have limits placed on their powers when they go to the World of the Living. Ichigo and Renji fight viciously, with Renji initially gaining the advantage. However, Ichigo reflects on his training with Urahara, and uses his "resolve" to fire a blast of spiritual energy at Renji, defeating him. Renji reflects on his past with Rukia, remembering how they were childhood friends, and how they joined the Soul Reaper Academy together. However, they steadily grew more separated, and he stopped interfering with her after she was adopted by the Kuchiki clan. After reminiscing, he begs Ichigo to save her.

This is a filler episode featuring Don Kanonji and the Karakura Superheroes. Karin Kurosaki successfully destroys a hollow with her soccer ball after it falls from the sky, along with a kitten's soul. Elsewhere, Ururu Tsumugiya and Jinta Hanakari see a hollow and destroy it. At the park, Kanonji informs the group that he intends to form a team of heroes, the Karakura Superheroes. Later, the kitten shields Yuzu Kurosaki as more hollows attack her, and the minor hollows around them meld into one larger hollow. With help from the kitten, the Karakura Superheroes defeat the hollow.

Hanatarō and Ganju carry Ichigo away as the Soul Reapers arrive and Hanatarō begins to heal Ichigo in the underground tunnels. Renji, despite being heavily injured, is incarcerated on the orders of his captain, Byakuya Kuchiki. Meanwhile, the Head Captain of the Soul Reapers Genryusai Yamamoto commands orders all-out war against the intruders. As Squad Five lieutenant Momo Hinamori travels to a meeting of lieutenants the following day, she finds the corpse of her captain, hanging from a tower. Believing that Ichimaru murdered Aizen, Hinamori attacks him, but is stopped by Squad Three lieutenant Izuru Kira. Hitsugaya stops their fight, and orders both to be incarcerated. He then promises to kill Ichimaru if he harms Hinamori in any way. Chad continues through the Seireitei, but the Squad Eight captain, Shunsui Kyōraku, decides to stop him. Ichigo, Ganju and Hanatarō travel towards Rukia's prison, but are immobilized by Kenpachi's immense spiritual force.

The Squad Ten lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, gives Hinamori a letter from Aizen, which discloses the identity of his murderer. Meanwhile, Ichigo begins to fight Kenpachi. However, Kenpachi's spiritual energy is so great that Ichigo cannot even cut him. Rather than kill him, Kyōraku orders Chad to be incarcerated. Elsewhere, Ichigo is fleeing Kenpachi, terrified of Kenpachi's overwhelming power. After realizing the importance of his mission, however, Ichigo finds the resolve to face him. He manages to cut Kenpachi, but becomes overconfident after learning that Kenpachi has not mastered his zanpakutō. Kenpachi then stabs him in the chest, breaking Ichigo's zanpakutō in the process. Zangetsu, the spirit of Ichigo's zanpakutō, brings Ichigo into his world. Through fighting a hollow version of himself, Ichigo realizes that zanpakutō are more than mere tools, and that simply knowing name of his zanpakutō does not make him more powerful. Ichigo is then able to fight Kenpachi on equal footing, and as the two clashes in a massive strike, Ichigo collapses.

Kenpachi falls beside Ichigo in defeat, and Yachiru takes him away for medical treatment. Yoruichi also retrieves Ichigo for medical treatment. Meanwhile, Ganju and Hanatarō arrive at Rukia's cell, but Ganju becomes infuriated because he believes Rukia was the killer of his brother, Kaien Shiba. However, in the end, Byakuya arrives, and Ganju decides to fight him despite the vast difference in their powers. As Ichigo awakens, Yoruichi reveals that she is a woman. Afterwards, Yoruichi shows Ichigo a device that allowed her to fly, and Ichigo uses it to go save Ganju and Hanatarō. Meanwhile, Byakuya easily defeats Ganju with his shikai, but is then stopped by the thirteenth division captain, Jūshirō Ukitake. Ichigo arrives and fights Byakuya. Before Byakuya can activate his shikai, Yoruichi stops him.