The Avengers

The Avengers is the forty-seventh episode of the Bleach anime.

Statistics

 * Original Airdate: August 30, 2005
 * English Airdate: September 1, 2007
 * Opening Song: D-tecnoLife
 * Ending Song: Happypeople
 * Manga Chapters: Chapter 129, Chapter 130, Chapter 131.
 * Kanji: 仇討つ者たち
 * Romaji: "Adautsu monotachi"
 * Arc: Soul Society: The Rescue

Summary
Momo Hinamori escapes her cell, thinking of the letter she got from her Captain Sōsuke Aizen, claiming that he knows something that nobody else does, and proceeds to tell her about it as she runs away. She says that she will believe him, and that she knows who his killer was.

Meanwhile, in the Tenth Division Office, Rangiku Matsumoto awakens from a long nap, in which she dreamed about her first encounter with Gin Ichimaru. Tōshirō Hitsugaya is sitting at the desk, and he tells her he wants her to finish up the paperwork he's working on (evidently he picked up the Fifth Division's paperwork in Aizen's absence). There isn't much left because he finished most of it, and she admits that she was asleep for a long time. He sympathizes with her, saying that it must have been hard for her to see a comrade and classmate commit such treason. Rangiku asks Tōshirō if he really thinks that Gin murdered Aizen, but before he can respond, a 7th seat of the Tenth Division, Kōkichirō Takezoe, then comes in to report that Izuru Kira, Momo, and Renji Abarai have all escaped from their cells.

Tōshirō goes to interrogate the guard in charge of Momo, and mentions that if they intended to keep her in her cell, they should have sealed her spirit force, as she is a master of Kidō. Tōshirō tells Rangiku to return without him and decides that he is going to go save Momo from whatever it is she has gotten herself into.

The scene cuts to Ichigo and Zangetsu fighting. Yoruichi makes note of Ichigo's progress. She mentions that his fighting style and technique is evolving to a high level at a frightening rate.

Back in the real world, Kisuke Urahara sneezes, and mentions that he thinks that someone beautiful must be talking about him. Tessai mentions that he has some medicine that is great for colds, and proceeds to give it to Kisuke. We hear Kisuke fighting back, citing that the medicine expired two years ago.

The focus returns to Momo, who is still thinking of the letter Aizen left her while evading Shinigami patrols. He mentions that he knows why Rukia Kuchiki must be executed, why her execution date keeps being moved up, and that he wanted at least her to know the truth, so that she could reveal it to the rest of Seireitei.

Ichigo is again fighting with Zangetsu, who suddenly turns back into the doll, and Yoruichi tells him that the first day of training is complete. We then see Tōshirō inspecting Izuru's cell, and he then comes to a sudden realization.

Meanwhile, Ichigo is relaxing in some hot springs. He mentions that he can't tell day from night, and notices that his wounds are healing rather fast so he decides to try drinking some. Then an amusing scene begins, as Yoruichi decides to get in and begins stripping. Ichigo spits out the water abruptly and objects, but Yoruichi just taunts him some more. Yoruichi gets the best of him, and she enters the water in her cat form. She calls him a lecher for being disappointed, and Ichigo threatens to drown her.

Yoruichi tells Ichigo that the cave underground was built as a playground by Kisuke and herself when they were kids, and that they battled underground there when Kisuke entered the Gotei 13 and when she entered the Onmitsukidō. Ichigo turns to ask her a question, and sees her sitting naked at the side of the hot spring. After a few tense moments, Ichigo inquires about Kisuke, and Yoruichi tells him that Kisuke was indeed a Shinigami, as well as captain of the Twelfth Division and founder of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute (Mayuri Kurotsuchi is the current president). Ichigo is impressed and calls Kisuke a big shot. Meanwhile, we see Kisuke sitting on the toilet as a result of Tessai's medicine, and the latter then leaves to fetch his gastrointestinal medicine, while Jinta and Ururu watch and wonder what's going on.

The focus moves to Gin and Izuru walking somewhere, when Tōshirō interrupts them. Tōshirō says he knew that they would be together, and Gin claims he wanted Tōshirō to find out (which was why he opened the door and let Kira out as opposed to a more secretive method). Tōshirō swears to kill Gin, and suddenly Momo shows up. Tōshirō tries to stop her from drawing her sword against Gin, but instead she draws her sword against Tōshirō, claiming that he was Aizen murderer (according to Aizen's letter).

In the letter, Aizen mentions that Tōshirō wanted to steal something from the Sōkyoku, which holds the power of 1,000,000 Zanpakutō. It names Tōshirō as the person named behind the plot, and Aizen tells Momo that he wants her to stop Tōshirō, in the event that Tōshirō kills Aizen first. She asks Tōshirō to stand down, or else she will fight to the death with him. Tōshirō tells Momo that he didn't think that Aizen would leave such a job to her, but she continues to find, even though she admits that she doesn't know what to do anymore. As he dodges Momo's attack, Tōshirō concludes that someone had to have forged Aizen's letter, because he believes that the letter is rather unlike Aizen, and he sees that Gin smiling down below. He concludes that Gin must be behind everything and goes in to attack Gin, but Momo appears and blocks his way. Unable to avoid her, he bodyslams her in the air and she falls out of the sky and is knocked out. Gin scolds Tōshirō for being mean, and Tōshirō has a flashback in which he remembers seeing Aizen and Gin exchanging in the hall, and thinks that Gin did it after a threatening comment he made to Aizen during the exchange. Tōshirō swears to kill Gin for hurting Momo this way, and Gin finally takes up the invitation to fight, claiming he's going to stop Tōshirō.

Kon-sama's Ultimate Shinigami Illustrated Guide
The featured character is Sentarō Kotsubaki.

Characters in order of appearance

 * Momo Hinamori
 * Sōsuke Aizen (flashback)
 * Rangiku Matsumoto
 * Gin Ichimaru (flashback)
 * Tōshirō Hitsugaya
 * Kōkichirō Takezoe
 * Ichigo Kurosaki
 * Yoruichi Shihōin
 * Zangetsu
 * Kisuke Urahara
 * Tessai Tsukabishi
 * Jinta Hanakari
 * Ururu Tsumugiya
 * Izuru Kira

Fights
None

Powers and Techniques used
Techniques used:
 * Zanjutsu (斬術, Cutting Technique)