Ikkaku's Hot-Blooded Kendo Tale

 is the one hundred and thirty-third episode of the Bleach anime.

Ikkaku Madarame helps a child named Shinji win a kendo tournament.

Summary
Keigo Asano's sister, Mizuho Asano, arrives at the kendo club to find its members beaten up after being attacked the previous night by a rival school's club. The goal of the rival club was to get them to pull out of the upcoming district tournament, which club is ready to do if not for Mizuho stopping them. She brings in Ikkaku to train the five first-years who did not get hurt, and to Keigo's surprise, Ikkaku agrees to do it. He thus puts the freshmen on a brutal training regiment, and by the end of it, only one of them - a boy named Shinji - still has the spirit to spar with Ikkaku. Seeing him work so hard at this, Keigo asks Ikkaku why he is doing it, and Ikkaku, stating it is fun, admits it has been a while since he has seen eyes which desperately want to become stronger like Shinji has. The next day, Ikkaku finds the other four freshmen too injured to continue, and since Mizuho refuses to pull out of the competition, Ikkaku decides to go ask the other Shinigami to help, but both Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto and Yumichika Ayasegawa turn him down because the kendo gear smells bad.

Though Ikkaku coerces Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya to help and gets Kisuke Urahara to send Lieutenant Renji Abarai, they are still short one person even with Shinji included. With no other option, they decide recruit the completely inexperienced Keigo, though Ikkaku is not worried because the tournament is a best out of 5 match. During the tournament, Hitsugaya wins the first round, and Keigo loses the second round. Before Renji's match, he, sensing a Hollow, gets the second win before heading off. The other Shinigami have to go too, leaving Shinji behind as the fourth fighter. Ikkaku knows he will win even if Shinji loses, but he feels the person who wants to win the most is Shinji, so he urges him to go become a man. After defeating a Menos Grande with the others, Ikkaku, rushing back to the competition, sees Shinji win. Still wanting his own chance to fight in the competition, Ikkaku beats up the entire opposing team, including their leader, whom Mizuho has a grudge against for breaking up with her.

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
The strange behavior of the Gigai during the competition is revealed. As Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi, sitting in front of a large TV screen, laughs at the footage, Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi asks if she did well in creating the oddly-behaving Gigai. Stating she did, Yachiru addresses Nemu as "Replacement Vice President", startling current Vice President and Lieutenant Nanao Ise.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Mizuho Asano
 * 2) Shinji
 * 3) Ikkaku Madarame
 * 4) Keigo Asano
 * 5) Yumichika Ayasegawa
 * 6) Rangiku Matsumoto
 * 7) Tōshirō Hitsugaya
 * 8) Renji Abarai
 * 9) Kisuke Urahara (flashback)
 * 10) Yasutora Sado (flashback)

Powers and Techniques Used
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