Rukia's Battle Commences! The Freezing White Blade

 is the one-hundred seventeenth episode of the Bleach anime.

Rukia Kuchiki battles against the Arrancar, Di Roy Rinker.

Summary
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and his Fracción split up across Karakura Town, alerting the Shinigami stationed across the area. Upon sensing their Reiatsu, Ichigo realizes it is like that of Ulquiorra Cifer and Yammy Llargo, which he alerts Rukia to. Seeing six marks on the screen of her Denreishinki, Rukia is aghast at how many Arrancar are here, and when Ichigo asks her if they are coming this way, Rukia observes that they seem to just be probing for Reiatsu at this point.

However, Rukia warns Ichigo that this means they are making a list to kill everyone with even a hint of Reiatsu. Mortified by this and grabbing his Substitute Shinigami Badge, Ichigo recalls that Uryū Ishida has none right now and inquires about Orihime and Yasutora Sado, prompting Rukia to assure him that 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto will be able to protect Orihime prior to informing Ichigo that one of the Arrancar is headed toward Sado's location, further alarming Ichigo.

Simultaneously, 11th Division 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame and 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa exit their Gigai and express excitement at the prospect of facing the Arrancar while preparing to move out as Hitsugaya swallows a King Gikongan and orders it to hide his Gigai, which it complies with. After Rangiku joins him on the rooftop and he draws his Zanpakutō, Hitsugaya questions where Orihime is, and once Rangiku assures him that her Gigai will keep Orihime safe, Hitsugaya warns her that the Arrancar are coming. Suddenly, Shawlong Koufang and Nakeem Grindina appear before Hitsugaya and Rangiku with Sonído.

With Rangiku shocked by his and Nakeem's speed, Shawlong greets her and Hitsugaya before attacking the latter. After Hitsugaya manages to block Shawlong's subsequent slash from behind and a concerned Rangiku leaps away to avoid a strike from Nakeem, who stares at her in surprise, Hitsugaya and Shawlong introduce themselves to each other and move to a different rooftop, with Shawlong calling himself lucky for having found the 10th Division Captain and Hitsugaya countering that he has instead had fatally bad luck. Meanwhile, with Edrad Liones confronting Ikkaku and Yumichika as Yylfordt Granz confronts 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai.

Elsewhere, Sado sits up on the floor while Shun'ō and Ayame fly away from his restored arm, which he inspects. Despite Shun'ō warning him that he is not fully healed, Sado assures her and Ayame that he is okay and that they can return to Orihime's apartment in order to heal her. When Sado runs outside with his Fullbring, Brazo Derecha de Gigante, manifested, Di Roy expresses disappointment at him not being a Shinigami and attempts to stab his left hand into a surprised Sado's chest, only for Ichigo to arrive in his Shinigami form and grab Di Roy's left hand before he can complete his attack while criticizing him for evaluating his attack before he has won the fight, which a chuckling Di Roy accepts.

Despite this, Di Roy decides instead to kill Ichigo and his friends, then tell the other Arrancar that none of them were any good. With Di Roy moving back and Ichigo drawing his Shikai, Zangetsu, a stunned Sado stands behind the latter and mentally observes that Di Roy would have killed him with his strike had Ichigo not shown up when he did, due to the stopped attack still puncturing Sado's skin. When told by Ichigo to stand back, Sado protests that his arm was healed by Shun'ō and Ayame, but Ichigo insists that Sado let him handle this, leading Sado to recall Yammy mangling Brazo Derecha de Gigante and agree to Ichigo's request before running off down the street.

Ignoring Rukia when she encounters him at an intersection and inquires about his wellbeing, which leaves her confused, Sado wonders if Ichigo does not trust Sado to watch his back anymore and if they will ever be able to fight as a team again. Back outside the house Sado was resting in, a grinning Di Roy questions how he should kill Ichigo, who rips the bandage off his head and notices Rukia approaching him from behind. After confirming her identity, Rukia asks Ichigo what he told Sado, and when a sweating Ichigo states that he just told Sado to stay back and let him handle this, Rukia requests that he step back as well, to Ichigo's astonishment.

