Ichigo and Uryū, Bonded Back to Back

Reunited mid-fight, Ichigo barely gets a word in before Uryū draws Yammy a floor away so the two rivals will not disrupt his duel. Yammy proves absurdly durable, shrugging off arrows and leveling pillars with his Balas, while Uryū weaves through the barrage with Hirenkyaku and bides his time. Above them, Ichigo and Ulquiorra trade blows until the Espada deflects a Getsuga Tenshō toward Orihime, forcing her to raise a shield and confirming Uryū's suspicion that Ichigo is holding back for her sake.

Uryū springs his real scheme, scattering several Seele Schneider blades that quietly map out a pentagon around Yammy. Even a point-blank Cero cannot break the Quincy's composure, and once the final blade locks the formation in place he detonates the Sprenger. He then steers the staggering giant onto one of Mayuri's Arrancar-triggered mines and blasts the floor away, sending Yammy plunging down the hollowed-out tower.

On the outer wall, Rukia lets Renji and Chad hold off Rudbornn's soldiers while she strikes at the source of his endless Calaveras. Freed at last, Ichigo dons his mask and hammers Ulquiorra through the tower wall. Rather than keep losing ground, Ulquiorra ascends, breaches the dome, and reveals that releasing a top-four Espada's blade inside Las Noches is forbidden for its destructive force. He unleashes Murciélago, conjures a lance, and wounds Ichigo in a single blinding strike, sparing his life only because instinct made him fire a Getsuga.

Uryū defeats Yammy through a carefully staged combination of the Sprenger and a hidden mine, dropping the Espada to the bottom of the fifth tower. Rukia shifts her strategy against Rudbornn, aiming past his replenishing soldiers to reach him directly with Renji and Chad's support.

The turning point comes when Ulquiorra abandons his sealed form. He carries their fight above the dome and releases Murciélago, immediately overwhelming a masked Ichigo and leaving him kneeling and injured, his own mask partly shattered.

Adapted from chapters 343 through 345 during the second half of the Fake Karakura Town arc, this episode marks Ulquiorra's Resurrección debut against Ichigo. The lighthearted Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book has Uryū lecture on the stairless, pillar-dense architecture of the fifth tower, explaining how he exploited its structure to trap Yammy before Ichigo needles him about his outfit.