Ichigo・Byakuya・Kariya, The Battle of the Three Extremes!

 is the ninety-sixth episode of the Bleach anime.

As Ichigo Kurosaki and 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki continue to fight a continuously healing Jin Kariya, Ran'Tao shows up, prompting Kariya to leave.

Summary
In the western Fugai forest, Jin Kariya rises into the air while surrounded by a Wind Barrier as Ichigo Kurosaki and 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki appear on the ground below him with Shunpo. Smirking at this, Kariya uses Wind Licht Schneide to unleash two intersecting diagonal blades of wind at Ichigo and Byakuya, prompting Ichigo to fire a Getsuga Tenshō at it with his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, while Byakuya's Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi''', surges forward in turn.

The colliding attacks create an explosion of energy that rips through the surrounding forest and sends a screaming Ririn flying back as Uryū Ishida sees smoke coiling into the sky in the distance and runs toward it. In the aftermath, Ririn runs up to the edge of the massive, newly-formed crater and peers inside to see Ichigo, Byakuya, and Kariya standing across from each other. After pausing for a few seconds, Ichigo uses Shunpo to rush toward Kariya, rupturing the ground in his wake.

Suddenly, Ichigo reappears behind a startled Kariya and criticizes him as being slow while slashing at him, only for Kariya to summon swirling wind around his right arm and block Ichigo's sword before pushing it aside. Upon seeing Senbonzakura Kageyoshi hurtling toward them from behind Ichigo, Kariya pushes back Ichigo, who moves into the air with Shunpo, and shields himself with another spherical Wind Barrier just as Senbonzakura Kageyoshi crashes down onto him. After rejoining Byakuya on the other side of the crater, Ichigo demands that he cut it out and questions if Byakuya is trying to kill him as well, only for Byakuya to reiterate that he is in the way.

With Ichigo outraged by this, he and Byakuya see a swirling wind sphere surge out of the blade petal maelstrom and toward them, which leads Ichigo to leap into the air as Byakuya shields himself from the wind with a portion of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi that the sphere dissipates around. In midair, Kariya appears behind a stunned Ichigo and punches him in the gut with his left fist, causing Ichigo to cough up blood, prior to summoning a cone of wind around his right arm and firing it into Ichigo, who is sent flying down and crashes into the side of the crater. Having created a rocky outcropping with the impact of his crash, Ichigo wipes the blood from his mouth and wonders how Kariya is keeping up with him.

In response to this, Kariya admits that he is not nearly as fast as Ichigo is and explains that his years of fighting experience allow him to predict which way Ichigo is going to move, leaving Ichigo astonished while he smirks. However, Kariya is interrupted when his left shoulder receives a small cut, which prompts Byakuya to observe that his Wind Barrier cannot protect Kariya from everything if Byakuya uses an attack that is more powerful than his defense is. After recalling Senbonzakura Kageyoshi crashing into him earlier, Kariya praises Byakuya's skill, but asserts that he cannot win and reminds Byakuya that the Bount are immortal in Soul Society due to its concentrated Reishi.

To demonstrate this, Kariya casually heals his injury and repairs his jacket with Reishi from their surroundings, only for Byakuya to request that he prove his immortality before having Senbonzakura Kageyoshi surge from around him toward Kariya, who slashes through it with wind. Despite this, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi merely reforms behind a shocked Kariya, forcing him to shield himself with a spherical Wind Barrier. With Senbonzakura Kageyoshi penetrating the barrier and slashing his body in several areas, a pained Kariya is slammed into the ground by the mass of blade petals, leaving a crater several feet deep that he stands up in while bleeding.

As Kariya begins to heal himself with Reishi, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi flows out from behind Byakuya and slams into the crater right after Kariya moves into the air and forms another Wind Barrier, where Senbonzakura Kageyoshi rushes toward him in two streams and prompts Kariya to respond in kind with a thick tendril of compressed air that slams into Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, creating a bright explosion of energy that forces Ichigo to shield his eyes below. In the aftermath, with all three combatants glaring at each other and Ririn quivering in fear, the battle is suddenly interrupted by a massive beam of energy that falls into the crater, prompting the three of them to move outside.

