Byakuya Takes the Field! Dance of the Wind-Splitting Cherry Blossoms

 is the ninety-fifth episode of the Bleach anime.

6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki battles Jin Kariya.

Summary
Having confronted Jin Kariya in the western forest of Fugai, 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki questions if he is not going to assume a combat stance, and when Kariya confirms this and offers to let Byakuya attack him whenever he wants to, Byakuya acknowledges this and remains still, causing Kariya to smile smugly. Suddenly, Byakuya disappears with Shunpo and reappears behind a startled Kariya, who quickly grins and leaps away as Byakuya slashes at the air where he was standing with his Zanpakutō.

Though Byakuya observes that Bount have speed equivalent to Shunpo, Kariya admits that the former grazed him while looking at his torn coat and declares that he is going next before summoning a gust of wind that obscures him with a cloud of dust and clears to reveal that Kariya has vanished. Byakuya does not move and eyes the area around him as a branch rustles in one of the surrounding trees, allowing him to move out of the way with Shunpo when a large sphere of swirling wind tears through the area where he was standing.

With the sphere shattering a tree in its path, Kariya appears in the air high above Byakuya and claims he has got the latter as he slams into the ground where Byakuya is standing with a punch enhanced by wind swirling around his fist. When Byakuya moves out of the resulting cloud of dust and slashes at him three times in rapid succession, Kariya easily dodges each one by leaning back and eventually leaps back to the destroyed tree. Standing in front of the crater left by Kariya's attack, Byakuya brings up how he had heard Bount use puppets to fight and notes he cannot see the puppet used by Kariya, who smiles and slyly declines to comment on what this means.

After Byakuya concludes that he will simply have to destroy Kariya along with his puppet, the two of them glare at each other for several seconds before rushing forward and fiercely clashing several times in different locations around the forest, each instance releasing yellow energy that surges into the sky. Having sheathed his arms in swirling wind, Kariya appears in front of a tree and disappears just as Byakuya slashes through it from a dozen feet away, with the severed trunk sliding off to reveal Kariya standing several feet back on the other side. As he observes Byakuya is even better than the rumors made him out to be, Kariya expresses gratitude for having met him.

Kariya explains to a confused Byakuya that he wanted to test his level of skill by challenging the strongest head of the Kuchiki Clan and praises Byakuya's strength as being satisfying to him. When Byakuya inquires about what he plans to do, Kariya describes him as the most famous member of the Gotei 13 protecting Soul Society and asserts that the residents of the Seireitei will be shocked if he is defeated, and when Byakuya tells him to stop talking nonsense, Kariya asserts that he would not have come here if he was not convinced that he could defeat Byakuya. However, Kariya mocks Byakuya as being far more naïve than he expected him to be.

Recounting how Byakuya was desperate to protect Rukia Kuchiki when Yoshi tried to finish her off, Kariya points out how Byakuya has come by himself to avenge his sister and claims that he never thought the latter would fall for such a cheap taunt. Despite this, Byakuya merely reiterates that all he has come here to do is kill Soul Society's enemies, though Kariya states that this is fine since he is going to die here as part of the great plan of the Bount. After countering that Kariya is the one who is going to die here, Byakuya holds his Zanpakutō in front of his face and releases his Shikai, Senbonzakura, startling Kariya as several streams of blade petals hurtle toward him.

Though Kariya dodges the initial strike of Senbonzakura by moving into the air, the blade petal streams follow him upward and coalesce around his body in a swirling mass while Byakuya watches intently below. Suddenly, the mass of blade petals begins warping and deforming before being blown apart by an unharmed Kariya, who descends to the ground in a cloak of wind that slightly craters the area underneath him prior to landing. Having caught one of the blade petals between his index and middle finger on his left hand, Kariya praises Senbonzakura as being as beautiful as it is famous, only to dismissively crush the petal and conclude it will not work on him.

With Byakuya staring at the crushed petal floating by his face, Kariya decides to perform his own attack and beckons strong winds to begin swirling around him, prompting Byakuya to realize he is controlling the wind itself as Kariya initiates Windestanz, which coalesces the wind into a Wind Barrier around him and generates four medium-sized tornadoes around Byakuya that slam into him simultaneously and form a large tornado to lift a tumbling Byakuya high into the air. However, as Kariya begins walking away, Byakuya blasts through the tornado with '''Hadō #33. Sōkatsui''', freeing himself, and drops down onto a surprised Kariya with a downward slash.

When Kariya leaps back to evade this, Byakuya fires '''Hadō #4. Byakurai''' with his outstretched index finger, unleashing a powerful surge of white lightning that blasts through multiple trees and leaves smoking stumps behind. On the other side of the destroyed trees, a smirking Kariya gathers wind around his right fist and lunges toward Byakuya with his palm outstretched, only for Byakuya to roll Kariya over his back and turn around to strike at him, which Kariya counters with a kick that generates electricity at the point of impact. After pulling back his leg, a grinning Kariya presses his fingers together into a point and stabs it toward the base of Byakuya's Zanpakutō.

Forcing Kariya back, Byakuya slashes at him while the latter is still off the ground, sending Kariya flying back. After landing, Kariya describes Senbonzakura as splitting into a thousand blades too small to be seen with the naked eye and resembling cherry blossoms falling when they catch the light, but reminds Byakuya that there is wind in Soul Society and thus a limitless amount of air, meaning that he can create a power to rival Senbonzakura if he gathers it, while concentrating a small ring of wind above his wagging index finger that expands into a conical gauntlet of swirling air around his right hand and wrist as he concludes that this is simple number theory.

Kariya proclaims Senbonzakura, Kidō, and direct Zanpakutō attacks cannot cut him even if they are splendid, but Byakuya merely questions if this is true, which leads Kariya to admonish him for acting tough and begin inching toward Byakuya, who responds in kind, before the two leap forward and clash in a shockwave of power. In the aftermath, Byakuya finds the fingertips of Kariya's outstretched hand at his throat and Kariya finds the blade of Byakuya's Zanpakutō at his own throat. As the two of them stand completely still, Byakuya commends Kariya for displaying reckless valor in facing him bare-handed and sees blood trickling from a wound on his throat.

However, while Kariya grins at the sight of this, he is shocked to see a cut form on his own throat, prompting Byakuya to assert that he can still decapitate Kariya with a single slash at this distance. With Kariya claiming that he will take off Byakuya's head before he can do so, the two of them separate and begin fighting at even higher speeds, where Kariya blocks a slash from Byakuya using the bottom of his right foot and swings his fist at Byakuya, who ducks underneath it and strikes downward at Kariya. After Kariya deflects this with the wind gathered around his left hand, Byakuya moves in again and drives his Zanpakutō into Kariya's left shoulder.

In response, Kariya grabs the blade of Byakuya's Zanpakutō with his left and and summons wind around his right before jabbing it at Byakuya's head and cutting the right side of his neck. Bleeding considerably alongside Byakuya, Kariya observes they cannot separate from each other now and initiates Windestanz again as Byakuya simultaneously releases Senbonzakura once more, resulting in a violent tornado of blade petals forming around the two of them. Though Kariya claims one arm is a small price to pay if he can win this fight, Byakuya simply wonders if he is insane as the tornado strengthens and rips through the forest.

Meanwhile, as he runs through the forest nearby with Ririn on his shoulder, Ichigo Kurosaki notices a couple drops of blood spattering on his cheek and stops in surprise, where he sees the blade petal tornado surging through the forest and grabs his Shikai, Zangetsu, to fire a Getsuga Tenshō at the top of it, causing the tornado to explode in a burst of blue energy that shocks Byakuya and Kariya while they land on either side of the short ravine created by the tornado. With Ichigo wondering why Byakuya is having such a hard time after refusing his assistance earlier, an annoyed Byakuya looks at Kariya, who turns back in anticipation to a smirking Ichigo.

Elsewhere, Bonnie stands over the three incapacitated men while Ganju Shiba calls them pathetic. Though Orihime Inoue expresses concern over this as she stands next to Yasutora Sado and Noba, Kurōdo reminds her Ganju has not done anything and it was Bonnie who defeated the men. Suddenly, while Ganju tells Orihime to not worrys about the details, they are interrupted by a far-off burst of Reiatsu, which they recognize as Ichigo's before realizing Uryū Ishida is no longer with them and must have run off toward Ichigo's location. When Orihime moves to follow him, Ganju has her stop and assures both her and Sado that Ichigo and Uryū can take care of themselves.

Ganju asserts they also need to know what is going on in Kusajishi first and crouches to pick up the long-haired man by the scalp. With the man begging for mercy, Ganju wraps his arm around the man's shoulders and reveals he wants to know more about the skilled newcomers who came to Kusajishi, which leads the man to identify Kariya as the leader of them, astonishing Orihime and Sado. Noting he thought so, Ganju presses for information on what Kariya is doing, and when the man details how Kariya wants to turn Soul Society upside-down and is gathering people, Kurōdo gasps in horror as the man concludes Kariya is at the gambling house bookie's residence.

After the man notes they were told something good would happen if they followed Kariya, Ganju thanks him and knocks the man out. When Orihime inquires about what they should, Ganju states they just have to go to the house, only for Sado to point out how it could be dangerous if Kariya is gathering men there. Acknowledging this, Ganju decides he has no choice other than to contact "The Bull of Kusajishi", leaving Taichi Miyamoto shocked since this is a dangerous move. As Ganju reminds him it is faster to learn about Kusajishi from people in Kusajishi, Taichi raises the possibility of the Bull being allied with the Bount, but Ganju dismisses this as impossible and grins.

Meanwhile, in the house in Kusajishi, Gō Koga and Maki Ichinose sit on a platform lit by candles before Tōba and a crowd of villagers, whom they tell Kariya has said he wants to fight alongside them against the inhabitants of the Seireitei. With the crowd murmuring in shock at this, a stunned Tōba wonders if they are really serious about attacking the Seireitei and the man next to him claims this is not worth sacrificing his life for. When asked why he believes the group can win after assuring them of this, Koga promises them that the Bount have a plan, only to assert he needs them to agree to fight alongside the Bount before he can tell them what the plan is.

