Ishida's Trump Card, the Cutter of Souls

Ishida's Trump Card, the Cutter of Souls is the one-hundred-fifty-seventh episode of the Bleach anime.

Statistics

 * Original Airdate: January 23, 2008
 * English Airdate: October 17, 2009
 * Opening Song: After Dark
 * Ending Song: Kansha
 * Manga Chapters: Chapter 258, Chapter 259.
 * Kanji: 石田の切り札、魂を切り裂くもの
 * Romaji: "Ishida no kirifuda, tamashī o kirisaku mono"
 * Arc: The Hueco Mundo arc Part 1

Summary
As Cirucci's destroyed blades fall into the ground, Uryū informs his opponent that before Urahara took him out of the hospital, he used Urahara's abilities to find a hidden warehouse and he borrowed a few items from there. He then states that the weapon he's holding right now is called Seele Schneider and claims it to be the only edged Quincy weapon. Pesche suddenly calls Uryū a thief for stealing from a warehouse and the two end up getting into another argument with each other. Pesche suddenly calls Uryū "Ichigo" and this angers Uryū further. Cirucci ignores their arguing and she refers to Uryū as a Quincy, causing Uryū to be shocked that she actually knows about the Quincy. She states that the only thing she knew about them was that they were a troublesome clan that was conveniently killed off by the Shinigami and Uryū tells her that she's correct. Uryū suddenly uses Hirenkyaku to appear directly behind Cirucci and he swings his Seele Schneider at the Arrancar. Cirucci is able to block the attack and she asks Uryū why he's aiding the Shinigami, but Uryū tells her that he doesn't have to answer that and that she should be more worried about her wings than the history of his clan. Cirucci suddenly realizes that part of her wings have been cut off.

Uryū informs Cirucci that her blades weren't cut in half because of a fluke or a one-time increase in reiatsu, but just as he's about to explain the reason why they were cut in half, Pesche interrupts and remarks that Uryū was up in the air for a long time. After the two get into yet another argument, Uryū tells Cirucci that vibrating objects can be destroyed by something that moves at a higher frequency and that in this respect Seele Schneider is similar to a chainsaw. Uryū then explains that the surface of Seele Schneider's blade is formed by spirit particles that vibrate at 3 million times per second and he remarks that the Quincy are very skilled at perceiving reiatsu. He then guesses that Cirucci's blades vibrate at 1.1 to 1.3 million times per second and that this is nothing compared to his weapon and this makes Cirucci realize that her blades won't work against him. She suddenly removes her wings and Uryū is surprised that she can freely separate parts of her release form, but Cirucci informs him that he's wrong and that she "ditched" her wings. She states that she'll never be able to go back to her original form and she begins to explain that when an Arrancar goes into their Resurrección, they gain back their original Hollow attacks and abilities. Cirucci states that the only way for an Arrancar to return to their humanoid form is to seal those abilities back into their sword and that changing form without first reforming the blade is like cutting off your arm. She then decides that she's going to put all of her leftover reiatsu into a single weapon and she forms a large, pink blade of spiritual energy at the end of her tail.

