Chapter Summaries

Kiyoshi recovered from his attack but remained dangerously weakened, while Nel accidentally broke two of his ribs before carrying him to Halibel and Ulquiorra. After they defeated their opponents, the group sensed Sun-Sun and the others in danger, and Kiyoshi used the King's Seal to send Halibel and Ulquiorra to help.

• Kiyoshi told Nel that his Spiritual Pressure would take a week to recover, and Nel accidentally broke two of his ribs with an excited hug.
• Nel carried Kiyoshi through Hueco Mundo toward Halibel and Ulquiorra, shielding him from the sandstorm with her Spiritual Pressure.
• Ulquiorra pierced his pseudo-Arrancar opponent with a hollow, while Halibel tore her opponent's mask and defeated it with a slash.
• Kiyoshi, Halibel, and Ulquiorra sensed Sun-Sun and the other two rapidly weakening, and Kiyoshi offered to send Halibel and Ulquiorra to them.
• Kiyoshi opened a space with the King's Seal, assured Ulquiorra that Nel would protect him, and revealed Nel's transformed appearance to the two Arrancar.

Asano Kiyoshi and Nel tried to regroup with Ulquiorra and Halibel, but cloaked enemies ambushed them before they could reach safety. As Kiyoshi used the King's Seal to attempt an escape, Nel rushed to protect him from incoming Kido spells.

• Asano Kiyoshi sent Ulquiorra and Halibel to fight the invading enemies, then admitted he was nearly out of spiritual pressure.
• Nel told Asano Kiyoshi that her mature form would last only a few minutes, and he promised to help heal her wound someday.
• Nel carried Asano Kiyoshi toward the others, but she attacked several cloaked figures who emerged from behind rock walls.
• Asano Kiyoshi began using the King's Seal to teleport them while Nel fought off the cloaked enemies.
• The cloaked leader ordered some men to cast Kido at Asano Kiyoshi, and Nel vanished toward him as the spells closed in.

Nel shielded Asano Kiyoshi from the Black Cloaks’ Kido and was gravely wounded. As she faded, Asano Kiyoshi used Reverse Binding Kido Number 91 to link their lives, and they vanished together as the surrounding space tore open.

• Nel stepped in front of Asano Kiyoshi and took several Kido attacks meant for him.
• Asano Kiyoshi realized Nel was the most important person in his life as she collapsed into his arms.
• The Black Cloaks ordered their forces to keep attacking from a distance and restrain their target.
• Asano Kiyoshi vowed to save Nel and cast Reverse Binding Kido Number 91, Lovers' Road Sixteen Nights, to make them share life.
• Asano Kiyoshi and Nel disappeared as the space around them was torn apart.

Asano Kiyoshi used the King's Seal to escape with the wounded Nel, while Aizen trapped their pursuers and watched their journey to the Living World. Kisuke Urahara and Hachigen Ushōda sensed the arrival of abnormal spiritual pressure and rushed toward it.

• Asano Kiyoshi stabilized Nel's wound through their symbiosis, then used the King's Seal to teleport them away as the Black Cloak figures' Kido attacks struck.
• The Black Cloak leader ordered his men to search for Asano Kiyoshi and Nel and sent Shi Hu to report to his lord.
• Aizen observed the scene, trapped the Black Cloak figures in a distorted search, and left after sensing Asano Kiyoshi and Nel had reached the Living World.
• Asano Kiyoshi passed out while still holding Nel's hand tightly.
• At the Urahara Shop, Kisuke Urahara and Hachigen Ushōda left to investigate the abnormal spiritual pressure, and Hachigen tearfully complained that Urahara had hit him.

Kisuke Urahara rescued Asano Kiyoshi and Nel after detecting their unusual spiritual pressures, and Kiyoshi woke in Urahara Shop worried about Nel. Urahara presented Kiyoshi with a 50,000 Kan bill, and Kiyoshi had no money to pay it.

• Kisuke Urahara detected the spiritual pressures of a Shinigami and an Arrancar, then brought Asano Kiyoshi and Nel to Urahara Shop.
• Asano Kiyoshi woke as Urahara gave him water and immediately asked where Nel was.
• Kisuke Urahara said a female temporary worker was caring for Nel and that she was physically well.
• Kisuke Urahara itemized the treatment costs and charged Asano Kiyoshi 50,000 Kan.
• Asano Kiyoshi objected to the price, and Kisuke Urahara asked whether he had any money.