However, Ichigo is left further shocked upon seeing Rukia holding a Chappy Gikongan dispenser as Rukia asserts that she should handle this since Ichigo is too tense and pops the Gikongan into her mouth, causing a release of energy that swirls around her. Warning Ichigo that he could get himself killed fighting like this, Rukia stands in front of her Chappy-controlled Gigai in her proper Shinigami form with her Zanpakutō at her hip. When Ichigo expresses surprise at Rukia having gotten her powers back, Rukia explains that she could not get her powers back before due to being in Kisuke Urahara's power-draining Gigai while in the Human World.

Once Rukia details how she regained her Reiryoku with ease once she discarded that Gigai and lived in the Reishi-rich Soul Society, Ichigo is confused by the notion, leading Rukia to remind him of how the Bount gained power by absorbing Reishi in Soul Society and clarify that Shinigami reap the same benefits even if it is not as rapidly, only for Ichigo to point out how her powers had not returned by the time the Bount attacked. Rukia recounts how she was supposed to recuperate slowly after Sōsuke Aizen's rebellion and how this plan went awry due to the appearance of the Bount, since Soul Society was in complete disarray without anyone in Central 46.

Bringing up how the Bount began attacking Karakura Town and put Ichigo and his friends on the front lines, Rukia concludes that the Seireitei had no choice other than to send someone familiar with the area to aid them. In response, Ichigo ruminates on those most familiar with the city and its residents being her, 4th Division 7th Seat Hanatarō Yamada, Ganju Shiba, and Renji, which he considers to be indicative of a problem with the personnel selection since they were all useless before Chappy leaps toward a startled Ichigo and repeats Rukia's instructions for him to step back, leaving Ichigo irritated and perplexed by who she is supposed to be.

When Rukia informs Ichigo that this is Chappy, the Gikongan most popular with female Shinigami whom she was trying to purchase before when she ended up with Kon instead, Ichigo is left expressing disbelief at Chappy potentially inhabiting his own body instead and relief that Kon does instead, which Chappy takes issue with as Ichigo discovers her surprising strength and Rukia mentions how her Reiryoku was extensively restored by Orihime Inoue healing her with Sōten Kisshun. Suddenly, Di Roy leaps forward and strikes at Rukia, who blocks with her Zanpakutō and is pushed down the block by the force of his strike while Ichigo calls out to her in concern.

Upon being pushed into the air by Di Roy swinging his arm upward, Rukia lands on the side of a telephone post and pushes herself off it to slash at Di Roy, who blocks her blade with the side of his hand and introduces himself. However, when Rukia attempts to do the same, Di Roy cuts her off and notes that he does not waste time learning the names of those he kills. In response, Rukia tells Di Roy to at least remember the name of her sword and releases her Shikai, Sode no Shirayuki, which turns the blade of her Zanpakutō pure white and causes a long, flat tassel to become attached to the bottom of the handle, to Di Roy's surprise.

Rukia initiates Some no mai, Tsukishiro, creating a freezing circle on the ground encompassing both herself and Di Roy, who sees ice beginning to encompass his lower body from the feet up and frantically jabs his hand into the ice covering his foot. Leaping high into the air with a bleeding foot, Di Roy proclaims that the sky is his domain and mocks Rukia for having a sword that only freezes the ground. However, Di Roy swiftly finds himself frozen in a tall pillar of ice originating from the circle while Rukia clarifies that the domain of of Sode no Shirayuki is everything within its circle instead of the ground and turns away as the pillar shatters into tiny pieces.

Meanwhile, Chappy restrains Ichigo by holding his arm behind his back while pinning him to the ground and promises to force him to remain still if he does not do so on his own. Despite Ichigo protesting that he cannot remain still when she is hurting him like this, Chappy responds to him threatening to beat her up if she does not stop by asserting that she will kill him before he can kill her, visibly unnerving Ichigo by exceeding her orders to simply hold him down, and wrenches his arm further behind his back as Rukia approaches them and questions what they are doing. Upon seeing Rukia, a startled Ichigo frantically asks her if she is okay and if she defeated Di Roy.

