True Identity of the Devil, the Secret which is Revealed

True Identity of the Devil, the Secret which is Revealed is the sixty-eighth episode of the Bleach anime.

Statistics

 * Original Airdate: February 14, 2006
 * English Airdate: June 15, 2008
 * Opening Song: Ichirin no Hana
 * Ending Song: My Pace
 * Manga Chapters: None
 * Kanji: 悪魔の正体、明かされた秘密
 * Romaji: "Akuma no shōtai, akasareta himitsu"
 * Arc: The Bount arc

Summary
Initially unsure about what to do about the disappearance of all of their classmates, Ichigo and company watch as a fireworks show starts and a note flies down from the sky: "Destroy the gate in 30 minutes. -Ririn." Suddenly, the enormous gate drops into Karakura Town and the doors open and begin to suck everything in. Ichigo changes to Shinigami form and they all run towards the gate.

Elsewhere, Yoruichi and Soifon make their way to a dark location in the forest and discover a set of clothing with the remains of reishi on them. Soifon collect a sample and sends it to Soul Society.

In Soul Society, Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto reports Soifon's leave to the real world to Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya, who wonders how she had the time to find this out if she was doing paperwork all day. Rangiku disappears and Tōshirō goes to the 12th Division's communication room, where he finds captains Jūshirō Ukitake and Shunsui Kyōraku observing communications from the real world. Soifon's data soon arrives, but the analysts cannot detect any data being sent.

In Karakura Town, Ichigo and the others reach the gate and see Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba standing beside it, and Ririn is carrying Urahara’s hat. They all grab things to hold on to, but Kon, Uryū, and Orihime get pulled in first, so Ichigo and Renji have no choice but to try to rescue them. Ichigo tries to destroy the gate by attempting to use his Bankai, but for some reason he is unable to activate it. After the failure of the Bankai, the entire group gets sucked into the gate.

They wake up in a barren landscape and find Ririn’s group holding Sado hostage. A giant hourglass drops over Sado and Ririn announces that they’re going to play a challenge stage that gives them five minutes to save him, as he is slowly being buried in sand. The catch is that they have to get through Noba and Kurōdo.

Back in Karakura Town, Yoruichi and Soifon reach a trainyard and hear a woman's voice singing, and a man walks towards her as if in a trance. He reaches the woman and she opens her mouth as if to bite him. Yoruichi orders Soifon to begin transmitting data and she moves to attack the unknown woman. Yoruichi changes to human form and slams the ground but the woman jumps back and escapes. In Soul Society, Tōshirō, Ukitake, Kyōraku watch the interaction and note that the investigation is over for now. Ukitake calls for Sentarō Kotsubaki and orders him to reopen the Senkaimon.

The battle with the mod souls begin and to fight Ichigo, Kurōdo copies Ichigo’s appearance while Noba starts manipulating space to counter Renji's Zanpakutō. With time running out, Ririn launches a final attack in the form of a vortex that pulls everything upward. Ichigo once again tries for Bankai and once again fails to complete the transformation. Fortunately for our heroes, Sado’s glass prison cracks open and the vortex in the sky suddenly disappears. Though initially puzzled, Ichigo spots Urahara’s hat, and realizes what’s been going on. He calls for Urahara, Urahara appears near the three mod souls. He congratulates Ichigo on figuring it out and says that after observing Ichigo, he’s noticed that Ichigo is unable to use Bankai. He explains Yoruichi's ongoing investigation into some unknown intruders, so before Aizen comes back, Urahara wants Ichigo to be able to initiate Bankai again. Urahara then spills the beans about Uryū’s lost abilities, and Ichigo lectures Uryū about the importance of fighting together and how he should have told them sooner. As they go to leave, Ichigo asks about all of his classmates that disappears.

Elsewhere, Ichigo's classmates wake up in the mountains outside Karakura Town. Keigo wakes up and wonders where they are, and their teacher gives them an astronomy lesson while they are all there.

Back in the underground cavern, Yoruichi appears in front of Ichigo and the others, and relays a message to Kisuke about the intruder they encountered: she's a Bount.

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
Yoruichi is just mentioning how annoying it is to have to wear clothes, and Soifon is hiding around a pole behind her. Yoruichi calls to her and Soifon says she wanted to do something nice for Yoruichi. Soifon bashfully presents Yoruichi with a box of chocolates which Yoruichi (now in cat form) promptly declines. An upset Soifon begins crying and flash steps away.

Powers and Techniques used
Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:
 * Zabimaru (蛇尾丸, Snake Tail)

Techniques used:
 * Feline Transformation
 * Getsuga Tenshō (月牙天衝, Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer; "Piercer of Heaven" in the English anime)
 * Quincy Final Form: Letzter Stil (最終形態 (レットシュティール), Retsuto Shutīru; Quincy Final Form; German for "Final Style", Viz Media Translation, "Letz Stile") (flashback)

Other powers:
 * Illusions
 * Teleportation
 * Shun Shun Rikka (盾舜六花, Six Flowers of the Hibiscus Shield; Six Princess Shielding Flowers in the English anime)
 * Shapeshifting