Chapter Summaries

Asano Kiyoshi forced Yamano Mirō to guide him through the enemy’s sentries, carrying him in a makeshift bag after severing his legs. In Kusajishi District, the Yingkou Group terrorized a family until Asano arrived, leaving the girl’s fate unresolved.

• Asano Kiyoshi recalled how Head Captain Yamamoto had prepared him for the mission by showing him the atrocities in Rukongai and making him kill prisoners in the Nest of Maggots.
• Asano Kiyoshi carried the wounded Yamano Mirō and told him to lead the way, while Yamano revealed the positions of the hidden and open sentries.
• Yamano Mirō identified the Yingkou Group as a band of local tyrants led by Yingkou Hui in Kusajishi District.
• Musashi Kasa hacked at a family’s door while the wounded old man held it shut and the family’s daughter prayed for help.
• Asano Kiyoshi appeared before the onlookers carrying a blood-dripping bundle and several severed heads.

Asano Kiyoshi defeated Musashi Kasa and brought him before the girl whose father he had attacked, leaving her to decide how to respond. After the girl took up a Zanpakuto and struck back, Asano urged the watching residents of Rukongai to remember that they were human beings.

• Asano Kiyoshi confronted Musashi Kasa, who panicked and threw his Zanpakuto before fleeing.
• Asano caught the Zanpakuto, hurled it into Musashi Kasa, and cut off his limbs for the harm he had caused.
• Asano carried Musashi Kasa to the injured girl's home, gave the girl the choice of what to do with him, and treated her father's wounds.
• The girl picked up Musashi Kasa's Zanpakuto and repeatedly struck him as he threatened her.
• Asano called to the watching residents, urging them to recognize themselves as human beings rather than livestock.

Asano Kiyoshi left the freed residents to decide the fate of Musashi Kasa and another man, then followed Yamano Mirō's directions deeper into the 79th District. When the path revealed Hollow-like spiritual pressure, Asano suspected a trap and concluded it was connected to Aizen's Shinigami Hollowfication Project.

• Asano Kiyoshi told the residents to choose whether Musashi Kasa lived or died, then continued into the 79th District with Yamano Mirō.
• When a man proposed using the girl to bargain with their enemies, an old man attacked him, and the residents joined in killing him and Musashi Kasa.
• Yamano Mirō directed Asano Kiyoshi down a narrow path, where Asano sensed unusually cold, violent spiritual pressure like a Hollow's.
• Asano Kiyoshi threatened Yamano Mirō, who insisted he had not lied and explained that their Squad Leader would kill him regardless.
• Asano Kiyoshi reasoned that the Hollow-like pressure must be linked to Aizen's Shinigami Hollowfication Project.

Asano Kiyoshi followed Yamano Mirō through a secret passage to the gang’s base, where he discovered the corpses of murdered civilians. He rejected Yamano Mirō’s denial, wounded him, and kept him alive as he headed for the cave exit.

• Yamano Mirō revealed a secret passage beneath the third patch of grass and identified his dead accomplice’s head.
• Asano Kiyoshi found the gang’s base, where a decomposed woman and chained corpses of girls and boys lay.
• Yamano Mirō blamed Yingkou Hui for bringing civilians to the base and said he had helped dig the passage to search for the valuables of forty-two missing members.
• Asano Kiyoshi noticed the dead woman clutching Yamano Mirō’s hair and accused him of lying about never bringing anyone there.
• Asano Kiyoshi slashed Yamano Mirō below the abdomen, used Kaido to keep him alive, and carried him toward the cave exit as a voice suddenly rang out.

Asano Kiyoshi fought Yingkou Hui in the underground passage, using his released Zanpakuto and Kido to counter the powerful close-combat fighter. He escaped the cramped passage by enlarging a Shakkahō until it broke through the ceiling, exposing the sky above.

