Chapter Summaries

Asano Kiyoshi bought Nel the Mango Cake she had wanted, then got caught in a downpour on his way back to Urahara Shop. Nel came out to find him, and their tender exchange left them holding hands beneath the umbrella as Kiyoshi joked that he could no longer carry the cake.

• Asano Kiyoshi checked his Scroll and reflected that he still had a long way to go before learning Bankai.
• Asano Kiyoshi bought an eight-inch Mango Cake for Nel and waited in line for more than half an hour.
• Caught in increasingly heavy rain, Asano Kiyoshi hurried toward Urahara Shop while protecting the cake.
• Nel found Asano Kiyoshi and held an umbrella over him, but he shifted it to keep her from getting wet.
• Nel told Asano Kiyoshi she would always wait for him and find him, then held his hand as he clasped hers and joked that he could no longer carry the cake.

Asano Kiyoshi and Nel shared a tender walk in the rain, but Urahara interrupted the moment Nel was about to confess her feelings. Urahara then warned Asano Kiyoshi that an unknown spiritual pressure had been following him, leaving him to suspect the Tsunayashiro Clan and wonder how the pursuer reached the Living World.

• Asano Kiyoshi and Nel walked through the rain holding hands, and he explained that he had bought her cake because he remembered her wish and his promise to show her the Living World.
• Near the Urahara Shop, Nel gathered her courage to speak, but Urahara interrupted them and joked about Asano Kiyoshi returning late.
• Nel hurried inside with the cake, and Asano Kiyoshi tickled Urahara in anger over the interruption.
• Urahara grew serious and told Asano Kiyoshi that an unfamiliar spiritual pressure had been circling him and that he might be followed.
• Asano Kiyoshi suspected the Tsunayashiro Clan but wondered how anyone had reached the Living World without using the Dangai, and Urahara proposed discussing the matter that night.

Asano Kiyoshi tried to feed Nel a piece of mango cake, but his nervous shaking made the spoon clatter against her teeth. They were still struggling to recover when Urahara and the others heard the noise and came to investigate.

• Nel set aside the fruit-laden cake slice for Asano Kiyoshi, and he suggested they share the extra fruit before the others arrived.
• Asano Kiyoshi offered to feed Nel cake, and she shyly agreed.
• Asano Kiyoshi's trembling hand made the spoon repeatedly strike Nel's teeth as he tried to feed her.
• Nel endured the painful clattering to encourage Asano Kiyoshi, whose hand gradually steadied.
• Urahara heard the noise and announced that he and the others were coming to investigate, making Asano Kiyoshi's hand shake again.
• Asano Kiyoshi and Nel realized they had to act quickly to avoid an embarrassing discovery.

Asano Kiyoshi choked on cream and fruit while trying to keep a scheme with Nel secret, and her misguided rescue nearly destroyed his Gigai. After Urahara and the others saved him, Urahara teased that Kiyoshi had missed a chance for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, then demanded payment to hit him so he could keep pretending.

• Nel tried to help Asano Kiyoshi after he choked, but her forceful kick knocked him onto the floor and injured his back.
• Nel mistook her drowning first-aid book’s instructions for the right treatment and repeatedly compressed Asano Kiyoshi’s chest.
• Urahara and the others arrived in time to stop Nel before her next compression could destroy Asano Kiyoshi’s Gigai.
• Urahara and the others learned that Asano Kiyoshi had choked from overeating and laughed before helping save his Gigai.
• Urahara told Asano Kiyoshi that he had missed a chance for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, then refused to hit him unless he paid.

Asano Kiyoshi reassured Nel after their cake feast, then spoke privately with Urahara about his view of Central 46. He bluntly called the Chambers a pile of dog shit, leaving Urahara stunned.

• Asano Kiyoshi sent Nel upstairs to wash up and reassured her that her treatment had helped him endure the pain.
• Urahara asked Asano Kiyoshi to answer honestly about his opinion of the Central 46 Chambers.
• Asano Kiyoshi considered how his answer might affect his relationship with Urahara and his standing in the Captain-Commander's faction.
• Asano Kiyoshi told Urahara that Central 46 was a pile of dog shit.
• Urahara initially misunderstood the answer, then reacted in shock as Asano Kiyoshi repeated it.

Asano Kiyoshi explained his hatred of the Central 46 Chambers and suggested that the Captain-Commander would not oppose his views. Kisuke Urahara and Hachigen Ushōda tried to determine whether they were dreaming, then Urahara probed Asano about his ties to the Captain-Commander, ending with a question about the old man's tea.

• Asano Kiyoshi reflected on how the Central 46 Chambers had framed him and others, and concluded that the Captain-Commander would never allow the institution to be overthrown.
• Kisuke Urahara and Hachigen Ushōda were stunned by Asano's statements and slapped each other to check whether they were dreaming.
• Urahara complained about Hachigen hitting him and threatened to dock a month's wages, while Hachigen laughed and Urahara kicked him.
• Urahara asked Asano why he held those views despite being close to the Captain-Commander, and Asano said the Captain-Commander might not support them but would not oppose them.
• Urahara asked whether the old man's favorite tea had changed, and Asano replied that he still preferred bitter tea but had begun trying other teas, including tea Asano brewed.

Asano Kiyoshi tried to persuade Kisuke Urahara to help change the status quo, but Urahara withheld his commitment and revealed that a Captain-level presence had been following him. Urahara hinted that the pursuer might be connected to the King's Seal in the Great Spirit Book Gallery.

• Asano Kiyoshi urged Kisuke Urahara to help push the world toward change, but Urahara said such efforts needed outside support and avoided promising to join him.
• Kisuke Urahara explained that he had detected and analyzed faint reiatsu lingering around Asano Kiyoshi, discovering it came from one individual with at least Captain-level strength.
• Asano Kiyoshi considered the Tsunayashiro Family and Aizen as possible pursuers, and also wondered whether the follower could be a Hollowfied Shinigami he had encountered.
• Kisuke Urahara created a barrier to block outside detection and asked Asano Kiyoshi to speak freely or accept a hint.
• Kisuke Urahara reminded Asano Kiyoshi that the Class of 2050 Graduates could visit the Great Spirit Book Gallery, where the Royal Family's King's Seal was being kept.

Asano Kiyoshi revealed that he had mastered the King's Seal, and Kisuke Urahara reasoned that Aizen Sosuke was likely monitoring him. After learning that the Captain-Commander knew about the King's Seal, Urahara questioned his own convictions and thought about how much Yoruichi had sacrificed for him.

• Asano Kiyoshi showed Kisuke Urahara the King's Seal's golden Spiritual Pressure, confirming that he had mastered its power.
• Urahara told Asano Kiyoshi that the people following him were not from the Tsunayashiro Family, leading Kiyoshi to suspect Aizen Sosuke.
• Asano Kiyoshi suggested that the Royal Family might be investigating him, but Urahara argued that they would simply arrest him if they suspected he had the King's Seal.
• Urahara asked whether the Captain-Commander knew Kiyoshi possessed the King's Seal, and Kiyoshi said the Captain-Commander had urged him to use it and escape if necessary.
• Urahara reconsidered his long-held beliefs and thought that he could live differently, resolving not to let Yoruichi sacrifice anything more for him.

Asano Kiyoshi learned that one person had been following him and that the Tsunayashiro Clan might act when Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy students came to Karakura Town in two months. Hachigen Ushōda promised to train him in Kido, while Urahara, Yoruichi, and Hachigen shared a quiet moment of hope about changing the world.

• Urahara told Asano Kiyoshi that one person had been following him and warned that the Tsunayashiro Clan might make a move during the next academy students' training visit.
• Hachigen Ushōda offered to train Asano Kiyoshi in Kido until he could defeat a Vice-Captain without his Zanpakuto, and Asano accepted.
• Asano Kiyoshi thanked Urahara and Hachigen, then hurried upstairs as they discussed his guardedness and teased each other about being afraid of their spouses.
• Yoruichi arrived, scolded Urahara and Hachigen, and joined them in a playful scuffle that ended in laughter.
• Urahara wondered whether he could help make the world less dark, and Yoruichi told him she believed he could.

Yoruichi tested Asano Kiyoshi’s Shunpo and was astonished as he quickly analyzed the advanced Reishi control behind her technique. After explaining its advantages, Kiyoshi began to discuss its drawbacks, which he said were actually his own limitations.

• Yoruichi and Asano Kiyoshi raced through the Underground Training Ground, with Kiyoshi keeping close behind her using Reishi to propel himself.
• Yoruichi asked Kiyoshi to explain what he had learned from watching her Shunpo, and he contrasted her technique with the method taught at school.
• Kiyoshi explained that Yoruichi shifted Reishi construction points across her legs, letting her move more naturally, change direction, and reduce strain on her body.
• Yoruichi was shocked that Kiyoshi had grasped a technique she had spent twenty years developing, then asked him to describe its disadvantages.
• Kiyoshi said the disadvantages were not flaws in Yoruichi’s Shunpo but limitations of his own.

During Shunpo training, Asano Kiyoshi’s Hollow-derived Hierro and High-Speed Regeneration helped him nearly catch Yoruichi. She explained that Shinigami could use their souls’ abilities without Zanpakuto and urged him to discover his Reiatsu Attribute.

• Asano Kiyoshi pushed himself to catch Yoruichi during Shunpo training, but remained two body lengths behind her.
• Asano Kiyoshi’s Hierro and High-Speed Regeneration surfaced under the strain, letting him accelerate and nearly catch Yoruichi.
• Yoruichi asked Asano Kiyoshi why he could not catch her despite using as much Reishi, then explained how Shinigami fought before Zanpakuto existed.
• Yoruichi told Asano Kiyoshi that Zanpakuto guided Shinigami in using their souls’ power but were not essential to wielding it.
• Yoruichi encouraged Asano Kiyoshi to discover his Reiatsu Attribute, leaving him startled by the idea.

Asano Kiyoshi analyzed Yoruichi’s explosive Reishi technique and guessed that her Reiatsu carried lightning-like properties. Yoruichi began teaching him to wrap Hado around his body, then ended the training session and sent him to eat.

• Asano Kiyoshi used the Scroll to analyze the explosive Reishi that Yoruichi used to boost her Shunpo speed.
• Asano Kiyoshi guessed that Yoruichi’s Reiatsu had destructive, lightning-like properties, surprising her with his insight.
• Yoruichi told Asano Kiyoshi to wrap Hado around his body as his next training task.
• Yoruichi ended training and urged Asano Kiyoshi to hurry to the kitchen before Urahara and the other one ate Nel’s meal.
• Asano Kiyoshi rushed upstairs toward the kitchen.

Nel experienced pain as Asano Kiyoshi’s spiritual pressure spread through her body, so Yoruichi brought her and Asano Kiyoshi to Urahara for advice. Urahara revealed that his research found Arrancar Reishi absorbed Shinigami Reishi and underwent varying degrees of extinction.

• Nel knitted a sweater for Asano Kiyoshi while his spiritual pressure spread through her body, causing pain and making her emotions more human.
• Nel showed Asano Kiyoshi that her spiritual pressure had mixed with his and asked to visit the Visoreds for an examination.
• Yoruichi warned that the Visoreds’ condition differed from Nel’s and said Urahara was already researching her case.
• Asano Kiyoshi chose to stay with Nel, and Yoruichi led them and a sleepy Urahara to the Underground Training Ground.
• Urahara said his tests showed that Arrancar Reishi absorbing Shinigami Reishi experienced varying degrees of extinction.

Kisuke Urahara explained that Nel’s fused Arrancar and Shinigami Reishi could raise her potential, but the process threatened to crack her Soul Body. He said Asano Kiyoshi had to keep supplying her with spiritual pressure until her Reishi was completely replaced.

• Asano Kiyoshi begged Urahara to save Nel and offered his life, but Urahara revealed that he had only been trying to move their relationship along.
• Urahara showed Asano Kiyoshi a sample of Nel’s Reishi and explained that its apparent dissolution was transforming it into special Reishi that could greatly increase her potential.
• Urahara explained that Nel’s injuries prevented her from handling the large amount of dissipating spiritual pressure she absorbed, causing her pain and risking fatal cracks in her Soul Body.
• Urahara told Asano Kiyoshi that Nel must stay by his side and receive an ample supply of his spiritual pressure until her Reishi was completely replaced.

Asano Kiyoshi recovered enough from Nel absorbing much of his spiritual pressure to train with Yoruichi, after the scroll identified Kurohitsugi as the Kido best suited to him. He demonstrated the high-level spell for Yoruichi, Urahara, and Nel, leaving its result unknown.

• Nel apologized after absorbing more than half of Asano Kiyoshi's spiritual pressure, and Urahara teased him over their awkward exchange.
• Yoruichi stopped Urahara's teasing and called Asano Kiyoshi over to check his Kido training.
• Asano Kiyoshi explained that the scroll had calculated Kurohitsugi was the Kido best suited to his spiritual pressure and Reishi-control habits.
• Yoruichi told Asano Kiyoshi to demonstrate his choice and assured him that she and Urahara would keep him safe.
• Asano Kiyoshi chanted and cast Hado No. 90—Kurohitsugi.

