Chapter Summaries

Mu Yu fought Old Man Yamamoto’s Bankai, surviving repeated lethal strikes through [Write] but growing exhausted as Yamamoto exposed the limits of his techniques. After redistributing the energy he had gathered in Soul Society to restore and strengthen himself, Mu Yu countered Yamamoto’s surprise attack with Fudo Myoo, and their collision destroyed the Sōkyoku platform.

• The captains retreated from Old Man Yamamoto’s Bankai while Mu Yu entered [Write] mode and prepared to face Zanka no Tachi.
• Old Man Yamamoto cut Mu Yu in half with the Sword of Great Fire, forcing him out of [Write], but Mu Yu emerged unharmed as the skill transferred the damage.
• Mu Yu attacked with Hirenkyaku and all thirteen forms of Sun Breathing, but Yamamoto cut him down again and later overwhelmed him through more than a dozen exchanges.
• Old Man Yamamoto identified the mental strain and weakening caused by Mu Yu’s repeated use of [Write], while Mu Yu activated the Eyes of the Thiên Nhãn and called on Yggdrasil’s spirit.
• Mu Yu ordered the system to redistribute the energy he had gathered in Soul Society, restoring and greatly strengthening himself.
• Yamamoto attacked with Zanka no Tachi: East - Sunrise Grasp, and Mu Yu stored Kanemoto before countering with One-Sword Style Secret Technique: Fudo Myoo, collapsing the Sōkyoku platform.

Mu Yu’s battle with Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto shifted as the Song of Destiny helped him counter Yamamoto’s Bankai. The third stage of the Dream Fulfillment Plan was completed, and Mu Yu revealed the name of his newly learned Bankai as the fight continued.

• Mu Yu and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto resumed their clash, with Yamamoto’s Remnant Sun Prison Robe injuring Mu Yu whenever he landed a hit.
• Mu Yu used Energy Droplets and drew inspiration from Yamamoto’s techniques to sharpen his attacks and fight back.
• Mu Yu activated the score of the Song of Destiny, allowing him to track Yamamoto’s movements and find ways around the robe’s retaliation and extreme heat.
• Mu Yu began gaining the upper hand, and the system announced that the third stage of the Dream Fulfillment Plan was complete and that he had learned Bankai.
• Mu Yu set Kanemoto down, announced his Bankai, and called it “Let Ragnarok's death knell ring forever, Yggdrasil.”

Mu Yu trapped Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto inside his Bankai, a world fated to end in Ragnarok, where Yamamoto’s attacks only hastened its destruction. Yamamoto sat down to endure the battle, while Mu Yu waited in the world’s final sanctuary as time passed and Yamamoto faced a choice.

• Mu Yu released Yggdrasil’s Bankai and enveloped Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto in a world of flames and impending destruction.
• Yamamoto slashed open the sky with Zanka no Tachi: North - Tenchi Kaijin, but the resulting snowfall carried his sword intent and began extinguishing the flames.
• Yamamoto discovered that his attacks intensified the world’s opposing forces and accelerated its collapse, so he sat down to wage a battle of attrition.
• Mu Yu watched from the World Tree’s sanctuary, knowing the world would reach Ragnarok whether Yamamoto fought or waited.
• As time passed, Yamamoto grew restless and realized he had reached a crossroads where he had to choose what to do.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto fought Mu Yu’s collapsing frozen world with Zanka no Tachi and his summoned army, but the cold overwhelmed him. Mu Yu released his Bankai, ending the frozen realm and leaving the captains and Aizen stunned by Yamamoto’s defeat.

• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto unleashed Zanka no Tachi against the frozen world, but the backlash and relentless cold badly injured and froze him.
• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto summoned the Ten Trillion Fire-Dead Army Funeral, and countless ash soldiers fought against the encroaching snow.
• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto continued fighting as the frost froze his body, his sword, and the charred skeleton soldiers, while Mu Yu watched.
• Mu Yu released his Bankai, causing the wind and snow to vanish and the world to return to normal.
• The captains grieved at the sight of Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, and Aizen was stunned that Mu Yu had defeated him in direct combat.

Sosuke Aizen revealed his betrayal by stabbing Momo Hinamori and then defeating Tōshirō Hitsugaya in one strike. As Mu Yu stood off against the captains, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen joined Aizen, leaving Soul Society’s defenders stunned.

• Sosuke Aizen embraced Momo Hinamori, then stabbed her and left her bleeding on the ground.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya charged Aizen, while Kaname Tōsen and Gin Ichimaru pursued them and Retsu Unohana and other captains blocked Mu Yu.
• Mu Yu said he had achieved his goal and did not want to fight, but the captains kept their weapons ready.
• Aizen admitted that he had used Hinamori’s admiration to control her and told Hitsugaya that admiration was far from understanding.
• Hitsugaya entered Bankai and attacked Aizen, but Aizen vanished from the ice and wounded him with a single slash.
• The captains saw Tōsen and Ichimaru standing with Aizen and realized they had betrayed Soul Society.

Aizen escaped with Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen, then revealed his century-long plans to Soul Society through Kidō #77. He exposed Mu Yu’s knowledge of the Hogyoku and left the Shinigami suspicious of him.

• Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen helped Aizen escape while Retsu Unohana proposed a truce to Mu Yu, who accepted.
• The Captains treated the wounded and organized a search for Aizen, but their Kidō could not locate him.
• Aizen used Kidō #77 to recount how he manipulated Central 46, Rukia Kuchiki’s execution, the ryoka invasion, and the Hollowfication experiments.
• Aizen credited Mu Yu with helping defeat Captain-Commander Yamamoto and asked publicly how Mu Yu had learned about the Hogyoku.
• The Shinigami turned their attention to Mu Yu, wondering whether he intended to take the Hogyoku for himself.

After Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tōsen betrayed Soul Society and escaped inside the Menos Grande’s Inverse Membrane, Mu Yu shattered the supposedly unbreakable barrier and mocked Aizen’s grand declaration. Aizen’s group vanished, while the captains reconsidered Mu Yu as a potential ally, leaving Mu Yu baffled by their reaction.

• The Menos Grande opened a Sky Scar and lifted Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tōsen away inside the Inverse Membrane.
• Aizen declared that he would stand above the heavens, while Sajin Komamura and Jūshirō Ukitake confronted Tōsen and Aizen over their betrayal.
• Mu Yu cut through the Inverse Membrane with a crescent-shaped slash, shocking the Shinigami and forcing Aizen’s group to avoid being struck.
• Mu Yu mocked Aizen with “What are you looking at?” before the Sky Scar closed and Aizen’s group disappeared.
• The captains saw Mu Yu as a possible ally against Aizen, while Mu Yu asked the system why they seemed more wary of him.

After the battle, Mu Yu mastered Responded while the Soul Society repaired its losses and the visitors departed. Captain-Commander Yamamoto summoned the captains, and Zero Division arrived in the Seireitei in response to a threat to the Soul King, leaving the captains stunned by Tenjiro Kirinji's claim that Retsu Unohana was his student.

• Rukia Kuchiki learned the truth about her origins and resolved to speak honestly with Kūkaku Shiba and Ganju Shiba about Kaien Shiba's death.
• Mu Yu sparred with Kenpachi Zaraki and learned about Responded from Retsu Unohana, then quickly mastered the healing technique.
• Mu Yu, Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue, Yoruichi, and the others departed the Soul Society, while Rukia Kuchiki stayed behind.
• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto summoned the captains and warned that Aizen would return stronger, urging them to grow stronger too.
• The Heavenly Pillar Carriage arrived, and Ichibei Hyosube explained that Zero Division had come because the Soul King's safety had been threatened.
• Tenjiro Kirinji called Retsu Unohana his student, astonishing the captains.

Zero Division arrived in the Soul Society under the Soul King's decree to help the captains grow stronger against Mu Yu, whom fate called a Person of Nothingness. Meanwhile, Aizen accelerated his efforts to prepare Arrancar against Mu Yu, and Kisuke Urahara decided to contact Shinji Hirako and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto about the growing threat.

• Ichibei Hyosube introduced Zero Division's members and explained that they had come to strengthen the captains against Mu Yu.
• The captains learned that Zero Division's members had shaped Soul Society through their achievements and were awed by their authority and strength.
• In Hueco Mundo, Aizen gathered newly created Arrancar, including Barragan Luisenbarn, and altered his plans to produce test subjects capable of countering Mu Yu.
• Aizen discovered that Menos Grande collapsed when exposed to the Hogyoku's power, revealing how far beyond his expectations Mu Yu's limits might be.
• In the World of the Living, Kisuke Urahara reconsidered Mu Yu's motives and judged his Anti-Makino Suit inadequate.
• Kisuke Urahara chose to secretly contact Shinji Hirako and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

Mu Yu reflected on his battle with Yamamoto, strengthened his sword techniques, and learned that his Zanpakuto still had weaknesses that the new fourth phase would help him overcome. After checking his strength data, he sensed Ichigo Kurosaki arriving at his door.

• Mu Yu incorporated Yamamoto’s Sword of Great Fire, Kyokujitsu Jin, and Remnant Sun Prison Robe into his techniques, creating the Black Prison Robe and Piercing Death Thorn Spear.
• Mu Yu continued training with Yggdrasil and solidified his combat foundation through repeated battles.
• The system announced that the fourth phase, Standing Above the Rules, had begun and would let Mu Yu’s Zanpakuto transcend Shinigami and Hollow limits.
• Mu Yu recognized that Ichibei Hyosube’s name-erasing power and Aizen’s Hogyoku experiment could threaten him.
• Mu Yu checked his strength data and sensed Ichigo Kurosaki knocking at his door.

Ichigo Kurosaki asked Mu Yu to teach him to control the Hollow within him, and Mu Yu agreed to begin training. The next day, Mu Yu brought Ichigo to the Visoreds’ secret base, where Shinji Hirako and the others put on their masks and prepared to fight.

• Ichigo told Mu Yu about the Hollow mask and sinister voice that had appeared during his battle with Sosuke Aizen, then asked to learn to control that power.
• Mu Yu told Ichigo to defeat the Hollow within him, as he had defeated his inner spirit to learn Bankai, and scheduled training for the next morning.
• Mu Yu considered how Ichigo’s importance could affect Aizen’s plans and the balance of forces between Aizen, the Soul Society, and Mu Yu.
• Mu Yu led Ichigo to the Visoreds’ hidden base and tore through its barrier to enter.
• Shinji Hirako and the other Visoreds mistook Ichigo’s arrival with Mu Yu for a possible attack and donned their masks.

Mu Yu brought Ichigo Kurosaki to the Visored so they could teach him to suppress his inner Hollow. After a fierce struggle in Ichigo’s inner world and nearly seventy minutes of holding back his Hollowfied body, Ichigo completed the training.

• Mu Yu apologized to the Visored for arriving unannounced, easing their wariness and impressing Ichigo Kurosaki with his calm manner.
• Shinji Hirako welcomed Mu Yu, and the Visored gladly agreed to help Ichigo suppress the Hollow within him.
• Mu Yu took Ichigo to an underground space, where Ichigo confronted a white Hollow holding a white Zangetsu in his inner world.
• The Visored fought to contain Hollowfied Ichigo, using barriers and Hollowfication as the powerful White Hollow overwhelmed them.
• After nearly seventy minutes, Ichigo completed his training and suppressed the White Hollow.

Mu Yu tested Ichigo Kurosaki’s Hollowfication by forcing him to survive a brutal, near-lethal training fight. After half a day of punishment, Ichigo’s mask changed, leaving the Visored shocked.

• Ichigo asked Mu Yu how to make his unstable Hollowfication last longer, and Mu Yu challenged his resolve and reasons for seeking strength.
• Mu Yu warned that future enemies would be nearly as strong as he had been before Bankai, then demonstrated his power with a devastating sword slash.
• Mu Yu attacked Ichigo, forcing him to use Bankai and later Hollowfication as the Visored watched in alarm.
• Mu Yu continued beating Ichigo after his Hollowfication ran out, while ordering him to adjust his breathing.
• After half a day of training, Ichigo’s mask changed and the Visored were shocked.

Mu Yu completed Ichigo Kurosaki’s brutal week of training, leaving Ichigo far stronger but still warning him that he was only near Ulquiorra’s level. As Yammy and Ulquiorra arrived in Karakura Town, Mu Yu sent Ichigo to test his new abilities against them.

• Mu Yu spent a week pushing Ichigo through relentless Hollowfication training until Ichigo could keep up with him and counterattack.
• Mu Yu declared that Ichigo had passed, praised his potential, and warned him that he was still around Ulquiorra’s level and far below Aizen.
• Mu Yu and Ichigo left the Visored’s underground base, but powerful Arrancar Spiritual Pressure soon descended on Karakura Town.
• Yammy prepared to attack nearby humans, but Mu Yu threatened to kill him if he harmed ordinary people.
• Mu Yu identified Yammy and Ulquiorra as the Tenth and Fourth Espada, then sent Ichigo flying toward them to test his training.

Ichigo Kurosaki confronted Yammy and Ulquiorra in Karakura Town and revealed strength far beyond their intelligence reports. After Ichigo matched Ulquiorra’s Spiritual Pressure in Bankai, he credited his transformation to a week of training under Master Mu Yu.

• Ichigo Kurosaki drove the ordinary humans away from the battlefield with a burst of Spiritual Pressure while Yammy and Ulquiorra waited.
• Yammy attacked Ichigo, but Ichigo blocked his punch and then cut open Yammy’s back with a single strike.
• Ulquiorra began releasing his Spiritual Pressure, alarming the hidden observers and prompting captains in Soul Society to request permission to support Ichigo.
• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto stopped the captains from departing and ordered surveillance footage from the World of the Living to be transmitted.
• Ichigo activated Bankai and matched Ulquiorra’s Spiritual Pressure, while Orihime Inoue sensed how much his soul had changed.
• Ichigo told Ulquiorra that Master Mu Yu’s week of training had transformed him, astonishing the observers who knew his earlier progress.

Ichigo Kurosaki fought Ulquiorra to a draw after Hollowfying, astonishing the powers watching and renewing their suspicions about Mu Yu. As Mu Yu gained Energy Droplets and upgraded his Soul Tree, the dormant Soul King stirred, while Sosuke Aizen and Ichibei Hyosube seemed to understand something.

• Ichigo Kurosaki Hollowfied and overwhelmed Ulquiorra, who answered with Resurrección, and their attacks shook the sky.
• The captains, Espada, Sosuke Aizen, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, and Zero Division reacted with alarm to Ichigo Kurosaki’s strength and questioned Mu Yu’s role.
• Two beams of Inverse Membrane light interrupted the battle, forcing Ichigo Kurosaki and Ulquiorra to stop, and Ichigo withdrew from Hollowfication.
• Ichigo Kurosaki thanked Mu Yu for his week of training, while Mu Yu gained Energy Droplets from the attention and suspicions his growth had stirred.
• The Soul King stirred as Mu Yu’s Soul Tree received another upgrade, and Sosuke Aizen and Ichibei Hyosube appeared to realize something.

Aizen learned that Mu Yu grew stronger by gaining prestige and admiration, while Soul Society also discovered the secret behind his Dream Fulfillment Plan. Their reactions and the Soul King's awakening triggered Mu Yu's Hollowfication advancement, and Mu Yu decided to take the initiative rather than wait for others to test him.

• Aizen transformed an Adjuchas on the verge of becoming a Vast Lorde into an Arrancar, who revealed that Mu Yu's strength grew through the prestige he held in others' hearts.
• The Arrancar said Aizen's praise had made Mu Yu's Zanpakuto the strongest among slashing types, then collapsed from backlash.
• Aizen realized his past tests and praise had helped Mu Yu grow, ordered his forces to stop probing Mu Yu, and prepared to act decisively later.
• Soul Society learned from Ichibei Hyosube's calligraphy that Mu Yu's true goal had been achieved and ordered all surveillance of him abandoned.
• The Soul King's will awakened, exposing the Dream Fulfillment Plan; Aizen and Soul Society mistakenly believed Mu Yu could Hollowfy, causing his Soul Tree to advance toward Hollowfication and the King Hollow 'Demonic Mu Ye' to gestate.
• Mu Yu accepted that the coming conflict would be dangerous and decided to go to his opponents instead of waiting for them to test him.

Mu Yu invaded Hueco Mundo and overwhelmed its defenders, including former Espada Dordoni, while Aizen prepared to abandon Las Noches and launch his campaign to create the King's Key in Karakura Town. The chapter ended with the Espada learning that Aizen's campaign was aimed at the World of the Living, not at Mu Yu.

• Kisuke Urahara let Mu Yu use his route to Hueco Mundo, while Soul Society learned of the invasion and discovered Aizen had researched the King's Key.
• Jūshirō Ukitake and Nanao Ise's records revealed that creating the King's Key required sacrificing Karakura Town, so Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto sent Tōshirō Hitsugaya and an advance unit to the World of the Living.
• Mu Yu entered an underground palace and defeated its guards, then bypassed Hueco Mundo's distorted path to reach Las Noches.
• Dordoni challenged Mu Yu, but Mu Yu's Spiritual Pressure stopped and erased Dordoni's attacks before leaving him gravely injured.
• Grimmjow offered to fight Mu Yu, but Sosuke Aizen told him to stand down and ordered Gin Ichimaru to muster the troops.
• Sosuke Aizen announced that he and the Espada would march on Karakura Town to create the King's Key, leaving Las Noches exposed to Mu Yu.

Mu Yu found Las Noches abandoned after Aizen fled to the World of the Living, leaving Mu Yu stranded in Hueco Mundo. He discovered the comatose Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, and her broken mask suddenly covered his hand and shackled him with immense weight.

• Aizen left Hueco Mundo with Gin Ichimaru and the Arrancar, abandoning the girl in the wheelchair whose mind had been wiped.
• Aizen’s forces invaded Karakura Town, prompting Ichigo Kurosaki, Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi, Isshin Kurosaki, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, the Visored, and Soul Society to mobilize.
• Mu Yu found Las Noches nearly empty and realized Aizen’s evacuation had left him without a way to reach the World of the Living.
• Mu Yu recalled Ashido Kano and Bawabawa, then sensed a faint presence that drew him to Las Noches’s main hall.
• Mu Yu recognized the girl in the wheelchair as Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, and her cracked Arrancar mask fell onto his hand when he touched her hair.
• The mask covered Mu Yu’s hand and shackled him with immense weight, triggering an unprecedented sense of danger.

Mu Yu learned that the Soul King's seal had bound his Zanpakuto and left him with less than ten percent of his Spiritual Pressure, so he tried to awaken the fading Arrancar he named Void. After three days of wandering Hueco Mundo with her, Grimmjow found him.

• Mu Yu discovered that drawing his Zanpakuto caused searing pain and learned from the system that Void had sealed it as a countermeasure from the Soul King.
• The system explained that Void was an empty shell transformed by Aizen and the Hogyoku, and that Mu Yu could remove the seal by completing his plan, leaving the Shinigami World, or getting Void to awaken.
• Mu Yu carried Void out of Las Noches and confirmed that Aizen and his Arrancar were gone, then tried to restore her memories by showing her Hueco Mundo.
• Mu Yu struggled under the seal while Void continued to fade, and he encountered Nemu in her little-girl form during his travels.
• Three days after the war between Sosuke Aizen and Seireitei's Shinigami began, Grimmjow found Mu Yu and told him he had been searching for him.