Bleach: Belmont Legacy and Anime Series (ON HOLD)

by tmdrago

Base from the Bleach Anime series to be in certain order...This takes place after the Bount Saga - of Sonia Belmont and Alucard team up with Team Ichigo and the others to stop Dracula and his army, before the darkness, vampires, and demons are running loose in all the worlds. From love, comedy, action, sci-fi, a bit or horror, and lots of fighting. A big game and Anime crossover.

5. Living Beings to Bount Showdown

Bleach – The Heart of the Matter

By Tayla Drago

(Bounts: Part 2)

Tayla: Another one not added, sorry. Also the summoning of Bounts to release their Dolls goes something like this - Zeige Dich (Show Yourself!)

In the air above Soul Society, a portal opens as the Bount flies out in streams of energy and fly across the sky. Meanwhile, in the meeting room in the First Division barracks, Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto commences the regular captains meeting with the other captains standing before him. Revealing that they have confirmed the presence and intrusion of Ryoka, Yamamoto instructs the captains to have their divisions assume their second-class alert positions.

Following this, Yamamoto tasks 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya with apprehending the Bount in light of the seriousness of the situation, which Hitsugaya acknowledges, and asserts that he must be extremely careful in gathering and sending information to the other divisions since the Shinigami Research and Development Institute has had a problem with information leaking recently before ordering the captains to kill any Ryoka they encounter without hesitating, leaving Hitsugaya to narrow his eyes.

Elsewhere, the denizens of the Rukongai see the Bount flying above them and wonder what they are, only to flee in terror upon seeing that one of the energy streams is approaching them as the energy crashes into the ground, sending several villagers flying and creating a giant sphere of energy that dissipates to reveal Jin Kariya and Gō Koga in the clearing dust. Back in the First Division barracks, Hitsugaya walks through the hallways with his 7th Seat, Kōkichirō Takezoe, and two other subordinates, where he inquiries about whether any of the other divisions have moved out to begin searching for the Ryoka in the Rukongai yet.

After Kōkichirō informs Hitsugaya that 2nd Division Lieutenant Marechiyo Ōmaeda left with some Shinigami from his division, one of the other Shinigami reveals that 7th Division Lieutenant Tetsuzaemon Iba has also departed for the Rukongai. In response, Hitsugaya instructs his subordinates to keep gathering information and reports from all the divisions before ordering them to not let any information leak, which they firmly comply with. Meanwhile, in the Rukongai intersection, Koga looks around at the buildings and comments on how quiet the surrounding area seems to be, only for Kariya to smugly assert that it will be loud soon enough.

Suddenly, Kariya and Koga are confronted by Marechiyo, who eats a rice cracker from a bag and stands before his subordinates while declaring that he will be first to fight the Bount, only for Iba to step in behind Kariya and Koga with his Shikai and contest this as he criticizes the nerve of the Bount to attack the Shinigami in broad daylight. When Koga requests that he leave this to him, Kariya obliges since it would provide a good test for them and steps to the side, leaving Koga to summon his Doll, Dalk. After intimidating the Shinigami with her assembly, Dalk relishes in how delicious the air is and how good it makes her feel.

With Iba describing this as a strange technique typical of the Bount, Marechiyo accuses Koga of being a coward who cannot fight with his own power, but a smirking Koga simply snaps his fingers, causing the Reishi comprising a nearby roof and bell tower to begin breaking off from the structures and flowing into his body, causing him to glow with a blue aura. While Marechiyo and his subordinates stare in astonishment at this and Iba demands to know what he is, Koga rebuffs their assumption that he is some kind of monster and claims to merely be a better-than-average Human, leading an angered Marechiyo to have his men rush forward and attack Koga.

At Koga's command to crush them, Dalk glows with the same blue aura and proclaims that she is feeling great as well before detaching and throwing her upper left arm, which reverts to its previous state of dozens of small metal spheres that the Shinigami are forced to defend themselves from with their Zanpakutō. While firing more spheres at Iba, who struggles to defend himself with his Shikai, with her lower body, Dalk opens fire on the Shinigami with the stump of her upper left arm, resulting in the Shinigami falling over incapacitated after several of the spheres slam into their bodies as Marechiyo watches in disbelief and astonishment.

Behind Koga, a panting Iba remains standing and berates him for underestimating the Shinigami while Marechiyo frantically looks around for someone else to fight for him. Reveling in her newfound strength, Dalk separates her body into dozens of medium-sized spheres that she begins swirling around Marechiyo, who rapidly slashes at them with his Zanpakutō in an effort to protect himself. After criticizing this as needlessly wasting energy as she watches with her floating head, Dalk begins slamming the spheres repeatedly into Marechiyo's body from all sides before one hits him in the head, knocking him out and causing him to collapse.

A concerned Iba puts aside his distaste for attacking unarmed opponents and moves into the air with Shunpo before coming down on Koga with his Shikai, only for the latter to effortlessly grab the blade by its single prong mid-swing, leaving Iba suspended in midair while he wonders what is going on. Upon seeing this, Dalk fires a sphere on a tether from her lower end that wraps itself several times around Iba's neck and proceeds to fire more spheres from another opening on her lower end, resulting in Iba being hit several times and falling to the ground as he lets go of his Shikai, where Dalk yanks him by the neck over to Kariya.

Unimpressed by Iba's poor showing despite his status as a Shinigami, Kariya levitates him into the air and blasts Iba away with a gust of wind, sending him crashing through a wall and into a building, the former of which collapses complete and the latter of which visibly sinks into the ground from the impact. After Koga returns Dalk to her sealed state, Kariya inquiries about how he feels, prompting Koga to express satisfaction at how good he feels and at the unlimited amount of highest-quality Reishi in the area. Pleased by this, Kariya decides that they should depart and walks away with Koga, leaving dust billowing from the wreckage of the house behind him.

Sometime later, Hitsugaya and his subordinates run up to the site of the conflict, where they are aghast to find Marechiyo and the other Shinigami lying defeated on the ground. Instructing Kōkichirō to contact the Fourth Division, which he runs off to conduct, Hitsugaya orders his other subordinates to assume defensive positions and assess the extent of the damage. While one of the Shinigami runs to Marechiyo's side and attempts to rouse him, Hitsugaya looks inside the house and is informed that Iba is the one lying within, though he is relieved to learn that the latter is conscious. Suddenly, Hitsugaya is contacted by his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto.

Rangiku appears in front of Hitsugaya with Shunpo and states that she only just returned before apologizing for failing in her mission to prevent the Bount from reaching Soul Society, though Hitsugaya counters that he is the one responsible for this as the one who assigned her to the Human World and assures Rangiku that she does not need to worry about it. When asked by Hitsugaya about what she has learned, Rangiku reveals it is difficult to track the Bount and she can only detect the Reiatsu of the two lieutenants even at the scene of the battle, an irritated Hitsugaya tells his men they will continue the investigation and welcomes Rangiku back.

Elsewhere, Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki stand on a grassy plain overlooking a distant mountain range and observe that they are back in Soul Society again. Upon being asked by Ichigo if she sensed the Reiatsu earlier, Rukia confirms this and describes it as seeming like a Shinigami was fighting the Bount, only to affirm in turn that she could not detect the Reiatsu of the Bount just like in the Human World, leaving her and Ichigo to ponder this in silence. Sliding in front of them, an annoyed Yoruichi Shihōin questions why they are pondering such things in an emergency situation while Ririn admonishes them for standing together like lovers.

With Ichigo staring in confusion at this and Rukia demanding to know what she is talking about, Ririn asserts that it feels bad for a reason that she cannot pin down, and when Kurōdo reminds her that they will lose to the Bount if they fight with each other while standing behind her with an agreeing Noba, Ririn claims to not care. As they run up to Ichigo and the others, Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, and Uryū Ishida reveal that Kūkaku Shiba has moved her house again, which leads Yoruichi to note that she still likes to do so frequently and admit that she has a feeling about where Kūkaku moved to when Ichigo asks her about it.

As the sun begins to set in Soul Society, Ichigo and his friends walk along a dirt road, and as night falls with a full moon illuminating the area, Ichigo expresses surprise at having found Kūkaku's house, which is now located in the middle of a lake with wooden piers leading to it. After Uryū is left unnerved by Sado's nostalgic reaction to seeing the house, Yoruichi is left exasperated by Kūkaku's usual lack of aesthetic vision in addition to her standard redesign of the house, causing an unimpressed Ichigo to compare its quality to Rukia's drawings. When Rukia punches him in the face and tells him to be silent, Ichigo states that this role is supposed to belong to Kon.

However, Ichigo realizes that Kon is not currently with the group, and as Ririn asserts that she is certain Kon came with them to Soul Society, a concerned Orihime wonders if they should split up and look for Kon, though Kurōdo assures her that Kon will be fine since he is bursting with energy, which the group nods in agreement with. Suddenly, Ganju Shiba screams in pain within Kūkaku's house, startling the group. Meanwhile, in the Rukongai, Kon walks down one of the streets and criticizes himself for being the only one to get lost after coming all this way. Up ahead, several villagers gather around the damaged wall and house as one of them warns the others to not enter.

Curious about what is going on, Kon politely asks the villagers about what happened here, only for them to be shocked by his appearance and assume that he is some sort of monster who destroyed the wall and house behind them. Despite Kon insisting that he is a Modified Soul and could not do what they are accusing him of, the villagers begin chasing after him with the intention of killing him before he can do any more damage, resulting in Kon fleeing from them while abjectly refusing to die here. Back at Kūkaku's house, Ichigo and his friends watch with embarrassment and pity while Kūkaku angrily pins Ganju to the floor by his head with her foot.

When Kūkaku reminds him that he was dispatched to the Human World to help with the strange situation that Yoruichi mentioned to her, Ganju confirms that this is true, which prompts Kūkaku to lift him up by the collar and berate Ganju for forgetting about this because he was preoccupied with working at a convenience store before throwing him against the far wall, where he slides down after impact. With Yoruichi observing that she is the same as ever and Kūkaku apologizing for not being more helpful, Ichigo inquires if Kūkaku knows what convenience stores are, only for Kūkaku to emphatically declare that she does and question if this is a problem.

Presuming Ichigo is making fun of her, Ichigo grabs a nervous Ichigo by the collar and points out how she is in a bad mood right now as she throws him against the far wall as well, where Ichigo slides down next to Ganju and is warned by him to not say anything unnecessary. Despite Ichigo's confusion about what he said wrong, Kūkaku promises to sort both of them out, causing Ichigo and Ganju to scream in terror and flee from her around the room while Rukia observes one's mouth can get them into trouble around Kūkaku. Sometime later, with a battered Ichigo and Ganju sitting tearfully before Kūkaku alongside their friends, Yoruichi finishes recapping the situation to Kūkaku.

After bringing up how Kariya said that the Bount were going to Soul Society for revenge since they were created by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, Yoruichi notes that there is almost no record of them in Soul Society and attributes this to a cover-up of an unsavory incident. Though she does not know how the Bount will enact their revenge, Yoruichi reminds Kūkaku that it is not easy to get into the Seireitei since it is surrounded by a wall, which leads Kūkaku to deduce that Yoruichi wants to look into what the Bount are thinking and doing. As she confirms this, Yoruichi requests that Kūkaku let them stay at the house despite their numbers.

With Yoruichi pointing out how it will be easier to search the vast expanse of the Rukongai if they can stay here, Kūkaku confirms with Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko that they can feed so many mouths at once and blames Ganju's mismanagement of the situation for the Bount being able to invade Soul Society. Stomping Ganju's head to the ground again when he protests this, Kūkaku permits Ichigo's group to stay in her house despite its cramped nature, and when she wonders how they are going to track down the Bount, the Mod-Souls leap forward and present themselves, only to fall over in shock when a surprised Kūkaku questions what exactly they are.

Ichigo explains that the Mod-Souls were developed by Kisuke Urahara, causing a delighted Kūkaku to pick up and examine Noba while admitting that she never would have thought to put a Modified Soul inside a plushie, though Ririn and Kurōdo deny that this is worth being excited about when she attributes this decision to Urahara. Getting everyone's attention once more, Yoruichi asks Ichigo and his friends to collect information on someone named Ran'Tao, to their confusion, and elaborates that the lead researcher of the Soul Society project that created the Bount mentioned by Kariya during his recount of the history of the Bount was Ran'Tao.

As Rukia expresses disbelief at Ran'Tao still being alive, Yoruichi clarifies that it has been over one thousand years since Ran'Tao was expelled from the Seireitei and that Ran'Tao is rumored to live in the depths of the Rukongai now, leading Ichigo to conclude that they may be able to learn something about the Bount if they track down Ran'Tao, which Yoruichi affirms. Deciding that it is time for them to have dinner, Kūkaku instructs Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko to prepare, which prompts them to march away, and Orihime observes that it has been a while since she had anything to eat while Uryū thanks Kūkaku for her hospitality.

With Ichigo and his friends departing for dinner, Kūkaku calls out to Yoruichi, causing her to stop and turn around, and inquires if Yoruichi has anything else to tell her. Though Yoruichi acts like she does not know what this means, Kūkaku instructs her to not play dumb and questions why Yoruichi is not going to the Seireitei before observing that it is not simply due to the convenience of her house. After hesitating for a few seconds, Yoruichi reveals that Maki Ichinose is helping the Bount and can turn invisible in addition to being able to completely conceal his Reiatsu, which has already allowed him to break into the Seireitei, to Kūkaku's surprise.

Yoruichi elaborates that Ichinose is also the one who sealed the database in the archives of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute and manipulated the data so 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi would become interested in the Bount, which she describes as falling for a simple trick, and provide Uryū with the Quincy Bangle so the Bount could enter Soul Society. While Kūkaku infers that Yoruichi is hiding somewhere that Ichinose cannot track her movements from, Yoruichi states that it would be hard to stop Ichinose from breaking in again even with 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng secretly strengthening security, which Kūkaku agrees with.

When Yoruichi brings up how it would also be too much of a pain for her to return to the Seireitei as someone who fled from Soul Society before, a grinning Kūkaku asserts that this sounds like the real reason, and as Yoruichi says that she will be doing things her way, Kūkaku asks her if they can win, prompting Yoruichi to admit that she does not know. Despite this, Kūkaku promises to help Yoruichi out regardless because she loves trouble. The next morning, Ichigo and his friends stand on the bank of the lake, where Rukia declares that they will split up from here and instructs her friends to use the Mod-Souls to search for the Bount across Soul Society.

After affirming alongside his friends that they will emit weak Reiatsu in order to alert the others if they track down a Bount, Ichigo wonders what Rukia will be doing, which leads her to explain that she has to return to her division now that she is back in Soul Society and has delayed it for long enough. With Ichigo accepting this and Rukia telling him to not do anything rash while they both smile, Ririn angrily interjects and vows to find the Bount first so that she does not lose to Rukia before flapping her arms and flying away, leaving Ichigo and Rukia to stare after her in confusion while Kurōdo and Noba attribute this to jealousy on Ririn's part.

While Ichigo expresses exasperation at Ririn's behavior and Rukia questions whom she is jealous of, which Kurōdo tries to deflect, Uryū begins walking away and responds to Ichigo's protests by reminding the group that they do not have time to waste and assuring them that he will be fine on his own. Staring at Uryū alongside Orihime, Ichigo turns to Kurōdo and instructs him to keep Orihime safe as he asks Orihime to not push herself too hard, with both of them responding affirmatively, prior to running off with Sado and Noba while Rukia, Orihime, and Kurōdo run off in the opposite direction into various parts of the forest surrounding the lake.

As Ichigo runs through the Rukongai, Sado and Noba run through the forest, Orihime and Kurōdo run along a grassy plain, and Uryū runs beside the underside of a cliff, Hitsugaya delivers instructions and orders in an intersection of the Rukongai to several of his subordinates, who depart with Shunpo once he finishes. Elsewhere, in one of the slums of the Rukongai, Rukia passes several huddled and destitute villagers while mentally observing that the dirt and depression of the area has not gone away. On a different street, an irritated Ririn rapidly runs along and expresses anger at being angry to begin with, only to stop upon sensing a Bount nearby.

With Ririn turning around and running back in fright, Rukia finds herself engulfed in a dust cloud and begins coughing and shielding her face. Suddenly, Rukia looks up to find Yoshi standing at the other end of the street. Initially surprised to see Rukia again, a maliciously grinning Yoshi greets her and comments on the coincidence of them encountering each other again before summoning her Doll, Nieder, which leaves Rukia glaring at her.

Having encountered Rukia Kuchiki in the Rukongai and subsequently summoned her Doll, Nieder, Yoshi leaps into the air and spins around several times before coming down on Rukia with the sword of Nieder, prompting the latter to leap back at the last second as the sword stabs into the ground and briefly bends from the weight of Yoshi, who pushes herself up to pull the sword out and cartwheels over to Rukia in order to attack her with a high kick that Rukia narrowly evades.

After leaping to the other side of the street in order to dodge Yoshi's following upward slash with the sword of Nieder, Rukia kneels and pants while Yoshi realizes that she does not have her Zanpakutō with her and contemptuously blows dirt off the blade of her sword. With Rukia internally noting that Yoshi has become far stronger than she was when they last fought, Ririn rounds the corner of one of the alleys leading into the street behind Yoshi and frantically hides behind a wooden outcropping.

As Ririn peers out and mentally warns Rukia that she cannot beat Yoshi because she does not even have a sword, Yoshi looks over her shoulder at Ririn's location in confusion, which leads a startled Ririn to retreat behind the outcropping while the villagers on the street rapidly run into the alleys and close the doors and windows of the surrounding buildings to hide from the conflict. A grinning Yoshi mentions that she heard Mabashi took diligent care of Rukia, and as the latter recalls being forced to fight Orihime Inoue by Mabashi's Doll, Ritz, Yoshi hides her face with the fan of Nieder and laughs at how much she is looking forward to killing someone so cute.

Angered by this, Rukia tells Yoshi to shut up and looks around before pulling a cracked katana out of the wall behind her and assuming a battle stance. Though Yoshi accepts her challenge to a battle, the fan of Nieder complains about being called to fight in the middle of her afternoon teatime as the sword reminds Yoshi that he told her to not call him when he is in the middle of his nap, only for Yoshi to demand that they follow her orders because she is going to go all-out and hold the fan out in front of her while raising the sword above her head and lifting her right knee into the air in order to remain balanced on her left foot as a battle stance.

Watching this from behind the outcropping, Ririn internally criticizes Rukia for being talked into this by a Bount and getting emotional before questioning what Rukia plans to do with such a decrepit weapon. After the wind stops blowing down the street, Yoshi observes that Rukia is not going to attack and decides to make the first move by throwing her closed fan at Rukia, who slashes it away with her katana. However, while the fan complains about being deflected, it spreads open in midair, obscuring a surprised Rukia's vision long enough for Yoshi to rush forward and slash diagonally at her with the sword of Nieder, which Rukia barely evades by falling on her back.

With her left foot raised high in the air as a result of her pivoting her body, Yoshi brings it down hard on Rukia, who rolls away at the last second and finds Yoshi throwing the sword of Nieder at her. After leaping high into the air, leaving the sword to embed its tip in the ground and slide several feet away despite promising to get her back, Rukia raises the katana above her head and comes down on Yoshi with a downward slash, but the latter blocks it with her opened fan and keeps Rukia suspended in midair with her sheer strength alone, leaving Rukia stunned as a grinning Yoshi flips the fan around to send her crashing into a wall on the other side of the street.

Upon seeing this, a shocked Ririn berates Rukia for not running away even though she is clearly no match for Yoshi in her current state. As Rukia emerges from the rubble of the partially-collapsed wall and stumbles to her feet, Yoshi approaches her, and notes Rukia may not even be able to touch her in addition to being unable to defeat her before laughing alongside both the sword and fan of Nieder while Rukia wipes away a trickle of blood from her mouth with the back of her hand. When an irritated Rukia asserts they should not underestimate her so much, Yoshi praises her expression and decides to torment her with beautiful techniques alongside Nieder.

Spinning around once on her right foot, Yoshi assumes another battle stance alongside Rukia, and as the villagers in the nearby houses watch anxiously through partially-opened windows and doors, Ririn proclaims she cannot watch anymore and runs toward Yoshi while throwing a sphere of red energy at her. Upon being hit by the sphere, Yoshi finds the world inverting in color and warping around her, causing her to lose her balance and struggle to stay standing upright. With Rukia staring in confusion at this, Ririn demands to know what she is doing and instructs Rukia to defeat Yoshi instead of wasting time. Though surprised by Ririn's arrival, Rukia resolves to win.

As Yoshi continues to flail around on the other side of the street, Rukia recites the incantation for and fires Hadō #33. Sōkatsui, unleashing a wave of blue energy that slams into Yoshi, sending her flying into the air while the sword and fan of Nieder criticize her for not defending herself and being naïve. The singed and smoking Yoshi falls on the ground and slowly raises her burnt hand into the air, but as Ririn assumes that she is giving up, Yoshi begins absorbing Reishi from the surrounding structures and screams in ecstasy as it completely encases her in a sphere of energy and heals the burns all over her body.

While Rukia realizes that Yoshi is absorbing Reishi, Ririn frantically warns her to run away because Yoshi has become a monster, only to be interrupted when Yoshi stands up by planting her feet on the ground and forcing her torso upward with several crunching sounds before reveling in how amazing the Reishi tastes to her. In response, Rukia begins running away at Ririn's urging, leaving the fan of Nieder to wonder what this was all about and the sword to remind her that there is a thin line between sadism and masochism. Grinning wildly, Yoshi hurls her sword at Rukia, who notices it and leaps forward just before it reaches her, leaving it to embed into a wall behind her.

After spreading her fan open once more, Yoshi unleashes a barrage of spikes at Rukia, who narrowly evades them by rolling along the wall that they embed themselves in, though one manages to cut through her upper left arm. Upon pulling the sword back to herself, Yoshi declares that this is the result of devotion and the splendor of her life prior to rushing forward and slashing at Rukia with her sword. With Rukia blocking with her katana, Yoshi aims a spinning kick at her head, which Rukia leans back to dodge, and slashes upward with the sword. Rukia blocks this as well with the katana and leaps onto the roof of the building behind her when Yoshi slashes at her horizontally.

As she grunts ferally, Yoshi throws her fan at the section of the roof overhand underneath Rukia's feet, destroying it and causing Rukia to fall to the ground, before leaping forward and continuing to clash with Rukia while Ririn attempts to shield and avert her eyes. Locking blades with Rukia and forcing her katana down, Yoshi grins and shifts the sword of Nieder up, so the guard knocks the katana out of Rukia's hands, allowing Yoshi to perform a kick to Rukia's midsection that sends her smashing through a door into the building behind her. With a concerned Ririn startled by the katana embedding itself in the ground in front of her, the villagers inside the building flee.

Yoshi approaches the doorway and pushes aside the remnants of the clothing hanging from the top, only to find that Rukia is not visible within the room. While Rukia hides somewhere in the room, Yoshi looks around and slowly enters the room, where she quickly finds Rukia behind an overturned table to the right of the doorway, causing the latter to run behind a divider to the other end of the room. However, when Yoshi proclaims that it is pointless to run away and throws the sword of Nieder at her, Rukia's body warps and vanishes upon being hit by the sword, which leads Yoshi to realize that it was an illusion and turn to a frightened Ririn, whom she realizes is the culprit.

Admitting that she never thought Ririn could trick her twice, Yoshi inquires if Ririn wants her to let Rukia escape and fight Ririn in her place, and with Ririn cowering in fear, Yoshi opens her fan and prepares to strike, only for Rukia to rise up behind her with a large sheet and throw it over Yoshi to blind and restrict her before firing Hadō #4. Byakurai at direct range, causing Yoshi to scream in pain as she topples backward and rolls over to the entrance, where she lies still. Upon seeing Rukia panting in exertion, Ririn runs over to her in concern, but Rukia simply thanks Ririn for saving her by diverting Yoshi's attention, which Ririn bashfully smiles at.

Suddenly, Yoshi begins chuckling, prompting Rukia and Ririn to look over at her in astonishment, and praises this effort as she absorbs more Reishi and stands up while casting off the sheet to reveal the hole in her shoulder closing and the fabric of her shirt mending over it. With Yoshi promising that the fun is just beginning, Ririn mentally asserts that she really is a monster and begs Ichigo Kurosaki to save her. Meanwhile, in the Seireitei, the captains gather in the meeting chamber before Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, who informs them that added information regarding the Bount was ascertained from old documents owned by the Kuchiki Clan.

As 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku expresses intrigue at this, Yamamoto explains that many experiments that are now forbidden were performed in Soul Society long ago before the formation of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute and that they were headed by Ran'Tao, known as the "Evil Researcher", in pursuit of eternal life. Yamamoto details how an unexpected accident affected a portion of Souls in the cycle of rebirth and caused a mutated strain of Humans with abnormal abilities to be born in the Human World, who became the Bount, followed by Ran'Tao taking responsibility for the incident and being banished from the Seireitei.

When Yamamoto recounts how the Bount were purged in order to protect the Human World, Shunsui picks up on this and speculates that a superior officer wanted to conceal this in order to defend his own interests. Though 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake is left aghast at this, Yamamoto dismisses it as irrelevant since this is the result of what they have created no matter the reasoning behind it, and as 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya observes that the Bount really did come to Soul Society for revenge, Yamamoto acknowledges this and declares that they must annihilate the Bount regardless of what their reasons are.

Upon being told by Yamamoto that Ichigo has entered Soul Society in relation to this, Shunsui smiles and notes that Ichigo works hard while Hitsugaya grins. However, the meeting is interrupted when a Riteitai opens the doors to the chamber and reveals that both Bount waves and Rukia's Reiatsu have been detected, alerting both Ukitake and 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki. Shortly afterward, 13th Division 3rd Seats Sentarō Kotsubaki and Kiyone Kotetsu have the gates outside the central compound opened so that they and several other Shinigami from their division can head to the 43rd district of eastern Rukongai to aid Rukia.

Elsewhere, as Ichigo stands in a different part of Rukongai, Orihime Inoue calls out to him and runs up with Kurōdo, who informs a perplexed Ichigo that they have found a Bount and are in trouble, shocking him. Back in the 43rd district, three villagers looking down an alleyway scatter when Rukia slides backward out of it onto the street and fires another Hadō #4. Byakurai at Yoshi, but the latter casually deflects it into one of the walls of the alley with the fan of Nieder and observes that Rukia's attacks are much weaker than before. As she sees Rukia trying to run away again, Yoshi leaps out of the alley and over the adjoining building to land in front of her.

When Yoshi sweeps her left leg toward her legs, Rukia jumps over it and pushes Yoshi's hand aside when the latter subsequently slashes down at her, allowing Rukia to move in and kick upward at Yoshi's chin, which prompts the latter to flip backward and handspring away to avoid Rukia's follow-up kick aimed at her ankles. Sliding several feet back, Yoshi runs forward to meet Rukia and stabs at her with the sword of Nieder, and when Rukia pushes the blade aside with her hand mid-thrust, Yoshi forces her to evade backward with a kick aimed at Rukia's head and kicks Rukia in the shoulder prior to throwing her closed fan at Rukia's right wrist, which it wraps itself around.

With Rukia restrained and bleeding from her left arm, Yoshi admits her surprise at Rukia having this much power left and asks the sword and fan of Nieder what they are going to do, which leads them to proclaim that they will corner Rukia splendidly and finish her off perfectly. After acknowledging this, Yoshi yanks Rukia toward herself and simultaneously grinds the sword of Nieder along the chain connecting it to the fan, striking off sparks as it approaches Rukia, only for the latter to leap over Yoshi at the last second. Caught off-guard by this, Yoshi pulls the sword off the chain and turns around to face Rukia, who is now in midair behind her.

Yoshi moves to slash her sword upward at Rukia, but the latter performs Bakudō #1. Sai right before the blade hits her, causing Yoshi's arms to be forced behind her back and creating enough slack on the chain that the fan of Nieder slips off of Rukia's wrist, which allows her to move further back and land on a nearby rooftop. While Yoshi angrily struggles against her invisible restraints, Rukia internally cheers at having restricted her movement and fires Hadō #33. Sōkatsui at her once more, creating a sizable cloud of dust with the impact. However, when the dust clears, Rukia is astonished to see an unharmed Yoshi protecting herself with an enlarged fan.

Having transformed Nieder into its armored form, Yoshi succeeds in breaking out of her restraints and glares up at Rukia, who clutches her injured arm and flees along the rooftop, leaving Yoshi to return Nieder to its standard form and smile. With Rukia jumping between rooftops, Yoshi notices the trail of blood droplets left by her injured arm and acknowledges that Rukia does not give up, though she simply claims that this makes the fun last longer and laughs maniacally alongside the fan and sword of Nieder. In an empty building elsewhere in Rukongai, Rukia rips off the left sleeve of her shihakushō and uses it to bandage her upper arm.

As an exhausted Rukia leans back and sighs, a shadow approaches the building outside while Rukia notices Ririn hiding behind a box near her. At Ririn's insistence, Rukia crawls over to the box, where Ririn presents her with the katana that she was fighting with earlier and explains that she brought it here for Rukia. Upon seeing a smiling Rukia pick up and examine the katana, Ririn notices her bandaged arm and questions why she has not further healed the wound with her Kaidō, and when Rukia affirms that she would be able to heal it properly that way, Ririn begins to realize that Rukia's Reiryoku reserves are running dangerously low.

Suddenly, Rukia tells Ririn to be quiet and approaches a box on the other side of the room, where she is shocked to find a young girl clutching a child inside upon taking off the lid, leading her to realize they could not run away in time. When Ririn warns her Yoshi is here, Rukia pulls the two children out of the box and requests Ririn run away with them, and despite Ririn's protests about leaving her alone, Rukia insists she get them to a safe location, only to be interrupted when the door to the building begins rumbling. Calling Ririn over to her, Rukia leads her and the children over to the far wall and stares anxiously at the door while a drop of sweat rolls down her face.

The sword of Nieder stabs through the portion of the wall to the right of Rukia and begins slicing through it toward her, forcing Rukia to block it perpendicularly with her right hand on the flat side of the katana. While the young girl fearfully watches this, Yoshi punches through the wall with her left hand and grabs the girl by her head, distracting Rukia long enough for Yoshi to kick her in the back, which sends Rukia flying across the room and crashing through the door onto the street. With Rukia coughing up blood on her hands and knees, Yoshi steps onto the street and orders Rukia to throw away her katana, leading Rukia to see she is holding the girl aloft.

Upon being demanded to let the crying girl go by Rukia, Yoshi counters that this depends on her and asserts that she is reaching the limit of her extensive patience, resulting in Rukia slowly standing up and dropping the katana on the ground. As Ririn watches with concern from the doorway, Yoshi approaches Rukia and promises to crush the girl's head if Ririn tries to do anything before leveling the sword of Nieder at Rukia's chest and attempting to pull aside the folds of her shihakushō. When Rukia leaps back and clutches her shihakushō closed while telling Yoshi to stop, Yoshi inquires if she does not care what happens to the girl and tightens her grip.

While the girl screams in pain, Yoshi mocks Rukia's naivety and declares that she is getting excited just thinking of how to finish Rukia off before leaning down and slashing Rukia upward and diagonally across the chest with the sword of Nieder. With Rukia stumbling back, a grinning Yoshi throws the girl away, and as Ririn runs over to Rukia in shock, the fan of Nieder claims that it is finally over while Yoshi rapidly slashes a screaming Rukia several more times. After her sword asserts that he does not like to torment victims, Yoshi stabs it through Rukia's left leg to keep her in place and vows to cut her up until her flesh and blood are indistinguishable from each other.

Ririn runs up and demands that Yoshi stop this, only for Yoshi to call her annoying and kick her into a nearby post with her left leg, leaving a battered Ririn to call out for Ichigo. However, upon seeing a shadowy figure approaching them down the street, Ririn's eyes widen in astonishment while the figure takes out their Zanpakutō. After sending Rukia flying into the air with an upward kick, Yoshi leaps after her and yells with excitement as the fan of Nieder revels in feeling beautiful and the sword praises the beauty of this technique. Suddenly, Byakuya releases his Shikai, Senbonzakura, causing Yoshi to be slashed in dozens of places at once in midair.

