Tragedy of Dawn

Gravely wounded, Renji clutches at a battered Ichigo before both men collapse. Ganju and Hanatarō rush in, haul the unconscious Ichigo away through the canals below the Seireitei, and Hanatarō sets to healing him with his division's restorative Reiryoku, vowing to close the wounds in a single night. When Ichigo wakes and tries to leave to find Rukia, Ganju knocks him out cold to keep him from tearing open again. Hanatarō privately marvels that a Hollow-like mask found in Ichigo's pocket seems to have blunted Renji's killing blow. Meanwhile, the Third Division discovers Renji unconscious, and a stunned Izuru orders him carried back for treatment.

Byakuya coldly dismisses his own lieutenant, ordering Renji thrown in a cell for the disgrace of losing a solo fight, and Izuru bows in apology to spare Hinamori his wrath. Gin steps in to arrange Fourth Division aid, while Hitsugaya privately warns Hinamori to be wary of the Third Division, and of Gin in particular, recalling a cryptic exchange between Gin and Aizen. At the captains' assembly, Yamamoto declares the loss of a lieutenant means the matter can no longer be left to lower ranks, and he grants all high-ranking Shinigami the right to carry and release their Zanpakutō as in full wartime.

As night falls, Hinamori sits beside the caged Renji, wondering if he fought the Ryoka alone because of Rukia, and recalls their academy days sparring alongside Izuru. Learning of the wartime orders, she resists the idea of drawing swords, wanting only peace, and takes her worries to Aizen late that night. Aizen welcomes her warmly, reassures her that Renji will not be discharged since he is well-liked, and lets her stay while he writes. She drifts off under his coat. Before dawn, Aizen slips out, leaving a shadowy figure behind near the door.

Hinamori bolts awake to find Aizen gone and races to make the lieutenants' meeting, taking a shortcut across the rooftops around the Senzaikyū tower. She halts at the sound of blood dripping and turns to a horror that rips a scream from her: Aizen impaled through the chest with his own Zanpakutō, pinned high atop the East Holy Wall. Iba, Hisagi, Rangiku, and Izuru rush to her as she screams his name.

The apparent assassination is Aizen's own staged death, using a corpse doll to fake his murder and throw suspicion elsewhere, foreshadowed by Hitsugaya's warnings and by glimpses of Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu. Elsewhere Ichigo wakes a second time under Hanatarō's care, cursing Ganju before conceding he needed to be stopped, and quietly steadies himself for the road ahead. The wiki logs numerous anime expansions and staging changes from the manga, including Hinamori keeping her uniform and hair up rather than changing into a kimono, and the elaborate rooftop route she takes toward the wall.