Chapter Summaries

Aizen escaped Hell with Kaname Tōsen and two cloaked beings while battles continued across Soul Society. At the Soul King Palace, Rei fought Ichibē Hyōsube, overwhelmed him with his Reiatsu, and faced the monk’s release of Ichimonji.

• Aizen emerged from Hell with Kaname Tōsen and two cloaked beings, then ordered Lang Zuo to monitor events and opened a Garganta to test their strength.
• Byakuya, Hirako, and Kensei attacked Nel, while Sun-Sun escaped through a Garganta with the injured Apache and Mila Rose.
• Yama-jii gathered the Captains in West Rukongai and, after receiving permission from the Zero Division, led them aboard Kisuke Urahara’s False Tenchūren toward the Soul King Palace.
• Rei provoked Ichibē Hyōsube, split his giant palm with Blood Drink, and wounded him in their ensuing clash.
• Ichibē Hyōsube acknowledged Rei’s strength and released Ichimonji as Rei studied the monk’s Zanpakuto.

Rei fought Ichibē Hyōsube at the Soul King Palace, but Ichimonji erased Rei’s Zanpakuto name and then Rei’s own name, leaving him overwhelmed by the monk’s power. As Rei fell after being crushed, he laughed that he was still alive, and Ichibē fired a Hadō at him.

• The Espada found the Zero Division members’ transformed bones difficult to destroy, then cleared away the Divine Soldiers but were stopped by Ichibē’s lingering Seal character.
• Ichibē activated Shikai, silenced Rei, and used Ichimonji to erase the name of Rei’s Zanpakuto, preventing him from calling Bankai.
• Rei’s Hōgyoku restored his voice and healed him, so he unleashed his evolved power and drove Ichibē back with a powerful slash.
• Ichibē explained that black things everywhere fed his power, and his ink spread over Rei until Rei forgot his own name.
• Ichibē used White Brush Ichimonji to name Rei a maggot, then stomped and crushed him before sending a Hadō toward him as he fell.
• Rei laughed that he was still alive while the Espada watched, unable to break through Ichibē’s Seal.

Rei survived Ichibē Hyōsube’s attacks by evolving through the Hōgyoku and using Bankai to be reborn, then devastated much of the Soul King Palace. He sent the Espada to hold off the arriving Soul Society fighters and headed to finish off the Soul King as a group in white haori emerged from the shattered Tenchūren.

• Picaro destroyed the Barrier, but Ulquiorra stopped Grimmjow from rushing to Rei, reasoning that Rei could revive the dead and would not be so easily killed.
• The Hōgyoku reshaped Rei after his body was destroyed, and Rei revealed his evolved form and Bankai, Blood Blade Seven Pagodas.
• Ichibē trapped Rei in Futen Taisatsuryō, but the Hōgyoku empowered Pagoda Red Lotus and Rei was reborn after the blackness destroyed his body.
• Rei used two red lotuses to blast Ichibē apart and devastate much of the Soul King Palace, killing one member of the Zero Division and heavily damaging the district below.
• Rei ordered the Espada to fight the Captain-level fighters arriving from the Soul Society, then headed to finish off the Soul King.
• A Tenchūren broke through the final barrier and shattered, releasing a group of people in white haori.

The Captains arrived at the ruined Soul King Palace and fought the five powerful Espada who had defeated the Zero Division. As the battles spread across the floating ruins, Unohana released her Bankai against Ulquiorra.

• The Captains emerged into the ruined Soul King Palace, where Mayuri revealed he had secretly come along and five enemy Reiatsu approached.
• Grimmjow overpowered Kenpachi Zaraki until Kenpachi removed his eyepatch and unleashed his full Reiatsu.
• Kyōraku and Ukitake fought Picaro's many spirit bodies, while Isshin and Amagai battled Tier Harribel and her water attacks.
• Mayuri used a device to distort space and evade Baraggan's breath of death, then claimed he had prepared a way to defeat him.
• Ulquiorra injured Unohana and identified her as the First Kenpachi, prompting her to release Bankai, Minazuki.

