Recaps

Ye Yang explained the spatial abilities of his Bankai to Soi Fon, then agreed to become Shin'ō's vice principal after teaching a first-year class for several years. He began instructing Class One, where he met Renji Abarai, Izuru Kira, and Momo Hinamori, and announced that his training would be demanding.

• Ye Yang showed Soi Fon how he could move through and compress space inside his Bankai, then took her home.
• Ye Yang agreed to Yamamoto's offer to become Shin'ō's vice principal on the condition that he first teach a class of new students.
• Ye Yang arrived at Shin'ō and introduced himself to Class One as their new instructor and a vice-captain of the Second Division.
• Renji Abarai, Izuru Kira, and Momo Hinamori introduced themselves, and Ye Yang encouraged Kira to build confidence in his balanced abilities.
• Ye Yang warned the class that his training would be difficult, dismissed them, and told them to meet him at the square in half an hour.

Ye Yang put his fifty students through a ten-lap endurance run around Shin'ō while wearing ten-kilogram lead plates, then had them cultivate after reaching their limits. He praised Kira and Hinamori for pacing themselves and rebuked Renji and the students who had started too fast.

• Ye Yang gave each student a ten-kilogram lead plate to wear during training and ordered them to run ten laps around Shin'ō within an hour.
• Renji charged ahead, while Kira and Momo Hinamori conserved their strength; the runners spread into groups as students began to tire.
• By the final laps, Renji, Kira, and Hinamori led the remaining runners, and a student who had paced himself gradually caught up.
• Renji finished first, followed by Kira and Hinamori, while the other students crossed the finish line afterward.
• Ye Yang ordered the students to walk before cultivating, explaining that training at their limits would help them absorb Reishi faster.
• Ye Yang criticized Renji for failing to pace himself, warned the students who had spent Spiritual Power too early, and praised Kira and Hinamori while urging them to improve their physical strength.

Ye Yang eliminated four students for giving up during the run and began the second phase of training by having the remaining students attack him. Renji exhausted himself sparring with Ye Yang, and Kira stepped forward next.

• Ye Yang called out four students who had not tried during the run and sent them to Class Two, despite their pleas for another chance.
• Ye Yang told the class that Gin Ichimaru and a girl who was now the Tenth Division lieutenant had completed the same ten-lap test in his previous class.
• Ye Yang announced that the second phase would have students attack him, then called on Renji to spar with a wooden sword.
• Ye Yang parried Renji's attacks and urged him to push himself until Renji collapsed from exhaustion, then ordered him to cultivate.
• When the other students hesitated to spar, Kira stepped forward and took up a wooden sword.

Ye Yang tested his students’ swordsmanship and Kidō, correcting Kira and Hinamori while warning Hinamori against attempting a technique beyond her ability. After learning that Renji’s childhood companion was named Rukia, Ye Yang asked Renji to bring her to meet him.

• Ye Yang sparred with Kira, caught his Byakurai, and criticized his rigid swordsmanship while praising his Kidō.
• Hinamori attacked Ye Yang with a sequence of binding spells and Shakkahō, but he blocked her and stopped her from attempting the dangerous Sōkatsui.
• Ye Yang explained Hanki Sōsai to Hinamori and told her to rest after she overexerted herself.
• Ye Yang defeated the remaining students and told Renji, Kira, and Hinamori he would prepare individual training plans.
• Ye Yang asked about the students’ backgrounds and learned that Hinamori’s younger brother was named Tōshirō and that Renji had grown up with Rukia.
• Ye Yang reacted with shock to Rukia’s name and asked Renji to call her over so he could find out whether she was the person his friend knew.

Ye Yang met Rukia and told her that a noblewoman who had been searching for her would come to Shin'ō within three days, suggesting that she was Rukia’s family. He then gave his students individualized training plans and went to inform Hisana.

• Renji brought Rukia to Ye Yang’s office, where Ye Yang recognized her resemblance to Hisana.
• Ye Yang asked Rukia about her family, and she said she had no known relatives or surname.
• Rukia deduced that a relative was looking for her, and Ye Yang said the woman would find her within three days and was a noble.
• Rukia and Renji left the office; Rukia began hoping to meet her family, while Renji resolved to grow stronger to protect her.
• Ye Yang handed out individualized training plans and warned his students that weekly assessments would determine whether they could remain in his class.
• Ye Yang left to visit the Kuchiki residence and tell Hisana that Rukia had been found.

Ye Yang told Hisana that he had found her younger sister, Rukia, at Shin'ō Academy, and Hisana planned to visit her. He later shared the news with Soi Fon and encouraged her to delegate some of her paperwork, leaving Hisana and Byakuya poised to reunite with Rukia.

• Ye Yang visited Hisana at the Kuchiki residence and told her that a Shin'ō student named Rukia, who came from Inuzuri and looked like her, was almost certainly her sister.
• Hisana thanked Ye Yang and said she would discuss the news with Byakuya before visiting Rukia at Shin'ō the next day.
• Ye Yang went to the Second Division and found Soi Fon working through documents, then massaged her temples and urged her to delegate less important paperwork.
• Ye Yang told Soi Fon that he had found Hisana's sister, Rukia, and Soi Fon was happy for Hisana and expected Rukia might soon become Rukia Kuchiki.
• Ye Yang kissed Soi Fon on the forehead, told her to rest, and left while she watched him with a faint smile.

Ye Yang taught his students the importance of Hakuda and then brought Rukia to meet Hisana, her long-lost older sister. The sisters recognized each other and were left alone to speak privately.

• Ye Yang warned his students that the five expelled students’ empty seats were a reminder to work hard, then took the class to study Hakuda.
• Ye Yang explained Hakuda’s history and importance, then demonstrated its use by easily defeating Renji in a sparring match.
• Byakuya and Hisana visited Shin'ō to confirm that Ye Yang had found Hisana’s sister, Rukia.
• Ye Yang brought Rukia from Class Two to his office and introduced her to Hisana and Byakuya.
• Rukia and Hisana recognized their resemblance and stared at each other as Hisana began to tear up, while Ye Yang and Byakuya quietly left them alone.

Hisana told Rukia how their parents died protecting them and how she had abandoned Rukia as a baby, then asked whether Rukia could accept her as a sister. Rukia forgave her enough to call her “sis,” and Hisana invited her to the Kuchiki Clan, leaving Rukia stunned to learn that Byakuya was her brother-in-law.

• Hisana recounted how Hollows killed her and Rukia’s parents, and confessed that she had left baby Rukia behind to survive.
• Byakuya listened outside the room as Ye Yang suggested that he bring Rukia into the Kuchiki Clan as his younger sister, and Byakuya agreed.
• Rukia admitted that she felt hurt but said she might have made the same choice, then called Hisana “sis.”
• Hisana embraced Rukia and invited her to come back to the Kuchiki Clan with her.
• Hisana revealed that Byakuya was her husband and the twenty-eighth head of the Kuchiki Clan, leaving Rukia bewildered.

Byakuya brought Rukia into the Kuchiki Clan as his adopted younger sister, while Renji struggled with her departure and resolved to become stronger. The chapter ended with Renji asking Ye Yang to teach him how to grow stronger.

• Byakuya told Rukia she would join the Kuchiki Clan as his adopted younger sister, and Ye Yang explained the decision to Renji.
• Ye Yang urged Renji to persuade Rukia to accept the adoption, and Renji agreed after learning she could later join the Thirteenth Division.
• Three days later, Byakuya formally adopted Rukia as Rukia Kuchiki despite opposition from the Kuchiki elders, with Ginrei Kuchiki's approval.
• Ye Yang visited Ginrei Kuchiki, who asked him to help Byakuya if trouble arose in the future.
• Renji fought unusually fiercely during Zanjutsu class, then asked Ye Yang to teach him how to become stronger.

Renji asked Ye Yang to help him grow strong enough to protect Rukia, and Ye Yang put him through harsh Zanjutsu training to make him understand his sword. After Renji reflected on his childhood with Rukia and their lost companions, he remembered agreeing with her to join Shin'ō and become Soul Reapers.

• Renji asked Ye Yang to train him so he could protect Rukia, but Ye Yang refused to make him a disciple and agreed to devise harsh training for him.
• Ye Yang took Renji to the Zanjutsu classroom and fought him, repeatedly exposing the openings in his attacks.
• After Ye Yang asked why he swung his sword, Renji declared that it was to protect Rukia and charged again.
• Ye Yang knocked Renji's sword away and told him to focus on defeating the opponent before him, then left him to think.
• Renji recalled meeting Rukia, living with their companions, and watching those without Spiritual Power disappear over time.
• Renji remembered Rukia suggesting that they go to Shin'ō and become Soul Reapers, and he agreed.

Renji committed to using his Kendo to protect those he cared about, while Ye Yang continued teaching at Shin'ō and began a month-long vacation. The chapter ended with Ye Yang discovering that Soi Fon had attended a secret Women's Association meeting at the Kuchiki estate.

• Renji told Ye Yang that his Kendo was meant to protect others, and Ye Yang accepted his choice before sparring with him.
• Renji thanked Ye Yang as his teacher, prompting Ye Yang to consider recruiting Tōshirō Hitsugaya as a future student.
• Ye Yang's relationship with Soi Fon became public, and the Women's Association planned a special interview with him.
• Ye Yang dismissed his twenty-seven remaining students for vacation and warned them not to neglect their training.
• Renji stayed at Shin'ō to train, driven by his determination to become strong enough to stand beside Rukia despite Byakuya's warning to stay away from her.
• Ye Yang deduced that Soi Fon had visited the Kuchiki estate, and she admitted that the Women's Association had held a secret meeting there to drink cherry blossom wine.

Ye Yang learned that the Women's Association planned to follow him for a day, so he arranged a mission in Junrinan to visit the gifted Tōshirō Hitsugaya. He found Tōshirō with Momo Hinamori and introduced himself, but the boy firmly rejected his nickname.

• Soi Fon told Ye Yang that the Women's Association planned to interview and follow him the next day, and she agreed to arrange a mission in Junrinan.
• Ye Yang explained that he wanted to meet Tōshirō Hitsugaya, whose exceptional talent might make him a candidate for Ye Yang's tutelage.
• Ye Yang traveled to Junrinan on a public-order mission and followed Momo Hinamori's Spiritual Pressure to her home.
• Ye Yang found Tōshirō eating watermelon outside and saw that his untrained Spiritual Pressure was remarkable.
• Hinamori introduced Ye Yang to Tōshirō, who told Ye Yang not to call him Shiro-chan.

Ye Yang visited Hinamori’s home and revealed that Tōshirō’s immense, growing Spiritual Power made him a rare genius. Tōshirō refused to attend Shin’ō because he wanted to stay with his grandmother, so Ye Yang taught him basic Spiritual Pressure control and warned them that he would eventually need further training.

• Hinamori introduced Ye Yang to her grandmother and Tōshirō, who teased Hinamori before joining them inside.
• Ye Yang asked about Tōshirō and explained that his heavy appetite came from his immense, steadily growing Spiritual Power.
• Tōshirō refused to attend Shin’ō because he did not want to leave his grandmother alone.
• Ye Yang explained that uncontrolled Spiritual Pressure could harm Tōshirō’s grandmother and urged him to learn control.
• Tōshirō accepted Ye Yang’s book of basic control methods, and Ye Yang gave his grandmother a box to summon him if Tōshirō’s Spiritual Pressure affected her.

Ye Yang returned to the Second Division and found Rangiku, Yachiru, and Unohana waiting to interview him for the Women's Association. After Unohana arranged an impromptu Q&A, Rangiku began asking about Ye Yang and Soi Fon, leaving him worried about what the association would publish.

• Ye Yang visited the Second Division, where he found Soi Fon with Yachiru, Rangiku, and Unohana.
• Rangiku pressed Ye Yang to honor his promise to answer the Women's Association's questions, and he offered her three jars of ten-year-old cherry blossom wine.
• Ye Yang promised Yachiru three boxes of konpeitō to stop her from returning the next day.
• Unohana proposed holding the interview immediately, and Ye Yang agreed with the condition that he could refuse a few questions.
• Rangiku asked Ye Yang his name, sex, and age, then teased him about being older than Soi Fon.
• Ye Yang said he first met Soi Fon more than sixty years ago at Yoruichi's Shihoin Clan succession ceremony.

Ye Yang recalled why he had trained Soi Fon and described his fifty years in Hueco Mundo to the women listening. He then agreed to reveal why Central 46 had summoned him, warning them to keep the matter secret.

• Rangiku teased Ye Yang about training Soi Fon as a child, and Ye Yang frightened her into apologizing.
• Soi Fon explained that Ye Yang had taught her Hakuda, and Ye Yang said her admiration for Yoruichi and his wish to find Yoruichi a close female friend had inspired him to help.
• Ye Yang comforted Soi Fon about Yoruichi before recounting his experiences in Hueco Mundo, including his battle with Baraggan, while withholding details about Ulquiorra and Nel.
• Unohana asked Ye Yang about his summons by Central 46, and Ye Yang agreed to explain after warning everyone not to spread what he told them.

Ye Yang told Rangiku about Soi Fon’s daring attempt to rescue him from Central 46 but refused to reveal how he got out. After Rangiku interrupted Ye Yang and Soi Fon kissing, he made her promise to keep quiet and promised to explain the secret when she became a captain or learned Bankai.

• Ye Yang told Rangiku that Soi Fon had forced her way into Central 46 to rescue him, but he withheld the details of his release.
• Unohana, Yachiru, and Rangiku left Ye Yang and Soi Fon’s gathering, with Rangiku reminding him to bring her cherry blossom wine.
• Ye Yang and Soi Fon kissed in the captain’s office until Rangiku walked in and fled.
• Ye Yang caught Rangiku and made her promise not to tell anyone what she had seen, offering her cherry blossom wine if she kept quiet.
• Rangiku asked again about Central 46, and Ye Yang promised to tell her when she became a captain or learned Bankai.

Ye Yang visited the 11th Division to find Kenpachi and sparred with Ikkaku while waiting for him. Ikkaku unleashed Hōzukimaru’s hidden segmented form, leaving its blade poised just short of Ye Yang’s forehead.

• Ye Yang delivered cherry blossom wine to the Tenth Division, then brought konpeito to the 11th Division in search of Kenpachi and Yachiru.
• Ikkaku and Yumichika told Ye Yang that Kenpachi and Yachiru would likely arrive in about half an hour, and Ikkaku challenged him to fight.
• Ye Yang and Ikkaku began sparring as the 11th Division members watched; Yumichika recalled that Ye Yang had once fought Kenpachi at a level far beyond their own.
• Ye Yang easily blocked Ikkaku’s opening slash and kicked him back, so Ikkaku released Hōzukimaru and attacked with its extended spear form.
• Ikkaku split Hōzukimaru into chained sections, trapping Ye Yang’s Zanpakuto and sending a blade toward his forehead, while Ye Yang did not dodge.

Ye Yang defeated Ikkaku’s attacks without releasing his Zanpakuto, then accepted Kenpachi’s challenge and began a fierce duel after both fighters unleashed their Spiritual Pressure. The fight continued with Kenpachi bleeding from Ye Yang’s double-edged Silver Rend, while both remained eager to battle.

• Ye Yang used Utsusemi to evade Ikkaku’s strike, then fought him as he wielded Hōzukimaru in its three-section staff form.
• Ye Yang gained the advantage, but Ikkaku used medicine hidden in Hōzukimaru’s shaft to stop his wounds from bleeding before charging again.
• Ye Yang nearly struck Ikkaku, but Kenpachi blocked the blow and challenged Ye Yang to the fight they had previously promised each other.
• Yachiru accepted three boxes of konpeito from Ye Yang while the 11th Division members evacuated ahead of the duel.
• Ye Yang released Silver Rend, and Kenpachi removed his eyepatch; their Spiritual Pressure clashed as they began fighting.
• Ye Yang cut Kenpachi’s shoulder with Silver Rend, and Kenpachi laughed and urged him to continue.

Ye Yang and Kenpachi continued their bloody duel until Ye Yang activated his Bankai, Spatial Domain, and moved the fight into his domain. Though Ye Yang gained the advantage there, Kenpachi revealed he had one more technique to try: Kendo.

• Ye Yang changed his approach and traded wounds with Kenpachi, while Ikkaku and Yumichika watched in awe at how much Ye Yang had grown.
• Kenpachi adapted to Ye Yang’s attacks until their fight reached a stalemate, then urged Ye Yang to use his Bankai.
• Ye Yang activated Bankai—Spatial Domain, transporting himself and Kenpachi into his domain and explaining that he controlled the space there.
• Ye Yang used Spatial Jump and Spatial Rifts to attack Kenpachi, but Kenpachi adapted and used his instincts to keep the fight close.
• After more than half an hour, Kenpachi stepped back and said he would use Kendo, explaining that gripping a sword with both hands made his swings stronger.

Ye Yang and Kenpachi fought a final, nearly fatal clash, which ended when Kenpachi awakened a mysterious power and shattered Ye Yang’s Sky-Rending Sword. Afterward, Ye Yang connected the power to Kenpachi’s Zanpakuto and revealed that Kenpachi’s other rival was Retsu Unohana, formerly known as Yachiru Unohana, the First Kenpachi.

• Kenpachi unleashed his two-handed strike as Ye Yang summoned his Bankai’s Sky-Rending Sword, and their attacks collided in a fierce clash.
• Kenpachi’s Spiritual Pressure took the form of a tiger that swallowed the Sky-Rending Sword, but the blade pierced through it and surged toward him.
• A mysterious power erupted from Kenpachi and broke the weakened Sky-Rending Sword before it could kill him, leaving him collapsed from exhaustion.
• Ye Yang told Kenpachi that his Zanpakuto had likely lent him power to protect him, and urged him to treat it as a partner.
• Kenpachi admitted Ye Yang was one of the two opponents he valued most, and Ye Yang identified the other as Retsu Unohana, formerly Yachiru Unohana, the First Kenpachi.

