Chapter Summaries

Zaraki challenged the 11th Division, and Kenpachi Saki died after Zaraki cut him down in a single blow. Yachiru urged Tokoyo Misao to fight Zaraki, leaving Iba baffled by her wish for someone traveling with Zaraki to kill him.

• Tokoyo Misao and the 11th Division members sensed a powerful Reiatsu approaching, and Zaraki entered the training ground with Yachiru Kusajishi on his shoulder.
• Yachiru identified Tokoyo Misao as the strongest, but Zaraki chose to fight Kenpachi Saki.
• Kenpachi Saki attacked Zaraki, but Zaraki trapped his blade in his chest and cut him in two.
• Zaraki challenged the remaining members and pointed his sword at Tokoyo Misao.
• Yachiru pleaded with Tokoyo Misao to fight Zaraki, saying she thought he could kill him, and Iba questioned why she wanted Zaraki dead.

Kenpachi Zaraki became the 11th Division captain after defeating Saki and set out to challenge Captain-Commander Yamamoto, while Tokoyo Misao returned to the division after directing him toward Yamamoto. In a flashback, Yamamoto reviewed Misao’s actions and ordered that a man from Rukongai be brought into the 11th Division.

• Tokoyo Misao explained the Kenpachi Duel tradition, gave Saki’s Captain’s Haori to Zaraki, and recognized him as the new 11th Division captain.
• Kiyoyuki Yamanaka announced that squad members could consider transferring, and Zaraki gave Tokoyo Misao a fingerprint for his transfer request.
• Zaraki asked who the strongest person in Soul Society was, and Tokoyo Misao named Captain-Commander Yamamoto; Zaraki then ordered Kiyoyuki to lead him to the First Division.
• Tokoyo Misao told Iba to contact the Fourth Division to collect Saki’s body, then left the 11th Division.
• In a flashback, Chōjirō Sasakibe briefed Yamamoto on Tokoyo Misao’s actions and the Tokoyo Clan, and Yamamoto ordered him to bring a man from Rukongai into the 11th Division.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto tested Kenpachi Zaraki after Zaraki became captain of the 11th Division, quickly overpowering him in the First Division training grounds. Zaraki kept demanding a fight even after Yamamoto’s blow shattered his internal organs, and Yamamoto began evading his attacks instead of striking back.

• Yamamoto learned that Tokoyo Misao had avoided Zaraki and ordered Sasakibe to bring Zaraki to the First Division.
• Zaraki arrived at the First Division with Yachiru Kusajishi and Kiyoyuki Yamanaka, then Sasakibe escorted him to Yamamoto.
• Yamamoto claimed he was the strongest Soul Reaper in a thousand years, and Zaraki challenged him to fight to the death.
• Yamamoto stopped Zaraki’s attacks with precise punches and then struck his stomach, sending him flying and badly injuring him.
• Sasakibe used Tsuriboshi to catch Zaraki, and Yamamoto sent him to fetch Captain Unohana for treatment.
• Zaraki charged Yamamoto again, but Yamamoto dodged his attacks and only tapped him with his cane when he found an opening.

Tokoyo Misao learned that Kenpachi Zaraki’s brutal missions had devastated the 11th Division, while he continued serving in the Tenth Division and avoiding Zaraki’s challenge. After drinking with Rangiku Matsumoto, he left the tavern still wary of the fight Yamamoto had set up for him.

• A Tenth Division member told Tokoyo Misao that Kenpachi Zaraki’s missions had left fewer than twenty members in the 11th Division and caused heavy casualties.
• Tokoyo Misao reflected that several former 11th Division members, including Kiyoyuki Yamanaka, had transferred out, while Iba had become Third Seat.
• Rangiku Matsumoto found Tokoyo Misao drinking during patrol, then accepted his offer of yuzu sake and told him the captain was considering promoting him to Ninth Seat.
• Tokoyo Misao recalled that Kenpachi Zaraki had attacked him on sight after Yamamoto told Zaraki to defeat Misao before challenging him again.
• Rangiku Matsumoto discovered the sake was gone, and Tokoyo Misao paid and left the tavern.

