Kenpachi Zaraki vs. Maki Ichinose

 is a fight taking place during the Bount Invasion between 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki and his former subordinate, Maki Ichinose, over his past killing of Kenpachi Kiganjō.

Prelude
At dusk on the day that 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya learns of suspicious activity in the Kusajishi forest, 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki grabs his Zanpakutō in his office and prepares to leave, which prompts his lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi, to ask him if he is going to meet Maki Ichinose. Confirming this, Kenpachi informs her that Hitsugaya has been able to track and locate him, and in response, Yachiru declares that she is going as well since she also wants to meet Ichinose.

Later that night, at the logging operation in Kusajishi, Gō Koga informs Jin Kariya that their preparations for a surprise attack on the Seireitei are on schedule, which pleases Kariya, while Ichinose approaches and reveals that several Shinigami, including a captain, are approaching their location. As Ichinose suggests that he stay here to deal with them, Kariya observes that things will be easier later if they deal with the Shinigami now and permits Ichinose to do as he wishes, which Ichinose affirms.

Soon afterward, Hitsugaya, 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, and 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai incapacitate several villagers in a clearing and are confused by their numbers being lower than reported. With Renji asking him what they should do, Hitsugaya orders them to split up and move ahead before they all depart with Shunpo. At the now-empty logging yard, Ichinose stands alone in the middle of the clearing as Hitsugaya runs out of the trees and realizes that he has found one. After Ichinose identifies himself in response to Hitsugaya demanding to know who he is, Hitsugaya questions if he is the Shinigami who has been helping the Bount all this time.

Ichinose denies being a Shinigami any longer and claims that he is now a comrade of the great Kariya. When Hitsugaya demands to know where the Bount are, Ichinose unsheathes his Zanpakutō and asserts that he does not need to answer Hitsugaya, who decides to force an answer out of him and assumes a battle stance alongside Ichinose before the two of them rush forward and clash in a shower of sparks. With Ichinose managing to pin Hitsugaya's Zanpakutō underneath his own, Hitsugaya is left perplexed at Ichinose helping the Bount when he has so much skill, and when Ichinose explains that he saw Kariya's goal as justice, Hitsugaya is further confused, leading Ichinose to state there is no justice in Soul Society.

However, as Ichinose concludes that Kariya will purge the Shinigami, he is visibly alarmed and leaps back with Shunpo to separate himself from a startled Hitsugaya while Ichigo Kurosaki knocks out a villager in the nearby forest and walks into the clearing with Ririn and Uryū Ishida. Informally greeting an annoyed Hitsugaya, Ichigo asks him about what is going on in this forest as Rangiku appears next to them alongside Renji with Shunpo and reports that there really are too few villagers in the surrounding forest. Suddenly, the ground begins to rumble, prompting Ichigo and his friends to look into the forest and see a protesting Orihime Inoue riding on the boar Nanny with Yasutora Sado.

After Nanny slides to a halt, a stunned Ichigo wonders why Orihime is here, which prompts her to reveal that Ganju and the others are currently routing the villagers as Ganju and Daiji's gangs incapacitate the villagers in the forest with their boars and refuse to let any of them get away. Orihime elaborates that they accompanied Ganju to the forest in order to stop the villagers gathering in it, but Kurōdo declares that there are too few people present, and as Hitsugaya questions what this means, a shocked Sado recalls facing off against Sawatari, who can manipulate space in a manner similar to Noba, leading Rangiku to affirm this while Ichinose informs them Kariya's forces are at the Seireitei.

However, with Ichinose vowing to stop them from pursuing Kariya, Hitsugaya questions how Ichinose plans to do this when he is so heavily outnumbered and criticizes his overconfidence. When Hitsugaya orders her to go on ahead with the others while he handles the situation himself, Rangiku protests this, but Hitsugaya reminds her that the Bount have been steadily increasing their power by absorbing Reishi ever since they arrived even if the Seireitei itself is not in immediate danger. With Rangiku acknowledging this and telling Renji to come with her, Ichinose asserts that none of them are going anywhere and releases his Shikai, Nijigasumi, causing his blade to shine brilliantly.

