Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Jin Kariya: Final Fight

 is the last battle of the Bount Invasion and Ichigo Kurosaki's final confrontation with the Bount Jin Kariya.

Prelude
Having confronted Jin Kariya on the damaged pavilion where he was fighting Uryū Ishida and Ran'Tao, Ichigo Kurosaki stands with his Shikai, Zangetsu, and inquires if Uryū is okay, prompting Uryū to kneel beside Ran'Tao and assure Ichigo that he does not need to be worried about. After Ran'Tao confirms that she is alright, Ichigo instructs Uryū to get her away from here since he is going to fight Kariya, and after Uryū notes that this seems to be their only option, Ichigo activates his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu.

Battle
The energy released by the activation of Tensa Zangetsu surges over Kariya and off the side of the pavilion, resulting in Kariya jumping back high into the air, where he sees a tornado and swirling winds briefly coalesce around Ichigo before dissipating to reveal him clad in his Bankai. As he declares the start of the battle, Ichigo leaps toward Kariya, who casually evades both of Ichigo's subsequent slashes and falls down the side of the elevated pavilion with a smirk as Ichigo pursues him.

With Kariya springing off the wall to another pavilion that he begins running across the rooftops from, Ichigo catches up to him and attacks, leading Kariya to counter with wind condensed around his left fist that creates a large explosion of force on impact. In the aftermath, the dust settles to reveal Ichigo leveling his sword at Kariya, who is surrounded by a thin tornado, and grinning fiercely prior to rushing forward, only for Kariya to unleash a torrent of wind across the hole in the roof that sends Ichigo flying back and crashing through one stone tower into a next, where he coughs up blood from the impact and leaves a bloodstain in the crater where his back hit the building.

Upon seeing Kariya mockingly smiling at him through the hole in the first tower, an angered Ichigo leaps out of the crater and unleashes a Getsuga Tenshō that smashes through the tower and surges toward a shocked Kariya, who dodges to the side right before it tears through the rooftop where he was standing and carves a trench into the side of the base of the Senzaikyū pavilion. Noticing that Ichigo has vanished from the cratered tower as he stands on one side of the trench, Kariya sees the former appear in front of him with Shunpo and jumps to the other side of the trench just as Ichigo slashes down at him, which causes his sword to strike the ground instead.

After Kariya pushes Ichigo back with a wind-infused kick, the two of them glare at each other on opposite sides of the trench before Kariya smirks at this. Following this, Ichigo clashes repeatedly with Kariya while leaping up the stairs leading up to Sōkyoku Hill alongside him, and some time later, near the tip of Sōkyoku Hill, Ichigo leaps back from an explosive clash with Kariya and pants heavily as Kariya stands before him. Suddenly, a grievously wounded Maki Ichinose limps through the nearby copse of trees and releases his Shikai, Nijigasumi, prior to encasing a surprised Ichigo in light, unleashing three shadowy slashes that Ichigo easily cuts through, and rushing forward to cross blades with Ichigo.

Ichigo expresses disbelief at Ichinose still being alive and forces him back, where he perturbs Kariya by mentioning that he has something to ask him. With Kariya acknowledging this, Ichinose questions where Gō Koga and the other Bount are and is surprised to learn that they have all died. When Ichigo demands to know what he is doing, Ichinose runs forward and clashes with him twice more despite Ichigo's protests for him to stop. After Ichinose evades a horizontal slash from him by jumping into the air and crosses swords with him again, an irritated Ichigo reiterates that Ichinose needs to stop and sends him flying back and landing on his back with another slash.

Ichinose's Zanpakutō reverts to its sealed state while he sees an unimpressed Kariya glaring down at him. Seeing Ichinose refuse to give up as he pushes himself up on his broken Zanpakutō, Ichigo wonders what he is doing in his worn-out state, but is shocked alongside Kariya when Ichinose releases Nijigasumi once more and moves behind Kariya with Shunpo to hold his blade to the latter's neck. Upon being asked what he is doing by Kariya, Ichinose asserts that he would have no choice but to destroy the Seireitei if Kariya ordered him to do so since he has abandoned it to the point of no longer caring what happens to it, only to clarify that this is what he used to believe.

