Yasutora Sado dies! Orihime's Tears

In a darkened lab, Szayelaporro Granz studies footage of Renji's earlier battle and spots the flaws in his Bankai before an alarm alerts him to intruders. Outside on the sands, Nnoitra slashes Yasutora Sado across the chest, collapsing him as his Fullbring fades and Nnoitra dismisses him as weak. The plunge in Sado's Reiatsu jolts Ichigo, Renji, and Uryū, and Ichigo can only cling to the group's vow that they will all return alive.

Ulquiorra brings food to Orihime and orders her to eat, but she refuses and insists Sado is not dead. When he coldly notes that all her friends will die soon and Sado merely went first, Orihime slaps him across the face; he departs with a promise to force-feed her later, leaving her to sob alone. On the dunes, Sado stuns everyone by rising once more with his left arm's Fullbring active, only for Nnoitra's Fracción Tesra to block the blow with Plato Colmillo, and Nnoitra menaces Tesra for daring to think the Espada's best needed protecting.

Chasing through Las Noches, Renji and Dondochakka tumble through Szayelaporro's trap holes and land in his chamber, where the eighth Espada introduces himself and offers a special welcome for an unstudied specimen. Renji cuts him short and unleashes Hihiō Zabimaru, but the Bankai smashes into an orange barrier and bursts into hundreds of fragments. Meanwhile, Aaroniero Arruruerie releases his Resurrección, Glotonería, and warns Rukia that fighting him means facing the combined power of the 33,650 Hollows he has devoured.

Nnoitra defeats Sado, whose second attempt to strike is stopped by Tesra Lindocruz. Orihime slaps Ulquiorra after he mocks her friends' deaths, then breaks down in tears. Renji and Dondochakka fall into Szayelaporro Granz's traps, and Renji's Bankai shatters against Szayelaporro's barrier on its first strike. Aaroniero unveils his Resurrección Glotonería against Rukia, claiming the strength of over thirty thousand consumed Hollows.

Set during the first half of the Hueco Mundo invasion, this installment adapts scattered pages from chapters 262 through 267. Its Arrancar Encyclopedia segment has Gin describe Sonído as the Arrancar counterpart to Shunpo and Hirenkyaku, then trip Gantenbainne with his sheathed sword mid-demonstration.