Aizen investigated the Tsunayashiro Clan after learning that Tokoyo Misao could manipulate external Reishi, and he later took control of the clan’s estate and discovered its Zanpakuto, Enrakyōten. After Tōsen killed the remaining Tsunayashiro members, Aizen tested Enrakyōten’s ability to imitate other Zanpakuto by feeding it a spiritual power orb.

• Tōsen reported to Aizen that Tokoyo Misao appeared able to manipulate external Reishi, prompting Aizen to consider investigating the great noble clans.
• Aizen shifted his attention to the Tsunayashiro Clan, and modified Hollow attacks became less frequent as Soul Society enjoyed several peaceful years.
• Five years later, Tokoyo Misao celebrated Rukia Kuchiki, Momo Hinamori, Renji Abarai, and Izuru Kira graduating and joining their respective divisions.
• Aizen revealed that Tōsen had killed the remaining Tsunayashiro members after years of extracting information from them.
• Aizen explained that the clan’s Enrakyōten could imitate multiple Zanpakuto and placed a spiritual power orb against its blade to test it.

Tokoyo Misao recruited the gifted Tōshirō Hitsugaya from Rukongai and began teaching him after Rangiku Matsumoto discovered his extraordinary potential. The chapter left them walking through Kobushi Mountain as Tōshirō continued learning the fundamentals of zankensoki.

• Rangiku Matsumoto urged Tokoyo Misao to take her lieutenant position, but Isshin Shiba said Misao lacked the Rei'i Grade for the role.
• Tokoyo Misao explained that Rangiku had found a genius boy in Rukongai who could naturally emit Reiatsu with an attribute.
• Rangiku wanted to bring the boy directly into the Tenth Division, while Tokoyo Misao offered to teach him; Isshin agreed with Misao's plan.
• Tokoyo Misao went to fetch the boy, and later walked with Tōshirō Hitsugaya through Kobushi Mountain in Rukongai District 3.
• Tokoyo Misao told Tōshirō that he had nearly mastered the fundamentals of zankensoki and needed to practice until they became instinctive.

Aizen used an ambush against Kaien Shiba and Shiba Miyako to test whether Tokoyo Misao could detect the attack. The three Hollows attacked the Shiba couple, who fought back while cut off from outside help.

• Aizen dismissed Kaname Tōsen's suggestion to attack Tokoyo Misao as well and ordered him to send three Hollows after Kaien Shiba, using the ambush to test Misao's abilities.
• Kaname Tōsen led the Hollows through a sound-sealed area and set them on Kaien Shiba and Shiba Miyako without their noticing until the attack began.
• Kaien Shiba dodged the Hollows' first strikes, released Nejibana, and sent two of them flying with a wave.
• Shiba Miyako tried to call for help but found the area sealed, then attacked with Sōkatsui and discovered it could not harm the Hollows.
• Shiba Miyako cast Sekienton to cover the battlefield in red smoke.

Kaien Shiba and Shiba Miyako were ambushed by three Hollows and a hidden attacker, leaving Miyako gravely wounded. Kaien awakened Bankai and defeated the Hollows, then confronted the unseen enemy as Tokoyo Misao and Tōshirō Hitsugaya rushed to seek help.

• Shiba Miyako used Bakudō to support Kaien Shiba against three Hollows, but a hidden attacker wounded her from behind.
• Kaien refused to leave Miyako, and the pair tried to escape under her Kyokkō while the Hollows’ wild attacks injured them both.
• Miyako canceled Kyokkō and chose to face the Hollows; Kaien released Bankai and destroyed all three with Heavenly Whirlpool Pierce.
• Kaien sensed Kidō concealing the area and challenged the enemy hiding behind a tree.
• Tokoyo Misao sensed Kaien’s Reiatsu and turned back toward the fight while Tōshirō Hitsugaya went to request reinforcements.
• Sōsuke Aizen noticed Kaien’s Bankai, then withdrew with Kaname as Kaien continued confronting the hidden attacker.

