Rukia rushes back to the 6th Division HQ and is reunited with Renji. However, Byakuya's status remains unknown after the night of the zanpakutōs' attack. Ichigo and Yoriuchi arrive in Soul Society and split up to search for clues. Rukia returns to Byakuya's compound and finds Sode no Shirayuki attacking and freezing the shinigami there. She tries to reason with her zanpakutō but Shirayuki demands her freedom. After a fierce battle, Rukia loses to Shirayuki and is about to be frozen to death when Ichigo arrives to rescue her. However, he too is defeated by Shirayuki. Rukia attempts to get Sode no Shirayuki back to her by telling the zanpakutō how important she is to her. Using her kidō powers to restrain Sode no Shirayuki and herself, Rukia attempts to sacrifice themselves both in order to convince Shirayuki one could not live without the other. The resulting explosion injures Rukia severely. Sode no Shirayuki has a change of heart and attempts to reach out to her master, but Muramasa arrives and holds her back. Muramasa introduces himself to Ichigo and states that he is a zanpakutō.
Después de escuchar que Byakuya ha desaparecido. Rukia vuelve al Seireitei para buscar a su hermano. En el viaje se encuentra con Sodenoshirayuki.
瀞霊廷に戻るルキア。その道中、再び袖白雪が現れた。襲いかかる袖白雪に「できれば戦いたくない」と語りかけるルキアだったが、袖白雪は意に介さず容赦ない攻撃を繰り出し、ルキアは戸惑いながらも応戦する。
Rukia fa ritorno alla Soul Society, ma ad attenderla trova Sode no Shirayuki, intenzionata a concludere lo scontro con lei. Rukia sembra pronta a rinunciare alla sua Zanpakuto.
