On the anniversary of his mother's death, Kurosaki Ichigo travels to his mother's grave. When Rukia arrives, Ichigo leaves to speak with her; but what she has to say upsets him. His sisters have a much bigger problem, however: they're being attacked by a particulary vicious Hollow with a few tricks up his sleeve. But this isn't any ordinary Hollow! Could it have something to do with the death of Ichigo's mother? Ichigo must discover the truth and fight the Hollow on his own to protect his pride.

A Shinigami named Baishin who was sealed by Soul Society long ago is set free on Earth. On a fateful day Ichigo encounters him and has roughly half of his reiatsu drained. Its now up to Ichigo and Soul Society to finally put a stop to Baishin and his destruction.

In Karakura Town, there has been a sudden outbreak of unidentifiable spirits called "blanks" (vacant souls) while in the skies of Soul Society, the real world has been reflected. A mysterious female shinigami called Senna has appeared before Ichigo along with a man named Ganryu, leading a group called the "Dark Ones".

A valuable artifact known as "King's Seal" is stolen by a mysterious group of people during transport in Soul Society. Hitsugaya Toushiro, the 10th division captain of Gotei 13, who is assigned to transport the seal fights the leader of the group and shortly after goes missing. After the incident, Seireitei declares Hitsugaya a traitor and orders the capture and execution of Hitsugaya. Kurosaki Ichigo refuses to believe this, and along with Matsumoto Rangiku, Kuchiki Rukia and Abarai Renji swear to uncover the real mastermind of the stolen seal, find Hitsugaya and clear his name. Meanwhile, a rogue Hitsugaya searches for the perpetrators and uncovers a dark secret regarding a long dead shinigami.

A mysterious reiatsu (spiritual particle) explosion occurs in the center of Seireitei in Soul Society, causing it to be destroyed. At the exact same time, a major change overwhelms Kuchiki Rukia, which leaves her losing something important inside. Urahara Kisuke sends Kurosaki Ichigo to Soul Society to investigate the disturbance. Upon reaching Seireitei, Ichigo is set upon and attacked by shinigamis, once allies, who have no memory of him and Rukia. Now alone and on the run, Ichigo must find the missing Rukia and uncover the cause of the mysterious incident before it's too late.

When the gates of Hell appear in Karakura Town and strange spirits called Unforgiven (Togabito) escape, Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai are sent to investigate.

A brief intro of the 13 Squad Captains.