Recaps

Jun explained how family identity and legacy shaped inherited Zanpakuto, then invented a tale about Lady Yae Sakura to answer Aozumi’s questions. Aozumi awakened a dual-weapon Shikai inspired by the tale, but Tomoko refused to acknowledge her until she overcame her spoiled habits.

• Jun explained that a Zanpakuto’s Shikai could be influenced by its wielder’s identification with family honor and legacy.
• Aozumi asked about other kinds of sakura, so Jun invented a story about Lady Yae Sakura, a warrior and advocate for Western ideas.
• Aozumi vowed to become like Lady Yae and channeled the tale into her sword, awakening a Shikai with a sword and teppō.
• Muramasa revealed Aozumi’s two weapon spirits, Yūna and Tomoko, who represented Lady Yae’s martial courage and independence.
• Tomoko told Aozumi she had not earned her acknowledgment and needed to overcome her habit of acting spoiled and cute whenever trouble arose.

Aozumi learned the abilities of her twin-bladed Yae Sakura, winning the Kuchiki Clan’s respect for Jun, while Jun and Isuzu attended Tachikawa Jin’s wedding procession. The celebrations reached the bride’s home, where Jun sensed someone hiding in the grass and directing aggression toward Tachikawa Zan.

• Tomoko explained that Yūna’s Eightfold Slash let Aozumi control follow-up phantom strikes, while Teppo Tomoko’s Eightfold Roar fired her Kidō as up to eight bullets.
• Kuchiki Ginrei’s opinion of Jun changed, and the Kuchiki Clan grew deeply grateful to him for helping Aozumi revive Yae Sakura.
• Jun and Isuzu attended Tachikawa Jin’s wedding and learned that Jin had met his bride, Sakuraba Kakyō, through a memorial rite handled by the Thirteenth Division.
• Tachikawa Zan received guests despite his strained relationship with his brother, and Jun accompanied the wedding party to fetch Kakyō from Rukongai District 47.
• On the return procession, Jun sensed aggression aimed at Zan and spotted a blind, dark-skinned boy hiding in the grass.

Jun realized that Kakyō’s murder and Tachikawa Jin’s acquittal would drive Kaname Tōsen to seek justice by joining Aizen, and he wondered whether he could prevent her death. He brought Kakyō into his home through Isuzu and found that she admired him, leaving open the possibility that his influence might change her fate.

• Jun identified the blind child as Kaname Tōsen and learned that Kakyō’s murder by her husband and the unjust verdict would fuel Tōsen’s rebellion against Soul Society.
• Jun asked Tachikawa Zan about his brother’s marriage and received a warning that the Tachikawa Family’s secrets made Kakyō’s life difficult to protect.
• Isuzu told Jun that Kakyō looked haggard and that something seemed unusual about her eyes, so she invited Kakyō to their home.
• Jun met Kakyō and discovered that she was nervous because she admired him as a hero of Soul Society.

Jun persuaded Kakyō to abandon killing her husband and pursue change through education, and she spent twenty years teaching children in Rukongai. After Central 46 had her assassinated, hundreds of thousands of Rukongai residents surrounded Seireitei, while Jun watched to see how Soul Society would respond.

• Jun showed Kakyō evidence of Soul Society’s corruption and argued that she should pursue justice through education rather than killing her husband.
• Kakyō learned that the Tachikawa Family’s Zanpakuto-empowerment method required human sacrifices and that she had been intended as its final Sword Soul.
• Kakyō opened a private school in Rukongai, then continued teaching children during her patrols after Central 46 prohibited private schools.
• Kakyō taught for twenty years, including while pregnant, and was assassinated by Central 46 after her child was a little over a year old.
• Hundreds of thousands of Rukongai residents surrounded Seireitei, demanding that Kakyō’s murder be explained and those responsible punished.
• Jun watched from the shadows and wondered how Soul Society would respond to the siege.

After Kakyō’s death, Jun’s long-running plan helped turn Rukongai’s grief into pressure on the Soul Reapers and Central 46. He left Soul Society’s response uncertain and admitted that his guilt over sacrificing Kakyō might lead him to destroy it.

