Following this, two new Soul Reapers arrive from the Soul Society: and Byakuya Kuchiki . They have come to arrest Rukia for the crime of transferring her powers to a human. This is the turning point of the series; the show shifts from "protect the town" to "survive against the system."
Ichigo is nearly killed by Byakuya. Rukia realizes she cannot stay in the human world without endangering her friends and surrenders to Renji and Byakuya. The season ends with Ichigo recovering, training to awaken his own Zanpakuto (Zangetsu), and preparing to invade the Soul Society to save Rukia from execution. bleach season 1 episodes