Chapter Summaries

Ichigo fought White Ichigo in his Inner World while Sylvan and Rain arrived and followed a magical trail from V’s poetry book. White Ichigo revealed that he was Zangetsu, destroyed Ichigo’s Zanpakuto, and left him empty-handed.

• Ichigo regained consciousness in his Inner World and faced White Ichigo, who attacked him with a reversed Zangetsu.
• Sylvan and Rain entered Ichigo’s Inner World, found the poetry collection V had given them, and followed the magic particles it released.
• White Ichigo told Ichigo that he was a manifestation of Ichigo’s power and unleashed Bankai, revealing Tensa Zangetsu.
• White Ichigo overwhelmed Ichigo with a Getsuga Tenshō and wounded him, then claimed that he and Zangetsu had always been one.
• White Ichigo turned Ichigo’s Zanpakuto into Reishi fragments, declared that he was Zangetsu, and punched Ichigo backward.

Sylvan and Rain intervened in Ichigo’s Inner World, and Sylvan used the Blade of Power to help Ichigo take control of White Ichigo’s power and defeat him. Outside, Hollow Ichigo’s shell shattered, revealing Ichigo in a half-black, half-white form facing Zangetsu.

• White Ichigo stabbed Ichigo with Tensa Zangetsu and tried to corrupt him, declaring that he would be king and Ichigo his mount.
• Rain attacked White Ichigo with Kidō while Sylvan approached the weakening Ichigo and used the Blade of Power to merge their Reiatsu.
• Ichigo regained clarity, took up the white Tensa Zangetsu, and defeated White Ichigo, promising to fight him fairly later.
• White Ichigo accepted Ichigo’s promise and dissolved into the shadow beneath his feet as Sylvan returned to the outside world.
• Hollow Ichigo’s white shell cracked and shattered, revealing Ichigo in his new form, who greeted Uncle Zangetsu.

Ichigo fought Zangetsu with White Ichigo’s power and won, breaking Muramasa’s Brainwashing and restoring Zangetsu to him. After learning Muramasa could manipulate conscious Zanpakuto, Ichigo set out to pursue him, while Muramasa hurried toward the Twelfth Division’s Department of Research and Development.

• Sylvan explained to Ukitake that White Ichigo had filled the place left vacant by Zangetsu during Integration, giving Ichigo a white Zanpakuto and an unusual Shihakusho.
• Ichigo fought Zangetsu, struggled to control White Ichigo’s violent power, and finally committed to attacking Zangetsu with his full strength.
• Ichigo’s horned scarlet Reiatsu overwhelmed Zangetsu’s Getsuga Tenshō, and the resulting blast left Zangetsu returned to sword form.
• Muramasa saw the pillar of light from High Bridge, concluded Zangetsu had lost, and sent Hell Butterflies to hurry his plan as he headed for the Twelfth Division’s Department of Research and Development.
• Zangetsu told Ichigo and Ukitake that Muramasa had awakened Zanpakuto instincts and used Brainwashing to manipulate them, then returned to Ichigo as his Zanpakuto.
• Ichigo took up the black and white swords and declared that he would pursue Muramasa.

Shunsui Kyōraku received word that Ichigo and Ukitake had recovered Zangetsu, while Ichigo visited the injured Rukia at the Medical Station. At the Twelfth Division, Muramasa attacked Mayuri’s laboratory, and the battle left Unohana’s body beginning to awaken in its tank.

• Nanao Ise reported that the search for Yamamoto had found no clues, while Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō delivered a summary of the divisions’ recovery and operations.
• Kyōraku received Ukitake’s message confirming that Ichigo had recovered Zangetsu and that Muramasa’s ability could be reversed.
• Ichigo and Ukitake visited Rukia, who lay wrapped head to toe in bandages, and Ichigo laughed at her appearance.
• Mayuri studied Unohana’s faintly recovering soul pulse and suspected that the materialized Zanpakuto were still draining their wielders’ power.
• Muramasa and dozens of Zanpakuto stormed Mayuri’s laboratory, accusing him of experimenting on them and attacking the Twelfth Division’s defenders.
• Mayuri and Muramasa disappeared during the battle as Unohana’s nutrient fluid receded and the laboratory display showed that she was awakening.

Muramasa broke into Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s laboratory to reach Jiku'a, hoping to save Kōga, but Mayuri trapped him in a magnetic field. Elsewhere, the Twelfth Division’s researchers activated a laboratory lockdown and turned the invading Zanpakuto into potential test subjects.

• Muramasa defeated two Reishi Dolls guarding the storage tank and found Jiku'a suspended in pale blue liquid.
• Mayuri pinned Muramasa with a magnetic field, while Nemu and the Twelfth Division members struggled against the invading Zanpakuto.
• A Twelfth Division researcher liquefied and reformed after being killed, then pressed a switch that sealed the laboratory behind Sekkiseki-containing walls.
• The revived researchers rose and threatened to experiment on the trapped Zanpakuto, while Muramasa remained trapped with Mayuri.
• Mayuri questioned Muramasa about Kōga, Jiku'a, and how he had given Zanpakuto Spirit Bodies, and Muramasa began shedding bloody tears.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi interrogated Muramasa in his laboratory, taunting him about Kōga until Muramasa unleashed Hollow Reiatsu to break free of a magnetic field. Muramasa defended Kōga as the strongest Soul Reaper and confronted Mayuri with his sword.

• Mayuri Kurotsuchi explained that the magnetic field suppressed Zanpakuto and studied the blood flowing from Muramasa's eye.
• Mayuri provoked Muramasa about Kōga and deduced that he had been sealed away by Soul Society.
• Mayuri's taunts made Muramasa tremble as Hollow Reiatsu surged from his body and Hollow masks appeared across his robe.
• Muramasa used the Hollow power within his Spirit Body to destroy the magnetic field device and rise from the floor.
• Muramasa pointed his Zanpakuto at Mayuri and declared that Kōga was the strongest Soul Reaper, framed by jealous people, and that he would not become a Hollow.

Ichigo explained that Muramasa had incited the Zanpakuto to rebel, and he realized Sylvan was a weakened part of Hu. Before Rangiku could confront Sylvan and Rain about their survival, news arrived that Muramasa had attacked the Twelfth Division, sending the Soul Reapers into battle.

• Ichigo and Sylvan told Kyōraku and Ukitake that Muramasa magnified the Zanpakuto’s dissatisfaction, and each wielder would need to defeat and reclaim their own Zanpakuto.
• Ichigo identified Sylvan as part of Hu, and Sylvan admitted he had less than a tenth of Hu’s strength while Rain said he was also part of Hu.
• Rangiku recognized Sylvan and Rain, accused them of hiding after faking their deaths, and began confronting them.
• An injured Inner Court Corps member reported that Muramasa and a group of Zanpakuto had attacked the Twelfth Division and that Suzumebachi had intercepted the messengers.
• Tōshirō ordered the Soul Reapers to reinforce the Twelfth Division, while Kyōraku dispatched Fon Shaoling and the Onmitsukidō after Suzumebachi and sent Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika to bring in their captain.

The Twelfth Division fought off waves of Zanpakuto with experimental weapons and drugs until Unohana awakened and took over the battle. After defeating the attackers with ordinary sword strikes, she asked Nemu where Captain Kurotsuchi had gone.

• Twelfth Division members used hidden bombs, medicines, and other devices to hold off the outnumbering Zanpakuto, though they were exhausted and running out of resources.
• Unohana awakened in the container, learned that Captain Kurotsuchi had gone after Muramasa, and was told that defeating a Zanpakuto would not make it disappear.
• A Zanpakuto mocked Unohana as a harmless healer and charged her, but she immediately cleaved him in two with a single sword strike.
• Unohana ordered Nemu and the exhausted Twelfth Division members to rest, then compared fighting the Zanpakuto to a few thousand practice swings.
• Unohana defeated the remaining Zanpakuto with repeated ordinary slashes and, after sheathing her sword, asked Nemu where Captain Kurotsuchi was.

Shunsui Kyōraku and the Soul Reapers joined the battle around the Department of Research and Development, whose Sekkiseki barrier trapped everyone inside. Renji encountered Zabimaru and prepared to fight, while Rangiku, Shūhei, and Hinamori each came face to face with their own Zanpakuto.

• Shunsui Kyōraku explained that the Department of Research and Development’s barrier could not be opened from outside, then ordered his forces to support the Twelfth Division around its perimeter.
• Renji and the Sixth Division defeated and restrained several Zanpakuto, but their prisoners refused to reveal their wielders’ names.
• Renji recognized the ape woman and snake boy as Zabimaru, who summoned their weapon and challenged him to a fight; Renji sent the Sixth Division members away with their captives.
• Rangiku spotted Haineko on a broken Reishi conduit, and Haineko fled through the ruins as Rangiku pursued her.
• Shūhei Hisagi recognized the chain-sickle wielder approaching him as Kazeshini.
• While Hinamori used Kaidō on a wounded Twelfth Division member, Tobiume appeared before her.

Rangiku fought Haineko, who revealed that Gin may have given part of his soul to save Rangiku and that her unusual Soul Pulses prevented her from regaining Shikai. Sylvan and Rain arrived, and Rain used Tenteikūra to share the news about recovering Shikai with the Soul Reapers, leaving the battle poised to turn in their favor.

• Rangiku chased Haineko through the Twelfth Division ruins and fought her, but Haineko's ash overwhelmed and wounded her.
• Haineko told Rangiku that Gin may have filled the part of her soul Aizen took, and explained that Rangiku could not use Shikai until the Soul Pulses in her body returned to normal proportions.
• Rain carried Sylvan to Rangiku's battlefield, where Sylvan used Hadō #58: Tenran to scatter Haineko's ash and protect Rangiku.
• Rain used Bakudō #77: Tenteikūra to tell the Soul Reapers across the battlefield that they might regain Shikai as their Soul Pulses recovered, while withholding Haineko's private claim about Gin.
• Haineko attacked Rain in fury, and Shunsui Kyōraku welcomed the information as a tremendous help.

Ichigo fought the Zanpakuto rebels and discovered that the ice wielder Hyōrinmaru had lost his memories and did not recognize his master. Renji struggled against Monkey Woman and Snake Man, while Tōshirō confronted Hyōrinmaru and was challenged to prove their bond.

• Ichigo defeated the Zanpakuto attacking the Twelfth Division, but Hyōrinmaru ambushed him with ice dragons and trapped him in an ice prison.
• Ichigo broke free with Bankai, but Hyōrinmaru asked whether he was his master and left after learning he was not.
• Hyōrinmaru trapped Ichigo again with Thousand-Year Ice Prison, and Tōshirō identified himself as Hyōrinmaru's master.
• Renji fought Monkey Woman and Snake Man, who said they had abandoned him because they did not want to remain weak with him.
• Renji tried to release Zabimaru after hearing through Tenteikūra that his Shikai might return, but the attempt failed.
• Hyōrinmaru rejected Tōshirō's claim, explaining that he had lost his memories, then demanded proof that Tōshirō was his master.

Ichigo escaped Hyōrinmaru’s ice prison and left Tōshirō to reclaim his Zanpakuto while he went to help Rangiku. Sylvan revealed that Gin’s soul fragment was inside Rangiku and offered to connect it with her soul, taking her into her Inner World to begin the process.

• Hyōrinmaru froze Ichigo’s Getsuga Tenshō and sealed him inside the Thousand-Year Ice Prison while his Ice Dragon defeated Tōshirō.
• Ichigo broke out with Getsuga Cross Blast, but Tōshirō asked him to help Rangiku and insisted on facing Hyōrinmaru alone.
• Ichigo left for Rangiku’s battlefield, and Tōshirō prepared to reclaim Hyōrinmaru through a heart-to-heart talk.
• Rangiku and Sylvan hid while Haineko chased Rain, and Sylvan explained that Gin’s soul fragment was preventing Rangiku from using Shikai.
• Sylvan offered to connect Rangiku with Gin’s soul fragment, and Rangiku agreed to try Integration.
• Sylvan drove the Blade of Power into Rangiku’s chest, bringing them both into her Inner World.

Sylvan used the Book of V and the Blade of Power to reunite Rangiku with the fragment of Gin’s soul in her Inner World, where she chose Gin over recovering the piece Aizen had stolen. After Ichigo and Rain held Haineko off, Rangiku returned to face her Zanpakuto and invited her to come home.

• Sylvan brought Rangiku into her Inner World, where she recognized the ruined house she and Gin had built in Rukongai and learned that Haineko had kept her from entering.
• Following the blue particles, Rangiku found young Gin in a frozen wasteland, repeating his promise to protect her and recover what she had lost.
• Rangiku asked Sylvan to bind her and Gin together, and he pierced them both with the Blade of Power to begin their Integration.
• Ichigo arrived to help Rain fight Haineko, and the two worked together to keep her occupied while Sylvan dealt with Rangiku.
• Rangiku told Gin she no longer wanted the stolen soul fragment, embraced him, and gained his consent to merge with her; her Inner World then began to flourish again.
• Rangiku returned to the ruins, approached Haineko, and held out her hand, asking her to come home.

Rangiku defeated Haineko and learned that Haineko had resisted returning because Rangiku’s Inner World had withered, but she reconciled with her and asked for help bringing Gin back. Meanwhile, Monkey Woman and Snake Man forced Renji to confront his reliance on Ichigo and Hu, then continued attacking him as he questioned how to become stronger.

• Haineko attacked Rangiku with ash, but Rangiku’s silver-gray ash overwhelmed and subdued her.
• Rangiku explained that Gin’s soul fragment had integrated with hers, giving her access to some of Gin’s power, and Haineko revealed that she feared returning to the barren Inner World.
• Rangiku apologized and asked Haineko to help bring Gin back, and Haineko accepted while teasing her about romance.
• Renji rose from the rubble after Monkey Woman and Snake Man had beaten him, but Monkey Woman accused him of relying on Ichigo and Hu instead of seeking power within himself.
• Monkey Woman and Snake Man attacked Renji together, leaving him wounded and wondering what to do after his Zanpakuto seemed to reject him.

Renji endured Snake Man’s brutal beating as Monkey Woman prepared to abandon him, but memories of Hu and his feelings for Rukia helped him find his reason to fight. He awakened Zabimaru’s Shikai and challenged his Zanpakuto spirits to continue their battle.

• Snake Man whipped Renji until he lay bloodied and unable to fight, and Monkey Woman ordered that he be killed.
• As Snake Man raised Zabimaru to strike, Renji recalled Hu’s determination to prevent tragedies and remembered his own history with Rukia.
• Renji imagined Rukia grieving his death and resolved to protect her from suffering, then sprang up and blocked Zabimaru’s blade.
• Renji pushed Snake Man back, declared that he would become strong enough to protect Rukia, and released Zabimaru with the command “Roar, Zabimaru!”
• Renji’s Zanpakuto transformed into a segmented snake-belly sword, and he announced the start of the second round.

Renji fought Monkey Woman and Snake Man, Zabimaru’s spirits, and defeated them after realizing he could use the broken pieces of his Zanpakuto as a surprise attack. He left determined to become strong enough to protect Rukia, and Monkey Woman and Snake Man acknowledged his resolve.

• Renji declared he would fight Monkey Woman and Snake Man with everything he had, but Monkey Woman transformed Snake Man into the Bone Serpent with Bankai.
• The Bone Serpent overwhelmed Renji with blasts and its crushing jaws, and Monkey Woman struck him down when he tried to attack her.
• Renji kept firing Shakkahō after losing Zabimaru, then used the blade fragments from Snake Man’s limp sword to unleash Fang Boil: Devouring Bite and defeat both spirits.
• Renji admitted he had relied on others to protect Rukia and vowed to become strong enough to protect her himself.
• Monkey Woman and Snake Man spoke from Zabimaru and praised Renji, and he turned back toward them.

Fon Shaoling and the Onmitsukidō took over the fight against the Zanpakuto while Kyōraku and Ukitake investigated Muramasa’s attack on the Twelfth Division. A blue field shattered the barrier and left Unohana and Nemu gravely injured, as Muramasa’s mysterious ally appeared among the ruins.

• Fon Shaoling arrived to rescue the Inner Court Corps, and Sakiro stopped Shadow Crossing’s attack as the Onmitsukidō surrounded the Zanpakuto.
• Kyōraku and Ukitake concluded that Muramasa had split up his forces and might be using weaker Zanpakuto as expendable helpers to reach something in the Twelfth Division core.
• A chilling Reiatsu erupted behind the Gray Barrier, and Kyōraku ordered everyone to flee from an expanding blue field.
• The field tore apart space and shattered the Sekkiseki barrier, leaving Retsu Unohana with severed limbs and Nemu critically injured.
• Nemu entrusted Kyōraku with a wriggling mass she identified as Lord Kurotsuchi, then collapsed as the Fourth Division tried to save her.
• Kyōraku saw Muramasa standing in the ruins beside a white-haired stranger wearing a Blue Coat and holding a Zanpakuto.

Rangiku and Ichigo found Hyōrinmaru carrying an unconscious Tōshirō, who had restored Hyōrinmaru’s memories by defeating him with his own Shikai. When Jiku'a’s Reiatsu surged from the Twelfth Division, Sylvan sensed Oren’s distress and chose to go help Fon Shaoling while Ichigo and Rangiku stayed to confront Jiku'a.

• Ichigo and Rangiku collided with Hyōrinmaru, who explained that Tōshirō had exhausted his Reiatsu while restoring Hyōrinmaru’s memories.
• Rangiku took the shivering Tōshirō from Hyōrinmaru after realizing his icy hands were making the unconscious captain colder.
• Jiku'a’s dangerous Reiatsu erupted from the Twelfth Division, while Sylvan felt Oren’s anger and saw through their soul connection that Fon Shaoling was struggling against Suzumebachi.
• Ichigo and Rangiku persuaded Sylvan to help Fon Shaoling, warning that his incomplete soul made confronting Jiku'a too dangerous.
• Sylvan flew off with Rain, and Ichigo vowed to face Jiku'a and told Hu to trust him.

Jiku'a fought off Kyōraku and Ukitake after Muramasa retreated, while the injured captains and division members received emergency treatment. Kyōraku and Ukitake released their Zanpakuto together and prepared to face Jiku'a again.

• Jiku'a claimed he had held back, angering Isane as she continued reattaching Unohana's limbs, while Kyōraku entrusted Captain Kurotsuchi's condition to a Fourth Division member.
• Muramasa withdrew after Jiku'a told him to retreat, and Ukitake pursued him before Jiku'a trapped him with Summoned Swords.
• Kyōraku attacked Jiku'a, but Jiku'a turned aside his strike and then shattered Ukitake's Dankū with a Beowulf-powered punch.
• Ukitake coughed up blood after the blow, but he and Kyōraku refused Jiku'a's offer to let them leave because of the wounded and the destroyed research building.
• Kyōraku released Katen Kyōkotsu and Ukitake released Sōgyo no Kotowari, then Jiku'a drew his sword and challenged them to come at him.

Kyōraku and Ukitake fought Jiku'a, whose time and space abilities, Summoned Swords, and regeneration overwhelmed their defenses. After Jiku'a wounded both captains, they coordinated a trap, and Ukitake launched Zanka no Tachi at him.

• Jiku'a slowed time around Ukitake and Kyōraku and attacked them with a spatial rift, but Kyōraku's Dankū shield saved them.
• Kyōraku and Ukitake combined their Zanpakuto abilities and Kidō, but Jiku'a injured Kyōraku and trapped Ukitake in the Shadow Space.
• Jiku'a battered Ukitake until Ukitake unleashed Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō, blasting Jiku'a out of the Shadow Space.
• Kyōraku struck Jiku'a with Takaoni and carved an X-shaped wound across his chest, but Jiku'a regenerated and resumed attacking in earnest.
• Jiku'a used Irooni and Lunar Phase to knock Ukitake away and slash Kyōraku, but Kyōraku grabbed him and called for Ukitake to attack.
• Ukitake rose despite his injuries, called out Blue, and fired Zanka no Tachi at Jiku'a.