As Ichigo and his friends reel back in surprise and find themselves blinded by the bright light, Hitsugaya rushes forward and stabs at Ichinose with his own Zanpakutō, only for Ichinose to be revealed to be an illusion that fades away around the blade, prompting a confused Hitsugaya to look back and see himself cut off from the rest of the group by a flat yellow-white light engulfing the area around Hitsugaya and obscuring his surroundings from view. Though still perplexed by this, Hitsugaya sees Ichinose running toward him and angrily moves to clash with him. Suddenly, Hitsugaya finds himself crossing blades with an equally flabbergasted Renji and pulls back his Zanpakutō.

Upon being asked by Hitsugaya where he came from, Renji returns the question and explains that he was certain Ichinose was attacking him before it turned out to be Hitsugaya, who is left shocked by this. Nearby, Ichigo wonders what is going on here and is told by Hitsugaya to not get reckless because they will end up attacking each other. With Kurōdo informing an uncertain Orihime that this means any movement could be hazardous, Hitsugaya deduces that this is the power of Ichinose's Zanpakutō, which leads Ichinose to confirm this and detail how Nijigasumi is a blade of light that reflects and refracts through the air around his enemies to create a new space.

Concluding that is what creates the illusion, Uryū insists that he must still have Reiatsu as a Shinigami and attempts to sense it, but is stunned to discover that he cannot do so while Noba responds to Sado's theory that Ichinose is shifting through dimensions the same way Noba does by observing that he did not detect Ichinose opening up space. Though Ichigo claims that Ichinose could not possibly disguise his Reiatsu, Uryū reminds him that the cave used by the Bount had a special mineral that blocked their ability to detect Reiatsu and suggests that Ichinose could be using this. Suddenly, while Hitsugaya expresses frustration at them wasting time, a startled Rangiku finds herself attacked.

Renji hears Rangiku's cry alongside Hitsugaya and points out how Ichinose will take them out individually if they keep standing around, only for Ichinose to proclaim that none of them will be leaving here alive, and though Hitsugaya warns the others to be careful, Ichinose mentally asserts that it is useless and rushes toward Sado from behind as he prepares to slash at him. Suddenly, 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki intercepts Ichinose's strike, astonishing the latter, and exerts his Reiatsu in a powerful burst, dispersing the yellow-white light and returning the surrounding area to its normal state as he greets Ichinose and comments on how long it has been since they last met.

With Kenpachi casually forcing Ichinose back with a swing of his Zanpakutō, causing the latter to fall to his knees, Yachiru pops up over Kenpachi's shoulder and cheers at having found Ichinose. As Orihime calls out to Yachiru and begins cheerfully catching up with her about what the two of them have been doing since they last met, Kenpachi turns to Ichigo and instructs him to visit the Eleventh Division first when he dies and comes to Soul Society so they can give him a warm reception, though Ichigo is not enthusiastic about this. Upon being addressed by Hitsugaya, Kenpachi notes that things have been getting entertaining around here lately, leaving Hitsugaya to look away in irritation.

Watching this from nearby, a stunned Uryū expresses disbelief at Kenpachi's Reiatsu being immense enough to easily blow away Ichinose's own Reiatsu. As Renji informs Kenpachi that the Bount have already begun their attack on the Seireitei and that Ichinose stopped him and his group from pursuing them, Kenpachi looks down at Ichinose and brings up how he was told that the latter would rather live with Bount than among his own kind, but Ichinose counters that what he does is none of Kenpachi's concern and refuses to confirm Kenpachi's inquiry about the leader of the Bount being named Kariya, prompting an unimpressed Kenpachi to note that he has not changed at all.

