THE DROP (episode)

For the chapter of the same name, see THE DROP.

THE DROP is the ninth episode of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War and the three hundred and seventy-fifth episode of the Bleach anime overall.

Ichigo Kurosaki continues moving through the Royal Guard's palaces with 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai as Captain-Commander Shunsui Kyōraku decides to have 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki be taught Zanjutsu by 4th Division Captain Retsu Unohana.

Summary
Knocking on the door of the office of her captain, Shunsui Kyōraku, 8th Division Lieutenant Nanao Ise announces she is coming in and apologetically opens the door when she does not receive a response, only to express surprise upon seeing Shunsui reading a letter on the other side of the room. Though Nanao chastises him for not saying anything even though he was in here, Shunsui informs her they might have to say farewell to each other and reveals he has been promoted to Captain-Commander, as well as captain of the First Division.

Meanwhile, in the Kirinden within the Soul King Palace, Kazuo and Kazuhiro hold a bandaged Ichigo Kurosaki under the waters of the White Bone Hell and count to 100, only for Ichigo to kick Kazuo in the face and burst out of the water to breathe when they reach 93. Upon seeing this, Tenjirō Kirinji proclaims that Ichigo has failed because he should have been taught as a kid to not get out of a bath until he counts to 100, and despite Ichigo protesting that parents do not make their kids do so with their heads underwater, Kirinji has Kazuo and Kazuhiro shove Ichigo's head back under the water to start over.

With Ichigo punching Kazuhiro in the jaw and continuing to struggle against this, to his and Kazuo's irritation, Kirinji tells them to stop, walks over, and punches Ichigo in the face, sending him flying several meters away. When Ichigo demands to know what this was for, Kirinji declares that he is healed because this blow would have killed him otherwise and points out how Ichigo's fallen bandages have revealed his wounds have been healed, which Ichigo acknowledges, before stating that Ichigo can go to the next place now that he has done what he came here to do. Suddenly, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai tells Kirinji to wait.

As Renji asserts that he is coming along and Ichigo warns Renji that he still has not fully recovered, Kirinji walks over to Renji and punches him squarely in the chest, creating a small explosion of force that kicks up the hot spring water around them. However, Kirinji is surprised to see Renji still standing in place when the mist clears while Renji observes that Kirinji did not send him flying. Though he notices Renji's arm trembling, Kirinji determines that he is alright if he was able to withstand this punch and clears him to go, to Renji's gratitude. Once Ichigo and Renji get dressed, Kazuo and Kazuhiro launch them to the next palace.

With a shocked Ichigo questioning if there is really no other way to get around the Soul King Palace, Kirinji soaks his right hand in the White Bone Hell, thanks Kazuo and Kazuhiro for their hard work, and gives them permission to take off their protective clothing now, prompting them to do so and leave the clothing to burst into flames on the ground as their bodies are revealed to have been scarred despite it. Kazuo notes that the healing process would have made their bodies rupture and explode if they were not wearing the protective clothing, leading Kazuhiro to muse that Ichigo and Renji soaked in the White Bone Hell naked without issue.

In response, Kirinji affirms this and admits that the two of them exceeded his expectations before recounting how Ichigo reflexively struck and fractured his fist when Kirinji punched him in the face, to Kazuo and Kazuhiro's shock, and muses that he still has not lost the skill in Hohō that gave him the moniker of "Lightning-Fast", which is why he can understand why the Soul King is interested in Ichigo since the latter is something else. Back in the Seireitei, in the Central 46 Compound assembly hall, the Central 46 are aghast at Shunsui requesting that he be granted two lieutenants for the First Division.

However, Shunsui merely affirms this and explains that 1st Division Lieutenant Genshirō Okikiba knows how to run the division while Nanao knows how to handle Shunsui himself, which means that they will both assist him in his duties. Though one of the judges declares that this is unacceptable, Shunsui counters that captains are explicitly granted the sole authority to appoint their lieutenants by the Central 46 themselves, leaving the judge speechless. Deciding to proceed with his first task as Captain-Commander, Shunsui announces that he intends to teach Zanjutsu to 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki.

