Recaps

Vice Principal Ōuna warned the third-years that their limited experience made them vulnerable to Hollows, and students shared painful encounters that proved the danger. He called on Dōsan Hanyū to describe the Hollow he had faced, leaving Dōsan unsure what to say.

• Ōuna reprimanded Rizukihime for her clothes and explained that Dōsan could wear his own because he would attend the academy for only one year.
• Rizukihime offered to pay for Dōsan's academy uniforms, and he thanked her, making her hair puff up.
• Ōuna warned that third-years faced a high risk of death because they lacked the experience and strength to fight Hollows.
• Sōji Sanjō admitted he thought the strongest third-years could defeat weaker Hollows, but Ōuna challenged his confidence.
• Inorei Hikaru revealed that a weak Hollow had nearly killed him and left a lasting injury that stunted his Spiritual Pressure.
• Rizukihime said a Hollow had killed her mother, and Ōuna asked Dōsan to tell the class about the Hollow he had encountered.

Dōsan Hanyū recounted how he had defeated a Cero-using Hollow before beginning cultivation, surprising his classmates and unsettling their teacher, Ōuna. The class celebrated receiving Asauchi early because of Dōsan’s Shikai, while Soi Fon returned to the Second Division barracks and learned that six of her men had been beaten by the 11th Division.

• Ōuna asked Dōsan to describe his first encounter with a Hollow, and Dōsan said he had dodged its attacks before defeating it with one Hakuda strike.
• Dōsan revealed that the Hollow could use Cero, prompting Ōuna to warn the students that engaging Hollows could lead to suspension or expulsion.
• Ōuna announced that the students would receive Asauchi and explained that Dōsan’s already-released Zanpakuto had shortened their wait.
• The students cheered and thanked Dōsan for helping them receive their Asauchi early.
• Soi Fon returned to the Second Division barracks, where Ōmaeda reported that six of their men had been beaten by the 11th Division.

Soi Fon ordered Ōmaeda to arrange a hundred matches with the Eleventh Division and sent him to challenge Ikkaku Madarame, while Dōsan Hanyū met Inorei Hikaru training at the academy. Hikaru proposed a Kidō spar, leaving Dōsan worried the contest might damage their friendship.

• Soi Fon ordered Ōmaeda to arrange a hundred matches between the Second and Eleventh Divisions and told Dōsan to challenge Ikkaku Madarame.
• Ōmaeda left to prepare for his challenge and considered making a will before going to the Eleventh Division.
• Dōsan entered a sekkiseki-enclosed practice room and watched Inorei Hikaru train in Shunpo.
• Hikaru touched Dōsan's shoulder with Shunpo, then asked about his late-night training and heard he practiced until about two in the morning.
• Hikaru challenged Dōsan to a spar and chose to compete by bombarding each other with Kidō, making Dōsan worry Hikaru might resent him afterward.

Inorei Hikaru challenged Dōsan Hanyū to an unrestricted spar, but Dōsan overwhelmed him with Kidō, Spiritual Pressure, and a defensive technique called Mirror Reversal. After Hikaru was exhausted, he offered to teach Dōsan better Spiritual Pressure control, then mentioned having read Seireitei Communication, leaving Dōsan confused.

• Dōsan struck Hikaru with Byakurai and Shakkahō, showing that his Kidō was far faster than Hikaru could react to.
• Hikaru attacked Dōsan with Hakuda and a sword strike, but Dōsan blocked him with Mirror Reversal, a Kidō he had created with a friend.
• Dōsan trained Hikaru in Hakuda and Shunpo until Hikaru ran out of stamina and Spiritual Pressure.
• Hikaru suggested that Dōsan could reflect attacks by matching their Spiritual Pressure, then offered to help him improve his control.
• Hikaru praised Dōsan for listening to him and said he had thought Dōsan had slept his way to the top after reading Seireitei Communication, prompting Dōsan to ask what it was.

