14 Days Before Rukia's Execution

Night in the Rukongai finds Ichigo still itching to settle his brawl with Ganju Shiba, but the curfew sends Ganju fleeing on his boar Bonnie before the fight can resume. The next morning his friends wait outside while trading wild guesses about the mysterious Kūkaku Shiba, the person Yoruichi says can smuggle them past the Seireitei gates. Ichigo, meanwhile, stubbornly refuses to leave until Yoruichi rakes her claws across his face and reminds him that Rukia's life is at stake.

The group finally reaches Kūkaku's unmistakable house, marked by giant stone arms and a huge smokestack, and is escorted underground by her attendants. To everyone's shock, Kūkaku proves to be a woman, and she agrees to help only because Kisuke Urahara is involved. The henchman she offers as an overseer, she reveals, is her younger brother, none other than Ganju, whose reunion with Ichigo instantly reignites their feud and wrecks her sitting room until an enraged Kūkaku ends it with a Hadō blast.

Elsewhere, Renji escorts a bound Rukia to the Senzaikyū and quietly tells her that an orange-haired Ryoka with an oversized sword reached Soul Society, giving her a spark of hope. Aizen later pulls Renji aside and lists the strange irregularities surrounding the execution, hinting that a single person is steering events, before an emergency captains' meeting interrupts him. Back at the ruined Shiba home, Kūkaku leads the group to the base of her smokestack and announces she is the Rukongai's finest fireworks expert, ready to launch them into the sky.

Yoruichi brings the group to Kūkaku Shiba, who agrees to help them breach the Seireitei. Ganju is revealed to be Kūkaku's younger brother. Rukia is transferred to the Senzaikyū tower and learns Ichigo has entered Soul Society. Aizen voices suspicion that Rukia's execution has been deliberately manipulated, while Gin Ichimaru eavesdrops. Kūkaku unveils her plan to fire the group into the Seireitei with a giant cannon.

The installment adapts Chapters 78 and 79 within the Soul Society: The Sneak Entry arc and marks the start of the Seireitei infiltration. The anime softens Kūkaku's manga design by giving her a concealed prosthetic arm and expands several comedic beats, including the friends imagining her appearance and her leveling the house with Kidō. A preview teases the Reishūkaku launch device and the Sekkiseki barrier surrounding the Seireitei.