The Hardest Body!? Cut Down Nnoitra!

Bleeding out, Szayelaporro silently begs Mayuri to end him. The captain lectures the dying Espada that nothing can truly be perfect, since perfection leaves no room for growth and thus spells despair for a scientist, so the moment Szayelaporro called himself flawless he stopped being one. Mayuri snaps his Zanpakuto and leaves half of it in the body, assuring Uryu he can rebuild it from the hilt. He then revives the collapsed Nemu by unsettling means, sends Renji and Uryu peeking through their fingers, and has her drill through rubble, briefly plowing Pesche and Dondochakka aside, to uncover his secret laboratory and its hanging specimens.

Nearby, Yachiru watches Kenpachi trade cuts with Nnoitra. Every slash glances off the Espada's hide, and Nnoitra brags that his Hierro is the toughest the Espada have ever produced. When he dodges a strike aimed at his covered eye, Kenpachi points out that flinching proves the spot is vulnerable, but Nnoitra dismisses it as mere reflex. Elsewhere Mayuri pins Uryu down to forcibly heal him while Renji pleads to be treated so he can rejoin the fight, only to be told that Kenpachi is a beast best left alone.

The brawl intensifies as Nnoitra whips his chained blade at blinding speed. Kenpachi drags him in by the chain, smashes him into the ground, and drives his sword through the eyepatch, certain he has struck true. Instead Nnoitra grabs his wrist, punches a hole through his chest, and reveals that his Hollow hole sits beneath the patch, so the blade passed clean through empty space rather than his skull.

Mayuri finishes Szayelaporro and breaks his own Zanpakuto as punishment, then revives Nemu and uncovers his hidden laboratory. Kenpachi's every strike fails against Nnoitra's supreme Hierro. Kenpachi stabs through the eyepatch, only to learn that Nnoitra's Hollow hole lies there, letting the blade pass harmlessly through as Nnoitra counters.

The episode adapts chapters 306, 307, and part of 308 within the second part of the Hueco Mundo arc. Its Illustrated Picture Book segment has Renji and Kira eye Mayuri's enormous Reishi research facility and spot Iba helping with construction, hoping in vain to recover the Shinigami Men's Association funds.