Tokoyo Misao visited the Tenth Division captain’s office and found Tōshirō Hitsugaya handling paperwork while Captain Isshin Shiba and Rangiku Matsumoto avoided their duties. Their conversation revealed that Tōshirō wanted to learn Bankai and that Misao had not trained for it because he lacked sufficient Rei'i.

• Tokoyo Misao found Tōshirō Hitsugaya sorting reports and shared a plum rice ball with him.
• Tokoyo Misao scolded Rangiku Matsumoto and Isshin Shiba for leaving Tōshirō to handle the paperwork.
• Tōshirō finished organizing the documents, and Isshin Shiba praised him as a future captain.
• Tōshirō explained that Misao’s instruction had helped him improve in several techniques, but Misao’s refusal to train for Bankai had left him unable to teach it.
• Tokoyo Misao said his Rei'i grade was too low to materialize his Zanpakuto, and Isshin Shiba realized that Misao had already mastered the communication stage with it.

Isshin Shiba and Tokoyo Misao traveled to the World of the Living to investigate the unexplained deaths of several Soul Reapers in Naruki City. Misao entered an arcade and played a game, leaving a security guard terrified by a machine operating on its own.

• Isshin Shiba found a report listing several Soul Reaper deaths as accidents under investigation and decided to investigate in person.
• Tokoyo Misao agreed to accompany Isshin Shiba, though Isshin suspected Misao had hidden Captain-level strength; Misao privately prepared to use his Reishi Orbs if danger arose.
• After they reached the World of the Living, Tokoyo Misao headed into an entertainment center while Isshin Shiba went to find the locally stationed Soul Reapers.
• Tokoyo Misao powered up the arcade machines, took tokens, and began playing The King of Fighters.
• A security guard investigated the lit arcade, found nobody there, and fled after seeing a game machine's joystick and buttons move by themselves.

Tokoyo Misao used his Zanpakuto, World-Crossing Principle, to regain his senses inside Kaname Tōsen’s Bankai and strike him with unseen attacks. Kaname Tōsen began moving rapidly to evade further hits, while Misao’s ability to blend with Reishi let him perceive and attack within the barrier.

• Sōsuke Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tōsen discussed their Hollowfication experiments and planned to take Shinji Hirako to the World of the Living.
• Tokoyo Misao and Isshin Shiba patrolled Naruki City in the rain after hearing that the stationed Soul Reapers had died on rainy nights.
• A Garganta appeared above Misao, and Kaname Tōsen trapped him in his Bankai, Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Kōrogi.
• Misao used his Eternal Eyes to see Kaname Tōsen and the spirit threads of Aizen and Gin despite the Bankai blocking his senses.
• Misao released World-Crossing Principle, which blended into the Bankai and allowed him to regain his senses and cut Kaname Tōsen twice.
• Kaname Tōsen retreated and used rapid Shunpo to avoid further attacks, while Misao explained how World-Crossing Principle worked.

Tokoyo Misao used his information-gathering ability and the Eternal Eyes to anticipate Kaname Tōsen’s attacks, while Sōsuke Aizen and Gin Ichimaru watched from above. On another battlefield, a Quincy absorbed the modified Blade Hollow into her body, leaving Aizen visibly exhilarated.

• Tokoyo Misao inscribed the information he had gathered and wounded Kaname Tōsen by predicting where he would appear.
• Sōsuke Aizen explained to Gin Ichimaru that Misao combined gathered information with quick judgment to anticipate Tōsen’s attacks.
• Aizen ordered Gin to wound Isshin Shiba and stop him from using Bankai, then prevented Gin from intervening against Tōsen.
• A Quincy woman arrived to save the gravely injured Isshin Shiba and let the Blade Hollow bite her shoulder.
• The Quincy used Reishi Manipulation to absorb the Blade Hollow’s Reishi and the modified Hollow vanished into her body.
• Aizen watched the Quincy absorb the Hollow and broke into an unrestrained grin.