Kenpachi wonders what Ichinose plans to do now and states that he will not try to stop him if he wants to carry out his orders of stopping Ichigo and his friends, shocking Hitsugaya, before theorizing that Ichinose still holds a grudge against him and would like to fight him instead. As he gets to his feet, Ichinose mentally notes that he should dispatch Ichigo and his friends as quickly as possible so he can move on to support Kariya and the others in the Seireitei, only to recall Kenpachi's killing of Kenpachi Kiganjō and curse while assuming a battle stance, which leads Kenpachi to praise him as having more determination in his eyes than he did the last time they met.

After Ichinose declares that he will cut Kenpachi down and exerts his Reiatsu on the surrounding area, a grinning Kenpachi welcomes this since he was beginning to get bored and drags the tip of his Zanpakutō through the dirt in front of his feet while instructing Ichinose to display what Kariya has taught him, only to be interrupted by Yachiru encouraging the two of them to give it everything they have got. With Yachiru leaping off Kenpachi's shoulder to watch from another place at his behest so he can concentrate, Ichigo expresses concern for Kenpachi, only for Yachiru to suggest that they let Kenpachi and Ichinose settle this by themselves because Ichinose would prefer it that way.

Battle
Acknowledging this, Ichigo is told by Hitsugaya that they have to go and runs off alongside his friends as he tells Kenpachi that Ichinose is all his. When Kenpachi observes that they can finally get down to business and invites Ichinose to hit him with his best shot, Ichinose agrees as the blade of his Zanpakutō glows with a multitude of hues and turns invisible prior to running forward and repeatedly slashing at Kenpachi, who effortlessly blocks each strike and ridicules Ichinose for believing that he could land a blow with these weak attacks. However, Ichinose startles Kenpachi by moving behind him with Shunpo and slashing horizontally at the left side of his head.

Upon intercepting this with his own Zanpakutō, Kenpachi turns and blocks another attack from Ichinose when the latter reappears in the air on his right side, resulting in Ichinose returning to the ground behind Kenpachi and kneeling in exhaustion as Kenpachi expresses disappointment at Ichinose not being as powerful as he expected. Despite this, Ichinose claims that he is not done and disappears with the illusory power of Nijigasumi, leaving Kenpachi surprised. When his haori is cut on its left shoulder and right lapel, Kenpachi berates his intelligence and holds out his Zanpakutō to his side to block Ichinose's third attack, causing Ichinose to shimmer back into view.

Kenpachi demands that Ichinose not waste his time with these foolish tactics and leaps toward him before delivering a powerful strike that breaks him out of his illusion and sends Ichinose flying across the clearing, where he slides across the ground. However, with Kenpachi proclaiming that his time is up, Ichinose denies this and releases Nijigasumi once more, surrounding Kenpachi with white light and unleashing hundreds of shadowy slashes upon him that kick up a large cloud of dust around a pained Kenpachi. Detailing how Nijigasumi makes all things invisible when it shines and leaves nowhere to hide by dispelling all shadows, he is astonished to see Kenpachi emerge unharmed.

With Kenpachi glowing with yellow Reiatsu and admonishing Ichinose for not having changed at all since they last met, Ichinose realizes that he deflected all the slashes with his Reiatsu alone as Kenpachi mocks him for believing such a low-level attack would work and observes that he was wrong about Ichinose leaving Soul Society in order to become stronger. After concluding that Ichinose is not even a challenge and that he will put an end to this, Kenpachi dispels his Reiatsu and rushes forward to slash at Ichinose's neck, only for Ichinose to evade at the last second and move back from Kenpachi as he exerts his own rainbow Reiatsu in a large aura, which Yachiru is surprised by.

