Recaps

After the Expeditionary Force escaped the Hollows, Ikeda Kawai mourned Ye Yang, while Shusuke Amagai insisted Ye Yang would return. In the Forest of Menos, Ye Yang encountered a Soul Reaper fighting Grimmjow and intervened, only to discover Grimmjow was an old opponent seeking revenge.

• Ikeda Kawai learned Ye Yang had stayed behind and broke down in grief, while Shusuke Amagai remained confident Ye Yang would come back.
• Ye Yang suppressed his Spiritual Pressure in the Forest of Menos and sensed several Adjuchas fighting a Soul Reaper.
• Grimmjow joined the battle and gained the upper hand after the Soul Reaper had worn himself down fighting the others.
• Ye Yang blocked Grimmjow's fatal strike, rescued the Soul Reaper, and faced the Menos Grande.
• Grimmjow recognized Ye Yang from their fight decades earlier and vowed to defeat him to overcome his old humiliation.

Ye Yang Shihoin rescued Ashido after effortlessly defeating Grimmjow, then learned Ashido had survived alone in the Forest of Menos for four hundred years. Ye Yang invited Ashido to live with him and guard his secluded cultivation, and Ashido accepted.

• Grimmjow challenged Ye Yang, but Ye Yang used Spatial Jump to disarm him in one exchange and spared his life.
• Ye Yang explained to the injured Soul Reaper that he had prioritized rescuing him and could not risk trying to kill Grimmjow.
• The Soul Reaper introduced himself as Ashido and revealed that his Expeditionary Force First Legion comrades had all been killed by Menos Grande.
• Ashido told Ye Yang he had spent four hundred years in the Forest of Menos, where he continued fighting Hollows despite having no way to find the exit.
• Ye Yang and Ashido discussed Ashido's resolve to fight for Soul Society, and Ye Yang invited him to live at his home and stand guard while he cultivated.
• Ashido accepted Ye Yang's offer, gaining a place to stay and a companion in the Forest of Menos.

Soul Society received a report that Ye Yang had vanished after staying behind to cover the Expeditionary Force's retreat, and his friends and family reacted to the news. Though many mourned him, several believed he was still alive and wondered where he had gone.

• Soul Society learned that the Expeditionary Force had suffered heavy losses and that Ye Yang's Spiritual Pressure could no longer be detected after he stayed behind; Yamamoto and Chōjirō Sasakibe suspected he was alive.
• Soi Fon sent the Second Division members away and privately held to Ye Yang's promise that he would return.
• Gin Ichimaru suggested that Aizen had lost a formidable enemy, but Aizen questioned whether Ye Yang was truly dead.
• Byakuya mourned Ye Yang in silence, while Shunsui told Ukitake that Ye Yang was strong enough to survive and had approached the limits of Soul Reapers.
• Rangiku worried about Ye Yang, and Isshin reassured her that the missing body and undetectable Spiritual Pressure did not prove he was dead.
• Shihoin Seigen nearly collapsed at the news, but his wife reminded him that Ye Yang had never let them down, and Seigen prayed for his safe return.

In the World of the Living, Yoruichi learned that Ye Yang was missing after fighting powerful Menos Grande, but trusted that he had survived. In Hueco Mundo, Ye Yang completed thirty years of cultivation, formed a Golden Core, and emerged with his power concealed; he left his next plans uncertain.

• Urahara told Yoruichi that Ye Yang’s Spiritual Pressure had vanished after he stayed behind to fight a Vasto Lorde and more than a hundred Adjuchas, and that his body had not been found.
• Yoruichi saw through Urahara’s attempt to make her believe Ye Yang was dead and calmly reasoned that he might be hiding his Spiritual Pressure.
• Yoruichi attacked Urahara for teasing her, while Ye Yang continued cultivating in the Forest of Menos with Ashido.
• After thirty years, Ye Yang formed a Golden Core and felt that the boundary restricting him had disappeared, though his strength had barely increased.
• Ye Yang’s bearing changed so that his power no longer showed, and he told Ashido that his cultivation was nearly complete before wondering what he would do next.

Ashido chose to remain in the Forest of Menos and continue hunting Hollows, while Ye Yang left to return to the surface. After defeating the Menos Grande guarding the exit, Ye Yang emerged into Hueco Mundo's desert.

• Ashido told Ye Yang he would stay in the Forest of Menos to hunt Hollows and fulfill his duty as a Soul Reaper.
• Ye Yang bid farewell to Ashido and headed for the exit, where over a hundred Menos Grande had gathered.
• The Menos Grande ambushed Ye Yang with hundreds of Ceros, but he escaped the blast using Spatial Jump and emerged unharmed.
• Ye Yang counterattacked with Silver Rend, killed the leaders, and pursued the fleeing Menos Grande, leaving fewer than a hundred survivors.
• Ye Yang opened a rift to the surface and emerged into Hueco Mundo's vast desert, thinking, “I'm back!”

Ye Yang met Ulquiorra in Hueco Mundo to ask about Aizen and the search for Vasto-class Menos Grande. Their discussion was interrupted when Ulquiorra fought Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, whose Cero Doble revealed her unusual ability to absorb Ceros; Ulquiorra regenerated from her attack and insisted their fight was not over.

• Ye Yang summoned Ulquiorra, learned Aizen had not appeared in Hueco Mundo, and warned him not to underestimate Aizen.
• Ulquiorra said recruiting more Vasto-class Menos Grande had been difficult, then attacked Hollows that had gathered to prey on them.
• Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck stopped Ulquiorra from killing the fleeing Hollows, and they fought over their opposing views on protecting the weak.
• Ulquiorra fired a Black Cero, which Nelliel swallowed and returned as a powerful Cero Doble that badly injured him.
• Ulquiorra severed his damaged arms, regenerated them with High-Speed Regeneration, and told Nelliel he still intended to fight.

Ye Yang stopped Ulquiorra from fighting Nelliel and challenged her belief that the strong should protect the weak. After Nelliel reaffirmed her knightly vows despite Ye Yang's overwhelming Spiritual Pressure, he withdrew his aura, leaving her conviction intact.

• Ye Yang appeared between Ulquiorra and Nelliel, ended their fight, and admitted that he had ordered Ulquiorra to kill the Hollows.
• Ye Yang argued that the Hollows had tried to eat him and that he had no obligation to spare enemies, leading Nelliel to question her vows to protect the weak.
• Nelliel overcame her doubts and declared her vows as a knight, including protecting the weak and fighting tyranny.
• Ye Yang overwhelmed Nelliel and Ulquiorra with his Spiritual Pressure and asked Nelliel whether she would keep her vows even if they cost her life.
• Nelliel affirmed that she would uphold her beliefs, and Ye Yang withdrew his Spiritual Pressure.

Ye Yang invited Nelliel to travel with him through Hueco Mundo, intrigued by her compassion for the weak, while Ulquiorra struggled to understand what Ye Yang meant by having a heart. After Nelliel agreed to join him, she and Ye Yang set off together, with Nelliel asking him not to kill Hollows without reason.

• Ye Yang spared Nelliel and invited her to travel through Hueco Mundo with him, while Ulquiorra questioned why he had let an enemy go.
• Ye Yang told Ulquiorra that he lacked a heart and instructed him to report any news of Aizen.
• Nelliel arrived at their meeting place while Ye Yang was asleep and waited beside him for a day and a half.
• After waking, Ye Yang and Nelliel agreed to call each other Ye Yang and Nel, and discussed whether Soul Reapers and Hollows had to be enemies.
• Nelliel asked Ye Yang not to slaughter Hollows without reason, and he agreed as long as they did not provoke him before they began their journey.

After ten years traveling and training with Nelliel in Hueco Mundo, Ye Yang left to avoid Aizen and traveled to the World of the Living. He reached Karakura Town and found the Urahara Shop.

• Ye Yang and Nelliel ended their ten years of travel after Aizen arrived in Hueco Mundo, defeated Baraggan, took over Las Noches, and began creating Arrancar.
• Ye Yang told Ulquiorra to join Aizen and earn his trust, then decided to leave Hueco Mundo rather than risk Aizen discovering him.
• Nelliel opened a Garganta to the World of the Living and saw Ye Yang off, while he warned her not to mention him to Aizen.
• Ye Yang emerged in the World of the Living and used his spiritual senses to locate Karakura Town.
• Ye Yang arrived at the Urahara Shop and recognized the building.

Ye Yang returned to the World of the Living and reunited with Yoruichi, Kisuke Urahara, and Tessai Tsukabishi at the Urahara Shop. After explaining that Aizen had allied with Hueco Mundo, Ye Yang and Urahara began assessing the threat, while Ye Yang planned to stay for ten years before returning to Soul Society.

• Ye Yang visited the Urahara Shop and asked Kisuke Urahara for a Gigai that could conceal Spiritual Pressure.
• Ye Yang and Urahara reunited, and Urahara asked about Aizen's activities in Hueco Mundo.
• Yoruichi sensed Ye Yang's return, hurried to the shop, and welcomed her brother home.
• Tessai Tsukabishi joined the reunion, and the group shared a welcome feast.
• Ye Yang told Yoruichi and Urahara that he had spent forty years in Hueco Mundo and had withdrawn after Aizen arrived there.
• Ye Yang recounted his experiences in Hueco Mundo, and Urahara worried about Aizen's growing force and Hollow-to-Soul-Reaper research.

Ye Yang settled into a quiet life in the World of the Living for ten years, then returned to Soul Society when his fifty-year absence ended. Before leaving, he promised Yoruichi he would look after their family and prepare for Aizen’s threat.

• Ye Yang asked Urahara for a Gigai and a new identity, and chose to become a physical education teacher in the World of the Living.
• Urahara and Yoruichi discussed their exile, Aizen, and how Ye Yang had become more restrained and harder to read.
• Urahara arranged Ye Yang’s identity, and Ye Yang spent ten peaceful years teaching while helping Ururu Tsumugiya and Jinta Hanakari join the Urahara Shop.
• When his fifty-year absence ended, Ye Yang said goodbye to Urahara and Yoruichi, who asked him to send their regards to their parents and write back.
• Ye Yang opened a Senkaimon with his Zanpakuto and stepped through, returning to Soul Society.

Ye Yang Shihoin returned to Soul Society after fifty years and reunited with Soi Fon, now captain of the Second Division. Central 46 ordered his arrest, but Ye Yang revealed he was the Shihoin Clan head and went with the Punishment Force to hear the charge.

• Ye Yang Shihoin returned to Soul Society, and Yamamoto, Shunsui, Ukitake, Gin, Aizen, and Soi Fon recognized his Spiritual Pressure.
• Soi Fon rushed to Ye Yang, embraced him, and wept over his long absence before he comforted her.
• The Punishment Force arrived and said Central 46 had ordered Ye Yang's arrest.
• Ye Yang refused the prison shackles and revealed he was the current head of the Shihoin Clan, causing the Punishment Force members to kneel and greet him.
• Ye Yang told Soi Fon to return to the Second Division, then left with the Punishment Force for Central 46.

Ye Yang challenged Central 46’s authority to interrogate him and defended his disappearance by claiming he had been trapped in the Forest of Menos with Ashido. After Ashido’s identity was confirmed, Central 46 accused Ye Yang of helping Kisuke Urahara escape and secretly removing eight condemned Soul Reapers, leaving him facing charges of betrayal.

• Ye Yang entered Central 46 alone and argued that the Soul King’s law barred them from interrogating the head of a Great Noble Clan without the Soul King’s judgment.
• When Central 46 accused Ye Yang of desertion, he claimed he had spent fifty years recovering and searching for an exit in the Forest of Menos, where Ashido could testify to his story.
• Yamamoto proposed checking the records for Ashido, while Shunsui told Soi Fon that he had tried to warn Ye Yang not to go to Central 46; Soi Fon rushed to the hearing.
• Central 46’s investigation found that Ashido had led an expedition to Hueco Mundo 450 years earlier and had disappeared with his squad, supporting Ye Yang’s account.
• The chief judge then accused Ye Yang of helping Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihōin escape and of removing eight Captain-level Soul Reapers from Kisuke Urahara’s basement, demanding that he answer for betraying Soul Society.

Ye Yang faced Central 46 over rescuing the Hollowfied Soul Reapers, while Soi Fon chose to stand with him. He used the Soul King’s Pardon Writ to force Central 46 to back down and secured their promise to leave him and those around him in peace.

• Ye Yang defended saving the Hollowfied Soul Reapers, and Yamamoto prepared to take him into custody.
• Soi Fon entered Central 46 and declared that she would stand by Ye Yang.
• Ye Yang showed the Soul King’s Pardon Writ, causing Yamamoto and Central 46 to kneel before him.
• Ye Yang pressured Central 46 into apologizing and promising not to disturb his life or harm the people around him.
• Ye Yang and Soi Fon left Central 46 together.

Ye Yang used the Pardon Writ Token to force Central 46 to back down, then returned to the Shihoin Clan after fifty years. He reunited with his parents and was welcomed as clan head, leaving the clan members hopeful about its future.

• Ye Yang explained to Soi Fon how the Pardon Writ Token had let him overcome Central 46 and asked about his family and the Shihoin Clan.
• Ye Yang and Soi Fon arrived at the Shihoin Clan estate, where Nakamura Kei recognized Ye Yang and announced that the clan head had returned.
• Ye Yang praised Miyamoto Fujishiro for properly guarding the entrance and promised to have him promoted.
• Ye Yang reunited with his parents as Shihoin Clan members and the Council of Elders gathered to welcome him as clan head.
• Ye Yang promised to strengthen the clan, dismissed the gathered members, and asked Nakamura Kei to bring him the clan's records.

Ye Yang reunited with his family and Soi Fon, then met Byakuya Kuchiki and his wife, Hisana. He gave Hisana a bracelet that could protect her from spiritual pressure for a few more years, while she resolved to use that time to find someone.

• Ye Yang agreed to hold a succession ceremony for the Shihoin Clan three days later and invited his parents and Soi Fon to talk with him.
• Ye Yang told his family about Hueco Mundo and Yoruichi, and promised that she would return someday.
• Byakuya told Hisana that Ye Yang had returned and promised to take her to visit him.
• The next day, Byakuya and Hisana visited Ye Yang, who learned they had married three years earlier.
• Ye Yang gave Hisana a bracelet to slow the damage spiritual pressure caused her, extending her life by up to five years.

Ye Yang reunited with Byakuya, Hisana, Kaien, and Kūkaku, then learned that his return and coming succession as head of the Shihoin Clan had stirred the Seireien’s nobles. The chapter ended with Aizen recognizing Ye Yang’s pardon and return as an unexpected move, while considering him a worthy opponent.

• Ye Yang gave Hisana a bracelet that eased the surrounding Spiritual Pressure and could extend her life, and Byakuya thanked him.
• Kaien and Kūkaku visited Ye Yang, and Kūkaku explained that she had lost her right arm in a fireworks accident.
• Ye Yang told Kaien and Byakuya about his experiences in Hueco Mundo and his meetings with Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara in the World of the Living.
• The Shihoin Clan’s Council of Elders announced that Ye Yang had survived his injuries and would become clan head in two days, alarming rival nobles who began preparing gifts to win his favor.
• Gin asked Aizen about Ye Yang’s succession, and Aizen identified the Supreme Right of Pardon as the reason Ye Yang had been spared and judged him a worthy opponent.

Ye Yang completed his succession ceremony and became the twenty-third head of the Shihoin Clan, vowing to restore the clan’s strength and demanding obedience from its members. At the residence, he greeted visiting nobles, including Byakuya and Hisana, then joked with Kūkaku and Kaien about baby Ganju Shiba.

• Seigen woke Ye Yang for the succession ceremony, and Ye Yang rode through Seireien in a palanquin as the Punishment Force cleared the way.
• Soi Fon watched Ye Yang pass and vowed that she would not fail to protect him as she had failed to protect Yoruichi.
• Ye Yang paid respects to the Shihoin ancestors, was proclaimed clan head, rallied the clan, and swore loyalty to the Soul King and Soul Society.
• Ye Yang warned the clan members not to defy his orders, then returned to the residence to receive visiting nobles, including Kaga Satō.
• Byakuya and Hisana congratulated Ye Yang, and he praised them as a perfect match before sending them to their seats.
• Kūkaku and Kaien arrived with baby Ganju Shiba, and Ye Yang teased Kūkaku before asking to hold the child.

At the Shihoin Clan gathering, Ye Yang welcomed guests and agreed to Kūkaku’s bet, which ended with Ganju falling asleep in his arms and Kūkaku promising a fireworks show. As captains and other visitors arrived, Ye Yang made a tense but civil exchange with Yamamoto and accepted Nanao Ise’s request to answer questions for the Shinigami Women’s Association, unaware of the danger Shunsui feared.

• Ye Yang held Ganju without making him cry, winning Kūkaku’s bet and asking her to prepare a fireworks extravaganza that night.
• Ye Yang asked Kaien about Isshin, then welcomed Soi Fon, who sat beside him and showed her affection for him.
• Ye Yang greeted Yamamoto, who warned him not to harm Soul Society, and Ye Yang said his earlier words still stood.
• Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake arrived with Nanao Ise, whom Ye Yang met and addressed as a fellow lieutenant.
• Nanao asked Ye Yang to cooperate with the Shinigami Women’s Association’s questions, and he agreed as Shunsui and Ukitake quietly stepped away.

At his succession banquet, Ye Yang welcomed Kenpachi Zaraki and his companions, then reunited with Isshin Shiba and Rangiku. He described Hueco Mundo as a harsh place ruled by the strong and hinted that he had nearly died there.

• Soi Fon told Ye Yang that Yachiru Kusajishi was president of the Women's Association.
• Kenpachi arrived demanding a fight, but Ye Yang persuaded him to wait by giving Yachiru konpeitō and pointing out that the banquet was his succession ceremony.
• Yachiru, Ikkaku Madarame, and Yumichika Ayasegawa went inside after Ye Yang promised them food and sake.
• Ye Yang recognized Rangiku and teased her about her laziness, while Rangiku joked about his relationship with Soi Fon and boasted about being the Tenth Division's vice captain.
• Rangiku asked about Hueco Mundo, and Ye Yang described its law as the weak being prey to the strong.
• Isshin asked whether Ye Yang had faced danger there, and Ye Yang revealed that he had nearly died before sending Isshin and Rangiku inside.

