Orihime Targeted

 is the twenty-eighth episode of the Bleach anime.

Ganju Shiba wins his battle against 11th Division 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa while Uryū Ishida begins his own.

Summary
As he runs through an alley in the Seireitei, Ichigo Kurosaki wonders where Ganju Shiba ran off to and recalls how he is being pursued by 11th Division 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa, whom Ichigo knows is the fifth strongest member of the division despite not being able to properly remember his face, as he notes that he will probably need to rescue Ganju due to the latter being outclassed in power by Yumichika.

Expressing frustration at how all of the areas he has run through look the same, Ichigo comes to a halt and inhales deeply before loudly demanding to know where Ganju is and instructing him to set off a firework so Ichigo can reach his location. Suddenly, Ichigo realizes that Goteitaishi and three other members of the Eleventh Division are smoking and playing cards nearby, and after bemoaning how he gave away his position, Ichigo begins running away from the Shinigami, who pursue him while promising to kill him.

With the pursuing Shinigami not caring if they die in the process, Ichigo frantically runs through several different alleys and demands to know where Ganju is. Elsewhere, a bloodied Ganju runs through a different alley before coming to a stop at the edge of another execution pit, which prompts him to question how many such pits there are in the Seireitei. From behind Ganju, Yumichika asserts that this is the last hole he will see and approaches Ganju, who refuses to believe this and asserts that he will escape Yumichika even if it means jumping into a hole. Chuckling at this, Yumichika offers to let Ganju try and explains that the bottom of the pit is covered in Sekkiseki.

As he details how this Sekkiseki coating blocks Reiryoku on contact, Yumichika concludes that this is why those who fall in can ever get out again before rushing toward Ganju, who rolls out of the way at the last second and rolls along the ground until he slams into a wall, where he clutches his shoulder in pain. Observing that the damage he inflicted is still there, Yumichika commends Ganju for having eluded him for so long despite his injuries and ugliness. When Ganju expresses his disgust at this, Yumichika merely claims that this cannot be helped because it is natural for the ugly to envy the beautiful and chuckles as he raises his Shikai, Fuji Kujaku.

Upon hearing Ichigo screaming Ganju's name and being chased by Shinigami nearby, Yumichika inquires if he is Ganju's comrade because he has been calling Ganju's name this entire time. While Ichigo notes the persistence of Goteitaishi and the other Shinigami pursuing him, Yumichika states that he behaves in the same ugly manner as Ganju does and observes that it only draws hordes of Shinigami before mocking Ichigo as lacking common sense. However, Ganju notes that Yumichika is the one who lacks common sense and points out how Ichigo can only be running around here because he defeated 11th Division 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame, shocking Yumichika.

Yumichika declares that this is impossible because the Eleventh Division is the strongest of the Gotei 13 and Ikkaku is the third-strongest fighter within the division, but as Yumichika questions how Ichigo could defeat Ikkaku, Ganju reaches down to his waist and pulls out a series of wrapped tubes bound together by a fuse, the end of which he scrapes along the length of his right arm gauntlet before throwing the tubes at Yumichika. With the tubes detonating in minor explosions in front of Yumichika's face, Ganju sprints away and slides next to another nearby wall, where he makes a circle with his hand on the ground while Yumichika berates him as only being skilled in fleeing.

As he resumes running away, Ganju proclaims that Yumichika has not seen anything yet and withdraws dozens of small bombs from his vest before throwing them at Yumichika to initiate Senpen Banka. Angered by Ganju calling this a technique, Yumichika splits Fuji Kujaku into four blades and slashes through the bombs, only to have his cheek cut by one of them as they explode. Upon seeing blood on his fingers when he touches his cheek, a furious Yumichika demands to know how Ganju could do this to his face, prompting Ganju to claim that he looks more like a man now while moving his hand in a circle on the ground before being kicked in the chest by Yumichika.

Criticizing Ganju as having no finesse, Yumichika theorizes that he plans to kill both of them by collapsing the ground with one of his spells, but Ganju refutes this on the grounds of considering it a waste to die in order to kill Yumichika and moves his hand in a circle on the ground next to him once more. After Ganju dodges his subsequent attack by rolling away, Yumichika praises his toughness in still being able to move despite how long he has been running and dodging attacks. With Yumichika claiming to marvel at his physical strength, Ganju mentally notes that he only needs a little more time because Seppa can only be used while Yumichika's guard is down.

