Chapter Summaries

Araki taught Kenpachi to speak, read, and write, then gave him a reforged Zanpakuto after he passed a test. He sent Kenpachi to meet Genryūsai, where the boy immediately challenged him, while Araki decided to give his teacher Hollow and Quincy powers.

• Araki persuaded Kenpachi to study by promising him a sword, and Kenpachi learned to speak, write, and absorb basic knowledge over three months.
• Kenpachi passed Araki’s test and received the Zanpakuto Oetsu had reforged.
• Araki sent Kenpachi with Sasakibe to the 1st Division, secretly telling him to attack the powerful person he would meet there.
• Kenpachi cut through the Captain’s Office doors and attacked Genryūsai, who blocked his strike and released Ryujin Jakka.
• Araki sensed Genryūsai’s power and decided to give him Hollowfication and Quincy abilities so he could become a Soul King candidate.

After a year of training and repeated battles with Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, Kenpachi awakened his Zanpakuto’s Shikai, Nozarashi, by cleaving through Ryujin Jakka’s flames. Yamamoto immediately revealed his Bankai and defeated him again, leaving Kenpachi to realize that his training had only just begun.

• Genryūsai dismissed the 1st Division members and Sasakibe, then learned that Kenpachi wanted a Zanpakuto capable of cutting through everything.
• Genryūsai began training Kenpachi through repeated battles, while Sasakibe handled most of the 1st Division’s work.
• Sasakibe ordered the division members to suppress rumors that Kenpachi was Genryūsai’s illegitimate son, but his reaction fueled further speculation.
• A year later, Kenpachi finally heard his Zanpakuto’s voice and released Nozarashi, cleaving a gap through Genryūsai’s flames.
• Genryūsai released his Bankai, Zanka no Tachi, and defeated Kenpachi, telling him that his Zanpakuto training had only just begun.

After ten years of training under Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Kenpachi returned to the 11th Division and challenged Araki, only to be defeated with one slash. He reported his progress to Araki and then immediately challenged Saito Furofushi under the 11th Division’s captain challenge rules.

• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto sent Kenpachi back to the 11th Division after ten years of training, warning him to leave any Central 46 conflict to Araki and himself.
• Genryūsai learned from Sasakibe that a rumor claimed Kenpachi was his illegitimate son and ordered him to tell Araki to stop it within three months.
• Kenpachi returned to the 11th Division, released Nozarashi, and challenged Araki, who knocked him unconscious and sent him flying to the Rukongai with one slash.
• Kenpachi returned that evening, reported his Shikai, swordsmanship, and Hakuda progress to Araki, and admitted he had little talent for Kido and Shunpo.
• Kenpachi asked whether the captain challenge rules applied to the vice-captain, then attacked Saito Furofushi, who blocked his strike.

Araki arranged a Captain’s Challenge between Kenpachi and Saito, then kept Saito as lieutenant while promoting Kenpachi to share the position. He took Kenpachi to the Soul King Palace to train, where Division 0 revealed that Araki was its strongest member and surpassed the entire Royal Guard in combat power.

• Araki summoned the 11th Division to watch Kenpachi challenge Saito, and Kenpachi defeated her almost instantly.
• Araki announced that Saito would remain lieutenant and Kenpachi would become a second lieutenant alongside her.
• Araki questioned Kenpachi about his fear of mastering Bankai, then took him by Tenchuren to the Soul King Palace for training.
• Hyosube welcomed Kenpachi to Division 0, and Kirinjū Tenjirō claimed the Royal Guard surpassed the Gotei 13 combined.
• Hyosube, Oetsu Nimaiya, and Kirinjii told Kenpachi that Araki was the strongest member of Division 0 and stronger than all of them.

Araki sent Kenpachi to Division 0 to master Bankai, then traveled to Hueco Mundo after Barragan reported finding a powerful Vasto Lorde. The chapter ended with the Arrancar Lilinette Starrk attacking Araki and Barragan with a barrage of Cero.

• Kirinjii, Oetsu Nimaiya, and Monk explained to Kenpachi that Division 0's power had grown beyond the limits it once faced because of Araki.
• Oetsu cut Kenpachi with Sayafushi, prompting Kenpachi to awaken a monstrous form before Kirinjii healed him and Monk erased his name.
• Monk sent Kenpachi to Araki's detached palace to wash off the ink and begin Bankai training, then failed to affect the palace with his own power.
• Araki traveled to Las Noches, where Barragan showed him the renovated palace and reported discovering a Vasto Lorde with immense Spiritual Pressure.
• Araki and Barragan found the Arrancar Lilinette Starrk, who aimed two pistols at them and fired a barrage of Cero.

Araki subdued Lilinette Starrk, awakened her loyalty with his Zanpakuto, and gave her the name Vajra and VR Glasses that let her control Ikkomikidō’s clones. He left Hueco Mundo in Barragan’s care and returned to the Soul Society, while the three powerful Menos settled into an uneasy routine.

• Barragan blocked Lilinette’s Ceros and urged Araki to kill her, but Araki ordered him aside and approached Lilinette himself.
• Araki used his Zanpakuto to make Lilinette relive years spent with him as a wolfhound, and she returned to Hueco Mundo calling him her master.
• Araki altered Barragan’s thoughts when he questioned Lilinette’s conversion, then named Lilinette Vajra and gave her VR Glasses linked to Ikkomikidō’s clones.
• Araki entrusted Barragan with Hueco Mundo and its Menos, asked him to report any new Vasto Lorde, and departed through a Garganta.
• Barragan expanded his forces and searched for Vasto-class Menos, Ikkomikidō hunted for food, and Lilinette became absorbed in her VR game.

Araki recruited Szayelaporro in Hueco Mundo and secretly killed three noble heads after the former 10th Division leader died in a noble faction’s internal strife. Kenpachi returned from a century of training and repeatedly challenged Araki, while Yoruichi, Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Tokinada finally came back to Soul Society.

• Araki recruited Szayelaporro, renamed him Mikhaila, and awakened his devotion by showing him reincarnation through his Zanpakuto.
• Araki attended the former 10th Division leader’s Soul Funeral Ceremony, learned that the Sōma, Mita, and Kusakabe family heads had been found dead, and admitted to Genryūsai that he had killed them.
• Kenpachi returned from training in the Soul King Palace with Bankai, challenged Araki, and was sent flying with one slash.
• Kenpachi spent the next hundred years repeatedly challenging Araki and being defeated, while the 11th Division watched the familiar routine.
• Araki went to the Shiba Clan estate as the Tenchuren brought Yoruichi, Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Tokinada back to Soul Society.
• Yoruichi rushed out to celebrate her return, but Araki struck her on the head with his sword sheath.

Araki tested Yoruichi, Kyoraku, Ukitake, Tokinada, and Soifon after their two centuries of training, then assigned them to take over the Gotei 13 and Onmitsukidō. He planned to create captain vacancies by having his disciples challenge the current captains, while preparing to eventually push Genryūsai into retirement.

• Araki challenged Yoruichi, Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Tokinada to withstand him for five minutes, and Soifon joined the assessment.
• Araki quickly knocked Soifon unconscious, while Kyoraku and Tokinada used their Bankai to buy time before Yoruichi and Ukitake fought him together.
• Araki declared that all five disciples had passed and healed them after the assessment.
• Araki ordered Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Tokinada to claim the captain seats of the 8th, 13th, and 9th Divisions, while Yoruichi would take control of the Onmitsukidō and Soifon would assist her.
• Araki told his disciples to choose divisions within a month and arranged for them to challenge the current captains, then considered making Genryūsai retire as Captain-Commander.

Araki persuaded Shiba Tenjun to have Shiba Sawakage leave the Ninth Division and seek the vacant captaincy of the 10th Division, then set out to eliminate the rival noble clans’ candidates. Genryūsai and Chōjirō Sasakibe learned of Araki’s maneuvering and suspected he was gathering allies to eventually take over the Gotei 13.

• Araki discussed the Shiba Clan’s difficulties with Shiba Tenjun and convinced him to submit a report transferring Sawakage from the Ninth Division to the 10th Division.
• Araki went to the Yoshikawa Clan estate and incapacitated its head, then continued toward the Takao and Matsugi Clans to stop their candidates from competing for the 10th Division captaincy.
• Genryūsai received the Shiba Clan’s transfer report and ordered Chōjirō Sasakibe to investigate who had influenced the decision.
• After reading a confidential report about Araki’s actions, Genryūsai called off the investigation and discussed Araki’s growing influence with Sasakibe.
• Genryūsai and Sasakibe concluded that Araki might be positioning his disciples and allied clans to challenge Genryūsai and take control of the Gotei 13.

After Araki’s crackdown made the Seireitei’s nobles wary, he accepted their bribes while plotting to use their greed against them, and his disciples returned to their families before preparing to act. The chapter ended with Araki setting out to arrange temporary leave for the captains of three divisions, signaling a major upheaval across Soul Society.

• Nobles across the Seireitei reacted to Araki’s actions by keeping a low profile and sending him gifts, while Araki accepted the money to encourage their future mistakes.
• Ukitake returned to his family, harvested wheat with Sōgyo no Kotowari, and found warmth among his many younger siblings.
• Shunsui reconciled with his dying elder brother, who entrusted the Kyoraku Clan, his pregnant wife, and their unborn child to him.
• Tokinada reassured the Tsunayashiro Family Head of his clan loyalty while privately plotting to seize power, and Yoruichi reunited with Soifon at the Shihoin Clan.
• After a week of rest, Yoruichi prepared to take down the Onmitsukidō, Tokinada sought a place among the Five Elders, and Ukitake and Shunsui prepared to leave their families and act.
• Araki told his 11th Division subordinates that he was arranging temporary leave for the captains of the 8th, 9th, and 13th Divisions, then departed.

Tokinada rejected the Tsunayashiro elders’ offer to prove himself through family businesses and declared that he would become the family head. Meanwhile, Araki gathered three Gotei 13 captains and told them his returning disciples needed their captain positions.

• Tokinada’s father introduced him to the Tsunayashiro Second Elder and Third Elder, who offered him family businesses as a test before he could pursue a Five Elder position.
• Tokinada dismissed the elders, overpowered them with his Spiritual Pressure, and announced that he would become the Tsunayashiro Family head.
• Tokinada met Kyoraku and Ukitake on their way to see Araki, traded taunts with Kyoraku, and followed Ukitake ahead.
• The captains of the 8th, 9th, and 13th Divisions gathered at a teahouse after Araki summoned them and waited for him to arrive.
• Araki arrived and told the three captains that his disciples needed their positions in the Gotei 13, asking them to step aside.

Araki confronted three Gotei 13 captains over their conduct and orders to take leave, defeating the captains of the 9th and 8th Divisions when they resisted. He gave the remaining captain of the 13th Division a chance to keep his position by defeating one of Araki’s three disciples.

• The captains of the 8th, 9th, and 13th Divisions tried to treat Araki’s demand that they take leave as a joke, but Araki insisted he was serious.
• The captain of the 8th Division and the captain of the 9th Division argued that Araki had no authority to order them to take leave, so Araki accused the 9th Division captain of neglecting his duties and slashed him unconscious.
• Araki told the 8th Division captain to step down and then knocked him unconscious when he refused.
• Araki explained that he wanted the 8th and 9th Division captains removed for neglecting their duties and said the 13th Division captain was too weak to meet his standards.
• Araki offered the 13th Division captain a chance to keep his position by defeating any one of Araki’s three disciples, with healing between fights if necessary.

Araki brought Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Tokinada to fight the 13th Division captain, after explaining how the Shiba Clan had used Araki to remove the corrupt new captain of the 9th Division. Kyoraku defeated the 13th Division captain with his Bankai, and Tokinada began his own Bankai assault.

• Araki told the 13th Division captain that the former vice-captain of the 9th Division had been exposed for corruption and that the Shiba Clan had helped arrange his removal.
• Ukitake, Kyoraku, and Tokinada arrived, and Araki introduced them as his disciples before ordering the 13th Division captain to face them.
• Kyoraku released his Bankai, trapped the 13th Division captain in an ocean that drained his Spiritual Pressure, and frightened him unconscious with a final slash that did not actually cut him.
• Tokinada began his fight by releasing his Bankai and using shadows to create a cage around the 13th Division captain.
• Tokinada activated his Bankai's First Death: Wind Burial, sending violent winds against the 13th Division captain's soul.

After Tokinada and Ukitake defeated the 13th Division captain, Araki arranged for him to pressure two noble families into surrendering the 8th and 9th Division captaincies to his disciples. The captain and both families submitted retirement applications and recommended Kyoraku Shunsui, Ukitake Jushiro, and Tsunayashiro Tokinada as replacements, leaving Yamamoto to consider Araki’s growing influence over the Gotei 13.

• Tokinada defeated the 13th Division captain with his Bankai, and Araki snapped him out of its effects.
• Ukitake defeated the captain by stopping his Bankai with God's Hanging and placing his Zanpakuto at the captain’s neck.
• The captain accepted the loss and agreed that Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Tokinada could take the three captaincies.
• Araki told the captain to make the 8th and 9th Division heads’ families retire them and recommend Araki’s disciples in exchange for their recovery.
• The captain persuaded the families to submit the applications and recommendations, and stopped a retainer from reporting their decision.
• At the 1st Division Barracks, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto received the three applications and letters recommending Kyoraku Shunsui, Ukitake Jushiro, and Tsunayashiro Tokinada.

After the former 8th, 9th, and 13th Division captains allied and broke with their noble backers, the first two sought Araki’s protection as the nobles retreated. Meanwhile, Yamamoto approved the new captain candidates, and Kyoraku Shunsui, Ukitake Jushiro, and Tsunayashiro Tokinada faced an assessment overseen by Genryūsai, Araki, and Unohana Retsu.

• The former 8th and 9th Division captains joined forces with the former 13th Division captain and formed a new noble faction.
• Noble representatives confronted the former 8th and 9th Division captains, but the three allies unleashed captain-level Spiritual Pressure and drove them away.
• The former 8th and 9th Division captains decided to seek Araki’s backing, while Saito Furofushi watched and recognized that events followed Araki’s plan.
• Yamamoto Genryusai approved the three captains’ departures and recommendations, bringing Kyoraku Shunsui, Ukitake Jushiro, and Tsunayashiro Tokinada to the captain assessment.
• Genryūsai welcomed the three as his granddisciples but warned that he would hold them to higher assessment standards.
• Araki and Unohana Retsu joined Genryūsai as examiners, and the three candidates realized that Seireitei’s strongest regular combat power was overseeing their assessment.

Kyoraku Shunsui, Ukitake Jushiro, and Tsunayashiro Tokinada passed their captain’s examination by displaying their Bankai and received their Captain’s Haori and division appointments. Araki then discussed the Seireitei’s future with Yamamoto, saying he would give its corrupt nobles a chance to submit and planned to replace them with loyal talent.

• Araki began the captain’s examination and decided Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Tokinada would take it together, despite Ukitake’s concerns about unfairly lowered standards.
• Araki ordered the three to display their Bankai, and Yamamoto declared them qualified after evaluating their releases.
• Yamamoto appointed Kyoraku captain of the 8th Division, Tokinada captain of the 9th Division, and Ukitake captain of the 13th Division; Araki gave them commissioned Captain’s Haori.
• Kyoraku and Tokinada left to show off their new haori to Yoruichi, and Ukitake followed after warning them not to provoke her.
• Yamamoto invited Araki for a walk and asked how he would protect the Seireitei; Araki said he would keep the obedient nobles and kill the disobedient, while offering them a chance to kneel and submit.
• Araki told Yamamoto he would let him serve as Captain-Commander for another fifty or sixty years before sending him to Shino Academy to cultivate loyal talent.

Yoruichi took control of the Onmitsukidō and passed her captain assessment after beating Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Tokinada for impersonating examiners. After she recovered, Yamamoto convened a captain meeting to appoint the four of them, while Araki continued with the next phase of his plan.

• Kyoraku, Tokinada, and Ukitake teased Yoruichi about not yet being a captain, prompting her to claim the Onmitsukidō and take her captain assessment.
• Yoruichi defeated Shihoin Sennichi to become commander of the Onmitsukidō, then arranged to pursue the 2nd Division captaincy.
• The Tsunayashiro Family elders accused Tokinada of plotting against the clan, but the Family Head successor defused the dispute with a minor reprimand; Tokinada stayed out all night drinking with Kyoraku and Ukitake.
• Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Tokinada pretended to be Yoruichi’s examiners and tried to force her to insult the Shihoin Clan, but Araki revealed the deception before she did so.
• Yoruichi passed her assessment and beat the three pranksters for two days; Araki gave Soifon the 2nd Division vice-captain’s armband.
• After Yoruichi recovered, Yamamoto called a captain meeting to appoint her, Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Tokinada, while Araki moved on to the next phase of his plan.

Genryūsai introduced four new captains, all of them Araki’s disciples, alarming the noble-backed captains and strengthening the Genryu faction’s hold over the Gotei 13. Tokinada threatened his clan head and declared his intention to become the next Tsunayashiro head, while Araki stayed behind to speak with Shutara Senjumaru after the meeting.

• The Tsunayashiro head learned that the Shihoin Clan’s previous captain had retired and that Shihoin Yoruichi would take over the 2nd Division.
• Genryūsai introduced Shihoin Yoruichi, Kyoraku Shunsui, Tsunayashiro Tokinada, and Ukitake Jushiro as new captains, then revealed that all four were Araki’s disciples.
• The noble-backed captains realized that the Genryu faction now led eight divisions, including the 2nd, 8th, 9th, and 13th.
• Tokinada warned the Tsunayashiro head that he would arrest clan members who broke the rules and said he intended to take over as clan head.
• The Tsunayashiro head and Tokinada challenged each other over the clan’s future, prompting the captains of the 3rd and 5th Divisions to decide to avoid the dispute.
• After Genryūsai adjourned the meeting, Araki asked Shutara Senjumaru to wait.

After the captains’ meeting, Araki persuaded Shutara Senjumaru to establish the Department of Research and Development, promising that shared resources would help her complete her work and join Division 0 sooner. Senjumaru agreed, while Mayuri Kurotsuchi volunteered to manage the new institution, unaware that Senjumaru’s eventual promotion would send him to prison.

• Araki approached Shutara Senjumaru after the meeting and followed her to her laboratory, where they encountered Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
• Senjumaru mocked Mayuri and introduced him to Araki as the watchdog guarding her research subjects.
• Araki proposed that Senjumaru use her laboratory to establish the Department of Research and Development and explained that doing so could speed her path to Division 0.
• Mayuri offered to manage the department so Senjumaru could focus on her research, hoping to take control of the 12th Division after she left.
• Senjumaru agreed to establish the department, and she recognized that Araki was preparing for a future role as Captain-Commander.
• Mayuri overheard their exchange and grew suspicious that he had been drawn into Araki’s plans.

Fifty years after Kyoraku Shunsui and the others became captains, Shutara Senjumaru joined Division 0 and left Hikifune in charge of the 12th Division and the Department of Research and Development. As Araki and Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni prepared for their long-awaited struggle over the Captain-Commander position, Mayuri Kurotsuchi was arrested and the death of Kyoraku's elder brother began to stir a greater upheaval.

• Shutara Senjumaru welcomed Division 0 members Hyosube Ichibei, Kirinjū Tenjirō, and Oetsu Nimaiya, then agreed to travel with them to the Soul King Palace.
• Senjumaru had Mayuri Kurotsuchi arrested and sent toward the Maggot's Nest for experiments that violated Seireitei regulations, and she left Hikifune in charge of the 12th Division and the Department of Research and Development.
• Senjumaru arrived at the Soul King Palace, where Hyosube Ichibei warned her to avoid the Tenchuren and Seireitei because Araki was preparing to challenge the Gotei 13's leadership.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni continued training as he prepared to test Araki in a fight to decide who should hold the Captain-Commander position.
• Araki decided to deal with forces threatening the Seireitei before fighting Yamamoto, while Kyoraku's elder brother died after years of illness.