Ashido reveals that his attack was a test of her strength, and he decides to take her back to her friends. Along the way, he relates his past to Rukia, explaining that he was part of a unit which hunts hollows that inadvertently came to Hueco Mundo. They are attacked by an Adjuchas. Meanwhile, Nel and her friends are held captive by the other Adjuchas, and Ichigo, Uryū, Chad and Renji are searching the area for them. Rukia and Ashido easily destroy the first Adjuchas, and another adjuchas prepares up an ambush, in which Ashido is hit while trying to protect Rukia.