The Extending Blade?! Ichigo vs. Gin!

Isshin opens against Aizen but cannot land a hit, and Aizen answers with a lightning spell that catches him. Nearby, Gin reminisces about his first clash with Ichigo, only for the teenager to say he recalls nothing of Gin's heart, since crossing swords with the man told him nothing about his resolve. Amused and then unsettled, Gin releases his Bankai, Kamishini no Yari, boasting that it stretches to thirteen kilometers, and levels several buildings with a single swing. Ichigo blocks it, bats the blade aside, and lands a direct hit.

Rangiku senses the fight from afar and quietly speaks Gin's name. Studying the weapon, Ichigo deduces that its true threat is not reach or force but the blinding speed at which it retracts, and that Gin destroyed the surroundings to distract him from that speed. Impressed, Gin reveals his blade actually moves five hundred times faster, so knowledge alone will not save his opponent, and the two press on.

Meanwhile, Aizen tells Isshin his slowing is the start of a metamorphosis granted by the Hogyoku, which he claims possesses a will of its own. He explains that its real power is capturing and giving form to the hearts around it, the source of the so-called miracles surrounding Ichigo, Rukia, and Urahara, and that Kisuke misread it because the orb simply fulfilled his own desire. Gin knocks Ichigo through a wall, Isshin is snapped at by his son to stay out of the way, and Aizen's body is enveloped by the orb, only for Urahara to open the exchange with a shot from behind.

Gin unveils Kamishini no Yari and its concealed retraction speed. Ichigo counters with Getsuga Tensho and analyzes the Bankai's real danger. Aizen discloses the Hogyoku's ability to materialize nearby hearts and admits he seeded that theory by sending Rukia to Ichigo, framing the Visored's Hollowfication as an early test of the orb. His transformation begins, and Kisuke Urahara joins the battle against him.

The episode adapts chapters 398 through 401 during the later Fake Karakura Town fighting. Its companion segment, the Arrancar Encyclopedia, has Gin explain his Bankai's reach in playful terms, likening thirteen kilometers to thirty-nine Tokyo Towers or two hundred sixty stacked Yammys, then using it to fetch a forgotten umbrella.