True Identity of the Devil, the Secret which is Revealed

 is the sixty-eighth episode of the Bleach anime.

The truth about the Mod-Souls is revealed as a new enemy appears.

Summary
Sitting on a riverbank in Karakura Town alongside Orihime Inoue, Uryū Ishida, Kon, and 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai at night, Ichigo Kurosaki repeatedly wonders what they should do, prompting an annoyed Renji to reprimand him for repeating himself. When Ichigo stands up and expresses irritation at this, Renji asserts that he should only say something once his thoughts are in order, but Ichigo counters that what he thinks is none of Renji's business and that he should not care.

With Ichigo and Renji glaring at each other and preparing to fight over this, Uryū tells them to stop and Orihime criticizes this as childish, leading them to back off and turn away from each other after glaring for a few more seconds. As he sits back down, Ichigo asks Orihime if she remembers anything about her abduction at the hands of Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba, and after pondering this, Orihime excitedly declares that she remembers there being tea during her capture.

A stunned Uryū expresses confusion at this while Orihime reveals that there were also sweets present, which prompts a deflated Ichigo to assure her that this is enough, to her surprise, before Uryū notes that they need to hurry up and save Yasutora Sado. While Kon refuses to forgive Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba for mocking him since they are Modified Souls just like he is, Renji observes that they still cannot contact Kisuke Urahara and wonders what is going on after having seen Yoruichi Shihōin rushing off somewhere, only for Kon to attempt to grab their attention by claiming to be the elder of the Mod-Souls, causing an irritated Ichigo to silence him with a punch.

Additionally, Uryū admits that he does not understand why Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba have to set up such convoluted games, which Ichigo concurs with. Meanwhile, within his office in the Tenth Division barracks within the Seireitei in Soul Society, Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya is informed by his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, of 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng entering the Senkaimon alone and heading for an unknown destination right before the gates closed over it. After Rangiku affirms that Suì-Fēng's lieutenant, Marechiyo Ōmaeda, confirmed she did not take the Keigun with her, she inquires about what is going on as Hitsugaya sips from his drink.

Instructing Rangiku to not pry into it since it is a plan set up between Yoruichi and 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake, Hitsugaya questions how she got this information from Marechiyo since she was supposed to be doing paperwork all day, and when a startled Rangiku claims that she simply ran into him while stepping out for a moment, Hitsugaya wonders why several stacks of paperwork have been hidden behind the sofa in the middle of the room, only to discover that Rangiku has vanished when he looks back up, causing him to angrily yell her name. Back in the Human World, Renji begins walking away from Ichigo and the others on the riverbank.

When Ichigo asks him where he is going, Renji points out that there is no reason to stay here and that they should return to the Urahara Shop for now. Though Ichigo is concerned about Sado and his classmates, Uryū assures him that they should be fine since Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba are loyal to the rules of the games they set up, meaning that no harm should come to those they abduct outside of the games. Suddenly, several fireworks are launched into the air and detonated over Karakura Town on the other side of the river. Shocked by this, Ichigo catches a piece of paper that floats down from the air and reads instructions from Ririn to destroy the gate within thirty minutes.

With Ichigo perplexed by this, Orihime draws her friends' attention to the cloudy sky above, where a massively larger version of the skeletal gates descends into Karakura Town on the other side of the river. Ichigo asserts that nothing can be that large and that this must be an illusion, but the gates open and unleash a powerful suction that Ichigo and his friends are forced to brace themselves against. After cursing and pulling out his Substitute Shinigami Badge, Ichigo presses it to his chest, entering his Shinigami form, and tells a concerned Orihime that he will worry about his body later when she asks him about it before running off with his friends.

In a different part of Karakura Town, Yoruichi runs through a park in her cat form and urges Suì-Fēng to hurry as the latter follows her. Upon finding a shirt and skirt lying on the ground in the bushes with a glowing green substance near the collar, Yoruichi has Suì-Fēng pick it up, causing dust to fall out of the sleeves, and explains that the substance is Reishi residue when Suì-Fēng asks her about it. With Yoruichi observing that they are faster than she expected them to be, Suì-Fēng decides to send this data to Soul Society and acquires a portion of the residue with a cotton swab, which she puts into a liquid-filled capsule, as Yoruichi notes that Ukitake should be ready.

