Born with immense spiritual energy, Ichigo Kurosaki accepts the power of a Shinigami to save his family. Now entrusted with protecting the world as a Substitute Shinigami, Ichigo assists with guiding lost souls to the afterlife while purifying the Hollows that threaten to devour the living and dead alike.

When Ichigo’s childhood friend, Orihime Inoue, is kidnapped by the Espada, a group of the powerful Hollows with Shinigami-like powers, he races to her rescue. Ichigo and friends storm the Arrancar palace, Las Noches, where he reencounters Ulquiorra Cifer, the #4 Espada.  Showing Ichigo “true despair,” Ulquiorra reveals his second, hidden form, Resurrección: Segunda Etapa, and fires a Cero Oscuras through Ichigo's chest at point-blank range. Horrified, Orihime races to heal Ichigo, her desperate screams awakening his Vasto Lorde form—a rare Hollow fueled by instinct and aggression. The underworld erupts into chaos as Ichigo and Ulquiorra wage a final epic battle while the World of the Living hangs in the balance.