Theatre Opening Commemoration! Hell Chapter・Prologue

Rukia drops off a load of stock at Urahara's shop, where the shopkeeper mentions a recent string of assaults on Shinigami and worries about her moving around without a gigai. He has traced several of the kill sites and found something unsettling: none of them carry the spiritual signature of a Hollow. As his employees drag him off for a long-delayed holiday, that very warning proves true. Nearby, Zennosuke Kurumadani, the officer who took over Rukia's old post in Karakura, is being hunted by a cloaked, bone-masked figure. Rukia intervenes, freezing the attacker with her Shikai, only to find that his energy belongs to no Hollow she knows.

The creature turns out to be Shrieker, a monster she once defeated, whose froglike swarm and explosive leeches she remembers well. He should be beyond the gates of Hell, yet here he stands, faster and stronger than before, his cloak fastened by unbreakable chains forged in the underworld. He names himself a Togabito, a sinner returned to take his revenge. Renji arrives after the research institute flags the strange energy, and his Bankai finally overwhelms the intruder, whose body is swallowed by a portal opening into Hell as he vows to keep coming back.

An emergency gathering of the captains confirms the impossible: a Togabito has crossed into the living world for the first time in recorded history. Ukitake explains that these are souls chained eternally for the atrocities they committed in life, and Yamamoto assigns Rukia and Renji, the first to face the threat, to slip into Hell as scouts with the means for a fast escape. When Ukitake proposes recruiting Ichigo, Yamamoto flatly forbids any involvement of the substitute Shinigami. Meanwhile, deep in an unfamiliar wasteland, Szayelaporro Granz and Aaroniero Arruruerie tumble into Hell after their deaths. A stranger perched above them explains where they are, then unleashes three underlings who crush both Espada with ease.

The stranger is Shuren, whose followers Taikon, Gunjō, and Garogai handle the fallen Arrancar. Shuren notes the Espada lack the power needed to force open the gate and learns that Shrieker, having served his purpose in the living world, has been silenced. Peering into a lantern, Shuren sees a vision of Ichigo in his final Hollowfied state and resolves to drag him down into Hell. The lighthearted Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book segment follows the Urahara staff to the airport, where the check-in clerk hauls Yoruichi, riding along in cat form to save on airfare, off to the plane's animal hold.