Recaps

Rei oversaw experiments to fuse Hollows and sought stronger souls for further testing, while Aizen secretly uncovered the truth about the Soul King and became convinced that Soul Society’s order had to be overthrown. The chapter ended with Aizen preparing to hypnotize the guards at the Great Spirit Book Gallery so he could keep accessing its records.

• Rei watched Modified Menos Grande defeat stronger opponents through fusion, then asked Ulquiorra about experiments injecting Hollows into Pluses; Ulquiorra reported that the hosts’ souls were too weak to survive.
• Rei ordered Ulquiorra to seek people with strong Reiryoku in Rukongai and considered having Maki and Kuzō participate in the experiments.
• Ten years later, Aizen grew frustrated by the limits on knowledge outside the noble clans and targeted the Great Spirit Book Gallery for answers.
• Aizen broke into the Gallery and learned that the Five Great Noble Clans had ambushed the Soul King and reduced him to a helpless state, while the nobles concealed the truth and controlled knowledge.
• Aizen concluded that the existing order could not be reformed and had to be overthrown and rebuilt.
• When five guards discovered him, Aizen drew Kyōka Suigetsu and decided to hypnotize the Gallery’s guards so he could continue entering freely.

Rei pursued Aizen after sensing the intruder fleeing the Great Spirit Book Gallery and confronted him beyond the Sōkyoku. Their fight escalated when Rei released his seal, while Love Aikawa’s search party spotted the resulting pillar of red Reiatsu.

• Aizen escaped the Great Spirit Book Gallery after faking his death with Kyōka Suigetsu and took a second route past the Sōkyoku.
• Rei sensed Aizen moving in secret and chased him, while Yama-jii noticed Rei’s pursuit but did not intervene.
• Rei blocked Aizen in a wasteland, and Aizen silently released Kyōka Suigetsu before clashing with him.
• Aizen wounded Rei with Hadō #78: Zanka no Tachi, but Rei recognized the attack and prepared to fight seriously.
• As Aizen attempted to restrain Rei and escape, Rei released his seal, sending a red pillar of Reiatsu into the sky.
• Love Aikawa ordered a search of the Inner Court, and his group saw the red pillar rise in the distance.

Rei failed to capture Aizen, whose Kyōka Suigetsu and fully incanted Kidō let him escape and return to his post unnoticed. After the Captains' Meeting, Rei learned that Seigen's sister Ika's lung disease had returned and followed Seigen to visit her.

• Rei broke free of Aizen's illusions and restraints after Aizen escaped, then told Kyōraku, Ukitake, and Ginrei that the intruder had a powerful Mind-Type Zanpakuto.
• The captains failed to track Aizen, who returned to his barracks and pretended to know nothing about the intrusion.
• At the Captains' Meeting, Yama-jii reprimanded Rei, and Kyōraku raised the possibility that the intruder was a Quincy spy.
• Rei drank with Kyōraku, Seigen, and Shiba Kūsei, learned that Ika's lung disease had relapsed, and heard Kyōraku dismiss his ambition to defeat Yama-jii.
• Seigen left to care for Ika, and Rei followed him to an apothecary, saying he wanted to visit her.

Rei developed a Kidō that extracted disease-causing Reishi bacteria from souls and returned to Soul Society to treat Ika. A month later, Yama-jii summoned him with a note from the Soul King Palace.

• Rei visited Seigen and learned that Ika's illness had returned despite Captain Unohana being unable to treat it.
• Rei studied soul composition and disease at the Seireitei Research Institute, then spent eight years researching a precise Kidō to remove Reishi bacteria.
• Rei successfully tested the treatment on an Experimental Subject in his Hueco Mundo laboratory.
• Rei returned to Soul Society and persuaded Seigen to let him treat Ika, saying he was ninety percent certain the Kidō would work.
• A month later, Yama-jii summoned Rei and showed him a note from the Soul King Palace.

Rei declined Zero Division’s invitation, while Yama-jii grew wary of his secret trips to Hueco Mundo. Rei then visited Ukitake with Kyōraku and learned that Ukitake had sacrificed his lungs to a deity, before later meeting Seigen and Ika.

