Recaps

He-El used his understanding of microscopic Reishi movement to counter Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni’s flames and overpower him. After sending Yamamoto crashing into Noble Street, He-El challenged him to use any remaining techniques, warning that each had only one chance.

• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni dismissed He-El’s flame-like Zanpakuto as a crude imitation and attacked him in the canyon.
• He-El blocked Yamamoto’s Kyokujitsu Jin, then struck back and extinguished the flames of Zanjitsu Gokui.
• He-El explained that he had studied the movement of Reishi and could dismantle flames formed from it.
• He-El struck Yamamoto again, sent him flying into a building on Noble Street, and demanded that he reveal any remaining techniques.

He-El defeated Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni despite his Bankai’s skeletal army and strongest flame attack. He-El impaled the exhausted Captain-Commander as the watching Bleach looked on in horror.

• He-El sent Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni crashing into Noble Street, terrifying the watching Bleach and shocking Yoruichi Shihōin and Kisuke Urahara.
• Yamamoto rose from the crater and summoned a skeletal army with Zanka no Tachi: South—Ten Trillion Fire Dead Soldiers.
• He-El used Shadow Demon World to drag the skeletons into their shadows and crush them.
• Yamamoto attacked with Zanka no Tachi: North—Heaven and Earth Ashes, but He-El endured the flames and scattered them.
• He-El thrust his Zanpakuto into Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni’s torso and lifted him into the air.

He-El defeated Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni and destroyed the Tsunayashiro Family residence with a devastating strike. As He-El prepared to leave, Yamamoto grabbed his ankle and Kisuke Urahara trapped him inside a barrier.

• He-El praised Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni before throwing the wounded Captain-Commander to the ground.
• Jushiro Ukitake cried out for Yamamoto, while Retsu Unohana recalled Minazuki and approached He-El.
• He-El struck Noble Street with his modified Kyokujitsu Jin, destroying the Tsunayashiro Family residence and everyone inside.
• Yamamoto grabbed He-El's ankle as he prepared to leave, and Kisuke Urahara enclosed him in a barrier.
• Kisuke Urahara asked whether He-El's Reishi was nearly exhausted.

He-El faced Kisuke Urahara and four arriving captains after defeating Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, insisting that they could not exhaust his remaining Reishi. As Yamamoto warned He-El about the cost of taking his attack head-on, an unseen voice invoked a dangerous ability behind him.

• Kisuke Urahara confronted He-El, who admitted he had spent much of his Reishi studying Yamamoto's flames but claimed Urahara could not defeat him.
• Urahara said they would surround He-El, and Retsu Unohana, Jushiro Ukitake, Ginrei Kuchiki, and Yoruichi Shihōin approached from four directions.
• Yamamoto ordered the captains to stand back and told He-El that he had expended Reishi by taking Yamamoto's attack instead of evading it.
• He-El explained that studying Reishi mattered more to him than avoiding death.
• An unfamiliar voice behind He-El declared, "Cut the Name, Not the Flesh!", and He-El sensed an unprecedented danger.

He-El was ambushed by Ichibe Hyosube, whose Ichimonji cut half of He-El’s name and erased his Zanpakuto’s name. He-El restored his weapon and explained why Ichimonji could not permanently neutralize his Shikai, leaving Ichibe unsettled.

• Ichibe Hyosube struck He-El from behind while Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni restrained his ankle, expelling half of He-El’s Senkai and cutting his name down to He.
• Aizen wondered whether He-El was in trouble, while Ichimaru Gin expressed confidence in him and Rangiku prayed for him before becoming confused by his name.
• Ichibe released Ichimonji and erased the name and power of He-El’s Zanpakuto when their weapons clashed.
• He-El analyzed Ichimonji’s blackness, restored his Zanpakuto, and said he could infer its name again and retain his Shikai without the weapon’s name.
• Ichibe felt a chill as He-El explained that erasing his Zanpakuto’s name again would not stop his Shikai.

He-El was disintegrated by the True Name Calling Monk’s Bankai, but he used his consciousness to rebuild himself from the Reishi left behind by his fifteen hundred worlds. He-El explained that his thoughts moved faster than the monk’s blackness, and the True Name Calling Monk charged him with Bankai.