• Rukongai residents’ hatred of Soul Reapers made patrols dangerous, while Central 46’s fabricated account of Kakyō’s killer fell apart when Senrime Shintarō identified the corpse as the wrong man.
• Jun explained to Kōga and Aozumi that society’s collective power had been set in motion by a plan dating back twenty years, when Kakyō began her work.
• Isuzu recounted how Jun had given Kakyō a sword from Aizen, whose Shikai became the Insight Eye glasses that Senrime Shintarō eventually made his own.
• Jun told Kōga he would not control the unrest and would judge Soul Society by its response, warning that slaughtering Rukongai’s residents could earn it a failing score.
• Kōga vowed to discuss the crisis with his father, while Jun confessed that he had sacrificed Kakyō and could not get past his guilt.

After Tōsen took Kakyō's Zanpakuto and began teaching in Rukongai, Jun secretly protected him from assassination attempts while Soul Society struggled with the consequences of expanded academy enrollment and renewed Hollow attacks. When Hueco Mundo's invasion spread to the World of the Living, Jun took an assignment near Edo and then went to Hueco Mundo to meet Starrk.

• After a large Hueco Mundo invasion interrupted Central 46's crackdown, Kaname Tōsen graduated from Shin'ō Academy, joined the Thirteenth Division, and received Kakyō TACHIKAWA's Zanpakuto.
• Tōsen began teaching in Rukongai as Kakyō had, while preparatory classes drove academy enrollment to three times its former rate and forced the academy to expand its staff and training arrangements.
• Jun detected and secretly stopped several threats against Tōsen, then noticed that the hostility around him had disappeared.
• Hueco Mundo's attacks intensified, prompting Jun and other single-digit seated officers to patrol Soul Society; news also arrived that Hollows were killing humans in the World of the Living.
• Jun and the other divisions assigned Soul Reapers across the World of the Living, with Jun choosing Edo and Kōga and Aozumi taking the nearby mountain region.
• Jun traveled to Hueco Mundo and met Starrk, who told her that another companion might evolve successfully and that he had gained one more companion.

Jun visited Starrk’s Arrancar base in Hueco Mundo and learned more about Baraggan’s forces before meeting the Arrancar gathered at the Endless Sea. He welcomed newly evolved Tier Harribel, who gained confidence about her shark teeth, while dozens of other Hollows continued evolving.

• Jun asked Starrk about Baraggan’s forces, and Starrk estimated that Baraggan had seven Vasto Lorde and twenty Adjuchas about fifty years earlier.
• Jun told Starrk that two Vasto Lorde and five Adjuchas had since died, including one Jun had killed, and Starrk led him to the Endless Sea.
• Jun greeted Zegrod, Dolphin Daphnidia, and Orcinus Orca, then saw more than thirty Vasto Lorde and a dozen Adjuchas undergoing evolution, including Grimmjow.
• Jun recalled that the first successful Arrancar, Ulquiorra Cifer and Natasha Titos, had left the group.
• Jun met the newly evolved Tier Harribel and reassured her that her shark teeth were cool, prompting her to uncover her mouth and smile.

Jun brought Starrk, Lilynette, and Duo'erfen from Hueco Mundo to the World of the Living, where they reached Edo Castle and found Soul Society's new Gigai. The chapter ended with Duo'erfen and Isuzu struggling with the pain and limitations of inhabiting human bodies.

• Jun invited Oka and the others to visit him in the World of the Living, and Starrk, Lilynette, and Duo'erfen accompanied him through a Garganta.
• The group emerged over the sea, tried swimming, and traveled past the Ryukyu Islands to Kyushu before detouring toward Tokyo Bay.
• Jun sensed Isuzu with Kakushitsuijaku and returned to Edo Castle, where he found Soul Reapers gathered around two new Gigai sent by Soul Society.
• Jun learned that the Gigai limited Reishi exchange and complained that Soul Reapers had no plan for living expenses in the World of the Living.
• Jun and Isuzu entered Gigai, then Duo'erfen tried one and discovered that bumping into a wall hurt; Isuzu also fell and felt pain.

Jun and his companions began building a self-sufficient farm in the Edo-period World of the Living, while Jun spent a year making Gigai for the Arrancar. Once the new Gigai arrived, the growing household settled into a comfortable life, and other Soul Reapers began seeking Gigai to enjoy the living world.

• Jun decided to make money by farming and raising livestock, then brought Kōga and Aozumi into the plan and assigned them rabbits and bamboo rats.
• Jun cleared a mountain valley, planted crops, built houses and animal pens, and fended off Hollow attacks while establishing the farm.
• Jun spent a year making five Gigai, periodically returning to keep the animals and crops alive; he caught deer and wolves, sold pelts, and learned to cook meals for the household.
• Jun and his companions reduced the rabbit herd after the stench became unbearable, then tried braised rabbit and spicy rabbit heads.
• Dolfen, Tier Harribel, Starrk, Lilynette, and Oka arrived in Gigai, and Oka drew attention in Edo as a giant hunter who accepted paid work.
• Jun's household grew to nine, and Soul Reapers stationed in the World of the Living began applying for Gigai so they could enjoy life there.

Jun took his family to visit the Undead settlement, where Isuzu met the Undead’s three children and Jun considered researching their spiritual bodies. After decades of exchanges and a quiet life at the courtyard, the Baraggan Empire intensified its invasion of the World of the Living and Soul Society.

• Jun led Oka, Dolfen, Tier Harribel, and the others through the underground river to the Undead settlement, where the Undead welcomed them.
• Isuzu visited the nursery, met the three Undead children, and accidentally made them cry when she picked one up.
• Jun speculated that the children’s Spiritual Power reservoirs helped preserve their souls and considered whether similar reservoirs could aid sick or weak Soul Reapers.
• Jun arranged an exchange between the Undead and the Arrancar, then brought Kariya Jin and other Undead to live ordinary lives at the courtyard.
• Jun and the others spent decades farming, raising animals, and dealing with troublemakers until the Baraggan Empire intensified its invasion of the World of the Living and Soul Society.

Jun killed an Adjuchas attacking Edo Castle, then learned that a vast Hollow army had been detected in Hueco Mundo and feared being sent into another deadly campaign. Isuzu told him the Captain-Commander would lead the expedition, leaving Jun stunned and relieved that he might not have to find a way to avoid the fighting.

• Jun drove the stag-like Adjuchas away from Edo Castle, released Tsunade, and destroyed it with his enhanced strength.
• Jun returned to Edo Castle weakened, learned that his allies' districts were safe, and ordered them to help elsewhere while he recovered.
• Jun returned to Soul Society and learned that the Seventh Division's Seventh Seat had died, while Ashido Kanō had disappeared into Hueco Mundo after chasing an Adjuchas.
• Jun learned that the Twelfth Division had detected hundreds of thousands of Hollows in Hueco Mundo and worried that the coming campaign would cause heavy losses.
• Isuzu told Jun that the Captain-Commander would lead the expedition, and Jun reacted with shock at the news.

Genryūsai Yamamoto charged into the Hollow army alone and overwhelmed its Vasto Lorde with Ryūjin Jakka, while Soul Society’s captains and divisions fought the remaining enemies. The war ended in a decisive Soul Society victory, though the death rate was still 33 percent, and Jun reflected on the Soul Reapers’ acceptance of death in battle.

• Genryūsai Yamamoto entered the battlefield through a Senkaimon and unleashed Ryūjin Jakka, killing the Giant Eagle with a single strike.
• Genryūsai Yamamoto used Flame-Hot Hell to devastate the Hollow ranks and kill many Adjuchas while confronting the five remaining Vasto Lorde.
• Jun recalled how the Rhinoceros Beetle and Giant Beetle had been artificially evolved into Vasto Lorde without gaining humanity, while Argali Ram's Horns showed promise.
• Shunsui Kyōraku, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, Kuchiki Ginrei, and the other Soul Reapers defeated the remaining Hollows, and three Vasto Lorde fled the battlefield.
• Soul Society celebrated its victory over hundreds of thousands of Hollows despite a 33 percent death rate, and Jun remarked that there was a long way to go.

After Soul Society’s victory crippled the Baraggan Empire, Jun learned what had happened at Las Noches and brought Natasha Titos into his circle. Back in Soul Society, Aizen asked Jun and Isuzu to look after a boy entering the academy, and Isuzu asked Jun to have a child with her.

• The Captain-Commander confronted Baraggan’s death-filled defense at Las Noches, but Ryūjin Jakka could not overcome Respira, and he returned without resolving the threat.
• Jun visited Hueco Mundo, learned the details from Starrk and the others, and met Natasha Titos, who agreed to join them and help search for a Soul Reaper lost near the Deathmist Swamp.
• Jun returned to Soul Society and spent his days drinking with Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and Shunsui Kyōraku as the weakened Baraggan Empire left patrols quiet.
• Aizen told Jun that the boy from Rukongai had enrolled at the academy and asked Jun and Isuzu to look after him; Jun agreed.
• Isuzu told Jun she wanted them to have a child, and Jun agreed.

Jun learned that Central 46 had formed a Hueco Mundo expeditionary force, then visited the Shin'ō Academy to teach and discovered Nanao hiding in a secret room. He left with Isuzu and Nanao after teasing her about secretly lounging in the wall.

• Central 46 established an expeditionary force to monitor Hueco Mundo, and Kibune Hakuzō, Aikō Tairō, and Tōdō Takuma were selected as its first lieutenants.
• Jun recalled that Shūsuke Amagai would later lead the force and become Third Division Captain, and noted that the Eighth Division had promoted Jing to lieutenant.
• Jun visited the Shin'ō Academy with Isuzu to teach, where he saw Gin Ichimaru, Rangiku Matsumoto, and Seinosuke Yamada among the students.
• Jun used the Radar Technique to locate Nanao inside the Journal Hall's east wall and called her out of her secret room.
• Nanao emerged embarrassed, and Jun explained that he had designed the wall and warned her not to lounge there unclothed; Isuzu scolded her, and Nanao admitted she was wrong.

Jun reunited with Nanao, reviewed Gin Ichimaru and Rangiku Matsumoto’s records, and met the two students practicing at the academy. After secretly storing his Kidō techniques and Zanpakuto insights in the Journal Hall, he discovered Gin had followed him there and questioned him about Aizen.

• Jun teased Nanao during a meal, then examined Gin Ichimaru and Rangiku Matsumoto’s impressive academy records.
• Jun and Isuzu found Gin Ichimaru and Rangiku Matsumoto sparring at the Training Ground, and Jun invited them to ask him for guidance.
• Jun spent the afternoon answering students’ questions and secretly placed his new Kidō techniques and Zanpakuto insights in the East Wall.
• Gin Ichimaru arrived at Jun’s place, hid behind a bookshelf while Jun spoke with Isuzu, and blushed at their kiss.
• Jun asked Gin why he had come, and Gin questioned Jun about his relationship with Aizen.

Jun Shimizu questioned Gin Ichimaru about his hatred of Aizen and revealed what he knew about Aizen’s soul experiments, his own alliance with Aizen, and the strength of Soul Society’s fighters. Gin left furious after Jun teased him about his feelings for Rangiku and urged him to marry her.

• Jun sensed Gin’s hostility, challenged his chances against Aizen, and explained that he and Aizen were allies pursuing separate goals.
• Gin revealed that Aizen had taken part of Rangiku’s soul, and Jun said Aizen’s experiments had killed more than twenty Soul Reapers and nearly a thousand Rukongai residents.
• Jun said Soul Society was worse than Aizen because it had given rise to him, and he named the Captain-Commander as the only person who could defeat Aizen with certainty.
• Jun ranked powerful Soul Reapers for Gin, placing Retsu Unohana third and Aizen and himself among the top ten, while Gin questioned his unusual rankings.
• Gin asked Jun to look after Rangiku if he died, but Jun refused and teased Gin about marrying her until Gin left in a rage.

Jun used his Zanpakuto and Muramasa to create a successful system of sword doubles that handled Soul Society’s duties while he resumed drinking and taking occasional assignments. Seven years after the great battle, a Vasto Lorde-class Garganta opened and Kuruyashiki Kenpachi drove off its forces, but the celebration ended with Sōya Azashiro challenging him for the title of Kenpachi.

