Chapter Summaries

Unohana Retsu hosted Inoue Orihime for tea and gently coaxed her into sharing details about Kurosaki Makoto and his life in the World of the Living. Orihime left the conversation believing she had made a friendly connection, while Unohana grew intrigued by the people and cat around Makoto.

• Unohana Retsu brought Inoue Orihime to her courtyard and served her tea instead of interrogating her harshly.
• Unohana asked about Orihime's everyday life and gradually lowered her guard with warmth and concern.
• Orihime praised Kurosaki Makoto and described working at his flower shop with Rem and Kage.
• Orihime told Unohana about Black Cat Yoruichi, whom Makoto liked to hold and pet.
• Unohana expressed interest in meeting Yoruichi, Rem, and Kage, and Orihime happily offered to show her the way.

Inoue Orihime worried she would never return to the World of the Living, but Unohana Retsu reassured her and brought her to rest while offering to examine her for hidden injuries. At Pure Tower Grove, Sōya Azashiro delivered Aizen Sōsuke’s order to Tōsen Kaname, who eagerly agreed to confine the nobles to their district under the Sixth Division’s watch.

• Unohana Retsu reassured Inoue Orihime about her friends and invited her to sleep in her quarters so she could check for hidden injuries.
• Tōsen Kaname entered Pure Tower Grove unnoticed and reveled in the deaths of the Central 46 Chambers.
• Sōya Azashiro appeared before Tōsen Kaname and stopped his attack by delivering Aizen Sōsuke’s order.
• Sōya Azashiro ordered Tōsen Kaname to forbid nobles from leaving the Noble District and station the Sixth Division nearby.
• Tōsen Kaname recalled that he had proposed gathering the nobles for a massacre and agreed to carry out the order, believing Aizen Sōsuke had changed his mind.

Unohana Retsu brought Kotetsu Isane to Sōkyoku Hill as the captains assembled for Kuchiki Rukia’s execution. As the Sōkyoku was about to be released, Ukitake Jūshirō hesitated to intervene, but Kyōraku Shunsui stopped him.

• Aoki Risa and Kotetsu Isane saw Inoue Orihime leave Unohana Retsu’s quarters, and Unohana said she had kept the girl under personal watch to prevent Kurosaki Makoto from rescuing her.
• Unohana Retsu ordered Aoki Risa to oversee emergency medical preparations and took Kotetsu Isane with her to Sōkyoku Hill.
• Kotetsu Isane saw nearly all the captains gather at Sōkyoku Hill as Kuchiki Rukia arrived under escort.
• The captains watched as Kuchiki Rukia was bound to the execution frame, while Kuchiki Byakuya struggled between his feelings for her and his clan’s convictions.
• As the Sōkyoku was about to be released, Ukitake Jūshirō moved as if to intervene, but Kyōraku Shunsui stopped him with a look and a shake of his head.

The Sōkyoku transformed into Kōōō and descended on Kuchiki Rukia, but Kurosaki Ichigo arrived and blocked its first strike. Rukia warned him that each failed execution would exponentially increase Kōōō’s power.

• Kyōraku Shunsui urged Ukitake Jūshirō to wait and see rather than act hastily to stop the execution.
• Kōōō emerged as a flaming phoenix, and Unohana Retsu explained its destructive power to Kotetsu Isane.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni began the execution, and Kōōō swept down toward Kuchiki Rukia.
• Kurosaki Ichigo rushed in and blocked Kōōō’s first strike, telling Rukia he had come to take her home.
• Kuchiki Rukia warned Kurosaki Ichigo that every thwarted strike would make Kōōō’s power grow exponentially.

Kurosaki Makoto formed a massive Reishi arrow atop Senzaikyū and fired it toward Kōōō, openly challenging the Seireitei to prove its innocence. Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni released Ryūjin Jakka and rushed to intercept the arrow, unleashing a draw slash as the chapter ended.

• Kurosaki Ichigo continued blocking Kōōō’s attacks while telling Kuchiki Rukia that everyone had come to save her.
• Kurosaki Makoto’s immense spiritual pressure erupted from Senzaikyū, startling the Soul Reapers gathered at Sōkyoku Hill.
• Kurosaki Makoto formed an enormous Spirit Bow, gathered Reishi into an arrow, and condemned the Seireitei’s judgment of Kuchiki Rukia.
• Kurosaki Makoto fired the Reishi Arrow toward Kōōō, provoking Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni to release Ryūjin Jakka.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni used Fuzhan and unleashed a torrent of flames as he moved to meet the incoming arrow.

Chiba Makoto destroyed the Kōōō with a Reishi Arrow, provoking Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni into pursuing him toward the Confession Palace. Meanwhile, Kurosaki Ichigo rescued Kuchiki Rukia and prepared to face the Captains remaining on Sōkyoku Hill, where Ishida Uryū arrived and rebuked him for revealing their escape plan.

• Chiba Makoto's Reishi Arrow pierced Fuzhan and destroyed the Kōōō, leaving its Spear of Judgment broken on the ground.
• Furious, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni charged after Chiba Makoto, who put away his Spirit Bow and walked into the Confession Palace without turning back.
• Kyōraku Shunsui, Ukitake Jūshirō, and Zaraki Kenpachi followed Yamamoto, while Hitsugaya Tōshirō, Komamura Sajin, Kuchiki Byakuya, and Unohana Retsu remained with Kurosaki Ichigo.
• Kurosaki Ichigo freed Kuchiki Rukia from the execution scaffold and told her he had arranged a Senkaimon for their escape.
• Ishida Uryū arrived beside Kurosaki Ichigo and angrily scolded him for telling the Soul Reapers about their plan.

Kurosaki Ichigo and Ishida Uryū bickered while facing the Soul Reapers, until Kuchiki Byakuya recognized Yoruichi Shihoin among their allies. Yoruichi provoked Byakuya, but Unohana Retsu stepped forward to confront her, revealing a terrifying side and proposing a private reunion.

• Kurosaki Ichigo and Ishida Uryū bickered in front of Komamura Sajin, Hitsugaya Tōshirō, and Kuchiki Byakuya.
• Kuchiki Byakuya recognized the masked figure as Yoruichi Shihoin, and she revealed her face and teased him about their past.
• Yoruichi Shihoin said she had promised her little master to keep Kurosaki Ichigo and the others safe, then challenged Kuchiki Byakuya to fight.
• Unohana Retsu stepped forward and asked Kuchiki Byakuya to leave Yoruichi Shihoin to her, while Komamura Sajin recoiled from her dangerous aura.
• Unohana Retsu greeted Yoruichi Shihoin and invited her to a private reunion.

Yoruichi Shihoin fled Unohana Retsu’s deadly invitation, leaving Kurosaki Ichigo and Ishida Uryū to face Kuchiki Byakuya, Komamura Sajin, and Hitsugaya Tōshirō. As the fights began on Sōkyoku Hill, towering flames and two immense Reiatsu erupted at Senzaikyū.

• Yoruichi Shihoin escaped into the forest, and Unohana Retsu pursued her beyond the others’ Reiatsu detection range.
• Kurosaki Ichigo and Ishida Uryū divided their opponents, with Ichigo facing Kuchiki Byakuya and Uryū taking on Komamura Sajin and Hitsugaya Tōshirō.
• Kuchiki Byakuya struck at Ichigo, but Ichigo blocked his Zanpakuto with Zangetsu and challenged him over their past fight in the World of the Living.
• Ishida Uryū transformed into Muscle Dragon Form and charged Komamura Sajin, who met him head-on as Hitsugaya Tōshirō watched in shock.
• Towering flames engulfed Senzaikyū as two immense Reiatsu clashed within them.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni confronted Chiba Makoto at the Senzaikyū, where Makoto defended his actions as a teacher protecting Kuchiki Rukia. Yamamoto attacked with Ryūjin Jakka, engulfing Makoto in flames and vaporizing much of the surrounding Senzaikyū, leaving Makoto’s fate unclear.

• Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō sensed Chiba Makoto’s immense spiritual pressure and wondered whether he might be connected to Yhwach.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni surrounded the Senzaikyū with Ryūjin Jakka’s flames while Chiba Makoto greeted him calmly.
• Chiba Makoto explained that he had acted to protect his student Kuchiki Rukia from an unjust execution.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni rejected Makoto’s justification and attacked him with Ryūjin Jakka’s Torch technique.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni followed with Fuzhan, unleashing a massive flaming slash that engulfed Makoto and vaporized vast stretches of the Senzaikyū.

Chiba Makoto survived Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni’s flaming attack with Blut Vene and challenged him to a sword fight to avenge his elder’s defeat. He summoned countless Reishi Blades and began pressing Yamamoto with a strange dual-blade style modeled on Yamamoto’s own Zanjutsu.

• Chiba Makoto used Blut Vene to withstand Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni’s Ryūjin Jakka and explained that he wanted to avenge his elder’s defeat.
• Chiba Makoto summoned Reishi Blades above the Senzaikyū and asked Yamamoto to fight him as the Quincy progenitor had.
• Yamamoto attacked Chiba Makoto with a blazing Zanjutsu strike, but Chiba charged along the flames and blocked it with a Reishi Blade.
• Chiba Makoto drew another Reishi Blade and launched a dual-wielding assault, replacing each blade Yamamoto burned away.

Chiba Makoto used his unconventional Three-Sword Style to force Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni to retreat, then faced him in a renewed Zanjutsu duel. Elsewhere, Yoruichi Shihoin stopped fleeing from Captain Unohana, fearing that her anger would only grow if the chase continued.

• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni disrupted Chiba Makoto’s two-blade attack, but Chiba used a third blade held in his teeth to make him retreat.
• Chiba explained that his Three-Sword Style was an experimental approach, and Yamamoto rejected the idea that a new style was necessarily viable.
• Yamamoto assumed a Zanjutsu stance, and he and Chiba began a life-or-death duel.
• Yoruichi Shihoin sensed Captain Unohana’s growing anger as she pursued her through the forest.
• Yoruichi stopped running and told herself that she and Captain Unohana must have a small misunderstanding.

Yoruichi Shihoin tried to reconnect with Unohana Retsu by bringing up Chiba Makoto, but their conversation turned into a lethal confrontation. Unohana wounded Yoruichi, who answered with Shunkō and began to unleash her Hollow power.

• Yoruichi Shihoin stopped to speak with Unohana Retsu, hoping that their shared memories of teaching Chiba Makoto would ease the tension.
• Yoruichi assumed Unohana had uncovered the truth about Chiba Makoto and called them fellow travelers, but Unohana rejected the idea and attacked her.
• Yoruichi evaded Unohana’s first slash with Utsusemi of the Four Maple Leaves, but Unohana’s hidden blade wounded her near the heart.
• Unohana warned Yoruichi that another trick could get her killed, and Yoruichi activated Shunkō before releasing a different kind of Reiatsu.

Yoruichi Shihoin Hollowified while maintaining Shunkō and fought Unohana Retsu, while Ishida Uryū faced Komamura Sajin and Hitsugaya Tōshirō at Sōkyoku Hill. Komamura unleashed his Bankai, but Ishida stopped its enormous blade with his bare hands.

• Yoruichi Shihoin donned a Hollow-like mask and clashed with Unohana Retsu amid surging black-and-white lightning.
• Ishida Uryū endured attacks from Komamura Sajin and Hitsugaya Tōshirō, prompting Komamura to ask Hitsugaya to leave the fight to him.
• Komamura Sajin released Bankai, summoning Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō and swinging its enormous blade at Ishida Uryū.
• Ishida Uryū caught the descending blade between his prayer-pressed hands, leaving the onlookers stunned.

Ishida Uryū defeated Komamura Sajin with the hidden power of his Quincy Spirit Kun Halberd. As Komamura’s defeat shook the Seireitei, Tōsen Kaname began his plan to forge a new justice in the Noble District.

• Komamura Sajin challenged Ishida Uryū, who revealed his Quincy Spirit Kun Halberd after blocking Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō’s blade barehanded.
• Ishida Uryū used the halberd to break Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō’s blade and pierce its chest, inflicting the same wound on Komamura Sajin.
• Komamura Sajin fell unconscious as his Bankai vanished, and Ishida Uryū admitted he had feigned honesty to lower Komamura’s guard.
• Tōsen Kaname sensed Komamura Sajin’s defeat and declared that he would forge a new justice in the Seireitei.
• Tōsen Kaname passed the Sixth Division guards at the Noble District’s gate and cut their throats.

Tōsen Kaname attacked the Noble District, slaughtering the Soul Reapers guarding its main gate and triggering a violent response from the nobles and their private forces. Surrounded and outnumbered, he was being suppressed as nobles watched and wagered on how long he could last.

• Tōsen Kaname ignored the Sixth Division Soul Reapers’ orders to stop and killed them with Suzumushi’s Crimson Locust technique.
• Nobles who investigated the screams found the gate littered with bodies and spread word that Tōsen Kaname had gone mad and attacked the Noble District.
• The nobles accused Tōsen Kaname of defying his superiors and sent their private forces to kill him.
• The nobles’ armed forces surrounded Tōsen Kaname, and their superior numbers began to suppress him.
• Several nobles watched the battle and placed bets on how long Tōsen Kaname would hold out.

Tōsen Kaname used his Bankai to conceal a Garganta opening in the Seireitei, then revealed that he had brought Ulquiorra Cifer and a vast Hollow horde into the Noble District. Ulquiorra and the Hollows began a devastating assault, leaving the district in chaos.

• Tōsen Kaname unleashed Suzumushi: End Form - Enma Korogi against the nobles’ armed forces, but a Tsunayashiro Clan man used a Divine Artifact to release his Bankai.
• Tōsen Kaname revealed a Garganta above the Noble District and explained that his Bankai had concealed its opening.
• Ulquiorra Cifer emerged from the Garganta and tore it wide enough for Barragan Louisenbairn, Tier Harribel, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Yammy Llargo, Arrancar, and Gillian to appear.
• Ulquiorra Cifer fired a Cero that destroyed a noble estate, and the Hollow horde poured into the Noble District.
• The Hollows attacked across the district as explosions, screams, and vanishing noble spiritual pressures marked an unprecedented disaster.

Hollows invaded the Noble District through a Garganta while Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni fought Chiba Makoto in Senzaikyū. Chiba denied involvement and Kyōraku Shunsui proposed a temporary alliance, but Yamamoto rejected the idea and prepared to face the threat himself.

• Hollows emerged in the Noble District and slaughtered nobles, drawing the captains’ attention to a Garganta and the Menos Grande spiritual pressures.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni accused Chiba Makoto of using the invasion to destroy Soul Society, but Chiba swore by Yhwach that he had no part in it.
• Chiba explained that his goal had been rescuing Kuchiki Rukia, denied killing Aizen Sōsuke, and said he had hidden from an unknown watcher; he claimed Soi Fon could confirm his account.
• Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō arrived, and Kyōraku argued that Chiba’s actions suggested someone else had manipulated events.
• Kyōraku proposed ceasing hostilities and allying with Chiba, but Yamamoto rejected the proposal and declared that he could handle the Vasto Lordes himself.

Chiba Makoto and Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni fought inside the Senzaikyū while secretly allowing the conflict to keep the Central 46 Chambers and Captains occupied as Hollows attacked the Noble District. As the battle reached a stalemate and reinforcements gathered, Aizen Sōsuke revealed a familiar-looking Arrancar named Prince Hishin.

• Chiba Makoto and Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni clashed, while Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō went to reinforce the Noble District.
• The noble families fought the Hollow horde with their private forces and inherited Divine Artifacts as Soul Reaper reinforcements arrived.
• Sōya Azashiro reported that the Garganta barrier would be completed in half an hour and that four Captain-class nobles led by Kuchiki Ginrei would soon arrive.
• Aizen Sōsuke asked Sōya Azashiro to close off his senses, warning that whispers could affect his Zanpakuto, Amatsuyu Tsurara.
• An Arrancar resembling Kuchiki Kōga and Muramasa emerged from the Garganta, and Aizen Sōsuke named it Prince Hishin.

Aizen Sōsuke revealed that Prince Hishin’s Resurrección could turn Soul Reapers’ Zanpakuto against them, and its whispers spread rebellion across the Seireitei. With Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni’s Ryūjin Jakka disabled and the Soul Reapers weakened during the Hollow invasion, an unidentified speaker addressed him about their predicament.

• Aizen Sōsuke identified Prince Hishin’s spiritual core as the Thought of the Unknowing Heart and warned Sōya Azashiro to seal his senses.
• Sōya Azashiro withdrew his consciousness from the Noble District and sealed all five senses while Prince Hishin activated Resurrección.
• Prince Hishin’s whispers spread through the Seireitei, causing Zanpakuto across the Thirteen Divisions to rebel against their wielders.
• Ryūjin Jakka betrayed Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, trapping him in flaming tornadoes before he forced his way out with his beard partly scorched.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni realized that the Zanpakuto rebellion had crippled the Soul Reapers as the Hollow invasion threatened the Seireitei.
• A gentle, puzzled voice told Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni that the Soul Reapers seemed to be facing trouble.

Prince Hishin's Resurrección turned Seireitei's Zanpakuto against their masters, worsening the Hollow assault and throwing the city into chaos. In the forest, Unohana Retsu defeated Yoruichi Shihoin, then noticed that Minazuki had manifested and rebelled.

• Prince Hishin's Resurrección caused hundreds of Zanpakuto to rebel, leaving Soul Reapers vulnerable and the Seireitei overwhelmed by Hollows.
• Unohana Retsu defeated Yoruichi Shihoin in the forest and held her at swordpoint.
• Unohana Retsu threatened to use Yoruichi Shihoin to test a spiritual body's sex reassignment surgery, and Yoruichi offered her younger brother Shihoin Yushiro instead.
• Prince Hishin's Resurrección swept over Unohana Retsu, and she saw a terrifying blood-like creature resembling Minazuki.
• Yoruichi Shihoin recognized the manifestation as a Zanpakuto rebelling against its master and wondered how dangerous Unohana Retsu's Minazuki would be.