The Despicable Shinigami

is the forty-third episode of the Bleach anime.

Uryū Ishida battles against 12th Division captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

Summary
It is night, and Orihime Inoue and Uryū have stopped for to rest. Orihime is attempting to heal Tsubaki, who was injured in their encounter with Jirōbō Ikkanzaka. Uryū and Tsubaki both assure Orihime that Tsubaki will be healed, and some of the others explain the relationship of Orihime's feelings and action with the abilities and techniques of her Shun Shun Rikka.

They later leave the safety of their hideout, and Uryū reflects on how Orihime is not suited for battle, as she can't bring herself to hurt others, even if they are the enemy. As they are running, they are stopped by a drunken member of the 11th Division leaving a bar, Makizō Aramaki, who demands to know their squad and why they are running around without Zanpakutō. They claim that they are from the 11th Division, but he recognizes the patch Orihime is wearing as one belonging to the 12th Division. Just as he begins to get suspicious of them, some members of the 12th Division bash Makizō on the head and save them. Uryū is also suspicious, however, as Makizō had every right to suspect them, even though he was drunk, and yet the 12th Division members weren't suspicious at all. Uryū shouts at Orihime to get away from the 12th Division members just as the group explodes outward. Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the captain of the Twelfth Division, holds a detonator and says "once the bombs are released, they are not ever supposed to return" and he detonates the last surviving squad member. Orihime manages to use her Santen Kesshun to protect herself, Uryū, and Makizō. Makizō cites that Orihime risked her life to save him, and he questions her motives and why she is crying. Uryū gets mad at Mayuri for blowing up his own squad members, but Mayuri ignores him and tries to recruit Orihime as a research subject. This just angers Uryū further, who uses Hirenkyaku to move to Mayuri's flank and activates his Quincy bow with his Sanrei Glove as a threat to Mayuri. Mayuri recognizes Uryū as a Quincy, but claims that his research on Quincy is done. As Uryū questions his research, Mayuri then announces himself as the captain of the 12th Division, simultaneously releasing a storm of reiatsu. Uryū then orders Makizō to take Orihime and run. He does so reluctantly after being threatened, and Kurotsuchi tries to bring them back with his mechanical extending arm. Just as the arm reaches the two escapees, Uryū blasts the mechanical arm with an arrow, destroying it and the building nearby.

Meanwhile, Makizō is running away with Orihime, who protests by biting him, and he is forced to knock Orihime out. We see him hitting her in the neck, and continuing on his journey with a limp Orihime in arm.

Back at the confrontation, Mayuri removes his arm, and then injects himself with something in what remains of his arm, which causes a second arm to grow out in its place. Uryū decides that he should take out Mayuri first and fires while using Hirenkyaku, and Mayuri praises his talent as a Quincy. However, as he wants to get to Orihime quickly, he decides to kill Uryū quickly and releases his Zanpakutō, Ashisogi Jizō. Uryū hesitates to fire on Mayuri as he doesn't know what powers he has, and suddenly his lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi, tackles Uryū, knocking him off the roof. As he is falling, he realizes that Mayuri is moving in to attack, and slashes them both. As they land, Uryū concludes that Mayuri purposely sacrificed his lieutenant to get to him. Mayuri is impressed that Uryū is not crying out in pain, but Nemu requests medicine to heal her injuries. Mayuri punishes Nemu because she asks to be treated, and Mayuri says that she will not die no matter what he does because he built her through a combination of Gigai technology and Gikon technology.

Uryū tries to get up, but realizes that he cannot move his arm, and Mayuri explains how his Zanpakutō works (it cuts off the opponent's ability to use his muscles, but leaves the pain receptors intact). Mayuri demonstrates by stabbing Uryū again, sending a howl of pain from Uryū while he is still unable to move, and yet he still defends Nemu from Mayuri's ruthlessness. Mayuri taunts Uryū about "the honor of the Quincy," a line that his previous Quincy subjects repeated. Mayuri rambles about his research into Quincy, claiming that the last one was an old man who kept repeating the name of his student. Mayuri flicks a picture of him to Uryū, who instantly recognizes the man as his grandfather, Sōken Ishida, Uryū's Sensei who taught him all about being a Quincy. As Mayuri attempts to recall the student's name, he turns to see Uryū standing up, releasing his waves of reiatsu. As he stands and releases his reiatsu, Uryū swears "by the honor of the Quincy, I'm going to kill you, you monster."

Kon-sama's Ultimate Shinigami Illustrated Guide
The featured character is Tetsuzaemon Iba.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Orihime Inoue
 * 2) Uryū Ishida
 * 3) Jirōbō Ikkanzaka (flashback)
 * 4) Tsubaki (flashback)
 * 5) Shun'ō
 * 6) Hinagiku
 * 7) Lily
 * 8) Baigon
 * 9) Makizō Aramaki
 * 10) Mayuri Kurotsuchi
 * 11) Nemu Kurotsuchi
 * 12) Akon (flashback)
 * 13) Hiyosu (flashback)
 * 14) Sōken Ishida (flashback)

Fights

 * Uryū Ishida vs. Mayuri Kurotsuchi

Powers and Techniques Used
Techniques Used:
 * Koten Zanshun (孤天斬盾, Solitary Sacred Cutting Shield) (flashback)
 * Sōten Kisshun (双天帰盾, Twin Sacred Return Shield)
 * Santen Kesshun (三天結盾, Three Sacred Links Shield)
 * Hirenkyaku (飛廉脚; lit: "Flying Screen Step/God Step", Viz: "Flying Bamboo-Blind Leg")
 * Shunpo (瞬歩, Flash steps)

Zanpakutō Released:

Shikai:
 * Ashisogi Jizō (疋殺地蔵, Leg-Cutting Jizō)

Other Powers:
 * Shun Shun Rikka (盾舜六花, Six Flowers of the Hibiscus Shield; Six Princess Shielding Flowers in the English anime)
 * Lone Sparrow &quot;Final Form&quot;