Chapter Summaries

Lu Li faced the Gotei 13 Captains at Rukia’s execution while Kyōraku Shunsui and Jūshirō Ukitake defied Yamamoto to oppose the verdict. Lu Li protected Rukia and evaded the Captains’ attacks as Ichigo was sent flying by Ichimaru Gin.

• Ichigo Kurosaki tried to attack Ichimaru Gin, but Gin’s Shinsō sent him flying and left Rukia atop the Sōkyoku.
• Kyōraku Shunsui and Jūshirō Ukitake drew their Zanpakuto and challenged Yamamoto’s order to execute Rukia.
• Yamamoto ordered the Captains to capture the Ryoka while he dealt with Kyōraku and Ukitake.
• Hitsugaya Tōshirō attacked Lu Li with Daiguren Hyōrinmaru, but Lu Li shattered his Bankai with his Reiatsu.
• Lu Li protected Rukia with Bakudō #73, Tōzanshō, then sent her toward Ichigo as he evaded the Captains surrounding him.

Ichigo Kurosaki failed to get past Gin Ichimaru, while Lu Li evaded the Captains besieging him and swiftly defeated Kenpachi. A report halted Rukia Kuchiki’s execution and revealed that the Central 46 had been massacred, turning the Captains’ suspicions toward Lu Li.

• Ichigo Kurosaki used Bankai and Getsuga Tensho against Gin Ichimaru, but Gin released Kamishini no Yari and pierced him.
• Lu Li evaded the Captains’ attacks as Yoruichi Shihouin, Hirako Shinji, and the others failed to restrain or affect him.
• Kenpachi released Nozarashi and activated Bankai, but Lu Li struck him down with Prison Demon.
• A messenger reported that the Central 46 had halted Rukia Kuchiki’s execution and declared her innocent, then revealed that unknown attackers had massacred the Central 46.
• Hirako Shinji and the other Captains suspected Lu Li had killed the Central 46, and Hirako urged them to stop holding back.

After Lu Li slaughtered Central 46, the Captain-Commander ordered the Gotei 13 to arrest him, and Lu Li overwhelmed Captain after Captain at the Sōkyoku. The Captain-Commander then entered the battle himself, preparing to fight Lu Li with Ryūjin Jakka.

• The Captain-Commander ordered the Gotei 13 to arrest Lu Li, while Gin urged Ichigo Kurosaki to stay away from the main battlefield.
• Lu Li shattered Hitsugaya Tōshirō’s strongest ice attack, wounded him, and defeated Komamura Sajin with Hadō #90, Black Coffin.
• Lu Li blocked Kyōraku Shunsui and Yoruichi, survived Soi Fon’s Two-Hit Kill, and knocked Soi Fon unconscious before sending Yoruichi and Kyōraku back.
• Aizen staged a defeat at Lu Li’s hands as Ichigo and Gin watched Lu Li overpower the Captains.
• Kaname Tōsen used Bankai, but Lu Li’s lightning defeated him and collapsed the barrier, leaving eight Captains defeated.
• The Captain-Commander stepped onto the battlefield, drew Ryūjin Jakka, and challenged Lu Li himself.

Head Captain Yamamoto activated Zanka no Tachi to stop Lu Li from leaving Soul Society, but A'Huo absorbed his initial flames and Lu Li survived the Bankai's attacks. The chapter ended with Ryūjin Jakka cracking during their clash.

• Lu Li told Ichigo Kurosaki to take his companions and flee, while Head Captain Yamamoto vowed that none of them would escape.
• Head Captain Yamamoto attacked Lu Li with Ryūjin Jakka, but A'Huo swallowed the fire and grew stronger.
• Head Captain Yamamoto released Bankai, Zanka no Tachi, and warned that he could use it for only one minute without devastating Soul Society.
• Lu Li activated the Asura Art and let Zanka no Tachi graze his arm, losing 20% of his Life Source.
• Lu Li clashed with Head Captain Yamamoto using Prison Demon, and repeated exchanges caused a crack in Ryūjin Jakka to expand toward shattering.

Lu Li fought the Captain-Commander until Nel, Ulquiorra, Halibel, and Stark arrived to retrieve him from the Seireitei. He left for Hueco Mundo after warning the Captain-Commander not to pursue him and urging him to reform Chamber 46.

• The Captain-Commander unleashed Zanka no Tachi, but A'Huo absorbed its flames and endured his attacks.
• The Captain-Commander summoned flaming corpses to overwhelm A'Huo and surround Lu Li, while Kyōraku Shunsui warned that the battle threatened the Soul Society.
• A golden Negación descended from a black fissure, lifting Lu Li as Nel, Ulquiorra, Halibel, and Stark arrived with countless Hollows.
• Lu Li removed his Evil God Mask, told the Captain-Commander he did not want war with the Gotei 13, and asked him to reform Chamber 46.
• Lu Li advised Ichigo Kurosaki to keep training, put on a Hueco Mundo coat, and entered the Black Portal with the four Arrancar.

Lu Li returned to Hueco Mundo after two hundred years away and learned that Aizen's Espada system had caused disorder among its factions. He decided to reorganize Hueco Mundo, and Ulquiorra summoned the Espada to pay respects to their returned king.

• After Lu Li and his companions arrived in Hueco Mundo, Nel welcomed him and explained that Aizen had established the Espada to help govern the realm.
• Halibel and Stark described how the Espada had grown unruly, fought over territory and ranks, and challenged the established leaders.
• Ulquiorra explained how Aizen's absence and the new Espada's resistance to his authority had left Hueco Mundo in disarray.
• Lu Li told Aizen he planned to reorganize Hueco Mundo, and Aizen agreed that Lu Li could handle the Espada as he saw fit.
• Lu Li entered the Throne Hall, where Nel revealed Halibel had built it in his memory, and Ulquiorra ordered the Espada to come pay respects to the returned King of Hueco Mundo.

The Espada gathered at the Tower of Emptiness to meet the returning King of Hueco Mundo, Lu Li, but Nnoitra challenged his authority and refused to bow. Lu Li forced Nnoitra to the floor with overwhelming power and reminded the Espada that ambition did not excuse disrespect toward their superiors.

• The Espada traveled to the Tower of Emptiness after receiving an order to pay homage to the King of Hueco Mundo.
• Szayelaporro realized that Lu Li had returned and regretted missing Ulquiorra's earlier summons.
• Stark, Ulquiorra, Halibel, and Nel bowed to Lu Li, but Nnoitra refused and called him a lowly human.
• Lu Li stopped Nel from attacking Nnoitra and asked Nnoitra why he had not bowed.
• Lu Li crushed Nnoitra to the floor with invisible pressure and told the Espada to respect their superiors before challenging them.

Lu Li crushed Nnoitra and Yammy, forced the Espada to accept his rule, and approved reforms for Hueco Mundo. After the meeting, he explained his Reiatsu-styled hair to Nel and agreed to visit Ulquiorra’s training ground to see how much his old companions had grown.

• Lu Li overwhelmed Nnoitra with Reiatsu and Conqueror's Haki, killing him after he refused to salute.
• Grimmjow knelt and accepted the Fifth Espada rank, while Lu Li killed the defiant Yammy with one punch.
• Szayelaporro, Zommari, and Aaroniero pledged loyalty, and Lu Li banned unauthorized Espada duels and approved Halibel and Ulquiorra’s policies.
• After the meeting, Lu Li explained to Nel that he had learned the Hair-Gel Hand from Sōsuke and reflected on Aizen’s styling of the Espada.
• Nel said she and the others had grown stronger, and Ulquiorra invited Lu Li to a training ground outside Hueco Mundo.

Lu Li visited Hueco Mundo and learned how much Stark, Ulquiorra, Nel, and Halibel had grown through Hōgyoku-assisted evolutions. The next day, Aizen arrived with an urgent warning: Yhwach might soon awaken.

• Stark revealed his Resurrección: Segunda Etapa, and Lu Li confirmed the Espada's new strength before ending the spar to protect Hueco Mundo.
• Nel and Halibel displayed their evolved forms, while Lu Li assessed their power and explained how Hōgyoku fusion had let the Espada surpass their limits.
• Lu Li and the Espada returned to Hueco Mundo and reminisced about their time together two hundred years earlier.
• Aizen arrived in Hueco Mundo and told Lu Li that he suspected Yhwach, the ancestor of the Quincy, was about to awaken.

Lu Li used his one-time prophecy and learned that Yhwach would fully recover his power in ten days, forcing him and Aizen to reconsider their preparations. Aizen proposed letting the Quincy attack Hueco Mundo first and then strike the Seireitei, while Lu Li hoped Yhwach would weaken the old order before they made their move.

• Aizen told Lu Li that powerful Shinigami were disappearing from the Seireitei and might be returning to the hidden Wandenreich.
• Lu Li used his prophecy and learned that the King of the Quincy would fully recover his power in ten days.
• Lu Li told Aizen he wanted to fight Yhwach at his peak, and Aizen outlined strategies for facing the coming war.
• Aizen predicted the Quincy would attack Hueco Mundo first because Hollows were deadly to them, but Lu Li revealed that Hueco Mundo's fighters had already exposed their new abilities.
• Aizen said Yhwach might personally lead the attack, then turn toward the Seireitei and the Spirit King Palace, where he could eliminate Ichibei Hyōsube before Lu Li and his allies acted.

Lu Li equipped Aizen and the Hollows with powerful gear while Soul Society cleared Rukia and Ichigo of wrongdoing, leaving Lu Li exiled in Hueco Mundo. As Yhwach prepared to attack Hueco Mundo, Ichigo and his friends arrived there seeking Lu Li’s help to rescue Orihime from the Spirit King Palace.

• Lu Li gave Aizen two Mythical Grade items and distributed keepsakes to Nel and the other Hollows.
• The Gotei 13 confirmed Chamber 46’s corruption, overturned Rukia’s conviction, and verified that Ichigo was a descendant of the Shiba Clan and Lu Li’s grand-disciple.
• Orihime agreed to go to the Spirit King Palace for training, while Ichigo and the others learned she had not returned after four days.
• Kenpachi searched for the missing Yachiru, and Rukia reunited with Ichigo and thanked everyone who had helped her.
• Yhwach canceled his original plan and ordered an attack on Hueco Mundo in ten days.
• Five days later, Ichigo, Uryu, Rukia, and Chad arrived hundreds of kilometers from Hueco Mundo’s palace and set out to find Lu Li and seek his help rescuing Orihime.

Ichigo gathered his companions and traveled to Hueco Mundo to find Lu Li and learn how to reach the Spirit King Palace to rescue Orihime. Grimmjow brought them to Hueco Mundo Palace, where Ulquiorra challenged Ichigo’s claim before Lu Li confirmed that Ichigo was his grand-disciple.

• Ichigo asked Urahara how to enter the Spirit King Palace, and Urahara sent him and his companions to Hueco Mundo to seek Lu Li.
• Grimmjow confronted Ichigo’s group, stopped when Ichigo named Lu Li, and agreed to lead them to Hueco Mundo Palace after Ichigo clarified that he was Lu Li’s grand-disciple.
• Grimmjow introduced himself as the Fifth Espada and dismissed the Gotei 13 as inferior to the Espada.
• At Hueco Mundo Palace, Ulquiorra questioned Grimmjow for bringing humans and Shinigami inside, then threatened Ichigo’s group while doubting Ichigo was Lu Li’s grand-disciple.
• Lu Li appeared, confirmed Ichigo was his grand-disciple, and Grimmjow knelt to address him as Your Majesty.

Ichigo Kurosaki asked Lu Li to train him so he could reach the Spirit King Palace and rescue Inoue, whom Zero Division had taken. Lu Li awakened Ichigo’s Hollow power and sent him to spar with Grimmjow, then assigned teachers and training tasks to Ichigo’s companions.

• Ichigo Kurosaki told Lu Li that Zero Division had taken Inoue and asked to learn how to reach the Spirit King Palace; Uryu Ishida, Chad, and Rukia Kuchiki also asked to train.
• Lu Li assigned Grimmjow to train Ichigo, promising to help Grimmjow evolve if he did well.
• Lu Li awakened the Hollow power within Ichigo, causing a mask to appear and Ichigo to attack; Lu Li hurled him outside to fight Grimmjow.
• Lu Li explained that Ichigo needed to develop his Hollow power through battle, then brought the others to Hueco Mundo’s reception hall.
• Lu Li assigned Stark to train Uryu Ishida, sent Rukia Kuchiki with Ulquiorra to find Aaroniero Arruruerie and defeat him, and directed Chad to train with Szayelaporro.

Ichigo’s Hollow power erupted during a fight with Grimmjow, and Ulquiorra helped him regain control while Lu Li arranged further training. Five days later, Yhwach led the Quincy army into Hueco Mundo, but they found only a barren desert where they expected to find it.

• Ichigo transformed into a Bull-Horned Hollow after Grimmjow wounded him, then overwhelmed Grimmjow until Ulquiorra intervened.
• Ulquiorra fought Ichigo in Resurrección: Segunda Etapa and severed his horns, causing Ichigo’s mask to shatter and leaving him unconscious.
• Lu Li healed Grimmjow, promised to help him advance, and ordered Ulquiorra to train Ichigo in controlling his Hollow power.
• Lu Li told Ishida and the others that he could send them to the Spirit King Palace if their strength earned his approval.
• Yhwach opened a prepared gateway and led the Quincy army into Hueco Mundo ahead of their planned war against Soul Society.
• The Sternritter found only an empty desert at the gateway’s landing point, with no sign of Hueco Mundo or any Hollows.

The Quincy army led by Yhwach landed in Hueco Mundo and faced Lu Li and the Espada. Yhwach tried to recruit Lu Li, but after Lu Li mocked him, As Nodt attacked and was overwhelmed by Lu Li’s fear aura.

• Yhwach led the Quincies into Hueco Mundo, where they found the Espada and other defenders waiting for them.
• Lu Li arrived and confronted Yhwach, who offered him a place in the New World because he recognized Lu Li as a Special War Potential.
• Lu Li mocked Yhwach over his defeat by the old man and the wound he had received, prompting As Nodt to charge at him with his Fear Schrift.
• As Nodt’s arrows struck Lu Li, but Lu Li showed no fear and unleashed the Evil God Mask’s Ultimate Fear, making As Nodt and many Quincies tremble.

Lu Li defeated As Nodt by turning his fear ability against him, then broke Quilge Opie’s Jail with raw Reiatsu. Ulquiorra killed Quilge Opie after his second failed attempt, while Yhwach shifted his attention to Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryu Ishida.

• As Nodt activated Vollständig and died after Lu Li’s illusion made him relive his deepest fears.
• Lu Li told Yhwach that their thousand-year-old grudges would end with Yhwach’s defeat, and Yhwach permitted Quilge Opie to challenge him.
• Quilge Opie trapped Lu Li in Jail, but Lu Li shattered the prison with his Reiatsu and told Uryu Ishida that raw stats could overcome flashy abilities.
• Ichigo Kurosaki arrived as Quilge Opie tried to imprison Lu Li again, but Ulquiorra killed Quilge before the ability could activate.
• Yhwach ignored Quilge’s death and turned his gaze toward Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryu Ishida.

Yhwach encountered Ichigo and Uryu in Hueco Mundo, claiming Ichigo as his son and naming Uryu his successor. After Uryu joined Yhwach and Ichigo’s attack failed, Yhwach sent Greymmy to challenge Lu Li, while Ulquiorra stepped forward to fight him.

• Yhwach recognized Ichigo as his son and invited Uryu to become his successor, leaving both men and the Quincy army stunned.
• Lu Li told Uryu he could leave, and Uryu stepped toward Yhwach, believing he could infiltrate the Quincy camp; Ichigo tried to stop him.
• Ichigo Hollowified and attacked Yhwach, who shattered Zangetsu, blocked the broken blade with Quincy armor around Ichigo’s neck, and threw him back to Ulquiorra.
• Yhwach invited Lu Li to join him in creating a New World, but Lu Li challenged whether Yhwach could see his intentions.
• Greymmy Thoumeaux volunteered to test Lu Li, declared imagination the world’s strongest power, and introduced himself as the Sternritter’s strongest; Ulquiorra offered to fight him.

Lu Li battled Greymmi, whose imagination let him create weapons, clones, and an enormous meteor, while their allies fought the Sternritter around them. Greymmi summoned a catastrophic meteor, and Lu Li answered by raising a giant black sword to strike it.

• The Sternritter attacked Ulquiorra, prompting Nel and the Arrancar to join the battle, while Stark overwhelmed several opponents and Ichigo watched in disbelief.
• Yhwach held back to observe Lu Li as Greymmi challenged him and raised a stone platform above the battlefield.
• Greymmi fired imagined guns and missiles at Lu Li, but Lu Li reversed the barrage and wounded him with Prison Demon.
• Greymmi imagined stronger bodies and created clones, but Lu Li cut them down and inflicted severe pain, provoking Greymmi to fight in earnest.
• Greymmi created more than a hundred clones and summoned a meteor over a hundred kilometers wide, and Lu Li formed a towering black sword from Truth-Seeking Balls and swung it toward the sky.

Lu Li defeated Greymmi by turning his imagined meteor into a second moon and overwhelming him until his confidence collapsed. Yhwach then confronted Lu Li, who hinted that Soul Society was in danger even as the battle began.

• Lu Li shattered Greymmi's enormous meteor, then used Chibaku Tensei to gather its fragments into a Crimson moon above Hueco Mundo.
• Lu Li killed Greymmi after defeating his transformations and escaping his attempt to exile him in outer space.
• Lu Li mocked Yhwach for abandoning Greymmi, and Yhwach declared that Lu Li and Hueco Mundo would become the foundation of his New World.
• Yhwach advanced on Lu Li with overwhelming Reiatsu while the Quincy and Espada watched.
• Lu Li challenged Yhwach's vision and asked whether everything was truly all right in Soul Society.

Yhwach abandoned his Hueco Mundo assault after discovering that Aizen had trapped his forces in Soul Society, and Lu Li wiped out the remaining Quincy before Yhwach escaped with Uryu Ishida. Lu Li prepared to take Ichigo to the Spirit King Palace to restore his Zanpakuto while he returned to defend Soul Society.

• Yhwach discovered that Haschwalth and the Schutzstaffel were fighting the Shinigami in Soul Society, so he ordered the attack on Soul Society and withdrew from Hueco Mundo.
• Lu Li released his Conqueror's Haki and Fear Aura, killing the Quincy army and forcing Yhwach to escape through a Senkaimon with Uryu Ishida.
• Ichigo Kurosaki asked Lu Li what to do, but Lu Li pointed out that his broken Zanpakuto left him unable to protect anyone.
• Rukia chose to return to Soul Society while Chad offered to accompany Ichigo to the Spirit King Palace to retrieve Inoue.
• Lu Li explained that Aizen had prepared Soul Society's defense and said he would take Ichigo to the Spirit King Palace to obtain a new Zanpakuto before Yhwach attacked it.