Release! The Black Blade, the Miraculous Power

'''Unseal! The Black Blade, the Miraculous Power''' is the fifty-eighth episode of the Bleach anime.

Ichigo Kurosaki and Captain Byakuya Kuchiki activate their Bankai.

Summary
Byakuya and Ichigo stand atop Sōkyoku Hill. Byakuya notes the impudence of the name of Ichigo's attack, Getsuga Tenshō, and finally yields to the pressure and releases his Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi, telling Ichigo he "would turn to dust and disappear before him." While Byakuya speaks, two endless columns of giant blades emerge from the ground, stunning Ichigo.

Byakuya calls his Bankai's name, and both rows of blades scatter into billions of tiny blades, all attacking Ichigo from every angle. Ichigo evades and makes a dash towards Byakuya, but is forced to jump in the air. He attempts a second and third Getsuga Tenshō, which Byakuya easily blocks. Ichigo soon finds himself overpowered and is hit by a direct attack from Byakuya. Byakuya tells Ichigo that his sword indeed has strong abilities, but that his attacks are too clumsy to have an effect.

Lying in a crater formed by the attack that hit him, Ichigo replies that he thought he could handle Byakuya's Bankai while still in his Shikai. Byakuya refuses to believe that Ichigo indeed has Bankai, however, Ichigo claims to have mastered it.

Tenth Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, are running through the streets of Seireitei. Tōshirō has placed a protective barrier, a Kyōmon, on Lieutenant Momo Hinamori's hospital room, preventing any intruders from entering. Tōshirō is determined to regain control of the situation. In order to do that, he and Rangiku are making their way to the Central 46 Compound, to whom he intends to appeal directly and tell the real story, as he believes it, about the murder of Captain Sōsuke Aizen.

Back at Sōkyoku Hill, Byakuya is still struggling to accept Ichigo's claims about having achieved a Bankai. As Ichigo begins the release sequence for his Bankai, the spiritual pressure released can be seen throughout Seireitei, including by Ichigo's friends. Byakuya struggles with the persistent notion of Ichigo achieving Bankai. In his thoughts, he examines the history of the Bankai in Seireitei, how only the few and the brightest in every generation could achieve it and had their names remembered for posterity, while Ichigo, a non-noble and not even a Shinigami at birth, had achieved it so easily.

Ichigo continues his preparations for a while longer, gathering his strength before releasing his Bankai for the first time since the end of his training. Finally, he calls for his Bankai and an enormous beam of energy shoots towards Byakuya, enveloping him and going well beyond him. The effect of this outburst alarms everyone in the vicinity of the Sōkyoku. A huge dust cloud rises to the air and gets carried into the sky by what looks like a hurricane. As the effects begin to settle, Byakuya is revealed to be alive and well, having shielded himself with his Bankai. He looks upon Ichigo with amazement and disbelief as the latter is holding a weapon that appears to be nothing more than a regular katana, albeit entirely black in color. It is even smaller than Ichigo's Shikai.

Believing again that the weapon cannot be a Bankai, Byakuya gathers up his blades for an attack, but is forced to stop when he finds Ichigo holding the black blade to his throat. Ichigo says it was Byakuya's so-called honor that demanded he kill his sister, Rukia Kuchiki, and that this honor of Rukia is the reason Ichigo got the Bankai. After saying this he moves away from Byakuya, removing the sword from his throat.

Tōshirō and Rangiku arrive at the entrance to the Central 46 Compound and are alarmed to find no guards at the front gate. Laying his hand on the gate, Tōshirō finds that it opens to his touch. As they enter the compound, it appears that the place is deserted, but when they reach the door that leads to the underground assembly hall, they find it locked. Rangiku steps back and Tōshirō calls for the person behind the door, asking them formally to open it. Instead of opening, the emergency defense lock is activated.