Koga declares all Souls should enter Soul Society equally instead of having one portion rule over the rest and elaborates that there should not be poverty in the Rukongai before bringing up how residents of Kusajishi do not know when they will die and have their blood washed away by more blood, which he compares to their lives in the Human World, though he notes those were far worse and are the reason why they can empathize with the residents of Kusajishi. As Koga inquires if they do not want to see the light of day and live their lives the way they want to without looks of scorn from the rest of the world, the man next to Tōba proclaims everyone wants this.

With Koga concluding that Kariya will turn Soul Society upside-down and inviting those present to come with them to a new world, and as the villagers murmur among themselves, Tōba requests that Koga prove he is serious about this and permits him to do anything to display this. In response, Koga tells Ichinose to draw his Zanpakutō, surprising him and the crowd, prior to ordering Ichinose to try and cut Koga's right arm. Though initially hesitant, Ichinose gets up and quickly slashes at Koga's arm, leaving a mild cut and shocking Tōba and the other villagers. While blood drips on the platform from his arm, Koga turns his arm sideways and places his left hand over the cut.

Drawing in and absorbing Reishi from the atmosphere to heal the cut on his arm, Koga declares that the Bount are invincible and that the villagers have nothing to worry about. As the wound fully heals and he raises his arm into the air, Koga proclaims that the Bount and the villagers will dissolve Soul Society into the shape it should be in, causing the villagers to cheer with excitement. Back in the forest, Ichigo warns Ririn to stay back since it is dangerous and assures her that it will be alright when she wonders what he is going to do. Irritated by this, Ririn hops off of Ichigo's shoulder and reminds him that she is worried about him as she walks away in a huff.

After affirming Kariya's observation that he got here quickly, Ichigo asks Byakuya if he is alright, only for the latter to call this unnecessary and inform Ichigo that he will treat the latter as an enemy if he interferes. However, they are interrupted when Kariya begins healing his injuries with Reishi absorbed from their surroundings, to Ichigo's confusion, and details how the Bount are empowered and invincible as long as Soul Society is filled with such high-quality Reishi. With Byakuya deducing that he is using Reishi to heal himself, Kariya stops absorbing Reishi and announces that he is beginning his attack as wind begins swirling around him in a sphere.

In response, Ichigo activates his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, creating his own tornado that quickly disperses to reveal Ichigo rushing toward Kariya, who blocks Ichigo's subsequent downward slash with a Wind Barrier on his forearm before jabbing at Ichigo with his hand. When Ichigo disappears and reappears behind him with Shunpo, Kariya envelops both of his legs in swirling wind and kicks at Ichigo with both of them in turn, with Ichigo dodging each one prior to slashing upward at Kariya. After Ichigo dodges a third blow from Kariya, the two reappear on the ground a few feet apart from each other, where Kariya comments on Ichigo's terrifying speed as Ichigo scoffs.

Ichigo and Kariya proceed to rapidly clash with each other several times across the clearing, with each blow generating electricity, while Ririn watches with concern and admits that she cannot even tell what they are doing due to their high speed. Nearby, Byakuya watches the fierce battle between the two and casually follows all of their movements with his eyes before dropping his Zanpakutō into the ground and activating his own Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, shocking Ichigo and Kariya as they see a surging mass of blade petals rise up into the sky and slam down onto them. In the aftermath, Ichigo stands at one end of the deepened ravine while Kariya stands at the other with a Wind Barrier active. With Byakuya reiterating that Ichigo is in the way, Ichigo glares at him and Kariya regards them both with interest.

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
As she and Yasutora Sado look at Ganju's Gang on their boars, Orihime Inoue notes that Taichi Miyamoto is called "Hawk", which Sado affirms. Realizing that he never introduced them to his gang, Ganju identifies Mitsuru Ishino as "Fever", who has no sense of rhythm; Sadatomo Saionji as "Dumbbell", who is naturally good at taking care of animals; Kenji Yamashita as "Top", who is the weakest at fighting and arguing; and Taichi as "Hawk", who is his number one follower and good at cooking. When Orihime inquires if he gave them those nicknames, Ganju confirms this and revels in how cool they are, only for Sado to realize that they are named just as oddly as the boars are.

Fights & Events

 * Byakuya Kuchiki & Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Jin Kariya
 * The Seireitei Siege

Powers and Techniques Used
Hohō Techniques:

Kidō Techniques:

Zanpakutō Techniques:

Doll Techniques
 * Wind Barrier
 * Wind Barrier

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Bankai:

Dolls summoned:
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)

Anime Notes
Trivia=
 * During Byakuya's fight with Kariya, when Kariya surrounds Byakuya with four miniature tornadoes and traps him in them, the animation is replaced with a still, sketch-like image of Byakuya from behind as the tornadoes converge on him that is zoomed in on and rotated several times before the animation resumes with him being carried into the air. This may have been a stylistic choice on the part of the animators, but given that it had never been used for Kariya's attacks before or since and implied action with camera movement around the frame rather than proper animation, this may have actually been a storyboard sketch that was used in lieu of an ordinary animation sequence due to time or budget constraints. This also occurred in episode 77 during another battle scene.