The impact of the energy bream kicks up an enormous cloud of dust that washes over the surrounding area, and as Ichigo wonders what is going on and Ririn digs herself out of the rubble, those present see Ran'Tao emerging from the cloud of dust, shocking Kariya and Ichigo, who are astonished alongside Ririn to recognize her face as that of Yoshino Sōma. With Kariya expressing stunned disbelief at this, Ran'Tao notes that she has finally found him and identifies herself, further surprising those present while Ichigo recalls that she is the creator of the Bount who was exiled from the Seireitei. While Kariya questions how she is still alive, Ichigo inquires if she is really Ran'Tao.

However, Ran'Tao simply mocks Ichigo for being more vulgar than Shinigami used to be and points out how her being the only one who knows of the Bount other than the Shinigami of the Seireitei should be enough proof of her identity. After observing that all information on the Bount other than a small section should have been destroyed, Ran'Tao turns to Kariya and deduces that he is a Bount before concluding that he must be able to sense that she is the real Ran'Tao. As Ran'Tao asserts that she knew Kariya would come to Soul Society one day and that she has waited a mind-numbingly long amount of time for him, Kariya acknowledges the Bount were forced to suffer for an agonizingly long time.

When Kariya demands to know if she is the one who forced this upon the Bount, Ran'Tao merely notes that he is more emotional than he looks and more short-tempered than he sounds while inquiring if Kariya is going to kill her. Upon hearing this, Ichigo leaps between them and refuses to let Ran'Tao die here since he has a lot of things to ask her. Despite this, Kariya reminds Ichigo that no one said he would kill Ran'Tao here and details how she must watch the Bount achieve their goal as the direct result of her actions prior to promising to kill her once he has destroyed the Seireitei. Suddenly, while Ichigo curses Kariya, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi slams into the latter from above.

With Kariya moving into the air to avoid this attack, Ichigo turns in surprise to Byakuya, who reiterates that he will kill anyone who is an enemy of Soul Society and has Senbonzakura Kageyoshi surge toward Kariya once more. Seeing Kariya shield himself with a Wind Barrier and disappear from sight, Ichigo vows to not let him get away and moves behind Kariya when the latter reappears in midair. Though Kariya protects himself from Ichigo's subsequent slash with another Wind Barrier around his arm, a yelling Ichigo manages to push the sword of Tensa Zangetsu through the barrier and into Kariya's arm, drawing a large amount of blood as the two of them land on the ground.

As Ichigo observes that he can also break through Kariya's defense, he and Byakuya glare at a stoic Kariya before noticing dozens of metal spheres flying toward them, which Byakuya moves out of the way of with Shunpo while Ichigo initially deflects some with his sword before following suit and grabbing Ririn after her cover is destroyed by one of the spheres right before he reaches her. Gō Koga runs over to Kariya and advises him to retreat for now as he orders his Doll, Dalk, to cause a disturbance, leading the latter to move in front of Ichigo and Byakuya, whom she apologizes to for being unable to play with them today despite their handsomeness.

Upon being fired upon by Dalk, Ichigo and Byakuya begin evading the dozens of metal spheres with Shunpo, with Ichigo eventually moving to the rock that Ran'Tao is hiding behind and sternly deflecting all the spheres coming her way, which she smiles at. When the dust from the onslaught of Dalk settles, Ichigo sees that she, Koga, and Kariya have vanished, only for Ririn to reveal that her sensors could not properly track them during the previous explosions when he turns to her for their locations. With Byakuya sheathing his Zanpakutō, Ichigo questions if he is not going to pursue Kariya, which leads Byakuya to point out how Kariya has already disappeared into the distance.