Meanwhile, in the Shinigami Research and Development Institute in Soul Society, Hitsugaya enters a communication center, where he finds 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku sitting and Ukitake standing behind Hiyosu and Rin Tsubokura as they sit at a row of monitors on the other side of the room. When Hitsugaya comments on them being here as he expected, Shunsui offers him some of the sake he has been drinking, but Hitsugaya declines and declares that he will be interfering in their operation. After being asked by Hitsugaya what they are doing here, Ukitake describes it as an investigation and reveals that Suì-Fēng is currently transmitting data from the Human World.

With Hitsugaya questioning if this is why they closed the Senkaimon, Shunsui affirms this and explains that it is easier to collect data on foreign elements when the passage of Souls is temporarily blocked, and as Hitsugaya picks up on his mention of foreign elements, Ukitake states that he is simply trying to figure out what the sample that Suì-Fēng is sending over is. Upon being asked by Hitsugaya if this could be related to the incident with Sōsuke Aizen, Ukitake admits that he does not know since the investigation is just beginning. Suddenly, Rin alerts them to Suì-Fēng obtaining a sample and puts it in a machine for analysis.

After extending his left eye with the crank on his temple, Hiyosu expresses confusion at the lack of corresponding data for the sample and orders Rin to analyze it again, only for Rin to discover that there truly is no corresponding data upon doing so while Ukitake asks Hitsugaya what he thinks, prompting the latter to describe it as odd as Shunsui observes that they should look into this further. Back in Karakura Town, Ichigo and his friends run through the streets near the base of the skeletal gates, which Renji describes as huge once they stop. Orihime is alerted by the sound of a giggling Ririn and draws her friends' attention to Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba standing on the base.

Upon being asked by Ririn if he and his friends think the gates are amazing, Ichigo demands that she stop this and tell them what her plan is, as well as why she, Kurōdo, and Noba are doing this. However, Ririn refuses to do so since it would take the fun out of their final battle and promises to explain this once everything is settled. As the wind begins to intensify and pull objects off the street, a startled Ichigo tells his friends to hold onto something, resulting in Renji grabbing a street lamp, Uryū grabbing the rim of a van door while Kon holds onto his shoulder, and Orihime and Ichigo holding onto other street lamps as Ichigo wonders if this is really an illusions.

Suddenly, the strap binding Kon to Uryū breaks off his back, causing him to get sucked into the gates while bemoaning how poorly stitched up he was as Ichigo calls out to him. When Ririn proclaims that they have all but won because Ichigo and his friends cannot do anything about this, Kurōdo agrees and laughs derisively as he suggests that they give up, which prompts Ichigo to declare that they will never concede to the likes of the Mod-Souls, only for Ririn to pull out Urahara's hat and ask Ichigo what it means. With Ichigo shocked by the possibility of them abducting Urahara as well, Ririn puts on the hat and questions what he intends to do.

The van Uryū is hanging onto is sucked toward the gates along with him as he screams in fright, and while Ichigo calls out to him, Orihime reveals that she cannot hold on any longer and is forced to let go of her street lamp, sending her flying through the air and causing Ichigo to let go of his street lamp and grab onto her arms. Calling out to Ichigo in concern, Renji sees an overturned truck screeching along the ground toward him and leaps into the air, leaving the truck to crash into the street lamp he was holding onto as several other vehicles and street lamps are pulled off the ground and into the air, which leads Renji to express incredulity at the power of the suction.

After throwing Orihime to a startled Renji and instructing him to take care of her, Ichigo draws his Shikai, Zangetsu, and begins exerting his Reiatsu in a sphere around his body while Renji demands to know what he is doing. Though Uryū warns him against using his Bankai here because it will damage the town, Ichigo asserts that this is better than the entire town being sucked into the gates and points Zangetsu forward as he attempts to activates his Bankai, but his Reiatsu dissipates as he does so, leaving him astonished. As he inquires what is wrong, Renji has a telephone pole slam into him from behind, separating him from Orihime.

With Uryū calling out to Ichigo in concern, all four of them scream as they are sucked into the gates. Some time later, Orihime regains consciousness while lying on top of a Santen Kesshun in the misty Study Chamber beneath the Urahara Shop and sits up, thanking Lily, Baigon, and Hinagiku as they return to her hairpins. Lying nearby, Kon questions why he is in this place and assumes that Orihime came to save him upon seeing her, only to dejectedly realize that he was wrong when she immediately runs over to Uryū, who is on his hands and knees several feet away. When Uryū asks her where they are, Orihime speculates that they are inside the gates.

Suddenly, Ichigo calls out to Orihime and Uryū as he runs toward them alongside Renji. After expressing his relief that they are okay upon regrouping, with Kon joining them as well, Ichigo asks Uryū if this is the alternate dimensional space which he was referring to while Renji wonders where they are, though Uryū admits that he has no idea. However, they are all alerted by a giggling Ririn, who stands atop a nearby rock formation alongside Kurōdo and Noba as she praises their survival. With Ichigo proclaiming that he will never forgive the Mod-Souls, Ririn warns him to not be so rash as the mist around her clears to reveal Sado bound to a post behind the Mod-Souls, to Ichigo's shock.

Ririn decides to reward Ichigo and his friends for surviving this long by initiating a challenge stage as she calls down a large, sand-filled hourglass, the open bottom half of which covers Sado and the post he is bound to. While Ichigo and his friends express astonishment at this, Ririn reveals that Kurōdo and Noba will also be participating in this stage, and after boasting about finally being able to display his true power in this fight, Kurōdo looks to Noba for elaboration, only for the latter to simply agree. Angered by Noba's short response, Kurōdo accuses him of being too relaxed, which leads Ririn to tell him to shut up before informing Ichigo and his friends that the time limit is five minutes.

Describing this as unbelievable, Ririn winks and instructs Ichigo to save Sado within that time or witness him die as she turns around to watch the sand from the top half of the hourglass begin to trickle through the opening and over Sado, slowly filling up the bottom half. After Ririn declares that the challenge stage has begun, Kurōdo and Noba run down the rock formation, prompting Ichigo to instruct Uryū to protect Orihime, which he affirms, as he and Renji grab their Zanpakutō and rush forward, leaving Kon to demand that they ask him for help too. Kurōdo taunts Ichigo and transforms into him wielding a copy of Zangetsu, to Ichigo's shock, before clashing with him twice.

With Kon expressing anger at this and Orihime wondering which one is the real Ichigo, Ichigo berates Kurōdo for doing this, which prompts the latter to assert that this is his line as they run toward each other and clash. Nearby, Renji releases his Shikai, Zabimaru, and swings it at Noba, who leaps into the air. Renji proclaims that Noba will not get away and leaps into the air as well before extending Zabimaru toward Noba, only for the latter to create a red portal in front of his hands that Zabimaru disappears into. While Renji stares at this in confusion, a second portal appears behind him, causing Zabimaru to hurtle outward and slash Renji across the back.

Noba lands on top of a nearby rock pillar as Orihime wonders what is going on, leading Uryū to realize that Noba can teleport whatever his portals absorb to a different location, which Kon is impressed by. Seeing Noba wagging his finger, Renji angrily leaps toward him and attacks once more, but is slashed across the back by Zabimaru again when Noba simply creates another set of portals to protect himself. Back on the ground, Ichigo and Kurōdo continue to clash, and as he pushes Ichigo's Zangetsu toward the ground, Kurōdo points out how Sado will suffocate if he does not hurry, which prompts Ichigo to look over and see that the sand is covering Sado up to his waist.

Concerned and enraged by this, Ichigo slashes at Kurōdo, who leaps away. Meanwhile, Yoruichi and Suì-Fēng run through the streets of Karakura Town, where Yoruichi tells Suì-Fēng to be careful before noting that they are close upon hearing a woman's voice humming a song. Upon entering a trainyard and running past several train cars, Yoruichi and Suì-Fēng hide at the end of one car and peer around the corner at Yoshino Sōma, who sits on an overturned box and smiles as she lures a hypnotized security guard closer with her song. When the security guard finally stands in front of her, Yoshino stands up and grasps his shoulders as she inhales.

Though Suì-Fēng is uncertain as to what Yoshino is doing, Yoruichi decides to head in and orders Suì-Fēng to transmit the data before leaping up onto the train car, returning to her Human form as she runs along it, and dropping down onto Yoshino, who notices her coming, with a punch that obscures them in a cloud of dust. In the Ninth Communication Room in the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, Ukitake, Shunsui, Hitsugaya, Hiyosu, and Rin see the screens suddenly flicker with static, leading Hiyosu to declare that they are receiving video transmission as Hitsugaya expresses shock at what he sees on the screens.

Back in the trainyard, a naked Yoruichi spins around and kicks at Yoshino, who leaps out of the settling dust cloud and backflips away multiple times before coming to a halt in front of another train car as she admonishes Yoruichi for preventing a man and a woman from having a good time. However, Yoruichi holds up the unconscious security guard while asserting that Yoshino was trying to suck out his Soul, and when she demands to know who Yoshino is, the latter simply smirks and promises that Yoruichi will find out in time. With Yoshino leaping away over the train car, Yoruichi lets the security guard fall to the ground as Suì-Fēng inquires if she should pursue Yoshino.

