Foe or Friend?! Ginjō's Unseen Heart!

 is the three hundred and fifty-sixth episode of the Bleach anime.

Ichigo Kurosaki continues his training with Kūgo Ginjō, resulting in him completing his Fullbring.

Summary
At the Urahara Shop, Isshin Kurosaki and Kisuke Urahara discuss their plans, with Urahara demanding to know if he is sure about going through with them, for a father can ruin his child's chances. With a cylinder glowing with Reiatsu between them, Isshin, stating he has made his mind up, tells Urahara to stop asking him over and over.

Sighing, Urahara, looking down, states Isshin is right: they should not delay any longer, and it is time they move on to their next phase. As a Shinigami arrives on the scene from a Senkaimon, Urahara tells them to place their Reiatsu into the cylinder so the process will be complete. Agreeing without hesitation, the Shinigami reveals herself to be Rukia Kuchiki, who is now a lieutenant.

Back in Yukio Hans Vorarlberna's Internal Pocket Dimension, Ichigo loses a life as he continues to battle Kūgo. Ichigo observes how Kūgo wields his large sword as if it weighs nothing at all. When Kūgo slices across Ichigo's abdomen, a determined Ichigo, losing another life, moves behind Kūgo, who, dodging his attack, swings in for one of his own. When Ichigo blocks with his sword, Kūgo, commending his growing talents with Fullbring, breaks Ichigo's sword, slicing his chest, and tells him he has a long way to go.

Contacting Kūgo, Yukio, revealing a visitor has arrived, states he is letting her in. He permits Orihime Inoue to arrive in the game world, and when she does so, she looks around, confused by the area. Upon seeing her, Kūgo states the game's "healing item" has arrived. The comment is lost on Orihime, who, asking Kūgo how he is, stutters to introduce herself. Kūgo tells her to skip the greetings and heal the grievously wounded Ichigo, who is lying on the ground.

Upon seeing Ichigo's state, Orihime, calling out to him, runs over to him as she summons her Sōten Kisshun to heal him. Surprised to see her, Ichigo concludes she must have been brought to Xcution by Yasutora Sado. Appearing in the area, Sado, confirming Ichigo's theory, admits he knew Ichigo did not want to get Orihime involved, but from this point onward, he is going to need her aid.

As Kūgo turns to Sado to say something, the teen, cutting him off, insists he knows what he is going to say. Revealing he had Yukio make a separate room so he can train, he states if they are going to have to fight Shūkurō Tsukishima, he needs to get stronger so he can do something. As a green door appears next to him, Kūgo gives him his blessing as he passes through it, stating he will do what he needs to do, and closes the door behind him.

On the other side of the door, Sado reflects on their previous encounter with Tsukishima. After Yukio captured Ichigo, he told Tsukishima they were leaving and taking Ichigo with them. In response, Tsukishima, appearing next to Sado, sliced through part of his upper body from his right shoulder. Sado was too stunned to respond, but as he touches his shoulder, there is no wound, confusing him, for he is sure he had been slashed. Sado laments how nobody mentioned he had been cut by Tsukishima.

Despite his memories, the lack of any wound and how he cannot feel any pain now makes him feel like even he would question whether or not he was cut, yet he distinctly remembers it happening. Reflecting on Tsukishima, he decides Orihime was correct about how his powers are somehow inexplicable. He decides even though he does not know what exactly Tsukishima did to him with his blade, the only way he can face him in battle is to get stronger. As the room turns into a digital desert, he advances into it, ready to train.

As Orihime continues to heal Ichigo, his "health icons" begin to regenerate in the game. Becoming impatient, Kūgo demands to know what is taking so long and why Ichigo is not healed yet. Looking over her shoulder, Orihime politely asks Kūgo to wait a little while longer while she completes her task. Insisting he cannot wait any longer, Kūgo, stating Ichigo is alright now, looks to him for confirmation. Ichigo gets to his feet unsteadily but agrees with Kūgo much to Orihime's chagrin and she still maintains she is not finished.

Despite her concerns, Kūgo moves in to attack and continue their sparring session as Orihime warns him not to. Despite this, he continues to advance, so she raises her shield. Unfazed, Kūgo mockingly asks if she really thinks she can block his attack using Santen Kesshun, but Orihime calmly tells him he is wrong. Ichigo is worried about the attack, but when Kūgo's sword connects with the shield, it absorbs the blow before Kūgo is blasted along the right shoulder by an energy beam from the shield.

As an injured Kūgo flips back, Orihime, telling him the technique she had used was called Shiten Kōshun, reveals the shield diffuses an attack upon impact by exploding the moment it is hit while simultaneously responding with a reactive attack of its own. Standing up, Kūgo, clutching his shoulder, comments on her "detonation shield", referring to it as nasty. Stating he can call it this if he wishes to, Orihime maintains if he does no want to get hurt, he should not attack when she tells him not to.

When a stunned Ichigo asks Orihime when she developed her powers so far, Orihime, looking at him with a rueful smile, reminds him it has been seventeen months since his lost his Shinigami powers. She reveals both she and Sado, believing one day Ichigo would get his powers back, decided when that time came for Ichigo to fight, they would not be a burden to him. As Ichigo looks stunned, she, lowering her healing shield, tells him not to worry about her or about Sado, and to focus on getting his powers back.

As Orihime uses her powers to heal the wound on Kūgo's shoulder created by her shield's attack, Ichigo, accepting Orihime's advice, walks passed her while thanking her for her support. When he passes by, Orihime watches him as a small, cautious smile appears on her face. Approaching Kūgo, he challenges him to continue their sparing match. Staring, Kūgo nods in agreement.

In Xcution's headquarters, Yukio sits alone over his game console where the others are held. Looking up, he sees it is two minutes until midnight, so he, turning back to the screen, selects the option to fastforward it. Inside, Ichigo and Kūgo continue their match, with Ichigo coming in close to Kūgo, having realized the reach of his sword makes close fighting difficult. Realizing this, Kūgo grabs the handle above the hilt to spin the sword more closely than usual, forcing Ichigo to retreat.

Commending Ichigo for his initiative, Kūgo states the handle just before his main blade is there for the simple reason of compensating for the shortcomings created by the overly long reach of his blade. Ichigo is unfazed by Kūgo's attack and correction despite blood spilling down his right leg from the attack. Eager, Ichigo, moving in, attacks Kūgo again, continuing to clash several times. Mentally analyzing Ichigo's improved efficiency since Orihime healed him, Kūgo deduces he was right to bring Orihime into the area.

As Kūgo remains apprehensive about Orihime's presence, she sits awkwardly on the ground as she intently watches their clash. To her left, Riruka Dokugamine is let in to the digital training room. Carrying a box of doughnuts, she aggressively demands to know why Orihime is sitting so oddly on the ground. Getting up, Orihime states there was nothing to sit on, so it was as good a place as any to sit and observe the battle.

Disconcerted, Riruka, looking up, calls out to Yukio, demanding he make a table to sit on so she can eat her snack in the room. As Orihime is shocked he can do this, Yukio's face appears above them as he declines to meet Riruka's demand. Running over, Orihime politely asks him to make a table and chair for her. Staring at her, Yukio complies. When Riruka gets annoyed by this, Yukio, telling her she should learn to ask for things nicely like Orihime, advises her to use this opportunity to learn from her.

When the table appears, Riruka, placing the box upon it, takes a seat. As she is about to eat a doughnut, she notices Orihime is staring at the doughnut as she hungrily salivates. When Riruka tells her cannot have any, Orihime's expression causes her to lament and give her one, telling her to not eat it so fast. Loving the taste, Orihime eats hers fast. When Riruka attempts to deny her another one, Orihime's expression again causes her to give her one.

Sitting back in her chair, Riruka comments on how audacious she thinks Orihime is, wondering what her parents are like. When Orihime cheerfully states she would also like to know what her parents are like, a shocked Riruka asks if she does not have any parents. Confirming this, Orihime states they were apparently really abusive, and her brother stole her away to protect her. When Riruka asks if her brother is her guardian, Orihime, revealing his death, states a distant aunt pays her expenses as long as her grades are good, but she is grateful.

Staring determinedly at the table as Orihime speaks, Riruka slams her hands upon it, causing Orihime to stop talking in shock. Standing up, Riruka, walking away, states Orihime is boring her with these stories of her life. When Orihime expresses confusion over Riruka's reaction, Riruka turns back to her, with her hands on her hips, and angrily demands to know how Orihime can speak about such sad things in her life with a large smile on her face. She insists there must be something wrong with Orihime.

Disagreeing with Riruka's statement, Orihime states becuase she has already been saved by Ichigo, she feels free to talk about anything in a carefree way regardless of her past. Looking at her, Riruka, brushing off her explanation, insists this is not what she was talking about. When she states she was not even listening to Orihime's stories, Orihime, feeling stupid, apologizes for misunderstanding.

As Riruka continues to walk away, Orihime, calling out to her, asks why she is leaving when there are so many doughnuts left. Rejecting her offer to stay, Riruka, stating she is tired of eating them, tells Orihime she can finish them if she wants. Thanking Riruka for her generosity, Orihime tells her she is a very nice person. Her words cause Riruka to pause, looking downward in a somber fashion before she murmurs Orihime is an idiot.

As Ichigo continues to fight against Kūgo, he senses something strange. He cannot sense anything from Kūgo's sword when they clash, but it feels different than what he felt during his battle against Gin Ichimaru as, in hindsight, he realized his opponent's attention had been elsewhere, given his true aims. Kūgo is looking right at him, and yet, to Ichigo, it feels like there is a lid on his emotions, concealing them from Ichigo completely. He remember how during his battle against Tsukishima, he was able to feel his killing intent all over his body from a mere glance, for he had barely looked at him.

As they clash, Ichigo wonders if this is happening Fullbring is an unfamiliar power to him, for he is used to Shinigami abilities. He wonders if he cannot judge his opponent's emotions because he does not fully trust Kūgo yet. Pushing Ichigo back, Kūgo, admonishing him for being distracted, reminds Ichigo it is supposed to be a battle, deciding he will have to forcefully remind him of that. Disappearing from Ichigo's sight, he slashes him across his eyes. Stunned, Ichigo stumbles blindly, gripping his injured eyes.

Upon seeing this, a frantic Orihime, getting up from her seat, rushes towards her friend. Putting up his large sword, Kūgo blocks her path, forcing her to stop and look at him. He reminds Orihime she wants Ichigo to become stronger, and thus, for this reason, she should stay back and watch the development from where she is. Kūgo states in not having his Shinigami abilities for so long, Ichigo lost much of his resolve for battle. He tells Ichigo to hold on, and he will bring him fully back to the battlefield.

Falling to his knees, eyes bleeding, Ichigo, calling out to Kūgo, demands to know what he is doing in attacking him like that. Kicking Ichigo away from him, Kūgo tells him to stop whining, for it is irritating him. Trying to sit up, Ichigo asks Kūgo if he is really on his side like he said he was. When Kūgo reminds him of their goals in regaining his Shinigami abilities, with learning Fullbring as an initial step, Ichigo states he is having trouble believing Kūgo is his ally after his attack.

Demanding to know what he is talking about, for if Ichigo never trusted him he should not have agreed to his proposal in the first place, Kūgo asks if he thought he could escape them if they turned against him. He states the reality of the situation, especially now that he has lost his sight, is Ichigo is quite helpless. Calling Ichigo a fool, he insists it was over for him the minute he stepped on a battlefield with him. Rushing forward, Kūgo punches Ichigo, who does not react to defend himself, across the face, forcing him to the ground.