Though Kenpachi realizes that he has been hiding something and points out that Ichinose should know better than to hold back against him, Ichinose asserts that this is where the fight begins and initiates Saigyoku Nijigasumi, causing his Reiatsu to flare up further and impressing Kenpachi, who blocks Ichinose's subsequent lunge toward him and begins clashing repeatedly. While Kenpachi praises his quick reflexes as proving that he has gotten better, Ichinose ducks under a horizontal slash from him and stabs Nijigasumi forward, cutting through a shocked Kenpachi's shoulder, prior to landing behind Kenpachi from the air above and turning to face him once more.

Kenpachi admits that Ichinose is decent when he really tries, but an angered Ichinose berates him for being as arrogant as ever and questions how the Gotei 13 could ever let someone like him be a captain. Declaring that a Gotei 13 captain should protect those serving under him, Ichinose wonders who Kenpachi has ever protected and how he justifies his insane bloodlust as he leaps forward and slashes down at Kenpachi, who blocks with his Zanpakutō and laments with exasperation that Ichinose's grievances against him are the same as ever before maniacally proclaiming that he fights simply because it amuses him and that this is all the reason he needs to continue doing so.

Blocking Kenpachi's rapid subsequent attacks while moving backward, Ichinose leaps back and counters that Kenpachi never earned the right to be called a captain of the Gotei 13 as he elaborates that this is proof of Soul Society's philosophy becoming rancid and deceitful, a corruption which Kariya sees and which is the reason Ichinose brought him to Soul Society, before concluding that Kariya has a vision and he has gained this power for the sake of risking everything in order to help Kariya achieve it. In response, Kenpachi sarcastically inquires if Ichinose is going to talk him to death and demands that he use his power if he has such a severe problem with Kenpachi.

Suddenly, Kenpachi sees hundreds of small glimmers of light floating through the air around him, and when he questions what this is, Ichinose reveals that this is the true power of Nijigasumi and tells Kenpachi to disappear as he culminates Saigyoku Nijigasumi by expanding the glimmers of light into spheres that engulf a stunned Kenpachi and begin spreading outward in a large dome, forcing Yachiru to leave the tree branch she had been sitting on and run several dozen meters away to another tree, where she sees the massive dome of light condense and settle. Below her, Ichinose claims that Kenpachi is dead due to Nijigasumi using his Reiatsu to create limitless light that will consume him.

When Yachiru points out how she can sense that Kenpachi is not dead, an annoyed Ichinose admits that he is still breathing, but asserts that it is only a matter of time until the light Kenpachi is trapped in condenses into a small beam and squeezes the life out of him. Though Ichinose states that there is no escape from this, Yachiru firmly denies that Kenpachi will lose to him, leading Ichinose to sheathe his Zanpakutō and observe that the compression is beginning as the dome begins shrinking in size. Within the dome, Kenpachi muses on the strangeness of his blank surroundings and the increasing difficulty of moving prior to slamming his Zanpakutō into the ground, to no effect.

Amused by this, Kenpachi cricks his neck and deduces that he is not exerting enough of his Reiatsu. Back outside, Ichinose sighs and begins walking away as the dome condenses into a sphere, which prompts Yachiru to wonder where he is going. Upon being told that Ichinose will be assisting Kariya, Yachiru inquires if he does not want to finish his fight with Kenpachi, and when Ichinose says that there is nothing left to fight, Yachiru simply reiterates that Kenpachi is not dead, though Ichinose refutes this and threatens to do the same to Yachiru if she interferes. However, he is interrupted when a grinning Kenpachi objects to this and removes his eyepatch, unleashing his vast Reiatsu.

Kenpachi's Reiatsu surges upward in a wide beam flanked by a double helix, astonishing Ichinose, who is left staring in disbelief upon seeing the sphere of light cracking from the sheer pressure and ultimately exploding, sending a wave of dust rolling over Ichinose and the surrounding area. With Ichinose seeing the large crater in the ground left by the explosion, Kenpachi appears in front of him with his Zanpakutō leveled at Ichinose's face and explains that he released some of the Reiatsu kept suppressed within his body for an occasion like this. With Ichinose refusing to believe Kenpachi could overwhelm the Reiatsu of Nijigasumi like this, Kenpachi notes that Nijigasumi derives its power from Kidō.