Yoruichi dismisses this since Yoshino seems to be adept at running away and asks Suì-Fēng if she sent the data, which Suì-Fēng confirms as she kneels and questions who Yoshino was. Admitting that this was the first time she had ever seen Yoshino, Yoruichi instructs Suì-Fēng to return to Soul Society and report the details to Ukitake and the others, prompting Suì-Fēng to affirm this before disappearing with Shunpo. Back in the Ninth Communication Room, Ukitake asks his 3rd Seat, Sentarō Kotsubaki, if he is present. When Sentarō appears in the room with Shunpo and confirms this, Ukitake declares that the investigation is finished and orders him to reopen the Senkaimon.

After acknowledging this, Sentarō runs out of the room, with Shunsui walking out at a leisurely pace after him while observing that they are done for the day and bidding the others farewell. Upon being asked by Ukitake if he can help him tomorrow, Hitsugaya agrees and inquires about what he will be helping with, but Ukitake does not answer him. Meanwhile, in the Study Chamber, Ichigo forces Kurōdo back from their blade lock, resulting in him skidding along the ground before coming to a halt and mocking this as useless, only for Ichigo to respond by firing a Getsuga Tenshō that shocks Kurōdo to the point of causing him to briefly revert to his normal form.

Seeing this, Noba teleports away from Renji's subsequent slash and moves in front of Kurōdo as he absorbs the Getsuga Tenshō with a portal and fires it out from a second portal behind Ichigo, who sees it and dodges at the last second, leaving the Getsuga Tenshō to hurtle into a large rock formation with enough force to shake the entire room. While Renji runs up to Ichigo and inquires if he is alright, a laughing Ririn stands beside Kurōdo and Noba in front of the hourglass as she points out how time is almost up, with Sado being covered in sand up to his shoulders. With Ichigo calling out to Sado, Kurōdo derides him and Renji for trying to defeat them with such slow attacks.

Kurōdo proceeds to laugh maniacally as Ririn proclaims that it is time for the final attack and points upward, where a large red orb forms in the air overhead and begins exerting a powerful suction. While Ichigo and his friends brace themselves against this, with Kon flying upward after failing to grab onto Uryū's arm, Renji tells Ichigo that his Bankai is their only chance, but when Ichigo attempts to activate it once more while his Reiatsu surges around him, he is unable to complete the activation and falls to his knees, leading Renji to wonder what is wrong. Suddenly, the glass comprising the hourglass cracks and shatters, causing the sand to pour outward and uncovering Sado.

As Ichigo and his friends express surprise and confusion at this, the orb overhead fades from view, allowing Kon to fall back down to the ground. Expressing concern for Sado, Ichigo runs up the large rock formation to the base of the post, where Sado is kneeling on the ground with his arms and wrists bound by ropes. However, after Ichigo confirms that Sado is alright and moves to untie him, Sado simply shrugs off the ropes and notes that they seem to have loosened. With the rest of their friends joining them as Orihime expresses relief that Sado is alright, Ichigo asks him if something happened while he was captured, leading Sado to state there was tea.

Upon hearing this, Orihime triumphantly reminds Ichigo that she said the same thing, but while Orihime revels in being right, Ichigo sees Urahara's hat lying on the ground and ponders something before grinning and approaching the hat, to the confusion of Uryū and Renji. After picking up the hat, Ichigo expresses understanding of the situation and demands that Urahara show himself before accusing him of orchestrating this entire series of events while his friends express shock. Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba stand in front of the post nearby as Urahara claps and walks out from behind it. Standing with the Mod-Souls, Urahara praises Ichigo for figuring it out and asks him when he noticed.

When Ichigo reveals that he figured it out upon seeing Urahara's hat on the ground, Urahara points to this as evidence of Ririn overreacting, though she simply observes that Ichigo is more perceptive than she thought. Detailing how the Mod-Souls never killed them despite having many opportunities to do so and just pushed them into tough situations instead, which he found strange, Ichigo asserts that Sado was likely never even hurt, which Ririn affirms as she informs him that they played shogi several times, leading an embarrassed Sado to admit that he never won even once. As he glares at Urahara, Ichigo demands to know why he did this.

After walking over to Ichigo, Urahara requests that the former return his hat before he answers this, which Ichigo does, prompting Urahara to don it before explaining how games cultivate various senses and attributes, such as stamina, intellect, teamwork, coping with adversity, judgement, and even bonds with one's friends. With Urahara concluding that it also allows participants to take a look at themselves, Ichigo picks up on this, which leads Urahara to state that he cannot use his Bankai, to the shock of Ichigo's friends. While Ichigo looks down, Urahara points out how he is only a Substitute Shinigami instead of a proper Shinigami.

