Ichigo vs. Ginjō! The Secret of the Substitute Badge

 is the three hundred and sixty-fifth episode of the Bleach anime.

As the battle between Ichigo Kurosaki, Uryū Ishida, and Kūgo Ginjō intensifies, the truth behind the Substitute Shinigami Badge surfaces.

Summary
Ichigo and Uryū continue their battle with Kūgo, who fires an energy blast, which misses, and asks if they are taking their time to analyze the situation. Hiding in an alley, Uryū notes Kūgo not only stole the power of Ichigo's Fullbring, but combined his attacks with Ichigo's Reiatsu. When Ichigo, appearing behind him, asks if Uryū came up with any good ideas, the two bicker for a moment before Ichigo leaves to face Kūgo.

When Kūgo asks if he came up with a plan to fight him, Ichigo states he just checked, and there were no ideas, so he decided to come out. When he fires a Getsuga Tenshō, Kūgo, taunting him, cuts through his attack and fires his own Getsuga Tenshō, at a surprised Ichigo. After the attack connects, Uryū, appearing behind Kūgo, fires a barrage of arrows at him, all of them missing. When Uryū tried to tell Ichigo about Kūgo's abilities, the two end up arguing again.

When a defeated Shūkurō Tsukishima asks Byakuya if he feels no remorse for killing the one whom he claims to owe a debt to, Byakuya states he does regret not being able to pay him back, but since he one of Ichigo's enemies, he will have no mercy.

Elsewhere, as Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru Kusajishi arrive at where Ikkaku Madarame is, Ikkaku notes Kenpachi got out pretty fast. Renji Abarai arrives as well, followed by Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Yukio Hans Vorarlberna, who is still trapped in ice. When Yukio tells Hitsugaya this was not a part of the deal they had, Hitsugaya says he will free him after all the others are confirmed to be safe. As Yukio starts to complain, Byakuya arrives, carrying an unconscious Rukia, and tells Renji to look after her, saying she sustained minor injuries and her Reiatsu is normal, but no corpse or traces of the enemy's Reiatsu were found. Saying he does not know if Riruka is alive or not, Yukio asks if the ice trapping him can be melted. When Hitsugaya directs Yukio to the chat room above them, where Ichigo and Uryū are fighting Kūgo, he states he cannot remove this one. Hitsugaya points his Zanpakutō at Yukio, who, saying he is telling the truth, reveals when he and the others first joined Kūgo, they all traded some of their powers as a sign of loyalty and placed a small restriction on those powers. He states if Kūgo is within range of his abilities, he cannot undo them unless he orders him to.

Ichigo and Kūgo fire a Getsuga Tenshō at each other. As the attacks collide, the two clash. Stating Ichigo is putting himself at risk, Kūgo asks if he has changed his reason to fight, for Tsukishima is dead. As Ichigo's eyes widen, Kūgo, pushing Ichigo back, corrects himself, saying Tsukishima is in a near-death state. Kūgo tells Ichigo when a Fullbringer dies, all traces of their abilities disappear, meaning all the people under Tsukishima's influence will return to normal. He asks again if he has a reason to fight anymore, and if he is even fighting the right person.

At the Urahara Shop, as Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado rest, Isshin Kurosaki states they have stabilized. As Kisuke Urahara, preparing to leave, says he will provide healing, Isshin, suggesting he come along to assist in Ichigo's fight, states if he does not, Ichigo may find out the truth about Kūgo. Insisting it is fine, Urahara says he will find out sooner or later.

Back inside the remaining chat room, Ichigo tells Kūgo he has had enough of his mind games. Appearing behind Kūgo, Uryū, saying Ichigo's words are correct, states Kūgo, seeing himself at an disadvantage, is trying to pressure Ichigo into thinking of joining him. Turning his head back towards Ichigo, Kūgo asks him if he knows why a Substitute Shinigami is given a combat pass. When Ichigo states he does not, Kūgo, telling him to listen closely, states no matter whether or not the Shinigami is beneficial to Soul Society, the combat pass is still given. When Ichigo says he knows, Kūgo asks if he ever felt the badge's authority. When Ichigo asks him if this means the combat pass has another function, Kūgo reveals the combat pass is meant to keep watch and control, meaning Soul Society is able to constantly track and control the Reiatsu of whomever is in possession of a combat pass. Stating Ichigo pushed all his suspicions into the back of his mind, Kūgo reveals the man who came up of the combat pass was Jushiro Ukitake, shocking Ichigo. As Kūgo claims they were both fooled, used as pawns who could be eliminated without a second thought, Uryū, interrupting, tells Ichigo not to listen. Telling him to shut up, Ichigo activates his Bankai.

Outside, as Rukia awakens, Renji asks if it hurts anywhere. Turning around to see the other Shinigami in front of the pocket dimension, Rukia realizes they are waiting to see Ichigo's decision. As a large crack begins to forms on the chat room, reiatsu blasts out from the crack. As the smoke clears, Ichigo is revealed with his Bankai. When Kūgo asks if he annoyed him so much he activated his Bankai to kill him, Ichigo says he did think what Ukitake said to him sounded strange, but he did not want to suspect him of anything. Ichigo states Ukitake is a lot smarter than him, but he told him about the combat pass in a way he could figure it out on his own, and he noticed the pass did not work the way he expected. Saying it seems there is no point in negotiating, Kūgo activates his Bankai as well. After exchanging a few words, they both charge at each other. As their swords meet, they attack each other a few more times, creating a large explosion.

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
Neatly dressed, Kon, announcing this is the last Shinigami's Illustrated Picture Book, begins to tell a story of what he did to cheer up Sado and Orihime when Ichigo lost his powers, but he is cut short on time, and ends up complaining at the camera.

Fights

 * Ichigo Kurosaki & Uryū Ishida vs. Kūgo Ginjō

Powers and Techniques Used
Techniques used:
 * Energy Blast
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)

Shinigami techniques

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Bankai:
 * Kūgo Ginjō's unnamed Bankai
 * Kūgo Ginjō's unnamed Bankai

Fullbring used:
 * Ichigo Kurosaki's unnamed Fullbring (flashback)
 * Ichigo Kurosaki's unnamed Fullbring (flashback)
 * Ichigo Kurosaki's unnamed Fullbring (flashback)