Chain of Sacrifice...Harribel's Past

Chain of Sacrifice...Harribel's Past is the two hundred and eighty-fourth episode of the Bleach anime.

Statistics

 * Original Airdate: August 17th, 2010
 * English Airdate:
 * Opening Song: ChAngE
 * Ending Song: Echoes
 * Manga Chapters: Chapter 376
 * Kanji: 犠牲の連鎖...ハリベルの過去
 * Romaji: "Gisei no rensa...Hariberu no kako"
 * Arc: The Fake Karakura Town arc Part 2

Summary
In a flashback, Apacci, as a Hollow, runs away from another Hollow but it eventually catches up to her. Apacci fires off a Bala at the Hollows head but it does no visible damage to him. The Hollow tells Apacci that she has nowhere to run and that he's going to devour her. He tells her that she should pray for him to become an even greater Adjuchas. However, before he can do anything Harribel arrives and goes to fight the Hollow. The Hollow mocks Harribel for her small size, but his head is immediately cut in half vertically by Harribel and dies. Apacci wonders who Harribel is and speculates that she's a Vasto Lorde because of her huge reiatsu. Apacci then remarks to herself that getting devoured by her would at least be better then getting devoured by the other Hollow. However, Harribel doesn't decide to kill her and simply tells Apacci to come with her.

Harribel and Apacci enter a cave, and Harribel is greeted by both Sung-Sun and Mila Rose. Sung-Sun asks who Apacci is, and Harribel states that it's a new comrade. Apacci is surprised by the fact that Harribel is referring to her as a comrade and she tells her that she never asked for her to help her in the first place and that she isn't even grateful to her. This causes Mila Rose to get into an argument with Apacci, but Sung-Sun tells them to stop, explaining that they're both equal in insolence and cockiness. The three of them begin arguing with each other until Harribel tells Sung-Sun and Mila Rose to stop. Harribel apologizes to Apacci, and asks for her name, and the Hollow introduces herself. Harribel explains that she has no ulterior motive for bringing her here, and states that she had brought the three of them here to join her because she felt it would be better if they worked together.

Later, the three of them begin hunting down Hollows. When one of them gets away, Harribel tells them that there's no need to chase him, and the three of them stop. They then decide to rest, but Apacci can't get to sleep and Harribel asks her what's wrong. Apacci asks her why she and the others decide not to devour or kill the Hollows that attack them, since every other Hollow does so to become stronger, but Harribel states that she doesn't want to become stronger by killing another person. She states that if she can't win alone, then she'll win as a group. Later, Apacci fights a Hollow alone and is nearly killed until Harribel saves her and kills the Hollow herself. Apacci apologizes to her and Harribel tells her not to push herself. Apacci then thinks to herself that she wants to be like Harribel someday. Mila Rose suddenly appears and tells Apacci that if she does something that nearly gets her killed again, then don't expect her to help. Apacci tells her that she won't save her either then, and the two of them get into an argument. Sung-Sun remarks that she's glad the two of them are getting so well together, but that they should try not to die together.

Harribel and her group meet with the king of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan. Harribel asks him what he wants and Baraggan remarks that it's annoying to see her play around so much, but that it would be a waste to kill her, so he offers her two choices. The first choice is for her to join his army like he has asked before, and the other is for her to vanish to a place where he can't see her. However, since there's no place in Las Noches he can't see, he begins laughing madly and one of Baraggan's servants goes up to Harribel and tells her that she has no choice but to serve under Baraggan. Harribel simply slashes across the Hollows face, causing him to begin screaming from the pain. Baraggan yells for his subordinate to stop, and tells Harribel that she'll regret attacking one of his followers. As this happens, Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen watch Baraggan and Gin remarks that there's a lot of powerful looking Hollows down there. Aizen doesn't say anything and Gin asks him if he has found something interesting, but Aizen tells him it's nothing of much importance, and that they should pay a visit to the king of Hueco Mundo.

Apacci, after killing a Hollow and returning home, remarks that these Hollows are no match for her. Mila Rose tells her that she's getting pretty bold, and Sung-Sun remarks that when they were meeting Baraggan, it looked like the two of them were trembling with fear. After arguing with Sung-Sun because of this statement, Sung-Sun states that there have been rumors about Baraggan having powerful solders with cracked masks. Mila Rose wonders what this means, but Apacci states that Harribel and the three of them can easily take care of any enemies. A Hollow suddenly appears and begins emitting an immense reiatsu, and Apacci realizes that he has a cracked mask. The Hollow suddenly goes to attack Apacci but Harribel appears and blocks the attack. The Hollow tells Harribel that its been a long time since they've met, and Harribel remembers it as the Hollow that she attacked who was working under Baraggan. The Hollow tells her that she made him look like quite the fool, and once again emits an immense reaitsu, which leads the others to believe that even Harribel can't handle this. The Hollow then puts a major force behind his blow, causing Harribel to disappear and seemingly be killed. The Hollow tells the others that he won't devour them, but that he'll wipe them all out without a trace.

The Hollow fires a Cero at them, but the blow is stopped by Harribel. The Hollow tells her that she isn't very smart, and Harribel tells the others to run away. They do so, and Harribel begins battling against the Hollow. As they run, Apacci asks if they should really do this but the others tells her that they have to because Harribel told them to. Harribel is easily defeated by the Hollow, and the Hollow tells her that Hueco Mundo is going to undergo huge changes, and that he'll defeat nuisances like her to join the top ranks. The Hollow then decides to finish her off but is suddenly attacked by Apacci, Sung-Sun, and Mila Rose. The three of them exclaim that they'll do anything for Harribel, including sacrificing themselves for her. The three of them then attack, but they're easily defeated by the Hollow. Harribel states that their sacrifices won't go to waste, and she begins fighting the Hollow again. However, he continues to prove too powerful for her and eventually knocks her to the ground. Just as he's about to go for the finishing blow though, Aizen appears and stops him. Aizen remarks that this power should only be natural for an Arrancar, and he slashes across the Arrancar's stomach, killing him. Aizen states that with the power of sacrifice, it is possible to do the impossible. He then apologizes to Harribel and informs her that he gave him Arrancar powers, but not the brains to use them. He tells Harribel that if she doesn't want casualties to form, then she needs to gain power, and that he can give her the power she wants to protect her comrades. Harribel is then offered a chance to join with him, and she does so.

In the present, Aizen tells Harribel that even if he made any more of his subordinates sacrifice themselves, it would mean nothing. He remarks that he never imagined that the power of the Espada he gathered would be less then his alone, and Harribel angrily stabs Aizen through the shoulder. However, Aizen reveals himself behind her and he thrusts his sword through Harribel's left shoulder, and the Aizen she stabbed breaks away, revealed to be an illusion caused by Kyōka Suigetsu. Aizen tells Harribel that he doesn't want to swing his sword twice on the likes of her, and he thrusts his sword up and out of Harribel's shoulder, causing blood to flow out of her. She then falls into the town below and dies. After successfully killing Harribel, Aizen asks the Gotei 13 and Vizard if they should battle now.

Karakura Town: Secrets of the Seven Mysteries
Monster cats who talk and control people's minds are appearing in large numbers. Ichigo knows only one such cat but goes to investigate anyway. He finds Yoruichi in her cat form schooling the cats of Karakura Town in the ways of Human speech, specifically - how to beg for tuna. Her success is limited at best.

Fights
None.

Powers and Techniques Used
Hollow techniques:
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)
 * (flashback)

Techniques used:

Zanpakutō released:

Shikai:

Bankai:

Resurrección used:

Other Powers: