Ichigo Kurosaki

is the protagonist of the Bleach series. The series begins with Ichigo receiving Shinigami powers as a result of a run-in with Rukia Kuchiki, the Shinigami assigned to patrol Karakura Town. These powers come at the cost of Rukia's own and, as a result, Ichigo concedes to work as Rukia's stand-in, fighting to protect people from evil spirits called Hollows and sending good spirits, Pluses, to Soul Society.

Appearance
For the most part, Ichigo appears like a normal teenage boy; the one exception to that is his spiky orange hair, a trait that he has been ridiculed about for years. He is a fairly tall person with peach skin and brown eyes. Also, since becoming a Shinigami, he has become noticeably more muscular, as noted by his sister Karin. It has been stated by various people (including Jūshirō Ukitake) that Ichigo bears a striking resemblance to Kaien Shiba, the former Lieutenant of the 13th Division.

Personality
Personality-wise, Ichigo is a stubborn, short-tempered, occasionally confrontational, spontaneous, determined, outspoken, strong-willed, impulsive young man. Despite being witty and cynical, he is shown to be genuinely compassionate and empathetic about others such as bringing a spirit flowers or soothing others when they become doubtful. He is also extremely protective of his friends and family. This latter trait is the driving force behind most of his actions and almost all of the story arcs have stemmed from him rushing off to save someone, usually females.

He attempts to maintain a detached and "cool" image, despite claiming to not care about what other people think about him. For this reason, he generally keeps his face set in a permanent scowl with his eyebrows drawn together. However, despite this "tough guy" image he tries to maintain, he becomes extremely shy and uncomfortable around nude or immodestly dressed women, a fact both Rangiku Matsumoto and Yoruichi Shihōin have teased him for. It is also noted by Lisa Yadōmaru that Ichigo enjoys reading her erotic mangas though he denies it. He is also rather cocky and has been known to taunt and belittle his opponents when fighting. Conversely, he can also go into a state of deep depression when he loses a major battle or lets a friend down. Ichigo has a habit of misreading other people's names, such as Uryū Ishida and Yasutora Sado (the latter case results in Sado's nickname, Chad). One of the series running gags is that he keeps forgetting his classmate's faces and names, with his friends claiming he only knows half the class. However, he seems to remember names much easier later on in the series.

Although his cocky, hot-headed, and spontaneous nature (as opposed to his true personality) makes him appear rather dimwitted to more composed and calculating individuals (particularly Uryū), Ichigo is a capable analyst when required, and can instinctively catch on to some things much quicker than those around him. His natural orange hair and rebellious disposition tend to annoy many bullies in his school, who constantly pick fights with him. Ichigo claims that he does not care about other people's opinions about him (both in regards to his hair and other subjects), and seems to enjoy fighting people. Similarly, he is also a capable student, ranked 23rd in his school, studies regularly and doesn't neglect his schoolwork; he claims that he has "nothing better to do at home". It is later revealed that he works as hard as he does simply to overcome the misconceptions many teachers have about him, based on his hair color and interactions with other students. It is shown in a recent omake that even with his Shinigami status he is still able to pass exams, though his teacher gave him remedial exams because of his constant disappearances.

Due to his constant fights with bullies and his permanent scowl, many students are rather afraid of him. Despite this, he has a warm and kind heart, defiantly looks out for those placed in his charge, and is, to a degree, quite compassionate once he understands another's point of view. Rukia even states in the first movie that "he only looks scary". This trait makes him quite likeable to children. As such, he has almost never threatened or raised his voice to his younger sisters, Karin and Yuzu (Only one occasion and that is questionable as to who he was taking to). However, he has some trouble with authority and traditional respect, and is often quite rude and disrespectful when talking to those older than himself. Although he does not intend to be rude, he tends to call General Yamamoto "gramps" and refers to some captains (particularly Kenpachi, Byakuya, and Hitsugaya) by their given names, despite verbal protests from Byakuya and Hitsugaya (Hitsugaya suggests at one point that Ichigo does so on purpose). However, he does use Japanese honorifics for a number of individuals such as Urahara, Yoruichi, Unohana and Ukitake. He also refers to Rangiku Matsumoto as Rangiku-san but refers to Yumichika Ayasegawa and Ikkaku Madarame by their first name. In the third movie he also used the -san suffix in relation to Hisagi and Komamura. However, he called Izuru Kira just Kira in the Zanpakutō Unknown Tales filler anime arc but in the same arc he referred to Shunsui Kyōraku as Kyōraku-san. Ichigo has been shown to refer to Mayuri Kurotsuchi without honorific, which the latter finds irritating.

Several female characters in the series have possibly developed romantic feelings for him, often due to his inwardly compassionate nature, namely Orihime Inoue, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, Ririn, and possibly, Rukia Kuchiki and Senna.

History
Ichigo was born as the son of Isshin Kurosaki and Masaki Kurosaki, 15 years before the main storyline. His sisters Karin Kurosaki and Yuzu Kurosaki were born a few years later. During his childhood, Ichigo was signed into a karate class by his mother. In the class, Ichigo met and was eventually befriended by Tatsuki Arisawa, who would beat Ichigo in every match they had. Tatsuki would also help Ichigo if he was being picked on by bullies and cheer him up if he was upset.

On June 17th, when Ichigo was nine years old, he was taken home from his karate class by his mother. He saw a girl near the river and saw her falling into it. Concerned, Ichigo ran after to save her, unaware that the girl was really a lure from the Hollow Grand Fisher. Masaki, concerned about her son's safety, ran after Ichigo to protect him, but she was killed by Grand Fisher as a result. Because everyone loved Masaki very much, Ichigo blamed himself for his mother's death and went missing for some time before being found by a very concerned Tatsuki. With the death of their mother, Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin all changed drastically. Ichigo still blamed himself for his mother's death as time went on.

Three years before the main storyline, Sora Inoue was brought to the Kurosaki Clinic from a car accident. Ichigo met Orihime Inoue, Sora's younger sister during this time. However, Sora died in the Kurosaki Clinic.

Ichigo eventually entered Mashiba Junior High School. During this time, Ichigo had finally defeated Tatsuki in a karate match and left the class soon afterwards. Ichigo regularly got into fights with thugs, due to the unusual color of his hair. During one of these fights, he met Yasutora Sado. He mispronounced his name on his name tag as "Chad", and continued to call him as such from that day. They made a pact to protect each other and have remained good friends since. Because of the amount of fights they got into, Ichigo and Chad were given reputations of being gangsters themselves.

Ichigo and Chad eventually went to Karakura High School, and their reputations followed them as well, causing a few classmates (namely Keigo Asano) to be nervous about their presence there. During a fight with a gang led by Reiichi Ōshima, Ichigo and Chad met Mizuiro Kojima and Keigo Asano, the latter of which they saved. While Keigo was initially afraid of Ichigo and Chad, both he and Mizuiro eventually became friends with them.

Agent of the Shinigami arc
At the beginning of the series, Ichigo sees and confronts Rukia Kuchiki, a Shinigami, when she enters his home for a soul. During their conversation, a Hollow attacks, having tracked Ichigo back to his house. Because of Ichigo's interference with Rukia's work in his personal effort to protect his family from the Hollow, Rukia is wounded and forced to transfer her powers to him in a desperate measure to save the Kurosaki family. During the transfer, Ichigo absorbs almost all of Rukia's powers rather than taking half, as she had intended. Having her Shinigami abilities and his own immense spiritual power, Ichigo makes short work of the Hollow and Rukia leaves.

The next day Rukia shows up in Ichigo's class, now apparently a normal Human as the other students are capable of seeing her. Rukia informs Ichigo that she is using a Gigai — an artificial body used by Shinigami when they need to recover their powers or stay in the Human World for extended periods. While she recovers her abilities, Rukia insists that Ichigo takes over her job, battling Hollows and performing Konsō in her stead. At this time, he is only able to transform into a Shinigami when a special seal on Rukia's glove is used to separate his soul from his body, and therefore cannot become a Shinigami without her present. Their acquisition of the Mod Soul (Kon) removes this dependency.

Ichigo's new duties set off a flurry of activity both in the Human World and Soul Society. While visiting the grave of his deceased mother, the Hollow Grand Fisher, who has evaded the Shinigami for over fifty years, comes to the Human World and attempts to consume Ichigo's sisters, Karin and Yuzu. It is at this point that Ichigo finds out that Grand Fisher killed his mother and seeks revenge. Rukia tries to keep Ichigo from fighting, as she feared the Hollow was too strong, but Ichigo orders her to go with Kon and take his sisters home. She is reminded of Kaien Shiba's last fight as a fight for honor, and reluctantly follows his orders. Ichigo greatly wounds Grand Fisher, but the Hollow manages to escape.

During a duel with Uryū Ishida, a Quincy, a massive amount of Hollows, including a Menos Grande, are drawn to the Human World and defeated in one form or another, mostly by Ichigo and Uryū. Chad and Orihime also have their dormant powers awakened as a result, and each defeat a Hollow on their own. Ichigo's victory against the Menos draws the attention of Soul Society, triggering an unexpected chain of events. Meanwhile, Uryū and Ichigo develop an uneasy friendship as Shinigami and Quincy, with both of them apparently saving each other's lives.

Soul Society arc
After drawing the attention of Soul Society, Ichigo loses the Shinigami powers he gained from Rukia when he is swiftly defeated by the Shinigami captain Byakuya Kuchiki, who along with Renji Abarai, arrests Rukia and takes her back to Soul Society. The damage Ichigo suffers renders him a powerless Human soul, while he discovers that Rukia is guilty of a felony for transferring her powers to a Human and remaining in the Human World for so long. Even though Rukia had told him not to go after her, he decides not to listen to her and return the favor of saving his life. Desperate to save Rukia, he undergoes intensive training with Kisuke Urahara that nearly costs him his soul, but awakens his own Shinigami abilities by doing so as well as creating a Hollow inside himself. After training with Urahara, he leaves for Soul Society with Urahara's mysterious feline friend Yoruichi Shihōin, along with Orihime, Sado, and Uryū.

Upon arriving at one of the Seireitei entrance, Ichigo and his team meet Jidanbō Ikkanzaka, a Seireitei gatekeeper. There Ichigo quickly shows off his newfound might by defeating the giant easily, but he is in turn quickly repelled back outside the gate by captain Gin Ichimaru. Needing a new method to enter the Seireitei, Yoruichi brings them to Kūkaku Shiba who’s fireworks specialities help launch them into the Seireitei through a spirit cannon. While successfully entering, Ichigo and the team get separated from each other. He then proceeds to fight Ikkaku Madarame. Ichigo beats Ikkaku, even after Ikkaku reveals his Zanpakutō's Shikai, and learns that he will be hunted down by Kenpachi Zaraki, who will seek out the strongest of the intruders.

Ichigo is then met by Renji Abarai, who seeks revenge for his earlier defeat. Renji gravely injures Ichigo, who becomes stronger during the fight and manages to barely defeat Renji using a direct Getsuga Tenshō; after which Renji begs him to rescue Rukia, his childhood friend, upon changing his mind regarding his loyalties. Renji is taken into detention for trying to fight alone and losing, while Ichigo is healed by Hanatarō Yamada in Seireitei's sewage system. It is revealed here that Ichigo's hollow mask was able to lessen the damage from what would have been fatal blows by Renji, causing Hanatarō to discard the mask in fear. Ichigo finally encounters Kenpachi Zaraki on his way to the Shrine of Penitence, where Rukia is held, and at first hardly injuring the powerful captain, who according to Hanatarō, is immortal. After Zangetsu helps Ichigo find his resolve, Ichigo makes a tremendous comeback, managing to overpower and greatly injure Zaraki. Finding Ichigo his equal, Kenpachi decides to unleash his full power. This prompts Ichigo to call for help from Zangetsu to summon his full power (and perhaps his inner Hollow as his spiritual power manifests into his Hollow mask during the clash) to defeat Kenpachi. Despite technically winning, both Ichigo and Kenpachi are left incapacitated in the aftermath. After Kenpachi is evacuated by his lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi, Ichigo is rescued by Yoruichi.

