Foundation Stones

In Silbern, a maimed Luders Friegen gives his report to Yhwach, who executes him for speaking of the future without the gift of prophecy, then kills Ebern as well despite his loyalty. Yhwach dismisses the loss of his Arrancar soldiers, declaring Hueco Mundo merely one foundation stone toward invading Soul Society, and reveals a bloodied Tier Harribel chained in her released form. Back in the Seireitei, the Gotei 13 mourns Chojiro Sasakibe, slain during the Wandenreich's first strike, as Akon briefs every division on the intruders who bypassed the Seireitei's barrier.

The next morning, Nel drops through a Garganta onto Ichigo in Karakura Town, followed by Pesche, begging him to help because Hueco Mundo has fallen. Ichigo gathers Orihime, Sado, and Uryu to hear how Yhwach's army slaughtered dozens of Arrancar and dragged off Harribel and Dondochakka. Uryu declines to join, since a Quincy cannot fight for Hollows, and Ichigo accepts his choice just as Urahara arrives to arrange passage to Hueco Mundo.

Emerging above the desert, the group finds the sands littered with butchered Arrancar and a column of chained captives herded by the Jagdarmee. Ichigo resolves to save them, and elsewhere Sternritter Quilge Opie stages a lethal selection contest, impaling those who beg. Loly and Menoly turn their hidden blades on him but are swiftly beaten down, and the Tres Bestias, Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun, arrive to avenge Harribel, only for Quilge to defeat all three by the time Ichigo reaches the battlefield.

Yhwach kills Luders and Ebern and confirms Hueco Mundo has been conquered, with Harribel taken captive. Chojiro Sasakibe's funeral proceeds in the Seireitei following the Wandenreich's opening raid.

Nel and Pesche recruit Ichigo, Orihime, and Sado to rescue the Arrancar, while Uryu abstains as a Quincy. Quilge Opie runs a deadly selection of the captured Arrancar, subduing Loly, Menoly, and the Tres Bestias. Mayuri warns the captains that only Quincy could erase Souls from the cycle of rebirth.

This is the second episode of the Thousand-Year Blood War anime and the 368th of the series overall, adapting chapters 485 through 488. Its title poem is credited to Quilge Opie.

The adaptation expands numerous scenes, including Harribel's defeat, Nel and Pesche's pleas, and the Tres Bestias flashbacks to the White Invasion, while streamlining details such as the exact tally of intruders at Black Ridge Gate.