We lost?
Did…
we lose?
You’ve come to, Kurosaki.
Mr. Urahara…
Was I…
You’re all right.
You weren’t unconscious all that long.
Maybe a half-day after you collapsed.
I see. What about the others?
They’re not completely recovered yet,
but slowly getting better thanks to Inoue’s efforts.
I see.
I didn’t want to worry your family,
so I had you brought here to my place.
Was that okay with you?
Yeah.
I appreciate it.
For now, please concentrate on making a full recovery.
We’ll plan what to do next after that.
I’ll make you some tea.
Mr. Urahara…
Did I…lose…my Spiritual Pressure?
Yes.
That means I can’t help Nozomi anymore, doesn’t it?
I lost to that guy...to Kageroza.
Well, I really couldn’t say.
He’s past the worst of it.
Head Captain Yamamoto won’t be
returning to battle any time soon, though.
Is that so?
How are the others?
They’re still touch-and-go.
Third Seat Madarame and Fifth Seat Ayasegawa’s wounds, in particular,
are severe and still show no signs of getting better.
I see.
Sometimes it just takes time.
We’ll just have to do the best we can.
What…should we do?
That bastard has to be pretty badly wounded himself.
So I’ll…
Are you going alone, Lieutenant Abarai?
Knowing him, he’s probably already regrouped
his invasion force in the Soul Society.
But…
I sympathize with you.
And I share your desire to save that Mod Soul girl.
But right now, all I can tell you
from my position is to stand by and wait.
Yes, ma’am.
Huh?
Are you leaving,
Kurosaki?
Staying here isn’t going to help anything.
Kurosaki…
Why don’t we take a little walk?
This place…
What?!
Then how about karaoke?
Huh? Just the two of us?
You don’t like that?
I’m fine, but…
Then how about I invite Atsuko and the others, and we'll party?
Then can I also call over Yoshie?
Sure.
I’m…powerless.
I can’t even protect myself.
Say, Mr. Urahara…
Yes?
My Spiritual Pressure…
Is there any way to get it back?
Kurosaki.
You guys.
Ichigo…
Why the long faces?
Huh?
Is it because I lost my Spirit Energy?
If that’s the case, don’t worry about it.
Right now,
we have to rescue Nozomi,
even though I can’t fight anymore.
But I’ll help any way I can.
Kurosaki…
Hey, Ichigo!
Huh?
What?
How come I can…
Of course you can see us.
We’re in Gigai.
Oh…right…
Sheesh…
We came because we were worried how you were holding up,
but you look just fine.
You got a problem with that?
Ichigo?
Sorry…
As you know, I lost my Spirit Energy.
But I haven’t lost my soul.
I might have to leave the fighting to you guys.
But that doesn’t mean I’ve given up!
Are you a moron or something?
Huh?
You’re not the only one who’s dealing with this incident, you know.
Yeah, but…
And, did you think we thought you had given up?
That’s right.
If you gave up, who are we supposed to follow around?
You fool.
Thanks, guys.
What’re you thanking us for?!
Ouch! You jerk!
I don’t have Spirit Energy, you know!
What does that have to do with this?!
Come on!
You could be a little more gentle.
Hey!
What’re you nodding for?!
Are you a moron or something?
You already said that!
Are you all right?
You need immediate treatment.
Keep your hands off of me!
I will now begin the fusion of Nozomi and myself.
Begin the preparations.
But in your condition,
there might be excessive post-fusion stress on the Reigai.
Silence!
Silence…
Silence!
He is waiting.
Nozomi and I must become
what we were meant to be as soon as possible!
At any rate,
we must break in to the Soul Society quickly.
Kageroza now has Kujo.
But that also means his attention has shifted away from us.
Realistically, the people we have here are our entire fighting force.
Against their invasion force,
we’d be at a disadvantage with or without you, Ichigo.
So relax, Ichigo.
I can’t.
Wait…
Can we really say that Kurosaki’s presence doesn’t matter?
Huh?
We now know why Kageroza came after Nozomi so tenaciously.
But it’s been bothering me.
Why was he wary of Kurosaki as well?
Wasn’t it because Kurosaki was always near Nozomi?
That’s part of it, I’m sure.
But the biggest reason was Kurosaki’s Hollow powers.
Hollow powers?
Yes.
Kageroza is able to create a Soul Reaper’s Reigai
with just a tiny amount of Reishi.
But he never created a Reigai of Kurosaki.
He remained wary of him and
personally faced off against him numerous times,
suggesting that Kageroza lacks the capability
to create a Reigai of Kurosaki.
In other words, Kageroza cannot manipulate Hollow powers
and that’s why he was always wary of Ichigo.
Is that what you’re saying?
Yes.
And that’s why he used the
Precipice World to have the Cleaner attack Ichigo?
Yeah.
I did get attacked twice.
Twice?
Yeah.
The first time was when I went in with you, Rukia.
I dropped my Combat Pass, remember?
Your Combat Pass…
The second time was when I tried to re-enter the Soul Society.
I was swallowed up by the Cleaner.
But how did I survive?
I see now.
Perhaps that’s what happened.
Kurosaki…
We might be able to restore your Spiritual Pressure.
Are you serious?
Restore Ichigo’s Spiritual Pressure?
What are you talking about?
This is ultimately just a theory, but…
The Cleaner reacts to Reishi and swallows up its victims.
The time axis inside the Precipice World
is isolated from all other worlds,
so the swallowed Reishi remains suspended
there without ever vanishing.
In fact, Kageroza obtained decades-old information
on Mod Souls from there.
