[2] Introduced to the Gotei 13, Hitsugaya suspected Squad 3 captain Gin Ichimaru of foul play as the circumstances surrounding the coming execution of Rukia Kuchiki become more complicated.

[4][5] Seeing how destructive Rukia's execution is becoming, Hitsugaya tries to stop it by appealing to the Chamber 46, only to discover all members were killed by Aizen, who faked his death.

[7] 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.

[8] He defeats Shawlong Qufang,[9] and Luppi Antenor,[10] 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.

[14][15][16] 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.

[17] When Kugo Ginjo takes all of Ichigo Kurosaki's Fullbring powers, Hitsugaya and several other high-ranking Soul Reapers appear in the human world.

Hitsugaya appears along with a zomified Rangiku, as they, Kensei and Rose fight Mayuri Kurotsuchi's group of revived Arrancars and Squad 11's Ikkaku and Yumichika.

[23] Eventually, Mayuri manages to take control of the zombified Soul Reapers with Hitsugaya and Rangiku restored to normal and healed, although their lifespans were shortened.

But instead of his bankai deactivating, revealing that the time limit was a sign that it was fully developed prior to the fight, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru's power reaches its full potential while Hitsugaya is transformed into a young adult to better utilize his improved weapon.

[24] Toshiro appears in Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, where he is accused of stealing the King's Seal, an ancient artifact, and stumbles across a dark secret concerning a long-dead Soul Reaper named Sōjirō Kusaka, who was his close friend and rival when he was younger.

A one-shot manga chapter focusing on Histugaya's past was released to promote the film, revealing how Hitsugaya learned of his powers.

[58][59][60] Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network praised Steve Staley for giving an interesting variation of his voice rather than "integrity-destroying abominations".

"[58] Hitsugaya's early appearances were criticized by Isaac Hale from Pop Culture Shock who found Kubo was ignoring other characters and giving a lot of attention to him and Matsumoto's gags.

[64] His appearance in DiamondDust Rebellion were praised by Active Anime's Holly Ellingwood who found his motivations and back story "involving and intriguing".