Battle of the Reigai

Prologue
Following the Hollow attack on Nozomi Kujō, during which she first manifested her powers in the form of a sealed Zanpakutō, those Shinigami still left in the Human World decide to hold a meeting in Ichigo Kurosaki's bedroom. They discuss the dire report made by Retsu Unohana, who is still in Soul Society and currently healing Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto after his battle with the Reigai. The update is read out by Nanao Ise regarding their enemies becoming even stronger. Marechiyo Ōmaeda gets upset at the prospect of the captains being defeated but Ikkaku Madarame gets annoyed and threatens him to shut him up if he doesn't quieten down.

During their argument, Nozomi, who is dressed in the standard Shihakushō of a Shinigami, stands up and declares that she wants to fight. Stunned, only Ichigo and Kon manage to reply, arguing that just because she now has a Zanpakutō doesn't mean she will be able to fight against the very powerful Regai. Nozomi insists that her Zanpakutō should be able to counteract Kageroza Inaba's abilities once unleashed. Yumichika Ayasegawa points out that she doesn't sound too confident and asks what power she has. Nozomi does not remember everything yet, but she insists she knows she can defeat him. Ikkaku is not impressed and decides it is not something they should take a risk over. He stands up and asserts that sitting around a talking is not going to defeat the enemy and that they have to move now. Nanao tell Nozomi that they can't risk allowing her to fight at this point abd Ichigo agrees. However, he also vows to help her awaken her true power so that she can fight.

Meanwhile, Inaba sends several of his Captain-class Reigai to the Human World in order to retrieve Nozomi. These include the clones of Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Byakuya Kuchiki, Sajin Komamura and Kenpachi Zaraki. As they rune through the Dangai, they run into a trap set by Kisuke Urahara and Tessai Tsukabishi that alerts them when the enemies are caught. Tessai asks should he proceed with the next step and Urahara agrees as they are not going to get support from the Soul Society at the moment. He explains that they will freeze them where they currently were. Inaba realizes what has happened and who is responsible, laughing about how the Reigai are now separated but claims it will not buy them that much time.

Elsewhere, Ichigo and his friends have taken Nozomi to a spacious field to help train with her. They all proceed to attack her one by one, forcing her to block their attacks before she demands that they come at her harder. Rukia Kuchiki attacks next and knocks her to the ground before Kon runs towards her in a worried fashion, begging her to quit this training as it was clearly too much for her to handle. Nozomi denies his request, getting to her feet and insists that this is the only way to awaken her Zanpakutō. Kon makes to argue once more but she kicks him away in aggravation before continuing her training. Ichigo then begins to trade blows with her repeatedly, not letting up. He thinks back to his initial days of training with Urahara and quietly reaffirms that they are doing the right thing. Next, Uryū Ishida starts to attack Nozomi, who appears to struggle although she does manage to block everyone of his attacks. Yasutora Sado attacks again, using his powers to try and punch Nozomi. She succeeds in blocking his attack, crouching to evade it as well. Just then, her Zanpakutō begins to glow and they all watch, shocked, as it absorbs Sado's Reiatsu.

The group are stunned ror a moment before Nozomi takes this event as a sign that their training is starting to work and that they were close to releasing her her power. She insists that they continue at the same rate. Close by, Ikkaku is seen watching from the side, recalling how fighting with Kenpachi helped him become a better fighter. Yumichika appears beside him then and asks him what's wrong, wondering if he is interested by what Nozomi's abilities are. Ikkaku denies this and insists he's only concerned about when the Reigai will arrive in Karakura Town. Despite Nozomi's rejection, both Kon and Orihime Inoue demand that she rest some or else she will do herself damage. Kon offers her a drink which she turns down and walks towards a fountain to wash her face. Ikkaku approaches her then and advises her that training so hard will only end up hurting her and not help her fight. Nozomi denies this and claims that this is her chance to fight and die so that she can help others live, reminding Ikkaku of his own pledge to die under Kenpachi. He calls her a fool before she returns to her training.

As the other begin to resume Nozomi's training, a sudden burst of Reiatsu surrounds them and the sky over Karakura Town appears to crack. Renji Abarai arrives and confirms that the enemy is attacking and that now was the time to take Nozomi somewhere to hide. Nozomi rejects this solution and demands that they continue with her training. Renji objects but he is faced with stiff competition from Ichigo and all his friends. Finally he relents and agrees to help as well. The crack in the sky explodes and Kenpachi's cloned Reigai arrives in a secluded spot on his own, commenting that he is the first reigai to arrive. Ikkaku then appears and attacks him, insisting that he is the Reigai's opponent irregardless of Ichigo's plans. Ichigo sense Ikkaku's Reiatsu but is stopped by Yumichika before he can go help, who informs him that Ikkaku is trying to buy them more time and not to waste his efforts. The rest of the Shinigami arrive to help Ikkaku but he insists on battling Kenpachi alone. When they object, he reminds them that they have other opponents, as the other Reigai captains begin to arrive separately. reluctantly, the other Shinigami agree and leave Ikkaku to his fight and move off to face the new arrivals.