Supersonic Battle! Determine the Goddess of Battle

In the Seireitei, Yumichika finds Kenpachi resting by the wreckage of his battle and reveals that he won his own fight without a scratch, drawing on the hidden power of his sword. Nearby, an exhausted Hisagi senses a massive blaze and recognizes Yamamoto, who has released Ryūjin Jakka before Kyōraku and Ukitake. The Captain-Commander invites the pair to draw their blades so they will not simply burn, and the two release their dual-bladed Shikai before clashing with him in an explosion that scatters the flames. Out in the Rukongai, a recovering Jidanbō is coaxed by Kūkaku into taking a walk to visit Yoruichi.

In a forest within the walls, Yoruichi and Suì-Fēng meet a falling leaf between clashing kicks. Suì-Fēng, now commander of the Onmitsukidō, accuses her old mentor of growing dull and mocks the disgrace Yoruichi brought upon the Shihōin by aiding a Ryoka. When she plants her sword to summon dozens of Keigun for an execution, Yoruichi tears through them all with afterimage-fast Shunpo, forcing Suì-Fēng to strip down to her Keisen Shōzoku and confront the woman she calls the Flash Goddess.

The two trade a flurry of empty-handed blows and separate with matching bruises, but Suì-Fēng then releases Suzumebachi and stabs Yoruichi through the chest, branding her with a Hōmonka. She explains that a second strike on the same mark will kill, a technique she perfected in the intervening century. As she chases the fleeing Yoruichi and marks her again and again, she prepares to finish the duel with a nameless wind technique born from mixing Hakuda and Kidō.

Yoruichi names it for her: Shunkō. She reveals that the Keisen Shōzoku is cut open at the back and shoulders precisely because the technique blows fabric off those areas, then activates her own lightning-natured version, its crackling energy proving she has outpaced her student. Warning Suì-Fēng that she still cannot fully control it, Yoruichi raises a hand and unleashes an enormous blast.

Yamamoto releases Ryūjin Jakka and clashes with Kyōraku and Ukitake, who reveal their dual Shikai. Kūkaku persuades the healed Jidanbō to visit Yoruichi. Yoruichi and Suì-Fēng renew their bond as a duel, with Yoruichi wiping out a squad of Keigun. Suì-Fēng releases Suzumebachi and repeatedly marks Yoruichi with the Hōmonka of Nigeki Kessatsu. Both women reveal mastery of Shunkō, and Yoruichi ends the exchange with a powerful blast, having surpassed her former student.

This episode belongs to the Soul Society: The Rescue arc and draws on Chapters 154, 156, 157, and 158. Its opening theme is Ichirin No Hana and its ending is Life. It aired in Japan on November 1, 2005, and in English on March 23, 2008. Two fights appear: Kyōraku and Ukitake against Yamamoto, and Yoruichi against Suì-Fēng. A Kon-sama diary segment has Kon, in Ichigo's body, recruited by Karin's friends into a kickball match after Ryohei Toba bribes him with an erotic magazine. The adaptation adjusts and censors several details, including trimming the manga's flame blast into a shockwave of dust.