• Rei created the Healing Way, earned the Soul King’s recognition, and received an invitation to join Zero Division.
• Rei refused the invitation, saying he did not want to be confined to the Soul King Palace.
• Yama-jii reviewed a report that Rei had frequently visited Hueco Mundo and worried that his aims might conflict with the Seireitei’s interests.
• Kyōraku brought Rei to see Ukitake, who explained that his lungs had been sacrificed to a deity when he was a child.
• Seigen invited Rei to his home, where Rei met the recovered Ika and heard Seigen recount their earlier emergency.

Rei led Maki and Ashido to stop two Adjuchas who were attacking a town in South Rukongai, while drawing out the Stealth Force watcher who had been following him. The watcher revealed himself as Kisuke Urahara, Third Seat of the Second Division, and said he had been acting on his superior’s orders.

• Central 46 restricted the Healing Way to treatment within the Seireitei and set prices that left most Rukongai souls unable to afford it.
• Rei led Maki and Ashido to a town overrun by Hollows, where Ashido and Maki fought two Adjuchas while Rei killed the Gillians and Giant Hollows.
• Maki and Ashido wounded the Adjuchas, and Rei killed Three-Hands before he could reveal Rei’s identity to the watcher.
• Rei forced the hidden watcher out, but the man used Utsusemi and a decoy to escape Maki and Ashido.
• Rei tracked the watcher with Kakushitsuijaku and forced him to appear with Hadō #88, after which the man introduced himself as Kisuke Urahara.

Rei explained that he had secretly searched Hueco Mundo for Quincy, then claimed he meant to kill them himself and urged the Captains to seek strength through battle. As Yama-jii dismissed the gathering, explosions erupted across Seireitei, and the Captains rushed to contain them.

• Rei ambushed Urahara, defeated him, and had Maki carry him away.
• Yama-jii questioned Rei before several Captains about his secret trips to Hueco Mundo and his possible threat to Soul Society.
• Rei said he had found Quincy traces in Hueco Mundo and described areas where Reishi had vanished, prompting questions from Kyōraku and Kasumioji Yakumo.
• Rei said he had withheld the intelligence because he planned to hunt the Quincy himself, then insulted the Captains and urged them to pursue stronger opponents.
• Explosions shook Seireitei, and Kirio Hikifune identified the Seireitei Research Institute as their source before Yama-jii ordered the Captains to respond.

Aizen used the Seireitei Research Institute’s explosion to gather Soul Reaper soul fragments and spent years developing a substance that could push beyond his limits. The chapter ended with him creating the original Hōgyoku and planning to resume stealing soul essence after the investigations cooled down.

• Aizen detonated an emblem at the Seireitei Research Institute, gathered over ten thousand Soul Reaper soul fragments, and left mutated Reishi to drift into the World of the Living.
• Rei absorbed the emblem’s remaining energy and reached the First Dimension, while Aizen escaped suspicion for causing the explosion.
• Central 46 sentenced Ran'Tao to a thousand years of exile in the Dangai, and she fled to the World of the Living, where the escaped Reishi had created Bount.
• Rei captured two Quincy Holy Soldiers in Hueco Mundo, prompting Jugram Haschwalth to send Quilge Opie to investigate its new leader.
• After years of experiments, Aizen created a black substance he named the Hōgyoku, which he found needed to consume soul essence to grow.

Rei reached a new level of power after fusing his Soul Reaper and Hollow souls, inspiring Aizen to begin secret Hollowfication experiments. In Hueco Mundo, Rei recruited Starrk and Lilynette by promising them companions among his people.

• Rei and his homologous body fought in Bankai, and their Reiatsu drew the attention of Yama-jii, Aizen, Kyōraku, and Unohana.
• Rei's Reiatsu settled into a lighter, stronger state after his souls fused completely, while Aizen discovered traces of both Soul Reaper and Hollow power in Rei's Reishi.
• Aizen began feeding Hollows to the Hōgyoku and secretly injected Hollow power into Pluses, causing the earliest cases of disappearing souls.
• In Hueco Mundo, Avogadro proposed turning Hollows into Soul Reapers, while Grimmjow continued consuming masks and Dordoni failed to evolve further.
• Rei found Starrk and Lilynette beside piles of dead Adjuchas and offered them work, food, lodging, and companions.
• Starrk accepted Rei's offer and led Lilynette after him, hoping they would be able to stay with others without killing them through their Reiatsu.

Rei welcomed Starrk and Lilynette to Las Noches, then secretly returned to Soul Society to investigate a Hollow attack near the Seireitei. He suspected the attacks were a trap aimed at the reinforcements and wondered whether the mastermind was the Black-Clothed Man who had once infiltrated the Great Spirit Book Gallery.

• Szayelaporro learned that Starrk and Lilynette had been taken by Rei, while he and Baraggan continued building their forces in the Menos Grande Forest.
• Ulquiorra showed Starrk and Lilynette around Las Noches, and Rei sealed Starrk's Reiatsu before arranging clothes for the pair.
• Rei left through a Garganta after Yanis reported a Menos Grande hunting souls near the Seireitei, then replaced Fake Rei among the 11th Division forces.
• Rei and the 11th Division discovered that smoking steel pipes were drawing Ragged Hollows and Gillians through Gargantas, and Rei kept the battle going while waiting for the hidden mastermind to appear.
• After hearing of another Hollow attack in South Rukongai, Rei ordered reinforcements and suspected that the attacks targeted responding divisions; he considered the Tsunayashiro Clan and the Black-Clothed Man as possible culprits.

Aizen secretly hollowfied Seigen during the Hollow attack, leaving Hirako to fight the transformed captain until Rei arrived. Rei restrained Seigen with high-level Bakudō, while the cause and possibility of saving him remained unresolved.

• The Third, Fifth, and Sixth Divisions were redirected to clear Hollows attacking three towns in South Rukongai's Eighth District, where Aizen used Kyōka Suigetsu to deceive the Soul Reapers.
• Aizen, disguised as Sakitani, wounded Seigen and injected him with Hollow Reiatsu, causing Seigen to transform and attack Hirako and the nearby squad members.
• Rei reached the Sixth Division's battlefield, found a Hollow lure, and hurried on to the Fifth Division's area.
• Hirako struggled to stop Hollowfied Seigen from killing squad members until Rei arrived and blocked Seigen's Cero.
• Rei knocked Seigen down and bound him with Bakudō number ninety-nine, Kin.

Rei tried to save Seigen from Hollowfication, but could not remove the Hollow, and Yama-jii granted him half a month before Central 46 judged Seigen. Meanwhile, Aizen planted clues that led Kyōraku to investigate Rei’s family businesses.

• Rei shattered Seigen’s mask and tried to extract the Hollow with the Healing Way, but the Hollow resisted and Seigen’s Reiatsu surged again.
• Kasumioji Yakumo, Kuchiki Ginrei, Unohana, Tessai Tsukabishi, and Hachigen Ushōda arranged to bind Seigen and confine him in Ninth Division The Jail.
• Sakitani was arrested after Hollow bait found in his home attracted Ragged Hollows, though Aizen had framed him by impersonating him and planting the evidence.
• Central 46 announced that Seigen’s judgment would begin the next day, so Rei asked Yama-jii for more time and received half a month to find a cure.
• Aizen gave Kyōraku clues that led him to the Nangong Family’s production workshop and other businesses that Rei had rarely inspected.

After an anonymous accusation linked Rei to Hollows and dangerous Hollow lures, several captains arrested him while he tried to find a way to save Seigen. As Central 46 prepared to judge Rei, Tokinada anticipated his execution and Rei remained imprisoned, curious about who had framed him.

• Kyōraku reported the dangerous lures found in a Nangong Family workshop, and Central 46 ordered captains to investigate Rei after receiving an accusation about Hollow traces in his home.
• Rei tried to awaken Seigen by sending Yanis into his inner world, but Yanis failed, so Rei decided Kōga Kuchiki might be able to help.
• Kyōraku, Yoruichi Shihōin, Kuchiki Ginrei, and Love Aikawa confronted Rei; he surrendered after Yoruichi's attempt to subdue him was repelled by his Reiatsu.
• Kirio Hikifune searched Rei's residence with Hiyori, while Aizen learned that Tsunayashiro Tokinada had made the accusation and Rei's Vassal was the witness.
• Kiganjō told Rei's restricted squad that Central 46 would begin its trial, while Tokinada eagerly anticipated watching Rei be executed.

Central 46 sentenced Rei to Muken and abandoned Seigen to Hollowfication, but Rei’s duplicate broke free and killed the council. Rei then killed Tokinada, freed Maki and the other Nangong Family Vassals, and planned to take Seigen to Hueco Mundo; Soul Society declared Rei a fugitive and warned its fighters not to engage him.

• Central 46 convicted Rei of colluding with Hueco Mundo, creating forbidden items, and framing Seigen, then sentenced him to lose his Reiryoku and serve at least a thousand years in Muken while Seigen was condemned to life as a Hollow.
• A duplicate of Rei emerged from Blood Drink, escaped the Tenth Division cell, infiltrated Central 46, and killed its members.
• Rei confronted Tokinada, learned that Tokinada had arranged the frame-up but believed someone else had caused Seigen’s Hollowfication, and killed Tokinada and his two lackeys.
• Rei freed Maki from prison and told him to gather the Nangong Family Vassals and escape; Rei planned to take Seigen to Hueco Mundo to seek a cure.
• Soul Society announced that Rei had escaped and Central 46 had been killed, ordering anyone below Captain level to avoid him and report his whereabouts.

Rei escaped with Seigen and set out to challenge Captain-Commander Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, fighting his way through the Captains who tried to stop him. The chapter ended with Rei releasing the seal on his hand as the Captains prepared to face his full power.

• Kongqing found Central 46 slaughtered and rushed to the Ninth Division, where Rei was preparing to escape to Hueco Mundo with Seigen and the freed prisoners.
• Rei confronted Kongqing, Kensei, and Mashiro Kuna, wounded all three without drawing Blood Drink, and continued toward the First Division after Maki and the others escaped through a Garganta.
• Yoruichi intercepted Rei, but he overwhelmed her with his Reiatsu and Menos Grande movement before Kisuke Urahara rescued her.
• The Captains gathered and attacked Rei inside Ukitake's Kidō Barrier, with Kyōraku, Love Aikawa, Kirio Hikifune, and Kuchiki Ginrei joining the assault.
• After the Captains' attacks failed to defeat him, Rei released the seal on his hand and unleashed a terrifying surge of Reiatsu.

Rei fought six captains at once, overwhelming them with his transformed Reiatsu, swordsmanship, and ability to recover from wounds. After Kirio Hikifune empowered Kensei and Urahara and Yoruichi joined the battle, Rei was still fighting as more combatants arrived.

• Rei’s red Reiatsu shattered Ukitake’s Barrier, and Kensei released Bankai to challenge him.
• Rei countered the captains’ attacks, trapped Ginrei in Black Coffin, and wounded Ukitake and Kyōraku.
• Kirio Hikifune infused Kensei with her Reiatsu, raising his power so he could continue fighting Rei.
• Kensei landed a heavy blow on Rei, but Rei’s wound healed as he used his Zanpakuto’s power to recover.
• Yoruichi and Urahara joined the battle with Marechiyo Ōmaeda as Kensei and Love Aikawa continued confronting Rei.

Rei fought off the captains until Yama-jii arrived and confronted him over his crimes and claim to have conquered Hueco Mundo. Yama-jii released Ryūjin Jakka, and their clash began with Rei breaking through the flames of Pine Torch using Blood-Coagulating Slash.

• Shiba Kūsei, Kasumioji Yakumo, Kensei, Urahara, and Yoruichi joined the battle, but Rei overwhelmed them with his reiatsu and swordsmanship.
• Urahara warned Yoruichi as Rei used Hadō #96, Ittō Kasō, damaging Kensei and Kūsei while Rei was also caught in the blast.
• Yama-jii arrived, reprimanded the captains, and questioned Rei, who revealed that he had conquered Hueco Mundo and condemned Soul Society’s unjust laws.
• Yama-jii declared Rei an enemy, released Ryūjin Jakka, and unleashed its flames across the Seireitei.
• Rei and Yama-jii clashed at full strength, and Rei broke through Yama-jii’s Pine Torch with Blood-Coagulating Slash.

Rei and Yama-jii escalated their duel from Shikai to Bankai, with Rei initially overpowering the Captain-Commander through his blood-based abilities. Yama-jii unleashed Zanka no Tachi, and Rei realized that its immense power could destroy Soul Society.

• Rei fought Yama-jii with Kidō and Blood Drink, but Yama-jii's flames scorched him and he suppressed the wound Rei inflicted.
• Rei activated Bankai, filling Seireitei with blood rain and using his speed and Unrivaled Body to overwhelm Yama-jii.
• Rei cut Yama-jii with Bloodletting Pursuit, making his wounds bleed uncontrollably, while Yama-jii drew their fight toward the outskirts of Seireitei.
• Yama-jii released Bankai, Zanka no Tachi, concentrating his flames into a charred Tachi and scorching his wounds shut.
• Rei failed to use Homologous Reconstruction on Yama-jii because Yama-jii's Bankai Reiatsu surpassed his, and its rising heat threatened Soul Society.

Rei battled Yama-jii across the devastated Seireitei, using a powerful Hadō and his Bankai’s blood manipulation but ultimately falling to Yama-jii’s decisive strike. Rei survived through Blood Blade: Peerless’s Undying Peerlessness and escaped by Negación alongside the unconscious Seigen, leaving Yama-jii to face the threat again later.

• Rei sent his Homogeneous Body and Yanis against Yama-jii, whose Zanka no Tachi burned Yanis’s arm and cut the Homogeneous Body in half.
• Rei unleashed Hadō #99, Five Dragon Destruction, breaking Yama-jii’s flames and devastating a vast area of Seireitei while the Zero Division prepared to intervene.
• Rei’s Bankai drew blood from wounded Soul Reapers as Yama-jii recovered and struck him with Zanka no Tachi, North: Tenchi Kaijin, erasing part of his body.
• Rei regenerated with Blood Blade: Peerless’s Undying Peerlessness, but Negación appeared and lifted him and the unconscious Seigen away before Yama-jii could attack again.

After returning to Hueco Mundo, Rei sent Spirit Worms to spy on Soul Society and studied Half-Arrancarization while Baraggan’s forces killed Yaxiao. Rei then ordered large-scale experiments, and two months later most of the test subjects had emerged with greatly increased strength, though some had regressed into mindless Gillians.

• Aizen concluded that Rei controlled Hueco Mundo and considered going there to obtain Hollows for experiments, while Rei planned to monitor Soul Society with Spirit Worms.
• Three months after Rei’s rebellion, Hirako became Fifth Division Captain and appointed Aizen Vice-Captain; Kiganjō became the tenth Kenpachi, while Ashido remained troubled by Rei’s betrayal.
• Rei’s forces sent Half-Arrancar Adjuchas to investigate Baraggan’s territory, where Baraggan’s ambush killed Yaxiao and Baraggan gave his corpse to Szayelaporro to study.
• Rei ordered his Adjuchas to return to the inner region and began preparations to expand Half-Arrancarization across his army.
• Two months later, fourteen of twenty experimental Adjuchas had successfully become stronger Half-Arrancar, while the six failures had regressed into sluggish, abnormal Gillians.

After restoring Seigen, Rei tried to recruit him, but Seigen refused and returned to Soul Society after agreeing to carry out a favor. Rei then led the Half-Arrancar army against Baraggan’s forces, leaving Baraggan facing Starrk as Rei fought Picaro.

• The Hollow scientists restored Seigen, and Rei explained his plans to change Soul Society’s rules and become the Soul King.
• Seigen refused to join Rei, chose to live in seclusion in Soul Society, and agreed to do Rei a favor before returning through a Garganta.
• Rei ordered fifty-three Half-Arrancar to attack Baraggan’s remaining forces, and they overwhelmed the Gillians and Adjuchas.
• Baraggan prepared to intervene, but Starrk appeared to block him and defend Rei’s companions.
• Rei arrived after fighting Szayelaporro and Picaro, struck the released Picaro, and noticed that Picaro had grown weaker.

