Armlost, Armlost

Hurled onto his back by the blow that wrecked his weapons, Jidanbo bounces up and insists he merely slipped, only to notice both axe heads are ruined and dissolve into sobbing over them. Ichigo's apology for the needless destruction moves the giant, who praises the boy's kindness even toward an enemy before scolding himself for weeping over a pair of blades. Declaring himself thoroughly beaten as both a fighter and a man, he grants Ichigo passage as the first to defeat him in three centuries, then extends the same courtesy to Orihime and the others since their leader won, a label that baffles Uryu.

After a brief exchange in which Jidanbo teases that the name Ichigo sounds like strawberry and gets a sharp correction about its kanji, the gatekeeper cautions the group about the strong warriors waiting inside. Straining with everything he has, he lifts the enormous gate above his head, only to stop cold. Gin Ichimaru of the Third Division stands calmly on the far side, and after remarking that a gatekeeper has no business opening gates, he releases Shinso and severs Jidanbo's left arm.

Ichigo's blade finishes the giant by smashing his final pair of axes, earning the group clearance through the White Way Gate. Jidanbo acknowledges defeat and begins raising the barrier himself, but the arrival of Captain Gin Ichimaru cuts the moment short as he maims the gatekeeper and blocks the way.

The chapter belongs to the ninth collected volume, FOURTEEN DAYS FOR CONSPIRACY, within the Soul Society arc, and its events were adapted across episodes 21 and 22 of the anime. It stages the invaders' first brush with a member of the Gotei 13, foreshadowing how far outmatched they remain. Viz Media published the chapter under the title Amputation.