Stray Snake, Tortured Monkey

Stepping out of a Senkaimon into Karakura Town, Renji brings along the manifested spirit of his sword, whose snake half Hebi and monkey half Saru are joined at a chain. Saru unclips the chain so the trio can cover more ground, and they track down a Tōjū armed with a golden boomerang. Hebi keeps getting distracted, once wandering off to catch a fish, and his blundering lets the wounded Tōjū slip away. Exasperated, Saru moves to chain him again, but Hebi announces he is finished being tied to her and would rather live for himself. Renji tells Saru to give him room, and the snake spirit strikes out alone.

Solo life proves harder than Hebi imagined. He tries to help himself to onigiri at a store, only for Karin Kurosaki to catch him in the act, and he soon realizes she is one of the few people who can perceive him at all. Starving and unable to buy food, he trails after Karin and Yuzu, who bring him back to the Kurosaki Clinic. There he wolfs down pudding, admits he is a Zanpakutō spirit rather than a Plus, and passes the evening fumbling through board games and video games before becoming transfixed by a stand-up comic on television.

When Ichigo comes home and rouses him, he explains that Renji and Saru are worried, prompting Hebi to storm off shouting that he hates Karin. The Boomerang Tōjū pounces during his flight, and Hebi manifests his blade to trap the enemy inside a cage of rebounding segments. The Tōjū retaliates by seizing Karin as a hostage and beating Hebi down while boasting that no one needs friends or a master. Hebi counters that having companions is a privilege, and at that moment Renji reappears to deflect the boomerang, leaving Saru to close out the fight.

Carrying Karin home on his back, Hebi hands her to Ichigo and asks that the sisters be told nothing about him, insisting it is better this way. As the three sword spirits gather above the clinic and a Senkaimon opens, Hebi crows that Saru would be lost without him. He pauses to look back at the Kurosaki household one last time before following the others through the gate.

Renji and Zabimaru pursue the Boomerang Tōjū through Karakura Town. Hebi severs his bond with Saru and strikes out on his own to chase freedom. Karin and Yuzu Kurosaki take the hungry spirit into their home, and Karin discovers she alone can see him clearly. The Boomerang Tōjū uses Karin as a hostage against Hebi, only for Renji and Saru to intervene and defeat it. Hebi rejoins the pair, having decided that friends matter, and asks Ichigo to keep his visit secret from the sisters.

This anime-original episode belongs to the Beast Swords arc and adapts no manga chapter. Its opening theme is Anima Rossa and its ending theme is Tabidatsu Kimi e. It first aired in Japan on February 16, 2010, and in English on June 17, 2012. The single fight, Renji Abarai and Zabimaru against the Boomerang Tōjū, is resolved here. A closing Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book skit has Saru and Hebi shadowing Renji everywhere, eating, napping, and even following him to the restroom until he begs for a break.