However, Yumichika merely notes that it is regrettable for Ganju to be so ugly because he would have been Yumichika's favorite had he been just a bit more beautiful as he uses Shunpo to appear behind Ganju, who realizes he cannot dodge in time, and slashes him across the back, sending Ganju rolling along the ground and into the pit, the edge of which he barely grabs onto with one hand at the last second. Walking up to Ganju, Yumichika mocks him for no longer being able to float out of harm's way with a Reishūkaku and asserts that he should at least die beautifully rather than persist in living as an ugly person, only for Ganju to disagree.

As he raises his free hand up to the portion of the wall underneath where Yumichika is standing, Ganju moves it in a circle while observing that his and Yumichika's sense of aesthetics are different, to Yumichika's surprise, before declaring that he was taught to believe the one who survives is the greatest regardless of physical beauty while using Seppa, which causes the portion of the ground Yumichika is standing on to erupt sideways in a torrent of sand. Caught off-guard by this, Yumichika slips into the pit and manages to grab onto the edge of the newly-created hole, allowing Ganju to get back on the ground by pushing himself off of Yumichika's head.

Though Yumichika is left enraged by Ganju putting his hand on his head, Ganju merely moves his hand in a circle on the ground one last time and asserts that Yumichika constantly underestimating him helped immensely. While Yumichika leaps back up onto the ground, Ganju slams his hand into the ground and unleashes Renkan Seppa Sen, causing large waves of sand to erupt into the air on either side of an astonished Yumichika. Seeing a large portion of the ground in front of him sliding back and tilting upward, Yumichika curses and leaps high into the air as the severed portion of the ground slides into the pit alongside the sand behind him.

With Yumichika berating Ganju for thinking such a trick would be enough to finish him and demanding that he show himself, Ganju calls out to him from below and hurls a lit firework directly at Yumichika, who finds it stuck to his head upon impact. After being told that it is a bomb, Yumichika screams in terror as it detonates, creating a large firework explosion that Ichigo sees from far away. Criticizing Ganju for signalling his location so late as he stands over the incapacitated Shinigami who were chasing him, Ichigo stomps on the back of one of them when he tries to get up. Elsewhere in the Seireitei, 11th Division Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi sees the firework as well.

As she realizes that they are close, Yachiru tells her captain, Kenpachi Zaraki, that they cannot reach the Ryoka this way due to having run into yet another dead end, and when Yachiru asserts that they should have turned right at the last corner, Kenpachi angrily reminds her that she is the one who decided they should come this way, prompting Yachiru to claim that Kenpachi should not blame others like this. After having his attention directed to the firework above and to his right, Kenpachi simply kicks down the wall on his right and confirms with Yachiru that this is the way he should be heading before running off in that direction with Yachiru on his shoulder.

Peering over the top of a nearby roof, Orihime Inoue asks Uryū Ishida if they are gone, which he affirms, and stands up alongside him while noting that they are lucky such a strong combatant did not notice them. Uryū theorizes that Kenpachi has great power but poor observational skills like Ichigo and questions where they should go from here after having changed locations, but when Orihime tries to direct his attention to a tower in the distance, Uryū turns his head to see 7th Division 4th Seat Jirōbō Ikkanzaka standing next to Orihime and preparing to attack her as she obliviously continues to point at the tower, to Uryū's shock.

Jirōbō slams his Zanpakutō downward and realizes that he did not hit Orihime when it crashes into and destroys part of the roof. As he turns to see Uryū holding Orihime, having saved her with Hirenkyaku, Jirōbō praises him for being able to escape at such close range and asserts that they may have lived a bit longer if they had met anyone other than him before holding out his Zanpakutō as be begins counting to ten in order to give them time to regret. Elsewhere in the Seireitei, Yoruichi Shihōin senses the various clashes of Reiatsu and encourages the Ryoka to live rather than die before jumping down off the corner of a roof.

While Jirōbō continues to count to ten, Orihime assures Uryū that she is alright, which he affirms, and mentally observes that he is not the same Uryū as before while recalling how he briefly vanished from her perception when saving her faster than she could realize from Jirōbō. With Orihime noting that Yoruichi's explanation of Uryū being a Quincy whose enemy are the Shinigami holds true with how quickly his demeanor changed once confronted by a Shinigami, Jirōbō finishes counting to ten and declares that the time for regret is over before inquiring if they were able to regret to their satisfaction, leading Uryū to warn Orihime that he is coming.