Dōsan Hanyū drew a crowd of classmates at the academy, where Ōunabara Gen'ogorō arranged for staff to monitor his training. Meanwhile, Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Nemu discovered that far fewer souls than expected had reincarnated in West Rukongai's District 49, where Dōsan had arrived.

• Dōsan Hanyū was greeted by classmates who crowded around him, while Rizukihime Kasumiōji grew jealous and demanded to know why he was not wearing his academy uniform.
• During Ōunabara Gen'ogorō's lesson, Dōsan explained that he had slept at the training ground, and Ōunabara warned him about the risks of intense training before offering to send academy staff to supervise him.
• In West Rukongai's District 49, Nemu Kurotsuchi reported that the readings and local conditions seemed ordinary compared with data from ten years earlier.
• Nemu discovered that the number of souls reincarnated in District 49 over the past decade may have been less than one-tenth of normal, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi took her to investigate.

Dōsan Hanyū struggled with the unsettling power of his Zanpakuto, No Cause, and left class to seek answers. Meanwhile, Mayuri Kurotsuchi learned that Dōsan had arrived in Soul Society ten years earlier, raising the question of why his spiritual body was only seven years old.

• Dōsan’s classmates admired No Cause, but he became distracted by the blade’s strange attraction and the emptiness he felt when wielding it.
• Dōsan startled his teacher, apologized, and left class to rest; Rizukihime was refused permission to leave because she was over a hundred years old.
• Dōsan wondered what No Cause was and encountered Rangiku Matsumoto, who pretended to be distraught until he offered her chrysanthemum sake.
• In District 49 of West Rukongai, Mayuri Kurotsuchi found no abnormalities in his examination of wandering souls.
• Nemu Kurotsuchi told Mayuri that Dōsan had arrived in Soul Society ten years earlier, and Mayuri questioned why Dōsan’s spiritual body was only seven years old.

Dōsan helped Rangiku with the Tenth Division’s paperwork while Isshin and Soi Fon pursued separate schemes to shape his future. Yamamoto, convinced Dōsan’s talent was extraordinary, ordered Sasakibe to bring him to his quarters that night.

• Rangiku explained that the 11th Division’s repeated fights with the Second Division had burdened the Tenth Division with incident reports, and Dōsan agreed to help her review them.
• Rangiku handed Dōsan the table of contents for the regulations and urged him to rise through the Tenth Division until he became captain.
• Isshin lured Rangiku into a training room after she asked him to spar, then activated his Bankai.
• Ōmaeda told Soi Fon that Rangiku had fallen for their plan, but Soi Fon hesitated to deceive Dōsan further until Ōmaeda argued that joining Isshin and Rangiku would harm him.
• Yamamoto questioned whether Dōsan’s talent justified his attention, then told Sasakibe to bring Dōsan to his quarters that night.

Dōsan Hanyū met with classmates for training, where Hikaru suggested using weights to improve fine control and Sōji Sanjō tried to curry favor by backing Dōsan. The chapter then shifted to Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru getting lost while searching for Yamamoto’s barracks.

• Mitsui-san examined Dōsan Hanyū after he felt unwell, but found no problems.
• A firework exploded nearby, and the group saw someone fall from its burst.
• Hikaru offered Dōsan a ton of training weights to help him practice fine control for Mirror Reversal.
• Sōji Sanjō mocked Hikaru’s suggestion, then accepted Dōsan’s invitation to try the weights himself.
• Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru searched for Yamamoto’s barracks, but Yachiru pointed them back in the direction they had come from.

Dōsan Hanyū continued training his classmates until Chōjirō Sasakibe arrived with orders from the Captain-Commander. Sasakibe summoned Dōsan to a night meeting and revealed that his opponent in an upcoming battle would be Kenpachi Zaraki.