After learning of Yoruichi's true human form and having most of his injuries treated, Ichigo quickly rushes to the tower where Rukia is being held to save both Hanatarō and Ganju from Byakuya Kuchiki. Upon his arrival he confronts Byakuya, even though he is not at full strength. The fight goes better than his first confrontation with Byakuya, but knowing that Ichigo is not ready to fight someone of Byakuya's caliber, Yoruichi stops the fight by incapacitating Ichigo, swearing to make Ichigo stronger than Byakuya in three days. After escaping Byakuya, Yoruichi then takes Ichigo to the secret training ground to undergo training to achieve the said power.

Yoruichi tells Ichigo that he cannot save Rukia with his present power and asks him to train to achieve the Bankai of his Zanpakutō. Upon completing the training, he, along with Yoruichi and sympathetic captains Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake, separately converge upon the Sōkyoku to stop Rukia's execution. At the last possible second, Ichigo stops the execution, and proceeds to dispatch three lieutenants — Marechiyo Ōmaeda, Isane Kotetsu and Chōjirō Sasakibe — barehanded. Along with being able to stop the Sōkyoku, a blade with the power of 1 million Zanpakutō, he proves that he has truly become more powerful within three days. He is then confronted by Byakuya Kuchiki.

At first they fight without releasing their Zanpakutō, Byakuya casually analyzing Ichigo as he fights, noticing an impressive difference. Ichigo eventually coerces Byakuya to use Bankai. Ichigo is unable to keep up just using his Shikai, and he reveals his Bankai against Byakuya, using his speed to outmaneuver Senbonzakura and eventually injure him for the first time. Byakuya counters using the second form of his own Bankai, and after a while Ichigo's bones begin to break under his Bankai's spiritual compression, giving Byakuya the chance to paralyze him with a single Kidō attack (shot through his shoulder). This leaves him in critical condition. At this point, Ichigo's inner Hollow surfaces and injures Byakuya to the point that both combatants have almost no power left. After regaining control of himself, Ichigo faces off against Byakuya in a final clash, each channeling all their energy into a single attack. After this final clash, neither has the strength to fight, but Byakuya admits his defeat because his blade was destroyed by Ichigo's. Byakuya then departs, leaving Ichigo barely standing, the only thing supporting him being his Zanpakutō.

Through a message relayed through Kidō by Isane Kotetsu, Ichigo then finds out that the events in Soul Society were an elaborate plot masterminded by Sōsuke Aizen and confronts him alongside Renji Abarai. Unable to defeat Aizen, Ichigo is left struggling to stay conscious with his spinal column almost completely severed (according to Aizen), and Rukia is taken from the ground while the Hōgyoku is removed from her soul. He is unable to do much of anything without the help of the remaining captains before Aizen departs for Hueco Mundo.

Prior to leaving Soul Society, Ichigo is given a badge by Ukitake that serves as a license that allows him to hunt Hollows in his area officially. It is a multi-purpose artifact that functions like Rukia's glove for the task of removing souls from bodies. Unlike her glove, but similar to her cellphone, it alerts him to the presence of Hollows. He also speaks with Rukia who has decided to stay in the soul society even after they had tried to kill her. He leaves with an understanding for her and his Shinigami powers.

Bount arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

After his adventures in Soul Society, Ichigo, not aware he is unable to perform Bankai outside of Soul Society, faces off against three mod souls in a series of games set by Urahara which involved kidnapping Ichigo's friends, unbeknownst to Ichigo. When Ichigo attempts Bankai he is unable to, and undergoes training with three Modified Souls (Ririn, Kurōdo and Noba).

After the training, which ends up unsuccessful, he finds out about the Bounts and confronts Yoshino Sōma, who uses a powerful fire-type Doll. Ichigo is unable to win, even with the help of Rukia Kuchiki. However, he is unintentionally saved by another Bount, Ryō Utagawa. Utagawa appears later to try to eat Uryū's soul, and a battle between him and Ichigo's group ensues. Yoshino then appears and takes Uryū away. While visiting Uryū in the hospital, the group is met by Hō and Ban, Bount twins who use Dolls that manipulate water. Ichigo attempts to defeat them, but any damage sustained to the Dolls quickly regenerates. He discovers that when the twins are separated, their ability to control their Dolls is greatly reduced, and with some assistance from Ganju Shiba, the group succeeds in blowing the weakened Dolls up with fireworks, killing the Bount twins in the process. Ichigo and company then infiltrate Jin Kariya's mansion in search of Uryū.

Upon entering Kariya's mansion, Ichigo engages Utagawa in battle, during which he obliterates a large portion of the house. His spiritual power surprises both Utagawa and Maki Ichinose, a Shinigami deserter who joined forces with the Bounts. Ichinose confronts Ichigo and the two fight until Kariya takes over and overpowers Ichigo. As Ichigo is at the brink of defeat, Kisuke Urahara and his assistants arrive to rescue them, demolishing the remainder of the mansion in the process.

Later on, Ichigo fights Gō Koga and his Doll, Dalk, after the Bitto nearly killed Keigo Asano. Ichigo is slowly beaten, allowing his Hollow form to appear. Ichigo manages to repel his Hollow self and take over, only to succumb to his previous injuries. Izuru Kira soon appears to lend a helping hand, disabling the Doll. Koga retreats, unwilling to kill such young men due to an incident in his past with a young Bount.

Ichigo then invades the Bount hideout that Ugaki is defending with Chad, Orihime, Rukia, Renji and the modified souls. Four Shinigami lieutenants who had entered the cave earlier and fought Ugaki's Doll, Gesell, assist them. Finally, only Renji and Ichigo continue into the depths of the cave to find Ugaki. Renji decides to take on Gesell one on one with his Bankai so that Ichigo will have the strength to take on the remaining Bounts. Renji's attacks send Gesell on a fury that ends when Ugaki is killed by his own Doll (possibly due to the Doll being influenced by Kariya). The cave begins to crumble and Yumichika Ayasegawa convinces Ichigo to leave them behind and go further into the cave.

Ichigo finds the remaining Bounts and they open a portal to an unknown destination. Ichigo starts a battle with Kariya. Kariya defeats Ichigo's Shikai and threatens to kill him using Zangetsu. The threat convinces Ichigo to recover his will to fight and regain his ability to use his Bankai. The fight continues, with both adversaries now evenly matched. They are interrupted by Uryū Ishida, who helps the Bounts reach Soul Society, believing he will get stronger there and defeat the Bounts.

In Soul Society, Ichigo's group uses Kūkaku Shiba's house as their initial base of operations and separate to search for the Bounts. After the Bount Yoshi almost kills Rukia Kuchiki, she is saved by Byakuya. Ichigo asks Byakuya for assistance, but Byakuya refuses, making it clear that he still dislikes Ichigo.

Later, Ichigo comes across Kariya and Byakuya fighting in a forest and joins in. Despite being outnumbered, Kariya is able to hold his own. Ran'Tao, the Shinigami who created the Bounts, steps in and takes Ichigo and Uryū Ishida (who arrive soon after) back to her home in Rukongai. Ran'Tao explains to Uryū and Ichigo about how her spirit powers were sealed and how she was banished for creating the Bounts, among other things.

After departing from Ran'Tao's home, they meet up with Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Rangiku Matsumoto, and Renji Abarai, who are in the middle of a battle with former Shinigami Maki Ichinose. This does not last long though as Kenpachi Zaraki arrives and challenges Ichinose, allowing the others to pursue the Bounts.

At the Technological Institute, Ichigo and Chad catch up to Kariya, but are unable to stop him. Their battle inadvertently unearths the Jōkaishō, a massive energy source, which Kariya had been searching for. Kariya absorbs the energy and uses its destructive potential as a threat to keep Ichigo at bay. He then gives the whole of Soul Society a day to think about their impending destruction. With permission from Matsumoto, Ichigo uses the 10th Division as a base of operations during this time.

The next day, Ichigo saves both Uryū and Ran'Tao from Kariya, and the two battle. During this fight, Kariya summons his Doll, Messer. After much effort on Ichigo's part, the battle ends in a final power clash, with Ichigo the victor. As he dies, Kariya tells Ichigo that he regrets not being able to watch if he will walk down the same path he did, because they were both burdened with great powers. This leads Ichigo to wonder whether Kariya's actions were intended to end his own eternal life.

Arrancar arc
After returning from Soul Society with his friends but without Rukia, Ichigo's life briefly returns to the relatively peaceful state at which it was before he left. This serenity is broken with the arrival of new student Shinji Hirako. Shinji, who reveals himself as a recruiter for the Vizard, approaches Ichigo and attempts to convince him to join his organization. Ichigo persistently refuses, even after being warned that his inner Hollow will eventually take over and destroy everything in sight. Shortly afterwards, two Arrancar, Yammy Riyalgo and Ulquiorra Cifer, appear in Karakura Town in order to locate and evaluate Ichigo's strength. Upon seeing Chad injured, Ichigo battles Yammy using his Bankai, and manages to cut off the giant's right arm. Before he could progress, however, Ichigo's inner Hollow soon interferes, paralyzing Ichigo, and Yammy injures both him, and Orihime. The arrival of Yoruichi Shihōin and Kisuke Urahara forces Ulquiorra into strategic retreat. Ulquiorra returns to Aizen believing that Ichigo is a waste of his and Aizen's time.

After his failure against the Arrancar, Ichigo loses his will as a Shinigami since he cannot protect his friends. This mood lasts until the arrival of Gotei 13's expeditionary force: six Shinigami sent to the Human World under the command of Tōshirō Hitsugaya. Rukia, who is among them, forces Ichigo to defeat a Hollow, all the while chastising him. This causes him to regain his spirit and reaffirm his commitment to protect his friends, the first being Orihime Inoue. Later that day, Ichigo discusses the growing Arrancar threat with Hitsugaya's force and learns what the Arrancar actually are. Rukia is formally accepted into Ichigo's home, and instead of sleeping in the same room as his sisters, opts for sleeping in his closet again.

That night, six Arrancar under the command of Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez invade Karakura Town, intending to finish what they view as an incomplete mission on Ulquiorra's part. They split up, seeking targets with spiritual power. Chad's house is targeted, first by Di Roy Linker, who is quickly dispatched by Rukia, and then by the much mightier Grimmjow, who eliminates Rukia in a single strike. Ichigo uses his Bankai, but Grimmjow manages to effortlessly pummel Ichigo with his bare fists. Desperate, Ichigo uses his black Getsuga Tenshō to damage Grimmjow. In his Bankai form, using the move allows his Hollow side to become dominant, and Ichigo remarks that two or three more uses of it would allow his Hollow to completely take over. Kaname Tōsen interrupts the fight and takes Grimmjow back to Hueco Mundo, leaving a dissatisfied Ichigo to sulk in his apparent loss and worry over an injured Rukia.