With the Central 46 aghast at this, Shunsui notes that there is no guarantee of 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki and the others returning from the Soul King Palace, which is why they must hone Zaraki as an important asset. Though the judges claim that Zaraki could become too powerful to stop if he decides to revolt and remind Shunsui that they forced Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto to stop teaching him kendo after a single day, Shunsui wonders what they are supposed to do instead since Soul Society will not survive the next invasion in its current state and asks the Central 46 if any of them can protect themselves.

After the Central 46 fall silent, Shunsui observes that he has been given permission and calls in the person he intends to have handle this, prompting 4th Division Captain Retsu Unohana to enter the hall while Shunsui identifies her as Yachiru Unohana, the First Kenpachi. Simultaneously, while falling through the air at high speeds, Ichigo and Renji struggle and argue over which of them should absorb the impact once they land based on their injuries and bravado, only for them to notice a beeping coming from Kon, who has nestled himself inside Ichigo's longcoat, just before the latter bulks up into a muscular form.

Lamenting that he could not have been discovered at a worse time, Kon falls below Ichigo and Renji, who proceed to land directly on top of him once they crash into the Gatonden landing platform and walk away from a deflating and protesting Kon as Renji claims that it would not have been good for him to crash from that height just after getting healed, though Ichigo claims that he would have protected himself with a breakfall. With an irritated Renji confronting Ichigo over this and the latter mocking his inability to perform such a maneuver, the two of them are sent flying when Kirio Hikifune boisterously greets them.

While Ichigo and Renji struggle to hang onto the edge of the platform after nearly falling off it from this, Hikifune proclaims that she is happy they made it, but Ichigo simply demands to know if only idiots reside here. Some time later, with Hikifune cooking up large amounts of food, a stunned Ichigo and Renji find themselves sitting at the end of a banquet table piled high with food, where Ichigo admits that he thought Hikifune's method of taking care of them would involve more grueling training. Though Kon insists that they start eating because he is hungry, Ichigo grabs him by the head and asserts that Hikifune cannot be doing this for no reason.

In response, Hikifune enters the room and muses that Ichigo grew up distrustful due to Kisuke Urahara prior to assuring him that the Gatonden is a palace of food and that her only job is to ensure that their bellies are full, since she is sure that they are hungry. With their stomachs growling, Ichigo and Renji enthusiastically decide to eat and begin consuming entire plates of food, impressing Hikifune with their appetites while she leaves to make dessert. Though Ichigo claims that he cannot stop eating, Renji admits that he can and holds up what appears to be a fried centipede-like insect as he wonders what exactly it is.

Despite this, once he takes a bite, Renji effusively praises the awesome taste belied by its strange appearance as well as its awesome texture before declaring that the way its awesome aroma spreads through his mouth is awesome, only for Ichigo to tell him to stop since his terrible food critique is ruining Ichigo's appetite. As Ichigo stops eating and sets down his chopsticks, Renji wonders if Ichigo is full and claims that he can keep going, though Ichigo insists that he can as well and is just taking a break prior to asking Renji if they should really be doing this when everyone in the Seireitei is training for the next battle.

With Ichigo pointing out that they are instead taking baths, eating food, and fooling around up here as he questions whether it will actually make them strong enough for the next battle, Renji calls him an idiot and recounts how they took the bath to heal their injuries from battle, then began eating because they got hungry, which he concludes makes perfect sense as a method of building up their strength for the tough training ahead. Awed by this, Ichigo admits that Renji makes a good point every now and then, and after expressing annoyance at this, Renji challenges Ichigo to keep eating as they resume feasting on the dishes.

