Thump! A Kemari Tournament Filled with Hollows

Rurichiyo and Kenryū settle a dispute with a kemari match held in the living world. Ichigo, Rurichiyo, Sado, Orihime, and Enryū line up against Kenryū, Uryu, Kon, and Rukia, with Yoruichi drafted as Kenryū's backup through Urahara, whose shop sponsors the whole affair. Tessai, Ururu, and Jinta serve as referees. The rules are simple, keep the ball aloft within bounds and whoever drops a pass loses, but the twist is that the team without the ball may freely attack the other. Rurichiyo wagers that if her side loses she will go back to Soul Society and obey Kenryū, but insists she will win and hold her promised tournament.

Urahara explains the entire town has been enclosed in an altered space-time field for ninety minutes, turning the players into soul form, and warns nobody may leave the boundary lest Soul Society notice. The match quickly turns rough: Uryu fires arrows, Enryū releases his Shikai to block passes, and Yoruichi kicks the ball so hard it bursts, forcing Orihime to mend it. Kon repeatedly gets swatted for straying out of bounds, and when Ikkaku wanders in, he is roped into the game only to start dueling Ichigo instead.

With Ichigo and Ikkaku ignoring the ball to brawl, Rurichiyo and Kenryū end up playing alone and fall into a heartfelt talk about their duties. Rurichiyo confesses she wants to see her people smile again after the exhausting work of rebuilding the family. A Hollow suddenly appears and hurls a torrent of water that sweeps Rurichiyo away, but Kenryū and Enryū rescue her before the others destroy the beast. The disruption costs Rurichiyo the ball, technically handing Kenryū the win. Just then Shū Kannogi arrives through a Senkaimon carrying letters from commoners eager for the announced tournament, proving her idea struck a chord. Kenryū pledges his full support, and the group heads home.

A subplot shows Shū buried in paperwork at the Kasumiōji manor, longing to visit the living world. The closing Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book has Renji and Ikkaku stumped over the kanji on the Gin Tonbo shop's sign, cycling through absurd guesses like silver cockroach, slug, and silver waterbug before Renji tells them to leave. As an anime-original installment set outside the main storyline, the episode has no direct manga source and stages no genuine fights.