Gather Together! Group of the Strongest Shinigami!

 is the sixty-second episode of the Bleach anime.

5th Division Captain Sōsuke Aizen removes the Hōgyoku from Rukia Kuchiki's Soul and retreats to Hueco Mundo.

Summary
On Sōkyoku Hill, having been attacked by 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura's Shikai, Tenken, 5th Division Captain Sōsuke Aizen casually holds back Komamura's Zanpakutō with his left hand and notes that it has been a long time since he saw Komamura's face before inquiring what brought about the change. Angered by Aizen grinning at him like this, Komamura declares that he will pay for betraying and deceiving them alongside 9th Division Captain Kaname Tōsen.

In the past, a young Tōsen trains alone in an empty field with a wooden sword and leaps into the air as he prepares to strike downward, only to realize someone is in front of him when the wind blows and leap back at the last second. Tōsen apologizes for not knowing someone was there and is startled when a younger Komamura reveals that he is sitting behind Tōsen, who had been addressing empty air. Introducing himself, Tōsen praises Komamura's skill at hiding his presence due to Tōsen having never failed to sense another's presence before.

Some time later, after the two of them both become Shinigami and join the Gotei 13, Tōsen encounters Komamura once more and Tōsen expresses joy at meeting his friend again before inviting Komamura to join the Fifth Division so he can meet their lieutenant, whom he believes Komamura will like. Afterward, Komamura meets Aizen, who mentions that Tōsen told him about Komamura and politely greets him. Some time later, Komamura and Tōsen stand before Kakyō's grave as Komamura tells Tōsen how he became a Shinigami in order to repay a debt of gratitude to the one who saved his life. Commenting on this being very much like Komamura, Tōsen details his motivation when asked.

In the present, Komamura punches at Aizen with Tenken, causing a giant fist to smash into the ground where they are standing, and as Aizen leaps unharmed out of the dust cloud, Komamura demands Tōsen explain himself if he can. With Tōsen remaining silent, Komamura assumes that he cannot do so and apologizes as he prepares to activate his Bankai, only for Aizen to suddenly appear in front of Komamura, who sees the Aizen next to Tōsen disappearing as the real Aizen casts '''Hadō #90. Kurohitsugi''', creating a large black box around Komamura that is pierced by several spears. While Aizen turns around, the box dissipates to reveal a grievously wounded Komamura, who collapses.

Watching this as he lies on the ground, a stunned Ichigo Kurosaki wonders how two captain-class individuals could be so far apart in power. While Aizen asserts that his Kanzen Saimin is flawless and cannot be evaded even if one knows it is coming, 3rd Division Captain Gin Ichimaru expresses amazement at him using a Hadō in the 90s range without an incantation and questions when Aizen achieved this, only for Aizen to downplay this feat since he was unable to summon even a third of the destructive potential of Kurohitsugi, a consequence of such high-level spells being unwieldy, and grasps Rukia Kuchiki by the collar around her neck once more as Gin lets go.

Aizen apologizes to Ichigo for having his explanation interrupted and prepares to resume. Suddenly, the other Ryoka begin running up to Ichigo in concern, but stop when he frantically warns them to not come closer and look over the three captains in shock. When Orihime Inoue calls out to Rukia, Gin steps in front of the latter and asserts that they should not come closer before exerting his Reiatsu, which causes Orihime and Uryū Ishida to collapse, startling Yasutora Sado, while Ganju Shiba is left incredulous by the force of Gin's Reiatsu. Smiling at this, Aizen picks up with his elimination of the Central 46 after Rukia was discovered in the Human World.

Seeing Rukia's shock at this, Aizen pulls her along and theorizes that 4th Division Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu told her he killed the Central 46 after faking his own death, only to clarify that he killed them shortly after she was discovered and used Kanzen Saimin on the council chamber to make it appear as though the Central 46 were alive and in session before proceeding to recall how he, Gin, and Tōsen hid themselves in the Central Underground Assembly Hall where they issued orders as though they were Central 46, starting with sending 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki and Lieutenant Renji Abarai to ensure Rukia's capture.

As he reveals that he also ordered that Rukia's Gigai be immediately returned for disposal to separate her from the Humans, Aizen recalls how he decided to execute her with the Sōkyoku in order to evaporate her Soul and extract the Hōgyoku within, stunning Ichigo and Rukia further. After noting that they only left the Central Underground Assembly Hall open for a few hours before and after the two captains' meetings, Aizen concludes that he faked his death and stayed inside after this while knowing that the Ryoka might come to save Rukia. With the Ryoka still paralyzed by Gin, Aizen notes that there are only two known ways to extract an object implanted within a Soul.

