Episode 190 - Hueco Mundo Chapter, Restart!

After a recap of Ichigo's battles with Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, Ichigo takes Orihime and Nel and prepares to leave but an injured Grimmjow refuses to accept defeat. Ichigo tells him that it is over but their conversation is interrupted by the intervention of an unexpected enemy. Meanwhile, Uryuu and Renji find themselves in another bad situation.

Episode 191 - The Frightening Banquet, Szayelaporro Theater

Renji and Uryuu find themselves back in the same room as before with Szayel Aporro waiting for them. He transforms and attacks with strange techniques that catch the group by surprise. Meanwhile, Ichigo struggles to hold his own against the 5th Espada Noitora. The injuries from his previous battle weigh him down but his opponent is relentless. Noitora reveals a startling secret about Nel's past.

Episode 192 - Nel's Secret, A Busty Beauty Joins the Battle!?

The fight between Nnoitra and Ichigo gets more desperate, and Nel's secret is revealed.

Episode 193 - Irresistible, Puppet Show of Terror

Uryu and Renji struggle against their clones. Szayel reveals a second ability: he is able to create voodoo dolls of an opponent by wrapping them in his wings. He succeeds with Uryu and Renji, and shows that by using them, he can cause pain to the targets and damage their internal organs. Meanwhile, Nnoitra is still losing to Neliel, but they hesitate before they can deal each other fatal blows, and Nnoitra notes that he has despised Neliel even before her departure.

Episode 194 - Neliel's Past

Neliel's past is revealed through her fight with Nnoitra. Meanwhile, Pesche and Dondochakka mounts an offensive against Szayel after seeing Renji struggling against the Espada.

Episode 195 - The Ultimate Union! Pesche's Seriousness

Episode 196 - Joining the Battle! The Strongest Soul Reaper Army Appears

Kenpachi kills Tesla in one blow and tells Ichigo to stay out of his fight.

Episode 197 - Byakuya's Bankai, the Quiet Anger

Zommari, upset over Byakuya refusing to consider him an equal opponent, releases his zanpakuto, Brujeria, causing him to grow eyes all over his body that can control anything.

Episode 198 - The Two Scientists, Mayuri's Trap

Zommari survives Byakuya’s attack but Byakuya, having already discovered how to counter his ability to control others, quickly dispatches him.

Episode 199 - Holy Birth, the Resurrecting Szayel Aporro

Rukia regains consciousness, but is told to rest and regain her strength for the battles ahead. Kenpachi's battle with Nnoitra continues, and Orihime heals Nel at Ichigo's request. Despite managing to have his bankai swallow Szyael, Mayuri inadvertently poisons Uryu and Renji, and Szyael seizes the opportunity to resurrect himself by absorbing Nemu's spiritual particles through his Gabriel technique. However, in the process, he ingests a “super-human” drug from inside Nemu that increases his reflexes to the point where his body cannot keep up, immobilizing him. Mayuri then stabs him through the hand before stabbing him in the heart.

Episode 200 - The Hardest Body!? Cut Down Nnoitra

Szayel, his senses heightened as a result of the drug, feels Mayuri's zanpakuto piercing through his hand and heart for what seems like countless lifetimes before he dies. After restoring Nemu to full health, Mayuri orders her to clear away the rubble that concealed Szayel's laboratory. Afterwards, Mayuri heals the reluctant Uryu's injuries. Elsewhere, Kenpachi has difficulty cutting through Nnoitra's hierro, but believes that Nnoitra can be injured. Kenpachi manages to stab Nnoitra through his eyepatch, but Nnoitra counter-attacks, injuring Kenpachi, and reveals that he had stabbed him through his hollow hole. Kenpachi, unfazed, merely grins.

Episode 201 - Nnoitra Released! Multiplying Arms

Kenpachi manages to wound Nnoitra with the slash, and finds the right amount of force he needs to put into his blows in order to cut his opponent. He continues to attack Nnoitra, and after Nnoitra accidentally tears off his eyepatch while trying to attack him, the limits on his power are removed, and he delivers a devastating slash to Nnoitra. Nnoitra then releases his zanpakuto, Santa Teresa, giving him an extra pair of arms and regenerative abilities. Nnoitra attacks Kenpachi and severely wounds him, but Kenpachi manages to cut off the arm. Nnoitra regenerates the arm and continues on the assault, growing yet another pair of arms and stabbing Kenpachi with one of his new arms.

Episode 202 - Fierce Fighting Conclusion! Who's the Strongest?

Kenpachi continues fighting Nnoitra, and although he is able to keep up with his attacks, he realizes that he is in danger of dying. He then resorts to using kendo, and severely injures Nnoitra with a two-handed strike. Kenpachi attempts to leave, but Nnoitra insists that he finish their battle. Nnoitra recalls his time with Neliel, in which Neliel would frequently save him from his attempts to die in battle, and claims that he is angered by any display of pity from his opponent. He charges Kenpachi, who kills him.

Episode 203 - Karakura Town Gathers! Aizen Versus the Soul Reapers

After Kenpachi defeats Nnoitra, he demands Orihime heal him. Before Orihime reaches him, the Espada Stark arrives and takes her away to a tower where Sōsuke Aizen greets her. He informs her that he, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tōsen are preparing to destroy Karakura Town. Aizen orders Tōsen to contact all of the Soul Reaper captains, Ichigo, and his friends with kidō, and reveals that he brought Orihime to Hueco Mundo to lure and trap them. As he travels through a garganta portal to Karakura Town, however, Aizen is confronted by Commander-General Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, the leader of the Gotei 13, with five other captains. Aizen summons the Espada Stark, Barragan, and Halibel and orders Espada Ulquiorra Schiffer to protect Las Noches.

Episode 204 - Ichigo's Seppuku Persuasion Strategy ☆

Back in the real world, Ichigo is in school when he happens upon Lurichiyo from the Kasumioji clan again, who it turns out has come back to the real world because she is angered that Kenryuu, her retainer, would not allow her to play soccer when she has other important duties to attend to. This leads to an outburst between Lurichiyo and Kenryuu, and the latter intends to end his life to make Lurichiyo "happy." After some persuasion from Ichigo and his friends, they manage to put on an act to fool Lurichiyo into forgiving him, but she ends up seeing through it. This leads to another argument about soccer and culminates in Lurichiyo challenging Kenryuu to a soccer game to see who is right once and for all.

Episode 205 - Thump! A Kemari Tournament Filled with Hollows

The soccer game officially kicks off, with the referees being the proprietors from the Urahara Shop, Jinta and Ururu, with Urahara himself overseeing the proceedings, including setting up a gigantic barrier around the play field to designate the assigned area, which apparently is not legal in Soul Society's eyes.