Orihime Inoue
In a later arc, Hitsugaya leads a group of Soul Reapers assigned to defend Karakura Town against the Arrancar that Aizen has enlisted to his cause. He defeats Shawlong Qufang, and Luppi Antenor, and upon learning that Orihime Inoue has followed the Arrancars back to their home world, Hitsugaya returns to Soul Society to help in the preparation for the war against Aizen. At Karakura Town, he engages the Espada Tier Halibel before she is mortally wounded by Aizen. From there, Hitsugaya engages Aizen, and is tricked into stabs Momo in the chest with Aizen taking advantage of the youth's rage of being tricked to cut his left limbs off. After Aizen's defeat and healed, Hitsugaya resolves to train so that he can more freely use his strongest move as a Soul Reaper, "bankai", to protect Hinamori.