Come Around Our Turn

Kūgo dodges the incoming blast and moves to withdraw, telling himself that regrouping is the only sane choice, yet Ichigo cuts off the escape, slams him into the ground, and looses another wave point-blank. Left wondering whether his Fullbring had sharpened his instincts, Kūgo has no time to recover.

Ichigo learns that his renewed strength was pooled from far more allies than the captains standing before him, including Shinji Hirako, Rangiku Matsumoto, Retsu Unohana, Hanatarō Yamada, his father Isshin, Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihōin, and the Captain-Commander himself. When he asks whether pouring Shinigami power into a Human breaks the rules, Renji explains that Yamamoto sanctioned it after Urahara petitioned the First Division for aid. The old commander decided that repaying someone who had done so much for the Soul Society was worth defying custom, and he ordered his officers to feed their Reiatsu into a sword Urahara had readied.

Hitsugaya credits the whole effort to Ichigo's own influence, noting that his repeated interventions had reshaped the Soul Society itself. He then discloses a second motive for their help: the man Ichigo is fighting was the first Human ever to hold a Substitute badge, someone who later abandoned the role and vanished.

Ichigo pins Kūgo and fires a second Getsuga Tenshō at close range. The full roster of allies who contributed to Ichigo's revival is named. Renji and Hitsugaya explain Yamamoto's approval and the ritual with Urahara's prepared sword. Hitsugaya reveals that Kūgo Ginjō was the original Substitute Shinigami.

The chapter appears in Volume 53, The Deathberry Returns 2, and was adapted as part of Episode 362, Revival! Substitute Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki! A flashback recaps Urahara's request for the Gotei 13's help.