Chapter Summaries

Jun tried to make Kōga and Aozumi reconsider their strained arranged marriage, then challenged Aozumi to examine the Kuchiki Clan’s rules and hierarchy. He left her shaken by the idea that she could begin breaking free of the strictures governing her life, one restraint at a time.

• Kōga told Jun that he no longer wanted to pursue Aozumi, and Jun advised him to take time apart and decide whether he viewed their marriage as work or personal life.
• Kōga returned to training, while Aozumi remained isolated at the academy and did not seek Jun out.
• Jun invited Aozumi to tea and questioned whether Kuchiki etiquette placed spouses and servants below family members.
• Aozumi struggled to defend the Kuchiki hierarchy when Jun suggested that Kōga might be treated as inferior because of his birth and rank.
• Jun created a Spiritual Power puppet threaded with rules governing Aozumi’s life, prompting her to see how tightly her upbringing controlled her.
• Jun urged Aozumi to break only one or two restraints at first, warning that she was not yet strong enough to free herself from all of them.

After Jun transformed Aozumi Kuchiki’s outlook, she and Kōga became a couple and began balancing romance with cultivation. Their shared Kidō practice behind the Journal Hall caught on at Shin'ō Academy, while Jun and Isuzu joked that the method had become their lineage’s way of bearing witness to love.

• Aozumi returned to public life after a month away, greeted Kōga warmly, and joined him in visiting Jun, where she called herself Jun’s disciple and urged Kōga to improve his manners.
• Aozumi and Kōga grew into a couple, and Isuzu later returned from the academy after giving them romantic advice.
• Kōga and Aozumi compared their abilities and spiritual scores, and Aozumi began training harder after learning how strong Kōga was.
• Aozumi followed Kōga to the Journal Hall and persuaded him to use Kōsangō so she could practice Kidō in seclusion behind the building.
• Other students adopted Kōga and Aozumi’s Kōsangō practice method, and Jun and Isuzu joked that it was their lineage’s inherited way of witnessing love.

Jun kept Isuzu out of an Expedition after spotting Ashido Kanō on its roster and grew suspicious that Central 46 was using the missions to eliminate Soul Reapers. After he secretly arranged for Starrk to protect the next Expedition, it returned without casualties, but a rebellion soon forced Nambu Nobuyasu to resign and Shinji Hirako to become Fifth Division captain.

• When Isuzu was asked to join an Expedition, Jun persuaded her not to go and found Ashido Kanō on the roster of 122 Soul Reapers.
• Jun asked Jūshirō Ukitake why the Expedition had grown so large, and Ukitake acknowledged that such missions were used to deal with disobedient people.
• Jun gave Starrk a tuft of wolf fur and asked him to clear obstacles and protect the Expedition; it returned half a year later without anyone dying.
• Less than a month later, thirty-four rebellious Soul Reapers were killed after their rebellion targeted Nambu Nobuyasu.
• Nambu Nobuyasu accepted responsibility and retired, and Shinji Hirako took over as Fifth Division captain.
• Jun concluded that Central 46 was exploiting conflict to preserve Soul Society’s hierarchy.

Rebellions across five divisions killed 153 Soul Reapers, and Jun’s attempts to contain them damaged his standing in the Tenth Division. After the crisis, Shunsui Kyōraku learned that his division had been sacrificed in a political struggle and abandoned his former sense of responsibility, leaving Jun to recognize the shift toward the carefree man he would become.

• Jun stopped a rebellion in the Tenth Division, captured twenty-four rebels, and questioned one who revealed knowledge of a sealed incident from 150 years earlier.
• When Vice Captain Takagi tried to kill the suspect, Jun first blocked him, then killed the captive himself after Takagi insisted the division should conceal its disgrace; Jun later killed the remaining rebels with his Shikai.
• Rebellions in the Fifth, Eighth, Tenth, and Thirteenth Divisions killed 153 people, while Kisuke Urahara swiftly killed four rebels in the Twelfth Division.
• Jun attended a gathering with Jūshirō Ukitake, Shunsui Kyōraku, Jing, Nanao Ise, Lisa Yadōmaru, and Isuzu, then carried an unusually drunk Kyōraku home and spoke with him about Soul Society.
• Kyōraku changed into a seemingly lazy, hard-drinking captain who let the Eighth Division accept mostly women, and Jun later learned from Jing that Kyōraku had discovered an Eighth Division Sixth Seat tied to Central 46 but lacked evidence to act.
• Kyōraku concluded that Central 46 and Yamamoto had sacrificed his division’s members for stability, so he stopped trying to serve their interests; the chapter ended with the author explaining revised age and history details for the story.

Jun learned that Soul Society was preparing a surprise attack against Emperor Baraggan’s Hollow army in Hueco Mundo, and he gave Isuzu a created Shikai called Thunder Charge so she could keep up in battle. After meeting Thunder Charge in her inner world, Isuzu woke and asked Jun to let her meet Clear Rain.

• Jun joined Tachikawa Zan and Kuruyashiki Kenpachi for drinks, where Shunsui Kyōraku arrived and toasted four hundred years of friendship with Kuruyashiki.
• Gosuke brought word that the First Division had ordered a deployment, and Jun learned that Soul Society would attack the Hollow army led by Emperor Baraggan in Hueco Mundo.
• Jun told Isuzu to stay with her division’s formation during battle and promised she could come to him if it broke apart.
• Jun altered Isuzu’s connection to her sword and taught her the release phrase, awakening her Shikai, Thunder Charge.
• Isuzu met Thunder Charge in her inner world, where Thunder Charge called Jun her dad and Clear Rain her older sister.
• Isuzu returned to her body and asked Jun to let her meet Clear Rain.

The Soul Reapers launched a surprise assault on the Hollow army in Hueco Mundo, and Jun helped fight off an Adjuchas before Sōya Azashiro finished it. The chapter ends with Kuruyashiki Kenpachi unleashing his Bankai and swallowing the bull warrior Vasto Lorde and everything nearby in its enormous jaws.

• Three days after preparing for battle, the Soul Reapers entered Hueco Mundo through ten Senkaimon and struck the Hollow army with powerful attacks.
• Jun cast Hadō #99: Goryū Tenmetsu, then bound an Adjuchas with Rikujōkō before Sōya Azashiro killed it with a beam.
• The Soul Reapers struggled against the Hollow army as the captains engaged its Vasto Lorde, and the remaining Adjuchas injured several First Division fighters.
• Kuruyashiki Kenpachi fought a bull-masked Vasto Lorde with his Shikai, summoning Mouth Bears that absorbed Spiritual Power and grew larger.
• Kuruyashiki Kenpachi activated Bankai, and its giant jaws swallowed the bull warrior, nearby Hollows, sand, soil, and Reishi before vanishing.

The Soul Reapers struggled to coordinate as the Hollow army overwhelmed their formations, while Jun, Isuzu, Ukitake, and others fought powerful enemies. Kyōraku was unable to harm a Vasto Lorde until Kuruyashiki Kenpachi arrived, and the chapter ended with them heading to help elsewhere.

• The Soul Reapers' formations broke down under the Hollow tide, and Isuzu used Thunder Charge to strike down Hollows while Ukitake protected nearby fighters by reflecting attacks with Sōgyo no Kotowari.
• Jun and Shinten helped Isshin defeat a powerful Adjuchas with Hadō #99: Goryū Tenmetsu, then discussed the struggling battle as Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's Bankai appeared in the distance.
• Kyōraku fought a giant-eagle Vasto Lorde whose control of airflow prevented his Shikai attacks from reaching it.
• Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's sword and descending shadow drove the giant eagle away, and he joined Kyōraku to help another fighter.

Jun fought across the battlefield to support Soul Reaper squads and helped defeat a fox-aspected Adjuchas, while Kuchiki Ginrei and Shunsui Kyōraku killed a Scorpion Vasto Lorde. After the Scorpion named Baraggan as its king, the captains ordered an orderly retreat, bringing the war between Soul Society and Hueco Mundo to a temporary close.

• Jun used Clear Rain to support Isuzu, Asai Shinten, and an Eighth Division squad, then went to help the First Division seniors fight a fox-aspected Adjuchas.
• Jun trapped the Adjuchas with Kidō so the First Division fighters could kill it, then joined Higashiyama and went to support Jing's squad.
• Kuchiki Ginrei used Senbonzakura Honjō to batter and restrain a Scorpion Vasto Lorde, while Shunsui Kyōraku killed it with Katen Kyōkotsu.
• The dying Scorpion cried out that it hated His Majesty Baraggan, and Kuruyashiki Kenpachi returned carrying the badly wounded Sorachi Murozō.
• Kuchiki Ginrei, Shunsui Kyōraku, and Kuruyashiki Kenpachi ordered a retreat, and Soul Society's forces withdrew as the war ended temporarily.

After Soul Society suffered heavy losses in the Hollow war, Jun grew furious when Central 46 rejected his request to expand the Gotei 13, while Sorachi Murozō died from his wounds. He confided in Isuzu, then resolved to teach her and continued considering reforms to Soul Society’s training, Kidō, and specialized units.

• Jun reflected on Soul Society’s population and military weakness compared with Hueco Mundo, and felt his desire to destroy the sick system growing.
• Hollow incursions increased, and the 11th Division began patrolling Soul Society’s outer areas as deaths mounted.
• Sorachi Murozō died despite treatment by Unohana and Tenjirō Kirinji, leaving Kensei Muguruma able to fill the Ninth Division captaincy after achieving Bankai.
• Jun requested expanded recruitment after calculating a 47 percent death rate, but Central 46 rejected the proposal and reprimanded him.
• Jun told Isuzu he feared the power he was preparing might destroy Soul Society, and he promised to teach her everything when she offered to learn.
• Jun considered improving Kidō and developing specialized Soul Reaper roles, then lamented Soul Society’s backwardness and poor cooperation.

Jun visited the Undead settlement to build a Spiritual Power detector and told Miki Ichirin that the Undead might be able to have children through spiritual union. When Oura Naizi became pregnant, the Undead rejoiced and Kariya Jin vowed to open a path to Hueco Mundo so their descendants could survive and their people could grow stronger.

• Jun arrived at the Undead settlement, where Miki Ichirin showed him their underground tunnels and led him to a sturdy place to build the detector.
• Jun explained that the Undead might reproduce through spiritual union, and Miki Ichirin promised to share the idea with the others.
• Jun began making the Spiritual Power detector while several Undead tried and failed to learn Sōdō.
• Miki Ichirin told Jun that Oura Naizi was expecting a child with Oura Daisuke, and Jun saw that the child was absorbing her Reishi and making her body transparent.
• Jun warned the Undead that pregnancy would consume substantial Spiritual Power, and Kariya Jin vowed to open a path to Hueco Mundo for their descendants.

Jun Shimizu clashed with Lieutenant Takagi over whether to report the 11th Division, and escalating deaths between the divisions made the dispute worse. At a Four Great Noble Clans banquet, Jūshirō Ukitake explained that Jun had been invited as a candidate to become a noble, drawing him into the Main House faction.

• Jun Shimizu argued with Lieutenant Takagi, rejecting his plan to report the 11th Division to the First Division.
• Central 46 reprimanded the 11th Division, and the Tenth Division became a laughingstock as deaths between the divisions continued to rise to thirty-seven.
• Jun received an invitation to a gathering of the Four Great Noble Clans and attended the banquet with Isuzu.
• Jūshirō Ukitake told Jun that the nobles had split into Main House and Retainer factions and that Jun was a popular candidate for nobility.
• Ukitake said that he, Shunsui, and the Four Great Noble Clans supported Jun's candidacy, leaving Jun feeling that he had been drawn into the Main House faction.

Jun and Sōya Azashiro were elevated to noble status after the Main-house faction countered the Retainer faction’s attempts to block the proposal. Jun’s success left him bitter because Isuzu had been barred from witnessing it, and he resolved to change Soul Society’s rules.

• The Main-house faction divided Soul Society’s patrol territories among four divisions, curbing the Retainer faction’s assassinations and clearing the way for the elevation meeting.
• Jun discussed the factional struggle and the Shimizu Family’s expected noble status with Isuzu at home.
• At Central 46, officials barred Isuzu from entering because she came from Rukongai, and Jun watched her leave before entering the meeting alone.
• Sōya Azashiro thanked Jun for helping him regain noble status and promised to repay him with a favor.
• The Four Great Noble Clans presided over speeches and voting, and Kuchiki Ginrei presented Jun and Sōya Azashiro with noble plaques.

Jun learned about the noble families, then joined Aizen in killing a Central 46 councilor’s son. After meeting young Rangiku and Gin, Jun realized Aizen’s questions about missing people in Rukongai pointed to his experiments and the Hōgyoku.

• Jun reviewed the noble-family register and learned that the Shihoin Family had 104 vassal families among Soul Society’s 247 lower noble families.
• Jun visited Aizen, and the two decided to kill the son of upper councilor Higashiyama, whom Aizen said visited women in Rukongai.
• Jun killed the man with a remotely activated technique, and he and Aizen discussed Kidō and people disappearing from Rukongai.
• Jun caught young Rangiku as she ran into him, and she and Gin thanked Jun and Aizen before running off together.
• Jun recalled that Gin had witnessed Aizen take part of Rangiku’s soul and concluded that Aizen’s missing-person inquiries were connected to creating the Hōgyoku.

Jun struggled with whether to stop Aizen’s Hōgyoku research, then let it continue and reunited with Kōga and Aozumi after their graduation and wedding. During their visit, Aozumi described how she had developed a sense of self and asked Jun to let her meet Starrk and see an Arrancar.

• Jun weighed stopping Aizen’s research, decided to let it happen, and questioned how much Soul Society had changed his principles.
• Kōga and Aozumi graduated with exceptional Kidō results, and Jun and Isuzu attended their wedding as Kōga’s elders.
• Kōga and Aozumi visited Jun and Isuzu, completed the customary rites, and told them about the Kuchiki Clan’s restrictive rules.
• Aozumi explained how she had moved beyond seeing herself as a puppet, and Jun praised her for building her own strength and choices.
• Aozumi asked to meet Starrk and see an Arrancar, and Jun agreed to take her and Kōga when an opportunity arose.

Jun taught Aozumi how to design a Free Shikai and revealed his own Shikai, Non-Aggression, which prevented anyone from harming anyone else. Aozumi grasped Jun’s argument that Soul Society feared change and freedom of thought, and Jun declared her his finest disciple.

• Jun explained how a Zanpakuto’s abilities, appearance, and personality should be designed, using Clear Rain and Thunder Charge as examples.
• Jun helped Kōga realize that Muramasa embodied his deepest wish for someone to stay by his side, and Muramasa vowed to remain with him forever.
• Jun released his Shikai, Non-Aggression, conjuring music, food, and wine while making attacks against others ineffective.
• Jun explained that Non-Aggression reflected his belief that force could not solve every problem, and he criticized Soul Society for relying on violence against those it considered enemies.
• Aozumi reasoned that Soul Society feared change, freedom, and new ideas, prompting Jun to call her his finest disciple and say she could inherit everything he had.

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.