Recaps

Kuchiki Kōga kidnapped Chiba Makoto and used Muramasa’s power to turn Zanpakuto spirits against their owners, but Unohana Retsu defeated him and rescued Makoto. After the incident, Makoto returned to Unohana’s courtyard and settled into a quieter routine with her and Kotetsu Isane.

• Kuchiki Kōga escaped custody, attacked the Kuchiki Clan, and kidnapped Chiba Makoto after Muramasa’s power overwhelmed Sōjun, Byakuya, and Makoto’s Zanpakuto.
• Unohana Retsu set out to find Makoto as the Thirteen Divisions, Onmitsukidō, and Visored Army searched for him near Karakura Town.
• Aizen Sōsuke lured Kuchiki Kōga into battle with a Hollow-attracting device, then fought him as the Visored Army arrived and accused Aizen of causing their transformation.
• While Kōga was away, Makoto used All Things in Nature to subdue Senbonzakura and study her spirit body, then tricked Kōga into believing that All Things in Nature had attacked him.
• Kōga brought Makoto out of the villa, but Soi Fon confronted him before Unohana Retsu arrived and faced his manifested Zanpakuto spirits.
• Unohana Retsu cut down the spirits and pursued Kōga, who took Makoto hostage before white matter erupted from his chest and Unohana cut him apart.
• Unohana Retsu healed Makoto, while Makoto secretly placed a Seed of the Forest in Kōga’s remains before Ichimaru Gin took them to Aizen Sōsuke.
• After the incident, Makoto returned to Unohana Retsu’s courtyard, handled Fourth Division work from home, and spent time talking with Kotetsu Isane in the hot spring.

Chiba Makoto expanded his influence through the Shinigami Women's Association and made the Eleventh Division depend on the Fourth Division’s healing, while Snopas recruited Herold into the Great Buddha sect. The arc left Makoto hiding with Matsumoto Rangiku as Unohana Retsu searched nearby, and Snopas’s influence continued to grow in Hueco Mundo.

• Unohana Retsu caught Makoto in the hot spring and challenged him to a Zanjutsu fight, using pain to teach him her techniques.
• Makoto and Unohana Retsu reshaped the Pro-Makoto Association into the Shinigami Women's Association, with Kusajishi Yachiru as president and Unohana as its planned chairperson.
• Makoto declined Aizen Sōsuke’s offer to lead the association, then visited the Eleventh Division and agreed to heal its members during Zaraki Kenpachi’s battles.
• Makoto’s living grass healed the Eleventh Division as Kenpachi fought them, earning Makoto praise across Seireitei and leaving the division with a treatment bill of 134,690,000.
• Aoki Risa arranged a thirty-year medical loan using the Eleventh Division’s land as collateral, and Makoto offered the division annual free examinations.
• Snopas persuaded Herold to join the Great Buddha sect, removed Herold’s ability to evolve, and replaced his resentment with faith.
• Makoto brought Matsumoto Rangiku and Hisagi Shūhei into Seireitei and planned to house them at his estate, which would also serve as the association’s headquarters.
• Makoto hid with Rangiku while she changed clothes, escaped Unohana Retsu’s search, and asked Kusajishi Yachiru to keep his whereabouts secret.

Chiba Makoto demonstrated his Bankai during the captaincy assessment, helped Soi Fon and Ichimaru Gin secure the vacant captaincies, and joined the expedition to Hueco Mundo. After rescuing Academy students from a Great Hollow and confronting Aizen Sōsuke about his hidden knowledge, Makoto entered the Garganta with the expeditionary force.

• Chiba Makoto treated Hisana with Spirit Body Layering, then learned that Hueco Mundo held far more Adjuchas than expected.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni held a captaincy assessment in which Soi Fon and Ichimaru Gin fought while Chiba Makoto initially stayed apart.
• Chiba Makoto released his Bankai, Tree Realm Birth, and tested Soi Fon and Ichimaru Gin, who answered with their own powerful techniques.
• Soi Fon’s Bankai caused a massive explosion, and Chiba Makoto contained it and protected her before Yamamoto ended the assessment.
• Yamamoto appointed Soi Fon captain of the Second Division and Ichimaru Gin captain of the Third, then named Aizen Sōsuke commander of the Hueco Mundo expedition.
• Chiba Makoto and Aizen Sōsuke rescued Rukia, Abarai Renji, Kira Izuru, and Hinamori Momo from a Great Hollow, which Makoto killed with one slash.
• Aizen Sōsuke revealed that he had known about Chiba Makoto’s Spirit Body Layering research and said he had placed Urozakuro under Kyōka Suigetsu from the beginning.
• Chiba Makoto joined the expedition as leader of Fourth Division medical support, and Kurotsuchi Mayuri opened a Garganta for the force to enter Hueco Mundo.

Chiba Makoto joined the expedition to Hueco Mundo, where he secretly intervened in the conflict between Tier Harribel and Barragan while Aizen Sōsuke recruited Starrk. As Harribel’s group faced a new threat and Makoto searched for Nelliel, he began pursuing answers from hostile Hollows by force.

• Chiba Makoto crossed into Hueco Mundo with the Expeditionary Force and advised the captains to protect their camp while investigating the unusually numerous Adjuchas.
• Aizen Sōsuke sent captains and Vice-Captains searching for a supposed Hollow horde while Chiba Makoto stayed behind, leaving All Things in Nature to impersonate him at camp.
• Chiba Makoto secretly left camp and found Tier Harribel and her wounded companions facing Barragan Louisenbairn and his Adjuchas forces.
• Chiba Makoto protected Harribel’s companions, resisted Barragan’s decay power, and persuaded Barragan to leave without revealing his identity.
• Chiba Makoto treated Harribel and her companions, introduced himself as Asura Yan Cheng, and discussed Arrancar and Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck with Harribel.
• Aizen Sōsuke met Starrk and Lilynette, recruited them into his planned Arrancar organization, and set out to find Barragan.
• Chiba Makoto left Harribel to seek Nelliel while Szayelaporro Granz captured Lilynette and planned to use her to lure Harribel out.
• Chiba Makoto confronted two fighting Adjuchas and cut off the Mantis Great Hollow’s four forelimbs when it attacked him.