Aizen let Tokoyo Misao return to rescue Masaki Kurosaki so he could observe what Tokoyo would report to Soul Society. Tokoyo brought the rapidly hollowfying Masaki to Kisuke Urahara’s shop, where her condition worsened as Urahara prepared to help.

• Aizen recalled Kaname Tōsen and explained that Tokoyo Misao’s report would be distorted by Kyōka Suigetsu, then chose to see whether Tokoyo would report or conceal the incident.
• Tokoyo Misao returned to Isshin Shiba and Masaki Kurosaki, closed their wounds with Reishi threads, and discovered that Hollow Reishi was consuming Masaki’s body.
• Masaki Kurosaki fainted, and Tokoyo called Kisuke Urahara out of hiding to help save her.
• Kisuke Urahara led Tokoyo, Isshin, and Masaki to the hidden Urahara Shop, where they saw that a deep wound in Masaki’s chest was close to becoming a Hollow Hole.
• As Isshin urgently asked Urahara to save Masaki, Tokoyo sat down to eat snacks, and Tessai Tsukabishi asked him to pay 30 yen.

Kisuke Urahara explained that Masaki Kurosaki could survive Hollowfication only if a Shinigami continuously suppressed it, and Isshin Shiba chose to stay with her despite the risks. Tokoyo Misao returned to Soul Society, where Sōsuke Aizen intervened when the Stealth Force tried to arrest him and learned that Isshin had gone missing.

• Kisuke Urahara explained Hollowfication and said Isshin Shiba would have to remain with Masaki Kurosaki and suppress her condition until death.
• Ryūken Ishida protested, but Kisuke Urahara revealed a special Gigai that would let Isshin stay in the World of the Living.
• Tokoyo Misao warned Isshin that he would lose his powers and might never become a Shinigami again, but Isshin asked Misao how he would return and chose to stay.
• Tokoyo Misao contacted Soul Society and returned through a Senkaimon, where the Stealth Force surrounded him for leaving without authorization.
• Sōsuke Aizen challenged the Stealth Force's authority, causing them to withdraw, and Tokoyo Misao told Aizen that Isshin had gone missing.

Tokoyo Misao reported to the captains that he had gone to the World of the Living with Isshin Shiba, encountered Kisuke Urahara, and escaped with a piece of his clothing. Mayuri Kurotsuchi accused Tokoyo Misao of being Urahara’s inside man, but Shunsui Kyōraku defended him and argued that his strength explained why Isshin had brought him along.

• Kenpachi Zaraki reluctantly followed Yachiru Kusajishi’s Hell Butterfly to the emergency captains’ meeting.
• Captain-Commander Yamamoto questioned Tokoyo Misao about his unauthorized trip to the World of the Living with Isshin Shiba.
• Tokoyo Misao explained that he had fought an enemy in a dark space, then found evidence of Isshin’s battle and a scrap of the enemy’s clothing.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi identified the scrap’s Reishi as Kisuke Urahara’s and accused Tokoyo Misao of being Urahara’s inside man.
• Soi Fon demanded to interrogate Tokoyo Misao, but Shunsui Kyōraku stopped her from taking him away.
• Shunsui Kyōraku defended Tokoyo Misao before Yamamoto, saying his proven combat ability made him a suitable companion for Isshin.

Tokoyo Misao was ordered to prove his strength after the captains questioned his report, but Kenpachi Zaraki took the place of Vice-Captain Sasakibe for the demonstration. As Kenpachi gathered his golden Reiatsu, Tokoyo Misao faced him without drawing his Zanpakuto.

• Captain-Commander Yamamoto ordered Tokoyo Misao to fight Vice-Captain Sasakibe to substantiate his report or face the Second Division dungeon.
• Kenpachi Zaraki arrived and demanded to fight Tokoyo Misao, while Yachiru Kusajishi pleaded with him to accept.
• Tokoyo Misao and other captains objected to making a Third Seat face Kenpachi, but Yamamoto allowed the fight to proceed.
• Tokoyo Misao went to the center of the training grounds and considered using Shikai as Kenpachi began releasing his Reiatsu.
• Kenpachi's golden gaze stirred Tokoyo Misao's blood and heartbeat, while Tokoyo Misao left his hand open on his Zanpakuto's hilt.