Detailing the two methods - evaporating the Soul by a powerful thermal disruption like the Sōkyoku or tampering with the Soul's composition - Aizen observes that he needed a backup plan in case the execution failed and consulted the Daireishokairō, which contains all the knowledge and history of Soul Society, because he could study all of Urahara's research there and suspected that the secret to removing foreign objects implanted in Souls would be there since Urahara had developed the technology for implanting them to begin with. After Aizen withdraws a small capsule from his haori and clicks it, six green, spear-like pillars rise out of the ground around him and Rukia.

Aizen's right hand and arm turn green and become covered in lines, and despite Ichigo's desperate protests, Aizen shoves his hand into Rukia's chest, causing the pillars to crackle with electricity, and retrieves the Hōgyoku from within. Letting Rukia fall, Aizen examines the Hōgyoku and comments on its small size as his hand and arm return to normal in a dissipating process. As Ichigo sees that the hole in Rukia's chest is shrinking, Aizen observes that the Soul itself remains undamaged by this process and praises the technology involved, only to conclude that Rukia is no longer needed and hold her aloft by her collar as he orders Gin to kill her.

Upon hearing this, Gin stops exerting his Reiatsu on the Ryoka and turns around as he holds up his Zanpakutō and releases his Shikai, Shinsō, causing the blade to extend toward Rukia's neck from behind, but those present are variously shocked and surprised when a still-bloodied Byakuya frees Rukia from Aizen's grasp and intercepts Shinsō with his body to protect her. After letting go of the blade, Aizen collapses as a stunned Rukia expresses concern for him. With Rukia asking Byakuya why he did this and repeatedly calling his name, a smiling Aizen approaches her and prepares to draw his Zanpakutō, only to suddenly look up in surprise.

From the sky above, Jidanbō Ikkanzaka falls toward Sōkyoku Hill with Kūkaku Shiba on his shoulder, the latter of whom recites the incantation for and fires '''Hadō #63. Raikōhō''' at Aizen, obscuring him with a large cloud of dust on impact. As Ganju and Orihime call out to Kūkaku and Jidanbō, who land on the hill, Aizen leaps out of the dust cloud and is immediately restrained by Yoruichi Shihōin and 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng, with Yoruichi clutching his Zanpakutō and Suì-Fēng holding her Zanpakutō to his neck. Aizen comments on having not seen Yoruichi's face in a long time as Yoruichi promises alongside Suì-Fēng that he will lose his head if he even twitches a finger.

While Aizen acknowledges this, Yoruichi calls out to Kūkaku as she stands on an approaching Jidanbō's shoulder, prompting her to claim that she decided to check in while out on a walk because she has too much free time. Watching this from afar, Gin comments on the flashy nature of this assault and wonders what he should do, only for 10th Division Captain Rangiku Matsumoto to appear behind him and grab his left hand by the wrist while holding her Zanpakutō to his neck and ordering him to not move. As Gin apologizes to Aizen for getting caught, Yoruichi tells him that it is over, and when Aizen expresses confusion, Yoruichi points out that he is surrounded.

Following this, Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, 1st Division Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe, 2nd Division Lieutenant Marechiyo Ōmaeda, 7th Division Lieutenant Tetsuzaemon Iba, 8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku, Lieutenant Nanao Ise, 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi, and 13th Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake appear as well, with Hisagi holding his Zanpakutō to Tōsen's neck. However, when Yoruichi asserts that it is over, Aizen merely smiles, and as Yoruichi demands to know what he finds so funny, she is shocked when Aizen merely notes that it is time, causing her to instruct Suì-Fēng to leap back before accompanying her.

Aizen is enveloped by a Negación beam, causing the astonished other Shinigami to look up and see several Menos Grande teeming behind a massive Kūmon in the sky above them. While the Menos Grande begin pushing out of the Kūmon and separating, a shocked Hisagi to sees that there is something with a massive eye lurking behind them while Marechiyo wonders how many there are. Suddenly, two more Negación beams pierce the sky next to the Kūmon and envelop Tōsen, whom Hisagi leaps back from, and Gin, who frees himself from Rangiku's grasp and admits that he would not have minded being her prisoner for a while longer before apologizing.