Despite Ichinose not understanding what he is getting at, Kenpachi states that he is still the same as ever and decides to commend Ichinose for forcing him to use his full power for a brief moment, only to berate Ichinose for believing that his light could wipe away all shadows since the concept of shining light on everything is impossible to begin with. As Kenpachi concludes that it does not take scientific understanding to know that there will always be a shadow no matter how much light is created, Ichinose demands to know how someone like Kenpachi without noble goals or any sense of honor can reach this position and have so much power when Kiganjō was killed despite his justice and honor.

Enraged by the memory of Kenpachi killing Kiganjō, Ichinose wildly slashes at Kenpachi, who casually sidesteps this, and continues attacking as he criticizes Soul Society's message of order when a barbarian like Kenpachi is allowed to become a captain. Suddenly, Kenpachi intercepts Ichinose's thrust of his Zanpakutō by grabbing the blade with his bare left hand, and when Ichinose declares that Kenpachi will not get in the way of the Bount delivering long-overdue justice to Soul Society and blames Kenpachi as being part of the reason this is all happening, Kenpachi simply berates his intelligence and slashes Ichinose upward diagonally across his chest, causing the latter to collapse.

Kenpachi challenges Ichinose to detail one of his noble goals if he is so obsessed with nobility and prove that it is actually his goal instead of a task given to him by someone else. With Ichinose demanding that Kenpachi not act like he understands what Ichinose is doing, Kenpachi shoulders his Zanpakutō and proclaims that this is why Ichinose is pathetic, since relying on other people and loyalty are two different things, prior to walking away and concluding that it is no fun to fight someone without their own goals because there is no passion involved. Struggling to his feet, Ichinose wonders if Kenpachi came all the way out here solely to humiliate him with their fight.

In response, a chuckling Kenpachi reminds Ichinose that he would have ignored Kenpachi and dealt with the others first if he were really concerned with achieving Kariya's goals, meaning that he put his own goals above Kariya's when he chose to fight Kenpachi instead, which leaves Ichinose speechless. With Kenpachi asserting that Ichinose's power came from his hatred and desire to kill Kenpachi instead of through Kariya, which means he should use that hatred if he really wants to win, Ichinose looks down and internally wonders if he is right as Yachiru watches from above and expresses concern for both of them. Seeing Ichinose assume another battle stance, Kenpachi assumes he decided.

After mentally apologizing to Kariya over the possibility that he will not be there to share the glory when Kariya achieves his ultimate goal and requesting that the latter forgive him for this, Ichinose looks at Kenpachi and roars while exerting his rainbow Reiatsu, leading a grinning Kenpachi to hold out his Zanpakutō and exert his yellow Reiatsu in turn. Envisioning Kiganjō, Ichinose leaps forward and clashes with Kenpachi in an explosion of Reiatsu. Though initially startled by Ichinose's ferocity and force, a delighted Kenpachi pushes back against Ichinose's downward strike and ultimately cuts through the latter's Zanpakutō with his own to grievously wound Ichinose.

Aftermath
With his blood spattering across the ground, Ichinose thinks of Kiganjō and collapses, which prompts Kenpachi to look over his shoulder and observe that Ichinose's hatred was not enough. When Yachiru appears in front of him and questions if he killed Ichinose, a smiling Kenpachi simply states that he gave it everything he had, and as Kenpachi begins walking away and invites her to go home with him, Yachiru bows to Ichinose and moves to Kenpachi's shoulder with Shunpo. Later, having survived his injuries but heavily fatigued by the battle and ruminating on Kenpachi's words about loyality, Ichinose makes his way to Sōkyoku Hill to intervene in Ichigo and Kariya's final battle.