The Nightmare Returns...Revival of the Espada

The battlefield looks won. Tier Harribel is sealed inside Hitsugaya's Hyōten Hyakkasō, Baraggan appears destroyed by Suì-Fēng's Bankai, and the wounded captain, cradling a severed arm, brushes off Ōmaeda's clumsy concern. The lone continuing fight pits Shunsui Kyōraku against Coyote Starrk. Ukitake joins in, redirecting Cero after Cero back at the Espada, and Starrk works out that his weapon absorbs an attack and returns it with charm-adjusted speed to spoil the enemy's timing. Reasoning there must be a limit to how much can be absorbed, Starrk plans to overwhelm him, while Kyōraku uses Shunpo to stay close and deny Starrk his Cero Metralleta, the two captains cornering him together.

An immense Garganta then splits the sky. Wonderweiss Margela emerges, commanding a colossal one-eyed Hollow whose fingernails are Gillian masks, the same eye Komamura recalls from Aizen's escape. Wonderweiss instantly appears behind Ukitake and runs a hand through his gut, and when Kyōraku tries to help, Starrk fires a point-blank Cero into his back. Both captains drop, horrifying Yamamoto.

Wonderweiss's shrieks then undo everything. The first screech shatters Hitsugaya's ice and frees Harribel; the second clears the smoke to reveal Baraggan alive and unharmed. On the creature's next breath, Yamamoto's fiery Jōkaku Enjō prison is snuffed out, releasing Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen. As Kira sinks into despair, a new voice cuts in: Shinji Hirako and the Visored have arrived, and Shinji greets Aizen as an old acquaintance.

The Kyōraku and Ukitake versus Starrk fight concludes with both captains struck down. Wonderweiss Margela and the giant Hollow Hooleer arrive through a massive Garganta and reverse the tide, reviving Harribel and Baraggan and freeing Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tōsen from Yamamoto's flame prison. Ukitake's absorb-and-return ability is fully explained. The episode ends with the entire Visored group entering the battle, setting up their reunion with Aizen. The Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book segment shows Ichigo's group missing their flight home and Kon announcing a new ending theme.

Part of the second stretch of the Fake Karakura Town arc, the episode adapts Chapters 363 and 364. It aired in Japan on July 6, 2010, and in English on November 4, 2012, opening with ChAngE and closing with Stay Beautiful. Flashbacks reference Tōsen's Bankai Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Korogi and the Bakudō spells used to bind Aizen, while the resurrected Espada are tied to their release forms Los Lobos, Tiburón, and Arrogante.