As he details how he served Kariya because he saw Kenpachi Kiganjō in him, Ichinose reveals that he remembered his desire to improve the Seireitei and the Gotei 13 by even the slightest amount during his battle with 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki, an ideal which Kiganjō shared and which was the reason Ichinose served by Kiganjō's side to the point of maintaining that ideal even after the latter was gone, though the emptiness of Kiganjō's death turned his desires into revenge. With Ichigo relaxing his stance at this, Ichinose points out how Kariya has gained the power to change Soul Society and promises to kneel before him once more if he uses his power to rebuild the Seireitei.

However, Ichinose vows to stop Kariya if he chooses to use this power only for revenge because nothing can be born of it and concludes that he is the only one who can stop Kariya with Koga and the other Bount being dead. While Ichigo is startled to see wind condensing around his right hand, Kariya simply claims that he cannot do that, and as a Wind Barrier forms around him, Ichinose proclaims that he is not getting away and attempts to slash at Kariya, only for the latter to turn around and effortlessly grab Ichinose's right wrist and left hand, partially disarming him and preventing him from completing his strike, as he notes that Ichinose cannot defeat him with this power.

Holding Ichinose up by his right wrist, Kariya thanks him for providing time for the power of the Jōkaishō to spread through Kariya's body and summons more wind around his right hand. Upon seeing this, Ichigo attempts to rush forward, but finds himself stopped in his tracks by swirling wind while Kariya lets go of Ichinose and shoves his hand into Ichinose's chest, blasting compressed wind through his back and causing Ichinose to collapse. When Kariya turns around in contempt, a gasping Ichinose grasps his left ankle, which leads an angered Kariya to surge powerful winds into him, lifting Ichinose high into the air in a spray of blood and leaving his body to fall on the ground far behind Kariya.

With Ichinose's broken Zanpakutō embedded in the ground by Kariya's feet, Ichigo furiously demands to know if Kariya knows what he just did, and when Kariya wonders what he is so angry about, Ichigo reminds him that he just killed a comrade who served by his side, but Kariya merely brushes this off as unimportant, to Ichigo's disbelief, and looks back at Ichinose's Zanpakutō prior to questioning why Ichigo feels pity for someone who was his enemy, prompting Ichigo to clarify that he does not pity Ichinose and simply cannot forgive Kariya for killing his comrade so coldly. Despite this, Kariya informs Ichigo that he never considered the others to be comrades and that they were just pawns for his goal.

Enraged by this, Ichigo glows with blue Reiatsu as Kariya decides to settle this with him now and raises his right hand in the air before summoning his Doll, Messer, causing wind to swirl around his hand while storm clouds swirl in the air above and a tendril of coiling wind extends from them to connect to the wind emanating from Kariya's hand, forming a powerful tornado, to Ichigo's shock. On the ground below and several hundred meters away from Sōkyoku Hill, Orihime, Sado, Uryū, and the Mod-Souls see the swirling storm clouds and feel the strong winds surging through the area while Ririn senses Kariya's Reiatsu rapidly rising, which leads them to hurry toward the fight.

Back on Sōkyoku Hill, Kariya's right hand and forearm turn metallic as they grow curving protrusions above and below his clenched fist to form the base of a pata sword. Admitting that he did not think there was a reason to show Ichigo his Doll, Kariya generates a long blade of condensed wind and notes that he is almost out of time prior to introducing Messer to Ichigo and declaring that the latter cannot come near him anymore. With the dust around Kariya settling, Ichigo mocks his confidence and assumes a battle stance. After glaring intensely at each other for several seconds, Ichigo and Kariya fire a Getsuga Tenshō and Wind Licht Schneide, respectively, at each other.

Shortly afterward, Ichigo is sent crashing down onto the peak of Sōkyoku while Kariya fires two Wind Licht Schneide at him. Though both projectiles hit Ichigo, who grunts in pain as he is obscured in a cloud of dust, Kariya narrows his eyes upon seeing the dust clear to reveal Ichigo protected himself from the attacks with his blue Reiatsu. After getting to his feet, Ichigo moves to Kariya in midair with Shunpo and begins rapidly dashing around Kariya to create afterimages while pointing out most of the latter's strikes are counterattacks aimed at the openings left by enemies when they attack before quickly attacking Kariya from multiple angles with the conclusion that this does not matter if he does not leave any openings, forcing Kariya to just as quickly block each strike with the blade of wind emanating from Messer.

Despite moving to the ground below in order to escape Ichigo's assault, Kariya suddenly finds Ichigo attacking him from behind, and while Kariya turns around to intercept this, Ichigo continues clashing with him multiple times prior to firing a Getsuga Tenshō that slams into Kariya and pushes him across Sōkyoku Hill. However, Ichigo is shocked when Kariya emerges unharmed from the resulting dust cloud with his light teal Reiatsu disintegrating his coat. Musing on the technique of defending oneself with Reiatsu, Kariya admits that he is not used to his coat being in tatters, but confirms that the technique really does minimize the damage sustained to his body.

Noticing his damaged tie, a chuckling Kariya takes it off to let it fly away in the wind and stops using his Reiatsu as a barrier as he brings up Ichigo's claim of his attacks being only counterstrikes and decides to show Ichigo the true form of Messer. With the blade of wind emanating from Messer intensifying, leaving Ichigo intimidated, Kariya details how his power over wind lets him generate static electricity through atmospheric friction and generate lightning, which surges from Messer along the length of the wind blade before Kariya swings it forward to surge toward Ichigo in the form of a horizontal lightning strike, forcing Ichigo to move into the air with Shunpo.

As he watches Ichigo continue to evade the lightning strikes, Kariya declares that it is impossible to outrun lightning no matter how fast he moves and manipulates a bolt to strike Ichigo from behind, keeping him stuck in midair long enough for Kariya to leap toward him and slash at his midsection with the Lightning Blade of Messer, which leaves Ichigo screaming in agony while he crashes into the ground below. Kariya questions if this is it, and when a disarmed Ichigo can only curse him in response, a bemused Kariya states that he is going to finish this since the Jōkaishō within him will soon fill up with power and informs Ichigo of the existence of other Jōkaishō, to his surprise.

After Kariya explains how unleashing his Jōkaishō will trigger all the other Jōkaishō and reduce the Seireitei to nothing, Ichigo demands to know why he would do such a thing and what the point of killing the Shinigami, his comrades, and himself is. In response, Kariya asserts that the Bount are a rotten tribe because of their refusal to let go of their ties to the Shinigami despite their great power, only to elaborate that the Shinigami are even more rotten for selfishly creating the Bount and using the latter for their own purposes, which he could not forgive and which led him to decide to drag Shinigami, Souls, and Hollows down with him so he can destroy them all.

Though Ichigo calls him crazy, Kariya insists that he is completely sane and that it is the world which is crazy, but decides that this is enough talk due to the world soon coming to an end. Despite this, Ichigo refuses to let Kariya complete his plan and grasps the sword of his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, as he forces himself up. Nearby, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai appears with Shunpo while carrying Rukia Kuchiki, who attempts to run to Ichigo's side in concern upon seeing him, only for Renji to stop her and request that she not interfere in Ichigo's battle. When Rukia protests this, Renji reminds her that Ichigo has proved himself the equal of his captain, Byakuya Kuchiki.

With Renji telling her to believe in him, a reluctant Rukia looks toward Ichigo, who proclaims that he is not about to let Kariya destroy everything, and as Kariya wonders what he can do in his current condition, Ichigo simply tells him to shut up, leaving a disappointed Kariya to observe that everything will soon come to an end and move down to Ichigo. After Kariya decides to finish Ichigo off and levels his lightning blade at him, Ichigo mentally expresses frustration at not having any energy left and realizes that he cannot move his arm. Suddenly, with Ichigo urging his arm to move, Zangetsu declares it will and takes control of Ichigo's body to fire a point-blank Getsuga Tenshō.

