Chapter Summaries

Liu Ziyun pushed Tōshirō Hitsugaya through an intense training fight, then urged him to force more reiatsu as Daiguren Hyōrinmaru failed. Hitsugaya briefly unleashed a surge of reiatsu before collapsing, leaving the result of his breakthrough unclear.

• Liu Ziyun dodged Tōshirō Hitsugaya's ice dragons and counterattacked with reiatsu-infused slashes until Hitsugaya began to tire.
• Liu Ziyun released Life-Taker and Tulu, intensifying his assault with blade energy and Flying Blade attacks.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya activated Bankai, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru, and Liu Ziyun stalled until Hitsugaya's reiatsu began to run out.
• Liu Ziyun told Tōshirō Hitsugaya to keep increasing his reiatsu and attacked him head-on as he struggled to follow the advice.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya briefly erupted with more reiatsu as his ice flowers withered, then collapsed and lost Bankai.

Liu Ziyun healed Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Ikkaku Madarame while pushing them to prepare for a coming war that could destroy the world. He left for the Visored's base, where the scene at the Underground Training Ground made him frown.

• Liu Ziyun healed Tōshirō Hitsugaya and used a Kaidō Barrier to help him recover his Reiatsu.
• Liu Ziyun told Tōshirō Hitsugaya that a war beyond the fight with Aizen could threaten the world, but withheld further details.
• Liu Ziyun healed Ikkaku Madarame and said they would resume training once Ikkaku was willing to use his full strength.
• Liu Ziyun went to the Visored's base and frowned at what he saw in the Underground Training Ground.

Liu Ziyun paused Ichigo Kurosaki’s training because Ichigo was holding back out of fear of his inner Hollow, and sent him home after urging him to fight without restraint. He revealed that Arrancar might soon attack Karakura Town and that the coming battle would be lost by everyone present, leaving hope with Ichigo.

• Liu Ziyun told Ichigo Kurosaki to stop suppressing his power and try to accept and control his inner Hollow, then ended training for the day.
• Liu Ziyun sent Ichigo home to see his family and meet visitors from Soul Society, hinting that Arrancar might soon come to Karakura Town.
• After Ichigo left, Liu Ziyun told Shinji Hirako that he expected Ichigo to face the Arrancar as training and refused the Visored’s offer to intervene.
• Liu Ziyun warned the Visored that he, they, and Captain-Commander Yamamoto would all lose in the coming battle.
• Liu Ziyun said their hope rested on Ichigo, leaving Hiyori Sarugaki and the others stunned.

Liu Ziyun explained that he had let Aizen grow because he foresaw a future crisis in which Aizen would be needed to save Soul Society and help revive the dead. After promising to do his best to keep everyone alive, he faced questions about his relationship with Captain Unohana.

• Love Aikawa asked whether Liu Ziyun had allowed Aizen to use the Visored as test subjects, and Liu Ziyun confirmed it.
• Hiyori Sarugaki confronted Liu Ziyun for letting Aizen escape, but he said they could not have stopped Aizen and would need him in the future to prevent the world's destruction.
• Liu Ziyun described a future in which Kensei, Rose, Captain-Commander Yamamoto, and A Lie died and the Seireitei was devastated, explaining that Aizen was their hope and could help bring the dead back.
• Mashiro Kuna asked who A Lie was, and Hachigen Ushōda identified her as Retsu Unohana; Lisa Yadōmaru then asked whether Liu Ziyun had won Captain Unohana over.
• Liu Ziyun claimed that Captain Unohana had been his woman for ages, and Hiyori Sarugaki dismissed his boast before he asked whether the others agreed.

Lisa Yadōmaru revealed that Retsu Unohana had once been Yachiru Unohana, the First Kenpachi, and Liu Ziyun said he would fulfill her wish in her place. The Visored resolved to train for the coming crisis, while Liu returned to Isane Kotetsu and Ichigo Kurosaki renewed his determination to protect his family.

• Lisa Yadōmaru told the Visored that Captain Unohana had been the First Kenpachi, Yachiru Unohana, before becoming captain of the Fourth Division.
• Liu Ziyun said he knew why Unohana had put away her sword and would accomplish what she wanted to do in her place.
• Liu Ziyun left the Training Ground, and the Visored teased Kensei Muguruma before resolving to keep training for Aizen's arrival and the future crisis.
• Liu Ziyun returned to the Martial Arts Hall, where Isane Kotetsu welcomed him with a late-night snack and he said he had much to discuss with her.
• Ichigo Kurosaki returned home to Karin, Yuzu, and Isshin Kurosaki and resolved to become strong enough to protect his family.

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez led an Arrancar attack on Karakura Town, drawing the Soul Reapers and Visoreds into battle while Liu Ziyun watched Ichigo Kurosaki face the attackers. Ichigo easily defeated a weaker Arrancar, but Grimmjow arrived and struck him hard enough to send him sliding backward.

• Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and the Arrancar emerged from a Garganta above Karakura Town, and Soul Reapers across the town sensed their Reiatsu.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya ordered the Soul Reapers to move out, while Shinji Hirako chose to let Ichigo Kurosaki fight first as Liu Ziyun had advised.
• The Soul Reapers headed toward the Arrancar but were intercepted, and battles broke out throughout Karakura Town.
• Liu Ziyun went to Yasutora Sado's home and saw Ichigo Kurosaki defeat a burly Arrancar with one slash.
• Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez confronted Ichigo Kurosaki, then appeared in front of him and struck; Ichigo blocked the punch but was driven several meters backward.

Ichigo Kurosaki fought Grimmjow and unleashed a dangerous surge of Hollow power, but Liu Ziyun intervened before Ichigo lost control. Liu stopped Grimmjow’s Zanpakuto with two fingers, leaving both Grimmjow and Ichigo stunned.

• Ichigo activated Bankai and matched Grimmjow’s speed, but his attacks barely harmed Grimmjow’s Hierro.
• Ichigo’s Reiatsu surged, and he struck Grimmjow with a powerful black crescent that wounded him and buried him in rubble.
• Grimmjow rose, drew his Zanpakuto, and prepared to attack as Ichigo struggled to control the Hollow power overtaking him.
• Liu Ziyun appeared behind Grimmjow and caught his Zanpakuto between two fingers, stopping his attack and making Ichigo’s black eyes fade.

Liu Ziyun severed Grimmjow’s arm and forced him to retreat with Kaname Tōsen, then checked on the wounded Soul Reapers after explaining why he had let them fight without his help. The chapter ended with Liu Ziyun arriving at Ikkaku Madarame’s badly damaged battlefield.

• Liu Ziyun severed Grimmjow’s sword arm, while Ichigo Kurosaki heard White Ichigo claim he would take control of their shared power.
• Kaname Tōsen arrived through a Garganta and ordered Grimmjow back to Aizen, and Grimmjow left with him despite his frustration.
• Liu Ziyun confronted Renji Abarai about hiding, and Ichigo Kurosaki explained that their teacher had held back so they could grow stronger.
• Liu Ziyun and the others found Tōshirō Hitsugaya being healed by Orihime Inoue, and Tōshirō thanked Liu Ziyun for helping him improve through sparring.
• Liu Ziyun went to check on Ikkaku Madarame and found him severely wounded, supported by Yumichika Ayasegawa.

Liu Ziyun restored Ikkaku Madarame’s wounds and damaged Bankai, then gathered the survivors to discuss what they had learned from the battle. As everyone prepared to train for Aizen’s coming attack, Aizen watched from Hueco Mundo and took interest in Ichigo Kurosaki and Liu Ziyun.

• Liu Ziyun used Change Fate to heal Ikkaku Madarame and restore his Bankai, which had become stronger than before.
• Liu Ziyun, Ikkaku Madarame, and Yumichika Ayasegawa returned to Tōshirō Hitsugaya and the others after Orihime Inoue had nearly finished treating Tōshirō.
• Tōshirō admitted that he needed more speed, Ichigo Kurosaki acknowledged his lack of control over his power, and Ikkaku Madarame recognized that he needed to improve his Bankai’s stability.
• Liu Ziyun warned everyone that Aizen’s real attack would come soon and told them to train harder before the coming battles.
• In Hueco Mundo, Sōsuke Aizen watched the moon and expressed interest in Ichigo Kurosaki and Liu Ziyun.

Liu Ziyun brought Ichigo Kurosaki to the Visored's base to begin training him to communicate with and accept the powers within his Inner World. As Ichigo entered meditation inside Hachigen Ushōda's Barrier, he began to undergo Hollowfication and opened his eyes in a violent new form.

• After the others went their separate ways, Liu Ziyun took Ichigo Kurosaki toward the Visored's base and explained that he needed to face Zangetsu and his Hollow.
• Liu Ziyun told Ichigo Kurosaki to accept his Hollow power rather than resist it, so they could fight side by side.
• At the Visored's base, Liu Ziyun asked Hachigen Ushōda to create a strong Barrier for Ichigo Kurosaki's training.
• Hachigen Ushōda sealed the base and built a sturdy Barrier around the training ground.
• Ichigo Kurosaki entered meditation to reach his Inner World, but a Hollow mask formed over his face and his eyes changed as Liu Ziyun watched.

Liu Ziyun trained against Hollowfied Ichigo Kurosaki, repeatedly countering his attacks as Ichigo’s Hollow power intensified. The chapter left Ichigo half-transformed into a Hollow after his body regenerated from Liu Ziyun’s attacks.

• Hollowfied Ichigo Kurosaki attacked Liu Ziyun with his Zanpakuto and close-range strikes, but Liu Ziyun repeatedly threw him into the ground and blocked his blows.
• Ichigo Kurosaki regenerated his mask and wounds, then fired blue crescent attacks that Liu Ziyun dodged or shattered.
• A Hollow Hole appeared in Ichigo Kurosaki’s chest, and his Reiatsu surged as his Zanpakuto changed into Tensa Zangetsu.
• Ichigo Kurosaki attacked with black crescents and tried to strike Liu Ziyun from behind, but Liu Ziyun blocked him with Dankū, wounded him with Tulu, and blasted him with Shakkahō.
• Ichigo Kurosaki regenerated from the blast, forming a giant-mouthed Hollow creature that Liu Ziyun destroyed with another Shakkahō.
• Ichigo Kurosaki emerged with half his body fully transformed into a Hollow.

Liu Ziyun fought Ichigo Kurosaki after he became a complete Hollow, but Ichigo’s regeneration and growing strength made the battle increasingly dangerous. Inside Ichigo’s consciousness, he met White Ichigo, who told him that he could not control the Hollow power.

• Ichigo Kurosaki’s Cero and surprise attack forced Liu Ziyun to defend himself with Dankū before he countered with Black Coffin.
• Ichigo survived Black Coffin’s attack and transformed into a complete Hollow.
• Liu Ziyun battled the Hollowfied Ichigo, whose High-Speed Regeneration restored his wounds and increased his power.
• Ichigo Kurosaki entered a gray world in his consciousness and confronted White Ichigo.
• White Ichigo mocked Ichigo’s belief that he could control the Hollow power and pointed out that it would not keep taking over if he could.

Ichigo Kurosaki fought White in his Inner World to master his Hollow power and learn why it emerged when he lost control. After they both entered Bankai, White overpowered Ichigo and revealed that Ichigo’s Getsuga Tenshō was only an imitation of his.

• White challenged Ichigo Kurosaki to prove himself and attacked without explaining why Ichigo Hollowfied when he could not control the power.
• Ichigo Kurosaki and White exchanged blows, and White unleashed a powerful Getsuga Tenshō that Ichigo countered with his own.
• Ichigo Kurosaki and White both activated Bankai and fought at high speed among the ruins.
• Ichigo Kurosaki kicked White into a skyscraper and fired a massive black Getsuga Tenshō at him.
• White emerged unharmed, split Ichigo Kurosaki’s attack, and told him that White had created Getsuga Tenshō while Ichigo merely copied it.

Ichigo battled White in the Inner World and was overwhelmed as White urged him to stop suppressing his instincts and accept his power. As White tried to take control of their future, Ichigo recalled Kenpachi Zaraki’s words and began to realize that he had to face and accept the Hollow within him.

• White struck Ichigo with a Getsuga Tenshō and repeatedly wounded him while criticizing his attempts to control power through reason.
• White said that he and Zangetsu had been held back by Ichigo’s suppression of his instincts, and Ichigo asked how he should change.
• White took hold of Ichigo’s Tensa Zangetsu, which turned white and vanished, then hurled Ichigo into a high-rise.
• Ichigo asked whether defeating White could stop his Hollowfication, but White declared that Ichigo could not defeat him and impaled him with a white blade.
• As White pulled the blade from his abdomen, Ichigo remembered Kenpachi Zaraki’s advice to face and accept his power rather than run from it.

Ichigo Kurosaki accepted White's power as his own and defeated him in their Inner World battle. He returned to human form after an explosion in the Visoreds' Training Ground, and Liu Ziyun confirmed that Ichigo had overcome his fear of the Hollow within him.

• Ichigo Kurosaki seized White's sword, transformed it with his Reiatsu, and pulled it from his abdomen.
• Ichigo Kurosaki pierced White with Tensa Zangetsu, and White acknowledged his defeat before fading away.
• White warned Ichigo Kurosaki not to die before White appeared again, then an explosion shattered Ichigo's consciousness.
• Hiyori Sarugaki told Hachigen Ushōda to get Liu Ziyun out of the Barrier as cracks spread across Ichigo's Hollow shell.
• The Hollow shell exploded, leaving Ichigo Kurosaki unconscious but alive in human form.
• Liu Ziyun treated Ichigo Kurosaki and told Shinji Hirako that Ichigo had made the Hollow within him his power.

