ROCKIN' FUTURE 7

In the principal's office, teacher Kagine hauls in Ichigo, Rukia, and their friends, replaying a freeze-frame of Ichigo grappling with the show's guards that aired to the whole country. Ichigo weakly jokes that the figure merely resembles him, then claims it must be a long-lost twin, needling Kagine further. Tatsuki insists she and Orihime were only there by chance, a story Keigo promptly ruins by admitting he invited them. Rukia then tearfully takes the blame for failing to restrain Ichigo, flustering Kagine into comforting her, only for the other students to bolt out the window while his back is turned, Rukia vanishing with them. The amused principal asks merely for a copy of the tape.

Outside, the group revels in their escape. Ichigo grumbles that Rukia tried to sell him out, though Tatsuki counters that her weepy act is exactly what let him slip away. Ichigo privately thanks the announcer whose narration drowned out his shouting of Rukia's name on air, while Orihime quietly watches the two of them walk side by side and looks away.

Later, the clinic doorbell brings an unwelcome visitor: Don Kanonji, decked out like a garish king and insisting he has come to take his number one disciple for a ride. Ichigo shuts the door in his face and soon learns that Rukia, bribed with gourmet dumplings, is the one who gave the host his address. Before the farce can escalate, Rukia relays a Hollow alert and pushes Ichigo out of his body, and the two dash off, leaving Yuzu fawning over the celebrity. Karin spots her brother sprinting away in Shinigami garb, and behind them all, Uryu Ishida fixes an intent stare on Ichigo as he goes.

The chapter wraps up the fallout from the Kanonji arc and reintroduces the quietly observing Uryu, setting up his confrontation with Ichigo. It was adapted into the anime's eleventh episode, The Legendary Quincy. The Viz title matches the original, and the installment appears in the fourth collected volume.