Chapter Summaries

Asano Kiyoshi introduced Nel to Head Captain Yamamoto as the most important person to him, and Yamamoto welcomed her with a treasured jade pendant. The Captain-Commander’s approval prompted Byakuya and the nobles to offer Nel gifts, leaving Asano Kiyoshi and her surrounded by presents.

• Asano Kiyoshi introduced Nel to Head Captain Yamamoto and declared that she was the most important person to him.
• Byakuya recalled his own marriage to Hisana and grew nervous as he watched the Captain-Commander’s reaction.
• Head Captain Yamamoto gave Nel a jade pendant he had kept for the future wife of either Shunsui or Jushiro Ukitake.
• Byakuya congratulated Asano Kiyoshi and Nel, then gave Nel the key to a new residence near the Gotei 13 in Seireitei.
• The nobles approached Asano Kiyoshi and Nel with gifts, and Asano Kiyoshi smiled as he joined them in receiving the presents.

Asano Kiyoshi and Nel received gifts from Soul Society’s guests while Asano assessed their political ties and practiced the social skills Yamamoto expected of him. Yamamoto then led them to his private office for a confidential discussion, and Asano suspected Nel was the reason it could not be discussed publicly.

• Asano Kiyoshi accepted gifts and warmly welcomed donors, while judging their factions and deciding whom to cultivate.
• Kanno Ki Shu offered a modest gift on behalf of the Kasumioji Clan, and Asano inferred that Ki Shu’s influence had shaped the gesture.
• Nel asked whether all of the gifts were for them, and Yamamoto invited her and Asano to discuss private matters.
• Asano took some of Nel’s gifts and reassured her as they followed Yamamoto toward his private office.
• Asano realized Yamamoto had bypassed the meeting hall because the discussion was confidential, likely because of Nel.

Chōjirō Sasakibe welcomed Asano Kiyoshi and Nel, then gave Nel a pocket watch that held special significance for Asano. Head Captain Yamamoto tested Asano with crushing Reishi pressure, and Nel began to reveal her power as Asano struggled to breathe.

• Head Captain Yamamoto returned to the Captain-Commander's Office with Asano Kiyoshi and told Chōjirō Sasakibe to leave the remaining work to him.
• Asano introduced Nel as one of the most important people in his life, and Chōjirō gave her an engraved pocket watch that Asano urged her to treasure.
• Chōjirō left the office but stayed nearby to keep watch while Head Captain Yamamoto prepared to confront Asano and Nel.
• Head Captain Yamamoto intensified his Reishi pressure until Asano could no longer breathe, while Asano remained determined to protect Nel.
• Nel's expression turned cold as a white bone mask began to emerge over half her face and crimson Reishi pressure boiled around her.

Asano Kiyoshi and Nel endured Captain-Commander's crushing spiritual pressure as he tested them. Nel released her sword to protect Asano, and Captain-Commander stopped the test after judging that she had passed.

• Chōjirō Sasakibe sealed the corridor and hoped Genryūsai-sama would go easy on Asano Kiyoshi and Nel.
• Nel revealed her Hollow power and shielded Asano Kiyoshi from Captain-Commander's spiritual pressure.
• Asano Kiyoshi joined Nel in resisting Captain-Commander by interacting with her spiritual pressure.
• Captain-Commander grew into a giant and intensified his pressure until Nel drew her sword and called, "Sing—Antelope Knight!"
• Captain-Commander interrupted Nel's Sword Release with another surge of pressure, then told her she had passed.

Old Man Yama approved of Asano Kiyoshi and Nel’s relationship but warned that Nel’s Hollow identity could threaten Kiyoshi’s prospects of becoming Captain-Commander. He advised Kiyoshi to build influence, grow stronger, and overcome others’ hostility, then ordered him to become the Chief Kido Master of his generation.

• Old Man Yama told Asano Kiyoshi and Nel that they had passed his test and earned his approval.
• Nel worried that she had done something wrong, so Old Man Yama reassured her and gave her konpeito.
• Old Man Yama explained that Nel’s concealed Hollow spiritual pressure could expose her identity, creating trouble for Kiyoshi if he sought to become Captain-Commander.
• Asano Kiyoshi asked Old Man Yama what he should do, and Old Man Yama told him to build his power, grow stronger, and resolve others’ hostility.
• Old Man Yama ordered Asano Kiyoshi to become the Chief Kido Master of his generation.

Asano Kiyoshi learned that Yamamoto intended to appoint him Chief Kido Master, with the decision and succession ceremony scheduled for the next morning. Yamamoto told him to defeat the current Temporary Chief Kido Master before the captains and squad members, leaving Kiyoshi determined to do so.

• Yamamoto told Asano Kiyoshi that the vacant Chief Kido Master position had weakened the Kidō Corps and that nobles were manipulating it.
• Asano Kiyoshi realized Yamamoto knew about his actions and connections in the Living World and had tacitly accepted them.
• Yamamoto scheduled a captains' discussion and Kiyoshi's succession ceremony for the following morning, citing the nobles' latest moves.
• Asano Kiyoshi worried that his appointment would violate the rules because he lacked experience in the divisions.
• Yamamoto ordered Asano Kiyoshi to crush the current Temporary Chief Kido Master at the ceremony, and Kiyoshi promised he would.
• Yamamoto gave Nel more konpeito and made Asano Kiyoshi carry their belongings as they left the office.

Asano Kiyoshi took Nel shopping in the Seireitei, where a Kasumioji-affiliated bully tried to take the hairpin he had chosen for her. Asano confronted the man and unleashed his spiritual pressure, ending with an order for him to kneel.

• Asano Kiyoshi and Nel browsed the Seireitei shopping district and bought a Plum Blossom Jade Hairpin for Nel.
• Yamada Unko arrived, demanded the hairpin, and insulted the shopkeeper and Asano.
• Asano refused to hand over the hairpin and insulted Yamada Unko, prompting the onlookers to snicker.
• Yamada Unko threatened the crowd with his family's influence, then tried to shove Asano and snatch the hairpin.
• Asano dodged Yamada Unko's attack, demanded that he kneel and apologize, and threatened to gouge out his eyes.
• Asano released overwhelming blue-black spiritual pressure and ordered Yamada Unko to kneel.

Asano Kiyoshi used his overwhelming spiritual pressure to force Yamada Unko to kneel, and the crowd revealed the many crimes Yamada had committed. Nel prepared to attack, but Asano stopped her and said he would deal with Yamada himself.

• Asano Kiyoshi's spiritual pressure overwhelmed Yamada Unko and forced him to the ground.
• Yamada Unko apologized and promised compensation, invoking his own name and his grandfather Yamada Ungai's.
• People in the crowd accused Yamada Unko of abusing and exploiting others, including driving people and their families to ruin and death.
• Nel erupted with crimson spiritual pressure after hearing about Yamada Unko's crimes and prepared to strike him.
• Asano Kiyoshi stopped Nel and said he would handle Yamada Unko himself.

Asano Kiyoshi interrogated Yamada Unko about the Kasumioji Clan’s weapon and learned that the clan possessed a terrifying weapon. He then attacked Yamada Unko, taking his eyes and tongue as payment.

• Asano Kiyoshi decided to use Yamada Unko as a way to strike at the nobles and investigate the Baku Katana.
• Asano Kiyoshi bound Yamada Unko with Bakudo #63 and asked whether he had spared the commoners he drove to their deaths.
• Yamada Unko confessed that he considered commoners vermin and claimed his family possessed a terrifying weapon.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi watched the scene through Surveillance Bacteria while Nemu Kurotsuchi looked on sadly.
• Asano Kiyoshi pierced Yamada Unko’s eyes and pulled out his tongue as his fee.

Asano Kiyoshi refused to flee after defending himself against Yamada Unko, despite warnings that the Seireitei would punish a commoner for harming a noble. When the Police Patrol Team arrived, led by Vice-Captain Omaeda, Asano stepped in to protect the people standing up for him.

• Asano Kiyoshi bound Yamada Unko with Tsuriboshi after cutting out his tongue, then paid the hairpin shop owner two thousand Kan.
• The shop owner and onlookers warned Asano to escape before the Police Patrol Team arrived, but he insisted that his actions were justified self-defense.
• An older passerby urged Asano to flee, and Asano wondered whether the Seireitei had already lost the people's trust.
• Omaeda Marechiyo arrived with the Police Patrol Team, prompting most of the crowd to stay back while a few people stood between the officers and Asano.
• Asano stopped a patrolman from shoving the old man, knocked the patrolman to the ground, and greeted Vice-Captain Omaeda.

Omaeda unexpectedly encountered Asano Kiyoshi while investigating Yamada Unko’s attack and struggled to offer him a fried oil pancake without giving it up. After Asano explained that he had defeated Yamada in self-defense, Omaeda said he knew what to do.

• Omaeda recognized Asano Kiyoshi and nervously offered him a fried oil pancake.
• Asano reached for the pancake, but Omaeda instinctively pulled it away and awkwardly apologized.
• Omaeda asked Asano what had happened to the suspended, howling Yamada Unko.
• Asano said Yamada had tried to take his jade hairpin and attack him, so he had fought back in self-defense.
• Omaeda accepted Asano’s account and said he knew what to do.

After Omaeda arranged to take Yamada Unko into custody, Asano Kiyoshi demanded a fully public confrontation the next morning beneath Sōkyoku Hill. The crowd rallied behind his call for a public trial, leaving Soul Society on the verge of a public challenge to its hidden corruption.

• Omaeda decided to take Yamada Unko to the Second Division for preliminary custody while asking Asano Kiyoshi to cooperate with the investigation later.
• Asano Kiyoshi asked Omaeda to keep Yamada Unko in custody and bring him to the First Squad barracks the next morning for a public confrontation, with the Captain-Commander's permission.
• Omaeda froze when Asano Kiyoshi declared that anyone in Seireitei could watch the confrontation from beneath Sōkyoku Hill.
• The passersby applauded Asano Kiyoshi's announcement and joined an old man in shouting for a public confrontation and public trial.

Omaeda detained Yamada Unko and announced a public trial for the next morning, prompting Head Captain Yamamoto to authorize Asano Kiyoshi to act in his name. As the news spread, Soul Society’s leaders reacted and Kasumioji Ruri Chiyo agreed to attend the trial, unaware of Yamada Ungai’s hidden malice.

• Omaeda detained Yamada Unko and announced that he would be handed over to the First Squad for a public trial the next morning, inviting anyone to attend.
• Chōjirō Sasakibe urged Head Captain Yamamoto to permit a fair public trial, and Yamamoto authorized Asano Kiyoshi to handle any matter in his name.
• Nanao told Shunsui and Jushiro Ukitake that Asano Kiyoshi would hold a public trial with the Kasumioji Clan at Sōkyoku Hill, and that Yamamoto had approved it.
• Aizen welcomed Asano Kiyoshi’s move beyond the chessboard, while Tsunayashiro Sosuke worried that their hidden matter might be uncovered.
• Kasumioji Ruri Chiyo agreed to attend the trial and said wrongdoing would be punished, as Yamada Ungai secretly showed a venomous expression.

As public interest grew over Asano Kiyoshi’s trial of Yamada Unko, victims of noble oppression gathered outside the Omaeda estate hoping to attend. Asano and Nel prepared for the day, while the captains assembled to discuss his appointment and the public trial.

• Victims of noble oppression gathered outside the Omaeda Family estate to seek entry to the trial at Sōkyoku Hill.
• Omaeda Marechiyo told his butler to feed the crowd and bring them to the trial, offering to prevent unrest himself.
• Asano Kiyoshi and Nel settled into the residence Byakuya had provided, and Asano considered selling its valuables to improve security in the outer districts.
• Nel celebrated the news that she would become Combat Squad Captain of the Kidō Corps once Asano became Chief Kido Master.
• Asano and Nel went to the First Division Barracks, where the Captain-Commander opened a captains’ meeting to discuss Asano’s appointment and the public trial.

The Captain-Commander secured approval for Asano Kiyoshi to become Chief Kido Master, subject to a Kido duel with the current chief. The captains also approved a public trial for Yamada Unko, and the Captain-Commander ordered the succession ceremony and trial to proceed at Sōkyoku Hill.

• Shunsui raised concerns about Asano Kiyoshi's appointment, and the Captain-Commander proposed a Kido duel to test his fitness for the position.
• The captains approved Asano Kiyoshi's appointment as Chief Kido Master.
• Kaname Tōsen argued passionately for a public trial of Yamada Unko and condemned the nobles' mistreatment of commoners.
• Komamura Sajin, Aizen, and Byakuya supported the trial, and the captains unanimously approved it.
• The Captain-Commander ordered Asano Kiyoshi and the current Chief Kido Master to proceed to Sōkyoku Hill, summoned the Gotei 13 and Kidō Corps to witness, opened the gates to the public, and ordered the nobles involved to prepare for trial.

Asano Kiyoshi and Nel arrived at Sōkyoku Hill for the succession ceremony, where Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s devices broadcast the event across Soul Society. The Captain-Commander then announced that Asano Kiyoshi’s duel with the current Chief Kido Master had begun.

