Revival! Substitute Shinigami･Ichigo Kurosaki!

The three hundred sixty-second installment opens with Ichigo Kurosaki loosing a charged Getsuga Tenshō at Kūgo Ginjō. The strike goes wide yet cleaves the Xcution leader's mansion cleanly in two, and a shaken Kūgo tries to flee to rejoin his allies. Ichigo runs him down, and their duel spills across a forest and up into the sky before a second, far larger blast finally batters Kūgo to the ground.

The assembled Shinigami step in behind Ichigo, who senses that he now carries the strength of every soul reaper he has ever crossed paths with, his father included. Renji explains that the captains and lieutenants poured fragments of their own power into a blade Urahara designed, an unprecedented break with tradition that Yamamoto sanctioned to repay their debt. Hitsugaya then discloses a second reason: long before Ichigo, Kūgo had been the original Substitute Shinigami, the very reason the badge and its laws exist.

Deeper in the woods, a memory-warped Orihime and Sado rush toward the fight, still convinced Tsukishima is their friend. Urahara and Isshin ambush the pair, knock them out, and carry them off to join Tsukishima's other freed victims. Kūgo slashes his Xcution comrades to share Ichigo's stolen strength, and Yukio's expanded Fullbring seals each Shinigami into a private arena against a chosen opponent. A thoroughly unimpressed Kenpachi cuts down the boastful Giriko in a single stroke.

Ichigo overpowers Kūgo with repeated Getsuga Tenshō blasts and grasps that his restored abilities feel wholly new. Renji and Rukia confirm that the Gotei 13 gifted him a share of their combined power through Urahara's specially forged sword, a decision Yamamoto made in gratitude. Hitsugaya reveals that Kūgo was the first Substitute Shinigami, whose existence prompted the creation of the substitute badge.

Urahara and Isshin extract Orihime and Sado from Tsukishima's grasp and relocate them somewhere safe. Kūgo distributes portions of Ichigo's Fullbring to the rest of Xcution, upgrading their powers and attire, and Yukio partitions the battlefield into individual rooms. Kenpachi ends Giriko's life the instant the alchemist transforms.

The episode belongs to the Lost Substitute Shinigami storyline and draws on manga chapters 461 through 463. Its comedic Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book segment has Renji running a quiz where a baffled Uryū points out that Renji already blurted the answer, Zabimaru, aloud. Two clashes are marked as finished here: the long-running Deathberry Returns confrontation and Kenpachi's brief bout with Giriko.