Turn Back The Pendulum 9

Wandering the Seireitei in the dark, Kyōraku tells two guards he simply cannot sleep, then notes that Aizen seems restless as well before dismissing his own unease. Returning to the Eighth Division barracks, he meets a young Nanao Ise clutching a book. He recalls her name, to her delight, and explains that he makes a point of remembering the young girls' names. When Nanao asks to read with Lisa again, he tells her Lisa is away on an important mission but will return by dawn.

In the Rukongai, Lisa is wounded by Kensei, and Rose retaliates, protesting that this is not the Kensei who would strike a woman. Hachi restrains Kensei with Bakudō #99 Kin, admitting he may have overexerted himself, and warns Shinji there is little Kidō can do without knowing the cause. When Hiyori begins coughing again, Shinji orders Hachi to heal everyone, starting with her, but Hiyori tells him to let go as fluid pours from her mouth and a Hollow mask forms on her face, cutting Shinji across the chest. Darkness swallows Lisa and Love as they rush to her, and Love is struck down. When the light returns, Shinji recognizes Kaname Tōsen and demands to know why he betrayed his captain. Aizen then appears, telling Shinji that Tōsen betrayed no one and only followed orders, and asking him not to blame Kaname for what he has done.

The chapter completes the disaster it has been building toward: the reinforcements themselves begin to Hollowfy, with Hiyori among the newest victims. It quietly foreshadows Nanao's lasting bond with Kyōraku and her ties to Lisa. Above all, it delivers the arc's turning point, exposing Kaname Tōsen as the inside hand and revealing Sōsuke Aizen as the mastermind orchestrating the entire tragedy from the shadows.

The final chapter of volume 36 and the Turn Back The Pendulum flashback was adapted as part of Episode 211, Betrayal! Aizen's Secret Maneuvers. It closes the backward-numbered arc and hands the story directly into the fate of the Visored and Aizen's long game against Soul Society.