Aizen Stands! Horrible Ambitions

 is the sixty-first episode of the Bleach anime.

4th Division Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu informs the Gotei 13 that Sōsuke Aizen is alive as the latter reveals his machinations.

Summary
Confronted by 5th Division Captain Sōsuke Aizen on Sōkyoku Hill, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai holds Rukia Kuchiki in his arms and begins to express his shock at seeing Aizen alive, only to decide against it and focus on the latter's request, which he does not understand. Asserting that Renji must have heard him as he stands with 3rd Division Captain Gin Ichimaru, Aizen reiterates his instructions for Renji to leave Rukia here and run away.

Back in the Central 46 Compound, 4th Division Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu kneels before her captain, Retsu Unohana, and draws a seal on the ground before performing '''Bakudō #58. Kakushitsuijaku''', allowing her to locate Aizen and the others on Sōkyoku Hill. Upon learning this, Unohana tells Isane to inform all captains and lieutenants of what they have learned about Aizen as well as his location, adding afterward that she should inform the Ryoka as well, which Isane affirms.

Unohana ascends the platform and states that she is counting on Isane to do this while she does her best to save 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya and 5th Division Lieutenant Momo Hinamori as she draws her Zanpakutō. Behind Unohana, Isane draws angled patterns on her arms and hands before making several seals as she performs '''Bakudō #77. Tenteikūra''', which connects her to the minds of Ichigo Kurosaki, Yasutora Sado, Uryū Ishida, and all the other captains, lieutenants, and seated officers around the Seireitei. Addressing the combatants, Isane identifies herself and requests that they heed this urgent message from herself and Unohana.

After Isane finishes relaying her message, 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake expresses disbelief at the news of Aizen's action as 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku suggests that they and Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto not continue their fight any further. Elsewhere, 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto leaps across the rooftops and refuses to believe that Hitsugaya lost, leaving 3rd Division Lieutenant Izuru Kira to lean against a crater and express shock at Gin going back on his word of not hurting Hinamori while 7th Division Lieutenant Tetsuzaemon Iba and 11th Division 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame are stunned by Central 46 being murdered.

With 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi and 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura mortified by 9th Division Captain Kaname Tōsen betraying them, in the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, 12th Division Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi asks her captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, if he heard, leading Mayuri to confirm that he did, but when Nemu inquires what they will do, Mayuri bluntly states that the situation does not interest him. Meanwhile, as he stands with his friends and Makizō Aramaki on the steps of Sōkyoku Hill with the aid of Ganju Shiba, Ichigo wonders if this is all true, prompting Ganju to muse that it could be a trap.

However, Uryū notes that it seems to be true and inquires if Ichigo has not sensed the Reiatsu that just appeared above them, which leads a shocked Ichigo to realize Rukia is there. Back on Sōkyoku Hill, Renji refuses to give Rukia over to Aizen, who acknowledges this. When Gin attempts to draw his Zanpakutō, Aizen tells him to wait and calls Renji stubborn for not giving him Rukia, only to promise that he will let Renji have his way by keeping Rukia in his arms while destroying the rest of him as he draws his Zanpakutō, intimidating Renji, who leaps back as Aizen slashes at him. While blood spatters on the ground, Rukia expresses concern for Renji.

Renji stands with his right sleeve ripped open and his sword arm wounded as he holds Rukia in his left and points his Zanpakutō at Aizen, who praises the improvement in Renji's defensive skills. Despite being pleased with Renji's growth, Aizen states that Renji has chosen a bad time to be persistent because it is difficult for him to step on ants without crushing them and he would hate to see a former subordinate die. With Rukia still expressing concern for him, Renji tells her to shut up and demands to know why Aizen killed Hinamori if he feels this way, prompting Aizen to explaining that he had trained Hinamori so she could not live without him, making it merciful for him to kill her.

With Renji stunned by this, Aizen elaborates that he never intended to kill Hinamori himself and tried to get Izuru and Hitsugaya to do the job for him, only for those attempts to not work out, leaving him to grudgingly do it himself. Hearing this, Renji notes that Aizen had both Izuru and Hinamori in the palm of his hand, and with Aizen asserting that Renji was in the palm of his hand as well, Renji declares that Aizen is not the captain he knew and is definitely not getting Rukia even if Renji does not know what his plan is. However, Aizen counters that he was never the captain Renji knew because that was an illusion, such that the Aizen which Renji knew never existed.

Angered by this, Renji leaps high into the air and releases his Shikai, Zabimaru. As the segments of Zabimaru hurtle toward him, Aizen inquires if Shikai is the best that Renji can do with his injured arm and holds his Zanpakutō above his head, causing Zabimaru to deflect off of it into the ground nearby, startling Renji. With Aizen stating that he must know Shikai will not buy him any time at all, Renji retracts Zabimaru and proclaims that he does not know this before swinging Zabimaru at Aizen once more, only for Aizen to casually grab the end segment, stopping Zabimaru in its tracks and causing the remaining segments to bunch up in midair.

As Renji expresses shock at Aizen accomplishing this with his bare hand, Aizen observes that Renji was the most trouble of the three and cuts apart Zabimaru with a single slash of his Zanpakutō. After slashing Renji across the back, which causes him to fall to his knees, Aizen recalls how he felt sure that he could use Renji, Hinamori, and Izuru the first time they met, which is why he had the three of them assigned to the Fifth Division when they joined the Gotei 13 and made the two useful ones subordinates of himself and Gin before sending Renji to another division since he was the problem child, an instinct which he concludes was correct.

However, while Aizen instructs Renji one last time to let go of Rukia and run, leading Rukia to attempt to plead with Aizen, Renji tells her to shut up once again and refuses to let go of her. Recalling his separation from Rukia at the Shin'ō Academy, Renji declares that he is not leaving Rukia, prompting Aizen to state that this is unfortunate and attack him. Suddenly, Aizen finds his Zanpakutō intercepted by Ichigo, who kneels between him and Renji with his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, active and his sword blocking Aizen's as he questions if Rukia is really heavy enough to make Renji kneels and claims that he came to give the latter a hand.

After forcing back Aizen's Zanpakutō, Ichigo leaps several meters back alongside Renji, who continues to hold Rukia. When Renji apologizes for forcing him to come to their aid, Ichigo claims that Renji looks beat up from just carrying Rukia around and mockingly inquires if running away was too much for him. Irritated by this, Renji counters that Ichigo looks injured as well, and while Ichigo and Renji continue to bicker in annoyance, Rukia pushes herself away from Renji's chest and gasps for air. With a startled Ichigo and Renji looking down at her, Rukia angrily punches Renji in the face for smothering her against his chest and crushing the wind out of her.

Watching Rukia continue to berate Renji, Gin apologizes to Aizen for letting Ichigo get by because he did not want to intrude, prompting Aizen to assure him that it is alright since Ichigo is just another ant to step on and makes no difference. Alerted by this, Ichigo asks Renji if that is Aizen, which Renji confirms, and inquires if he can run. As he affirms that he can but will not do so, Renji points out that they both know there is no point in running, and though he does not believe they can defeat Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen, Renji suggests that they might be able to stun the captains and walk out of here with some pride, leading Ichigo to claim that they have no choice but to fight together.

While moving to the side and placing his left hand on the hilt of Zabimaru, Renji notes that he can only use this move once and that there will be an opening if it works before instructing Ichigo to strike during this opening. After asking Zabimaru to endure the pain this will bring, Renji slams his broken Shikai into the ground and initiates Higa Zekkō, causing the broken segments of Zabimaru around Aizen to rise into the air and hurtle toward him while glowing with Reiatsu, which alerts Gin and Tōsen. With Aizen engulfed in a cloud of dust by the impact of the segments, Ichigo seizes the opportunity and rushes forward with a yell as he swings his sword.

However, a smiling Aizen simply blocks Ichigo's blade with his left index finger before slashing his Zanpakutō deeply through a shocked Ichigo's midsection. Ichigo struggles to stay standing as the deep cut begins gushing blood, and after observing that he must have miscalculated if Ichigo is not in two pieces, Aizen leaves Ichigo to fall to his knees and slashes Renji across his upper back again, causing him to collapse in disbelief as well, before approaching Rukia and grabbing her by the collar around her neck as he tells her to get up. Upon seeing Rukia unable to stand up, Aizen realizes that her body has gone limp from the impact of his Reiatsu.

Suddenly, Aizen notices Ichigo struggling to get up and expresses sympathy for him still being conscious. As a sweating Ichigo glares at him, Aizen notes that his will to live exceeds his skills, which will work against him, and sheathes his Zanpakutō while telling Ichigo to rest for a while due to his part in all this being over. When Ichigo picks up on his phrasing, Aizen explains that he knew the Ryoka would be coming and would arrive in West Rukongai, which is why he posted surveillance there, lowered the Sekkiseki wall around the Seireitei after their arrival, and had Gin drive Ichigo away personally, leaving Kūkaku Shiba's Kakaku Taihō as the only way to get in.

Calling the Ryoka's arrival spectacular, Aizen details how his group outwitted and outfought even the captains, such that every Shinigami in the Seireitei was looking for them, and concludes that the excitement and engaging nature of it all meant even the murder of a captain received very little attention and made it easy for Aizen to carry out his plan. A stunned Ichigo questions how he knew they would arrive in West Rukongai, and when a puzzled Aizen asserts that it was obvious because that is Kisuke Urahara's base of operations and the only place the Ryoka could enter using a Senkaimon created by Urahara, Ichigo expresses shock.

Aizen points out that this should not surprise him since he works for Urahara before reminding Ichigo that he came to rescue Rukia on Urahara's orders. With Ichigo speechless at this, Aizen deduces that he does not know and decides to tell Ichigo now that it is all over as he approaches Ichigo with Rukia in tow. After detailing how Shinigami have four basic combat methods known as Zankensoki, each of which require a certain level of power, Aizen notes that attempting to master those methods will invariably result in one eventually hitting a wall determined by their potential, where improvement stops, and asserts that all Shinigami have these limits.

However, Aizen raises the question of the possibility of breaking through these limits and concludes that this can be done by only one means known as Hollowfication, causing Ichigo to recall briefly being taken over by his inner Hollow. Continuing that either Hollowfying a Shinigami or giving Shinigami powers to a Hollow allows them to reach new heights by removing the barrier between these opposing lifeforms, a theory which has been around for a while, Aizen recounts how he focused his efforts on Hollows and could eventually send out Hollows with abilities akin to those of Shinigami, like Hollows that could hide their Reiatsu.

When Aizen mentions that he also created Hollows that could destroy Zanpakutō and fuse with Shinigami, a mortified Rukia remembers the fate of Kaien Shiba. Despite this, Aizen admits that none of them could truly be considered a new kind of being and that no one else who attempted the same experiments were successful until Urahara, who worked outside of Soul Society's scientific community to create a substance that could remove the barriers between Shinigami and Hollows in an instant. Aizen refers to this substance as the Hōgyoku and recalls how Urahara tried to destroy it because he considered it dangerous.

After revealing that Urahara was unable to do so, Aizen recounts how he was eventually forced to reluctantly place a protective shell around the Hōgyoku that would allow it to be implanted deep within a Soul. Informing Rukia that she was the hiding place which Urahara chose, Aizen explains that she had already gone missing in the Human World by the time he learned this secret, though he instinctively knew that Urahara was behind it because he had created a Gigai that contained no Reishi, which is the only way a Shinigami could go missing in one, leading to his banishment from Soul Society alongside another reason involving that Gigai.

Aizen reveals that the other reason for Urahara's banishment was the consequence of a Shinigami inhabiting that Gigai: their spiritual powers would continue to diminish while they were within the Gigai to the point of no longer being recoverable, and communications with the Gigai gradually slow down, eventually leading to the Soul losing all of its spiritual powers and becoming a normal Human. With Aizen concluding that Urahara was turning her into a Human in order to conceal the Hōgyoku rather than help her, Rukia recalls Urahara approaching her after she transferred all her Shinigami powers to Ichigo and offering to let her borrow a Gigai.

However, as Aizen begins recounting the actions he took after Rukia was discovered a few months later, Komamura lands behind him and furiously attacks Aizen with his Shikai, Tenken.

Jinta-sama's Ultimate Diary
As Kon, in Ichigo Kurosaki's body, tries to retrieve his plushie body, Jinta Hanakari repeatedly punches him in the face while wondering why Kon is pursuing him so aggressively before kicking him away and getting to his feet. Upon seeing Kon growling at him with the soccer ball directly behind him, Jinta notes he is not after the ball before realizing that Kon wants the plushie strapped to his hip, which is believes is named "Bostov". Remembering how the strap holding the plushie was given to him by the "goddess" Yuzu Kurosaki, Jinta angrily declares that he will take on Kon.

Fights

 * Conspiracy Revealed: End Game

Powers and Techniques Used
Hohō Techniques:

Kidō Techniques:
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)

Zanpakutō Techniques:

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)

Bankai:

Music

 * 01:46 - Bleach 5th Anniversary Box CD 1 - 17 - BL_13
 * 02:43 - Bleach 5th Anniversary Box CD 1 - 04 - BL_75
 * 03:45 - Bleach 5th Anniversary Box CD 1 - 18 - BL_33
 * 06:47 - Bleach 5th Anniversary Box CD 1 - 15 - BL_35
 * 08:55 - Bleach OST 1 - 09 - Enemy Unseen
 * 09:46 - Bleach OST 1 - 08 - Raw Breath Of Danger
 * 11:49 - Bleach OST 1 - 04 - Oh so Tired
 * 13:12 - Bleach OST 1 - 21 - Number One
 * 15:09 - Bleach 5th Anniversary Box CD 1 - 03 - BL_73
 * 17:58 - Bleach OST 4 - 21 - Nothing Can Be Explained (inst ver.)
 * 19:59 - Bleach OST 1 - 19 - Never Meant To Belong

Anime Notes
Removed Content:
 * Sōsuke Aizen calling Renji Abarai mischievous and questioning if he has to repeat himself prior to requesting that he leave Rukia Kuchiki behind again.
 * Orihime Inoue noting that she did not hear any message and Yasutora Sado explaining that not coming into contact with anyone from the Fourth Division meant she could not attune to Isane Kotetsu's Reiatsu.
 * Aizen deducing that the distortion of Reiatsu earlier was Isane using Tenteikūra after Renji demands to know why he killed Momo Hinamori.
 * Aizen claiming that Hinamori's death was unavoidable.
 * Renji sarcastically suggesting that Ichigo Kurosaki take a nap somewhere after Ichigo mocks him for looking so tired despite his simple task.
 * Ichigo and Renji asking Rukia if she is okay while she is gasping for air.
 * Rukia angrily claiming that Renji almost killed her after berating him for smothering her.
 * Renji noting that Aizen is powerful when describing his plan to Ichigo.
 * Aizen assuring Rukia that it is not a problem if he cannot walk on her own because it is simply easier for him if she can.
 * Aizen mentioning that Ichigo is only being held together by his spinal cord and physically cannot get to his feet before praising him for getting farther than expected.
 * Aizen commenting on how others who tried Hollowfication experiments were hindered by ignorance and ethics prior to Kisuke Urahara's breakthrough.

Added/Expanded Content:
 * Isane verbally acknowledging Retsu Unohana's request for her to contact the other captains and lieutenants prior to Unohana adding that she should also contact the Ryoka.
 * Renji leaping back as Aizen slashes at him after refusing to hand over Rukia.
 * An extended flashback to the night Aizen "saved" Renji, Hinamori, and Izuru Kira from the Huge Hollows.
 * A flashback to Kūkaku Shiba berating Ichigo for causing a ruckus in her house and firing the Kakaku Taihō.
 * Flashbacks to Ichigo fighting Byakuya Kuchiki on the bridge to Senzaikyū with Zanjutsu, Yoruichi Shihōin fighting Suì-Fēng with Hakuda, Yoruichi outmaneuvering Byakuya while carrying Ichigo with Shunpo, and Byakuya binding Renji with Rikujōkōrō.

Censorship:
 * Mayuri Kurotsuchi's scarred and naked body is obscured by steam.
 * When Aizen slashes Renji after breaking Zabimaru, the scene is grayscaled so that Renji's blood is black.
 * Ichigo's midsection does not swing open and gush blood after Aizen slashes him, and Aizen does not mention that his spinal cord is the only thing holding him together later.

Changes:
 * In the manga, when learning of Aizen's betrayal, Ichigo and his friends are on the ground below Sōkyoku Hill; here, they are on the stairs leading up to Sōkyoku Hill, in the process of descending to the ground below.
 * In the manga, after learning of Aizen's betrayal, Ichigo questions what it has to do with the Ryoka and why they were informed, leading Uryū Ishida to explain that Aizen masquerading as Central 46 means that he is behind Rukia's execution and must want to kill her; here, Ichigo instead wonders if it is true, with Ganju musing that it could be a trap, and Uryū points out that Rukia's Reiatsu appearing above them on Sōkyoku Hill means that it must be true.
 * In the manga, after Renji refuses to run away, Ichigo begins to protest, but is quieted when Renji explains that he has a plan and that Zabimaru can still be used despite its broken state before observing that there is no point in running away; here, Ichigo does not protest and Renji does not mention having a plan nor assure Ichigo that he can still fight, instead moving straight to his observation that there is no point in running away.
 * In the manga, when cutting down Renji, Aizen slashes him across the front and back of his left shoulder and clavicle; here, he instead slashes Renji on his upper back once again.
 * In the manga, when explaining how he knew Urahara was behind Rukia's disappearance in the Human World, Aizen explains that Gigai are made of highly concentrated Reishi in order to compensate for the power their Shinigami inhabitants wield, which is what allows all their actions to be tracked from Soul and prevents them from going missing, prior to revealing that Urahara created a Gigai containing no Reishi and was banished from Soul Society for it; here, he does not explain the properties of a standard Gigai and instead asserts that Urahara's Reishi-free Gigai is the only kind that a Shinigami could go missing in, as well as being one of two reasons for his banishment.

Trivia:
 * Aizen stopping Ichigo's attack marks the only time in the entire anime where the track "Number One" is abruptly cut off rather than being allowed to play out.