Rematch?! Ishida vs. Nemu

 is the eighty-ninth episode of the Bleach anime.

Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends continue to fight Ugaki's Doll, Gesell, while 12th Division Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi presents Uryū Ishida with a way to temporarily regain his powers.

Summary
Having been confronted by 12th Division Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi near a river springing from a waterfall in the forested outskirts of Karakura Town, a surprised Uryū Ishida recognizes her, and as Nemu identifies herself, Uryū recalls their prior meeting in Soul Society where Nemu gave him the antidote to the poison produced by the Bankai of her captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi. With Nemu noting that it has been a while, Uryū questions why she is here, only to find Nemu suddenly leaping toward him.

A startled Uryū shields himself with his arms and backs up as Nemu jumps and performs a spinning kick aimed at his head, forcing him to roll backward into a handspring and land in a crouch on a different part of the riverbank, where Nemu appears behind him with Shunpo and sends Uryū flying into a rock with a knee to the chest before unleashing a Kidō blast at him. Meanwhile, Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai, Kon, Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba enter the Bount cave system and begin walking through it, where Ichigo inquires if the Mod-Souls can sense any Bount.

However, Ririn denies this and Kurōdo speculates the cave is set up to prevent anyone from detecting Reiatsu within it, prompting Rukia to deduce this is why they could not find the Bount as Ichigo suggests they keep moving. While she and her friends walk through the caves, Orihime wonders if 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto and the others are okay, and as Sado notes he senses a bad presence, Renji reminds them that four high-ranking Shinigami would not be so easily defeated. Elsewhere, as he sits before his summoning mat, a smiling Ugaki adjusts his glasses and expresses excitement upon seeing Ichigo's group through his Doll, Gesell.

Laying his cards out on the mat, Ugaki asks Gesell if he is ready to attack, which Gesell confirms, and grins widely before laying a card in the center of the mat, shocking Ichigo and his friends as they see several Wächter of Gesell floating in the air before them, which they recognize from their encounter in the Bount Mansion. Upon seeing the Wächter flying away as Ichigo and Renji prepare to draw their Zanpakutō, Ririn instructs them to follow Gesell, leading the group to run forward into another chamber, where Rukia identifies the structures and wall carvings as ruins of an ancient underground capital while Renji asserts this is a perfect place for the Bount to hide.

As she walks through this chamber with her friends, Orihime suddenly gasps in fright and draws the group's attention to a mass of several dozen Wächter floating above them, many of which begin hurtling toward the group. Renji releases his Shikai, Zabimaru, and slashes through several of the Wächter as Ichigo does the same with his Shikai, Zangetsu, and Sado punches through more with his Fullbring, Brazo Derecha de Gigante. When Rukia destroys five more Wächter with Hadō #4 Byakurai, they are immediately replaced by even more Wächter that begin advancing toward her, prompting Orihime to protect Rukia with Santen Kesshun.

With the Wächter destroying themselves against the shield, Rukia turns to Orihime and cheerfully thanks her for this with a thumbs-up. After cutting through dozens more Wächter, Ichigo and Renji regroup while commenting on how there seems to be no end to the number of Wächter regardless of how many are destroyed. In response, Rukia asserts that they cannot keep this up and should move to a narrower path in order to attack the horde all at once, but before the group can do so, two of the Wächter begin beaming light onto a stalagmite behind a confused Rukia, causing a shadow to extend from the base of the stalagmite to the floor near Rukia's feet.

The right hand of Gesell begins emerging from the shadow as Orihime calls out to Rukia in concern, which leads the latter to look behind her just as Gesell sends her flying with a punch. Upon seeing this, a cursing Renji moves to Rukia with Shunpo and catches her, only to slam into the ceiling of the cavern alongside Rukia, leaving them both to fall to the ground while the Wächter sprout fangs and hurtle toward them. While Renji braces himself on Zabimaru, Sado destroys the Wächter with an energy blast and inquires if Renji is okay, which Renji confirms before turning to Rukia, who assures him that she is also alright despite a battered Kon's concern.

After morphing his hand into a giant sword, Gesell slashes down at Ichigo, who blocks with Zangetsu and struggles to push back the blade as he clashes with it several times and enters another blade lock. Behind Ichigo, two more Wächter begin beaming light onto a second stalagmite, creating another shadow that Ririn alerts Ichigo to as a large buzzsaw created by Gesell emerges, to Ichigo's astonishment. With Ugaki declaring that this is it, the buzzsaw descends onto a screaming Ichigo and Ririn, but is blocked at the last second by Orihime, who moves between it and Ichigo and forms another Santen Kesshun in front of her hands that stops it.

As Kurōdo praises this response, Orihime summons Tsubaki and fires Koten Zanshun at the side of the limb holding up the buzzsaw. However, right before Orihime's attack makes contact, the Wächter behind the stalagmite stop emitting light, causing the buzzsaw and its limb to vanish. Surprised by this alongside Orihime, Kurōdo questions if the buzzsaw was spirited away while Ichigo forces the giant sword back and moves in to attack, only for Ugaki to transform the blade into several thick ropes that wrap around Ichigo and Orihime's limbs, leaving them shocked and confused. When Kurōdo notes that this is what is called a roundup, Ririn criticizes him for being impressed.

