Recaps

Asano Kiyoshi used a lightning Kirin Kido to shatter sixteen of Ushoda’s barriers, alarming the Visoreds. Ushoda found no side effects, and Asano said he could cast the move twice more, leaving Hirako speechless.

• Ushoda recognized Asano Kiyoshi’s lightning Kirin as Reverse Kido and feared its side effects.
• The Kirin broke through more than a dozen of Ushoda’s barriers before Asano Kiyoshi stopped it just short of the seventeenth.
• Ushoda and the Visoreds surrounded Asano Kiyoshi, and Ushoda examined him for injuries.
• Ushoda found Asano Kiyoshi completely healthy and repeated the examination, but got the same result.
• Asano Kiyoshi said he could cast the move twice more, and Hirako called him a bastard.

Asano Kiyoshi explained that his Zanpakuto could reduce the side effects of sacrificial Kido, though its ability had limits, and Hirako warned him not to reveal it casually. Kiyoshi then prepared to begin the first experiment to draw out the Hollow Reishi within him.

• Lisa examined Asano Kiyoshi after his Kido and asked why he showed no side effects.
• Kiyoshi explained that his Zanpakuto reduced sacrificial Kido’s cost but could only do so a limited number of times.
• Hirako warned Kiyoshi to keep his Zanpakuto’s ability private while the Visoreds rescued their furniture from the lava.
• Ushoda cautioned Kiyoshi that continuing the training could cause his Hollow Reishi to go berserk, but Hirako judged him ready to proceed.
• Kiyoshi and Hirako agreed to activate Kiyoshi’s dormant Hollow Reishi, and Ushoda prepared a Reishi barrier and restraint Kido as the Visoreds offered their support.

Hirako tried to help Asano Kiyoshi control the Hollow Reishi inside him, but the process sent Asano Kiyoshi’s consciousness to a graveyard in the Underworld. As black Reiatsu emerged from his body in the real world, Asano Kiyoshi learned from a strange man that he was dead.

• Hirako placed his hand on Asano Kiyoshi’s face, and Asano Kiyoshi’s consciousness sank into darkness.
• Asano Kiyoshi awoke in a desolate graveyard surrounded by grotesque people, while Hirako and the Visoreds saw a crimson landscape appear around his body.
• The strange scenery entered Asano Kiyoshi, releasing black Reiatsu that circled him and formed burning flowers across his Shinigami Uniform.
• Hirako asked Ushoda to restrain Asano Kiyoshi with Bakudo #79, Kuyō Shibari, but the black flowers remained unaffected.
• Asano Kiyoshi questioned where he was, and a pale man told him they had arrived in the Underworld and were dead.

Asano Kiyoshi discovered that he was in his Inner World, a strange realm shaped by his Zanpakuto and Hollow Reishi. The Scroll confirmed his location and revealed his connection to the Inner World was only four percent, just as a cold voice called out from afar.

• Asano Kiyoshi questioned a sorrowful man about whether they were dead, and the man pointed out the bizarre, suffering figures around them.
• Asano Kiyoshi suspected the place was his Inner World and tested whether his emotions could change its surroundings, but nothing changed.
• Asano Kiyoshi failed to sense Reishi and tasted grass, leaving him unsure whether the world was real or a dying fantasy.
• The Scroll revealed that Asano Kiyoshi was in his Inner World and had only a four-percent connection to it.
• Asano Kiyoshi realized that understanding his Inner World and Zanpakuto might lead him toward Bankai, then heard a cold voice from afar.

Asano Kiyoshi intervened when White Impermanence came to take Lu Sheng away, and secured permission for Lu Sheng to briefly return to the human world to see his family. They arrived at dawn with only a quarter of an hour to find Lu Sheng’s wife and children before facing punishment in Hell.

• White Impermanence told Lu Sheng his lifespan had ended and ordered him to leave for reincarnation, but Lu Sheng refused.
• Asano Kiyoshi stepped between Lu Sheng and White Impermanence’s black chain and asked him to hear Lu Sheng’s reason for staying.
• Lu Sheng explained that he wanted to see his wife and children once more, and White Impermanence granted them a quarter of an hour to return to the human world.
• Asano Kiyoshi agreed to accompany Lu Sheng and accept the consequences if they failed to return on time.
• Asano Kiyoshi and Lu Sheng arrived in the human world, hid from the sun in a shady spot, and waited for villagers heading to market.

Asano Kiyoshi waited with Lu Sheng while Lu Sheng hoped to see his wife and daughter one last time before returning to the Underworld. White Impermanence dragged Lu Sheng away before he could reach them, and Asano returned to the Underworld as Lu Sheng was sent for reincarnation.

• Lu Sheng recognized villagers arriving and eagerly told Asano Kiyoshi about them, but grew anxious when his wife and daughter did not appear.
• With little time remaining, Lu Sheng left to search for his family despite the sunlight weakening his ghostly body.
• White Impermanence arrived as the deadline approached, and he and Asano Kiyoshi went to find Lu Sheng.
• White Impermanence chained Lu Sheng just as he neared his wife and daughter, then refused Asano's plea to let him stay longer.
• White Impermanence returned Asano and Lu Sheng to the Underworld and handed Lu Sheng over to an ox-headed man for reincarnation.

Asano Kiyoshi questions White Impermanence for denying Lu Sheng a final meeting with his wife and daughter, so White Impermanence takes him to the Book of Life and Death. Asano learns that Lu Sheng’s family will die that day, and White Impermanence tells him it is time to return.

• Asano Kiyoshi tells White Impermanence that he was heartless to keep Lu Sheng from seeing his family, and White Impermanence says he will show him the Book of Life and Death.
• White Impermanence takes Asano Kiyoshi to a vast hall and tells him to approach the book himself.
• Asano Kiyoshi walks across blood-red jade bricks that appear beneath his feet and reads Lu Sheng’s entry in the book.
• The Book of Life and Death reveals that Lu Sheng’s wife and daughter will be killed by a wealthy merchant on horseback that afternoon.
• Asano Kiyoshi confirms that the deaths will happen after they leave, and White Impermanence tells him it is time to return.

Asano Kiyoshi questioned White Impermanence about Lu Sheng’s final moments before vanishing from their farewell meeting and waking among the Visoreds. Hirako Mako accidentally smothered him while checking on him, and a misunderstanding with Lisa ended when a slipper struck Hirako.

• Asano Kiyoshi asked White Impermanence why he had taken Lu Sheng away at the last second, and White Impermanence challenged his assumptions about what might have happened.
• White Impermanence told Asano Kiyoshi that he had done enough and said farewell as Asano Kiyoshi disappeared.
• Asano Kiyoshi returned to consciousness and found Hirako Mako tending a fire beside him.
• Hirako Mako covered Asano Kiyoshi’s mouth while checking whether he was well, and Lisa misread the scene and encouraged them to continue.
• A flying slipper hit Hirako Mako, freeing Asano Kiyoshi, while Kensei covered Kuna Mashiro’s eyes and called the scene dirty.

Asano Kiyoshi cooked a meal for the Visoreds, while Hirako struggled to maintain his dignity after being mocked and repeatedly humiliated. The chapter ended with Hirako rejecting Kiyoshi’s consolation by flashing him with his forehead.

• Hirako tried to explain himself, but Hiyori hit him with her slipper and reminded him that he still owed her money.
• Kiyoshi finished cooking a stew from nearly expired ingredients and called everyone to eat.
• Hirako was left behind, then bounced off Ushoda’s rear twice as he tried to reach the food.
• The Visoreds made room for Hirako, who proudly walked through the line despite having dirt in his bowl.
• Ushoda apologized and knocked the dirt out of Hirako’s bowl, leaving Hirako to eat alone in a corner.
• Kiyoshi tried to comfort Hirako, but Hirako flashed him with his forehead.

Asano Kiyoshi learned what happened while he was unconscious: his Black Reiatsu altered his uniform and created corrosive rain, forcing the Visoreds to guard him for a day. Hirako explained that the being Asano met in his Inner World was likely a manifestation of his Hollow power, while Asano wondered what his experience in the underworld meant.

• Hirako described the oppressive Black Reiatsu that emerged from Asano Kiyoshi and altered his Shinigami Uniform.
• Asano released his Zanpakuto, revealing the fitted uniform style that Hirako recognized from when Asano was unconscious.
• Hirako explained that Asano's Black Reiatsu produced mist and corrosive rain, so the Visoreds reinforced their barriers and watched over him for a day.
• Asano thanked the Visoreds and offered to cook their meals on days he studied with them.
• Asano told Hirako that he had spoken with his Zanpakuto and encountered another presence in his Inner World.
• Hirako said the presence was probably a manifestation of Hollow power, and Asano wondered about his experience in the underworld as the Scroll appeared.

