User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 330: Zirconis' Magic, Review./@comment-5580383-20130512140636/@comment-7418318-20130512144131

Why she had to die to fully awaken Zaraki is beyond me too, but if it really is the only way to awaken him, I can see why they would do it for a simple reason:

What good is the best healer if you can't defeat the enemy? Better to lose a great healer than betting the existance of the entire world on Ichigo alone.... who at this point hasn't even regained his full powers yet, if I might remind you.