Ichigo, unable to control his inner Hollow, accepts Shinji Hirako's offer and seeks out the Vizard in order to gain control. During a sparring match with Hiyori Sarugaki, he loses control to his Hollow side once more and nearly kills her. After reverting back to his Shinigami state, Ichigo is informed that he cannot simply keep his Hollow in check with his body or mind, but must force it into the very core of his soul. After a brief period of unappreciated training, Ichigo is told to confront his Hollow side within his inner world. There, Ichigo squares off against his Hollow self. Even after several exchanges, Ichigo is unable to damage the Hollow, while badly injured and stabbed himself. Finally, Ichigo is defeated, and his sword shatters. After a brief discourse with his Hollow, and then another with an inner manifestation of Kenpachi Zaraki (in the anime, Byakuya Kuchiki and Jin Kariya appear before this, and force him to fight their battles again. Ichigo is defeated by both of them), Ichigo realizes his trouble is that he lacks pure fighting spirit, instead needing reasons to fight his opponents. His spirit rekindled by this revelation, Ichigo is able to make a comeback, seizing the Hollow's sword and impaling him on it. With his Hollow subdued for the moment, Ichigo fades back to reality. When he comes to, he learns that while he was fighting internally, his outer body had transformed into that of a powerful and berserk Hollow. The Vizard had taken turns battling this monster to keep it in check. Ichigo then trains with Hiyori to increase the amount of time he can stay in masked form.

A month later, the Arrancar once again invade Karakura, and Ichigo brashly heads off to fight Grimmjow, even though he can only remain in his masked form for eleven seconds. This backfires, as despite using his masked form and Grimmjow's loss of an arm since their last meeting, Ichigo is unable to defeat him within the eleven-second limit. His mask crumbles, and Ichigo is brutally counterattacked. On the brink of defeat and pinned to the ground, Ichigo is granted a short reprieve by Rukia. As Grimmjow recovers from Rukia's attack, Shinji Hirako appears and fights him until the Arrancar retreat by order of Ulquiorra.

When tending to Ichigo's wounds, the Vizard Hachigen Ushōda reveals that Ichigo's spiritual power has been contaminated somewhat by Grimmjow's. As per his instructions, Rukia takes him back to the Kurosaki Clinic to recover. While in a deep sleep, he is visited by Orihime, who has been taken prisoner by the Arrancar and given a twelve hour reprieve by Ulquiorra to say good-bye to just one person. Orihime tries to kiss Ichigo while he sleeps, but is unable to. She does, however, confess her love for him.

Later, Ichigo awakens from a bad dream and realizes that the wound from his wrist is healed. Trying to sense by spiritual pressure who has healed him, he is visited by Hitsugaya, who tells him to come immediately for an emergency Shinigami meeting. The meeting is held at Orihime's apartment where Hitsugaya and Matsumoto took up residence and done via a live-conference device connecting Soul Society and the Human World. Captain Ukitake greets them and informs them Orihime was taken by an Arrancar and might have been killed. Ichigo informs them that she visited him to heal him the night before, which leads Yamamoto to believe that Orihime has betrayed them. Renji requests permission to go to Hueco Mundo to rescue her but the request is denied, as Yamamoto believes that the death of one person and the death of the world are weighted on a scale, thus saving Orihime is not important overall. Ichigo asks to go save Orihime by himself, but Yamamoto once again denies the suggestion, stating that Ichigo is a significant asset to Soul Society. The Shinigami are ordered to return to Soul Society to fortify their defenses, leaving Ichigo alone.

Despite Yamamoto's decision, Ichigo decides to make preparations with Urahara to single-handedly retrieve Orihime from Hueco Mundo. At school, Tatsuki Arisawa confronts him about her sightings and she becomes angry and violent over his reluctance to explain himself. She reveals to him that she is able to sense his and Orihime's spiritual energy, and can see Ichigo and other Shinigami. She is restrained by Keigo and Mizuiro while Ichigo walks away coldly telling his friends not to get involved. At Urahara's shop, Ichigo is joined by Uryū with his Quincy powers restored and Chad with a new more powerful right arm. After some convincing, the trio agree to help each other rescue Orihime, and Urahara opens a gate to Hueco Mundo. Ichigo leads Chad and Uryū into Hueco Mundo but unbeknownst to him, Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro had followed him and witnessed his departure.

Hueco Mundo arc
As Ichigo, Chad, and Uryū enter Hueco Mundo, they are immediately detected by Aizen and attacked by two Arrancar, Demōra and Iceringer. Ichigo is then told to stay back and simply watch as Chad and Uryū engage the two Arrancar by themselves. Once they are victorious, the room and passageway collapses around them, forcing the trio to race outside where they see their destination, a castle in the middle of a barren desert.

They see what looks to be a Human child being chased by three Hollows. After Ichigo attacks the three, it is revealed that the "Human" is actually an Arrancar named Nel Tu; the Hollows are her two "brothers" and their pet. After becoming friends, the expanded group travels to the wall of Las Noches, where they are attacked by a sand-based Hollow, Lunuganga. The Hollow is immune to their attacks, but the group is saved by Renji and Rukia, the latter of which freezes Lunuganga in a circle of ice.

Ichigo and his group break into Las Noches and split into five directions, leaving Nel and her brothers behind. The siblings decide to follow Ichigo but get lost. Nel is the only one who catches up to Ichigo, arriving just in time to see Dordonii Alessandro Del Socacchio, a Privaron Espada with the number 103.

As Ichigo and Dordonii fight, the difference in power between the two quickly becomes apparent. Dordonii suggests that Ichigo use his Bankai, so he will at least stand a chance, but Ichigo refuses, noting that it would only be a sign of weakness if he were to use his Bankai in every battle. Hoping to force the issue, Dordonii releases his Zanpakutō, thus greatly increasing his power. Now commanding two wind elementals, Dordonii is more than a match for Ichigo. When Dordonii tries to fire a Cero blast at Ichigo, Nel steps in, absorbing the blast and firing it back. Enraged, Dordonii attacks Nel, who is then saved by Ichigo, now using his Bankai.

Dordonii, not satisfied with Ichigo's Bankai, wishes to see his Hollow form. He even resorts to attacking Nel in an attempt to force Ichigo to transform. Ichigo sets Nel aside and tells Dordonii he will show him his Hollow form, but for only a second. Dordonii is pleased at first, but Ichigo defeats him in one blow. Dordonii is healed a bit by Nel, and unexpectedly attacks Ichigo again, who blocks the attack and runs away with Nel, and finally encounters Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra tells Ichigo that Rukia has been killed, which Ichigo denies. Ichigo attempts to leave to save Rukia, reasoning that he and Ulquiorra have no quarrel and thus no reason to fight. Ulquiorra reveals that he was the one who kidnapped Orihime and successfully goads Ichigo into fighting. Though Ichigo starts out well, he proves to be no match for Ulquiorra, who explains that even if Ichigo managed to somehow win, there would be three other Espada who are stronger still, as Ulquiorra reveals himself to be the 4th Espada. Ulquiorra then impales Ichigo's chest with his hand. He leaves after telling Ichigo to leave Hueco Mundo if he is able to.

Grimmjow brings Orihime to heal Ichigo before he can die, wanting to fight him at full strength. Ulquiorra discovers this and attempts to retrieve Orihime, but Grimmjow uses a portable Negación field to temporarily imprison him, thus allowing the two to battle unimpeded. Much like Kenpachi before him, Grimmjow insists that Ichigo not battle for his friends, instead just wanting him to focus on killing him, and reveals that he kept the scar from their first battle as a reminder to fight and kill Ichigo to prove that he is stronger.

The advantage shifts between the two combatants at random, During the battle, Grimmjow fires a Gran Rey Cero at Orihime and Nel to make Ichigo put on his hollow mask. Seeing that Ichigo is finally at his full strength, Grimmjow releases his true form and fiercely attacks Ichigo, smashing him into the ground. As he looks for Ichigo amongst the dust, Ichigo appears behind him and fires a Getsuga Tenshō at him. Grimmjow only starts to laugh maniacally and tells Ichigo how much he hates his "eyes". As the fight continue both fighters seems to be on par, and Tia Harribel, who was watching the fight from a distance, even said it felt like a fight between two Espada.

Towards the end Grimmjow is about to kill Ichigo, but after hearing Orihime beg for him to not get hurt anymore, Ichigo deftly catches Grimmjow's fist without looking, and slashes his shoulder. Grimmjow gets up after this, enraged at the injury, and impales Ichigo in the stomach. He then uses his most powerful attack, but the battle still ends in his defeat. Grimmjow, badly injured and reverted back to his unreleased state, tries one more attack which Ichigo blocks bare-handed. Suddenly, Nnoitra Jiruga appears, incapacitates Grimmjow, then attacks Ichigo, revealing that he is the 5th Espada and is thus more powerful than Grimmjow, whom Ichigo barely defeated.

As they fight, Nnoitra notices Nel, recognizes her as the former third Espada, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, and explains to Ichigo that he gave Nel the crack in her mask. Nel denies this accusation heavily as Nnoitra attacks Ichigo again, eventually snapping his wrist. Seeing Ichigo hurt triggers Nel's transformation into her adult form. Nel attacks Nnoitra after revealing her ex-Espada status and easily matches him. She releases her Zanpakutō and overwhelms Nnoitra; but, just before finishing him, reverts to her child form. Nnoitra kicks Nel and the enraged Ichigo attacks again, only to be slammed into the ground. Nnoitra then orders his Fracción, Tesla, to switch with him and kill Ichigo and takes hold of Orihime. Tesla also releases, but just as he is about to kill Ichigo, Ichigo is once again saved at the last moment by Kenpachi, who defeats Tesla in one strike and briefly explains that along with him, Byakuya, Retsu Unohana, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi have come to perform an intrusion on Las Noches before engaging in combat with Nnoitra. As Kenpachi and Nnoitra fight, Orihime heals Ichigo and Nel to full health. When Nnoitra, thinking for a moment that Kenpachi is dead, attacks Yachiru Kusajishi, Orihime rushes to defend her, while Ichigo, trying to stop Orihime, is stunned that he cannot break through her healing shield.

Kenpachi kills Nnoitra, and as he orders Orihime to heal him, Coyote Starrk appears, apparently reluctant as he snatches Orihime away to bring her to Aizen. Aizen makes an announcement to all of Hueco Mundo, stating that Orihime is in the fifth tower, should anyone want to retrieve her, and that he has closed the Gargantas that the captains used for entry into Hueco Mundo. He informs them that he is leaving to destroy Karakura and orders Ulquiorra to take charge of Las Noches. Ichigo tells Kenpachi that his duty is not to defend his town, but to protect his friends, and flies to rescue Orihime as Ulquiorra declares his challenge to Ichigo. Before he gets far though he is attacked by the Exequias, but is assisted by Renji, Chad, and Rukia who start fighting them while he continues on. Before Ulquiorra can interrogate Orihime's mind further, Ichigo reaches them. In order to protect Las Noches, Ulquiorra brandishes his sword and begins dueling with Ichigo.

The New Captain Shūsuke Amagai arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

While at home Ichigo found out he had new neighbors. He later learns that they are two Shinigami named Kenryū and Enryū, who were the personal bodyguards of the child with them, Princess Rurichiyo Kasumiōji. Kenryū explained that Rurichiyo is the heir to the Kasumiōji clan, the highest noble clan under the Four Great Noble Clans. Despite Rurichiyo's young age, it was still unavoidable for her to take on the role of leader so young as Rurichiyo's parents passed away. They came to the living world to protect Rurichiyo after several suspected assassination attempts on her from one of the lead members of the Kasumiōji clan, Gyōkaku Kumoi, who strongly desires to become the leader of the clan. Kenryū asked for Ichigo's help to stop Kumoi. During which, Rurichiyo began seeing how much she has been taking for granted.

