Chapter Summaries

Tokoyo Misao escaped a dark space into Soul Society, used Spirit Ribbon Vision to rebuild his body from Reishi, and decided to become a Soul Reaper. After meeting Rangiku Matsumoto in Rukongai, he traveled to the Shin'ō Academy of Spiritual Arts, where admission depended on a test of his Rei'i.

• Tokoyo Misao broke through a spatial crack and emerged in a meadow outside Kobushi Mountain in North District 3 of Rukongai.
• Misao used Spirit Ribbon Vision to see Reishi as threads and absorbed some of the ground to complete his Reishi reconstruction.
• Misao met Rangiku Matsumoto, learned how to reach the Shin'ō Academy of Spiritual Arts, and told her he wanted to become a Soul Reaper.
• Rangiku Matsumoto noticed the unusual crest on Misao's sleeve guard, gave him directions, and judged his Rei'i level borderline after he left.
• Misao traveled to the Seireitei's west gate and arrived at the academy admissions station, where applicants were tested with spirit-measuring orbs.

Tokoyo Misao met Izuru Kira, Renji Abarai, and Rukia on the way to the Shin'ō Academy, where his teasing quickly made them allies in finding him a nickname. On their first day, homeroom instructor Ōunabara Gengorō explained the academy’s classes and training, and Rukia compared her and Renji’s chances of entering the special advanced class.

• Tokoyo Misao met Izuru Kira, Renji Abarai, and Rukia in a graveyard near the academy and gave them teasing nicknames.
• Rukia punched at Misao, but he pulled Kira in front of him, and Kira took the blow.
• The four arrived at their classroom, where Misao assigned story-role nicknames to his classmates and Momo Hinamori.
• Ōunabara Gengorō introduced the academy’s regular and special advanced classes and led the students to the training ground.
• Rukia said her eleventh-rank Rei'i gave her a better chance at the special advanced class than Renji Abarai’s fifteenth rank, then asked Kira and Momo about their chances.

Tokoyo Misao urged the new students to face their ambition of becoming captains rather than bowing to one, and Sōsuke Aizen praised him before demonstrating his Shikai. Aizen’s spiritual pressure overwhelmed the students, but Misao stood unaffected despite having only Nineteenth-Class Rei'i.

• Renji Abarai mocked Misao for ranking nineteenth class, but Misao said combat skill mattered more than Rei'i and led the others to the training ground.
• Sōsuke Aizen introduced himself as the Fifth Division Captain and welcomed the academy’s new students.
• When the students lowered their heads to Aizen, Misao urged them to look at the captain as a goal to face and eventually surpass.
• Aizen agreed that the students should raise their heads and demonstrated his Zanpakuto’s Shikai, Kyōka Suigetsu.
• Aizen’s spiritual pressure forced several students down, but Misao remained completely unaffected, surprising his classmates and Aizen.
• Aizen sensed that Misao had only Nineteenth-Class Rei'i and found nothing hidden.

Tokoyo Misao endured Captain Aizen’s released Reiatsu to measure the distance between himself and his goal, suffering serious injuries but earning the others’ respect. After Aizen explained his Zanpakuto’s illusion ability and ended the lesson, Rukia carried Misao toward the treatment room.

• Aizen explained Reiatsu, captain-promotion requirements, and how Soul Reapers could respond to overwhelming spiritual pressure.
• Tokoyo Misao remained upright under Aizen’s Reiatsu despite bleeding and suffering broken bones, prompting Rukia to beg Aizen to stop.
• Aizen withdrew his Reiatsu, then praised Misao’s precise control of his Spiritual Power and explained that Misao had endured the pressure to measure how far he was from his goal.
• Renji Abarai, Rukia, Momo Hinamori, and the other students reacted to Misao’s resolve, and Aizen urged the class to learn from him.
• Aizen explained that his Zanpakuto’s apparent Shikai was an illusion created by his Kidō-type ability, then ended the lesson and told Misao to seek treatment.
• Rukia elbowed Misao in the stomach when he tried to claim he could continue, then carried him toward the treatment room.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto recognized Tokoyo Misao’s name as belonging to the vanished fifth great noble clan, whose duty was to watch over Hell, and ordered increased monitoring across the worlds. A week later, Misao impressed his classmates and teacher by explaining that anything threatening Seireitei was a Soul Reaper’s enemy, before the class began learning Kidō.

