Recaps

Shunsui Kyōraku escaped Lille Barro’s light attack with Nanao Ise, but his injuries and exhausted Reiatsu left him near death. After Lille found them and destroyed their hiding place, Nanao stood between him and the approaching attack until someone cast Black Coffin.

• Shunsui Kyōraku carried Nanao Ise through Lille Barro’s web of light and hid with her in a ruined castle.
• Lille Barro searched the castle, declaring that he would destroy every shadow until he found them.
• Shunsui Kyōraku weakened from blood loss and exhaustion while Nanao tried to keep pressure on his wound.
• Nanao decided to draw Lille Barro away, but a crumbling stone alerted him to their hiding place.
• Lille Barro destroyed the castle and prepared to attack the exposed pair as Nanao shielded Kyōraku.
• An unseen speaker cast Hadō #90, Black Coffin.

Sōsuke Aizen’s enormous Black Coffin crushed Lille Barro, but the Quincy survived and resumed firing wildly. Sōya Azashiro healed Shunsui Kyōraku as the group faced Lille Barro’s renewed attack.

• Sōsuke Aizen appeared after the Black Coffin collapsed, and Nanao Ise stood protectively in front of the wounded Shunsui Kyōraku.
• Shunsui Kyōraku told Nanao Ise to stand down and traded barbed remarks with Aizen.
• Sōya Azashiro arrived and used Kaido to heal Shunsui Kyōraku’s wounds.
• Aizen and Shunsui Kyōraku warned that the Black Coffin might not have finished Lille Barro.
• Lille Barro burst out of the crater, spread his eight wings, and unleashed piercing light in every direction.

Lille Barro’s rampage threatened the ruined hall as Sōya Azashiro’s Kidō was weakened by Wahrwelt’s dense Quincy Reishi. Aizen stepped forward to face Lille, who fired a massive beam at him.

• Lille Barro raged and unleashed beams of light across the ruined hall while Nanao Ise shielded the injured Shunsui Kyōraku.
• Sōya Azashiro cast Hadō #96: Ittō Kasō, but Wahrwelt’s Reishi weakened the flames, and Lille shattered them with a burst of light.
• Lille Barro resumed his attack, raining beams through the hall as Sōya Azashiro noted that the Reishi was disrupting his Kidō.
• Sōsuke Aizen told Sōya Azashiro to tend to Shunsui Kyōraku and mocked Kyōraku’s condition before agreeing to handle Lille.
• Aizen challenged Lille Barro, and Lille answered by firing a massive pillar of light straight at him.

Sōsuke Aizen evaded Lille Barro’s attacks while explaining that Lille’s power could be avoided by reacting to his intent. Lille unleashed his full area-destruction attack, and Aizen answered with Bakudo #81, Dankū.

• Lille Barro fired hundreds of pillars of light at Aizen, who calmly dodged them with precise movements.
• Nanao Ise watched in disbelief, while Shunsui Kyōraku explained Aizen’s extraordinary perception and ability.
• Lille Barro lost control of his emotions and accused Aizen of blasphemy as Aizen mocked his claim to godhood.
• Lille Barro gathered Reishi and released Eye of Judgment, full release, threatening to destroy the entire area.
• As Lille’s vast torrent of light surged toward him, Aizen raised his sleeve and cast Bakudo #81, Dankū.

Lille Barro appeared to kill Sōsuke Aizen with a blast that pierced through Dankū, then turned his attention to the surviving Soul Reapers. Sōya Azashiro shielded Shunsui Kyōraku and Nanao Ise by making himself untargetable and counterattacking, but Lille Barro prepared to unleash another attack.

• Lille Barro pierced Dankū and blasted a hole through Sōsuke Aizen’s chest, and Aizen fell motionless into the rubble.
• Nanao Ise and Shunsui Kyōraku were shocked by Aizen’s apparent death as Lille Barro targeted them next.
• Sōya Azashiro stepped in front of Nanao Ise and Shunsui Kyōraku and drew his Asauchi, saying he would become something Lille Barro could not target.
• Lille Barro’s beams passed through Azashiro, who used the air, dust, and rubble to attack with air blades and Hadō #33, Sōkatsui.
• Azashiro criticized Lille Barro’s deteriorated senses, and Lille Barro spread his wings and locked his piercing power onto the survivors.

