Battle of bad faith, Aizen's trap

 is the one hundred and thirty-seventh episode of the Bleach anime.

The rogue Arrancar are defeated by the Shinigami Strike Force.

Summary
In Sōsuke Aizen's throne room in Las Noches, as the motionless body of Ulquiorra Cifer seemingly lies bleeding on the ground, Aizen enters the room and releases his Shikai, Kyōka Suigetsu, causing the body and its blood to shimmer and disappear in a burst of light before Aizen sheathes his Zanpakutō and sits on his throne to rest his chin against his hand and smile. Commenting on how elaborate this was, Gin Ichimaru emerges from the doorway and enters the throne room as well.

Gin asserts that Aizen should have simply killed Patros, Menis, and Aldegor as soon as he became aware of their plot instead of fooling them into believing that they had killed Ulquiorra with Kyōka Suigetsu and letting them take the Hōgyoku out of Las Noches, and when Aizen reveals that he has something else for Ulquiorra to take care of, Gin offers to do it instead if Aizen gives him the order, but Aizen concludes that this would be a boring method to use and simply smirks at Gin's confusion.

Meanwhile, at nighttime in Karakura Town, Patros stands before the Urahara Shop, which has had its left side heavily damaged by his last attack, and glares expectantly at the rubble. Suddenly, Ururu Tsumugiya stands up and fires a blast from her Senren Bakusatsu Taihō at Patros, only to be shocked when it is blocked by a spherical barrier of his Reiatsu surrounding his body. After chastising Ururu for this, Jinta springs off her head with his right hand and attempts to perform Jinta Home-Run by coming down on Patros with an overhead strike of his Muteki Tekkon, though he is also repelled by the barrier.

With a concerned Ururu dropping her Senren Bakusatsu Taihō and rushing to Jinta's side, Patros asks them about when the person who knows about the Hōgyoku will return since he is beginning to get bored. In response, 6th Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai emerges from the rubble nearby and declares that he will return when a show-off like Patros is dead. As Renji assures Jinta and Ururu that he is somewhat alright, Patros acknowledges this and tells Renji that it is useless no matter how much he struggles, leading Renji to demand that Jinta and Ururu get Kisuke Urahara and urging them to go when they protest.

Once Ururu encourages him to leave, a reluctant Jinta orders Renji to not die and runs off with her, leaving Patros to thank Renji for taking the time to have Urahara brought to him prior to questioning if Renji can survive until then. However, when Patros threatens to unleash his Level Three energy blast, Renji counters that he is cheating by raising the level of his attacks little by little and promises that Patros will be ruined later if he continues to put up such a confident front before causing his Reiatsu to surge by initiating Gentei Kaijo and activating his Bankai, Hihiō Zabimaru, which Patros admits he has not seen one of in a long time.

When Renji sends Hihiō Zabimaru hurtling toward him, Patros fires his energy blast at it and is astonished when Hihiō Zabimaru simply bites through it, crashes into him, and pushes Patros through the ground and into the air, though he claims that it is nothing to him. Eventually, Hihiō Zabimaru smashes through the ground next to the Urahara Shop with Patros still in its jaws and emerges in the Study Chamber beneath the building to slam Patros into the ground therein, where Renji joins it and pulls Hihiō Zabimaru back while telling Patros to wake up since he knows that this attack did not kill him.

Patros emerges from the resulting dust cloud unscathed and observes that this is an interesting area, prompting Renji to assert that they do not have to hold back here and prepare to resume the battle. Elsewhere, shards of ice float through the air as a sweating and panting 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya stands in midair before Menis, who has entered his Resurrección, Erizo. Behind Menis, 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto expresses concern for Hitsugaya, whose fatigue is noticed by Menis prior to him calling the five Arrancar who were defeated by the Shinigami Strike Force pathetic.

After extending and whipping his tail out to send Rangiku crashing down into the city below with a single blow, Menis begins rapidly striking Hitsugaya with his tail and arms, forcing the latter to block each attack with his Zanpakutō, as he tauntingly wonders if this is too much for Hitsugaya to handle. Suddenly, Hitsugaya repels Menis's arms and releases his Shikai, Hyōrinmaru, to freeze them solid while they are extended, but when Hitsugaya proclaims that he cannot waste time on Menis when he is not even an Espada, an initially startled Menis warns Hitsugaya to not get cocky with this attack and shatters the ice around his arms.

Simultaneously, in a different part of Karakura Town, the concrete comprising a road is shattered and upturned in a straight path while 11th Division 3rd Seat Ikkaku Madarame wields his Shikai, Hōzukimaru, and ferociously attacks Aldegor, who has entered his Resurrección, Jabalí, and blocks Ikkaku's slashes with his back appendages between throwing his own punches that Ikkaku evades. Upon being attacked with a two-handed strike by Ikkaku, Aldegor connects his back appendages into a half-sphere that shields his entire body and blocks Ikkaku's strike once more prior to rapidly spinning into a ball underneath the blade.

With Aldegor rocketing forward and into the air, Ikkaku is sent flying back and falls to the ground as Aldegor lands on the street with enough force to crack it and asserts that Ikkaku cannot win no matter how many times he tries. However, 11th Division 5th Seat Yumichika Ayasegawa observes from a streetlight behind Aldegor that he boasts too much for someone who attacks solely by hurling himself at the enemy, which Yumichika finds revolting. After an annoyed Aldegor promises to kill Yumichika next, Ikkaku reprimands him for looking away from his opponent and throws Hōzukimaru blade-first at Aldegor, who shields his face with one of his appendages.

Despite this, Hōzukimaru shatters the tip of the appendage upon impact, leaving Aldegor shocked, and Ikkaku grabs it while noting that he has now gotten one hit in. Back in the Study Chamber, Patros fires a Level Ten energy blast that briefly darkens the surrounding area at Hihiō Zabimaru, which powers through the blast unharmed and roars before slamming into the rock that Patros was standing on just after the latter moves away with Sonído. Sliding back along the ground with strands of his hair falling in front of his face, a stunned Patros watches as Renji declares that he is not fighting seriously yet either.

When Renji points out that Patros is not very strong if this is his Level Ten, Patros criticizes him for getting carried away, to Renji's irritation, and stands up while claiming someone like Renji could never be his opponent because he has been killing Shinigami for many years, only to fall silent upon recalling Aizen on his throne. Picking up on Patros's hesitation, Renji brushes off being told that it is of no concern to him and declares that he cannot ignore Patros calling him an insignificant Shinigami when the latter should not underestimate them. In turn, Patros decides to display his true power out of respect for Renji's fearlessness in the face of death.

With his yellow Reiatsu swirling around him, Patros grasps his sheathed Zanpakutō and activates his Resurrección, Gerifalte, causing his mask to grow to cover all but the top-right section of his head while he gains bulky white armor around his torso and long, hinge-like arms ending in tapered, blade-shaped limbs in large sheath-like constructs, which he calls his maximum level of power. Meanwhile, in the wreckage of the Urahara Shop above, Ririn, Kurōdo, and Noba slowly get up, and when Ririn claims that she fell asleep, Kurōdo observes that it is more accurate to say they lost consciousness, which a blushing Ririn angrily denies.

Upon realizing that Renji is not here, Ririn assumes that he has already been defeated, though Kurōdo chastises her for thinking so negatively, and Noba informs them that he can sense Reiatsu coming from the Study Chamber where they will be going, leaving Kurōdo surprised that they are going while Ririn firmly concurs. Down in the Study Chamber, a yelling Renji sends Hihiō Zabimaru hurtling toward Patros, who swings up his right arm and fires a powerful yellow energy blast from it. Upon attempting to bite through the blast, Hihiō Zabimaru is instead send reeling back by it and smashes into multiple rocks while flailing about.

As a startled Renji pulls Hihiō Zabimaru back to him, Patros sarcastically apologizes and reveals that he cannot control his power in this form, to Renji's surprise, before observing that this is the end of his method of passing the time and vowing to hit Renji next time. With Renji demanding that Patros not underestimate him, Patros announces that he is beginning his next attack and withdraws his right arm from its sheath again to fire another powerful blast, which Renji has Hihiō Zabimaru charge headlong into, only for the latter to repelled by the sheer force of the blast and separate into segments, allowing the blast to engulf Renji.

During this, Jinta and Ururu run through a forest with Urahara, Tessai Tsukabishi, and Yasutora Sado, and when the latter wonders if Renji is okay, Urahara assures him that Renji will not be defeated so easily and Tessai bluntly states that he is more worried about the Urahara Shop's condition than he is about Renji's safety. However, when they reach a clearing leading to the local park, Jinta and the others stop and stare in astonishment upon seeing Ulquiorra Cifer standing in front of the crater that he and Yammy Llargo crashed down into, which leads Ulquiorra to look over his shoulder at them dispassionately.

Back in the Study Chamber, the dust clears to reveal that Renji blocked most of Patros's blast with a segment of Hihiō Zabimaru, though he has been left with head injuries, and he responds to Patros noting this by proclaiming that it is not over yet, which Patros affirms. Behind two rocks several meters away from Renji and Patros, the Mod-Souls express concern for Renji prior to Noba stating that it will be dangerous if he continues to fight and Ririn confirming this. When asked by Renji about what he plans to do with the Hōgyoku, Patros calmly asserts that he will gain control of all worlds with its power.

With Renji questioning if this means means that he is rebelling against Aizen, Patros furiously declares that he refuses to accept the latter, prompting Renji to deduce that the Arrancar army is not so unified after all, and concludes that a Shinigami should never become the ruler of Hueco Mundo. Suddenly, the ceiling above Patros is broken through in two areas while a wounded Menis, now in his sealed state, emerges from one of the resulting dust clouds. After Patros questions why he is in such a pathetic state, Menis points to Aldegor, who is still in his Resurrección and lean against a nearby rock in exhaustion with a head wound.

As Aldegor warns Patros that pursuers could come at any moment and inquires about whether he knows how to use the Hōgyoku yet, to Renji's confusion, Menis approaches tells Patros and tells him that he is wasting time on Renji, but is cut off when ice begins forming on his left leg and rapidly grows upward to encase a terrified Menis's entire body before shattering and leaving nothing behind. Next to him, Aldegor admits that he somewhat regrets taking up Patros's offer and collapses while he dies from his injuries, leading Renji to realize that Patros knew from the start that there would be sacrifices if he wanted to accomplish his agenda.

Patros affirms this as something that cannot be helped and claims that anyone who could be defeated by a Shinigami will not be useful in furthering his goals. With Patros concluding that he cannot lose to Renji here when he is working to defeat Aizen with the Hōgyoku, Renji proclaims that he has no reason to lose here either and separates the segments of Hihiō Zabimaru to reveal the red Reiatsu glowing between them. Once Patros suggests that they finish this, Renji agrees and sends Hihiō Zabimaru rushing toward Patros once more, which leads the latter to fire another energy blast that explodes in a wide radius upon colliding with Hihiō Zabimaru.

Following Ririn shielding her eyes from this and expressing concern for him, Renji is sent crashing into a rock behind him with Hihiō Zabimaru no longer attached to the hilt in his hand and slides down as Patros congratulates Renji for slightly changing his opinion of Shinigami even though this must come to an end. Despite Renji insisting that he cannot decide this on his own, Patros counters that giving up is important sometimes and wonders if Renji has any last words, only for Renji to remain silent. However, before Patros can deliver the finishing blows, dozens of copies of Renji appear and attack him with Zabimaru, forcing him to block.

Though Patros realizes that each Zabimaru he blocked was illusionary and did not inflict any damage, Kurōdo appears behind him as Renji and cuts through the back of Patros's armor with his Zabimaru while declaring that this one is real, causing an aggravated Patros to turn around and fire an energy blast at Kurōdo, who disappears before it can hit him and reappears in the air above Patros with more clones as they all laugh. With Patros angered by this mockery and leaping up to pursue the scattered Renji clones, Ririn runs over to Renji, who berates the Mod-Souls for following him even though they cannot handle Patros.

Despite this, Ririn asserts that they cannot leave Renji alone and moves under his left arm to help him stand up. Above them, Patros sees dozens of Renji clones appearing and disappearing around him with Shunpo and stops charging a blast with his right arm to unleash a simultaneous blast with both that sweeps through all the illusionary clones, forces Noba to save Kurōdo by teleporting him out of the air, and nearly engulfs Renji and Ririn prior to Noba teleporting them away as well. With a satisfied Patros looking over the large crater left in the ground by his attack, Noba huddles with Kurōdo behind a rock several meters away.

Once Noba brings Renji and Ririn out of the alternate dimension and onto the ground with his hand, Renji reiterates that he told them to stop, but Ririn insists that they are fine and informs Renji that they have discovered Patros's weakness, to Renji's surprise, before confirming that Kurōdo and Noba understand whatthey need to do. As Kurōdo clutches his aching hip, Ririn tells Renji that they will restrain Patros so he can hit the latter with a powerful attack, and though Renji warns her that the Mod-Souls will be in serious danger if they continue fighting, Ririn reminds him that they were made for combat and cannot quit just because they cannot win.

After Ririn concludes that she knows he cannot let it end in a place like this, a smiling Renji accepts this and tells the Mod-Souls to not die. Nearby, Patros questions how long Renji and the Mod-Souls are going to keep hiding from him, prompting Ririn to appear on a rocky outcropping under Patros and claim that they are no longer hiding since they have figured out his attack. Initially startled by this, a laughing Patros calls Ririn a weakling and mocks her for only being able to create illusions, but an annoyed Ririn counters that she does not use a single attack over and over like Patros does and challenges him to use a different technique if he wants to win.

With Patros deciding that he has no choice other than to obliterate her if she is going to go this far, a smirking Ririn internally asserts that he fell for it and begins glowing with pink Reiatsu before creating dozens of illusionary duplicates of herself, Kurōdo, and Noba all around Patros, who yells the command "Burst Forth" while his right arm begins generating energy within its sheathe, resulting in a vertical surge of energy that releases a massive explosion when he withdraws it and wipes out all of the duplicates. As Ririn is sent flying back by this, Patros calls her foolish and begins to sheathe his arm, but Kurōdo is teleported in and grabs it.

While Kurōdo struggles to hold a shocked Patros's arm in place, Ririn gets to her feet and states that Patros is the foolish one because he relies on iaido and always resheathes his weapon immediately after drawing it and firing energy blasts, which means that he is storing energy in his sheath and simply using his weapon as a trigger to release the energy, which means that he cannot attack so long as he cannot sheathe his weapon. Bringing up how Patros's movements become larger as he uses stronger attacks, Ririn concludes that this makes it possible for Noba to put things in his way even when he is using iaido.

Angered by this, Patros splits apart the hinge on his left arm and fires a point-blank yellow Cero at Kurōdo, but Noba leaps in front of it at the last second and absorbs the blast with his shield, leading Ririn to tell Renji to do it now. From the rocks behind Patros, Renji leaps high into the air with Hihiō Zabimaru reassembled and fires Hikotsu Taihō at Patros, whom the Mod-Souls leap away from just before the blast engulfs him. Within the Hikotsu Taihō, Patros expresses disbelief at losing in a place like this and screams as his body is destroyed, leaving the Hōgyoku to fall to the ground once the dust clears.

A pleased Ririn begins to collapse, only to be caught from behind by Urahara, who apologizes for being late as he stands behind her with Tessai, Jinta, Ururu, and Sado. While Renji runs over, Urahara states that he just got back before Noba drops himself and Kurōdo out of a portal behind Urahara, with Sado catching Noba. Though Urahara praises the Mod-Souls for all fighting well, a chuckling Kurōdo observes that they all got beat up too and Noba admits to Sado that there were a lot of problems. Behind Renji, Hitsugaya, Rangiku, Ikkaku, and Yumichika appears with Shunpo and run over to Renji, whom Hitsugaya asks about his condition.

Once Urahara notes the battered appearances of all but Yumichika indicating that they had some problems as well, Ikkaku inquires about what happened to the Arrancar, which prompts Urahara to inform him that they are dead and that Aizen seemed to be toying with them, to Hitsugaya's confusion. Upon being noticed by Urahara, the Hōgyoku on the ground nearby cracks apart and its case shatters, leading Urahara to conclude that Aizen must have let the Arrancar steal a fake one because the real Hōgyoku would not be so easily destroyed, especially since he is the one who made it, which means Aizen must have tricked them with Kyōka Suigetsu.

With Urahara concluding that there is no way Aizen would let the Hōgyoku be stolen so easily, Renji wonders why he let Patros, Menis, and Aldegor take it, only for Urahara to admit that he does not know this much. In the past, Ulquiorra stands before Urahara's group in the park, and when Urahara inquires about whether Ulquiorra came after the other Arrancar, Ulquiorra flatly states that he has no intention of fighting Urahara and opens a Garganta with a snap of his fingers before letting it close around him and disappearing. In the present, Urahara muses that Aizen may have had a different goal and used the Arrancar to create a front.

Urahara asserts that there is no way Patros's group would not have been pursued after all this time and that the Shinigami would have dealt with them even if the other Arrancar left them alone prior to concluding that it is fun for Aizen to plan out farces like this when he is simply purging Arrancar from his army's ranks. Meanwhile, in Las Noches, Ulquiorra stands before Aizen sitting on his outdoor throne and reports that he found traces of Orihime Inoue's Sōten Kisshun that restored Sado's Fullbring, Brazo Derecha de Gigante, still lingering in the park, which has allowed him to get an idea of her abilities instead of simply guessing at them. Ulquiorra suggests that Orihime's abilities will be useful for Aizen, and when Aizen wonders where she is now, Ulquiorra theorizes that she is likely not in the Human World before departing after Aizen commends him for his work.

Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book
At a store in Karakura Town, Ichigo Kurosaki attacks a Hollow with his Shikai, Zangetsu, while wearing a purple cat-like mask, causing the Hollow to fall over as Ichigo notes that this is the first one down. Suddenly, Karin Kurosaki addresses him as her brother from behind, and upon realizing that Karin is shopping here, Ichigo begins speaking in a falsetto voice and making dramatic gestures while claiming that he is not her brother, only for Karin to deny this and knock the mask off Ichigo's face. However, she is startled to see Ichigo's Hollow mask underneath and agrees that he is not her brother, causing Ichigo to sigh in relief as Hiyori Sarugaki declares that Ichigo's increased speed at donning his Hollow mask is the result of his training.

Events

 * Patros's Rebellion (concluded)

Powers and Techniques Used
Zanpakutō Techniques:

Arrancar Techniques:

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Bankai:

Fullbring:
 * (flashback)

Resurrección released:

Other Powers:
 * Illusions
 * Shape-shifting
 * Teleportation
 * (flashback)

Other Weapons: