LOADING TO LIE

Freed from the digital prison that held him during the earlier clash, Ichigo grasps how Yukio had sealed him away. Ginjo names his teammate's power and outlines how it can govern anyone caught within the handheld console's interface, assuring Ichigo that Yukio will stay out of the coming bout. Curious whether Ichigo has ever imagined living inside a video game, Ginjo shrugs off the answer and leads him into a rendered stage that he warns will never grow more scenic.

Ginjo then calls forth his own Fullbring, Cross of Scaffold, and has Yukio grant each fighter six health points. Once Ichigo works out the rules, Yukio cautions that a loss will flash a death message across the screen, a threat Ichigo brushes aside before the two combatants rush one another.

Sado brings Orihime to the hideout, to Riruka's visible annoyance. Riruka argues that Ichigo will keep suffering as long as Orihime keeps mending him, and Orihime, realizing the other girl frets over him too, admits she set aside such fears long ago. Pressed on what she would do if Ichigo were wounded past saving, Orihime insists she will never let it come to that, and Yukio then admits her into the game.

In a separate scene, Urahara presses Isshin to confirm his resolve, warning that the plan amounts to stripping his son of the life he might otherwise have led. Isshin holds firm, and an unnamed Shinigami steps into view, urging them to proceed.

This chapter belongs to the fifty-first collected volume, Love me Bitterly Loth me Sweetly, and forms part of the Lost Substitute Shinigami arc. Its events were adapted into the anime as Episode 354, Ichigo vs. Ginjo! To the Game's Space. The closing exchange between Isshin and Urahara plants the setup for Ichigo's eventual restoration.