As Byakuya catches a falling Rukia in his arms, Ichigo runs toward the area with Orihime and calls out to Rukia, only to instruct Orihime to take care of the girl while he tends to Ririn upon seeing Byakuya holding Rukia. From the other end of the street, Sentarō and Kiyone arrive with the other Shinigami and salute as they reach Byakuya, who orders them to contact the Fourth Division. After being assured by Orihime that the girl is simply unconscious, Ichigo asks her to tend to Ririn since her injuries seem to be serious and praises Ririn for doing her best. Suddenly, as Rukia sees Byakuya holding her, a laughing Yoshi reveals herself on top of a nearby bell tower.

Having healed her injuries and shifted Nieder to its armored form, Yoshi declares alongside Nieder that their work here is done, and as Ichigo tells her to wait upon seeing Yoshi leap away, he, Orihime, and the Shinigami are startled to feel the ground rumbling underneath their feet while several explosions occur at the Senzaikyū compound.

In the Senzaikyū pavilion, several of the buildings surrounding the main tower are leveled by large explosions occurring near their midsections, causing them to crumble in large clouds of dust and debris. After the explosions stop and the wreckage settles, 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake stands with 1st Division Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe and 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya alongside several other Shinigami as he wonders whose handiwork this was.

With Ukitake noting that he never thought someone would plant a bomb inside the Shishinrō, Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto appears and asserts that this is a declaration of war since the Shishinrō is made of Sekkiseki and cannot be damaged by spiritual attacks, though he admits he never thought the Bount would take the time to enact something so tedious. After observing he senses immense spite from this act, Yamamoto orders more people be added to the investigative team searching for the Bount.

Having affirmed Yamamoto's declaration that they must pinpoint where the Bount are hiding, Hitsugaya runs down a street in the Seireitei, where he is joined by his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, and confirms her inquiry about the Bount being behind this by claiming that they succeeded in attacking the Gotei 13 because he failed, only for Rangiku to suggest that they strike back as the two of them depart with Shunpo. Meanwhile, at the Kuchiki Manor, 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki watches over Rukia Kuchiki as the Fourth Division tends to her injuries before silently leaving and approaching the room where Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue, and Ririn are staying.

Upon seeing Byakuya, Ichigo gets to his feet and frantically inquiries about Rukia's condition. After initially ignoring Ichigo's inquiry, to the latter's irritation, Byakuya reveals Rukia's wounds are deep even though her life is not in danger and concludes he will be letting her rest here until she recovers, to Ichigo and Orihime's relief. Suddenly, Kurōdo pops up from behind Orihime's head and details how this was possible due to Byakuya strongly wishing to save his sister, which means he should be proud of such wonderful sibling love, and Ririn praises Byakuya's performance while Ichigo grows somber and reveals he wants Byakuya to help him, to the latter's surprise.

Ichigo explains that the Bount targeted Rukia because her wounds were not fully healed simply to distract Ichigo and his friends, which he cannot forgive, but when asked if he does not feel the same way, Byakuya refuses to help Ichigo, leaving Ririn aghast as Ichigo angrily questions if Byakuya will tolerate the Bount rampaging through Soul Society. However, Byakuya calmly states that there is no reason to ally with Ichigo when the Gotei 13 are already on the move, further angering the latter, and instructs him to return to the Human World, only for Ichigo to realize that Byakuya still considers him an enemy on some level for his actions during the Ryoka Invasion.

With Ichigo calming down and departing as he states he is leaving Rukia to Byakuya, a startled Orihime requests Byakuya look after Rukia and follows Ichigo alongside Ririn, who protests this sudden change of plans. Elsewhere, in the Kusajishi district of the Rukongai, Mitsuru Ishino and Taichi Miyamoto grin as they watch the courtesans in a crowded gambling hall but are surprised alongside the other occupants of the room when Jin Kariya opens the front door and enters. Walking past the giggling courtesans and intimidated players, Kariya approaches a smiling Tōba, who is flanked by two more courtesans, and asks if he can join the game they are betting on.

When Tōba inquiries about what he will be betting, Kariya withdraws a knife from his pocket and embeds it in a nearby table with a throw. After pausing in astonishment for a few seconds, the players at the table begin laughing uproariously, and as Tōba mocks Kariya as being naïve for betting his life when he is no longer in the Human World, Kariya counters that the pain should be the same regardless, causing the players to stop laughing while one of them expresses interest in gambling against Kariya despite another warning him against it and promises to break his nose. Sometime later, Kariya places a card on the table and observes that he has won.

Realizing this means he will be killed as he looks at the knife, the man that Kariya was playing against nervously claims Kariya must be cheating, which leads Kariya to question if he is afraid despite being a resident of Kusajishi and renowned as the worst of the worst while getting to his feet and looming over the man. Upon being attacked by the man with the knife in the table, Kariya casually grabs the blade between his fingers, stopping the man in his tracks, and grins as he wondering if this is the most strength that the man can put behind the attack before flinging the man across the room into the far wall, leading Taichi and Ishino to look at each other and leave.

With Kariya turning to him and asking if he is the next opponent, the other man demands to know what Kariya did to the first one. Suddenly, Gō Koga warns him to stop since Kariya is not someone he can take on and ducks through the entrance to the room. As Kariya admits he simply thought he could play a little, Koga requests Maki Ichinose help him stop Kariya, and when Ichinose walks into view next to Koga, the man expresses bewilderment at a Shinigami from the Seireitei being here, which prompts Ichinose to attempt to clarify he is no longer a Shinigami. However, the man refuses to believe this and a third suggests the villagers attack all three of them.

When the crowd rushes forward, Ichinose sends three of the men flying with a back swing of his fist while Koga throws a spear-wielding villager into a second villager whose mace he lets shatter harmlessly on his body before knocking a third kusarigama-wielding villager back with a blow from his clasped fists. Upon being attacked by villagers with long poles and wooden swords, Ichinose effortlessly outmaneuvers them with Shunpo as Kariya blows several more out of the building with a gust of wind. With everyone in the building defeated or cowering in fear, Kariya promises Koga that he will be more careful next time when the latter chastises him.

While Koga reminds him that they will be found immediately if they keep getting into altercations like this no matter how big the Rukongai is, Kariya welcomes the idea of this, to Koga's chagrin, and approaches a frightened Tōba, who questions what he is and why he came here. In response, Kariya asserts they have just come for some fun and offers to let Tōba play with them before revealing they are going to turn Soul Society upside down, shocking the men lying on the floor behind them as a stunned Tōba realizes they are the Ryoka. Meanwhile, in various parts of the Rukongai, the Shinigami continue searching for the Ryoka, only to fail.

Watching this from the window of the captain's office in the Eleventh Division compound, Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi tells her captain, Kenpachi Zaraki, that their subordinates are rushing around out there and giggles at one of them falling over while wondering if 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame and 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa are doing their best. Upon being reminded by Yachiru that this is a race to see who can track down the Bount first, Kenpachi gets up and begins walking out of the room, only to inform Yachiru he is going to the bathroom when she inquires if he will be racing too. However, Yachiru leaps onto his shoulder and questions if this is all he is doing.

Kenpachi asks Yachiru if she is bored, and with him expressing confusion at her clarification of actually being relieved, Yachiru explains that Ichinose being with the Bount means Kenpachi would not have fun fighting him now, though Kenpachi states this does not matter since he has shown how weak he is by working for them, leading Yachiru to conclude she does not care if he does not care while Kenpachi departs. Later in the day, with the sun beginning to set outside Kūkaku Shiba's house, an exhausted Ichigo and Orihime finally reach the house and sit down on the stairs past the front door while lamenting how they do not have any leads or clues.

When Orihime wonders why the Bount would break into the Seireitei just to destroy the Shishinrō, Ichigo theorizes that they wanted all of Soul Society to know that they have come here. Despite Ririn ridiculing the Bount putting in so much effort just to announce a crime, Ichigo counters that they came to Soul Society for revenge and that it would be a problem for them if no one noticed. With Kurōdo asserting that they never knew what the Bount were thinking to begin with, and that the latter is enjoying their crimes, Yasutora Sado steps through the doorway with Noba and apologizes for not being able to reach Rukia in time, only for Ichigo to admit he could not either.

After Ichigo informs Sado that Byakuya was the one to save her and Rukia is currently being treated at the Kuchiki Manor, Ririn claims this would not have happened if they were more useful. Suddenly, Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko appear in front of a startled Ichigo and observe him tired before declaring they will show him something interesting. Once Ichigo and his friends move outside in front of the house, with Ichigo wondering what it is they want to show him, Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko rapidly turn a crank outside the house that causes the fists of the stone arms holding up the banner to uncurl until they become flat, open palms, which amazes Orihime.

However, when asked about what he thinks of this, a perplexed Ichigo simply questions what it is, causing Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko to tearfully demand to know if he is not impressed by this magnificence, which blows Ichigo onto his back. While lying upside-down, Ichigo sees a cloud of dust being kicked up in the distance and turns himself over to see Taichi and Ishino riding on their boars while calling out for Ganju Shiba. Recognizing them as members of Ganju's Gang, Ichigo leaps aside right before the boars run over the area where he was lying, leaving them to crash into and knock down the two stone arms holding up the banner in front of the house.

Shortly afterward, Ichigo, Orihime, Sado, Ganju, Taichi, Ishino, Kenji Yamashita, and Sadatomo Saionji sit before Kūkaku in the main room of the house, where Taichi finishes recounting what they saw in Kusajishi and observes it was the first time he had ever seen someone who could silence the villagers there. With Ganju musing on the location, Ichigo inquires if it were Kariya who did this, and when Ganju asserts Kusajishi is a good place to start investigating even if on a hunch, Ichigo wonders why, only for Ganju's attempted explanation to be cut off by Kūkaku detailing how Kusajishi has some of the strongest fighters in the Rukongai who a force could be quite if unified.

When Ganju protests that he was about to say this, Kūkaku punches him in the face and asserts anyone could have figured this out before turning to Taichi and Ishino, whom she menacingly asks about the reason they were in Kusajishi to begin with, leading Taichi to frantically claim they were inspecting an intelligence game and studying society. In response, Kūkaku sends them both flying into the air with an uppercut for breaking her rule against doing things they cannot do in broad daylight and turns to Ichigo, who decides to follow up on this since every lead is important regardless of its size, prompting a smiling Kūkaku to affirm this.

Suddenly, Uryū Ishida opens the door to the room and states he will be going too, surprising his friends. With Uryū requesting Ganju let him come along so he can defeat Kariya, Ganju acknowledges this and begins to explain the plan for tomorrow morning but is interrupted when Kūkaku punches him to the ground and proclaims they are going right now since they need to outmaneuver the Bount, leaving Ichigo and his friends stunned while Ganju reminds Kūkaku that it is easy to get lost in this area at night. However, Kūkaku merely inquires if Ganju heard her, which prompts a frightened Ganju to decide they will head out now with the encouragement of his gang.

Outside the house, Ichigo sees the boars of Ganju's Gang and wonders what they are, leading Ganju to angrily correct his terminology and introduce the boars as Bonnie, Connie, Tony, Annie, Sunny, Honey, Manny, Nanny, and Kanbe. With Ichigo demanding to know why the last one is named different; he and his friends see Orihime praising the boars as cute and cuddling a blushing Kanbe. Following this, Ganju has his Gang saddle up on their boars, but when he turns to Ichigo and his friends to instruct them to do the same, a startled Ichigo refuses to ride on any boar prepared by Ganju and runs off while both Ganju and Ririn, who is riding on Ichigo's shoulder, protest this idea.

Ichigo asserts that he does not know how long it will take to reach their destination if he uses a boar and disappears with Shunpo, leaving Ganju irritated by this comment and demanding that Ichigo not underestimate Bonnie's capabilities before riding off on her back with the rest of Ichigo's friends and his gang on the other boars. Simultaneously, at the Kuchiki Manor, a sleeping Rukia opens her eyes and looks to the left to see the garden, which causes her to realize with confusion that she is at the Kuchiki Manor. After concluding she was saved, Rukia notices a large pad on the floor to her right and observes it is warm when she puts her hand on it, which she attributes to Byakuya.

Elsewhere in the Seireitei, Byakuya slowly walks down one of the streets and approaches one of the four gates of the Seireiheki. Meanwhile, in the Rukongai, Kon emerges from behind a board leaning against a wall in a marketplace and feigns having forgotten his location and identity, only to collapse in exhaustion. As he mentally reiterates that he is not going to die in a place like this, Kon immediately springs up upon hearing a woman's voice nearby and sees a young lady bringing tea to an older woman outside a tea house. Focusing on the young lady's bosom, Kon states he will never forget the shape of happiness and runs toward the woman.

At the other end of the wall that Kon was standing next to, Ganju rides past with the others and warns an uncomfortable Uryū to not speak since beginners tend to bite their tongues. Behind them, Orihime cheers on the boards and Kurōdo revels in the experience alongside her due to this being the first time he has ever ridden a boar while Sado rides silently nearby. With the group approaching and entering the nearby forest, Ganju cautions them to not hit their heads against low-hanging branches. At the same time, Kariya, Koga, and Ichinose stand with Tōba inside a house in Kusajishi with several villagers standing outside, where Tōba suggests that they rest here for a while.

Upon being asked by Kariya if he can gather enough men, Tōba asserts there is no one in Kusajishi who will not listen to him and promises to assemble the number of people Kariya requested by tomorrow before excusing himself. Though Koga apologizes for bringing him to a place like this, Kariya assures Koga he is having fun and turns to Ichinose, who initially does not respond to Kariya inquiring about how he feels about the situation prior to snapping to attention and apologizing when Koga alerts him. Chuckling at this, Kariya brings up how Ichinose has been acting strange ever since he came here with them and speculates something is bothering him.

However, Koga claims that the same is true for Kariya, who expresses intrigue at this, and describes him as seeming like he has been in high spirits ever since entering Soul Society. In turn, Kariya acknowledges that this is true and details how he finally feels like he is free here since he felt cramped up until now. With Koga surprised by this, Kariya moves to leave the house, and when Ichinose questions this, Kariya observes that someone amusing is approaching them. When Ichinose offers to join him in this case, Kariya orders him to organize the locals and proclaims that he will be greeting this man himself as he exits the building, leaving Koga and Ichinose to stare after him.

Elsewhere in the forest, Ganju continues riding with the others and declares that he is coming through, but Uryū gets him to stop after much persuasion and hesitantly reveals they have been going in circles, shocking and embarrassing Ganju while the others express exasperation at this. Meanwhile, Kon happily drinks tea outside the tea house, and after Kon praises the quality of the tea, the young woman offers to bring him more if he wants it, leading Kon to declare he wants to live at this tea house forever. In a wetlands area of Soul Society, Ichigo reappears and asks Ririn what she senses, only to end up departing again upon being told there are no Bount present.

Back in the forest, Ganju ponders the situation in silence and attempts to downplay his mistake by laughing it off with platitudes but stops upon seeing three thuggish men walking along the path ahead. One of the men inquires if a second is just going to leave them, which the second man refuses to answer, and responds to the question being turned back on him by admitting Kariya intimidated him despite being suspicious before denying the third man's teasing assertion that he is fawning over Kariya and suggesting they think about it. Suddenly, the three of them bump into Bonnie and see Ganju before them while the latter reveals he wants to ask them something.

Though the third man demands to know what he is talking about, and the first man confidently informs Ganju they are from Kusajishi, Ganju surprises them by asserting this just makes things easier and assures Orihime he will be fine when she expresses concern for him. Ganju proceeds to introduce himself as the previously self-proclaimed "Deep Red Bullet of West Rukongai" and the currently self-proclaimed "Karakura Town's Fastest Cashier, Flash Numeric Keypad" while holding up a bar code scanner in each hand, leaving Orihime, Sado, and Uryū aghast at his monikers still being self-proclaimed, before rearing up on Bonnie and charging into the three men.

That night, Byakuya walks through the forest under the stars and comes to a stop before a smiling Kariya, who stands several feet away from him with his hands in his pockets. After Kariya confirms his identity, Byakuya notes that he is doing whatever he likes, and when Kariya realizes that the Shinigami whom Yoshi cut down was Byakuya's younger sister, he wonders if Byakuya is here to avenge her, only for Byakuya to deny this since he just has to kill Soul Society's enemies. In response, Kariya grins manically and unleashes a torrent of wind that engulfs himself and Byakuya before culminating in an explosion of power that surges above the trees.

Having confronted Jin Kariya in the western forest of Fugai, 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki questions if he is not going to assume a combat stance, and when Kariya confirms this and offers to let Byakuya attack him whenever he wants to, Byakuya acknowledges this and remains still, causing Kariya to smile smugly. Suddenly, Byakuya disappears with Shunpo and reappears behind a startled Kariya, who quickly grins and leaps away as Byakuya slashes at the air where he was standing with his Zanpakutō.

Though Byakuya observes that Bount have speed equivalent to Shunpo, Kariya admits that the former grazed him while looking at his torn coat and declares that he is going next before summoning a gust of wind that obscures him with a cloud of dust and clears to reveal that Kariya has vanished. Byakuya does not move and eyes the area around him as a branch rustles in one of the surrounding trees, allowing him to move out of the way with Shunpo when a large sphere of swirling wind tears through the area where he was standing.

With the sphere shattering a tree in its path, Kariya appears in the air high above Byakuya and claims he has got the latter as he slams into the ground where Byakuya is standing with a punch enhanced by wind swirling around his fist. When Byakuya moves out of the resulting cloud of dust and slashes at him three times in rapid succession, Kariya easily dodges each one by leaning back and eventually leaps back to the destroyed tree. Standing in front of the crater left by Kariya's attack, Byakuya brings up how he had heard Bount use puppets to fight and notes he cannot see the puppet used by Kariya, who smiles and slyly declines to comment on what this means.

After Byakuya concludes that he will simply have to destroy Kariya along with his puppet, the two of them glare at each other for several seconds before rushing forward and fiercely clashing several times in separate locations around the forest, each instance releasing yellow energy that surges into the sky. Having sheathed his arms in swirling wind, Kariya appears in front of a tree and disappears just as Byakuya slashes through it from a dozen feet away, with the severed trunk sliding off to reveal Kariya standing several feet back on the other side. As he observes Byakuya is even better than the rumors made him out to be, Kariya expresses gratitude for having met him.

Kariya explains to a confused Byakuya that he wanted to evaluate his level of skill by challenging the strongest head of the Kuchiki Clan and praises Byakuya's strength as being satisfying to him. When Byakuya inquiries about what he plans to do, Kariya describes him as the most famous member of the Gotei 13 protecting Soul Society and asserts that the residents of the Seireitei will be shocked if he is defeated, and when Byakuya tells him to stop talking nonsense, Kariya asserts that he would not have come here if he were not convinced that he could defeat Byakuya. However, Kariya mocks Byakuya as being far more naïve than he expected him to be.

Recounting how Byakuya was desperate to protect Rukia Kuchiki when Yoshi tried to finish her off, Kariya points out how Byakuya has come by himself to avenge his sister and claims that he never thought the latter would fall for such a cheap taunt. Despite this, Byakuya merely reiterates that all he has come here to do is kill Soul Society's enemies, though Kariya states that this is fine since he is going to die here as part of the great plan of the Bount. After countering that Kariya is the one who is going to die here, Byakuya holds his Zanpakutō in front of his face and releases his Shikai, Senbonzakura, startling Kariya as several streams of blade petals hurtle toward him.

Though Kariya dodges the initial strike of Senbonzakura by moving into the air, the blade petal streams follow him upward and coalesce around his body in a swirling mass while Byakuya watches intently below. Suddenly, the mass of blade petals begins warping and deforming before being blown apart by an unharmed Kariya, who descends to the ground in a cloak of wind that slightly craters the area underneath him prior to landing. Having caught one of the blade petals between his index and middle finger on his left hand, Kariya praises Senbonzakura as being as beautiful as it is famous, only to dismissively crush the petal and conclude it will not work on him.

With Byakuya staring at the crushed petal floating by his face, Kariya decides to perform his own attack and beckons fierce winds to begin swirling around him, prompting Byakuya to realize he is controlling the wind itself as Kariya initiates Windestanz, which coalesces the wind into a Wind Barrier around him and generates four medium-sized tornadoes around Byakuya that slam into him simultaneously and form a large tornado to lift a tumbling Byakuya high into the air. However, as Kariya begins walking away, Byakuya blasts through the tornado with Hadō #33. Sōkatsui, freeing himself, and drops down onto a surprised Kariya with a downward slash.

When Kariya leaps back to evade this, Byakuya fires Hadō #4. Byakurai with his outstretched index finger, unleashing a powerful surge of white lightning that blasts through multiple trees and leaves smoking stumps behind. On the other side of the destroyed trees, a smirking Kariya gathers wind around his right fist and lunges toward Byakuya with his palm outstretched, only for Byakuya to roll Kariya over his back and turn around to strike at him, which Kariya counters with a kick that generates electricity at the point of impact. After pulling back his leg, a grinning Kariya presses his fingers together into a point and stabs it toward the base of Byakuya's Zanpakutō.

Forcing Kariya back, Byakuya slashes at him while the latter is still off the ground, sending Kariya flying back. After landing, Kariya describes Senbonzakura as splitting into a thousand blades too small to be seen with the naked eye and resembling cherry blossoms falling when they catch the light, but reminds Byakuya that there is wind in Soul Society and thus a limitless amount of air, meaning that he can create a power to rival Senbonzakura if he gathers it, while concentrating a small ring of wind above his wagging index finger that expands into a conical gauntlet of swirling air around his right hand and wrist as he concludes that this is simple number theory.

Kariya proclaims Senbonzakura, Kidō, and direct Zanpakutō attacks cannot cut him even if they are splendid, but Byakuya merely questions if this is true, which leads Kariya to admonish him for acting tough and begin inching toward Byakuya, who responds in kind, before the two leap forward and clash in a shock wave of power. In the aftermath, Byakuya finds the fingertips of Kariya's outstretched hand at his throat and Kariya finds the blade of Byakuya's Zanpakutō at his own throat. As the two of them stand completely still, Byakuya commends Kariya for displaying reckless valor in facing him bare-handed and sees blood trickling from a wound on his throat.

However, while Kariya grins at the sight of this, he is shocked to see a cut form on his own throat, prompting Byakuya to assert that he can still decapitate Kariya with a single slash at this distance. With Kariya claiming that he will take off Byakuya's head before he can do so, the two of them separate and begin fighting at even higher speeds, where Kariya blocks a slash from Byakuya using the bottom of his right foot and swings his fist at Byakuya, who ducks underneath it and strikes downward at Kariya. After Kariya deflects this with the wind gathered around his left hand, Byakuya moves in again and drives his Zanpakutō into Kariya's left shoulder.

In response, Kariya grabs the blade of Byakuya's Zanpakutō with his left and summons wind around his right before jabbing it at Byakuya's head and cutting the right side of his neck. Bleeding alongside Byakuya, Kariya observes they cannot separate from each other now and initiates Windestanz again as Byakuya simultaneously releases Senbonzakura once more, resulting in a violent tornado of blade petals forming around the two of them. Though Kariya claims one arm is a small price to pay if he can win this fight, Byakuya simply wonders if he is insane as the tornado strengthens and rips through the forest.

Meanwhile, as he runs through the forest nearby with Ririn on his shoulder, Ichigo Kurosaki notices a couple drops of blood spattering on his cheek and stops in surprise, where he sees the blade petal tornado surging through the forest and grabs his Shikai, Zangetsu, to fire a Getsuga Tenshō at the top of it, causing the tornado to explode in a burst of blue energy that shocks Byakuya and Kariya while they land on either side of the short ravine created by the tornado. With Ichigo wondering why Byakuya is having such a tough time after refusing his assistance earlier, an annoyed Byakuya looks at Kariya, who turns back in anticipation to a smirking Ichigo.

Elsewhere, Bonnie stands over the three incapacitated men while Ganju Shiba calls them pathetic. Though Orihime Inoue expresses concern over this as she stands next to Yasutora Sado and Noba, Kurōdo reminds her Ganju has not done anything, and it was Bonnie who defeated the men. Suddenly, while Ganju tells Orihime to not worries about the details, they are interrupted by a far-off burst of Reiatsu, which they recognize as Ichigo's before realizing Uryū Ishida is no longer with them and must have run off toward Ichigo's location. When Orihime moves to follow him, Ganju has her stop and assures both her and Sado that Ichigo and Uryū can take care of themselves.

Ganju asserts they also need to know what is going on in Kusajishi first and crouches to pick up the long-haired man by the scalp. With the man begging for mercy, Ganju wraps his arm around the man's shoulders and reveals he wants to know more about the skilled newcomers who came to Kusajishi, which leads the man to identify Kariya as the leader of them, astonishing Orihime and Sado. Noting he thought so, Ganju presses for information on what Kariya is doing, and when the man details how Kariya wants to turn Soul Society upside-down and is gathering people, Kurōdo gasps in horror as the man concludes Kariya is at the gambling house bookie's residence.

After the man notes they were told something good would happen if they followed Kariya, Ganju thanks him and knocks the man out. When Orihime inquiries about what they should, Ganju states they just have to go to the house, only for Sado to point out how it could be dangerous if Kariya is gathering men there. Acknowledging this, Ganju decides he has no choice other than to contact "The Bull of Kusajishi", leaving Taichi Miyamoto shocked since this is a dangerous move. As Ganju reminds him it is faster to learn about Kusajishi from people in Kusajishi, Taichi raises the possibility of the Bull being allied with the Bount, but Ganju dismisses this as impossible and grins.

Meanwhile, in the house in Kusajishi, Gō Koga and Maki Ichinose sit on a platform lit by candles before Tōba and a crowd of villagers, whom they tell Kariya has said he wants to fight alongside them against the inhabitants of the Seireitei. With the crowd murmuring in shock at this, a stunned Tōba wonders if they are really serious about attacking the Seireitei and the man next to him claims this is not worth sacrificing his life for. When asked why he believes the group can win after assuring them of this, Koga promises them that the Bount have a plan, only to assert he needs them to agree to fight alongside the Bount before he can tell them what the plan is.

Koga declares all Souls should enter Soul Society equally instead of having one portion rule over the rest and elaborates that there should not be poverty in the Rukongai before bringing up how residents of Kusajishi do not know when they will die and have their blood washed away by more blood, which he compares to their lives in the Human World, though he notes those were far worse and are the reason why they can empathize with the residents of Kusajishi. As Koga inquires if they do not want to become exposed and live their lives the way they want to without looks of scorn from the rest of the world, the man next to Tōba proclaims everyone wants this.

With Koga concluding that Kariya will turn Soul Society upside-down and inviting those present to come with them to a new world, and as the villagers murmur among themselves, Tōba requests that Koga prove he is serious about this and permits him to do anything to display this. In response, Koga tells Ichinose to draw his Zanpakutō, surprising him and the crowd, prior to ordering Ichinose to try and cut Koga's right arm. Though initially hesitant, Ichinose gets up and quickly slashes at Koga's arm, leaving a mild cut and shocking Tōba and the other villagers. While blood drips on the platform from his arm, Koga turns his arm sideways and places his left hand over the cut.

Drawing in and absorbing Reishi from the atmosphere to heal the cut on his arm, Koga declares that the Bount are invincible and that the villagers have nothing to worry about. As the wound fully heals and he raises his arm into the air, Koga proclaims that the Bount and the villagers will dissolve Soul Society into the shape it should be in, causing the villagers to cheer with excitement. Back in the forest, Ichigo warns Ririn to stay back since it is dangerous and assures her that it will be alright when she wonders what he is going to do. Irritated by this, Ririn hops off of Ichigo's shoulder and reminds him that she is worried about him as she walks away in a huff.

After affirming Kariya's observation that he got here quickly, Ichigo asks Byakuya if he is alright, only for the latter to call this unnecessary and inform Ichigo that he will treat the latter as an enemy if he interferes. However, they are interrupted when Kariya begins healing his injuries with Reishi absorbed from their surroundings, to Ichigo's confusion, and details how the Bount are empowered and invincible as long as Soul Society is filled with such high-quality Reishi. With Byakuya deducing that he is using Reishi to heal himself, Kariya stops absorbing Reishi and announces that he is beginning his attack as wind begins swirling around him in a sphere.

In response, Ichigo activates his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, creating his own tornado that quickly disperses to reveal Ichigo rushing toward Kariya, who blocks Ichigo's subsequent downward slash with a Wind Barrier on his forearm before jabbing at Ichigo with his hand. When Ichigo disappears and reappears behind him with Shunpo, Kariya envelops both of his legs in swirling wind and kicks at Ichigo with both of them in turn, with Ichigo dodging each one prior to slashing upward at Kariya. After Ichigo dodges a third blow from Kariya, the two reappear on the ground a few feet apart from each other, where Kariya comments on Ichigo's terrifying speed as Ichigo scoffs.

Ichigo and Kariya proceed to rapidly clash with each other several times across the clearing, with each blow generating electricity, while Ririn watches with concern and admits that she cannot even tell what they are doing due to their high speed. Nearby, Byakuya watches the fierce battle between the two and casually follows all of their movements with his eyes before dropping his Zanpakutō into the ground and activating his own Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, shocking Ichigo and Kariya as they see a surging mass of blade petals rise up into the sky and slam down onto them. In the aftermath, Ichigo stands at one end of the deepened ravine while Kariya stands at the other with a Wind Barrier active. With Byakuya reiterating that Ichigo is in the way, Ichigo glares at him and Kariya regards them both with interest.

In the western Fugai forest, Jin Kariya rises into the air while surrounded by a Wind Barrier as Ichigo Kurosaki and 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki appear on the ground below him with Shunpo. Smirking at this, Kariya uses Wind Licht Schneide to unleash two intersecting diagonal blades of wind at Ichigo and Byakuya, prompting Ichigo to fire a Getsuga Tenshō at it with his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, while Byakuya's Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, surges forward in turn.

The colliding attacks create an explosion of energy that rips through the surrounding forest and sends a screaming Ririn flying back as Uryū Ishida sees smoke coiling into the sky in the distance and runs toward it. In the aftermath, Ririn runs up to the edge of the massive, newly-formed crater and peers inside to see Ichigo, Byakuya, and Kariya standing across from each other. Suddenly, Ichigo uses Shunpo to rush toward Kariya, rupturing the ground beneath his feet in his wake.

Suddenly, Ichigo reappears behind a startled Kariya and criticizes him as being slow while slashing at him, only for Kariya to summon swirling wind around his right arm and block Ichigo's sword before pushing it aside. Upon seeing Senbonzakura Kageyoshi hurtling toward them from behind Ichigo, Kariya pushes back Ichigo, who moves into the air with Shunpo, and shields himself with another spherical Wind Barrier just as Senbonzakura Kageyoshi crashes down onto him. After rejoining Byakuya on the other side of the crater, Ichigo demands that he cut it out and questions if Byakuya is trying to kill him as well, only for Byakuya to reiterate that he is in the way.

With Ichigo outraged by this, he and Byakuya see a swirling wind sphere surge out of the blade petal maelstrom and toward them, which leads Ichigo to leap into the air as Byakuya shields himself from the wind with a portion of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi that the sphere dissipates around. In midair, Kariya appears behind a stunned Ichigo and punches him in the gut with his left fist prior to summoning a cone of wind around his right arm and firing it into Ichigo, who is sent flying down and crashes into the side of the crater. Having created a rocky outcropping with the impact of his crash, Ichigo wipes the blood from his mouth and wonders how Kariya is keeping up with him.

In response to this, Kariya admits that he is not as fast as Ichigo is and explains that his years of fighting experience allow him to predict which way Ichigo is going to move, leaving Ichigo astonished while he smirks. However, Kariya is interrupted when his left shoulder receives a small cut, which prompts Byakuya to observe that his Wind Barrier cannot protect Kariya from everything if Byakuya uses an attack that is more powerful than his defense is. After recalling Senbonzakura Kageyoshi crashing into him earlier, Kariya praises Byakuya's skill, but asserts that he cannot win and reminds Byakuya that the Bount are immortal in Soul Society due to its concentrated Reishi.