Suddenly, Hikifune interrupts Ichigo insisting that he can eat more than Renji by laughing and complimenting Renji as living up to the standard of a lieutenant for fully understanding what she was saying before parting the veil to reveal that she has slimmed down into a much thinner and more curvaceous form, causing Ichigo, Renji, and Kon to spit the food out of their mouths in astonishment. Hikifune elaborates that what they are doing now is no different than preparing for any other training and is simply being done on a Soul King scale, with her observing that their rituals are infused with the Soul King's power and the million-year history of Soul Society.

Once Hikifune concludes that they are on a whole different levels from the healing and diet options available in the Seireitei and encourages Ichigo and Renji to finish preparing their bodies for the next palace by eating the large cake she made for dessert, Ichigo, Renji, and Kon demand to know who she is, leading a bemused Hikifune to explain that cooking uses up all her Reiatsu and causes her to lose a lot of weight every time. Some time later, Ichigo and Renji step out onto the launching platform, where Hikifune warns them to be careful out there and reminds them of her statement about their rituals being packed with the history of Soul Society.

Clarifying that each member of the Royal Guard has created something in Soul Society that the Soul King recognized as significantly contributing to its history and which led to them being invited to the Royal Guard to begin with, Hikifune explains that she invented Gikon and the technology to place them into bodies, with Gikongan being created using part of this invention, prior to detailing how the essence of Gikon is to increase one's level of power by infusing them with a foreign Reiatsu and revealing that the food Ichigo and Renji ate was filled with that essence, drastically increasing their Reiatsu, leaving Ichigo and Renji staring at their bodies in shock.

Though she is glad that Ichigo and Renji can feel this, Hikifune still tells them to proceed with caution because the man in the next palace, Hōōden, is Ōetsu Nimaiya, the creator of the Zanpakutō and completely unpredictable. Back in the Seireitei, in the Muken level of the Central Great Underground Prison, an elevator reaches the bottom floor and opens to reveal Zaraki, who walks forward with a grin and comments on how grandiose the stage is while admitting that he is surprised Unohana was able to get permission to use it for their fight, prompting Unohana to note that it was Shunsui's orders as she stands with her back turned to him.

Unohana observes that Muken is completely closed off and infinitely large, making it the only place suitable for Zaraki to freely swing his sword, and asserts that this is the only reason why non-criminals like them were allowed to enter it. However, Zaraki counters that the only thing the two of them would be is criminals were it not for their power, prompting Unohana to turn to face him with her hair down and a depraved grin. When Unohana states that she suggested this place because she felt Zaraki would fit in perfectly as someone with no power, Zaraki declares he is fine with living as a captain or dying as a criminal here.

With Zaraki proclaiming that he will be going to hell from fighting her no matter what, Unohana observes that he is talkative today and muses that she prefers it when he is quiet because the sound of his voice always makes the single scar he gave her between her collarbones begin to ache. In turn, Zaraki points out that she is not the only one with an aching scar before the two of them rush toward each other with their Zanpakutō drawn. Meanwhile, in his office far above, Shunsui recalls Yachiru Unohana as part of the original and strongest generation of Gotei 13 captains who created the Eleventh Division and defined what it is known as today.

Following his noting that Unohana was the most infamous criminal in Soul Society's history prior to her recruitment by Yamamoto and gave herself a name meaning "Eight Thousand Styles" to reflect her mastery of countless swordsmanship styles, Shunsui apologizes for calling this a Zanjutsu lesson, closes the book he was reading, and mentally admits either Unohana or Zaraki will have to die once they cross blades, which he already knew. With Zaraki and Unohana clashing fiercely, 4th Division Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu finds a note left to her by Unohana as 11th Division Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi finds Zaraki's eyepatch.

