Ichigo Strikes Back! This is my Bankai

 is the one hundred and fifty-second episode of the Bleach anime.

Ichigo Kurosaki concludes his battle against Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio.

Summary
As he runs through a corridor in Las Noches, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai notices someone's Reiatsu and assumes it belongs to Ichigo Kurosaki, only to be shocked when he instead discovers it to be Dondochakka Birstanne tearfully running and wailing behind him. When Renji demands to know what he is doing here and calls him crazy for coming down the corridor as well, Dondochakka declares he is looking for Nel Tu, only for Renji to question why Dondochakka is following him in this case and assume he is lost.

In turn, Dondochakka asks Renji where Nel is, prompting him to affirm in incredulous annoyance that Dondochakka really is lost and chose to follow Renji at random since there is no way he could know this, and asserts that he has to find her since she went running after Ichigo. However, when Renji counters that Nel is safer with Ichigo than she would be with anyone else and tells him to stop crying, Dondochakka begins to explain that he has to find and stop Nel soon before she does something, but stops upon realizing that Renji is still running away from him, which Renji attributes to reflex from Dondochakka chasing him and Dondochakka's face triggering an instinctive fear in people.

With Dondochakka telling him to stop running so he can hear the full story, Renji angrily orders him to stop first and go search for Nel instead. Meanwhile, Ichigo is sent flying by a strike from one of the bird protrusions emerging from the Cyclones created by a maniacally laughing Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio's Resurrección, Giralda. With the bird protrusion slamming Ichigo into the ground and flinging him into the air after Dordoni kicks him away and Nel cries out to him, Dordoni directs it to jab at Ichigo several times with his kicks, which Ichigo struggles to block by holding his Shikai, Zangetsu, in front of him.

Dordoni encourages Ichigo to use his Bankai unless he wants to die, and as another bird protrusion crashes into Ichigo from above and drives him into the ground, Dordoni asserts that Ichigo conserving his strength against him is incredibly foolhardy. Pinning Ichigo in midair with El Uno Picotear, Dordoni instructs him once again to perform Bankai so he can fight at his best, only for Ichigo to instead fire a point-blank Getsuga Tenshō at the head of the bird protrusion restraining him, obliterating it as Dordoni watches in amusement. While a panting Ichigo lands on the ground, Nel frantically calls out to him in concern from the hole in the wall nearby.

Though he commends Ichigo on this course of action, Dordoni reiterates that he still has no chance of winning and responds to Ichigo accusing him of making assumptions by reforming the destroyed bird protrusion, countering that he is only stating the truth, and sending two more bird protrusions hurtling toward Ichigo, who leaps high into the air to evade them. When the bird protrusions follow him upward, Ichigo turns around and blocks one of them with Zangetsu, but is caught off-guard when the other one approaches and bites down on him to carry him further through the air, forcing Ichigo to destroy it with another Getsuga Tenshō.

Upon sensing Dordoni appearing behind him with Sonído, Ichigo refuses to fall for this again and turns around to swing Zangetsu at him, only to find a grinning Dordoni blocking Zangetsu with the bottom of his foot prior to reappearing behind Ichigo with Sonído again and kicking him in the side, causing Ichigo to double over in pain. Grabbing Ichigo by the collar to hold him aloft, Dordoni promises to keep doing this until Ichigo changes his mind and claims that this is troublesome for him as well because Ichigo will die if he does not hold back, which he punctuates by delivering three more powerful kicks to Ichigo that send him crashing into a wall.

Dordoni proclaims this battle would all be for nothing should that happens and kicks the air twice to send both bird protrusions slamming into the dust cloud where Ichigo hit the wall, causing him to scream in pain. When the dust clears, a tearful Nel sees Ichigo being held aloft by his arms by the two bird protrusions and warns him that he is going to die. With Dordoni pointing out Nel's concern for Ichigo and suggesting he use his Bankai once more, Ichigo holds Zangetsu out in front of him, to Dordoni's excitement, but instead disappears with Shunpo and reappears to attack a shocked Dordoni, who blocks Zangetsu with his wrist.

As he sees Ichigo attempting to fire another point-blank Getsuga Tenshō, an irritated Dordoni swipes his right hand to the side, sending Ichigo flying back with the resulting force, and chastises the latter for underestimating him prior to proclaiming that naughty boys must be punished while readying his hands in front of him to fire a Cero. Before Ichigo can defend himself from the beam, Nel appears in front of him facing the Cero with her arms, leaving both Ichigo and Dordoni shocked at her blocking it, and begins drawing the entire Cero into her mouth as though eating it, which stuns Dordoni in complete disbelief.

