Bleach Episode 260 – “Terror! The Monster That Lurks Underground”

Bleach Episode 258 – “Stray Snake, Tortured Monkey”

Renji and Zabimaru come to the real world following a sword fiend. Zabimaru’s two halves, Chimpette and Snakey, split up to search. They find the sword fiend quickly but he escapes. Snakey follows him and is covinced that being free is better. Snakey has trouble doing anything since most people can’t see him. Karin is the only person who can see him and ends up taking him home. Renji and Chimpette are waiting in the park and Chimpette is feeling lonley because Snakey isn’t there. Ichigo returns home and finds Snakey. After Snakey finds out that Ichigo is a subsititue soul reaper he runs away only to encounter the sword fiend. Snakey begins to fight him and almost wins until the sword fiend captures Karin who was following Snakey. Right as Snakey is about to die Chimpette and Renji return to save him and defeat the sword fiend. Ichigo takes Karin home convincing her it was all a dream, even though she knew it wasn’t. Having resolved his differences, Snakey, Chimpette, and Renji return to Soul Society.

Bleach Episode 256 – “The Angered Byakuya! The Collapse of the Kuchiki House”

While Byakuya allows his squad to hold a sakura viewing party at his mansion, two strange attackers arrive, but one of them is quickly defeated by Sode no Shirayuki and Senbonzakura, who have since rematerialized, while the other escapes. Captain Kurotsuchi refers to these attackers as “Sword Fiends”, which are zanpakuto who have killed their masters. Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki try lure out the other by having a drinking party, but fail. Soon Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki find the sword fiend attacking and defeat him together, capturing him and turning him in for study. Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku become concerned at this development, noting that the Seireitei is still being rebuilt.

Bleach Episode 255 – “Final Chapter·Zanpakutō Unknown Tales”

As the dome grows unstable and the Soul Reapers fight the Gillians outside, Ichigo fights Muramasa inside his inner realm, which is collapsing from the grudges of the hollows he consumed to sustain himself. Ichigo questions Muramasa’s devotion to Kouga in spite of his apparent motives for freeing the zanpakutos, and insists that he should know what a true bond between a Soul Reaper and a zanpakuto is. Ichigo defeats Muramasa, causing the two to leave his inner world. Muramasa dies after realizing the error of his ways and Byakuya thanks Ichigo.