Lille Barro overwhelmed the defenders in the Imperial Palace ruins, killing Sōya Azashiro, Nanao Ise, and Shunsui Kyōraku. As he celebrated his victory, Aizen unexpectedly spoke from the ground where Lille had believed him dead.

• Lille Barro's attacks broke through Sōya Azashiro's defenses, and he erased Azashiro with a beam of light.
• Nanao Ise refused to abandon the wounded Shunsui Kyōraku, but Lille Barro killed her with a beam through the heart.
• Shunsui Kyōraku challenged Lille Barro, who killed him with three pillars of light.
• Lille Barro celebrated before Yhwach and boasted that he had eliminated the Soul Reaper obstacles.
• Aizen, whom Lille Barro had believed dead, spoke from the ruins and challenged him to look around.

Sōsuke Aizen revealed that Lille Barro’s apparent victory and the destruction around them had been illusions created by Kyōka Suigetsu, causing Lille’s attacks to strike his own body. Aizen explained that his existence itself was now equivalent to Kyōka Suigetsu, and left Lille unable to tell when the hypnosis had begun.

• Lille Barro realized the Soul Reapers and the ruined hall had been restored, while holes matching his sacred beams pierced his own body.
• Sōsuke Aizen told Lille that he had made Lille unleash slaughter upon himself.
• Nanao Ise questioned Shunsui Kyōraku, who suspected Aizen had controlled their senses upon their arrival at the Imperial Palace.
• Sōya Azashiro recalled warning that Aizen’s allies should be more wary of him than his enemies.
• Lille argued that Aizen could not have activated Kyōka Suigetsu without drawing his Zanpakuto, but Aizen said his existence had become equivalent to it.
• Aizen asked Lille what made him think he had not been hypnotized while watching Aizen.

Aizen killed Lille Barro by revealing that his apparent death had been an illusion, leaving Shunsui Kyōraku and Sōya Azashiro wary of his growing power. Meanwhile, Byakuya Kuchiki and the newly arrived Tōshirō Hitsugaya faced Gerard Valkyrie in Wahrwelt, where Gerard shrugged off their attacks and challenged them to do better.

• Aizen's illusion ended as Lille Barro disintegrated, and Shunsui Kyōraku and Sōya Azashiro recognized how dangerous Aizen had become.
• Shunsui Kyōraku thanked Aizen for saving his life, then looked toward the battles raging elsewhere in Wahrwelt.
• Byakuya Kuchiki used Senbonzakura Kageyoshi: Senkei to pierce Gerard Valkyrie, but Gerard grew larger and stronger from the damage.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya arrived after Mayuri Kurotsuchi's modifications and froze Gerard's right arm and sword with Hyōrinmaru.
• Gerard broke free of the ice unharmed and mocked Byakuya Kuchiki and Tōshirō Hitsugaya as they prepared to face him.

Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Byakuya Kuchiki attacked Gerard, but The Miracle made him grow stronger after he broke free of Hitsugaya’s ice. Hitsugaya released Daiguren Hyōrinmaru, while Byakuya noticed its ice petals disappearing.

• Byakuya Kuchiki restrained Gerard’s sword arm with Senbonzakura as Tōshirō Hitsugaya pierced him with Ryūsenka and froze his body.
• Gerard shattered the ice, grew even larger, and explained that pain fed The Miracle.
• Hitsugaya realized ordinary freezing could not stop Gerard and released Daiguren Hyōrinmaru.
• Byakuya Kuchiki noticed the ice-crystal petals above Hitsugaya disappearing one by one.

Tōshirō Hitsugaya awakened Daiguren Hyōrinmaru’s mature form and froze Gerard, but Gerard broke free and grew even stronger. Byakuya held off the giant’s attack and ordered Rukia and Renji to leave and support Ichigo.