To demonstrate this, Kariya casually heals his injury and repairs his jacket with Reishi from their surroundings, only for Byakuya to request that he prove his immortality before having Senbonzakura Kageyoshi surge from around him toward Kariya, who slashes through it with wind. Despite this, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi merely reforms behind a shocked Kariya, forcing him to shield himself with a spherical Wind Barrier. With Senbonzakura Kageyoshi penetrating the barrier and slashing his body in several areas, a pained Kariya is slammed into the ground by the mass of blade petals, leaving a crater several feet deep that he stands up in while bleeding.

As Kariya begins to heal himself with Reishi, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi flows out from behind Byakuya and slams into the crater right after Kariya moves into the air and forms another Wind Barrier, where Senbonzakura Kageyoshi rushes toward him in two streams and prompts Kariya to respond in kind with a thick tendril of compressed air that slams into Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, creating a bright explosion of energy that forces Ichigo to shield his eyes below. In the aftermath, with all three combatants glaring at each other and Ririn quivering in fear, the battle is suddenly interrupted by a massive beam of energy striking the crater, leading the three of them to move outside.

The impact of the energy bream kicks up an enormous cloud of dust that washes over the surrounding area, and as Ichigo wonders what is going on and Ririn digs herself out of the rubble, those present see Ran'Tao emerging from the cloud of dust, shocking Kariya and Ichigo, who are astonished alongside Ririn to recognize her face as that of Yoshino Sōma. With Kariya expressing stunned disbelief at this, Ran'Tao notes that she has finally found him and identifies herself, further surprising those present while Ichigo recalls that she is the creator of the Bount who was exiled from the Seireitei. While Kariya questions how she is still alive, Ichigo inquires if she is really Ran'Tao.

However, Ran'Tao simply mocks Ichigo for being more vulgar than Shinigami used to be and points out how her being the only one who knows of the Bount other than the Shinigami of the Seireitei should be enough proof of her identity. After observing all information on the Bount other than a small section should have been destroyed, Ran'Tao turns to Kariya and deduces he is a Bount before concluding he must be able to sense she is the real Ran'Tao. As Ran'Tao asserts she knew Kariya would come to Soul Society one day and has waited a mind-numbingly long amount of time for him, Kariya acknowledges the Bount were forced to suffer for an agonizingly long time.

When Kariya demands to know if she is the one who forced this upon the Bount, Ran'Tao merely notes he is more emotional than he looks and more short-tempered than he sounds while inquiring if Kariya is going to kill her. Upon hearing this, Ichigo leaps between them and refuses to let Ran'Tao die here since he has a lot of things to ask her. Despite this, Kariya reminds Ichigo no one said he would kill Ran'Tao here and details how she must watch the Bount achieve their goal as the direct result of her actions prior to promising to kill her once he has destroyed the Seireitei. Suddenly, while Ichigo curses Kariya, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi slams into the latter.

With Kariya moving into the air to avoid this attack, Ichigo turns in surprise to Byakuya, who claims he will kill anyone who is an enemy of Soul Society and has Senbonzakura Kageyoshi surge toward Kariya once more. Seeing Kariya shield himself with a Wind Barrier and disappear from sight, Ichigo vows to not let him get away and moves behind Kariya when the latter reappears in midair. Though Kariya protects himself from Ichigo's subsequent slash with another Wind Barrier around his arm, a yelling Ichigo pushes the sword of Tensa Zangetsu through the barrier and into Kariya's arm, drawing a large amount of blood as the two of them land on the ground.

As Ichigo observes that he can also break through Kariya's defense, he and Byakuya glare at a stoic Kariya before noticing dozens of metal spheres flying toward them, which Byakuya moves out of the way of with Shunpo while Ichigo initially deflects some with his sword before following suit and grabbing Ririn after her cover is destroyed by one of the spheres right before he reaches her. Gō Koga runs over to Kariya and advises him to retreat for now as he orders his Doll, Dalk, to cause a disturbance, leading the latter to move in front of Ichigo and Byakuya, whom she apologizes to for being unable to play with them today despite their handsomeness.

Upon being fired upon by Dalk, Ichigo and Byakuya begin evading the dozens of metal spheres with Shunpo, with Ichigo eventually moving to the rock that Ran'Tao is hiding behind and sternly deflecting all the spheres coming her way, which she smiles at. When the dust from the onslaught of Dalk settles, Ichigo sees she, Koga, and Kariya have vanished, only for Ririn to reveal her sensors could not properly track them during the previous explosions when he turns to her for their locations. With Byakuya sheathing his Zanpakutō, Ichigo questions if he is not going to pursue Kariya, which leads Byakuya to point out how Kariya has already disappeared into the distance.

While Ichigo deduces he is saying it is pointless to pursue Kariya, Byakuya clarifies he is waiting until they encounter him again and departs, leaving Ichigo to express his exasperation at this before turning to an approaching Ran'Tao and inquiring if she is an enemy or an ally, to her bemusement. Meanwhile, in Kusajishi, hundreds of armed villagers gather outside before Maki Ichinose and Tōba, who admits more are showing up than he expected and informs Ichinose their numbers will soon double at this rate. As Ichinose observes there are many dissatisfied with the Seireitei, Tōba asks him about Kariya and Koga's absence, though Ichinose promises they will return soon.

Back in the Fugai forest, Ririn alerts Ichigo to someone approaching, only for Ichigo to discover it is Uryū in his Quincy uniform as the latter dissipates the Heilig Pfeil in Kojaku and expresses relief at Ichigo being safe. However, Uryū quickly notices Ran'Tao behind Ichigo and mistakes her for Yoshino in shock, though Ichigo clarifies she is the creator of the Bount whom Yoruichi Shihōin told them about. With Uryū astonished by this, Ran'Tao realizes he is a Quincy and is amused by him teaming up with a Shinigami before assuring them she is not their enemy if they are standing against the Bount, which prompts Ichigo to request she explain the Bount to them.

Ran'Tao asserts that she will be tending to Ichigo's wounds before that, causing him to notice the blood on his face, and invites him and Uryū to come to her house nearby to talk prior to walking off, with Ichigo and Uryū following her. Elsewhere in the forest, Ganju Shiba has Bonnie come to a stop with the rest of his group behind him and notes that "The Bull of Kusajishi" should be around here somewhere. When Orihime questions what he is doing, Ganju tells her to watch and places his fingers to his lips as he whistles loudly, which causes Daiji Hirasago and his subordinates to emerge from the nearby bushes, startling Orihime and Yasutora Sado as Ganju greets Daiji.

Meanwhile, Ran'Tao closes the hatch in the ground leading to her dwelling and guides Ichigo and Uryū down a set of stairs, where Uryū is unnerved by the strange and eclectic items leaning against the walls. Suddenly, Ichigo cries out in pain, prompting Uryū to look around to see Ran'Tao using a pair of defibrillators on him. Despite Ichigo's protests, Ran'Tao shocks him again and informs him he is now healed, which a surprised Ichigo happily confirms. After telling him to not underestimate science and putting away the defibrillators, Ran'Tao wonders what she should begin talking about and questions how much Ichigo and Uryū already know about the Bount.

With Ran'Tao starting a fire underneath a pot, Ichigo recounts Kariya's explanation of how Ran'Tao was using Human Souls to perform experiments with the aim of creating a life that never dies. Intrigued by the revelation that Kariya is the leader of the Bount, Ran'Tao notes that the success rate of their experiment should have been very high, and when Ichigo brings up the accident during the experiment that affected the cycle of rebirth and created the Bount, Ran'Tao affirms this and recalls how there was no place in the Human World for the Bount before revealing that Soul Society would not help the Bount either because it would have meant accepting their existence.

Elaborating that Soul Society would have had to admit they created a subspecies as a side effect of the experiment, Ran'Tao details how the Bount tried to force their way into Soul Society after being rejected and how the Quincy became involved at this point, resulting in a battle between the two that Kariya took part in and which Soul Society took advantage of to nearly eradicate the Bount by sending in Shinigami to kill the survivors, which Kariya witnessed and was traumatized by. As Ran'Tao concludes the ones who escaped this battle or were living elsewhere at the time became the group Kariya now leads, Uryū wonders what she was doing until now with this information.

Uryū questions why Ran'Tao did not go to the Human World and do something if she is so concerned about the Bount before demanding to know if Ran'Tao did not feel attached to the Bount as the researcher who created them even if they were an accident, but is mortified alongside Ichigo and Ririn when Ran'Tao turns around and partially removes her robe to reveal a large kanji inscribed on her back, which she explains is a seal placed on her Shinigami power that prevents her from leaving Soul Society. When Ichigo asks her about the power she used to enter the fight, Ran'Tao puts her robe back on and notes years of research let her regain some power.

With Ran'Tao admitting this is limited, Ichigo wonders why she was exiled from the Seireitei in the first place, and when Ran'Tao recounts how the ones who exiled her were relieved to learn the Bount did not have the ability to convert themselves to Reishi, Ririn deduces they believed everything could be settled in the Human World. Ran'Tao recalls predicting the Bount would use any means they could to enter Soul Society and proposing they publicize everything in order to accept the Bount, only to bitterly ruminate on this being the result, to Ichigo's sorrow and empathy, as she turns to Uryū and apologizes for the great deal of trouble that she has caused him.

After Uryū confirms Kariya used his Quincy power to get here, Ran'Tao is left perplexed by him being the enemy of the Bount even though he assisted them in entering Soul Society and inquiries about what this means, only for Ichigo to interject and dismiss this as the result of a lot happening. Noticing the Quincy Bangle on Uryū's wrist, Ran'Tao asks him if he knows what it is and describes it as being incredibly dangerous. Though Ran'Tao beings to warn him about what will happen if he uses it recklessly, Uryū acknowledges the danger and asserts he has to defeat Kariya no matter what happens, which leads Ran'Tao to accept him being prepared for the consequences.

Suddenly, as Ran'Tao cautions Uryū to be careful about both himself and those around him, she collapses and clutches her head, startling and concerning Ichigo and Uryū. Assuring them she is fine, Ran'Tao observes they should have thought she looked strange and reminds Ichigo and Uryū she is much older than most Shinigami are before revealing she experimented on herself in order to keep living until the Bount came back, which means she now needs to rest for about half a day, to Ririn's astonishment. Despite Ichigo insisting he still has things to ask her, Ran'Tao promises to answer them when she recovers and immediately falls asleep on her bed.

With Ichigo annoyed at having been cut off while he was still talking, Uryū picks up on Ran'Tao mentioning that she is much older than she appears to be and concludes that it cannot be helped because of this. When Ririn inquires if they are going to return to Kūkaku Shiba's house, Ichigo denies this on the grounds that they still have things to ask Ran'Tao and states that they will be staying here, which Uryū agrees is the best course of action. Meanwhile, in the house in Kusajishi, as the sun begins to rise outside, Koga asks Kariya about how skilled Byakuya proved to be, leading Kariya to admit that he was not bad and that fighting him made for a good declaration.

Upon being probed by Koga if this was his true intention, Kariya chides him for inquiring too much lately, but Koga claims that he is only doing so because he is in good spirits and walks with Kariya to the window, where they see the crowd of villagers cheering for them outside. As Kariya inquiries about the status of Yoshi, Mabashi, and Sawatari, Ichinose informs him that they are watching the movements of the Seireitei as planned, and after observing that it is time to begin, Kariya grins at the mob outside.

In the forest of Kusajishi in Soul Society, dozens of men work at chopping and pulling down large trees using axes and rope while in the Seireitei, 10th Division 7th Seat Kōkichirō Takezoe informs his captain, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, that they have confirmed strange movements in Kusajishi and elaborates that someone has hired many villagers to cut down trees in the forest, alerting Rangiku as Hitsugaya questions if it is the work of the Bount.

Noting that it seems like a bookie of one of the multiple gambling halls in Kusajishi is behind this on the surface, Kōkichirō confirms Hitsugaya's suspicion that someone is pulling the strings by revealing that he also has information pertaining to this. When Rangiku inquiries about what they should do, Hitsugaya asserts that this is the clue they have been waiting for and that they will need to do a search, which Rangiku assumes they will send a subordinate in the Tenth Division to perform.

However, a smiling Hitsugaya tells her that they will be visiting 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai, and with Rangiku surprised by this, Hitsugaya explains that he wants Renji to come with them because the latter has had the most contact with the Bount of anyone in the Seireitei. Elsewhere, Ganju Shiba huddles with Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, Kurōdo, and Noba alongside the members of the Kusajishi Bull's Gang while Daiji Hirasago approaches them with a report from the man he put on reconnaissance. Upon being asked by Ganju by Jin Kariya's movements, Daiji observes that the Bount have gathered an impressive number of people in a brief period of time.

Daiji details how they are gathering ruffians from across Kusajishi who lack Reiryoku despite their toughness, which means they could not defeat Shinigami even in large numbers, but Ganju reminds him the Shinigami would not fight seriously against residents of the Rukongai and it is a huge burden to fight continuously while holding back, which Daiji acknowledges. After Ganju theorizes the Bount will be thinking of more than one way to attack the Seireitei due to their small numbers, Daiji questions what Ganju will do about this, prompting Ganju to declare they are going to stop the Bount and bring up how the Kusajishi residents are unruly to begin with.

As he states they will make it easier for the Shinigami to fight the residents of Kusajishi by breaking up the crowd, Ganju concludes this is what he has to consult Daiji about and calls him brother while wrapping his arm around Daiji's shoulders, though the latter expresses confusion and exasperation at Ganju suddenly acting like they are close. Assuring Daiji he does not need to worry about it and pointing out how they do not have much time, Ganju requests Daiji gather as many of his allies as he can. When Daiji wonders why Ganju is so enthusiastic about this, Ganju reveals a close friend of his is working hard to do something about the Bount and he wants to help.

With Daiji picking up on Ganju's mention of a friend, Orihime infers that Ganju is referring to Ichigo Kurosaki as Kurōdo celebrates how friendship means that no one is ever alone and proclaims that nothing is more important than helping each other out, only for Ganju to demand that he shut up and clarify that he does not want Ichigo to die after the terrible time he had with the Bount. Though he mocks Ganju for being able to speak of friendship like this without feeling even a little embarrassed, Daiji agrees to help Ganju since he never liked the bookie to begin with and identifies himself by his real name, leading Orihime to realize "The Bull of Kusajishi" is not his real name.

When asked by Sado why he goes by this name, Daiji simply declares that it is cool, which Ganju endorses as a stunned Orihime and Sado observe that they are very alike, before ordering Komae, Max, and Ellie to round up some sturdy men. Back in the Seireitei, 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku, his lieutenant Nanao Ise, and 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake watch from the pavilion at the base of the steps to Senzaikyū as dozens of Shinigami repair and reconstructing the buildings destroyed by the bombs on the previous day, where Shunsui notes that they have become quite good at repairs as Nanao attributes this to the Ryoka invasions.

However, Ukitake reminds them that nothing is resolved even if they finish the repairs and wonders who set the bombs to what end, leading 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi to suggest that it might have been a diversion created by the Bount after their arrival while approaching them with his lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi. Shunsui asserts that there is no point to such a diversion if the buildings are repaired, but Mayuri calls him naïve and brings up how this kind of distraction also causes mental shocks, with the entirety of the Seireitei being in chaos right now, as he claims that everyone must have become lazy if intruders were able to enter the Seireitei so easily.

Suddenly, while moving to walk away, Mayuri stops in his tracks and stares in shock at the idea that the bombing was a diversion. With Shunsui and Ukitake questioning what is wrong and if he has figured something out, Mayuri expresses disbelief and claims to have something important to address before briskly walking away with Nemu, leaving Shunsui, Nanao, and Ukitake visibly confused. Meanwhile, in Ran'Tao's underground dwelling, a sleeping Ichigo wakes up screaming and mutters about an exploding egg prior to seeing soup boiling in the pot in front of him. As they sit around the pot, Ririn wonders what kind of dream Ichigo had and Uryū Ishida asserts he sleeps for too long.

Entering the room from the stairs, Ran'Tao observes that Ichigo is finally awake and invites the three of them to eat. After the soup is finished, Ichigo lies on his side as Uryū decides to pick up from where they left off yesterday. With Ran'Tao apologizing for falling asleep halfway through, Uryū hesitantly brings up her face, to her confusion, and details how they met a Bount named Yoshino Sōma in the Human World whose face looked exactly like Ran'Tao's, which he wants to know the meaning of. While Ririn proclaims that she wants to know as well and Ichigo stares silently, Ran'Tao theorizes that Yoshino is a copy of her, astonishing Ichigo, Uryū, and Ririn.

Ran'Tao elaborates that the experiment to create immortal Souls which created the Bount used Gikon, or artificial Souls, based on the Souls of the researchers instead of ordinary Souls to experiment on. As Ririn picks up on the mention of Gikon, Ran'Tao explains how there was a moral quandary with using Human Souls even though it was mathematically possible to create immortal life, which led them to create Gikon based on their own Souls instead that went through a sudden mutation during the experiment and were incorporated into the cycle of rebirth, with her concluding that their incredible power is to be expected due to their own Souls being derived from Shinigami Souls.

When Uryū realizes that this is why Bount can use Dolls like Shinigami use their Zanpakutō, Ran'Tao confirms this and notes that Gikon research grew in the aftermath, leading to Gikongan and Modified Soul technology being developed, leading a stunned Ririn to declare that this means the Bount are her distant relatives. Upon hearing this, Ichigo deduces that Ririn and her fellow Mod-Souls can have Bount sensor abilities because they are based on the same technology as Ran'Tao admits that she believed the Gikon would not have the features of the Shinigami they were based on directly surface after entering the cycle of rebirth.

After affirming that Yoshino indeed looked like Ran'Tao when the latter inquiries about this, Uryū coldly reveals that Kariya killed her, leaving the four of them in silence while Ran'Tao processes this prior to Ichigo concluding that they must stop the Bount as soon as possible. At dusk, 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki grabs his Zanpakutō in his office and prepares to leave, which prompts his lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi, to ask him if he is going to meet Maki Ichinose. Confirming this, Kenpachi informs her that Hitsugaya has been able to track and locate him, and in response, Yachiru declares that she is going as well since she also wants to meet Ichinose.

That night, back in Kusajishi, Kariya oversees the villagers hammering, sawing, and dragging the tree trunks around a large area alongside Tōba, Yoshi, Mabashi, and Sawatari, where he instructs them to rest for a moment and listen to him. Once all the villagers stop what they are doing and listen to him, Kariya commends their courage and reminds them this is their fight, since they were controlled and discriminated against even though they are also from Soul Society. Kariya asserts they are released and free as of tonight before proclaiming they will commence an attack on the Seireitei and need the villagers' help, causing them to cheer loudly while Kariya smirks.

Simultaneously, at the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, Mayuri sits before his computer and takes what he is seeing on its screen as proof that he was right. When asked what is wrong by Nemu, Mayuri reveals that the one who snuck into the Seireitei and set the bombs was Ichinose, which he proves by bringing up footage of the central Senkaimon opening and closing multiple times in recent days despite no Shinigami passing through it and adding a Reiatsu filter to it that shows an invisible Ichinose exiting the Senkaimon into the Seireitei, as he was not able to completely suppress his Reiatsu during this process, something only Mayuri himself noticed.

With Mayuri concluding Ichinose has been surreptitiously breaking into the database to make alterations and hide information, which he claims will not work on him, a chuckling Mayuri informs Nemu that Ichinose's Shikai, Nijigasumi, can use light refraction to make him invisible while the Bount have a special technique to hide their Reiatsu, something Ichinose would use if he had access to it, meaning Ichinose made himself invisible to create diversions in the Seireitei while he accessed the database. After running a search pattern for alterations made by Ichinose, Mayuri affirms the results as proving Ichinose could not normally accomplish this without being caught.

However, Mayuri is left aghast when he comes across the data regarding the Quincy Bangle and identifies it as the data they retrieved after it was erased, which Nemu confirms. After recalling how he thought of using Quincy power to draw the Bount to Soul Society when he saw this data, Mayuri realizes that Ichinose showed him this data to manipulate him and begins shaking Nemu by the collar as he concludes that the Bount had Uryū use his Heilig Bogen so they could enter Soul Society, leaving him trembling in rage at the Bount for tricking him like this. Meanwhile, Hitsugaya sits with Renji in the forest of Fugai and gets to his feet while looking up.

Rangiku drops down from above the trees and lands in front of Hitsugaya and Renji to reveal the Kusajishi villagers are gathering deep in the forest, which leads Hitsugaya to note their intelligence indicates an alarming number of villagers have been gathered while Renji brings up how this has caused the area surrounding Kusajishi to become fairly quiet as a result. When asked what they will do, Hitsugaya decides they have to go since they have come this far and cautions Renji and Rangiku against harming the villagers if possible since they are still Rukongai residents. Acknowledging this, Renji picks up and holsters his sheathed Zanpakutō while preparing to head out.

Suddenly, Rangiku inquires if Renji's Zanpakutō is alright, and when he expresses confusion at this, Rangiku brings up his recent usage of Higa Zekkō in the Human World and how his Zanpakutō must not have recovered yet. Though Renji assures her he does not need to use his Shikai on villagers, Hitsugaya questions what he will do if the Bount come out and tells a stumped Renji he can run back to the Seireitei as a messenger if this occurs before departing with him and Rangiku. Elsewhere, Ichigo stands outside the entrance to Ran'Tao's dwelling with her, Ririn, and Uryū as he informs Ran'Tao the Shun Shun Rikka told him the Bount are in the Kusajishi forest.

When Uryū wonders what she will be doing, Ran'Tao points out how this is unlikely to be the only thing the Bount are doing and notes that she has something to prepare just in case. After Ran'Tao agrees to meet up with him and Uryū afterward, Ichigo inquiries about how long the Quincy Bangle will actually hold up, which prompts Ran'Tao to admit that she does not know if it will become useless today or tomorrow, only to warn Uryū that it could blow away everything in a radius of several kilometers if it were to detonate. Left nervous by this alongside Ichigo, Uryū claims that there is no reason to get scared at this point and walks away, leaving a startled Ichigo to run after him.

Back at the logging operation in Kusajishi, Gō Koga informs Kariya that their preparations for a surprise attack on the Seireitei are on schedule, which pleases Kariya, while Ichinose approaches and reveals several Shinigami, including a captain, are approaching their location. As Ichinose suggests he stay here to deal with them, Kariya observes things will be easier later if they deal with the Shinigami now and permits Ichinose to do as he wishes, which Ichinose affirms. Meanwhile, in the forest, Rangiku runs up to a villager and jabs him in the stomach with the handle of her sheathed Zanpakutō, knocking him unconscious and causing him to collapse.

Having incapacitated all the other villagers in the clearing, Rangiku looks up at Hitsugaya, who crouches on a tree branch and notes the Bount are undoubtedly up ahead. With Rangiku observing how strange it is for there to be so few people here and Renji asking him what they should do, Hitsugaya orders them to split up and move ahead before they all depart with Shunpo. At the logging yard, Ichinose stands alone in the clearing as Hitsugaya runs out of the trees and realizes he has found one. After Ichinose identifies himself in response to Hitsugaya demanding to know who he is, Hitsugaya questions if he is the Shinigami who has been helping the Bount.

Ichinose denies being a Shinigami any longer and claims he is now a comrade of the great Kariya. When Hitsugaya demands to know where the Bount are, Ichinose unsheathes his Zanpakutō and asserts he does not need to answer Hitsugaya, who decides to force an answer out of him and assumes a battle stance alongside Ichinose before the two of them rush forward and clash in a shower of sparks. With Ichinose managing to pin Hitsugaya's Zanpakutō underneath his own, Hitsugaya is left perplexed at Ichinose helping the Bount when he has so much skill, leading Ichinose to claim he saw Kariya's goal as justice and there is no justice in Soul Society.

However, as Ichinose concludes Kariya will purge the Shinigami, he is visibly alarmed and leaps back with Shunpo to separate himself from a startled Hitsugaya while Ichigo knocks out a villager in the nearby forest and walks into the clearing with Ririn and Uryū. Informally greeting an annoyed Hitsugaya, Ichigo asks him about what is going on in this forest as Rangiku appears next to them alongside Renji with Shunpo and reports there really are too few villagers in the surrounding forest. Suddenly, the ground begins to rumble, prompting Ichigo and his friends to look into the forest and see a protesting Orihime riding on Nanny with Sado holding the reins behind her.

After Nanny slides to a halt, a stunned Ichigo wonders why Orihime is here, which prompts her to reveal Ganju and the others are currently routing the villagers as Ganju and Daiji's gangs incapacitate the villagers in the forest with their boars and refuse to let any of them get away. Orihime notes they accompanied Ganju to the forest in order to stop the villagers gathering in it, but Kurōdo declares there are too few people present, and as Hitsugaya questions what this means, a shocked Sado recalls facing off against Sawatari, who can manipulate space in a manner similar to Noba, leading Rangiku to affirm this while Ichinose tells them Kariya's forces are at the Seireitei.

Simultaneously, at the Black Ridge Gate along the Seireiheki, Danzōmaru stands guard and finds himself confronted by Yoshi and Mabashi. When Danzōmaru demands to know if they are Bount, a laughing Yoshi inquiries about why it matters if she is as Koga approaches Jidanbō Ikkanzaka at the White Road Gate and identifies himself as a Bount prior to requesting that Jidanbō let him inside the Seireitei. With Jidanbō refusing to do so, Koga concludes that he will have to force his way in and summons his Doll, Dalk. Later, as morning dawns, Jidanbō lies defeated before Koga as Sawatari's Doll, Baura, surfaces behind the latter.

Baura opens his mouth and releases a large siege engine, along with hundreds of villagers, which had been contained within his stomach, allowing the villagers to place the engine at the White Road Gate and begin preparing to pull it open while an announcer within the Seireitei warns the Gotei 13 of this development. With another siege engine being placed at the Black Ridge Gate with hundreds more villagers, Kariya stands alongside Yoshi and Mabashi as he smiles maliciously.

In a clearing in the Fugai forest, Maki Ichinose stands with his Zanpakutō drawn before Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, Uryū Ishida, Ririn, Kurōdo, Noba, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai, 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, where he declares that he will not allow them to reach Jin Kariya. However, Hitsugaya questions how he plans to do this when he is so heavily outnumbered and criticizes his overconfidence.

When Hitsugaya orders her to go on ahead with the others while he manages the situation himself, Rangiku protests this, but Hitsugaya reminds her that the Bount have been steadily increasing their power by absorbing Reishi ever since they arrived even if the Seireitei itself is not in immediate danger. With Rangiku acknowledging this and telling Renji to come with her, Ichinose asserts that none of them are going anywhere and releases his Shikai, Nijigasumi, causing his blade to shine brilliantly.

As Ichigo and his friends reel back in surprise and find themselves blinded by the bright light, Hitsugaya rushes forward and stabs at Ichinose with his own Zanpakutō, only for Ichinose to be revealed to be an illusion that fades away around the blade, prompting a confused Hitsugaya to look back and see himself cut off from the rest of the group by a flat yellow-white light engulfing the area around Hitsugaya. Though still perplexed by this, Hitsugaya sees Ichinose running toward him and angrily moves to clash with him. Suddenly, Hitsugaya finds himself crossing blades with an equally flabbergasted Renji and pulls back his Zanpakutō.

Upon being asked by Hitsugaya where he came from, Renji returns the question and explains that he was certain Ichinose was attacking him before it turned out to be Hitsugaya, who is left shocked by this. Nearby, Ichigo wonders what is going on here and is told by Hitsugaya to not get reckless because they will end up attacking each other. With Kurōdo informing an uncertain Orihime that this means any movement could be hazardous, Hitsugaya deduces that this is the power of Ichinose's Zanpakutō, which leads Ichinose to confirm this and detail how Nijigasumi is a blade of light that reflects and refracts through the air around his enemies to create a new space.

Concluding this is what creates the illusion, Uryū insists he must still have Reiatsu as a Shinigami and attempts to sense it but is stunned to discover he cannot do so while Noba responds to Sado's theory that Ichinose is shifting through dimensions the same way Noba does by observing he did not detect Ichinose opening up space. Though Ichigo claims Ichinose could not disguise his Reiatsu, Uryū reminds him the cave used by the Bount had a special mineral that blocked their ability to detect Reiatsu and suggests Ichinose could be using this. Suddenly, while Hitsugaya expresses frustration at them wasting time, a startled Rangiku finds herself attacked.

Renji hears Rangiku's cry alongside Hitsugaya and points out how Ichinose will take them out individually if they keep standing around, only for Ichinose to proclaim none of them will be leaving here alive, and though Hitsugaya warns the others to be careful, Ichinose mentally asserts it is useless and rushes toward Sado from behind as he prepares to slash at him. Suddenly, 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki intercepts Ichinose's strike, astonishing the latter, and exerts his Reiatsu in a powerful burst, dispersing the yellow-white light and returning the surrounding area to its normal state as he greets Ichinose and comments on how long it has been since they last met.

With Kenpachi casually forcing Ichinose back with a swing of his Zanpakutō, causing the latter to fall to his knees, his lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi, pops up over Kenpachi's shoulder and cheers at having found Ichinose. As Orihime calls out to Yachiru and begins cheerfully catching up with her, Kenpachi turns to Ichigo and instructs him to visit the Eleventh Division first when he dies and comes to Soul Society so they can give him a warm reception, though Ichigo is not enthusiastic about this. Upon being addressed by Hitsugaya, Kenpachi notes that things have been getting entertaining around here lately, leaving Hitsugaya to look away in irritation.

Watching this from nearby, a stunned Uryū expresses disbelief at Kenpachi's Reiatsu being immense enough to easily blow away Ichinose's own Reiatsu. As Renji informs Kenpachi that the Bount have already begun their attack on the Seireitei and that Ichinose stopped him and his group from pursuing them, Kenpachi looks down at Ichinose and brings up how he was told that the latter would rather live with Bount than among his own kind, but Ichinose counters that what he does is none of Kenpachi's concern and refuses to confirm Kenpachi's inquiry about the leader of the Bount being named Kariya, prompting an unimpressed Kenpachi to note he has not changed at all.

Kenpachi wonders what Ichinose plans to do now and states that he will not try to stop him if he wants to conduct his orders of stopping Ichigo and his friends, shocking Hitsugaya, before theorizing that Ichinose still holds a grudge against him and would like to fight him instead. As he gets to his feet, Ichinose mentally notes that he should dispatch Ichigo and his friends as quickly as possible so he can move on to support Kariya and the others in the Seireitei, only to recall Kenpachi's killing of Kenpachi Kiganjō and curse while assuming a battle stance, which leads Kenpachi to praise him as having more determination in his eyes than he did the last time they met.

After Ichinose declares he will cut Kenpachi down and exerts his Reiatsu on the surrounding area, a grinning Kenpachi welcomes this since he was beginning to get bored and drags the tip of his Zanpakutō through the dirt in front of his feet while instructing Ichinose to display what Kariya has taught him, only to be interrupted by Yachiru encouraging the two of them to give it everything they have got. With Yachiru leaping off Kenpachi's shoulder to watch from another place at his behest so he can concentrate, Ichigo expresses concern for Kenpachi, only for Yachiru to suggest they let Kenpachi and Ichinose settle this by themselves because Ichinose would prefer this.

Acknowledging this, Ichigo is told by Hitsugaya that they have to runs off alongside his friends as he tells Kenpachi that Ichinose is all his. When Kenpachi observes that they can finally get down to business and invites Ichinose to hit him with his best shot, Ichinose agrees as the blade of his Zanpakutō glows with a multitude of hues and turns invisible prior to running forward and repeatedly slashing at Kenpachi, who effortlessly blocks each strike and ridicules Ichinose for believing that he could land a blow with these weak attacks. However, Ichinose startles Kenpachi by moving behind him with Shunpo and slashing horizontally at the left side of his head.

Upon intercepting this with his own Zanpakutō, Kenpachi turns and blocks another attack from Ichinose when the latter reappears in the air on his right side, resulting in Ichinose returning to the ground behind Kenpachi and kneeling in exhaustion as Kenpachi expresses disappointment at Ichinose not being as powerful as he expected. Despite this, Ichinose claims that he is not done and disappears with the illusory power of Nijigasumi, leaving Kenpachi surprised. When his haori is cut on its left shoulder and right lapel, Kenpachi berates his intelligence and holds out his Zanpakutō to his side to block Ichinose's third attack, causing Ichinose to shimmer back into view.