Annoyed by this, Rukia points out that she obviously did since she is still here while Ichigo notices Sode no Shirayuki. In turn, Chappy informs Ichigo that Sode no Shirayuki is currently regarded as the most beautiful Zanpakutō in all of Soul Society due to its blade, guard, and hilt all being completely white, though Ichigo admonishes her for ruining the mood when she finishes her sentence by making a hopping noise, and explains that Rukia has the potential to be a seated officer, but the increased danger that seated officers face compared to regular Shinigami led a certain person who did not want her to be exposed to peril to pull some strings and have her removed from seated officer candidacy.

Though surprised to learn that this person was 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, when Chappy concludes this by making a hopping noise once more, an unimpressed Ichigo determines that exposition is not her forte and requests that Chappy get off of him, only for Chappy to wrench his arm once again while an exasperated Rukia tells them to stop this. Suddenly, Ichigo and Rukia experience a powerful Reiatsu as Grimmjow stands in the air above them and comments on Di Roy's death meaning that he will simply have to kill them both himself before introducing himself to an intimidated Ichigo. Around Karakura Town, the other Arrancar notice Di Roy's death.

Shawlong comments on Di Roy's death while standing in midair with Hitsugaya, Yylfordt criticizes him for dying after begging to accompany them and muses that not even Aizen could save him from his incompetence as he deflects an irate Renji's Shikai, Zabimaru, with his bare hand and without looking at it, and a grinning Edrad asserts that whoever fought Di Roy was lucky due to the latter never being strong enough to become an Arrancar and warns Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika that they are not so lucky because he is not Di Roy prior to performing Palma Plancha, which creates a large explosion of force that dwarfs the surrounding buildings.

Several blocks away, Keigo Asano nervously wonders what that noise was at this time of night and attributes to hoodlums whom he does not want to encounter tonight while lamenting Mizuho Asano forcing him to get a drink for her when it is so dark out. Recalling how he has been seeing strange things lately and how it has creeped him out despite not believing in ghosts, Keigo remembers seeing the Hollow earlier and notices Zennosuke Kurumadani running toward him. After identifying Zennosuke as the guy who is always fighting monsters and a potential source of company for him, Keigo cheerfully greets Zennosuke and questions if he is filming again, but Zennosuke berates him.

With Zennosuke warning Keigo to not stay here if he values his life due to how dangerous it is and continuing to run down the street, Keigo is left to observe that this was unnecessarily rude since he was just saying hello and that he still has not seen Zennosuke's television show yet, which he theorizes could be on cable. However, Keigo is interrupted when a powerful explosion occurs at the wall behind and adjacent to him, and as he scrambles back in shock, Keigo sees Ikkaku standing in the clearing dust with blood streaming down from a wound on his forehead, which leads him to recognize Ikkaku as one of the people who came to Karakura High School earlier that day with fright.

As Keigo demands to know what he is doing running around in the middle of the night while bleeding and carrying a sword, a surprised Ikkaku recognizes him in turn before Edrad hits him in the face with another Palma Plancha that sends Ikkaku crashing into the ground next to Keigo. A laughing Edrad inquires if this is the best that the Shinigami can offer, leading Keigo to pick up on his mention of shinigami and wonder what he is talking about prior to Ikkaku getting his attention and suggesting they make a deal, to Keigo's surprise and reluctance, prior to detailing how he and Yumichika need a place to stay tonight and how Edrad is going to kill Keigo.

Though Keigo points out that Edrad might just want to kill him instead, Ikkaku promises to save Keigo from Edrad if Keigo lets them stay at his house for a while. With a stunned Keigo expressing confusion at this, an angered Ikkaku orders Keigo to give him an answer, prompting Keigo to agree as a pleased Ikkaku stands up and faces Edrad, whom he asks about the identity of. Initially responding with his Arrancar number, Edrad pauses and dismisses this since there is no point in introducing himself to a dead man, only for an unimpressed Ikkaku to comment on his poor etiquette and explain that he always tells those he trains to introduce themselves to their victims.