Which means, Kurosaki’s Reishi that was swallowed by the
Cleaner might also still be there.
We’ll need to first collect that Reishi, and then
use Kageroza’s Reigai-creating technology in reverse
to artificially recreate Kurosaki’s Spirit Energy.
Are you implying that we…
Yes.
We’re going to break in to the Department of Research and Development.
Is that even possible?
That’s like trying to catch a cloud.
But how are we going to collect Ichigo’s Reishi?
Once the Cleaner swallows someone, that person is dead, right?
That's what seemed so strange all this time.
Why don’t we sense any Spiritual Pressure from Kageroza and Nozomi?
The reason is our answer.
The fact that Kageroza obtained Mod Soul information
that existed inside the Cleaner means…
In effect…
He was able to freely enter into the Cleaner
using a special Reigai that shuts off his Spiritual Pressure.
That’s right.
Kurosaki, having lost his Spirit Energy,
might be able to get inside the Cleaner.
Well?
Are you willing to take a chance,
Kurosaki?
To be honest, I don’t really understand, but
I can’t come up with any way to rescue Nozomi.
In that case,
I have to take that chance!
Are you ready?
Yeah.
I’ll attach a communication device.
In the event of an emergency, I want you to follow my directions.
Also, you’ll need this.
I’ve set it to respond to the location of your Reishi.
When you find it, push this button down here.
Okay, got it.
Hey!
Kon…
Where do you think you’re going in your condition?
Inside the Cleaner to retrieve my Reishi.
Huh?!
What the hell are you thinking?!
This is the only way
to rescue Nozomi.
See you.
Are you crazy?!
Huh?
This is all my fault.
It’s my fault, yet…
Why do you have to go?
Kon…
I’m powerless.
I can’t do a thing!
I can’t protect anyone!
I have to rely on you to fight for me.
I have to rely on everyone else fight to for me!
It’s all…my fault!
Kon…
It’s not your fault.
It’s okay. Just wait here.
I’ll be back, I promise.
Take this.
What’s this?
No sense in me keeping it.
A good luck charm, huh?
Thanks.
Kurosaki, are you ready?
Yeah.
At the moment, you’ll be able to
move fairly freely inside the Precipice World.
That said, we don’t know precisely when the Cleaner will appear,
so please be patient.
Got it.
Thank you for waiting, Kurosaki.
It’s coming.
Distance: 500.
400.
300.
200.
100.
He’s in!
Excellent.
So far, so good.
So this is the inside of the Cleaner.
Even though it’s not responding to Spiritual Pressure,
the pressure in here is incredible.
How is it going?
If your Reishi is nearby, the collection device should respond.
Looks like it’s working.
I’ll head in that direction.
-Ichigo! -Kurosaki!
The Cleaner’s movements suddenly changed.
What’s that mean?!
It might be trying to expel any
foreign objects as a response to swallowing Kurosaki.
Kurosaki!
Abandon the plan!
Get away from there!
Ichigo…
Get away…how?
No, I’m doing this!
Huh?!
Damn!
Ichigo…
Ichigo!
Hey! Ichigo!
Answer!
Ichigo!
Quit fooling around, you idiot!
You promised you’d come back!
Was that a lie?!
You bastard!
Shut up, will you?
I can hear everything!
It’s responding?!
Okay!
Now to find a way out.
Is that it there?!
Only one way to find out!
W-What?!
Why is there…another me?
I don’t know what’s going on, but…
Kurosaki!
For a minute there, you had me worried.
You’re telling me.
What in the world happened?
Well, I don’t really know.
It’s just that…
I don’t know what’s going on,
but there was another me inside the Cleaner.
I thought I rescued him, but…
You rescued the other you?
Are you in your right mind?
What’s that supposed to mean?!
I see.
So that’s how it was, after all.
How what was?
That was the you who was swallowed by the Cleaner before.
Huh?
The time axis of the Precipice World is isolated from all other worlds.
That means anything swallowed by the
The Cleaner does not exist in any other time axis.
He met himself from the past inside the Cleaner?
Yes.
The Kurosaki of the present saved the Kurosaki from the past.
This is really complicated.
So that explains the Combat Pass, as well.
The Reigai was able to obtain Ichigo’s Combat Pass
before we even arrived in the Soul Society.
I was wondering how they did it, but this was the answer.
Everything was done using the same trick.
That’s enough already. You lost me.
Anyway, we can move on to the next step now, right?
Let’s go visit Kageroza.
Yes.
I came back, just like I said.
Yeah.
I couldn’t do anything to help you, after all.
No, that’s not true.
What?
Without this, I wouldn’t have made it back safely,
and I wouldn’t have been able to meet the other me.
I owe it to you.
Are…you a moron?!
Just admit it.
Cut that out!
Keep away from me, you!
Now you’ve done it!
My cotton! I’m becoming flat!
Both time and space are right.
Let’s begin.
Captain Unohana.
Is there anything you require during your stay in the World of the Living?
There is no need to worry.
The Shinto priest here provides me with
goods when I whisper to him during his sleep at night.
I think he’s mistaken you for a deity, ma’am!
I’m a Soul Reaper, so it’s not too far off.
Illustrated Guide to Soul Reapers!
Ichigo!
Yeah?
Huh?
Ichigo!
Uh... Renji?
Wrong! I’m Rukia!
We swapped Gigai!
We had you completely fooled!
What's with you two?
Kurosaki!
Now then, can you tell which one of us is which?
Umm…
You guys aren’t even Gigai!