Chapter Summaries

Haruto defeated the giant Hollow with Raikōhō, but its High-Speed Regeneration let it ambush him as he tried to escape. Gravely wounded and unable to fight back, Haruto watched the Hollow approach.

• Haruto restrained the giant Hollow with Sajō Sabaku and struck it down with a fully chanted Raikōhō.
• Haruto realized the Hollow’s mask was reforming and that its cloak had survived the blast to trap him.
• Haruto used a sudden Shunpo breakthrough to leap toward the gap in the encircling darkness, but the Hollow blocked his escape and bit him.
• Haruto landed with a severe chest wound, damaged Hakusui, and too little strength to use his Zanpakuto or cast Kidō.
• The giant Hollow approached Haruto as he lay helpless, and a strange buzz sounded.

Haruto woke after Captain Seigen Kyōshiba and Lieutenant Ika Kyōshiba saved him from a Menos in District 66, then explained that he was a Shin'ō Academy student. The siblings shared their connection to the district and urged Haruto to rest, while Seigen began considering bringing the promising student into the Fifth Division.

• Haruto awoke beside a campfire after Ika healed him, and thanked her and Seigen for saving his life.
• Haruto told Seigen and Ika that he was a sixth-year Shin'ō Academy student rather than a member of the Gotei 13 or Kidō Corps.
• Ika recognized Haruto as Komatsuzuru's student, and Haruto identified the siblings as Captain Seigen Kyōshiba and Lieutenant Ika Kyōshiba.
• Haruto recounted his origins in District 66 and his battle with the Hollow, while Ika explained that she and Seigen were visiting their old home in District 74.
• Seigen made Haruto lie down and rest, warning him that healing with Kaidō had not fully restored his physical strength.

Sōsuke Aizen learned that his modified Hollow had died at Seigen Kyōshiba’s hands, then was appointed acting lieutenant of the Fifth Division while Kyōshiba and his lieutenant were away for two months. He abandoned his application to become headmaster of Shin'ō Academy and took on the division’s duties.

• Aizen finished applying to become headmaster of Shin'ō Academy and discovered that his modified Hollow had died, apparently killed by Seigen Kyōshiba.
• Shinji Hirako told Aizen that Kyōshiba and the lieutenant had taken leave to visit their families in Rukongai and that Hirako had been ordered to handle the captain’s duties for two months.
• Aizen told Hirako that Yamamoto’s approval showed he had the talent to become captain, prompting Hirako to appoint Aizen acting lieutenant of the Fifth Division.
• Hirako left the division’s responsibilities to Aizen and fled using Shunpo.
• Aizen burned his approved headmaster application, deciding to postpone the role.

Jōsuke found the wreckage of Haruto and Inukai’s battle and considered taking over their place, while Haruto recovered with the Kyōshiba siblings, grew stronger, and returned to Seireitei. He was stopped at the gate for lacking identification until Mitarai recognized him.

• Jōsuke found Nagumo’s broken cane, a burned Zanpakuto, and Inukai’s headless body, then wondered if he could take their place.
• Ika Kyōshiba treated Haruto with Tsubakibana, restoring his Reiatsu and healing most of his injuries, while Seigen Kyōshiba shared his lightning techniques.
• Haruto parted with the Kyōshiba siblings and traveled back to Seireitei, reaching Sixth-Class Spiritual Pressure along the way.
• Haruto arrived at Seiryūmon in ragged clothes and told Kaiwan he was a Shin'ō Academy student who had lost his identification.
• Mitarai recognized Haruto and approached him, easing the standoff at the gate.

Haruto used a Kidō Orb to study Dankū and then successfully cast the powerful Bakudō in the underground training ground. Byakuya witnessed the feat and reacted in astonishment.

• Mitarai persuaded Kaiwan to let Haruto pass through the gate, and Kaiwan apologized to Haruto and welcomed him.
• Haruto entered Shin'ō Academy's underground training ground with the Kidō Orbs for Dankū and Kyōmon.
• Haruto used the Dankū orb to observe its casting in a slowed, heightened state of awareness, then returned to the real world after ten minutes.
• Haruto chanted the incantation and formed a massive Dankū barrier that split the training ground in two.
• Byakuya arrived and exclaimed in surprise when he saw Haruto cast Dankū.

Haruto told Byakuya how he had mastered Dankū and reached Sixth-Class Spiritual Pressure, then explained his plans to keep training before pursuing Shikai. He recounted his encounter with Seigen Kyōshiba and the Kyōshiba family, and Byakuya offered to investigate the Ichihara Clan in his family’s records.