• Yamamoto found Tokoyo Misao’s name on the Academy enrollment list and told Chōjirō Sasakibe that Soul Society had once had five great noble clans, including the Tokoyo clan, which watched over Hell.
• Yamamoto ordered the Twelfth Division to monitor the space between the three worlds and the Thirteenth Division to increase patrols in the World of the Living.
• At the Academy training grounds, Ōunabara Gengorō explained that students would learn how to fight Hollows and other enemies before their test.
• Misao told Rukia and the other students that anything threatening the Soul King and Seireitei counted as a Soul Reaper’s enemy, earning Ōu’s praise.
• Ōu introduced the Four Soul Reaper Combat Skills and demonstrated Hadō #1: Shō, then left the students to try it themselves.

Tokoyo Misao explained how to control Reishi and shape it into wind to cast Hadō #1: Shō, helping Rukia, Momo Hinamori, and Izuru Kira succeed. As the students practiced, Misao spotted Sōsuke Aizen secretly observing them from the corridor instead of Teacher Ōu.

• Momo Hinamori failed to cast Shō, while Rukia produced a weak burst of air and Misao struck the target with a faint mark.
• Misao explained that Shō transformed Reishi into wind and that the incantation guided its flow from the Saketsu to the fingertip.
• Rukia followed the chant more carefully and smashed the target with a powerful blast; Momo Hinamori and Izuru Kira also succeeded.
• Renji Abarai repeatedly failed to cast Shō and angrily continued practicing.
• Misao used his Eternal Eyes to recognize that the observer in the corridor was Sōsuke Aizen, not Teacher Ōu.

Tokoyo Misao ate with his classmates, discussed their progress, and demonstrated how to use Kidō without an incantation. After giving them the principle behind the technique, he noticed an unexpected Spirit Ribbon and left the training ground.

• Tokoyo Misao’s classmates noticed his Rei'i had improved after eating Reishi-rich food, and he told them he had survived for years in a barren, distant place in Rukongai.
• Tokoyo Misao advised Renji Abarai to practice the Kidō incantation one line at a time, and Renji Abarai went alone to the training ground.
• Momo Hinamori asked Rukia whether she and Renji Abarai would marry, and Rukia said they were only playmates.
• Rukia challenged Tokoyo Misao to demonstrate incantationless Kidō, and he used Hadō #1: Shō to hit a target from thirty meters away.
• Tokoyo Misao explained that engraving Kidō’s pathway and Reishi manipulation into muscle memory enabled Incantation Abandonment, then noticed an unexpected Spirit Ribbon and left as Rukia and the others began practicing.

Aizen and Gin Ichimaru investigated Tokoyo Misao, whose noble crest and absence from Soul Society’s records made him unusual, before testing a Quincy in the World of the Living. At the academy, the students met Rangiku Matsumoto as their Zanjutsu instructor and were stunned by her appearance.

• Aizen told Gin Ichimaru that Tokoyo Misao’s glove bore an unidentified noble crest and that the Great Spirit Book Gallery contained no record of him.
• Aizen and Gin Ichimaru traveled to Karakura Town, where they released Hollows and watched Sōken Ishida destroy them with Quincy arrows.
• Aizen judged Sōken Ishida’s power too weak for his experiments, and he and Gin Ichimaru returned through a spatial rift.
• Renji Abarai looked forward to the Zanjutsu lesson, while Izuru Kira recognized that Renji was eager to compete with Tokoyo Misao.
• Instructor Ōunabara Gengorō introduced Rangiku Matsumoto as the students’ instructor, and Rukia and Momo Hinamori were overwhelmed by her appearance.

