The long awaited... Kenpachi appears!

A column of Reiatsu erupts as Kenpachi Zaraki finally arrives, having gotten hopelessly lost returning from a Hollow hunt in the Rukongai. When the rebel spirit Wabisuke strikes at him, Kenpachi catches the blade, dismisses it as dull, and fells him with one slash, forcing him back into sword form. Sui-Feng explains that a spirit cut down by anyone but its own wielder cannot survive, since the bond between spirit and Shinigami admits no third party.

Kenpachi seeks out the strongest present and picks Byakuya Kuchiki. Senbonzakura releases his Bankai to guard his master, but Kenpachi removes his eyepatch and scatters the blade petals with raw Reiatsu, leveling the surrounding buildings. Meanwhile, Ruri'iro Kujaku goads Yumichika Ayasegawa, insisting the two are alike vain aesthetes and that Yumichika hides his true power out of fear of others' judgment. Yumichika breaks free of the draining vines and, refusing to reveal his Kido-based Shikai, resolves to win by his own aesthetic instead.

Baiting Ruri'iro Kujaku into fighting without his own release, Yumichika binds the spirit's vines with Hainawa and strikes from behind to defeat him, admitting he only won because they share the same stubborn overconfidence. As Kenpachi and Byakuya trade fierce blows, Kenpachi catches Byakuya's sword and boasts of finally cornering him, and a wounded Byakuya coldly warns that another clash will cost Kenpachi his life, which only delights the eager captain.

Kenpachi arrives after getting lost and destroys the rogue spirit Wabisuke in a single strike. Sui-Feng explains why a spirit slain by an outsider cannot endure. Kenpachi scatters Senbonzakura's Bankai with his Reiatsu and targets Byakuya. Ruri'iro Kujaku taunts Yumichika about his concealed power, and Yumichika frees himself and refuses to release his true Shikai. Yumichika defeats Ruri'iro Kujaku using Hainawa and cunning. Kenpachi and Byakuya's duel escalates toward a fight to the death.

This anime-only episode has no chapter source and belongs to the Zanpakuto Unknown Tales arc, airing two hundred forty-fourth with the opening Anima Rossa and the ending Sakurabito. A closing Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book segment has Gonryomaru ask Tenken to bury him in rubble so he can ambush a passing enemy, only to wait uselessly into the next day. The story also touches on parallel skirmishes involving Ichigo, Sui-Feng, and Suzumebachi.