The Avengers

The Avengers is the forty-seventh episode of the Bleach anime.

As Ichigo Kurosaki continues to achieve Bankai, Lieutenant Momo Hinamori confronts Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya about Captain Sōsuke Aizen's letter.

Summary
Momo escapes her cell, thinking of the letter she got from her Captain Aizen, claiming that he knows something that nobody else does, and proceeds to tell her about it as she runs away. She says that she will believe him, and that she knows who his killer was.

Meanwhile, in the Tenth Division Office, Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto awakens from a long nap, in which she dreamed about her first encounter with Captain Gin Ichimaru. Hitsugaya is sitting at the desk, and he tells her he wants her to finish up the paperwork he's working on. There isn't much left because he finished most of it, and she admits that she was asleep for a long time. He sympathizes with her, saying that it must have been hard for her to see a comrade and classmate do such a treasonous act. Rangiku asks Hitsugaya if he really thinks that Gin murdered Aizen, but before he can respond, the 7th seat of the Tenth Division, Kōkichirō Takezoe, then comes in to report that Lieutenants Izuru Kira, Momo, and Renji Abarai have all escaped from their cells.

Hitsugaya goes to interrogate the guard in charge of Momo, and mentions that if they intended to keep her in the cell, they should have sealed her spirit force, as she is a master of Kidō. Hitsugaya tells Rangiku to return without him and decides that he is going to go save Momo from whatever it is she has gotten herself into.

The scene cuts to Ichigo and Zangetsu fighting. Yoruichi Shihōin makes note of Ichigo's progress. She notes that his fighting style and technique are evolving to a high level at a frightening rate.

Back in the Human World, Kisuke Urahara sneezes, and mentions that he thinks that someone beautiful must be talking about him. Tessai Tsukabishi mentions that he has some medicine that is great for colds, and proceeds to give it to Kisuke. Kisuke fights back, citing that the medicine expired two years ago.

The focus returns to Momo, who is still thinking of the letter Aizen left her while evading Shinigami patrols. He mentions that he knows why Rukia Kuchiki must be executed, why her execution date keeps being moved up, and that he wanted at least her to know the truth, so that she could reveal it to the rest of Seireitei.

Ichigo is again fighting with Zangetsu, who suddenly turns back into the doll, and Yoruichi tells him that the first day of training is complete. We then see Hitsugaya inspecting Izuru's cell, and he then comes to a sudden realization.

Meanwhile, Ichigo is relaxing in some hot springs. He mentions that he can't tell day from night, and notices that his wounds are healing rather fast, so he decides to try drinking some. Then an amusing scene begins, as Yoruichi decides to get in and begins stripping. Ichigo spits out the water in shock and objects, but Yoruichi just taunts him some more. Yoruichi gets the best of him, and she enters the water in her cat form. She calls him a lecher for being disappointed, and Ichigo threatens to drown her.

Yoruichi tells Ichigo that the cave underground was built as a playground by Kisuke and herself when they were kids, and that they battled underground there when Kisuke entered the Gotei 13 and when she entered the Onmitsukidō. Ichigo turns to ask her a question, and sees her sitting naked at the side of the hot spring. After a few tense moments, Ichigo inquires about Kisuke, and Yoruichi tells him that Kisuke was indeed a Shinigami, as well as captain of the Twelfth Division and founder of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute (Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi is the current president). Ichigo is impressed and calls Kisuke a big shot. Meanwhile, we see Kisuke sitting on the toilet as a result of Tessai's medicine, and the latter then leaves to fetch his gastrointestinal medicine, while Jinta Hanakari and Ururu Tsumugiya watch and wonder what's going on.

The focus moves to Gin and Izuru walking somewhere, when Hitsugaya interrupts them. Hitsugaya says that he knew they would be together, and Gin claims he wanted Hitsugaya to find out, so a more conspicuous jailbreak was necessary. Hitsugaya swears to kill Gin, and suddenly Momo shows up. Hitsugaya tries to stop her from drawing her sword against Gin, but instead she draws her sword against Hitsugaya, claiming that he was Aizen's murderer, which she said was in Aizen's letter.

In the letter, Aizen mentions that Hitsugaya wanted to steal something from the Sōkyoku, which holds the power of 1,000,000 Zanpakutō. It names Hitsugaya as the person behind the plot, and Aizen tells Momo that he wants her to stop Hitsugaya, in the event that Hitsugaya kills Aizen first. She asks Hitsugaya to stand down, or else she will fight to the death with him. Hitsugaya tells Momo that he didn't think that Aizen would leave such a job to her, but she continues to fight, even though she admits that she doesn't know what to do anymore. As he dodges Momo's attack, Hitsugaya concludes that someone had to have forged Aizen's letter, because he believes that the letter is rather unlike Aizen, and he sees Gin smiling down below.

He concludes that Gin must be behind everything and goes in to attack Gin, but Momo appears and blocks his way. Unable to avoid her, he body slams her in the air and she falls out of the sky and is knocked out. Gin scolds Hitsugaya for being mean, and Hitsugaya has a flashback in which he remembers seeing Aizen and Gin's conversation in a hallway, and thinks that Gin did it after a threatening comment he made to Aizen during the exchange. Hitsugaya swears to kill Gin for hurting Momo this way, and Gin finally takes up the invitation to fight, claiming he's going to stop Hitsugaya.

Kon-sama's Ultimate Shinigami Illustrated Guide
The featured character is Sentarō Kotsubaki.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Momo Hinamori
 * 2) Sōsuke Aizen (flashback)
 * 3) Rangiku Matsumoto
 * 4) Gin Ichimaru (flashback)
 * 5) Tōshirō Hitsugaya
 * 6) Kōkichirō Takezoe
 * 7) Ichigo Kurosaki
 * 8) Yoruichi Shihōin
 * 9) Zangetsu
 * 10) Kisuke Urahara
 * 11) Tessai Tsukabishi
 * 12) Jinta Hanakari
 * 13) Ururu Tsumugiya
 * 14) Izuru Kira

Fights
None

Powers and Techniques Used
Techniques used:
 * Zanjutsu (斬術, Cutting Technique)