An astonished Kariya has his shirt shredded by this attack and is sent flying back across the hill with a large cut across his chest and shoulder while Ichigo glares at him with yellow eyes. As Rukia expresses concern for Ichigo, Renji internally notes Ichigo's usage of a black Getsuga Tenshō while Kariya demands to know where Ichigo got this power, only for Ichigo's eyes to return to normal once he blinks, causing him to stumble and begin sweating. With Ichigo grasping at his face in disbelief, Kariya observes that this was his inner power and mocks Ichigo for having even this dry up prior to reminding Ichigo that he has a powerful ally known as Reishi, which he begins manifesting around his body.

However, Kariya is left stunned when he is unable to absorb the Reishi and heal his wound, leading him to realize that this is the result of Ran'Tao stabbing him in the side with a dagger back when she momentarily restrained him during his fight with Uryū Ishida. Seeing this, Ichigo laughs and asserts that they are on equal terms now that Kariya is no longer invincible, but Kariya's Bount crest flashes while he smirks and notes that this is a little too late because it is almost time for his body to be filled with the power of the Jōkaishō so he can unleash it and destroy everything, prompting Ichigo to refuse to let this happen and rush forward to clash with Kariya.

With Kariya blocking Ichigo's strike using his Lightning Blade, Ichigo vows to defeat him before he can unleash the power of the Jōkaishō, and when Kariya questions if he can do so, Ichigo insists that he will and forces Kariya's Lightning Blade aside prior to pressing Kariya back and crossing blades with him twice more in surges of electricity that crackle across the air surrounding them and into the ground beneath their feet. In response, an angered Kariya decides to show Ichigo how incredible the power of the Jōkaishō is by detonating one of the nearby Jōkaishō in the Seireitei around and below them, to Ichigo's shock and disbelief.

Following this, the ground is upturned in multiple areas while Ichigo and Kariya furiously clash across the hill, culminating in Kariya unleashing a torrent of wind that sends Ichigo flying back. With Kariya swirling wind around himself to rise into the air, Ichigo brings up his desire to detonate one of the Jōkaishō, prompting Kariya to mockingly assure him that detonating one of the Jōkaishō within the Seireitei will not set off the others before instructing Ichigo to witness the power of the Jōkaishō and use his Lightning Blade to send a lightning bolt hurtling across the Seireitei, only for Byakuya to intercept it in midair with his Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.

Senbonzakura Kageyoshi surges toward a shocked Kariya and envelops him prior to slamming into the ground, where Kariya angrily slashes away the blade petals with his Lightning Blade to see Byakuya standing behind Ichigo on the hill. With Ichigo surprised and Kariya infuriated by Byakuya's arrival, Yoruichi Shihōin appears nearby with Shunpo and notes that she made it in time prior to apologizing to a stunned Ichigo for being late. Informing Ichigo that Ukitake and the other Shinigami are sealing the Jōkaishō across the Seireitei, but clarifies that it is taking time and concludes alongside Ichigo that what happens with them will come down to whether he can defeat Kariya.

After observing that it is a race against time regardless, Yoruichi inquires about what Kariya is going to do, which leads Kariya to assert that he will obviously defeat all of them and accomplish his goal as wind swirls around him. When Kariya unleashes a surge of lightning at the three of them, Byakuya blocks it with Senbonzakura Kageyoshi while Ichigo moves to the air above Kariya and comes down on him with a powerful strike that Kariya intercepts with his Lightning Blade, causing electricity to arc around and away from them. Following Ichigo's declaration that Kariya's fight is with him, the two of them vanish and clash twice in midair before ripping up the ground in a streak of lightning.

In the midst of the flying rubble, Ichigo and Kariya reappear and continue clashing, destroying the pieces they land on in the process, and when Ichigo moves back to the ground below, Kariya comes down on him from above with his Lightning Blade, forcing Ichigo to block with his sword held above his head as the force of the blow pushes him into the ground, rupturing it further. Watching Ichigo and Kariya's further clashes create clouds of dust across Sōkyoku Hill, Byakuya begins to unsheathe his Zanpakutō, but Yoruichi warns him against doing so since they will have to focus on sealing his unleashing of the Jōkaishō with her Shunkō and his Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.

