Chapter Summaries

He-El overcame Shinsuke Hirako’s Sakanade with his reaction speed and swordsmanship, then revealed that he had planted Kensei Muguruma’s Tachikaze blades inside Hirako. Hirako was torn apart by the blades and fell from the sky as Kensei, Juushiro Ukitake, and Love Aikawa shouted his name.

• He-El explained that he could process Sakanade’s reversed visual signals and compared its illusion to Aizen’s Kyoka Suigetsu.
• Shinsuke Hirako attacked He-El repeatedly, but He-El blocked every strike and countered his movements.
• He-El drove Hirako back and dismissed Sakanade as beneath notice, leaving Hirako stunned and furious.
• Hirako discovered that blue threads had entered his body during their blade clashes and recognized them as Kensei Muguruma’s Tachikaze.
• He-El activated the blades within Hirako, slicing his blood vessels and tearing through his body as he fell from the sky.
• Kensei Muguruma, Juushiro Ukitake, and Love Aikawa cried out for Shinsuke.

After He-El defeated Shinsuke Hirako, Jushiro Ukitake realized that He-El absorbed and refined Reishi-based techniques, then identified his weak Reiatsu and attacked one of the dark spheres sustaining his power. Kensei Muguruma, Juushiro Ukitake, and Love Aikawa launched their Bankai together, but He-El answered with Hadō #90: Black Coffin.

• He-El defeated Shinsuke Hirako by adapting Kensei Muguruma’s Tachikaze into fine Reishi threads that severed Hirako’s blood vessels, and Retsu Unohana caught him as he fell.
• Jushiro Ukitake realized He-El used the dark spheres to absorb Reishi and improve techniques, and warned the others to attack with Reiatsu instead of Reishi-based techniques.
• Jushiro Ukitake cut open one dark sphere with a Reiatsu-charged wave and discovered that destroying all three thousand spheres might defeat He-El.
• Kensei Muguruma, Juushiro Ukitake, and Love Aikawa released their Bankai at maximum Reiatsu and charged He-El.
• He-El chanted Hadō #90: Black Coffin as the three captains’ attacks approached.

He-El trapped Kensei Muguruma, Juushiro Ukitake, and Love Aikawa inside his Reishi-powered Black Coffin and crushed them with overwhelming pressure. The three captains fell, and He-El left them buried beneath the shattered darkness.

• Jushiro Ukitake realized the vanished Black Coffin spheres were a warning and tried to stop the three captains from attacking He-El.
• He-El’s Reishi pressure weighed down Kensei Muguruma, Juushiro Ukitake, and Love Aikawa before four black walls sealed them inside a Black Coffin.
• He-El explained that the captains could escape only by controlling the resonating Reishi, while Kensei struggled under the crushing pressure and vomited blood.
• Kensei Muguruma collapsed, and He-El revealed that Juushiro Ukitake and Love Aikawa had fallen even earlier.
• He-El shattered the Black Coffin, and its black fragments fell around the three defeated captains like a burial rain.

He-El defeated three more captains, leaving the Soul Society’s defenders horrified as he advanced toward Noble Street and the Tsunayashiro Family. Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni confronted him and asked whether he was dissatisfied with his arrangements.

• Yoruichi Shihōin and Kisuke Urahara hurried toward Noble Street while discussing ways to close the Hell Gate by using He-El.
• He-El’s Black Coffin shattered, and Juushiro Ukitake, Love Aikawa, and another captain-class Bleach fell defeated.
• Ginrei Kuchiki prepared to leave for the battle but relaxed when the head of the Tsunayashiro Clan arrived, then departed after the Tsunayashiro entourage left.
• Retsu Unohana caught and treated the three fallen captains while Senkai reappeared behind He-El.
• Jushiro Ukitake began to chant Bankai but stopped when He-El turned toward Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni confronted He-El and asked if he was dissatisfied with his arrangements.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni appeared before He-El after He-El defeated six captains, prompting the Seireitei to recognize the crisis had reached its most dangerous stage. As Aizen led the 3rd Division to help the injured captains, Ukitake avoided using the Soul King's Right Arm, though Yamamoto's intervention brought its own risks.

• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni appeared on the battlefield, and the ordinary Bleach celebrated while Yoruichi Shihōin and Kisuke Urahara recognized the danger his deployment signaled.
• Yoruichi Shihōin and Kisuke Urahara continued setting up barrier traps as they considered whether Yamamoto's arrival would make them unnecessary.
• Jushiro Ukitake realized Yamamoto had appeared both to stop He-El and to prevent him from unleashing the power of the Soul King's Right Arm.
• Aizen led the 3rd Division toward the battlefield to support the injured captains, while Ichimaru Gin remained unconcerned because he had seen He-El's strength.

He-El confronted Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni over his treatment of the captains and refused to let Yamamoto’s authority change his resolve. Yamamoto released Ryujin Jakka and struck He-El with a surge of flames, leaving him engulfed in fire.

• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni asked He-El whether he was dissatisfied with being allowed to study at Shin'ō Academy.
• He-El said he appreciated the opportunity but had only damaged the six defeated captains’ Reishi structures and had shown restraint.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni condemned He-El’s arrogance and compared his nature to the former Quincy leader who had called himself the God of Men.
• He-El continued walking toward Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni without slowing, insisting that his actions reflected his nature.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni revealed his Asauchi, released Ryujin Jakka, and engulfed He-El in flames with an upward strike.

He-El fought Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, surviving a fiery strike that burned his body to a skeleton before rebuilding himself from Reishi. After exchanging dozens of blows, Yamamoto criticized He-El’s swordsmanship, and He-El’s Zanpakuto burst into flames.

• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni burned away He-El’s flesh with Ryujin Jakka, but He-El continued fighting as a skeleton.
• He-El reconstructed his body from Reishi, and Yamamoto recognized his extraordinary ability to control it.
• Jushiro Ukitake warned Yamamoto about the dark spheres behind He-El, but withdrew when Yamamoto signaled him not to interfere.
• Yamamoto and He-El exchanged dozens of sword strikes, breaking and reforming many of He-El’s dark spheres.
• Yamamoto forced He-El backward and declared that his swordsmanship had no soul, after which flames rose from He-El’s Zanpakuto.

He-El used Reishi manipulation to reproduce and improve Ryujin Jakka’s flames, forcing Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni back before Yamamoto exploited He-El’s weakness to Reiatsu. Yamamoto trapped them in Fire Extinguishing Cages and began Scorching Hell, while He-El calmly welcomed the chance to face a new technique.

• He-El explained that his swordsmanship relied on precise movement and Reishi manipulation, then used a blazing Zanpakuto strike to force Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni back.
• Jushiro Ukitake questioned whether He-El could copy Zanpakuto abilities, and Retsu Unohana explained that he manipulated Reishi to recreate and improve techniques.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni attacked with Fire Extinguishing Cages and pressed He-El with slashes as the flames enclosed the battlefield.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni challenged He-El for underestimating his weakness to Reiatsu, but He-El said he wanted to see new techniques that could defeat him.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni unleashed Scorching Hell.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni attacked He-El’s Senkai with Scorching Hell, but He-El withdrew it to evade destruction and then summoned it again. Yamamoto identified that Senkai could not absorb Reishi while hidden, and He-El began gathering its energy into his Zanpakuto as Yamamoto prepared to respond.

• Jushiro Ukitake and Retsu Unohana evacuated the reinforcements as enormous pillars of flame erupted from the Seireitei.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni and He-El clashed fiercely among the burning buildings.
• Yamamoto unleashed Scorching Hell at Senkai, forcing He-El to withdraw it and shield it in his own world.
• He-El resummoned Senkai after Yamamoto’s attack failed to destroy it, and the two discussed how Senkai absorbed Reishi.
• Yamamoto realized Senkai could not absorb Reishi while hidden, while He-El said the Reishi it had already gathered would be enough.
• He-El drew Senkai’s dark spheres into his Zanpakuto and began invoking Bankai as Yamamoto watched.

He-El gathered all Senkai Reishi into his body to face Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, who unleashed Zanka no Tachi and began drying out the Seireitei. After Yamamoto shattered He-El’s Zanpakuto and blasted him into a gorge, He-El regenerated and revealed that he had learned the Bankai.

• He-El absorbed all the Reishi in Senkai into his body and explained that he could revive as long as one particle carrying his code survived.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni activated Bankai: Zanka no Tachi: East: Kyokujitsu Jin, causing the Seireitei’s water and moisture to evaporate.
• Jushiro Ukitake ordered the reinforcements to flee farther from the battlefield, while Retsu Unohana worried that Yamamoto’s Bankai was damaging Soul Society.
• He-El and Yamamoto clashed atop the jade tower, and Yamamoto’s strike shattered He-El’s Zanpakuto and hurled him into a massive gorge.
• Yamamoto approached the gorge using Zanka no Tachi: West: Zanjitsu Gokui, while He-El regenerated and formed a blade like Yamamoto’s, declaring that he had learned it.

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.