Gaol Named Remorse

Hanataro leads Ichigo and Ganju through a sprawling canal system beneath the Seireitei, explaining that the Fourth Division alone knows its layout because they are saddled with the menial duty of cleaning it. Asked why he helps them, the medic admits he has heard so much about Ichigo from Rukia that he simply wants her saved.

Resting along the passage, Hanataro recounts how the once-intimidating aristocrat warmed to him and spoke often of Ichigo, trusting him completely after only two months and grieving that she had twisted his fate and could never repay the harm. The story stuns Ganju, but it only sharpens Ichigo, who strides ahead vowing to save the girl he insists he owes.

At a lieutenants' meeting, Yasochika Iemura reports the Eleventh Division nearly destroyed and Jirobo missing, and Shuhei Hisagi marvels that the intruders have also beaten Jidanbo's younger brother, while Momo Hinamori turns to find that Renji has already slipped out a window. Emerging beside the tower for fresh air, Ichigo suddenly senses someone on the steps ahead; the mist parts to reveal Renji Abarai, who lifts his visor and asks whether Ichigo still remembers him. The chapter was adapted in episode 30, Renji's Confrontation.