• Yingkou Hui ambushed Asano Kiyoshi with his Zanpakuto, and Asano recognized him as a former Eleventh Division Thirteenth Seat Officer.
• Asano fired Byakurai at Yingkou Hui, but the blast only opened a small hole in the passage ceiling, and Yingkou Hui released his Zanpakuto's other form.
• Asano released Yellow Springs and traded blows with Yingkou Hui, whose strength and speed increased as the fight continued.
• Asano cast Shakkahō, and Yingkou Hui split the fireball with his Zanpakuto while Asano began chanting another Kido.
• Asano bound Yingkou Hui's arm with Hōrin while continuing his chant, then used Post-Chanting to enlarge Shakkahō and blast through the ceiling.

Asano Kiyoshi used powerful Bakudo to gain the upper hand over Yingkou Hui, who unleashed his Zanpakuto’s blood-fueled power. The chapter ended with Yingkou Hui bound by Rikujōkōrō as Asano’s Sōkatsui rushed toward him.

• Yingkou Hui charged through Asano Kiyoshi’s Sekienton, but his Zanpakuto, Severing Demon, tore the red mist apart.
• Asano Kiyoshi caught Yingkou Hui preparing to stab himself with his Zanpakuto and restrained him with Rikujōkōrō.
• Yingkou Hui bit his tongue and spat blood onto Severing Demon, causing his body and the binding light sheets to crack.
• Asano Kiyoshi reinforced Rikujōkōrō with Post-Chanting and fired a powerful Sōkatsui at the trapped Yingkou Hui.
• Yingkou Hui desperately tore at the light sheets as Asano Kiyoshi’s attack closed in.

Yingkou Hui underwent Hollowfication and attacked Asano Kiyoshi, who struggled to survive despite the transformed Shinigami’s superior strength. As Yingkou Hui gathered a Cero, Asano Kiyoshi sensed an opening that might let him win.

• Yingkou Hui’s fear and hatred triggered Hollowfication, and his Reiatsu covered the field as he became a mindless beast.
• Asano Kiyoshi checked Yingkou Hui’s stats and realized his strength exceeded his own, though his lack of combat intelligence gave Asano a chance.
• Asano Kiyoshi bound Yingkou Hui with Hōrin, but Yingkou Hui broke the chain, caught Asano by the ankle, and dragged him closer.
• Asano Kiyoshi used Seki and Tsuzuri Raiden through the chain, shocking himself and burning Yingkou Hui without stopping him.
• Yingkou Hui began charging a Cero at close range, and Asano Kiyoshi sensed an opportunity to turn the fight around.

Asano Kiyoshi survived Yingkou Hui’s shattered Cero by using his Zanpakuto’s power and prepared barriers, then received kill rewards confirming Yingkou Hui’s death. The Scroll granted him a major spiritual-pressure increase and physical enhancement, and Asano checked his updated attributes.

• Asano Kiyoshi used Enkōsen and Tsuriboshi, then unleashed both domains of his Zanpakuto to erase the Reishi structure of Yingkou Hui’s Cero.
• Asano Kiyoshi fled with Shunpo as the Cero broke apart, but its blast wounded him and threw him into the ground.
• Asano Kiyoshi struggled to rise, fearing Yingkou Hui might have survived, until the Scroll confirmed Yingkou Hui’s death and awarded him Hollowfication Power and Hierro enhancements.
• The Scroll listed additional rewards from Asano Kiyoshi’s earlier kills, including increases to spiritual pressure, Hakuda, and Zanjutsu.
• Asano Kiyoshi noted his stronger body and opened the Scroll to view his updated attributes.

Asano Kiyoshi recovered after defeating Yingkou Hui and wiped out the Yingkou Group, rescuing the women they had enslaved. He left the women to exact revenge on their abusers as he struggled to face the horrors of his path and resolve to grow strong enough to protect others.

• Asano Kiyoshi reviewed his improved evaluation and reflected on killing while trying to preserve his compassion.
• Gin secretly watched Asano Kiyoshi recover, wondered about his power, and decided not to tell Aizen about him.
• Asano Kiyoshi found Yamano Mirō in the collapsed passage and forced him to guide the way to the Yingkou Group's hideout.
• With Yamano Mirō's help, Asano Kiyoshi killed almost all eighty-six members of the Yingkou Group.
• Asano Kiyoshi freed the captive women and gave them the severed-limbed abusers, whom the women killed in a frenzy of revenge.
• Asano Kiyoshi watched the women take revenge and resolved to become stronger so he could protect those he cared about.

After witnessing the women’s revenge and deaths, Asano Kiyoshi helped rebuild the 79th District with Yamamoto’s support, then moved on to the Zaraki District. After completing his assigned tasks there, he decided to end his Rukongai training and checked his greatly changed attribute panel.

• After the women avenged their loved ones, many chose to die, and Asano Kiyoshi burned the site after the survivors left.
• Asano Kiyoshi handed Yamano Mirō to the girl he had abducted, then housed the remaining women in the Yingkou Group’s former buildings.
• With Yamamoto’s funding, guidance, and personnel, Asano Kiyoshi established a new order across the 79th District in just over ten days.
• Asano Kiyoshi moved to the Zaraki District, killed Naobayashi Ōfuku, and regularly eliminated Hollows.
• After spending about a week completing the tasks on Yamamoto’s list, Asano Kiyoshi decided to end his Rukongai training and examined his changed attribute panel.

Asano Kiyoshi brought Rukia and the orphaned children back to the area near the Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy, then reported his actions to Head Captain Yamamoto. Yamamoto ordered him to conceal Yingkou Hui’s Hollowfication and asked why he had acted in the 79th District, leaving Asano to affirm that Rukongai’s residents were people like everyone else.

• The Scroll showed that Asano Kiyoshi had reached the peak of Fourth-Seat Reiatsu and urged him to break through to Fifth-Seat Reiatsu.
• Asano met Rukia and the children, learned they all wanted to follow him to the Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy, and gave them candy.
• Asano killed a group of habitual child-organ dealers on the journey back and brought the children to Granny Hana’s house near the academy.
• Asano reported his actions to Head Captain Yamamoto, who praised his judgment and approved his handling of Musashi Kasa.
• After hearing about Yingkou Hui’s Hollowfication, Head Captain Yamamoto warned Asano to describe Yingkou Hui only as a Shinigami traitor and keep the matter secret.
• Head Captain Yamamoto asked why Asano had acted in the 79th District, and Asano said he had followed his own moral bottom line and believed Rukongai’s residents were people like them.

After returning from Rukongai, Asano Kiyoshi trained under Head Captain Yamamoto and learned that his duel with Tsunayashiro Kojiro might take place after the summer festival’s academy address. Shunsui warned that the Tsunayashiro Family’s interest in the duel could put Kiyoshi in grave danger, though what they sought remained unclear.

• Head Captain Yamamoto advised Asano Kiyoshi to hold fast to his true heart, then launched a wooden sword at him to begin training.
• Two weeks after Kiyoshi returned from Rukongai, he rested while Head Captain Yamamoto and Shunsui played chess, then served them tea.
• Shunsui told Kiyoshi that the summer festival would include a public address at Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy and that the Tsunayashiro Family planned to attend.
• Kiyoshi realized Tsunayashiro Kojiro’s duel with him might begin after the address, and Shunsui urged him to prepare and win.
• After Kiyoshi left, Shunsui told Head Captain Yamamoto that the Tsunayashiro Family’s interest in the matter could place Kiyoshi in grave danger.

Asano Kiyoshi prepared for the summer festival and received a handmade outfit from Jushiro Ukitake, while Captain-Commander Yamamoto’s suspicions about the Tsunayashiro Family grew. The Tsunayashiro Family announced Tsunayashiro Kojiro’s early graduation challenge, setting up the afternoon duel.

• Captain-Commander Yamamoto ordered Sparrow Step Vice-Captain to protect Asano Kiyoshi’s family and learned that Tsunayashiro Sosuke and Tsunayashiro Yuta were heading to Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy.
• Asano Kiyoshi met Ikkaku and Yumichika at the academy, where Jushiro Ukitake gave all three students handmade festival clothes.
• Asano Kiyoshi resolved to prevent Jushiro Ukitake from suffering the tragic fate he remembered from his previous life.
• Tsunayashiro Sosuke told Tsunayashiro Yuta that Kojiro was ready for the Great Spirit Book Gallery and that his mother’s illness was nearly cured.
• Tsunayashiro Sosuke interrupted Captain-Commander Yamamoto’s speech and requested that Tsunayashiro Kojiro compete for the top graduate reward by defeating a Seat Officer and the other early graduates.
• Tsunayashiro Kojiro, a gloomy-faced youth with half his hair white, stepped forward.

Tsunayashiro Kojiro graduated early and defeated Mizuo Tomoya to secure his place as the class’s first-place graduate. Before Yamamoto could announce the result, Asano Kiyoshi requested early graduation and was approved for a direct duel with Kojiro, leaving their confrontation about to begin.

• Tsunayashiro Kojiro asked to graduate early and challenge the Fourth Division’s Fifteenth Seat, hoping to achieve his goal of saving his ill mother.
• Yamamoto approved the challenge, and Mizuo Tomoya arrived from treating the wounded to face Kojiro.
• Kojiro defeated Mizuo Tomoya after more than twenty exchanges, forcing him to yield before he could release his Shikai.
• Asano Kiyoshi requested early graduation, and Yamamoto approved it while allowing him to skip the Seat Officer challenge because he had killed Yingkou Hui.
• Tsunayashiro Kojiro accepted Asano Kiyoshi’s direct duel, and the two faced each other with their gazes locked.

Asano Kiyoshi and Tsunayashiro Kojiro began their duel by releasing their Zanpakuto, and Asano immediately restrained Kojiro with powerful Kido. Kojiro swung his transformed blade at the enormous binding pillars, leaving the outcome of the attack unresolved.

• Asano Kiyoshi saw that Kojiro had sacrificed everything for a brief surge of strength and committed to defeating him with all he had.
• Asano Kiyoshi and Tsunayashiro Kojiro released their Zanpakuto, transforming their weapons and clothing.
• Asano Kiyoshi cast Bakudo #61—Rikujōkōrō without an incantation, drawing stunned reactions from Nanao and the audience.
• Asano Kiyoshi used Post-Chanting to enlarge the six pillars of light, astonishing Byakuya Kuchiki with his control and Kido skill.
• Tsunayashiro Kojiro swung his transformed Zanpakuto at the enormous pillars of light.

Tsunayashiro Kojiro shattered Asano Kiyoshi’s Bakudo and wounded him with a relentless combination of swordplay and earth-based Kido. Refusing to surrender, Asano fully released his Zanpakuto, filling the sky above the stage with black clouds.

• Unohana explained that Kojiro’s Shikai disrupted the Reishi sequence of Asano’s Bakudo, allowing him to break it with a sword slash.
• Kojiro rushed Asano and struck from his blind spot, but Asano blocked the attack and countered with a kick that Kojiro evaded using a rising stone wall.
• Kojiro sent earthen spikes through the shattered wall, piercing Asano’s calf, abdomen, and shoulder despite Asano’s attempt to stop them with Hado #1: Thrust.
• Kojiro told the wounded Asano that he could no longer fight and urged him to give up, but Asano drew another Ink-black Longsword and refused.
• Kojiro charged again, and Asano fully released his Zanpakuto, sending black spiritual pressure into the sky and forming a mass of clouds overhead.

Asano Kiyoshi unleashed his Shikai and used chained Kido attacks to trap Tsunayashiro Kojiro, but Kojiro revealed his Zanpakuto’s Key Restraint and countered. The fight left Kojiro standing after a devastating blast, though he had burned away some of his soul and gained more white hair.

