Visored! The Power of the Awakened

Back in Las Noches, Grimmjow shows no remorse for his rampage, and when Tōsen requests permission to execute him, Aizen instead lets Tōsen sever Grimmjow's left arm and burn it away with Haien. Grimmjow storms off in contempt as Aizen assures Gin that losing five Gillian-class Arrancar changes nothing, since gathering Vasto Lorde and completing the Espada will make them unstoppable. In a Karakura hospital chamber, Uryū keeps dodging Ryūken's arrows while doubting that this game can truly return his Quincy powers.

The next morning, Yuzu finds Ichigo's bed empty, nearly uncovering a terrified Kon, and Rukia races through town searching for him. A flashback recalls Orihime's swift healing of Rukia and Ichigo's decision not to burden Urahara with his Hollow problem. Returning to the park where he met Ulquiorra and Yammy, Ichigo feels his sclera darken and knows he cannot go on like this. Meanwhile Sado kneels before Urahara and asks to be trained, and at school Misato marks Ichigo absent alongside his missing friends.

Ichigo walks into the Visored's warehouse, where Shinji, having lured him in with concentrated Reiatsu, assumes he has come to join them. Ichigo flatly refuses, insisting he only wants to be taught how to control his Hollow, and vows to beat the method out of them. He leaps from his body with his badge and clashes fiercely with Shinji, but Hiyori grows impatient, kicks Shinji aside with her Super Harisen Slipper, and dons her own Hollow mask. Declaring that joining is not his choice, she orders Ichigo to Hollowfy so they can gauge his worth, then attacks before he can react.

Tōsen severs Grimmjow's arm and incinerates it as punishment for his unsanctioned raid. Aizen reaffirms his plan to assemble Vasto Lorde and complete the Espada. Sado formally asks Urahara to train him. Ichigo tracks down the Visored but refuses to join, demanding only that they teach him to master his inner Hollow. His fight with Shinji is interrupted by Hiyori, who masks up and forces the confrontation to test whether Ichigo can Hollowfy on command.

Part of the Arrancar arc, this episode adapts chapters 213 through 216. Its bonus segment, Kon-sama's Ultimate Shinigami Illustrated Guide, has Kon, while possessing Hanatarō's body, accidentally release the weak-when-empty Akeiro Hisagomaru, only to be snatched up by an impressed Kenpachi who wants to play. Censorship softened the blood from Tōsen's amputation of Grimmjow's arm.