The limb attached to the ropes begins retreating into the shadow and pulling Ichigo and Orihime toward it while Renji and Sado continues to destroy the Wächter attacking them. Upon noticing Ichigo and Orihime's plight, Sado attempts to run toward them, only to find himself cut off by multiple streams of Wächter blocking his path. With Renji lamenting that there are too many Wächter to deal with, Rukia realizes that Ichigo and Orihime will be dragged into the shadow at this rate as Ririn demands that Ichigo do something and Kurōdo wonders if this is going to be the end for him. Despite Orihime fearfully pleading with him to act, a straining Ichigo simply curses.

Back at the river, Uryū stares at the hole in the ground near his feet left by Nemu's blast as she walks forward and observes he really has lost his powers. When Uryū demands to know why she is doing this, Nemu asks him if he would like power, causing Uryū to recall Yoshino Sōma dying in his arms before proclaiming he does not want things to end here without him being able to do anything. Acknowledging this, Nemu promises to lend him power, to Uryū's shock. Simultaneously, a smiling Ugaki looks up from his card mat and decides to finish the battle while Ichigo and Orihime continue to struggle against the ropes. Suddenly, Rangiku releases her Shikai, Haineko.

After dispersing around Ichigo and Orihime, the ash of Haineko cuts through the ropes restraining them, allowing them to fall back in surprise as Renji sees a battered Rangiku propping herself up at the entrance to the cavern. With the severed ropes returning to the shadow and the right hand of Gesell rising in their place, Rangiku has Haineko cut through the Wächter and stalagmite creating the shadow, which causes the hand to fade away. Rangiku informs Ichigo and his friends that Gesell uses the shadows produced by the Wächter as a gateway to enter the world and instructs them to destroy everything that can produce a shadow.

Upon hearing this, Renji, Sado, and Orihime destroy the stalagmites and pillars around the cavern using Zabimaru, energy blasts, and Koten Zanshun respectively, and once they are done, Ichigo notes that the Wächter are all that is left and obliterates them with a Getsuga Tenshō, leaving Ugaki trembling in rage as Ichigo and his friends meet up with Rangiku, whom he claims should have died. Looking over Ichigo and his friends, Ugaki stops grimacing and begins smiling as he packs up his cards and observes that they seem to have been injured before concluding that there is still more to come while fanning out his deck of cards in front of his face.

Meanwhile, as Ichigo and his friends sit down in the cavern, Rukia grunts in pain and clutches her arm, and when Ichigo expresses concern for her, Rukia assures him that she is fine, only for Orihime to insist that she not push herself since she still has not recovered from the injuries sustained during her previous battle. Rangiku reveals that she heard from 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi and brings up how Rukia took direct damage to her Soul, which takes longer to recover from than bodily injuries do. However, before Rukia can protest this, Ugaki's voice echoes around the cavern as he inquires if the startled group can hear him and introduces himself.

When Ichigo angrily demands to know what this is about, Ugaki requests that they listen to what he has to say and recounts how the Bount have amplified the power of themselves and their Dolls by absorbing countless Souls gathered by the Bitto. Though Renji proclaims that they will not allow the Bount to keep using these bugs, Ugaki derides the use of this term for the Bitto because they are a new type of Doll born from Yoshino's life and states that they have evolved even further by gaining the concentrated extract of living Souls, but claims that they are still sad due to being Humans who were persecuted by other Humans for having different abilities.

Elaborating that the Bount have no way of producing offspring and the totality of their tribe has already been decided, Ugaki concludes they are a group that can only decrease in numbers and asserts Ichigo and his friends cannot understand their pain, only for an emotional Renji to counter that the Bount have no right to take the lives of innocent people even if their situation can be sympathized with before proclaiming he cannot forgive the Bount as he recalls the young boy left comatose by the Bitto, to Ichigo's surprise. After noting his words cannot reach them, Ugaki decides to teach them with their bodies and invites them to find him in the back of the cave system.

With an infuriated Renji attempting to run off to find Ugaki, Ichigo stops him and states that he is coming too, and when Orihime begins to protest this, Ichigo apologizes and asks her to tend to Rukia and Rangiku's wounds. Despite Rukia insisting that she can still fight, Ichigo cuts her off and firmly declares that only he and Renji will be proceeding from here as he tells Sado to watch the back of the cavern and protect the others if they are attacked in the middle of treatment. After warning Ichigo to be careful even though Hisagi and the others are likely also in the back of the cave system, Rangiku promises to catch up once she is healed, which Ichigo encourages.

Suddenly, Ririn also inquires about the the Mod-Souls can do and Kurōdo claims that they can only cheer on Ichigo and his friends after coming this far, though Noba considers this a harsh statement. As Ichigo instructs the Mod-Souls to stay behind as well, which Ririn grudgingly accepts, Kon steps forward and promises to protect Rukia, Orihime, and Rangiku, whose cleavage he is attracted to, prompting a smiling Ichigo to state that he is count on Kon prior to running off with Renji as a stunned Kon frantically wonders if Ichigo is not going to stop him. While running through a corridor with Renji, Ichigo inquires if he is alright after Ugaki's taunting words earlier.