Later, a group of assassins came to kill Rurichiyo. Their leader, Hanza Nukui, faced Ichigo with a strange mirror-sword connected to his arm. Hanza was able to gain the advantage by somehow allowing his sword to cover more of his arm. He then used this sword's mirror to paralyze Ichigo. Hanza explained that his sword, Saiga, evolves in power by consuming spiritual energy from its wielder. Fortunately, Yoruichi intervened and forced Hanza to retreat. Hanza later returned with new subordinates, each armed with a unique parasitic weapon, which were revealed to be called Bakkōtō. While Chad and Uryū went to lure some of the enemies away, Ichigo went to face Hanza. As the fight continued, Hanza's entire body was eventually consumed by his Bakkōtō, ending the battle.

Later, it was learned that Rurichiyo was expected to be marrying Shū Kannogi soon. After thanking Ichigo for his help, Rurichiyo snuck back to Soul Society as she couldn't stand seeing people get hurt for her sake anymore. Later after the wedding was officially done, Ichigo and the others appeared. Unfortunately, the 2nd Division surrounded them and Rurichiyo for some reason claimed to have no idea who Ichigo was. Upon getting closer to her, Rurichiyo stabbed Ichigo, revealing that it was another soldier working for Kumoi in disguise. Soifon then appeared, unaware of the situation, and quickly defeated Ichigo due to his recent injury. Ichigo and Rukia then retreated with surprising help from Kannogi, who saw the fake Rurichiyo reveal himself, by pretending to be a hostage.

During their escape, they were cut off by the 3rd Division, which was being lead by its recently appointed captain, Shūsuke Amagai. Amagai quickly engaged Ichigo for an intense fight until Kannogi decided to drop the hostage façade and desperately told Amagai their story. After hearing the story, Amagai decided he would help them. After discovering that one of Amagai’s men, Makoto Kibune, was working for Kumoi and had a Bakkōtō, Amagai had it sent to Yamamoto to tell him about Kumoi's treacherous actions. After receiving the message, Yamamoto ordered the Gotei 13 to take the Kasumiōji clan into custody. After Ichigo and Rukia managed to catch up to Kumoi and Rurichiyo, Amagai surprisingly struck down Kumoi. He then teleported away with Rurichiyo. Kumoi, who was moments away from dying, revealed that Amagai was the true brains behind this conspiracy. Ichigo and Rukia quickly caught up to Amagai at Yamamato's headquarters, where Amagai was facing off against Yamamoto and vowed to destroy both Yamamoto and the entire Kasumiōji clan. Amagai also revealed to have a special Bakkōtō of his own that had the power to negate all Shinigami and Zanpakutō powers other than his own.

Amagai explained he was after revenge for his father's, Shin'etsu Kisaragi, death. Before his father died, Amagai was told by him of the Bakkōtō. Amagai later learned that Shin'etsu discovered the illegal manufacturing of the Bakkōtō and sought to stop it, but was then killed by Yamamoto. Amagai knew that Yamamoto was well-aware of the Kasumiōji clan's actions but refused to do anything, eventually prompting Amagai to the conclusion that he was in league with the Kasumiōji clan. Despite hearing these allegations against Yamamoto, Ichigo was determined to stop Amagai, stating that Amagai has selfishly caused innocent people to suffer. Surprisingly, Ichigo was still able to use his spiritual energy and unleash his Bankai. As the battle progressed, Ichigo also revealed his Vizard mask and quickly took advantage in the battle. Amagai then realized that while his Bakkōtō can seal away Shinigami power, it cannot do the same for Hollow powers. With some well-timed maneuvers, Ichigo was finally able to strike and destroy the Bakkōtō power-negation ability. Then in a final clash, Ichigo was able to defeat Amagai.

While injured, Amagai turned his attention to Yamamoto and stabbed him in the stomach, which Yamamoto let happen. Yoruichi, who arrived with the other captain, explained that Yamamoto did not betray Amagai's father. Rather, Shin'etsu was another victim of the Bakkōtō. After Yamamoto learned about the Bakkōtō, Yamamoto tried to get permission from Central 46 to investigate, but they refused. Instead, Shin'etsu volunteered to investigate by himself. Unfortunately, he was made into test subject for the Bakkōtō development. Losing his mind to the Bakkōtō, Shin'etsu attacked Yamamoto, forcing the captain to regretfully strike Shin'etsu down. Horrified by the truth, Amagai fell into complete shame. Wishing to make up for his mistakes, he decided to take his own life as payment. Ichigo was about to stop him, but Byakuya made Ichigo understand that he needed to let Amagai repent the best way he felt possible. Later, Ichigo said he would help Rurichiyo whenever needed, but she said she would try as the head of her clan to handle it with her own power from now on.

Fake Karakura Town arc
Later on, Ichigo is seen with a wound on his right shoulder done by Ulquiorra during the battle. As his fight with Ulquiorra continued, Ichigo was shown to be capable of fighting on equal footing with the Espada though he could not gain the advantage either. Between blows, Ulquiorra taunts Ichigo, telling him that even if he were to defeat him and rescue Orihime, it would be meaningless as she was already one of them, to which Ichigo retorted that that isn't his decision to make. Ulquiorra agreed, replying that it was Aizen's decision before resuming their battle. Later, Ichigo notices that he can keep up with Ulquiorra and understand his movements better than their first encounter. He thinks that it is either because he has become more like a Hollow or Ulquiorra has become more Human within the period between their two battles. At one point, Ichigo manages to catch Ulquiorra's wrist, much to Ulquiorra's surprise, and cut through his Hierro leaving a small nick. When Ichigo reveals his inference about him becoming more capable of following Ulquiorra's movements and the possibility of Ulquiorra becoming more Human, Ulquiorra responds by increasing his reiatsu. He begins to attack more fiercely, catching Ichigo off guard, and he is saved by Orihime's shield.

As Ulquiorra attempts to taunt Orihime, Ichigo stops him by stating how he always thought he was more the silent type; Ichigo then uses Getsuga Tenshō in his blade to attack Ulquiorra. While fighting, Orihime is ambushed by Loly and Menoly, who overheard Aizen's message to the intruders. Ichigo notices this and tries to save Orihime from them, ignoring Loly's threat of ripping out Orihime's eye. However, Ulquiorra stops Ichigo from reaching them (but he states that he's not helping them). Their fight is interrupted when Yammy arrives in the throne room. Yammy notices that Ichigo has gotten stronger since their first meeting and offers Ulquiorra help, but Ulquiorra denies his assistance. Afterwards, Yammy notices Loly and Menoly and defeats them both and sets his sights on Orihime. He asks Ulquiorra if he could kill her and Ichigo once again tries to help her, but Ulquiorra still prevents him from leaving their battle. Orihime is ultimately saved by the timely arrival of Uryū Ishida, who uses a special landmine (developed by Mayuri Kurotsuchi and specifically designed for Arrancar) to injure Yammy.

After Uryū sends Yammy falling to the bottom of Las Noches, he explains that Mayuri healed Renji first, then healed him. Ichigo then orders him to protect Orihime, so she wouldn't be injured during his fight with Ulquiorra. Ichigo dons his Hollow mask and manages to gain the upper hand against Ulquiorra, even managing to begin piercing his blade, as well as fully repulsing a Cero blast. Realizing how strong Ichigo has become, Ulquiorra heads to the top of Las Noches as Ichigo chases him. After reaching the top himself, Ichigo realizes that they are above the dome of Las Noches. Ulquiorra explains to him that within Las Noches, two actions are forbidden: the first is that the Espada must never use the Gran Rey Cero, while the second is that the top four Espada are forbidden from releasing their Zanpakutō. This is because both actions have the power to destroy the fortress. He then proceeds to release his own Zanpakutō, Murciélago, with the command "Bind". As Ichigo stares up at Ulquiorra, he warns Ichigo to not let his guard down and fight with all his might. He then attacks Ichigo with a powerful spiked weapon, that breaks off the upper-right portion of Ichigo's mask. Ulquiorra notes that Ichigo had reflexively defended himself with a Getsuga Tenshō, and if he had not the attack would have decapitated him. Ichigo then starts to realize how much more powerful and faster Ulquiorra is. He then regenerates his mask and uses Getsuga Tenshō on Ulquiorra's request and sees nothing happens.

Ichigo then prepares for Ulquiorra's "Black Cero", but is completely overwhelmed by the attack and has his entire mask shattered in the process, becoming critically injured. The Cero itself takes out about half of the dome of Las Noches. Ulquiorra then proceeds to attack Ichigo, further damaging him while proclaiming Hollow's superiority to Humans. When Ichigo prepares to fire another Getsuga, Ulquiorra surprisingly loses his cool and launches another devastating series of attacks. Ulquiorra asks Ichigo why he will not put down his sword, noting the large gap in power between them. He explains that he always knew that Ulquiorra was stronger, but nothing he sees him do will stop him from fighting. Ulquiorra then states that Ichigo has still not realized the meaning of despair, and transforms into a new form.

Ulquiorra explains to the stunned Ichigo that only he among the Espada has a second release form, which not even Aizen has witnessed. Ichigo still tries to fight the Espada and show no fear, and attempts to defend himself from attacks but is too slow. Ulquiorra expresses his inability to understand Ichigo's resolve, believing it is a Human's "heart" which causes them pain and will eventually result in their deaths. When Ichigo explains he has no choice but to win the fight, Ulquiorra calls him a fool. After he whips Ichigo with his tail, Ichigo reforms his Hollow mask, however this time his eyes remain Human; his mask is easily broken apart shortly afterwards, and Ulquiorra lifts him by the neck with his tail. Orihime arrives to the top of the dome just in time to see Ulquiorra send an Instantaneous Cero Oscuras through Ichigo's chest, seemingly killing him.

Orihime is devastated by Ichigo's supposed death and attempts to aid him, but Ulquiorra appears before her and tells her that she is not powerful enough to save him. Uryū intervenes and fights Ulquiorra while Orihime tries to heal Ichigo, but there seems to be no change in his condition. Noticing that Uryū is losing his battle with Ulquiorra, Orihime begins to panic and pleads Ichigo to help her. Ichigo slowly begins to move as his hair grows longer, almost resembling a mane and his hands grasp at the ground.

Hearing Orihime's desperate cry for help, Ichigo's inner Hollow takes over in a transformation completely different from the previous one he had. Quickly, Ichigo's new form proves vastly superior to Ulquiorra in every conceivable way and easily defeats him. Unfortunately, Ichigo appears to have no form of rationality or individual thinking beyond his desire to protect Orihime. Before he can finish Ulquiorra, Uryū tries to talk sense into him, only to be stabbed by Ichigo's blade. Ulquiorra takes advantage of this by striking Ichigo's mask, causing it to break and Ichigo to be freed from the inner Hollow's control, followed quickly afterwards by an instantaneous regeneration of his chest area that made up his hollow hole.

Ichigo regains control of his body with no memory of what had transpired, only to find a half beaten Ulquiorra and his Zanpakutō embedded in Uryū's abdomen. Ulquiorra retrieves Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu, hands it back to Ichigo, and tells him that they will finish their fight. Seeing the damage inflicted on his opponent, Ichigo tells him to cut his limbs so that they may have a fair fight, however, as the Espada prepares to do so, he begins to disintegrate. Ulquiorra tells Ichigo to finish him off, however Ichigo refuses stating that, that was not the way he wanted to win. The 4th Espada, slightly surprised, then admits his interest in the trio as Ichigo, Uryū, and Orihime watch as Ulquiorra fades into the wind.

