Chapter Summaries

Kurosaki Ichigo completed three months of secret training in the Dangai to prepare to rescue his mother in Hueco Mundo. He and his companions reached Las Noches, where Ichigo casually deflected a powerful Cero.

• Chiba Makoto arranged for thirty members of the Kidō Corps to maintain Boundary Stabilization so Kurosaki Isshin could train Ichigo in the Dangai.
• Chiba Makoto and Aizen Sōsuke exchanged a knowing glance as Isshin led Ichigo into the Dangai to learn Final Getsuga Tensho.
• After three months of training inside the Dangai, Ichigo emerged in the Seireitei with a changed appearance and no detectable spiritual pressure.
• Kurotsuchi Mayuri opened a passage to Hueco Mundo, and Ichigo, Isshin, Chad Yasutora, and Ishida Uryū entered it.
• At Las Noches, Ichigo swatted aside a dark green Cero, redirecting it into the surrounding buildings.

Kurosaki Ichigo revealed the overwhelming power of Final Getsuga Tensho, defeating Ulquiorra’s attack while demanding to know where his mother was. Aizen Sōsuke intervened, and Ichigo carried him away from Las Noches to fight in a distant desert.

• Ulquiorra released Second Stage Resurrección and attacked Kurosaki Ichigo with a Lightning Spear, but Ichigo caught and crushed it before breaking Ulquiorra’s arms.
• Kurosaki Isshin explained that Ichigo’s Final Getsuga Tensho gave him immense power but would cost him his Shinigami powers and his fused Hollow power.
• Ulquiorra tore off his ruined arms and regrew them with Super Regeneration, then told Ichigo he did not know where Kurosaki Masaki was.
• Aizen Sōsuke deflected Ichigo’s strike against Ulquiorra, and Ichigo recognized him as the mastermind behind his mother’s abduction.
• Ichigo attacked Aizen, blasted him away, seized him by the face, and carried him from Las Noches to a distant desert before Aizen forced him to stop.

Kurosaki Ichigo confronted Aizen Sōsuke in the desert, using Final Getsuga Tensho to sense the loneliness behind Kyōka Suigetsu’s illusions. Aizen dispelled the illusions and allowed Ichigo to fight him while Ichigo’s companions tried to rescue Kurosaki Masaki, and Ichigo chose to prolong his half-released state to suppress and delay Aizen.

• Aizen Sōsuke saw through Kurosaki Ichigo’s fear and used Kyōka Suigetsu to make him believe he was back in Karakura Town with Asano Keigo.
• Kurosaki Ichigo explained that Final Getsuga Tensho let him sense Aizen Sōsuke’s lonely heart through the resonance between their Zanpakuto.
• Aizen Sōsuke dispelled the illusion and offered Ichigo a chance to fight him while Kurosaki Isshin, Ishida Uryū, and Chad Yasutora rescued Kurosaki Masaki.
• Kurosaki Ichigo struck Aizen Sōsuke and sensed his lonely heart again through the clash of their blades.
• Kurosaki Ichigo maintained Final Getsuga Tensho in its half-released form to delay and suppress Aizen Sōsuke.

Kurosaki Isshin, Chad Yasutora, and Ishida Uryū entered Las Noches to find Kurosaki Masaki and Kurosaki Makoto, but Stark, Barragan, and Ulquiorra blocked their way. Isshin unleashed Final Getsuga Tensho to hold off the three Arrancar, leaving Chad and Uryū free to search the palace.

• Kurosaki Isshin used Sōya Azashiro's map to lead Chad Yasutora and Ishida Uryū toward the palace where Kurosaki Masaki might be imprisoned.
• Ulquiorra, Stark, and Barragan confronted the group before they could reach the palace.
• Kurosaki Isshin told Chad Yasutora and Ishida Uryū to continue searching while he fought all three Arrancar alone.
• Barragan charged Isshin, who unleashed Final Getsuga Tensho and sent Barragan crashing into the palace.
• Kurosaki Isshin charged Stark and Ulquiorra, overpowering their combined spiritual pressure as Chad Yasutora and Ishida Uryū slipped into the palace.

Ishida Uryū and Chad Yasutora entered the palace and searched for Kurosaki Masaki while Kurosaki Isshin fought outside. On the sea of sand, Kurosaki Ichigo unleashed Mugetsu against Aizen Sōsuke, leaving the outcome of the strike unresolved.

• Barragan attacked Ishida Uryū and Chad Yasutora with Death Sigh, but Kurosaki Isshin's crimson strike engulfed the decay mist and blocked Barragan.
• Ishida Uryū and Chad Yasutora left Barragan behind and headed deeper into the palace to search Aizen Sōsuke's experiment rooms for Kurosaki Masaki.
• Kurosaki Ichigo sensed Kurosaki Isshin entering Final Getsuga Tensho and continued forcing Aizen Sōsuke backward across the sand.
• Kurosaki Ichigo revealed that he had been holding back, then unleashed Mugetsu in a black crescent slash aimed at Aizen Sōsuke.

Kurosaki Ichigo failed to bind Sōsuke Aizen, who pierced his chest and brought him to Las Noches. After Aizen overwhelmed Kurosaki Isshin and shattered Engetsu, an unexplained streak of azure radiance forced Aizen to retreat.

• Kurosaki Ichigo threw Vice-Captain Chiba’s Kidō rope toward Sōsuke Aizen, but Aizen stabbed him through the chest with Kyōka Suigetsu.
• Kurosaki Isshin held off three Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar while Ishida Uryū and Chad Yasutora retrieved Kurosaki Masaki’s Hollowifying spirit body.
• Sōsuke Aizen appeared with the wounded Kurosaki Ichigo and taunted Kurosaki Isshin over Masaki’s condition.
• Kurosaki Isshin unleashed Final Mugetsu, but Sōsuke Aizen caught and snapped Engetsu before striking at him.
• A streak of azure radiance nearly hit Sōsuke Aizen, who retreated as a tremendous explosion shook Las Noches.

Kurosaki Makoto revealed himself to Sōsuke Aizen after secretly hunting Las Noches’s Arrancar, and Aizen charged through a barrage of Reishi Arrows to attack him. As Makoto urged Kurosaki Ichigo and Ishida Uryū to flee, Ichigo, overcome with guilt, refused to run.

• Ishida Uryū recognized the azure Reishi Arrow and saw Kurosaki Makoto, realizing that Kurosaki Isshin was dead and that Makoto had appeared in spirit form.
• Sōsuke Aizen confronted Kurosaki Makoto and revealed that Makoto had spent the past month hunting Las Noches’s Arrancar to thwart his plans.
• Sōsuke Aizen dropped the unconscious Kurosaki Ichigo and rushed toward Makoto, while Ichigo awakened and realized he had lost his Shinigami powers.
• Countless Reishi Arrows filled the sky and fired across Las Noches, but Sōsuke Aizen deflected them as he pursued Makoto, who could not locate him through Kyōka Suigetsu.
• Kurosaki Makoto warned Kurosaki Ichigo and Ishida Uryū to flee, but Chad Yasutora restrained Ishida Uryū, and Ichigo stood up, consumed by guilt and determined not to run.

Kurosaki Isshin urged Kurosaki Ichigo and the others to escape Las Noches while Chiba Makoto stayed behind to face Aizen Sōsuke and the Arrancar. Barragan cornered the group, but Chiba Makoto arrived through a Garganta and struck him down.

• Kurosaki Isshin deduced that Aizen Sōsuke had provoked the crisis to draw out Kurosaki Makoto, then urged Kurosaki Ichigo to escape without him.
• Kurosaki Ichigo joined Ishida Uryū and Chad Yasutora, but Stark, Barragan, and Ulquiorra surrounded them.
• Kurosaki Ichigo told Ishida Uryū and Chad Yasutora to flee, but they refused to abandon their companions.
• Barragan attacked the group with Respira as Kurosaki Isshin held the Hollowifying Kurosaki Masaki close.
• Chiba Makoto emerged from a Garganta, scattered Barragan's Respira with a massive wooden palm, and struck Barragan into the ground.

Chiba Makoto arrived in Las Noches and turned the battle against Sōsuke Aizen, revealing that he had tracked Aizen through a prepared Kidō rope. As Makoto prepared to continue their unfinished fight, Aizen challenged him over Kurosaki Masaki’s complete Hollowification.

• Chiba Makoto appeared before Kurosaki Ichigo and the others, who pleaded with him to save Kurosaki Makoto.
• Chiba Makoto’s wooden palms knocked Stark and Ulquiorra aside and forced Sōsuke Aizen to retreat, giving Kurosaki Makoto room to escape.
• Chiba Makoto revealed that the Kidō rope had tracked Aizen and synchronized audio, and said Aizen’s decision to leave Las Noches had exposed a flaw.
• Chiba Makoto released his spiritual pressure and declared that Las Noches would be where Aizen was sealed.
• Sōsuke Aizen asked whether Makoto would attack him while letting Kurosaki Masaki undergo complete Hollowification.

Aizen Sōsuke forced Chiba Makoto to choose between continuing their fight and saving Kurosaki Masaki from Hollowification, and Chiba chose to take her back to Soul Society. Kurosaki Makoto stayed behind in Hueco Mundo to oppose Aizen, while Chiba and the others retreated through the passage.

• Aizen Sōsuke taunted Chiba Makoto with Kurosaki Masaki’s worsening Hollowification and demanded he choose between saving her and fighting.
• Chiba Makoto told Kurosaki Isshin and Kurosaki Ichigo to take Kurosaki Masaki to Soul Society for treatment.
• Kurosaki Makoto refused to leave Hueco Mundo, vowed to keep Aizen in check, and urged Ishida Uryū to abandon his hatred of Soul Reapers and Kurosaki Ichigo to fight for those he cherished.
• Chiba Makoto stopped Aizen Sōsuke from ambushing Kurosaki Makoto, who then vanished from the battlefield.
• Chad Yasutora pulled Kurosaki Ichigo and Ishida Uryū into the passage, and Chiba Makoto followed with Kurosaki Isshin and Kurosaki Masaki.

Chiba Makoto returned to Seireitei and used Kaido to halt Kurosaki Masaki’s severe Hollowification, then arranged for her treatment. He canceled the Hueco Mundo operation and took responsibility for its failure, leaving Kurosaki Isshin and Kurosaki Ichigo grateful but ashamed.

• Chiba Makoto returned to Seireitei with Kurosaki Ichigo, Ishida Uryū, and Chad Yasutora and found the captains surrounding the Hollowifying Kurosaki Masaki.
• Chiba Makoto ignored Kensei Muguruma’s warning and used Kaido and growing blades of grass to restrain Kurosaki Masaki’s Hollowification.
• Chiba Makoto told Kurosaki Isshin and Kurosaki Ichigo that Masaki’s condition was temporarily stabilized but would require further treatment, then had Kotetsu Isane place her in a Fourth Division ward.
• Chiba Makoto canceled the attack on Hueco Mundo and told the captains that his own judgment had been mistaken, shielding the Kurosaki family from blame.
• Kurosaki Isshin and Kurosaki Ichigo apologized to Chiba Makoto, who insisted he was responsible for failing to stop the Arrancar attack and Masaki’s abduction.

Chiba Makoto saved Kurosaki Masaki, secured the Kurosaki family's place in the Seireitei, and strengthened the Thirteen Divisions while preparing for the threat of Aizen Sōsuke. After two years of peace and training, Kensei Muguruma proposed a counterattack on Hueco Mundo.

• Chiba Makoto reassured Kurosaki Isshin and Kurosaki Ichigo, arranged a residence near the Fourth Division, and secretly discussed his plans with Aizen Sōsuke.
• Captain-Commander Unohana and the captains centralized authority in the First Division and introduced policies to encourage training.
• Kurosaki Masaki recovered but became a mixed-blood Quincy, and Chiba Makoto assigned the former Shiba Clan territory to her family and the surviving Shiba Clan members.
• Kurosaki Masaki taught Kurosaki Ichigo to begin mastering his Quincy power before he returned to the World of the Living to care for Kurosaki Karin and Kurosaki Yuzu.
• The Thirteen Divisions trained for two years while Aizen Sōsuke limited his attacks to manageable harassment of Karakura Town.
• At a captains' meeting, Kensei Muguruma proposed invading Hueco Mundo to eliminate Aizen Sōsuke.

After two years of training and waiting for Sōsuke Aizen to act, Kensei Muguruma and several captains urged the Thirteen Divisions to take the initiative against him. Ichimaru Gin warned that Kyōka Suigetsu made an attack dangerous, while “Amagai Shūsuke” argued that confronting Aizen was the only way to find a weakness; Chiba Makoto silenced the debate before Unohana Retsu responded.

• Kensei Muguruma called on Unohana Retsu and Chiba Makoto to end the Thirteen Divisions’ prolonged vigilance and attack Sōsuke Aizen.
• Hitsugaya Tōshirō supported Kensei Muguruma, followed by Zaraki Kenpachi, Kuchiki Byakuya, and Soi Fon.
• Ichimaru Gin cautioned that without a way to counter Kyōka Suigetsu, the Soul Reapers might end up killing one another.
• “Amagai Shūsuke” argued that the Thirteen Divisions had to confront Aizen to discover his weakness, reviving calls for war.
• Chiba Makoto opened his eyes and ordered the captains to observe meeting discipline, immediately quieting the room.

The captains learned that the Hollow population in Hueco Mundo had sharply declined and prepared for a possible threat from Aizen Sōsuke or Yhwach. Chiba Makoto and Aizen rushed to Hueco Mundo, where Yhwach’s forces overwhelmed Las Noches and Yhwach confronted Tier Harribel.

• An Onmitsukidō messenger reported that the number of Hollows in Hueco Mundo had dropped drastically, and Aizen Sōsuke denied responsibility.
• The captains ordered the Seireitei to strengthen its defenses and sent the Onmitsukidō, Intelligence Division, and Technological Development Department to investigate Hueco Mundo.
• Chiba Makoto and Aizen Sōsuke rushed to Hueco Mundo as Yhwach’s white-cloaked forces attacked Las Noches and crushed its defenders.
• Tier Harribel broke through her opponents and attacked the black-cloaked leader, but Yhwach effortlessly severed her torrent and drove her into the ground.
• Yhwach identified himself and demanded that Tier Harribel tell him where Aizen Sōsuke was.

Yhwach attacked Tier Harribel and Nel in Las Noches, but Aizen Sōsuke arrived and rejected his offer of an alliance. Aizen revealed that the Yhwach before him was an impostor and held his blade to its throat.

• Yhwach interrogated Tier Harribel about betraying Aizen, then threatened to kill the Arrancar to draw Aizen out.
• Nel used Super Acceleration to protect Tier Harribel, but Yhwach anticipated her movement; a Kidō #81: Dankū barrier stopped her before she struck his Blut Vene.
• Aizen Sōsuke appeared and confronted Yhwach, who proposed an alliance to destroy the Seireitei.
• Aizen rejected the proposal and attacked Yhwach, forcing him onto the defensive.
• Aizen knocked aside the Blut Vene and declared that the figure impersonating Yhwach was an insect, with Kyōka Suigetsu at its throat.

Jugram Haschwalth confronted Aizen Sōsuke in Las Noches and revealed Yhwach’s five Special Threats while inviting Aizen to join an alliance. Aizen refused the invitation but agreed to meet Yhwach in the Soul Society in a few days.

• Jugram Haschwalth blocked Kyōka Suigetsu from striking the false Yhwach and introduced himself to Aizen Sōsuke.
• Haschwalth revealed that the false Yhwach was Loid, whose Schrift, “Y,” The Self, let him imitate another person, and Aizen inferred that Yhwach’s current power was limited.
• Haschwalth named the five Special Threats: Aizen Sōsuke, Kurosaki Ichigo, Zaraki Kenpachi, the captain of Zero Division, and Chiba Makoto.
• Haschwalth invited Aizen to ally with Yhwach and explained that Yhwach would meet him personally once his power had recovered.
• Aizen refused the alliance, but accepted Haschwalth’s proposal for a meeting with Yhwach in the Soul Society; Haschwalth then led the Sternritter away.

After the Sternritter’s attack on Las Noches, Aizen and Chiba Makoto discussed Yhwach’s power and possible future-sight before preparing to approach him. In the Wandenreich, the real Yhwach awakened and asked Haschwalth whether he had seen Aizen Sōsuke.

• The Sternritter withdrew from Las Noches, and the Arrancar recognized how badly they had been outmatched; Grimmjow vowed to defeat them if they met again.
• Aizen checked on Nel, left her in charge of repairing Las Noches, and then appeared beside Chiba Makoto above the fortress.
• Chiba said Yhwach was testing potential threats and had nearly recovered his power, while he warned Aizen that the prophecies in the Anthem of the Quincy King might indicate future-sight.
• Chiba opened a Garganta and told Aizen they would prepare to gain Yhwach’s trust; Aizen asked whether Yhwach might see through him.
• Haschwalth led the Sternritter to the Wandenreich’s great hall, where they knelt before the awakened Yhwach, who asked whether Haschwalth had seen Aizen Sōsuke.

Yhwach ordered Haschwalth to declare war on the Thirteen Divisions and target Chiba Makoto, whose Bankai and King's Seal they sought to seize. Back in the Seireitei, Chiba rejected Kurotsuchi Mayuri’s proposal to kill Rukongai residents to correct the soul imbalance, and Mayuri suspected he planned to let the coming war’s casualties restore the balance instead.

• Haschwalth advised Yhwach that Aizen Sōsuke was unlikely to submit, and Yhwach ordered him to formally declare war on the Thirteen Divisions.
• Yhwach instructed Haschwalth to deal with Chiba Makoto first and bring back his Bankai and the King's Seal.
• Chiba Makoto and Aizen Sōsuke returned to the Seireitei as the Thirteen Divisions responded to the damage and soul imbalance in Hueco Mundo.
• Kurotsuchi Mayuri proposed exterminating residents of Rukongai districts to restore the balance of souls, but Chiba Makoto refused.
• Chiba Makoto said nothing would go wrong in a few days, prompting Kurotsuchi Mayuri to suspect he expected the coming battle’s Soul Reaper casualties to restore the balance.

Chiba Makoto prepared the Technological Development Department for the coming war, then faced a sudden Sternritter attack in the First Division. Driscoll Berci charged at him as Nnanana Nnajakupp’s ability restrained him, leaving the battle poised to begin.

• Chiba Makoto warned Kurotsuchi Mayuri that war with the Sternritter could not be avoided and ordered the Technological Development Department to prepare for battle.
• Chiba Makoto directed Kurotsuchi Mayuri to relocate important personnel, research, and equipment to protect the department.
• Kurotsuchi Mayuri sensed unfamiliar spiritual pressures and rushed back after an explosion struck Chiba Makoto’s work area.
• Nnanana Nnajakupp explained that his ability had paralyzed Chiba Makoto with grid-like spirit particles, while Nemu Kurotsuchi lay among the rubble.
• Driscoll Berci announced his Overkill ability and leaped at Chiba Makoto with a powerful punch.

Bersi and Nnajakupp tried to provoke Chiba Makoto into using his Bankai so they could steal it with their Star Marks. Chiba created and activated a replica Zanpakuto called Tree Realm Birth, and the chapter ended as the collapsing Wooden Giant Buddha's reishi surged toward Bersi's Star Mark.

• Bersi struck at the immobilized Chiba Makoto, but Kurotsuchi Mayuri intervened and was nearly half destroyed by the blow.
• Nnajakupp and Bersi revealed they had lured Soul Reapers to the scene to provoke Chiba into unleashing his Bankai.
• Chiba released Bankai—Tree Realm Birth, summoning grass and enormous trees that formed a Wooden Giant Buddha.
• Nnajakupp and Bersi activated their Star Marks to seize Chiba's Bankai, but the attempt had no apparent effect.
• Chiba formed a replica Zanpakuto from reishi and activated its Bankai, after which the Wooden Giant Buddha collapsed and its reishi rushed toward Bersi's Star Mark.