After their fierce battle, Ye Yang and Kenpachi returned to the 11th Division without visible injuries, leaving Ikkaku and Yumichika to guess that the fight had ended in a draw. Ye Yang departed after promising to spar with Kenpachi again, while Kenpachi kept the result secret at Ye Yang's request.

• Kenpachi recalled how he had met Unohana in Zaraki District and lost their first battle, then asked Ye Yang whether the Sky-Rending Sword had been his strongest attack.
• Ikkaku and Yumichika waited for Ye Yang and Kenpachi to return, then saw them appear without wounds despite their diminished Spiritual Pressure.
• Yumichika told the gathered 11th Division members that the fight seemed to be a draw, and they debated whether Ye Yang's Bankai could match Kenpachi.
• Yachiru thanked Ye Yang for making Kenpachi smile, and Ye Yang promised to visit the 11th Division and spar with him again.
• Ye Yang left using Shunpo, and Kenpachi refused to reveal the battle's result, ordering his division members back to training.

Yamamoto, Aizen, Gin, Shunsui, and Ukitake assessed Ye Yang’s clash with Kenpachi and discussed Ye Yang’s growing strength. The chapter left their fight unresolved, with Shunsui implying that Ye Yang remained loyal to Soul Society.

• Yamamoto told Sasakibe that Ye Yang might be among the strongest fighters in the Seireien and could have the advantage over Kenpachi because he had not used his full strength.
• Aizen and Gin discussed their plans to build up forces in Hueco Mundo, and Aizen admitted that he could not see through Ye Yang or know whether he could defeat him.
• Shunsui and Ukitake recalled their long years as captains and the past incident that had taken Captain Hirako and others from their ranks.
• After sensing Ye Yang and Kenpachi’s Spiritual Pressures, Ukitake wanted to stop their fight, but Shunsui persuaded him to stay and said neither of them could beat Ye Yang.
• Ukitake asked whether Ye Yang would win, and Shunsui answered indirectly by asking what Ukitake thought.

Ye Yang resumed teaching his class after the break, tested the students’ progress, and watched them advance over three years. As their third-year practical combat exercise in the World of the Living began, Ye Yang led them to Shin’ō’s Senkaimon with sixth-year student Shūhei Hisagi.

• Ye Yang welcomed his students back, paired them for sparring, and found that Hinamori and Kira had improved while Renji had made the greatest progress despite still struggling with Kidō.
• Over three years, Ye Yang’s students grew strong enough to rival sixth-year students, but none chose to graduate early because they wanted to keep learning from him.
• Ye Yang briefed his class on the World of the Living exercise, warning them to follow the sixth-years, hunt Virtual Hollows in teams of three, and avoid acting alone.
• Shūhei Hisagi arrived to lead the students to the Senkaimon, and Ye Yang guided his class after him.

Ye Yang sent the students to the World of the Living for a combat exercise, then grew uneasy and went to see Soi Fon. When a huge Hollow attacked the gathering point and killed Kaniesawa and Aoshika, the students of Class One stayed to fight alongside Shūhei Hisagi and await reinforcements.

• Ye Yang tasked Shūhei Hisagi with leading the exercise and told him to call Soul Society if anything went wrong.
• Ye Yang visited Soi Fon and admitted he was worried about the students facing danger in the World of the Living.
• Renji, Kira, and Hinamori worked together to kill a Hollow and headed for the gathering point.
• Shūhei Hisagi lost contact with the barrier team, then an enormous Hollow killed Kaniesawa and Aoshika.
• Renji, Kira, and the other Class One students refused to flee, and Shūhei sent a distress signal to Soul Society.
• The students combined their Shakkahō against the enormous Hollow, but it blocked Shūhei's strike and sent him flying.

Shūhei and the students killed one giant Hollow, then faced an overwhelming swarm while Aizen and Gin watched without intervening. Ye Yang arrived just as the exhausted survivors were about to fall and began cutting down the Hollows.

• Hinamori, Renji, Kira, and the other students helped Shūhei kill the giant Hollow with Kidō and coordinated attacks.
• More than a hundred giant Hollows appeared, and Renji rallied the students to keep fighting until help arrived.
• Aizen and Gin revealed they had orchestrated the invasion and chose to wait until the students were close to despair before intervening.
• Soul Society received Shūhei’s request for reinforcements, and Ye Yang used the Shihoin Clan’s private Senkaimon to rush to the World of the Living.
• After most of the students were incapacitated and only Shūhei, Renji, Kira, and Hinamori could still fight, Ye Yang arrived and rescued them with a Dimensional Slash.
• Ye Yang charged into the swarm and killed dozens of giant Hollows, leaving fewer than fifty.