Asano Kiyoshi had no money to pay Kisuke Urahara, so he agreed to work at the shop under exploitative contract terms. After recovering enough to move, he went upstairs to find the female Arrancar who had accompanied him.

• Kisuke Urahara confronted Asano Kiyoshi about having no cash and offered to let him work off his debt.
• Asano Kiyoshi objected to the harsh contract, but accepted after Urahara offered an even less appealing job selling his looks in Kabukicho.
• Urahara introduced himself, and Asano Kiyoshi introduced himself as a Shinigami with lofty morals and noble sentiments.
• Urahara told Asano Kiyoshi that the female Arrancar was upstairs and gave him an hour to rest; he admired Asano Kiyoshi's Reishi control when Asano used Kaido to heal himself.
• Asano Kiyoshi went upstairs through a damp, cluttered corridor to see the Arrancar.

Asano Kiyoshi visited Nel at Urahara's shop, where Yoruichi was examining her injuries. After an affectionate reunion, Nel explained that she could now remain in her adult form for three hours a day, though her strength had not returned.

• Urahara warned Asano Kiyoshi about bombs in the hallway and reflected on the unusual Kido he had used on an Arrancar woman.
• Asano Kiyoshi went upstairs and heard Yoruichi examining Nel's back wounds.
• Nel rushed to greet Asano Kiyoshi but hurriedly shut the door when she realized she was not properly dressed.
• Yoruichi teased Asano Kiyoshi about his relationship with Nel, then went downstairs to complain to Urahara.
• Nel embraced Asano Kiyoshi, and later told him she could maintain her adult form for three hours each day without regaining her strength.

Asano Kiyoshi and Nel grew closer after he explained that he had saved her with forbidden Kido, binding their lives together. Urahara Shopkeeper interrupted their almost-confession and sent them to work, leaving them shyly holding hands as they descended the stairs.

• Asano Kiyoshi explained that he and Nel would work at Urahara Shopkeeper's shop to pay off their debt, and Nel promised to support him.
• Nel asked Asano Kiyoshi whether he had done anything strange while she was unconscious, and he began to explain.
• Asano Kiyoshi told Nel that he had used forbidden Kido to save her and share their lives, leaving her flustered as she tried to ask what they were to each other.
• Urahara Shopkeeper called Asano Kiyoshi downstairs to help in the kitchen, interrupting Nel before she could finish her question.
• Asano Kiyoshi offered Nel his hand on the stairs, and the two descended together before Urahara Shopkeeper teased them and Yoruichi flicked him on the forehead.

Asano Kiyoshi and Nel cooked at Urahara Shop while Uncle Tessai went to fetch more firewood. At lunch, Asano realized Urahara had effectively made them work as cooks and demanded extra pay.

• Uncle Tessai explained that Urahara Shop's kitchen used firewood because the Shopkeeper wanted to avoid the expense of appliances and electricity, then rushed off to fetch more wood.
• Asano prepared additional food while Nel tended the stove, repeatedly making the fire too strong and getting soot on her face.
• Nel rubbed soot onto Asano's face, then grew flustered as he approached and gently held her hand to keep it from burning.
• At lunch, Urahara praised Asano and Nel as wonderful employees who also cooked, and Asano demanded salaries for being a chef and a chef's assistant, leaving Urahara petrified.

Asano Kiyoshi told Urahara, Yoruichi, and Hachigen Ushōda how he had ended up in the Living World and revealed that he had ruined the Tsunayashiro Family's plans. When Yoruichi questioned how he had survived, he showed them a token from Head Captain Yamamoto, leaving them stunned.

• Asano Kiyoshi and Nel joined Urahara, Yoruichi, and Hachigen Ushōda for a meal, and Asano Kiyoshi accepted extra pay to handle the kitchen work.
• Urahara asked Asano Kiyoshi about his Soul Society squad and duties, and Asano Kiyoshi explained that he had been sent to Hueco Mundo after a conflict with nobles.
• Asano Kiyoshi told Urahara that he had ruined the Tsunayashiro Family's plans for the Great Spirit Book Gallery.
• Yoruichi questioned how Asano Kiyoshi had survived opposing the Tsunayashiro Family without powerful connections.
• Asano Kiyoshi showed the group a wooden token from Head Captain Yamamoto, and Yoruichi reacted in disbelief at his claim that it counted as connections.

Asano Kiyoshi showed Urahara and his companions a wooden plaque that confirmed his connection to the Captain-Commander, prompting Urahara to wonder why he had been sent to the Hueco Mundo Expedition Team. Asano explained that he had used Reverse Bakudo No. 91, Lovers' Road Sixteen Nights, to save Nel, and the others praised him as a good man.

• Urahara examined Asano Kiyoshi's wooden plaque and recognized the Captain-Commander's Spiritual Pressure on it.
• Urahara considered how Asano's connection to the Captain-Commander might relate to his conflict with the Tsunayashiro Family and his assignment to the Hueco Mundo Expedition Team.
• Yoruichi took the plaque and remarked that the Captain-Commander had never given her one.
• Urahara asked why Nel and Asano's Spiritual Pressures contained traces of each other's power.
• Asano said he had used Lovers' Road Sixteen Nights to save the severely injured Nel, and Hachigen, Urahara, and Yoruichi called him a good man.

Asano Kiyoshi explained how he learned Reverse Kido and stunned Hachigen Ushōda by revealing he had mastered four or five techniques. Hachigen, moved by Asano’s passion for Kido, reflected on the art’s decline in Soul Society.

• Hachigen Ushōda asked Asano Kiyoshi how he had accessed tightly controlled Reverse Kido.
• Asano claimed that his class’s top graduate privilege let him study Reverse Kido texts in the Great Spirit Art Corridor, and said he knew around four or five techniques.
• Hachigen Ushōda and Urahara were astonished by Asano’s rapid mastery of Reverse Kido.
• Hachigen asked whether Asano liked Kido, and Asano told him he was passionate about studying it.
• Hachigen became emotional as he recalled how Kido had lost status in Soul Society and how his efforts to revive it had failed.

Hachigen Ushōda asked Asano Kiyoshi to help revive Kido, and Asano enthusiastically agreed, hoping to learn from Hachigen. Yoruichi then offered to teach Asano Shunpo, and he praised the art to win her guidance.

• Hachigen Ushōda recognized Asano Kiyoshi’s rare talent for Kido and asked him to help revive the art.
• Asano Kiyoshi agreed, declaring his commitment to preserving and advancing Kido.
• Nel said she wanted to learn Kido too, and Asano postponed the discussion after nearly choking on his water.
• Yoruichi offered to teach Asano Shunpo if he praised it, and Asano delivered an eloquent description of the technique.
• Kisuke Urahara watched with satisfaction, understanding that Hachigen and Yoruichi both wanted to support Asano’s promising future.

Asano Kiyoshi and Nel settled into work at the Urahara Shop while Kiyoshi recovered and honed his Kido talent. After a prank-fueled revenge dinner, Kiyoshi began his long-awaited one-on-one Kido match with Hachigen Ushōda.

• Asano Kiyoshi handled Hollow attacks around Karakura Town with Urahara's help, while Hachigen Ushōda recognized his exceptional Kido talent and treated his injuries.
• Urahara made Gigai for Asano Kiyoshi and Nel, and Kiyoshi insisted on crafting Nel's himself.
• Urahara teased Nel about Kiyoshi making her Gigai, so Nel turned into a child and knocked Kiyoshi down as she called him a pervert.
• Asano Kiyoshi retaliated by serving Urahara a dinner of extremely spicy food, and Yoruichi kept adding more to Urahara's plate.
• After Kiyoshi recovered, he met Hachigen Ushōda in the Urahara Shop's underground training room for their Kido match, and Hachigen warned him to fight as if he meant to kill.

Asano Kiyoshi demonstrated his Kido against Hachigen Ushōda, impressing him and Kisuke Urahara with the precision of his casting. The exchange ended with Hachigen caught off guard by Asano’s hidden attack and double chant.

• Urahara sold food to Nel, Yoruichi, Hachigen Ushōda, and Asano Kiyoshi before the demonstration began.
• Asano Kiyoshi opened with Bakudo #73—Tōzanshō, whose flawless casting impressed Hachigen Ushōda and Kisuke Urahara.
• Hachigen Ushōda countered with Bakudo #75—Gochūtekkan and explained the tactical weakness of relying on a stationary barrier.
• Asano Kiyoshi warned Hachigen Ushōda about an attack behind him, revealing another Asano casting Hado #33—Sōkatsui.
• Asano Kiyoshi began chanting Bakudo #26—Kyokkō while Hachigen Ushōda and Kisuke Urahara watched in shock at his double chanting.