After a moment's pause, with a concerned Ichigo wondering if she is alright while smoke pours from her mouth, Nel concludes by firing the Cero back at Dordoni from her mouth with a burp. With Dordoni engulfed in the massive blast, a panting Nel defiantly tells him to not hurt Ichigo, only to be sent flying back when Dordoni blasts her with a Bala from within the resulting dust cloud, causing Ichigo to call out to her in concern. Dordoni notes that being able to redirect his Cero is no easy task, though he does not know who Nel is, and refuses to permit it while sending his other bird protrusion hurtling toward Nel.

However, the bird protrusion is cut completely in two by a black Getsuga Tenshō as Ichigo grabs Nel, now wielding his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, and slashes Dordoni's left shoulder in one swift movement. As Dordoni's left shoulder horn falls to the ground, Ichigo declares that this is the Bankai which Dordoni wanted to see, pleasing the latter. Looking up at Ichigo, a tearful Nel coughs in pain, prompting Ichigo to apologize for letting her get hurt over his ego and explain that he had intended to reserve his Bankai for the Espada since he did not believe that he could afford to use it on weaker Arrancar and exhaust his energy reserves.

Though Ichigo calls himself a fool as he stands up, Dordoni questions if Ichigo is sure about this and asserts that restraint in battle is required of those who seek great power, which he commends Ichigo for. When Ichigo counters that it is not worth letting a friend get hurt over, Dordoni deduces that he seeks power in order to protect his friends rather than for his own sake, which he considers to be saintly in its kindness. However, Dordoni begins reforming one of his bird protrusions and brings up Ichigo possessing other abilities before revealing that he knows about the latter's ability to use Hollowfication, to Ichigo's shock.

Dordoni details how the Arrancar have monitored and analyzed all of Ichigo's fights in the Human World to learn that he possesses a technique which grants him explosive strength through the power of a Hollow. Demanding that Ichigo show this to him, Dordoni sends the bird protrusion charging toward Ichigo, who casually blocks it with his sword, causing the protrusion's mask to begin cracking from the force, and split it in half with an upward Getsuga Tenshō. Impressed by Ichigo's enormous Reiatsu, Dordoni reiterates his desire to see Ichigo's best and moves behind him with Sonído to force him into blocking another bird protrusion.

With Ichigo distracted, Dordoni leaps through the smoke and attempts to attack Nel directly in order to compel Ichigo to this end. Ichigo barely manages to slash him away in time, leaving Nel with a graze on her cheek, and curses Dordoni, who observes that there is no reason for Ichigo to be angry since his purpose is to protect his friends and Dordoni's is to defeat Ichigo at his best, which simply means he must go after Nel to accomplish this goal. When Ichigo questions if he has any shame, Dordoni proclaims that he would suffer great shame if he were unable to fight Ichigo at the latter's best as he initiates Ave Mellizos to generate several bird protrusions.

With Dordoni concluding that all other shame pales in comparison to this, Ichigo accepts this and sets down Nel, whom he tells to stand back and promises to not let even a trace of Dordoni's Reiatsu get past him. Turning to face Dordoni, Ichigo agrees to use his Hollowfication, but clarifies that he can only show it to Dordoni for a second, which Dordoni is content with. As Ichigo dons his Hollow mask, further strengthening his Reiatsu, an astonished Dordoni laughs in joy and describes Ichigo's Reiatsu as marvelous prior to declaring that he is deeply honored to be able to fight someone so powerful and offering a toast to an exhibition of spectacular destructive force.

Suddenly, Dordoni finds himself slashed vertically down his left side from afar by Ichigo, and as he stares in bewilderment at the blood gushing from his wound, Ichigo dispels his Hollow mask and reminds Dordoni that it would only last for a second, leaving Dordoni to comment on the humiliation he has suffered while falling to his knees and collapsing. While unconscious, Dordoni recalls knowing for some time that the appearance of the Hōgyoku would make the Espada expendable and believed that he could accept this as a servant of Sōsuke Aizen, only to wake up to Nel dripping saliva onto his face with Nel Shower.