With Yoruichi admitting that she does not know if they can completely seal the Jōkaishō, a yelling Ichigo and Kariya cross blades in midair, unleashing more lightning, and separate to land on different upturned chunks of the ground in a pit. As blood runs down the sides of his face, Ichigo wonders if this is all that Kariya's power can do, prompting a panting Kariya to tell him to shut up while mentally cursing how he used up too much of his power compressing the Jōkaishō and noting that it cannot be helped before straightening up while his light teal Reiatsu turns red and vanishes. Glaring at Ichigo, who is unnerved by this, Kariya leaps forward and slashes with his Lightning Blade.

Having broken the upturned chunk of ground beneath Ichigo with this, Kariya attacks him once more prior to unleashing a powerful surge of lightning that envelops Ichigo and rips through the ground behind him. Upon seeing this, Yoruichi is left confused at Kariya's attacks not weakening and seemingly getting stronger despite his inability to absorb any more Reishi, only to deduce what is happening with astonishment as Ichigo, having diverted the lightning onto either side of himself, stands at the other end of a deep ravine left by a smirking Kariya's attack and pants heavily prior to Yoruichi encouraging him to keep fighting because Kariya no longer has any Reiryoku left.

Yoruichi reveals that Kariya is now using the power of the Jōkaishō in his body to keep fighting, and when Kariya dismisses this revelation as irrelevant and fires another bolt of lightning at her, Yoruichi blocks it with her bare hand and winces in pain afterward as Kariya details how this is a gamble of whether his body will hold up until the Jōkaishō activates or Ichigo will defeat him before that. Despite Ichigo reiterating that he is going to defeat him, Kariya wonders what Ichigo can do when he is panting like this and moves behind him to hit Ichigo with a wind-infused kick that send him smashing into another upturned chunk of the ground on the other side of the pit.

After questioning if Ichigo is finished already and promising to not hold back anymore, Kariya unleashes another surge of lightning toward Ichigo, but is shocked alongside him when the lightning redirects to Maki Ichinose's broken Zanpakutō embedded in the top of the upturned chunk of ground Ichigo crashed into. With the Zanpakutō disintegrating under the power of the lightning and the chunk of ground collapsing shortly afterward, Ichigo stands with his light blue Reiatsu enveloping his body and glowing in his eyes, unnerving Kariya, prior to exerting it in a pillar around himself and screaming with exertion, which prompts Kariya to descend to the ground opposite Ichigo.

Watching this unfold, Rukia and Renji see Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, Uryū Ishida, Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba run out of the nearby copse of trees and express concern for Ichigo, where they are surprised to see Rukia and Renji as well. Though Uryū asks Sado and Renji to help Ichigo, Rukia states that they cannot and should not interfere since Ichigo likely considers the Bount to be similar to himself as a Substitute Shinigami who is not a Shinigami and a Human who is not a normal Human, with the power he wanted to protect his loved ones before he came a Shinigami burdening him with both Soul Society and the Human World, which is a burden they cannot understand.

As she observes that Ichigo moves forward with this burden and inquires if they could all do the same, Rukia points out that the Bount are also people who are not people that suffered in two worlds and concludes that Kariya can only be stopped by Ichigo due to them sharing the same burden. With Rukia declaring that the only thing they can do is trust Ichigo and watch, she assures a despondent Orihime that Ichigo will win, which Orihime affirms. When Ichigo proclaims that he is going to hit Kariya with all that is left of his power, Kariya decides to respond in kind and exerts his red Reiatsu in a pillar as well before the two of them leap forward and cross blades.

Ichigo begins pushing back Kariya's Lightning Blade, to the latter's astonishment, and Kariya demands to know if Ichigo can really withstand the Jōkaishō when it is backed by all of the Bount while pushing back against Ichigo, which further upturns the ground around them. However, Ichigo counters that Kariya has never done anything for the Bount and treated his comrades like pawns prior to refusing to lose to someone like Kariya, who asserts in turn that Ichigo does not know anything and that people hate those who are superior to themselves, meaning that Ichigo will find the friends he trusted coming to fear his power and eventually distancing themselves from him.