Tokoyo Misao faced Renji Abarai in a Zanjutsu spar, and Rangiku Matsumoto bet Teacher Ōu that Misao would win. Misao outmaneuvered Renji and broke his wooden sword, leaving the students stunned by his skill.

• Rangiku Matsumoto told the students to pair off and fight while she watched from the corridor.
• Renji Abarai challenged Tokoyo Misao, and Misao accepted after teasing him as a Red-Haired Baboon.
• Rangiku Matsumoto bet Teacher Ōu that Misao would win, while privately believing he was unlikely to do so.
• Renji Abarai charged and leaped at Misao, but Misao struck his chest and redirected his attack, sending him crashing to the ground.
• Misao invited Renji to attack again without dodging, then broke Renji’s wooden sword with a precise thrust as their weapons clashed.
• Rukia, Momo Hinamori, Izuru Kira, and the other students were shocked by Misao’s strength and technique.

Tokoyo Misao explained how he used Reishi and misdirection to defeat Renji Abarai, then began training Rukia. During their spar, he noticed a Captain-level figure secretly watching and tested whether the observer was focused on Rukia.

• Rangiku Matsumoto explained that Tokoyo Misao had lured Renji Abarai into predictable attacks by using his eyes, movements, and breathing.
• Tokoyo Misao explained that he concentrated his Reishi at his sword’s tip, breaking Renji Abarai’s weapon despite Renji’s greater overall Reiatsu.
• Rukia asked Tokoyo Misao to teach her, and he began sparring with her while Rangiku Matsumoto started the students’ Zanjutsu practice.
• Tokoyo Misao noticed a Captain-level figure watching from beyond the training ground wall and saw its Spirit Ribbon react when he kicked Rukia.
• Tokoyo Misao beckoned Rukia to attack again after she landed hard, intending to test whether the hidden observer was watching her.

Tokoyo Misao taught Rukia and the other academy students to control their Reishi and explained a method for raising their Rei'i Grade. After revealing that exhausting their Reishi and replenishing it with Reishi-rich food could strengthen them, he left them eager to train and improve.

• Rukia tried to defeat Tokoyo Misao with a sword strike and Hadō, but he countered her spell with Hanki Sōsai and explained that she needed better Reishi control.
• Tokoyo Misao trained Rukia to shift Reishi between parts of her body by having her defend against thrown pebbles, and Momo Hinamori, Izuru Kira, and Renji Abarai joined the exercise.
• After an afternoon of training, Renji Abarai advanced to Rei'i Grade fourteen, and Tokoyo Misao demonstrated his own progress by reaching the seventeenth class.
• Renji Abarai and Izuru Kira asked Tokoyo Misao to teach them how to improve quickly, while Momo Hinamori offered him meatballs.
• Tokoyo Misao explained that Soul Reapers could raise their Rei'i Grade by exhausting their Reishi and then eating plenty of food containing Reishi.

Tokoyo Misao drew Captain Aizen’s attention by claiming to belong to the unknown Tokoyo Clan, and the two planned to use each other’s curiosity and abilities to investigate its past. A month later, the academy’s class placement quiz began, with Renji Abarai, Izuru Kira, and Momo Hinamori demonstrating their Kidō skills.

• Tokoyo Misao continued training Rukia in Reishi control by launching surprise attacks as they walked by the river.
• During calligraphy class, Aizen questioned Tokoyo Misao about the unusual crest on his wrist guard and the Tokoyo Clan.
• Tokoyo Misao told Aizen he would invite him to tea after reclaiming the clan’s old home, deepening Aizen’s curiosity about the clan’s history.
• A month later, Ōunabara Gengorō began the class placement quiz, testing students on Zankensoki and potential, starting with Kidō.
• Renji Abarai passed by casting Hadō #4, Byakurai, while Izuru Kira earned an excellent mark by hitting the target’s center.
• Momo Hinamori struck the bull’s-eye with a dart and began chanting a higher-numbered Hadō.

Tokoyo Misao and Rukia demonstrated remarkable Kidō abilities, but the academy’s Special Excellence Training Class roster excluded them despite their friends’ confidence. The chapter ended with Teacher Ōu defending the decision by claiming Rukia had failed to improve her Rei'i Grade enough.