Kenpachi demands Ichinose not waste his time with these foolish tactics and leaps toward him before delivering a powerful strike that breaks him out of his illusion and sends Ichinose flying across the clearing, where he slides across the ground. However, with Kenpachi proclaiming his time is up, Ichinose denies this and releases Nijigasumi once more, surrounding Kenpachi with white light and unleashing hundreds of shadowy slashes that kick up a large cloud of dust around a pained Kenpachi. Detailing how Nijigasumi makes all things invisible when it shines and leaves nowhere to hide by dispelling all shadows, he is astonished to see Kenpachi emerge unharmed.

With Kenpachi glowing with yellow Reiatsu and admonishing Ichinose for not having changed at all since they last met, Ichinose realizes that he deflected all the slashes with his Reiatsu alone as Kenpachi mocks him for believing such a low-level attack would work and observes that he was wrong about Ichinose leaving Soul Society in order to become stronger. After concluding that Ichinose is not even a challenge and that he will put an end to this, Kenpachi dispels his Reiatsu and rushes forward to slash at Ichinose's neck, only for Ichinose to evade at the last second and move back from Kenpachi as he exerts his own rainbow Reiatsu in a large aura.

Though Kenpachi realizes that he has been hiding something and points out that Ichinose should know better than to hold back against him, Ichinose asserts that this is where the fight begins and initiates Saigyoku Nijigasumi, causing his Reiatsu to flare up further and impressing Kenpachi, who blocks Ichinose's subsequent lunge toward him and begins clashing repeatedly. While Kenpachi praises his quick reflexes as proving that he has gotten better, Ichinose ducks under a horizontal slash from him and stabs Nijigasumi forward, cutting through a shocked Kenpachi's shoulder, prior to landing behind Kenpachi from the air above and turning to face him once more.

Kenpachi admits Ichinose is decent when he really tries, but an angered Ichinose berates him for being as arrogant as ever and questions how the Gotei 13 could ever let someone like him be a captain. Declaring a Gotei 13 captain should protect those serving under him, Ichinose wonders who Kenpachi has ever protected and how he justifies his insane blood lust as he leaps forward and slashes down at Kenpachi, who blocks with his Zanpakutō and laments with exasperation that Ichinose's grievances against him are the same as ever before maniacally proclaiming he fights simply because it amuses him, and this is all the reason he needs to continue doing so.

Blocking Kenpachi's rapid subsequent attacks while moving backward, Ichinose leaps back and counters that Kenpachi never earned the right to be called a captain of the Gotei 13 as he elaborates that this is proof of Soul Society's philosophy becoming rancid and deceitful, a corruption which Kariya sees and which is the reason Ichinose brought him to Soul Society, before concluding that Kariya has a vision and he has gained this power for the sake of risking everything in order to help Kariya achieve it. In response, Kenpachi sarcastically inquires if Ichinose is going to talk him to death and demands that he use his power if he has such a severe problem with Kenpachi.

Suddenly, Kenpachi sees hundreds of small glimmers of light floating through the air around him, and when he questions what this is, Ichinose reveals this is the true power of Nijigasumi and tells Kenpachi to disappear as he culminates Saigyoku Nijigasumi by expanding the glimmers of light into spheres that engulf a stunned Kenpachi and begin spreading outward in a large dome, forcing Yachiru to leave the tree branch she had been sitting on and run several dozen meters away to another tree, where she sees the massive dome of light condense and settle. Below her, Ichinose claims Kenpachi is dead due to Nijigasumi creating limitless light that will consume him.

When Yachiru points out how she can sense Kenpachi is not dead, an annoyed Ichinose admits he is still breathing, but asserts it is only a matter of time until the light Kenpachi is trapped in condenses into a small beam and squeezes the life out of him. Though Ichinose states there is no escape from this, Yachiru firmly denies that Kenpachi will lose to him, leading Ichinose to sheathe his Zanpakutō and observe the compression is beginning as the dome begins shrinking in size. Within the dome, Kenpachi muses on the strangeness of his blank surroundings and the increasing difficulty of moving prior to slamming his Zanpakutō into the ground, to no effect.

Amused by this, Kenpachi cricks his neck and deduces he is not exerting enough of his Reiatsu. Back outside, Ichinose sighs and begins walking away as the dome condenses into a sphere, which prompts Yachiru to wonder where he is going. Upon being told Ichinose will be assisting Kariya, Yachiru inquires if he does not want to finish his fight with Kenpachi, and when Ichinose says there is nothing left to fight, Yachiru simply reiterates that Kenpachi is not dead, though Ichinose refutes this and threatens to do the same to Yachiru if she interferes. However, he is interrupted when a grinning Kenpachi objects to this and removes his eye patch, unleashing his Reiatsu.

Kenpachi's Reiatsu surges upward in a wide beam flanked by a double helix, astonishing Ichinose, who is left staring in disbelief upon seeing the sphere of light cracking from the sheer pressure and exploding, sending a wave of dust rolling over Ichinose and the surrounding area. With Ichinose seeing the large crater in the ground left by the explosion, Kenpachi appears in front of him with his Zanpakutō leveled at Ichinose's face and states he released some of the Reiatsu kept suppressed within his body. With Ichinose refusing to believe Kenpachi could overwhelm the Reiatsu of Nijigasumi, Kenpachi notes Nijigasumi derives its power from Kidō.

Despite Ichinose not understanding what he is getting at, Kenpachi asserts he is still the same as ever and decides to commend Ichinose for forcing him to use his full power for a brief moment, only to berate Ichinose for believing his light could wipe away all shadows since the concept of shining light on everything is impossible to begin with. As Kenpachi concludes it does not take scientific understanding to know there will always be a shadow no matter how much light is created, Ichinose demands to know how someone like Kenpachi without noble goals or any sense of honor can reach this position and have so much power when Kiganjō was killed despite his honor.

Enraged by the memory of Kenpachi killing Kiganjō, Ichinose wildly slashes at Kenpachi, who casually sidesteps this, and continues attacking as he criticizes Soul Society's message of order when a barbarian like Kenpachi is allowed to become a captain. Suddenly, Kenpachi intercepts Ichinose's thrust of his Zanpakutō by grabbing the blade with his bare left hand, and when Ichinose declares Kenpachi will not get in the way of the Bount delivering long-overdue justice to Soul Society and blames Kenpachi as being part of the reason this is all happening, Kenpachi simply berates his intelligence and slashes Ichinose across his chest, causing the latter to collapse.

Kenpachi challenges Ichinose to detail one of his noble goals if he is so obsessed with nobility and prove that it is actually his goal instead of a task given to him by someone else. With Ichinose demanding that Kenpachi not act like he understands what Ichinose is doing, Kenpachi shoulders his Zanpakutō and proclaims that this is why Ichinose is pathetic, since relying on other people and loyalty are two different things, prior to walking away and concluding that it is no fun to fight someone without their own goals because there is no passion involved. Struggling to his feet, Ichinose wonders if Kenpachi came all the way out here solely to humiliate him with their fight.

In response, a chuckling Kenpachi reminds Ichinose he would have ignored Kenpachi and dealt with the others first if he were really concerned with achieving Kariya's goals, meaning he put his own goals above Kariya's when he chose to fight Kenpachi instead. With Kenpachi asserting Ichinose's power came from his hatred and desire to kill Kenpachi instead of through Kariya, which means he should use that hatred if he really wants to win, Ichinose looks down and internally wonders if he is right as Yachiru watches from above and expresses concern for both of them. Seeing Ichinose assume another battle stance, Kenpachi observes he has decided.

After mentally apologizing to Kariya over the possibility that he will not be there to share the glory when Kariya achieves his ultimate goal and requesting that the latter forgive him for this, Ichinose looks at Kenpachi and roars while exerting his rainbow Reiatsu, leading a grinning Kenpachi to hold out his Zanpakutō and exert his yellow Reiatsu in turn. Envisioning Kiganjō, Ichinose leaps forward and clashes with Kenpachi in an explosion of Reiatsu. Though initially startled by Ichinose's ferocity and force, a delighted Kenpachi pushes back against Ichinose's downward strike and cuts through the latter's Zanpakutō with his own to grievously wound Ichinose.

With his blood spattering across the ground, Ichinose thinks of Kiganjō and collapses, which prompts Kenpachi to look over his shoulder and observe that Ichinose's hatred was not enough. When Yachiru appears in front of him and questions if he killed Ichinose, a smiling Kenpachi simply states that he gave it everything he had, and as Kenpachi begins walking away and invites her to go home with him, Yachiru bows to Ichinose and moves to Kenpachi's shoulder with Shunpo.

Outside the White Road Gate of the Seireiheki encircling the Seireitei, Jidanbō Ikkanzaka lies defeated on the ground as villagers from the Rukongai ready a siege engine at the gate behind him. With an announcer within the Seireitei warning the Gotei 13 to move to their defensive positions in order to stop the rioters gathered outside, Tōba stands with Jin Kariya, Gō Koga, and Sawatari as he sternly orders the villagers to get ready.

At the Black Ridge Gate, Danzōmaru lies unconscious on his back while Yoshi and Mabashi oversee another group of villagers with a second siege engine preparing to open the gate as well. In the forest outside Fugai, Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, Uryū Ishida, Ririn, Kurōdo, Noba, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai, 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto run frantically back to the Seireitei.

The villagers at the White Road Gate force the tip of the siege engine underneath the gate and begin raising it by pulling down on the other end. With immense effort and Tōba's encouragement, the villagers succeed in raising the gate completely up by fully leveraging the siege engine. After noting with delight that they did it to Kariya, who acknowledges this, Tōba instructs the villagers to riot as they please within the Seireitei, and as the horde of villagers rushes toward the gate, several Shinigami step into view and assume battle stances, which causes the startled villagers to stop in their tracks as they are told that they will not pass this point.

When the Shinigami demand to know who the Ryoka are, Kariya, Koga, and Sawatari walk forward through the crowd, which parts to accommodate them, and approach the edge of the gate boundary while the unnerved Shinigami refuse to let them in. Upon reaching the boundary, Kariya stops and stands still as he looks over the Shinigami, who draw their Zanpakutō and rush forward to attack him. In response, Kariya unleashes a powerful wave of wind with his Doll, Messer, that slams into the Shinigami, bending their Zanpakutō and sending them flying several meters back, where they all fall and lie incapacitated while Tōba praises this technique.

However, Kariya simply responds by thanking the villagers for their work, confusing Tōba, before revealing this is where they part ways. Though Tōba believe this is some kind of joke since the villagers were planning to invade, Kariya reiterates that their role in this is over, and when an angered Tōba asserts they were going to crush the Seireitei together, Kariya tells him the villagers were just pawns and a means to open the two gates, since the Seireiheki is impossible to destroy or pass through using Reiryoku due to the power-nullifying properties of Sekkiseki. Tōba accuses Kariya of using them, but Kariya clarifies they are simply no longer of use now.

With Kariya detailing how this fight belongs to the Bount alone from now on and observing that the villagers will just be in the way if they hang around, the villagers refuse to accept this and a defiant Tōba draws a dagger from his waist as he rushes toward Kariya alongside them, prompting Kariya to remind them that they are in the way and unleash another powerful gust of wind from his outstretched hand that blows the villagers back into the Rukongai and briefly creates a cyclone, dispersing them in its wake. In the aftermath, Kariya walks away from the still-open gate with Koga and Sawatari into the Seireitei while Ichigo and his friends run up to Jidanbō.

As Renji realizes the gate is open and Uryū wonders what the siege engine is, Ichigo angrily calls out to Kariya, who turns around and blasts the siege engine with a gale of wind powerful enough to dismantle its pieces and cause it to collapse, leaving the gate to fall back down between the group and the Bount while Hitsugaya curses at having allowed the Bount to escape. On the other side of the gate, Sawatari criticizes the group as being pathetic for Shinigami, only for Kariya to warn him the real fight is about to begin and to not underestimate the captains. Revealing he tasked Mabashi and Yoshi with creating distractions, Kariya tells Koga and Sawatari to crush the captains.

When asked by Koga about what he will be doing, Kariya asserts their ultimate goal is to instantaneously destroy the Seireitei, since they deserve to have judgment passed upon them for trying to destroy the Bount they created, and they need something in order to achieve this which he will be retrieving. Koga is surprised there is something with that much destructive power within Soul Society, and as Kariya affirms there is, Sawatari inquiries about where it is located, leading Kariya to inform them it is in the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. After promising Koga he will know what it is soon, Kariya concludes their final meeting place is Sōkyoku Hill.

With Koga and Sawatari remaining silent, Kariya questions if something is wrong and instructs them to say what is on their minds, but Koga merely wishes him luck, which prompts a stoic Kariya to leave as he tells them to go. Back outside the Seireiheki, Orihime uses Sōten Kisshun to heal the large gash in Jidanbō's right shoulder and urges the latter to wake up. With considerable effort, Jidanbō opens his eyes and sits up, to Orihime's relief, before recognizing her and her friends while Orihime comments on how it has been some time since they last met. Observing that Orihime has saved him again, Jidanbō assures her that his wound no longer hurts and is not serious.

Renji runs up to the group with Hitsugaya and Rangiku, where he explains that it will take time for the Gotei 13 to open the gate from within, and in turn, Ichigo requests that Jidanbō open the gate despite his injuries, which Jidanbō gladly accepts. Though Jidanbō manages to raise the gate enough for the group to pass under, when a grateful Ichigo and his friends attempt to run through, Jidanbō stumbles and slightly drops the gate, to their concern. As Jidanbō claims that he is fine and urges them to go, Uryū observes that his wounds have reopened, and Ichigo declares that they have to honor Jidanbō's efforts to keep the gate open despite his injuries by hurrying.

However, after her friends run through the gate, Orihime stays behind next to Jidanbō, and when Ichigo expresses confusion at this, Orihime insists on staying behind so she can heal Jidanbō before tossing an admiring Kurōdo under the gate to the group despite his protests. Assuring Ichigo that she will be alright and can manage this, Orihime tells Jidanbō that he can let go of the gate now, which he thanks her for as he lets the gate fall to the ground. With Orihime waving goodbye to Ichigo as he asks her to take care of Jidanbō, Kurōdo attempts and fails to run under the gate before it hits the ground and is despondent over Orihime's decision to leave him in the Seireitei.

In response to this, Ichigo tells Kurōdo to take Orihime's feelings into consideration since she chose to stay behind and reminds him Orihime left him with the rest of the group for a reason as he turns to Ririn and asks her about the Reiatsu of the Bount. Though Ririn admits she cannot sense any right now and theorizes the Bount are hiding it, Ichigo asserts the Bount will not be able to suppress their Reiatsu forever because they came to the Seireitei with a goal. With Ichigo concluding the Mod-Souls are the ones who can best detect the Bount and are being counted on by him and the others, Kurōdo acknowledges this and launches into a speech about trusting Orihime.

Hitsugaya orders the group to split up and search for the Bount, leading Ichigo and his friends to run off in different directions. Suddenly, before Hitsugaya and Rangiku can follow suit, a Jigokuchō approaches them and flutters onto Rangiku's index finger, where it relays an order for Hitsugaya to assemble with the other captains for a meeting. Elsewhere in the Seireitei, 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng stands before several Keigun as one relays the same message to her from another Jigokuchō. Irritated by the order coming at such an inconvenient time, Suì-Fēng instructs the Keigun to continue dispatching to the assigned areas.

After elaborating that the Keigun are to continue searching until they find the Bount, at which point they are to contact other groups and wait for help instead of immediately engaging, Suì-Fēng departs with Shunpo following the Keigun doing the same. In a different part of the Seireitei, Ichigo runs down a street with Ririn on his shoulder and urges the latter to keep searching even though she is not sensing anything. When Ririn comments on him being worked up about finding Kariya, Ichigo questions what is wrong with this, only for Ririn to claim that her sensors do not work properly when someone emotional is near her, which Ichigo is startled by.

Meanwhile, Sado runs down a different street with Noba, who states he is not detecting anything yet, and Renji responds to Kurōdo's complaints about him running much more roughly than Orihime does by telling him to shut up as he sprints down another street with Kurōdo slung over his shoulder. Simultaneously, the Keigun running through the streets stop upon finding themselves confronted by a smirking Mabashi, who identifies them as they demand to know if he is a Ryoka. Declining to answer, Mabashi brings up how he heard the Keigun are strong, and when they assume combat stances in response to him partially unzipping his shirt, Mabashi notes they want to fight.

Upon being summoned by Mabashi and told to proceed, his Doll, Ritz, acknowledges this and creates multiple copies of herself that begin flying around the Keigun, distracting them, while Mabashi rushes forward and slams his open palms into one of the Keigun to send him flying prior to bashing his elbow into the head of another Keigun and knocking him back with an uppercut. After hitting a third Keigun with a running punch that knocks him unconscious, Mabashi sticks his tongue out at the remaining Keigun and runs past the unconscious one around the corner of the intersection he is lying in, prompting the other Keigun to pursue him.

Meanwhile, in the meeting room in the First Division barracks, Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto stands before the assembled captains and inquiries about the whereabouts of 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake, which leads 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku to claim he is sleeping due to his recurring illness leaving him feeling unwell. When Yamamoto turns to her about the status of the Keigun, Suì-Fēng informs him she has already placed several groups throughout the Seireitei, which Yamamoto praises her for the efficiency and quick response time of as 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi wonders what Hitsugaya has done.

With Hitsugaya startled by this, Mayuri criticizes him for failing to prevent the Bount from infiltrating the Seireitei despite being assigned to lead the task force with orders to annihilate them, but Hitsugaya simply accepts that it is all his fault and that he has no excuse for this, though Shunsui assures him that it is not worth agonizing over the Bount infiltrating the Seireitei when they need to be planning out what to do next. 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura requests that 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki inform the other captains of everything he knows about Kariya, whom he fought and whom Komamura had heard is the leader of the Bount.

In response, Byakuya reveals that Kariya can control wind, to Suì-Fēng's surprise, and that his additional ability to control Reishi gives him a powerful regenerative ability, only for Mayuri to insist that they focus on questioning Hitsugaya's responsibility instead of changing the subject. However, Shunsui mentions that he heard a Quincy tool held by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute is what allowed the Bount to enter Soul Society and that it was given to them in a setup, which he takes as evidence of Mayuri's preference to ignore his own shortcomings as he sternly reprimands Mayuri for not considering the feelings of other people.

Claiming he is also irritated right now and knows how to take responsibility, Mayuri demands to know where Shunsui heard about this, though Shunsui merely says he has sharp ears. After interrupting the conversation by slamming the tip of his cane into the floor, Yamamoto reprimands the captains for quarreling at a time like this and orders them to have their divisions spread out across the Seireitei and destroy the Bount on sight. Yamamoto further instructs them to act independently so the Ryoka can be dealt with as soon as possible and relieves Hitsugaya of his temporary commander duties, shocking the latter, and concludes by asking for quick and immediate reports.

Soon afterward, Mayuri stands in his laboratory with his lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi, who inquires if he will be going out in person. As he affirms this, Mayuri laments the time wasted on the captains meeting and warns the Bount that this is not over before sheathing his Zanpakutō and leaving Nemu in charge with orders to do what needs to be done. Meanwhile, Kurōdo yells in shock and informs a still-running Renji that he can sense a Bount, but when Renji asks him where it is, Kurōdo suddenly asserts that it disappeared, leading an unimpressed Renji to stop and question if Kurōdo is just saying things, with an offended Kurōdo countering that he was positive about this.

With Renji angered by the Bount being so sneaky, Kurōdo points out that guerrilla warfare is the most effective strategy when fighting an army with only a few people and admits the Bount are making an intelligent choice, prompting Renji to demand to know what the point of praising them is. Apologizing for this, Kurōdo tells Renji to head around the right corner in front of them in order to reach the area where he sensed the Bount presence, and as Renji runs off, Ririn complains about the Bount presence appearing and disappearing like the flickering beam of an old flashlight prior to insisting she is allowed to be emotional when Ichigo comments on her telling him to calm down.

While Ichigo expresses exasperation at Ririn's hypocrisy, Noba also detects a Bount presence appearing and disappearing, which he relays to Sado. Elsewhere, several Shinigami run down a street and stop in shock upon seeing Mabashi sitting against the wall on their right. When the Shinigami assume combat stances and demand to know if he is a Ryoka, Mabashi gets up while wondering why they are wearing such fierce expressions, and as the Shinigami draw their Zanpakutō, Mabashi calls out to the multiple copies of Ritz, who narrow their heads into tendrils and jab their bodies into those of the Shinigami, causing them to collapse, before leaving alongside Mabashi.

In a different part of the Seireitei, Sawatari senses Mabashi's actions and decides to make his move as well but does not notice Mayuri having concealed himself with Nisehada on the archway behind him. In the Second Division barracks, a Keigun reports the encounters of the second and third groups with the Ryoka to Suì-Fēng, who is annoyed to learn that the result of the encounters is unknown due to the complicated information and orders the Keigun to have all the groups gather in the northern streets of the Seireitei, where she will join them shortly. Sometime later, Mabashi crouches in the shade of an alleyway and chuckles as the Keigun run through the street nearby.

After the Keigun groups gather before her, Suì-Fēng instructs the second and third groups to deliver their report, which leads a Keigun from the second group to reveal the Ryoka they encountered escaped as another Keigun from the third group informs Suì-Fēng they were unable to apprehend the Ryoka they encountered at the fifth western street. In response, Suì-Fēng angrily berates them for rendering the high alert that the Gotei 13 has been placed on pointless by not performing their Onmitsukidō duties properly. Hearing this, a grinning Mabashi tells Ritz it is time to function as Suì-Fēng orders the first and second groups to spread out along the western streets.

After instructing the third and fourth groups to make a detour eastward and head for the main road, which the Keigun acknowledge, Suì-Fēng turns around and begins to walk away, but suddenly finds a Bitto lodged in the back of her left shoulder when Mabashi has Ritz make one of the Keigun throw it, shocking her and the other Keigun. With the Keigun restraining the feral attacker, who quickly falls limp, a weakened Suì-Fēng falls to her knees in pain and wonders what he did.

Having been weakened by poison delivered to her system through a Bitto stabbed into her shoulder by one of the assembled Keigun, a kneeling and pained 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng sees the Bitto lying on the ground where she threw it and realizes that this is a Bount's poison. Upon seeing the feral Keigun who threw the Bitto go limp in the arms of his comrades and be pronounced dead, Suì-Fēng gets to her feet and instructs the concerned Keigun to not make a fuss.

Suì-Fēng brings up how she heard of a Bount who can control people like puppets and theorizes that this Bount took control of the Keigun when the two came into contact. As she mentally realizes that this means there could be others under the Bount's control, Suì-Fēng demands to know if anyone else came into contact with the Bount, and as a female Keigun confirms that her group did so around the second east street, one of her comrades suddenly begins groaning in pain and approaches Suì-Fēng while grasping the handle of his sword sheathed behind his back.

With the female Keigun being thrown aside when she attempts to stop the attacker, the other Keigun rush forward to restrain him, only for the attacker to rapidly subdue them with Hakuda as two of the remaining Keigun suggest that Suì-Fēng tend to her wounds while they manage this, prompting Suì-Fēng to run off despite her concern. Nearby, Ichigo Kurosaki runs down a street with Ririn, who expresses confusion and frustration at how the Reiatsu of the Bount keeps appearing and disappearing. Realizing that the Bount are up to something, Ichigo suddenly comes to a stop, which causes Ririn to flip over his shoulder and onto the ground in front of him.

From the intersection in front of Ichigo and Ririn, three groaning Shinigami run toward them with their Zanpakutō drawn and begin attacking Ichigo, who dodges the first slash and draws his Shikai, Zangetsu, before blocking the second strike and demanding to know what the Shinigami are doing as Ririn rejoins him and reveals that they smell like Bount. From within the Shinigami, Mabashi's Doll, Ritz, declares that Ichigo will die, and with Ichigo realizing that she is a Doll, the three Shinigami rush forward and resume their assault, leading Ichigo to block the first blow with Zangetsu and kick the Shinigami back with a blow to the abdomen from his knee.

After ducking to evade a horizontal slash from the second Shinigami, Ichigo bashes the hilt of Zangetsu into his stomach prior to slamming the flat side of the blade into the respective side and neck of the other two Shinigami, knocking all three of them out. While Ichigo deduces the Shinigami were being controlled by Mabashi's Doll, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai finds himself and Kurōdo confronted elsewhere by several more Shinigami with their Zanpakutō drawn, whom Renji tells to knock it off as he blocks two strikes from them and moves back so the group is completely in front of him, which leads Kurōdo to observe this is just like when Rukia was being controlled.

Meanwhile, Yasutora Sado and Noba are confronted by a dozen more Shinigami in a different part of the Seireitei. Though Sado leaps out of reach to evade their strikes, the Shinigami simply begin cutting each other down instead, prompting a chuckling Mabashi to praise Ritz for her performance from a rooftop overlooking the chaos, only to tense up upon sensing a strong Reiatsu approaching him. Simultaneously, 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi informs 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura of the Shinigami who have been possessed by Ritz and are attacking their allies, which he recognizes from his previous encounter with Mabashi in the Human World.

When asked by Komamura if there is a way for the possessed to regain control, Hisagi notes it is difficult to defeat only Ritz when she is inside their bodies, to Komamura's concern. Elsewhere, on a rooftop pavilion, Suì-Fēng sheds her bloodied haori and other over garments, leaving her Keisen Shōzoku, and internally asserts the puppets should be brought under control if the one controlling them is defeated, which means she must eliminate the Bount, as she stumbles away. However, Suì-Fēng quickly senses the presence of Mabashi, who casually walks into the pavilion and details how he came here upon sensing a strong Reiatsu that should mean Suì-Fēng is a captain.

Mabashi observes Suì-Fēng has been injected with the poison of a Bitto and reveals leaving a condensed living Soul alone in the Bitto causes it to rot before concluding Suì-Fēng is going to die soon, since there is no way to counteract the poison. Briefly falling to her knees, Suì-Fēng pushes herself up and leaps into the air, where a grinning Mabashi follows her and begins trading blows. While the two of them evade multiple strikes from each other, Mabashi begins blocking Suì-Fēng's punches and kicks with his hands and elbows, and as Suì-Fēng continues her assault, Mabashi attempts to pull her in by the ankle, but Suì-Fēng breaks free and kicks at his face.

After grabbing a dodging Mabashi's wrist, Suì-Fēng pulls him aside and tries to kick him once more, only for Mabashi to outmaneuver this, grab Suì-Fēng's fist when she throws a punch at his face, and throw her over his shoulder, where Suì-Fēng recovers and trades several more blows with Mabashi prior to the two leaping off of and away from each other into pillars on opposite sides of the pavilion. With Suì-Fēng having gone up and Mabashi having gone down, the two rush toward each other in midair once more and block multiple strikes from each other before Suì-Fēng swings Mabashi around by the wrist and kicks him away from herself so they land on the ground below.

Admitting he is impressed by a panting and kneeling Suì-Fēng, Mabashi reminds her the poison will spread faster if she moves. Upon realizing it is disadvantageous for her to drag this out, Suì-Fēng moves behind Mabashi with Shunpo, presses her Zanpakutō to his neck, and releases her Shikai, Suzumebachi, only to wince in pain before she can attack, which allows Mabashi to free himself from her grip and leap into the air. As she follows Mabashi, Suì-Fēng refuses to let him get away and stabs at him with Suzumebachi, forcing a shocked Mabashi to twist his body away from her at the last second and move to the other side of the pavilion while Suì-Fēng falls down.

An angered Mabashi curses Suì-Fēng as a Hōmonka forms on his chest, which he recognizes with amusement and describes as killing him if he gets struck in the same place twice but points out how Suì-Fēng's time is up and decides to hide so he can take his time watching her until she dies. With her vision beginning to blur, Suì-Fēng sees Mabashi leap away and tells him to wait as she begins crawling forward. Meanwhile, Komamura finishes knocking out several possessed Shinigami alongside Hisagi, whose analysis of Ritz being completely fused with the bodies of the Shinigami he concurs with as the latter notes they might lose control again later.

In response, Komamura suggests they move the possessed Shinigami to the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho so 4th Division Captain Retsu Unohana can give her opinion on the matter, due to there being no one else who can help the afflicted Shinigami, which leads Hisagi to order the other Shinigami to move the possessed to the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho. Soon afterward, Unohana stands in one of the infirmary rooms with her lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu, and 3rd Seat, Yasochika Iemura, as two of Komamura's subordinates relay the status of the possessed and the uncertainty of how many have been afflicted to her, which is why they want her opinion on how to proceed.

Moving her hands over the possessed Shinigami lying in front of her, Unohana realizes extraction of Ritz from his body without extensive preparation is impossible because of how strongly his mind and body are being controlled, and when asked about what they should do, Unohana instructs the Shinigami to bring in the other possessed Shinigami in order to stop their movement, leading the two Shinigami to run off while Unohana laments about using an unreliable method for this and orders Isane to make preparations. Back in the pavilion, a panting Suì-Fēng struggles to crawl forward and falls flat on her face as she mentally observes she cannot see anything in front of her.

Uncertain of what she should do in the face of her unexpected helplessness, Suì-Fēng thinks of Yoruichi Shihōin and looks at Suzumebachi, where she realizes what she needs to do and screams in pain as she stabs the tip into her own body. Simultaneously, Komamura incapacitates three possessed Shinigami at once with shock waves from open-palmed strikes while Hisagi takes out several more in rapid succession with powerful punches and kicks. When one of the Shinigami embeds his Zanpakutō in Komamura's chest, one of his subordinates expresses concern, but Komamura insists that he focus on his own enemies and tosses his attacker away.

While Iemura directs nurses in the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho to put patients in new rooms and Unohana attempts to heal one of the possessed Shinigami with Kaidō, Mabashi sits on the steps leading up to a building and expresses confusion at his inability to send orders to some of the Ritz copies, which he deduces is the result of the Shinigami knocking out those whom Ritz is attached to, but declares that it does not matter when his increased power allows him to multiply Ritz as much as he wants to and summons Ritz once more. Splitting Ritz into multiple copies that he spreads across the Seireitei, Mabashi comments on how easy this is for him to do.

Upon remembering that it is time for Suì-Fēng to die, Mabashi decides to make her feel a little more despair first. Elsewhere, Ichigo incapacitates three possessed Shinigami with a sweeping kick, jabs the handle of Zangetsu into a fourth, and uppercuts a fifth with his free hand while Ririn knocks out the fourth Shinigami by repeatedly kicking him in the face. At the same time, Renji uses Bakudō #1. Sai on the Shinigami surrounding him, causing their arms to be locked behind their backs, and as Kurōdo praises him for being able to fight with Kidō as well, Renji notes that he is doing so due to his current inability to use his Shikai, Zabimaru.

However, Renji assumes Kurōdo was subtly making fun of him by mentioning this and demands to know if it is really so unusual for him to use Kidō as a lieutenant, leaving Kurōdo unnerved and submissive. On a rooftop in the Second Division compound, Mabashi lands and sees Suì-Fēng lying face-down in a pavilion nearby, where he approaches her and questions if she is still alive. When Suì-Fēng questions why he came back if he was planning on hiding until she died, Mabashi reveals he sensed the Shinigami incapacitating those he had possessed with Ritz and decided to hit them with someone strong, which leads Suì-Fēng to conclude he wants to use her for this.

Claiming that he cannot stand to see Ritz hurt, Mabashi wonders what Suì-Fēng is looking at and presumes that she wants to kill him by striking the Hōmonka on his chest once more, though he asserts that this is impossible. Suddenly, ten Keigun appear on the far rooftop and leap over to Suì-Fēng, which prompts Mabashi to move back and comment on there still being some Keigun left who want to avenge their captain. With the Keigun expressing concern for Suì-Fēng and promising to get her to the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho, Mabashi inquires if they are really her allies and calls out to Ritz, causing the Keigun to begin writhing in pain.

Upon seeing the flower of Ritz sprouting from the abdomen of each Keigun and spreading purple root-like markings across their chests, Suì-Fēng is left staring in shock as Mabashi proclaims that all of her subordinates already belong to Ritz and has them pull her to her feet. With Suì-Fēng aghast at this, Mabashi asks her how it feels to be restrained by her own subordinates and observes with irritation that she can still talk pretty well despite not being able to move when Suì-Fēng curses at him before proclaiming that he is going to take Suì-Fēng's body and enslave it with Ritz until she dies as he summons Ritz once more with a chuckle.

After sarcastically apologizing to Suì-Fēng, Mabashi has Ritz fly toward her, but Suì-Fēng suddenly activates her Shunkō, sending Ritz flying back in distress and forcing the Keigun back, allowing Suì-Fēng to move to a stunned Mabashi with Shunpo and stab the center of his Hōmonka with Suzumebachi to initiate Nigeki Kessatsu. As Suì-Fēng pulls the blade out and leaps back, Mabashi clutches his chest and demands to know how she is able to move, leading Suì-Fēng to reveal that she already detoxified the Bitto poison by stabbing herself in the arm with Suzumebachi, which she proves by sliding down her sleeve to display her own Hōmonka.

Suì-Fēng elaborates that being trained to enter the Keigun from an early age left her immune to most poisons and taught her how to build resistance to new poisons, which she did by countering the Bitto poison with the poison of Suzumebachi. When Mabashi questions why she pretended that she could not move in this case, Suì-Fēng concludes that she had no chance of saving her subordinates if Mabashi did not come after her and that it was a last-resort gambit. With Mabashi falling to his knees and panting heavily, Suì-Fēng asserts that it is over, only for Mabashi to counter that she should not underestimate him and summon the ten Ritz copies out of the Keigun.

Though Mabashi deduces he can save himself from the poison if he kills Suì-Fēng and assumes she is not moving because she is so afraid of him, Suì-Fēng merely calls him foolish, and when an angered Mabashi orders Ritz to attack her, the copies instead begin attacking him, to his shock and confusion. Watching this, Suì-Fēng brings up how she heard the power of a Doll is a double-edged sword because it will turn on its controller if their power weakens. As Mabashi falls over and begs Ritz to stop while his body begins to desiccate and release green energy, Suì-Fēng tells him the poison of Suzumebachi is already affecting his body, which turns to dust as he screams.

In the aftermath, Suì-Fēng walks over to Mabashi's empty clothes and looks down solemnly while the possessed Shinigami surrounding Ichigo suddenly groan and collapse, to his and Ririn's confusion, with the same occurring to the Shinigami being bound by Renji, prompting Kurōdo to note the presence of Ritz has disappeared. With Sado and Noba looking over the unconscious Shinigami around them, Komamura sees the signs of possession disappear from the face of the Shinigami he is holding up by the collar while in the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho, Unohana sees her patients regaining consciousness and assures them someone has defeated the controller.

Elsewhere, Yoshi stands on a rooftop with her Doll, Nieder, and observes the disappearance of Mabashi's Reiatsu prior to criticizing him for being pathetically naïve in the end. In a different part of the Seireitei, Sawatari surfaces while sitting on his Doll, Baura, and acknowledges that the enemy must be skilled if they defeated Mabashi before telling the individual hiding nearby to come out, which results in 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi emerging from the Nisehada he had performed on the nearby wall and inquiring about how Sawatari was able to notice him even though he tried to hide his spiritual presence like the Bount do.

A chuckling Sawatari asserts that anyone could detect Mayuri's blood thirst no matter how much he suppresses his Reiatsu, and when Mayuri asks him where Maki Ichinose is since that is who Mayuri was looking for, Sawatari admits that he does not know due to Ichinose's Reiatsu disappearing a while ago and questions if one of Mayuri's allies was responsible for this. Disappointed by this news, Mayuri decides to settle for Sawatari in order to make the Bount pay for embarrassing him. Though he does not like Mayuri underestimating him, Sawatari accepts this since he has been tasked with eliminating captains, leaving Mayuri to glare at him.

With 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi having confronted him on a street in the Seireitei, Sawatari taps his cane against his Doll, Baura, who shifts the majority of his body out of the ground, to Mayuri's intrigue, and asks Sawatari if Mayuri is the next opponent. Confirming this, Sawatari warns Baura that Mayuri is not like the weaklings he has been fighting up until this point due to his status as a captain of the Gotei 13, which leaves Baura anticipating the fun he will have.

After inquiring if this is the Doll Sawatari uses, Mayuri chuckles and clarifies he was just thinking that the Bount really are very interesting before wondering if Sawatari knows what the source of his power is. With Sawatari remaining silent, Mayuri explains that his power comes from Soul Society's ancient technology, which was deemed dangerous and sealed away after a single accident, and laments that even he does not have any complete data about it.

Because of this, a grinning Mayuri offers to let Sawatari and Baura become his test subjects, to their confusion, and details how he became interested enough in the Bount to want to perform his own research on them after examining various data. Though Mayuri promises to make it as painless as possible and forget that the Bount tricked him into restoring Uryū Ishida's power, Sawatari bluntly refuses due to the Bount's goal being the destruction of the Seireitei and his orders being to remove those in their way before having Baura raise his back protrusions to shield him, leaving Mayuri to exert his violet Reiatsu while declaring that he will make Sawatari regret this.

Despite being impressed by Mayuri's Reiatsu, Baura dives into the ground with Sawatari and asserts that it does not matter how strong his Reiatsu is while Mayuri looks down and recalls the reports he received on the ability of Baura to appear from large surfaces like the ground or walls, which he likens to a mole. As he concludes that it is useless to try this on him here compared to the Human World, Mayuri releases his Shikai, Ashisogi Jizō, and moves to the roof of the adjoining wall in order to survey the area in front of him, where he encourages Baura to attack, only for the latter to emerge from the air behind Mayuri and rush forward.

Leaping back into a pavilion to evade Baura, who crashes into the rooftop and bounces off, Mayuri is shocked to see him disappearing in midair and jumps high into the air upon seeing the ground rippling beneath his feet. With Mayuri expressing disbelief at having never heard of this ability before, Baura emerges from the ground and flies toward him, prompting Mayuri to tell Baura to not underestimate him and slash at his scales after narrowly evading the latter's maw, only for Ashisogi Jizō to be deflected without damaging Baura, who slams his tail into a stunned Mayuri, sending him crashing into a wall below and cratering it with the force of his impact.

Upon seeing Baura flying toward him once more with his mouth open, Mayuri narrowly evades him as he consumes the portion of the wall behind where Mayuri was standing, but loses his left arm in the process, leaving him bleeding heavily while Baura resurfaces in front of him. Sawatari emerges from the back of Baura and reveals that the Bount have gotten stronger by absorbing copious quantities of high-quality Reishi since coming to Soul Society, meaning that the sky filled with Reishi is in the domain of Baura now in addition to the ground. As Baura claims that there is nowhere for Mayuri to run, Sawatari expresses disappointment at this being all a captain can do.

Elsewhere, Uryū runs down a street and senses the elevation of a captain's Reiatsu, which he takes to mean someone fought a Bount. Recalling the temporary fight between Shinigami from earlier that was also the work of the Bount, Uryū hears a clash in the distance and curses prior to using his Quincy Bangle to form his Quincy uniform and Heilig Bogen, Kojaku, which he asks to hold up as he continues running. Back in the pavilion, Mayuri berates Baura for doing this to him and withdraws a Hojiku-Zai from his haori that he injects into the stump of his left arm, causing it to rapidly regenerate and regrow in a glow of violet Reiatsu.

When an amused Sawatari comments on his interesting body, Mayuri counters that he is just an experimental subject and pulls the kusarigama out of his left ear before promising to make Sawatari shut up right now as he throws the kusarigama at him, which prompts a startled Sawatari to have Baura shield him from this with his back protrusions. With Baura lunging toward him again, Mayuri pulls back the kusarigama and leaps away, leaving Baura to crash into the area behind him, before proceeding to evade Baura multiple times with Shunpo across the pavilion as he refuses to fall for the same trick twice and regrets not bringing his lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi.

Lamenting how he could have used Nemu as a decoy for this, Mayuri notices the craters left in the ground by the diving of Baura and deduces that though he hides himself in an alternate dimension when he is moving, Baura always shows himself and engulfs everything around him when he attacks, leading a grinning Mayuri to devise a plan and jump forward. After moving to another pavilion, Mayuri decides this should suffice and tosses several small bombs on the ground that he detonates, creating large explosions and a huge cloud of dust. Upon seeing a portion of the dust vanishing from the air, Mayuri proclaims he has found Sawatari and tosses his kusarigama forward.

With the kusarigama embedding itself in Baura, who groans in pain, Mayuri begins pulling him forward by the attached tendril and explains that Baura has to swallow everything in his way when he emerges from the alternate dimension, meaning that his movements can be sensed with enough obstacles floating in the air. As Sawatari stares in shock at this, Mayuri leaps forward and thrusts Ashisogi Jizō into Baura and Sawatari, which leads him to claim that it is over when he draws blood. Suddenly, Baura begins thrashing around and throws Mayuri into a wall, where he admits that this was pretty good while Baura falls to the ground and remains still.

Upon seeing Sawatari's bleeding right arm, Mayuri notes the wound was too shallow, and as Sawatari curses him, Mayuri states it will be easy to finish him off after coming this far, though he realizes he will have to keep Sawatari alive as an experimental subject. However, Sawatari laughs and reminds Mayuri the Bount are invincible in Soul Society because it is filled with Reishi prior to absorbing Reishi from the surrounding structures to heal his wound, which a surprised Mayuri compares to the complete control over Reishi that Uryū displayed when he used the Quincy: Letzt Stil as Sawatari asserts it does not matter how many times Mayuri wounds him.

Though Sawatari concludes that Mayuri will eventually run out of Reiryoku and be left lying face-down here, he is astonished to find that he can no longer move his right arm, prompting Mayuri to move to him with Shunpo and kick him off of Baura to the ground below, where he stomps on Sawatari's arm, causing him to scream in pain, and callously questions who will be left lying face-down. Stabbing Sawatari with Ashisogi Jizō once more, Mayuri details its power to paralyze the limbs of whoever it cuts and clarifies that it only cuts off signals from the brain to move the limbs, meaning that all pain is still felt, while twisting the blade in Sawatari's shoulder.

When Baura begins to move toward them in concern, Mayuri orders him to stay still, which Baura acknowledges, and observes that the power of Ashisogi Jizō is useful against Bount since they cannot overcome it by absorbing Reishi. With Mayuri deciding to continue looking into this discovery at the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, Sawatari calls out to Baura, and despite Mayuri claiming that it is pointless to do anything, Sawatari has Baura unleash everything he has recently consumed, engulfing a startled Mayuri in a tidal wave of dirt and debris that completely envelops and obscures the pavilion, which forces Mayuri to move to the roof.

As the dust clears in the pavilion, Mayuri sees that Sawatari and Baura have vanished, but is not concerned since the power of Ashisogi Jizō will not wear off no matter how far away he is from them and maliciously proclaims that Sawatari cannot get away. Within the alternate dimension, Sawatari sits on the back of Baura and assures the latter that his wounds will soon be healed by the large amount of Reishi that he just absorbed. Despite the wound on his shoulder healing and his ruffled suit being restored to pristine condition, Sawatari finds that his arm is still paralyzed. Refusing to disappear here and cursing Mayuri, Sawatari orders Baura to counterattack.

With Baura surfacing in the pavilion leading up to Senzaikyū, Sawatari wonders how long it will take Mayuri to arrive once he senses his Reiatsu, only for Mayuri to reveal that he is already here and cease his usage of Nisehada on the steps leading up to Senzaikyū while mocking Sawatari for being so slow. A shocked Sawatari admits that he did not think Mayuri could get here so fast, and as Mayuri praises his frightened expression as being worth letting him live instead of immediately finishing him off so Mayuri could get a good look at him, Sawatari questions how Mayuri found his location, which Mayuri decides to tell him since he is so insistent on it.

Recounting how he received a report on 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto managing to track Sawatari in the Human World by using Bakudō #58. Kakushitsuijaku, Mayuri asserts that he can track Sawatari even if he hides in an alternate dimension as long as he has Sawatari's Reiatsu data and elaborates that Ichigo Kurosaki chasing the Bount with a Mod-Soul that can sense their Reiatsu led him to create a sensor for the same purpose, leaving Sawatari stunned while Mayuri details how the sensor does not function without proper data and that it can only track Sawatari due to his data being input from his battles here and in the Human World.

When Sawatari realizes Mayuri has been targeting him from the beginning, Mayuri brings up the oddity of encountering him in a place as large as the Seireitei is and concludes Sawatari's Soul-aged body makes him a great experiment subject, angering Sawatari, before inviting the latter to return to his laboratory with him so Mayuri can learn more about the Bount. As he approaches Sawatari and Baura, Mayuri warns them it is pointless to run away since Sawatari's Reiatsu is completely recorded in his sensor, but a maniacally laughing Sawatari claims Mayuri is the one who is actually cornered here and has Baura unleash a Hadō #4. Byakurai from his mouth.

As an astonished Mayuri narrowly evades the blast, which slams into the wall behind him, Sawatari declares that this is the absorbed Reiatsu of the Shinigami who attacked them before now and has Baura begin firing a mixture of Hadō #4. Byakurai, Hadō #31. Shakkahō, and Hadō #33. Sōkatsui at Mayuri in rapid succession, forcing Mayuri to move around the pavilion with Shunpo. Moving out of the way when Baura hurtles toward him directly, Mayuri looks up to see Baura carving through the side of the cliff behind him, causing a torrent of dirt and debris to pour down and resulting in Mayuri jumping into the air to dodge it.

Upon seeing Baura hurtling toward him from behind, Mayuri admits that he never thought the former could move this fast, and when Baura bites down onto Mayuri's left arm, Mayuri stabs Ashisogi Jizō into his underbelly, which results in a groaning Baura crashing into the ground. Running down a nearby street, Ichigo hears the loud noise of Baura crashing as Ririn informs him that someone is fighting a Bount near Senzaikyū, prompting Ichigo to leap over the walls toward it. In the aftermath of the crash, Mayuri stands with his entire left arm and part of the left side of his torso consumed while an agonized Baura lies next to Sawatari across from him.

Noting that they are just trading blows, Sawatari winces in pain and refuses to allow Mayuri to heal himself with another Hojiku-Zai as he orders Baura to attack, though the latter struggles to move forward. In response, Mayuri admonishes Sawatari for getting so cocky despite being an experimental subject and activates his Bankai, Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō, which he explains to a stunned Sawatari will turn a deadly poison made from his blood into mist and scatter it, leaving nowhere to escape. With Sawatari picking up on his mention of poison, Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō unleashes a wave of poison mist, which leads Sawatari to order Baura to suck it in.

Sawatari glows with light teal Reiatsu and places his hand on the side of Baura, whom he begins channeling all of his Reiryoku into, causing the eyes of Baura to flash purple as he promises to absorb all of the poison. In response, Mayuri warns Sawatari to not get cocky and abandons his plans to keep the latter as an experimental subject while his own violet Reiatsu surges alongside that of Sawatari, who refuses to die here since he violated his tribe's law by absorbing tens of thousands of Human Souls and kept doing so in order to increase his own powers and become the leader of the Bount instead of Jin Kariya, even though it resulted in his body rapidly aging.

After doubling in size from Sawatari's infusion of Reiryoku, Baura rushes into the air while continuing to absorb the poison and latches onto the face of Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō, which leads Sawatari to declare that he is the worthiest of leading the Bount and roar in anticipation. However, a smiling Mayuri wonders if this true and has Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō extend the Retractable Blades on its chest, causing them to stab into the underbelly of Baura and forcing him back from the face of Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō, who rushes forward at Mayuri's command and slams into the fallen Baura, resulting in a massive explosion of force that Uryū recognizes the source of.

Elsewhere, Yoshi dispatches the last member of a group of Shinigami confronting her on a street and questions who is having such a flashy fight. Back in the pavilion, Sawatari struggles to crawl away near the walls of one of the buildings before being confronted by Mayuri, who reiterates that there is nowhere he can hide. Calling out desperately to Baura, who lies unresponsive on his side several meters away, Sawatari begins clutching his own throat with both hands, and as Mayuri observes that he will not be able to fulfill his goal of becoming the leader of the Bount, Sawatari offers to give him information on the tribe, only for Mayuri to call him pathetic.

Mayuri asserts he is no longer interested in Sawatari, who glows green and vomits dust prior to his body turning to ash and collapsing in a heap, leaving only his clothes behind. Seeing this, Mayuri deduces the poison had already spread through Sawatari's system and laments having wasted his time here. After sheathing his Zanpakutō, Mayuri notes he has used up all his Hojiku-Zai and walks away to return to the SRDI. Simultaneously, Yoshi faces off against another group of Shinigami, half of whom she has already defeated, inside an elevated pavilion lined with columns, where she demands to know if there is anyone worth fighting is around here.

However, as the Shinigami rush forward and Yoshi throws the sword of her Doll, Nieder, at them, it is prevented from striking the last Shinigami, who loses consciousness, by a Heilig Pfeil that knocks it out of the air. Startled by this, Yoshi sees Uryū standing on the other side of the pavilion with Kojaku raised and smirks at the prospect of facing the Quincy before assuming her own battle stance.

Outside the gate to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, six Shinigami stand guard and discuss how they are unexpectedly guarding the facility due to the number of dangerous tools and bizarre items contained within before being startled upon seeing Jin Kariya approaching them in the distance. When one of the Shinigami realizes Kariya is a Ryoka, he and the others draw their Zanpakutō and rush to surround Kariya, who comments on what a wonderful day it is and grins maliciously as he looks around at them.

Meanwhile, inside the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, 12th Division Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi leaves Rin Tsubokura with a task at his terminal and begins to walk away, only to stop in surprise when a loud crash shakes the entire facility. Upon being asked by Rin what this could be while red emergency lights activate in the room, Nemu admit that she does not know and warns him that something with immense power is coming their way before being told a Ryoka has invaded.

However, as Nemu moves to respond alongside the Shinigami and his comrades, the large doors to the room are suddenly destroyed by a powerful gust of wind that transforms into three tornadoes, sending Nemu and the researchers flying and destroying the equipment before dissipating to reveal Kariya on the other side of the hole in the wall. Trapped under the rubble with a bleeding head wound, Nemu stares up in terror at the stoic Kariya. Meanwhile, Ichigo Kurosaki comes to a halt while running through the Senzaikyū pavilion with Ririn when he senses a powerful Reiatsu, leading Ririn to note a Bount Reiatsu disappeared in the midst of the ongoing battles.

With a shocked Ririn realizing and telling Ichigo that it is most likely Kariya, Ichigo begins running in the direction she points him in but is interrupted when Yasutora Sado catches up to him with Noba. After confirming that Sado and Noba are alright, Ichigo assumes that they sensed the Bount as well, leading Noba to affirm that it is indeed Kariya prior to Ichigo and Sado running off with him and Ririn. Elsewhere, having been confronted by Uryū Ishida on a rooftop pavilion lined by columns, a smirking Yoshi expresses anticipation for fighting a Quincy, only to grow solemn and stare warily at a glaring Uryū when he does not respond to or acknowledge this.

Suddenly, Uryū moves high into the air with Hirenkyaku, casting a shadow on a shocked Yoshi as he passes in front of the sun, and fires a powerful Heilig Pfeil that slams into the area where Yoshi is standing. Leaping out of the resulting dust cloud onto one of the nearby pillars, Yoshi springs off of it right before another Heilig Pfeil pierces the stone where she had landed, and as she expresses irritation at this, Yoshi throws the sword of her Doll, Nieder, at Uryū while the latter lands on an opposite pillar, only for Uryū to sidestep the blade and drop to the ground while it carves out a chunk of the pillar in the wake of its slash.

Upon seeing Uryū fall past the edge of the pavilion, Yoshi retracts her sword and runs over to the edge, where she sees Uryū standing several meters away on an arched rooftop and running off the side, leading her to grin and deduce that Uryū is trying to lure her in. Intrigued by this, Yoshi follows Uryū to the flat rooftop of one of the buildings in the compound below, and while the two of them stand on opposite ends of the roof, Yoshi admonishes Uryū for not having given up on revenge yet, but Uryū asserts that this is not about revenge and questions why a confused Yoshi is doing this when there is no meaning to this battle, though Yoshi does not understand what he means by this.

Yoshi points out that Shinigami and Quincy are supposed to be enemies and wonders in turn why Uryū is helping Shinigami, which prompts Uryū to clarify that he is not helping the Shinigami and simply wishes to stop pointless battles. With Yoshi scratching her neck with her closed fan and claiming that this does not make sense, Uryū declares that he will put an end to this battle on his pride as a Quincy. As Yoshi mockingly permits him to do as he likes if he wants to die so badly, Uryū recalls Ran'Tao warning him that the Quincy Bangle he is using could become useless at any time or detonate in an explosion that will wipe out everything within several kilometers.

Internally, Uryū concludes that he has decided to do this regardless of the consequences because he cannot allow the Bount to roam free while he knocks another Heilig Pfeil in his Heilig Bogen, Kojaku, and a grinning Yoshi assumes a battle stance with Nieder. When Uryū asserts that he is ready, Yoshi tells him to enjoy himself and runs toward Uryū, who fires his Heilig Pfeil at her, only for Yoshi to sidestep it and shift Nieder into its Happonjin form, armoring her right arm and lower face as her sword generates several trailing energy blades that she slams into the rooftop below, which forces Uryū to leap into the air to evade the resulting destruction.

While in midair, Uryū fires another Heilig Pfeil at a running Yoshi, who sees it miss her and slam into a tower in the distance, breaking off the top half, which the sword of Nieder criticizes as pitiful. With a cursing Uryū landing and aiming another Heilig Pfeil at her, Yoshi leaps toward him and admits that it cannot be helped when he is so young before hurling four of the energy blades at him with a swing of her sword. Jumping back as the blades pierce the tiles where he was crouching, Uryū narrowly evades an approaching Yoshi's subsequent slash with Hirenkyaku and moves down to another rooftop, where Yoshi lands several feet away while Nieder compliments Uryū's speed.

However, the sword of Nieder is outraged when Yoshi reverts it to its normal form and demands to know why she stopped fusing with him, prompting Yoshi to remind him that she hates being fused with him throughout a battle, which the fan of Nieder agrees with, and inquire about what a sweating Uryū is going to do. Uryū mentally notes that he can only dodge her attacks at best and is at risk of getting hurt at this rate, only for Yoshi to decide that she will attack if he is not going to and run toward him along the roof. Quickly nocking another Heilig Pfeil, Uryū fires it at Yoshi, who unfurls her fan and deflects the blast into the roof behind her as she leaps forward.

With the fan of Nieder commenting on how gentle that attack was, Yoshi lands in front of Uryū, who moves down the roof and internally expresses frustration at losing power at a time like this prior to dodging Yoshi's slam of the sword of Nieder into the rooftop and jumping away. While observing the Quincy Bangle is definitely unstable now and rendering his attacks futile regardless of whether or not they hit, Uryū moves to a far roof and runs along it as Yoshi fires more energy blades at him, each of which he manages to run ahead of as he mentally details how he ran out of Reishi on the third attack and how he needs to have absorbed enough Reishi to harm his opponent.

Skidding across the roof on his outstretched right foot and swinging around to face Yoshi running behind him with another Heilig Pfeil prepared in Kojaku, Uryū ruminates on how a Heilig Pfeil fired when he has absorbed too much Reishi could cause immense damage to both his surroundings and him due to its great power while Yoshi wonders what he is brooding about. Though uncertain of whether or not he can control this Heilig Pfeil, Uryū concludes that he has to do this and comes to a halt prior to firing the Heilig Pfeil at Yoshi, who quickly grows solemn and shifts the fan of Nieder to its armored form in order to shield herself as the blast surges toward her.

The Heilig Pfeil tears a rut into the rooftop in its wake and explodes upon hitting Yoshi, creating a billowing cloud of dust and damaging the surrounding rooftop tiles. Initially believing that this should have at least injured Yoshi, Uryū is shocked to see her emerge from the dust cloud and retract her shield to reveal that she is unharmed, which leads the fan of Nieder to explain that this is her true form offering perfect protection and nullifying all of Uryū's attacks. As Yoshi returns Nieder to its base form, the sword notes that each Heilig Pfeil is different in power and the fan deduces that this means Uryū cannot control the power of each one.

With the fan admitting that it would have been dangerous had she not protected Yoshi from the last Heilig Pfeil, Yoshi berates them for discussing the situation so casually as Uryū curses the misfortune of this happening just when he was able to fire a powerful Heilig Pfeil, but he tells himself to not give up or forget this feeling and to keep on firing while nocking another Heilig Pfeil. As Yoshi invites him to attack, Uryū fires the Heilig Pfeil, which he is relieved to see is powerful, and Yoshi shifts the fan of Nieder to its armored state once more just before the Heilig Pfeil smashes into the shield, creating a circular shock wave that ripples through the air.

Leaping out of the resulting dust cloud, Yoshi shifts Nieder to its Happonjin form and falls toward Uryū, whom she fires dozens of energy blades at. After moving away from the roof and leaving the blades to crash into the area where he was standing, Uryū fires three more Heilig Pfeil at Yoshi, only for all of them to arc away from her and into the surrounding buildings while she unleashes another torrent of energy blades. Irritated by this, Uryū springs off the wall he lands on to the opposite roof just before the blades pierce the wall where he initially landed and jumps back to the roof adjoined to the wall, which he begins running along while more blades embed behind him.

After a laughing Yoshi follows him across the roof to another rooftop, Uryū spins around as he skids across the rooftop on one foot and readies another Heilig Pfeil while mentally urging it to hit, though it curves away from Yoshi when he fires it at her. Uryū proceeds to rapidly fire several more Heilig Pfeil at Yoshi in a desperate attempt to hit her, and when the last Heilig Pfeil hits the rooftop in front of her, Yoshi leaps out of the dust cloud with her sword criticizing Uryū for using a weapon he cannot even control and slashes the string of energy blades at Uryū, who jumps away just before the blades slam into the tiles where he was standing and forms another Heilig Pfeil.

Suddenly, Yoshi moves next to Uryū in midair and swings her string of energy blades upward through his left shoulder, resulting in Uryū being sent hurtling through the air and crashing into a pavilion far away by the force of the blow, where he carves a rut into the ground before coming to a stop in front of the wall on the opposite side. As she lands on the roof of the building opposite a bleeding Uryū, Yoshi tells him to bring a better weapon if he wants to fight her and returns Nieder to its base form while calling him a fool in unison with her sword. Back at the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, Kariya watches as Nemu attempts to free herself from the rubble.

When Nemu fails to shift the rubble and collapses, Kariya snorts contemptuously and begins to walk away, but stops upon being asked where he is going by Nemu. Revealing that he is searching for a Bount crest, Kariya notes that it is the first ever created, and when Nemu admits that she has never even heard of such a thing, Kariya clarifies that he is not asking her where it is and is simply going to take it but is interrupted when Ichigo demands to know what he is going to do with the crest as he stands in the hole left by Kariya with his Shikai, Zangetsu, over his shoulder and Sado, who has manifested his Fullbring, Brazo Derecha de Gigante.

Upon recognizing Ichigo and Sado, Nemu warns them that Kariya is dangerous, which Ichigo confirms he knows much better than Nemu does as he reiterates his demand to know what Kariya will do with the crest. In response, Kariya tells Ichigo to defeat him if he wishes to know this and summons a Wind Barrier that generates strong gusts throughout the room, forcing Ichigo and Sado to shield their eyes while being forced back by the currents before seeing that Kariya has vanished when the winds settle. Ichigo and Sado run into the room and push the rubble off of Nemu, whom they help up as Ichigo frantically asks her where the crest that Kariya is searching for is located.

With Nemu apologizing for not knowing where the crest is, Noba reminds Ichigo they can simply follow Kariya's Reiatsu instead, leading Ichigo and Sado to run off. Elsewhere in the building, Kariya busts open the metal doors to a room filled with hundreds of labelled compartments lining the walls and steps inside to find his own Bount crest glowing red. After realizing this resonance means the crest he is looking for is close, Kariya summons a small tornado and uses it to rip all the compartment covers off the walls but does not see the crest in any of the compartments. Behind Kariya, Ichigo calls out to him and activates his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu.

Grinning at this while Ichigo and Sado run forward, Kariya leaps away when Ichigo slashes at him from behind, and when Ichigo follows him into the air, Kariya summons wind around his hands to block Ichigo's subsequent strike while Sado fires an energy blast at him from the ground. As Kariya separates from him to evade the blast and lands on the ground opposite him, Ichigo proclaims he will not let Kariya do as he pleases while Kariya laments having to deal with Ichigo before he can spend time looking for the crest and looks over to Sado, who fires another energy blast that Kariya casually dodges by leaning to the side, leaving the blast to hit the wall behind him.

Kariya swiftly moves behind Sado, whom Ichigo warns to look out, and punches him in the gut, sending Sado skidding across the room into a wall, where Noba expresses concern for him while Kariya runs up and unleashes a horizontal cyclone of wind, only for Ichigo to move between them and protect Sado with his sword. Amused by Ichigo's furious expression, Kariya leaps forward and clashes with Ichigo using a disc of wind generated in front of his forearm. Upon being forced back alongside Ichigo, who leaps off the opposite wall toward him, Kariya fires two Wind Licht Schneide at him, but Ichigo evades one and deflects the other with his sword, leaving Kariya shocked.

As he declares that he cannot let Kariya keep defeating him, Ichigo fires a Getsuga Tenshō at Kariya, who counters with another Wind Licht Schneide, resulting in the two attacks colliding and exploding in a burst of force that rips through the room and sends Ririn and Sado flying back. In the aftermath, having been pushed up to one of the upper compartments in the wall behind him, Ichigo is startled to see a large hole in the ground where the two attacks collided and wonders what it is while Kariya, whose crest briefly glows once more, admits that he never thought it would be here and looks down into the hole to see the Jōkaishō glowing at the bottom of a deep pit.

Chuckling at the Jōkaishō being hidden in a place like this, Kariya stomps on the floor near the edge of the pit, causing a substantial portion of it to break off from the rest and fall into the pit with him still standing on it. With Ichigo leaping down to the edge of the pit and Sado joining him, the chunk of the floor shatters on the Jōkaishō and Kariya discards his coat to reveal his Bount crest as he proclaims that the Jōkaishō is the crest he was searching for. Kariya clasps his hands together with his index fingers pointing out and recites an incantation, causing the Jōkaishō to glow with a bright light that bursts out of the room and briefly illuminates the surrounding area.

After the light fades, Ichigo looks over the edge and demands to know what Kariya did while down in the pit, Kariya's Bount crest turns black as he asserts he has gained the ultimate power, to the bewilderment of Ichigo and Sado. Kariya recounts spending eons investigating and researching ancient records and had Maki Ichinose track the Jōkaishō to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute before clarifying the Jōkaishō is a crest that can purify and erase everything. With Ichigo stunned by this, Kariya reveals this pit is where the experiments that created the Bount were performed, and the energy created by the accident was sealed in the Jōkaishō.

As he concludes that he has now become one with this energy, Kariya proclaims that he can now blow away the Seireitei at any time by releasing the energy of the Jōkaishō, and though Ichigo refuses to believe this, Kariya insists that it does not matter what anyone else believes, leading Noba to inform the others that Kariya's eyes indicate he is serious. Promising to release the energy of the Jōkaishō if Ichigo attacks him, Kariya orders Ichigo to tell the residents of the Seireitei that he will give them a one-day grace period to tremble in suspense and disappears, leaving Ichigo to demand that he wait and attempt to follow him before Sado grabs his shoulder.

With an unnerved Sado reminding Ichigo of the consequences if what Kariya said is true, the sword of Nieder wonders if Uryū has died and the fan claims that he has, which leads Yoshi to thank him for letting the Bount come to Soul Society. Despite this, when Yoshi turns around to walk away, Uryū questions where she is going and fires another Heilig Pfeil at her, leaving Yoshi shocked and caught off-guard as it hurtles toward her.

With a defeated Uryū Ishida having suddenly fired a Heilig Pfeil at her, an angered Yoshi spins around and shifts to the armored mode of her Doll, Nieder, in order to protect herself with its large, circular shield before and telling Uryū that he should have just died. Leaping down to the pavilion below, Yoshi stands on the opposite side of Uryū, who forms another Heilig Pfeil and reiterates his desire to put a stop to this meaningless battle.

Though the fan of Nieder calls him cocky for thinking that he can defeat them with such an unstable weapon, Uryū mentally notes that he is somehow getting used to controlling the Quincy Bangle and that he only needs to perfect his aim as he fires the Heilig Pfeil at Yoshi, only for the latter to casually shift her posture and watch as the Heilig Pfeil hurtles past her right side into the base of the building behind her, leaving Uryū to observe that his aim is still off while Yoshi and Nieder laugh.

Uryū fires a third Heilig Pfeil at Yoshi, and when it curves to her left and hits the ground, he internally curses his power dropping. After returning Nieder to its base form, Yoshi counters Uryū's assertion that this battle is meaningless by declaring that she never wanted battles to mean anything to begin with. Confused by this, Uryū nocks another Heilig Pfeil and demands to know what Yoshi's goal in fighting is if this is the case, prompting Yoshi to dismiss Jin Kariya's goal of exterminating the Shinigami of the Seireitei and explain that she simply wants to run amok as she did in the old days where she could risk her life in battle for what she wanted.

With Uryū's Kojaku beginning to glow red-hot and rattle, Yoshi laments how the world has changed to frown on the strong killing the weak and concludes that she has been thirsty for a long time before leaping forward and stabbing at Uryū with the sword of Nieder, resulting in his left shoulder being slashed, while proclaiming that her sheer thirst prevented anyone from helping her. As she proceeds to send Uryū flying back and onto the ground with a kick, Yoshi revels in being able to display the heads she has taken here in Soul Society without reservation and jumps up to come down on Uryū with a stab of her sword, which he rolls out of the way of at the last second.

Kicking Uryū several meters away once more, Yoshi begins walking away from him, but stops and grins when Uryū gets to his feet once again, which leads her to admit her surprise at him still being able to stand and declare that she is going to finish him off while shifting the sword of Nieder to its Happonjin form. Meanwhile, Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto stands in his office with 4th Division Captain Retsu Unohana, 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura, and 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku, whom he relays the increasing number of casualties to prior to asking about the status of 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng and the Keigun.

Unohana details how they are recovering but too exhausted to be moved, and as he states that this cannot be helped, Yamamoto turns to Shunsui regarding the report from the Twelfth Division, prompting Shunsui to recount the strange findings of an enormous sealed facility within the basement of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, to Komamura's surprise. In turn, Yamamoto asserts that he cannot overlook how something as powerful as the Jōkaishō, which they never knew existed, was stolen from them and fell into the hands of the Ryoka as Shunsui elaborates that Ichigo Kurosaki said the Jōkaishō was used as a power source for past Soul experiments.

With Shunsui concluding the released power of the Jōkaishō could instantaneously reduce the Seireitei to ashes, Komamura brings up how it was sealed away long before the creation of the Research and Development Institute and how they cannot even know if it is really true since the information comes from Ran'Tao, who has been designated as a known criminal. Acknowledging this, Yamamoto reminds Komamura the Central 46 of the time completely sealed the Jōkaishō away and had its existence erased from the records, meaning Kariya was not lying when he spoke of its immense power, before ordering that the divisions do their best to track Kariya down.

Outside, in an alleyway overlooked by Senzaikyū, Kariya walks with Gō Koga, who admits he never thought something like the Jōkaishō existed. As Kariya revels in how good it feels to know everything will be blown away in one day, Koga insists he does not need to go this far, and though Kariya assures Koga the latter does not need to be worried about him dying in the process of this, Koga clarifies he believes this is outrageous and reminds Kariya that several of their comrades' Reiatsu have already disappeared, which means he should use his power to make the Shinigami kneel before them, but Kariya claims this is no good and places his hand on Koga's shoulder.

When Koga points out to a walking Kariya that their plan is revenge and that it will not mean anything if all of the Bount are dead, Kariya stops and coldly asserts that this is the way it should be, leaving Koga mortified as he realizes what Kariya means. Koga recalls how he has thought since the first time he met Kariya that the latter is a blade which cannot be controlled and details how he had only been following Kariya until now because the rest of their tribe got caught up in his vision after suffering hardships, only to proclaim that Kariya using the Jōkaishō changes things because it being the source of their tribe's power means that they should not use it as a weapon.

With Kariya claiming he has always liked Koga's serious side, an angered Koga grabs Kariya by the shoulders and slams him into the wall, where he begs Kariya to not perform an action equivalent to spitting on the heavens. Suddenly, Kariya thrusts his hand through Koga's abdomen, causing a shocked Koga to let go and collapse in a pool of blood, and expresses gratitude to the latter for having been with him for so long before walking away, leaving Koga to roll onto his back and clutch his wound while weakly calling out to Kariya. Back in the pavilion, the sword of Nieder commends Uryū, who has formed another Heilig Pfeil, for having such a determined expression.

Internally, Uryū remembers Sōken Ishida telling him that a Quincy's Heilig Pfeil is released in the name of justice and of those one has sworn to protect, with their power coming from the heart, leading him to promise Sōken that he will try releasing a Heilig Pfeil from the heart prior to firing the Heilig Pfeil in Kojaku at Yoshi, who deflects it with her string of energy blades and is left sweating by the effort as Nieder expresses disbelief at Uryū's power increasing at this point. While Uryū draws back another Heilig Pfeil, causing Kojaku to glow red-hot once more and begin emitting a large amount of steam, Yoshi approaches him.

The sword of Nieder observes that Uryū seems to be reaching his limit regardless, and as a chuckling Yoshi shifts Nieder to its armored form in order to defend herself, Uryū begs the Quincy Bangle to hold up and fires the Heilig Pfeil, only to be stunned upon seeing it disintegrating and dispersing in midair to the point of completely vanishing by the time it reaches Yoshi, who reverts Nieder to its base form and wonders what Uryū is doing. However, Yoshi is shocked when another Heilig Pfeil forms in a trembling Uryū's Kojaku and fires on its own at her, narrowly missing Yoshi's head and crashing into the ground behind her.

Berating the fan of Nieder for this, which prompts her to point out that this is Yoshi's fault for dispelling her armored form prematurely, Yoshi asks Uryū about what this was while Uryū realizes what this means. With Yoshi deducing that Uryū did not seem to do this intentionally and that the Quincy Bangle fired off by accident, Uryū looks at his hands and once again requests that the Quincy Bangle hold up as he knocks another Heilig Pfeil. After mocking Uryū for already being at his limit, Yoshi shifts Nieder to its armored form once more and unfurls the shield to block Uryū's subsequently-fired Heilig Pfeil while Nieder claims her defense is impregnable.

As she leaps into the air above Uryū, who has already formed another Heilig Pfeil, Yoshi asserts that this is the end while Nieder returns to its base form, but Uryū suddenly moves to her in midair with Hirenkyaku and fires his Heilig Pfeil at direct range through the side of Yoshi's chest, causing her to scream in pain. In the aftermath, Uryū and Yoshi fall to the ground several meters apart, and as Uryū gets to his feet, Yoshi trembles on the ground with a smoking hole in her chest and questions why Nieder stopped protecting her, leading Uryū to remind her that Nieder makes its own decisions while she is fused with them and gave her superhuman abilities.

Uryū details how Yoshi's inability to attack while she is defending and defend while she is attacking, which forces her to revert Nieder to its original form whenever she shifts between its two fused states, and recounts how she carelessly undid her fusion when his previous Heilig Pfeil disintegrated before it could reach her and could not react at all to the Heilig Pfeil that fired on its own immediately afterward, meaning that there is a small time lag between transformations which is her only and greatest weakness. Struggling to her feet, Yoshi inquiries about how Uryū managed to fire this second Heilig Pfeil, which prompts him to recount Sōken's philosophy.

In response, Yoshi admits that she has lost and that this was fun before collapsing as she glows green and disintegrates into ashes that begin floating away on the wind, with Uryū clutching his shoulder wound in pain and falling to his knees as well. Elsewhere, Ran'Tao stands on the flat rooftop of a tower and looks over the Seireitei in solemn silence while in the Seireitei Library, a coughing 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake sits with several books in one of the aisles next to a standing Shunsui, who lightly chides him for coughing like this when he is supposed to be faking his sickness and blows dust off the shelf in front of him as he asks Ukitake if he has found anything.

Noting the vastness of the data has impeded him, Ukitake inquiries about what Kariya said and is informed of the one-day grace period granted to them before the Seireitei is destroyed, which he acknowledges prior to drawing Shunsui's attention to a section in the book he is reading, which is a summary of the Jōkaishō written by Ran'Tao herself. As Shunsui wonders why such a thing is in the library, Ukitake reveals Ran'Tao accounted for the desire of people to know secrets by hiding her information it among many other documents while recounting how he confirmed with 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya that the Bount data was removed from here.

Ukitake notes the one who removed the data overlooked the Jōkaishō documents, and when Shunsui questions the significance of this, Ukitake concludes that there may be something else here aside from the documents he accidentally found because the important part is not written in this book, meaning that Ran'Tao must have scattered the information across several different books. Though Shunsui is aghast at the idea of searching through all the books, Ukitake reminds him that they still have time until tomorrow and that Shunsui came here to help him, resulting in Shunsui reluctantly agreeing to help and pulling a book off of one of the shelves to begin reading.

Meanwhile, a panting Uryū limps down an outdoor corridor under the setting sun and leans against the wall as his vision begins to blur but is astonished when he sees an apparition of Sōken standing before him. As he assures Uryū he has done enough, Sōken takes his hand and praises him for releasing a wonderful Heilig Pfeil on his pride as a Quincy. When Uryū claims he is not ready to pass on, Sōken reminds him people have limits and he has fought to this limit for now before insisting Uryū rest for now, only for Uryū to assert he cannot do so yet. In response, Sōken details how a desire for vengeance can both toughen one's heart and make their blade dull.

After telling Uryū to reflect on this, the apparition of Sōken fades away, leaving Uryū calling out to him prior to being found by Ichigo Kurosaki and Yasutora Sado, the latter of whom rushes over to steady him. Confirming he fought and managed to defeat a Bount to an inquisitive Ichigo, Uryū is shocked to learn of Kariya's promise to blow away the Seireitei tomorrow and winces in pain while Sado urges him to not push himself. Affirming he will be stopping Kariya and acknowledging Uryū's desire to join him, Ichigo asserts they need to tend to Uryū's injuries first as Sado leans Uryū up against the wall and begins examining the deep and bloody cut on his left shoulder.

Simultaneously, Koga finishes healing the hole in his abdomen with absorbed Reishi at dusk and springs off his hands onto his feet, where he warns Kariya to not be reckless and ruin the future of the youths by destroying the Seireitei as he walks into the shadows. Suddenly, Koga finds himself confronted by five Shinigami waiting on the other end of the alleyway, and though Koga demands that they get out of his way since he has somewhere to go, the Shinigami report their encounter with him, resulting in Hitsugaya and his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, being informed of this by another Shinigami, with Hitsugaya ordering that they not engage Koga until he arrives.

When one of the Shinigami responds to him advancing by rushing forward and slashing down at him, Koga sidesteps the attack and shoves the Shinigami away as he dodges a second Shinigami's strike and sends him flying with a punch to the side. Ducking to evade a horizontal slash from a third Shinigami, Koga lifts him up by the throat and throws him overhead prior to disarming a fourth Shinigami of his Zanpakutō and keeping him restrained while holding out the sealed form of his Doll, Dalk, to the other four Shinigami. With the other Shinigami glaring at him, Koga releases the Shinigami and summons Dalk, who rushes forward to attack the rushing Shinigami.

Having lost contact with the Shinigami after they began screaming, the Shinigami running with Hitsugaya and Rangiku relays this to them, resulting in a cursing Hitsugaya deciding to pursue Koga nonetheless as Koga and Dalk stand over the defeated Shinigami.

Having been alerted to the confrontation of five of his subordinates with a Bount, 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya rushes to the scene alongside his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, and multiple other subordinates, where he finds the five Shinigami sprawled defeated across the alleyway. When Hitsugaya kneels beside one of the Shinigami and inquiries about his condition, the Shinigami recounts how they tried to apprehend Gō Koga, but were incapacitated when he summoned his Doll, Dalk.

In response, Hitsugaya assures the Shinigami that he will be contacting the Fourth Division and lets him lie back down before declaring that they are going to pursue Koga since he still is close by. After noting that the fighting style matches that of the Bount whom 3rd Division Lieutenant Izuru Kira fought in the Human World, Hitsugaya warns his subordinates to be careful of Koga's power while 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai runs up behind him with Kurōdo.

As Kurōdo comments on everyone being here, Hitsugaya questions why Renji is here, and when Renji reveals he followed the Reiatsu of a Bount, Hitsugaya is surprised by this, prompting Rangiku to recall Kurōdo was created and used for this purpose, which Kurōdo cheerfully confirms. With Hitsugaya confused by this, Rangiku realizes he was not informed of this and details how Kurōdo is one of the Mod-Souls with Bount sensors whom Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends used in the Human World. In turn, Kurōdo bashfully greets Hitsugaya, who wonders why a Mod-Soul is stuck in a plushie and ignores Kurōdo's explanation to ask Rangiku if he is being used to track the Bount.

Rangiku affirms this and nonchalantly assures Hitsugaya that Kurōdo is more useful than he appears to be. When Hitsugaya requests Renji let him borrow Kurōdo, Rangiku envisions him wearing Kurōdo strapped around his shoulder and observes the two of them do match, only for an annoyed Hitsugaya to clarify she will be carrying him instead, which she is disappointed by. Though he does not mind lending Kurōdo to Hitsugaya, Renji is uncertain of what he should do in the meantime, leading Hitsugaya to instruct him to take care of Hitsugaya's injured subordinates, which leaves Renji exasperated that he will not be fighting once again as he hands over Kurōdo.

After Rangiku slings him over her shoulder, Kurōdo expresses perverse delight in finally being carried by a woman instead of a stuffy man, to Renji's irritation. Shortly afterward, Hitsugaya and Rangiku reappear on a rooftop in a different part of the Seireitei with Shunpo, where Kurōdo confirms they are definitely headed in the right direction. When Rangiku inquiries about what they are going to do, Hitsugaya asserts they will be surrounding Koga since they are more familiar with the geography than he is, which leads Rangiku to acknowledge this and summon a swarm of Jigokuchō to contact the other groups of Shinigami around the Seireitei with.

Through the Jigokuchō, one of which flies to each group, Rangiku relays the location and movement direction of Koga to the Shinigami groups, the first and second of which she orders to change course and head through the sixth eastern district while the third and fourth groups detour to close off the roads and the remaining groups hurry from the third northern district to Koga's location in order to begin the siege. As one of the groups runs through the streets, Koga watches from behind a corner at the end of an alleyway and notes to Dalk that the encircling net cast by the Shinigami is getting tighter but remains silent when Dalk asks him about what they are going to do about it.

Back on the rooftop, Kurōdo is shocked to sense Koga's Reiatsu weakening, and when he reveals its direction to her and Hitsugaya, Rangiku realizes Koga is near the seventh eastern district as Hitsugaya muses on Koga only weakening his Reiatsu instead of completely concealing it during his traversal. Meanwhile, having found one of the entrances to the underground canal network, Koga walks along one of the walkways with Dalk, who complains about rusting down here. However, Koga reminds her they can buy time by moving through the canal network and responds to Dalk bemoaning the relative lack of combat by stating they need to search for Jin Kariya.

With Koga claiming they cannot leave Kariya alone, Dalk picks up on him not referring to Kariya with an honorific and inquires if the two of them got into a fight, thought Koga insists this is not what happened, and they simply have diverse ways of living. Suddenly, Koga hears the sound of approaching footsteps and hides behind a wall with an amused Dalk as several Shinigami run down a different walkway, leaving Koga to expresses irritation at the search expanding down to the canal network. When Dalk wonders if he is going to continue running around, Koga denies this and proclaims they will break through no matter what, which means they must strike.

Simultaneously, Rangiku confirms Hitsugaya's theory that Koga is moving through the canal network, which Kurōdo praises as exemplifying how captains notice things others do not and presumes Koga will surface once he is noticed before observing that being able to track him in the canal network would be helpful. In response, Rangiku instructs the groups who are investigating the western district to move to the canal network as backup. However, as the third group prepares to change course to the northwestern roads, Dalk bursts out of the ground in front of them, prompting the startled lead Shinigami to reveal to Rangiku they have discovered the Doll of the Bount.

After telling the Shinigami to lure the Bount to a wide road and wait for backup, Rangiku departs alongside Hitsugaya with Shunpo, only for Dalk to quickly defeat the Shinigami and bemoan how her expectations for the fight went unfulfilled while Koga notices a Jigokuchō flying above him. Upon landing on a wall with Hitsugaya, Rangiku finds herself unable to contact the third group and reprimands Kurōdo when he deduces from the disappearance of Koga's Reiatsu that the Shinigami lost the battle. Hitsugaya turns to Rangiku and orders her to have the groups make sure they wait for backup instead of rashly engaging Koga on their own before leaping away.

When the sixth group relays their arrival at the fourth street of the south district to her, Rangiku asks them if there is any sign of Koga, who is standing behind a corner opposite the group of Shinigami, and as they deny this, Kurōdo detects Koga's Reiatsu once more and informs an astonished that it is in the direction of the fourth street of the south district, which prompts her to tell the sixth group that Koga is confirmed to be in their vicinity. While the sixth group requests that the other groups come to their location for backup, Koga concludes that there is a Jigokuchō for each team and instructs Dalk to crush all of them at once, which she agrees to do despite her pity for them.

Dalk swings up her lower body and fires a medium-sized sphere high into the air that bursts apart into dozens of smaller spheres, which proceed to obliterate all the Jigokuchō keeping Rangiku in contact with the Shinigami groups, leaving her and Hitsugaya shocked. With Rangiku's connection to the seventh group fading, Kurōdo realizes Koga has discovered their means of communication and Rangiku reveals the complete loss of communication with all groups to an angered Hitsugaya. During this, Dalk steps out in front of the panicking sixth group and invites them to play with her as she levels her left machine gun arm at the group and grins at Koga's behest.

Sometime later, Hitsugaya, Rangiku, and Kurōdo find the incapacitated sixth group, whom they are both relieved and confused to discover are still breathing and have been left alive. Standing up from his kneeling position beside one of the Shinigami, Hitsugaya tells Rangiku to take care of them, and when Kurōdo informs Hitsugaya at his inquiry that Koga is heading away from them, Rangiku wonders what he plans to do. In response, Hitsugaya notes Koga knew they were moving as a military unit and has been waiting for the commander to confront him once all the subordinates have been defeated prior to affirming he will be going alone, which Rangiku acknowledges.

With Hitsugaya departing with Shunpo, Koga walks through a different part of the Seireitei, but comes to a halt when Hitsugaya suddenly reappears before him. After confirming Koga's assumption that he is the captain of the Shinigami he and Dalk have been fighting, Hitsugaya admonishes him for the trouble he has caused, though Koga insists he held back because he does not like harming young people. After thanking Koga for doing so, Hitsugaya declares he will not be holding back, prompting a grinning Koga to summon Dalk once more as Hitsugaya pulls his Zanpakutō through its dissolving sheath and exerts his white Reiatsu in a circle around his feet on the ground.

Once Dalk finishes assembling herself and promises to play with him, Hitsugaya leaps forward with a yell and begins rapidly slashing and jabbing at Dalk, who calls him impatient and jumps backward into the air, where she sees Hitsugaya has broken off a small chunk near the point of her upper left arm with his attacks. Moving to Dalk in midair, Hitsugaya slashes downward at her, resulting in his Zanpakutō severing her arm at the point where it was damaged. While the arm section shatters a few tiles of the nearby roof it crashes into, Hitsugaya lands on a flat rooftop opposite a stunned Dalk and throws the crescent blade on the end of his Zanpakutō's chain at her.

Though Hitsugaya manages to wrap his chain around her neck and pull her forward, a grinning Dalk simply swings up her lower body and begins firing medium-sized metal spheres at Hitsugaya, who evades them with Shunpo and moves to Dalk once more before decapitating her with a horizontal slash. Floating in midair, the annoyed head of Dalk separates her body into spheres and admits Hitsugaya is skilled, only to chastise him for doing this as she splits her head and the spheres into smaller spheres that connect to each other with metal beams, forming a large web with her head emerging from the center, where she proclaims disobedient children will be punished.

In response, Hitsugaya releases his Shikai, Hyōrinmaru, and surges with white Reiatsu while leaping toward Dalk, who angles the web into a net facing him and meets Hitsugaya in midair to envelop him in a large metal sphere studded with smooth protrusions. However, as she revels in having captured Hitsugaya, Dalk is perplexed to find frost spreading across the sphere and screams in pain when an ice dragon bursts out of the sphere into the sky, alerting Koga, who leaps over a nearby wall to head toward her. After Dalk separates into dozens of still-frozen spheres, allowing a freed Hitsugaya to land on the roof below, she floats down and slowly reforms her body.

Koga joins Dalk on the roof and recommends she return to her sealed state for a moment because it is difficult for her to combine and separate while frozen, but Dalk refuses and assures him she will find a way to keep fighting somehow. When Hitsugaya moves between them and attempts to attack Koga, Dalk fires one of her tethered spheres at him from behind, forcing Hitsugaya to dodge and giving Koga the opportunity to kick him solidly in the abdomen. Landing on his back, Hitsugaya begins rolling down the slanted roof to evade the downward stabs of the four legs of Dalk and falls off the roof prior to unleashing another ice dragon upward.

With Hitsugaya leaping up to join the coiling dragon in midair, Koga asks Dalk to pull back again, only for her to refuse once more and insist that she can do this by herself while Hitsugaya sends the dragon hurtling toward her. As she declares that her burning heart cannot lose to a hunk of ice, Dalk throws herself toward the approaching dragon and cackles while preparing to attack, but is swallowed by the dragon, which proceeds to disperse in midair, leaving the completely frozen body of Dalk to fall to the ground below and shatter into dozens of small pieces on impact. When Koga rushes over and picks up her damaged head in concern, Dalk apologizes for losing.

However, Koga assures Dalk that she did well, which leads her to smile and admit that she is glad to have joined him before her head cracks and shatters into hundreds of shards. Behind Koga, Hitsugaya lands on the ground and notes that this is different from the report he received stating that a Bount will die once they lose their Doll, which he wants to know the reason for. After smirking at this, to Hitsugaya's confusion, Koga stands up and details how there were various roles within his tribe, with his being to train young people to become full-fledged Bount and with some growing up well while others did not, as he observes that he just remembered something from long ago.

An irritated Hitsugaya questions where this is coming from and points out how it does not answer his question, and as he acknowledges this, Koga reveals that he has not collapsed because Dalk still is not dead, to Hitsugaya's disbelief, before holding out his left hand and transforming the shattered pieces of Dalk into a large, lopsided battle axe in his palm. When Hitsugaya wonders what this is, Koga explains that it is the core of Dalk, who lives on within the steel, and asserts that Hitsugaya's strength as a Gotei 13 captain matches his expectations since he cannot go any further without using his full strength prior to proclaiming that he still has something which he must do.

With Koga warning Hitsugaya he will eliminate the latter should he choose to get in the way of this, Hitsugaya assumes a battle stance and claims he is not about to let Koga go so easily. In response, Koga notes quite a bit of the power of Dalk remains in the axe and asserts he will infuse it further with his own Reiatsu to strike Hitsugaya down while absorbing Reishi from the surrounding structures and telling Dalk to fight alongside him. As he completes his Reishi absorption, Koga exerts his light teal Reiatsu in a powerful surge that damages the area around him, leaving Hitsugaya astonished by its strength and realizing this is where the real battle is going to begin.

Deciding to get serious as well, Hitsugaya activates his Bankai, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru, releasing a wave of white Reiatsu that overwhelms Koga's and creating another ice dragon that coils around Hitsugaya to form his ice wings, claws, and petals. Though he is impressed by this, Koga refuses to lose and rushes forward alongside Hitsugaya to clash with him, causing their combined Reiatsu to surge around them. Pushed back and into the air by this, Hitsugaya unleashes another dragon from the tip of his Zanpakutō that slams into the ground where Koga was standing, forcing him to evade while more dragons crash down and become pillars.

When four of the ice petals floating behind him shatter simultaneously from the strain of this, Hitsugaya flies down between the ice pillars, only to be forced to dodge one when Koga slams his axe into the base, causing it to fall over and knocking over multiple other pillars in the process. Koga leaps up the fallen pillars and springs off the side of an intact one toward Hitsugaya, whom he clashes fiercely with in another explosion of Reiatsu that sends him flying back into another pillar. When Koga leaps toward him once more, Hitsugaya unleashes another ice dragon that catches Koga in its jaws, forcing him to hold them open while the dragon gouges through the ground.

In the aftermath, Hitsugaya descends to the ground in front of a prone Koga as another four of his ice petals shatter simultaneously. With Koga struggling to his feet and gripping his axe once more, Hitsugaya inquires if he still wants to continue, prompting Koga to smile and insist he must pursue Kariya before screaming as he absorbs more Reishi to heal his injuries and increase his power. Seeing Koga trembling as he glows with Reiatsu, Hitsugaya deduces his body cannot endure the Reishi that he has absorbed, but Koga merely proclaims he must finish this before it breaks and runs toward Hitsugaya with a yell, only for the latter to calmly cut him down with a slash.

With the slash cutting through the surrounding ice pillars and causing them to collapse, which alerts the nearby Shinigami with the ensuing rumbling of the ground, Koga stands with a frozen cut in his abdomen and sees his axe shatter, which leads him to conclude that this is it and that he has lost. After deactivating his Bankai, Hitsugaya turns to face Koga and inquiries about what he would have done once he reached Kariya, prompting Koga to admit that there was not anything he could have done and assert that this is a dispute between the two of them. When Hitsugaya asks him where he would have gone, Koga simply states that he wanted a future with no wars prior to turning around and falling backward, with the remnants of the ice pillars around him breaking apart and burying his body, leaving Hitsugaya to look down somberly.

At nighttime in the Seireitei, a group of Shinigami stand outside the Tenth Division barracks and are startled to see their captain, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, approaching them. With the Shinigami cheering for his return and kneeling before him, Hitsugaya assures them that he is alright and has defeated the Bount. When Hitsugaya tasks them with retrieving Gō Koga once the ice from his Shikai, Hyōrinmaru, thaws out in the southern district, the confused Shinigami question if he is still alive.

Hitsugaya denies this and explains that they instead need to give Koga a burial if he left a corpse behind instead of simply leaving it there, which the Shinigami affirm. After informing Hitsugaya of his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, helping 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai get medical treatment for the wounded, one of the Shinigami reveals that Ichigo Kurosaki is here as well, to Hitsugaya's surprise and confusion. Following this, Hitsugaya enters his office to find Rangiku, Renji, Ichigo, and Yasutora Sado.

Having gathered around the injured Uryū Ishida, who rests prone on the floor, with her friends, Rangiku asks Hitsugaya about what happened with Koga and learns that Hitsugaya managed to take care of it. Upon being informally addressed by Ichigo when the latter asserts that he is using the office, an irritated Hitsugaya assumes he is doing this on purpose and reminds Ichigo that he must use Hitsugaya's title and last name when addressing him, though Ichigo claims that it does not matter. As he refutes this, Hitsugaya inquiries about why they are here to begin with, prompting Ichigo to recount how he and Sado happened to run into Rangiku while pursuing Jin Kariya.

With Ririn interjecting to clarify that they needed a place for Uryū to rest because he was wounded and declaring that this was perfect timing, Kurōdo echoes this while pointing out that their lack of a base of operations in the Seireitei made this truly lucky, leaving Noba to apologize for the intrusion as Ichigo requests that Hitsugaya allow them to rest here despite the inconvenience, which Hitsugaya observes he has no choice for. On the floor, Uryū grunts in exertion, and as he promises Ririn that he is alright, Hitsugaya wonders if he is in pain, only for Uryū to state that he will take full responsibilities for any injuries he incurs since he brought the Bount to Soul Society.

Sado observes that Orihime Inoue would know how to treat these wounds and Kurōdo insists that her absence cannot be helped due to the Seireiheki preventing her from joining them while Renji details how the Bount invasion has left many injured across the Seireitei and kept the Fourth Division busy, though someone should be coming soon to help Uryū because he contacted them. When Hitsugaya assures him that he will be alright since his life is not in danger despite his injuries preventing him from fighting, Uryū protests this on the grounds that he came here to fight, but Hitsugaya warns him against being hasty and relays the defeat of Mabashi and Sawatari to him.

Counting his recent defeat of Koga, Hitsugaya concludes there is only one Bount left in Soul Society. Though Kurōdo praises Hitsugaya for so easily dispatching Koga's metal Doll, Dalk, when it gave the group so much trouble before, Hitsugaya denies it being easy and brings up how Koga was acting strange during the battle by not even seriously injuring the Shinigami he encountered. Upon being asked by Hitsugaya about what has happened to Kariya, Ichigo informs him of Kariya's acquisition of a great power, with Renji identifying this as the Jōkaishō, and his intention to blow up the Seireitei with it, which leads Hitsugaya to note these actions were extreme to Koga.

With Sado lamenting their inability to stop Kariya before he could access the Jōkaishō, Ichigo bluntly states that there is no point in worrying about it now that it is done, and when asked by Hitsugaya about the fate of Maki Ichinose, Rangiku informs him that 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki managed to defeat Ichinose. Suddenly, the group is alerted when Orihime runs into the room with 3rd Division Lieutenant Izuru Kira and expresses concern for Ichigo, who is shocked by their arrival. Orihime explains that she finished healing Jidanbō Ikkanzaka and found members of the Third Division guarding the gates when she went looking for her friends.

After Izuru concludes he elected to bring Orihime here, Sado apologetically asks Orihime to begin tending to Uryū's wounds right away, which she agrees to as she kneels down beside Uryū. However, Uryū tells Orihime he does not need to be fully healed and just wants to get back on his feet as soon as possible. In response, a baffled Rangiku demands to know if Uryū has been listening to what they have been discussing and asserts he must rest if he wants to fight properly, which Ririn concurs with, before pointing out how everyone has been on the move since the previous night as Renji promises Uryū they will receive word right away if anything happens.

Acknowledging this, Uryū closes his eyes and relaxes while Orihime begins healing him with Sōten Kisshun. When Hitsugaya turns to him and inquiries about who is still available, Izuru observes the remaining able-bodied Shinigami are primarily from the Eleventh Division since their captain being busy prevented them from receiving any orders, prompting Renji to further note their lack of involvement in the afternoon clashes means they are the healthiest division left at the moment, with Hitsugaya realizing he did not send any orders to them. Elsewhere, 11th Division 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame and 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa stand in an intersection.

Ikkaku laments his inability to fight the Bount before only one was left and Yumichika echoes this as he expresses a desire to get revenge on the Bount for what they did to him in the Human World. When Ikkaku brings up how Kenpachi has not yet returned, Yumichika mentions he was fighting Ichinose after the latter allied himself with the Bount and presumes Kenpachi is cheerfully sightseeing right now, which leads Ikkaku to angrily note he wanted payback on Ichinose for humiliating him during their previous clash. With Yumichika telling Ikkaku the last remaining Bount is powerful and asserting he will definitely find Kariya, one of their subordinates approaches them.

Upon being told by the Shinigami that no suspicious activity was observed in the northern district of the Seireitei, Ikkaku reminds him the other divisions being exhausted from the afternoon conflict means the Eleventh Division can do whatever they want to Kariya if they find him before ordering the Shinigami to track him down no matter what. Meanwhile, in Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's office in the First Division barracks, 8th Division Lieutenant Nanao Ise tells him she has a report from her captain, Shunsui Kyōraku, and 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake, whom Yamamoto observes was supposed to be in poor health.

Learning Ukitake lied about this in order to go to the Seireitei Library and find data on the Bount, Yamamoto dismisses this and inquiries about the report, prompting Nanao to relay the discovery of Ran'Tao's data that details an explosive power held within the Jōkaishō, which Yamamoto observes means Kariya was not lying. Nanao elaborates that Ran'Tao's research indicates a brief period of time is required after activating the Jōkaishō in order to draw out its full power prior to clarifying it takes roughly a full day, and as he deduces this is why Kariya decided to wait for a day before destroying the Seireitei, Yamamoto muses on him incorporating this into his tactics.

As he proclaims they cannot let their guard down against Kariya, Yamamoto decides to send directives to each division for the immediate capture of Kariya and observes they do not even have time for a captains meeting. After Nanao acknowledges this, Yamamoto instructs her to have Shunsui and Ukitake continue examining the data, which she affirms. Back in the Tenth Division barracks, Ichigo and his friends join a feast with the Shinigami as 4th Division Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu relays 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng's slow recovery leaving her on standby in her quarters and 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi's injuries hindering his return to Hitsugaya.

With Isane revealing Shunsui and Ukitake have secluded themselves in the Seireitei Library in order to gather information, Hitsugaya learns 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura is guarding Yamamoto and expresses understanding of the situation prior to praising Isane for her decent work. Suddenly, while Isane attempts to depart, Rangiku runs over and pulls her away to taste the food Rangiku has prepared, leaving Hitsugaya to smile despite himself at Isane's protests of still working before he looks up. Later, as the sun begins to rise over the Seireitei, Kariya stands on the narrow rooftop lining an elevated pavilion and looks over the area with a grin.

However, Kariya is alerted when someone lands on the rooftop adjacent to him and turns around to see Ran'Tao wielding her Kidō Gun, which leads him to recognize her prior to Ran'Tao firing several violet Kidō blasts at him. Running along the rooftop to evade the blasts, Kariya expresses disbelief at there being a gun that can fire Kidō and leaps high into the air just as one of them crashes into the rooftop, creating a large and powerful explosion. Upon seeing Ran'Tao aiming the Kidō Gun at him in midair, Kariya summons wind around his right arm and releases it as a concentrated blast to counter Ran'Tao's subsequently-fired Kidō projectile.

Engulfed by the ensuing blast, Kariya crashes into the rooftop, damaging the tiles with his impact, and gets to his feet as Ran'Tao leaps over to his location, where he inquiries about how she found him. Confirming Kariya's assumption that she used a Bount sensor, Ran'Tao reminds him she knows the most about the Bount of anyone in Soul Society and responds to Kariya questioning why she did not share this technology with the Shinigami by declaring she intends to settle everything by herself and leveling the Kidō Gun. With the left side of his coat blown off to expose his crest and his upper body injured by the blast, Kariya states the Kidō Gun is not enough to defeat him.

Noticing Kariya's crest, Ran'Tao is left speechless and remembers seeing Eugene Currier while recalling how she and her team were sent to the Human World shortly after the explosion caused by their failed experiment, where they heard about a large number of Humans possessing strange powers and trying to live among normal Humans despite being confused by their strength, only to quickly fail and be persecuted because of the same strength. Ran'Tao details how she attempted to get close to the Bount and save them since they were victims of her team's experiments, having approached the young boy who attacked his bullies with a rock golem.

In the past, Ran'Tao rounds up the Bount in the cave system on the outskirts of Karakura Town and advises them to hide together while she returns to Soul Society and decides to place them under its protection. When one of the surprised Bount wonders if this is possible, Ran'Tao affirms this, but acknowledges it will take several years to accomplish, which leads the Bount to agree to wait here until she returns. Despite this, Ran'Tao finds herself and her team placed under arrest upon returning to Soul Society because the Central 46 of the time decided everything related to the experiment, including the Bount, would be buried.

While standing before Central 46, Ran'Tao demands to know why they are turning their backs on the Bount, and when one of them admits the experiment which led to their creation was inhumane, Ran'Tao asks him why they will not save the Bount if this is the case and points out how the amazing power of the Bount could lead to them becoming a danger to Soul Society if they are ignored. Another member of Central 46 reminds Ran'Tao that Bount who cannot control Reishi have no way to pass through the Dangai while a third asserts they will never be a threat to Soul Society, only for the first to clarify this is not true for the Human World and that they regulate the cycle of Souls.

With the member concluding the Bount represent a potential threat to this equilibrium, a shocked Ran'Tao deduces he means the Bount must be exterminated and furiously inquires if the Central 46 really believes something like this can be allowed, and as they claim that they will live with the burden of their mistake and strive to never repeat it, Ran'Tao internally refuses to give up on the Bount. Soon afterward, the Gotei 13 raids the cave system with orders to take all of the Bount into custody and kill those who resist, where they begin ruthlessly cutting down the fleeing Bount and blasting them with Hadō #33. Sōkatsui until parts of the cave begin collapsing.

Having gone to the Human World without permission in order to save the Bount, Ran'Tao protects a Bount from his three pursuers by blasting the latter with Hadō #33. Sōkatsui and learns there are still comrades of the Bount inside the caves, leading her to run off to help them after the Bount thanks her and departs at her insistence. Within one of the caves, Ran'Tao finds Eugene huddled against a rock and asks him if he is okay as he looks up at her in fright. Shortly after this, Ran'Tao runs through one of the tunnels with Eugene on her back, but accidentally encounters three Shinigami, who recognize her face after initially demanding to know who she is.

As the Shinigami wonder why she is here if the Bount investigation unit already returned to Soul Society and three more Shinigami run up from behind her, a panicking Ran'Tao runs into a side tunnel, where the Shinigami follow her, and fires a Hadō #33. Sōkatsui back at them, engulfing the tunnel in dust while one of the Shinigami calls her a traitor. In a storage room, Ran'Tao sets down Eugene and instructs him to run away to join the other Bount outside while she distracts the Shinigami. When Eugene expresses concern for her, Ran'Tao assures him she will be fine and gives him a small, square metal amulet on a necklace with which to draw out his hidden Bount power.

Ran'Tao apologizes for the suffering Eugene will have to endure and insists he must live before urging him to run up the stairs leading outside and flee while the Shinigami approach their location. Soon afterward, Ran'Tao is apprehended by the Shinigami and taken back to Soul Society, where she is held solely responsible for the Bount, and a seal is put on the incident as the Bount take advantage of the power hidden in the square she gave to Eugene in order to perfect their control over their Dolls and attempt to take revenge on the Seireitei many times but are repelled and massacred by the Shinigami each time until their numbers are reduced to almost nothing.

In the present, Ran'Tao concludes she never forgot about the Bount and identifies Kariya as the present-day Eugene. With Kariya absorbing Reishi to repair his body and coat, Ran'Tao asserts the crest on his chest must have appeared when he used the amulet that she gave him and declares she has lived to save him. However, though Ran'Tao attempts to promise him there are no other Shinigami who remember the past and Soul Society itself has changed since then, Kariya dismisses her story as irrelevant to bring up now, prompting Ran'Tao to declare she is not lying and begin to warn Kariya against using the power of the Jōkaishō sealed in the Seireitei.

Informing Ran'Tao he absorbed the power of the Jōkaishō into his body long ago, Kariya proclaims he will use this power to destroy the Shinigami. Simultaneously, a healed Uryū leaves his friends sleeping in Hitsugaya's office and senses Ran'Tao's Reiatsu, which he deduces must be where Kariya is located as well since she must be in a battle and Kariya is the only Bount left. Back on the rooftop, Kariya mocks Ran'Tao for being too late since he is the only Bount left, only for Ran'Tao to insist she will save him regardless. In response, Kariya reminds Ran'Tao she created the Bount and observes he planned to kill her after she had seen the Seireitei destroyed.

After deciding to kill Ran'Tao right here instead of giving her time to repent for what she has done, Kariya summons swirling wind around his right fist, prompting a startled Ran'Tao to fire another blast of Kidō at him. However, Kariya's subsequent blast of wind powers through the Kidō and slams into Ran'Tao, pushing her back and disarming her of the Kidō Gun, which flies into the air.

As he prepares to attack Ran'Tao with a concentrated blast of wind, Jin Kariya pauses in shock upon remembering the amulet she gave him when he was a boy known as Eugene Currier. In the past, Eugene sees Ran'Tao speaking with several other Bount in the cave system she brought them all to and wonders who she is, prompting an older female Bount sitting on a rock behind him to identify her as a Shinigami and assure a surprised Eugene that she came from a place known as Soul Society in order to help protect and save the Bount.

Sometime later, Eugene sits alone in front of a pool of water surrounded by stalagmites and stalactites, where he is approached from behind by Ran'Tao and asked about what he is doing. When Eugene is too nervous to respond, Ran'Tao smiles and observes that it is very rare for Bount powers to awaken in a young child like Eugene before revealing that everyone has hope in him and instructing Eugene to do his best while she and the others do everything they can to ensure he lives a life free of worries, leaving Eugene blushing.

Soon afterward, Ran'Tao and the other Shinigami return to Soul Society in order to plan the salvation of the Bount, leaving Eugene and the other Bount to continue building the city in the cave system while patiently waiting for them to return, with Eugene doing his best to help the adults despite his youth by carrying water. Smiling as he looks over his fellow Bount working hard to build their home, Eugene notes that the adults placed all their hopes in the Shinigami, only to have those hopes cruelly dashed when other Shinigami invaded the cave system and begin ruthlessly slaughtering the Bount and their Dolls under the pretense of them resisting arrest, forcing Eugene to run.

With the adults running away with him falling one by one, a frightened Eugene continues running and eventually hides behind a large pillar of stone in another cave but hears the Shinigami searching for him and vowing to not let him get away. Upon seeing a shadow approaching him from the front, Eugene cowers in his cloak before looking up in astonishment when Ran'Tao peers out from the rock wall in front of him and inquires if he is alright. While Ran'Tao carries him on her back to a cave with a set of stairs leading to the outside, Eugene observes she is the Shinigami from before, and after giving Eugene an amulet to draw out his Bount power, Ran'Tao departs.

Noting this is the last time he ever saw Ran'Tao, Eugene manages to escape from the cave and begins a life of wandering once more with his fellow survivors, which leads them to a windy and sunny desert area. As he looks up at the sun, Eugene sees several roaring Hollows fall from the sky and land around the Bount, whose considerable Reiryoku made them ideal prey for Hollows and who could not protect themselves adequately. Eugene feels his despair and bitterness toward the Shinigami growing due to the relentless pursuit of the Bount by Hollows and has the left side of his chin scratched by one who attacks him, sending him tumbling down a dune.

Upon seeing the Hollow looming over him and preparing to strike, a terrified Eugene screams and clutches at the amulet around his neck, which glows with a bright green light in response, stunning the Hollow, and pulls apart in four triangular segments to reveal a Bount crest on a disc within. When the Hollow is swiftly killed in a large spray of blood, the other Hollows and Bount stop fighting and look toward the dune in shock, where Eugene rises into the air with a green aura enveloping him and has his hair turn white while his eyes turn red and the amulet shatters, causing a large Bount crest to appear on the front of his tunic prior to him settling on the ground and looking down.

With one of the Hollows demanding to know what he is, Eugene stares at his hands and observes he can feel power growing within himself before summoning a tendril of wind around himself while glaring at the startled Hollows. After detailing how this was his first experience of merging with a Doll, Eugene recalls there had always been Bount who could naturally summon the power to control Dolls and uses his newfound power to fight fiercely alongside them to his heart's content in order to destroy the Hollows. However, while approaching the other Bount with blood splattered across him, Eugene notes their attitude toward him slowly changed from this day.

Despite feeling increasingly alone as he grows older, Eugene chooses to stay with his people until the day they decide to use the power of the Quincy to enter Soul Society, which he vehemently protests since it means that they are still clinging to the Shinigami. Restrained by two of his fellow Bount, Eugene insists that they can create their own paradise using their own strength in the Human World, but one of the Bount asserts that the presence of the Bount in this world is abnormal and dooms any place they build for themselves to eventually fail, with another Bount claiming that Soul Society is paradise for the Bount and none of them listening to Eugene's please.

Shortly afterward, the Bount begin fighting the Quincy with their Dolls, only for the Shinigami to intervene and massacre both sides while Eugene, who refused to participate, is incapacitated by an injury until the battle is over, which leads him to both give up on the weaker Bount and refuse to forgive the Shinigami from Soul Society. After gathering the stronger Bount and vowing to destroy Soul Society, Kariya goes into hiding with them and begins researching the summoning of Dolls alongside Ugaki in order to perfect its use and begin empowering the Bount, though many Bount like Cain lost their lives in the process of refining and spreading this.

However, Eugene observes the remaining Bount were fully committed to attaining strength and he himself rose to destroy Soul Society. In the present, Kariya stands before an incapacitated Ran'Tao next to a damaged wall and muses on having forgotten about her even though she gave the Bount false hope and eternal suffering before wondering if this is due to the power of the Jōkaishō. Concluding it is over for the weak Bount who listened to Ran'Tao and for Soul Society who mercilessly used the Bount, Kariya declares he will destroy everything Ran'Tao holds dear and summons wind around both arms as he fires a powerful gust from his right hand at Ran'Tao.

Suddenly, Ran'Tao is whisked away right before the wind gust slams into the area where she was lying, leaving a stunned Kariya to look around and see Uryū Ishida standing behind him with Ran'Tao in his arms. As Uryū and Kariya stare at each other, Ran'Tao recognizes Uryū as the Quincy, and after setting Ran'Tao on her feet, Uryū asserts that he is Kariya's opponent, which prompts a chuckling Kariya to question what Uryū can do at this point. In response, Uryū fires a Heilig Pfeil at Kariya, who shifts his posture to evade it and is shocked to see that Uryū has disappeared from his sight with Hirenkyaku while the latter reappears in the air above and behind him.

With Kariya astonished by this, Uryū fires another Heilig Pfeil directly at him, creating a large explosion of energy on impact, and moves back down to the ground with Hirenkyaku as Kariya reappears on the wall damaged by his last attack. Watching Uryū while he knocks another Heilig Pfeil in his Heilig Bogen, Kojaku, Ran'Tao mentally expresses amazement at him having completely mastered the Quincy Bangle. When Kariya demands to know how this is possible if Uryū reached the limit of the Quincy Bangle during his battle with Yoshi, Uryū explains that it quickly amasses and multiplies Reishi in order to assist Quincy with weak spiritual powers.

Uryū elaborates that this means the Quincy Bangle accumulates power even if its wielder does nothing and observes that all he did until now was attack and adjust the outgoing power of his Heilig Pfeil, a method guaranteed to make the Quincy Bangle reach its limit and eventually discharge spontaneously due to being unable to manage the amount of Reishi. However, Uryū reveals that the Quincy Bangle can be used solely as an amplifier if he uses his own power to adjust and control the Reishi, lessening the stress on the Quincy Bangle and allowing him to fight even in this state, which he only realized from the extreme battle conditions he fought in.

Hearing this, Ran'Tao is left impressed by Uryū deducing this and using the Quincy Bangle so efficiently in his condition even though he only began using it because of the loss of his own spiritual powers. Despite this, Kariya merely laughs, and when Uryū asks him why he is doing so, Kariya inquiries about why Uryū sides with the Shinigami when he has so much power as someone who should be their enemy. In response, Uryū insists he is not an ally of the Shinigami and is simply here to stop this senseless fight, which Kariya sarcastically calls noble, before reminding Kariya that Yoshino lost her life in order to defeat him because he hates Bount in addition to Shinigami.

After relaying Yoshino's warning that Kariya's all-consuming hatred would end up destroying the Bount as well, Uryū concludes Yoshino understood the complete lack of meaning for the Bount in what Kariya was doing and bitterly notes no one was able to stop him regardless, but vows to defeat Kariya despite this. As he mockingly questions if Uryū can do so, Kariya summons wind around his left arm and blasts it at Uryū, who pierces and disperses it with his subsequently-fired Heilig Pfeil that hurtles toward a startled Kariya. Upon leaping into the air to dodge the Heilig Pfeil, which slams into the rooftop where he was standing, Kariya sees another Heilig Pfeil rocketing toward him.

While blocking the Heilig Pfeil with a disc of wind formed in front of his braced arm, Kariya sees that Uryū has disappeared once more, and with Kariya moving through the air toward the center of the pavilion, Uryū begins creating afterimages by rapidly moving around him with Hirenkyaku and firing dozens of Heilig Pfeil, forcing Kariya to protect himself with a Wind Barrier that is unable to block all of them, which results in several Heilig Pfeil punching through Kariya's chest, shoulders, and legs. With Kariya crashing into the ground below in a large cloud of dust, Uryū readies another Heilig Pfeil and proclaims that it is over, only for Kariya to deny this.

Kariya fires a Wind Licht Schneide at Uryū from within the dust cloud, prompting Uryū to evade to the side, and reappears behind him while glowing with absorbed Reishi to unleash a concentrated wind blast from his right hand. As Uryū falls down to the ground below and slides back to dodge this, Kariya lands on the opposite wall's rooftop and finishes healing the holes in his body with Reishi, which he observes is of much higher quality in the Seireitei than it is in the Rukongai prior to asserting that Uryū's attacks are useless as long as he has this power. Suddenly, a sweating Uryū sees a slight crack form in the Quincy Bangle as a small piece falls off.

While a shocked Ran'Tao sees this, Kariya notes that the stress placed on the Quincy Bangle has not been completely erased by Uryū's new usage of it, but Uryū states that this is not a problem since he simply has to defeat Kariya before the Quincy Bangle breaks. When Kariya wonders if Uryū can do this while he has access to all the Reishi in the Seireitei, Uryū reminds him that he does as well and infuses the Quincy Bangle with a dense amount of Reishi that crackles like electricity prior to firing a powerful Heilig Pfeil that destroys the portion of the wall Kariya is standing on as he leans to the side to evade it, sending him flying through the air into the pavilion.

Upon seeing Uryū firing four more Heilig Pfeil at him from midair while he slides across the ground, Kariya dodges four and unleashes a small tornado to intercept and disperse two more. Once Uryū lands before him, Kariya observes he needs to aim properly in order to release a powerful Heilig Pfeil, with other attacks not having much power at all, and mockingly notes he does not have much time left when more cracks form in the Quincy Bangle. Behind Kariya, Ran'Tao internally expresses concern for what will happen at this rate and looks at the amulet in her hand before Uryū leaps away to avoid three more Wind Licht Schneide from Kariya.

In midair, Uryū begins firing several more Heilig Pfeil at Kariya, who runs along the ground below and comments on the increasing crudeness of Uryū's attacks as he unleashes a tendril of wind toward Uryū. With three more of his Heilig Pfeil slamming into the ground several meters away from where Kariya was located, Uryū is shocked to find Kariya behind him prior to the latter enveloping his left leg in wind and sending Uryū flying back, where he hits Uryū with a wind-infused punch in midair, resulting in the latter crashing down near the wall portion he destroyed. Though Kariya proclaims that this is it for Uryū, Ran'Tao calls out to him and holds up the talisman, which opens.

Ran'Tao is engulfed in a powerful surge of Reiatsu and leaps forward to tackle Kariya, who is stunned by her newfound power and struggles to stop their movement by digging his heel into the ground, which is torn open by the force of this. When Kariya angrily attempts to punch her, Ran'Tao pops open the retractable blade in her hairpin and embeds it in Kariya's side, causing him to grunt in pain and preventing him from attacking her. As the two of them come to a halt, Ran'Tao urges a concerned Uryū to shoot Kariya through her now and details how she is temporarily intercepting the power of the Jōkaishō in order to increase her own Reiatsu, which she cannot maintain.

Despite Uryū insisting he cannot do such a thing, Ran'Tao urges him to not let Kariya add to his crimes, and after several seconds of hesitation, Uryū begins gathering Reishi into Kojaku and draws back another Heilig Pfeil. While Ran'Tao encourages him and Kariya demands she let go, Uryū fire the Heilig Pfeil, which slams into a shocked Kariya, creating a massive explosion of energy that sends Ran'Tao flying. After Uryū frantically slides along the ground to catch her, Ran'Tao, with her hair having come down, inquiries about the status of Kariya, whom Uryū notes is still alive, leading Ran'Tao to realize Uryū purposely lessened the power of his Heilig Pfeil.

Confirming this, Uryū promises Ran'Tao that he is going to inflict the final blow right now and sets her down to begin approaching Kariya upon noticing the latter healing his injuries by absorbing Reishi. However, Uryū turns around in surprise when an agonized Ran'Tao begins emitting orange Reiatsu and screaming in pain as it surges through the surrounding area, which prompts Uryū to deduce that her Reiatsu is going out of control as a reaction to her earlier power and that she her body will disintegrate if it is not brought under control. Suddenly, Uryū remembers that the Quincy Bangle controls Reishi and rushes to Ran'Tao's side while telling her to hang on.

Uryū informs Ran'Tao he can use the Quincy Bangle to siphon off the Reiryoku destroying her body, but Ran'Tao asserts he cannot do this because the Quincy Bangle is nearing its limit, and he must use its remaining power to destroy Kariya. After assuring Uryū she was fully prepared for this to happen when she used the amulet, Ran'Tao concludes he must use the only chance he has before Kariya fully recovers. With Kariya getting to his feet and cursing at them, Ran'Tao grasps Uryū's arm and pleads with him, only for Uryū to see Yoshino's dying face in her place and decide he cannot let Ran'Tao die like this as he draws her power into the Quincy Bangle.

Upon shaping the power into a large, orange Heilig Pfeil, a yelling Uryū fires it high into the air, where it explodes harmlessly, and observes he has reached his limit while the Quincy Bangle crumbles into pieces, causing his outfit to disappear and leave him standing in his normal clothes. Suddenly, as Uryū extends his hand to Ran'Tao and urges her to go somewhere safe with him, which she begins to accept, Kariya questions if he really thinks he can run away, startling them both, and stands before them fully healed while glaring at Uryū. Pointing out how Uryū has lost the perfect chance to kill him, Kariya states Uryū has escaped death for the last time.

When he sees Kariya concentrating wind around his left hand, Uryū protectively moves in front of Ran'Tao, but as the tornado subsequently unleashed by Kariya rips through the ground toward them, a Getsuga Tenshō slams into it from above, cutting vertically through the pavilion and forcing Uryū and Ran'Tao to shield their faces from the bright light. As the dust clears, Uryū is shocked to see Ichigo Kurosaki standing before him with his Shikai, Zangetsu, over his shoulder. With Ichigo nonchalantly noting that Uryū seems to be in a bind, an irritated Kariya disperses the dust in front of him with a swipe of his hand and curses at Ichigo, who stares at him.

Having confronted Jin Kariya on the damaged pavilion where he was fighting Uryū Ishida and Ran'Tao, Ichigo Kurosaki stands with his Shikai, Zangetsu, and inquires if Uryū is okay, prompting Uryū to kneel beside Ran'Tao and assure Ichigo that he does not need to be worried about. After Ran'Tao confirms that she is alright, Ichigo instructs Uryū to get her away from here since he is going to fight Kariya, and after Uryū notes that this is their only option, Ichigo activates his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu.

The energy released by the activation of Tensa Zangetsu surges over Kariya and off the side of the pavilion, resulting in Kariya jumping back high into the air, where he sees a tornado and swirling winds briefly coalesce around Ichigo before dissipating to reveal him clad in his Bankai and wielding its black sword. As he declares the start of their battle, Ichigo leaps toward Kariya, who casually evades both of Ichigo's subsequent slashes and falls down the side of the elevated pavilion with a gleeful smirk as Ichigo pursues him.

With Kariya springing off the wall to another pavilion that he begins running across the rooftops from, Ichigo catches up to him and attacks, leading Kariya to counter with wind condensed around his left fist that creates a large explosion of force on impact. In the aftermath, the dust settles to reveal Ichigo leveling his sword at Kariya, who is surrounded by a thin tornado, and grinning fiercely prior to rushing forward, only for Kariya to unleash a torrent of wind across the hole in the roof that sends Ichigo flying back and crashing through one stone tower into a next, where he coughs up blood from the impact and leaves a bloodstain in the crater where his back hit the building.

Upon seeing Kariya mockingly smiling at him through the hole in the first tower, an angered Ichigo leaps out of the crater and unleashes a Getsuga Tenshō that smashes through the tower and surges toward a shocked Kariya, who dodges to the side right before it tears through the rooftop where he was standing and carves a trench into the side of the base of the Senzaikyū pavilion. Noticing that Ichigo has vanished from the cratered tower as he stands on one side of the trench, Kariya sees the former appear in front of him with Shunpo and jumps to the other side of the trench just as Ichigo slashes down at him, which causes his sword to strike the ground instead.

After Kariya pushes Ichigo back with a wind-infused kick, the two of them glare at each other on opposite sides of the trench before Kariya smirks at this. Elsewhere, Uryū helps Ran'Tao walk through one of the streets of the Seireitei, and as she thanks him for his concern for her, Orihime Inoue runs up to them with Kurōdo and Noba, where she expresses her relief at Uryū being alright as Yasutora Sado joins them with Ririn on his shoulder. When Ririn inquiries about what happened to his Quincy Bangle, a smiling Uryū nonchalantly notes it broke, prompting a surprised Ririn to join her fellow Mod-Souls on the ground and bring up how it was supposed to explode if it broke.

Uryū explains that he learned how to use the Quincy Bangle solely for amplifying Reishi as he was reaching his limit, preventing it from exploding when he surpassed his limit because it was already empty. With Kurōdo admitting that he does not understand what this means and Noba expressing his exasperation at this, Ririn insists that it is fine as long as Uryū is safe but chastises the latter for going off on his own and leaving everyone worried about him, which Uryū apologizes for. Suddenly, 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya and his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, appear in the street with Shunpo while Hitsugaya asks Orihime if Uryū and Ran'Tao are alright.

Once Orihime confirms this, Hitsugaya questions where Ichigo is, only to be alerted by the sound of an explosion in the distance after Uryū reveals that he is fighting Kariya. Though Hitsugaya and Rangiku agree that they cannot let Ichigo manage this burden on his own and prepare to depart, Ran'Tao frantically tells them to wait. As Hitsugaya and Rangiku are left startled by Uryū's identification of Ran'Tao and recognize her as the engineer behind the creation of the Bount, Ran'Tao requests that Hitsugaya do something for her upon learning that he is a captain and asserts that the Seireitei is doomed at this rate, which leads Hitsugaya to wonder what she means by this.

After Ran'Tao brings up Kariya's absorption of the power of the Jōkaishō into his own body, Hitsugaya affirms that they have already researched this and details how Kariya is currently buying time in order to use the full power of the Jōkaishō, but Ran'Tao reveals that the Jōkaishō power within Kariya is not important and that there is a different power they need to worry about, to Uryū's confusion, before clarifying that Jōkaishō is a general term for giant Reishi-generated devices that were used by her research team during their experiment on Souls and that there were at least several dozen of these devices located within the Seireitei.

Ran'Tao recounts how one of the Jōkaishō had a meltdown during an experiment and annihilated about a tenth of the Seireitei when it exploded, which the leaders at the time took very seriously, resulting in the Kidō Corps sealing away all of the remaining Jōkaishō within the Seireitei. With Hitsugaya astonished that there are more Jōkaishō, Ran'Tao concludes that Kariya detonating the Jōkaishō energy within his own body would set off all of the other Jōkaishō in a chain reaction, releasing unfathomable energy, as his true goal, which causes a frightened Kurōdo to question why such dangerous things are kept within the walls of the Seireitei.

In response, Ririn asserts the Jōkaishō are kept within the Seireitei because they are dangerous and must be monitored, which Kurōdo interprets as reflecting on how people often know little about what is happening in their own backyards, though Noba denies this. When asked what they should do by Hitsugaya, Ran'Tao concludes they will simply have to seal each Jōkaishō with Kidō once more since their current seals have weakened over the years to the point where they will react to Kariya's explosion. Deciding to have the Jōkaishō re-sealed immediately, Hitsugaya inquires if Ran'Tao knows where the remaining ones are, prompting her to retrieve a book from her haori.

Suddenly, Ran'Tao grunts in pain and begins to collapse before a concerned Uryū catches and helps her up. As she assures Uryū she is alright, Ran'Tao reminds him she is overextending herself by fighting with her Reiatsu sealed away and has just reached the limit to which she can be active. After handing the book to a smiling Hitsugaya, Ran'Tao declares she is leaving the rest to him and falls back into Uryū's arms. Upon being asked by Hitsugaya what they will do now while he and Rangiku prepare to leave, Orihime proclaims they will be going after Ichigo, who is currently clashing repeatedly with Kariya and leaping up the stairs leading up to Sōkyoku Hill.

Orihime states they cannot just run away when Ichigo is fighting and insists she will have to heal Ichigo's injuries as Sado requests Uryū let him carry Ran'Tao to somewhere she can rest before they leave, which Uryū agrees to. With Hitsugaya and Rangiku departing with Shunpo while Sado picks up Ran'Tao, Ririn instructs the others to get going and Kurōdo observes they are drawing toward the conclusion as Noba concludes they should see this through to the end, leaving a touched Uryū to encourage them to go after Ichigo. Meanwhile, near the tip of Sōkyoku Hill, Ichigo leaps back from an explosive clash with Kariya and pants as Kariya stands before him.

With Kariya commending Ichigo for keeping up with him this far, Ichigo reiterates that he is going to settle this, and when Kariya merely wonders if Ichigo knows what kind of place this is, Ichigo confirms he knows far better than Kariya does, which prompts an annoyed Kariya to declare Sōkyoku Hill is the perfect place to settle this. While Ichigo agrees and assumes a battle stance, a grievously wounded Maki Ichinose limps through the nearby corpse of trees and releases his Shikai, Nijigasumi, prior to encasing a surprised Ichigo in light, unleashing three shadowy slashes that Ichigo easily cuts through, and rushing forward to cross blades with Ichigo.

Simultaneously, at the Seireitei Library, Hitsugaya meets with 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku, his lieutenant, Nanao Ise, and 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake, whom he informs of the additional Jōkaishō and gives Ran'Tao's copy of the map showing where they are. When Shunsui expresses exasperation at something like this being left after all that has happened and rendering the time they spent researching the data here meaningless, Nanao admonishes him for saying such a thing as Ukitake inquires if Hitsugaya has alerted Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto to this yet, which Hitsugaya affirms he has sent Rangiku to tell him.

After Hitsugaya observes that they should be receiving orders soon, Ukitake laments that they will have to mobilize their remaining captains, lieutenants, and seated officers in order to seal so many Jōkaishō at once, which causes Shunsui to wonder in turn what they will do about Kariya. As Hitsugaya reveals that Ichigo has gone after him, a Jigokuchō flies down onto a nearby stack of books, allowing Nanao to relay the order being delivered to all captains, lieutenants, and seated officers that the Ryoka are after several Jōkaishō that need to be sealed away immediately and which they will be led to by Jigokuchō under a level one precautionary warning.

In Yamamoto's office in the First Division barracks, 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura instructs Rangiku to go after a Jōkaishō as well, and as Rangiku agrees to this, Yamamoto proclaims he will be directly leading everything due to the nature of their circumstances and requests Komamura assist him in this as Rangiku excuses herself and leaves. During this, a resting Rukia Kuchiki wakes up upon hearing Ichigo is fighting the Ryoka on Sōkyoku Hill and the Shinigami are being mobilized to find the Jōkaishō in the Kuchiki Manor. With the attendants deciding to ask 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki for instructions, Rukia gets up to find Ichigo.

Back at Sōkyoku Hill, Ichigo expresses disbelief at Ichinose still being alive and forces him back, where he perturbs Kariya by mentioning he has something to ask him. With Kariya acknowledging this, Ichinose questions where Gō Koga and the other Bount are and is surprised to learn they have all died. When Ichigo demands to know what he is doing, Ichinose runs forward and clashes with him twice more despite Ichigo's protests for him to stop. After Ichinose evades a horizontal slash from him by jumping into the air and crosses swords with him again, an irritated Ichigo reiterates that Ichinose needs to stop and sends him flying back and landing on his back with another slash.

Ichinose's Zanpakutō reverts to its sealed state while he sees an unimpressed Kariya glaring down at him. Seeing Ichinose refuse to give up as he pushes himself up on his broken Zanpakutō, Ichigo wonders what he is doing in his worn-out state but is shocked alongside Kariya when Ichinose releases Nijigasumi once more and moves behind Kariya with Shunpo to hold his blade to the latter's neck. Upon being asked what he is doing by Kariya, Ichinose asserts he would have no choice but to destroy the Seireitei if Kariya ordered him to do so since he has abandoned it to the point of no longer caring what happens to it, only to clarify this is what he used to believe.