Urahara further asserts that Ichigo cannot use his Bankai as easily in the Human World as he did in Soul Society and admonishes him for being naive enough to believe that he can fall back on his Bankai when things get tough, concluding that it is no wonder Ichigo cannot use it. Seeing Ichigo standing silently, Urahara brings up Yoruichi and the Gotei 13 investigating something together, and as a surprised Ichigo recounts her running around the town during the afternoon, Urahara elaborates that there seems to be an ominous phenomenon occurring, though he does not know the specifics, and that Soul Society temporarily closed its Senkaimon to begin an investigation.

Upon being asked by a stunned Renji if this could be related to the incident with Aizen, Urahara denies this since Aizen only took the Hōgyoku and will need more than a year to mature it in order to wield its full power, which means that he will likely not make a move for some time. However, Urahara observes that Ichigo is too weak in his current state and kneels before them while requesting that Ichigo learn how to use his Bankai again because the issue of the Hōgyoku cannot be left alone. As soon as Ichigo begins to agree to this, however, Urahara pops up and expresses relief at him doing so, leaving Ichigo annoyed while Uryū comments on Urahara's shameless nature.

Proposing that they cultivate Ichigo's situation analysis and judgement skills as Ririn laughs, Urahara points out how Ichigo allows his opponents to take advantage of him too often because he does not use his head and comments on how Uryū is better at doing this despite losing all his powers, further shocking Ichigo and the others as Urahara looks to Uryū, who informs them of how he lost his Quincy powers while in Soul Society. However, Ichigo demands to know why he did not tell them and Renji angrily questions if he did not use them during the games because he could not use them as Orihime inquires if this is really true and Sado merely grunts.

When Ichigo calls him an idiot for withholding this information, Uryū is angered by this, only for Ichigo to clarify that he endangered the rest of them not through being powerless, but instead through not trusting them and thus hindering how well they can fight as a team even with all the help he provided during the games. With Uryū touched by this, Urahara proposes that they go upstairs to eat since Tessai Tsukabishi will have prepared something delicious by now, and when Ichigo inquires what he is going to do about the damaged town, Ririn reveals that this was another hallucination since they would never actually go that far, to Ichigo's astonishment.

Upon being asked by Ichigo where his classmates are if this is the case, Ririn begins to inform him of their location. Elsewhere, in a clearing of a mountainous region of Karakura Town beneath a starry sky, Keigo Asano wakes up to find himself lying on the ground with several other students, who also regain consciousness, and sits up while questioning where he is. Noticing this, Misato Ochi comments on them finally being awake as she stands nearby. Though Keigo asks her why they are in the mountains, Misato freely admits that she does not know and claims that it does not matter since the stars are so beautiful before directing her students to look at them, despite their concerns.

Back in the Study Chamber, Ichigo expresses anger at Ririn upon being told where his classmates are, but is interrupted when a now-clothed Yoruichi calls out to Urahara and leaps down from the hole in the ceiling connecting to the Urahara Shop to the ground in front of Ichigo, his friends, and the Mod-Souls. When Urahara asks her what is wrong, Yoruichi reveals that a Bount has appeared.

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
Yoruichi Shihōin complains about how uncomfortable clothes are before noticing 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng standing behind a streetlamp. When Yoruichi calls her out, a blushing Suì-Fēng steps out into the streetlight and walks over to Yoruichi, who reminds her that she was instructed to go home, but Suì-Fēng bashfully states that she came all the way to the Human World and shyly offers a confused Yoruichi a box of chocolates as a gift, only to find that the latter has turned back into a cat and is scratching her ear as she turns down the gift, leaving Suì-Fēng to tearfully drop the chocolates and disappear with Shunpo.

Events

 * Mod Soul Training (concluded)

Powers and Techniques Used
Zanpakutō Techniques:

Hohō Techniques:

Quincy Techniques:
 * (flashback)

Other Techniques:
 * Feline Transformation
 * Illusions
 * Mod-Soul Teleportation
 * Wormholes
 * Shape-shifting

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Bankai:
 * (flashback)

Other Powers:

Anime Notes
Changes=
 * In the manga, Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends learn about Uryū Ishida's loss of his Quincy powers during the Arrancar Invasion prior to Uryū training with Ryūken Ishida to regain them; here, they instead learn about this when Kisuke Urahara casually informs them of it during a comparison between him and Ichigo.