The Bad Joke

Szayelaporro explains that he governs the inside of his palace as easily as his own body, having hidden cameras in every wall and gained the power to rearrange its corridors on a whim. That is how he rerouted the hallway Uryu, Renji, Pesche, and Dondochakka fled down so it led right back to him, knowing they would run the moment he stepped away. He likens their wasted effort to a bad joke, then calls being made to work for such weak prey an even worse one, and swallows his sword to trigger his Resurreccion, Fornicaras.

His body swells, expels a flood of fluid, then reshapes into a slender form draped in layered tentacles, thin wing-like appendages of dark strands, and elongated fingers tipped with spheres. Seating himself on a throne formed from his Fraccion, he initiates Carbon-Copy by spraying fluid across the ceiling so it rains down on the group. Uryu warns the others not to let it touch them, but a single drop lands on Dondochakka and grows a near-identical clone, and soon duplicates of Uryu and Renji rise around them. Szayelaporro reveals the copies share every ability of the originals and that the device suppressing their powers is now switched off, forcing them to battle themselves.

At the same time, Ichigo dodges a swing of Nnoitra's weapon and springs off its edge to strike, only for Nnoitra to duck the blow and remark that this is clearly not his first time facing a hafted weapon. When Ichigo confirms it is his second, Nnoitra simply drives the pole of his weapon into Ichigo's back and sends him sprawling. As the restrained Orihime cries that this is unfair given Ichigo's wounds, Nnoitra dismisses fairness as meaningless in battle and invites Ichigo to keep coming, since he already learned every one of his moves from watching the fight with Grimmjow.

Szayelaporro unveils his mastery of the palace and releases Fornicaras, then uses Carbon-Copy to duplicate Uryu, Renji, and Dondochakka, turning them against their own clones with their powers restored. Nnoitra demonstrates his overwhelming edge over Ichigo, revealing he studied Ichigo's fighting style during the Grimmjow battle.

The chapter shares its name with the volume and was adapted in Episode 191, The Frightening Banquet, Szayelaporro Theater. The recurring bad joke motif ties Szayelaporro's cruelty to Nnoitra's contempt across both storylines.