Recaps

Asano Kiyoshi used his newly increased spiritual pressure to stabilize the Kihon world with Reishi chains, while Mayuri Kurotsuchi asked to establish a research site there. Returning to Soul Society with the captured rebel nobles, Asano learned from Shunsui that political and financial interests might prevent their execution, and began considering changes to Soul Society’s economy.

• Asano Kiyoshi anchored the Kihon world with Reishi chains as Mayuri Kurotsuchi directed where to place them.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi asked Asano Kiyoshi to help him obtain a mountain as a research site, then gathered experimental materials.
• Asano Kiyoshi thanked Shunsui for supporting him during the battle as they traveled through the Dangai with the captured nobles.
• Shunsui explained that the nobles and Central 46 could blame the Ryūtoji Clan and protect the prisoners to gain control of their assets.
• Asano Kiyoshi realized Soul Society’s economic structure needed to change and considered putting its high productivity to use.

After returning from a victorious battle, Asano Kiyoshi learned why the Captain-Commander could not simply overthrow Soul Society’s nobles and institutions. He vowed to solve the problems holding Soul Society back, and began by asking for money to build roads.

• Shunsui reassured Asano Kiyoshi that the nobles would die in time, and Asano Kiyoshi promised not to act impulsively.
• Asano Kiyoshi led the smiling Shinigami back through the Dangai, where Aizen congratulated him.
• The Captain-Commander showed Asano Kiyoshi a document from the Royal Family and nobles warning against killing nobles indiscriminately.
• The Captain-Commander explained that the nobles’ power and their economic role, along with Central 46’s institutional role, made a sudden overthrow dangerous to Soul Society.
• Asano Kiyoshi asked whether the Captain-Commander would support him if he solved those problems, and the Captain-Commander agreed to back him if he succeeded.
• Asano Kiyoshi asked the Captain-Commander for money to build roads.

Asano Kiyoshi oversaw the divisions’ construction work as Kenpachi accidentally chopped down a tree grown for Captain Nemu, triggering a brewing fight. Elsewhere, Byakuya turned lumber into bizarre sculptures, while Captain-Commander Genryūsai and Chojiro dealt with the fallout from their own tree-cutting.

• Kenpachi chopped down a tree grown by the Twelfth Division for a bridge and carried it to the Eleventh Division’s work area, where his subordinates cheered him on.
• Nel told Asano Kiyoshi that Captain Nemu would likely clash with Kenpachi, and Asano Kiyoshi rushed to stop the fight after sensing spiritual pressures and hearing a baby cry.
• Asano Kiyoshi’s arrival cracked the newly laid foundation, and Nel angrily called him an idiot before going to check the other work areas.
• Byakuya used his Zanpakuto to carve vegetable-shaped figures from tree stumps, while the Sixth Division awkwardly applauded and Captain-Commander mistook the sculptures for Hollows.
• Captain-Commander Genryūsai split trees in the First Squad’s work area with Ryūjin Jakka, accidentally showered himself and Chojiro with wood chips, and then burned the debris away.

Asano Kiyoshi was thrown out of Nel’s office and injured by Shūsuke Amagai’s puppies on his way to the Captain’s Meeting. When he reached the meeting room, Kenpachi Zaraki and Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s quarrel destroyed its roof, leaving Captain-Commander furious.

• Nel told Asano Kiyoshi that the Captain’s Meeting was about to begin, and he teased her until she threw him out of her office.
• Shūsuke Amagai explained that Asano Kiyoshi had landed in the Kidō Corps’ dog cage, where Big Demon and Little Demon leaped onto him and injured his crotch.
• Asano Kiyoshi ordered Shūsuke Amagai to finish the puppies’ shelter that day or lose a tenth of his salary, then limped toward the meeting.
• Shūsuke Amagai interpreted Asano Kiyoshi’s order as approval for the shelter and wondered whether he could really be the old man’s disciple.
• Kenpachi Zaraki and Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s argument escalated into a fight that blew off the Captain’s Meeting Room roof, exposing Captain-Commander’s angry face.

Asano Kiyoshi presented plans to improve and secure the roads through Rukongai, proposing tolls to fund their upkeep and the Gotei 13's protection of residents. The captains began to support the plan, but Shunsui raised the nobles' objections as the next issue to address.

• Asano Kiyoshi showed the captains a holographic display and proposed widening poorly designed roads, using more durable materials in wet districts, and inspecting them regularly.
• Asano Kiyoshi called for Observation Posts staffed by Shinigami and equipped with communications gear along roads beyond the Thirty-Sixth District.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi questioned how the Gotei 13 would pay for road repairs and security after the divisions' funds had been drained by construction.
• Asano Kiyoshi proposed collecting road tolls, arguing that safer roads would attract merchants and help protect Rukongai residents from bandits.
• Kenpachi Zaraki questioned whether travelers would avoid toll roads, while Asano Kiyoshi and Soi Fon argued that ordinary merchants valued safety.
• Shunsui supported Asano Kiyoshi's plan but warned that the nobles objected to the roads.

The nobles challenged the Gotei 13’s road construction and demanded a share of control and profits, prompting the captains to discuss how to respond. After Byakuya questioned the nobles’ claims and Aizen reported a clash near the roads, the Captain-Commander led the captains to investigate in person.

• Shunsui showed the captains the nobles’ first letter, which claimed ownership of the road territories and threatened to appeal to the Royal Family.
• The Captain-Commander angrily offered to confront the nobles, but Shunsui revealed a second letter proposing that they receive some road rights and profits.
• Byakuya said the records of many long-dead noble families and their lands were incomplete, making it unclear which roads the nobles could claim.
• Byakuya revealed that the Tsunayashiro Family had approached him earlier about the roads, but he had ignored them to meet the construction schedule.
• Aizen reported that noble private soldiers had clashed with Rukongai residents near the roads, and the Captain-Commander led the captains to investigate.

The Captain-Commander and the captains witnessed a nobleman of the Sasaki Family extorting a desperate woman in Yamato District. As the nobleman tried to kick her, the Captain-Commander stepped in, appearing before them in a white haori marked with “One.”

• The Captain-Commander asked Byakuya to identify the nobleman, and Byakuya named him as the eldest son of the Sasaki Family.
• The woman pleaded with the nobleman to spare the money she needed for her child's treatment, explaining that she had already paid the Gotei 13's five-percent toll.
• Asano Kiyoshi confirmed that the Gotei 13's normal charge could not have left the woman penniless, and the Captain-Commander walked toward the pair.
• The nobleman kicked at the woman as she cried out, and the Captain-Commander appeared between them in a white haori marked with “One.”

Captain-Commander confronted the Sasaki Family's Eldest Son for extorting Rukongai residents and prepared to execute him, while Asano Kiyoshi treated an injured woman and stopped the residents from kneeling. As Aizen counted down, several nobles appeared, and he watched their arrival with a smile.

• Captain-Commander caught the Sasaki Family's Eldest Son's kick, helped the injured woman to her feet, and asked Asano Kiyoshi to treat her.
• Asano Kiyoshi used spiritual force to stop the Rukongai residents from kneeling and told them they were no less noble than the captains.
• The Sasaki Family's Eldest Son admitted he had come to collect tolls, but Byakuya showed him a book documenting the family's territorial boundaries.
• Captain-Commander accused the man of persecuting civilians and threatened to execute him, while the man protested that only the Noble Conference could judge him.
• Aizen counted down as several nobles appeared, then watched them with a smile.

Aizen reflected on his ambition to overthrow Soul Society’s corrupt order and his disappointment that Kisuke Urahara and Hirako Mako could not become worthy opponents. He became intrigued by Asano Kiyoshi, whose power and actions suggested he might reshape the world by a different method.

• Aizen decided he would replace the ruler on the Heavenly Throne and rebuild Soul Society, accepting that his plans would require bloodshed.
• Aizen recognized that Kisuke Urahara had seen through his schemes but rejected him as an opponent after Urahara chose to submit to the existing order.
• Aizen concluded that Hirako Mako was too weak to stop him, despite seeing through some of his plans.
• Aizen noticed Asano Kiyoshi, the Captain-Commander's disciple, and found that the youth seemed free of Soul Society's decay.
• Aizen watched Asano Kiyoshi rise from student to Shinigami officer and Chief Kido Master, and became surprised by his efforts to reshape the world through another approach.

Aizen had engineered a toll scandal and conflict with the nobles to test Asano Kiyoshi and the Gotei 13. When Sasaki Chojiro tried to soften his son’s crimes and demean Soi Fon, the Captain-Commander ordered the arrest and demanded an apology, leaving Sasaki overwhelmed by his spiritual pressure.

• Aizen arranged for corrupt Gotei 13 officers to exploit civilians with unauthorized toll increases, creating a crisis with the nobles.
• Sasaki Jirocho, Tsunayashiro Sosuke, and Goemon Sozo arrived as Sasaki Chojiro knelt before the captains.
• Sasaki Jirocho tried to frame his son’s crimes as a minor matter and offered an apology to the Captain-Commander.
• The Captain-Commander ordered Soi Fon to imprison Sasaki Chojiro for harming civilians and occupying public roads.
• Sasaki Jirocho addressed Soi Fon by her given name to remind her of her noble status, but the Captain-Commander demanded that he apologize to her.
• The Captain-Commander released overwhelming spiritual pressure, leaving Sasaki Jirocho unable to stand steady.

Captain-Commander forced Sasaki Chojiro to apologize to Soi Fon, then the nobles challenged the Sasaki Family’s imprisonment over fees collected near a newly built road. Asano Kiyoshi disputed their territorial claim and invoked records from the Great Spirit Art Corridor, leaving the nobles wary of what proof he could produce.

• Captain-Commander rebuked Tsunayashiro Sosuke for defending Sasaki Chojiro and ordered Chojiro to apologize to Soi Fon.
• Sasaki Chojiro bowed and apologized, and Soi Fon accepted to avoid creating further trouble for Captain-Commander.
• The nobles asked why the Sasaki Family had been imprisoned, and Tsunayashiro Sosuke argued that the family could charge fees because the road lay within its territory.
• Asano Kiyoshi stopped Byakuya from speaking, then asserted that the road did not cross Sasaki Family land.
• Asano Kiyoshi said he had studied the nobles’ territorial records in the Great Spirit Art Corridor, making the nobles fear his evidence.

Tsunayashiro Sosuke invoked Royal Family rules to grant nobles ownership of roads and authority over tolls, but Captain-Commander Yamamoto erupted in anger and carried the nobles away. Asano Kiyoshi and the captains investigated a checkpoint where Shinigami were extorting travelers, and one of them was stopped from striking a passerby.

• Tsunayashiro Sosuke presented the Royal Family's approval for redrawing noble territories and granting noble families control of adjoining roads and tolls.
• Captain-Commander Yamamoto seized the document, then engulfed the nobles in flames and left to investigate the road dispute.
• Yamamoto ordered Asano Kiyoshi to investigate Gotei 13 members who were arbitrarily collecting tolls.
• Asano Kiyoshi led the captains to the checkpoint, where Shinigami bragged about exploiting the road and demanded 200,000 Kan from a traveler.
• A Shinigami raised his hand to strike the traveler, but a fair hand caught his wrist.

Byakuya and the other captains exposed two Soul Reapers for extorting residents with excessive tolls. Asano Kiyoshi apologized on behalf of the Gotei 13 and promised fair charges, while the captains joined him in bowing to the residents.

• Byakuya confronted the Soul Reaper who had lost a wager and revealed that every Gotei 13 captain, including the Chief Kido Master, had come to investigate.
• The two Soul Reapers were terrified when the captains appeared, and Byakuya condemned them as scum of the Gotei 13.
• Komamura stepped forward in anger, while Asano Kiyoshi gently stopped the residents from kneeling and explained that the tolls had been excessive.
• Asano Kiyoshi bowed to the residents, apologized for his poor management, and promised that goods would be charged only a five-percent transportation fee while passage without goods would be free.
• Komamura, Tosen, Shunsui, and Jushiro Ukitake joined Asano Kiyoshi in bowing, and Aizen watched with admiration as the captains faced the residents on equal terms.

Asano Kiyoshi punished two Shinigami for extorting residents and ordered the captains to investigate corruption across their divisions. When flames filled the sky during the Captain-Commander's negotiations, Asano released Yellow Springs and rushed to defend the routes as Shunsui declared that Soul Society needed a cleansing rain.

• Asano Kiyoshi bowed to the residents, then executed two Shinigami who had abused and extorted them, binding them to Reishi crosses to die.
• Asano paid the residents' tolls and asked Byakuya Kuchiki to register them while instructing the captains to investigate corruption in their divisions.
• Asano offered to inspect the Sixth Division himself, sparing Byakuya the difficulty of disciplining noble-born members directly.
• Flames spread across the sky as the Captain-Commander's negotiations went badly, and Asano released Yellow Springs to summon rain before racing toward the routes.
• Jushiro Ukitake worried that events were becoming uncontrollable, but Shunsui said the rain had come at the right time and that the commander had left them no room to hesitate.

Aizen explained to Gin why the corrupt Shinigami he had placed at Soul Society checkpoints had already damaged the Gotei 13’s reputation, even as Aizen and Gin continued killing them. He argued that residents harmed by the tolls would reject contrary testimony and turn their resentment against those who defended the Gotei 13.

• Gin asked Aizen whether they would keep killing the Shinigami stationed at the checkpoints, since their deaths could disrupt Aizen’s plan.
• Aizen told Gin that the plan itself did not matter because the corrupt officials had already damaged the Gotei 13’s image.
• Gin questioned how the officials could undermine the Gotei 13 when Asano Kiyoshi and the captains had helped the villagers.
• Aizen explained that residents would distrust people who spoke well of the Gotei 13, suspect them of taking favors, and attack them as dissenters.
• Aizen said the residents’ resentment could turn victims into perpetrators, making their malice the plan’s hardest obstacle.

Aizen and Gin discussed Aizen’s plan to expose corruption in the Gotei 13, while Asano Kiyoshi realized Aizen had engineered the crisis. The Captain-Commander arrived and began announcing a new Road Law established by the Royal Family and the Gotei 13.

• Gin questioned whether the staged toll-gate corruption would destroy the Gotei 13’s image, and Aizen said the plan served the Soul Society.
• Gin pledged to follow Aizen, even if Aizen fell into hell, while privately resolving to recover something.
• Asano Kiyoshi maintained the rain, killed a Sixth Division member, and concluded that Gin had placed corrupt officers at toll stations under Aizen’s direction.
• The Captain-Commander landed with several noble clan heads and announced that the Royal Family and the Gotei 13 had jointly established a Road Law.
• The Captain-Commander declared that all rights over the roads belonged to the Gotei 13.

Captain-Commander announced that the Gotei 13's roads would be established as Ling Qing Road under rules for toll revenue, repairs, noble compensation, and inspections. The chapter revealed how he and Monk staged a fierce confrontation at Soul King Palace to secure the roads' approval.

• Captain-Commander announced that eighty percent of toll revenue would fund public infrastructure, while the Gotei 13 would use the rest for upkeep and take responsibility for road maintenance and accidents.
• Captain-Commander declared the roads built by the Gotei 13 established as Ling Qing Road, and Asano Kiyoshi worried about the damage to his mentor's clothes.
• Captain-Commander recalled taking noble clan heads to Soul King Palace, where he released his Zanpakuto after the Royal Family presented its proposed plan.
• Monk confronted Captain-Commander over his display of power, but their flames and darkness reached a stalemate before Monk weakened his attack.
• Captain-Commander and Monk pretended to have fought fiercely so the Royal Family would believe the road negotiations had been difficult.

The Captain-Commander used a staged clash with Lord Hyosube to secure concessions from the Royal Family, with Asano Kiyoshi at the center of Soul Society’s anticipated changes. The next day, after 101 Gotei 13 members were executed or arrested, Aizen asked Asano how he would handle their families.

• The Zero Division members watched the Captain-Commander and Lord Hyosube clash, and Senjumaru Shutara said they were acting because of Asano Kiyoshi.
• The Royal Family yielded to the Gotei 13, and the Captain-Commander accepted five articles as the best terms he could obtain.
• At a conference the next day, Asano Kiyoshi reported that 67 squad members had been executed and 34 arrested.
• Aizen praised the purge and asked Asano Kiyoshi how he would deal with the families of those executed or arrested.

Asano Kiyoshi defended restricting the families of arrested or executed Shinigami from joining the Gotei 13, and the Captain-Commander accepted his proposal. He then promised funding for Mayuri Kurotsuchi's Research and Development Department and revealed that the Gotei 13 would seek to use Hueco Mundo's wasted resources.

• Asano Kiyoshi proposed barring the families of arrested or executed Shinigami from becoming Shinigami or taking administrative roles, while allowing them other professions.
• Komamura Sajin challenged the fairness of punishing children for their families' actions, and Asano Kiyoshi argued that restitution and security concerns required strict measures.
• The Captain-Commander supported Asano Kiyoshi's proposal and closed the dossier on Ling Qing Road, ending the discussion.
• Aizen asked how the Gotei 13 would use the toll revenue after the road recovered its costs, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi asked whether his department would receive promised research funding.
• Asano Kiyoshi assured Mayuri Kurotsuchi that the Research and Development Department would receive ample funding, then identified Hueco Mundo as the place where the most resources were wasted.

Halibel’s strawberry ice cream sparked a quarrel among Sun-Sun, Apache, and Rose, while Pesche and Dondochakka ate the rest. Asano Kiyoshi arrived and invited Ulquiorra to join them, and Ulquiorra smiled as he accepted.

• Sun-Sun teased Ulquiorra for waiting for Asano Kiyoshi, then argued with Apache and Rose over strawberry ice cream.
• Halibel brought out strawberry ice cream, and Apache and Rose tried to hide how much they wanted some.
• Apache chained Rose to a pillar, but Rose accidentally hit Sun-Sun with a Bala, causing Sun-Sun to trip Apache and sparking a fight.
• Pesche and Dondochakka finished all the strawberry ice cream, prompting the three girls to attack them.
• Halibel invited Ulquiorra to eat, and Asano Kiyoshi arrived and encouraged him to join them.
• Ulquiorra recognized Asano Kiyoshi, nodded, and smiled softly.

Asano Kiyoshi reunited with Halibel, Ulquiorra, Nel, and the others in Hueco Mundo, bringing gifts and discussing their impressions of Shinigami. After learning they knew little about Shinigami, he decided to recruit powerful Hollows as the first step toward uniting Soul Society and Hueco Mundo.

• Nel ate the snacks she had brought for Dondochakka and Pesche as punishment for their rude remarks, then fought them over the remaining food.
• Asano Kiyoshi gave Halibel cookbooks and presented Ulquiorra with a pocket watch engraved with a message about their everlasting friendship.
• Ulquiorra asked Asano Kiyoshi to put the watch around his neck, and Nel watched them with an unreadable expression.
• Halibel asked why Asano Kiyoshi had come, and he said he had important matters to discuss before asking the Hollows what they thought of Shinigami.
• After hearing their limited views of Shinigami, Asano Kiyoshi decided to win over powerful Hueco Mundo Hollows, including the Espada, to advance his plan for uniting the worlds.

Grimmjow fled from a group with overwhelming spiritual pressure, but Asano Kiyoshi trapped him with a barrier and introduced himself as a Shinigami seeking friendship. Grimmjow attacked him, only for Kiyoshi to catch his blow and prepare a counterattack.

• Grimmjow spat out the flesh of his companions and fled from the figures whose spiritual pressure terrified him.
• Grimmjow vowed to stop running one day and continued deeper into Hueco Mundo to grow stronger.
• Asano Kiyoshi used Four Beast Closure to trap Grimmjow, whose powerful Cero failed to damage the barrier.
• Asano Kiyoshi introduced himself and asked Grimmjow to be his friend, but Grimmjow roared and pounced on him.
• Asano Kiyoshi caught Grimmjow's attack barehanded and swung a fist toward his head.

Asano Kiyoshi fought Grimmjow in hand-to-hand combat, overpowering him while teaching him how to improve his attacks. After Grimmjow could no longer stand, Asano asked whether they could be friends.

• Grimmjow barely dodged Asano Kiyoshi’s punch but was injured by its force.
• Asano decided to recruit Grimmjow and used their fight to break down his resistance while pointing out flaws in his technique.
• Asano slammed Grimmjow into the ground and taught him to focus Reishi on his left leg, increasing the power of his attack.
• Grimmjow tested Asano’s advice, saw his attack improve, and kept charging as Asano repeatedly threw him aside.
• Halibel remarked to Ulquiorra that Asano knew how to handle hot-blooded fighters, while Ulquiorra wondered if that described him too.
• When Grimmjow could no longer stand, Asano crouched beside him and asked if they could be friends.

Asano Kiyoshi recruited the defeated Grimmjow as a companion and introduced him to the group. After Grimmjow’s rowdy behavior caused trouble, Asano tricked him into trying a healing milk candy, leaving him torn over whether to use more in battle.

• Grimmjow accepted Asano Kiyoshi’s offer to become companions after Asano promised him chances to fight powerful opponents.
• Asano introduced Grimmjow to Nel and the others, whose spiritual pressure impressed him.
• Grimmjow’s abrasive attitude caused arguments and roughhousing, and Halibel punished him after the group knocked her ingredients into the sand.
• Asano offered Grimmjow a milk candy, and Ulquiorra threatened to dye Grimmjow’s blue markings white after Grimmjow mocked him.
• Asano tossed a candy into Grimmjow’s mouth, and Grimmjow discovered that it healed his injuries but hesitated to carry more into battle.

Asano Kiyoshi explained his plan to build cooperation between Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, with the support of Nel, Halibel, Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, and the others. Just as they agreed to follow him, an aged voice condemned Hollows as having ugly, vile souls.

• Grimmjow blushed as the others teased him for eating milk candy, then charged into their playful brawl without using his claws.
• Nel reminded Asano Kiyoshi that they had come to Hueco Mundo for the First Step Planning, and he explained his goal of gradually building cooperation between Soul Society and Hueco Mundo.
• Halibel agreed to help cautiously, while Ulquiorra pledged to accompany Asano Kiyoshi as his friend.
• Asano Kiyoshi told Ulquiorra to choose his own path, and reassured Grimmjow and the others that they were precious companions with beautiful souls.
• An aged voice interrupted them and declared that Hollows' souls were ugly and vile.