Orihime Inoue, Uryū Ishida, Yasutora Sado, Ganju Shiba, and Makizō Aramaki reach the foot of Sōkyoku Hill. They believe they'll find both Ichigo and Rukia at the top. Makizō though tells them they'd be out of their minds to climb into a battle such as the one taking place at the top. Orihime thanks him for his concern, but says since they had come all this way, there's no point in turning back. Uryū adds that they are Ichigo's friends no matter what. Ganju and Sado express their agreement. They all bid him farewell, saying he does not have to continue with them, and thanking him for his help. As the others begin their climb, Makizō is left behind. Suddenly he remembers that as a member of the Eleventh Division, he's meant not to know the meaning of the word fear and hurries after them.

At the top, Byakuya asks Ichigo why he withdrew his sword from his throat, saying his arrogance would be his demise. Byakuya maintains that the technique Ichigo used was not Bankai. Gathering his blades again, Byakuya says with the next attack, he will teach Ichigo a lesson, since miracles don't happen twice.

The attack commences, but Ichigo is now far more equipped to handle it, to the point that Byakuya wonders how he is able to move so quickly. Realizing he cannot connect with Ichigo by using his Bankai normally, Byakuya begins to control it with hand gestures, thus doubling his Bankai's speed. Byakuya maneuvers Ichigo into a trap, surrounding him with blades, but when the trap closes and Ichigo is enveloped by the blades, he swings his blade around and within a few seconds cuts through every last one of the blades around him. He then appears instantly behind Byakuya's back saying, "A miracle only happens once, huh? So what do you call this?", and with this he stabs at Byakuya. The attack is blocked by Byakuya's bare hand, but not without a price, as his hand is now visibly bloody.

Byakuya says he now realizes the wisdom behind the compression of such great power into such a compact weapon, which allows Ichigo to fight at unimaginable speeds, stating that "Even I have to admit the true power of your Bankai is impressive. Very well then, there's nothing left for me to do, but to completely crush that power!"

Jinta-sama's Ultimate Diary
Yuzu Kurosaki appears in Urahara's Store to buy groceries from Jinta Hanakari. Jinta, annoyed with her showing up (apparently she comes quite often), proceeds to charge the usual price, but overloads her bag to keep her from coming so often. He tells her to go away so he can focus on his soccer game. Yuzu give him Kon's plush doll, but Jinta scorns her for giving a guy a stuffed animal.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Byakuya Kuchiki
 * 2) Ichigo Kurosaki
 * 3) Tōshirō Hitsugaya
 * 4) Rangiku Matsumoto
 * 5) Momo Hinamori (flashback)
 * 6) Orihime Inoue
 * 7) Uryū Ishida
 * 8) Yasutora Sado
 * 9) Ganju Shiba
 * 10) Makizō Aramaki
 * 11) Kon
 * 12) Mayuri Kurotsuchi (flashback)
 * 13) Kaname Tōsen (flashback)
 * 14) Sajin Komamura (flashback)
 * 15) Rukia Kuchiki (flashback)
 * 16) Renji Abarai (flashback)

Fights

 * Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Byakuya Kuchiki: Rematch

Powers and Techniques Used
Kidō Used:
 * Kyōmon (鏡門, Mirror Door)

Techniques Used:
 * Getsuga Tenshō (月牙天衝, Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer)
 * Senka (閃花, Flash Blossom) (flashback)
 * Shunpo (瞬歩, Flash steps)

Zanpakutō released:

Bankai:
 * Senbonzakura Kageyoshi (千本桜景厳, Vibrant Display of a Thousand Cherry Blossoms)
 * Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō (金色疋殺地蔵, Golden Leg-Cutting Jizō) (flashback)
 * Enma Kōrogi (閻魔蟋蟀, Devil Cricket) (flashback)
 * Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō (黒縄天譴明王, Heavenly Punishment of Kokujō's King) (flashback)
 * Tensa Zangetsu (天鎖斬月, Heaven Chain Slaying Moon)