Rei reached the Soul King and learned why he could not safely replace him: as a being from another world, Rei lacked the Three Worlds’ imprint, and devouring the Soul King would eventually turn him into a world-consuming monster. The Soul King showed Rei visions of that future and offered him three choices, leaving Rei uncertain whether the visions were real.

• Yama-jii restored Ichibē Hyōsube, who said the Soul King had to be protected and that he might have to create a temporary Soul King if the Soul King died.
• Rei defeated the Divine Soldier Guards and entered the Soul King’s chamber, where he spoke with the imprisoned Soul King.
• The Soul King explained that he had accepted his role as the Pillar to preserve the worlds and revealed that Rei came from another world and could not replace him without losing himself.
• The Soul King trapped Rei in his Consciousness Space and showed him futures in which Rei devoured the worlds, then eventually burst apart and renewed them with his Reishi.
• The Soul King offered Rei the choice to devour him, return to Hueco Mundo, or remain in the palace and become the new Guard; Rei doubted the visions’ truth.

Rei defeated Yama-jii in their battle at the Soul King's Inner Palace, while the Captain-Commander's fall shook the Gotei 13's other fighters. Rei returned to the palace pondering how he might become eligible to be the Soul King, as the surrounding battles continued with neither side securing victory.

• Rei blocked Yama-jii's attacks, countered with his red threads and sword, and defeated him after four exchanges, though Yama-jii fired Hadō number ninety-one before falling.
• Rei discovered a hidden black speck inside himself and wondered whether reincarnating as a human could let him become someone from this world.
• With Yama-jii defeated, Tier Harribel's powers recovered, and she pressed her fight against Isshin and Amagai while Grimmjow continued battling Kenpachi Zaraki.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi unleashed Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo against Baraggan, while Unohana resumed her fight with Ulquiorra despite hearing of the Captain-Commander's defeat.
• Kyōraku and Ukitake fought Picaro; Kyōraku used Irooni to wound Picaro through his Hierro, but Picaro escaped and forced Kyōraku to halt his next attack.

Ukitake found the wounded Yama-jii and left for the Soul King's Inner Palace while Kyōraku prepared to use Bankai against Picaro. Mayuri Kurotsuchi fled Baraggan through a rift into the Dangai, and Yoruichi and Tessai arrived to protect Kisuke Urahara from Baraggan's attack.

• Ukitake found Yama-jii alive beneath the Soul King Palace, treated him, and then flew toward the Soul King's Inner Palace.
• Kyōraku and Picaro fought farther from the center, and Kyōraku activated Bankai after deciding they were far enough away.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi's Bankai was destroyed, but he trapped Baraggan in the Spatial Freezing Agent before Baraggan shattered the ice and overwhelmed him with Death Breath.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi followed Kisuke Urahara's instructions to reverse the Spatial Distortion Device, opened a rift into the Dangai, and escaped Baraggan's attack.
• Baraggan turned his Death Breath on Urahara's Garganta, but Yoruichi pulled Urahara clear while Tessai raised a barrier to block the attack.

Ukitake completed Kamikake and approached Rei, who began planning to create an independent soul from his own limb. Kyōraku defeated Picaro but collapsed from his wounds, while Urahara and Tessai attacked Baraggan with chained Kidō.

• Kaien reassured the Thirteenth Division members about Ukitake, then admitted to Shiba Miyako that he feared the Captains might not return.
• Ukitake sacrificed his internal organs to Mimihagi through Kamikake, and the Soul King explained to Rei that Mimihagi was his lost right arm.
• Rei conceived a plan to create a soul from his own severed limb, send it through reincarnation, and merge it back into himself.
• Kyōraku used his Bankai to decapitate Picaro, but Picaro empowered ten spirit bodies with the Hōgyoku, and one struck Kyōraku before Yoruichi arrived to save him.
• Tessai trapped Baraggan in a space-time Barrier while Urahara cast Black Coffin, then Tessai attacked with Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō.
• Baraggan survived the chained Kidō and angrily condemned Urahara and Tessai for attacking him.

Urahara, Tessai Tsukabishi, and Yoruichi defeated Baraggan by exploiting his vulnerability to his own Death Breath and Urahara’s Bankai. Baraggan was sent through a Garganta as his final attack spread, while Rei sensed his defeat and focused on God-Hung Ukitake’s approach to the Soul King.