After proclaiming that it is now time for more regret, Jirōbō leaps toward Orihime and Uryū as he slashes downward, prompting them to leap away in opposite directions as Jirōbō's Zanpakutō crashes into the area where they were standing. Though Uryū claims that he will be Jirōbō's opponent, Jirōbō merely picks up a handful of dust and throws it at Uryū's face, causing him to lose his balance and roll down the side of the roof before managing to grab onto the ledge at the end while pieces of tile fall to the ground below. With Uryū holding on with one hand, Jirōbō asserts that he is not the one who gets to decide who fights as he turns to face Orihime, who assumes a combat stance.

Promising to end Orihime's regret with her death, Jirōbō begins attacking her as a concerned Uryū tells Orihime to run away. However, while she dodges Jirōbō's attacks, Orihime mentally declares that she has to fight and save Ichigo rather than run before summoning Tsubaki, who expresses eagerness at finally getting to fight as he tells Orihime to aim well. Unnerved by Jirōbō noticing Tsubaki's appearance, Orihime lands and uses Koten Zanshun, causing Tsubaki to hurtle toward Jirōbō, only for the latter to contemptuously slash through Tsubaki mid-flight. As a surprised Orihime expresses concern and catches him, a wounded Tsubaki criticizes her hesitation.

With Tsubaki returning to Orihime's hairpin, Jirōbō walks up behind her and admits that this is the first time he has seen such a technique before criticizing her lack of killing intent, as such a move will not work against Shinigami even if it can destroy Hollows. As a frightened Orihime realizes she cannot move, Jirōbō raises his Zanpakutō above his head and proclaims Orihime will not be able to stop anyone on a battlefield without killing intent while bringing his Zanpakutō down onto her. Suddenly, a Heilig Pfeil hurtles toward them from the side and slams into Jirōbō's hand, pushing his Zanpakutō away from Orihime and wounding the back of his hand.

While Jirōbō expresses astonishment at this, Uryū invites Jirōbō to fight him because he will find plenty of killing intent in Uryū's bow as he stands with the new version of his Heilig Bogen, Kojaku, fully formed and with steam trailing from his fingers. Within the Shishinrō in Senzaikyū, Rukia Kuchiki looks out her single narrow window and expresses surprise upon seeing 4th Division 7th Seat Hanatarō Yamada approaching the tower along the bridge. As Rukia recognizes him, Hanatarō stops in front of the two Shinigami guarding the entrance, who demand to know why he is here and order him to leave, prompting him to reveal he cleaned Rukia's cell in the Sixth Division barracks.

Though Hanatarō explains that he thought the Shishinrō might need cleaning as well with the broom he is holding, one of the Shinigami emphatically states that the Shishinrō cannot be opened until its inhabitant's sentence is carried out, and when Hanatarō protests this, the Shinigami threatens to cut him to pieces with the staff he is carrying. Intimidated by this, Hanatarō agrees to leave and walks back to the other end of the bridge while Rukia solemnly stares at the interior of her cell in silence. Elsewhere, Ichigo finds himself surrounded by dozens of members of the Eleventh Division, who taunt him as being unable to escape and worth a promotion for the one who kills him.

As Ichigo observes that they all became very confident when he let up on the offensive slightly and nervously questions what he should do, the Shinigami begin to pile on top of him, leading an irritated Ichigo to throw them all off while demanding that they stop so he can run away again, which he does. With the Shinigami resuming their pursuit of him, Ichigo wonders how many of them there are. Back on the roof, Jirōbō expresses interest in Uryū and asks him if he is a Quincy, and while Uryū confirms this, a stunned Orihime observes that his Kojaku is completely different in both appearance and Reiatsu from the last time she saw it.

Noticing the Sanrei Glove that Kojaku is attached to, Orihime realizes that he must have been training alone in order to use it properly. A chuckling Jirōbō notes the strange situation of a combatant with unknown abilities and a Quincy who both use projectile weapons fighting him, which he calls a twist of fate, and decides to show them the true form of his Zanpakutō before sliding his free hand into its blade to release his Shikai, Tsunzakigarasu, which causes the blade to separate into dozens of spinning, radially symmetrical, dual-edged blades that begin whirling through the air around him as he places the handle of his Zanpakutō into its scabbard.