• Rizukihime and the other trainees struggled through Dōsan's training, while Sōji Sanjō pushed himself especially hard.
• The exhausted classmates left, but Dōsan continued training with Sanjō and the others.
• Chōjirō Sasakibe arrived and warned Dōsan not to train his spiritual pressure too intensely before speaking with Sanjō.
• Sasakibe told Dōsan that the Captain-Commander wished to see him.
• Sasakibe revealed that Dōsan's opponent would be the captain of the 11th Division, Kenpachi Zaraki.

Dōsan Hanyū met Captain-Commander Yamamoto, who recognized his sword-induced emptiness and tried to recruit him for swordsmanship, but Dōsan refused to change his plan to join the Tenth Division. Yamamoto brought him to face Kenpachi Zaraki, where Dōsan’s immense killing intent emerged and Zaraki challenged him as a fellow monster.

• Dōsan Hanyū greeted Yamamoto and endured the pressure of his Spiritual Pressure.
• Yamamoto offered to teach Dōsan swordsmanship and identified the emptiness and killing intent he felt when holding a sword.
• Dōsan refused to reconsider joining the Tenth Division, despite Yamamoto’s offer.
• Kenpachi Zaraki arrived demanding an opponent, and Yamamoto led him and Dōsan to a training ground.
• Chōjirō Sasakibe sensed the immense killing intent surrounding Dōsan and Zaraki.
• Zaraki called Dōsan a fellow monster, and Dōsan raised his head with pitch-black eyes.

Dōsan Hanyū fought Kenpachi Zaraki, using his strange ability to evade Zaraki’s blows and eventually cut through his defense. Zaraki left satisfied and decided to start training, while Mayuri and Nemu moved their investigation to West District 11.

• Dōsan Hanyū’s attack failed to hurt Zaraki, who overwhelmed him with Spiritual Pressure and sent him flying.
• Dōsan Hanyū refused to answer No Cause’s call and invited Zaraki to cut him, then used his ability to evade Zaraki’s slash and counterattack.
• Dōsan Hanyū entered the world of the sword and landed a cut that broke through Zaraki’s defense, leaving Zaraki delighted by the fight.
• Zaraki asked the name of Dōsan Hanyū’s sword, then ended the fight and left with Yachiru, saying he might start training.
• Mayuri learned that the Twelfth Division had found no anomalies in West District 49 and took Nemu to West District 11, where Akon had prepared experimental equipment.

Ikkaku Madarame received a message from Captain Zaraki to spar with Dōsan Hanyū, while Dōsan returned to class after spending the night in the First Division. The students envied his new attention from the First Division, and Rizukihime braced for him to show off again.

• Ikkaku Madarame used Bankai to defeat an intermediate Menos Grande in South District 78.
• Yumichika read Captain Zaraki’s message ordering Ikkaku to go to Shin'ō Academy of Spiritual Arts and spar with Dōsan Hanyū, who was expected to become the Tenth Division’s Third Seat in a year.
• Ikkaku and Yumichika debated whether Dōsan would be a weak or strong opponent, then continued hunting Hollows while arguing over whose turn it was to fight.
• Academy students regretted missing the previous day’s training after hearing Vice-Captain Chōjirō Sasakibe had taken Dōsan to the First Division and asked about Sōji Sanjō.
• Dōsan arrived late to Kidō theory class and explained that he had stayed at the First Division the night before.
• Rizukihime recognized Dōsan’s explanation as a sign that he was about to show off again.

Dōsan’s classmates asked about his fight with Captain Zaraki before their practical Kidō lesson, where Rizukihime showed off her spell and the teacher asked Dōsan to demonstrate his strongest Kidō. Just as Dōsan began chanting, Mitsui-san interrupted to say that the Second Division Captain was waiting outside.

• Hikaru asked Dōsan whether he had really fought Captain Zaraki, and Dōsan said they had fought a little and that Zaraki was easy to talk to.
• Soi Fon reluctantly prepared to meet Dōsan in a furisode while reflecting on why he had saved her years earlier.
• Rizukihime cast Hadō #31: Shakkahō without an incantation and earned praise from her classmates.
• The teacher asked Dōsan to explain his Kidō practice and incantation technique, but Dōsan could not offer a clear explanation.
• The teacher asked Dōsan to demonstrate his strongest Kidō, and he began to gather lightning in his palm before Mitsui-san announced that the Second Division Captain was waiting outside.

Soi Fon met Dōsan among cherry blossoms, where they played shogi while Ōmaeda and Honrō Useki secretly photographed them. In Rukongai, Kurotsuchi connected an experiment’s unexplained results to reports of a district being destroyed and recreated.

• Dōsan nervously met Soi Fon, who took him to a cherry grove and sat with him at a shogi board.
• Soi Fon and Dōsan played shogi as Honrō Useki secretly photographed them for Ōmaeda.
• Ōmaeda paid Honrō Useki for the photographs and hinted that the report could help him become Ninth Division lieutenant.
• In West District 11, Akon reminded Kurotsuchi of Tōsen’s report about an area of South Rukongai District 78 being destroyed and recreated.
• Kurotsuchi suggested that someone had destroyed District 49 and recreated it along with souls unable to reincarnate.

Dōsan treated Rangiku to food and sake before invoking the law to stop Ikkaku from attacking him, then feigned collapse and got Ikkaku accused of murder. At the academy, Kūkaku signed Ichimonji Tsunayashiro’s document after he offered to reveal who murdered her father, and he began naming the culprit.

• Dōsan fed Rangiku and plied her with sake while asking her to send him paperwork to approve.
• Ikkaku challenged Dōsan, but Dōsan cited the law, refused to fight, and collapsed when Ikkaku thrust at him.
• Mitsui-san treated Dōsan and reported Ikkaku, prompting First Division Soul Reapers to confront Ikkaku and Yumichika.
• Ichimonji Tsunayashiro offered Kūkaku information about her father's murder in exchange for her signature on a document.
• Kūkaku signed the document, and Ichimonji began to reveal her father's killer.

Dōsan Hanyū used his knowledge of the law to get Ikkaku Madarame arrested for breaking Soul Reaper regulations. In Seireitei, Ichimonji Tsunayashiro revealed that the Shiba Clan guarded the ancient Zanpakuto Miroku, but Tsunayashiro Tokinada interrupted before he could explain its ability.

• Dōsan exposed Ikkaku and Yumichika's legal violations, and Genshirō Okikiba's men arrested Ikkaku for seven days.
• Dōsan met Rizukihime at school and gave her a bento after borrowing money from her.
• Ichimonji Tsunayashiro showed Gin Ichimaru his Artificial Soul research facility and boasted about his growing influence.
• Gin asked why Tsunayashiro had sought the Shiba Clan's approval, and Ichimonji explained that the clan enshrined the Zanpakuto Miroku.
• Tsunayashiro Tokinada interrupted Ichimonji as he began to reveal Miroku's ability, and Gin met Tokinada.

Rizukihime tasted Dōsan Hanyū’s fish lunch and drew the attention of her kendo teacher before Dōsan encountered Ganju Shiba, who asked him for help. Meanwhile, Mayuri Kurotsuchi prepared equipment and preservation containers for an experiment on Dōsan, intent on dissecting him despite Nemu’s concerns.

• Rizukihime opened Dōsan Hanyū’s lunch box and eagerly ate its fish, distracting the class and prompting the leather-clad kendo teacher to strike the box with Shunpo.
• The teacher dismissed the class and left with the lunch box, while Dōsan slipped away with Mitsui-san and Sōji Sanjō.
• Ganju Shiba caught up with Dōsan, sent his companions away, and bowed to ask Dōsan for help.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi ordered his researchers to prepare compact equipment capable of capturing someone at captain level and readied culture containers for preserving organs.
• Nemu warned Mayuri that Dōsan had attracted the captains’ attention, but Mayuri rebuked her and admitted he was eager to dissect Dōsan.

Dōsan learned that Kūkaku resented Soul Reapers over her father's death, but she refused to name the person responsible and urged him to leave the academy. The Central 46 and Gotei 13 then approved a proposal granting Artificial Soul Corps members ordinary Soul Reaper rights and allowing them to join the Gotei 13.

• Dōsan visited a drunken Kūkaku, who admitted that her father had died at a Soul Reaper's hands but refused to tell him the enemy's name.
• After Dōsan left, Kūkaku quietly said, “Mi—roku.”
• Dōsan considered which Soul Reaper might have killed Kūkaku's father and suspected Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, but he could not resolve his doubts.
• The Central 46 and the Gotei 13 approved Ichimonji Tsunayashiro's proposal to give Artificial Soul Corps graduates ordinary Soul Reaper rights and allow them to join the Gotei 13.
• Seireitei Communication published the headline, “Would You Accept a Comrade Who Is a Bomb That Could Be Sacrificed at Any Time?”

Five strange girls with numbered marks on their foreheads confronted Rizukihime and her classmates, but Dōsan’s drawn sword and Number 7’s intervention stopped the fight. The chapter ended with Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Gin Ichimaru, and other division officers arriving at the academy as temporary members.

• Rizukihime learned that several classmates had been hospitalized with food poisoning after eating her cooking, while Sōji Sanjō remained ill.
• Five girls bearing the numbers 7, 21, 45, 109, and 135 entered the classroom, and Number 7 insulted Rizukihime and demanded her seat.
• Number 21 attacked Rizukihime, but Hikaru intercepted her, and Sōji Sanjō and other classmates stood up to defend them.
• Dōsan Hanyū warned the girls about the rules, then drew No Cause when Number 21 gathered energy at her fingertip.
• Number 7 stopped Number 21’s attack and said Dōsan was not trash, after which the five girls took seats in the classroom.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Gin Ichimaru, and elite Seated Officers from several divisions arrived at Shin'ō Academy of Spiritual Arts as temporary members.

Ganju and Kūkaku learned that Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s Hollow experiment had been moved to West District 49, Dōsan Hanyū’s birthplace, while academy students were assigned to a Hollow subjugation mission there. The chapter ended with Honrō Useki explaining that the student teams would work alongside Modified Souls to defeat the Hollows in West District 49.

• Gin challenged Kurotsuchi over moving the experiment to West District 49, noting that Dōsan Hanyū had been born there.
• A teacher selected two third-year teams for the dangerous mission, including Dōsan Hanyū, Rizukihime Kasumiōji, Inorei Hikaru, and Sōji Sanjō.
• The teacher in leather flirted with Dōsan Hanyū before leading the students to meet their Shinigami guide, Honrō Useki.
• Honrō Useki admitted he had invented the story about Dōsan and Captain Soi Fon, and Dōsan threatened him with a fine for spreading rumors.
• Honrō Useki explained that the teams would work with two Modified Souls to subjugate the Hollows in West District 49.

Shūhei Hisagi joined the extermination mission despite his doubts about his talent, while Dōsan Hanyū and the other students reached West District 49 to begin the survival test. After Honrō Useki warned Dōsan to beware the Twelfth Division, a Garganta opened overhead and Hollow attacks began.

• Shūhei Hisagi reflected on his weak progress at the academy and chose to join the mission rather than withdraw.
• Dōsan Hanyū greeted the senior students who were eager to befriend him before the groups split up for the mission.
• Honrō Useki led Dōsan, Rizukihime, and Number 7 into the wilderness, where they were meant to survive Hollow attacks with the Artificial Soul Corps as their first defense.
• Honrō Useki took a photograph and secretly warned Dōsan to beware the Twelfth Division.
• Number 7 dismissed Rizukihime as trash, and Dōsan noticed a Garganta opening in the sky as Hollow arms reached through it.

Central 46 watched the students and Modified Souls face the Hollow trial while its sages mocked the noble clans and treated the sacrifice of Artificial Souls as an acceptable cost. In West District 49, Number 7 revealed the mission’s planned casualties, but Rizukihime Kasumiōji and Dōsan Hanyū intervened to protect her.

• Central 46’s sages discussed Dōsan Hanyū and the decline of the noble clans, provoking Ichimonji Tsunayashiro before they watched Artificial Soul Number 66 explode.
• Ukitake coughed blood as Kyōraku recalled that a similar plan to use Pluses as vanguard soldiers had once sent its proposer to Muken.
• Dōsan’s group heard an explosion and felt a surge of Spiritual Pressure, and Number 7 explained that the Modified Souls were intended to die so all forty students could survive.
• Number 7 stood to face an approaching Hollow, but Rizukihime killed it with Shakkahō and declared she would not abandon someone in distress.
• A second Hollow struck at Rizukihime, and Dōsan used Mirror Reversal to shatter it.

Dōsan Hanyū and the students fought off the first Hollows, while the experiment’s second phase deliberately drew more Hollows toward Dōsan’s group. Shūhei Hisagi watched Number 88 sacrifice herself to save him, leaving him grieving his powerlessness.

• Dōsan explained that Mirror Reversal copied an opponent’s attack to counter it, then failed to stop a Cero that blasted Rizukihime into a crater.
• The students and Modified Souls routed the first wave of Hollows, and the Twelfth Division began scattering bait for the experiment’s second phase.
• Iji Yamada ordered more bait placed around Dōsan Hanyū, while a fleshy bud writhed unnoticed on the back of his neck.
• Number 88 faced a Cero-using Hollow with Shūhei Hisagi and another first-year, then struck it with Sōkatsui without causing much damage.
• Shūhei returned to help Number 88 and punched the Hollow’s mask, but she was gravely injured protecting him.
• Number 88 used Raikōhō to destroy the Hollow, and her Reishi collapsed; she told Shūhei that her death was the fate of a Modified Soul.

Dōsan Hanyū protected Rizukihime, Number 7, and Shūhei Hisagi from Hollows and offered to teach Shūhei basic techniques. Meanwhile, Iji Yamada transformed into a Hollow and cut off communications, while Tachikawa confronted Gin about killing Aizen.

• Dōsan used Simulated Incantation to unleash Byakurai and destroy the Hollows surrounding the group.
• Shūhei Hisagi joined Dōsan, Rizukihime, and Number 7, then asked whether he could become a Soul Reaper; Dōsan offered to teach him basic techniques.
• Iji Yamada transformed as a Hollow and attacked a squad member, cutting communications between the Seireitei and West District 49.
• Tachikawa told Gin that Aizen was entering Muken and asked whether Gin wanted to kill him.

Dōsan Hanyū left the students to investigate a Hollow and fought a white-coated man who could regenerate, but the man absorbed U Genjō and began recovering. Meanwhile, a mysterious attacker breached the Twelfth Division's Research and Development Institute, and Dōsan faced another round against the Hollow.

• A man infiltrated the Twelfth Division's Research and Development Institute, knocked out Nemu Kurotsuchi, and entered the area protecting Mayuri's possessions.
• Dōsan Hanyū trained Shūhei Hisagi with Rizukihime and Number 7 while Hollows continued hunting in District 49.
• After No Cause began calling to him, Dōsan sensed Hollow Spiritual Pressure and found a white-coated man feeding on a fallen Shinigami.
• Dōsan hit the white-coated man with a powerful Raikōhō, but the Hollow survived and healed with High-Speed Regeneration.
• U Genjō arrived to help Dōsan, but the white-coated man swallowed half his body and absorbed it to restore himself.