Chapter Summaries

Chiba Makoto treated the wounded through the night and earned the Fourth Division’s respect for his tireless work. After he finished treating Zaraki Kenpachi, he learned that Urahara Kisuke, Tsukabishi Tessai, and Ushōda Hachigen had been arrested over the Hollowfication Incident.

• Chiba Makoto accidentally stabbed Ōmaeda Marechiyo in the thigh, then pretended to be exhausted so he could treat him without drawing suspicion.
• Chiba Makoto worked until dawn, treating more than forty patients while the Fourth Division searched the ruined barracks for supplies.
• Chiba Makoto treated Zaraki Kenpachi last, then reassured Kusajishi Yachiru that Kenpachi would recover soon.
• Aoki Risa told Chiba Makoto that the Central 46 Chambers had arrested Urahara Kisuke, Tsukabishi Tessai, and Ushōda Hachigen after Hollowfication test subjects were found in a secret research room.

After the Hollowfication Incident, evidence in Urahara Kisuke’s laboratory led to his arrest, while Chiba Makoto learned that the Central 46 Chambers planned to purify the Hollowfied Soul Reapers except Yoruichi Shihoin. Chiba was left furious and questioning whether the Central 46 Chambers saw the Thirteen Divisions as disposable tools.

• The Seireitei search uncovered Hollowfied Soul Reapers in a hidden laboratory in Urahara Kisuke’s quarters, implicating Urahara in experiments.
• Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni ordered the arrest of Urahara Kisuke, Tsukabishi Tessai, and Ushōda Hachigen.
• Chiba Makoto questioned the temporary Medical Relief Squad and publicly condemned Urahara’s actions.
• The Central 46 Chambers voted to purify the Hollowfied Soul Reapers, making an exception for Yoruichi Shihoin so she could be treated.
• Chiba Makoto grew angry at the decision and wondered whether the Central 46 Chambers regarded the Thirteen Divisions as tools to be discarded.

Chiba Makoto was summoned to Shihoin Courtyard to examine the unconscious Yoruichi Shihoin, who remained restrained after her Hollowification. He began a closer examination while her anxious younger brother, Shihoin Yushiro, waited outside.

• Chiba Makoto arranged for exhausted Fourth Division members to rest, then followed a Punishment Force member to Shihoin Courtyard.
• Ōmaeda Marenoshin introduced Chiba Makoto to Shihoin Yushiro, who pleaded with him to treat Yoruichi.
• Shihoin Yushiro explained that the clan had restrained Yoruichi with a Divine Artifact because she had lost control during Hollowification.
• Chiba Makoto examined Yoruichi and noticed that her spiritual pressure and spiritual body were abnormal despite the Hogyoku suppressing her Hollowification.
• Chiba Makoto asked Shihoin Yushiro to leave so he could conduct a detailed examination, and Yushiro reluctantly agreed.

Makoto confronted Aizen Sōsuke in Yoruichi Shihoin’s room and explained why he had come despite knowing Aizen was waiting there. Makoto laid out his theory about Aizen’s plan to use Yoruichi and Urahara, but Aizen said his explanation was not entirely correct.

• After the door closed, Makoto revealed he knew Aizen Sōsuke was hiding in Yoruichi Shihoin’s room and questioned why Aizen had expected him to come.
• Aizen explained that the Shihōin Clan would inevitably summon Makoto to treat Yoruichi, while Makoto warned that the clan’s artifacts and Yoshiro could pose risks to Aizen.
• Aizen suggested Makoto’s arrival showed he understood Aizen was waiting, and Makoto reflected that treating Yoruichi also offered a chance to implant Seeds of the Forest into Hollowfied Shinigami.
• Makoto told Aizen he believed Aizen intended for Urahara to perfect the Hogyoku and help the Hollowfied Shinigami escape to the World of the Living, with Yoruichi’s support and Makoto’s treatment serving as essential parts of the plan.
• Aizen told Makoto that his explanation was not entirely correct.

Chiba Makoto agreed to temporarily cooperate with Aizen Sōsuke to stabilize Yoruichi Shihoin’s Hollowification. As Makoto examined her spiritual body, he asked where the Hollowified portions came from, prompting Aizen to explain how Hollows formed.

• Aizen Sōsuke described ways he could frame Makoto for Yoruichi Shihoin’s death, then offered to help keep her alive.
• Aizen showed Makoto a Hogyoku and proposed that they use Makoto’s medical skills to stabilize Yoruichi’s Hollowification.
• Makoto accepted the temporary cooperation and began examining Yoruichi Shihoin while keeping Aizen in sight.
• Makoto studied the Hollow structures in Yoruichi’s spiritual body and asked where those portions came from.
• Aizen explained how human souls became Hollows, and Makoto asked what Soul Reapers were.

Chiba Makoto learned from Aizen Sōsuke that Soul Reapers and Hollows were both forms of Pluses, then began treating Yoruichi Shihoin’s lingering Hollowification with the Hogyoku’s help. He identified the Hollowfied structures in her spirit body and prepared to reconcile them, while Aizen secretly recorded the treatment through the Hogyoku.

• Aizen Sōsuke explained that a Plus’s chain became a Zanpakuto for a Soul Reaper or a Hollow Hole for a Hollow, and that Hollowification drew on the Soul Reaper’s own soul.
• Chiba Makoto reasoned that Yoruichi Shihoin remained unconscious because Hollow elements still clashed with her spirit body, and concluded he could treat her by balancing its Soul Reaper and Hollow aspects.
• Chiba Makoto asked Aizen Sōsuke to respect Yoruichi Shihoin’s privacy during treatment, while Aizen offered to stabilize her spirit body and reveal its Hollowfied structure with the Hogyoku.
• Aizen Sōsuke turned away as Chiba Makoto removed Yoruichi Shihoin’s clothes, but the Hogyoku let Aizen record every change in her spirit body regardless.
• Chiba Makoto used the Hogyoku’s markings to identify Yoruichi Shihoin’s Hollowfied portions and prepared to begin the extensive treatment.

Chiba Makoto completed a difficult treatment that removed the most incompatible Hollowified portions from Yoruichi Shihoin and prepared her spirit body for recovery. After telling Shihoin Yushiro that Yoruichi would soon wake, Chiba took him to her, while Ōmaeda Marenoshin decided Chiba might become Yoruichi’s husband.

• Chiba Makoto used Kaido to remove the Hollowified portions that conflicted with Yoruichi Shihoin’s spirit body, causing her pain even while she remained unconscious.
• Aizen Sōsuke and the waiting Shihoin Yushiro and Ōmaeda Marenoshin heard Yoruichi’s muffled moans and wondered about the treatment.
• Chiba Makoto emerged exhausted and told Shihoin Yushiro that Yoruichi should wake soon and that he could see her.
• Shihoin Yushiro thanked Chiba and offered to repay him, but Chiba declined and said Yoruichi’s recovery and her family’s gratitude were enough.
• Chiba Makoto took Shihoin Yushiro by the hand and led him into the room, prompting Ōmaeda Marenoshin to consider Chiba an important ally of the Shihōin Clan.
• Ōmaeda Marenoshin speculated that Chiba might become Yoruichi’s husband and eagerly hurried after them.

Chiba Makoto charmed Shihoin Yushiro and met Ōmaeda Marenoshin, who offered to fund repairs to the Fourth Division Barracks in exchange for annual medical care for the Ōmaeda Clan. The chapter left Chiba pleased to accept the favor and Yoruichi Shihoin jealous of her brother’s new closeness with him.

• Chiba Makoto praised Shihoin Yushiro and petted his hair, and Yushiro responded with affection while Ōmaeda Marenoshin watched in shock.
• Yoruichi Shihoin interrupted Yushiro, who hid behind Chiba Makoto before greeting his sister and thanking Chiba for treating her.
• Yoruichi Shihoin grew jealous of Chiba Makoto’s bond with Yushiro, so Chiba stepped aside to give the siblings space.
• Ōmaeda Marenoshin flattered Chiba Makoto and offered to pay to restore the Fourth Division Barracks.
• Ōmaeda Marenoshin asked Chiba Makoto to provide the Ōmaeda Clan one free annual physical examination and treatment, and Chiba warmly accepted the proposal.

Chiba Makoto discussed the Fourth Division Barracks repairs with Ōmaeda Marenoshin before Yoruichi Shihoin sent Marenoshin to involve Soi Fon in Second Division and Onmitsukidō affairs. Yoruichi then thanked Makoto for treating her and discussed the destruction at the barracks, while Makoto blamed Urahara Kisuke.

• Chiba Makoto praised Ōmaeda Marenoshin's skill and reassured him that Ōmaeda Marechiyo was recovering from minor injuries.
• Yoruichi Shihoin ordered Ōmaeda Marenoshin to take Shihoin Yushiro away and manage the Second Division and Onmitsukidō's affairs for the time being.
• Yoruichi told Marenoshin that Soi Fon was pursuing Bankai and instructed him to help her develop her decision-making ability.
• After Marenoshin and Yushiro left, Yoruichi questioned Makoto about Yushiro's trust in him and teased him about treating her.
• Yoruichi apologized for the damage to the Fourth Division Barracks and thanked Makoto for treating her; Makoto said Urahara Kisuke was to blame.

Yoruichi Shihoin decided to rescue Urahara Kisuke and asked Chiba Makoto to treat the other Hollowfied Shinigami. Makoto agreed to help only with treatment while insisting that Yoruichi had forced him, and she promised to back his story.

• Yoruichi Shihoin told Chiba Makoto that she believed Urahara Kisuke was innocent and planned to rescue him from the Central 46 Chambers.
• Yoruichi Shihoin asked Makoto to help treat the Hollowfied Shinigami, then demonstrated that she could activate Hollowification, though she still struggled to control it.
• Yoruichi Shihoin offered to marry Soi Fon to Makoto if he helped, but Makoto refused the reward and said he believed her.
• Makoto agreed to treat the Hollowfied Shinigami while denying involvement in anything else, and Yoruichi promised to testify that she had forced him.

Chiba Makoto began treating the seven Hollowfied Shinigami brought to him by Yoruichi Shihoin while Urahara Kisuke, Tsukabishi Tessai, and Ushōda Hachigen faced trial before Central 46 Chambers. Aizen Sōsuke and Tōsen Kaname secretly watched the proceedings as Aizen mocked the court.

• Yoruichi Shihoin arranged for Chiba Makoto to receive the seven Hollowfied Shinigami in an underground Onmitsukidō facility.
• Chiba Makoto examined the three captains and four vice-captains, then began removing the Hollowified portions of their spiritual bodies.
• Exhausted from prior work, Chiba Makoto started treating Lisa Yadōmaru first.
• Urahara Kisuke, Tsukabishi Tessai, and Ushōda Hachigen appeared bound before Central 46 Chambers as their trial began.
• Aizen Sōsuke and Tōsen Kaname watched the trial from a hidden corner, and Aizen told Kaname that the scene was grotesque.

Aizen Sōsuke watched the Central 46 Chambers condemn Urahara Kisuke, Tsukabishi Tessai, and Ushōda Hachigen, but Yoruichi Shihoin broke into the courtroom and freed them. As Yoruichi and the others reached Chiba Makoto, they found him collapsed atop four half-dressed Soul Reapers after overexerting himself.

• Aizen Sōsuke restrained Tōsen Kaname’s anger and dismissed the Central 46 Chambers as puppets of the nobility.
• The Central 46 Chambers sentenced Tsukabishi Tessai and Ushōda Hachigen to exile and Urahara Kisuke to execution, ordering the sentences carried out immediately.
• Yoruichi Shihoin burst into the courtroom, cut the trio’s restraints, and led them out.
• Aizen Sōsuke and Tōsen Kaname left after mocking the Central 46 Chambers’ reaction to Yoruichi Shihoin’s escape.
• Chiba Makoto finished treating Lisa Yadōmaru, Kuna Mashiro, and Sarugaki Hiyori, then became dizzy and fell onto four bare-chested Soul Reapers.
• Yoruichi Shihoin and the others arrived and saw Chiba Makoto sprawled atop the Soul Reapers.

Chiba Makoto explained that he had treated the Hollowfied Soul Reapers by repairing damage to their spiritual bodies, and said they should soon awaken. Urahara Kisuke offered to take over, but Makoto insisted on continuing the treatment and suggested that Kisuke work on Kensei Muguruma while he treated the others.

• Yoruichi Shihoin returned with Urahara Kisuke, Tsukabishi Tessai, and Ushōda Hachigen and found Chiba Makoto treating the unconscious Soul Reapers.
• Makoto clarified that he had been treating the Hollowfied Soul Reapers, not doing what Yoruichi had mistakenly suspected, and explained that he had just finished treating Vice-Captain Yachiru and the others.
• Makoto told Urahara that Hollowification had severely contaminated the Soul Reapers’ spiritual bodies, preventing them from waking, and that his treatment addressed that damage.
• Yoruichi confirmed that Makoto had helped her regain consciousness, while Urahara realized why his own treatment had failed and offered to remove the Hollow-related Reishi.
• Makoto refused to hand over the work, warning that Urahara should leave Seireitei soon, and proposed that Urahara treat Kensei Muguruma while Makoto handled the others.

Chiba Makoto treated the Hollowfied Soul Reapers while Urahara Kisuke worked on separating their Hollow portions, then collapsed after accidentally sewing Yamada Seinosuke’s mouth shut. He woke in a Fourth Division tent after Urahara’s group had left the Soul Society and received a letter from him.

• Makoto continued treating the Hollowfied Soul Reapers, while Urahara assembled a machine and operated on Kensei Muguruma.
• Makoto treated Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō and secretly implanted the Seed of the Forest, then saw Urahara remove Hollowfied portions from Kensei with the machine.
• Makoto treated Hirako Shinji and Yamada Seinosuke, but his exhaustion made him cut too deeply and stitch Yamada’s mouth shut.
• Makoto passed out and woke a day and night later in a Fourth Division tent, where Aoki Risa told him the Onmitsukidō had brought him back.
• Makoto read Urahara’s letter, which said the group had left and asked him to take care of Yoshiro.

Chiba Makoto weighed the Seireitei’s weakened state and decided to build strength and place allies in the Thirteen Divisions rather than seek a captaincy. He encouraged Aoki Risa to take over the Fifth Seat position and offered to tutor her, leaving her resolved to support her family and division.

• Chiba Makoto burned the letter after confirming it had not been opened, then considered Urahara Kisuke and Yoruichi Shihoin’s escape a benefit to his plans.
• Chiba Makoto reflected on the vacant captain positions, rejected the idea of pursuing a captaincy, and considered placing people within the Thirteen Divisions.
• Chiba Makoto reassured Aoki Risa that she could call him Makoto, and she resolved to carry on her mother’s wish and support the Aoki Family.
• Chiba Makoto promised to recommend Aoki Risa for Fifth Seat and offered to tutor her in Kaido and Medical Skills.

After becoming Fourth Division Lieutenant, Chiba Makoto visited Yamada Rinka, whose husband had been declared dead despite having fled to the World of the Living. Kotetsu Isane accompanied him into Rinka’s tent, where he found her grieving and exhausted.

• Makoto asked Aoki Risa about changes in the Fourth Division, gave instructions, and put on Yamada Seinosuke’s lieutenant’s armband.
• Makoto visited the temporary tent where Yamada Rinka lived, hesitating because Seireitei had announced her husband’s death.
• Kotetsu Isane met Makoto and explained that Mortuary staff had been reassigned to help the division.
• Isane said she had come to visit Rinka and agreed to accompany Makoto inside.
• Makoto entered Rinka’s tent with Isane and saw her wearing bereaved-widow clothing, looking haggard and sorrowful.

Chiba Makoto visited Yamada Rinka and offered her the Vice-Captain's Residence assigned to him, seeking to repay Yamada Seinosuke's supposed kindness. Rinka accepted his concern with gratitude, though she continued to feel unworthy of the offer.

• Chiba Makoto met Yamada Rinka for the first time and comforted her over Yamada Seinosuke's reported death.
• Chiba Makoto and Yamada Rinka grew closer as he spoke to her with concern and invited her to call him Makoto.
• Chiba Makoto learned that Yamada Rinka would lose her residence because Yamada Seinosuke's former Vice-Captain's Residence had collapsed.
• Chiba Makoto offered Yamada Rinka the Vice-Captain's Residence assigned to him, startling both her and Kotetsu Isane.
• Yamada Rinka bowed to Chiba Makoto and initially refused, but he insisted that she remained a Vice-Captain's wife and urged her to accept a warm home.

Chiba Makoto arranged for Yamada Rinka to move into the renovated Vice-Captain's Residence while planning to build himself a room in Unohana Retsu's courtyard. Before leaving, he accepted Yamada Rinka's recommendation of Kotetsu Isane as his assistant, and Isane eagerly agreed to work with him.

• Chiba Makoto told Yamada Rinka he could live anywhere, privately planning to move into Unohana Retsu's courtyard.
• Yamada Rinka offered Chiba Makoto a place in the Vice-Captain's Residence, but he gently refused and said she could move there after its renovation.
• Yamada Rinka recommended Kotetsu Isane, praising her Kaido talent, medical skills, and ability to manage the Mortuary.
• Chiba Makoto asked Kotetsu Isane to work with him, and Isane excitedly accepted.

Urahara Kisuke brought the Hollowfied Shinigami to the World of the Living, where they learned about their condition and suspected Aizen Sōsuke of causing it. Meanwhile, Chiba Makoto left Yamada Rinka reassured and asked Kotetsu Isane to visit her, while Yamada Seinosuke mourned being unable to return to his wife.

• Urahara Kisuke explained that the group had to hide until he could make Gigai that concealed their spiritual pressure, and he revealed that he possessed a Hogyoku.
• Hirako Shinji suspected his Vice-Captain, Aizen Sōsuke, of being behind the Hollowification, though the group had no proof.
• The Hollowfied Shinigami accepted that they had to remain hidden in the World of the Living, while Yamada Seinosuke grieved that he could not return to Yamada Rinka.
• Chiba Makoto felt relieved that Yamada Rinka seemed less heartbroken and appreciated her recommendation of Kotetsu Isane.
• Chiba Makoto asked Kotetsu Isane to visit Yamada Rinka and to bless any man who might pursue her.

Chiba Makoto inspected the Fourth Division's tent area and began reorganizing its understaffed operations by assessing Kotetsu Isane and entrusting her with administrative work. He then went to see Ōmaeda Marechiyo, intending to personally perform Marechiyo's upcoming operation.

• Chiba Makoto inspected the Fourth Division's patients and found that many members lacked seated officers to manage them.
• Chiba Makoto tested Kotetsu Isane's knowledge, praised her strong theoretical skills, and decided to train her in practical work.
• Chiba Makoto gave Kotetsu Isane responsibility for reviewing routine division affairs and promised to check her decisions.
• Chiba Makoto left Kotetsu Isane to handle the paperwork and headed to Ōmaeda Marechiyo's tent to repay the Ōmaeda Clan by performing Marechiyo's operation himself.