Uryū asks Cirucci if winning this battle is really so important that she'd have to go this far, but Cirucci mocks him for asking since this is a war and that no matter what she has to win. She states that Arrancar are soldiers, the Espada are commanders and that they were born to kill their enemies and win. Cirucci suddenly attacks Uryū with her new weapon and Uryū attempts to block it with Seele Schneider. However, the force of the blow is too great and he is pushed back. She continues to attack him and she remarks that she should have just done this from the beginning. After a bit of dodging, the two lock blows with each other again, but this time Uryū is the one to push her back. Cirucci thinks to herself that she shouldn't use such a vulnerable form to attack someone using a sword and she changes the shape of her weapon to that of a sword and she states that if two swords of the same strength fight against each other, the longer sword wins. However, Uryū informs his opponent that the reiatsu vibrations of Seele Schneider isn't meant for cutting and that it's actually for making the reiatsu around the area it cuts softer, making it easier to steal. Cirucci suddenly notices her swords spiritual energy going to Uryū's sword and he states that the Quincy fight by gathering spiritual particles together and transforming them into weapons. As Uryū informs Cirucci that all of her spirit particles belong to him now, Cirucci angrily attacks her opponent. Uryū tells her that she got something else wrong as well and he states that Seele Schneider isn't a sword, but a bow as that is the only weapon Quincy use. He states that this battle already belongs to him and he goes back to her earlier statement on whoever has the longer reach wins and he fires Seele Schneider directly through Cirucci. Cirucci falls to the ground, defeated and Uryū goes up to her to retrieve his Seele Schneider. After putting his weapon back, Uryū decides to leave and tells Pesche that they're going, but Pesche informs Uryū that she isn't dead yet. However, Uryū states that since he's the victor, he has the right to choose whether his enemy lives or dies. He then states that he shot her in her "chain link", the place where ones reiatsu comes from and he remarks that since an Arrancar is a Hollows attempt at becoming a Shinigami, the structure of their souls should be similar. Uryū then states that Cirucci might look at him sparing her life as an insult, but he doesn't care as he never intended on doing things their way in the first place and that either she doesn't have the strength to kill him. The two of them then leave the area and Cirucci reverts back to her original form. The Exequias suddenly appear next to Cirucci and they prepare to kill her.

In another location, Sado is shown to be overwhelmed by his opponent, Gantenbainne Mosqueda. As Sado battles him, Gantenbainne tells him that his punches will never be able to connect if he can't use Sonído and he throws Sado into the ground. Sado still gets back up though, determined to fight and he punches at Gantenbainne, but the Arrancar easily catches his blow. He then continues to overwhelm Sado with his immense power and Sado is eventually knocked into the ground again. Sado continues to get back up though, but Gantenbainne warns him that he'll die if he continues this. Sado tells him that he isn't ready to die and the two clash blows, with Sado once again being "defeated". However, Sado reveals this as a trick and he uses this opportunity to land a hit on Gantenbainne's face, sending him crashing into a wall. Gantenbainne realizes that Sado wants an all-out fight and Sado confirms this with the explanation that he has to move on from here. Gantenbainne suddenly uses Sonído to move directly behind Sado and he begins pummeling down on the Human. Gantenbainne suddenly jumps into the air and begins to slam down on Sado, but he is able to dodge the attack and the two of them begin battling again. Gantenbainne finds an opening and punches Sado in the stomach exactly 99 times and he punches Sado into the ground with the 100th punch. Gantenbainne tells Sado to get back up, claiming that he knows he's still hiding power from him and that this should be a fair fight. However, Sado doesn't show any sign of moving and Gantenbainne states that this hurts his feelings and he goes to finish off his opponent. However, Sado gets back up and stops the blow and he apologizes since he had no intention of hiding his power. He explains that ever since he came to Hueco Mundo, his power has felt different and he was unable to use his true power until now. Sado then states that he'll be able to fight with his true power now and his right arm is shown in a completely new form, which Sado claims is his right arms true form.

Arrancar Encyclopedia
Gin explains about Arrancar Resurrección's and Cirucci comes out to say that she "looks sexy" even after her release, but Gin tells her that while it may be true, people can see up her skirt while she's flying around, but Cirucci informs him that she has armor under her skirt as well. Pesche suddenly comes out to see that this ruins everything for a man, but Cirucci steps on him, claiming she doesn't care.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Uryū Ishida
 * 2) Cirucci Sanderwicci
 * 3) Kisuke Urahara (flashback)
 * 4) Pesche Guatiche
 * 5) Yasutora Sado
 * 6) Gantenbainne Mosqueda
 * 7) Ichigo Kurosaki (flashback)

Fights

 * Uryū Ishida vs. Cirucci Sanderwicci (concluded)
 * Yasutora Sado vs. Gantenbainne Mosqueda

Powers and Techniques used
Quincy techniques:

Hollow techniques:

Resurrección used:

Other powers: