Chapter Summaries

Shihōin Chiba fought Yamamoto in the Seireitei, taunting him over his age and reluctance to use Bankai while demonstrating his speed, regeneration, and strength. Yamamoto prepared to unleash more of his power as Shunsui rushed toward the battle, while elsewhere Saitō Furofushi mocked Retsu Unohana and provoked her killing intent.

• Shihōin Sennichi accused Yamamoto of growing old and losing his Shinigami pride, then revealed that he had sided with the enemy.
• Yamamoto attacked Sennichi with Castle Rampage and Blazing Hell, but Sennichi absorbed the flames and quickly healed his burns.
• Sennichi urged Yamamoto to use Bankai, but Yamamoto continued fighting with Ryūjin Jakka and failed to land a blow against his former comrade.
• Sennichi struck Yamamoto during close combat, breaking his fingers and two ribs, and Yamamoto recognized that Shikai alone could not defeat him.
• Yamamoto's spiritual pressure surged as he prepared to activate Bankai, and Shunsui hurried toward the battlefield, fearing the damage Zanka no Tachi could cause.
• Elsewhere, Saitō Furofushi mocked Retsu Unohana for becoming gentle, and Unohana's killing intent erupted.

Retsu Unohana fought Saitō Furofushi and was defeated, while Jushiro Ukitake carried her to seek treatment. Kuruyashiki Kenpachi challenged Zaraki Kenpachi before Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto arrived, but a Hell Gate began pulling the revenants away until Ichibē Hyōsube invoked the Soul King's decree.

• Retsu Unohana released Bankai: Minazuki and fought Saitō Furofushi, whose strength and death-based blade overcame Unohana's healing and swordsmanship.
• Saitō nearly beheaded the fallen Unohana, but Jushiro Ukitake intervened and carried her toward the Technical Development Bureau.
• Kuruyashiki Kenpachi defeated Zaraki Kenpachi and criticized him for sealing away his strength, while Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto arrived and confronted them.
• A dark gate opened and crimson pillars began transporting Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, Saitō Furofushi, and Shihōin Sennichi away.
• Ichibē Hyōsube stopped Yamamoto from attacking the pillars and declared that the Soul King had decreed their departure.

Aizen stole the Hōgyoku from Rukia and retreated with the Espada as Soul Society reeled from Hell’s attack and the Gotei 13’s collapse. Hanma confronted the Soul King over his plans, Yhwach revived, and Yamamoto gathered the remaining able captains for a grim meeting.

• Aizen stabbed Byakuya, removed the Hōgyoku from Rukia, fused it into himself, and escaped through a Garganta with Gin Ichimaru, Kaname Tōsen, and the Espada.
• Minato and the other members of the Special Squad accepted Chōjirō Sasakibe’s request to attend a meeting in Seireitei.
• Hanma accused the Soul King of planning to revive Yhwach and warned that Hell would invade the Three Realms again.
• Quincy poured Reishi into Yhwach, whose body regenerated as he declared that he had returned.
• Yamamoto convened a captains’ meeting amid the Gotei 13’s heavy losses, with only a handful of captains still able to fight.

After Hell’s invasion weakened Soul Society, Yamamoto arranged for Zero Division to offer the Royal Key and ordered Yoruichi to bring the pardoned exiles back. Months later in Hueco Mundo, Minato’s Special Division confronted Aizen and the Espada, leaving Minato and Aizen set to duel while the others faced their opponents.

• Yamamoto announced a Gotei 13 selection for the Royal Key, suspended the punishment of the exiled former captains, and assigned the Special Division to help secure Soul Society and cleanse Hueco Mundo.
• Yamamoto agreed to receive the Soul King’s power first, and Yoruichi returned to Urahara Shop with Central 46’s pardon order and news of Hell’s assault and Aizen’s rebellion.
• Urahara decided to gather allies and return to Soul Society after hearing Yoruichi’s account.
• Months later, Aizen prepared to invade Soul Society, but Minato, Fugaku, Kaguya, Tsunade, Obito, and Orochimaru arrived at Las Noches.
• Minato killed Zommari Rureaux with a beam of light, then accepted Aizen’s challenge to fight one-on-one as the remaining Espada chose opponents from the Special Division.

Tsunade defeated Nnoitra and tried to persuade Tier Harribel to leave Aizen's side while Obito faced Stark and Ulquiorra. The chapter ended with Obito shrugging off Ulquiorra's piercing strike and knocking him away with an elbow.

• Nnoitra threatened Tsunade and Tier Harribel, but Tsunade punched him across Hueco Mundo and revealed her overwhelming strength.
• Nnoitra released Santa Teresa and attacked Tsunade, who tore out his heart, crushed his head, and absorbed his Reishi.
• Tsunade invited Tier Harribel to join her, and Harribel agreed to talk while keeping an eye on the other fights.
• Obito warned Stark and Ulquiorra that they could survive if they stopped fighting, but Ulquiorra released Murciélago and Stark released Los Lobos.
• Ulquiorra said he represented void while Stark represented loneliness, then pierced Obito with his claw; Obito brushed off the attack and struck Ulquiorra away.

Obito defeated Ulquiorra and Stark by sealing them in his eye, while Fugaku killed Aaroniero and Grimmjow after they unleashed their Resurreccións. Fugaku then confronted Kaname Tōsen and asked whether he had witnessed a great battle centuries earlier.

• Stark and Ulquiorra attacked Obito, but his intangibility left him unharmed.
• Ulquiorra revealed his Segunda Etapa and joined Stark in launching attacks powerful enough to tear through space.
• Obito seized Ulquiorra, immobilized him, and sealed him in his eye; Stark surrendered to protect Lilynette and was sealed as well.
• Fugaku entered his full-power state and killed Aaroniero as the Espada began releasing their forms.
• Fugaku defeated Grimmjow by draining his Reishi and snapping his neck.
• Fugaku told Kaname Tōsen that his group had openly invaded Soul Society, then asked if Tōsen had witnessed a great battle centuries earlier.

Fugaku's group defeated the remaining Espada, while Minato fought Aizen and forced the Hōgyoku to evolve. Aizen began transforming into a new form as he sought enough power to overcome Minato.

• Tōsen fled toward Aizen, but Aizen sealed him inside Black Coffin; Barragan unleashed his aging ability against Kaguya and the others.
• Kaguya's All-Killing Ash Bones killed Barragan with the power of death, while Yammy died in Barragan's aging storm and Orochimaru killed Szayelaporro from within his body.
• Minato struck Aizen despite Kyōka Suigetsu's influence, prompting Aizen to evolve into the Hōgyoku's Second Form.
• Aizen attacked Minato at close range, but Minato tore off his arm and pierced his chest with a flash of light.
• Aizen called on the Hōgyoku to evolve again, and white strands began wrapping around him as its Third Form took shape.

Minato overwhelmed Aizen’s third Hōgyoku form, but Aizen escaped by self-destructing and survived as a Hōgyoku-linked presence inside Ichigo Kurosaki. As Ichigo returned home, Aizen appeared in his inner world, while Kisuke Urahara investigated the Hell invaders’ energy signatures.

• Aizen emerged in his third Hōgyoku form, but Minato’s overwhelming power and spatial techniques let him break Aizen’s heart and cripple him.
• Aizen detonated himself to escape Minato, and Minato found no trace of him before returning toward Soul Society with the others.
• Ichigo picked up the damaged Hōgyoku, which merged with him and brought Aizen into his inner world alongside White Ichigo and Zangetsu.
• White Ichigo attacked Aizen, while Zangetsu recognized that Aizen had become another hidden power within Ichigo.
• Isshin sensed a strange change in Ichigo, then fought playfully with his son as their inner-world counterparts also clashed.
• Kisuke Urahara studied the Hell invaders’ data and wondered why their energy signatures resembled those of the Special Division.

Kisuke Urahara questioned Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto about the Special Squad’s sealed history and why Soul Society had compromised with them. After learning that Kaguya’s power threatened the Three Realms, Kisuke proposed redeveloping the Hōgyoku to help the Gotei 13 reach their limits, and Yamamoto approved.

• Kisuke Urahara presented Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto with his analysis of the spiritual pressure left by Mayuri Kurotsuchi and asked to learn the Special Squad’s history.
• Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto revealed that Minato and Fugaku had killed First Gotei 13 captains and explained how the Special Squad’s space-time abilities had frustrated his Bankai.
• Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto said Kaguya had halted her attack after Ichibē Hyōsube displayed the Soul King’s power and had requested to join the Gotei 13.
• Kisuke Urahara theorized that the Special Squad and the Hell invaders existed near the limits of Shinigami power, making them difficult to sense.
• Kisuke Urahara proposed redeveloping the Hōgyoku to help the Gotei 13 approach their personal limits, and Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto ordered him to proceed.

Yhwach absorbed Reishi from the Spirit King Palace as the Soul King and Hanma maneuvered against each other in their struggle over the Three Realms and Hell. When Minato and the others moved to confront the Soul King, Hanma appeared before them.

• Yhwach celebrated his approaching recovery and declared that he would remake the world, while the Reishi entering his body spread the Soul King's Karma through him.
• Hanma met the Soul King at the boundary between Hell and the Three Realms, and they discussed their sealed stalemate and the coming collision of the two universes.
• The Soul King revealed that he had planted Yhwach as a hidden piece, while Hanma recognized Yhwach as the Soul King's creation and recalled how he had helped Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto defeat him.
• Minato, Kaguya, Tsunade, Fugaku, and the others grew anxious over the Soul King's sudden surge of power and headed toward the Spirit King Palace.
• Hanma appeared before Minato and the others and greeted them.

Hanma reunited with his kin and explained that he and the Soul King were competing to consume or possess their respective realms, making their avatars’ battle crucial. At the Spirit King Palace, Hollowfied Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto confronted Yhwach and unleashed his Bankai.

• Hanma reunited with Minato, Tsunade, Kaguya, Fugaku, Obito, and Orochimaru, then explained that the Soul King was possessing the Three Realms while Hanma devoured Hell.
• Hanma told his kin to defeat the Soul King's avatar and delay his progress, and they eagerly prepared to join the fight.
• As the Soul King's spiritual pressure burst through the Seireitei's shadows, Hanma and the others headed toward the Spirit King Palace and discussed Minato's years in the Gotei 13.
• Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto and the Gotei 13 confronted Yhwach, while Yamamoto revealed the Hollowfication Device's effects on the Shinigami.
• Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto donned a Hollow mask and activated Zanka no Tachi, leaving Yhwach stunned.

Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto used Hollowfication and Zanka no Tachi to overwhelm Yhwach, devastating Soul Society as the captains watched. After Minato arrived with Hanma, Hanma disappeared and appeared alone between Yamamoto and Yhwach, leaving the Shinigami stunned.

• Yhwach condemned Yamamoto's Hollowfication and attacked him with the Ultimate Holy Arrow, but Yamamoto's flames erased the arrows.
• Yamamoto charged Yhwach and unleashed Zanka no Tachi's powers, while his flames and summoned dead souls ravaged Seireitei.
• Yamamoto used Zanka no Tachi: North — Tenchi Kaijin to strike Yhwach with overwhelming force and burn him away.
• Minato arrived with Hanma as the Shinigami discussed Yamamoto's destructive new power, and Hanma suddenly vanished.
• Kisuke Urahara questioned Minato about Hanma, and Minato pointed out that Hanma had appeared between Yamamoto and Yhwach.

Hanma arrived in the Seireitei to watch Hollowfied Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto and Yhwach fight, but they mistook him for a visitor from Hell and attacked him together. Hanma survived effortlessly and began overpowering both, while Minato and the captains watched in shock.

• Hanma entered the battlefield to observe Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto and Yhwach, then told them he only wanted to watch.
• Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto and Yhwach suspected Hanma came from Hell and joined forces to strike him.
• The captains believed Hanma had been killed, but the smoke cleared to reveal him blocking Ryūjin Jakka with one arm and holding Yhwach by the throat.
• Minato told the captains to watch quietly while he settled down with Fugaku, Kaguya, and the others.
• Hanma lifted Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto by Ryūjin Jakka and smashed him into the ground, then crushed Yhwach's upper body.

Hanma overwhelmed Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto and Yhwach, while Minato and Kaguya prevented the other Shinigami from joining the fight. After Yhwach discovered The Almighty could not see Hanma’s future, he and Yamamoto formed a temporary alliance to battle him.

• Hanma assessed his strength after catching Yamamoto’s Ryūjin Jakka, while Kisuke Urahara and Shunsui Kyōraku considered using Shunsui’s rule-based Zanpakuto against him.
• Minato and Kaguya threatened the Shinigami with powerful attacks, and Retsu Unohana warned that fighting could risk destroying the three realms.
• Yamamoto emerged from the pit with a stronger Hollow mask, and Yhwach revived and activated The Almighty, but found only darkness when he tried to see Hanma’s future.
• Yamamoto charged Hanma, who deflected Ryūjin Jakka and struck him with a powerful elbow before pursuing him with a kick.
• Yhwach used Sanctuary Eulogy to block Hanma’s kick and rescue Yamamoto, then proposed that they combine The Almighty with Zanka no Tachi.
• Yamamoto accepted a temporary alliance with Yhwach, and the two prepared to face Hanma together.

Yhwach and Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto joined forces against Hanma, but their combined attack failed to stop him. Hanma emerged wielding Ryūjin Jakka and prepared to strike Yamamoto with the stolen Zanpakuto.

• Yhwach explained The Almighty to Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, then used it to guide their joint assault on Hanma.
• Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto charged Hanma with Ryūjin Jakka while Yhwach fired Heilig Pfeil, but Hanma seized the sword and crushed Yamamoto’s sword arm.
• Yhwach unleashed a devastating arrow powered by Auswählen, engulfing Hanma in Reishi and leaving Yamamoto severely weakened.
• Kisuke Urahara urged Minato to side with the Shinigami against the Quincy, but Minato said the battle had only just begun.
• Hanma emerged from the blast carrying Ryūjin Jakka, which he had taken control of, and raised it to strike Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

Hanma defeated Yhwach and revealed that the Soul King was using him as a vessel, causing the Soul King to emerge and confront Hanma. After testing their powers near the Spirit King Palace, Hanma withdrew with Minato and the others to devour Hueco Mundo, leaving the Soul King to demand the Shinigami choose between following him and dying.

• Hanma's Ryūjin Jakka overwhelmed Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto's Ittō Kasō, and Yamamoto vanished while Hanma pierced Yhwach's heart.
• Hanma's chaotic power sealed The Almighty and prevented Yhwach from taking Yamamoto's Reishi, then Hanma revealed that Yhwach was a puppet of the Soul King.
• A sapphire-blue aura transformed Yhwach into a limbed form identical to the Soul King, who praised Hanma's strength and admitted his plan to take over the Three Realms.
• Hanma and the Soul King clashed their powers, but Hanma withdrew after recognizing the Soul King's advantage near the Spirit King Palace.
• Hanma took Minato and the others through a spatial rift to Hueco Mundo, while the Soul King ordered the Shinigami to follow him or die.

Hanma established Hueco Mundo as his headquarters and welcomed Stark, Ulquiorra, and Tier Harribel as companions. He restored Stark’s soul and made him kin, then explained that loneliness and emptiness were forms of a trial that could stunt the growth of beings capable of evolving.

• Hanma surveyed Hueco Mundo and invited Stark, Ulquiorra, and Tier Harribel to speak freely about joining his companions.
• Stark and Lilynette accepted Hanma’s offer, and Hanma assigned them to scout ahead and serve as security guards.
• Hanma restored Stark’s split soul and transformed him with Hanma Flesh, giving him a sense of belonging among Hanma’s kin.
• Ulquiorra asked Hanma how he viewed emptiness and questioned why Hanma wanted subordinates like them.
• Hanma explained that Stark’s loneliness and Ulquiorra’s inner struggle came from failing a trial of self-doubt, which he called Twilight of Thought at its highest level.

Hanma demonstrated his mastery of emptiness and existence, recruited Ulquiorra and Tier Harribel as Kin, and ordered his followers to invade Soul Society and kill its powerful Shinigami. In Soul Society, the Soul King empowered the captains and warned them that Hanma’s forces would target them, while Ichibē offered to answer their questions.

• Hanma used his domain to show Ulquiorra and the others his power over emptiness and existence, then recruited Ulquiorra and healed the Hollow hole in his chest.
• Hanma reassured Minato, Kaguya, and Tsunade that their love had anchored him through the Twilight of Thought, while Minato and Fugaku joked about sharing the credit.
• Tsunade and Kaguya approved Harribel as Hanma’s next recruit, and Hanma transformed her into Kin after she declared that she represented sacrifice.
• Hanma ordered his followers to absorb Hueco Mundo’s Reishi and invade Soul Society, where they would kill powerful Shinigami to weaken the balance of the three worlds.
• The Soul King reshaped the captains’ bodies with his power and told them to defend themselves against Hanma’s forces, then Ichibē offered to answer their questions.

Ichibē Hyōsube explained the Soul King’s conflict with Hanma and why the coming war would target powerful Shinigami. Kisuke Urahara began planning how the Gotei 13 and Zero Division could use their numerical advantage to defeat Hell’s forces.

• Ichibē Hyōsube answered Kisuke Urahara’s questions, explaining that the Soul King intended to merge with the Three Realms without harming their inhabitants and that the Soul King and the King of Hell were locked in a war of survival.
• Ichibē Hyōsube revealed that Hell could disrupt the balance of the Three Realms by killing powerful Shinigami, whose souls would fall into Hell instead of returning to the Reishi cycle.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi identified the Shinigami as Hell’s optimal targets, and Ichibē Hyōsube declared the coming conflict a war of extermination against them.
• Ichibē Hyōsube said the Soul King could restrain Hanma and that the Shinigami and Zero Division would face roughly six members of Hell’s Special Squad, while warning that fallen Gotei 13 members might return as reinforcements.
• Kisuke Urahara counted more than thirty Shinigami capable of fighting and urged them to prepare ability-based countermeasures to encircle and defeat Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Fugaku, Obito Uchiha, Kaguya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru.

Kisuke Urahara assigned the Shinigami forces to counter Hanma’s Heavenly Demon Vassals and possible Hell reinforcements. Days later, Hanma prepared his allies for battle in Hueco Mundo and led them toward the Soul Society.

• Kisuke Urahara assigned Shunsui Kyōraku and Jushiro Ukitake to fight Minato, Mayuri Kurotsuchi to join Urahara against Orochimaru, and the Kenpachis to fight Uchiha Fugaku.
• Byakuya Kuchiki and Shūhei Hisagi were assigned to fight Obito Uchiha, while Jūshirō Ōhen, Hirako Shinji, Ikkaku Madarame, and Sajin Komamura formed a team against Tsunade; Zero Division was assigned Kaguya.
• Kisuke Urahara assigned teams to counter the three fallen captains and formed a mobile unit, then rallied the Shinigami to defend the Soul Society and the three worlds.
• Isshin Kurosaki told Ichigo Kurosaki that he would teach him the true Getsuga Tenshō, while Aizen, White Ichigo, and Zangetsu anticipated Ichigo discovering their power.
• Several days later in Hueco Mundo, Hanma told his nine allies to kill Shinigami at vice-captain rank and above, warned that Hell reinforcements would not come, and promised limited protection from rule-based Zanpakuto.
• Hanma praised Tier Harribel’s newly granted power, opened a spatial rift, and announced that the war was beginning.