Ichigo later jumped off of the dome to help Renji, Chad, and Rukia. He then appears when Rukia had been tossed and he saved her from being crushed on the ground. Ichigo then teases Yammy that he'd gotten much bigger since he last saw him. Yammy then charges a Cero but Ichigo fires a Getsuga Tenshō causing the Cero to explode in Yammy's face. He then tells Rukia that Orihime is still on the tower healing Uryū's injuries. Yammy then punches the ground where Rukia and Ichigo are, but he had easily dodged with Rukia on top of a building. He then reassures Rukia that he'd take care of Yammy and then they'd return to the real world. Ichigo then charges at Yammy and begins maneuvering away from him, which Yammy thinks is Ichigo running away. Ichigo then explains he is simply running, not to run away, but to get Yammy far enough away from his friends so he can take Yammy on full force. He then dons a new mask with new tattoos on the face, and uses Getsuga Tenshō on Yammy, which slams Yammy to the ground.

As Ichigo dispels his mask, he feels that summoning his mask felt different than it used to, as if it was heavier. Suddenly, Yammy recovers and attacks Ichigo with a barrage of his Bala, showing that it is much more powerful in his released form. He also shows Ichigo that he's actually the 0 Espada, and that he views all of the other Espada, including Ulquiorra, as trash. Ichigo responds by slicing through the Bala assault and stating that he was outclassed in his previous battles and that it doesn't change that he also has to defeat Yammy as well. He also states that he isn't surprised that Yammy does not care for his comrades, but at the same time is disgusted that Yammy calls them "trash". Ichigo tries to summon his mask again, but is unable to. While distracted by this event, Yammy then grabs Ichigo and compliments that Ichigo did well against him, compared to Renji, Chad, and Rukia. However, before Yammy can continue his attack against Ichigo, he is blindsided by a Sōkatsui spell. Before he is able to retaliate, one of his appendages is cut off as well. It is then revealed that Byakuya Kuchiki and Kenpachi Zaraki arrived.

Kenpachi scares off Ichigo so he won't get in the way of his foe as he fights off the Cero Espada. Ichigo shows great concern but Byakuya prevents him from intervening, reminding him that the fate of Karakura Town is Ichigo's responsibility. Mayuri and Unohana approach Ichigo and brings to him a special device that can create a Garganta to allow Ichigo to return to Earth. Unohana volunteers to accompany Ichigo on his way back while Byakuya and Kenpachi fight Yammy. Reluctant at first, Ichigo makes his decision to go back as the Garganta behind him opens up. After teasing Mayuri about him being similar to Urahara, he and Unohana jump into the Garganta. On their way through, Unohana tells him how Aizen's Shikai works, and that he is the only captain-class opponent who has not seen his Shikai, and therefore is the only one able to defeat him. She informs him that he must not look at Aizen's Shikai, no matter what. Ichigo then says he will defeat Aizen.

As they continued their path, Unohana decides to take the lead to produce a sturdier path to run on, impressing Ichigo with her fine spiritual energy control. When Unohana states that his skills are not polished enough, Ichigo insists that if he was at full strength, he could produce a much more solid path. After explaining how the damage to his Bankai shihakusho’s condition gives a clear example of how much spiritual energy he has left, Unohana was awe struck to discover that despite only having a portion of a sleeve left, Ichigo’s spiritual energy was still comparable to a captain level fighter. Realizing Ichigo’s potential power, Unohana offered to replenish his energy along the way.

Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

While sleeping, Ichigo is taken into his inner world by Zangetsu who asks if Ichigo can hear him. Ichigo asks Zangetsu why he sounds gloomy who responds by saying that it is not his voice. Ichigo is surprised and asks what is going on. Zangetsu responds by gloomily saying that's fine. Later Ichigo discovers a seriously injured Rukia just arriving in the living world. Shortly afterwards, a Yuki-onna appears and demands for Rukia. After forcing the woman to retreat, he learns from Rukia that the woman was actually the spirit of her Zanpakutō, Sode no Shirayuki. After having Orihime heal her wounds, Rukia explains that a strange man named Muramasa has somehow released all the Zanpakutō spirits in the Soul Society from their ties with the Shinigami and had them throw the Soul Society into chaos. After discovering Rukia went back to the Soul Society, Ichigo decides to follow her.

In Soul Society, Ichigo briefly fights Sode no Shirayuki to protect Rukia, but Rukia manages to bind the Zanpakutō spirit and herself together with Kidō. Muramasa arrives and ends the battle, reminding Ichigo that Zanpakutō are more than just a source of power for Shinigami in the form of swords, that they have a life and will of their own. Convinced that all Shinigami mistreated their Zanpakutō, Muramasa stated his goal was to “free” all of them from their control of Shinigami. Muramasa then removed Zangetsu’s spirit from Ichigo’s being, who quickly attacks Ichigo. Being hesitant to fight his partner, Zangetsu quickly overpowers Ichigo. Taking advantage of Zangetsu's power and influence leaving Ichigo, Ichigo's inner hollow took over the battle. While Muramasa was confused, Zangetsu explained that Ichigo's soul has another side to it. Hollow Ichigo then quickly defeats Zangetsu and then forced Muramasa back as well. Before the outcome could be decided, Ichigo regained control and returned to normal, passing out in the process.

Ichigo later awoke within his inner world with Muramasa shockingly in there as well to find out about Ichigo’s unique powers. Muramasa then used his powers to forcibly draw out Ichigo’s inner hollow. Muramasa tried gaining control of Hollow Ichigo, only to be surprised from a sudden attack. After a skirmish, it soon becomes clear that Hollow Ichigo is too powerful for Muramasa to fight directly, instead relying on his powers to bind him down. After finally seeing through Muramasa’s invisible power, Ichigo saves his Hollow half, surprising both spirits. He then unleashes a huge surge of spiritual energy to force Muramasa out of his body, greatly shocking the rogue Zanpakutō.

Outside, Zangetsu appears again, unleashing his Bankai. Ichigo’s inner hollow calls to him, reminding Ichigo that he cannot access his Zanpakutō’s true power because it resides with Zangetsu. Hollow Ichigo offers instead to lend him his power, as long as Ichigo agrees not to seal him within the mask. After an initial struggle against Zangetsu, Ichigo asks why Zangetsu wants to fight so badly, who responds that his desire is to see how strong Ichigo can really become and if it is great enough to defeat him. Deciding to honor Zangetsu’s wish, Ichigo his inner Hollow’s power is able to defeat Zangetsu. Soon afterwards, Ichigo turned his attention to Muramasa, began coughing very sickly and became transparent, prompting him to teleport away. Zangetsu then appears again, assuring Ichigo he has returned to his normal self. Zangetsu explains that Muramasa's power is to forcibly unleash a being's deepest instincts, and then warp them to make the target care only about those desires, regardless of the consequences.

Ichigo then reports his new findings to the Shinigami captains. Afterwards, he is joined by Ikkaku who also wants to fight his Zanpakutō. Together, they find Hōzukimaru and Gegetsuburi. While they are able to catch Gegetsuburi, Hōzukimaru escapes, to which Ichigo follows. To his shock, Ichigo's pursuit is seemingly stopped by Byakuya who quickly disappears. While trying to find Byakuya, Ichigo is confronted by Tobiume and Haineko, who attempt to fight him, but the battle quickly taken over by Rangiku Matsumoto and Momo Hinamori. Later Ichigo is ambushed by Hyōrinmaru, who attempts to fight Ichigo. However, once Ichigo releases his Bankai, Hyōrinmaru decides to withdraw, revealing that he is searching for his master and has no memory of either his master or his own name. Before he is able to leave, Tōshirō Hitsugaya arrives. Hitsugaya explains to Hyōrinmaru that "Hyōrinmaru" is his name and that Hitsugaya himself is his master. However, Hyōrinmaru does not believe him, which leads to the two of them fighting each other. Hitsugaya eventually manages to convince Hyōrinmaru to returns to him.

Ichigo decides to let Hitsugaya rest and continues to look for Byakuya until he runs into Rangiku and Momo who have already defeated their Zanpakutō spirits. Muramasa appears at their location through a Garganta. Muramasa states that he believes him and Ichigo are connected. Ichigo proceeds to fight him, but Muramasa, who is not used to his "new" body, is put at a disadvantage. Senbonzakura then intervenes, fighting Ichigo in Muramasa's place and activates his Bankai. Ichigo, having already fought Byakuya's Bankai in the past, is able to hold his own against Senbonzakura, eventually overpowering the spirit and cracking its mask in the process. Senbonzakura tries to fight back in retaliation, but is stopped by Byakuya. Ichigo is surprised to see Byakuya again, who quickly attacks him with a Kidō spell. Ichigo questions Byakuya's actions and Byakuya explains that, like the Zanpakutō spirits, he is following his own inner desires: to protect his pride. He then retreats, along with Muramasa and Senbonzakura, the latter using his technique to cover their escape.

Ichigo returns and informs the others of Byakuya's betrayal, much to their dismay. Renji even gets angry with Ichigo, refusing to believe that Byakuya has betrayed them. Later that night, Ichigo senses Renji and Rukia's distress and rushes to help them. He arrives with Soifon and some others to combat the numerous Zanpakutō spirits who had surrounded Renji and Rukia. Ichigo squares off with Senbonzakura again, while Renji holds off Byakuya. When Izuru falls prey to Wabisuke's power, Ichigo frantically tries to come to Izuru's aid. Suddenly, Kenpachi Zaraki makes a dramatic entrance with great delight. After overpowering Senbonzakura, Ichigo quickly rushed to Byakuya and Kenpachi’s battle. While distracted by facing Byakuya, Senbonzakura reappeared and launched Ichigo into Ashisogi Jizō’s poison mist. Unable to react in time, Ichigo was poisoned and soon after collapsed. Before Ashisogi Jizō could take Ichigo’s unconscious body, Yachiru chased it away. Upon awakening, he is treated by the 4th Division members. Soon afterwards, Yoruichi appeared with knowledge on the whereabouts of Yamamoto.

Yoruichi leads them to an underground network of caves, prompting the team to split up. Ichigo goes with Yoruichi. After voicing Ichigo concerns about Byakuya, the two are attacked by Haineko and Tobiume. Yoruichi quickly over-powers them and tells Ichigo to go on ahead. Ichigo later encounters Minazuki, who retreats from him. Ichigo pursues the Zanpakutō, but loses track of it. Ichigo is then attacked by Kazeshini. After a short struggle, Ichigo quickly defeats and strikes down the Zanpakutō, apologizing to Shūhei Hisagi. Ichigo soon finds Yamamoto inside a barrier.