While Ichigo deduces that he is saying it is pointless to pursue Kariya, Byakuya clarifies that he is waiting until they encounter him again and departs, leaving Ichigo to express his exasperation at this before turning to an approaching Ran'Tao and inquiring if she is an enemy or an ally, to her bemusement. Meanwhile, in Kusajishi, hundreds of armed villagers gather outside before Maki Ichinose and Tōba, who admits that more are showing up than he expected and informs Ichinose that their numbers will soon double at this rate. As Ichinose interprets this as meaning there are many dissatisfied with the Seireitei, Tōba asks him about Kariya and Koga's absence, though Ichinose promises they will return soon.

Back in the Fugai forest, Ririn alerts Ichigo to someone approaching, only for Ichigo to discover that it is Uryū in his Quincy uniform as the latter dissipates the Heilig Pfeil in Kojaku and expresses relief at Ichigo being safe. However, Uryū quickly notices Ran'Tao behind Ichigo and mistakes her for Yoshino in shock, though Ichigo clarifies that she is the creator of the Bount whom Yoruichi Shihōin told them about. With Uryū astonished by this, Ran'Tao realizes that he is a Quincy and is amused by him teaming up with a Shinigami before assuring them that she is not their enemy if they are standing against the Bount, which prompts Ichigo to request that she explain the Bount to them.

Ran'Tao asserts that she will be tending to Ichigo's wounds before that, causing him to notice the blood on his face, and invites him and Uryū to come to her house nearby to talk prior to walking off, with Ichigo and Uryū following her. Elsewhere in the forest, Ganju Shiba has Bonnie come to a stop with the rest of his group behind him and notes that "The Bull of Kusajishi" should be around here somewhere. When Orihime questions what he is doing, Ganju tells her to watch and places his fingers to his lips as he whistles loudly, which causes Daiji Hirasago and his subordinates to emerge from the nearby bushes, startling Orihime and Yasutora Sado as Ganju greets Daiji.

Meanwhile, Ran'Tao closes the hatch in the ground leading to her dwelling and guides Ichigo and Uryū down a set of stairs, where Uryū is unnerved by the strange and eclectic items leaning against the walls. Suddenly, Ichigo cries out in pain, prompting Uryū to look around to see Ran'Tao using a pair of defibrillators on him. Despite Ichigo's protests, Ran'Tao shocks him again and informs him that he is now healed, which a surprised Ichigo happily confirms. After telling him to not underestimate science and putting away the defibrillators elsewhere in the room, Ran'Tao wonders what she should begin talking about and questions how much Ichigo and Uryū already know about the Bount.

With Ran'Tao starting a fire underneath a pot, Ichigo recounts Kariya's explanation of how Ran'Tao was using Human Souls to perform experiments with the aim of creating a life that never dies. Intrigued by the revelation that Kariya is the leader of the Bount, Ran'Tao notes that the success rate of their experiment should have been very high, and when Ichigo brings up the accident during the experiment that affected the cycle of rebirth and created the Bount, Ran'Tao affirms this and recalls how there was no place in the Human World for the Bount before revealing that Soul Society would not help the Bount either because it would have meant accepting their existence.

Elaborating that Soul Society would have had to admit that they created a subspecies as a side effect of the experiment, Ran'Tao details how the Bount tried to force their way into Soul Society after being rejected and how the Quincy became involved at this point, resulting in a battle between the two that Kariya took part in and which Soul Society took advantage of to nearly eradicate the Bount by sending in Shinigami to kill the survivors, which Kariya witnessed and was traumatized by. As Ran'Tao concludes that the ones who escaped this battle or were living elsewhere at the time became the group Kariya now leads, Uryū wonders what she was doing until now if she acquired so much information.

Uryū questions why Ran'Tao did not go to the Human World and do something if she is so concerned about the Bount before demanding to know if Ran'Tao did not feel attached to the Bount as the researcher who created them even if they were an accident, but is mortified alongside Ichigo and Ririn when Ran'Tao turns around and partially removes her robe to reveal a large kanji inscribed on her back, which she explains is a seal placed on her Shinigami power that prevents her from entering the Human World or even leaving Soul Society. When Ichigo asks her about the power she used to enter the fight, Ran'Tao puts her robe back on and states that years of research let her regain some power.