From behind Kūgo, Orihime tries to outflank him, but Kūgo calls out to Yukio, who creates a digital cage to trap her inside. Running into the bars, Orihime cries out in pain. Unable to see this, Ichigo, calling out to her, asks her what is wrong. Loudly wondering what happened, Kūgo tells Ichigo to try and see for himself. Enraged, Ichigo launches himself towards the sound of Kūgo's voice. Easily parrying the attack, Kūgo, kicking Ichigo away from himself, states it is useless if this is all he has got as Orihime cries out his name from inside her cage.

Panicking and trying to help, Orihime tries to use Koten Zanshun on Kūgo, but Yukio, telling her to not bother, states her voice will not penetrate the cage, and no matter what she tries, its bars are unbreakable. He tells her to look into the corner of the cage, where she sees a large circle-backslash symbol, which he states is proof she cannot break or go through this cage, for it is a rule of the game. On the screen, Orihime tries to speak to him, Yukio, apologizing, tells her he cannot hear what she is saying.

Struggling to his feet, Ichigo, sensing Kūgo approaching him, blocks some of his attacks and evades others. As Kūgo states he is dodging better than he expected him to, Ichigo insists he can sense his sound and presence. Mocking this, Kūgo stabs Ichigo in the shoulder. Asking what is wrong, for Ichigo said he could evade his attacks, Kūgo, becoming angry, declares he has been going easy on Ichigo, and he will not be able to really dodge him like that.

Berating Ichigo for thinking he was evading his attacks on his own, Kūgo, knocking Ichigo to the ground, stabs him through the abdomen with his broadsword, declaring the fight to be over. Turning away, he, walking away from the critically wounded Ichigo, states he is going to go kill Sado and Orihime. Theorizing Ichigo saw this coming the moment he realized they were not actually on the same side, Kūgo tells him not to worry because he is going to kill him too.

As Kūgo talks, a struggling Ichigo, trying to get up and remove the massive sword from his gut, laments how he cannot speak and cannot see Kūgo. Mentally calling out for Kūgo to wait and to stop what he is doing, he begins to see a blue light the same shape as Kūgo in the blackness of his vision. Wondering how he can see Kūgo, he realizes he is seeing his Reiatsu. Exploding from Ichigo's wound, ribbons of bright Reiatsu wrap themselves around him as he moves to attack Kūgo.

Raising his hand, Kūgo blocks the attack as a massive explosion of Reiatsu occurs around them. As the dust clears, Kūgo, declaring Ichigo's Fullbring powers have now completed, congratulates him. He reveals it had to be done in front of him so he could suppress the explosion caused by its completion, which could only be contained by someone willing to put their life on the line. Turning away, he, apologizing for seemingly betraying Ichigo, states he was cheesy while playing the role of villain. He formally welcomes Ichigo to his group of Fullbringers, Xcution.

Xcution Dictionary
As Sado is walking along in his training room, a large block falls in front of him. Realizing he is in a Tetris-like game, Sado starts arranging the blocks which come falling down on him. Arranging the blocks in order, Sado states he needs one more piece to complete the arrangement. As Yukio says it will not be easy, a ball drops on Sado, who, catching the ball, asks why Yukio did this. Unable to hold it any longer, the ball flattens over Sado as Yukio says it is too bad and he has to start over while the words "Game Over' flash on the screen.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Isshin Kurosaki
 * 2) Kisuke Urahara
 * 3) Rukia Kuchiki
 * 4) Ichigo Kurosaki
 * 5) Kūgo Ginjō
 * 6) Orihime Inoue
 * 7) Yasutora Sado
 * 8) Shūkurō Tsukishima (flashback)
 * 9) Yukio Hans Vorarlberna
 * 10) Riruka Dokugamine
 * 11) Gin Ichimaru (flashback)

Fights

 * Fullbring Training, Round 3

Powers and Techniques Used
Techniques used:

Zanpakutō released:

Bankai:
 * (flashback)

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

Other powers:

Equipment used:
 * (flashback)