Before Ichigo can attempt to free Yamamoto, Muramasa appears, forcing Ichigo to do battle. Muramasa repeatedly insisted that Ichigo fights with full force, to which Ichigo eventually agrees and dons his Hollow mask. He then launches his strongest Getsuga Tenshō, but rather then dodging or deflecting it, Muramasa adds his own power to the blast and directs it towards Yamamoto’s barrier, causing it to shatter. Yamamoto quickly awakens, and voices his dread at the turn of events. It is then revealed that the barrier Yamamoto was in was not Muramasa’s doing, but rather Yamamoto’s in an attempt to keep the rogue Zanpakutō entering his inner world. Seeing Ichigo’s potential power, Muramasa tricked Ichigo to unleashing Hollow form Getsuga Tenshō, so Muramasa could finally gain access to Yamamoto's inner world and liberate Ryūjin Jakka. Quickly, Muramasa uses his newest servant to cover cover his escape and trap Ichigo and the Shinigami. Upon learning Muramasa's intention to free his former master, who is sealed in Karakura Town, Ichigo feels that it is his fault that the town is in danger. After several failed attempts to escape, Ichigo dons his Vizard mask and tries once again. However, he is wrapped up in Ryūjin Jakka's flames. He is freed by the arrival of Captain Hitsugaya. Yamamoto tells Ichigo to go stop Muramasa. Hitsugaya and his Zanpakutō spirit activate their Bankai and freeze Ryūjin Jakka's flames for long enough to allow Ichigo to escape. Upon arriving in the world of the living, Ichigo immediately confronts Muramasa. Unfortunately, he is too late as Muramasa releases the seal on his master's coffin.

Powers & Abilities
Despite having very little official training as a Shinigami, Ichigo's fighting abilities have come to be powerful enough to easily defeat Seated Officer-level Shinigami and Menos-class Hollow, rival those of captain-level Shinigami and Espada-ranked Arrancar, and capable of fighting on equal footing against all but the strongest and the most powerful of foes.

Master Swordsmanship Specialist: In terms of fighting style while in his Shinigami form, Ichigo relies mainly on swordplay, and thus would be considered a swordsmanship specialist. Despite his Zanpakutō's large size, Ichigo has shown himself able to use it with great speed and accuracy and still maintain great strength. While usually performing right-handed, Ichigo appears to be ambidextrous as he has shown proficient skill wielding Zangetsu in his left. His overall skill has been shown capable of competing on equal grounds against sword masters of Byakuya Kuchiki and Kenpachi Zaraki's caliber. Aside from his initial training with Urahara, he is basically on a "learn as you go" training regimen thus his skill has developed by fighting rather than formal instruction, becoming even more capable with every fight.

Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Physically, Ichigo is in top form even when not in his spiritual body. Ichigo has been trained in martial arts since he was a small child both professionally and by his father. He has repeatedly shown great agility and coordination in his attacks. In addition to having powerful kicks and punches, Ichigo has also shown proficiency in counterattacks, takedowns, and bodylocks. He has repeatedly been able to catch an opponent's weapon strikes with a single hand. He also regularly defeats multiple bullies and gangsters, and is a better martial artist than Tatsuki Arisawa, the second-strongest girl in all of Japan, despite fighting with a broken arm in the last few matches of the competition. While he stopped training officially after defeating her, his constant attacks from bullies and his father help keep his skills fresh. It should be noted that he was able to effortlessly dispatch three lieutenants with Shikai released Zanpakutō in rapid succession merely bare-handed.

Flash Steps Expert: Though not particularly versed in its various techniques, Ichigo has become proficient enough of the technique itself to keep up with and even surprise captain-level Shinigami with his speed. Even Byakuya Kuchiki, one of the most proficient users of Flash Steps in Soul Society, complimented Ichigo's might and proficiency in it. During his first demonstration of this skill, he was able to knock out three lieutenants and grab his sword before any of them hit the ground. Despite this, his inexperience with Flash Step has been seen various times as with his battles against Grimmjow and Ulquiorra who were both initially able to outmaneuver him.

Vast Spiritual Power: Despite originally being human, Ichigo has been noted on several occasions to have tremendously vast levels of spiritual energy well beyond other Shinigami, capable of defeating a Gillian before awakening his true power with only his sealed Zanpakutō. Even at less than half strength, his spiritual energy is still comparable to a Captain-level fighter. It is capable of paralyzing with fear lieutenant-level Shinigami (e.i. Renji), and even intimidate captain-level Shinigami (e.i. Byakuya and Jūshiro). It is so overwhelming that even when worn-out in battle, he can continue fighting effectively while still capable of unleashing Getsuga Tenshō or even unleash and maintain his Bankai. Because Ichigo's spiritual energy constantly being so high even at its base level without him consciously being aware of it, he rarely becomes exhausted in battle, thereby meaning the sheer resilience and amounts of energy Ichigo has is monstrous. The two best examples of the sheer amount and strength of Ichigo's spiritual energy at its peak was shown when equaling if not surpassing that of the full strength of Kenpachi Zaraki, another Shinigami well-known for his exceedingly high energy levels, and when he held back the Sōkyoku, a blade with the power of a million Zanpakutō. Despite all this, Ichigo's spiritual energy is still rather difficult for him to control as he has no formal training in controlling and is known to fluctuate wildly, as stated by the 4th Espada Ulquiorra Cifer. Due to this and that he has far more spiritual energy than his body can consciously contain, it leaks out constantly, preventing him from hiding it and effectively making stealth impossible when dealing with other spiritually-aware creatures. However, he has learned how to harden his spiritual energy and enhance the strength of his attacks or act as a barrier to reduce the impact of attacks on him, if not negating them completely.

Immense Strength: Even without his Shinigami powers, Ichigo has shown himself to be deceptively strong, as shown from his ability to smash a man's head through a concrete floor. When he is in his Shinigami body, Ichigo's already impressive strength is greatly enhanced. His overall abilities are great enough that he was able to fend off three Shinigami lieutenants with a single punch each; one of which shattered one of their Zanpakutō at the same time. His strength is also great enough to stop repeated axe blows from Jidanbō and hurl Rukia several meters into Renji’s arms and still send them both skidding several meters more, both feats with a single-hand.

Immense Speed: Even before learning Flash Step, Ichigo has repeatedly shown himself to be highly fast fighter. Ichigo has demonstrated great reflexes in battle, able to quickly dodge a strike with no wasted effort and then instantly counterattacks. He is able to strike quickly without warning and in rapid succession. His speed also allows him to follow the movements of faster opponents to better analyze their movements or blocking difficult and otherwise fatal strikes.

Immense Endurance: While only a teenage Human, Ichigo has shown himself to be a highly resilient man, as shown from his ability to safely break free from a binding spell (albeit a low-level one) and withstand an assault from a large Hollow. When in Shinigami form Ichigo's physical endurance is strengthened to the point he can continue fighting effectively after most injuries and can survive attacks that would easily kill normal Humans effortlessly. It was stated by Rukia that a Shinigami's life force is their spiritual power. As such, Ichigo is able to withstand attacks that would be fatal to most Shinigami. He could even withstand a point-blank Cero blast from Ulquiorra Cifer. Even Aizen, who once nearly cut Ichigo all the way in two, was amazed at Ichigo's ability to survive such a blow. Uryū once stated that Ichigo was a monster in this regard.

Advanced Growth Rate: According to both Aizen and Urahara, Ichigo's most astounding ability is his growth rate: he grasps the basic control of advanced techniques in days where it would take several years for even the most gifted Shinigami. Shortly after getting Shinigami powers and with no previous training, began learning advanced spiritual energy sensing techniques by sheer instinct, as he proved he can use a spirit ribbon to find Yuichi Shibata (in bird form). Another example of his growth rate is the amount of time he took to learn the Bankai of his Zanpakutō, which he learns in two days (albeit with the assistance of a special device invented by Urahara that was originally intended for three days). For a normal Shinigami, this same feat would require several years of combat experience and at least ten additional years of special training. He also gains mastery of Flash Step while training with Yoruichi, which was done over the same period as his Bankai. Besides his improvements in his Shinigami abilities, Ichigo was also shown able to greatly increase the time he could maintain his hollow mask from eleven seconds to considerably longer amounts of time. In the Hueco Mundo arc, during his first fight with Ulquiorra, he is instantly incapacitated by one Cero blast even with his Hollow mask (which broke within a second), but only a few hours later, he is able to withstand another Cero from Ulquiorra without undergoing Hollowfication and can analyze Ulquiorra's movements much better than before, whereas he "felt like [he] was fighting a machine or a statue", and failed to predict and counter his attacks. This feat, as Ichigo explains, was done either by experience, because Ichigo has become more of a Hollow, or because Ulquiorra has become more of a Human.

High-Level Intellect: Despite his somewhat punkish attitude, Ichigo has shown himself to be analytical, perceptive, and deductive. In his high school, Ichigo's grades are almost always near the top, despite his work as a substitute Shinigami. Aside from that, Ichigo appears to be able to determine the pattern of his opponent's battle methods and correctly deduce a proper counter-strategy to defeat his opponents attacks; such as in his battles with both Ikkaku Madarame and Renji Abarai, where he would have been successful in dodging their weapons, if not for unforeseen abilities. He is also fairly charismatic, able to gain the trust, respect, and friendship of even his greatest adversaries, often due to his inwardly compassionate nature and remarkable combat prowess. Additionally, it's worth noting that Ichigo has impressive leadership skills, and will sometimes act as the de facto leader of the Ryoka, despite the fact that Uryū and Renji occasionally compete with him over leadership responsibility (often due to their proud natures, as well as their equally-impressive intellect, combat prowess, and leadership skills), as seen in the Soul Society and Arrancar arcs respectively. Ichigo does exert some amount of power and authority over Urahara at times, likely due to Ichigo's aforementioned charisma, coupled with Urahara's respect for him.

Determination: It seems that Ichigo's power, both in terms of how much spiritual energy he can access and his actual fighting abilities, is tied to his determination or will to win. It's shown that when he focuses on victory, his strength is enhanced. In the anime, this is depicted by his eyes glowing bright blue and occasionally his being engulfed in a bright blue aura. The same is included when he is in his Vizard form, in which case his glowing is yellow. This effect has been shown while he was battling Renji for a second time, and when he defeated his inner hollow. In his last battle against Grimmjow, Ichigo had most of his mask beaten off and was on the verge of collapse as Grimmjow prepared his finishing blow. However after noticing Orihime, who was saddened by watching him get hurt, Ichigo managed to catch Grimmjow's hand without effort or looking, and gripped tight enough to prevent him from moving away. Ichigo then managed to make a clean slash into Grimmjow (despite the fact he had lost most of the benefits from his hollow mask), whereas before most of the damage that he had inflicted that actually made Grimmjow bleed was from Getsuga Tenshō attacks. In his second battle with Ulquiorra, even after taking a direct hit from Ulquiorra's Cero Oscura and nearly incinerated, he is seen to be able to continue to fight and even use Getsuga Tenshō.

Zanpakutō

 * When Ichigo first becomes a Shinigami, his Zanpakutō is a standard looking katana, but oversized with an equally-oversized brown sheathe hung by a strap over his right shoulder. It has a rectangular bronze handguard with inward-curved edges, a stylized flame pattern on the long sides, and a simple decorative slit on the short ones. The handle is red with two light blue tassels on the end of the handle. The large size is due to the unfocused but immense amount of Ichigo's spiritual power, which he didn't know how to control. As a result, the sword itself was rather weak, since very little spiritual power was used to create it. Nevertheless, it was powerful enough to subdue a Gillian-class Menos and lesser Hollows, completely blocking a Cero from the former. It was even able to upturn the ground with a single strike. Because of its weak spiritual energy nature, Byakuya Kuchiki was able to easily cut off most of the blade during his first encounter with Ichigo and Kisuke Urahara subsequently slices it down to the hilt during their training, forcing Ichigo to learn the name of his Zanpakutō in order to release its true form.