Despite Renji dismissing this as irrelevant, Ichigo brings up how he was worried about the boy earlier, but Renji insists he is fine and questions whom Ichigo believes he is, which Ichigo acknowledges. Upon reaching the next cavern, Ichigo and Renji cut through all the stalagmites and pillars there as well, but as Ichigo reminds Renji that the main body of Gesell cannot emerge if they destroy all the objects creating shadows, Ugaki notes this will not be good enough and places a sword card in the central pile on his mat, causing several Wächter to gather in front of Ichigo and Renji before emitting beams of light that cast large shadows off of them.

With both hands of Gesell emerging from Ichigo and Renji's shadows, Ugaki has them transform into large swords that swing down toward a shocked Ichigo and Renji, but Hisagi and 3rd Division Lieutenant Izuru Kira intercept the strikes with their own Zanpakutō, with Izuru having releases his Shikai, Wabisuke, while Hisagi proclaims that the same trick will not work twice. After pushing back the swords, Hisagi and Izuru cut through the Wächter, causing the light to fade and the writhing hands to disappear, and sheathe their Zanpakutō. As Ichigo thanks them for saving him and Renji, the latter expresses relief at Izuru being alright, but is concerned when Izuru falls to one knee.

While Renji runs to a bleeding Izuru's side, Ichigo looks to Hisagi, who admits he has also been injured. When Ichigo expresses sympathy at them having to go through so much trouble in this condition, Hisagi assures him it was their own fault for letting their guard down against the Bount as the group begins walking away. Annoyed by their persistence, Ugaki places another card from the ones in his hand on the central pile, causing the ceiling of the cavern to be illuminated by light and allowing Gesell to extend a sickle from the shadows above that slices through several stalactites, which fall onto Ichigo and the lieutenants, forcing them to scatter and leap away.

Evading several of the stalactites, Ichigo sees them illuminated by more Wächter and casting shadows, causing him to assume a battle stance and look around warily as the right hand of Gesell emerges from the shadow furthest behind him and transforms its fingers into spears that extend toward Ichigo. Upon leaping into the air with the spears following him, Ichigo is saved when Izuru appears between them and deflects the spears with his Zanpakutō, which Ichigo thanks him for as he falls toward the ground. Disgusted by the cowardly attacks of Gesell, Izuru releases Wabisuke once more and repeatedly clashes with the spears, resulting in them collapsing under their own weight.

With a concerned Ugaki wondering what is wrong, Izuru explains that Wabisuke doubles the weight of whatever it cuts as many times as he cuts it and proclaims that he has sealed away this arm, leading an enraged Ugaki to bring out the left arm of Gesell behind Izuru and transform it into a large, spiked flail that hurtles toward Izuru. However, Hisagi moves between them and yells as he intercepts the flail with his own Zanpakutō and holds it in place long enough for Izuru to strike it several times with Wabisuke, which leads to the flail falling heavily to the ground and ceasing its movement. A shocked Ugaki curses the Shinigami and begins gathering up his cards.

After deducing he needs to recall Gesell in order to escape the effects of Wabisuke, Ugaki has the Wächter, spears, and flails disappear, returning the cavern to darkness as Hisagi observes they have returned the favor. When Ichigo inquires if they are alright and attempts to run over to Hisagi and Izuru alongside Renji, the cavern suddenly begins shaking as rocks falls from the ceiling between the two pairs, causing Hisagi and Izuru to instruct Ichigo and Renji to keep moving ahead and meet up with 11th Division 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa while they find a different route to catch up to them with because Ugaki is the final obstacle before they can reach the Bount.

Ichigo and Renji reluctantly run off, leaving Hisagi and Izuru to be obscured by more falling rocks. Back at the river, Nemu withdraws the shining Quincy Bangle from her shihakushō, and as an astonished Uryū wonders what it is, Nemu details how it is a battle accessory handed down between certain Quincy several hundred years ago that was preserved for research by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. Revealing that the Quincy Bangle has the power to control Reishi, Nemu asserts that it will help Uryū if he is a true Quincy.

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
The Shinigami Women's Association holds a meeting, and before beginning the discussion with 11th Division Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi, 13th Division 3rd Seat Kiyone Kotetsu, and 4th Division Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu, a perturbed 8th Division Lieutenant Nanao Ise questions why 12th Division Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi is here, prompting Mayuri to reveal that he came as a substitute for his lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi. Though Nanao demands that he leave, Mayuri assures her that she can begin without paying any heed to him, only to begin sweating and panicking when Nanao sternly repeats herself before staring in fear as Nanao removes her glasses.

Fights

 * Shinigami Task Force vs. Ugaki

Powers and Techniques Used
Zanpakutō Techniques:

Hohō Techniques:

Kidō Techniques:

Quincy Techniques:
 * (flashback)

Other Techniques:

Fullbring:

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Dolls summoned:
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)

Other powers: