Recaps

Yoruichi explained her new technique combining Hakuda and Kidō, and Kisuke Urahara and Ye Yang summoned their Zanpakuto with the Tenshintai. Ye Yang challenged Silver Rend to a sword fight, escaped a devastating strike with Utsusemi, and left Kisuke and Yoruichi discussing the Stealth Step.

• Yoruichi explained how she concentrated Kidō in her hands and feet to combine it with Hakuda, then warned Kisuke Urahara and Ye Yang not to summon her technique casually.
• Kisuke Urahara summoned Benihime, and Yoruichi privately warned him not to call Benihime out whenever he pleased.
• Kisuke Urahara defeated Benihime in three days and asked to see Ye Yang's Zanpakuto.
• Ye Yang summoned Silver Rend, who challenged him to win with an ordinary sword; Ye Yang fought him with Wudang Swordsmanship and the Tai Chi Sword Technique.
• Silver Rend unleashed a powerful strike, and Ye Yang escaped it with Utsusemi, leaving his outer garment behind.
• Yoruichi identified Ye Yang's move as Utsusemi, and Kisuke Urahara asked whether she could use the Stealth Step too.

Ye Yang used the Nine Swords of Dugu to wound Silver Rend, but Silver Rend revealed the neglected powers of his space-type Zanpakuto and challenged Ye Yang to trust him. The battle continued as Silver Rend attacked with his full strength.

• Ye Yang used Utsusemi to escape Silver Rend’s strike, but Silver Rend overwhelmed him and sent him crashing through buildings.
• Ye Yang emerged from the rubble and used the Sword-Breaking Stance of the Nine Swords of Dugu to suppress Silver Rend and cut his shoulder.
• Silver Rend praised Ye Yang’s technique with sorrow, then unleashed a spatial rift and a Dimensional Slash that forced Ye Yang to evade by abandoning his shihakusho.
• Silver Rend used his space ability to shorten the distance before striking Ye Yang from behind, then confronted him for neglecting his powers and treating him as a tool.
• Silver Rend declared that he would show Ye Yang his strength and charged at him again.

Ye Yang accepted Silver Rend and passed the Bankai test, then returned to Seireien with Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara. The three were ordered to become instructors at Shin'ō Academy starting the next day.

• Silver Rend fought Ye Yang for three hours, pushing him to use the Nine Swords of Dugu while sparing him at the last moment.
• Ye Yang let Silver Rend run him through to prove he trusted and accepted his Zanpakuto, and Silver Rend declared that he had passed the Bankai test.
• Silver Rend disappeared as the Tenshintai's time limit ended, leaving Ye Yang with his Bankai and a warning that he still had other abilities to discover.
• Yoruichi suggested a Bankai spar, but Kisuke Urahara explained that Benihime was suited only to fights to the death, so the three went home instead.
• A member of the Punishment Force summoned Yoruichi, Ye Yang, and Kisuke to the Second Division, where Shihoin Tōno informed them they had been appointed Shin'ō Academy instructors.
• The appointment assigned Yoruichi to teach Shunpo, Ye Yang to teach Hakuda, and Kisuke to teach Kidō, with all three starting the next day.

Ye Yang Shihoin, Yoruichi Shihōin, and Kisuke Urahara began teaching at Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy after Captain-Commander Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai appointed them. Their first class introduced them to the students, and Kisuke taught Kidō while explaining his research into its rules.

• Ye Yang Shihoin, Yoruichi Shihōin, and Kisuke Urahara reported to Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai and learned that they would teach at Shin'ō.
• The three received their schedules and met the third-year students, who recognized them as the Shin'ō Golden Triangle and crowded Ye Yang with questions and flirtation.
• Kisuke led the class to the Kidō training ground and explained how incantations, Reishi, and Incantation Abandonment worked.
• Kisuke said his research suggested Kidō could not be released without calling its true name, even by the Captain-Commander.
• Kisuke demonstrated a powerful Incantation Abandonment Shakkahō and began coaching students as they practiced.

Ye Yang, Yoruichi, and Kisuke Urahara supervised their students’ practical combat exercise in the World of the Living, where the class defeated a real Hollow together. After they returned to Soul Society, a Punishment Force messenger reported that the commander-in-chief was critically ill.

• Ye Yang led the students through the Dangai and assigned them to defeat simulated Hollows in groups before practicing Konso.
• Ye Yang intervened when two students were injured, then reunited the class with Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara after the morning exercise.
• In a town, the students encountered a real Hollow, and one student fired a flare to summon help.
• The students coordinated their Kidō attacks and destroyed the Hollow with a combined Sōkatsui, then performed Konso on the rescued soul.
• Ye Yang led the students back to Soul Society and ended the exercise; a Punishment Force messenger then announced that the commander-in-chief was critically ill.

Shihoin Tōno died after entrusting the Shihoin Clan to Yoruichi and Ye Yang, giving Yoruichi the clan-head’s ring and Ye Yang a one-use Pardon Writ. At Tōno’s funeral, Yamamoto cautioned Ye Yang against excessive bloodshed as he took charge alongside his sister.

• Ye Yang and Yoruichi rushed to Shihoin Tōno’s bedside and learned that he was near death.
• Shihoin Tōno asked the siblings to lead the clan together, naming Yoruichi its new head and asking Ye Yang to assist her.
• Shihoin Tōno gave Yoruichi the clan-head’s ring and handed Ye Yang the ancestral Pardon Writ before he died.
• Ye Yang and Yoruichi grieved with their parents after Shihoin Tōno’s death.
• At Shihoin Tōno’s funeral, Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai privately warned Ye Yang not to cause too much bloodshed, and Ye Yang promised restraint.
• Ginrei Kuchiki paid his respects and patted Ye Yang’s shoulder, his hand trembling.

After Shihoin Tōno's funeral, Shihoin Nishimura tried to seize the clan head's position, but Ye Yang and Yoruichi revealed the ancestral token and established Yoruichi as clan head. Nishimura left furious and began plotting, leaving the clan's political turmoil unresolved.

• After the funeral, Shihoin Ishikawa and other elders backed Shihoin Nishimura as acting clan head, and Shihoin Seigen reluctantly agreed to the temporary appointment.
• Ye Yang and Yoruichi objected, arguing that the clan's direct descendants had a claim to leadership.
• Ye Yang explained that the ancestral token could override the elders' approval requirement, and Yoruichi revealed the ring their grandfather had entrusted to them.
• The clan members knelt to recognize Yoruichi as clan head, and Shihoin Nishimura reluctantly followed the ancestral rule and knelt as well.
• Shihoin Nishimura left with Shihoin Ishikawa and other elders, then angrily vowed in an underground chamber that he would not accept losing the position.

Shihoin Nishimura plotted to seize the Shihoin Clan leadership, but Ye Yang and Yoruichi confronted him after defeating his assassins. Nishimura revealed his Zanpakuto, Yomi, and began fighting Ye Yang, who severed one of his arms before Nishimura unleashed his Bankai.

• Shihoin Nishimura ordered his allies to prepare a coup before Yoruichi's inauguration as clan head.
• Ye Yang mobilized the Punishment Force and asked Kisuke Urahara to protect Shihoin Seigen and Tsukiyo while he and Yoruichi went to confront the plotters.
• Ye Yang interrupted Shihoin Nishimura and the elders as they celebrated Nishimura's planned takeover, then revealed Ogawa Kagenashi's severed head.
• Nishimura released Yomi and attacked Ye Yang, but Ye Yang used Dimensional Slash to cut off Nishimura's arm.
• Nishimura activated his Bankai, Yomi Water, as Ye Yang dismissed his accumulated strength.

Ye Yang defeated Shihoin Nishimura with his Bankai, Spatial Domain, and killed him after learning that Nishimura had tried to have Ye Yang’s parents assassinated. With the assassins dead and the remaining elders captured, Ye Yang ordered a purge of the conspirators and planned to reshape the noble families.

• Shihoin Nishimura attacked Ye Yang and Yoruichi with his Bankai, Yomi Water, but Yoruichi struck him with Shunkō and he healed himself with the water.
• Ye Yang revealed his Bankai, Spatial Domain, and used Spatial Rift to swallow all of Nishimura’s Yomi Water, leaving him powerless.
• Nishimura admitted defeat and asked Ye Yang to spare his innocent family; Ye Yang promised to investigate, then killed him and returned to the Shihoin mansion.
• Shihoin Ishikawa revealed that he had sent assassins after Ye Yang’s parents, but Kisuke Urahara arrived with the assassins’ severed heads, and Ye Yang killed Ishikawa.
• Ye Yang ordered the remaining elders killed and said he would also target the other nobles involved in Nishimura’s scheme, while Yoruichi and Seigen warned that killing the elders could weaken the family.

Ye Yang wiped out the noble families that had backed Nishimura while Yoruichi prepared to become the Shihoin Clan’s twenty-second head. After watching her procession, he met Shaoling Fon, the young girl who would become Soi Fon, and offered to teach her about the Punishment Force.

• Ye Yang rejected Yoruichi’s hesitation and set out to eliminate the nobles who had supported Nishimura.
• Ye Yang killed the Ueno Clan’s head and his son, then the Punishment Force helped him eradicate more than a dozen noble families.
• Yoruichi prepared to succeed as the Shihoin Clan’s twenty-second head while Ye Yang stayed away from the formal ceremony.
• Ye Yang watched Yoruichi’s procession and met Shaoling Fon, who admired her and vowed to become her bodyguard.
• Ye Yang recognized Shaoling as the future Soi Fon and told her he had once served in the Punishment Force, prompting her to ask him to explain how to join.

Ye Yang promised to teach Little Shaoling Bajiquan, then traveled through Rukongai and encountered Kenpachi Zaraki fighting Ikkaku Madarame in District 79. Ye Yang accepted Zaraki’s challenge, wounded him, and continued fighting as Zaraki unleashed his spiritual pressure.

• Ye Yang declined to teach Little Shaoling the Punishment Force’s training and promised to teach her Bajiquan the next day.
• Ye Yang traveled through Rukongai’s districts and saw conditions worsen until he reached the violent Kusajishi District.
• Ye Yang watched Kenpachi Zaraki defeat Ikkaku Madarame while Yumichika Ayasegawa looked on, then Zaraki challenged Ye Yang to fight.
• Yachiru Kusajishi joined Ye Yang, gave him the nickname Little Ye-Ye, and moved aside as he accepted Zaraki’s challenge.
• Ye Yang deflected Zaraki’s attacks and cut his chest, prompting Zaraki to unleash his spiritual pressure as Ikkaku wondered if the fight was over and Yumichika said it was not.

Ye Yang fought Kenpachi Zaraki to a draw after using Silver Rend’s spatial ability, and both were badly injured. Recovering in the Fourth Division, Ye Yang told Retsu Unohana his opponent’s name and revealed that Kenpachi Zaraki carried only a battered Asauchi.

• Ye Yang and Kenpachi Zaraki clashed in Rukongai, trading wounds until dusk without either gaining the upper hand.
• Ye Yang and Kenpachi Zaraki unleashed their final attacks; Silver Rend’s Dimensional Slash struck Kenpachi Zaraki, breaking his sword and leaving him badly wounded, while Ye Yang collapsed from exhaustion.
• Yachiru called the result a draw, and Kenpachi Zaraki promised to find Ye Yang in the Seireien.
• Ye Yang made his way to the Fourth Division, where he lost consciousness and later woke to find Yoruichi, Kisuke Urahara, and Kaien visiting him.
• After the visitors left, Ye Yang told Retsu Unohana about the fight and identified his opponent as Kenpachi Zaraki, whose Zanpakuto was a nicked Asauchi.

After recovering from his injuries, Ye Yang taught Little Shaoling the basics of Bajiquan before Yoruichi took him to meet Captain-Commander Yamamoto. Yamamoto accepted Ye Yang’s pledge of loyalty, appointed Yoruichi to take the captain’s test, and assigned Ye Yang to teach at Shin'ō every Wednesday.

• Ye Yang left the Fourth Division despite Unohana’s warning and began teaching Little Shaoling the Bajiquan frame in a maple grove.
• Little Shaoling learned the basic stance and agreed to practice until Ye Yang could return to teach her more.
• After spending three days in the Fourth Division, Ye Yang and Yoruichi met Yamamoto, who demanded an explanation for Ye Yang killing the heads of noble clans.
• Ye Yang promised to remain loyal to the Shihoin Clan and never harm Soul Society while the clan existed, and Yamamoto let the matter rest.
• Yamamoto ordered Yoruichi to take the captain’s test in three days to become Second Division Captain and commander-in-chief of the Stealth Force.
• Yamamoto appointed Ye Yang a consulting instructor at Shin'ō, requiring him to teach every Wednesday, and Yoruichi teased him about the assignment.

Over five years, Ye Yang trained Soi Fon in martial arts and Shunpo while the Second Division and its members changed around them. Soi Fon joined the Punishment Force and was left to spar with Yoruichi, unaware that Ye Yang was Yoruichi’s younger brother and the Second Division’s vice-captain.

• Ye Yang taught Soi Fon Bajiquan and Shunpo for five years as Yoruichi became a celebrated captain, Kenpachi Zaraki took the Eleventh Division, Kaien Shiba became vice-captain, Sōsuke Aizen rose to vice-captain, and Kisuke Urahara took charge of the Maggot's Nest.
• Soi Fon told Ye Yang she had passed the Punishment Force test but worried that its missions would keep her from their Wednesday training, and Ye Yang assured her they could still meet in the Second Division.
• Four days later, Yoruichi inspected the new Punishment Force recruits and met Soi Fon, who nervously introduced herself as a twenty-year-old recruit.
• With forty-one recruits and Soi Fon without a partner, Yoruichi told her to watch the others spar and offered to spar with her afterward.

Yoruichi tested Soi Fon in combat and was impressed by her Shunpo and hidden technique, then recruited her into the Bodyguard Corps. Soi Fon revealed that Ye Yang had taught her the technique, and Yoruichi disclosed that she and Ye Yang were enemies, leaving Soi Fon pleading for his safety.

• Yoruichi sparred with Soi Fon, who adapted to her speed and eventually forced Yoruichi to dodge her final attack.
• Yoruichi praised Soi Fon's performance and recruited her into the Bodyguard Corps under her direct command.
• Yoruichi asked about Soi Fon's powerful technique, and Soi Fon admitted Ye Yang had taught it to her.
• Soi Fon told Yoruichi that Ye Yang had served in the Second Division and the Punishment Force and that she called him Brother Ye Yang.
• Yoruichi said she and Ye Yang were enemies, and Soi Fon asked her not to go after someone important to her.

Ye Yang revealed to Soi Fon that he was Yoruichi’s younger brother and explained why he had trained her in secret. Soi Fon joined Yoruichi’s Bodyguard Corps, and she mistook Kisuke Urahara for a threat when he tried to take Yoruichi out for a drink.

• Yoruichi brought Soi Fon to Ye Yang’s quarters and confronted him about his connection to her.
• Ye Yang told Soi Fon that he was Ye Yang Shihoin, Yoruichi’s younger brother, and explained that he had trained her partly to help Yoruichi and partly because of her talent and persistence.
• Ye Yang told Soi Fon to call him Brother Ye Yang, and she explained that she had taken her grandmother’s name and was now called Soi Fon.
• Yoruichi said Soi Fon had joined her Bodyguard Corps, and Ye Yang encouraged Soi Fon to make Yoruichi lose their next sparring match.
• Kisuke Urahara arrived and tried to take Yoruichi out for a drink, but Soi Fon held her Zanpakuto to his neck until Yoruichi identified him as the Second Division’s Third Seat.

After Soi Fon joined the Punishment Force as Yoruichi's bodyguard, Yoruichi took her and Ye Yang to visit Byakuya at the Sixth Division. Soi Fon's blunt interpretation of Byakuya's name gave Yoruichi a new way to tease him, and Byakuya chased after her in anger.

• Soi Fon questioned Kisuke Urahara's unimpressive appearance, and Ye Yang told her not to judge people by appearances.
• Soi Fon followed Yoruichi to morning training, then joined Yoruichi and Ye Yang on a visit to the Kuchiki Clan.
• Yoruichi startled Byakuya during his sword practice by stealing the ribbon from his hair.
• Soi Fon explained that Byakuya Kuchiki sounded like a meaningless statement about rotten wood, and Yoruichi laughed and used the remark to tease him.
• Byakuya lost his temper and used Shunpo to pursue Yoruichi.

Ye Yang began teaching Shin'ō's new class one and discovered that Gin Ichimaru and Rangiku Matsumoto were among his students. After assessing the students' fighting skills, he began their training with physical conditioning, emphasizing that Soul Reapers needed stamina as well as Spiritual Pressure.

• Ye Yang accepted Yamamoto's order to teach the incoming class and left Soi Fon in charge of the Second Division's affairs.
• Ye Yang introduced himself to class one and learned that the silver-haired student was Gin Ichimaru and the blonde girl was Rangiku Matsumoto.
• Ye Yang took the students to the training grounds and paired them for sparring to assess their abilities.
• Gin Ichimaru defeated Matsushita Ikeda with a sudden strike, and Ye Yang warned Gin not to display killing intent at school.
• Ye Yang praised the students' abilities, then began physical conditioning and explained the importance of stamina alongside Spiritual Pressure.

Ye Yang pushed his Shin'ō students through a grueling stamina lesson of running and sword swings, while Yoruichi and Soi Fon watched. The students finished exhausted, and Ye Yang dismissed them after warning that future training would be even harder.

• Ye Yang explained why physical stamina mattered and ordered the students to run ten laps; after Ueno complained, he increased the assignment to fifteen laps.
• Yoruichi and Soi Fon appeared to watch Ye Yang teach, and Yoruichi lost a bet when Gin Ichimaru returned after only half an hour.
• Rangiku Matsumoto arrived exhausted, and Yoruichi helped her rest while Rangiku kept watching Gin.
• Ye Yang ordered the students to swing their swords five hundred times, adding one hundred swings for each minute they had arrived late.
• Gin finished the exercise and left after Rangiku asked him to wait; unable to stand, she watched him go.
• After the remaining students finished and collapsed, Ye Yang warned them that training would get harder and dismissed the class.

Ye Yang and his companions went drinking, where they met Rangiku Matsumoto and invited her to join them. After Rangiku got drunk, Ye Yang took her to a Shin'ō dorm room and paid six years of fees; she woke there and learned he had already left.

• Yoruichi laughed at Ye Yang's boast, and Ye Yang used their bet to summon Kisuke Urahara to join them for drinks.
• Ye Yang, Yoruichi, Soi Fon, and Urahara met Captains Ukitake and Shunsui Kyōraku, who joined their meal.
• Ye Yang spotted his student Rangiku drinking alone and invited her to the table, where the group teased Shunsui about being old.
• After the group drank, Ye Yang arranged for Soi Fon to take Yoruichi home and left Ukitake with the drunk Shunsui.
• Rangiku told Ye Yang she had no home while drunk, so he carried her to a Shin'ō dormitory and paid six years' fees for a room.
• Rangiku mistook Ye Yang for Gin in her sleep and begged him not to leave; after she woke, Ye Yang explained where she was and vanished with Shunpo.

After three months of punishing physical and spiritual training, Ye Yang began teaching his students Kidō, and they quickly learned basic spells. One month later, Gin demonstrated extraordinary skill with an incantation-free Sōkatsui, leaving Ye Yang and the class stunned.

• Ye Yang finished three months of intensive training with his class, improving their stamina, martial skills, and control of Spiritual Pressure without anyone quitting.
• Ye Yang taught the students basic Hadō and Bakudō, and nearly all of them successfully cast Shō on their first attempt.
• Gin volunteered for demonstrations, learned Byakurai after seeing it once, and asked Ye Yang to teach him more Kidō.
• A month later, the students practiced Shakkahō, with Ye Yang praising Rangiku's control and correcting the others' mistakes.
• Gin cast Sōkatsui without an incantation, destroying the target and leaving a black mark on the protected wall, astonishing the class and Ye Yang.

Ye Yang avoided the vacant Twelfth Division captaincy by persuading Yoruichi to recommend Kisuke Urahara instead. When Urahara’s captain’s exam was interrupted by a report of escaped individuals, Ye Yang and Soi Fon followed him to investigate, and Urahara approached their hiding place.

• Yoruichi told Ye Yang that the Captain-Commander wanted her to recommend him for the vacant Twelfth Division captaincy, but Ye Yang suggested she recommend Urahara instead.
• Yoruichi arranged for Urahara to take the captain’s exam, while Soi Fon objected to his selection and presented a report of his alleged laziness.
• After a member of the Punishment Force reported that Urahara’s target had been found, Urahara left to investigate before the exam.
• Ye Yang and Soi Fon followed Urahara to a hut where escaped individuals were hiding, and Ye Yang protected Soi Fon from their oppressive Spiritual Pressure.
• Urahara said he would handle the situation and used Shunpo to reach the hut’s door.

Urahara effortlessly defeated the fugitives at the hut, then was appointed the new captain of the Twelfth Division after Kirio Hikifune joined the Royal Guard. Three days later, Ye Yang accompanied Urahara to the Maggot's Nest and left him stunned by winning their Hakuda exchange.

• Urahara overwhelmed the fugitives at the hut, and Ye Yang ordered the Punishment Force to take them to prison.
• Ye Yang met Shunsui Kyōraku, Lisa Yadōmaru, Jūshirō Ukitake, and other captains before Kirio Hikifune's promotion to the Royal Guard was discussed.
• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto appointed Kisuke Urahara captain of the Twelfth Division after Yoruichi Shihōin recommended him.
• Urahara moved his belongings to the Twelfth Division, then requested permission to enter the Maggot's Nest three days later.
• Ye Yang accompanied Urahara and defeated him in a rapid Hakuda duel, impressing Hiyori.

Kisuke Urahara founded the Research and Development Institute under the Twelfth Division with Mayuri Kurotsuchi as deputy director. As Ye Yang returned to teaching, Gin Ichimaru’s early graduation application was approved, and his classmates followed him to watch the exam while Rangiku worried he was leaving her again.

• Kisuke Urahara told Ye Yang he planned to recruit Mayuri Kurotsuchi from the Maggot's Nest to help establish the Research and Development Institute, and Ye Yang accompanied him to retrieve Mayuri.
• Central 46 approved the new institute under the Twelfth Division, naming Kisuke Urahara its director and Mayuri Kurotsuchi its deputy director.
• Ye Yang returned to Shin'ō for the new term and learned that Gin Ichimaru had applied to graduate after one year at Lieutenant Aizen's invitation.
• Ye Yang taught his class about the Gotei 13 and asked the students which divisions they hoped to join; Gin chose the Fifth Division and Rangiku favored the Tenth.
• A Soul Reaper informed Ye Yang that Gin's graduation application had been approved, so Ye Yang led the class to watch the exam while Rangiku stayed behind, wondering if Gin was leaving again.

Gin Ichimaru took his early graduation examination by fighting his teacher, Ye Yang, and demonstrated exceptional skill across the Soul Reaper disciplines. After passing, Gin chose to join the Fifth Division and was ordered to report the next day.

• Yamamoto announced that Gin's examination would be a fight against Second Division lieutenant Ye Yang, who had not been told he would serve as the examiner.
• Gin used Kidō and Shunpo against Ye Yang, but Ye Yang blocked his attacks, saw through his feint, and praised his strategy.
• Gin revealed that his Zanpakuto was named Shinsō, then fought Ye Yang in a Zanjutsu match while Ye Yang coached him.
• Gin activated Shinsō's extension ability at close range, but Ye Yang evaded it with Utsusemi and appeared behind him.
• Yamamoto declared that Gin had passed the examination, and Gin chose the Fifth Division, where he was told to report the next day.