Episode Title:
The Blood Warfare
Episode Description:
Soul Reapers Ryūnosuke Yuki and Shino Madarame are assigned to be the new guardians of Karakura Town following the mysterious mass disappearances of Hollows throughout the Human World. They are swarmed by Hollows but rescued by Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado and Uryū Ishida, who kill all the Hollows. Two days later, Ichigo is confronted in his home by Asguiaro Ebern, who he believes to be an Arrancar from his face plate. However, he quickly deduces that Ebern is actually a Quincy from his medallion. After Ebern attempts to seal away Ichigo's bankai using his medallion, Ichigo evades his attack and forces Ebern to escape with a Getsuga Tenshō. At the same time, a group of individuals representing the Wandenreich, the Quincy Empire, ambush Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto in the Soul Society and deliver a fatally wounded Chōjirō Sasakibe as an example of what is to come. Meanwhile, many citizens have mysteriously disappeared from the Rukon District. At the Wandenreich's base, Silbern, Ebern delivers a report to Yhwach, the Quincy King.