Chapter Summaries

Asano Kiyoshi used the Kido “When the Lanterns First Light Up” to save civilians and suppress Yoshida Tomoya, winning the Kidō Corps’ and civilians’ support. Yoshida retaliated by hurling the Blood Sea at him, and Asano sent his Kirin into the Night Scenery to meet it.

• The Kidō Corps members, recalling Yoshida Tomoya’s cruelty, called on Asano Kiyoshi to become their new Chief Kido Master.
• The Captain-Commander and Aizen noticed that Asano’s Reverse Kido seemed to restore its spiritual-pressure cost, and Aizen suspected his Zanpakuto was responsible.
• The civilians awakened, learned that the Kidō Corps were supporting Asano, and joined their cries of support.
• The Tsunayashiro Clan head watched the crowd’s reaction as the Captain-Commander welcomed the momentum behind Asano.
• Yoshida hurled the Blood Sea at Asano, who sent the Kirin plunging into the Night Scenery.

Asano Kiyoshi fused two kinds of Reverse Kido to create a lightning Kirin that wielded the Power of Time and erased Yoshida Tomoya’s blood sea. The Kirin trapped Yoshida Tomoya in black mist and surrounded him with swords as Jushiro Ukitake identified the power as godlike.

• Asano Kiyoshi unleashed a Kirin formed from lightning, lantern light, and moonlight, astonishing Aizen and Head Captain Yamamoto with his dual fusion of Reverse Kido.
• The Kirin stamped down with the Power of Time, turning the blood sea into black mist and silently erasing Yoshida Tomoya’s Reishi.
• Yoshida Tomoya panicked and tried to gather the blood sea around himself, but it fed the mist and tightened the encirclement.
• The Kirin stamped again, and the black mist formed countless Longswords that surrounded Yoshida Tomoya.
• Jushiro Ukitake told Shunsui that the power was the Power of Time, and Shunsui silently met his gaze.

Asano Kiyoshi overwhelmed Yoshida Tomoya with black longswords during their succession ceremony spar, while Yoshida pleaded for his life and appealed to the watching captains and nobles. After the crowd refused to intervene, Yoshida gave up resisting, and Asano’s swords fell upon him.

• Yoshida Tomoya begged Asano Kiyoshi to spare him, then conceded the match and offered him the Chief Kido Master position.
• Asano Kiyoshi interrupted Yoshida and sent the black longswords plunging into Yoshida’s flesh giant.
• Yoshida appealed to the Captain-Commander, captains, nobles, and Central 46 Chambers, but none came to his aid.
• Yoshida realized the crowd had abandoned him and stopped resisting, thinking of his wife and younger brother.
• Asano Kiyoshi smiled and dropped all the black longswords onto Yoshida.

Asano Kiyoshi exposed the Bakuyō Sword embedded in Yoshida Tomoya’s chest and revealed its power and potential to be mass-produced. The crowd erupted as Captain-Commander’s anger turned toward the Kasumioji Clan and Kumoi.

• Yoshida Tomoya’s decayed sword destroyed his sleeve, exposing the grotesque Bakuyō Sword eyeball in his chest.
• Captain-Commander and Shunsui recognized the Bakuyō Sword and recalled how the Kasumioji Clan had caused Kisaragi Tatsuushi’s death.
• Kumoi acted as though he had never seen the eyeball while the crowd compared it to a Hollow’s spiritual pressure.
• Byakuya Kuchiki asked Asano Kiyoshi to explain the object in Yoshida Tomoya’s chest.
• Asano Kiyoshi revealed that Bakuyō Swords could devour one another’s eyeballs, grow powerful enough to rival Bankai, and be mass-produced, shocking the crowd and unsettling Kumoi.

Asano Kiyoshi told the crowd that Bakuyō Swords were made from Shinigami and civilian souls, then demonstrated by extracting Yoshida Tomoya’s core and releasing the trapped souls. The exposed victims included missing Shinigami and civilians, leaving the crowd horrified.

• A noble demanded to know whether Bakuyō Swords could rival captain-level Bankai and what materials they required.
• Asano Kiyoshi revealed that each sword used at least ten Shinigami souls and several hundred civilian souls, and that Yoshida Tomoya’s core contained thirteen Shinigami and over three hundred civilians.
• A Tsunayashiro branch noble questioned how Asano Kiyoshi could prove his claims.
• Asano Kiyoshi extracted the eyeball core from Yoshida Tomoya’s chest and displayed it through the Reishi Image.
• Asano Kiyoshi squeezed the core, releasing hundreds of Soul Bodies, including missing Shinigami and civilians whose relatives recognized them.

Hundreds of Soul Bodies appeared beneath Sōkyoku Hill, exposing Soul Society’s past crimes and stirring grief among the living. Asano Kiyoshi apologized to the commoners and promised justice, while the Captain-Commander accepted that Kiyoshi would lead Soul Society’s future.

• Hundreds of Soul Bodies emerged, and people across Soul Society grieved for the dead whose faces they recognized.
• Asano Kiyoshi bowed to the grieving crowd, accepted the Gotei 13 and Kidō Corps’ responsibility, and promised to find and execute the culprit.
• The commoners knelt before Asano Kiyoshi, moved by his recognition of them as human beings.
• The Captain-Commander watched the crowd and the Soul Bodies, then withdrew his half-extended foot and smiled at Asano Kiyoshi.
• The Captain-Commander silently encouraged Asano Kiyoshi to lead Soul Society, offering him a place to return if the future left him weary.

The Captain-Commander publicly apologized for the Bakuyō Sword case and promised that notices would remain posted until the culprit was found and the people received an explanation. Komamura Sajin and the other captains joined him in apologizing and pledging to fight for justice, while Aizen watched them with new interest.

• The Captain-Commander stood beside Asano Kiyoshi, apologized for failing to prevent the Bakuyō Sword case, and promised to keep notices posted until the culprit was found.
• The people wept and bowed as the Captain-Commander’s apology gave them hope.
• Komamura Sajin remembered how the Captain-Commander had once rescued him and inspired him to protect the world.
• Komamura Sajin apologized to the people on behalf of the Seventh Squad and vowed to fight for Soul Society’s justice.
• Isshin Shiba, Kaname Tōsen, Jushiro Ukitake, Shunsui, and the other captains joined the apology, and Aizen watched them with a genuine smile.

Byakuya promised that any nobles involved in the Bakuyō Sword matter would face judgment, bowing with the other Captains to the people of Seireitei. Asano Kiyoshi then began the public trial of Yoshida Tomoya and Yamada Unko, whose appearance deepened the divide between nobles and commoners.

• Byakuya told Shunsui that he would uphold justice despite his position as head of the Kuchiki Clan and said the nobility needed changes.
• Byakuya promised to submit any nobles involved in the Bakuyō Sword matter to the Noble Conference and, if its judgment was unfair, to the Gold Seal Conference.
• Byakuya and the other Gotei 13 Captains bowed to the commoners, and Asano Kiyoshi announced the public trial of Yoshida Tomoya and Yamada Unko.
• Soi Fon signaled for Omaeda Marechiyo and the Supervisory Team to bring the blind and bloodied Yamada Unko before the crowd.
• Commoners who had lost family members resented Yamada Unko, while nobles criticized Asano Kiyoshi's treatment of him and expressed sympathy.

Yamada Unko’s trial began as the Grand Inquisitor tried to frame Asano Kiyoshi’s beating as unlawful punishment. Asano challenged the Inquisitor’s logic, leaving him unable to answer.

• The crowd cheered for Asano Kiyoshi, while Tosen reflected that justice might have been possible if Asano had appeared earlier in the matter of Utamasa.
• Gin Ichimaru offered Tosen a dried persimmon, which Tosen accepted and praised.
• The Captain-Commander opened the public trial, appointing himself, the Grand Inquisitor of Central 46, and Kuchiki Ginrei to hear the case.
• The Grand Inquisitor accused Asano Kiyoshi of brutally striking a helpless Yamada Unko and argued that Asano’s superior strength ruled out self-defense.
• Asano Kiyoshi challenged the Grand Inquisitor’s reasoning with a hypothetical, leaving the Inquisitor momentarily speechless.

The Grand Inquisitor accused Asano Kiyoshi of running a child-trafficking and human-experimentation operation through his Rukongai village, using a photograph to sway the crowd. Planted witnesses spread supporting rumors, leaving the public stunned and turning against Asano Kiyoshi.

• The Grand Inquisitor presented photographs and documents as evidence against Asano Kiyoshi.
• Asano Kiyoshi recognized the village in the photograph and acknowledged that he had established it.
• The Grand Inquisitor claimed Asano Kiyoshi had drugged children in the village and sold them to the Black Market.
• The crowd grew uncertain about Asano Kiyoshi as Tsunayashiro Sosuke watched the accusation unfold.
• Planted actors circulated stories about children from the village being found dead, intensifying the rumors.

Asano Kiyoshi faced a crowd turned against him by Tsunayashiro Family plants spreading rumors, then used his speech and Word Spirit to challenge their assumptions and call for reforms. The crowd applauded, leaving Soul Society’s attention fixed on him.

• Tsunayashiro Family plants spread rumors that turned many civilians against Asano Kiyoshi, while a few people continued to defend him.
• Aizen watched the crowd and condemned their willingness to believe hearsay, while the captains held back and waited to see how Asano Kiyoshi would respond.
• Asano Kiyoshi asked the crowd why they had judged him guilty based on a photograph, an unsupported claim, and the word “supposedly.”
• Asano Kiyoshi used his Word Spirit Kido to calm the crowd and argued that class division, weak education, and a lack of enforceable laws fueled their anger.
• Asano Kiyoshi called for laws to be upheld, education for everyone, broader understanding, and an end to class divisions; the crowd answered with thunderous applause.

Asano Kiyoshi defended his centralized management villages by presenting detailed records of the children they housed, while the Grand Inquisitor challenged their credibility. The Captain-Commander and Kuchiki Ginrei reflected on protecting the younger generation and waiting for them to be ready to lead.

• Asano Kiyoshi interrupted the Grand Inquisitor and offered to explain the photograph and address doubts about the villages.
• Asano Kiyoshi displayed thousands of detailed records of the children and challenged anyone to identify a child who had disappeared from the villages.
• The Grand Inquisitor questioned whether Asano Kiyoshi had fabricated the records, and Tsunayashiro Sosuke considered ways to frame him later.
• Aizen grew curious about the villages, while the Captain-Commander praised the younger generation to Kuchiki Ginrei.
• Kuchiki Ginrei and the Captain-Commander agreed that the older generation should protect the young until they were ready to take their positions.

Asano Kiyoshi used his speech to describe the dangers and poverty of life in Rukongai and presented the Centralized Village as proof that residents could live with hope and dignity. He announced plans to spread Reishi Surveillance throughout Rukongai and the Seireitei.

• Asano Kiyoshi spoke about the insecurity and hardship he had witnessed while living in Rukongai.
• Rukongai residents in the crowd wept as his words recalled their suffering, while Byakuya remembered the misery he had seen there.
• Asano Kiyoshi credited Mayuri Kurotsuchi with helping install surveillance devices in public areas of the Centralized Village.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi used a remote to show Reishi Images of the village residents working and living with hope.
• Asano Kiyoshi announced that he intended to extend Reishi Surveillance throughout Rukongai and the Seireitei.

Asano Kiyoshi defended the surveillance footage and used the Grand Inquisitor’s false photograph to challenge the reliability of his intelligence and judgments. The Grand Inquisitor’s public standing was left badly damaged as Asano questioned how many cases he had wrongly decided.

• The crowd supported Asano Kiyoshi’s call for surveillance, while the nobles showed their displeasure.
• The Grand Inquisitor asked Mayuri Kurotsuchi whether the footage was genuine, and Mayuri mocked him.
• The Grand Inquisitor accepted Asano Kiyoshi’s explanation after Captain Nemu’s words and the evidence dispelled his suspicions.
• Asano Kiyoshi asked where the Grand Inquisitor’s false intelligence had come from, but the Grand Inquisitor refused to disclose his sources.
• Asano Kiyoshi pointed out that surveillance recordings could verify the scene and questioned how many cases the Grand Inquisitor had wrongly judged using false intelligence.

Asano Kiyoshi exposed the Grand Inquisitor’s outburst and corruption suspicions, then began presenting evidence of Yamada Unko and Yoshida Tomoya’s abuses. The chapter ended with the Captain-Commander shaken as Asano read a survivor’s account of Yamada’s brutality.

• The Grand Inquisitor lost his composure and verbally attacked Asano Kiyoshi before the Reishi Image.
• The Captain-Commander ordered Soi Fon to detain the Grand Inquisitor and investigate suspected bribery and abuse of power.
• Kuchiki Ginrei announced that the Grand Inquisitor had been detained and took charge of the trial.
• Asano Kiyoshi presented nearly two hundred and forty accusations, thirty-seven witnesses, and over three hundred pieces of evidence against Yamada Unko and Yoshida Tomoya.
• Asano Kiyoshi read Okada Daigo’s account of Yamada Unko abusing his family and killing his sister, leaving the Captain-Commander deeply shaken.

The tribunal heard letters and testimony exposing Yamada Unko’s crimes, while Minister Kumoi disowned his grandson to protect his standing with Rurichiyo. Kuchiki Ginrei sentenced Yamada Unko to immediate execution by stoning, and the crowd cheered.

• Letters bearing official seals revealed decades of Yamada Unko’s crimes, and the Captain-Commander’s anger briefly raised the temperature around the tribunal.
• Rurichiyo challenged Minister Kumoi over his claim that Yamada Unko had been framed, and Kumoi knelt and supported his grandson’s execution before returning to the clan grounds with a hidden smile.
• Witnesses from the districts recounted Yamada Unko’s crimes, while Kaname Tōsen tried to attack him and Gin and Isshin restrained Tōsen.
• Aizen watched the crowd and praised Asano Kiyoshi’s effect on Soul Society, wondering how far he would go.
• Kuchiki Ginrei declared Yamada Unko guilty of murdering 697 civilians and sentenced him to immediate execution by stoning.
• Yamada Unko struggled to protest, but the tongue and eyes he had lost left him unable to speak or see as the crowd cheered.

Asano Kiyoshi let the public stone Yamada Unko to death, giving Okada Daigo and the other witnesses a chance to confront their grief. As many witnesses died and dispersed into Reishi, the Captain-Commander remembered that protecting Soul Society’s people was why he had founded the Gotei 13.

• Asano Kiyoshi persuaded Kuchiki Ginrei to let the public execute Yamada Unko, then used Reishi arms to carry him to the plaza.
• Okada Daigo spat a pebble at Yamada Unko, and Asano Kiyoshi propelled it into his face to begin the stoning.
• The crowd pelted Yamada Unko until he died, while he saw the souls of the people he had killed waiting to torment him.
• Okada Daigo thanked Asano Kiyoshi, spat on Yamada Unko’s corpse, and died, dispersing into Reishi.
• Many witnesses also died and became Reishi, and the Captain-Commander reflected that the people of Soul Society were the reason he had founded the Gotei 13.

Asano Kiyoshi and Kuchiki Ginrei began the public trial of Yoshida Tomoya over the Bakuyō Sword, whose power had been used to forge a weapon from the souls of civilians and Shinigami. Yoshida remained silent under Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s torture, while Kumoi feared what he could reveal and recalled how the Tsunayashiro Family controlled the families of those involved.

• Asano Kiyoshi asked Kuchiki Ginrei to begin Yoshida Tomoya’s trial, and Kuchiki Ginrei announced a public preliminary hearing with reports to follow in the Seireitei Bulletin.
• Two Execution Force members injected Yoshida Tomoya with medicine from the Research and Development Department, sharply weakening his spiritual pressure.
• Kuchiki Ginrei questioned Yoshida Tomoya about the Bakuyō Sword and the souls it contained, but Yoshida appeared unresponsive.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi concluded Yoshida Tomoya was still conscious, stabbed him with his Zanpakuto, and prepared a dark yellow reagent to continue testing his pain tolerance.
• Kumoi feared Yoshida Tomoya might expose the Kasumioji Clan’s crimes, then recalled that the Tsunayashiro Family had seized the families of those involved to prevent betrayal.

Yoshida Tomoya remembered how his daughter’s bullying and his wife’s illness drove him to abandon his ideals and pursue revenge, power, and security for his family. After recalling his past, he died with a final glance toward where his wife and daughter lived.

• Yoshida Tomoya recalled discovering students humiliating his daughter at the academy while his wife collapsed.
• Yoshida Tomoya carried his blood-covered daughter and ill wife home, then resolved to pursue revenge and power for his family.
• Yoshida Tomoya opened his eyes before Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Asano Kiyoshi, and the others, then smiled and died.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi clicked his tongue, while Shunsui recognized that Yoshida Tomoya had looked toward his wife and daughter’s home.

After Yoshida Tomoya died, Asano Kiyoshi used evidence linking the Bakuyō Swords to the Kasumioji Clan to put Rurichiyo and her retainers under public suspicion. Rurichiyo realized the swords were connected to her clan, but the chapter ended before she explained further.

• Mayuri Kurotsuchi examined Yoshida Tomoya's body and found evidence that he had swallowed poison before his death.
• The Captain-Commander ordered Chōjirō Sasakibe to bring out a completed Bakuyō Sword and a death warrior from the Tsunayashiro Family.
• Omaeda Marechiyo escorted the prisoners to the execution ground, where Tsunayashiro Sosuke and Kumoi recognized the evidence and reacted with murderous intent.
• Asano Kiyoshi argued that Yoshida Tomoya had likely killed himself to avoid revealing the truth, then drew public attention to Tsunayashiro Sosuke and Kumoi.
• Rurichiyo confronted her ministers, then asked Asano Kiyoshi whether the Kasumioji Clan was connected to the Bakuyō Sword.
• Asano Kiyoshi said the sword's design closely resembled Kasumioji Clan weapons, and Rurichiyo realized the Bakuyō Swords were connected to her clan before giving him an answer.