Chapter Summaries

Lu Li welcomed Stark into his group and promised to seek a way to suppress the Reiatsu that kept him isolated. In Soul Society, Soul Singer approached Kenpachi Azashiro with an offer to help him destroy Hueco Mundo in exchange for stopping Sōsuke Aizen in a future war.

• Lu Li welcomed Stark, and Stark joined the group because he wanted companions rather than a particular cause.
• Lu Li suggested making Stark an eyepatch-like device to suppress his Reiatsu so he could safely spend time with weaker Hollows.
• Soul Singer met Kenpachi Azashiro in Rukongai and claimed that Central 46 knew about Azashiro's experiments on residents.
• Soul Singer offered to help Azashiro exterminate Hollows if Azashiro stopped Sōsuke Aizen in a future war.
• Kenpachi Azashiro agreed to keep an eye on Aizen and asked Soul Singer how he would help destroy Hueco Mundo.

Aizen explained how Yoruichi Shihouin could use the Stealth Force’s procedures to bring Lu Li back to Soul Society and clear his name. Lu Li asked for one more week to finish his work in Hueco Mundo, then gathered the Hollows he had recruited and set out to take control of it.

• Aizen told Lu Li that Yoruichi Shihouin, as Commander-in-Chief of the Stealth Force, could oversee his return through ordinary missing-Shinigami procedures and keep the matter from Chamber 46.
• Lu Li agreed to spend one more week in Hueco Mundo before returning, and Aizen warned that Yoruichi wanted to lead a team there herself.
• Lu Li lost another round of mahjong to Nel, who added more doodles to his face, while Stark and Ulquiorra watched and Halibel’s group played nearby.
• Lu Li ended the games and revealed that he had spent the past month recruiting powerful Hollows, including Halibel.
• Lu Li led the gathered Hollows out of their temporary base and declared that they would take Hueco Mundo.

Lu Li’s group attacked Baraggan’s rule in Hueco Mundo, and Stark, Halibel, Ulquiorra, and Nel overwhelmed the king. Szayelaporro abandoned Baraggan and attacked him after Lu Li offered him a place in a researcher’s service.

• Lu Li’s group arrived at Hueco Mundo, where Ulquiorra cleared a path through Baraggan’s Adjuchas defenders with a Cero.
• Stark removed his Reiatsu-limiting eyepatch and battered Baraggan with Ceros while Halibel, Ulquiorra, and Nel joined the assault.
• Baraggan called on Szayelaporro, whose laboratory had been destroyed during the fighting, to help repel the attackers.
• Lu Li offered Szayelaporro a research position, and Szayelaporro switched sides after deciding Baraggan could not win.
• Baraggan attacked Szayelaporro with aging mist, but Szayelaporro countered with a Gran Rey Cero aimed at Baraggan’s back.

Lu Li revealed his newly stabilized Ogre Spirit Evasion Armor and overwhelmed Baraggan in battle, ending the former King of Hueco Mundo’s reign. After Baraggan’s death, Lu Li told Ulquiorra and Nel to devour him so they could evolve, while Szayelaporro proposed working with Lu Li to rebuild his laboratory.

• Baraggan accused the Hollows of betraying him, and Lu Li ordered Stark and the others to withdraw so he could fight Baraggan himself.
• Lu Li activated Prison Demon, Thunder God Form, Dragon Transformation Art, and Ogre Spirit Evasion Armor, raising his overall attributes to 93.
• Lu Li’s slash split Baraggan’s decay mist and blasted him into a crater, stunning Nel, Ulquiorra, Stark, and Halibel with its power.
• Lu Li severed Baraggan’s head, received ten Inheritance Crystals, and told Ulquiorra and Nel to devour Baraggan so they could evolve into Vasto Lordes.
• Szayelaporro praised Lu Li and proposed rebuilding his laboratory with him, while Halibel warned that Szayelaporro looked dangerous.

After absorbing Baraggan’s power, Ulquiorra and Nel evolved into Vasto Lorde-class Hollows while Lu Li decided how to rebuild Hueco Mundo. He used Wood Release to construct a vast laboratory for Szayelaporro and Aizen, leaving the rest of Hueco Mundo’s reconstruction for later.

• Lu Li reassured Szayelaporro that Aizen would keep him in line as they prepared to work together.
• Ulquiorra and Nel endured painful transformations and completed their evolutions into Vasto Lorde-class Menos.
• Nel asked how Lu Li planned to rebuild Hueco Mundo, and Szayelaporro claimed the entire area for a laboratory before apologizing to Halibel at Lu Li’s insistence.
• Lu Li used Wood Release to build a laboratory twice the size Szayelaporro had first outlined, following his directions for its layout.
• Lu Li finished the laboratory’s preliminary construction, rested, and planned to rebuild the rest of Hueco Mundo afterward.

Lu Li finished building a new Hueco Mundo, assigned Halibel and Ulquiorra to manage it, and prepared to return to Soul Society as he considered the coming Quincy conflict. In Karakura Town, Yoruichi took Soi Fon on a mission and explained that true Stealth Force work meant blending in by enjoying local life.

• Lu Li refused Szayelaporro access to his body for research until Sōsuke arrived, then offered him supervised research in exchange for repairing Hueco Mundo.
• Lu Li appointed Halibel and Ulquiorra to manage Hueco Mundo, while Nel and Stark declined administrative roles.
• Lu Li planned to return to Soul Society, expecting a major battle against the Quincies and deciding he needed to master Bankai beforehand.
• Yoruichi and Soi Fon searched Karakura Town for anomalous Reiatsu and missing squad members while moving through the Living World in Gigai.
• Yoruichi bought grilled fish and told Soi Fon that the Stealth Force had to blend into its surroundings by acting like locals.

Yoruichi and Soi Fon investigated strange Spirit Particle activity while searching for missing Shinigami, and Yoruichi learned that Lu Li had emerged from a Black Portal after more than seventy years in Hueco Mundo. Yoruichi captured her old classmate, but Lu Li easily broke her Kido restraints, leaving their reunion unresolved.

• Yoruichi told Soi Fon that they might have to enter Hueco Mundo to find the missing squad members, and explained that Lu Li was her former academy classmate who had once defeated Captain Unohana in a restricted-Reiatsu examination.
• Soi Fon detected a powerful fluctuation overhead, and an Adjuchas-class Menos Grande began fighting something inside a Black Portal.
• Yoruichi ordered Soi Fon to retreat, then prepared to confront the Menos Grande as it emerged from the portal with a bloodied mask.
• Lu Li appeared atop the slain Adjuchas, and Yoruichi recognized him before he leaped out of the closing Black Portal.
• Yoruichi bound Lu Li's wrists and said she had to bring him in for investigation, but Lu Li broke the Kido restraints with his Reiatsu.

Yoruichi brought Lu Li back to Soul Society, cleared him through an interrogation, and sparred with him, only to be badly outmatched. A report of Lu Li’s return reached Yamamoto Genryūsai, who reacted with shock.

• Yoruichi called off the search in Hueco Mundo and took Lu Li through the Senkaimon to Soul Society for questioning.
• Yoruichi directed Lu Li through the Stealth Force’s interrogation procedures, and he cleared his name.
• Yoruichi challenged Lu Li to a Hakuda spar, but he struck her hard enough to send her crashing into a wall and interrupt her Shunkō.
• The Stealth Force sent its report about Lu Li’s return to Central 46, Yamamoto Genryūsai, and the Fifth Division.
• Chōjirō told Yamamoto Genryūsai that the Stealth Force had found Lu Li and brought him back, and Yamamoto was stunned.

After learning that Lu Li had survived seventy years in Hueco Mundo, the Captain-Commander summoned him for a personal assessment of his strength and loyalty. At the underground training grounds, Lu Li released his Zanpakuto and revealed its ability just before the test began.

• Chōjirō told the Captain-Commander that the Stealth Force had confirmed Lu Li was alive, and the Captain-Commander decided to assess him personally.
• Lu Li met Captain Hirako and learned that Captain Akimoto had died and that Aizen was now a lieutenant.
• Yoruichi brought Lu Li to the Stealth Force training grounds, where the Captain-Commander prepared to test his combat abilities.
• The Captain-Commander pressured Lu Li to attack without holding back, and Lu Li released his Shikai, Prison Demon.
• Lu Li explained that Prison Demon inflicted significant damage whenever it broke through an opponent’s defenses, no matter how small the wound.

Lu Li sparred with Head Captain Yamamoto, who tested Prison Demon’s abilities and then challenged him with Ryūjin Jakka. Lu Li impressed the Captains with his fighting judgment but was ultimately overwhelmed by Yamamoto’s strength and was told he still needed more training.

• Lu Li explained Prison Demon’s damage and healing-suppression abilities, then fought Yamamoto with his Shikai and wounded him after Yamamoto let his defenses weaken.
• Lu Li raised his strength with Ogre Spirit Evasion Armor and traded blows with Yamamoto, who tested the damage and healed himself with Healing Kidō.
• Yamamoto asked Lu Li to show his Bankai, and Lu Li admitted he had not learned it yet.
• Yamamoto began the formal examination by drawing Ryūjin Jakka and engaging Lu Li in a high-speed sword fight as Hirako Shinji, Yoruichi, and Chōjirō watched.
• Lu Li fought with precise judgment but was finally knocked into a wall by Yamamoto’s raw strength, then healed his broken bones with Healing Kidō.

Lu Li joined the First Division as a Fourth Seat under the Captain-Commander's supervision, gaining time to train while remaining free to visit Sōsuke in the Fifth Division. News of his return reached Unohana, who eagerly anticipated seeing how much he had grown, though she resolved not to challenge him yet.

• The Captain-Commander ordered Lu Li to join the First Division and promised to teach him, while keeping him under supervision; Lu Li accepted the posting as a Fourth Seat.
• Chōjirō explained that the First Division had few duties and served as a training ground for promising Shinigami who could later be promoted elsewhere.
• News of Lu Li's return spread through the Seireitei, stirring envy among the Explorers from End Space and quiet interest among the Captains.
• Isane Kotetsu told Unohana that Lu Li had returned alive from Hueco Mundo and joined the First Division; Unohana reacted with sudden interest and asked whether he had improved.
• Unohana decided not to seek a real fight with Lu Li yet, resolving to restrain herself while the Gotei 13 prepared to attack the Living World.

Lu Li met Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara, learned about Urahara’s early research into a device that could help Shinigami learn Bankai, and discussed why Yoruichi avoided relying on her Zanpakuto. Yoruichi explained that Central 46 was increasingly opposed to the Five Great Noble Clans, leaving Lu Li to consider how their power struggle might affect Soul Society.

• Lu Li ran into Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara, who had left his post to borrow research equipment from Captain Hikifune.
• Yoruichi told Lu Li that Urahara was developing a Transfer Device intended to help qualified Shinigami quickly learn Bankai, and Lu Li declined to try a prototype.
• Yoruichi explained that she avoided relying on her Zanpakuto because her duties required her to differ from ordinary Gotei soldiers.
• Yoruichi told Lu Li that Central 46 was jointly composed of Sages and nobles rather than being controlled by the Five Great Noble Clans.
• Yoruichi revealed that Central 46 had grown increasingly opposed to the Five Great Noble Clans and might try to remove one clan’s veto vote.

Lu Li learned that Yoruichi’s Shihōin Clan cultivated soul power directly to oppose the Zanpakuto system and exchanged techniques with her to study this path. After a day of practice, neither had mastered the other’s method, and Yoruichi revealed it had taken her seventy years to awaken its first layer while Lu Li had developed his own art in about a month.

• Yoruichi explained that the Five Great Noble Clans sought to balance Zero Division by developing methods that did not rely on Zanpakuto.
• Lu Li realized that Yoruichi had incorporated her Zanpakuto’s power into herself and followed a path of unity between man and blade.
• Yoruichi agreed to teach Lu Li her soul-cultivation method in exchange for learning his Ogre Spirit Evasion Armor and help refining Shunkō.
• Lu Li and Yoruichi spent the day trading techniques but struggled to grasp the essence of each other’s methods.
• Yoruichi described three barriers to releasing the soul’s power and said it had taken her seventy years to reach the first; Lu Li said he had developed his technique in about a month.

Lu Li learned Yoruichi’s Shunkō and tried to combine it with Ogre Spirit Evasion Armor, but the unstable Kido explosion badly injured him. Meanwhile, Aizen took charge of research in Hueco Mundo as Kenpachi Azashiro and the Soul Singer secretly watched him, and Lu Li woke to find Teacher Unohana beside him.

• Lu Li and Yoruichi discussed Shunkō, and Yoruichi sent him back to his quarters after studying its principles.
• Aizen visited Hueco Mundo, ordered Szayelaporro to suspend his projects, and assigned him research into helping Lu Li achieve Bankai.
• Kenpachi Azashiro refused to act against Aizen without further evidence, and he agreed to keep observing him while the Soul Singer urged him to confirm Aizen’s ties to Hollows.
• Lu Li quickly learned Shunkō from Yoruichi and considered integrating it with Ogre Spirit Evasion Armor to conserve Origin Seed slots.
• Lu Li attempted the combination, triggering an explosion that tore open his back and sent him crashing forward.
• Yoruichi carried Lu Li as he healed, and he later opened his eyes to see Teacher Unohana.

After Lu Li was injured while developing Kido, Unohana treated him in the Fourth Division and revealed that advanced Healing Kidō could restore Life Source. She offered to teach him while he worked part-time at the Fourth Division, leaving him hopeful about earning money to repay Yoruichi’s one-million-kan treatment bill.

• Unohana ordered Lu Li to remain in bed and used medical equipment and Healing Kidō to treat his injuries.
• Unohana restored Lu Li’s depleted Life Source and explained that the third stage of Healing Kidō converted Reiatsu to restore bodily functions and replenish others.
• Lu Li asked to learn the advanced technique, and Unohana proposed that he spar with her once Soul Society’s affairs were settled.
• Unohana told Lu Li that Yoruichi had paid one million kan for his premium treatment package.
• Unohana offered Lu Li part-time work in the Fourth Division while she taught him Healing Kidō, and he welcomed the chance to earn wages.

Lu Li practiced advanced Healing Kidō with Unohana, then reunited with Aizen and demonstrated how Life Return let him absorb food and grow stronger. After asking why Aizen had returned early, Lu Li left the story awaiting his explanation.

• Unohana taught Lu Li advanced Healing Kidō, and Isane Kotetsu interrupted their lesson before reporting the Fourth Division’s treatment records.
• Lu Li left the Fourth Division and met Aizen, who invited him to dinner at the Fifth Division barracks.
• Lu Li ate an enormous feast, then used Life Return to digest it rapidly and convert it into vitality and Reiatsu.
• Aizen recognized the benefits of Life Return but declined to learn it, and Lu Li asked why he had returned early from Hueco Mundo.

Aizen told Lu Li that Kenpachi Azashiro had followed him to Hueco Mundo, resisted Kyōka Suigetsu, and reported his actions to Central 46, which Aizen had secretly hypnotized. As the threat of exposure grew, Aizen began planning how to eliminate Azashiro and proposed that Lu Li develop Hollowification to gain the power they needed.

• Aizen revealed that Kenpachi Azashiro had followed him to Hueco Mundo and resisted Kyōka Suigetsu by sensing the world through Spirit Particles fused with his Bankai.
• Aizen said he and Azashiro had briefly clashed before Stark and the other Vasto Lordes arrived, prompting Azashiro to withdraw.
• Aizen told Lu Li that Azashiro had discreetly reported the incident to Central 46, but Aizen had hypnotized the chamber and hidden his trip to Hueco Mundo.
• Lu Li proposed exploiting the coming war in the Living World to kill Azashiro amid the chaos, and Aizen agreed to consider the plan.
• Aizen told Lu Li that breaking the deadlock required him to master a new power: Hollowification.

Aizen explained his Hollowification research and proposed creating the Hōgyoku, but Lu Li balked at using Shinigami souls as materials. Lu Li suggested recruiting Kisuke Urahara as an alternative, and Aizen agreed to meet him the next day.

• Aizen told Lu Li that his research found unusual Spirit Particles in Lu Li's soul that might contribute to his difficulty achieving Bankai, and described his earlier work on Hollowification.
• Lu Li asked whether Hollowification required the Hōgyoku, and Aizen revealed that he had developed its theoretical framework but had not yet created it.
• Lu Li questioned whether Aizen would use only people deserving death as materials, and Aizen said their limited time meant he could not guarantee that.
• Lu Li thought of Kisuke Urahara's research into the boundary between Shinigami and Hollows and suggested that he and Aizen meet to exchange ideas.
• Aizen accepted the suggestion and said he would meet Kisuke Urahara the next day.

Lu Li brought Aizen to meet Kisuke Urahara, where they compared their theories about creating a Hōgyoku and agreed to continue discussing their research. Meanwhile, Lu Li adapted Ogre Spirit Evasion Armor for Yoruichi, who mastered the technique but increased his debt, and he left with Aizen to discuss Hollowification further.

• Lu Li introduced Aizen to Kisuke Urahara, then took Yoruichi to the Stealth Force training ground so the two men could speak privately.
• Aizen asked Urahara about breaking the boundary between Shinigami and Hollows, and Urahara admitted he was researching a substance called the Hōgyoku.
• Aizen revealed that his own theoretical Hōgyoku would require Shinigami souls, and Urahara shared the principles behind his research.
• Lu Li altered Ogre Spirit Evasion Armor's circulation route for Yoruichi and forced open the meridians she needed to use it.
• Yoruichi recovered after the painful training, confirmed the technique was unblocked, and raised Lu Li's debt to 1.2 million kan.
• Aizen and Urahara left Yoruichi's office on friendly terms, and Aizen departed with Lu Li to discuss their research further.

Lu Li learned that Aizen and Kisuke Urahara planned to create a high-quality Hōgyoku from Adjuchas, while Aizen cautioned against rushing Hollowification experiments. Aizen explained that he did not seek to overthrow Soul Society but believed its flawed structure and rules made the world itself responsible for its injustices.

• Aizen told Lu Li that Kisuke Urahara’s Hōgyoku required Hollow materials and that five or six Adjuchas could produce one of exceptional quality.
• Aizen recommended testing the Hōgyoku on Shinigami before Lu Li attempted Hollowification, and Lu Li agreed to discreet verification so their collaboration with Kisuke Urahara could continue.
• Aizen told Lu Li that he had no intention of rebelling against Soul Society and instead wanted to change its unreasonable systems.
• Aizen argued that Soul Society’s class structure and the harsh outer Rukongai districts made it unlike the heaven people imagined.
• Aizen explained that nobles’ children created new souls and that the Gotei 13 secretly eliminated souls from Rukongai to maintain balance.
• Aizen concluded that the nobles, common souls, and Shinigami were not to blame for the system’s injustices because the world itself was at fault.