The spirit of Zangetsu resembles a tall (about the height of Kenpachi Zaraki) 30 to 40-year-old man with unkempt facial hair and long ragged black hair. He dresses in tattered all black garbs with narrow sunglasses and a long flowing overcoat that flares out into ragged ends. Because of the spirit's appearance, Ichigo calls him as a result. Zangetsu has also been called the. Zangetsu is portrayed as wise and calm in most matters, and fond of testing Ichigo in unusual ways, many of which have a purpose completely contrary to the stated goal. While the inner world is one of tall skyscrapers, Zangetsu has stated to prefer more lush, natural surroundings like bright sunny skies and green forests. Zangetsu has displayed the ability to temporarily close fatal wounds during combat, though whether or not this is a unique ability is unclear, as it could be due to the massive amounts of spiritual energy, as demonstrated by Nnoitra Jiruga. Since first awakening his own Shinigami powers, Ichigo has had a strong connection to his Zanpakutō, as shown from how Zangetsu would regularly come to aid him with words of wisdom when Ichigo is in a difficult situation.

However, since Ichigo developed an inner Hollow (as a result from nearly becoming one while having his Shinigami powers restored), Zangetsu and the Hollow are both the source of Ichigo's power and share the same spirit body in Ichigo's inner world, the stronger presence retaining more control (and overall appearance) of their body; in which case, the spirit of Zangetsu takes the form of an all-white (clothes and being), somewhat deranged version of Shinigami Ichigo with a strong desire take control of Ichigo's body and power for himself.


 * Shikai: The Shikai form of Zangetsu looks like an oversized elegant cleaver rather than a formal "katana". He has no crossguard and no proper hilt; what Ichigo holds is the cloth-wrapped tang. The sword is as tall as Ichigo is, 1.75 meters, and has a black blade with a silver edge. The cloth wrapping on the tang seems to react to Ichigo's will, changing length at a thought or twining about the blade in an impromptu sheath. When in combat, the cloth falls away when necessary, shrinking back to a manageable size. The cloth can also be used to swing the weapon like a flail and toss it at opponents for mid-range combat, but this is rarely done. The cloth also can be done to wrap up wounds, as Ichigo does during his fight with Ikkaku Madarame, but this is also done rarely. Ichigo has also on more than one occasion used Zangetsu's wide blade as a shield from incoming attacks. Unlike most Zanpakutō, which can be sealed into their original form, Zangetsu is always in its Shikai form. Yoruichi Shihōin has stated that his Zanpakutō is a full-time released form type because of Ichigo's vast but uncontrollable spiritual energy upon generation of it, implying that it is simply a type of Zanpakutō that without proper control of his spiritual energy, once in Shikai form, it remains in its said state.


 * Shikai Special Ability: Zangetsu's special ability is the, which fires concentrated energy blasts from the tip of the blade in the shape of waves or a crescent moon or in a shape of a wave. Ichigo uses this ability without knowing its name several times but masters the technique later on during his Bankai training. As stated by Zangetsu, knowing the name of an attack heightens its power compared to its strength when the wielder does not know its name. The Getsuga Tenshō is a powerful technique with great force, capable of cause large scale damage. Ichigo was even able to use some of its power when Zangetsu was still in its sealed state. While it is currently the only attack Ichigo knows from Zangetsu, Ichigo has used this technique in several different manners, such as striking the ground to create an omnidirectional blast to knock away incoming attacks or slashing at the ground to upturn it and crush everything in its path. Ichigo can also keep Getsuga Tenshō within Zangetsu to augment his sword swings.


 * Bankai: : It is considered completely out of the ordinary for any Zanpakutō. Unlike most Bankai forms, which usually create some sort of massive creature or effect, Ichigo's Bankai actually shrinks his sword down to a daitō (Japanese long sword) with a black blade. Also, upon releasing, it seems to allow Ichigo to break free from any attack that binds him and prevents him from moving. The crossguard has four prongs bent out to form the shape of the manji (which is the kanji for "ban," meaning "full", as in "full release"). The blade itself is durable enough to withstand a strong punch from Yammy Riyalgo and even a direct hit from Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez's strongest attack, Desgarrón; in both cases, the blade did not break. Instead of the cloth his Shikai form had, a short length of chain with a broken link at the end dangles from the base of the hilt. In addition to his sword, Ichigo's robe is replaced with a long-sleeved, ankle-length black coat (or shikakusho) with red lining that is closed at his chest, then left to flare out into ragged ends, much like that of Zangetsu himself. This coat is part of Ichigo's Bankai and the damage it can take is directly proportionate to the remaining strength and level of Ichigo's Reiatsu. Ichigo's initial inexperience with controlling his Bankai led to a serious drawback; the force of his compressed spiritual power caused all of his bones to crack, as stated by his inner Hollow, gradually decreasing his speed and power over time. This drawback has not been mentioned since its introduction, so it has (presumably) been overcome.


 * Bankai Special Ability: Zangetsu's special attack remains Getsuga Tenshō and can be used in the same manners, but can be used in an enhanced form. When used with Zangetsu's Bankai, these potent blasts can become black with a red outline and their path can be controlled, with explosively augmented power and speed. During Byakuya Kuchiki's fight with Ichigo, he refers to this attack as a . This term simply refers to the darkened color of the attack, not its actual name. When used with his Bankai and Hollow mask in combination, Ichigo's tremendous speed allows him to move faster than the Getsuga Tenshō itself, allowing him to fire multiple blasts from different directions. Ulquiorra Cifer believes that the Getsuga Tenshō is Ichigo's strongest attack, and has compared it to a Hollow's Cero, particularly his own Cero Oscuras. The Kuroi Getsuga was first displayed by Ichigo's inner Hollow, and initially carried the risk of causing his inner Hollow to surface if used too much. With Ichigo's later control over his inner Hollow, this is no longer a problem. It has come to a point where the red-outlined black energy of the Kuroi Getsuga emanates off of Ichigo's body when his spiritual pressure is exerted, replacing his blue aura. Ever since Ichigo mastered his Vizard form, he produces a black aura with a red outline that surrounds him as he initiates Bankai, rather than a white aura that shoots high into the sky.


 * Physical Enhancement: As explained by Byakuya Kuchiki, Ichigo's Bankai is a compression of his remarkable power, rather than a vast expansion as other Bankai are. This vastly compressed power enables him to reach levels of physical and spiritual prowess most Shinigami would have their bodies give out at and cannot handle. It allows Ichigo to move at very high speeds exceeding those of Flash Steps, and gives him matching agility and reflexes, possibly equaling, if not surpassing, Yoruichi's speed, allowing him to be undetectable to unfocused eyes. His new speed is so great, that it also enhances his Flash Step prowess and allows him to create dozens of tangible clones to confuse his opponent. Ichigo's Bankai also allows him to use his natural strength to its limits as shown from how effortlessly he blocked a punch from Yammy, an Espada known primarily for his immense strength. In addition, his already immense spiritual energy has grandly and explosively increased, and now has a deep black spiritual energy with a crimson outline.


 * Enhanced Bankai Duration: Furthermore, the fact that all of his energy is "compressed" means that usage of his Bankai doesn't expel as much spiritual power as other Bankai from the point of activation; thus allowing him to use Tensa Zangetsu at a much longer duration than any other Bankai users of his level.

Hollowfication
Ichigo's spiritual powers are not limited to just Shinigami abilities; he also possesses Hollow powers as a result of his training with Urahara. While attempting to recover his Shinigami powers, Ichigo began transforming into a Hollow from the corrosion of his severed soul chain. Ichigo succeeds in awakening his Shinigami powers, but retains his Hollow spirit inside himself from the transformation. The title page of Chapter 220 depicts the inner Hollow with the mirror writing, spelling backwards, of Ichigo's name.

At different points in the series, Ichigo's Hollow powers have manifested themselves in different ways. Initially, Ichigo's Hollow mask would appear on his body to block fatal blows, which Ichigo never noticed until after the fight had ended. During his battle with Byakuya Kuchiki, the mask appeared on his face when he was near death, allowing his inner Hollow to take over until Ichigo suppressed it. The same event is repeated multiple times after that such as when Ichigo fought Gō Koga in the Bount Arc. While suppressing his inner Hollow, Ichigo is left effectively paralyzed, since his concentration was focused on suppressing it rather than fighting. The Hollow claims that it manifests itself to protect Ichigo during near death moments because it is connected to Ichigo, and it would be a great inconvenience to the Hollow if Ichigo were to die.

While he was training with the Vizard, Ichigo's soul was completely overcome by his inner Hollow for a short period, causing him to physically transform into a Hollow. His near-complete hollow form resembles a large, humanoid lizard. In this form, Ichigo demonstrated several high-level Menos abilities, including: rapid regeneration, enhanced strength, and Cero.

In this form, Ichigo also demonstrates being able to generate other bizarre Hollow-like appendages from his body, like the large, eyeless, worm-like entity that he used against the Vizard Kensei Muguruma in retaliation to Kensei blasting him with energy gathered and fired from his released Zanpakutō. However, this form didn't last long as Ichigo emerged from the Hollow shell as his standard Shinigami self wearing a Hollow mask.

Also, during Ichigo's fight with Ulquiorra Cifer during the Fake Karakura Town arc, Ichigo's hollow form and powers seem to have evolved to a much higher level as he demonstrated an extremely powerful Cero that even countered a Cero Oscuras, an immense Sonído might as opposed to Flash Step, and a great enough endurance to stop a second released Espada's ultimate attack bareheaded. However, Ichigo is still unable in his hollow form to tell friend from foe as shown from attacking Uryū.

Vizard
The Vizard are Shinigami who have obtained the power of a Hollow through a process known as Hollowfication. In order to use this power, they must don the mask of the Hollow within them. Because he began to turn into a hollow while attempting to recover his Shinigami powers, Ichigo was turned into a Vizard.

Ichigo's Hollow mask manifests in the appearance of what could best be described as a menacing skull. While pure white on the right side, the mask possesses a total of ten red stripes (a total of ten can be seen during his latest fight with Ulquiorra) spread across three spots on the left side of his mask. The mask began with only three stripes, and has since increased. The red/black stripes on Ichigo's Hollow mask changed in thickness after he subjugated his Hollow, covering almost the entirety of the mask's left half during his third battle with Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. The significance of this has yet to be revealed, although the prevailing theories are that it represents Ichigo's control over Hollow Ichigo, or the continued usage of his Hollow powers.

During Ichigo's fight with Ulquiorra, it changed to a mask that resembles a Human skull with two horns. Two stripes begin on the back of his mask and go to the front, resulting in a shape that resembles a broken outline of a heart. The eye holes also widen from their slit shapes, becoming more open.

But in the aftermath of his victory over Ulquiorra Cifer, Ichigo's mask has changed again, as seen when he faces off against a released Yammy Riyalgo. Where his mask once had a series of thick red-black stripes that covered almost the entire left half of his mask, there are now only four thick black stripes that appear to emerge outwards from the widened eye-holes of his mask and either disappear into both sides of the lower jaw or travel past the very top of the mask itself. Quite noticeably, the horns seen in his new Hollow form are not displayed on the mask. His sclera and iris can be clearly seen, uninfluenced by his Inner Hollow, in his left eyehole. However, the right eyehole shows neither sclera nor iris. The significance of this has yet to be explained.

