Life goes on for Ichigo, but he is way depressed over the Vizard thing and his Hollow taking over him. After hearing his Hollow saying he is going to take over him, Karin comes in and says she knows about Ichigo being a Shinigami.
As she is telling this, two mysteriously strong spiritual powers shake the whole town, making Ichigo, Chad, and Orihime go check it out. It turns out to be two Arrancar's attacking, named Ulquiorra and Yami. Yami sucks out a lot of souls, in the town.
Orihime and Chad get there first and Chad tries to fight Yami. Chad doesn't even put up a fight, and is injured really bad by one blow from Yami. Orihime heals him, and tries to fight Yami, and she is about to be killed by Yami when Ichigo shows up.
Deux arrancars s'infiltrent dans un parc de Karakura : le calme Ulquiorra et le colosse brutal Yammy. Ce dernier absorbe l'énergie de tous les badauds attirés par l'explosion produite par les arrancars. Chad et Orihime se font écraser littéralement par Yammy. Ichigo arrive et même s'il parvient à couper le bras de Yammy, se fait battre. Il ne doit la vie qu'à l'intervention de Yoruichi et de Kisuke Urahara qui tiennent tête aux arrancars. Ces derniers rentrent au Hueco Mundo pour faire leur rapport à Aizen...
Ichigo ripensa a quello che ha detto Hirako, e teme che effettivamente il suo Hollow interiore stia per prendere il sopravvento.
Zwei mysteriös starke spirituelle Kräfte erschüttern die ganze Stadt, was Ichigo, Chad und Orihime dazu veranlasst, der Sach nachzugehen.
Ichigo percibe que el Hollow en su interior se está volviendo más fuerte y teme ser devorado en su estado actual. Mientras tanto, el Departamento de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Sociedad de Almas detecta una gran fuente de energía espiritual que se dirige hacia Karakura.
自らの中に存在するもう1人の自分の力が強大になっていることを感じている一護は、このままでは今の自分が飲み込まれてしまうことを恐れていた。その後、出現したアランカルが人間を襲い始める。