• An Inner Courtyard Squad member summoned Asano Kiyoshi and Nel to Sōkyoku Hill for the succession ceremony.
• On the way, Asano Kiyoshi reassured a Rukongai resident who had been scolded for stepping on the paving stones.
• Asano Kiyoshi and Nel climbed Sōkyoku Hill and joined the waiting captains.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi had Nemu activate devices that broadcast the hill’s events through Reishi Images across Soul Society.
• The Captain-Commander announced the start of Asano Kiyoshi’s duel with the current Chief Kido Master.

Asano Kiyoshi faced acting Chief Kido Master Yoshida Tomoya in a public Kido succession trial, with the outcome tied to the Captain-Commander's struggle to keep the Kidō Corps from noble influence. The duel began with Asano effortlessly countering Yoshida's attack using Anti-Kido Kill.

• The Captain-Commander introduced Yoshida Tomoya as Asano Kiyoshi's opponent and announced the Chief Kido Master succession trial.
• The chapter explained that Yoshida had helped the nobles draw the Kidō Corps away from Gotei 13, while the Captain-Commander had plans to replace its functions if Asano lost.
• Asano Kiyoshi and Yoshida Tomoya bowed on the trial ground, and the Captain-Commander declared the Kido Martial Trial underway.
• Yoshida fired a powerful Byakurai and prepared to use Bakudo to control the battlefield.
• Asano instantly cast Byakurai to swallow Yoshida's attack, prompting onlookers to recognize the technique as Anti-Kido Kill.
• Asano told Yoshida that schemes and distance were meaningless between opponents of unequal strength.

Asano Kiyoshi overwhelmed Yoshida Tomoya during their public Kido duel, revealing an exceptionally swift incantation method and calling down a storm with a variant technique. He left the crowd and Kido specialists stunned as he condemned Yoshida for refusing to innovate.

• Asano Kiyoshi analyzed Yoshida Tomoya’s prepared Kido and formed an Anti-Kido Kill, leaving the spectators and Shinigami astonished.
• Yoshida Tomoya lost his composure, abandoned his prepared Bakudo, and recited Hado #63—Thunder Roar Cannon.
• Asano Kiyoshi answered with Hado #88—Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō, using a strange compressed incantation that amazed Kido enthusiasts.
• Aizen watched closely and considered whether Asano Kiyoshi’s new chanting method affected the power of his Kido.
• Asano Kiyoshi raised his hand toward the sky and invoked “Variant—Kirin,” covering Sōkyoku Hill with dark clouds.
• Asano Kiyoshi declared that a Chief Kido Master had to innovate and develop, then called Yoshida Tomoya a stagnant failure.

Asano Kiyoshi overwhelmed Yoshida Tomoya with a thundercloud technique and urged him to surrender, but Yoshida chose to fight back with two high-level Bakudo spells. The chapter ended as Yoshida fused them into the Three Thousand Blood Floating Great Burial Realm.

• Asano Kiyoshi summoned a vast thundercloud that absorbed Yoshida Tomoya’s Thunder Dragon and offered him a chance to surrender.
• Asano Kiyoshi called forth a lightning-clad Kirin and sent it advancing toward Yoshida Tomoya.
• Yoshida Tomoya, fearing the consequences of defeat, cast Bakudo No. 93—White Coffin and Bakudo No. 94—Blood Light at the cost of the flesh and blood in both arms.
• Yoshida Tomoya fused the spells into the Three Thousand Blood Floating Great Burial Realm, transforming the falling feathers into bloody flesh that filled Sōkyoku Hill with a dreadful aura.

Yoshida Tomoya unleashed the terrifying Three Thousand Blood Floating Great Burial Realm, sending panic through Sōkyoku Hill and putting civilians in danger. Asano Kiyoshi countered it with his newly created Reverse Kido, saving and healing the crowd, while Isshin Shiba and Byakuya recognized its unusual power.

• Yoshida Tomoya cast the Three Thousand Blood Floating Great Burial Realm, filling the sky with blood and organs and terrifying the crowd at Sōkyoku Hill.
• A woman fell amid the panicking civilians as the crowd threatened to trample her, while the Captain-Commander watched without moving.
• Asano Kiyoshi recited an incantation and used Reverse Kido #32—When the Lanterns First Light Up, spreading moonlight, lanterns, and peach petals across Sōkyoku Hill.
• Asano Kiyoshi's petals lifted the civilians, healed their injuries, and soothed their fear as the dangerous scene was contained.
• Isshin Shiba praised the beautiful Kido, and Byakuya identified it as Asano Kiyoshi's own creation, noting its healing power and sharp edge.