Ichigo vs. Ginjō! The Secret of the Substitute Badge

Ichigo and Uryū trade blows with Kūgo, who not only fights with a stolen copy of Ichigo's Fullbring but laces his strikes with Ichigo's own Reiatsu, even hurling back a Getsuga Tenshō of his own. Their bickering leaves little room for strategy as Kūgo weathers Uryū's arrows and keeps the pressure on. Elsewhere the Gotei 13 regroup, Byakuya having finished Tsukishima and carried an unconscious Rukia to safety, while a captive Yukio admits he cannot free himself because his powers were pledged and restricted to Kūgo.

As their blades lock, Kūgo works to shake Ichigo's resolve, revealing that Tsukishima lingers near death and that a Fullbringer's abilities vanish when he dies, which would restore everyone under his influence. He then poses the real bombshell: the combat pass granted to every substitute exists so Soul Society can monitor and rein in its bearer's Reiatsu, and its designer was none other than Ukitake. He paints them both as disposable pawns.

Uryū urges Ichigo to ignore the manipulation, but Ichigo silences him and releases his Bankai, its force shattering the chat room. He concedes Ukitake's words had unsettled him, yet trusts that the captain framed the truth so he could reason it out himself. With negotiation clearly finished, Kūgo answers by releasing his own Bankai, and the two collide in a blast of colliding steel.

The concealed function of the Substitute Shinigami Badge is exposed as a tracking and control device engineered by Ukitake, reframing Soul Society's relationship with its human agents. Kūgo also confirms Tsukishima's defeat and the principle that a slain Fullbringer's effects unravel.

Ichigo commits fully to the fight, unleashing his Bankai to answer Kūgo's mind games, and Kūgo matches him by releasing his own, setting up their decisive exchange.

This episode adapts portions of chapters 470 and 473 through 476 in the Lost Substitute Shinigami arc. A background thread shows Isshin and Urahara declining to intervene, trusting Ichigo to uncover the truth himself. The finale's brief segment marks the last Shinigami's Illustrated Picture Book, with Kon cut off before he can finish his story.