Eagle Without Wings 2 (EXTREME BATTLEMASTER MIX)

Instructed never to look upon Aizen's released blade, Ichigo speeds through a Garganta convinced that a single decisive cut can settle the whole conflict. He surfaces right behind his enemy and drives a Getsuga Tenshō into the back of his neck, yet the strike shatters against a concealed shield, stunning Shinji and Komamura. Aizen simply greets him and points out that the nape is any creature's greatest blind spot, so of course it was guarded. Cursing his own hesitation, Ichigo is goaded into attacking while Hollowfied; his second Getsuga is evaded with ease. When he tries to keep his distance, Aizen calls the effort pointless, claiming he can reach Ichigo's heart whenever he pleases, and lays his fingers on the boy's chest to prove it.

Aizen presses his mind games further, arguing that Ichigo feels no genuine hatred because his friends survived, and that a will to fight that holds no hatred is an eagle stripped of its wings, with weak allies amounting to nothing but shackles. Ichigo's confidence wavers until Komamura grips his wrist and reminds him that provocation is Aizen's favorite weapon. The Gotei 13 captains and the Visored then plant themselves between Ichigo and Aizen, vowing to spare him any sight of the traitor's Shikai.

This is the second chapter of volume 45, THE BURNOUT INFERNO, and its title echoes Aizen's jab about an eagle that cannot fly. The events were dramatized in episode 292, All Out War! Aizen vs. Shinigami. A brief flashback places Orihime Inoue in the scene.