Ichigo vs. Dalk! Appearance of the Faded Darkness

Under Kariya's order to flaunt their new strength, the Bount recall the Bitto and scatter to test the power the insects have fed them. The swarm leaves Renji collapsed and drained, prompting Jinta and Ururu to deliver Urahara's newly built tracker. To his mortification, Ichigo must don the gaudy headband sensor and shout its trigger phrase, after which it drags him across town toward the enemy.

He arrives to find Keigo skewered by the Bitto, his soul being siphoned away, and cuts the creatures loose only for Koga to appear and summon Dalk in a menacing eight-legged form. The Doll batters Ichigo with heavy spheres, machine-gun fire, and volleys of metal spears, destroying the sensor and wounding him as he desperately shields Keigo. Learning that Keigo can now see Shinigami because so much of his soul is gone, and that the Bount mean to hoard such souls for their ultimate aim, Ichigo erupts and blasts Dalk apart with a Getsuga Tenshō.

Dalk simply reforms and ensnares Ichigo in a web of tethers, whipping him until he drops Zangetsu. As she moves to impale him, his inner Hollow seizes command, hurls the Bount aside, and runs Dalk through with savage glee. Ichigo tears the mask off before the possession can consume him and collapses, leaving Koga to warn that his uncontrolled power will destroy him and to conjure Dalk once more to finish the job. Nearby, Jinta discovers the unconscious Renji still clutching the rescued boy.

Urahara's rushed Bount sensor debuts, guiding Ichigo to Koga, whose Doll Dalk reappears vastly stronger after feeding on Bitto-harvested souls. Ichigo also learns the Bount are stockpiling human souls to reach their goal, with Keigo left barely alive as a victim.

The pivotal moment is Ichigo's loss of control: his Hollow self takes over to slaughter Dalk, and only by ripping off the mask does he reclaim himself, an ominous glimpse of the instability Koga predicts will be his undoing. Meanwhile Rukia and Orihime team against Yoshi, and Sawatari corners Sado's group.

An anime-original episode from the Bount storyline with no manga source. Its Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book segment features Yachiru cheerfully drawing a dividing line on the bald Ikkaku's forehead before targeting the neatly groomed Captain Komamura, to Ikkaku's exasperation.