Ye Yang hosted a banquet to mark his succession as head of the Shihoin Clan, where he exchanged guarded pleasantries with Gin and Aizen before addressing the gathered Soul Reapers and nobles. Yamamoto reinstated Ye Yang as lieutenant of the Second Division and ended the chapter by asking him to become vice principal of the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy.

• Ye Yang greeted Gin and traded veiled remarks with him about his return and their past as teacher and student.
• Aizen arrived and exchanged polite but insincere pleasantries with Ye Yang and Gin, whose apparent hostility toward each other was an act.
• Ye Yang welcomed the guests at the banquet and announced that he would succeed as head of the Shihoin Clan.
• Ye Yang toasted Yamamoto and accepted his proposal to resume serving as lieutenant of the Second Division.
• Yamamoto asked Ye Yang to serve as vice principal of the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy.

Ye Yang was offered the post of Shin'ō's vice principal but asked Yamamoto for three days to decide. After the banquet, he shared a tender moment with Soi Fon and took her to the fireworks gathering in West Rukongai, where they met Kaien, Kūkaku, Byakuya, Hisana, Ukitake, and Shunsui.

• Yamamoto offered Ye Yang the position of Shin'ō's vice principal, and Ye Yang asked for three days to consider it.
• Byakuya publicly pledged the Kuchiki Clan's support for the Shihoin Clan, and Ye Yang politely rejected the noble families' marriage proposals.
• Soi Fon helped the tipsy Ye Yang rest; he kissed her forehead, leaving her flustered and happy.
• Ye Yang woke near dusk and took Soi Fon to West Rukongai to see Kūkaku's fireworks.
• Ye Yang and Soi Fon arrived to find Kaien, Kūkaku, Byakuya, Hisana, Ukitake, and Shunsui waiting there.

Ye Yang gathered his companions at a tavern and introduced them to truth or dare, using a spinning wheel to choose players. Isshin revealed a painful romance from his past, and Rangiku chose a dare from Ye Yang as the game continued.

• Shunsui, Rangiku, Isshin, Yachiru, and Kenpachi joined Ye Yang and Soi Fon for food and drinks.
• Ye Yang explained truth or dare and used a wheel bearing the group’s names to select players.
• Soi Fon asked Isshin why he had never married, and he revealed that his former love, Shimizu Oto, died during a mission.
• Isshin spun the wheel, which chose Ye Yang to ask the next question and Rangiku to answer.
• Rangiku chose dare after Ye Yang assured her he would not ask her to violate her principles.

During a truth-or-dare game, Hisana revealed that she regretted abandoning her infant sister, Rukia, and asked the captains and lieutenants to help find her. At the Shiba Clan fireworks celebration, Ye Yang took Soi Fon to a quiet lakeside and confessed his feelings, leaving her stunned and unsure how to respond.

• Rangiku sang for a waiter after Ye Yang dared her, and her sorrowful voice surprised Isshin and the others.
• Ye Yang arranged for the wheel to land on Hisana and asked what she regretted most.
• Hisana told everyone she had left her infant sister, Rukia, in Inuzuri and asked them to help find her.
• Kaien and Kūkaku led everyone to the Shiba Clan fireworks display, while Ye Yang took Soi Fon to a lakeside in a maple grove.
• Ye Yang confessed his love to Soi Fon, who was overwhelmed by the confession and struggled to decide how to answer.

Ye Yang and Soi Fon confessed their love beneath the fireworks and discussed Yoruichi, Urahara, and Ye Yang's possible appointment as Shin'ō's vice principal. Ye Yang accepted the teaching post and brought Soi Fon into the independent space of his Bankai, where he began explaining its power.

• Ye Yang and Soi Fon admitted their love, kissed, and promised to stay together.
• Soi Fon asked about Yoruichi and the incident that drove Ye Yang to Hueco Mundo; Ye Yang said Urahara had been framed and the eight Captain-level Soul Reapers were still alive.
• Ye Yang told Soi Fon that the Captain-Commander wanted him to become Shin'ō's vice principal, and he agreed after she encouraged him.
• Soi Fon described her Bankai, Suzumebachi Raikōben, and explained that its single-use attack left her weak and was difficult to conceal or aim.
• Ye Yang activated Bankai—Spatial Domain and transported Soi Fon into the silver-white space controlled by his Bankai.