Asano Kiyoshi bought Nel the Mango Cake she had wanted, then got caught in a downpour on his way back to Urahara Shop. Nel came out to find him, and their tender exchange left them holding hands beneath the umbrella as Kiyoshi joked that he could no longer carry the cake.

• Asano Kiyoshi checked his Scroll and reflected that he still had a long way to go before learning Bankai.
• Asano Kiyoshi bought an eight-inch Mango Cake for Nel and waited in line for more than half an hour.
• Caught in increasingly heavy rain, Asano Kiyoshi hurried toward Urahara Shop while protecting the cake.
• Nel found Asano Kiyoshi and held an umbrella over him, but he shifted it to keep her from getting wet.
• Nel told Asano Kiyoshi she would always wait for him and find him, then held his hand as he clasped hers and joked that he could no longer carry the cake.

Asano Kiyoshi and Nel shared a tender walk in the rain, but Urahara interrupted the moment Nel was about to confess her feelings. Urahara then warned Asano Kiyoshi that an unknown spiritual pressure had been following him, leaving him to suspect the Tsunayashiro Clan and wonder how the pursuer reached the Living World.

• Asano Kiyoshi and Nel walked through the rain holding hands, and he explained that he had bought her cake because he remembered her wish and his promise to show her the Living World.
• Near the Urahara Shop, Nel gathered her courage to speak, but Urahara interrupted them and joked about Asano Kiyoshi returning late.
• Nel hurried inside with the cake, and Asano Kiyoshi tickled Urahara in anger over the interruption.
• Urahara grew serious and told Asano Kiyoshi that an unfamiliar spiritual pressure had been circling him and that he might be followed.
• Asano Kiyoshi suspected the Tsunayashiro Clan but wondered how anyone had reached the Living World without using the Dangai, and Urahara proposed discussing the matter that night.

Asano Kiyoshi tried to feed Nel a piece of mango cake, but his nervous shaking made the spoon clatter against her teeth. They were still struggling to recover when Urahara and the others heard the noise and came to investigate.

• Nel set aside the fruit-laden cake slice for Asano Kiyoshi, and he suggested they share the extra fruit before the others arrived.
• Asano Kiyoshi offered to feed Nel cake, and she shyly agreed.
• Asano Kiyoshi's trembling hand made the spoon repeatedly strike Nel's teeth as he tried to feed her.
• Nel endured the painful clattering to encourage Asano Kiyoshi, whose hand gradually steadied.
• Urahara heard the noise and announced that he and the others were coming to investigate, making Asano Kiyoshi's hand shake again.
• Asano Kiyoshi and Nel realized they had to act quickly to avoid an embarrassing discovery.

Asano Kiyoshi choked on cream and fruit while trying to keep a scheme with Nel secret, and her misguided rescue nearly destroyed his Gigai. After Urahara and the others saved him, Urahara teased that Kiyoshi had missed a chance for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, then demanded payment to hit him so he could keep pretending.

• Nel tried to help Asano Kiyoshi after he choked, but her forceful kick knocked him onto the floor and injured his back.
• Nel mistook her drowning first-aid book’s instructions for the right treatment and repeatedly compressed Asano Kiyoshi’s chest.
• Urahara and the others arrived in time to stop Nel before her next compression could destroy Asano Kiyoshi’s Gigai.
• Urahara and the others learned that Asano Kiyoshi had choked from overeating and laughed before helping save his Gigai.
• Urahara told Asano Kiyoshi that he had missed a chance for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, then refused to hit him unless he paid.

Asano Kiyoshi reassured Nel after their cake feast, then spoke privately with Urahara about his view of Central 46. He bluntly called the Chambers a pile of dog shit, leaving Urahara stunned.

• Asano Kiyoshi sent Nel upstairs to wash up and reassured her that her treatment had helped him endure the pain.
• Urahara asked Asano Kiyoshi to answer honestly about his opinion of the Central 46 Chambers.
• Asano Kiyoshi considered how his answer might affect his relationship with Urahara and his standing in the Captain-Commander's faction.
• Asano Kiyoshi told Urahara that Central 46 was a pile of dog shit.
• Urahara initially misunderstood the answer, then reacted in shock as Asano Kiyoshi repeated it.

Asano Kiyoshi explained his hatred of the Central 46 Chambers and suggested that the Captain-Commander would not oppose his views. Kisuke Urahara and Hachigen Ushōda tried to determine whether they were dreaming, then Urahara probed Asano about his ties to the Captain-Commander, ending with a question about the old man's tea.

• Asano Kiyoshi reflected on how the Central 46 Chambers had framed him and others, and concluded that the Captain-Commander would never allow the institution to be overthrown.
• Kisuke Urahara and Hachigen Ushōda were stunned by Asano's statements and slapped each other to check whether they were dreaming.
• Urahara complained about Hachigen hitting him and threatened to dock a month's wages, while Hachigen laughed and Urahara kicked him.
• Urahara asked Asano why he held those views despite being close to the Captain-Commander, and Asano said the Captain-Commander might not support them but would not oppose them.
• Urahara asked whether the old man's favorite tea had changed, and Asano replied that he still preferred bitter tea but had begun trying other teas, including tea Asano brewed.

Asano Kiyoshi tried to persuade Kisuke Urahara to help change the status quo, but Urahara withheld his commitment and revealed that a Captain-level presence had been following him. Urahara hinted that the pursuer might be connected to the King's Seal in the Great Spirit Book Gallery.

• Asano Kiyoshi urged Kisuke Urahara to help push the world toward change, but Urahara said such efforts needed outside support and avoided promising to join him.
• Kisuke Urahara explained that he had detected and analyzed faint reiatsu lingering around Asano Kiyoshi, discovering it came from one individual with at least Captain-level strength.
• Asano Kiyoshi considered the Tsunayashiro Family and Aizen as possible pursuers, and also wondered whether the follower could be a Hollowfied Shinigami he had encountered.
• Kisuke Urahara created a barrier to block outside detection and asked Asano Kiyoshi to speak freely or accept a hint.
• Kisuke Urahara reminded Asano Kiyoshi that the Class of 2050 Graduates could visit the Great Spirit Book Gallery, where the Royal Family's King's Seal was being kept.

Asano Kiyoshi revealed that he had mastered the King's Seal, and Kisuke Urahara reasoned that Aizen Sosuke was likely monitoring him. After learning that the Captain-Commander knew about the King's Seal, Urahara questioned his own convictions and thought about how much Yoruichi had sacrificed for him.

• Asano Kiyoshi showed Kisuke Urahara the King's Seal's golden Spiritual Pressure, confirming that he had mastered its power.
• Urahara told Asano Kiyoshi that the people following him were not from the Tsunayashiro Family, leading Kiyoshi to suspect Aizen Sosuke.
• Asano Kiyoshi suggested that the Royal Family might be investigating him, but Urahara argued that they would simply arrest him if they suspected he had the King's Seal.
• Urahara asked whether the Captain-Commander knew Kiyoshi possessed the King's Seal, and Kiyoshi said the Captain-Commander had urged him to use it and escape if necessary.
• Urahara reconsidered his long-held beliefs and thought that he could live differently, resolving not to let Yoruichi sacrifice anything more for him.

Asano Kiyoshi learned that one person had been following him and that the Tsunayashiro Clan might act when Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy students came to Karakura Town in two months. Hachigen Ushōda promised to train him in Kido, while Urahara, Yoruichi, and Hachigen shared a quiet moment of hope about changing the world.

• Urahara told Asano Kiyoshi that one person had been following him and warned that the Tsunayashiro Clan might make a move during the next academy students' training visit.
• Hachigen Ushōda offered to train Asano Kiyoshi in Kido until he could defeat a Vice-Captain without his Zanpakuto, and Asano accepted.
• Asano Kiyoshi thanked Urahara and Hachigen, then hurried upstairs as they discussed his guardedness and teased each other about being afraid of their spouses.
• Yoruichi arrived, scolded Urahara and Hachigen, and joined them in a playful scuffle that ended in laughter.
• Urahara wondered whether he could help make the world less dark, and Yoruichi told him she believed he could.

Yoruichi tested Asano Kiyoshi’s Shunpo and was astonished as he quickly analyzed the advanced Reishi control behind her technique. After explaining its advantages, Kiyoshi began to discuss its drawbacks, which he said were actually his own limitations.

• Yoruichi and Asano Kiyoshi raced through the Underground Training Ground, with Kiyoshi keeping close behind her using Reishi to propel himself.
• Yoruichi asked Kiyoshi to explain what he had learned from watching her Shunpo, and he contrasted her technique with the method taught at school.
• Kiyoshi explained that Yoruichi shifted Reishi construction points across her legs, letting her move more naturally, change direction, and reduce strain on her body.
• Yoruichi was shocked that Kiyoshi had grasped a technique she had spent twenty years developing, then asked him to describe its disadvantages.
• Kiyoshi said the disadvantages were not flaws in Yoruichi’s Shunpo but limitations of his own.

