Chapter Summaries

After Kurosaki Masaki recovered and gained power from the fusion of three forces, Ross returned to Soul Society with Rangiku Matsumoto, Momo Hinamori, and Aizen. Ryuken Ishida learned that True King's Palace might hold answers about his wife Hae's death and set out to investigate it himself.

• Ross stayed beside Kurosaki Masaki as three powers fused within her, raising her strength to A+ and setting her on course for Captain-level Spiritual Pressure.
• Ross returned his attention to the Human World and spent several days shopping and relaxing with Rangiku Matsumoto while Momo Hinamori accompanied Aizen's illusionary substitute in the countryside.
• Ross opened a Senkaimon and led Rangiku Matsumoto, Momo Hinamori, and the real Aizen back to Soul Society.
• Kisuke Urahara, Isshin Kurosaki, Shinji Hirako, and Ryuken Ishida discussed recent deaths and suspected that the answers might lie in Hueco Mundo at True King's Palace.
• Ryuken Ishida left to investigate True King's Palace himself and vowed to seek justice for Hae.

After returning to Soul Society, Ross attended a Captain’s meeting where Yamamoto approved an expedition to Hueco Mundo to investigate True King’s Palace. The expedition would be led by Shunsui Kyoraku, while Ross remained confident that True King’s Palace could not be defeated by the assembled Captains.

• Ross and Aizen discussed Kisuke Urahara’s suspicions and Ryuken Ishida’s possible interest in joining True King’s Palace, then traveled through a Senkaimon toward Soul Society.
• Ross and Aizen arrived at the First Division barracks, where Yamamoto gave Ross perfunctory reprimands for his battle with Harribel.
• Soi Fon proposed that Captains investigate True King’s Palace in Hueco Mundo, and Sajin Komamura also requested permission to go.
• Yamamoto approved the expedition, naming Shunsui Kyoraku its leader, Unohana Retsu its deputy, and Soi Fon, Sajin Komamura, and Tosen Kaname as its other Captains.
• Shunsui accepted the assignment, and the Captains began preparing for the expedition while Ross privately doubted that it would turn into a real battle.

Ryuken Ishida reached True King's Palace in Hueco Mundo and met the Hollow King, Ross, seeking answers about the day Ross descended on the Human World and Kurosaki Masaki's injury. Ross agreed to answer only if Ryuken offered something in return.

• More than a month after the expedition was decided, Shunsui Kyoraku and the others set out for Hueco Mundo while Ryuken Ishida had already spent time there investigating.
• Ulquiorra, the 4th Espada, found Ryuken near True King's Palace and escorted him to meet the king.
• Ryuken entered the conference room and recognized Kurosaki Masaki among the seated Espada.
• Ryuken asked Ross why he had descended upon the Human World and why Kurosaki Masaki had been injured.
• Ross asked what Ryuken would offer in exchange for the answers.

Ryuken Ishida offered his body to Ross in exchange for help avenging his wife, then fought Grimmjow to prove his strength. Ryuken demonstrated his superior Quincy skills and prepared to explain his close-range weapon, Soul-Piercer.

• Ryuken Ishida told Ross he was willing to offer his body if Ross helped him avenge his late wife.
• Ross summoned Grimmjow to fight Ryuken, with the winner taking the 6th Espada seat and gaining access to Ross's answer.
• Ryuken used Holy Arrows and Hirenkyaku to counter Grimmjow, then faced his Resurrección without being intimidated.
• Grimmjow's claw failed to pierce Ryuken, whose Quincy Seele Schneider strengthened his defense, and Kurosaki Masaki explained the weapon.
• Ryuken drew Soul-Piercer and described how its rapid vibrations disrupted an opponent's Spirit Particles.

Ryuken Ishida defeated Grimmjow with a hidden Spirit Particle trap, then joined the True King's Palace as its 60th Espada. Ross explained that Yhwach’s Saint’s Selection threatened the Quincy, and Ryuken learned that his son Uryu was among three exceptions.

• Ryuken Ishida lured Grimmjow into his Saint Devour formation, which destroyed Grimmjow’s body.
• Grimmjow regenerated, but Sun-Sun reminded him that he had lost the bet, and he returned to his place among the Espada.
• Sun-Sun welcomed Ryuken to the True King's Palace and explained the privileges of his 60th Espada rank.
• Ryuken asked Ross about the Quincy’s past, and Ross explained that Yhwach’s awakening and Saint’s Selection had caused the Quincy calamity.
• Ross told Ryuken that three people were exceptions to Saint’s Selection, and Ryuken identified Kurosaki Masaki and his son Uryu Ishida among them.

Ryuken Ishida asked Ross to take him to the Quincy Empire so he could verify the truth about his son and Yhwach. Ross brought Ryuken and Kurosaki Masaki to Soul Society instead, where they entered the Seireitei and Ryuken sensed an abnormal Quincy-like presence in a nearby shadow.

• Ryuken Ishida recognized that Uryu Ishida's immunity to the Saint's Selection would draw attention and asked Ross to take him to the Quincy Empire.
• Ross opened a Garganta and brought Ryuken and Kurosaki Masaki through it, explaining that they needed to take another step before reaching their destination.
• Ross asked Ryuken whether his father had told him where Yhwach was defeated, and Ryuken realized Yhwach might have remained in Soul Society.
• Ross led Ryuken and Kurosaki Masaki through Soul Society to the Seireitei, while Ryuken judged Ross to be overwhelmingly powerful.
• Ryuken identified the concealed Haki Stone walls and Kido Barrier around the Seireitei, then sensed an abnormal Spirit Particle fluctuation in a nearby shadow.

Ross entered the Quincy-created Shadow Empire with Ryuken Ishida and Kurosaki Masaki, then confronted Gadis Cartnip when she discovered them. After Gadis attacked him, Ross disabled her control over her Spirit Particles.

• Ross led Ryuken Ishida and Kurosaki Masaki through the shadows into the white city created by Yhwach, and Ryuken explained that Yhwach had only recently regained consciousness.
• Ross asked Ryuken whether he could kill Yhwach, and Ryuken admitted that he could not defeat either Yhwach or Ross.
• Gadis Cartnip approached the group and demanded to know who they were and how Ross knew her name.
• Gadis fired Holy Arrows at Ross, but they vanished before reaching him.
• Ross appeared beside Gadis, touched her shoulder, and sent Spirit Particles into her body, disrupting her control until her bow dissipated.

Ross defeated Candice, infused her with Hollow Power, and forced her to become the Noveno Espada of True King's Palace. Candice revealed Yhwach's five Special War Powers, while Ryuken questioned why Captain-General Yamamoto was not among them.

• Ross told Candice that he had fused Hollow Power with her Spirit Particles and warned that Yhwach would punish her if he discovered it.
• Ross named Candice the Noveno Espada of True King's Palace, and Candice recognized him as Ross, the Hollow King.
• Candice revealed that Yhwach had marked Ross as the Special War Power representing combat power.
• Ross asked Candice about the other Special War Powers, and she named Kurosaki Ichigo, Ichibei Hyosube, Sosuke Aizen, and Kisuke Urahara.
• Ryuken Ishida questioned why Captain-General Yamamoto was not among Yhwach's five Special War Powers.

Ross gave Candice a Thunder Dragon Fruit, transforming her and convincing her to abandon Yhwach and serve him. He then separated her Spirit Body from her physical body, leaving her with a powerful duplicate that could act as a decoy or spy.

• Candice questioned Yhwach’s prospects after Ross explained that Yamamoto had defeated him a thousand years earlier without using his full Bankai.
• Candice addressed Ross as Your Majesty and accepted a piece of the fruit he offered her.
• The Thunder Dragon Fruit transformed Candice into a dragonkin and fused her Quincy and Hollow powers, prompting her to pledge loyalty to Ross.
• Candice offered to spy on Yhwach, and Ross reduced her Spiritual Pressure before creating a separate, powerful Spirit Body duplicate beside her.
• Ryuken Ishida recognized that Ross had separated Candice’s physical body from her Spirit Body.

Ross arranged for Candice to leave a clone behind in the Wandenreich, while Ryuken Ishida confirmed the Quincy’s history and departed to pursue revenge. Months later, the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force returned with fewer than twenty survivors, prompting Yamamoto to call a Captains’ meeting as Ross and Rangiku discussed the disaster.

• Ross created a stronger clone of Candice from Quincy Spirit Particles and told her to leave it behind while her real body traveled with him.
• Ryuken Ishida confirmed that the Wandenreich had suffered a purge of impure-blooded Quincy and left to find a way to kill Yhwach himself.
• About half a year later, Shunsui Kyoraku returned from the Hueco Mundo expedition with fewer than twenty survivors out of more than four hundred.
• Yamamoto ordered the surviving Captains to report together at a Captains’ meeting.
• Ross told Rangiku Matsumoto that most expedition survivors were Fourth Division logistics personnel, and she reacted with shock at the scale of the losses.

Ross and Rangiku reflected on their distance from Soul Society before Ross went to the First Division, where the Captains examined the Hueco Mundo expedition’s crushing defeat. The meeting began with Shunsui Kyoraku and Soi Fon explaining that the enemy’s power had overwhelmed them.

• Ross told Rangiku that Captain-General Yamamoto must have known the expedition faced several powerful enemies, and he said he felt no loyalty to Soul Society beyond the Tenth Division.
• Rangiku watched Ross leave for the First Division and accepted that she cared more about him than about protecting Soul Society’s order.
• Captain-General Yamamoto summoned all thirteen Captains and demanded that Shunsui Kyoraku explain the expedition’s defeat.
• Shunsui admitted that he had been outmatched by Espada No. 2 and described how the enemy’s divided Spirit Bodies made even his Bankai a risky answer.
• Soi Fon took responsibility for the defeat, explaining that she and the other Captains could not resist a blonde enemy who defeated them with ease.

After the Hueco Mundo expedition returned in defeat, the Captains learned that True King's Palace had unified Hueco Mundo and was led by the Hollow King and his powerful Espada. Yamamoto handed the matter to Zero Division, while Ross mocked Soi Fon for her defeat by Harribel.

• Soi Fon, Tosen Kaname, and Sajin Komamura apologized to Captain-General Yamamoto for their defeats in Hueco Mundo.
• Shunsui Kyoraku explained that True King's Palace had unified Hueco Mundo and that its Espada included several exceptionally powerful Vastod Arrancar.
• Unohana warned the Captains that Arrancar could use Resurrección to greatly enhance their abilities.
• Yamamoto accepted the expedition force's defeat, ordered Zero Division to handle the matter, and dismissed most of the Captains.
• Ross taunted Soi Fon about failing to defeat Harribel and left after telling her not to make claims beyond her strength.

Unohana told Ross how the Soul Society expedition had blamed Soi Fon for leaking information, while Ross revealed that he intended to make their suspicions come true. The chapter left Soi Fon marked as the target of Ross’s future schemes.

• Unohana recalled that Yamamoto had discussed the suspected traitor with the returning expedition and that Shunsui Kyoraku tracked the Shinigami’s movements.
• Unohana defeated Ulquiorra and became the new 4th Espada, while Tier stepped down and the other Espada ranks shifted.
• Unohana explained that the Soul Society suspected Soi Fon because she had left the group alone and an Adjuchas Arrancar escaped during that time.
• Unohana said Shunsui believed Soi Fon had turned against Soul Society because Yoruichi Shihoin’s betrayal had twisted her loyalty.
• Ross said he would gradually make Shunsui’s theory about Soi Fon come true.

Two years after Soul Society returned to peace, Ross and Shunsui Kyoraku discussed the noble power struggle over Central 46 Chambers seats and the Fon and Shiba Clans’ conflict. Their conversation ended when Rangiku Matsumoto arrived with news of trouble at the Thirteenth Division.

• Ross and Shunsui Kyoraku drank at the Tenth Division’s mobile tavern while discussing the Fon Clan’s unusual Central 46 Chambers seat.
• Shunsui Kyoraku explained that the Shiba Clan had clashed with the Fon Clan after losing a seat, while concealing that he had engineered the dispute to test Soi Fon.
• Ross remarked that the Five Great Noble Clans had declined, and Shunsui Kyoraku urged him to keep drinking.
• Rangiku Matsumoto and Nanao Ise arrived, and Rangiku told Ross that the Thirteenth Division had requested help and Captain-level intervention.

Ross and Shunsui Kyoraku rushed to the Thirteenth Division after learning that Miyako Shiba had been corrupted by a Hollow and Kaien Shiba was losing their fight. Jushiro Ukitake and Rukia Kuchiki asked Ross to purify Kaien, though Ross warned that doing so might destroy what remained of him.

• Ross and Shunsui Kyoraku hurried to the Thirteenth Division after Rangiku Matsumoto reported that Miyako Shiba had been corrupted and Kaien Shiba was at a disadvantage.
• Shunsui Kyoraku found the Thirteenth Division grounds devastated and intervened as Kaien Shiba attacked a petite female Shinigami.
• Jushiro Ukitake told Ross that the Hollow could fuse with and control a Shinigami, and that those it corrupted were already dead.
• Ross warned Jushiro Ukitake that purifying Kaien might destroy Kaien if the Hollow had become the true host.
• Rukia Kuchiki bowed to Ross and begged him to purify Kaien Shiba.

Ross used Tihua to reveal that Kaien Shiba had already been devoured by the Hollow, and Rukia freed his remaining phantom before it vanished. Ross then agreed to help Ukitake handle the aftermath, while he and the others suspected the Fon Clan had been manipulating events.

• Rukia pleaded with Ross to free Kaien Shiba, and Ukitake confirmed that he wanted Ross to use Tihua.
• Ross gave his activated Zanpakuto to Rukia and told her to stab Kaien Shiba.
• Rukia stabbed Kaien Shiba, revealing that the Hollow had devoured him and leaving only a phantom that bid her farewell before disappearing.
• Rukia broke down sobbing, and Ross assured Rangiku Matsumoto that he could protect his people from death.
• Ukitake accepted responsibility for the incident, while he and Shunsui Kyoraku suspected the Fon Clan had acted behind the scenes.
• Ross agreed to visit the Shiba Clan and explain what had happened before leaving with Rangiku Matsumoto.

Soi Fon confronted the Fon Clan elders over the Punishment Army’s role in the Shiba assassinations, while Ross secretly manipulated the confrontation with Aizen’s Illusion. At Kaien and Miyako’s funeral, Kūkaku resolved to leave Seireitei with Ganju, but Captain Ross arrived.

• Soi Fon accused the Fon Clan elders of using her name to mobilize the Punishment Army against the Shiba Clan, and they implied that the Shihoin Family had authority over it.
• Shunsui Kyoraku watched the confrontation and decided he needed direct evidence linking Soi Fon to the Hollow that killed Kaien and Miyako.
• Ross used Aizen’s Illusion to make the elders believe Soi Fon had praised their actions, and he planned to exploit her later.
• At Kaien and Miyako’s funeral, Kūkaku Shiba mourned beside Ganju, who blamed the Shinigami for their deaths.
• Kūkaku decided to leave Seireitei with Ganju after the funeral, and the servant Kanahiko announced Captain Ross’s arrival.

At Kaien Shiba and his wife’s funeral, Kūkaku Shiba asked Captain Ross to explain how her brother died. Ross began recounting the special Hollow’s attack, but had not yet revealed the full circumstances when the chapter ended.

• Kūkaku Shiba received Ross at the funeral and wondered why he had come.
• Ross paid his respects to Kaien Shiba and his wife, then agreed to stay when Kūkaku asked.
• Ross prepared tea for Kūkaku and told her he owed the Shiba Clan a favor.
• Kūkaku asked Ross what had killed her brother.
• Ross said a special Hollow had killed Third Seat Shiba, used his body to murder members of the Thirteenth Division, and then killed Kaien before Ross and Captain Kyōraku subdued it.

Ross told Kūkaku Shiba that the Hollow’s appearance in the Thirteenth Division’s barracks suggested it had been raised and released by someone, possibly to target Isshin Shiba and his wife. Kūkaku connected the attack to a conspiracy against her clan and began searching for where the clues might have started.

• Kūkaku questioned how a weak Hollow had bypassed the Seireitei’s walls, alarms, and patrols to reach the Thirteenth Division.
• Ross laid out two theories: someone had released a raised Hollow inside the Seireitei, or had sent it after Isshin Shiba and his wife.
• Kūkaku concluded that the Shiba Clan had been targeted and pleaded with Ross to identify the mastermind, but he said he was only speculating.
• Ross calmed Kūkaku and asked what recent events had led her to suspect a conspiracy against the Shiba Clan.
• Kūkaku suddenly sat upright as she realized where the investigation might begin, accidentally knocking her chest into Ross’s face.

Kūkaku Shiba asked Ross to help her secretly enter the Great Spirit Library Corridor to investigate her suspicions, and he agreed on the condition that the Shiba Clan provide concealment tools. That night, they met to begin the attempt, while Kūkaku resolved to repay Ross with herself or the Shiba Clan’s ancestral grounds.

• Kūkaku Shiba asked Ross to help her enter the Great Spirit Library Corridor without the Captain-General learning about it.
• Ross agreed to take her, provided the Shiba Clan supplied resources to improve their chances and he could avoid exposing himself.
• Kūkaku Shiba offered to be left behind if they were discovered, while Ross promised to do his best to get her out safely.
• Kūkaku Shiba decided she would give Ross whatever he wanted and offer him the Shiba Clan’s ancestral grounds if they uncovered the truth.
• That night, Kūkaku Shiba changed into a black outfit and met Ross at their meeting place.