Recaps

Barragan Ruisenbang appeared before Halibel, Asano Kiyoshi, and the others, demanding that they submit as his spiritual pressure crushed most of them. Asano protected Grimmjow and confronted Barragan, then unleashed a Reverse Kido as the battle began.

• Barragan Ruisenbang arrived and declared that Halibel and the others should kneel and submit to him.
• Barragan’s spiritual pressure pinned Sun-Sun, Pesche, and the others down and left Grimmjow struggling to stand.
• Barragan sent a deathly aura at Grimmjow, but Asano Kiyoshi cut it apart with his Zanpakuto.
• Asano’s blade remained unharmed, and he taunted Barragan, provoking the King of Hueco Mundo to attack with a massive wave of death aura.
• Asano released four pillars of spiritual pressure that tore open Barragan’s canopy of death, then raised his arm and opened with a Reverse Kido.

Asano Kiyoshi unleashed his Reverse Destructive Kido Eleven, Scarlet Piercing Light, against Barragan, who initially blocked the beam with his power of decay. The beam then erupted in a massive explosion that engulfed Barragan, leaving the battle’s outcome unclear.

• Barragan underestimated Asano Kiyoshi’s Kido until the gathering Reishi made him sense the threat and swing his Great Axe.
• Asano Kiyoshi fired Scarlet Piercing Light, a crimson beam that tore through Hueco Mundo’s night sky and melted everything in its path.
• Grimmjow watched the attack in shock and resolved to develop long-range techniques of his own.
• Barragan intercepted the beam with his decaying aura and cut it in two, declaring that his opponents should submit.
• Asano Kiyoshi warned Barragan against boasting before understanding an enemy’s abilities, and the beam erupted in brilliant light.
• The explosion swallowed Barragan and burned away his decaying aura, lighting half the sky with scarlet flames.

Asano Kiyoshi fought Barragan while Ulquiorra narrowly escaped death, and the clash revealed the king’s overwhelming strength and lethal decay ability. As Barragan resumed their battle, a yellow-flashing attacker suddenly targeted Asano from behind.

• Asano Kiyoshi’s Scarlet Piercing Light wounded Barragan but failed to incapacitate him.
• Ulquiorra attacked Barragan with Thunder Spear, but Barragan’s decaying aura trapped him and began destroying his wings.
• Asano Kiyoshi rescued Ulquiorra by severing his corrupted wings and told him not to die without permission.
• Barragan warned Szayelaporro not to appear behind him again, then resumed fighting Asano with his Great Axe.
• Asano assessed Barragan’s high Captain-level strength and deadly decay ability as a yellow-flashing attacker rushed at his back.

Nel and Halibel fought Nnoitra while Szayelaporro unleashed a monstrous Hollow Eater and Zommari restrained Nel. The Hollow Eater emerged as Grimmjow and the others faced the threat of death, while Ulquiorra attacked Szayelaporro.

• Nel and Halibel intercepted Nnoitra’s attack, and Nel sent him crashing down before he charged back at them.
• Szayelaporro revealed that chaotic spiritual pressure beneath the sand was part of his plan to overwhelm their forces.
• Halibel stayed to fight Nnoitra while Nel raced to confront the approaching threat, but Zommari immobilized her with his Control Flowers.
• Zommari questioned Nel’s betrayal of the Hollows, but she continued struggling against his control.
• Szayelaporro revealed the Hollow Eater, a Gillian fed hundreds of thousands of Hollows whose spiritual pressure reached Vasto Lorde levels.
• Ulquiorra attacked Szayelaporro as Grimmjow and the others sensed the threat of death.

Grimmjow and the others struggled against Szayelaporro's modified Hollow Eater, while Nel turned the battle against Zommari. The chapter ended with Nel shattering Zommari's defenses and slamming him into a stone wall.

• Grimmjow tore off one of the Hollow Eater's tentacles, but realized he was still no match for the creature.
• Pesche and Dondochakka used their Fused Cero to destroy several tentacles, then collapsed from the strain.
• Grimmjow told Sun-Sun, Pesche, and the others to flee, and Dondochakka summoned Bawabawa to carry them away.
• Zommari used his black pattern to control Bawabawa, but Nel struck him with overwhelming force before he could crush the fleeing group.
• Zommari tried to control Nel again, but his patterns no longer affected her, and Nel swept him into a stone wall with her spear.

Nel rescued Grimmjow from the Hollow Eater and sent him to help the others, while Asano Kiyoshi faced Barragan alone. After Barragan countered his first spell, Asano began a supplementary incantation, leaving their battle unresolved.

• Nel left Zommari alive and broke through the Hollow Eater's tentacles to rescue Grimmjow.
• Nel told Grimmjow to take Sun-Sun, Dondochakka, and the others somewhere safe, and he went to them after warning her to be careful.
• Barragan accelerated his decay attack against Asano Kiyoshi, who escaped with the Prison Sun Remnant Garment and its shadows.
• Nel urged Ulquiorra and Halibel to focus on their own opponents while she attacked the Hollow Eater.
• Asano announced he would keep fighting until Barragan died and fired Hado Number 91—Senjū Kōten Taihō!
• Barragan tore apart the spell with his bare hands, and Asano retreated and began a supplementary incantation.

Asano Kiyoshi unleashed his Bankai against Barragan, while Szayelaporro released his Zanpakuto and attacked Ulquiorra. As Szayelaporro headed for Asano, Ulquiorra felt pain in his heart, remembered Asano calling his name, and his mask began to shatter.

• Asano Kiyoshi's amplified Kido cracked Barragan's bones, but Barragan released his deathly power and began pushing through the attack.
• Asano Kiyoshi retreated from Barragan's decay and released his Bankai, summoning wrathful ghosts and eighteen demonic heads.
• Szayelaporro abandoned his opponent, released Lewd Princess, and tried to reach Asano Kiyoshi.
• Ulquiorra attacked Szayelaporro, but tentacles caught his spear and fluid splashed onto him, creating clones that rushed to fight him.
• As Szayelaporro charged toward Asano Kiyoshi, Ulquiorra felt a sharp pain, heard Asano's voice in his memories, and his mask shattered piece by piece.

Ulquiorra recalled how a smiling Shinigami and his companions gave meaning to his name and helped him discover a heart, then fought Szayelaporro after releasing his black wings. Meanwhile, Nnoitra released his Holy Crying Mantis form against Halibel and charged through her Cero.

• Ulquiorra remembered his lonely existence in Hueco Mundo and how the Shinigami who called his name, along with his companions, filled the emptiness in his heart.
• Ulquiorra's mask shattered, and he confronted Szayelaporro, who declared that he would take both Ulquiorra and Asano Kiyoshi for experiments.
• Ulquiorra released Black Winged Great Demon and cut through Szayelaporro's tentacles, promising to tear apart Szayelaporro's mask.
• Nnoitra fought Halibel, whose strength and speed overwhelmed him and provoked his rage.
• Nnoitra released Holy Crying Mantis, severed Halibel's Cero with his scythe, and charged toward her.

Asano Kiyoshi interrupted Nnoitra’s fight with Halibel and battled him with Kido, Shunko, and other abilities. He pierced Nnoitra’s throat, ending the mantis’s life.

• Halibel retreated from Nnoitra after hearing a faint signal, and Nnoitra smashed her into the ground.
• Asano Kiyoshi appeared and confronted Nnoitra, saying he had given up fighting Barragan to kill him.
• Asano Kiyoshi tore off one of Nnoitra’s arms and used Fushibi to bind him before striking him with Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō.
• Asano Kiyoshi restrained Nnoitra with Bakudo and attacked as Nnoitra tried to fight back using his mouth to wield his scythe.
• Asano Kiyoshi pierced Nnoitra’s throat, killing him.

Nnoitra died after reflecting on his hatred of Nell and his inability to drag her down to his level, while Asano Kiyoshi burned his body to ash. Asano Kiyoshi, Nel, and Halibel then confronted Barragan together, and Szayelaporro urged Barragan to retreat.

• Nnoitra watched Nel stab the Hollow Eater before Asano Kiyoshi burned him to ash.
• Szayelaporro escaped Ulquiorra and appeared beside Barragan with the unconscious Zommari and remnants of the Hollow Eater.
• Szayelaporro advised Barragan to return because their forces were insufficient to kill the Shinigami.
• Asano Kiyoshi and Nel attacked Barragan as he charged Halibel, forcing him back.
• Barragan recognized that he would likely lose against the three opponents, and Szayelaporro again urged him to return.

Asano Kiyoshi and his allies forced Barragan and Szayelaporro to retreat, then regrouped and planned to use the Forest of Menos as the first step toward replacing Barragan as ruler of Hueco Mundo. Barragan ordered Szayelaporro to devise a plan to kill them within two months.

• Barragan and Szayelaporro vanished after Asano Kiyoshi and his allies drove them off.
• Asano Kiyoshi rested after exhausting himself fighting Barragan and killing Nnoitra, then checked that Nel, Ulquiorra, and Halibel were unharmed.
• Barragan confronted Szayelaporro over the failed battle plan and demanded a plan to cut off their heads within two months.
• Asano Kiyoshi told his allies that Barragan would keep hunting them and proposed hiding underground in the Forest of Menos.
• Halibel warned that the Forest of Menos was under Barragan’s control, but Asano Kiyoshi declared that they intended to replace him as ruler of Hueco Mundo.

Asano Kiyoshi explained that studying Gillian evolution in the Forest of Menos could let them build a loyal army of intelligent Adjuchas, but the plan required Soul Society’s involvement. After winning the group’s agreement, he prepared a Dangai interface and contacted the Research and Development Department.

• Grimmjow questioned why they should make the Forest of Menos their base, and Asano Kiyoshi explained that studying Gillian evolution might allow them to produce intelligent Adjuchas.
• Halibel warned that the plan would require Soul Society’s help, and Asano Kiyoshi declared that Shinigami and Hollows should not have been enemies.
• Asano Kiyoshi showed Grimmjow and the others that Nel’s spiritual pressure flowed through his bloodline while his own flowed through Nel’s soul, prompting an embarrassed and comedic reaction from the group.
• Halibel agreed to the plan, and Asano Kiyoshi promised to work toward harmony between Hueco Mundo and Soul Society.
• Asano Kiyoshi found a site for a large Dangai interface, set up Reishi barriers, and contacted Soul Society; the Research and Development Department rushed into action.

Asano Kiyoshi and Mayuri Kurotsuchi coordinated to open a large Reishi channel between Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, allowing Mayuri and the Twelfth Division to arrive. Asano was unsettled when Aizen appeared with them and wondered why he had supported the development of Hueco Mundo.

• Mayuri Kurotsuchi received Asano Kiyoshi's urgent request for a channel large enough to transport over a hundred people and worked with Nemu to prepare it.
• Asano Kiyoshi directed Reishi in the Dangai with precise control, and both sides completed the channel in less than half an hour.
• Halibel and the others tensed as Mayuri and the Twelfth Division emerged, but Asano explained that the Hueco Mundo residents were friends and partners, not experimental material.
• The Twelfth Division members examined Hueco Mundo's Reishi-rich surroundings while Mayuri remarked that Asano's initiatives had increased the department's workload.
• Aizen appeared and praised Asano's peaceful coexistence with the Hollows, leaving Asano wondering why Aizen had come and why he had supported the plan.

Asano Kiyoshi watched Aizen leave the Research and Development Department, then rescued Acidwire from a Hollow ambush in the Forest of Menos. Acidwire revealed that he was a Gotei 13 seventh seat carrying out a mission to stop Hollows from reaching the Living World.

• Aizen greeted Asano Kiyoshi, spoke with Halibel and Ulquiorra, and left to report to the Captain-Commander and bring Shinigami to protect the Research and Development Department.
• Asano Kiyoshi decided he needed a powerful guard for the spatial passage and chose Acidwire, who had lived in the Forest of Menos for hundreds of years.
• A bird-shaped Adjuchas ambushed Acidwire, but Asano Kiyoshi killed it with Hado #33—Sōkatsui.
• Asano Kiyoshi introduced himself as the Chief Kido Master, and Acidwire said he was a seventh seat of the Gotei 13.
• Acidwire told Asano Kiyoshi that his mission was to lead his subordinates in eliminating every Hollow heading to the Living World.

Asano Kiyoshi brought the exhausted Acidwire back to the Soul Society and reported progress on coordinating with Hueco Mundo. The Captain-Commander then told him Zero Division had been seeking him and arranged to send him there the next morning.

• Asano Kiyoshi told Acidwire to rest and return to the Soul Society, and Acidwire collapsed from exhaustion.
• Asano Kiyoshi carried Acidwire to the base, then sent him to the Fourth Division before returning to Hueco Mundo.
• Researchers questioned Halibel and Ulquiorra about their traits and transformations, while Sun-Sun and the others restrained one researcher who annoyed Halibel.
• Asano Kiyoshi and Nel returned to the First Squad office, where he reported that the first stage of cooperation with Hueco Mundo was complete.
• The Captain-Commander told Asano Kiyoshi that Zero Division wanted to see him and said he would send him there the next morning.

Asano Kiyoshi returned from Hueco Mundo and visited his friends, where Byakuya warned him that the Royal Family had heard about his actions and might summon him. The chapter left Asano spending a lively afternoon in the courtyard with Nel, Rukia, and the others.

• The Captain-Commander told Asano Kiyoshi to dress formally for a meeting with former subordinates the next day.
• Asano Kiyoshi visited the orphanage and met Byakuya, who asked about the Hueco Mundo mission and cautioned him about the unfairness and risks of his plans.
• Byakuya warned Asano Kiyoshi that the nobles had reported his unorthodox actions to the Royal Family and that an unfriendly summons might follow.
• Asano Kiyoshi teased Abarai Renji until he cried, then reunited with the drunken Ikkaku and Yumichika in the courtyard.
• Kenpachi Zaraki confronted Ikkaku and Yumichika for drinking, then joined them, while Nel, Rukia, Hisana, and Granny Hana enjoyed the gathering.

Asano Kiyoshi accompanied Captain-Commander to the Shiba Clan and traveled to the Soul King Palace, where the dense Reishi overwhelmed his senses. He arrived safely and was greeted by an arrogant voice questioning his strength.

• Asano Kiyoshi met Captain-Commander at the First Squad, and they set out for the Shiba Clan.
• As they walked, Captain-Commander praised Asano Kiyoshi’s reforms for reducing crime and making the Gotei 13 financially independent.
• Isshin Shiba welcomed them at the Shiba Clan and confirmed that everything was ready for their journey.
• Isshin Shiba launched the Heavenly Pillar Carriage with the Kūkaku Cannon, carrying Asano Kiyoshi through the seventy-two barriers to the Soul King Palace.
• Asano Kiyoshi felt the Palace’s dense Reishi fill his body and resist his movements, then heard an arrogant voice comment on his strength.

Asano Kiyoshi met Tenjiro Kirinji and Kirio Hikifune in the Zero Division Palace, where Kirio explained she had wanted to meet the man Hiyori and Urahara had mentioned. She brought him to the Sleeping Pig Palace, offered him fruit, and said she had something to tell him.

• Asano Kiyoshi greeted Tenjiro Kirinji with lavish praise, and Kirinji invited him to visit Kirin Palace before vanishing.
• Asano Kiyoshi met Kirio Hikifune and praised her work developing Temporary Soul technology.
• Kirio Hikifune said she wanted to meet Asano Kiyoshi because Hiyori and Urahara had both mentioned him.
• Kirio Hikifune noticed something unusual about Asano Kiyoshi's Spiritual Pressure but said nothing as they chatted on the way to the Sleeping Pig Palace.
• Kirio Hikifune gave Asano Kiyoshi fruit and told him she had something to tell him that would not be bad.

Asano Kiyoshi met with Kirio Hikifune, who tested whether he would uphold the Soul King's rule if he became Captain-Commander. They reached an understanding that Soul Society would have only one ruler, and Asano left the meeting having increased his Reiatsu to Level 7, 88%.

• Asano Kiyoshi accepted and tasted a mandarin orange offered by Kirio Hikifune, then declined more food until she explained why she had come.
• Kirio Hikifune said that she and Lord Hyosube wanted to know whether Asano would show absolute respect for the Soul King if he became Captain-Commander.
• Asano Kiyoshi implied that he would not accept competing rulers in Soul Society and said that even the sun had to set when night came.
• Kirio Hikifune agreed that Soul Society's sky would have only one sun and invited Asano to eat more fruit as a personal gift.
• Asano Kiyoshi ate the Reiatsu-rich fruit, and the Scroll recorded his Reiatsu rising to Level 7, 88%.

Asano Kiyoshi refused Kirio Hikifune’s offer to join Zero Division, explaining that he would rather serve Rukongai’s residents than the Soul King. As he returned to Soul Society, Monk decided to approach him personally because of the unusual power in his Zanpakuto.

• Kirio Hikifune asked Asano Kiyoshi what he knew about Zero Division, and he described it as the Soul King’s personal guard, separate from the Gotei 13.
• Kirio Hikifune invited Asano Kiyoshi to join Zero Division, but he refused and said he wanted to improve life in Rukongai.
• Kirio Hikifune asked Asano Kiyoshi about Urahara and Hiyori, then urged him to clear their names and find the culprit behind their situation.
• Kirio Hikifune told Monk that Asano Kiyoshi had refused the offer, and Monk said he would meet him personally because his Zanpakuto’s power seemed connected to the Soul King.
• Asano Kiyoshi returned toward Soul Society, determined to grow strong enough to protect Nel and pursue his goal of conquering Hueco Mundo.

After returning from the Soul King Palace, Asano Kiyoshi prepared for an expedition to conquer Hueco Mundo, while worrying about Aizen’s plans and Gin Ichimaru’s loyalty. The chapter ended with Aizen killing Tsunayashiro Kumata and calling it “taking out the trash.”

• Asano Kiyoshi returned from the Soul King Palace, and Captain-Commander questioned him while scolding Isshin Shiba about visiting pleasure quarters with Shunsui.
• Over the next month, Asano Kiyoshi planned Soul Society’s infrastructure development and prepared for a campaign against Barragan’s Arrancar army, while fearing Aizen might betray him.
• Nel brought Asano Kiyoshi a Research and Development Department report stating that preliminary Menos research in Hueco Mundo had succeeded.
• Asano Kiyoshi received Captain-Commander’s order to lead Byakuya, Kenpachi, Shunsui, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Sister Hana, and Gin Ichimaru to bring Hueco Mundo under control.
• Aizen pulled his blade from Tsunayashiro Kumata and said he was just taking out the trash.

Aizen dismissed Hueco Mundo as expendable while arranging a covert operation against the Tsunayashiro Family. Asano Kiyoshi left Soul Society to seek a life-or-death battle in Hueco Mundo, where he found two familiar figures atop a mountain of Adjuchas corpses.

• Aizen told Gin that Hueco Mundo and its Arrancar were not essential to his plan, and learned that Tosen's Hogyoku experiment had strengthened the remaining Arrancar by about thirty percent.
• Aizen asked Gin to send twenty-seven replacements to the Back Mountain where the Tsunayashiro Family heads secluded themselves, without letting Asano Kiyoshi find out.
• Aizen killed people he considered corrupt, believing each death brought him closer to creating everything he wanted.
• Asano Kiyoshi realized he needed an evenly matched, potentially deadly battle to reach Eighth Class spiritual pressure and chose the lonely wolf in Hueco Mundo as his opponent.
• Asano Kiyoshi left instructions for Nel to command in his absence, then entered Hueco Mundo under the King's Seal and faced two familiar figures seated on a mountain of Adjuchas corpses.

Asano Kiyoshi met Stark and Ninny in Hueco Mundo and challenged Stark, hoping to recruit him as a companion. After Stark and Ninny began fighting him, Asano revealed his skill with long-range attacks and faced Stark’s barrage of Ceros.

• Asano Kiyoshi introduced himself to Stark and Ninny and asked Stark to join him in building a prosperous future for Hueco Mundo.
• Stark pulled Ninny aside and attacked Asano with a powerful kick, but Asano’s black-flame Shunko repelled it.
• Stark told Ninny to fight from long range, and she transformed into the pistols Los Lobos as Stark used Sword Release.
• Asano redirected a Cero toward Stark, who destroyed it and then unleashed a sky-filling barrage with Infinite Loading Cero.

Asano Kiyoshi used Reverse Kido Seventeen, Lacquer Bone Blossom, to swallow Stark and Ninny’s barrage of Ceros and turn the absorbed power into a rapidly spreading sea of crimson flowers. He began the spell’s second incantation, and the space around Stark froze beneath the flowers’ deadly effect.

• Asano Kiyoshi used the River of Oblivion to offset the cost of Reverse Kido and formed a Garganta-like barrier with Lacquer Bone Blossom.
• The barrier swallowed Stark and Ninny’s Ceros, and Stark told Ninny to keep firing after noticing Asano Kiyoshi’s trembling arm.
• The absorbed Ceros nourished crimson flowers that spread across the white-sand wasteland, despite Stark cutting them back.
• Stark ordered Ninny to stop firing, but the flowers had already bloomed and spread through their fragrance.
• Asano Kiyoshi recited Lacquer Bone Blossom’s second incantation, and the blood-seeping petals froze the space around Stark.

Stark and Ninny fought Asano Kiyoshi as his crimson flowers drained their life force, forcing Stark to fight without holding back. Asano unleashed his Bankai and transformed the battlefield into Ice Mountain Hell, where Stark and Ninny prepared to divide the attacks.

• Stark warned Ninny not to use her true body and urged her to escape if he died.
• Ninny attacked Asano with blue-flamed wolves while Stark struck him with his Reishi blade.
• Asano activated his Bankai, filling the area with a Blood Sea, grotesque heads, and charging demons.
• Asano transformed the Blood Sea into towering ice mountains and launched attacks at Stark from the sky, ground, and sea.
• Stark told Ninny to hold off the ground monsters without using her true body, then charged Asano.
• Asano met Stark's blade with a black longsword, and their clash froze the scattered flames in ice.