In response to Kariya questioning what the purpose of protecting his friends is, Ichigo denies there being a purpose or meaning and declares that he protects his friends simply because he wants to protect them to the point of risking his soul, to Kariya's disbelief. Upon seeing Kariya's crest turn white, a shocked Yoruichi realizes that he has activated the Jōkaishō and tells Byakuya that they are going to seal it, only for Byakuya to not respond to her and continue watching the clash. Leaning into the blade lock alongside Ichigo, Kariya proclaims that nothing matters anymore and that he is going to end this now prior to pushing Ichigo several meters back with a swing of his Lightning Blade.

With Kariya's crest glowing brightly, Ichigo rushes toward him and yells Kariya's name as the two of them clash for the final time, resulting in an explosion of power that rips through the ground surrounding the pit and surges into the sky in a pillar of light that disperses the clouds above before dissipating.

Aftermath
In the aftermath, Ichigo and Kariya stand across from each other facing opposite directions with their blades outstretched, and as Ichigo falls to his knees, Kariya relaxes his stance and smiles up at the sky. Turning around to face Ichigo, Kariya states that it is over and expresses disappointment at not being able to see if Ichigo will walk down the same path he did. Before Kariya can tell Ichigo something, he suddenly turns to ashes that float away on the wind around Ichigo, who calls him an idiot and begins to fall forward, only for Sado to catch and steady him at the last second. While Sado inquires if Ichigo is alright, Rukia, Orihime, Uryū, Renji, Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba run over as well.

With Ririn tearfully leaping onto Ichigo's chest and wailing about how worried she was about him, Yoruichi sees that Byakuya has departed and leaves with a smile as Orihime insists that she needs to heal Ichigo's wounds, but Ichigo tells her that she can do this later and gets to his feet, where he walks a few feet away and stares somberly into the distance. Ichigo reveals that Kariya disappeared on his own in the end, and when an astonished Rukia questions if Kariya was planning this from the very beginning of his campaign against the Seireitei, Ichigo admits that he does not know, only to conclude that Kariya probably wanted to bring his endless life to an end.

Some time after Kariya's defeat, Ichigo sits on a walkway in the Kuchiki Manor and smiles up at the sky as Rukia rests behind him. Upon being approached by Renji, who inquires if he is healed now, Ichigo confirms that Orihime completely fixed him up, only for Renji to assert that Ichigo does not seem like he would die even if he were killed, to Ichigo's annoyance, and take a seat next to him on the walkway. When Ichigo notes that Rukia is taking a while to recover even though Orihime healed her as well, Renji reminds him that her current injuries are not the only reason why she has been weakened and that she did not have enough time to recover her Reiryoku before she was possessed by Mabashi's Doll, Ritz, in the Human World, prior to concluding that Rukia needs time to recover.

Ichigo acknowledges this and questions if the Gotei 13 are done cleaning up yet, prompting Renji to affirm that even though there are still damaged buildings to be repaired and wounded personnel to be healed, the recovery effort looks to be almost finished, leading Ichigo to lean back and bring up how the Seireitei has finally acknowledged the existence of the Bount as well as the reason for their creation. As Ichigo observes that Kariya ended up leaving a big impression even though he wanted to erase the existence of the Bount, an irritated Renji chastises him for speaking as though he knows everything like usual, and when Ichigo demands to know what he means, Renji claims that this only happened because Ichigo and his friends sent the Bount to Soul Society.

However, Ichigo points out that Renji was there when the Bount left the Human World, which prompts a startled Renji to assert that his Zanpakutō, Zabimaru, is still damaged from his defeat of Ugaki's Doll, Gesell, though Ichigo mockingly states that this just means Renji is weak. In response, an angered Renji grabs Ichigo by the collar and asks him to reiterate what he just said, only for Ichigo to tell him to not get mad since the truth just slipped out. Further enraged by this, Renji warns Ichigo to not get cocky just because he got a bit stronger and instructs him to stay grounded since he is only a Substitute Shinigami instead of a real one.

