Chapter Summaries

After Aizen Sōsuke attacked Chiba Makoto, he claimed Yhwach had helped him deal with Kurosaki Makoto, prompting Ichigo to attack Yhwach in a fury. Yhwach overpowered Ichigo and revealed that Ichigo’s blood came from him.

• Aizen Sōsuke’s surprise attack nearly beheaded Chiba Makoto, who healed his wound and confronted Aizen for cooperating with Yhwach.
• Yhwach declared that he would become king despite the unexpected presence of Chiba Makoto, while reinforcements arrived at the ruined Shin'ō Academy.
• Aizen Sōsuke told Ichigo that Yhwach had helped him deal with Kurosaki Makoto, and Ichigo believed his uncle had been killed.
• Furious, Ichigo charged Yhwach with spirit-particle blades, but Yhwach broke them, seized Ichigo, and slammed him into the ground.
• Yhwach saw Ichigo’s Blut Vene markings and told him that the blood flowing through him was Yhwach’s.

Chiba Makoto drove Yhwach back, but Yhwach used the Shadow Domain to withdraw with Haschwalth, Bambietta, and Sōsuke Aizen. The Thirteen Divisions then reviewed the severe casualties and called for a punitive counterattack against the Wandenreich.

• Kurosaki Ichigo spat blood at Yhwach and tried to fight back, but Chiba Makoto intervened and warned him that he was not yet Yhwach's match.
• Haschwalth reminded Yhwach that his time was almost up, and Yhwach announced that the attack was only the beginning before inviting Sōsuke Aizen to discuss an alliance.
• Yhwach used the Shadow Domain to take Sōsuke Aizen and the Wandenreich forces out of the Seireitei, evading Chiba Makoto's attempt to stop them.
• The casualty report listed Kyōraku Shunsui, Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō, and Sarugaki Hiyori among the dead, many captains and Vice-Captains critically wounded, and the Shin'ō Academy students wiped out.
• The captains and Vice-Captains learned that the Sternritter had lost members bearing Schrift J, L, N, Q, R, Y, and Z, as well as U, but still demanded a punitive counterattack against the Wandenreich.

Chiba Makoto took control of the captains’ meeting and warned Seireitei that the Wandenreich could ally with Aizen Sōsuke for a devastating attack. The Soul Reapers grasped the scale of the crisis, while Yoruichi Shihoin’s distracting behavior nearly disrupted Makoto’s performance.

• Ichimaru Gin pointed out that the Thirteen Divisions could not counterattack without knowing where the Wandenreich was hiding, prompting Zaraki Kenpachi and Kurotsuchi Mayuri to argue.
• Chiba Makoto silenced the captains and reprimanded them for turning their anger on one another after Seireitei’s heavy losses.
• Chiba Makoto explained that Yhwach sought revenge and intended to seize the world, and warned that he might ally with Aizen Sōsuke and Las Noches.
• The captains realized Seireitei could not easily defend against a joint assault or remain on alert indefinitely.
• Yoruichi Shihoin quietly provoked Chiba Makoto during his speech, and he worried that she would ruin the tense atmosphere.

Chiba Makoto persuaded the captains to counterattack the Wandenreich in five days, then visited the injured Yamamoto. Yamamoto’s wounds were stable, but he refused Orihime Inoue’s help restoring his arm because he considered it a disgrace to erase the scar of his defeat.

• Sōya Azashiro secretly covered Yoruichi Shihoin’s mouth while the captains discussed the threat from the Wandenreich and Aizen Sōsuke.
• Chiba Makoto argued that Seireitei should strike the Wandenreich’s shadow world, whose location he was close to confirming, and the captains unanimously approved a counterattack in five days.
• Chiba Makoto went to the Fourth Division Barracks, where Soul Reapers were treating the many wounded and preparing for the coming attack.
• Chōjirō Sasakibe told Chiba Makoto that Unohana had stabilized Yamamoto’s injuries but that Yamamoto refused Orihime Inoue’s treatment for his lost arm.

Chiba Makoto visited Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, persuaded him to accept treatment for his lost arm, and refused his request to join the coming attack on the Wandenreich. Yamamoto agreed to remain in the Seireitei and help guard it as Chiba Makoto prepared to lead the counterattack.

• Chiba Makoto urged Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni to let Inoue Orihime treat his missing right arm, but Yamamoto initially refused.
• Yamamoto asked Chiba Makoto to let him join the surprise attack on the Wandenreich so he could personally kill Yhwach.
• Chiba Makoto refused, explaining that Yamamoto’s presence was needed to protect the Seireitei and Muken while the main forces deployed.
• Chiba Makoto persuaded Yamamoto to accept Inoue Orihime’s treatment, and her power restored his right arm.
• Komamura Sajin offered to help defend the Seireitei, and Chiba Makoto assigned him to assist Yamamoto with defensive patrols before departing with Inoue Orihime.

Chiba Makoto told Unohana Retsu that the coming conflict with Yhwach would force a decisive battle, then awkwardly left after Inoue Orihime interrupted his intimate moment with Unohana. At Sōkyoku Hill, Kurosaki Ichigo remembered how Kurosaki Makoto had protected and guided him, and wept over being unable to help his uncle.

• Chiba Makoto told Unohana Retsu that Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni would stay in the Seireitei while he forced Yhwach to choose between attacking the Soul King Palace and dying in the Wandenreich.
• Unohana Retsu affirmed her trust in Chiba Makoto, and he pulled her into his arms before Inoue Orihime reminded them she was present.
• Chiba Makoto awkwardly left to find Kurosaki Ichigo and move his Quincy training to its next stage.
• Kurosaki Ichigo recalled how Kurosaki Makoto had protected and guided him, then cried that he had been unable to do anything for his uncle.

Chiba Makoto offered to restore Kurosaki Ichigo’s Shinigami powers so he could join the planned counterattack against the Wandenreich in five days. In Ichigo’s inner world, Uncle Zangetsu revealed that he was the source of Ichigo’s Quincy power and explained his connection to Yhwach.

• Chiba Makoto found Kurosaki Ichigo at Sōkyoku Hill and learned he wanted to avenge Kurosaki Makoto.
• Chiba Makoto told Ichigo he could join the counterattack if he met a prerequisite, then said he would restore Ichigo’s Shinigami powers.
• Chiba Makoto stabbed Ichigo with All Things in Nature, sending him into his inner world.
• Ichigo noticed that Uncle Zangetsu looked like Yhwach and asked whether Uncle Zangetsu had survived the Final Getsuga Tensho.
• Uncle Zangetsu said he was not Ichigo’s true Zanpakuto and revealed that he was the source of Ichigo’s Quincy power, inherited from his mother and originating from Yhwach.

Uncle Zangetsu revealed that he was Ichigo’s Quincy power and that White Ichigo was his true Zanpakuto, then warned him that Chiba Makoto was forcibly drawing out and blending every power within him. After Chiba urged Ichigo to name his new Zanpakuto, Ichigo chose Zangetsu and formed a pair of blades.

• Uncle Zangetsu told Ichigo that White Ichigo was formed from his Soul Reaper and Hollow powers, while he himself was Ichigo’s Quincy power and had suppressed White Ichigo for years.
• Uncle Zangetsu explained that White Ichigo had said goodbye during Ichigo’s Final Getsuga Tensho training and warned that Chiba Makoto was forcibly blending Ichigo’s powers.
• Chiba Makoto’s presence collapsed Ichigo’s inner world, and Ichigo awoke in reality with All Things in Nature piercing his chest.
• Chiba Makoto told Ichigo to strengthen his convictions and give his new Zanpakuto a new name.
• Ichigo recalled the truth about Yhwach killing Uncle Kurosaki Makoto, called out “Zangetsu,” and formed a pair of Zangetsu blades.

Kurosaki Ichigo awakened a pair of twin Zangetsu blades and discovered their immense power. Chiba Makoto took him to Muken to fight Zaraki Kenpachi, where their battle began under Chiba’s supervision.

• Kurosaki Ichigo tested his twin Zangetsu and carved a massive trench with a single swing.
• Chiba Makoto explained that Ichigo’s powers were now balanced but that he had to fight to fully unleash and integrate them.
• Chiba Makoto led Ichigo through a sealed passage into Muken, where he planned a battle to strengthen both Ichigo and Zaraki Kenpachi before the counterattack on the Wandenreich.
• Zaraki Kenpachi emerged from the darkness, and Ichigo swiftly placed a blade at his throat.
• Chiba Makoto spread healing grass across the area and told Ichigo and Zaraki Kenpachi to fight until one admitted defeat.
• Ichigo and Zaraki Kenpachi clashed their Zanpakuto, beginning their battle.

Yhwach formed an alliance with Aizen Sōsuke and named Ishida Uryū heir apparent of the Wandenreich, bearer of Schrift “A.” Afterward, Gadis, Liltotto, and Minina reflected on their return from the Seireitei and realized Chiba Makoto had deliberately spared them.

• Yhwach proposed an alliance with Aizen Sōsuke, who demanded half the world in exchange for helping restrain Chiba Makoto.
• Yhwach accepted Aizen Sōsuke’s demand and announced their alliance to the Sternritter, though both men intended to use the other.
• Yhwach introduced Ishida Uryū as the Wandenreich’s heir apparent and bearer of Schrift “A,” shocking the Sternritter.
• Gadis, Liltotto, and Minina discussed surviving the Seireitei and mourned Giselle, whose corpse had been crushed.
• Liltotto said Chiba Makoto had deliberately let her, Gadis, and Minina return alive.

After Chiba Makoto defeated Giselle and spared Gadis, Minina, and Liltotto, the three warned Bambietta not to underestimate the Soul Reapers. As tensions grew within the Wandenreich, Gadis became trapped by strange green grass growing from her abdomen.

• Gadis, Minina, and Liltotto concluded that Chiba Makoto had spared them because they were too weak to threaten him, while Giselle had been killed.
• Bambietta arrived, learned Giselle was gone, and destroyed part of the room in anger before Gadis warned her about the Thirteen Divisions and the Special Threats.
• Bambietta dismissed the warning, complained about Ishida Uryū being named heir, and left to kill someone to relieve her anger.
• Over the following days, Sternritter grew dissatisfied with Aizen Sōsuke and Ishida Uryū, while Yhwach waited for his power to awaken further.
• Gadis felt pain in her lower abdomen, then became unable to move as green grass grew from the vanished scar and entered her mouth.

Chiba Makoto used hidden Reishi particles to locate the Wandenreich in the Shadow World and discovered that Ishida Uryū was there. He took command of the Soul Society’s counterattack and opened a passage for the assembled Soul Reapers to follow him into battle.

• Chiba Makoto emerged in Liltotto’s room, where Gadis, Minina, and Liltotto stood under his control, and reclaimed the Reishi particles he had planted in them.
• Chiba Makoto used the three particles, along with the one inside Aizen Sōsuke’s Kyōka Suigetsu, to pinpoint the Wandenreich and sense the spiritual pressures of Yhwach, Haschwalth, Aizen Sōsuke, and Ishida Uryū.
• Chiba Makoto returned to Seireitei, where the gathered Soul Society forces awaited him after five days of preparation.
• Unohana Retsu approved Chiba Makoto’s report and put him in command of the counterattack.
• Chiba Makoto opened a passage to the Wandenreich and called on the Soul Reapers to follow him into battle.

Chiba Makoto led the Soul Reapers through a spatial passage to counterattack the Wandenreich, while Zero Division discussed the possibility that the battle could require a new Soul King. The chapter revealed that Hyōsube Ichibē had backup candidates and emergency creations, and that the newer members of Zero Division had been bound as potential wedges to maintain the world.

• Chiba Makoto rallied the Soul Reapers and led them, with Unohana Retsu and the Captains and Vice-Captains following, through the passage to the battlefield.
• Hyōsube Ichibē, Nimaiya Ōetsu, Kirinji Tenshiro, Hikifune Kirio, and Shutara Senjumaru debated whether Zero Division should intervene, but Hyōsube Ichibē ordered them to guard the Soul King Palace.
• Hyōsube Ichibē said the world could no longer wait for a new Soul King and identified Yhwach as the conventional candidate, with Kurosaki Ichigo, Aizen Sōsuke, and Chiba Makoto as alternatives.
• Hyōsube Ichibē confirmed that Hanakarita Jinta and Ururu, emergency creations developed by Urahara Kisuke, had been placed in Wotōden.
• Hikifune Kirio, Shutara Senjumaru, and Kirinji Tenshiro recalled that Hyōsube Ichibē had transformed their spiritual bodies into King's Keys, binding them as potential wedges to preserve the world.

Hyōsube Ichibē ordered the Zero Division to prepare for Yhwach’s attack and discussed reclaiming Chiba Makoto’s King’s Seal after the war. Meanwhile, Chiba brought the Soul Reapers into his Secret Garden and explained how the Wandenreich moved through the shadow world.

• Hikifune Kirio and the other Zero Division members realized they were trapped under Ichibē’s control and risked being turned into keystones if his plans failed.
• Ichibē ordered the Zero Division to stimulate the awakening of the Soul King’s power within Yhwach before Yhwach attacked the Soul King Palace.
• Ichibē said the Thirteen Divisions could not defeat Yhwach and planned to reclaim Chiba Makoto’s King’s Seal, concealing Chiba’s death by presenting him as a hero.
• After the Zero Division members left, Ichibē watched them warily and suspected that someone in the lower world was approaching control of names.
• Chiba welcomed the Soul Reapers into his Secret Garden, where Yachiru delighted in the flowers and the others marveled at the scenery.
• Chiba explained that the Wandenreich was like a submarine moving through the shadow world, while his Secret Garden had an anchor point that let him return to it.

Chiba Makoto explained that the Thirteen Divisions would ram the Secret Garden into the shifting Wandenreich to pin it in place and prevent the Sternritter from escaping. As the spaces drew near, he set a two-hour countdown while hiding his own urgent need to act before the Zero Division discovered his Matter Particles.

• Chiba Makoto explained that the Wandenreich had no fixed location and that a direct spatial collision would anchor it while cutting off escape routes.
• Kurotsuchi Mayuri recognized Chiba Makoto's plan, and Chiba reassured Kensei Muguruma that the spaces would come together like ships rather than explode.
• Chiba Makoto considered that Yhwach would probably sacrifice the Sternritter to attack the Soul King Palace, while he himself could not delay before his Matter Particles became detectable.
• Yoruichi Shihoin, Soi Fon, and Kuchiki Byakuya sensed the Secret Garden moving, and Chiba Makoto estimated that it would collide with the Wandenreich in two hours.
• Kusajishi Yachiru bumped into Chiba Makoto, and he picked her up and promised to spend time with her after the battle.

Ishida Uryū approached Yhwach’s bedchamber and learned from Haschwalth that the Quincy were destined to offer their souls to Yhwach. After Haschwalth warned him not to interfere, a violent tremor shook the Wandenreich.

• Ishida Uryū surveyed the Divine Punishment Guard and tried to enter Yhwach’s bedchamber, but Haschwalth stopped him.
• Haschwalth questioned Ishida Uryū’s reasons for joining the Wandenreich and warned him against acting on hidden intentions.
• Haschwalth revealed that Quincy souls and the souls they killed were destined to become part of Yhwach, and that the war with the Thirteen Divisions helped restore Yhwach’s power.
• Ishida Uryū asked whether Yhwach’s near defeat by Chiba Makoto had also been planned, and Haschwalth said Chiba represented an unpredictable uncertainty that would not change the destined future.
• As Ishida Uryū turned to leave the bedchamber, a terrifying tremor shook the Wandenreich.

The Soul Reapers broke into the Wandenreich through a passage opened by a giant tree and launched a surprise assault on the Quincy. As the battle spread across the Wandenreich, Chiba Makoto and Unohana Retsu advanced toward Silberburg while Haschwalth withdrew.

• The Wandenreich trembled as cracks spread across its sky and a giant tree pierced into Silberburg, opening a passage to the Soul Reaper world.
• Soi Fon disabled Nain's missiles with Suzumebachi, while Yoruichi Shihoin shattered Masklin's fist and hurled him toward the ground.
• Unohana Retsu and Chiba Makoto entered the Wandenreich with the Thirteen Divisions and ordered the Soul Reapers to destroy the Wandenreich and kill the Quincy.
• Soul Reapers scattered to attack Sternritter across the Wandenreich, and clashes between captain-class fighters erupted throughout the territory.
• Chiba Makoto met Haschwalth's gaze as he and Unohana Retsu advanced toward Silberburg, and Haschwalth turned away, declaring that the war had begun.

The Thirteen Divisions launched their counterattack against the Sternritter, and Kurosaki Ichigo was stopped outside the Palace of Ice by Nianzol Wale’s Schrift, which made attacks veer away from him. As Ichigo searched for a weakness and Zaraki Kenpachi charged off on his own, the battles spread and Kensei Muguruma was defeated.

• The Thirteen Divisions and Sternritter began fighting across the Wandenreich, while Kurosaki Ichigo and Zaraki Kenpachi charged toward Silberburg.
• Kurosaki Ichigo attacked the Palace of Ice with Moon Fang Cross Cannon, but Nianzol Wale’s ability curved the attack around him and the palace.
• Nianzol Wale explained that his instincts made any perceived threat evade him, and Ichigo’s further attacks also failed to land.
• Zaraki Kenpachi ran into Silberburg after sensing a strong opponent, leaving Ichigo to face Wale alone.
• Kensei Muguruma was defeated as the battles between the captains and Sternritter produced casualties.

Kensei Muguruma was grievously wounded by X-Axis after his Hollowfied Bankai attacks failed to overcome the Sternritter’s defense. Chiba Makoto’s grass pulled Kensei out of danger, and Ichimaru Gin arrived, pierced X-Axis’s skin, and prepared to use Bankai.

• Kensei Muguruma unleashed his Bankai and Hollowification against X-Axis, but X-Axis endured the storm of attacks and drove a hand through Kensei’s chest.
• X-Axis tore organs from Kensei and moved to kill him, but Chiba Makoto’s grass dragged Kensei away and narrowly saved his life.
• X-Axis pursued Kensei, but Ichimaru Gin struck him with Shinso and sent him crashing through more than ten walls.
• X-Axis realized Ichimaru’s blade had drawn blood and questioned how it had pierced his defense.
• Ichimaru Gin seized X-Axis’s moment of shock and invoked Bankai: God Killer Spear.

Ichimaru Gin killed X-Axis by dissolving him with the God Killer Spear, and Chiba Makoto sealed the Sternritters’ Schrift abilities with modified Reishi. The Soul Reapers gained the upper hand, and Kuchiki Byakuya defeated Es Nott as Unohana Retsu and Chiba Makoto continued toward Silberburg.

• Ichimaru Gin revealed that the God Killer Spear’s true power was dissolution and killed X-Axis through his wounded eye socket.
• After X-Axis died, Sternritters across the Wandenreich released their Schrifts, but Chiba Makoto spread modified Reishi that forced them out of Schrift.
• Kotetsu Isane and Aoki Risa hurried to treat the badly injured Kensei Muguruma while Unohana Retsu and Chiba Makoto continued toward Silberburg.
• With Schrift sealed, Kuchiki Byakuya engulfed Es Nott in the Secret Art: Thousand Blade Flower Bite and defeated him.