Seeing the patch of ground Aizen is standing on begin rising into the air, to the astonishment of those watching, Iba prepares to attack him, but Yamamoto stops him and explains that Negación is a light which Menos Grande used to rescue each other and which cannot be breached because its contents are in another world, meaning that Aizen was beyond their reach the moment it came down. Despite his injuries, a bloodied Komamura forces himself up and demands to know where Tōsen's sense of justice has gone if he became a Shinigami for his dead friend and to uphold justice, only for Tōsen to remind Komamura that he walks the path of least bloodshed.

After claiming that justice is always present on this path, Tōsen concludes that the path he now walks is justice. Meanwhile, Ukitake stands before Aizen and inquires why he allied himself with the Menos Grande. When Aizen asserts that he did so to seek greater heights, Ukitake questions if he has fallen, but Aizen counters this by claiming that no has ever stood atop the heavens before, not him, Ukitake, or the gods. Slicking back his hair and removing his glasses, which he crushes, Aizen concludes that the vacancy of heaven's throne ends now because he will stand at the top from now on. As he bids farewell to the Shinigami and Ichigo, Aizen admits that he was amusing for a Human.

Alongside Gin and Tōsen, Aizen is drawn fully into the Kūmon, which closes behind him. Afterwards, 4th Division 3rd Seat Yasochika Iemura directs his subordinates to tend to the wounded Shinigami present, with Byakuya being seen to by the second and third squads, Komamura being treated by the seventh, tenth, eleventh, and thirteenth squads, and Renji being prepared for transport by the eighth and ninth squads after receiving sixth-stage treatment. With Iemura concluding that the severe injuries of all three combatants necessitates speed, Rukia is held back by one of the Shinigami and expresses concern for Byakuya, who lies on the ground in a healing field.

As the Shinigami holding back Rukia requests that she stay back until the squads finish treating Byakuya's injuries, Komamura refuses treatment for his injuries and tells those attempting to tend to him to see to the other wounded despite their protests, an unconscious Renji is lifted on a stretcher, and when the Shinigami who had tried to tend to Komamura ask him what they should do, Iemura instructs them to help the Ryoka. Despite the shock of the two Shinigami, Iemura bluntly asserts that the Ryoka saved Soul Society and orders them to move, leading them to run off in compliance, before turning to watch Orihime as she heals Ichigo with Sōten Kisshun.

While marveling at Orihime's technique, Iemura is alerted by the arrival of his captain, Retsu Unohana, on the back of her Shikai, Minazuki. Running over to her, Iemura asks Unohana how 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya and 5th Division Lieutenant Momo Hinamori are doing, and after explaining that they are stable and being treated by Isane, Unohana inquires who is left to tend to here, which prompts Iemura to note that only Ichigo and Byakuya are left. Briefly shocked upon seeing Orihime tending to Ichigo, Unohana decides that the Ryoka do not need their help, to Iemura's surprise, and kneels beside Byakuya while gently admonishing him for being reckless.

Suddenly, Byakuya says something to Unohana, who expresses slight surprise before informing Rukia that Byakuya is asking for her. After Rukia walks over to him, Byakuya asks her if she is there, which she confirms, and reveals that there is something which he wants to tell her. Upon being told by Byakuya that he lost his wife fifty years ago on a spring morning before the first plum tree blossomed, Rukia expresses sorrow and identifies Byakuya's wife as Hisana Kuchiki as she recalls the Cleric of the Kuchiki House telling her that she was adopted into the Kuchiki Clan because she looked like Hisana. However, Byakuya informs Rukia that this was a lie he told the others to tell her.

Byakuya clarifies that Hisana was actually Rukia's older sister, shocking Rukia, before recounting how Hisana was sent to Inuzuri in the Rukongai alongside Rukia after she passed away in the Human World, where she found it hard to survive while caring for Rukia and eventually abandoned her. Recalling how Hisana never forgave herself for this, Byakuya recounts how Hisana searched for Rukia almost every day for the next five years after becoming his wife as he remembers the request she made in the spring of their fifth year together. In the past, Hisana lies on a mat before a kneeling Byakuya and asks him to find Rukia, but not tell her they are sisters and simply use his power to protect her.