Rei defeated Szayelaporro and Picaro, then persuaded Szayelaporro to join him as the battle between Starrk and Baraggan continued. Baraggan surrendered to protect his remaining subordinates, though he secretly planned to reclaim his power when Rei was weakened.

• Rei broke Szayelaporro's trap, defeated Picaro, and severed Szayelaporro's wings.
• Rei revealed that his forces had captured the subordinate responsible for Szayelaporro's Negación and offered Szayelaporro a place in his laboratory.
• Starrk fought Baraggan with a barrage of Ceros, forcing Baraggan to expend his Reiatsu and unleash Respira across the battlefield.
• Rei arrived with Szayelaporro and explained that he had joined their side, enraging Baraggan.
• Rei offered Baraggan the chance to join him, and Baraggan surrendered in exchange for the release of his loyal subordinates.
• Rei ordered his forces to free Baraggan's followers while Baraggan secretly vowed to regain his power later.

Rei’s forces consolidated their hold on Hueco Mundo while Aizen continued investigating Hollowfication and maneuvering around Hirako. Aizen tracked down Seigen in Rukongai and forced him to reveal his Hollow powers, but the result disappointed him as a failed experiment.

• Rei left Szayelaporro in charge of the research institute, where Scientific Hollows continued experiments involving Quincy, Soul Reaper, and Hollow powers.
• Aizen cultivated Kaname Tōsen as a subordinate, and Hirako recommended Tōsen for a Fifth Seat in the Ninth Division to keep him away from Aizen.
• Aizen and Hirako encountered Ika, who had become Vice-Captain of the Fourth Division after Kiyōnosuke Yamada took leave.
• Aizen found Seigen in North Rukongai, recognized him as bait, and demanded to see his Hollowfication.
• Aizen threatened Ika, prompting Seigen to manifest a white mask and increase his Reiatsu, but Aizen judged the transformation a failure.

Seigen was framed by Aizen for killing Honda, and Rei brought him back to Hueco Mundo after exposing Aizen’s deception. Over the following decades, Rei’s campaign weakened Soul Society, while the Shiba Clan suffered disgrace and the Gotei 13 lost several key figures; the chapter leaves the Tenth Division without a captain.

• Seigen fought what he believed was Aizen, but Aizen’s illusion made him kill Honda, and Ginrei Kuchiki and Yoruichi arrived to arrest him.
• Rei appeared, took Seigen to Hueco Mundo, and showed him Spirit Worm footage revealing Aizen had staged the encounter and watched from concealment.
• Seigen chose to return to Soul Society, while Rei respected his decision and began planning to conquer Soul Society and the Soul King Palace.
• Rei’s Adjuchas captured souls to make Spirit Potion, and the resulting battles doubled Soul Reaper deaths and reduced their numbers to about six thousand.
• After Sōjun Kuchiki and Hikosei died, Shiba Kūsei killed people who insulted him, damaging the Shiba Clan’s standing and prompting its departure from the Seireitei.
• Shiba Kūsei died after a campaign against Adjuchas, Kasumioji Yakumo retired after her Zanpakuto was sealed, and Kirio Hikifune created Modified Souls; by the chapter’s end, the Tenth Division’s captaincy remained vacant.

Rei held a selection to choose the final three members of his Espada from seventeen half-Arrancar. Luppi, Tiruti, and Gangbaiten won the last places, and Rei named them the eighth, ninth, and tenth Espada.

• Rei opened the Espada selection, while Grimmjow dismissed the half-Arrancar contestants and refused Szayelaporro’s offer to transform him.
• Luppi challenged two opponents at once, killed one, and forced Xidulu to surrender before winning the rest of his matches with ease.
• Luppi defeated Gangbaiten, while Tiruti beat Daisile and advanced to the winners’ match against Luppi.
• Luppi trapped Tiruti with two hidden tentacles, but Ulquiorra intervened and stopped him from killing her.
• Gangbaiten defeated Daisile, and Rei named Luppi eighth, Tiruti ninth, and Gangbaiten tenth among the Espada.