Karin leads Isshin to the soccer fields, but Chad is now gone. Isshin assumes that Karin made up the wounded man just to spend time with him, prompting her to angrily attack him.

Orihime awakens from a dream involving Ichigo, accidentally hitting Chad in the nose in the process. Urahara arrives and asks how they're doing, and Chad explains that Urahara must have saved them. Chad then asks Urahara to further explain what strange power has been born in the two of them.

Elsewhere, Ichigo continues to take out Hollows. Ichigo is confident that he's taken out the Hollows who were a threat to Karin, and promises to go find Uryū to make him clean up the mess. Uryū, meanwhile, is having difficulty easily finishing off the Hollows now, because his strength and ability can't keep up with the sheer number of them. However, he promises to complete the task and win, in order to avenge his teacher.

Rukia is using Kidō to try to finish off Hollows on her own. However, her attacks are having no effect. Before the Hollow she was fighting can attack her again, Kon dives in and saves her. Uryū then arrives, and Kon accuses him of starting the fight, though Uryū says he won't allow a single person in the town to die. This prompts Rukia to ask what he means, but before he can respond, the Hollow attacks again, and Uryū shoots another arrow at him.

At the Urahara Shop, Urahara has explained to Chad and Orihime about Shinigami and Hollows. They both try to deny it, but Urahara points out that if they say Hollows don't exist, then they have to deny the fear and pain they felt earlier at the hands of a Hollow. Urahara adds that Ichigo's uncontrolled spiritual power affects others, including Chad and Orihime. He then asks them to recall the times they have encountered Ichigo's Shinigami form.

Elsewhere, Ichigo has finally re-encountered Uryū.

Back at the shop, Urahara says Chad's and Orihime's contact with Ichigo has brought out their own natural powers.

Urahara continues to explain to Orihime and Chad that their interactions with Ichigo have drawn their powers out. They seem distressed over this information, but Urahara tells them that it's up to them if they choose to do anything about it. Tessai then arrives, saying that the kuumon is ready, and Urahara tells Orihime and Chad that they can come along, as he'd like them to see the world they're about to step into and the enemies they will face.

Elsewhere, Ichigo has confronted Uryū, but before he does anything, he wants to first reprimand Kon for taking so long with bringing him Rukia's phone. Finally, their arguing annoys Uryū, who tells them that he is Ichigo's enemy and they should stop fighting. When they ignore his statements, he brings out his arrow, and the blood on his fingers causes him to shoot off an arrow, which Ichigo easily crushes. Ichigo finally decides to pay attention to Uryū, saying that he doesn't care how many Hollows each of them had killed, since it was an issue between the two of them.

Kon then notices that the cracks in the sky are all congregating in one spot and all of the Hollows are heading toward that point. Uryū begins to attack the Hollows, though Ichigo wants to first think of a strategy. However, Uryū asks him what he's afraid of and he calls the Hollows to his location, saying that he will win the battle.

Ichigo wonders what Uryū's thinking, and Rukia explains that all of the surviving Quincy hate Shinigami, because Shinigami destroyed their clan 200 years ago. She had learned from Urahara that the Shinigami had to do so, as the Quincy were going to destroy the world.

Rukia tells Ichigo that Shinigami destroyed the Quincy clan in order to prevent the destruction of the world. Shinigami constantly work to balance out the number of souls in the Soul Society and the Human World, because if they become unbalanced, the worlds will collapse and be destroyed. Souls that leave Soul Society are reborn in the Human World and souls that die in the Human World, go to Soul Society, with all souls, Hollows, being regulated by Shinigami. It was a job they could do because they know the quantity of souls in both worlds.

However, the Quincy appeared, destroying Hollows, and preventing their souls from going to the Soul Society. This unbalanced the two worlds, which would eventually cause Soul Society to spill over into the Human World and destroy both worlds. The Shinigami tried to explain this to the Quincy, but the Quincy ignored it and grew in number, killing more Hollows and throwing the balance of souls off even more. As a result, the Shinigami decided to eliminate the Quincy.

Uryū continues fighting the Hollows, but notes that their numbers aren't decreasing. Ichigo then enters the fight, killing numerous Hollows, and Ichigo tells Uryū that he heard about Uryū's reason for fighting and that he doesn't know whether the Quincy or Shinigami are right, so he has nothing to say about that. However, Uryū surprises him by saying that's not his reason for fighting, as it's simply an old tale to him. He had initially thought that the Shinigami were probably right in their actions, until they let his teacher die right before their eyes.

Uryū recalls asking his teacher about the fall of the Quincy and his teacher had explained that the Quincy were wrong for not listening to the Shinigami, resulting in their destruction. He adds that it doesn't matter who's right, because a lot of people died, and it's more important to think about preventing something similar from happening again. Uryū recalls that his teacher was a kind person, and he had never been taught to hate by him. As his teacher was the last Quincy, he was under strict observation from the Shinigami, and he wanted a way for the Quincy and Shinigami to work together, because the Shinigami are late in dealing with issues in peacetime. One day, he was attacked by five Hollows, and the Shinigami arrived too late to save his life, arriving two hours after his teacher began fighting the Hollows and an hour after his death.