As he details how he served Kariya because he saw Kenpachi Kiganjō in him, Ichinose reveals he remembered his desire to improve the Seireitei and the Gotei 13 by even the slightest amount during his battle with 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki, an ideal which Kiganjō shared and which was the reason Ichinose served by Kiganjō's side to the point of maintaining that ideal even after the latter was gone, though the emptiness of Kiganjō's death turned his desires into revenge. With Ichigo relaxing his stance, Ichinose notes Kariya has gained the power to change Soul Society and promises to kneel before him once more if he uses his power to rebuild the Seireitei.

However, Ichinose vows to stop Kariya if he chooses to use this power only for revenge because nothing can be born of it and concludes that he is the only one who can stop Kariya with Koga and the other Bount being dead. While Ichigo is startled to see wind condensing around his right hand, Kariya simply claims that he cannot do that, and as a Wind Barrier forms around him, Ichinose proclaims that he is not getting away and attempts to slash at Kariya, only for the latter to turn around and effortlessly grab Ichinose's right wrist and left hand, partially disarming him and preventing him from completing his strike, as he notes that Ichinose cannot defeat him with this power.

Holding Ichinose up by his right wrist, Kariya thanks him for providing time for the power of the Jōkaishō to spread through Kariya's body and summons more wind around his right hand. Upon seeing this, Ichigo attempts to rush forward, but finds himself stopped in his tracks by swirling wind while Kariya lets go of Ichinose and shoves his hand into Ichinose's chest, blasting compressed wind through his back and causing Ichinose to collapse. When Kariya turns around in contempt, a gasping Ichinose grasps his left ankle, which leads an angered Kariya to surge powerful winds into him, killing Ichinose and causing his body to fall on the ground far behind Kariya.

With Ichinose's broken Zanpakutō embedded in the ground by Kariya's feet, Ichigo furiously demands to know if Kariya knows what he just did, and when Kariya wonders what he is so angry about, Ichigo reminds him he just killed a comrade who served by his side, but Kariya merely brushes this off as unimportant, to Ichigo's disbelief, and looks back at Ichinose's Zanpakutō prior to questioning why Ichigo feels pity for someone who was his enemy, prompting Ichigo to clarify he does not pity Ichinose and simply cannot forgive Kariya for killing his comrade so coldly. Despite this, Kariya tells Ichigo he never considered the others to be comrades and only as pawns for his goal.

Enraged by this, Ichigo glows with blue Reiatsu as Kariya decides to settle this with him now and raises his right hand in the air before summoning his Doll, Messer, causing wind to swirl around his hand while storm clouds swirl in the air above and a tendril of coiling wind extends from them to connect to the wind emanating from Kariya's hand, forming a powerful tornado, to Ichigo's shock. On the ground below and several hundred meters away from Sōkyoku Hill, Orihime, Sado, Uryū, and the Mod-Souls see the swirling storm clouds and feel the fierce winds surging through the area while Ririn senses Kariya's Reiatsu rapidly rising, which leads them to hurry.

Back on Sōkyoku Hill, Kariya's right hand and forearm turn metallic as they grow curving protrusions above and below his clenched fist to form the base of a pata sword. Admitting he did not think there was a reason to show Ichigo his Doll, Kariya generates a long blade of condensed wind and notes he is out of time prior to introducing Messer to Ichigo and declaring the latter cannot come near him anymore. With the dust around Kariya settling, Ichigo mocks his confidence and assumes a battle stance. After glaring intensely at each other for several seconds, Ichigo and Kariya fire a Getsuga Tenshō and Wind Licht Schneide at each other.

Meanwhile, at the Kuchiki Manor, Rukia walks out of the front gate and begins heading toward Ichigo's location, only to be stopped by 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai, who inquiries about where she is going. Explaining that he came to the manor because he could not find Byakuya elsewhere, Renji approaches Rukia, but is astonished when the latter requests that he take her to the Sōkyoku.

Ichigo Kurosaki is sent crashing down onto the peak of Sōkyoku Hill while Jin Kariya, now wielding his Doll, Messer, fires two Wind Licht Schneide at him. Though both projectiles hit Ichigo, who grunts in pain as he is obscured in a cloud of dust, Kariya narrows his eyes upon seeing the dust clear to reveal Ichigo glowing with blue Reiatsu and getting to his feet, leading Kariya to deduce that Ichigo reduced the damage done to his body by surrounding himself with Reiatsu as a barrier.

After asserting that he is finally starting to understand a nonplussed Kariya's attacks, Ichigo moves to him in midair with Shunpo and begins rapidly dashing around Kariya to create afterimages while pointing out how most of the latter's strikes are counterattacks aimed at the openings left by enemies when they attack before quickly attacking Kariya from multiple angles with the conclusion that this does not matter if he does not leave any openings, forcing a startled and unnerved Kariya to just as quickly block each strike with the blade of wind emanating from Messer.

Despite moving to the ground below in order to escape Ichigo's assault, Kariya suddenly finds Ichigo attacking him from behind, and while Kariya turns around to intercept this, Ichigo continues clashing with him multiple times prior to firing a Getsuga Tenshō that slams into Kariya and pushes him across Sōkyoku Hill. However, Ichigo is shocked when Kariya emerges unharmed from the resulting dust cloud with his light teal Reiatsu disintegrating his coat. Musing on the technique of defending oneself with Reiatsu, Kariya admits he is not used to his coat being in tatters but confirms the technique really does minimize damage sustained to his body.

Noticing his damaged tie, a chuckling Kariya takes it off to let it fly away in the wind and stops using his Reiatsu as a barrier as he brings up Ichigo's claim of his attacks being only counter strikes and decides to show Ichigo the true form of Messer. With the blade of wind emanating from Messer intensifying, leaving Ichigo intimidated, Kariya details how his power over wind lets him generate static electricity through atmospheric friction and generate lightning, which surges from Messer along the length of the wind blade before Kariya swings it forward to surge toward Ichigo in the form of a horizontal lightning strike, forcing Ichigo to move into the air with Shunpo.

As he watches Ichigo continue to evade the lightning strikes, Kariya declares it is impossible to outrun lightning no matter how fast he moves and manipulates a bolt to strike Ichigo from behind, keeping him stuck in midair long enough for Kariya to leap toward him and slash at his midsection with the Lightning Blade of Messer, which leaves Ichigo screaming in agony while he crashes into the ground below. Kariya questions if this is it, and when a disarmed Ichigo can only curse him in response, a bemused Kariya states he is going to finish this since the Jōkaishō within him will soon fill up with power and informs Ichigo of the existence of other Jōkaishō, to his surprise.

After Kariya explains how unleashing his Jōkaishō will trigger all the other Jōkaishō and reduce the Seireitei to nothing, Ichigo demands to know why he would do such a thing and what the point of killing the Shinigami, his comrades, and himself is. In response, Kariya asserts that the Bount are a rotten tribe because of their refusal to let go of their ties to the Shinigami despite their great power, only to elaborate that the Shinigami are even more rotten for selfishly creating the Bount and using the latter for their own purposes, which he could not forgive, and which led him to decide to drag Shinigami, Souls, and Hollows down with him so he can destroy them all.

Though Ichigo calls him crazy, Kariya insists that he is completely sane and that it is the world, which is crazy, but decides that this is enough talk due to the world soon ending. Despite this, Ichigo refuses to let Kariya complete his plan and grasps the sword of his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, as he forces himself up. Nearby, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai appears with Shunpo while carrying Rukia Kuchiki, who attempts to run to Ichigo's side in concern upon seeing him, only for Renji to stop her and request that she not interfere in Ichigo's battle. When Rukia protests this, Renji reminds her that Ichigo has proved himself the equal of his captain, Byakuya Kuchiki.

With Renji telling her to believe in him, a reluctant Rukia looks toward Ichigo, who proclaims he is not about to let Kariya destroy everything, and as Kariya wonders what he can do in his current condition, Ichigo simply tells him to shut up, leaving Kariya to observe everything will soon end and move down to Ichigo. After Kariya decides to finish Ichigo off and levels his lightning blade at him, Ichigo mentally expresses frustration at not having any energy left and realizes he cannot move his arm. Suddenly, with Ichigo urging his arm to move, Hollow Ichigo declares it will and takes control of Ichigo's body to fire a direct Getsuga Tenshō at Kariya.

An astonished Kariya has his shirt shredded by this attack and is sent flying back across the hill with a large cut across his chest and shoulder while Ichigo glares at him with yellow eyes. As Rukia expresses concern for Ichigo, Renji internally notes Ichigo's usage of a black Getsuga Tenshō while Kariya demands to know where Ichigo got this power, only for Ichigo's eyes to return to normal once he blinks, causing him to stumble and begin sweating. With Ichigo grasping at his face in disbelief, Kariya observes this was his inner power and mocks Ichigo for having even this dry up prior to reminding Ichigo he has a powerful ally known as Reishi, which he begins manifesting.

However, Kariya is left stunned when he is unable to absorb the Reishi and heal his wound, leading him to realize that this is the result of Ran'Tao stabbing him in the side with a dagger back when she momentarily restrained him during his fight with Uryū Ishida. Seeing this, Ichigo laughs and asserts that they are on equal terms now that Kariya is no longer invincible, but Kariya's Bount crest flashes while he smirks and notes that this is a little too late because it is almost time for his body to be filled with the power of the Jōkaishō so he can unleash it and destroy everything, prompting Ichigo to refuse to let this happen and rush forward to clash with Kariya.

With Kariya blocking Ichigo's strike using his Lightning Blade, Ichigo vows to defeat him before he can unleash the power of the Jōkaishō, and when Kariya questions if he can do so, Ichigo insists that he will and forces Kariya's Lightning Blade aside prior to clashing with him twice more in surges of electricity. In response, Kariya decides to show Ichigo how incredible the power of the Jōkaishō is by detonating one of the nearby Jōkaishō, to Ichigo's disbelief. Meanwhile, in an underground facility, 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake reaches a spot marked on Ran'Tao's map alongside his 3rd Seats, Sentarō Kotsubaki and Kiyone Kotetsu, and other subordinates.

Once Sentarō breaks open part of the floor to reveal a Jōkaishō, Ukitake observes that Ran'Tao's information was correct and orders Sentarō and Kiyone to seal the Jōkaishō, only to internally admit his uncertainty that they will make it in time as the two of them leap down to begin the sealing process. Elsewhere, 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku is directed toward another Jōkaishō by his lieutenant, Nanao Ise, 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto run toward a different Jōkaishō, and 3rd Division Lieutenant Izuru Kira and 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi assist in the sealing process of a fourth Jōkaishō.

While 11th Division 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame and 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa oversee the sealing of a fifth Jōkaishō and ensure that the Shinigami do not falter, Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto and 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura look over a map of the Seireitei with markers for the Jōkaishō being placed by 1st Division Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe, and as Komamura expresses doubt that they will be able to seal all the Jōkaishō in time when there are so many, Yamamoto refuses to listen to this since the duty of the Gotei 13 is to protect the Seireitei and proclaims that they will do everything they can to stop the Ryoka's plan.

Back on Sōkyoku Hill, the ground is upturned in multiple areas while Ichigo and Kariya furiously clash across the hill, culminating in Kariya unleashing a torrent of wind that sends Ichigo flying back. With Kariya swirling wind around himself to rise into the air, Ichigo brings up his desire to detonate one of the Jōkaishō, prompting Kariya to mockingly assure him that detonating one of the Jōkaishō within the Seireitei will not set off the others before instructing Ichigo to witness the power of the Jōkaishō and use his Lightning Blade to send a lightning bolt hurtling across the Seireitei, only for Byakuya to intercept it in midair with his Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.

Senbonzakura Kageyoshi surges toward a shocked Kariya and envelops him prior to slamming into the ground, where Kariya angrily slashes away the blade petals with his Lightning Blade to see Byakuya standing behind Ichigo on the hill. With Ichigo surprised and Kariya infuriated by Byakuya's arrival, Yoruichi Shihōin appears nearby with Shunpo and notes she made it in time prior to apologizing to a stunned Ichigo for being late. Informing Ichigo that Ukitake and the other Shinigami are sealing the Jōkaishō across the Seireitei, Yoruichi clarifies it is taking time and concludes what happens with them will come down to whether he can defeat Kariya.

After observing it is a race against time regardless, Yoruichi inquiries about what Kariya is going to do, which leads Kariya to assert he will obviously kill all of them and accomplish his goal as wind swirls around him. When Kariya unleashes a surge of lightning at the three of them, Byakuya blocks it with Senbonzakura Kageyoshi while Ichigo moves to the air above Kariya and comes down on him with a powerful strike that Kariya intercepts with his Lightning Blade, causing electricity to arc around and away from them. Following Ichigo's declaration that Kariya's fight is with him, the two of them vanish and clash twice in midair before ripping up the ground with lightning.

In the midst of the flying rubble, Ichigo and Kariya reappear and continue clashing, destroying the pieces they land on in the process, and when Ichigo moves back to the ground below, Kariya comes down on him from above with his Lightning Blade, forcing Ichigo to block with his sword held above his head as the force of the blow pushes him into the ground. Watching Ichigo and Kariya's further clashes create clouds of dust across Sōkyoku Hill, Byakuya begins to unsheathe his Zanpakutō, but Yoruichi warns him against doing so since they will have to focus on sealing his unleashing of the Jōkaishō with her Shunkō and his Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.

With Yoruichi admitting she does not know if they can completely seal the Jōkaishō, a yelling Ichigo and Kariya cross blades in midair, unleashing more lightning, and separate to land on different upturned chunks of the ground in a pit. As blood runs down the sides of his face, Ichigo wonders if this is all that Kariya's power can do, prompting a panting Kariya to tell him to shut up while mentally cursing how he used up too much of his power compressing the Jōkaishō and noting it cannot be helped before straightening up while his light teal Reiatsu turns red and vanishes. Glaring at an unnerved Ichigo, Kariya leaps forward and slashes with his Lightning Blade.

Having broken the upturned chunk of ground beneath Ichigo with this, Kariya attacks him once more prior to unleashing a powerful surge of lightning that envelops Ichigo and rips through the ground behind him. Upon seeing this, Yoruichi is left confused at Kariya's attacks not weakening and getting stronger despite his inability to absorb any more Reishi, only to deduce what is happening with astonishment as Ichigo, having diverted the lightning onto either side of himself, stands at the other end of a deep ravine left by a smirking Kariya's attack and pants heavily prior to Yoruichi encouraging him to keep fighting because Kariya no longer has any Reiryoku left.

Yoruichi reveals that Kariya is now using the power of the Jōkaishō in his body to keep fighting, and when Kariya dismisses this revelation as irrelevant and fires another bolt of lightning at her, Yoruichi blocks it with her bare hand and winces in pain afterward as Kariya details how this is a gamble of whether his body will hold up until the Jōkaishō activates or Ichigo will defeat him before that. Despite Ichigo reiterating that he is going to defeat him, Kariya wonders what Ichigo can do when he is panting like this and moves behind him to hit Ichigo with a wind-infused kick that send him smashing into another upturned chunk of the ground on the other side of the pit.

After questioning if Ichigo is finished already and promising to not hold back anymore, Kariya unleashes another surge of lightning toward Ichigo, but is shocked alongside him when the lightning redirects to Maki Ichinose's broken Zanpakutō embedded in the top of the upturned chunk of ground Ichigo crashed into. With the Zanpakutō disintegrating under the power of the lightning and the chunk of ground collapsing shortly afterward, Ichigo stands with his light blue Reiatsu enveloping his body and glowing in his eyes prior to exerting it in a pillar around himself and screaming with exertion, which prompts Kariya to descend to the ground opposite Ichigo.

Watching this unfold, Rukia and Renji see Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, Uryū Ishida, Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba run out of the nearby copes of trees and express concern for Ichigo, where they are surprised to see Rukia and Renji as well. Though Uryū asks Sado and Renji to help Ichigo, Rukia states they cannot and should not interfere since Ichigo considers the Bount to be similar to himself as a Substitute Shinigami who is not a Shinigami and a Human who is not a normal Human, with the power he wanted to protect his loved ones before he came a Shinigami burdening him with both Soul Society and the Human World, which is a burden they cannot understand.

As she observes that Ichigo moves forward with this burden and inquires if they could all do the same, Rukia points out that the Bount are also people who are not people that suffered in two worlds and concludes that Kariya can only be stopped by Ichigo due to them sharing the same burden. With Rukia declaring that the only thing they can do is trust Ichigo and watch, she assures a despondent Orihime that Ichigo will win, which Orihime affirms. When Ichigo proclaims that he is going to hit Kariya with all that is left of his power, Kariya decides to respond in kind and exerts his red Reiatsu in a pillar as well before the two of them leap forward and cross blades.

Ichigo begins pushing back Kariya's Lightning Blade, to the latter's astonishment, and Kariya demands to know if Ichigo can really withstand the Jōkaishō when it is backed by all of the Bount while pushing back against Ichigo, which further upturns the ground around them. However, Ichigo counters that Kariya has never done anything for the Bount and treated his comrades like pawns prior to refusing to lose to someone like Kariya, who asserts in turn that Ichigo does not know anything and that people hate those who are superior to themselves, meaning that Ichigo will find the friends he trusted coming to fear his power and eventually distancing themselves from him.

In response to Kariya questioning what the purpose of protecting his friends is, Ichigo denies there being a purpose or meaning and declares he protects his friends simply because he wants to protect them to the point of risking his soul, to Kariya's disbelief. Upon seeing Kariya's crest turn white, a shocked Yoruichi realizes he has activated the Jōkaishō and tells Byakuya they are going to seal it, only for Byakuya to not respond to her and continue watching the clash. Leaning into the blade lock alongside Ichigo, Kariya proclaims nothing matters anymore and he is going to end this now prior to pushing Ichigo several meters back with a swing of his Lightning Blade.

With Kariya's crest glowing brightly, Ichigo rushes toward him and yells Kariya's name as the two of them clash for the final time, resulting in an explosion of power that rips through the ground surrounding the pit and surges into the sky in a pillar of light that disperses the clouds above before dissipating. In the aftermath, Ichigo and Kariya stand across from each other facing opposite directions with their blades outstretched, and as Ichigo falls to his knees, Kariya relaxes his stance and smiles up at the sky. Turning around to face Ichigo, Kariya states that it is over and expresses disappointment at not being able to see if Ichigo will walk down the same path he did.

Before Kariya can tell Ichigo something, he suddenly turns to ashes that float away on the wind around Ichigo, who calls him an idiot and begins to fall forward, only for Sado to catch and steady him at the last second. While Sado inquires if Ichigo is alright, Rukia, Orihime, Uryū, Renji, Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba run over as well, with Ririn tearfully leaping onto Ichigo's chest and wailing about how worried she was about him. As Yoruichi sees Byakuya has departed and leaves with a smile, Orihime insists she needs to heal Ichigo's wounds, but Ichigo tells her she can do this later and gets to his feet, where he walks a few feet away and stares somberly into the distance.

Ichigo reveals that Kariya disappeared on his own in the end, and when an astonished Rukia questions if Kariya was planning this from the very beginning, Ichigo admits that he does not know, only to conclude that Kariya wanted to bring his endless life to an end.

Sometime after the defeat of Jin Kariya, Ichigo Kurosaki sits on a walkway in the Kuchiki Manor and smiles up at the sky as Rukia Kuchiki rests behind him. Upon being approached by 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai, who inquires if he is healed now, Ichigo confirms that Orihime Inoue completely fixed him up, only for Renji to assert that Ichigo does not seem like he would die even if he were killed, to Ichigo's annoyance, and take a seat next to him on the walkway.

When Ichigo notes Rukia is taking a while to recover even though Orihime healed her as well, Renji reminds him her current injuries are not the only reason why she has been weakened and that she did not have enough time to recover her Reiryoku before she was possessed by Mabashi's Doll, Ritz, in the Human World. With Renji concluding Rukia needs time to recover, Ichigo acknowledges this and questions if the Gotei 13 are done cleaning up yet.

Renji affirms that even though there are still damaged buildings to be repaired and wounded personnel to be healed, the recovery effort looks to be almost finished, leading Ichigo to lean back and bring up how the Seireitei has finally acknowledged the existence of the Bount as well as the reason for their creation. As Ichigo observes Kariya ended up leaving a big impression even though he wanted to erase the existence of the Bount, an irritated Renji chastises him for speaking as though he knows everything, and when Ichigo demands to know what he means, Renji claims this only happened because Ichigo and his friends sent the Bount to Soul Society.

However, Ichigo points out that Renji was there when the Bount left the Human World, which prompts a startled Renji to assert that his Zanpakutō, Zabimaru, is still damaged from his defeat of Ugaki's Doll, Gesell, though Ichigo mockingly states that this just means Renji is weak. In response, an angered Renji grabs Ichigo by the collar and asks him to reiterate what he just said, only for Ichigo to tell him to not get mad since the truth just slipped out. Further enraged by this, Renji warns Ichigo to not get cocky just because he got a bit stronger and instructs him to stay grounded since he is only a Substitute Shinigami instead of a real one.

Despite Ichigo insisting he is sorry, Renji refuses to forgive him and begins to glow with red Reiatsu in anger at Ichigo's unusual meekness when the latter claims he is worn out. Suddenly, Ichigo and Renji look up to see an unimpressed 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki standing behind them. Wondering what Ichigo and Renji are doing, Byakuya glares at them and questions if they have forgotten where they are with how much noise they are making, leaving Ichigo and Renji to timidly apologize and stop fighting. After walking over to the entrance of Rukia's room, Byakuya orders Ichigo to return to the Human World immediately if he has no more business here.

With Byakuya walking away following his assertion that Ichigo does not belong here, an intimidated Renji claims an equally perturbed Ichigo got him scolded, and as Ichigo ponders whether Byakuya came out after eavesdropping on their conversation, Rukia tells them to shut up and sits up in her bed, where she responds to Ichigo noting she is awake by declaring she cannot get any sleep with the two of them causing a ruckus and assuming they do not think of her as a recovering patient while putting on a shawl. Soon afterward, Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji all sit on the walkway outside and look up at the sky with smiles as Rukia comments on how peaceful it is.

Ichigo agrees with this and admits he never thought he would come to Soul Society twice. When Renji asserts he meddles too much, Ichigo acknowledges this, to Renji's surprise, and Rukia mentions how there are no more Bount left after a battle that left such unimaginable suffering. In turn, Ichigo observes Kariya was obsessed with the past of the Bount and could not stand events repeating themselves over and over, and when Rukia expresses confusion at this, Ichigo details how Kariya only saw the situation of the Bount getting continually worse over the course of a thousand years to the point that history seemed like a revolving circle instead of a line stretching forward.

Picking up on Ichigo's mention of revolving, Rukia looks to the sky and thinks about this. In the past, Rukia expresses shock at the news that she is being transferred, which prompts 13th Division 3rd Seat Kiyone Kotetsu to deny this and clarify that Rukia is simply being stationed in the Human World for a month, similar to when she went there with Kiyone as the latter's assistant. However, upon seeing that Rukia does not recall this at all, 13th Division 3rd Seat Sentarō Kotsubaki claims that she completely blocked it from her memory and refutes that he is not some sort of potted plant when an angered Kiyone tells him to go bury himself in the front yard of the barracks.

As he walks into the room, 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake explains that Rukia will be patrolling a one-ri area of Karakura Town, something that should not be difficult for someone with her skills, leading Kiyone to frantically express concern for Ukitake not being in bed right now. After assuring Kiyone that he is feeling much better today, Ukitake notes that he came to see Rukia off personally since he thought that she might be anxious about her first solo assignment despite its short duration. When asked if she has told Byakuya yet, Rukia admits that she believed this was too trivial to bother Byakuya with, to the point where she was considering leaving without telling him.

Though saddened by this, Ukitake assures Rukia that this is alright if it is how she feels and promises to tell Byakuya for her before urging her to go with peace of mind, which Rukia happily accepts. In the present, Rukia looks at Ichigo and mentally observes that this was the beginning of everything since she believed time was a straight line that stretched on forever until she met Ichigo while Renji internally asserts that he still believes this. In the past, 5th Division Lieutenant Momo Hinamori sits before Renji with 3rd Division Lieutenant Izuru Kira as she relays his promotion to 6th Division Lieutenant and cheerfully congratulates him on it.

Initially casually thanking Hinamori for this, Renji quickly bows and formally expresses his gratitude, but an embarrassed Hinamori requests he stop being so formal. Sitting against the left wall connecting to the entrance, 11th Division 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame muses Renji is now one step closer to Byakuya and suggests he tell Rukia due to them now being on equal standing as a noble and a lieutenant. After Ikkaku reminds him it has been forty years since he talked to her and the two used to run around the Rukongai together, Renji is told by Izuru he should hurry because Rukia is leaving for a month-long assignment to the Human World this afternoon.

Despite Hinamori insisting that she and Renji rush after Rukia, Renji declines and decides to tell her when she gets back since his promotion ceremony is a month from now while Rukia walks through the central Senkaimon and observes that fate is a crushing millstone which they believe to be guided by an infallible power even though they are the ones making it turn, which leads them to move in the direction of its fixed cogs until a blade swings down as she enters Karakura Town for the first time and leaps across the night sky. In the present, at Ran'Tao's underground dwelling, Gō Koga wakes up to find himself sleeping on a mattress and wonders where he is.

When Ran'Tao notes his awakening and walks over, a stunned Koga mistakes her for Yoshino Sōma, only for Yoruichi Shihōin to correct him while leaning against the wall nearby. After elaborating that this is Ran'Tao's dwelling, Yoruichi responds to Koga wondering why he is here by revealing that she retrieved him from beneath the ice he was buried under and carried him here so the Shinigami would not find him. Though Koga does not understand why someone from Ichigo's group would help him, Yoruichi declines to answer, and when Koga asks her about what happened to Kariya, Ran'Tao bluntly states that he died, which Koga acknowledges as he stares up at the ceiling.

Reflecting on the events of the past day, Koga concludes that he will have to accept the fate of the Bount being to die out if that is what it is. With Yoruichi noting this, Ran'Tao encourages Koga to stay here until his wounds heal and admits that she no longer has anything to do since she does not plan on returning to the Seireitei. As Ran'Tao expresses a desire to hear the story of the last Bount, Yoruichi decides to return to the Human World and promises that there is no need for them to worry since she has left everything to Ukitake. Before she leaves the dwelling, Koga asks her to pass on his thanks for stopping Kariya to Ichigo, which Yoruichi agrees to do.

Meanwhile, Ichigo walks down a street in the Seireitei, but is startled to see Kon darting from corner to corner across the street in front of him. With Kon assuming that no one has seen him and that he can make his move, Ichigo shocks him by crouching next to him and nonchalantly inquiring about what he is doing. Upon being berated by Kon for surprising him, Ichigo deduces that Kon wanted to sneak into Rukia's room and responds to Kon claiming that he deserves to do so because he has devoted his heart and soul to Rukia by pointing out how Byakuya will slice Kon up with his Shikai, Senbonzakura, if he even sets foot inside Rukia's room, though Kon does not care.

Kon accuses Ichigo and his friends of neglecting him too much and recounts how the ultimate battle was over by the time he reached Sōkyoku Hill, which prevented him from doing anything important. As Kon screams in irritation at Ichigo's analysis of him wanting to be useful and questions why Ichigo thinks he came to Soul Society, an exasperated Ichigo tells him they are leaving soon anyway since the Senkaimon is almost ready, and when Kon inquiries about what Rukia will be doing, Ichigo reminds him she will have to stay here and continue recovering. Astonished by this, Kon decides to stay by her side and attempts to leap past Ichigo but is caught in midair.

Proclaiming there is no point in leaving Kon here, Ichigo throws him to the ground, where Kon curses his lack of power preventing him from defeating both the Bount and the Shinigami so Rukia would adore him. Upon picking up on Kon's mention of power, Ichigo ruminates on Kariya being corrupted by the power he gained to the point of having to destroy himself in the end and realizes Kariya wanted the power to change fate, similar to himself. In the past, Keigo Asano excitedly shows Ichigo the latest Bad Shield DVD in their classroom at Karakura High School, only for Ichigo to not recognize the series and deny having said he really liked it previously, to Keigo's shock.

When Mizuiro Kojima walks over and expresses appreciation for Bad Shield, an annoyed Keigo claims he was not talking to Mizuiro and begins arguing with him about who the better actor on the show is before being told one of them dies in the second DVD while internally, Ichigo muses the world takes a new shape every time the sun and moon touch. Simultaneously, Chizuru Honshō learns Orihime's favorite snack is gotsubokko and that she likes baumkuchen as well, leading her to declare the results of her love test indicate the two of them are a perfect match prior to Tatsuki Arisawa angrily stomping her head into the desk and asserting the test was rigged.

Suddenly, Ichigo tells Tatsuki he is leaving and responds to her observing she is also going home soon by insisting he has somewhere to go now and departing, leaving Tatsuki to bid him farewell as Orihime looks down in frustration. As the sun begins to set, Ichigo ponders how the one unchanging thing is his powerlessness and comes across a telephone pole with a splatter of blood at its base, where an elderly Plus tells him the Plus of the young boy is gone. Ichigo internally lists how he can only see, touch, and talk to spirits while taking a toy airplane out of his bag and holding it up, which leads the elderly Plus to observe he brought it with him for nothing.

Though Ichigo claims that this does not matter since he just found the airplane in his closet, he grows somber and muses on how Pluses sometimes disappear for reasons he does not know, leaving behind only bloodstains visible to him alone and the faint smell of fear, which leads him to painfully realize that he cannot protect them no matter how hard he trains his body. Soon afterward, Ichigo visits the Dead Girl, who cheerfully informs him that three dogs and six cats passed her today. Upon being asked by Ichigo if they said anything, the Dead Girl expresses irritation at the brown dog ignoring her repeated requests for him to not urinate on her telephone pole, to Ichigo's amusement.

Ichigo reveals he brought the Dead Girl flowers, which she finds beautiful, and places them in a glass bottle by the nearby pole. Suddenly, the Dead Girl begins crying, and when Ichigo asks her what is wrong, she inquires if he will come back to visit her again tomorrow, leading Ichigo to smile and promise he will. After rubbing the Dead Girl's head and telling her to not cry anymore, Ichigo walks away while she waves and concludes they are the grist if fate is a millstone, which leads him to desire a strong blade and enough strength to shatter fate and protect his loved ones. In the present, Ichigo wonders if his strength can crush fate or if he will be consumed by it like Kariya.

With Ichigo standing on Sōkyoku Hill and asserting there is no point in thinking about it because his power is for protecting everyone, Ukitake approaches him and questions why he is staring in the distance, which prompts Ichigo to explain how he was thinking about why Kariya wanted to gain power. Acknowledging this, Ukitake theorizes Kariya thought of history as a vicious cycle and was trying to sever it with force, and though Ukitake does not know if this was right or wrong, Ichigo expresses his belief that history being a cycle would not be so bad if one had friends with them, with Ukitake smiling and admitting this is not something which can be answered so easily.

Back in the Kuchiki Manor, Rukia lies in her bed and looks up at the sky as she muses on whether history revolves as a circle or stretches ahead of them, as well as whether they should try to break the loop or be content with it. Sometime later, Ichigo and Kon stand before the Senkaimon on Sōkyoku Hill and are joined by Orihime, Yasutora Sado, Uryū Ishida, Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba. With Ririn leaping over to Ichigo, Kurōdo laments that they will have to leave Soul Society after coming all the way here and criticizes Noba for being mean when the latter suggests that he can stay if he wants to. As Uryū notes that it is time Sado encourages the group to go home.

While Ichigo agrees and the Senkaimon activates, Renji, 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, Byakuya, Ikkaku, 11th Division 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa, Izuru, 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi, and Rukia watch from around the Seireitei, with Rukia expressing a desire to meet Ichigo again and closing her eyes. Simultaneously, at nighttime in Karakura Town, a mysterious girl comes to town to also look very serious about it too.