HEROES CAN SAVE YOU

The Hollow charges, and Ichigo yanks Kanonji clear as the creature slams into the front of the hospital. Rather than seize the opening the host wants, Ichigo drags him inside by the collar, the monster tearing free and giving chase. To the audience outside it appears their star has been snatched by an unseen force and captured. Isshin theatrically shields his daughters from the flying glass while Yuzu, Karin, Orihime, and Sado all worry after Ichigo, and Urahara notes that the retreat confirms his read on how the boy fights.

Down a hallway, Ichigo flings the host against a wall and demands an explanation for his refusal to escape. Kanonji answers that a hero cannot show his back to any foe, however much he loathes fighting. He reminds Ichigo that a quarter of the country watches his program, many of them children who tune in each week with their families, learn courage from him, and look to him as their hero. He cannot flee while those kids are watching.

Ichigo talks the host out of returning to the crowd, explaining that the Hollow is drawn to beings of high spiritual power like the two of them, so it will follow them indoors and spare the bystanders. The creature erupts from beneath the floor, and Ichigo's swing lodges his sword in the low ceiling, leaving him unable to maneuver in the tight corridor. The Hollow then glues his hands to the hilt with an adhesive attack. As it lunges, Kanonji jams his staff into its jaws to hold it open, moved to tears by Ichigo's unseen, selfless heroism, and vows to fall like an autumn leaf to protect the boy.

The chapter deepens Kanonji from a comic figure into an oddly earnest hero and demonstrates Ichigo's tactical thinking in redirecting the fight away from civilians. It was adapted into the anime's tenth episode, Casual Soul Realm Assault Trip! The Viz title is unchanged from the original, and the chapter is part of the fourth collected volume.