• Gerard mocked Byakuya and claimed Hitsugaya’s Bankai had ended, but Hitsugaya revealed that the vanished ice petals meant his mature form was awakening.
• Hitsugaya froze Gerard’s sword and then encased the giant in ice with Cross Flower, temporarily stopping his functions.
• Renji and Rukia arrived, mistook the adult-looking Hitsugaya for his older brother, and learned that he was their captain.
• Gerard shattered the ice, transformed into a larger golden giant, and struck at the Soul Reapers.
• Byakuya blocked Gerard’s golden fist with Senbonzakura Kageyoshi and ordered Rukia and Renji to go support Ichigo.

Byakuya Kuchiki and Tōshirō Hitsugaya fought Gerard Valkyrie, but his wounds healed and his strength grew. Kenpachi Zaraki arrived and severed Gerard’s arm, while Gerard declared that The Miracle made him invincible.

• Rukia and Renji left for the upper levels of Wahrwelt as Byakuya and Hitsugaya stayed to face Gerard.
• Byakuya and Hitsugaya froze Gerard’s weapon and pierced his head, but his body rapidly regenerated and grew larger.
• Gerard shattered their defenses with his Holy Shield, injuring and hurling both captains into the ruins.
• Kenpachi Zaraki arrived and used Nozarashi to sever Gerard’s sword-wielding arm.
• Gerard regenerated sacred Reishi from his shoulder and proclaimed that The Miracle made him impossible to kill.

Kenpachi Zaraki fought Gerard, damaging the Sword of Hope while suffering its reflected wounds, and rejected Byakuya Kuchiki and Tōshirō Hitsugaya’s attempts to intervene. He unleashed his Bankai as the battle continued.

• Gerard explained that damage to the Sword of Hope inflicted amplified destruction on whoever damaged it, while Kenpachi Zaraki continued attacking despite the wounds appearing on his body.
• Kenpachi Zaraki and Gerard traded blows, as each strike from Nozarashi damaged the Sword of Hope and caused new injuries to Kenpachi Zaraki.
• Byakuya Kuchiki and Tōshirō Hitsugaya tried to restrain Gerard and separate him from Kenpachi Zaraki, but Kenpachi drove them back and threatened them if they interfered.
• Kenpachi Zaraki gathered his Reiatsu, raised Nozarashi, and called out Bankai.

Kenpachi Zaraki transformed into a horned fiend and overwhelmed Gerard, destroying his weapons and cutting his giant body down to its core. Before Byakuya Kuchiki and Tōshirō Hitsugaya could destroy the core, Gerard absorbed surrounding reishi and rose again in a new form, Vollständig: Divine Power.

• Kenpachi Zaraki transformed into a dark red, horned fiend and caught Gerard’s enormous stomp with one hand.
• Kenpachi Zaraki shattered Gerard’s Sword of Hope and Holy Shield, severed his arms, and drove him into a crater.
• Kenpachi Zaraki struck Gerard more than a thousand times, reducing his body to reishi fragments and exposing a glowing cross-shaped core.
• Byakuya Kuchiki and Tōshirō Hitsugaya prepared attacks against the core, but a reishi barrier blocked them as Gerard’s remains were drawn into it.
• Gerard absorbed reishi from the surrounding ruins and emerged with enormous white wings, sacred armor, and a new sword, declaring his form Vollständig: Divine Power.

Kenpachi Zaraki collapsed after his body failed under the strain of Nozarashi, and Byakuya Kuchiki and Tōshirō Hitsugaya struggled to protect him from Gerard. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez arrived and blasted Gerard’s head off with a Gran Rey Cero, but Gerard regenerated and turned his fury toward the new attacker.

• Kenpachi Zaraki’s body gave out, and Tōshirō Hitsugaya tried to shield him while Byakuya Kuchiki carried him away.
• Gerard shattered Hitsugaya’s ice and Byakuya’s defenses, injuring both captains as they tried to protect Zaraki.
• Gerard prepared to kill Byakuya and Hitsugaya when Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez emerged from a rift and fired a Gran Rey Cero.
• Grimmjow’s attack destroyed Gerard’s head, but Gerard quickly regenerated and threatened Grimmjow, Byakuya, and Hitsugaya.

Grimmjow attacked Gerard in his Resurrección form but could not break through the giant’s defenses and was forced to rely on speed to evade his blows. Gerard repelled him across Central Square and taunted him as he panted in the air.

• Gerard struck Grimmjow with a colossal palm, sending him crashing through palace walls, and Hitsugaya approached the injured Arrancar.
• Hitsugaya thanked Grimmjow for drawing Gerard’s attention, but Grimmjow denied helping the Soul Reapers and demanded to know who Hitsugaya was.
• As Gerard approached, Grimmjow released his Resurrección, Pantera, and rushed back to Central Square.
• Grimmjow attacked Gerard’s neck and elbow with his claws and Pantera’s Claw, but Gerard’s armor barely took damage.
• Grimmjow dodged Gerard’s sword and shield while landing repeated attacks, yet Gerard remained unharmed and drove him back with a repulsion field.
• Gerard looked down at the panting Grimmjow and mocked him for running.

Grimmjow revealed Segunda Etapa, a transformation beyond ordinary Resurrección, after Gerard mocked him for exhausting his abilities. He faced Gerard in his new, far more powerful form as the battle continued.

• Gerard taunted Grimmjow, who insisted he still had a trump card he had intended to use against Ichigo Kurosaki.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya asked Byakuya Kuchiki whether Arrancar could reach a release beyond Resurrección, and Byakuya said such a transformation would break established principles.
• Grimmjow unleashed a blue-black storm of Reiatsu and transformed his white armor into a black, heavily armored panther-like form.
• Grimmjow's transformation became Segunda Etapa, but Gerard laughed at his new appearance and dismissed him as an insect.

Grimmjow used his Segunda Etapa speed to tear Gerard apart, then learned from Tōshirō Hitsugaya that Gerard's Cross Core powered his regeneration. He charged at Gerard with Meat Grinder to open the way for the Soul Reapers to destroy the core.

• Grimmjow repeatedly wounded Gerard with rapid attacks that Gerard could neither see nor stop, despite regenerating from every injury.
• Grimmjow severed the tendon behind Gerard's ankle and carved into his vital points while he was down.
• Grimmjow spotted Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Byakuya Kuchiki on a surviving platform and asked about Gerard's weakness.
• Hitsugaya explained that Gerard's Cross Core enabled his regeneration, and Grimmjow said he would expose it for the Soul Reapers to destroy.
• Gerard attacked with his greatsword, and Grimmjow charged toward it, calling out Meat Grinder.

Grimmjow dismantled Gerard’s giant body and exposed his Pure White Cross Core, giving Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Byakuya Kuchiki a chance to attack it. Gerard regenerated, but the cracked core failed and both he and it disintegrated, leaving the Soul Reapers victorious.

• Grimmjow used his Segunda Etapa to carve away Gerard’s body until only the Pure White Cross Core remained.
• Grimmjow urged Tōshirō Hitsugaya to attack, and Hitsugaya froze the core while Byakuya Kuchiki struck it with his Final Vista technique.
• The core cracked under their combined attacks, but it pulsed with Holy Reishi and rebuilt Gerard’s body.
• Gerard’s damaged core failed to repair, and cracks spread through his body until he disintegrated along with the shattered core.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya sheathed his sword and realized that destroying the core had finally ended Gerard.

Ichigo Kurosaki rushed through Wahrwelt toward Yhwach, while Yasutora Sado and Ganju Shiba held off the Royal Guard Spirit Soldiers. At the plaza before the throne room, Uryū Ishida blocked Ichigo and prepared to attack him.

• Yasutora Sado and Ganju Shiba arrived to help Ichigo Kurosaki and took on the Royal Guard Spirit Soldiers so he could continue toward Yhwach.
• Sado struck the soldiers with his Giant's Right Arm, while Ganju trapped others with his Stone Wave: Raging Tide.
• Ichigo Kurosaki left his friends to fight the guards and sprinted toward the Soul King Palace's main hall.
• Uryū Ishida shot a Pure White Arrow in front of Ichigo, then ordered him to turn back and return to the World of the Living.
• Ichigo urged Uryū to join him against Yhwach, but Uryū raised his bow and declared that he would not let Ichigo pass.

