Annihilation of the Lieutenants!? Trap in the Underground Cave

'''Annihilation of the Lieutenants!? Trap in the Underground Cave''' is the eighty-eighth episode of the Bleach anime.

Statistics

 * Original Airdate: July 11, 2006
 * English Airdate: November 15, 2008
 * Opening Song: Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
 * Ending Song: Movin!!
 * Manga Chapters: None
 * Kanji: 副隊長全滅！？地下洞窟の罠
 * Romaji: "Fukutaichō zenmetsu!? Chikadōkutsu no wana"
 * Arc: The Bount arc

Summary
Ririn returns to Urahara’s shop riding on top of Kon, trying to alert everyone that Ichigo is in trouble. She starts crying, but Urahara shows her that Ichigo actually already returned ahead of her. Ririn hugs Ichigo and continues to cry because she was so concerned. After Hanataro reports the Keigo is ok now, Tessai tells them that everyone has returned. Meanwhile, Rangiku, and Hisagi meet with Kira out in the woods because they’ve found the Bount. At that hideout, Mabashi refuses to acknowledge that he lost, blaming it instead on Ichinose’s interference. Kariya notices that the Shinigami are coming, but he has everyone except for Ugaki go to continue sucking up souls via Bitto. Ugaki is going to take care of the Shinigami. Kariya then asks Ichinose about a certain unspecified matter, and Ichinose reports that it’s slowly moving along.

Back at Urahara’s shop, the group is gathered around the kid that Renji saved. According to Hanataro, this kid is more damaged than Keigo, and a transfer in spiritual power won’t help. Renji blames himself, but Ichigo asks him to believe in Hanataro’s abilities. Ichigo thinks that they should concentrate on fighting for now. Afterwards, Urahara has a private chat with Ichigo and asks him if he can win without his bankai. Remembering his Hollow side coming out earlier, Ichigo thinks he’ll manage someway or another. In Soul Society, Byakuya is meeting with Commander Yamamoto. The commander suspects that Captain Kurotsuchi is hiding something and thinks that there is a traitor in their midst. His request of Byakuya is to go investigate the history and memories of the Bount.

Ichigo and company get ready to leave Urahara’s shop to go to the Bount hideout, though Jinta first gives Renji some rice balls. The vice-captains, who joined up with Yumichika, have already gone into the Bount cave. Ugaki is sitting alone in a dark place with a board surrounded by candles. He has a deck of cards that he lays around this table, with each of those cards having an image of his eyeball doll Gesell. Ugaki strikes by using Gesell to create light and shadows, and inside the shadows pop out giant spears. The four Shinigami dodge and block those, and then decide to split up. Rangiku enters a hallway with many pillars, so she uses Haineko to break them all apart. However, Ugaki has Gesell use a block on the ceiling to create a shadow from which ropes appear and restrain Rangiku. She manages to cut the rope, but then more spears come out of the wall towards her.

At the same time, Hisagi and Kira have been surrounded by more eyeballs. After knocking down Kira by using a shadowy force, Ugaki holds Hisagi with more rope. Hisagi frees himself by using demon arts on one of the eyeballs that was casting light onto him, thus eliminating the shadow and the ropes. Ugaki then uses a shadowy hand to crumble the roof on top of the two vice-captains. Yumichika is also faring poorly since he is getting crushed against a wall by another shadowy hand. Unbeknownst to all of them, Ichigo and company have finally arrived at the mouth of the cave. Meanwhile, at the waterfall, Ishida is still trying and failing to bring forth his power. He notices someone approaching from the woods nearby: Nemu.