Chapter Summaries

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.

Rei ranked the Espada and expanded his surveillance network, which revealed Aizen testing a Soul King Fragment in his failed Hōgyoku. The chapter left Rei suspecting the black object could gather Reiryoku, while a silver-haired boy tried to save the injured girl Aizen’s men had abandoned.

• Rei ranked Starrk and Lilynette first, Szayelaporro second, Baraggan third, Ulquiorra fourth, Picaro fifth, Grimmjow sixth, and Dordoni seventh.
• Rei ordered Ulquiorra to retrieve a Vasto Lorde who had escaped, then assigned subordinates to the Espada and told the gathered Menos Grande to await a new world.
• Rei visited the monitoring room, where Maki explained that the new 007-Type Parasitic Spirit Worms could spy through ordinary Soul Reapers’ eyes.
• Rei and Kuzō watched Aizen receive a Reiryoku Core containing a Soul King Fragment and place it into his failed Hōgyoku, which demanded more before falling silent.
• Rei ordered Kuzō to continue monitoring Aizen and speculated that the black Hōgyoku could collect Reiryoku.
• After Aizen left, a silver-haired boy found the injured orange-haired girl and tried to keep her alive, promising to recover what had been taken from her.

Gin Ichimaru and Rangiku Matsumoto pursued their paths toward the Seireitei as Soul Society’s leadership changed and Aizen watched Kisuke Urahara’s research. In Hueco Mundo, Quilge Opie tested Baraggan’s Half-Arrancar forces, defeated Ggio Vega, and faced Baraggan after Rei ordered the Quincy captured alive.

• As children, Gin Ichimaru left for the Seireitei to become stronger and reclaim Rangiku Matsumoto’s stolen Reiryoku, while Rangiku decided to follow him there.
• Kirio Hikifune joined the Zero Division, Kisuke Urahara became Twelfth Division captain, and Byakuya Kuchiki and Gin Ichimaru graduated from the academy and joined the Sixth and Fifth Divisions.
• Aizen began monitoring Urahara’s Research and Development Institute and preparing plans based on its research.
• Rei sent Baraggan to investigate the Quincy abductions, and Baraggan dispatched five Half-Arrancar as a vanguard against Quilge Opie and his Holy Soldiers.
• The five Half-Arrancar killed all seven Holy Soldiers, but Quilge defeated their surviving leader, Ggio Vega, and Rei ordered Baraggan to capture Quilge alive.
• Baraggan confronted Quilge, rejected his attempt to provoke him, and attacked with his Double-Edged Great Axe.

Baraggan fought Cang Du and revealed that his power could age and destroy anything, while Cang Du used Vollständig and Sklaverei before being overwhelmed. As Cang Du tried to escape, Szayelaporro trapped him with Negación and appeared to take him as a test subject.

• Baraggan’s aging power slowed Cang Du’s attacks and damaged his ribs, so Cang Du activated Vollständig and fired a Heilig Pfeil that chipped Baraggan’s axe.
• Baraggan released Skull Great Emperor, and Cang Du used Sklaverei to absorb Reishi and raise his Reiatsu to 6.2 Carriages.
• Cang Du trapped Baraggan with Schrift J—The Jail, but Baraggan rotted the cage away and destroyed Cang Du’s arrows with his aura of death.
• Baraggan’s aura rotted Cang Du’s left foot, forcing him to cut off his leg below the knee as he attempted to flee through the Shadow Domain.
• Szayelaporro opened a Garganta and used Negación to prevent Cang Du from escaping, calling him an interesting test subject.

Rei captured Cang Du and questioned him in Las Noches, while Jugram Haschwalth arrived to negotiate an alliance and Cang Du’s release. Bazz-B’s outburst sparked a fight, and Loyd Lloyd copied Rei as the battle began.

• Rei had Szayelaporro capture Cang Du and sealed him in Las Noches, where Cang Du refused to reveal information about Yhwach or the Wandenreich.
• Jugram Haschwalth decided to negotiate with Rei in person, while Aizen formed a plan to use Nangong Ling against Soul Society.
• Jugram Haschwalth brought Bazz-B and Loyd Lloyd to Las Noches and proposed that the Quincy and Rei’s forces cooperate against the Gotei 13.
• Rei accepted cooperation but demanded control of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, and Bazz-B rejected the terms and attacked Rei.
• Starrk clashed with Jugram Haschwalth, who shattered Starrk’s Zanpakuto, while Loyd Lloyd copied Rei’s appearance and abilities.

The Quincy invaded Hueco Mundo, forcing the Arrancar to fight across Las Noches while Rei confronted Loyd Lloyd and Starrk battled Jugram Haschwalth. The invaders retreated after achieving their objective, and Szayelaporro reported that Cang Du had been killed.

• Baraggan, Szayelaporro, and Grimmjow faced Sternritter attacks as Rei ordered the Menos Grande and Half-Arrancar to engage the invaders.
• Rei released his full power and defeated Loyd Lloyd, whose imitation could not reproduce Rei’s Soul Reaper and Hollow abilities together.
• Starrk continued fighting Jugram Haschwalth, while Picaro forced his opponent to use Vollständig.
• Ulquiorra returned and saved Dordoni from Bazz-B, but Jugram Haschwalth soon ordered the Quincy to retreat.
• Szayelaporro knelt before Rei and reported that Cang Du had been killed and his body destroyed.

Rei assessed the damage from the Quincy attack, welcomed Nel and her followers into the Arrancar Army, and turned his attention to obtaining information about the Hōgyoku. As the Espada rankings shifted, New 007 reported that Aizen’s group was plotting something 102 years before Aizen was sealed.

• Haschwalth dealt with Cang Du while Rei reviewed the Quincy battle losses and learned that Baraggan and many Arrancar had been badly injured or killed.
• Rei and his analysts concluded that most Sternritter outmatched Adjuchas-class Half-Arrancar, renewing Rei’s focus on creating complete Arrancar.
• Ulquiorra brought Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka to join the Arrancar Army, and Rei ranked Nel as the seventh Espada.
• Kuzō reported that Aizen’s Hōgyoku could rapidly increase the power of Hollows and Soul Reapers, so Rei ordered his forces to watch for a chance to seize it.
• Nnoitra joined the Espada, challenged Dordoni and Nel, and was defeated by Grimmjow and Nel.
• At 102 years before Aizen was sealed, New 007 reported that Aizen’s group was plotting something.

Kaien considered Ukitake’s offer to become the Thirteenth Division’s Vice-Captain, while Hirako learned that the Research and Development Institute was developing an antidote for Captain-level Hollowfication. As Aizen’s experiments escalated, Gin wounded members of a Seireitei advance team so infectious material could enter their bodies.

• Ukitake urged Kaien to become Vice-Captain and suggested Miyako could serve as his assistant, but Kaien said he would consider the offer because he wanted to protect his family.
• At the Research and Development Institute, Mayuri told Hirako and Aizen that Urahara had received permission to research an antidote to Hollowfication after Seigen Kyōshiba’s transformation.
• Hirako left the Institute unsettled by memories of Seigen’s Hollowfication, while Aizen privately wondered whether the research might surprise him.
• After a monitoring report about disappearing souls reached Urahara, he made a specially designed Gigai to contain souls whose forms were disintegrating into Reishi.
• Aizen and his subordinates contaminated a village with infectious Hollowfication material, and Gin cut the ten members of the investigating advance team so the material could enter their wounds.

Aizen, Kaname Tōsen, and Gin Ichimaru ambushed Kensei Muguruma’s camp, while Rei prepared to search Aizen’s laboratories for the Hōgyoku. As Soul Reapers responded to the attack, Rei’s forces invaded Seireitei with Hollows and Espada.

• After Mashiro Kuna found ten Shihakusho with their wearers missing, Kensei Muguruma established a camp in the Sixth Forest and ordered his officers to report the incident and request support.
• At midnight, Kaname Tōsen attacked Kensei with his Bankai while Gin Ichimaru ambushed Kasagi Heizō, and Aizen revealed himself as the camp’s attackers.
• In Las Noches, Rei watched the ambush, summoned Espada Four through Nine, and sent them with a group of powerful Adjuchas toward Soul Society.
• After the response unit was dispatched, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi, Shinji Hirako, Love Aikawa, Lisa Yadōmaru, and Hachigen Ushōda reached the Sixth Forest and found Hiyori Sarugaki being chased by a Hollowfied Kensei.
• Dozens of Garganta opened in Seireitei, and Ulquiorra ordered the Adjuchas to attack as Gillians, Ragged Hollows, and Giant Hollows emerged.
• Kyōraku headed toward Ulquiorra but was stopped by Picaro, who attacked him with a scarlet Cero.

Rei’s Espada attacked the Seireitei while Ulquiorra and Nel searched and destroyed Aizen’s laboratories, and Picaro and Nnoitra fought Soul Reapers. In the Sixth Forest, Urahara exposed Aizen’s Hollowfication experiments before Rei and Grimmjow arrived; Rei confronted Aizen while Grimmjow fought Gin and Tōsen.

• Picaro attacked Kyōraku, who released Katen Kyōkotsu as Sasakibe ordered all Soul Reapers to release their Zanpakuto and fight the invaders.
• Ulquiorra destroyed Aizen’s Fifth Division quarters and was confronted by Ginrei Kuchiki, Ginjiro, Yoruichi, and Ōmaeda; Nel and Dordoni also searched and destroyed Aizen’s laboratories elsewhere.
• Nnoitra slaughtered Tenth Division members and attacked Kiganjō, who began releasing his Bankai, while Ashido stood with him.
• Aizen prepared to cut Hirako and force his complete Hollowfication, but Urahara and Tessai arrived, and Urahara recognized Aizen’s experiments.
• Rei and Grimmjow appeared in the Sixth Forest, and Rei attacked Aizen while Grimmjow fought Gin and Tōsen.
• Rei told Aizen he had sent Gillians and Vasto Lordes to the Seireitei and had not come to save Hirako and the others.

Rei fought Aizen, but Aizen’s Zanpakuto illusion fooled him long enough for Aizen to escape while his allies carried off the Visored. Rei then learned that the raid had succeeded in stealing Aizen’s incomplete Hōgyoku, though Aizen dismissed the loss as unimportant.

• Rei released his Seal and attacked Aizen, but Aizen’s illusion distorted his perception and wounded him from behind.
• Tessai Tsukabishi trapped Rei and Aizen inside Forbidden Boundary while Urahara and Tessai evacuated Hirako and the other Hollowfied Soul Reapers.
• Aizen offered to join forces with Rei, but Rei used the conversation to attack him and briefly believed he had landed a decisive blow.
• Grimmjow freed Rei from the illusion’s confusion and explained how Gin Ichimaru and Aizen had escaped while the Visored were taken away.
• Negación arrived to extract Rei and Grimmjow, and Rei realized the mission had succeeded.
• Aizen reached his ruined hidden laboratory and discovered that Nangong Ling’s forces had stolen the storeroom containing his incomplete Hōgyoku.

Aizen framed Kisuke Urahara for the Hollowfication experiments, but Yoruichi rescued him and the test subjects before Central 46 could carry out its sentence. In Hueco Mundo, Rei and the Espada opened Aizen’s box and found the Defective Hōgyoku, which Rei discovered could reveal what people nearby were saying.

• Kaname Tōsen reported to Yama-jii that Urahara had colluded with Nangong Ling and used the captains for Hollowfication experiments, prompting Yama-jii to summon Urahara.
• Central 46 interrogated Urahara and Tessai Tsukabishi, accepted Aizen’s fabricated evidence, and began sentencing them after confirming the Hollowfied captains were in Urahara’s secret laboratory.
• Yoruichi fought through the guards and rescued Urahara, Tessai, and the Hollowfied test subjects, then told Kyōraku and Ukitake that Aizen’s Zanpakuto could control all five senses and that Aizen and Nangong Ling were not working together.
• Rei and the Espada returned safely to Hueco Mundo, where Rei had Baraggan decay Aizen’s locked box and found documents and the Defective Hōgyoku inside.
• Rei passed the Hōgyoku to Grimmjow and discovered it could let its holder hear distant whispers, then Rei restrained the gossiping Half-Arrancar and warned Grimmjow not to kill his own people.

Rei studied Aizen’s records on the incomplete Hōgyoku and considered the danger of attacking the Soul King Palace, while Soul Society and the Wandenreich rebuilt and maneuvered after the Hollowfication Incident. In Hueco Mundo, Grimmjow completed his evolution into a Vasto Lorde, and a Zanpakuto formed to seal his original form and power.

• Rei learned that the Hōgyoku could help realize wishes, reviewed its dormant state and need for Soul King fragments, and considered how to reach the Soul King Palace.
• Urahara and the Hollowfied captains hid in the World of the Living while Soul Society struggled to replace its lost captains; Kenpachi Zaraki joined the Gotei 13 and began campaigns against rebels.
• Amagai rejected Kifune Ri’s push to compete for a captaincy, while Aizen discovered that Urahara had a Hōgyoku and began building influence in Soul Society.
• Jugram Haschwalth obeyed Yhwach’s order to wait for his awakening and continued sending Quincies to hunt Hollows on Hueco Mundo’s fringes.
• After five months sealed in bandages before the Hōgyoku, Grimmjow completed his evolution, celebrated his new power, and gained a Zanpakuto that sealed his original form and strength.

Rei planned to strengthen his Arrancar forces while Yama-jii rejected Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s proposal to attack Hueco Mundo. After Aizen went to assist the Expeditionary Force in Rukongai, the exhausted Soul Reapers faced a growing Hollow assault.

• Rei prepared to use the Hōgyoku to turn more Espada into Arrancar and planned to feed it the Soul King, while Tier Harribel arrived at Las Noches with her Menos Grande subordinates.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi urged Yama-jii to attack Rei’s forces and capture Arrancar, but Yama-jii refused and weighed the risks posed by Kisuke Urahara and the Quincy.
• Yama-jii learned that Aizen had led a team to help the Expeditionary Force and arranged secondary support from the Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth Divisions.
• In District 79 of North Rukongai, Amagai’s Expeditionary Force fought waves of Hollows while exhausted Soul Reapers recovered in a Kidō Corps Barrier.
• Amagai killed a Gillian with his released Zanpakuto, and Kibune Riya used his own release to defeat three Giant Hollows as Aizen listened to the squad members praise them.

Aizen and Gin helped the battered Expeditionary Force defeat a Hollow assault, then traveled back toward Seireitei with Amagai's group. Aizen exposed the gulf between his strength and Amagai's, and Amagai agreed to seek the power Aizen offered.

• Aizen and Gin led Fifth Division reinforcements in routing more than two thousand Ragged Hollows, then Aizen and Amagai agreed to travel back together.
• Amagai ordered the Expeditionary Force to rest after its losses, and Aizen privately asked why he had not pursued a Captain's position despite his strength and Bankai.
• Aizen offered to recommend Amagai as Third Division Captain and probed his grudge against Nangong Ling, whom Amagai blamed for his father's death.
• Amagai confronted Aizen in a valley and attacked him, but Aizen stopped his sword with two fingers and subdued him with Reiatsu.
• Aizen told Amagai that his Reiatsu was at most half of Nangong Ling's in Shikai, and Amagai begged Aizen to give him enough power to take revenge.

Rei secluded himself with the Hōgyoku to develop a stronger Bankai, and Blood Drink revealed a dangerous new form that Rei struggled to imitate. After a tremendous Reiatsu swept through Las Noches and stunned the Espada, Rei dispelled his new Bankai, uncertain whether the Hōgyoku had helped him attain it.

• Amagai Shūsuke passed the Captain's examination and took command of the Third Division, while Kifune Ri became Vice-Captain and Chitetsu Iba retired.
• Rei's Espada continued fighting and training, while more than three thousand Adjuchas gathered in Las Noches seeking Arrancar power.
• Rei entered seclusion with the Hōgyoku and focused on evolving his Bankai so he could face Yama-jii.
• Blood Drink transformed into a new Bankai form, warned Rei that using it could kill him, and fought him repeatedly to demonstrate its power.
• Ulquiorra turned away Adjuchas demanding Arrancarization because Rei was cultivating and no Reiryoku potions remained.
• Rei's Reiatsu overwhelmed the Espada below, then vanished when he dispelled his new Bankai; he could not tell whether the Hōgyoku had helped him achieve it.