As a result of this incident, Uryū wants to stand before Ichigo and prove the strength of the Quincy. Ichigo kicks him and says that his story is too long, but that he learned that Uryū's story about his teacher was that he wanted the Shinigami and Quincy to work together, so they should do that now, when fighting so many Hollows.

Uryū is still reluctant to work with Ichigo in taking out the Hollows. However, after Ichigo protects him from a Hollow attack, Uryū becomes more willing to fight together to take the other Hollows out, saying he did so only to protect his own life, which Ichigo says is a good enough reason. Ichigo explains that he doesn't know much about Shinigami, and doesn't hold much pride in his job, but wants to kill Hollows, because his mother was killed by a Hollow and that he wants to prevent other people from suffering the way his family has suffered after his mother's death.

Ichigo's statements remind Uryū of his teacher's desire to not see sad faces. Ichigo says that he wants to protect a mountain-load of people, and that Uryū's approach to fighting Hollows had endangered a mountain-load of people, so Ichigo won't forgive him. They agree to work together to kill the Hollows and then argue over their differences later.

Uryū then notices that the Hollows are acting strange and a gigantic Hollow appears in the cracks in the sky. While they fret over how to take the large Hollow out while fighting the other Hollows, Ururu, Urahara, Jinta and Tessai arrive to help.

Jinta, Ururu, and Tessai fight the Hollows with remarkable efficiency, prompting Ishida to commenting on how strong they are. Ichigo asks Urahara what he is doing here, to which Urahara replies that he is here to help him. Urahara tells Ichigo that he and his team will take care of the hollows around here so that Ishida and Ichigo can concentrate on fighting the Menos Grande that was just appearing.

Kon and Rukia also notice the Menos and Kon asks Rukia what it is. Rukia explains that it is a Menos, and also that she has never seen one except as illustrations in textbooks. She also says that when Menos appear, the Royal Special Task force is assigned to deal with it, saying that it is beyond the ability of one Shinigami.

The Menos attacks and eats some of the other hollows, making Ishida wonder how to defeat such a thing. Ichigo replies that the way to defeat it is to cut, cut, cut, and cut some more and rushes at the Menos, much to Uryū's annoyance. Rukia arrives and calls after Ichigo, telling him to stop, but her path is blocked by Urahara. Rukia demands if Urahara wants Ichigo to die, Urahara replies no, but that this battle is necessary. When Rukia insists trying to stop Ichigo, Urahara performs a binding spells on her that rends her body immobile.

Ichigo rushes at the Menos, but gets kicked aside, Ishida berates him for rushing in without a plan, but Ichigo tells him that his plan was to cut the Menos horizontally starting from the feet until its head fell to the ground. Ishida tells him that it was a dumb plan, and tells him that they need a new strategy. Ishida summons his bow, but it takes on gigantic proportions. Wondering what is going on, Ishida notices that he is in close approximate to Ichigo. The chapter ends with Ishida wondering if the size of his bow is the result of Ichigo's presence.

The chapter opens with Ishida bringing out his bow once again and marveling at its size. He was touching Ichigo's Zanpakutō while doing this. Ishida then goes onto explain that even though both Quincy and Shinigami both battle with spirit powers, they are completely different. Shinigami materialize the spirit power of their soul into the form of a Zanpakutō. They use the power from within, while Quincy gather spirit powers from without and coat them in their own Reiatsu to produce their Hollow killing weapons. Ishida says that when he touched Ichigo's Zanpakutō, Ichigo's massive Reiatsu flowed into him, making his bow bigger. He then calls Ichigo's attention to himself. Ichigo is shocked to see the size of Uryū's bow. Ishida tells him to just listen and tells him that there might be a way to defeat the Menos after all.

Rukia, Urahara, Orihime, and Chad watch from the sidelines. Orihime and Chad are watching from a building, unseen by the others. Orihime comments that they have to watch and then choose the path they will take. Orihime acknowledges that she never forgot a single detail of the night her brother, who had turned into a Hollow, fought with Ichigo. She merely chose to doubt her memory. She then asks Chad what they are suppose to do.

Uryū's plan is to have Ichigo touch him with the sword, making his bow large and thus able to hit the Menos. Ichigo doesn't like the idea and is confused when Ishida tells him to focus his power and consciously let out massive amount. Ichigo explains that he never controlled his powers and that he fights Hollows through instinct. He also comments that maybe his power is on at full blast all the time. Ishida is shocked, and wonders why Ichigo is not worried about his power being at full blast all the time. About then, the Menos starts to charge-up. Ishida detects this as Rukia comments that the Menos is getting ready to fire a "Cero". Unable to move, she screams in her head for Ichigo to run because if the Cero hits him there would be nothing of him left.

Ishida brings out his sword and tells Ichigo that there is no other way and to touch him with his sword again. However, Ichigo runs off towards the Menos. Ishida comments that Ichigo is off again to try and do one of his wild melee attacks, but says that this time Ichigo won't survive. The Menos fires its Cero, but Ichigo deflects it, much to the surprise of Ishida. However, Ishida senses that something is wrong. Through Reiatsu analysis, Ishida determines that Ichigo is about to "shut off the valve", realizing that if Ichigo does that then it could be catastrophic.