During Shunpo training, Asano Kiyoshi’s Hollow-derived Hierro and High-Speed Regeneration helped him nearly catch Yoruichi. She explained that Shinigami could use their souls’ abilities without Zanpakuto and urged him to discover his Reiatsu Attribute.

• Asano Kiyoshi pushed himself to catch Yoruichi during Shunpo training, but remained two body lengths behind her.
• Asano Kiyoshi’s Hierro and High-Speed Regeneration surfaced under the strain, letting him accelerate and nearly catch Yoruichi.
• Yoruichi asked Asano Kiyoshi why he could not catch her despite using as much Reishi, then explained how Shinigami fought before Zanpakuto existed.
• Yoruichi told Asano Kiyoshi that Zanpakuto guided Shinigami in using their souls’ power but were not essential to wielding it.
• Yoruichi encouraged Asano Kiyoshi to discover his Reiatsu Attribute, leaving him startled by the idea.

Asano Kiyoshi analyzed Yoruichi’s explosive Reishi technique and guessed that her Reiatsu carried lightning-like properties. Yoruichi began teaching him to wrap Hado around his body, then ended the training session and sent him to eat.

• Asano Kiyoshi used the Scroll to analyze the explosive Reishi that Yoruichi used to boost her Shunpo speed.
• Asano Kiyoshi guessed that Yoruichi’s Reiatsu had destructive, lightning-like properties, surprising her with his insight.
• Yoruichi told Asano Kiyoshi to wrap Hado around his body as his next training task.
• Yoruichi ended training and urged Asano Kiyoshi to hurry to the kitchen before Urahara and the other one ate Nel’s meal.
• Asano Kiyoshi rushed upstairs toward the kitchen.

Nel experienced pain as Asano Kiyoshi’s spiritual pressure spread through her body, so Yoruichi brought her and Asano Kiyoshi to Urahara for advice. Urahara revealed that his research found Arrancar Reishi absorbed Shinigami Reishi and underwent varying degrees of extinction.

• Nel knitted a sweater for Asano Kiyoshi while his spiritual pressure spread through her body, causing pain and making her emotions more human.
• Nel showed Asano Kiyoshi that her spiritual pressure had mixed with his and asked to visit the Visoreds for an examination.
• Yoruichi warned that the Visoreds’ condition differed from Nel’s and said Urahara was already researching her case.
• Asano Kiyoshi chose to stay with Nel, and Yoruichi led them and a sleepy Urahara to the Underground Training Ground.
• Urahara said his tests showed that Arrancar Reishi absorbing Shinigami Reishi experienced varying degrees of extinction.

Kisuke Urahara explained that Nel’s fused Arrancar and Shinigami Reishi could raise her potential, but the process threatened to crack her Soul Body. He said Asano Kiyoshi had to keep supplying her with spiritual pressure until her Reishi was completely replaced.

• Asano Kiyoshi begged Urahara to save Nel and offered his life, but Urahara revealed that he had only been trying to move their relationship along.
• Urahara showed Asano Kiyoshi a sample of Nel’s Reishi and explained that its apparent dissolution was transforming it into special Reishi that could greatly increase her potential.
• Urahara explained that Nel’s injuries prevented her from handling the large amount of dissipating spiritual pressure she absorbed, causing her pain and risking fatal cracks in her Soul Body.
• Urahara told Asano Kiyoshi that Nel must stay by his side and receive an ample supply of his spiritual pressure until her Reishi was completely replaced.

Asano Kiyoshi recovered enough from Nel absorbing much of his spiritual pressure to train with Yoruichi, after the scroll identified Kurohitsugi as the Kido best suited to him. He demonstrated the high-level spell for Yoruichi, Urahara, and Nel, leaving its result unknown.

• Nel apologized after absorbing more than half of Asano Kiyoshi's spiritual pressure, and Urahara teased him over their awkward exchange.
• Yoruichi stopped Urahara's teasing and called Asano Kiyoshi over to check his Kido training.
• Asano Kiyoshi explained that the scroll had calculated Kurohitsugi was the Kido best suited to his spiritual pressure and Reishi-control habits.
• Yoruichi told Asano Kiyoshi to demonstrate his choice and assured him that she and Urahara would keep him safe.
• Asano Kiyoshi chanted and cast Hado No. 90—Kurohitsugi.