As a confused and screaming Dordoni backs up and demands to know what she is doing, Nel cheerfully states that she is drooling on him, which he is left aghast by, and Ichigo tells him to calm down while misspelling his name, to Dordoni's chagrin. Ichigo explains that Nel's saliva has mild healing properties, and when Nel reaches into her mouth to trigger a cascade of fluid from her mouth by yanking her uvula, a disgusted Dordoni insists that this is vomit instead of drool and chastises Nel for casually doing this as a young lady, only for her to resignedly admit that it is vomit and cover him in more of it despite his protests.

Following this, Dordoni lies on the floor and admits that he is almost relieved despite being completely defeated. As he details how his body was filled with power and his mind was coursing with the will to win, which made him sure that he could absorb any attack and strike back, Dordoni notes that he could not have foreseen this even though his preparation was complete and calls Ichigo strong, only for the latter to deny this. In turn, Dordoni reveals that he wanted to be a real Espada again and muses that, even though he knows Aizen only sees the Espada as weapons despite their loyalty to him, the view from the summit he reached within the group was one he could never forget.

After concluding that he wanted to reclaim this position by defeating Ichigo at the latter's best, which he believed would please Aizen enough for him to rejoin the Espada, and that this is why he kept urging Ichigo to don his Hollow mask, Dordoni suddenly leaps onto his feet while unsheathing his Zanpakutō and declares that his desire remains unchanged. Seeing Ichigo's surprise at this, Dordoni asserts that he must expect a counterattack when healing an enemy's wounds, and despite Ichigo warning him against this due to his injuries, Dordoni declares that being wounded is a state of the spirit since physical injuries mean nothing when one's will to fight is strong before rushing forward with his Zanpakutō outstretched and calling Ichigo soft and sweet like chocolate.

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
Shunsui Kyōraku informs Tōshirō Hitsugaya that the Eighth, Tenth, and Thirteenth Divisions are being assigned a joint mission to guard the Ōin as it is being transported. When Hitsugaya asks why they specifically were selected, Shunsui notes that the First and Fourth Divisions are excluded; the Third, Fifth, and Ninth Divisions are out of the question; the Eleventh and Twelfth Divisions cannot work as bodyguards; Suì-Fēng will not mobilize the Second Division because it is not a top-secret mission; and Sajin Komamura does not want to be seen in public. Hitsugaya wonders where the Sixth Division is, prompting Shunsui to reveal Byakuya Kuchiki opted out so he could take care of the carp at the Kuchiki Manor, which Hitsugaya notes means that he ran away.

Fights

 * Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio (concluded)

Powers and Techniques Used
Zanpakutō Techniques:

Hohō Techniques:

Arrancar Techniques:

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Bankai:

Resurrección released:

Other Powers:

Anime Notes
Added/Expanded Content= Censorship= Changes=
 * Renji Abarai shrieking in terror upon seeing Dondochakka Birstanne's crying face and running far away from him.
 * Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio kicking Ichigo out of the air and onto the ground, causing Nel Tu to cry out to him in concern, prior to smashing a bird protrusion into him.
 * Ichigo asking Nel if she is okay after the latter performs Cero Doble.
 * Ichigo slashing at Dordoni to protect Nel from his strike.
 * Dordoni envisioning a set of paninis when Ichigo misspells his name.
 * Nel trying and failing to hold back her vomit as she agrees with Dordoni calling it such.
 * Ichigo does not bleed when Dordoni's bird protrusion knocks him into the air.
 * In the manga, after calling Ichigo foolhardy for holding back his power, Dordoni immediately restrains him with El Uno Picotear; here, he instead smashes Ichigo out of the air and into the ground with his other bird protrusion, then crashes the first bird protrusion into Ichigo while he struggles to block before finally restraining him.
 * In the manga, after obliterating Dordoni's bird protrusion with a Getsuga Tenshō, Ichigo immediately moved behind him and attacked at close range; here, he instead lands on the ground in exhaustion while Dordoni asserts that he currently has no chance of winning and reforms his bird protrusions so they can attack Ichigo, who is forced into the air, kicked repeatedly by Dordoni, and eventually embedded in a wall, where the bird protrusions retrieve him and hold him up in the air by his arms while Dordoni continues encouraging him to use his Bankai until he seemingly prepares to do so, only to instead use Shunpo to move to and attack Dordoni.
 * In the manga, when praising Ichigo's Reiatsu during his assault, Dordoni has already moved behind the former; here, he instead remains stationary while saying this, then moves behind Ichigo with Sonído.
 * In the manga, Dordoni grins widely as he collapses from Ichigo's Hollow mask-enhanced attack; here, his facial expression instead remains hidden.