Asano Kiyoshi tested his Double Chanting against Hachigen Ushōda, who taught him how Kido could counter, support, and disrupt one another. As Hachigen’s combined flames and gale closed in, Asano recalled his earlier Kyokkō and began a new defense.

• Urahara and Hachigen Ushōda watched Asano perform flawless Double Chanting with high-level Bakudo.
• Hachigen used Heavenly Storm to counter Asano’s Sōkatsui, and Asano strengthened the flames with Post-Chanting until they overwhelmed the gale.
• Hachigen disrupted the Kido’s flow, scattering Asano’s attack, and warned him not to let an enemy turn his efforts against him.
• Hachigen gathered the flames and winds into a powerful attack on Asano, while Nel vowed to protect him and Yoruichi reassured her that Tessai knew his limits.
• Asano asked Hachigen whether he remembered the Kyokkō he had used earlier as five black iron pillars fell onto an aqua-blue Tōzanshō, producing sounds like shattering glass.

Asano Kiyoshi revealed that his apparent Tōzanshō was a decoy, then unleashed a weakened Reverse Destructive Kido #3, Iron Wind Kill, to test his strength against Hachigen Ushōda. Hachigen answered the dissolving wind with Bakudo #81, Dankū.

• Hachigen Ushōda shattered Asano Kiyoshi's apparent Tōzanshō with Gochūtekkan, while Urahara and Yoruichi realized it was a fake.
• Urahara explained that Asano Kiyoshi had used Kyokkō to conceal a real Tōzanshō behind Tessai and made a Reishi decoy in its place.
• Asano Kiyoshi gathered the surrounding Reishi and cast a weakened Reverse Destructive Kido #3, Iron Wind Kill, with the River of Oblivion's power.
• The enormous Dragon Head dissolved Hachigen Ushōda's firestorm and sent its destructive wind toward him.
• Hachigen Ushōda cast Bakudo #81, Dankū, raising an invisible barrier between himself and Asano Kiyoshi.

Asano Kiyoshi's Iron Wind Kill cracked Hachigen Ushōda's Dankū, demonstrating the strength of his Kido and impressing Yoruichi. Hachigen stopped the destructive spell with White Coffin, and Asano collapsed as Urahara lamented the cost of repairing the training grounds.

• Asano Kiyoshi's Iron Wind Kill dissolved the firestorm and carved away the ground as Yoruichi reassessed his talent and imagined training him in Shunpo.
• Hachigen Ushōda watched his Dankū crack under Asano Kiyoshi's bone-eroding wind and felt encouraged by the power of Kido alone.
• Hachigen Ushōda cast Bakudo #93—White Coffin, which extinguished Iron Wind Kill and dissolved Dankū.
• Asano Kiyoshi apologized to Hachigen Ushōda and collapsed unconscious.
• Kisuke Urahara angrily complained to Tessai about the cost of repairing the damaged training grounds.

Hachigen Ushōda asked Asano Kiyoshi to buy books for Urahara Shop, while trying to avoid discussing the shop’s neglected supplies and dangerous warehouse. Asano took the sealed list and left the task unresolved as Nel emerged from the bathroom and asked him to dry her hair.

• Urahara told Hachigen Ushōda to have Asano Kiyoshi buy more books for the shop.
• Hachigen Ushōda greeted Asano Kiyoshi, who listed the shop’s shortages, broken fixtures, mouse nest, and unstable bombs.
• Hachigen Ushōda stopped Asano from listing more problems and handed him a folded book order to take to the bookstore.
• Asano put the unopened list in his pocket after Hachigen Ushōda hurried away.
• Nel came out of the bathroom and asked Asano to blow-dry her hair.

Asano Kiyoshi went to a bookstore to buy books from Hachigen Ushōda’s list, but the embarrassing adult titles left him struggling to keep his composure. He began selecting them despite being seen and judged by another customer.

• Asano Kiyoshi arrived at the bookstore and learned from the elderly woman watching it that the owner, her son, was away stocking goods.
• Asano Kiyoshi entered the adult section and discovered that Hachigen Ushōda’s list included several provocative book titles.
• Asano Kiyoshi nervously tried to take a book, then retreated to the horror section when an attractive woman appeared.
• Asano Kiyoshi accidentally read a book cover aloud, and the woman blushed, called him a pervert, and walked away.
• Asano Kiyoshi steeled himself and reached for the books on the list, his fingers trembling beneath the shelves.