After training with the Vizard and subjugating his inner Hollow, Ichigo can use his Hollow mask while retaining his personality, but could originally only wear it for eleven seconds at a time. His limit and Hollow powers greatly increases during his third battle with Grimmjow and he was even able to reform it after being destroyed during his fight with Ulquiorra Cifer, but to what extent is unclear. His Hollow powers became strong enough (comparable to the times when he was possessed) to block Grimmjow's Gran Rey Cero without any effort and has shown the capacity to "repair" his mask when it has begun to crack during this fight.

The reasons, behind Ichigo now being capable of fighting entire battles with his mask, currently remains unknown. While Grimmjow speculated that Ichigo's improvements came from a subconscious need, it's also possible that his time limit increased due to him fighting with it in Hueco Mundo similar to Chad's own powers becoming stronger there. However, once Ichigo's mask changed in his battle with Yammy Riyalgo, he noticed his mask felt different as well, as if it was heavier, and he is unable to resummon it. It is unknown if the time limit has changed as well.

Below is a list of the effects of Ichigo's Hollowfication:


 * Hollow Mask: The Hollow mask was originally a sign of Ichigo's possession by the Hollow within him, but after his training with the Vizard it has become indication that he is merely utilizing his Hollow powers. To access Hollow Ichigo's power, Ichigo must summon Hollow Ichigo's mask onto his face, which is normally done by placing one of his hands over his face and concentrating spiritual matter on it in order to manifest the mask (previously it had appeared on its own before he mastered the Hollow within him), summoning the mask in a "ripping" fashion. With the mask in place, Ichigo has access to most if not all the abilities of a Hollow (although most of the other Vizard have been able to shift the position of the mask while apparently still retaining the abilities of their Hollowfied state) even subconsciously using a Cero during his training with the Vizard. Apparently, Ichigo can sustain his Hollow powers even if portions of his mask have been broken off without restoring them, as seen during the end of his fight with Grimmjow. He recently acquired a new mask with vertical stripes above and below his eyes, looking completely different from his original mask.


 * Enhanced Spiritual Power: While wearing the mask, the spiritual power Ichigo possesses becomes even greater than before. His spiritual power is so great, that he was considered equal to a released Espada by the 3rd Espada, Tia Harribel.


 * Hollow Combat: When Ichigo fights with his mask on his fighting style becomes more instinctive than practiced. The Hollow mask also makes Ichigo more ruthless, akin to the battle style of Hollow Ichigo. Throughout the duration of the Hollowfication, Ichigo has shown less concern for injuries to his person, even going so far as to ignore grievous wounds to continue fighting.
 * Mask Shielding: The mask has also shown the ability to block attacks on Ichigo's body from within his robe, serving as a shield to stop or lessen attacks on him, sometimes saving his life. One example is when the mask blocked several hits from Renji's Zanpakutō during their fight, Hanatarō Yamada notes the hits could have been fatal.


 * Enhanced Strength: While using the Hollow mask, Ichigo gains a substantial increase in strength. As evident when he instinctively blocks an attack from Grimmjow in his released state and after unleashing his Hollowfication state in his battle with Ulquiorra, even was able to slightly pierce his sword. With the use of his new mask, when he used Getsuga Tenshō with a single-arm, and it immediately sent Yammy Riyalgo down to the ground head first while he was in his much larger and stronger Resurrección state.


 * Enhanced Speed: While wearing his mask, Ichigo’s already formidable speed is greatly enhanced. During his second battle against Grimmjow, Ichigo’s speed was great enough to completely overwhelm the Espada, who was unable to follow Ichigo’s movements and was forced completely on the defensive from his barrage of attacks. His attacks also become so fast that the opponent cannot even perceive them until after they are hit. He also becomes fast enough to outrun his own energy attacks, allowing him to strike and enhance them or launch simultaneous attacks at the opponent from different angles.


 * Enhanced Endurance: As in his third fight with Grimmjow, Ichigo shielded Orihime from a barrage of Grimmjow's dart bullets which have enough destructive force to destroy a large building. Even after taking this barrage, he was still able to fight and defeat Grimmjow, even destroying one of his Desgarrón claws, which was Grimmjow's most powerful technique. Apparently, using the Vizard form makes him much more pain resistant, Ichigo even states at the beginning of his Vizard training that "wearing the mask feels like being in control of someone else's body".


 * Power Augmentation: While wearing the mask, Ichigo's Hollow powers supplement his Shinigami powers, giving him a vast increase in both strength and speed. The explanation for this is that since Hollows boost their natural abilities by obtaining spirit power around them, either by absorbing it in its ambient form or devouring it directly from another living being, Ichigo attains power from two separate sources: that from himself (drawn using his Shinigami powers), and that from his immediate environment (drawn with the help of his Hollow powers), allowing him to draw power from both sides. It could even be suggested that the Hollow mask allows Ichigo to recapture the energy he constantly leaks into the environment, making him more efficient.


 * Enhanced Getsuga Tenshō: When Ichigo wears his mask, the power, speed, blast area, force, and size of the Getsuga Tenshō becomes drastically augmented to the point of seriously harming a foe.


 * Mask Regeneration: Ichigo seems to have the ability to repair small amounts of damage that is inflicted upon his mask. This is seen during his 3rd fight with Grimmjow and during his most recent fight with Ulquiorra. This "repairing" of his Hollow mask manifests in a similar manner to the Hollow regeneration he exhibited when he was subconsciously transformed into a Hollow while being trained by the Vizard to contain his inner Hollow. It is currently unknown to what extent the damage can be to his mask before he is unable to repair it. He has also been shown to have the ability to call his mask out a second time after it shatters, but with less benefits. Also his sclera do not change, and remain Human. This was first used against his first fight with Ulquiorra, although unseen, it was used to help defend against Ulquiorra's Cero, and again with his most recent confrontation with him, after he went into his released form.

Affiliation
As a substitute Shinigami, Ichigo is not an official member of the Gotei 13. While aligned with Soul Society, mainly due to the threat of Aizen and the Arrancar, he is allowed to act on his own accord (so long as he does not disrupt the peace), such as mounting a rescue attempt on Hueco Mundo. He occasionally disobeys orders and fights the Shinigami whenever they endanger one of his friends. . This is also somewhat true for the Vizard, as he refused to join their group and continues to refer to himself as a Shinigami instead of a Vizard. His friends are quite loyal to him, and follow his every move, regardless of whatever their current situation is, though there are occasional leadership arguments between himself, Renji, and Uryū. Ichigo considers Urahara and Yoruichi as his mentors and he respects them greatly, though he occasionally argues with them over their actions and/or decisions regarding a situation (training or otherwise), though mainly due to pride and his own reckless 'logic'.

Status as a Shinigami
Ichigo is unlike any other Shinigami seen in the series. Despite being a Shinigami, he is still a living Human being and resides in the Human World, rather than in Soul Society. Uniquely, he gained his own powers through Urahara's training/forced encroachment, which simultaneously gave him Hollow powers. Due to his Hollow powers, Ichigo should be classified as a Vizard, but he thinks of himself only as a Shinigami. 'Substitute Shinigami Status: His status in the Soul Society remains ambiguous. His "rank" as substitute Shinigami was accepted by most of the others so he can continue to fight Hollows and defend his home town properly, however it is revealed that Zennosuke Kurumadani was not informed of Ichigo's status as upon their first meeting Kurumandi admits to never having heard of Ichigo's status or his "Seal of Approval." Ichigo is alerted to the presence of Hollows by his Substitute Badge, an artifact given to him by Ukitake, who claims it symbolizes the formalizing of Ichigo's Substitute Shinigami position. His duty, as far as the Shinigami are concerned, is protecting Karakura Town, though Ichigo views it more as protecting his friends. The Shinigami, however, wish to have him fighting alongside them against Aizen due to his captain-level power and lack of exposure to Aizen's Shikai. Ichigo, however, ignored the only real order he ever received from Captain-Commander Yamamoto, which was to not go after Orihime when she was abducted.
 * Substitute Shinigami Badge: Given to Ichigo by Ukitake before leaving the soul society for the first time, the pendant he commonly carries on his belt signifies him as a substitute soul reaper allowing him to remain active in the human world. The pendant gives Ichigo the ability to separate his soul from his body in the absence of Rukia's glove or Kon, it also alerts him to the presence of hollows in Karakura town like Rukia's phone. Ukitake informs Ichigo that the badge can also be dangerous telling him that it has built in protection making it invisible to normal humans. In the anime Zennosuke Kurumadani refers to the badge as a "Combat Badge" but is unable to discuss the matter further with Ichigo due to the arrival of Vizard Shinji Hirako, whereas in the manga Kurmadani simply tells Ichigo that he's never heard of his "Seal of Approval" causing Ichigo to refer to it as useless before Hirako's arrival.'

Hybrid Shinigami: When Grand Fisher learns that Ichigo's father Isshin was a Shinigami, he said Ichigo was a "pure-blood" Shinigami. Ichigo, however, said that his Human mother could not see Grand Fisher. As such, he is considered half-Shinigami, half-human; effectively making him a hybrid as well as help explaining his high Reiryoku levels.

Relationships
Ichigo has encountered many different characters throughout the course of the series, ranging from family, friends and allies, to rivals and enemies. His interactions with these characters has lead to some strong bonds and rivalries being formed. Some of these friendships have been ongoing since childhood, while others have only developed during the series. Ichigo has not shown any romantic feelings towards any characters in the series.

Trivia

 * According to Shonen Jump's character popularity polls, Ichigo was consistently the most popular character in Bleach in the first three polls, but ranked 3rd in the fourth, most recent poll.


 * His Zanpakutō, Zangetsu, was voted the 3rd most popular Zanpakutō in a recent Bleach poll.


 * As credited by Tite Kubo in Ichigo's character page in the first manga volume, his theme music is "News from the front" by Bad Religion.


 * The number "15" on Ichigo's bedroom door is both a reference to his age and a pun on his name: ichi-go can also be read to mean "one-five (一五)."


 * Ichigo claims that his name comes from: ichi for first prize and go for guardian angel, although his father told him that his name means "he who protects."


 * Despite various people commenting how Ichigo resembles Kaien Shiba in looks and personality, both Ganju and Kūkaku, Kaien’s siblings, have yet to comment on that.

Quotes

 * (To Acidwire) "Big brothers... you know why they're born first? To protect the little ones that come after them!! What kind of brother says that he'll KILL his own sister?! Even a MONSTER shouldn't say that!!"


 * "Stop telling me to leave you here and run away... it's so annoying! I told you, I don't care what you say. Heh... this is the second time now... I've come to save you, Rukia."


 * "'Our pride', you said? So that pride you're saying to be so precious, is that connected to killing Rukia? Is it? Then I should stomp on it as you said. 'Cause that's why I obtained this Bankai!"


 * "... If fate is a millstone, then we are the grist. There is nothing we can do. So I wish for strength. If I cannot protect them from the wheel, then give me a strong blade, and enough strength... to shatter fate."


 * (To Ulquiorra) "The difference... in strength... what about it? Do you think I should give up... just because you're stronger than me...? I've always known you were strong. Nothing I see now will change my mind. I will defeat you Ulquiorra."


 * (To Ulquiorra) I won't do it... I said no! This... This isn't the way I wanted to win!!


 * (To Retsu Unohana) "... I'm the only one who can do this, right? So it's settled, then. I will defeat Aizen."


 * (To Muramasa) "Look Muramasa, or whatever your name is... You missed one important thing. You've been calling me a Shinigami this whole time. I'm a Human!"


 * (To Muramasa) "I'm talking myself back. And to do that, I need to take old man Zangetsu back, too. Even if it means cutting you down. That's who I am. And I'll do it, no matter what happens. I won't lose!"

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