Ichigo Kurosaki fought Uryū Ishida until Jugram Haschwalth arrived and exposed Ishida’s plan to betray Yhwach. Ishida gave Ichigo the Sun Key and held Haschwalth back so Ichigo could head for Yhwach’s throne room, leaving the two Quincies to face each other.

• Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryū Ishida battled through the halls, with Ichigo refusing to use a full-powered Getsuga Tenshō against his friend.
• Jugram Haschwalth arrived and moved to kill Ichigo, but Uryū Ishida stopped him with an arrow.
• Haschwalth accused Uryū Ishida of never truly submitting to Yhwach and of waiting for a chance to betray him.
• Uryū Ishida gave Ichigo the Sun Key, which could open the teleportation barrier to the true core of the Soul King Palace, and told him to confront Yhwach.
• Uryū Ishida held Haschwalth off while Ichigo passed through the Reishi light screen toward the depths of the hall.

Uryū Ishida fought Haschwalth through the night, but Haschwalth used The Almighty to foresee and defeat his attacks. At dawn, Haschwalth lost the power borrowed from His Majesty and declared that he now wielded The Balance.

• Uryū Ishida insisted that Ichigo Kurosaki could defy fate, while Haschwalth dismissed hope as an illusion and said Ichigo was destined to fall.
• Uryū Ishida attacked Haschwalth with arrows and a Quincy array, but Haschwalth foresaw his moves and dismantled each attack.
• Haschwalth wounded Uryū Ishida repeatedly, yet Uryū Ishida refused to yield and continued fighting through the night.
• Dawn awakened His Majesty, causing Haschwalth's borrowed Almighty to recede and his eyes to return to normal.
• Haschwalth told the battered Uryū Ishida that he now possessed The Balance, a power better suited to his fighting.

Uryū Ishida exploited Haschwalth’s loss of The Almighty at dawn and provoked him with Yoriichi Tsugikuni’s name to create an opening. Uryū then used a special arrow and Sōken’s Sanrei Glove to seal Haschwalth’s ability to gather Reishi, triggering a violent backlash.

• At dawn, Uryū Ishida realized Haschwalth had lost The Almighty’s foresight, though Haschwalth still had the advantage in strength and skill.
• Uryū told Haschwalth that Ichigo Kurosaki had taken the Sun Key and invoked Yoriichi Tsugikuni’s name, stirring Haschwalth’s grief over Bazz-B.
• Haschwalth angrily dismissed Yoriichi as a cripple, letting Uryū notice a crack in his opponent’s focus.
• Uryū fired a special spirit arrow that burst against Haschwalth’s sword, flooding the hall with light and disrupting his Reiatsu sense.
• Uryū charged through the mist, allowed Haschwalth’s sword to pierce his abdomen, and locked Sōken’s Sanrei Glove onto Haschwalth’s right wrist.
• The glove’s Reishi Chains sealed Haschwalth’s ability to gather Reishi, causing his Holy Spiritual Power to collapse into a backlash.

Ichigo Kurosaki entered the Core Throne Hall of Wahrwelt and confronted Yhwach, who claimed Ichigo was his son and mocked Yoriichi Tsugikuni for sacrificing his power to protect the Three Realms. Ichigo rejected Yhwach’s claims and charged up the steps, determined to stop him.

• Ichigo Kurosaki reached the throne hall and found Yhwach transformed after absorbing the Soul King's Source.
• Yhwach called Ichigo his son and claimed that Ichigo’s blood, power, and growth belonged to him.
• Ichigo accused Yhwach of killing his mother by stealing her power during the Auswählen nine years earlier.
• Yhwach mocked Yoriichi Tsugikuni for using most of his Source power to mend the Three Realms and preserve Jūshirō Ukitake.
• Ichigo Kurosaki defended Yoriichi’s choice, climbed toward Yhwach, and raised his swords to attack.