• Urahara and Tessai used Gate Relic to turn Baraggan’s Death Breath against him, but Baraggan revealed he could now deactivate his ability at will and wounded Tessai.
• Urahara activated Bankai Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame and restored Tessai’s severed arm, while Yoruichi ambushed Baraggan and struck him repeatedly.
• Baraggan’s Death Breath consumed Yoruichi’s right hand, and he continued attacking until his own ability eroded most of his body.
• Urahara used Bankai Benihime to dismantle Baraggan’s skeleton and gravely injure his hidden true body, but Baraggan’s golden skull remained intact.
• Baraggan spread Death Breath across the sky, so Tessai sealed the area around his skull and Urahara opened a Garganta for Tessai to send him through.
• Rei sensed Picaro’s and Baraggan’s defeats but did not intervene, as God-Hung Ukitake had begun moving toward the Soul King.

Rei and Ukitake battled across the Soul King's palace and the Zero Division Detached Palace as Ukitake revealed his Bankai and Mimihagi's powers. The fight paused amid the ruins when Rei's severed hand opened a Garganta to the World of the Living and Ukitake sensed another Reiatsu approaching.

• Rei sealed the Soul King's Inner Palace with Kidō and fought Ukitake, who used Stillness to wound him before activating Bankai: Twin Black Slaughter.
• Ukitake explained that fusing with Lord Mimihagi had shown him his future while Unohana fell to Ulquiorra; Urahara, Tessai, and Yoruichi intervened to save her.
• Rei and Ukitake fought through the Zero Division Detached Palace as Ukitake used Stillness, black carp, and absorbed attacks to strike at Rei and the Hōgyoku.
• Rei's White Star counterattacked Ukitake, while Mimihagi filled Ukitake's wounds and Rei regenerated his severed left hand.
• Their battle shattered the Zero Division Detached Palace into rubble, and both fighters paused as Rei's severed hand opened a Garganta and Ukitake sensed an approaching Reiatsu.

Isshin Shiba used his secret technique, Mugetsu, to split Rei apart after Ukitake immobilized him with Mimihagi. Rei survived through Complete Regeneration, but Ukitake bound him in stasis as Kisuke Urahara and others arrived, while Rei’s three surviving subordinates had already escaped to Hueco Mundo.

• Isshin arrived after defeating Tier Harribel and joined Yoruichi and Ukitake in fighting Rei, who created a copy of himself.
• Isshin and Rei clashed while Ukitake repeatedly used Stasis, but Rei’s rapid regeneration gave him the advantage.
• The monk’s hidden Ink technique pierced Rei, letting Isshin identify the original and unleash his ultimate technique, Mugetsu.
• Mugetsu split Rei and destroyed the White Star, but Rei survived by using a Pagoda Red Lotus and Complete Regeneration.
• Ukitake connected himself to Rei with Mimihagi and held him in stasis, while Isshin collapsed from the strain of his power.
• Rei revealed that he had sent his three living subordinates to Hueco Mundo through a Garganta before Isshin struck, and Kisuke Urahara arrived with preparations to seal him.

After the battle, the Soul Reapers sealed Nangong Ling and counted their heavy losses before rebuilding over the next twenty years. When Reiatsu matching Nangong Ling’s appeared in the World of the Living, Yamamoto ordered an investigation.

• Kenpachi Zaraki searched for Grimmjow after their fight ended, then found Urahara and Yoruichi beside a cross sealing Nangong Ling and Ukitake.
• The Soul King watched a hand carrying a chain move toward the World of the Living and wondered whether Nangong Ling had set events in motion.
• The Soul Reapers and Zero Division suffered devastating casualties, while Yamamoto, Isshin, and Unohana were left unable to serve normally.
• Over twenty years, the Gotei 13 and Soul King Palace were rebuilt, and Yamamoto returned as Captain-Commander after Urahara restored his limbs.
• Yamamoto called an emergency assembly after Reiatsu matching Nangong Ling’s appeared in the World of the Living, and the Sixth, Ninth, Tenth, and Thirteenth Divisions were assigned to investigate.

A strange Reiatsu trace led the Gotei 13 and Zero Division to suspect Nangong Ling had created an autonomous soul before being sealed. Inside the Seal, Rei connected with that soul and discovered it had been born as Ryūsaki Ishida, the newborn second son of Sōken Ishida.

• Byakuya Kuchiki, Kensei Muguruma, Kaien, and the other Captains investigated the lingering Reiatsu trace in the World of the Living before Soul Society recalled them.
• Aizen and Kaname Tōsen concluded that Nangong Ling had controlled a hand that broke down into Reishi, while Lang Zuo continued searching Rukongai for his other half.
• Kenpachi Zaraki told Ashido, Ikkaku Madarame, and Yumichika Ayasegawa that the Gotei would pause its Quincy search and that he hoped to settle his old grudge with Nangong Ling.
• The Monk, Kisuke Urahara, Kirio Hikifune, and Ōetsu Nimaiya discussed the active Reishi trace and considered whether Nangong Ling had created an autonomous soul body.
• Rei reached the red soul flame in the darkness and found himself connected to a newborn in the Ishida Family; Sōken Ishida named the baby Ryūsaki Ishida.

After ten years in the Ishida family, Ryūsaki remained unable to use Quincy techniques and hid his true strength while pursuing a way to free his original body. When he slipped away to an arcade, he saw a Soul Reaper fighting a strange chained Hollow.

• Jugram Haschwalth learned that Wenlai Jelsen and the Holy Soldiers had repelled Soul Society's fifth invasion and kept the Wandenreich concealed.
• Sōken introduced Ryūsaki to Masaki Kurosaki, who had come to stay with the Ishida family after Hollows killed her parents and was engaged to Ryūken.
• At ten, Ryūsaki was scolded for failing Holy Training, while Sōken defended his right to choose whether to become a Quincy; Ryūsaki left home to visit an arcade.
• Masaki went out to find Ryūsaki, while Ryūken accepted their growing closeness and Katagiri Hae noticed his disappointment.
• A Soul Reaper crashed through the arcade wall and vanished with Shunpo, prompting Ryūsaki to follow and watch him fight a strange Hollow whose chains emerged from invisible space.

Ryūsaki and Masaki Kurosaki witnessed Ginjo and Takumi battle Suolang, a Hollow who revealed himself as a Togabito before being dragged back to Hell. Tōsen then learned from the encounter and continued developing Aizen’s plan to create Togabito soldiers for battles in the World of the Living and Soul Society.

• Ginjo fought Suolang while Takumi supported him with a Reiatsu-powered slingshot, and Suolang summoned dozens of Hollows and two Giant Hollows.
• Three Hollows ambushed Ryūsaki, who destroyed them with Reishi Chains and drew Suolang away from the other fighters.
• Ryūsaki trapped Suolang with a chain, and Ginjo struck him with his Greatsword before Hell’s gate opened and dragged Suolang inside as he called for Lord Tōsen.
• Ryūsaki explained Hell to Masaki Kurosaki, then asked her to keep secret that he could not form a Heilig Bogen.
• Tōsen received a report on Suolang’s battle and ordered the Scout to save the data as he continued Aizen’s plan to develop Togabito that could fight and revive repeatedly.

After Aizen studied the Quincy’s talents, Ryūsaki defied his mother’s expectations, passed his father Sōken’s Hollow-killing test, and became a certified Quincy. Soul Reaper investigators left Naruki City without finding the Togabito, but another problem arose as soon as they departed.

• Aizen watched footage of the Quincy fighting Suolang and considered mixing Quincy and Hollow souls.
• Ryūsaki’s mother Misa confronted him about his chain weapons, but he fled to his room and Sōken defended his choice to forge his own path.
• Sōken tested Ryūsaki by luring Hollows with Bait, and Ryūsaki killed more than thirty with his chains without being touched.
• Sōken certified Ryūsaki as a Quincy, and Ryūsaki received custom Quincy Robes; Misa warned him not to interfere with Hollows while Soul Reapers were active.
• Two Captains and two Vice-Captains investigated the Togabito in Naruki City for a month, then returned to Soul Society without finding it.
• Another problem arose in the World of the Living shortly after the investigators departed.

Ryūsaki Ishida met the Substitute Soul Reaper Kūgo Ginjō after a fight at an arcade, then learned that Ginjō had adopted his new classmate Shūkurō Tsukishima. Ginjō reported Ryūsaki’s abilities to Shunsui Kyōraku, who wanted him to bring Ryūsaki into their circle.

• Ryūsaki Ishida met transfer student Shūkurō Tsukishima, then left school early and went to an arcade.
• After Red Hair knocked Ryūsaki off his stool, Ryūsaki beat him, Green Hair, and several arcade workers in a fight.
• Kūgo Ginjō stopped Ryūsaki from leaving, introduced himself as the city's Substitute Soul Reaper, and invited him to seek help with Hollows.
• Ryūsaki learned that Ginjō and Kitahara Takumi had adopted Tsukishima, whose family had been killed by supernatural incidents before Ginjō taught him Fullbring.
• The Court Guard Squads stored information about Ryūsaki in the Research and Development Institute's database, and Ginjō reported what he knew to Shunsui Kyōraku.
• Kyōraku asked Ginjō to make Ryūsaki his companion.

Ryūsaki learned about Fullbring from Tsukishima and sparred with him, but Tsukishima’s Book of the End inserted him into Ryūsaki’s memories and exposed that he was a Quincy. Ginjo intervened before Ryūsaki could attack Tsukishima, and Ryūsaki agreed to stand down after confirming the ability had not altered Rei’s past.

• Ryūsaki drew out information from Tsukishima about Xcution, Ginjo, Takumi, and Fullbring.
• Tsukishima demonstrated how his Bookmark became a powerful Katana, then explained how Fullbring controlled the souls of objects.
• Ryūsaki and Tsukishima fought on an abandoned factory roof, and both were injured before they ended the spar.
• Tsukishima revealed that his sword could insert him into the past of anything it cut, causing Ryūsaki to remember a shared childhood that had never happened.
• Tsukishima exposed Ryūsaki as a Quincy, and Ryūsaki attacked him with six Reishi Chains until Ginjo arrived and blocked the blows.
• Ryūsaki withdrew his Chains after confirming Tsukishima had entered only Ryūsaki’s memories, and Ginjo proposed having Tsukishima cut him again to remove the false memories.

Ryūsaki and Ginjo negotiated after Tsukishima restored Ryūsaki’s past, and Ginjo revealed that the Soul Reapers had secretly used his Substitute Badge to suppress his power. Ryūsaki agreed to consider an alliance, while Ginjo realized a hidden observer and Ryūsaki’s Quincy connections could change the balance against the Soul Reapers.

• Tsukishima undid his ability on Ryūsaki, and Ginjo persuaded Ryūsaki to explain why he wanted Tsukishima dead.
• Ryūsaki revealed that he was a Quincy and feared that Ginjo would report him to the Soul Society.
• Ginjo explained how he became a Substitute Soul Reaper and revealed that his badge monitored him and suppressed his power.
• Ginjo offered to spare Ryūsaki and conceal his identity in exchange for possible help from the Quincy; Ryūsaki left to treat his wounds and said he would think about it.
• Ginjo told Takumi he had made concessions because he admired Ryūsaki, feared the Soul Reapers’ response to his own growing power, and sensed a hidden observer; Tsukishima began sharing what he knew about the Ishida Family.

Ryūsaki discovered that the doctor who treated his arm was Isshin Shiba, whose weakened powers were recovering as he absorbed Reishi in the World of the Living. After Yoruichi warned Isshin that Soul Reapers might be facing enemies from Hell, Ryūsaki returned home, where Sōken prepared to teach him Blut.

• Ryūsaki had his arm stitched by Dr. Isshin at Shiba Hospital and recognized Isshin Shiba when a nurse named him.
• Yoruichi visited Isshin and told him that Ryūsaki was concealing Reiatsu, then warned him that Soul Reapers in nearby cities had been killed by a suspected enemy from Hell.
• Ryūsaki sensed Reishi gathering toward Shiba Hospital, and Rei concluded that Isshin was absorbing it to recover his Reiryoku.
• Ryūsaki returned home without letting on that he had been injured, and Sōken announced he would teach him Blut Vene and Blut Arterie.