Like a Tiger That Does Not Tread on Flowers

Having cut Kenpachi across the chest, Ichigo takes it as proof he can win. The captain only grins, floods the area with his reiatsu, and warns him to stay sharp before renewing the clash, while Yachiru watches from above and notes how happy Kenpachi looks.

In the Fourth Division's relief station, Tosen and Komamura stand behind Unohana as she kneels over Aizen's corpse. She reports that he had already stopped breathing when taken down from the East Holy Wall, and that they are still weighing other explanations, such as a Gigai used as a disguise. The Fifth Division's leadership, she adds, will be settled later in a captains' meeting before the Central 46. She asks the two captains to return to their divisions. Outside, Tosen tells his lieutenant Hisagi that he will join the fighting despite his hatred of battle, holding that many tragedies arise when people allow themselves to be swayed by ugly emotions.

Back at Senzaikyu, Ichigo and Kenpachi clash again. Kenpachi seizes Zangetsu by the blade, hauls Ichigo off his feet, and thrusts; Ichigo twists free, kicks the captain's hand loose, then blocks a strike from behind only because he hears the bells in Kenpachi's hair. Kenpachi explains that his bells and eyepatch are self-imposed handicaps meant to make fights interesting. When Ichigo assumes the sword is still sealed, Kenpachi reveals it has no name and was never sealed, because his reiryoku is too vast to contain and he must restrain himself. As Ichigo relaxes in confidence, Kenpachi rams the blade clean through Zangetsu and into Ichigo's chest, splitting the weapon. Reminding him he was told never to let his guard down, Kenpachi pulls the weapon free, and Ichigo drops to his knees amid falling blood.

Aizen's death is examined, with a Gigai disguise raised as a possibility, and Tosen resolves to enter the battle. Kenpachi reveals his nameless, unsealed zanpakuto and his deliberate handicaps, then impales the overconfident Ichigo and cracks Zangetsu.

The Japanese title translates to Like a Tiger That Does Not Tread on Flowers, romanized Hana o Fumanu Tora no Yo ni. The chapter is part of the thirteenth volume and was adapted into Episode 38, Desperation! The Broken Zangetsu.