While Isane weeps over Unohana's note and Yachiru expresses concern for him, a bloodied Zaraki comes down on Unohana with a powerful slash, only for her to push his sword arm aside and cut through the side of his neck. Momentarily fazed by this, Zaraki quickly recovers and attacks Unohana once more, and when she steps on the guard of his Zanpakutō to evade this and perform a slash of her own, Zaraki spins around and kicks her in the side of her sword arm, sending Unohana flying back to land on the side of a pillar before springing off of it to clash with Zaraki once more, creating a shockwave of force that radiates outward from them.

Though she commends Zaraki for having his eyepatch removed from the start, Unohana points out this just exposes the limit of his power, to Zaraki's surprise, and stabs a dagger into his left shoulder, prompting Zaraki to send her sliding her several meters back with a swing of his Zanpakutō. Calling Zaraki weak, Unohana holds up another dagger and expresses disbelief at someone fighting with one arm not making use of the other before observing Zaraki cannot be enjoying this fight. However, Zaraki criticizes Unohana for using such cheap tricks in battle, pulls out the dagger, and claims she has changed from the person he admired.

In turn, Unohana berates Zaraki for admiring his enemy in the middle of battle and rushes forward to disarm Zaraki, leaving him pinned against a nearby pillar as his Zanpakutō flies into the air and embeds itself in the ground nearby. Holding the tip of her Zanpakutō to Zaraki's throat, Unohana reveals she has not changed at all and simply did not have the opportunity to use such cheap tricks during their first battle, leading Zaraki to realize she is saying he has gotten weaker and recall how he admired her because he had felt so indifferent to cutting anything and everything in his youth that it was like he was swinging a sword alone in the dark.

After recounting how he felt fear and the joy of battle for the first time while battling Unohana, whom he wanted to fight like, Zaraki sheds a tear as he inquires if Unohana is saying he is going to die here without ever defeating her. In response, Unohana shoves her Zanpakutō through Zaraki's throat, causing him to spit up blood that lands on her face while he mentally curses and loses consciousness. Suddenly, Zaraki finds himself alive and crossing blades with Unohana, who questions if he was distracted by something prior to Zaraki forcing her back, wondering what that was, and dismissing it as irrelevant because he does not have time to think.

With a manically grinning Zaraki resolving to focus on the battle instead, Unohana internally declares that Zaraki will not die because he grows stronger every time he is near death, which is both an unconscious limiter he placed on himself and her sin.

Fights & Events

 * Royal Training
 * Kenpachi Zaraki vs. Retsu Unohana

Powers and Techniques Used
Hohō Techniques:
 * (flashback)

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:
 * Batsu'unsai Katori's Shikai (flashback)
 * Entetsu Kumoi's Shikai (flashback)

Items:
 * Daggers

Anime Notes
Removed Content= Added/Expanded Content= Changes=
 * Ichigo Kurosaki specifying that he was told to count to 100 in the bathtub while leaving the water only up to his neck.
 * Ichigo theorizing that Kon crawled into his shihakushō in the confusion and stayed hidden while they were at the hot springs because he only saw muscular men there.
 * Ichigo realizing that he is starving as Renji Abarai encourages him to eat.
 * Renji asserting that he and Ichigo will die during their upcoming training if they are not healed and do not eat first.
 * Ichigo punching Kazuhiro in the face when being held under the water a second time.
 * Kon cursing at Ichigo and Renji as they walk away from his deflating body.
 * Ichigo and Renji eating more dishes prior to Kirio Hikifune returning.
 * Reiatsu flowing into Ichigo and Renji's bodies.
 * A flashback to the original Gotei 13 captains battling the Lichtreich during Shunsui Kyōraku's recounting of them as the strongest generation of captains.
 * In the manga, Kenpachi Zaraki and Retsu Unohana's battle takes place after Ōetsu Nimaiya's training of Ichigo and Renji begins; here, it instead takes place after Hikifune warns Ichigo and Renji about the unpredictable nature of Nimaiya.
 * In the manga, when Zaraki recalls his first battle against Unohana as a boy, only his left eye is depicted; here, his entire head and upper body are depicted instead.