Final Chapter·Zanpakutō Unknown Tales

Falling through a vortex, Ichigo lands inside the inner world once belonging to Kōga Kuchiki, where Muramasa awaits and insists their fight must be finished. Ichigo cannot understand why the spirit still craves battle when no reason remains, but Muramasa hungers for his power and attacks. The rogue spirit relies on an invisible force, and Ichigo pieces together its secret: the real threat is contained in the image mirrored on the water below, so any attack that cannot reflect there loses its power. He churns the surface with Getsuga Tenshō to unravel it.

Muramasa shifts to illusions and phantom clones, revealing Ichigo has been under his spell since their first clash. Battered and unable to track the copies, Ichigo turns to Zangetsu, who offers to act as his eyes on the condition that spirit and master are truly bonded. With that connection restored, Ichigo reads Muramasa's movements and drives him back with Tensa Zangetsu. As the collapsing world floods, Zangetsu warns that the mass of Hollows Muramasa consumed will soon tear him apart from within.

Even as a Hollow hole opens in his chest, Muramasa clings to his devotion, admitting he only ever wanted Kōga to acknowledge him. Ichigo argues that a Zanpakutō Spirit deserves free will and honor rather than being used as a mere weapon. The two exchange a final clash beneath a crashing wave. Muramasa's blade snaps and he fades away, his purple energy streaming into the sky. In the real world the danger lifts, and the liberated spirits, Hōzukimaru, Hyōrinmaru, Senbonzakura, Sode no Shirayuki and the rest, glow and dissolve back to their owners. Byakuya quietly thanks Ichigo before departing.

Ichigo exposes and counters Muramasa's reflection-based technique and illusions. He restores his bond with Zangetsu, who guides his sight, and overpowers Muramasa with Tensa Zangetsu. Muramasa succumbs to the Hollows he absorbed and dissipates. With the crisis ended, the rebel Zanpakutō Spirits return to their sealed forms and their Shinigami, and Byakuya thanks Ichigo.

This anime-only episode concludes the Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc and has no manga source. It aired in Japan on January 26, 2010, and in English on May 27, 2012. A picture-book segment has Ulquiorra and Nel explain that studio scheduling keeps delaying Ichigo's return to the Arrancar storyline.