Bridging the gap between where the print magazine ends to where Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha starts.

Ichigo Kurosaki

Ichigo Kurosaki never asked for the ability to see ghosts—he was born with the gift. When his family is attacked by a Hollow—a malevolent lost soul—Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping the tortured spirits themselves find peace. But even after becoming a Soul Reaper, one of his best friends is kidnapped by a traitorous Soul Reaper and taken to the world of the Hollows, Hueco Mundo!

In an attempt to save his friend Orihime Inoue, Ichigo breaks into Las Noches, where Hollows who obtained Soul Reaper powers known as Arrancars dwell. While there, he begins his long-vaunted battle with the Fourth Espada (the ten strongest Arrancars), Ulquiorra Schiffer!

Orihime	Ulquiorra

Meanwhile, in the Fake Karakura town the Soul Reapers constructed to keep the mayhem of the traitor Sosuke Aizen and his army in check, the final three Espadas—Stark, Halibel and Barragan—begin their battles with Captains Jushiro Ukitake, Shunsui Kyoraku, Toshiro Hitsugaya, and Soi Fon.

Aizen	Stark	Halibel	Barragan	Captain Ukitake
Captain Kyoraku	Captain Hitsugaya	Captain Soi Fon

Just when it appears the Soul Reapers have the upper hand, the childlike Arrancar Wonderweiss Margera frees Aizen and his subordinates Kaname Tosen and Ichimaru Gin from the fiery prison Captain General Yamamoto encased them in. Upping the stakes even further, the Visored—a group of disgraced, ex-Soul Reapers that were hollowfied by Aizen more than 100 years ago—show up for the fight!

Wonderweiss	Kaname	Gin	Captain General Yamamoto

The Visored break up into teams to assist the Soul Reapers in their battles against the Espadas. At the same time, former Ninth Squad Captain Kaname Tosen reveals that he has been Hollowfied and regained his sight in this new form!

After his battle at Las Noches, Ichigo finally joins his Soul Reaper and Visored comrades, but even their combined efforts is not enough against Aizen. Captain General Yamamoto then readies himself to attack Aizen kamikaze style, but Aizen has a trick up his sleeve for the Captain General.

The Visored
Shinji	Hiyori	Hachigen	Kensei	Lisa
Love	Mashiro	Rose

A fierce battle ensues, but Aizen manages to come out of it relatively unharmed. Aizen appears to be powered-up, and for good reason! He’s incorporated the Hogyoku (the device he used to make the Arrancars) into his own body and it has now begun making him into something more powerful than a Hollow/Shinigami hybrid! He then reveals to Ichigo the full extent of his plans—he has known of Ichigo since the day he was born and every step of his growth was orchestrated by him. Before he can reveal more, Ichigo’s father Isshin appears!

While Isshin and Aizen clash, Ichigo fights against another Soul Society traitor, Gin Ichimaru! Moments later, former Soul Reaper captain Kisuke Urahara makes his appearance in the battlefield. Despite the back-up, Aizen and Gin escape to the real Karakura Town to complete their goal of overthrowing the established order of the Soul Society!

Isshin	Urahara

Realizing that their strength is not enough, Isshin takes Ichigo to the Dangai—a space between worlds where 2,000 hours is equivalent to just 1 hour in the real world! There, he meditates with Zangetsu, his sword, to learn an ultimate technique capable of defeating Aizen. With this new technique, can Ichigo and friends finally defeat Aizen?!

Seventeen months after the epic battle, Ichigo meets a mysterious man named Ginjo Kugo who attempts to recruit him to his group, Xcution. They are a group of Fullbringers—people whose mothers were attacked by Hollows when they were pregnant, giving them spiritual abilities. They want to restore Ichigo’s Soul Reaper powers by letting him absorb their powers, thus severing their connection to Hollows.

Xcution
Ginjo	Riruka	Yukio	Kutsuzawa	Jackie

Through intense training, Ichigo is able to activate his Fullbring. Meanwhile, his family and friends are tricked into befriending a dangerous man that attacked Ishida, Shukuro Tsukishima. Ichigo finds out from Ginjo that Tsukishima was a former Xcution member that went rogue and has the ability to make people think he’s known them all their lives after he cuts them with his sword.

Tsukushima

Ichigo attempts to fight Tsukishima, but Chad and Orihime protect the man they now believe to be their friend. When Ginjo is cut by Tsukishima’s sword, Ishida arrives and informs them of the shocking truth—it wasn’t Tsukushima who attacked him! Ginjo and Tsukishima have been working together from the start! With the odds overwhelmingly against Ichigo, Rukia returns from the Soul Society with a half-dozen Captains to give Ichigo his Soul Reaper powers back! One by one they battle Xcution.

During the course of the battles, Ginjo reveals that he was the first deputy Soul Reaper and the badge Ichigo has carried with himself for so long is being used to keep tabs on him! How will Ichigo react to this revelation, and are his restored powers enough to save his family and friends?

Find out what happens to Ichigo in Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha today!

Related Links:
Bleach
Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha
Catch-Up Coverage
Warp into SJ Alpha

by Stephan Massih