Chapter Summaries

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.

Ye Yang and the captains rescued the Shin'ō students after the giant Hollow attack, and the injured were treated by the Fourth Division. The survivors were stabilized and returned to Soul Society, where Ye Yang checked on Renji, Kira, and Hinamori before leaving.

• Ye Yang arrived first and destroyed many giant Hollows, while Aizen and Gin joined the fight and rescued the exhausted students.
• Hinamori admired Aizen after he comforted her, while Renji, Kira, and Shūhei continued to regard Ye Yang as their rescuer.
• Ye Yang challenged Aizen and Gin over their late arrival, then took the injured students through a Senkaimon as the captains searched for survivors.
• Isane Kotetsu and the Fourth Division treated the students, and Aizen and Gin returned with around ten additional survivors.
• Retsu Unohana confirmed that no students were in danger, and Ye Yang visited Renji, Kira, and Hinamori after their conditions stabilized.

After the Hollow attack, the captains debated how to respond while Ye Yang and Shūhei described how the Hollows had appeared without detectable Spiritual Pressure. The meeting ended with punishments and new student arrangements, while Ye Yang suspected Aizen but found no proof and warned him that Soul Society was now on guard.

• Yamamoto convened a captains' meeting to address the heavy losses from the Hollow attack, and the captains argued over an expedition and the Twelfth Division's failure to detect the threat.
• Ye Yang asked Shūhei to recount the attack, and Shūhei said a giant Hollow had appeared without any detectable Spiritual Pressure before killing his companion.
• Kurotsuchi suggested that someone else had concealed the Hollows' Spiritual Pressure, prompting Soi Fon and the captains to consider whether someone had controlled the attack.
• Yamamoto arranged for the surviving Class Two students to join Ye Yang's Class One, fined Kurotsuchi three years' pay, and ordered him confined for a year while divisions increased patrols.
• Ye Yang privately told Aizen that he could find no evidence against him, then sent Shūhei to recover and check on Renji and the others.

After the Hollow incident, Ye Yang trained the new students and learned that Renji and Tōshirō both wanted to become stronger to protect the people they cared about. Tōshirō chose to leave his grandmother and study under Ye Yang, who took him to the Second Division.

• Ye Yang trained the nine new students, and two noblewomen quit while the others endured the difficult session.
• Hinamori told Ye Yang that Tōshirō wanted to meet him, and Ye Yang agreed to visit the next day.
• Renji pushed himself during sparring and told Ye Yang he wanted to become strong enough to protect his companions and her.
• Ye Yang told Tōshirō what had happened to Hinamori, and Tōshirō asked him to teach him to become stronger.
• Tōshirō's grandmother encouraged him to leave, and Tōshirō agreed to go with Ye Yang after sharing a meal.
• Ye Yang set off with Tōshirō for the Second Division.

Ye Yang brought Tōshirō to the Second Division, where Soi Fon welcomed him as her student and agreed to look after him. After discovering that Tōshirō’s Spiritual Pressure had reached the level of a higher-ranked Seated Officer, Ye Yang began teaching him combat skills, starting with Zanjutsu.

• Ye Yang introduced Tōshirō to Soi Fon and arranged for him to stay at the Second Division barracks rather than attend Shin'ō.
• Ye Yang told Tōshirō to call him Teacher and Soi Fon Teacher's Wife, and Soi Fon agreed to help with his training.
• Ye Yang planned for Tōshirō to study for a month before joining the Punishment Force, and Tōshirō accepted the plan.
• At the training ground, Tōshirō released his Spiritual Pressure, which rose to nearly the level of an ordinary seventh or eighth seat and formed frost around him.
• Ye Yang cautioned Tōshirō not to rely on talent alone, then began training him in the four major Soul Reaper skills, starting with Zanjutsu.

Ye Yang taught Tōshirō Kidō, and Tōshirō quickly learned to cast spells with and without incantations. The lesson ended with Ye Yang escalating Tōshirō’s already exhausting training after Tōshirō called him a violent maniac.

• Ye Yang taught Tōshirō Byakurai and Shakkahō, and Tōshirō cast both successfully on his first attempts.
• Tōshirō used Incantation Abandonment to cast Shakkahō without learning the technique from Ye Yang, then asked how to make it stronger.
• Ye Yang explained that abandoned incantations could only approach, never equal, the power of fully chanted Kidō, and Tōshirō improved his next attempt through practice.
• Tōshirō asked about Ye Yang’s skills, and Ye Yang said he was best at Hakuda and was also good at Zanjutsu.
• After Tōshirō called Ye Yang a violent maniac, Ye Yang announced triple training for the afternoon, and Tōshirō protested.

Over three years, Tōshirō became a respected Punishment Force prodigy while Ye Yang’s students prepared to graduate and chose their divisions. After Hisana Kuchiki and Ginrei Kuchiki died on the same day, Ye Yang went to comfort a devastated Byakuya and helped him reflect on Hisana’s brief but meaningful life.

• Tōshirō learned Kidō, Shunpo, and Hakuda from Ye Yang and Soi Fon, joined the Punishment Force, and achieved a mission success rate of ninety-nine percent.
• Renji, Hinamori, and Kira prepared to graduate, with Renji choosing the 11th Division and Hinamori and Kira choosing the Fifth Division.
• Ye Yang learned that Hisana Kuchiki and Ginrei Kuchiki had died, leaving Byakuya as the Kuchiki Clan’s head and grieving both losses.
• Ye Yang visited Byakuya beneath the cherry tree and stayed with him as he mourned Hisana and considered the meaning of life.
• Ye Yang compared cherry blossoms’ brief bloom to a life lived without regret, and Byakuya wondered whether Hisana had been like those blossoms.

After Hisana and Byakuya’s grandfather died, Ye Yang comforted Byakuya as he grieved and urged him to keep living with strength. At the joint funeral, Byakuya formally entered Hisana as his wife in the Kuchiki family register, then gave Ye Yang a letter his grandfather had left for him.

• Ye Yang asked Byakuya about Hisana’s last words and encouraged him to care for Rukia.
• Byakuya led Ye Yang to see his grandfather’s remains in the Kuchiki ancestral hall.
• Under the cherry blossoms, Byakuya cried and confided his grief to Ye Yang, then resolved to carry on.
• At the joint funeral, Byakuya overruled the elders and entered Hisana’s name in the Kuchiki family register as his wife.
• Rukia attended the funeral beside Byakuya, while Ye Yang and Soi Fon prepared to leave.
• Byakuya gave Ye Yang a letter marked for him that had been found in his grandfather’s room.

Ye Yang and Soi Fon read Ginrei Kuchiki’s final letter, then Ye Yang attended the graduation ceremony for his students, where Yamamoto appointed him vice-principal of Shin'ō. The chapter ended with Yamamoto asking Ye Yang to teach his training methods to the other instructors in exchange for accepting the post.

• Ye Yang and Soi Fon read Ginrei Kuchiki’s letter asking Ye Yang to look after Byakuya and ensure Hisana was entered into the Kuchiki family register.
• Ye Yang’s students graduated, demonstrated their abilities, and chose their divisions, with Renji joining the 11th Division and Kira and Hinamori joining the Fifth Division.
• Yamamoto announced Ye Yang’s promotion to vice-principal of Shin'ō, and Ye Yang accepted the appointment.
• Yamamoto invited Ye Yang to the First Division and offered him a light workload in return for teaching his training methods to the other instructors.
• Ye Yang suggested the other teachers’ students had failed because they were too exhausted to continue training, and Yamamoto realized the method could not be copied without understanding how Ye Yang applied it.

Ye Yang explained his training method to Yamamoto and celebrated New Year with Soi Fon and his disciple, Tōshirō. At the festival, Kaien and Kūkaku mistook Tōshirō for Ye Yang’s son, then welcomed him into their gathering.

• Ye Yang told Yamamoto that his students trained by gradually surpassing their limits, and Yamamoto said he would consider applying the method at Shin'ō.
• Yamamoto asked why Ye Yang had taken a disciple, and Ye Yang said Tōshirō would soon enter Shin'ō and prove his talent.
• Yoruichi and Urahara celebrated New Year's in the World of the Living, where Yoruichi learned Ye Yang had become Shin'ō's vice principal and wished him well.
• Ye Yang, Soi Fon, and Tōshirō went to the New Year's festival, where Kaien mistook Tōshirō for their son before Ye Yang introduced him as his disciple.
• Kūkaku hugged Tōshirō, leaving him red-faced and gasping for air, while Kaien told her to put him down.

Ye Yang took Tōshirō Hitsugaya out to celebrate the New Year, where several acquaintances mistook his young disciple for Ye Yang’s son and teased him. The group agreed to meet at the Shiba Clan’s home at ten to watch the fireworks, while Tōshirō ended the outing fuming after Rangiku teased him.

• Kūkaku, Kaien, and Ganju met Ye Yang, Soi Fon, and Tōshirō, and Kūkaku teased Tōshirō for acting like an adult.
• Shunsui, Ukitake, and Isshin joined them, and Shunsui mistakenly asked whether Tōshirō was Ye Yang’s son before Ye Yang introduced him as his disciple.
• Kaien invited the group to watch the Shiba Clan’s fireworks, and Ye Yang arranged for everyone to meet there at ten after strolling through town.
• Rangiku and Nanao met the group, and Rangiku mistook Tōshirō for Ye Yang’s son before Ye Yang clarified that Tōshirō was his disciple.
• Rangiku and Tōshirō argued after she touched his head, but Ye Yang separated them and Soi Fon invited Rangiku and Nanao to the fireworks.

Ye Yang and his companions met Byakuya and Rukia during the New Year’s Festival, then encountered Hinamori and her captain, Sōsuke Aizen. Tōshirō apologized to Byakuya and quietly distrusted Aizen, while Ye Yang invited Byakuya to watch fireworks at the Shiba Clan.

• Ye Yang, Soi Fon, and Tōshirō met Byakuya and Rukia, and Tōshirō hastily clarified that he was Ye Yang’s disciple, not his son.
• Tōshirō apologized for snapping at Byakuya, who introduced his younger sister Rukia and showed a small sign of warmth toward the boy.
• Ye Yang invited Byakuya to watch fireworks at the Shiba Clan, and Byakuya agreed to come.
• Hinamori arrived with Aizen and agreed to go home with Tōshirō the next day to visit their grandmother.
• Tōshirō introduced himself to Aizen but remained wary of him, while Ye Yang asked Aizen about Hinamori’s adjustment to the Fifth Division.

Ye Yang and his companions celebrated the New Year's Festival with fireworks at the Shiba Clan, where Kaien introduced Miyako Aoki as his romantic partner. As midnight approached, Shunsui proposed that Ye Yang could provide a more interesting activity than the festival’s usual dance.

• Ye Yang asked Tōshirō what he thought of Aizen, and Tōshirō admitted he could not see through him.
• Kaien told Kūkaku to begin the fireworks, and Ye Yang held Soi Fon close as everyone watched.
• Kaien introduced Miyako Aoki, a Third Seat of the Thirteenth Division, and admitted he wanted to marry her.
• Miyako and Kaien teased Ye Yang and Soi Fon about their relationship, and the group joined the other captains.
• After everyone rejected Shunsui’s suggestion to go drinking, he hinted that Ye Yang could offer them something more entertaining.

Ye Yang played the guqin for the gathered Soul Reapers, dedicating “A Phoenix Seeks His Mate” to Soi Fon and revealing the depth of his affection for her. Aizen and Gin heard the performance from the Fifth Division, but Aizen forbade Gin from involving Soi Fon in their plans.

• Shunsui and Soi Fon reminded everyone that Ye Yang had once been renowned as the Guqin Emperor, and Kūkaku brought out the guqin he had made for her years earlier.
• Ye Yang adjusted Kūkaku’s guqin and announced that he would play a piece for Shaoling, then performed “A Phoenix Seeks His Mate” while reciting its meaning.
• Soi Fon blushed as the listeners understood the piece was Ye Yang’s romantic courtship of her, and the music carried to nearby Soul Reapers, including Yamamoto, Aizen, and Gin.
• Aizen explained Ye Yang’s musical reputation to Gin and warned him not to involve Soi Fon in their plans or provoke Ye Yang.
• After the performance ended, the listeners gradually emerged from their trance; Soi Fon gazed at Ye Yang affectionately, while Du, Rangiku, and Byakuya were reminded of their own loves.

Ye Yang and Soi Fon celebrated the New Year with friends, who surprised Ye Yang with a birthday celebration. The gathering ended with Ye Yang and Soi Fon reaffirming that they would wait for Yoruichi to return before marrying, while Kaien announced his wedding plans.

• Ye Yang dedicated a song to Soi Fon, and she embraced him as the others gave them privacy.
• At midnight, Soi Fon and the group surprised Ye Yang with a birthday celebration and a cake delivered by Tōshirō using a Tenshiken.
• Soi Fon kissed Ye Yang, and he thanked everyone for their heartfelt wishes and said his home was with them in Soul Society.
• Kaien asked Ye Yang and Soi Fon about their wedding, and they said they would wait until Yoruichi could attend.
• Kaien invited them to his wedding to Miyako on the thirteenth day of the new year and said Rukia Kuchiki would join his division.
• Ye Yang and Soi Fon held hands beneath the stars as the group celebrated together.

Kaien and Miyako celebrated their wedding with friends and guests from across Soul Society. After the festivities, Ye Yang and Soi Fon returned to the Second Division barracks, where an accidental fall led to an intimate moment that ended with Ye Yang noticing Soi Fon crying.

• Kaien and Miyako held a modest wedding attended by many captains, officers, friends, and residents of Rukongai.
• Guests celebrated with fireworks and drinks, and Kaien drank until Miyako had to support him.
• Ye Yang promised Soi Fon that he would give her an even grander wedding someday, then left with her for the Second Division barracks.
• Unable to use the converted vice-captain's quarters, Ye Yang accepted Soi Fon's offer to sleep in her room.
• Soi Fon tripped, and Ye Yang caught her; they fell together and began kissing.
• Ye Yang became intimate with Soi Fon, then stopped when he noticed her tears and asked what was wrong.