Asano Kiyoshi attempted to wrap the powerful Kurohitsugi around himself as his first Kido-wrapping trial, alarming Yoruichi and Urahara. The black Reiatsu unexpectedly responded to him without hostility, and his status panel identified his state as Half-Completed Shunko.

• Asano Kiyoshi formed a Kurohitsugi and prepared to absorb its Reishi into his body.
• Yoruichi and Urahara warned Asano Kiyoshi that using such a destructive Kido for his first attempt was dangerous, but he insisted he was confident.
• Asano Kiyoshi drew black Reishi from Kurohitsugi around his arm and toward his back.
• Asano Kiyoshi stepped into the unfinished Kurohitsugi, and its black Reiatsu flowed toward his shoulders and back without attacking him.
• Asano Kiyoshi felt power fill his body and saw his status panel identify his state as Half-Completed Shunko.

Asano Kiyoshi reached Half-Shunko and learned that his temporary Vice-Captain-level strength was still far below the higher combat ranks. Yoruichi demonstrated Shunko and began teaching him the technique, leaving him ready to spar and study her spiritual pressure.

• Asano Kiyoshi saw his Half-Shunko status, Vice-Captain-level rating, and a four-minute-fifty-seven-second time limit.
• Asano Kiyoshi reviewed the newly revealed combat ranks and focused on testing himself against Yoruichi.
• Yoruichi praised Asano Kiyoshi for wrapping himself in Hado No. 90, then challenged him to spar as part of his next lesson.
• Yoruichi used Shunko and silently placed her arm against Asano Kiyoshi's throat before he could see her move.
• Yoruichi apologized and told Asano Kiyoshi to match her spiritual power and observe its flow during their fight.
• Asano Kiyoshi accepted Yoruichi's instruction as the black semi-solid liquid behind him began to flow.

Asano Kiyoshi trained with Yoruichi, enduring her punishing attacks as she pushed him to uncover his Reiatsu Attribute. After he let the black liquid spread across the ground, he stepped into it and vanished, leaving Yoruichi unable to detect him.

• Asano Kiyoshi attacked Yoruichi at high speed, but she blocked him, grabbed his ankle, and hurled him into Urahara’s stone wall.
• Asano Kiyoshi pulled himself from the damaged wall while Nel worried and Urahara reassured her that Yoruichi was controlling her strength.
• Yoruichi pressed Asano Kiyoshi with a rapid assault and praised him for staying calm and searching for an opening instead of counterattacking recklessly.
• Asano Kiyoshi warned Yoruichi that he had an idea for weaving his Kido, then relaxed and let the black liquid spread across the ground.
• Asano Kiyoshi stepped onto the black liquid and disappeared, and Yoruichi could not find any trace of him.

Yoruichi tested Asano Kiyoshi’s shadow-based Shunko and evaded his surprise attack with Utsusemi, then advised him on the move’s risks. Asano unleashed a black-flame form resembling the Prison Sun Remnant Garment and fought Yoruichi until she overwhelmed the flames with lightning, leaving him exhausted.

• Asano Kiyoshi vanished into black liquid, then emerged from Yoruichi’s shadow and attacked her heart.
• Yoruichi caught Asano’s arm and praised his ability, comparing it to Shunsui Kyoraku’s Shadow Demon.
• Yoruichi explained that she had escaped with Utsusemi and warned Asano to reserve his move for a killing blow against stronger opponents.
• Asano gathered his remaining spiritual power into black flames and charged Yoruichi in a form resembling the Prison Sun Remnant Garment.
• Yoruichi met Asano’s flaming punch with lightning, then unleashed her Reishi to extinguish the flames without harming him.
• Asano collapsed from exhaustion after the clash.

Asano Kiyoshi reflected on his two months of peaceful life at Urahara Shop and the immense strength he had gained before preparing to return to Soul Society. Nel worried whether Soul Society would be safe, and Kiyoshi reassured her that the Captain-Commander would protect them.

• Asano Kiyoshi looked over the Scroll and saw that his training had raised his abilities to Vice-Captain strength, with his Bankai progress at 57%.
• Asano Kiyoshi recalled how Nel's Reiatsu and the King's Seal had accelerated his growth over the past two months.
• Asano Kiyoshi imagined returning to Soul Society and showing Captain-Commander, Captain Ukitake, and Uncle Shunsui how much stronger he had become.
• Nel asked Asano Kiyoshi whether Soul Society would really be safe when they returned.
• Asano Kiyoshi reassured Nel that the Captain-Commander would protect them, though Nel still looked anxious.