After clarifying that he does so because someone who is about to be killed at least has the right to know the name of their killer, Ikkaku introduces himself as the 3rd Seat of Kenpachi Zaraki's division and instructs Edrad to take note of his name since it is the the last one that the latter will ever hear.

Kon-sama's Ultimate Shinigami Illustrated Guide
A group of Keigun finishes reporting to 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng, who tells them to increase their report details, and hands her an envelope before departing with Shunpo. Upon opening the envelope, Suì-Fēng finds pictures of Yoruichi Shihōin battling Yammy Llargo alongside Kisuke Urahara in Karakura Town and is enraptured by her beauty prior to seeing a photograph of Yoruichi consuming large amounts of food in her undergarments and praising her daily attire as being splendid as well.

Fights

 * Tōshirō Hitsugaya vs. Shawlong Koufang
 * Rukia Kuchiki vs. Di Roy Rinker (concluded)
 * Ikkaku Madarame vs. Edrad Liones

Powers and Techniques Used
Zanpakutō Techniques:

Hohō Techniques:

Arrancar Techniques:



Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Fullbring:

Other Powers:

Anime Notes
Removed Content= Added/Expanded Content= Censorship= Changes=
 * Di Roy Rinker mentally expressing shock at Rukia Kuchiki's Sode no Shirayuki being a white Zanpakutō.
 * Di Roy exposing his right eye socket and attempting to fire a Cero from it while telling Rukia to die.
 * The flashback to Renji Abarai introducing himself to Uryū Ishida as he prepares to deliver the finishing blow.
 * Nakeem Grindina attacking Rangiku Matsumoto and being surprised when she evades him by leaping back into the air.
 * Ichigo Kurosaki noting Rukia's description of Soul Society as being rich with Reishi and Rukia reminding him of how the Bount were empowered by it when they entered the realm before explaining that their attack interrupted her previous recuperation and forced her to come back to Karakura Town, only for Ichigo to remain unimpressed by the forces sent by the Gotei 13 to fight the Bount.
 * Rukia musing on how Orihime Inoue's Santen Kesshun greatly restored her Reiryoku.
 * Chappy wrenching Ichigo's arm after informing him of Sode no Shirayuki being the most beautiful Zanpakutō in Soul Society.
 * Renji Abarai attempting to attack Yylfordt Granz with Zabimaru, only for the latter to deflect it with his bare hand without looking.
 * Keigo Asano dropping his cans of juice when the explosion occurs behind him.
 * Ikkaku Madarame is not left bleeding from his right nostril by Edrad Liones's Palma Plancha.
 * In the manga, Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Shawlong Koufang remain on the rooftop of Orihime's apartment after their initial clash; here, they instead move to another rooftop after separating from each other.
 * In the manga, Edrad confront Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa while Yylfordt confronts Renji after Di Roy promises to kill Ichigo and Sado; here, they instead do so after Shawlong confronts Hitsugaya.
 * In the manga, Sado begins bleeding immediately after Ichigo catches Di Roy's hand; here, he instead only begins bleeding as he realizes Di Roy almost killed him.
 * In the manga, when recalling him and Ichigo fighting alongside and for each other, Sado remembers being encircled by several thugs with Ichigo at his back; here, he instead remembers Ichigo promising to protect Oscar Joaquín de la Rosa's coin for him.
 * In the manga, upon encountering Keigo in the street, Zennosuke Kurumadani simply runs past him without acknowledgement, leaving Keigo to note that he now feels worse than he did before; here, he instead stops and berates Keigo for hanging around here, warns him to leave if he values his life, and then continues running, leaving Keigo to criticize this as unnecessarily when Zennosuke could have just stayed for a bit.
 * In the manga, the explosion from Edrad's Palma Plancha occurs at an intersection in front of Keigo; here, it instead occurs at a wall behind and adjacent to Keigo.