Battle of the Females? Katen Kyōkotsu vs. Nanao!

Too lazy to hunt a Tōjū himself, 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku pushes the task onto his lieutenant, Nanao Ise, pairing her with the violet-haired child that forms half of his Zanpakutō spirit, Katen Kyōkotsu. The girl is withdrawn and reflexively hostile, treating combat as a cruel game, and when Nanao finds her toying with a Bearded Tōjū, she binds the girl with Kidō to stop the pointless torment. The distraction lets the wounded Tōjū flee, and the girl slips away as well.

Determined to complete the mission with her assigned partner despite Shunsui's suggestion she work alone, Nanao keeps trying to reach the girl, who nearly strikes her on instinct each time she approaches. Rangiku Matsumoto steps in to help the child open up, attempting a pretty kimono, a group of handsome Shinigami, and a trip for ice cream, but every effort fails, and the girl leaves them each time. Nanao only feels sorrier for a spirit born solely to fight.

Watching the girl gaze at falling plum blossoms, Nanao realizes she shares Shunsui's love of flowers. Slowly the two begin to connect: Nanao tucks a blossom into the girl's hair and later leads her to a blooming peach tree, coaxing her to set down her wakizashi in peace. The moment turns dangerous when the Bearded Tōjū returns, cuts Nanao, and seizes the disarmed girl's blade, planning to repay the earlier humiliation in kind.

Though injured, the girl catches the Tōjū's arm to protect Nanao and is thrown aside, and a weakened Nanao's Shakkahō only slows him. Shunsui arrives to block the killing blow and cuts the Bearded Tōjū down, gently gathering the girl into his arms. That night, under the peach blossoms, Nanao admits she stopped trying to change the girl and instead let her be herself. In a quiet gesture of trust, the child places a peach blossom in Nanao's hair.

Shunsui assigns Nanao and the child form of Katen Kyōkotsu to hunt a Bearded Tōjū, which escapes. Rangiku's attempts to help the girl socialize all fail. Nanao discovers the girl's fondness for blossoms and bonds with her over flowers. The Bearded Tōjū returns and wounds Nanao before Shunsui defeats it. The girl warms to Nanao, placing a peach blossom in her hair.

This is an anime-only episode of the Beast Swords arc, adapting no manga chapters. It concludes the fight between Nanao, the child Katen Kyōkotsu, and the Bearded Tōjū. A closing Arrancar Encyclopedia segment has Gin reveal how the Espada spend their downtime, showing Starrk asleep, Baraggan playing chess with Tōsen, and Harribel warning Gin off after he intrudes on her shower.