With Ran'Tao admitting that this is limited, Ichigo wonders why she was exiled from the Seireitei in the first place, and when Ran'Tao recounts how the ones who exiled her were relieved to learn that the Bount did not have the ability to convert themselves to Reishi, Ririn deduces that they believed everything could be settled in the Human World. Ran'Tao explains that she predicted the Bount would use any means they could to enter Soul Society and proposed that they publicize everything in order to accept the Bount, only to bitterly ruminate on this being the result, to Ichigo's sorrow and empath, as she turns to Uryū and apologizing for the great deal of trouble that she has caused him.

After Uryū confirms that Kariya used his Quincy power to get here, Ran'Tao is left perplexed by him being the enemy of the Bount even though he assisted them in entering Soul Society and inquires about what this means, only for Ichigo to interject and dismiss this as the result of a lot happening. Noticing the Quincy Bangle on Uryū's wrist, Ran'Tao asks him if he knows what it is and describes it as being incredibly dangerous. Though Ran'Tao beings to warn him about what will happen if he uses it recklessly, Uryū acknowledges the danger and asserts that he has to defeat Kariya no matter what happens, which leads Ran'Tao to accept him being prepared for the consequences of this.

Suddenly, as Ran'Tao cautions Uryū to be careful for both himself and those around him, she collapses and clutches her head, startling and concerning Ichigo and Uryū. Assuring them that she is fine, Ran'Tao observes that they should have thought she looked strange and reminds Ichigo and Uryū that she is much older than most Shinigami are before informing them that she experimented on herself in order to keep living until the Bount came back, which means that she now needs to rest for about half a day, to Ririn's astonishment. Despite Ichigo insisting that he still has things to ask her, Ran'Tao promises to answer them when she recovers and immediately falls asleep on her bed.

With Ichigo annoyed at having been cut off while he was still talking, Uryū picks up on Ran'Tao mentioning that she is much older than she appears to be and concludes that it cannot be helped because of this. When Ririn inquires if they are going to return to Kūkaku Shiba's house, Ichigo denies this on the grounds that they still have things to ask Ran'Tao and states that they will be staying here, which Uryū agrees is the best course of action. Meanwhile, in the house in Kusajishi, as the sun begins to rise outside, Koga asks Kariya about how skilled Byakuya proved to be, leading Kariya to admit that he was not bad and that fighting him made for a good declaration.

Upon being probed by Koga if this was his true intention, Kariya chides him for inquiring too much lately, but Koga claims that he is only doing so because he is in good spirits and walks with Kariya to the window, where they see the crowd of villagers cheering for them outside. As Kariya inquires about the status of Yoshi, Mabashi, and Sawatari, Ichinose informs him that they are watching the movements of the Seireitei as planned, and after observing that it is almost time to begin, Kariya grins at the mob outside.

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
At Kakyō's grave in Soul Society, 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura is surprised by the offer of a souvenir, prompting 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi to explain that he heard Komamura regretted not having any combs that were right for his fur and pull a brush that he got in the Human World out of his shihakushō. Though initially confused by the brush not resembling a traditional comb, Komamura is pleased by the sensation as he begins brushing the fur around his face and neck, which leads a smiling Hisagi to internally note that he is glad Komamura is happy and that Orihime Inoue knows such good stores while recalling the pet store he visited.

Fights

 * Byakuya Kuchiki & Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Jin Kariya (concluded)

Powers and Techniques Used
Hohō Techniques:

Zanpakutō Techniques:

Doll Techniques:
 * Wind Barrier
 * Wind Barrier

Quincy Techniques:

Zanpakutō released:

Bankai:

Spirit Weapons:

Dolls summoned:
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)

Other powers: