Renji vs. Rukia?! Battle With Comrades!

In the Human World, Kon frets over the strange girl he sheltered in Ichigo's room, quarreling with her as she refuses to give her name. Across in Soul Society, Ichigo sits imprisoned, puzzled over why he has been detained, until Rukia slips in carrying Zangetsu and breaks him out. Kyōraku and Ukitake, meanwhile, question why Ichigo is implicated, recalling that Byakuya found his Substitute badge in the Dangai days after Mayuri's group vanished.

As the pair flee toward the Hakuto Gate, Renji and Ikkaku block their path, insisting Ichigo is a suspect because of the badge. Ichigo protests that he only arrived the day before, and Rukia grasps that a real mastermind is framing him. Uninterested in the truth, the two release their zanpakutō and pair off, Ichigo against Ikkaku and Rukia against Renji. When Ichigo readies his bankai, Yoruichi intervenes, sealing the attackers with Tōzanshō and spiriting the fugitives away.

Yoruichi explains that they never fought the true Renji and Ikkaku but Reigai, flawless copies preserving a Shinigami's memories and personality, and warns that an unknown number have infiltrated the Gotei 13, possibly directed by someone within the research institute. Ichigo and Rukia infiltrate the Twelfth Division and identify the girl in Ichigo's room as a wanted fugitive. Back in the Human World, Inaba arrives at the Kurosaki home with Reigai of Izuru and Nanao, hunting the girl, Nozomi Kujō. She flees, disposes of her pursuers, and is cornered and struck down by Inaba, who pins Kon, only to be interrupted by Uryū.

Ichigo escapes his cell with Rukia's help and is confronted by Reigai copies of Renji and Ikkaku. Yoruichi rescues them and reveals the existence of the Reigai, exact duplicates of Shinigami that have infiltrated the Gotei 13. Ichigo and Rukia learn that the girl Kon is hiding, Nozomi Kujō, is wanted by Soul Society. Kagerōza Inaba tracks Nozomi to the Human World, subdues her and Kon, and is confronted by Uryū.

An anime-only episode that begins the Gotei 13 Invading Army storyline, with no adapted chapters. A comedic closing segment has Kon interviewing Nozomi and producing a video that only proves his own perversion. The episode establishes the Reigai as the arc's central threat and ties Nozomi to the wider conspiracy.