• Byakuya examined Haruto’s Kidō Orb and warned that its teachings carried the creator’s imprint, but Haruto said he could overcome that influence with greater skill.
• Haruto revealed he had reached Sixth-Class Spiritual Pressure three days earlier and said he intended to hone himself further before advancing.
• Haruto and Byakuya bickered about their progress and whether Haruto might one day fight someone of higher spiritual pressure after achieving Shikai.
• Haruto explained that a Hollow had left his chest scar and described his encounter with Seigen Kyōshiba and his sister.
• Byakuya recalled the Kyōshiba family’s noble history and offered to search his family’s books for records of the Ichihara Clan.
• Byakuya told Haruto that the Dankū Kidō Orb was valuable enough to be passed down as a noble family heirloom.

Haruto agreed to let Byakuya sell the Kidō Orb at a noble auction and began learning Kyōmon from another orb. Two days later, he attended Shin'ō Academy's opening ceremony, where he was due to speak amid a teacher shortage caused by mobilization for the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force.

• Haruto agreed to Byakuya's plan to obtain invitations and sell the Kidō Orb, after questioning Byakuya about the auction's details and the risk of Ginrei finding out.
• After Byakuya left, Haruto used the second Kidō Orb to begin learning the self-created Kidō Kyōmon.
• Two days later, Haruto walked to Shin'ō Academy's opening ceremony with Isane Kotetsu, who said the start of term made her feel more at ease.
• Haruto told Isane he was nervous about giving a speech because he did not know what to say, and she gave him a revised speech prepared from her mother's address.
• Haruto thanked Isane for the clothes she had altered for him and apologized for not bringing back suitable souvenirs.

Isane made Haruto clothes, and his compliment about her being a good wife and mother embarrassed her so badly that she passed out. At the academy assembly, Haruto was called up to speak to the younger students, leaving him to consider how the public attention might affect his reputation.

• Isane refused Haruto's offer of a gift for tailoring his clothes, but he told her she would make a good wife and mother.
• Kiyone teased Haruto about hinting at a confession, and Isane fainted from embarrassment.
• At the Shin'ō Grand Auditorium assembly, Kiyone and Ayaka whispered about Academy Head Mitarai's long speech and Ayaka's visit to the World of the Living.
• Haruto explained that Nanao had likely missed the assembly notice and was still studying in the library.
• After a two-hour speech, Mitarai introduced Haruto as the student representative and invited him to share his experiences with the younger students.

Haruto cut his academy welcome speech short, then gathered his classmates at the dorm for sweets and a meal. As the group relaxed afterward, Byakuya asked why Haruto was close to so many girls, and Haruto teased him about looking like one.

• Haruto ended his welcome speech after one sentence and invited Isane to have sweets as an apology.
• Haruto and his classmates searched the shops near Shin'ō Academy, but the shop that made Isane's favorite desserts had closed because its staff had been conscripted into the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force.
• Haruto brought the group to the dorm and cooked osmanthus, lotus seed, and fruit porridge for Isane while they shared Byakuya's bento and snacks.
• Haruto served Byakuya twice-cooked pork with mixed vegetables, and the classmates ate together before afternoon classes.
• Byakuya asked Haruto why most of his close friends were girls, and Haruto joked that Byakuya might be a girl too.

Haruto discussed the limits facing Soul Reapers with Byakuya before Kiyone revealed that Isane had mastered Shikai. The group compared their spiritual pressure, and Haruto realized Isane and Nanao had advanced more quickly than he expected.

• Haruto told Byakuya that many of their classmates lacked the talent to rise beyond low-ranking Seated Officer and that becoming Soul Reapers could condemn them to slow deaths.
• Kiyone redirected the conversation by announcing that Isane had mastered Shikai, surprising Haruto and Byakuya.
• Isane revealed that her Rei'i Grade was Sixth Class, while Kiyone said she was Seventh Class, Ayaka Ninth Class, and Nanao had recently reached Sixth Class.
• Haruto noted that Rei'i Grade did not reliably measure combat strength and that his own Sixth-Class reading reflected only half his true Reiatsu.
• Haruto identified Isane's Zanpakuto as Itegumo, prompting Kiyone to ask whether Isane had secretly told him, which Isane denied.

Haruto surprised Byakuya and Nanao by revealing how much advanced Kidō he had learned during vacation, while Byakuya questioned how Haruto knew the names of Zanpakuto. Byakuya then gave Haruto a spell created by Kōga, and the story shifted to Byakuya learning that Kōga had come to say goodbye.

• Haruto told Nanao that he had learned Dankū, Raikōhō, and Zanka no Tachi during vacation.
• Ayaka reacted to the group’s strength and resolved to become stronger herself.
• Byakuya questioned Haruto about how he knew the names of Senbonzakura and Itegumo, but Haruto denied that his Zanpakuto had been released.
• Byakuya gave Haruto Kōga’s unnumbered Kidō spell, Hyōga Seiran, explaining its unusual control, speed, and range.
• Two days earlier, Byakuya returned home and learned from Kuchiki Sōjun that Kōga had come to say goodbye.

Byakuya told his family that Haruto had advanced to Sixth-Class Reii and learned powerful Kidō, including Dankū and Zanka no Tachi. As Byakuya tried to persuade his father to share the Kuchiki Clan’s secret techniques, his mother stopped him and warned him against favoring outsiders.

• Kuchiki Sōjun told Byakuya that Kōga would join the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force and that Kuchiki Hine planned to return to the main house.
• Byakuya refused Hine’s offer to spar and explained that Haruto had advanced to Sixth-Class Reii after using Dankū.
• Byakuya said Haruto had obtained a Kidō Orb containing Dankū from an exiled noble named Ichihara in Rukongai, but Sōjun did not recognize the family name.
• Byakuya revealed that Haruto had also learned the number seventy-eight Hadō, Zanka no Tachi, and Sōjun noted that the Ise Clan’s elder likely taught it to him.
• Byakuya tried to persuade Sōjun to share the Kuchiki Clan’s secret Kidō techniques, but his mother struck him with her Zanpakuto’s Shikai and scolded him for siding with outsiders.

Kuchiki Sōjun rejected Byakuya’s request for the clan to invest in Haruto, but Kōga offered Haruto his difficult original Kidō, Hyōga Seiran. Haruto accepted the manual and decided to try learning it, then arrived at class with Byakuya and the others after Byakuya’s dorm barrier blocked a Hell Butterfly message.

• Kuchiki Sōjun told Byakuya that the Kuchiki Clan could not commit resources to training Haruto without securing his loyalty, and that a suitable gift would require a clan meeting.
• Kōga Kuchiki offered Haruto his original Hadō, Hyōga Seiran, hoping Haruto might learn it and provide useful insights.
• Haruto examined Hyōga Seiran’s manual, and Byakuya warned him that the advanced ice-and-snow Kidō would be difficult to learn.
• Haruto decided to try learning Hyōga Seiran because Kōga had given it to him as a thoughtful gift.
• Haruto and the others arrived at class, where Mutsuki Shōkaku questioned why they had missed a Hell Butterfly message; Byakuya explained that his dorm’s defensive Kidō had blocked it.

Mutsuki Shōkaku announced changes to the sixth-year curriculum, teaching assignments, and seasonal class competitions, with valuable rewards for top-ranked classes. When Ayaka nominated Haruto as Class One’s representative and another student nominated Byakuya, both declined, leaving Byakuya to urge Haruto to take the role.

• Haruto learned that Munechika had transferred to Class Two to study alongside Juzu after losing the Live-Blade Match.
• Mutsuki announced that all sixth-year classes would share a curriculum, while Class One would receive a chance to learn a technique from the academy’s secret collection.
• Mutsuki said some sixth-years would teach fifth-years because of the teacher shortage and revealed that seasonal exams would rank classes by their representatives’ results.
• Mutsuki explained that Captain Kirio Hikifune would provide Reiatsu-enhancing food as a reward, and Haruto recognized why Munechika might benefit from competing in Class Two.
• Ayaka nominated Haruto as Class One’s representative, while a noble student recommended Byakuya; both Haruto and Byakuya declined, and Byakuya told Haruto to take the role.

Haruto agreed to a three-move match with Byakuya to gauge their progress and avoid becoming class representative, then joined his classmates at the main training grounds. The chapter ended as Haruto used Ōkasen to intervene in another students’ dangerous Kidō duel.

• Haruto traded barbs with Byakuya and agreed to fight him under the usual rules, then proposed limiting their match to three moves at the main training grounds.
• Haruto questioned Sunai Nezumi, the new transfer from Class Two and ninth head of the Sunai Clan, before setting the conversation aside.
• Mutsuki told Haruto and Byakuya that Headmaster Mitarai had opened the main training grounds, and Haruto invited his classmates to watch.
• Haruto and Byakuya arrived to find several matches underway, including a duel between a Shakkahō user and a student who cast Haien.
• When Haien’s flames threatened to hit the other fighter, Haruto drew part of his Zanpakuto and invoked Ōkasen.

Haruto stopped Gyōkaku Kumoi from using Haien on a defeated student, then challenged Kumoi’s arrogance and demonstrated superior Kidō control. Kumoi abandoned his demand for a match and fell silent, realizing Haruto was far stronger than he had expected.

• Haruto dispelled Gyōkaku Kumoi’s Haien before it could seriously injure the student he had defeated.
• Kumoi defended his actions and tried to recruit Haruto, boasting that he could make him a Gotei 13 captain.
• Byakuya explained that Kumoi was the son of the Kasumioji Clan’s chief retainer, and Kumoi recognized Byakuya and Haruto.
• Kumoi challenged Haruto to a match, but Haruto rebuked him for acting as though the training ground belonged to his family.
• Haruto cast Haien without an incantation and reproduced the blast from Kumoi’s earlier Kidō with far less Reiatsu, leaving Kumoi stunned.

Haruto and Byakuya fought for the class representative position, trading advanced Shunpo techniques, Kidō, and sword attacks. Haruto surprised Byakuya with a counter hidden in his Tōzanshō and a genuine Eishōhaki Zanka no Tachi, but the duel remained unresolved as both began another Hadō incantation.

• Gyōkaku Kumoi realized Byakuya was Haruto’s opponent and withdrew from the contest.
• Haruto blocked Byakuya’s Senka with Tōzanshō, revealing that he had improved his Shunpo and mastered the high-level Bakudō.
• Byakuya’s Senka cracked Tōzanshō, but the collapsing shield released a concealed Kyōmon-like burst that broke his stance.
• Haruto struck Byakuya with an Eishōhaki Zanka no Tachi, but Byakuya used Utsusemi and followed with Senka.
• Haruto and Byakuya clashed swords, and Haruto knocked Byakuya back before both began casting Hadō.

Haruto conceded his class representative match to Byakuya after judging that Byakuya’s advanced Kidō and Shikai would have secured the win. Their display stunned the students and Mutsuki Shōkaku, and Haruto’s new role as class representative was expected to calm the academy’s students.

• Haruto admitted Byakuya had outmatched him, explaining that Byakuya’s Rikujōkōrō would have given him time to release his Zanpakuto, though Haruto joked that Byakuya won the contest in looking cool.
• The students and Mutsuki Shōkaku reacted in shock to the advanced Kidō and Shunpo techniques Haruto and Byakuya had displayed.
• Haruto and Byakuya arranged to train together that afternoon, then joined Mutsuki, who said their match would likely make the sixth-year class representative competition seem pointless.
• Mutsuki told Haruto that he was scheduled to take charge of fifth-year Class One and that Gyōkaku Kumoi had become more obedient.
• Kiyone said she and her sister would attend Kaidō class, while Nanao planned to practice intermediate Kidō and explore whether combining and modifying spells could imitate advanced Kidō.

Haruto and his companions settled on different paths for studying Kidō, then Haruto and Byakuya went to the Academy’s underground training hall to practice. Byakuya also told Haruto that an auction had been arranged in Rukongai that night, leaving Haruto concerned about the danger.

• Haruto praised Nanao’s plan to focus on creating her own Kidō system, and Ayaka chose to follow Nanao’s path.
• Haruto ended the meeting after everyone settled on their own goals.
• In the underground training hall, Haruto agreed to teach Byakuya an improved Tōzanshō while Byakuya prepared to teach Haruto Rikujōkōrō.
• Byakuya told Haruto that he would ask Yoruichi Shihōin about teaching him the Shihōin techniques after he mastered Shunpo.
• Byakuya revealed that the auction would take place that night in North District 2 of Rukongai, and Haruto warned him about the dangers there.

Haruto and Byakuya attended an underground auction in North District 2, where they inspected their bidding room and waited for the event to begin. The auctioneer appeared, and the chapter ended as he noted that participant number twenty-six had not arrived.

• Haruto and Byakuya showed their invitation to the guard and entered room twenty-five at the pleasure district venue.
• Haruto searched the cramped room for surveillance and explained how to bid without revealing their voices.
• Haruto practiced Jinzen while Byakuya waited, and they opened the bidding window when the auction began.
• The masked Soul Reaper auctioneer appeared with an oiran, and Haruto and Byakuya judged his strength and whispered about her appearance.
• The auctioneer cleared his throat and announced that number twenty-six had not arrived.