Kyori Rugonkai

{{Bleach Wiki:Character Template (Kyori)
 * title = {{PAGENAME}}
 * image = Scan0002.jpg
 * name = Kyori Rugonkai
 * kanji = 黒崎 一護
 * romanji = Rugonkai Kyori


 * race = Shinigami, Arrancar
 * birthday = Unknown
 * age = Uknown ( Well over 300)
 * gender = Male
 * height = 175 cm (5'9")
 * weight = 61 kg (134 lbs.)
 * eyes = Black
 * hair = White/ Black
 * blood type = O


 * affiliation = Ichigo's Group, Soul Society
 * occupation = Substitute Shinigami, Arrancar
 * team = Ichigo's Group
 * base of operations = Urahara Shop


 * marital status = Single
 * education = Colledge Level


 * shikai = Hanketsu
 * bankai = Kami Hanketsu


 * resurreccion = Akumna Hanketsu

Appearance
Kyori appears like a normal soul reaper; the one exception to that is his hair has two colors. He is a fairly tall, and lean-built person with some what dark skin and black eyes. When in his spiritual form, Ichigo wears a standard Shinigami attire with a jacket similar to sosuke aizens own.

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. He is also extremely protective of his friends. This latter trait is the driving force behind most of his actions, usually saving females.

History
Not much is known about his past and he doesn't really talk about it.

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
No one knows where he came from but in an instant he swoops in and attcks gin ichimaru who was on the verge of killing rangiku matsumoto.

Powers & Abilities
Master Swordsmanship Specialist:

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant:

Flash Steps Master:

Vast Spiritual Power:


 * Immense Strength:


 * Enhanced Speed:


 * Immense Endurance:

Advanced Growth Rate:

High Intellect:

Zanpakutō
{{Infobox/Character/Start | name                = Hanketsu | english             = Judgement | kanji               = 斬月 | romanji             = Hanketsu {{clear}}


 * Bankai: {{translation|Hanketsu|天鎖斬月|Gods Judgement}}:

Hollowfication

 * Hollow Mask: 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.


 * 2nd 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.


 * 3rd Mask: 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.


 * 4th Mask: 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 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 the 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 increased physical enhancements (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 as well as using general Hollow abilities neither has Ichigo been shown capable of doing).


 * 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.


 * Augmented 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.


 * 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.


 * 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".


 * 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.


 * 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.


 * 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.


 * Increased Mask Duration: 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, although his new mask began deteriorating directly after he attempted a Getsuga Tenshō on Aizen with it on.

Affiliation
Soul Society & Gotei 13: 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. . Over all he maintains a allied loyalty to Soul Society.

Vizard: Initially he refused to join their group but eventually comes to see himself as one of them species wise, though he continues to refer to himself as a Shinigami instead of a Vizard. He associates himself more with Soul Society regardless of his loose association with them. He still maintains a distance from them as group and considers them somewhat friends and allies.

Ichigo's Group & Karakura Town: 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. His loyalty to his friends, family and town are far above that of any of the other groups he has come into contact with over the past months.

Urahara's Group: 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'.

Species Status
Ichigo is a extremely rare case. 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 is technically classified as a Vizard, but he still thinks and refers to himself as a Shinigami. For all purposes Ichigo is a Human in physical body and Vizard in spiritual body, thus making his situation even more rare then previously thought.

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.

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 taking 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!"


 * (To Zangetsu) "It's meaningless to just live, it's meaningless to just fight. I want to win!"

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