Crashing force! Fried vs. Zangetsu

'''Crashing force! Furido vs. Zangetsu''' is the seventy-sixth episode of the Bleach anime.

Ichigo Kurosaki squares off against Ryō Utagawa, but Utagawa betrays Jin Kariya, forcing Maki Ichinose to finish him off.

Summary
Ichigo senses Kariya's immense spiritual pressure and guesses that Kariya is the leader of the Bounts. Kariya introduces himself to the Shinigami and he refers to Ichigo by his full name. Ichigo asks Kariya how he knows of him and Kariya explains that "he makes it his business". He then reveals that he knows about Rukia Kuchiki as well. Ryō then suddenly enters the room and asks Ichigo and his friends why they look so surprised to see them. Ryō asks them if it's because they are afraid of them, causing Rukia to get angered, but Ichigo calms her down. Rukia then looks at Kariya and remarks that he has a "repulsive glare", causing her to warn Ichigo to be careful. Ichigo tells Kariya that he has come to take back Uryū Ishida, but Kariya informs him that he has no intention of returning him. Ichigo doesn't accept his response and begins to battle the Bounts himself, while Rukia and the Mod-Souls look for Uryū. Ryō activates his doll, Fried, and tries sending his snake after Rukia, but Ichigo is able to deflect the snake away. Rukia and the others successfully escape and Ryō jumps down to where Ichigo is.

Ichigo looks around the room at the other Bounts, and realizes he's going to fight seven Bounts at the same time. However, Ryō informs him that the Bount are independent and that they would never fight in a group. He informs him that he's going to take him on himself, and to prove that he can do this, he asks Kariya to remove his crest. Ryō explains that a Bount needs his crest in order to activate their doll, but without it they're completely powerless. Kariya removes his crest and puts it on the ground. He tells Ryō to take his time, and he remarks that he's going to enjoy watching this. Ryō explains to Ichigo that if he were to defeat him, then he can go after his leader and be able to easily kill him. Ichigo tells Ryō that he doesn't know what kind of game he's playing, but either way he's going to cut him down. Ryō sends his snake towards Ichigo, but the Shinigami is able to deflect it with a single swing of his Zanpakutō. Ryō immediately brings his snake back, and he begins swinging his snake on the ground, causing several other snakes to form from the locations that were hit. Ichigo deflects several snakes with his Zanpakutō, but one of the snakes is able to wrap itself around Ichigo's leg. As Ichigo struggles to get it off, Ryō charges towards the Shinigami.

Kurōdo wonders if Ichigo will be all right on his own, and Rukia informs him that Ichigo is simply buying time for them to find Uryū. However, Kurōdo states that they should gather more information on the Bounts before going into battle with them, but Ririn tells him that they should get this information while they battle the Bounts. The two begin getting into an argument, and Ririn points out that they can simply use Noba to get back to where Ichigo is instantly. Rukia states that after they find Uryū, they'll use Noba's ability to send Ichigo out of this mansion. Kurūdo begins complaining about the fact that he's being left out of the conversation, but everyone continues to ignore him and Rukia states that most of the Bounts auras are concentrated up ahead. Ririn points out that there's a good chance that someone is guarding Uryū, and the four of them stop after entering a new room. Rukia shouts out for the person in here to come out, and Maki Ichinose reveals himself to them. Rukia remarks that he's a Shinigami, but Ichinose tells her that logic is wrong. Rukia asks him if he's with the Bount, and Ichinose states that he is, and reveals that he was originally part of the Eleventh Division.

Rukia asks Ichinose why he's with the Bount, but instead of answering, he unsheathes his Zanpakutō and stabs through an invisible Kurōdo's stomach. Ichinose then runs towards his enemies until he is put under an illusion. However, he easily gets out of the illusion and cuts down both Ririn and Noba in the process. Ichinose mocks his opponents by telling him that their plan would fool only children. He then asks Rukia if she's a Shinigami as well, and she tells him that she's part of the Thirteenth Division. Ichinose asks her why she's in a Gigai and points out that she should bring her Zanpakutō out, but Rukia tells him that she can't for certain reasons. Rukia then uses Hadō #33 Sōkatsui and fires the spell at Ichinose, but it does no visible damage against him. Ichinose remarks that she still hasn't used her true power against him, but Rukia informs him that this is all she can do at the moment. Rukia then asks Ichinose why he's with the Bount, but Ichinose simply asks her if she knows one of the three ways to become a captain. He explains that Kenpachi Zaraki became captain because he cut down the former captain of the Eleventh Division. He states that everything that he and his former captain fought for was lost, and because of that, he didn't want to serve under the new Kenpachi, unlike everyone else who did. He states that the one who gave him reason to live again was Kariya, and that now he's going to do everything to help him achieve his goals. Ichinose tells her that he can't let her live now, and he prepares to fight her.

Uryū senses Ichigo's Reiatsu and begins banging on the door to his room, asking to be let out. However, no one answers and Uryū hopes to himself that Ichigo doesn't overdo it. As this happens, Yoshino Sōma thinks to herself that she has to leave this place. As Ryō creates more snakes to battle against his opponent, Ichigo charges towards the Bount to attack him, but Ryō uses his snake as a shield and blocks the attack. Ichigo remarks that he's going to have to attack him directly if he's going to win, and he uses Shunpo to appear behind Ryō. He then swings his Zanpakutō and successfully cuts Ryō's shoulder. Ryō asks his doll if the preparations are complete and the doll tells him that they are. A pentagram suddenly forms under Ryō's feet, which in turn causes a pentagram to form under Ichigo's feet as well. Snakes begin charging at Ichigo from the pentagram, so Ichigo tries to get away, but the pentagrams form in every location Ichigo goes on top of. Ryō explains to Ichigo that this technique is called Snake Net, and he claims it to be his dolls "absolute barrier". He states that a sensory reflex is reacting to something that you touch, and he remarks that this ability is exactly like that. Ryō tells Ichigo that even if he uses Shunpo, he won't be able to run away from this technique. Ichigo asks him what he knows about Shunpo, and Kariya tells him that since Soul Society is desperately tracking the Bounts movements, it would be only natural for them to know about the Shinigami. Ryō states that the conversation is over, and he has the snakes become more aggressive. Ichigo begins to get overwhelmed and he is eventually sent crashing into a wall.

Ryō remarks that this wasn't a challenge at all, and he disables his technique. He then apologizes to Kariya for accidentally damaging his mansion, but Kariya tells him it doesn't matter. Ryō asks if he should chase after the other intruders, but Kariya informs him that Ichinose should be taking care of them, and he tells him that more of Ichigo's comrades are coming here. Ichigo suddenly gets back up and tells the Bounts that he's going to have to finish up quickly so he can help Rukia and the others. Ryō asks him what he can do with his body so injured, but Ichigo tells him that his attack didn't hurt him nearly as much as he thinks it did. Kariya tells Ichigo that his Reiatsu must have protected his body, but Ryō states that this still won't be enough for him to escape his technique. He then tells him that he'll crush him with a power that's far greater than his own, but Ichigo informs him that he has no intention of letting that happen. Ryō then sends a barrage of snakes towards his opponent, but Ichigo is able to destroy them all by firing off a Getsuga Tenshō, which ends up going towards Kariya and destroying part of the mansion.

Ichinose senses what happened and runs towards Kariya's location, so Rukia tries to stop him by using a Kidō spell, but the Shinigami disappears before she even gets the chance to. Uryū senses Ichigo's Reiatsu as well, and curses to himself. Yasutora Sado and Orihime Inoue run from the enemies surrounding the mansion, and they both comment on Ichigo's Reiatsu. Kariya is shown to have dodged Ichigo's attack, and he tells the Shinigami that he's interesting for being able to dispose of Ryō's attack through pure force alone. Ryō, who's hiding from the other Bounts, sends his doll out to do something. Kariya tells Ichigo that this was his favorite mansion, but now it's worthless, so Ichigo apologizes to him. He then asks Kariya if he'll let Uryū go now, but he says that doing so would be inconvenient. Ryō's doll suddenly comes out and takes Kariya's crest. Ryō reveals himself to the rest of the Bounts again, and Kariya asks him what he's doing. Ryō states that he's going to become the leader of the Bounts now, but the other Bounts don't believe that he would do well in that position. Ryō tries to convince them that he would do well, and points out that Kariya can't do anything to them without his crest. Kariya suddenly interrupts Ryō, and begins angering the Bount to the point where Ryō sends his doll to attack Kariya. However, Kariya easily blocks the attack and states that he already released his crest's power before putting it down. Ichinose suddenly arrives and releases his Zanpakutō, Nijigasumi, allowing him to easily kill the traitorous Bount. Ichigo asks why a Shinigami is with the Bounts, but Ichinose ignores him and points out that he was the one who beat Kenpachi. Ichinose then prepares to battle against Ichigo.

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi, at a lieutenants meeting, tells the officers that if they complete an essay, they'll be able to take home a banana. The other lieutenants are surprised from this statement, but Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, to an even bigger surprise, points out that bananas are good for nutrition, and that it's better than changing the prize.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Jin Kariya
 * 2) Ichigo Kurosaki
 * 3) Rukia Kuchiki
 * 4) Noba
 * 5) Ririn
 * 6) Kurōdo
 * 7) Ryō Utagawa
 * 8) Maki Ichinose
 * 9) Uryū Ishida
 * 10) Yoshino Sōma
 * 11) Yoshi
 * 12) Ugaki
 * 13) Yasutora Sado
 * 14) Orihime Inoue
 * 15) Gō Koga

Fights

 * Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Ryō Utagawa (concluded)

Powers and Techniques Used
Kidō used:

Shinigami techniques:

Techniques used:
 * Snake Net

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:
 * Zangetsu (斬月, Slaying Moon)
 * Zangetsu (斬月, Slaying Moon)

Dolls summoned:

Other powers:
 * Illusions
 * Teleportation