• Jun had Muramasa manifest Clear Rain to handle his work, and other Soul Reapers began relying on their manifested Zanpakuto to assist with division duties.
• Jun introduced Startling Swan, a Zanpakuto whose Shikai transformed its wielder into a woman, as part of his successful plan to create doubles.
• Seven years after the great battle, Jun and other Soul Reapers sensed a spatial barrier break, and Jun joined Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and Shunsui Kyōraku at the opening Garganta.
• Jun cleared away the lower-level Hollows while Kuruyashiki Kenpachi killed the Gillians and instantly cut down an Adjuchas, after which the enemy commander fled and the Garganta closed.
• Kuruyashiki Kenpachi began a drinking celebration with the Tenth and 11th Divisions, but Sōya Azashiro approached, bowed, and requested a Kenpachi challenge.

After Sōya Azashiro challenged Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, Jun delayed their fight by arguing it would be unfair in Soul Society and proposing a duel in Hueco Mundo. While preparing a safe location, Jun brought Tsunade to Hueco Mundo as his stand-in and learned that Natasha had caused trouble in the World of the Living.

• Sōya Azashiro challenged Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, explaining that restoring the Azashiro Clan had left him searching for meaning in a fight.
• Jun stopped the duel, arguing that Kuruyashiki Kenpachi could not use Bankai in Soul Society while Azashiro kept his Bankai active.
• Jun proposed that the two fight in Hueco Mundo, with him as referee and witness, and agreed to scout a suitable location first.
• Jun traveled to Hueco Mundo and introduced Tsunade, his materialized Zanpakuto, who tested a portable Spiritual Power reservoir.
• Starrk told Jun that he had found a possible Vasto Lorde companion and that Natasha had angered a shogun who tried to make her his concubine.

Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and Sōya Azashiro fought a destructive duel in the Forest of Menos, ending with both badly injured after Kuruyashiki Kenpachi unleashed his Bankai. Jun stopped them from resuming the fight with his Shikai, Non-Aggression, and brought the combatants and Arrancar together to talk.

• Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and Sōya Azashiro began their duel, and Azashiro used his control over the Forest of Menos to attack with giant trees and branches.
• Kuruyashiki Kenpachi released his Bankai, Gagaku Kairō, Gaki Shura, and devoured the battlefield, leaving both fighters gravely wounded.
• Natasha and Jun watched the battle, and Natasha expressed interest in Kuruyashiki Kenpachi before Jun called for the others to join him.
• As Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and Sōya Azashiro prepared to fight again, Jun arrived with Natasha, Oka, Dolfen, Starrk, Lilynette, and Tier Harribel.
• Jun activated Non-Aggression, preventing anyone from attacking, healed Sōya Azashiro, and invited everyone to sit down and talk.

Jun Shimizu explained his alliance with the Arrancar and tried to persuade Sōya Azashiro and Kuruyashiki Kenpachi to become his allies. He revealed the danger of a war between Soul Society and the Arrancar if he died, then showed them his seven Shikai.

• Jun declared Sōya Azashiro the winner of the Kenpachi duel while Kuruyashiki Kenpachi ate and praised the food.
• Jun argued that intelligent Hollows and Soul Reapers were not natural enemies, and Oka confirmed that Vasto Lordes did not eat Soul Reapers.
• Jun said Azashiro would return to Soul Society while Kuruyashiki would be taken to the Arrancar Settlement in the Endless Sea, and he insisted he could persuade both men to become allies.
• Jun warned that his death at Soul Reapers’ hands would turn the Arrancar against Soul Society, and Kuruyashiki helped steady the shaken Azashiro.
• Jun gave them a booklet detailing events including the Undead Incident, then revealed that the Undead followed his principles and would become hostile to Soul Society if he died.
• Jun summoned seven of his Shikai, leaving Azashiro and Kuruyashiki stunned.

Jun revealed his manifested Zanpakuto and challenged Soul Society’s rules, persuading Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and Sōya Azashiro to reconsider the institution. After Kuruyashiki died and Azashiro became the new Kenpachi, Jun returned home and tested the swords’ communication devices.

• Jun introduced his manifested Zanpakuto, whose varied abilities impressed the captains, and argued that Soul Society’s rule against identical Zanpakuto was a lie.
• The manifested swords praised Jun and criticized Soul Reapers who mistreated their Zanpakuto, while Jun challenged Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and Sōya Azashiro to question Soul Society’s stagnation.
• Kuruyashiki Kenpachi acknowledged Jun’s arguments and asked Azashiro to look after Gosuke; Azashiro then agreed to return with Jun.
• Jun reported that Azashiro had survived Kuruyashiki’s Bankai and that Kuruyashiki had died in battle, and Soul Society accepted Azashiro as the new Kenpachi.
• Jun returned home, tested the communication devices on his manifested Zanpakuto, and the 11th Division’s Kenpachi challenge ended.

Jun reflected on how his changes to the timeline had affected the Kenpachi succession and Soul Society, then revealed his theory that Soul Reapers could grow stronger by gaining the instinct Hollows possessed. He left Zennosuke Kuruyashiki and the Arrancar to experiment with Hollow power.

• Jun considered how Azashiro Kenpachi remaining free could change the succession of Kenpachi and whether Zaraki could join the disciplined 11th Division.
• Jun continued gathering intelligence and researching illness while meeting future figures, and Byakuya Kuchiki was born to Mino Kuchiki and Sōjun.
• Jun noticed Aizen growing colder after Fumiyama Aizen died, while changes in the Second and Twelfth Divisions affected Yoruichi Shihōin and Kisuke Urahara.
• Jun visited Hueco Mundo, told Zennosuke Kuruyashiki he had mastered Bankai, and asked what power might lie beyond it.
• Jun theorized that Soul Reapers needed to gain Hollow instinct and proposed using Hollow power to achieve it.
• Zennosuke Kuruyashiki volunteered to begin the experiment with the Arrancar, and Jun left them to face their own heart demons.

Jun returned early to Soul Society and discovered that Isuzu had been sent on an expedition into the Forest of Menos, where an assassination plot left her gravely wounded. He kept her alive with Life Synchronization, learned that Higashiyama had ordered the attack, and left Takagi to suffer while Aizen stayed with Isuzu.

• Jun returned to Soul Society early, found Aizen absent, and learned that Aizen had become sixth seat after his father died.
• Jun found an expeditionary-force order listing Isuzu, noticed it differed from Isshin’s signed copy, and used Space-Breaking World to rush to Hueco Mundo.
• Jun learned from Kibune Hakuzō that Isuzu had entered the Forest of Menos four days earlier, then tracked her down with Radar Technique.
• Jun found Isuzu near death with her Reishi core destroyed and a fatal chest wound, and used Life Synchronization to keep her alive.
• Jun tortured Takagi with Hadō 90.9 until Takagi revealed that Higashiyama had ordered the assassination.
• Jun recognized that his earlier killing of Higashiyama’s son had provoked the plot, while Aizen stayed with Isuzu and Jun went to seek revenge.

Jun watched Isuzu die and used Empty Aspect to turn her into a Hollow, then asked Oka and the Arrancar to help her evolve. After arranging for Tsunade to guard the swords, Jun stayed in Hueco Mundo as expedition leader, intent on fulfilling the wish he had shared with Isuzu.

• Isuzu comforted Jun and urged him not to abandon his ambitions because of her death.
• Jun used Empty Aspect on the blue-ribbon sword, and Isuzu merged with it before becoming a Hollow.
• Jun let the weak Hollow bite him, then asked Oka to care for Isuzu and help her evolve; Oka gathered the Arrancar to find Hollows for her.
• Jun left the swords in a tree hollow under Tsunade's guard and told Starrk he would pursue his dream as Isuzu had wished.
• Jun refused to return to Soul Society and accepted the expedition leader position, while Kibune Hakuzō returned to report.

Jun Shimizu returned from leading the Expedition, demonstrated his Bankai, and was appointed captain of the Tenth Division. He entered his new division as its captain while reflecting on how Soul Society had changed.

• Jun received Soul Society’s order to return and lead the Tenth Division, then appointed Shūsuke Amagai as the Expedition’s new leader.
• Jun retrieved Empty Aspect from the Forest of Menos and returned home, but could not bring himself to enter the house.
• Jun demonstrated Clear Rain Eradicates Sin before the captains, and the Captain-Commander appointed him captain of the Tenth Division.
• Jun reflected on changes in Soul Society, including Zaraki’s place in the Eleventh Division and Byakuya’s life with Hisana and Rukia.
• Jun entered the Tenth Division, where its members bowed to their new captain.