• Momo Hinamori and Rukia demonstrated powerful Hadō, and Tokoyo Misao used Reishi Manipulation to cast a weakened Sōkatsui despite his low Rei'i Grade.
• Renji Abarai, Izuru Kira, Momo Hinamori, Rukia, and Tokoyo Misao discussed their chances of entering the Special Excellence Training Class over lunch.
• Teacher Ōunabara Gengorō announced Renji Abarai, Izuru Kira, and Momo Hinamori as members of the class.
• Rukia and Tokoyo Misao were omitted from the roster, leaving Rukia stunned as Renji Abarai challenged the decision.
• Teacher Ōu said the class prioritized potential and claimed Rukia had shown poor aptitude because her Rei'i Grade had not improved.

Rukia and Tokoyo Misao were left out of the special training class, and their friends learned that the decision might have been manipulated. Captain Isshin Shiba promised to question the academy principal, while Misao’s unusual family crest caught his attention.

• Teacher Ōu announced that Rukia and Tokoyo Misao had failed to qualify for the special training class, prompting Renji Abarai to protest and Rukia to accept the decision bitterly.
• Tokoyo Misao reassured Rukia that she had talent and suspected someone was trying to isolate her, while the group went to the Junrinan tavern to celebrate.
• Rangiku Matsumoto questioned why Rukia had been rejected and agreed that her abilities made the academy’s explanation doubtful.
• Isshin Shiba joined the group, heard about the rejection, and promised to ask the academy principal about it the next day.
• Tokoyo Misao showed Isshin Shiba his arm guard, and Isshin wondered whether Misao belonged to a high-ranking noble family.

Tokoyo Misao and Rukia continued training together after Isshin Shiba failed to overturn their exclusion from the special training class. Two months later, a Kuchiki Clan steward approached Rukia with an invitation to join the clan, leaving her suspicious and asking Misao to help determine their motives.

• Isshin Shiba learned that the Kuchiki Clan had barred Rukia from the special training class, while the principal claimed Tokoyo Misao lacked a high enough Rei'i Grade.
• Misao asked Rukia whether she wanted to apply for the special training class after reaching Rei'i Grade 10, but she said she would let the academy decide.
• A Kuchiki Clan steward stopped Rukia outside the academy and said the clan wanted her to become a member.
• The steward told Rukia that Byakuya Kuchiki would personally invite her the next day and asked her to give the clan an answer.
• Rukia suspected the Kuchiki Clan had an ulterior motive and asked Misao to help her figure out why they wanted to adopt her.

Byakuya Kuchiki visited the academy and Rukia agreed to join the Kuchiki Clan so she could search its records for information about Tokoyo Misao’s family. After Rukia left to pack, Misao revealed his own great-noble emblem, just as Sōsuke Aizen arrived for class.

• Tokoyo Misao asked Rukia to use her new ties to the Kuchiki Clan to investigate its records for information about the Tokoyo Clan, and she agreed.
• Byakuya Kuchiki visited Rukia at the academy, while his Reiatsu stopped Renji Abarai from approaching.
• Rukia told Renji Abarai, Momo Hinamori, Izuru Kira, and Tokoyo Misao that she would be adopted by the Kuchiki Clan, then said goodbye before going to pack.
• Izuru Kira explained that visiting the noble district would be difficult, and Renji Abarai realized he would need to become a powerful Soul Reaper to stay near Rukia.
• Tokoyo Misao revealed his eyelidless-eye family emblem and said he was a great noble too, prompting his friends to warn him not to impersonate a noble.
• Sōsuke Aizen arrived for his calligraphy class, congratulated Rukia, and invited her to join the Fifth Division if she ever entered the Gotei 13.

Tokoyo Misao publicly claimed to be the head of the Tokoyo Clan, hoping to uncover information about his family and draw out its enemies, but a month passed without anyone confronting him. Shunsui Kyōraku learned that the Tokoyo Clan was indeed one of the Five Great Noble Clans, though Misao’s connection to it remained uncertain.