After defeating White and accepting his Hollow power, Ichigo Kurosaki began training with the Visored to control it. As he struggled to extend his Hollowfication, a dangerous presence stirred over Karakura Town, threatening the brief calm.

• Ichigo Kurosaki awoke healed and told Liu Ziyun he felt ready to continue after defeating Zangetsu.
• Liu Ziyun left Ichigo Kurosaki in Shinji Hirako and the Visored's care, warning them to protect him and train him to control his new power.
• Ichigo Kurosaki trained with Shinji Hirako, Kensei Muguruma, and Hiyori Sarugaki, learning to guide his Hollow power in battle.
• Ichigo Kurosaki remained able to maintain Hollowfication for only eleven seconds, frustrating Shinji Hirako.
• A dangerous undercurrent of Reiatsu began stirring beneath the peaceful afternoon in Karakura Town.

Arrancar led by Ulquiorra Cifer attacked Karakura Town, and Soul Reapers and Ichigo Kurosaki moved to confront them. Liu Ziyun realized Aizen had sent Ulquiorra specifically to face him, and the two met as the battles raged.

• Tōshirō Hitsugaya sensed the Arrancar’s Reiatsu, and Shinji Hirako and Ichigo Kurosaki recognized that the attackers had arrived.
• Ulquiorra Cifer, Luppi Antenor, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Yammy Llargo, and Wonderweiss Margela emerged from a rift above Karakura Town.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya and the Soul Reapers set out to fight, while Shinji Hirako sent Ichigo Kurosaki to join them.
• Liu Ziyun recognized Ulquiorra’s presence as a deliberate move by Aizen and sent Isane Kotetsu to warn Soul Society and keep Orihime Inoue away from the World of the Living.
• Liu Ziyun arrived to find Tōshirō Hitsugaya fighting Luppi Antenor and Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa, and Rangiku Matsumoto battling Yammy Llargo.
• Ulquiorra Cifer confronted Liu Ziyun and explained that Aizen had sent him because the other Arrancar might not be able to match Liu Ziyun.

Liu Ziyun broke his standoff with Ulquiorra to protect Rangiku Matsumoto from Luppi Antenor, then overwhelmed Ulquiorra and severed his arm. Ulquiorra regenerated it and prepared to continue fighting.

• Liu Ziyun and Ulquiorra agreed to hold their attacks while they watched the battlefield.
• Luppi Antenor released his Zanpakuto, struck Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and bound Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa, and Rangiku Matsumoto with his tentacles.
• Luppi Antenor attacked Liu Ziyun, and Liu cut off the tentacle before Ulquiorra blocked his path.
• When Luppi Antenor aimed a spike at Rangiku Matsumoto, Liu charged past Ulquiorra and cut the tentacle, then countered Ulquiorra's Bala with Shakkahō.
• Liu Ziyun cut off Ulquiorra's arm before he could finish charging a Cero, shocking both sides of the battlefield.
• Ulquiorra regenerated his arm and told Liu that the cut would not stop him.

Liu Ziyun urged Ulquiorra to leave Aizen, but Ulquiorra refused and resumed their fight. Tōshirō Hitsugaya froze Luppi Antenor in Thousand-Year Ice Prison, while Kisuke Urahara wounded Yammy Llargo.

• Liu Ziyun told Ulquiorra he should stop serving Aizen, but Ulquiorra refused and attacked him again.
• Luppi Antenor tried to kill Rangiku Matsumoto, but Kisuke Urahara arrived and cut off his tentacle.
• Wonderweiss struck at Kisuke Urahara while Yammy Llargo bombarded him with Bala, forcing Urahara to focus on dodging.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya froze Luppi Antenor and sealed him inside Thousand-Year Ice Prison.
• Kisuke Urahara attacked Yammy Llargo from behind and opened a deep wound in his arm.

Kisuke Urahara revealed how his portable Gigai let him evade Yammy Llargo’s Bala, while the freed Soul Reapers regrouped and assessed the Arrancar. Ulquiorra Cifer challenged Liu Ziyun about his knowledge of the Espada, and Liu Ziyun ended the chapter by claiming he could kill him.

• Kisuke Urahara explained that Yammy Llargo’s Bala had struck a portable Gigai instead of him.
• Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa, and Rangiku Matsumoto broke free of Luppi Antenor’s weakened tentacles.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya checked that the three Soul Reapers were safe and turned his attention to Wonderweiss Margela.
• Ulquiorra Cifer questioned Liu Ziyun about how much he knew of the Espada and his own strength.
• Liu Ziyun told Ulquiorra Cifer that he should be able to kill him, sharply raising the tension on the battlefield.