Hitsugaya's advance troops continue to fight the Arrancars who appeared in Karakura Town. Urahara shows up to help. He dodges Wonderweiss, but Yammy hits him with a flurry of Bala attacks. Meanwhile, Rangiku, Ikkaku and Yumichika are having trouble fighting Espada Number Six, Luppi, who has released his zanpakuto. And on the other side of town Ichigo has cornered Grimmjow.

Arrancars suddenly appear in the World of the Living. Yammy, Luppi, Grimmjow, and Wonderweiss are confronted by Hitsugaya's advance troops and Ichigo. Ichigo fights Grimmjow and immediately uses his Bankai. Meanwhile, Luppi, the newest Espada Number Six, takes on Hitsugaya and his troops by himself. He releases his Zanpakuto and knocks down Hitsugaya with the tremendous force of his eight tentacles. His tentacles then set their sights on Rangiku, Ikkaku, and Yumichika.

Renji's fight with Patras continues as it destroys Urahara's shop and parts of Karakura Town. Repeatedly overpowered by Patras's attacks, Renji leads the Arrancar into Urahara's underground training facility where he can safely use his Bankai. Meanwhile, Hitsugaya and the others engage Menis and Aldegor while the Arrancars are in their released state.

Ichigo and his friends manage to drive away Grimmjow and the other Arrancars. But behind the scenes, Aizen orders Ulquiorra to bring Orihime to Hueco Mundo. Orihime agrees to go in exchange for the safety of her friends. She is given a twelve-hour reprieve and is allowed to say her farewells to only one person. Orihime prepares herself and leaves her room to say goodbye to the one person she has in mind. Meanwhile, Hitsugaya and the others are recovering from the injuries they received from their fight with the Arrancars.

Kenpachi overcomes Yammy’s monstrous size and tough exterior to land a clean blow against the Espada. Meanwhile, Ichigo uses Garganta to return to the World of the Living. On the way, Captain Unohana explains to Ichigo about Aizen’s power of “Complete Hypnosis.” She then reveals that Ichigo is the key to defeating Aizen.

chigo awakens to realize that the serious injuries he received from Grimmjow's attack have completely healed. He senses that Orihime came to his room from the traces of Spiritual Pressure that she left behind. Hitsugaya comes to get Ichigo, and they head to Orihime's room. Ichigo senses that something is odd when he sees Rukia and the others gathered there. A transmission comes in from the Soul Society and Captain Ukitake appears on the monitor. He tells them the terrifying truth: that Orihime is with the Arrancars and may already be dead.

Ichigo wakes up to find himself in the middle of a desert. Sitting next to a confused Ichigo are Uryu, Orihime, and Chad, all dressed in an Arabian style. Introducing themselves as “Urio,” “Ori Mei,” and “Chaido,” the three explain that they are in search of a treasure called the “Snow Crystal.”

Ichigo goes up against Yammy. Rukia notices that Ichigo is acting strange following his battle with Ulquiorra and shows her concern for him. Ichigo is also shaken up by the fact that his Hollowfication now feels different. But, unable to forgive Yammy for labeling Ulquiorra and Grimmjow as trash, Ichigo makes another attempt at his Hollowfication.

With the Espada gone, the Visoreds are now able to confront Aizen. Having been unwilling test subjects in Aizen’s past experiment, the Visoreds make no effort to hide their hatred toward the man who destroyed their lives. Hiyori, unable hold in her anger, is the first to attack Aizen with her blade. Meanwhile, Chad, Renji, and Rukia continue their fight against Yammy in Hueco Mundo.

Las Noches. Long ago, Apache, at the time still an Adjucha-class Hollow, was hunted by other Hollows when Halibel saved her life. Apache soon joins Halibel’s group consisting of Sun-Sun and Mila Rose. As they spend more time together, Apache notices Halibel does not devour the enemies she defeats. When questioned, Halibel responds that she does not wish to become stronger by sacrificing others.

Stark splits his own soul and shapes it into packs of wolves and launches them against Love and Rose. Preparing to deliver the finishing blow, Stark is caught off guard by Shunsui, who suddenly appears out of Stark’s shadow. Despite his best efforts to dodge the attacks, Stark is gradually weakened. Just then the wolves, headed by Lilinette, swarm over Shunsui. He brushes them off, and the wolves disappear. Stark calls out for Lilinette but hears no reply.

Stark shows no sign of getting serious in his battle against Love and Rose. Running out of patience, Lilinette begins to mindlessly fire at the two Visoreds without Stark’s permission. But her attacks prove to be ineffective against the two, and she is gradually cornered by the pair’s fine team play. Finally, Love hits Stark with his Zanpakuto attack, and the Espada is thrown into a sea of flames.

Barragan appears to be defeated by the combined efforts of Hachigen and Soi Fon. But the two are shocked to find Barragan forcing open Hachigen’s Shiju Saimon barrier. As king of Hueco Mundo, Barragan is determined to show the world his absolute strength and power. His reason originates as far back to when he once reigned over his subjects in Las Noches. Having no enemies to conquer, Barragan would pit his subjects against one another to fight off his boredom. That was when Aizen arrived in Hueco Mundo.