The Nameless Boy

Renji sizes up the intruder in the black robes and cannot make sense of the absurdly large sword he wields, unaware that it mirrors a raw, untamed reserve of power. Once he grasps that this is the human who inherited Rukia's abilities, he lunges to kill. The two clash up and down the street, and though Ichigo keeps pace for a moment, Renji slips past his guard and tears a deep gash across his shoulder, boasting that with the boy dead, Rukia will regain her power only so she can be executed at home.

Stung by the taunt, Ichigo nicks Renji's chin the instant his opponent grows careless, drawing a warning from Byakuya about his lowered guard. The captain then recalls where he has seen this face: a report from the covert squads described a Menos being forced back to Hueco Mundo by one enormous gash. Renji scoffs at the notion, but seizes on the telling detail that Ichigo cannot even control the energy spilling off his blade, and demands the sword's name.

When Ichigo admits the weapon has no name and reacts with surprise that swords are named at all, Renji brands him hopelessly outmatched and releases his own blade, Zabimaru, which unfolds into a serpentine chain of segments. The whipping strike buries itself in Ichigo's shoulder and rips free, dropping him to his knees as Renji calls the fight over. Away from the battle, Kon idles inside Ichigo's borrowed body, fretting over the strange shopkeeper and wanting to search for Rukia himself. The chapter was adapted as part of episode 16, The Encounter, Renji Abarai.