While Kon tries to keep the green-haired girl, whose name is Nozomi Kujo, a secret from Ichigo's family, Ichigo himself is placed under confinement in Seireitei. Rukia sneaks into jail and frees him. Jūshirō and Shunsui discuss Ichigo's arrest, as his substitute badge was found by Byakuya Kuchiki inside the Precipice World, leading the rest to believe Ichigo is responsible for the disappearances. However Jūshirō and Shunsui believe there's more to it. Rukia explains to Ichigo there is a time gap between the living world and Soul Society. Before she can explain more, Renji and Ikkaku confront them. Although Ichigo and Rukia try to convince them they are innocent, the two Soul Reapers attack them. While fighting them, Ichigo and Rukia realize that Renji and Ikkaku are somehow not themselves and exhibit ruthless behaviors. Yoriuchi arrives and seals Renji and Ikkaku's movements before escaping with Ichigo and Rukia. In her hideout, Yoriuchi explains to them that the Soul Reapers are being replaced secretly by Reigai, which houses the spiritual essence of Soul Reapers functioning like a gigai. The reigai contains near-perfect copies of memories, personalities and behaviors of the Soul Reapers. As reigai is used to test out the soul candies, it seems that someone in the 12th Division and the Department of Technology and Research is involved. Yoriuchi has no idea how many impostors are there hiding among the Gotei 13. Ichigo and Rukia sneak into the lab and discover Nozomi is a fugitive from Soul Society. The mysterious scientist along with the fake Kira and Nanao arrive in the living world to apprehend Nozomi, who evades capture. Kon follows her and both are eventually cornered by the scientist's group. However, Uryū Ishida arrives to help Kon and Nozomi.