While Orihime expresses shock at this, Jirōbō tells Uryū to regret and introduces himself before revealing his moniker of Kamaitachi Jirōbō, which he explains refers to his mastery over projectile weapons and how no one has ever lived after seeing the countless blades of his Tsunzakigarasu. As Jirōbō assumes that Uryū cannot follow the blades of Tsunzakigarasu with his eyes and asserts that they are the prelude to a brilliant death, Uryū simply remains silent, prompting Jirōbō to further claim that his bow and arrow are helpless before Tsunzakigarasu and that he will regret having met Jirōbō as a fellow master of projectile weapons.

Suddenly, every single one of the blades whirling around Jirōbō is destroyed by dozens of Heilig Pfeil fired all around Jirōbō, who is left stunned as Uryū observes that the weapons masters of Soul Society like to make long-winded speeches unlike those of the Human World. Proclaiming that this was a fluke, an unnerved Jirōbō attempts to recreate the blades of Tsunzakigarasu by drawing his Zanpakutō handle from its scabbard while warning Uryū to not be cocky, but Uryū merely notes that he still does not understand and fires another Heilig Pfeil that destroys all of the newly-created blades as well as part of the handle of Jirōbō's Zanpakutō.

With his hand having been injured by this attack, Jirōbō screams in pain and falls to his knees while clutching his bleeding hand. Apologizing, Uryū states that he is taking Jirōbō's moniker if this is the best he can do because he is clearly the superior projectile weapons user, though he does not consider the title Kamaitachi Uryū to sound very cool. Meanwhile, in a different part of the Seireitei, 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi stands with his lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi, as he instructs the Shinigami of his division standing before him to take the Ryoka alive if they find any because they may make interesting research specimens.

Instructing the Shinigami to not let the other divisions find the Ryoka first, Mayuri orders them to move out, which they comply with. As Mayuri admits that he does not expect the Ryoka to be very good research subjects because they are only Human, Nemu catches an approaching Jigokuchō on her finger, and when Mayuri inquires what the message it is carrying is, Nemu lets it fly away as she informs him that Ikkaku encountered and fought a Ryoka earlier. Though a surprised Mayuri assumes that this means the Eleventh Division already has a Ryoka, Nemu reveals that Ikkaku was beaten by the Ryoka and taken to the Fourth Division's Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho for treatment.

With Nemu concluding that the Ryoka escaped and his whereabouts remain unknown, Mayuri is shocked by the idea of a Ryoka defeating a Shinigami and grins as he notes that there seem to be interesting subjects among the Ryoka. When asked where Kenpachi is, Nemu states that he is searching for Ryoka, prompting Mayuri to realize that he does not know about this yet and decide to get there first in order to obtain information on the Ryoka before he finds out. When Mayuri begins walking away, Nemu questions where he is going, only to be insulted for being slow to understand that he is going to see Ikkaku before being ordered to follow Mayuri, which she complies with.

Elsewhere, after running along several different rooftops, Yoruichi comes to a stop upon sensing Kenpachi's Reiatsu and realizes he is on the move while warning Ichigo to be careful. With Ichigo running through an alley and Rukia sitting quietly in the Shishinrō, Yasutora Sado blows a hole in a wall with a blast from his Fullbring, Brazo Derecha de Gigante, before hearing the yelling of a swarm of Shinigami as they chase a screaming Ganju through a nearby alley. Back on the rooftop, Uryū coldly stares at a sweating and panting Jirōbō.

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When Uryū Ishida observes that they are surrounded by many Shinigami, Orihime Inoue asserts that they need to find a place to hide and Yasutora Sado declares that they need a plan to outwit the enemy, but when Ichigo Kurosaki suggest that they blast the enemy with an attack through the middle of their ranks, Uryū, Orihime, Sado, and Ichigo all encourage Ganju Shiba to go for it, prompting him to claim that he has piano practice to attend.

Fights

 * Ganju Shiba vs. Yumichika Ayasegawa (concluded)
 * Uryū Ishida vs. Jirōbō Ikkanzaka

Powers and Techniques Used
Zanpakutō Techniques:
 * Blade Recreation

Hohō Techniques:

Quincy Techniques:

Techniques:

Fullbring:

Spirit Weapons:

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Other Powers: