Ikkaku's Hot-Blooded Kendo Tale

The Karakura High kendō club has been ambushed and injured by rival Kotei Academy, and the fiery Mizuho Asano refuses to let the insult stand, vowing to arrange a grudge match. She drafts Ikkaku, dressing him in a kendō uniform and asking him to whip the surviving first-years into shape. Feeling indebted to her for food and lodging, Ikkaku agrees and throws the students into a punishing, often nonsensical training regimen that leaves Keigo aghast.

Only Shinji Iijima keeps rising after each collapse, earning Ikkaku's respect and drawing out his real motive: he simply finds joy in the boy's desperate hunger to grow stronger. When the training injures the team worse than the ambush did, Ikkaku decides he and his fellow Shinigami will enter the match instead. His recruiting drive flops comically, as Yumichika and Rangiku refuse over the smelly protective gear and Sado declines because he takes no bribes.

Ikkaku ultimately fields a patchwork squad of himself, Renji, Hitsugaya, Keigo, and Shinji. Hitsugaya wins instantly, Keigo loses by running, and Renji ends his bout fast when a Hollow appears, sending the Shinigami off to slay a Menos Grande while their soul-candy bodies cause chaos back in the gym. Left to fight the deciding round alone, Shinji digs deep, lands the winning strike against his taunting opponent, and finally proves himself, after which Ikkaku happily rampages through the Kotei team once he learns their captain is Mizuho's old flame.

Mizuho recruits Ikkaku to train the injured kendō club for a revenge match. Ikkaku's harsh training only worsens the team's injuries but reveals Shinji's fighting spirit. Ikkaku decides to enter Shinigami in the club's place, though most refuse to help. A Hollow appears mid-tournament, drawing the Shinigami away to defeat a Menos Grande. Shinji wins the decisive round on his own. Ikkaku learns the whole affair was Mizuho's personal vendetta.

The episode is anime-original with no adapted chapters, sitting within the Arrancar-arc filler run. Released Zanpakutō include Haineko, Hōzukimaru, and Hihiō Zabimaru. A Picture Book segment shows Yachiru and Nemu scheming to profit from footage of the soul-candy personalities, to Nanao's dismay. The opening theme is Alones and the ending is Daidai.