Chapter Summaries

Ross demonstrated his strength and Zanpakuto abilities during his Captain assessment against Shunsui Kyoraku. Shunsui declared him qualified to serve as a Captain, and Ross healed his wound before the assessment ended.

• Shunsui released Katen Kyokotsu and attacked Ross with spinning wind blades, which Ross erased with his Zanpakuto, Tihua.
• Ross appeared behind Shunsui and wounded his back with a slash.
• Shunsui stopped the assessment and declared Ross qualified to serve as a Captain.
• Ross healed Shunsui’s wound with Tihua, and Shunsui praised the healing ability while suggesting Ross could help Retsu Unohana.

Ross officially became captain of the Tenth Division and accepted Yamamoto’s assignment to investigate disappearing souls in the Rukon District. As Ross and Rangiku headed to the Twelfth Division to arrange his haori, a wild captain burst through a wall in front of them.

• Retsu Unohana invited Ross to visit the Fourth Division, and Ross accepted before officially taking command of the Tenth Division.
• Yamamoto assigned Ross to investigate reports of souls disappearing in the Rukon District, and Ross set off with Rangiku Matsumoto.
• Rangiku told Ross that the Twelfth Division made captain’s haori, and Ross asked her to teach him Kidō and Flash Step.
• A tall, wild figure wearing a captain’s haori smashed through a wall as Ross and Rangiku walked toward the Twelfth Division.

Ross confronted Kenpachi Zaraki, who attacked him to test the new Tenth Division Captain. Ross defeated Kenpachi in two strikes and continued on with Rangiku Matsumoto, while Yachiru carried the wounded Kenpachi away.

• Kenpachi Zaraki asked Rangiku Matsumoto where the new Tenth Division Captain was, and Yachiru greeted her.
• Ross stepped in front of Rangiku as Kenpachi challenged him and charged with his sword.
• Ross cut through Kenpachi’s Zanpakuto and slashed his chest, prompting Kenpachi to laugh and attack again with greater Spiritual Pressure.
• Ross moved behind Kenpachi and struck him across the back, leaving him unconscious on the ground.
• Ross continued onward with Rangiku, while Yachiru picked up Kenpachi and carried him away.

Ross officially took office as Captain of the Tenth Division after defeating Kenpachi Zaraki in two strikes. He warned Rangiku Matsumoto that Aizen seemed far stronger than he appeared, and the Tenth Division celebrated their new Captain’s strength.

• Rangiku Matsumoto praised Ross for defeating Kenpachi Zaraki, and Ross dismissed the feat as unremarkable.
• Rangiku explained that Kenpachi Zaraki often got lost and had attacked Shinigami across the Seireitei after killing the former Captain of the 11th Division.
• Ross told Rangiku that Aizen seemed unusually strong, possibly stronger than Captain Kyōraku, and warned her to keep the suspicion secret.
• Ross and Rangiku completed their registration with the 12th Division and returned to the Tenth Division without meeting its Captain.
• Rangiku told the Tenth Division that Ross had defeated Kenpachi Zaraki, and the division members celebrated their new Captain and their chance to stand up to the 11th Division.

On his first day as Captain of the Tenth Division, Ross learned that the 11th Division had terrorized his division and left years of unpaid fines. He ordered the officers to organize the debts so he could collect them in person, with Toshiro assigned as the fighting force.

• Rangiku Matsumoto told Ross that Kenpachi Zaraki encouraged the 11th Division to pick fights, and that they often targeted the Tenth Division while it lacked a Captain.
• Ross found a decade's worth of unfinished paperwork in the Captain's office, including years of unpaid fines against the 11th Division.
• Ross ordered Rangiku Matsumoto and the top ten seats to gather and sort the 11th Division's fines, especially the amount owed to the Tenth Division.
• Toshiro asked to return to sword meditation, but Ross told him to grow stronger through battle and said he would be the main force on their upcoming visit to the 11th Division.

Ross led the Tenth Division to the Eleventh Division to collect its overdue penalties after settling the accounts. The divisions faced off at Kenpachi Zaraki’s barracks, where Zaraki charged Ross, eager to fight.