• The True Name Calling Monk used Futen Taisairyo to spread blackness through He-El and the fifteen hundred worlds, disintegrating them into Reishi.
• He-El vanished, and Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni collapsed unconscious as the True Name Calling Monk believed Soul Society’s imbalance had been dealt with.
• Retsu Unohana, Jushiro Ukitake, Yoruichi Shihōin, and Ginrei Kuchiki relaxed outside the barrier, while Aizen remained calm and Kisuke Urahara realized He-El was not dead.
• He-El’s consciousness gathered the scattered Reishi and rebuilt his body, explaining that his thoughts moved faster than the True Name Calling Monk’s blackness.
• The True Name Calling Monk charged He-El and activated Bankai—Shirohide Ichimonji.

He-El survived True Name Calling Monk’s attack by rebuilding his body from Reishi, leaving Kisuke Urahara convinced the captains could not defeat him. As Kisuke prepared to send He-El to Hell, True Name Calling Monk’s Bankai erased He-El’s name from everyone’s memories and branded him as “Black Ant.”

• He-El restored his body by transmitting his consciousness through Reishi, and Kisuke Urahara realized the Reishi outside the barrier could let him revive again.
• Kisuke Urahara told Yoruichi Shihōin that their only chance was to accelerate the Hell Gate’s opening and stall He-El until it took him away.
• Yoruichi Shihōin agreed to try to avoid being killed in one strike while Kisuke Urahara sent outside Reishi into the barrier.
• True Name Calling Monk activated Bankai, and He-El suddenly lost his name from his memories.
• Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihōin, Retsu Unohana, Jushiro Ukitake, Ginrei Kuchiki, Aizen, and Rangiku found themselves unable to recall or say He-El’s name.
• True Name Calling Monk covered the space in white ink and branded the words “Black Ant” onto his chest.

He-El was renamed Black Ant by True Name Calling Monk’s Bankai, but he rejected the assumption that ants were weak and survived the monk’s attacks unharmed. He explained that the name granted him ant-like power, then filled the sky above Seireitei with dark spheres.

• True Name Calling Monk used his Bankai to rename He-El Black Ant, and He-El experienced the change as a profound alteration in how he perceived Reishi and the world.
• True Name Calling Monk attacked He-El with Thousand Mile Sky Palm, but He-El emerged unharmed from between the giant palms.
• He-El told True Name Calling Monk that his Bankai depended on their perceptions and the world’s, and challenged the belief that Black Ant meant weakness.
• He-El described the many kinds of ants and their strength and cooperation, then accepted the power associated with the name Black Ant.
• He-El raised his Zanpakuto, and countless dark spheres appeared above Seireitei, breaking through its barrier and plunging the area into darkness.

He-El shattered Kisuke Urahara’s barrier and filled the sky above Seireitei with dark spheres, leaving the defenders in despair. As Kisuke tried to turn the spheres’ Reishi absorption into a way to seal He-El in Hell, Retsu Unohana launched an attack with her Bankai.

• He-El overwhelmed Kisuke Urahara’s barrier, and dark spheres spread across the sky above Seireitei.
• Jushiro Ukitake resolved to use the Soul King’s Right Arm, while Retsu Unohana drew her blade and Kisuke urged the defenders to let He-El absorb Reishi so the Hell Gate would open faster.
• Yoruichi Shihōin left Kisuke to prepare another plan and advanced toward He-El.
• He-El told True Name Calling Monk that his ability would eventually make people forget him, but said he would enter Hell willingly and return to test the monk’s growth.
• Retsu Unohana attacked He-El with Bankai: Minazuki, surrounding him with blood and slashing at him.

He-El overwhelmed the Soul Reapers defending the Seireitei before the Hell Gate opened and pulled him away. He left behind a small world and promised that fear would make them remember him when he returned.

• Unohana attacked He-El with a powerful Reiatsu slash, but he struck her with Kyokujitsu Jin and blasted her out of sight.
• He-El dismantled Yoruichi Shihōin's Heavenly Armament, then defeated her Hakuda attacks with a flick that sent her crashing into a mountain.
• Ginrei Kuchiki released his Bankai, but He-El cut apart its blade fragments and sent Ginrei crashing into the Noble Street.
• Jushiro Ukitake prepared to unleash the Soul King's Right Arm, but True Name Calling Monk warned him that the sacrifice was unnecessary.
• The Hell Gate opened, and He-El scattered the dark spheres before allowing Hell's power to draw him through the gate.
• He-El left a small world in the Seireitei and vowed that fear would make its people remember him when he returned.

Seireitei rebuilt after a catastrophic battle that everyone had forgotten, while a dark sphere in the sky still inspired instinctive fear. Byakuya Kuchiki lost his grandfather, and Rangiku realized she had forgotten someone important as she used skills she could not remember learning.

• Soul Reapers discussed the destruction across Seireitei and recalled that a mysterious Hollow had been defeated, though their memories of it and the battle had vanished.
• Soul Reapers wondered why the dark sphere overhead frightened them, then took comfort in Head Captain Yamamoto's strength.
• Young Byakuya Kuchiki arrived at Ginrei Kuchiki's bedside, heard his grandfather's final words about the Kuchiki Clan's duty, and watched him die.
• At Shin'ō Academy, Rangiku taught her classmates how to control Reishi, then realized she could not remember who had taught her and wept over the loss.

After He-El vanished from everyone’s memories, Tokinada Tsunayashiro embraced his new position as family head, while Aizen and Gin struggled with unexplained gaps in their past. Yamamoto and the True Name Calling Monk discussed He-El’s possible return, but a sudden Hollow transformation among injured captains at the Fourth Division left the crisis unresolved.

• Tokinada Tsunayashiro accepted his position as head of the Tsunayashiro Family and went inside for a ritual.
• Aizen wondered about the person he had lost, while Gin could no longer remember why he had joined Aizen; Aizen then invited Gin to act while the Seireitei was vulnerable.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni asked whether He-El would return, and True Name Calling Monk said He-El might become the living Soul King if he grew too powerful to defeat.
• True Name Calling Monk left Yamamoto in charge of the Seireitei and its people.
• Chōjirō Sasakibe reported that captains receiving treatment in the Fourth Division had suddenly turned into Hollows.

After the True Name Calling Monk erased his memories and changed his name, He-El became Black Ant in Hell. Black Ant discovered that Hell Gatekeepers were torturing its inhabitants and faced the creatures as he tried to understand his new existence.

• He-El's memories of his previous life and his time on Krypton and Earth vanished, leaving him with the name Black Ant.
• Black Ant explored Hell and questioned its terrified inhabitants about where he was.
• A Hell Gatekeeper attacked the people nearby, and Black Ant cut it in half with his Zanpakuto.
• A frightened man told Black Ant that the place was Hell and that Hell Gatekeepers tortured its inhabitants before another Gatekeeper seized him.
• Black Ant concluded that he must have been a villain and decided to do whatever he pleased as Hell Gatekeepers converged on him.

One hundred and ten years after the Seireitei’s earlier crisis, a Spirit Pearl Core sphere breached the Soul Veil and sent four Calamity Travelers falling into the Seireitei. As the captains prepared to intercept them, a giant hand emerged from the dark sphere and seized Uryu Ishida.

• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto ordered the captains of every division to deal with the invading Calamity Travelers.
• The captains prepared for the invasion, while Ichimaru Gin and Byakuya Kuchiki focused on the arriving threat.
• The energy sphere breached the Soul Veil, and four streaks of light scattered toward different parts of the Seireitei.
• A huge hand reached out from the dark sphere and grabbed Uryu Ishida as he passed it.
• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto saw Uryu Ishida being seized and reacted with alarm.

Black Ant stopped Uryu Ishida and Orihime Inoue in the air above the Seireitei and asked where he was. Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni realized that a returned enemy threatened a Gotei 13 still weakened by its history.

• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni woke in alarm at news that someone had returned, and his reiatsu shattered his office desk.
• Orihime Inoue clung to Uryu Ishida as they hung in midair, nearly pulling down his pants before she steadied herself.
• Black Ant emerged from a dark sphere, caught Uryu Ishida by the collar, and asked what he and Orihime Inoue were doing.
• Black Ant formed a Reishi disk beneath Orihime Inoue and Uryu Ishida so they could stand beside him in the air.
• After exchanging names, Black Ant asked where he was, and Uryu Ishida questioned how he could not recognize the Seireitei.

Black Ant helped Orihime Inoue and Uryu Ishida land in the Seireitei, then was swept into their escape from a group of Soul Reapers. As Orihime explained that people did not revive after death, a tall figure approached and raised a Zanpakuto to strike them.

• Black Ant told Orihime Inoue and Uryu Ishida that he was not a Soul Reaper and landed them safely on a Reishi disc.
• Orihime Inoue and Uryu Ishida thanked Black Ant and hurried off to rescue Kurosaki.
• Orihime Inoue and Uryu Ishida ran back, grabbed Black Ant, and fled from pursuing Soul Reapers.
• The trio hid behind wooden boards, and Orihime Inoue explained that people had only one life after Black Ant asked if the dead came back.
• A tall figure approached and swung a Zanpakuto down at them.

Uryu Ishida, Orihime Inoue, and Black Ant escaped a surprise attack in the Seireitei, where Uryu defeated Jirōbō Ikkanzaka in a one-sided fight. Jirōbō appeared ready to attack after admitting defeat, but Black Ant stopped him with a warning.

• Uryu Ishida used Hirenkyaku to bring Orihime Inoue and Black Ant out from behind the wooden boards as Jirōbō Ikkanzaka destroyed them.
• Uryu Ishida and Orihime Inoue asked Black Ant to let them handle the fight, and he agreed.
• Uryu Ishida faced Jirōbō Ikkanzaka alone after Jirōbō released Tsunzakigarasu and boasted about his flying blades.
• Uryu Ishida blasted apart Tsunzakigarasu with a barrage of arrows, then struck Jirōbō's wrist when he tried to release his Shikai again.
• Jirōbō admitted defeat and began to stir up sand for a sneak attack, but Black Ant warned him, making him freeze and lower his head.

Orihime Inoue and Uryu Ishida disguised themselves as Shinigami while searching for an escape route with Black Ant. Rangiku Matsumoto questioned them and, after asking Black Ant his name, used Bakudō #1: Sai on him.

• Orihime Inoue and Uryu Ishida knocked out three Shinigami, took their uniforms, and evaded several search parties with Black Ant.
• The three encountered Rangiku Matsumoto, who felt a strange familiarity when she crossed paths with Black Ant.
• Rangiku asked whether they had seen the captain of the 10th Division, and Orihime Inoue answered that they had not.
• Uryu Ishida claimed that they belonged to the 6th Division, and Rangiku introduced herself before asking Black Ant's name.
• Black Ant answered, and Rangiku cast Bakudō #1: Sai on him.

Rangiku Matsumoto discovered Uryu Ishida, Orihime Inoue, and Black Ant posing as members of the 3rd Division and fought Uryu while restraining Orihime. She defeated Uryu with Haineko, but he began gathering spiritual power despite his severe injuries.

• Rangiku bound Orihime with Bakudō #1: Sai and confronted Uryu after noticing the group's 3rd Division armbands.
• Uryu attacked Rangiku with Reishi arrows and sent Black Ant to move Orihime to safety.
• Rangiku evaded Uryu's arrow barrage and released her Shikai, Haineko.
• Rangiku used ash from Uryu's clothes to cut his hand and foot tendons and send him crashing to the ground.
• As Rangiku approached, Uryu twisted over and began gathering spiritual power into threads.

Rangiku Matsumoto defeated Uryu Ishida after he broke the Sanrei Glove’s safety mechanism and unleashed a surge of power. She captured him and turned to face Black Ant, the instructor she had forgotten.

• Uryu Ishida used Ransōtengai to recover from his injuries and broke the Sanrei Glove’s safety mechanism to gain immense power.
• Rangiku Matsumoto fled Uryu Ishida’s Reishi arrows as they battled across the area.
• Rangiku Matsumoto lured Uryu Ishida into firing at an illusion, then trapped him in Tsuzuri Raiden Formation.
• Rangiku Matsumoto caught the defeated Uryu Ishida as he fell and placed him on the ground.
• Rangiku Matsumoto challenged Black Ant and launched an attack against the instructor she had forgotten.

Black Ant judged Uryu Ishida’s Reishi techniques to be crude after Rangiku Matsumoto defeated him and left him badly injured. Black Ant then effortlessly halted Rangiku’s lightning attack and overwhelmed her with his Reishi manipulation, leaving her demanding to know who he was.

• Rangiku Matsumoto explained that Uryu Ishida would survive, though his damaged Reishi pathways would make it difficult for him to use spiritual power again.
• Black Ant said Uryu had wasted his potential through poor technique, and Rangiku defended the young Quincy’s determination.
• Rangiku attacked Black Ant with Haineko combined with Hadō #11: Tsuzuri Raiden.
• Black Ant froze the lightning whip, dispersed it, and used the forces between Reishi particles to crush Rangiku’s hand against the ground.
• Rangiku broke free when Haineko’s hilt dissolved into smoke, retreated, and asked Black Ant who he was.

Black Ant overwhelmed Rangiku Matsumoto despite her amplified Hadō attack, then moved to kill her. An elderly man stopped him by gripping his wrist and warned him not to do something he would regret.

• Rangiku Matsumoto asked Black Ant who he was, and he called himself a lost lamb who was good at learning.
• Rangiku Matsumoto used Haineko to amplify Hadō #73: Sōren Sōkatsui and blasted Black Ant with its concentrated force.
• Toshiro Hitsugaya recognized Rangiku Matsumoto's attack and rushed toward the explosion while its shockwave knocked Orihime Inoue unconscious and worsened Uryu Ishida's injuries.
• Black Ant emerged unharmed, explained that he had been testing Uryu Ishida's defensive potential, and crushed Rangiku Matsumoto to the ground with pressure.
• As Black Ant reached to strike Rangiku Matsumoto's forehead, an elderly man seized his wrist and warned him not to do something he would regret.

Black Ant faced several captains after Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto stopped him from touching Rangiku Matsumoto. The chapter ended with Black Ant incapacitating Kenpachi Zaraki with a single finger flick, shocking the captains.

• Soi Fon, Sajin Komamura, Kenpachi Zaraki, and Toshiro Hitsugaya arrived as Yamamoto restrained Black Ant.
• Toshiro Hitsugaya pulled Rangiku Matsumoto away from Black Ant, who withdrew his finger after deciding he should not kill someone who might be a friend from his lost past.
• Black Ant questioned Yamamoto about knowing him, while Yamamoto recalled Black Ant's past and the power he had gained.
• Kenpachi Zaraki charged Black Ant, assuming Yamamoto's silence gave him permission to attack.
• Black Ant flicked his finger at Kenpachi Zaraki, blasting him through buildings and leaving him unconscious in a distant tower.

Black Ant overwhelmed Kenpachi Zaraki, prompting the captains to fear the return of the Mysterious Hollow. Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto led Black Ant away to explain the past, while Rangiku Matsumoto asked Toshiro Hitsugaya not to stop Black Ant if he tried to kill her again.

• Kenpachi Zaraki crashed into a tower and was left unconscious, alarming the Seireitei and drawing Aizen and Retsu Unohana's attention to the vanished black sphere and the Mysterious Hollow.
• Retsu Unohana sent Minazuki with Isane Kotetsu to retrieve the injured Kenpachi Zaraki, whom she believed would grow stronger from his wounds.
• Soi Fon, Toshiro Hitsugaya, and Sajin Komamura released their Shikai against Black Ant, but Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto ordered them to stand down.
• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto invited Black Ant to follow him and explain what he knew, and Black Ant carried Uryu Ishida along to study him.
• Toshiro Hitsugaya asked Rangiku Matsumoto if she was all right, and she told him not to stop Black Ant if he tried to kill her again.

Black Ant walked with Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni while carrying the unconscious Uryu Ishida, and Yamamoto invited him to stay and learn in the Seireitei. Yamamoto reconsidered the Gotei 13’s past conflict with Black Ant and resolved to let him study, while a black cat carried Ichigo Kurosaki away.

• Black Ant and Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni heard a crash and saw cherry-blossom blades dancing in the distance.
• A black cat spotted Uryu Ishida in Black Ant’s grasp, then hurried toward the commotion without approaching them.
• Yamamoto invited Black Ant to stay in the Seireitei, and Black Ant said he would remain as long as there was more for him to learn.
• Yamamoto realized that the Gotei 13 had wrongly treated Black Ant’s desire to learn as a threat and offered to find him any knowledge he wanted.
• Black Ant praised Yamamoto as a kind elder, while the black cat carried Ichigo Kurosaki away.