Despite Ichigo insisting that he is sorry, Renji refuses to forgive him and begins to glow with red Reiatsu in anger at Ichigo's unusual meekness when the latter explains that he is worn out. Suddenly, Ichigo and Renji look up to see an unimpressed 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki standing behind them. Wondering what Ichigo and Renji are doing, Byakuya glares at them and questions if they have forgotten where they are with how much noise they are making, leaving Ichigo and Renji to timidly apologize and stop fighting. After walking over to the entrance of the room Rukia is resting in, Byakuya orders Ichigo to return to the Human World immediately if he has no more business here.

With Byakuya walking away following his assertion that Ichigo does not belong here, an intimidated Renji claims that an equally perturbed Ichigo got him scolded, and as Ichigo ponders whether Byakuya came out after eavesdropping on their conversation, Rukia tells them to shut up and sits up in her bed, where she responds to Ichigo noting that she is awake by declaring that she cannot get any sleep with the two of them causing a ruckus and assuming that they do not think of her as a recovering patient while putting on a shawl. Soon afterward, Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji all sit on the walkway outside and look up at the sky with smiles as Rukia comments on how peaceful it is.

Ichigo agrees with this and admits that he never thought he would come to Soul Society twice. When Renji teasingly states that he meddles too much, Ichigo acknowledges this, to Renji's surprise, and Rukia brings up how there are no more Bount left after a battle that left such unimaginable suffering. In turn, Ichigo observes that Kariya was obsessed with the past of the Bount and could not stand events repeating themselves over and over, and when Rukia expresses confusion at this, Ichigo details how Kariya only saw the situation of the Bount getting continually worse over the course of a thousand years to the point that history seemed like a revolving circle instead of a line stretching forward to him.

Meanwhile, Ichigo walks down a street in the Seireitei, but is startled to see Kon darting from corner to corner across the street in front of him. With Kon assuming that no one has seen him and that he can make his move, Ichigo shocks him by crouching next to him and nonchalantly inquiring about what he is doing. Upon being berated by Kon for surprising him, Ichigo deduces that Kon wanted to sneak into Rukia's room and responds to Kon claiming that he deserves to do so because he has devoted his heart and soul to Rukia by pointing out how Byakuya will slice Kon up with his Shikai, Senbonzakura, if he even sets foot inside Rukia's room, though Kon does not care.

Kon accuses Ichigo and his friends of neglecting him too much and recounts how the final battle was over by the time he reached Sōkyoku Hill, which prevented him from doing anything important. As Kon screams in irritation at Ichigo's analysis of him wanting to be useful and questions why Ichigo thinks he came to Soul Society, an exasperated Ichigo tells him that they are leaving soon anyway since the Senkaimon is almost ready, and when Kon inquires about what Rukia will be doing, Ichigo reminds him that she will have to stay here and continue recovering. Astonished by this, Kon decides to stay by her side and attempts to leap past Ichigo, but is caught in midair by the face.

Proclaiming that there is no point in leaving Kon here, Ichigo throws him to the ground, where Kon curses his lack of power preventing him from defeating both the Bount and the Shinigami so Rukia would adore him. In response, Ichigo ruminates on Kariya being corrupted by the power he gained to the point of having to destroy himself in the end. With Ichigo moving to Sōkyoku Hill and asserting that there is no point in thinking about it, 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake approaches him and questions why he is staring in the distance, which prompts Ichigo to explain how he was thinking about why Kariya wanted to gain power. Acknowledging this, Ukitake theorizes that Kariya thought of history as a vicious cycle and was likely trying to sever it with force, leading Ichigo to express his belief that history being a cycle would not be so bad if one had friends with them.

Some time later, Ichigo and Kon stand before the Senkaimon on Sōkyoku Hill and are joined by Orihime, Yasutora Sado, Uryū Ishida, Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba. With Ririn leaping over to Ichigo, Kurōdo laments that they will have to leave Soul Society after coming all the way here and criticizes Noba for being mean when the latter suggests that he can stay if he wants to. As Uryū notes that it is almost time, Sado encourages the group to go home. While Ichigo agrees and the Senkaimon activates, Renji, 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, Byakuya, Ikkaku, 11th Division 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa, Izuru, 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi, and Rukia watch from around the Seireitei, with Rukia expressing a desire to meet Ichigo again and closing her eyes.