• During calligraphy class, Sōsuke Aizen warned Tokoyo Misao about the consequences of claiming to be a great noble, but Misao insisted he was the head of the Tokoyo Clan.
• Tokoyo Misao reflected that his claim might help find information about his family, ease Rukia’s burdens, or lure out the clan’s enemies.
• A month later, Tokoyo Misao found that no nobles or enemies had responded, and he continued keeping his Rei'i Grade low while prioritizing Zanpakuto training.
• Tokoyo Misao went to practice Jinzen by the river after deciding to ask Rukia about possible leads soon.
• Shunsui Kyōraku asked Chōjirō Sasakibe about Misao and learned that Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto knew the Tokoyo Clan was one of the Five Great Noble Clans but could not verify Misao’s identity.
• Shunsui Kyōraku considered whether the Tsunayashiro Clan might be behind the claim, followed Yamamoto’s instruction to watch and wait, and sent Misao’s file to the Sixth and Second Divisions.

Jūshirō Ukitake, Soi Fon, and Byakuya Kuchiki investigated whether Tokoyo Misao belonged to a real noble clan, while Rukia Kuchiki continued her training at the Kuchiki estate. Byakuya ordered the nobles to leave Misao alone for now, and Rukia’s instructor urged her to develop sword techniques alongside her other skills.

• Jūshirō Ukitake asked Kaien Shiba whether he knew of the Tokoyo Clan, and Kaien promised to search his family’s books.
• Soi Fon asked Yushiro Shihōin to check the Shihoin archives for information about the Tokoyo Clan.
• Byakuya Kuchiki told the Noble Council not to touch Tokoyo Misao, explaining that an ancient parchment showed the Eternal Eyes emblem beside the Four Great Noble Clan crests.
• Byakuya allowed Rukia Kuchiki to visit the clan archives in her free time as long as she kept up with her lessons.
• Rukia Kuchiki sparred with the Kuchiki Clan’s kendo instructor, using Shunpo and Byakurai to challenge his sword-focused lessons.
• Rukia argued that Soul Reapers should combine Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Kidō, and Shunpo in battle, and the instructor recommended that she also learn or create sword techniques.

Tokoyo Misao decided to use the Academy’s World of the Living exercise to draw Sōsuke Aizen into investigating the Tokoyo Clan. He challenged the rules barring regular-class students from the trip and stunned two upperclassmen, leaving Shūhei Hisagi to face him.

• Rukia Kuchiki endured noble-house etiquette and bland food before going to the library, while the Kuchiki cooks resolved to improve their meals.
• After three days without leads about the Tokoyo Clan, Tokoyo Misao decided to seek Sōsuke Aizen’s attention by disrupting the World of the Living exercise.
• Tokoyo Misao followed Renji Abarai, Izuru Kira, and Momo Hinamori to the exercise meeting point, where Shūhei Hisagi refused to let a regular-class student join.
• Tokoyo Misao argued that the strongest students should be allowed to take part, then swiftly knocked Senior Kanisawa and Senior Aoga unconscious.
• Tokoyo Misao asked Shūhei Hisagi whether he was strong enough to join, while the students watched in shock.

Tokoyo Misao challenged the rules barring ordinary-class students from the World of the Living internship, impressing Teacher Ōu with his strength and apparent noble status. Teacher Ōu made an exception and allowed Misao to join Shūhei Hisagi's group as they entered the Senkaimon.

• Misao defeated Kanisawa and Aoga, then clashed with Shūhei Hisagi over the internship rules.
• Misao countered Shūhei's Bakudō with a Kidō of his own creation and wounded Shūhei's hand in their sword exchange.
• Teacher Ōunabara Gengorō stopped the fight, and Misao asked to join the World of the Living internship.
• Misao revealed the Tokoyo Clan crest, prompting Teacher Ōu to reconsider his request.
• Teacher Ōu made an exception for Misao, and Shūhei led the group through the Senkaimon.