• Ross finished correcting the Tenth Division’s accounts and set out with his officers to collect the Eleventh Division’s share.
• Ross ordered the Tenth Division to seize the guards and gather the Eleventh Division members, and they stormed through its gates.
• At the training grounds, Ikkaku Madarame challenged the intruders, and Toshiro drew Hyōrinmaru to fight him while Aya-se-gawa Yumichika led Ross onward.
• Ross reached Kenpachi Zaraki, who charged at him with his Zanpakuto despite still being bandaged.

Ross confronted Kenpachi Zaraki to collect the 11th Division’s unpaid repair bills, then fought him after Kenpachi agreed to pay if Ross defeated him. Ross overwhelmed Kenpachi and left him bloodied in a crater, unable to get back up.

• Ross told Kenpachi Zaraki to settle the 11th Division’s repair debt before they fought, and Rangiku Matsumoto listed the unpaid fees.
• Kenpachi dismissed the bill and agreed to pay if Ross knocked him down, then removed his eyepatch and charged at Ross.
• Ross drew Tihua and repeatedly stabbed Kenpachi, whose sealed strength began to rise as the battle continued.
• Kenpachi attacked with a powerful sword strike, but Ross met it with a blade coated in Conqueror’s Haki and Spiritual Pressure.
• Rangiku Matsumoto used Bakudo Number Sixty-One to shield the Tenth Division from the shockwaves, while the blast injured and scattered many members of the 11th Division.
• After the clash, Kenpachi lay bloodied in a crater and appeared unable to get back up.

Ross defeated Kenpachi Zaraki and made the 11th Division agree to repay its debt to the Tenth Division. As Rangiku Matsumoto arranged the settlement and Toshiro finished his fight with Ikkaku Madarame, a woman arrived and asked what had happened.

• Ross left Kenpachi Zaraki for Yachiru to take for treatment and demanded that the 11th Division pay its debt.
• Ross threatened to dismantle the 11th Division if it could not raise ten million, and Rangiku Matsumoto negotiated a repayment plan with Aya-se-gawa Yumichika.
• Toshiro defeated Ikkaku Madarame without using Shikai and brought him to Ross.
• Rangiku Matsumoto told Ross that the 11th Division would pay ten million first and repay the rest over time.
• A woman arrived and asked what had happened.

Ross defended the Tenth Division’s actions against Soi Fon and learned that the Captain-General would not punish him, though captains were barred from private fights. As Ross and Rangiku Matsumoto headed back, Ichimaru Gin stopped them, apparently checking on Rangiku Matsumoto.

• Soi Fon confronted Ross over the Tenth Division’s clashes, while Ross dismissed her accusations and questioned Rangiku Matsumoto about the Sixth Division.
• The Tenth Division finished taking valuable equipment from the 11th Division to cover its debt.
• Soi Fon reported Ross to Captain-General Yamamoto, who banned captains from private fights rather than punishing Ross.
• Ross reassured Rangiku Matsumoto and left the First Division with her.
• Ichimaru Gin intercepted Ross and Rangiku Matsumoto, claiming he wanted to see whether Ross had been punished.

Ross learned about Rangiku Matsumoto’s childhood bond with Ichimaru Gin and comforted her, while Gin watched and resolved to reclaim what Aizen had taken from her. After the 11th Division incident settled, Ross began studying kido and Flash Step, mastering Flash Step in two days.

• Ichimaru Gin warned Rangiku Matsumoto about Ross, but she defended her captain and Gin left.
• Ross asked Rangiku about her history with Gin, and she recounted their childhood in the Rukon District and how they grew apart.
• Ross comforted Rangiku by stroking her hair, while Gin watched from nearby and resolved to recover the portion of her soul Aizen had taken.
• Ichimaru Gin left, convinced that Aizen’s coming plan would leave no place in the Seireitei for Rangiku or Ross.
• The 11th Division incident spread through the Seireitei, and Ross began studying kido and Flash Step.
• Ross mastered Flash Step in two days, impressing Rangiku Matsumoto.

Ross met Aizen at the Central 46 Chambers, where they discussed Soul Society’s nobles and the disappearance of souls in the Rukon District. Aizen revealed that the Tsunayashiro Clan was responsible and asked Ross to identify the person watching him.

• Ross entered the Central 46 Chambers and joined Aizen in criticizing the nobles’ authority and their efforts to cut funding for the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
• Ross and Aizen discussed how power, noble status, and Captain-General Yamamoto’s desire for stability shaped Soul Society.
• Aizen told Ross that the disappearance of souls in the Rukon District was caused by the Tsunayashiro Clan, one of the Five Great Noble Clans.
• Ross realized Aizen had invited him to make a deal, and Aizen asked him to find the person who had been watching him.

Ross told Aizen that Quincy were secretly watching him from Seireitei’s shadows and revealed that Yhwach was still alive. Aizen then led Ross to the Great Spirit Library Corridor and invited him to choose which records to search.

• Ross explained that one observer had fused their Spiritual Pressure with Seireitei and revealed that another group watching Aizen consisted of Quincy.
• Aizen offered information about the Quincy as a stake, and Ross recited a prophecy about Yhwach reclaiming his power and the world.
• Ross said Yhwach was not dead and implied the Quincy hid in the shadows, leaving Aizen to consider how to expose them.
• Aizen set aside his plans for the watchers and took Ross underground to the Great Spirit Library Corridor.
• Ross admired the vast library, and Aizen invited him to choose which records to look up.

Ross examined Captain-General Yamamoto’s records and learned how Soul Society had developed over two thousand years. Aizen revealed his ambition to seize the heavenly throne, while Ross explained why Aizen was not yet strong enough to challenge Zero Division.

• Ross accessed Captain-General Yamamoto’s records and learned about his rise from the Rukon District, the founding of his assassin corps, and the creation of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
• Ross read about Yamamoto’s defeat of Yhwach and the century-spanning conflicts between Soul Society’s nobles and commoners.
• Aizen said he would eliminate the nobles, raise his own forces, and claim the throne in the Soul King Palace if he were Yamamoto.
• Ross warned Aizen that he could not yet defeat a member of Zero Division, and explained that their bodies had been remade by Royal Keys formed from hundreds of thousands of souls.

Aizen asked Ross how he compared to the Zero Division, and Ross revealed that two of its members were powerful enough that he could not guarantee defeating either one in Soul Society. Ross then examined records on the Tsunayashiro Clan, Aizen, Rangiku Matsumoto, and Gin Ichimaru, while Aizen considered how to surpass the limits of the world.

• Aizen named the three Zero Division members he knew, and Ross said he could beat those three together but could not guarantee victory against either of the other two.
• Aizen said learning about stronger beings only strengthened his resolve to rise through his own efforts.
• Ross asked Aizen to provide records on the Tsunayashiro Clan, Aizen, Rangiku Matsumoto, and Gin Ichimaru, and Aizen sent them through the console.
• Ross found that the Tsunayashiro Clan's records praised its achievements and claimed it had served the Soul King from the world's creation.
• Aizen asked whether Hueco Mundo preserved more detailed records, while reflecting that Ross had blocked his path to ruling Hueco Mundo and that he still intended to rise above the heavens.

Ross and Aizen investigated records in the Great Spirit Library Corridor, discussing Aizen’s hidden history and the gap in Rangiku Matsumoto’s records. Ross left with files and determined that Yhwach’s Saint’s Selection would begin in less than fifteen days.

• Ross teased Aizen that careful scrutiny of his earlier records could have exposed him, and Aizen acknowledged that the Tsunayashiro Clan had never bothered to search for him.
• Ross and Aizen discussed how Aizen had left mistakes in Ichimaru Gin’s records as a private amusement.
• Ross pointed out a thirty-year gap in Rangiku Matsumoto’s records, and both he and Aizen recognized its connection to Aizen.
• Ross gathered more than a dozen files about the Zero Division, the original Thirteen Court Guard Squads, and noble clans, then left the library with Aizen.
• Aizen deleted the record of their visit and wondered about Ross’s Tihua blade and an experiment subject in the Human World.
• Ross compared records to establish the date and learned that Yhwach’s Saint’s Selection was less than fifteen days away.

Ross and Rangiku Matsumoto investigated mass disappearances across three districts and uncovered suspected ties to the Five Great Noble Clans. After Rangiku demanded that everyone involved be executed, Ross brought three suspects in for questioning and challenged Yuta Ueda to prove his connection to the Tsunayashiro Clan.

• Rangiku Matsumoto reported that repeated questioning had exposed inconsistent testimony and revealed widespread disappearances of spiritually gifted souls.
• Rangiku warned Ross that the crimes might involve the Five Great Noble Clans, and Ross urged her to say how she wanted the investigation handled.
• Rangiku said everyone involved should be executed, including the mastermind, even if they belonged to a noble clan.
• Ross ordered Rangiku to gather the suspects and personally interrogated Enji Nakamoto, Mina Shigeno, and Yuta Ueda.
• Yuta admitted the suspects had been traced to them and threatened Ross with the Tsunayashiro Clan's authority, but Ross demanded proof of their connection.

Ross confronted Tokinada Tsunayashiro over the Tsunayashiro Clan’s experiments on Rukon District residents. After Tokinada revealed who ordered the experiments, Ross stabbed him, and Tokinada began chanting a Kido incantation.

• Ross freed Yuta Ueda and let him contact the higher-ups to prove his claims.
• Tokinada Tsunayashiro arrived and identified himself as the lowest seat of a Tsunayashiro Branch Family.
• Tokinada killed Yuta Ueda with Byakurai when Yuta interrupted their conversation.
• Tokinada said the clan head, Masaki Tsunayashiro, had ordered the experiments and the third elder, Kagen Tsunayashiro, had carried them out.
• Ross stabbed Tokinada in the abdomen, and Tokinada roared and began chanting a Kido incantation.

Ross killed Tokinada Tsunayashiro after defeating him, and Rangiku Matsumoto killed the remaining witnesses before offering to help Ross escape. Ross reassured her that the deaths could be concealed, while Aizen watched from the shadows and prepared to cover up the incident.

• Ross interrupted Tokinada Tsunayashiro's Kido chant, wounded him, and then pierced his heart, killing him.
• Rangiku Matsumoto killed the two surviving witnesses and urged Ross to flee to the Human World.
• Ross kissed Rangiku Matsumoto and explained that the Tsunayashiro Clan would not expose its role in the missing-souls case.
• Ross told Rangiku Matsumoto to dispose of Tokinada Tsunayashiro's body and return the other corpses as usual.
• Aizen watched unseen and planned to clean up the incident, while Ross decided to avoid drawing Zero Division's attention.

Ross and Rangiku Matsumoto reported finding Tokinada Tsunayashiro dead, prompting Captain-General Yamamoto to order an investigation while keeping them in the Tenth Division barracks. Ross asked for renovation funds instead of challenging the order, and Yamamoto approved.

• Ross and Rangiku Matsumoto told Captain-General Yamamoto and Byakuya Kuchiki that they had found Tokinada Tsunayashiro's corpse at the location Yuta Ueda gave them.
• Shunsui Kyoraku compared the suspicious circumstances to the incident involving Kisuke Urahara and the Hollowfied Captains.
• Captain-General Yamamoto assigned Soi Fon, Byakuya Kuchiki, and Shunsui Kyoraku to investigate the death.
• Captain-General Yamamoto ordered Ross and Rangiku Matsumoto to remain in the Tenth Division barracks under Unohana Retsu's care.
• Ross requested funds to renovate the Tenth Division, and Captain-General Yamamoto approved the request.

Unohana Retsu asked Ross to duel after sensing the bloodlust and swordsmanship potential in him. Ross left the Tenth Division with her for a secret cavern beneath Sokyoku Hill, where they prepared to spar.

• Unohana Retsu approached Ross on the roof and asked him to spar with her in swordsmanship.
• Ross agreed to go with Unohana Retsu and told Rangiku Matsumoto to take charge of the division.
• Rangiku Matsumoto worried about Ross going out while confined to quarters but accepted his decision.
• Unohana Retsu led Ross through a hidden passage beneath Sokyoku Hill to a spacious underground cavern.
• Ross recognized the cavern as a suitable place for testing things and considered using it as his own.