Tokoyo Misao used Reishi beads and his released Zanpakuto to raise his spiritual pressure to match Kenpachi Zaraki’s, and the two began an exhilarating duel. The chapter ended with Tokoyo Misao exploiting Kenpachi Zaraki’s sword movement to thrust his crowbar toward Kenpachi Zaraki’s chest.

• Tokoyo Misao shattered the Reishi beads hidden in his sleeve and raised his spiritual pressure to captain-level.
• Kenpachi Zaraki increased his own spiritual pressure to the peak of the second class, and Tokoyo Misao released World-Crossing Principle to match him.
• The captains sensed the duel’s spiritual pressure, and Aizen assured them that Tokoyo Misao had not attacked Captain Shiba.
• Tokoyo Misao and Kenpachi Zaraki laughed, then clashed their weapons in the First Division training ground.
• Tokoyo Misao redirected Kenpachi Zaraki’s blade and thrust the crowbar toward his chest.

Tokoyo Misao and Kenpachi Zaraki pushed their duel to the limit, trading devastating blows until both were badly injured. As Kenpachi struggled to remain standing, the watching captains—especially Soi Fon—were stunned by the strength both fighters had displayed.

• Tokoyo and Kenpachi exchanged heavy blows, destroying the training ground's Reishi formation and injuring each other.
• Tokoyo grew disappointed after adapting to Kenpachi's chaotic swordsmanship, so Kenpachi switched to a two-handed grip and forced Tokoyo to dodge as his crowbar flew away.
• Tokoyo formed burning gauntlets with modified Hadō #31 and attacked Kenpachi with his Twin Heaven and Earth Supreme Radiance Fists.
• The collision left Tokoyo with shredded sleeves and a deep sword wound, while Kenpachi's chest and abdomen caved in and he struggled to stay upright.
• Soi Fon watched the duel in shock as both fighters displayed exceptional strength and Second-Class Spiritual Pressure.

Kenpachi Zaraki and Tokoyo Misao unleashed their full strength in a duel that left both gravely wounded. After Unohana took them for treatment, Yamamoto ordered Misao to join the search for Isshin Shiba and serve as acting captain of the Tenth Division.

• Unohana’s killing intent alarmed Soi Fon, but Yamamoto’s arrival made her stand down as Yachiru said Ken-chan had not had enough fun.
• Kenpachi’s spiritual pressure surged to first-class strength, and Yamamoto prepared to intervene before his strike could kill Tokoyo Misao.
• Tokoyo summoned a red-black blade with World-Crossing Principle and used Tsubame Gaeshi to meet Kenpachi’s golden strike.
• Tokoyo fell with a deep chest wound, while Kenpachi collapsed unconscious with a severe wound in his back.
• Unohana used Minazuki to carry both wounded fighters away for treatment, with Shunsui and Yachiru accompanying her.
• Yamamoto ordered Tokoyo to join the search party in the World of the Living and serve as acting captain of the Tenth Division until Isshin Shiba was found.

Tokoyo Misao woke after seven days of recovery to learn he had been appointed acting captain of the Tenth Division, then returned to find the division running smoothly. He told Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto that Captain Shiba was likely staying in the World of the Living for love and probably would not return.

• After witnessing Tokoyo Misao's battle with Kenpachi Zaraki, Soi Fon declared that she had no objections to Misao serving as acting captain.
• Tokoyo Misao woke in the Fourth Division and learned from Hanatarō Yamada that Captain-Commander Yamamoto had appointed him acting captain of the Tenth Division while Captain Shiba was missing.
• Tokoyo Misao recovered, thanked Hanatarō Yamada, and returned to the Tenth Division after eating ten steamed buns.
• Tokoyo Misao found Tōshirō Hitsugaya handling reports and Rangiku Matsumoto leading patrols, and he told them Captain Shiba was enjoying life in the World of the Living.
• Tokoyo Misao explained that Captain Shiba had stayed in the World of the Living for love and was unlikely to come back soon.