Ichigo cuts the Hollow in half, surprising Rukia and Uryū. The attack prompts the Hollow to retreat and Ichigo yells out "Victory!" Uryū comments that Ichigo is scary, while Jinta asks Tessai if Ichigo is really that strong, which he confirms.

Ichigo asks Uryū if he's going to thank him, but Ichigo then collapses, and his arm raises and vibrates. Uryū notices that Ichigo's Zanpakutō is changing form, and thinks that Ichigo lost control over it. As he rushes forward, he can feel the rush of spiritual energy into his body and thinks the Zanpakutō is going to explode. Uryū intends to control the spirit and give it back to Ichigo, and Uryū manipulates the energy, despite the onslaught of spiritual energy that is threatening to remove his arm. Ichigo tells him to stop, but he states that he needs Ichigo to live so he can beat him.

Uryū thinks to himself that if Ichigo loses complete control of his spirit, then his body will be destroyed, which Uryū blames himself for. He apologizes to his teacher, stating that he finally understands that he wanted the Quincy and Shinigami to work together. He then wonders if his teacher will forgive him for his actions and finishes his work saving Ichigo.

Elsewhere, Urahara orders Tessai to fix the crack in the sky where the Menos Grande had been while he walks off.

Two Shinigami are discussing their mission to find Rukia. One of them releases a pair of Hell Butterflies, while the other reads their orders - to capture or kill Rukia.

Uryū turns up late for school, with bandages on both his arms. He tells his teacher, Misato Ochi, that he fell done some stairs. Despite none of the other students believing his excuse, Ochi accepts it, telling him to take his seat. Ichigo looks intently at Ishida, but Rukia tells him that Uryū caused his own injuries and that Ichigo should not to pay attention to it. Keigo reveals that he saw the battle against the Hollows and Menos Grande the previous day. Asano, however, thought that it was practice for a theater. Ichigo thinks to himself that it is good that Asano is an idiot.

At the Urahara Shop, Ururu and Jinta are cleaning outside the store when Ururu notices a black cat. Urahara is excited by the appearance of the cat. Tessai says the cat, called Yoruichi, is Urahara's peerlessly-close friend. Jinta thinks this makes his boss rather pitiful.

Ichigo asks Ishida to join him for lunch. As they eat, Ishida asks Ichigo if he invited him because of his injuries. Ichigo denies this, saying that Ishida should be thankful somebody invited him to lunch. When both of them say that they prefer eating alone, Mizuiro thinks that they are very similar. Rukia is invited to eat lunch with some of the girls from her class.

As Urahara brings Yoruichi some milk, he asks why the cat is looking up at the sky. Yoruichi speaks to Kisuke, telling to stop pretending that he does not know that the Shinigami have come.

At the Kurosaki house, Ichigo takes the left-overs from dinner up to his room, telling Yuzu that it is a midnight snack. He calls for Rukia, telling her that he has her dinner, but she is not there. Ichigo fails to notice a note from Rukia thanking him lying on his desk. Rukia is running through the town's streets, lost in thought. She is spotted from above by the two Shinigami, one of whom identifies her using special goggles, which confirm that she is in an artificial body. The tattooed Shinigami expresses disbelieve that she is in a Gigai, and says he has found his quarry.

Two Shinigami observe Rukia, with one of them commenting that they have found her. As Rukia is running, she recalls events that happens at school when she was asked to have lunch with Orihime's friends. She was asked if she had romantic feelings for Ichigo, she denied it. As she is recalling the events she places romantic feelings in the category of needless emotions. She continues to remember other incidents, like Orihime saying something goofy, Chizuru coming on to Orihime and telling Rukia that she is cheering for Rukia as if Rukia get's Ichigo, then Orihime will be all her's. More silliness insures that results in Tatsuki beating up Chizuru. As Rukia recalls these, she put more emotions in the category of unnecessary emotions for a Shinigami like affection, friendship, attachment, and jealousy.

She says out loud, "Perhaps I have been here too long." Her comment is answered by a Shinigami standing on a lamp, who tells her that because she stayed so long, she got to live a little bit longer. She identifies the Shinigami as Renji Abarai. Renji proceeds to attack her, which she is barely able to dodge. Renji berates her for losing her edge and then demands to know where is the Human that stole her power. Rukia attempts to deny this, but Renji says that she has a very Human expression on her face. Renji then reminds Rukia that she and him grew-up together in Rukongai, but she was taken in by an illustrious noble house and trained as a Shinigami. She is not allowed to wear a Human expression. He then addresses his companion and calls him Captain Kuchiki.

Rukia panics at the sight of Captain Kuchiki and calls him brother. He simply says Rukia before Renji attacks Rukia again, but she manages to evade. Renji again questions Rukia about who stole her powers and tells her that they were sent instead of the normal "police" and tells her that he has been letting her evade his sword strokes and that next time he will cut her. It is then that Renji is shot by an arrow from Ishida, which he evades. Renji demands to now who Ishida is, Ishida replies that he is a classmate of Rukia's.