Chapter Summaries

Unohana Retsu reconsidered how she had treated Chiba Makoto while privately revisiting his sketchbook, and Makoto completed his elevation to Intermediate Noble. After a disturbance at Kuchiki Courtyard, Urozakuro revealed that Kuchiki Kōga had escaped custody after killing three Soul Reapers and was trying to flee the Seireitei.

• Unohana Retsu wondered if she had been too harsh on Makoto and carefully examined the sketchbook, blushing at its portraits of her.
• Unohana Retsu hid the sketchbook again, while Makoto continued avoiding her out of guilt.
• The Seireitei completed Makoto's status as an Intermediate Noble and granted the Chiba Clan a courtyard, provisions, and a family crest.
• Makoto held a crowded noble ceremony, then continued staying at Kuchiki Courtyard, where he enjoyed the comforts Kuchiki Byakuya had arranged.
• Urozakuro told Makoto that Kuchiki Kōga had been framed, escaped the First Division's prison, killed three Soul Reapers, and returned to the Kuchiki Clan to flee through its Senkaimon.
• Urozakuro told Makoto that a fight had already begun.

Chiba Makoto rushed to the Kuchiki Clan’s Senkaimon and found Kuchiki Kōga trying to escape after killing his comrades in the First Division barracks. When negotiations failed, Kōga summoned Muramasa, his physically manifest Zanpakuto spirit, to confront Kuchiki Sōjun and Kuchiki Byakuya.

• Chiba Makoto sensed Kuchiki Kōga’s spiritual pressure and hurried to the Senkaimon plaza.
• Kuchiki Sōjun and Kuchiki Byakuya blocked Kuchiki Kōga’s escape, but Kōga accused the Kuchiki Clan of abandoning him.
• Kuchiki Kōga revealed that he had killed the people who framed him in the First Division barracks and blamed Sōjun for his troubles.
• Kuchiki Sōjun and Kuchiki Byakuya urged Kōga to surrender, but he demanded that they move aside so he could use the Senkaimon.
• Kuchiki Kōga called, “Whisper, Muramasa!” and his Zanpakuto spirit appeared, raising its hands toward Sōjun and Byakuya.

Kuchiki Kōga used Muramasa’s ability to turn Zanpakuto against their wielders and attacked the Kuchiki family, while Chiba Makoto intervened to protect Kuchiki Byakuya. Kōga then focused on Makoto and revealed his hatred for the Seireitei, the Thirteen Divisions, and the nobles.

• Muramasa’s spiritual pressure interfered with Zanpakuto, and Kuchiki Sōjun ordered the servants to arrest Kuchiki Kōga and warn the Seireitei.
• Muramasa defeated the servants, and Kuchiki Kōga pinned Kuchiki Sōjun with a restraining rod before his Zanpakuto stabbed him.
• Kuchiki Sōjun accused Kōga of hiding his fear of Kuchiki Ginrei and Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, while Kuchiki Byakuya challenged Kōga and was struck by Muramasa.
• Kuchiki Kōga ordered Muramasa to kill Byakuya, but Chiba Makoto stepped in and released Zanpakuto - All Things in Nature to block Muramasa.
• Byakuya warned Makoto that Muramasa could manipulate Zanpakuto spirits, so Makoto canceled his release and tried to take Byakuya away.
• Kuchiki Kōga stopped Makoto by invoking Sōjun’s danger and declared that he loathed the Seireitei, the Thirteen Divisions, and the nobles.

Kuchiki Kōga tried to use Chiba Makoto as leverage against Yamamoto by threatening Kuchiki Sōjun, but Muramasa exposed All Things in Nature’s presence outside her inner world and drew her to his side. The chapter ended with Chiba Makoto furious as All Things in Nature declared she was going on strike, while Kuchiki Kōga grew less wary of him.

• Kuchiki Kōga said he planned to leave Seireitei and use Chiba Makoto as leverage to deter Captain-Commander Yamamoto from pursuing him.
• Kuchiki Kōga stabbed Kuchiki Sōjun again to pressure Chiba Makoto, while Kuchiki Byakuya struggled to intervene.
• Muramasa recognized that All Things in Nature’s consciousness had left her inner world, and she reacted angrily before dissipating.
• Chiba Makoto’s Zanpakuto flew to Muramasa, where All Things in Nature manifested physically and declared she was quitting and going to play with him.
• Kuchiki Kōga found All Things in Nature’s behavior amusing and became less wary of Chiba Makoto.

Chiba Makoto subdued All Things in Nature after Muramasa drew out her manifested spirit, but her betrayal left Makoto unable to use Reishi Control. Muramasa captured Makoto, and Byakuya’s attempt to rescue him ended with Senbonzakura turning against him and leaving him bloodied on the ground.

• Chiba Makoto tricked All Things in Nature into returning to him, caught her, and stuffed her into his pocket.
• Makoto struggled against Muramasa while unable to restore his Reishi Control, then feigned surrender.
• Byakuya released Senbonzakura and sent its petals toward Muramasa to create a chance for Makoto to escape.
• Muramasa’s power manifested Senbonzakura as a masked warrior and turned the Zanpakuto against Byakuya.
• Senbonzakura’s petals cut Byakuya, who collapsed to the ground drenched in blood.

Kuchiki Kōga escaped the Seireitei through the Senkaimon after kidnapping Chiba Makoto and leaving Kuchiki Sōjun and Kuchiki Byakuya wounded. Unohana Retsu set out to pursue him, but Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō blocked her path.

• Kuchiki Kōga took Chiba Makoto into the Dangai and warned Kuchiki Sōjun and Kuchiki Byakuya not to let anyone hunt him down.
• Kuchiki Byakuya tried to help his badly wounded father before Sixth Division officers arrived and took them for treatment.
• The Seireitei learned that Kuchiki Kōga had escaped, killed three First Division Soul Reapers, attacked the Kuchiki Clan, and kidnapped Chiba Makoto.
• Aoki Risa and Kotetsu Isane told Unohana Retsu that Chiba Makoto had been kidnapped, and she unleashed her Blood-colored Reiatsu and set off with her Zanpakuto.
• Unohana Retsu destroyed a Hell Butterfly carrying a message and refused to stop; Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō then blocked her way.

Unohana Retsu accepted the Thirteen Divisions’ search for Chiba Makoto while Soi Fon and the Onmitsukidō mobilized to find him in the World of the Living. At a factory there, Yamada Seinosuke insulted Lisa Yadōmaru and was promptly hit with a hammer.

• Unohana Retsu nearly drew her sword against Kyōraku Shunsui but agreed to trust Ukitake Jūshirō’s promise that the Thirteen Divisions would search for Makoto; she waited at the Thirteenth Division’s Senkaimon and vowed to kill Kuchiki Kōga.
• Soi Fon rushed to the World of the Living with Onmitsukidō members to search for Chiba Makoto before Ōmaeda Marenoshin could give orders.
• Ōmaeda Marenoshin deployed nearly the entire Onmitsukidō and secretly contacted Yoruichi Shihoin through a special channel.
• At the factory, Yamada Seinosuke criticized Lisa Yadōmaru’s clothing and accused her of reading porn comics.
• Lisa Yadōmaru denied the accusations and struck Yamada Seinosuke with a huge iron hammer, sending him spinning into the air.

Yoruichi learned that Chiba Makoto had been taken hostage by Kuchiki Kōga and led the Visored Army out to find them. As the search began, Makoto assessed how Muramasa’s ability had affected his Reishi Control and Zanpakuto.

• Lisa Yadōmaru kicked Yamada Seinosuke before leaving with manga, while Black Cat Yoruichi learned that Chiba Makoto had been taken hostage by Kuchiki Kōga and fled the Seireitei.
• Black Cat Yoruichi told the Visored Army that Makoto was likely near Karakura Town and urged them to help him despite the risk of being discovered.
• Urahara Kisuke revealed Gigai that concealed spiritual pressure, prompting Sarugaki Hiyori to attack him until Black Cat Yoruichi stopped her.
• Hirako Shinji insisted that the Visored Army find Makoto without provoking a war, and Kensei Muguruma led the group out to search.
• Chiba Makoto sensed the Visored Army moving through the Seed of the Forest and realized Muramasa had disrupted All Things in Nature’s coordination without truly removing his Zanpakuto ability.

Kuchiki Kōga confined Chiba Makoto in a villa in the World of the Living and demanded All Things in Nature, but Makoto refused. As Kōga plotted to build an army of manifested Zanpakuto spirits, Makoto privately planned to escape and use the kidnapping to win Unohana’s sympathy.

• Kuchiki Kōga brought Chiba Makoto into a villa, sealed the area with a barrier, and warned him not to leave without permission.
• Muramasa asked Makoto to hand over All Things in Nature, but Makoto refused, saying it was as important to him as family and friends.
• Kuchiki Kōga dismissed Makoto’s attachment to his Zanpakuto and boasted that he would eventually manifest Seireitei’s captain- and Vice-Captain-level sword spirits into an army.
• Makoto listened from his room, doubted Kōga’s plan, and imagined telling Unohana a pitiful story about his kidnapping.
• Makoto revealed All Things in Nature from his pocket, where it looked limp and dazed after being rubbed for a long time.

Chiba Makoto captured All Things in Nature and threatened to dissect her, but let her go after she promised to bring him Senbonzakura. His examination revealed a new way to construct stable spiritual bodies from consciousness, which might help repair Hisana’s flawed spiritual body.

• Chiba Makoto restrained All Things in Nature and threatened to dissect her to study her spiritual body and Muramasa’s power.
• All Things in Nature begged for mercy and offered to capture Senbonzakura for him instead.
• Chiba Makoto released All Things in Nature and gave her three days to bring Senbonzakura back.
• Chiba Makoto reflected on the consciousness-based method of constructing a stable spiritual body and connected it to Hisana’s condition.

Chiba Makoto spent his captivity comfortably and used All Things in Nature to exploit Senbonzakura’s Invincible Circle. The chapter ended with Senbonzakura struck down and Makoto preparing to intervene.

• Kuchiki Kōga left with Muramasa to buy supplies after Chiba Makoto requested medical books from the World of the Living.
• Chiba Makoto urged Senbonzakura to spend time with All Things in Nature and help teach her.
• All Things in Nature approached Senbonzakura and drew him into the Invincible Circle, where his blades could not reach.
• All Things in Nature struck Senbonzakura down, and Chiba Makoto put on white gloves in his room.

Senbonzakura was disarmed while unconscious and reacted faintly when someone discovered she was a woman. Meanwhile, Kuchiki Byakuya and his allies searched for the abducted Chiba Makoto, with Aizen Sōsuke and Ichimaru Gin investigating Karakura Town.

• While Senbonzakura lay unconscious, someone removed her mask and armor and exclaimed that she was a woman.
• Kuchiki Byakuya sensed something strange about his Zanpakuto, and Kuchiki Ginrei urged him to retrieve Senbonzakura's sword spirit and avoid acting impulsively.
• Byakuya reaffirmed that rescuing Makoto came first, followed by retrieving Senbonzakura and arresting Kuchiki Kōga.
• Aizen Sōsuke and Ichimaru Gin joined Byakuya and Ginrei in the search, and Aizen identified the area near Karakura Town as Kōga's likeliest hiding place.
• Aizen and Ichimaru headed to central Karakura Town, where Ichimaru questioned whether Kōga would still be there after evading the Seireitei for several days.

Aizen Sōsuke released a device that drew scores of Gillian into Karakura Town to locate Kuchiki Kōga. As Kuchiki Kōga cut through the Hollows on his way home, someone found him and addressed him from behind.

• Aizen Sōsuke told Ichimaru Gin he planned to use Kuchiki Kōga as a weapon and revealed a device designed to attract Hollows.
• Aizen Sōsuke shattered the device, drawing more than a hundred Gillian through Gargantas into Karakura Town.
• Kuchiki Kōga noticed the swarm while choosing medical books for Chiba Makoto and inferred that something was directing the Gillian.
• Kuchiki Kōga left without protecting the humans nearby and ordered Muramasa to cut down a Gillian blocking his route.
• A voice behind Kuchiki Kōga said, "Found you, Kuchiki Kōga."

Aizen Sōsuke swiftly wounded Kuchiki Kōga and questioned him about Chiba Makoto, dismissing Kōga’s claim that he had captured Makoto. Kōga threatened Seireitei with vengeance and said Makoto’s corpse would be part of it.

• Aizen Sōsuke appeared before Kuchiki Kōga with Ichimaru Gin and insulted Kōga’s arrogance.
• Aizen Sōsuke struck Kōga through the chest with a finger, leaving him kneeling and shocking Muramasa.
• Ichimaru Gin killed a nearby Gillian, preventing it from interfering with Aizen Sōsuke.
• Aizen Sōsuke asked Kuchiki Kōga where Vice-Captain Chiba Makoto was.
• Kuchiki Kōga claimed he had sealed Makoto away and threatened Seireitei with vengeance and Makoto’s corpse.

Kuchiki Kōga used Muramasa to turn Kyōka Suigetsu and Shinso against Aizen Sōsuke and Ichimaru Gin, but Aizen quickly defeated Kyōka Suigetsu. The Visored Army arrived and confronted Aizen, with Sarugaki Hiyori launching the first attack.

• Kuchiki Kōga summoned the manifested Kyōka Suigetsu and Shinso and ordered them to kill their former masters.
• Shinso attacked Ichimaru Gin, who dodged and told Shinso he had separated part of it to protect someone important to him.
• Aizen Sōsuke cut down Kyōka Suigetsu's manifested form and explained that a Zanpakuto's strength depended on its Soul Reaper.
• Hirako Shinji and the rest of the Visored Army arrived and accused Aizen of causing their transformation into beings between Soul Reapers and Hollows.
• Sarugaki Hiyori donned her Hollow mask, released her Zanpakuto, and attacked Aizen.

Aizen Sōsuke overwhelmed the Visored Army while Kuchiki Kōga fled toward the villa, as Unohana Retsu arrived in Karakura Town to pursue him. Chiba Makoto remained focused on studying Senbonzakura until All Things in Nature warned that Kuchiki Kōga was nearly back, while Senbonzakura was still unclothed.

• Aizen Sōsuke wounded Sarugaki Hiyori and fought off the Visored Army, while Kuchiki Kōga fled with Muramasa toward the villa.
• Tsukabishi Tessai and Ushōda Hachigen raised a barrier around Aizen Sōsuke and the Visored Army, separating their battle from the Soul Reapers nearby.
• Unohana Retsu arrived through a Senkaimon, learned Kuchiki Kōga's suspected location, and ordered an Onmitsukidō member to lead her there.
• Chiba Makoto sensed the battle through Ichimaru Gin's wrist cord but continued studying Senbonzakura's spirit body.
• All Things in Nature warned Chiba Makoto that Kuchiki Kōga was almost back, and Chiba Makoto realized Senbonzakura was still unclothed.

Chiba Makoto tried to dress Senbonzakura before Kuchiki Kōga returned, then staged a scene to convince Kōga that All Things in Nature was attacking her. Kōga rushed upstairs to stop All Things in Nature, while Makoto wondered why Muramasa was missing.

• Makoto struggled to put Senbonzakura's armor back on and realized Soi Fon had been following Kuchiki Kōga.
• Kuchiki Kōga entered the villa and found Makoto bloodied and apparently unconscious amid signs of a battle.
• Makoto claimed All Things in Nature was a sadistic, bloodthirsty pervert who had attacked Senbonzakura and tortured him.
• Kuchiki Kōga believed Makoto and rushed upstairs, leaving him on the sofa.
• Kuchiki Kōga found All Things in Nature about to remove Senbonzakura's last layer of clothing and used his Zanpakuto to stop it.

Kuchiki Kōga freed Senbonzakura from All Things in Nature’s control and was moved by Chiba Makoto’s apparent kindness despite his injuries. He briefly considered leaving Makoto behind for the Seireitei, but Makoto’s concern reminded him that he needed a hostage, so he decided to take Makoto with him.

• Kuchiki Kōga stopped All Things in Nature and woke Senbonzakura, who was humiliated to learn her armor had been removed while she was unconscious.
• Chiba Makoto reassured Senbonzakura and blamed All Things in Nature’s behavior on his own treatment of her, moving Senbonzakura and Kuchiki Kōga.
• Kuchiki Kōga told Chiba Makoto that the Thirteen Divisions were searching for him and suggested he remain at the villa to be collected.
• Chiba Makoto asked whether Kuchiki Kōga could escape the Seireitei’s pursuit alone, reminding Kōga that he needed Makoto as leverage against Aizen Sōsuke.
• Kuchiki Kōga abandoned his impulse to leave Makoto behind and insisted that Makoto come with him.

Soi Fon confronted Kuchiki Kōga when he emerged from the villa with the badly injured Chiba Makoto, but his greater spiritual pressure repeatedly overwhelmed her. Unohana Retsu arrived as Kōga prepared to kill Soi Fon and take Makoto away, and promised that no one would remove her disciple.

• Soi Fon called for reinforcements after confirming Kuchiki Kōga was inside the villa, then charged him when he emerged with Chiba Makoto on a stretcher.
• Kuchiki Kōga intercepted Soi Fon and drove her back, while Chiba Makoto urged her to flee and reassured her that he was fine.
• Soi Fon released Suzumebachi and attacked Kōga again, but he overpowered her and ordered Senbonzakura and All Things in Nature to take Makoto away.
• Unohana Retsu appeared beside Soi Fon, and All Things in Nature fled after recognizing how dangerous she was.
• Unohana Retsu told Soi Fon she had done well and vowed that no one would take Makoto away, while Kuchiki Kōga challenged her confidently.

Kuchiki Kōga confronted Unohana Retsu, who revealed overwhelming Reiatsu and vowed to kill him for touching something he should not have. Muramasa arrived with eight manifested Zanpakuto spirits, and they launched a coordinated attack on Unohana Retsu.

• Unohana Retsu drew her Zanpakuto and unleashed immense blood-colored Reiatsu, terrifying Kuchiki Kōga.
• Unohana Retsu declared that she would kill Kuchiki Kōga for touching something he should never have touched.
• Kuchiki Kōga called Muramasa, who appeared with eight manifested Zanpakuto spirits.
• Chiba Makoto warned Unohana Retsu that the manifested spirits could use their Zanpakuto abilities.
• Kuchiki Kōga boasted that nine opponents gave him the advantage, and Muramasa ordered the spirits to kill Unohana Retsu.
• The Zanpakuto spirits released their abilities and rushed at Unohana Retsu.