Chapter Summaries

Asano Kiyoshi struggled to buy fifteen erotic books without drawing attention, only to be asked by the elderly cashier to read their titles aloud. He began the task despite the customers gathering around him, leaving his dignity—and the remaining titles—at risk.

• Asano Kiyoshi nervously gathered three erotic books, then froze when a woman passed and called him a little pervert.
• Asano Kiyoshi collected all fifteen books and forced himself to carry them to the elderly cashier.
• The cashier asked Asano Kiyoshi to read each title aloud because she could not see well enough to write them down.
• Asano Kiyoshi read the first title, but the cashier said she had not heard him and asked him to speak louder.
• Asano Kiyoshi noticed a group of young girls behind him and, apologizing to the Captain-Commander and Soul Society, began to shout the first title.

Asano Kiyoshi reviewed his new River of Oblivion abilities and worried that advancing further would require him to independently achieve Bankai. Aizen watched him and planned to direct the Tsunayashiro Clan’s assassination force toward him, while two familiar strangers confronted him on the street.

• Asano Kiyoshi examined his Scroll, which showed his new River of Oblivion abilities and the conditions for unlocking the Bridge of Helplessness.
• Asano Kiyoshi considered his stalled growth and headed toward the Urahara Shop with books in his arms.
• Aizen observed Asano Kiyoshi and decided to reveal his location to the Tsunayashiro Clan and hasten their next assassination attempt.
• Asano Kiyoshi stopped at a quiet street corner and called out the two people following him.
• The two newcomers tore open the space before them and revealed themselves to Asano Kiyoshi.

Asano Kiyoshi met Hirako Mako and Lisa Yadōmaru, who believed his spiritual pressure marked him as a fellow Hollowfied Shinigami and invited him to join them. He claimed the Hollow Reishi came from Reverse Kido, but Lisa’s attempt to inspect his aura ended in an embarrassing mishap.

• Asano Kiyoshi recognized Hirako Mako and Lisa Yadōmaru and asked why they had approached him.
• Hirako Mako and Lisa explained that the aura in Asano Kiyoshi’s spiritual power had drawn them to him, and Hirako invited him to join their group.
• Asano Kiyoshi said his Hollow Reishi came from Reverse Kido, leaving Hirako Mako doubtful.
• Lisa approached Asano Kiyoshi to examine his aura, tripped, and scattered his books, then praised one of them.

Asano Kiyoshi considered Hirako Mako’s invitation to learn from the Visoreds about controlling the Hollow spiritual pressure bound to his soul. With Kisuke Urahara’s encouragement, he agreed to visit them, then confronted Urahara about the erotic books he had been sent to buy.

• Hirako Mako invited Asano Kiyoshi to join the Visoreds, warning that Soul Society could sentence him to death because of his Hollow spiritual pressure.
• Asano Kiyoshi weighed the Visoreds’ experience and potential as allies against the risks of drawing more attention from Aizen.
• Kisuke Urahara arrived and encouraged Asano Kiyoshi to visit Hirako Mako’s group, promising to retrieve him if they tried to keep him there.
• Asano Kiyoshi accepted Hirako Mako’s invitation, and Hirako took Lisa to buy a popsicle while Asano spoke to Urahara.
• Asano Kiyoshi thrust the erotic books into Urahara’s arms and complained about being sent to buy them, as a black cat approached.

Asano Kiyoshi left Urahara’s shop with Hirako Mako and Lisa to visit the Visoreds’ secret base and learn to control the Arrancar spiritual pressure in his body. After noticing Hachigen Ushoda’s barrier around the base, he followed Hirako inside, where Sarugaki Hiyori greeted them by kicking Hirako in the face.

• Urahara warned Asano Kiyoshi to focus on learning to control his Arrancar spiritual pressure and avoid asking about matters beyond his business.
• Asano Kiyoshi left with Hirako Mako and Lisa, and he told Lisa where he had borrowed the books she had asked about.
• Hirako led Asano Kiyoshi and Lisa to the Visoreds’ hidden base, where Asano noticed Hachigen Ushoda’s Eight Trigrams Double Cliffs barrier.
• Hirako opened the base’s door and was sent flying backward with Sarugaki Hiyori’s slipper stamped across his face.
• Sarugaki Hiyori demanded the food Hirako had been told to buy, and Hirako admitted he had forgotten.

Asano Kiyoshi visited the Visoreds’ headquarters and met its lively members, including Kensei, Kuna Mashiro, and Ushoda. The chapter ended as the group called everyone below for dinner.

• Hirako and Hiyori bickered until Lisa separated them and reminded them that they had a guest.
• Hirako showed Asano Kiyoshi around the rundown Visoreds’ base, and Lisa revealed that Hirako had lost their money in a failed fashion magazine investment.
• Hirako blamed Hiyori for the damage deeper in the base, and Kensei emerged from below, stirring up dust as he promised to clean it.
• Kuna Mashiro appeared and called Ushoda up to meet Asano Kiyoshi, who greeted Ushoda and praised his skill as a Kido Master.
• Voices from below called the Visoreds down to eat, bringing the introductions to an end.

Asano Kiyoshi explained to the Visoreds that he had used the forbidden healing Kido Lovers' Road Sixteen Nights to save an Arrancar who had repeatedly saved him. After learning that their lives and souls were bound, the Visoreds promised to help him deal with the consequences.

• Asano Kiyoshi told Hirako that his Hollow spiritual pressure had appeared after he used Reverse Kido on an Arrancar.
• Ushoda explained that Lovers' Road Sixteen Nights healed almost any injury but bound the caster's and target's lives and exchanged parts of their souls, affecting their strength and talent.
• The Visoreds realized Asano Kiyoshi must have used the Kido to save an Arrancar and asked why he had taken the risk.
• Asano Kiyoshi said the Arrancar was a woman who had saved him several times, so he owed her his life.
• Kensei approved of Asano Kiyoshi, and Hirako pledged that the Visoreds would stake their honor on helping him.

Hirako questioned Asano Kiyoshi about the Hollow power inside him and discovered that his experience differed from the Visoreds'. He led Asano to the Visoreds' training ground to assess his Reishi control.

• Hirako warned Asano Kiyoshi that drawing out his Hollow power was dangerous, and Asano said he had accepted the risks.
• Hirako asked Ushoda to reinforce the house with barriers, and Ushoda quickly cast several layers.
• Asano told Hirako that using more Reishi made indistinct voices echo in his ears, sometimes sounding like several people at once.
• Hiyori questioned whether Asano had heard the voices correctly, and Hirako decided to examine Asano's Reishi control instead.
• After learning that Asano could cast Hado above number 80, Hirako led him and the other Visoreds to their training ground.

Asano Kiyoshi demonstrated his Kido control to the Visoreds, surprising them by instant-casting and post-chanting Hado Number Eighty-Eight. He then used Variant—Kirin, leaving Ushoda facing the unleashed attack behind his reinforced barriers.

• Hirako told Asano Kiyoshi to demonstrate his Kido against Ushoda's barrier.
• Asano Kiyoshi instant-cast Hado Number Eighty-Eight, shocking the Visoreds and forcing Ushoda to reinforce the barrier.
• Asano Kiyoshi post-chanted the spell, turning the lightning attack into a massive Thunder Dragon.
• Asano Kiyoshi closed his hand and murmured, "Variant—Kirin!"

Asano Kiyoshi tested a self-created Variant of Kido No. 88, shaping its lightning into a Kirin as the Visoreds watched in alarm. Ushoda built twenty barriers around himself and Asano, and Kiyoshi sent the Kirin charging into them, filling the space with lightning and thunder.

• Asano Kiyoshi formed a powerful lightning-based Variant of Kido No. 88, alarming Lisa and Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō with the danger of its backlash.
• Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō told Lisa to prepare to rescue Kiyoshi, while Kuna Mashiro excitedly pointed out the Kirin taking shape above him.
• Hirako called for barriers to protect the surroundings, and the Visoreds sealed Ushoda and Asano Kiyoshi inside together.
• Ushoda realized the barrier left him facing the attack alone, but he strengthened it with twenty layers after Hirako promised they might let him keep a cat.
• Asano Kiyoshi sent the lightning Kirin charging toward the barrier, and lightning and thunder engulfed the space.

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.