• Asano Kiyoshi released his Shikai, filling the platform with a black domain, a crimson pavilion, and a scarlet sea of flowers.
• Asano Kiyoshi used Bakudo No. 9 - Hōrin, Hado No. 12 - Fushibi, and Hado No. 31 - Shakkahō to restrict Tsunayashiro Kojiro’s escape routes.
• Tsunayashiro Kojiro invoked Key Restraint and cut through Asano Kiyoshi’s black chains, revealing how his Zanpakuto attacked.
• Asano Kiyoshi saw the destructive Kido structure within Kojiro’s scattered Reishi as Shakkahō and Fushibi merged into a towering wave of fire.
• Tsunayashiro Kojiro protected himself with a barrier of platform bricks and earth, surviving the blast with more white hair, and vowed to defeat Asano Kiyoshi even if he had to burn away his soul.

Asano Kiyoshi countered Tsunayashiro Kojiro’s Shikai and nearly defeated him with a fully incanted Kido, but Kojiro used his ability on his own restraints to land a devastating stab. Asano remained conscious enough to declare that the battle had only begun as the Home-Viewing Platform appeared through the mist.

• Asano Kiyoshi lifted Tsunayashiro Kojiro into the air with Hado #57 and attacked him with Hado #33, explaining how he had countered Kojiro’s Shikai.
• Tsunayashiro Kojiro charged through the flames and used his Shikai to break the restraints on his own body, then froze Asano Kiyoshi and stabbed him in the abdomen.
• The spectators reacted in shock as Asano Kiyoshi bled and Kojiro, visibly aged and wounded, urged him to admit defeat.
• Asano Kiyoshi pressed a hand to Kojiro’s shoulder, declared the battle had only begun, and revealed the Home-Viewing Platform through the mist.

After Tsunayashiro Kojiro stabbed him, Asano Kiyoshi advanced to Fifth-Seat Reiatsu and unlocked the Home-Viewing Platform’s abilities. He trapped himself and Kojiro in Sword Mountain and Blade Hell, where their battle continued as their loved ones and spectators watched.

• Tsunayashiro Kojiro stabbed Asano Kiyoshi, triggering Kiyoshi’s advance to Fifth-Seat Reiatsu.
• Asano Kiyoshi learned the Home-Viewing Platform’s abilities, marked his state with a rollback, and activated Sword Mountain and Blade Hell.
• Aizen and Head Captain Yamamoto recognized Kiyoshi’s release as a second release, while Retsu Unohana and Kenpachi Zaraki reacted to the deadly spectacle.
• Asano Kiyoshi and Tsunayashiro Kojiro traded wounds inside the illusion, and Kojiro feared Kiyoshi’s willingness to keep fighting.
• Tsunayashiro Kojiro smiled toward his weeping mother and promised to cure her illness and attend the summer festival with her.
• Asano Kiyoshi and Tsunayashiro Kojiro swung their blades at each other again.

Kojiro and Asano Kiyoshi continued their brutal sword fight as Kojiro's mother crawled toward the platform and begged him to stop. Remembering her love and the sacrifices he had made to save her, Kojiro apologized, believing he had failed to become her good fortune.

• Asano Kiyoshi and Kojiro kept hacking at each other while the spectators watched, and Retsu Unohana trembled with excitement at the slaughter.
• Kojiro's mother dragged herself toward the platform, injuring herself as she cried out for him to stop.
• Kojiro heard his mother's plea and remembered her care, his hopes for an ordinary life, and how he had agreed to develop Key Restraint to save her.
• Kojiro recalled that Key Restraint could burn his soul to overdraw Reiatsu, and that the clan head had shown him a recording before revealing the Zanpakuto's secret.
• Kojiro turned toward his mother through his tears and apologized for failing to become her good fortune.