Can You Be My Enemy?

Under the moonlight, Uryu Ishida spells out that his hatred of Shinigami extends to Ichigo personally, leaving both him and Rukia taken aback. The next school day, the freshman exam rankings become the talk of the class: Orihime lands third, the athletic Ryo Kunieda second, and Tatsuki boasts of heading to the national karate tournament. Keigo loudly celebrates that none of his friends made the top fifty, until he and Mizuiro spot Ichigo at twenty-third and the silent Sado at eleventh, prompting a theatrical meltdown over being surrounded by clever traitors.

Still stewing over the previous night, Ichigo cannot even recall Uryu's given name and is stunned when Orihime reveals the archer sits in their own class, having taken first place overall. She adds that she knows him only through their shared handicrafts club. Brought to the homeroom, Ichigo watches Uryu produce a sewing kit and flawlessly mend Michiru's torn doll in seconds, coldly brushing off her thanks.

Trailing Uryu through the streets, Ichigo is caught at once; the Quincy reveals he sensed Ichigo's unusual spiritual pressure the moment he first set foot in the school, knows he gained Shinigami power in May, and is even aware of Rukia's true identity. Dozens of spirit ribbons bloom around him as he demonstrates the sensory skill Ichigo entirely lacks, plucking out Ichigo's ribbon and noting that a Shinigami's is colored differently from an ordinary soul's. Declaring himself a Quincy with the power to slay Hollows, Uryu proposes a game to prove which of them is superior and to show how worthless Shinigami truly are. Meanwhile, Rukia makes her way to the Urahara Shop.

The chapter opens the fifth collected volume, RIGHTARM OF THE GIANT, which features Yasutora Sado on its cover. It establishes Uryu as a genuine peer to Ichigo both academically and spiritually and sets up their coming duel. It was adapted into the anime's eleventh episode, The Legendary Quincy. Viz published the chapter under the title Will You Be My Enemy?