Quiet Chamber, Noisy Heart

Having halved Giriko, Kenpachi finds himself back in the Human World and scans the area for anyone else who has finished. Boredom nearly sends him wandering off until Yachiru Kusajishi springs onto his shoulder and raps him on the skull, reminding him that the group came together and swore to leave together, and that slipping away would earn them Yamamoto's wrath. She tugs at his ears the whole way as he trudges along.

Inside his own sealed room, Ichigo recognizes the surroundings as a copy of Karakura Town, a setting Ginjō chose to keep their clash a clean one-on-one. That plan collapses when Uryū Ishida steps in, healed by Rukia. Uryū offers an apology, admitting that after their trip to the Soul Society he had assumed earlier substitutes must have existed and reasoned that the silence surrounding them meant the Soul Society itself was in the dark. Ichigo kicks him, brushing the guilt aside as pointless worry over something no one could have changed, and the two friends trade insults before turning together to face Ginjō.

Elsewhere, as Hitsugaya and Rukia handle their own opponents, Byakuya confronts Tsukishima, voicing his disgust for a power that rewrites the bonds between people, and their fight begins.

Yachiru stops Kenpachi from leaving early. Uryū joins Ichigo's fight against Ginjō, which unfolds inside a replica of Karakura Town. Byakuya begins his duel with Tsukishima.

Collected in Volume 53, The Deathberry Returns 2, and adapted as part of Episode 363, Fierce Fight! Shinigami vs. XCUTION!