While Byakuya tells her to save her strength, Hisana claims that she has no right to call Rukia sister after abandoning her, though she wants Byakuya to allow Rukia to call him brother. With Byakuya attempting to direct her attention to a blooming cherry blossom on a branch of the tree behind him, Hisana apologizes for causing Byakuya trouble even now and being unable to repay the love he showed her and describes the five years she spent with Byakuya as being like a beautiful dream before passing away, leaving Byakuya holding her hand as he grieves. In the present, Byakuya concludes that he found Rukia a year later and brought her into the Kuchiki Clan.

Detailing how allowing someone from the Rukongai into the clan was against their laws and led to many in the clan resisting since they felt that it would sully the family's reputation, Byakuya declares that he did not care due to his desire to uphold the promise he made to Hisana, but notes that he had already broken the law when he took Hisana for his wife and recalls how he swore at the graves of his parents to uphold the law and never break it again upon taking Rukia in. After observing that he made two vows he should not have made because of Hisana's passing, Byakuya admits that he did not know what to do when Rukia was condemned.

Byakuya notes that Rukia's sentence it left him caught between the oath he made to his parents and the promise he made to Hisana, and as he looks over at Ichigo, whom he recalls proclaiming that he would fight the law if he were in Byakuya's position, Byakuya thanks him and apologizes to Rukia as she holds his hand, leaving Rukia stunned.

Shinigami Cup Golden
Tessai Tsukabishi walks down the street while calling out Jinta Hanakari's name, whom he notes has skipped out on his store duties. Wondering where Jinta could be, Tessai is shocked to see him and Kon in Ichigo's body charging at each other with their Reiatsu flaring and declares that this is not right before ripping Kon's plushie body away from Jinta, tearing his left eye open in the process, as Kon and Jinta react with horror. The story is declared finished, but Ichigo pops up and proclaims that it is not.

Fights

 * Conspiracy Revealed: End Game

Powers and Techniques Used
Hohō Techniques:

Kidō Techniques:

Zanpakutō Techniques:

Hollow Techniques:

Other Techniques:

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Bankai:

Music

 * 02:42 - Bleach OST 1 - 10 - Will of the Heart
 * 04:04 - Bleach OST 1 - 09 - Enemy Unseen
 * 05:37 - Bleach OST 1 - 18 - Battle Ignition
 * 07:50 - Bleach 5th Anniversary Box CD 1 - 15 - BL_35
 * 10:28 - Bleach 5th Anniversary Box CD 1 - 08 - BL_60
 * 11:52 - No Official Release
 * 12:26 - Bleach OST 1 - 20 - Storm Center
 * 14:34 - No Official Release
 * 16:41 - Bleach 5th Anniversary Box CD 1 - 02 - BL_56
 * 18:27 - Bleach OST 1 - 19 - Never Meant To Belong
 * 20:34 - Bleach OST 1 - 13 - Burden of the Past

Anime Notes
Removed Content:
 * Kaname Tōsen commenting on Sajin Komamura's size and Komamura admitting that hiding his presence is a bad habit during their first encounter.
 * Sōsuke Aizen noting that his usage of Kanzen Saimin on the Central Underground Assembly Hall would prevent anyone who entered it from noticing anything unusual, though no one would enter without Central 46's permission anyway.
 * Ichigo Kurosaki's mental observation that the hole in Rukia Kuchiki's chest is shrinking.
 * Shinsō retracting in a snake-like manner after being pulled out of Byakuya Kuchiki.
 * Rukia clutching Byakuya protectively when Aizen approaches them.
 * The arrival, identification, and defeat of the other three Gatekeepers are cut entirely, as are Yoruichi and Aizen's reactions to their presence and Jidanbō's internal monologue about their strange condition.
 * Marechiyo Ōmaeda reacting with shock to Aizen rising into the air.
 * Tetsuzaemon Iba being startled by Komamura demanding to know if Tōsen has lost his sense of justice.
 * Yasochika Iemura noting that the two Shinigami who approached him are from the fourth and fifth relief squads.
 * Iemura mentally commenting on the sophistication of Orihime Inoue's Sōten Kisshun and admitting that she is healing faster than he or Isane Kotetsu, only to have his thought process interrupted by Harunobu Ogidō, who subsequently blocks a slash from Iemura with his hands.

Added/Expanded Content:
 * Tōsen practicing with a wooden sword in a field and nearly hitting Komamura prior to encountering the latter for the first time.
 * Gin Ichimaru paralyzing the Ryoka with his Reiatsu while Aizen details the two methods of extracting an object embedded within a Soul.
 * Gin ceasing his Reiatsu exertion when Aizen orders him to kill Rukia.
 * Jidanbō Ikkanzaka and Kūkaku Shiba bracing themselves against the shockwave from the Negación enveloping Aizen.
 * The Shinigami restraining Rukia requesting that she stay back while Byakuya is tended to.
 * The Shinigami preparing to transport Renji Abarai communicating with each other on how to lift him safely.
 * Hisana Kuchiki walking through Inuzuri in the Rukongai with Rukia and collapsing.
 * Hisana collapsing while searching for Rukia.
 * Byakuya telling Hisana to save her strength and trying to distract her with a blooming cherry blossom while she is dying.
 * Byakuya declaring that he defied the dissenters in the Kuchiki Clan because he wanted to fulfill his promise to Hisana and admitting that his desperation to fulfill Hisana's wish caused him to make two vows which he should not have made.
 * A flashback to end of Byakuya's battle with Ichigo, where the latter declared that he would fight the law if he were in Byakuya's position.

Censorship:
 * Byakuya is covered in less blood when protecting Rukia from Shinsō with his body, as is Shinsō itself when it retracts.

Changes:
 * In the manga, Komamura's flashback to his history with Tōsen and Aizen occur before the continuation of his confrontation with Aizen; here, it occurs after Komamura proclaims that both Aizen and Tōsen will pay for their betrayal.
 * In the manga, Komamura punches at Aizen with Tenken, causing the latter to seemingly leap back to Tōsen, prior to declaring that Aizen and Tōsen will pay; here, he does so afterward.
 * In the manga, Tōsen's eyes are open during his past encounters with Komamura; here, they are constantly closed.
 * In the manga, Komamura's flashback to his first encounter with Aizen takes place after his memory of discussing the reason he became a Shinigami with Tōsen; here, it takes place beforehand.
 * In the manga, Ichigo wonders how Aizen and Komamura could be so far apart in power as Aizen finishes incapacitating Komamura with Kurohitsugi; here, he does so after Komamura collapses.
 * In the manga, Ichigo's friends stay on the ground below Sōkyoku Hill until Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen depart; here, they run back up to the top of the hill, but are prevented from interfering by Gin, who paralyzes them with his Reiatsu.
 * In the manga, Aizen continues recounting his machinations without interruption; here, he is briefly interrupted by the Ryoka arriving and resumes after Gin paralyzes them.
 * In the manga, when using the extraction technique on Rukia, Aizen's fingers become narrow and blade-like, and the technique ends by having his altered arm peel off as though shedding a layer of skin; here, Aizen's fingers retain their normal shape, and his arm returns to normal by having the top layer dissipate into steam.
 * In the manga, Yoruichi Shihōin and Suì-Fēng restrain Aizen prior to Jidanbō and Kūkaku arriving; here, they do so afterward.
 * In the manga, upon arriving with Jidanbō, Kūkaku fires Raikōhō at Higonyūdō, knocking him out; here, with Higonyūdō not present, she instead fires Raikōhō at Aizen, who leaps out of the resulting dust cloud unharmed.
 * In the manga, Jidanbō and Kūkaku land at the base of Sōkyoku Hill to confront the Gatekeepers; here, they land on top of Sōkyoku Hill to confront Aizen.
 * In the manga, Kūkaku greets Yoruichi prior to using Raikōhō; here, she does so afterward.
 * Aizen is not smiling when Yoruichi and Suì-Fēng threaten to kill him if he moves.
 * In the manga, when directing the relief squads, Iemura instructs them to set up a chi-cleansing force field and prepare the wounded for transport to the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho; here, he merely reminds them that time is of the essence.
 * Retsu Unohana is smiling rather than pensive when she calls Rukia over to listen to Byakuya.
 * In the manga, when abandoning Rukia, Hisana leaves her in a field; here, she leaves Rukia in an alleyway instead.
 * In the manga, the Kuchiki Clan gravesite is a building carved into the ground, with the roof touching the grass and a curved path leading to the entrance; here, it is constructed on top of the ground and has a flat path leading to the entrance.

Trivia:
 * In the manga, the flashback accompanying Aizen revealing that he gave the order for the return and disposal of Rukia's Gigai was that of Kuna wheeling the Gigai into the Shinigami Research and Development Institute; however, because that scene was not adapted in the anime, here the reveal is accompanied by a flashback to Rukia entering the Senkaimon alongside Byakuya and Renji.