Conclusion of the Death Match! White Pride and Black Desire

Climbing the rear stairways of Sōkyoku Hill, the Ryoka feel spiritual pressure grow heavier as they near the summit. Orihime tracks Ichigo by the unchanging scent of his Reiatsu, and Yachiru reveals from a tree branch that Rukia has already escaped. Uryū explains that freeing Rukia is not enough; Ichigo must crush the enemy's resolve to see her executed, which is why the battle continues on the far side of the dead forest.

There, Byakuya drags his hand along the blade of Tensa Zangetsu to spill blood that flares into pink flame, forming Senkei, the true shape of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi. A thousand swords ring the pair, and Byakuya draws one to fight as an equal, telling Ichigo he is only the second person ever to witness this. Their exchanges grow faster and bloodier until Byakuya pins Ichigo's foot with a called sword and blasts a hole through his shoulder with Byakurai. He clarifies that Senkei never raised his speed; it merely sharpened its lethality, meaning Ichigo has been slowing all along.

As Byakuya moves to finish him, Ichigo's Hollow seizes his hand to catch the blade mid-swing, forms a mask, and carves Byakuya across the chest with a laugh before loosing a black Getsuga Tenshō. Ichigo forces the mask off and regains himself, apologizing and proposing they begin again.

Byakuya condenses his Bankai into Shūkei: Hakuteiken, a winged blade of white light, for one decisive strike. Ichigo pours every scrap of Reiatsu into a single answering blow, and the two collide in an eruption of black and white light visible across the Seireitei. Both stagger away grievously wounded. Byakuya at last explains he did not save Rukia because law must be upheld and the noble Kuchiki must set the example, then concedes that Ichigo has been fighting the law itself, cedes victory, and abandons his pursuit. Ichigo's relieved friends gather around him.

Adapting chapters 164 through 167, the anime reworks several beats: the blood-flame origin of Senkei, the midair placement of clashes, and the red outline added to the Hollow's black Getsuga that becomes its standard look going forward. Numerous censorship passes lighten the blood, and a flashback comparing Ichigo to Kaien Shiba is cut. A closing thread follows Hitsugaya and Rangiku cutting into the Central 46 Compound, where they freeze in horror at what the lit chamber reveals. The Shinigami Cup Golden skit sets up a kickball match with Jinta and Ururu.