Chapter Summaries

Ross and Byakuya Kuchiki discussed Rukia Kuchiki’s sentence and the human secretly brought into Soul Society, then agreed to search the Eighth Division for the human. Ross promised to help see Rukia’s case through, even if it meant fighting Captain-General Yamamoto.

• Byakuya Kuchiki hosted Ross at the Kuchiki estate and delayed raising the reason for his invitation while they talked over tea.
• Byakuya told Ross that a human had entered Soul Society and that Captain-General Yamamoto’s Spiritual Pressure had recovered afterward.
• Ross and Byakuya discussed how the laws could make bringing a human into Soul Society a crime, connecting the issue to Rukia’s death sentence.
• Byakuya revealed that he knew the human’s whereabouts and proposed forcing their way into the Eighth Division to find them.
• Ross agreed that the Second and Tenth Divisions could search the Eighth Division and said they would act that night.
• Ross promised to help with Rukia’s case and said he would draw his sword against Captain-General Yamamoto if necessary.

Ross detected Kurosaki Ichigo entering Soul Society and arranged for Yoruichi to lead him toward a false trail. After Ichigo overheard an entirely fabricated conversation at the Shiba Clan, he headed for Aizen, unaware that Yoruichi had never entered the reception room.

• Ross sensed Kurosaki Ichigo and Yoruichi arrive through a Senkaimon and continued toward the Shiba Clan, intending to include them in his plans.
• Yoruichi left Ichigo in a vacant Rukon District house, but Ichigo distrusted her and secretly followed her into Seireitei using Aizen's cloak and entry authorization.
• Ichigo followed Yoruichi to the Shiba Clan and believed he saw her reunite intimately with Ross before overhearing their supposed plan involving the Eighth Division and Inoue Orihime.
• Convinced that Inoue Orihime was in danger, Ichigo left the Shiba Clan to seek Aizen at the Fifth Division.
• After Ichigo departed, the reception room was revealed to be empty, while Yoruichi remained outside the Shiba residence and had never met Ross there.

Ross captured Yoruichi Shihoin at the Shiba Clan residence and carried her inside to face Kūkaku Shiba. Meanwhile, Aizen continued training the Fifth Division and drew Kurosaki Ichigo into his office, where he greeted him.

• Ross stopped Yoruichi Shihoin from fleeing and carried her into the Shiba Clan residence, saying he would collect payment for her betrayal.
• Kūkaku Shiba watched as Ross brought Yoruichi inside, and Yoruichi shut her eyes in despair.
• Aizen guided Fifth Division members through kido lessons while Momo Hinamori complained about the added workload caused by the Gotei 13’s expanded recruitment.
• Aizen dismissed the division members and headed to his office, while Kurosaki Ichigo followed him after recalling Aizen’s past kindness.
• Aizen sat at his desk as Ichigo entered the office, then greeted him by name.

Kurosaki Ichigo visited Aizen in Soul Society and asked for help rescuing Inoue Orihime. Aizen warned that Ichigo was being used as a spark in a larger scheme and revealed that the object he would betray Soul Society to obtain was the Hōgyoku.

• Kurosaki Ichigo met Aizen, who explained how he had detected Ichigo’s Spiritual Pressure and warned him about hiding his presence near captains.
• Kurosaki Ichigo told Aizen about what he had learned at the Shiba Clan and asked for help saving Inoue Orihime without involving him.
• Aizen questioned whether Shunsui Kyoraku and Kisuke Urahara were using Ichigo to draw Aizen into a trap involving Inoue Orihime and Rukia.
• Aizen concluded that Ichigo was being used to create chaos while his enemies pursued something Aizen would obtain even at the cost of betraying Soul Society.
• Aizen revealed that the object he wanted was the Hōgyoku.

Aizen told Kurosaki Ichigo about the Hōgyoku and revealed that Kisuke Urahara had hidden his own Hōgyoku inside Rukia, explaining why her spiritual pressure had not recovered. Ichigo offered to retrieve it, and Aizen said Ichigo would need to learn Bankai and reach a Quincy’s level of Reishi Mastery to protect himself and remove it.

• Aizen explained that he created an incomplete Hōgyoku and that fusing with one could let someone transcend the limits of shinigami.
• Aizen told Ichigo that Kisuke Urahara possessed another Hōgyoku and had placed it inside Rukia, preventing her spiritual pressure from recovering.
• Ichigo blamed Urahara for Rukia’s exposure and asked whether the Hōgyoku could be removed without harming her.
• Aizen said Ichigo would need to learn Bankai and attain Reishi Mastery at a Quincy’s level to protect himself and remove the Hōgyoku.
• Ichigo asked Aizen if he had already prepared everything he needed.

Kurosaki Ichigo met with Aizen, received his Hollow mask, and reaffirmed his plan to stay hidden while protecting Inoue Orihime. After returning to the Rukon District, he learned that Yoruichi had important news about him.

• Aizen offered Kurosaki Ichigo access to his laboratory for cultivation, and Ichigo said he would try to stop the attack on Inoue Orihime without revealing himself.
• Aizen gave Ichigo the Hollow mask that had appeared during his Bankai training and warned him that wearing it too long could make him lose consciousness.
• Aizen promised to protect Ichigo if he was ever in danger, and Ichigo left, telling his teacher to believe him.
• Aizen reflected that Ichigo lacked ambition and wondered whether he could one day inherit everything and challenge Ross.
• An hour later, Yoruichi returned to the Rukon District, and Ichigo waited impatiently for her.
• Yoruichi told Ichigo that she had learned important news related to him.

Byakuya Kuchiki and Ross led a group of captains to Eighth Division to investigate Shunsui Kyoraku for harboring Inoue Orihime. Their numbers reached the seven votes required under the Gotei 13 Regulations, leaving Shunsui facing a search of his division.

• Byakuya Kuchiki and Ross arrived at Eighth Division with Tōshirō and Second Division, while Ichimaru Gin and Tosen Kaname joined them.
• Ross formally accused Shunsui Kyoraku of harboring a human from the Human World, and Shunsui pretended not to know what he meant.
• Byakuya Kuchiki cited the Gotei 13 Regulations, which allowed a division-wide investigation with the agreement of seven captains.
• Sajin Komamura agreed to the search, bringing the number of supporting captains closer to the required total.
• Lieutenant Captain Nemu announced that 12th Division also agreed to search Eighth Division.

Ross and Byakuya Kuchiki forced Shunsui Kyoraku to surrender Nanao Ise and Inoue Orihime over their violations of Seireitei law. The captains backed a proposal to sentence Nanao to death and make Inoue an experimental subject of the 12th Division, leaving Shunsui unable to stop the decision.

• Ichimaru Gin pressed Shunsui Kyoraku to surrender Inoue Orihime, and Shunsui had Nanao Ise bring her out.
• Nanao claimed responsibility for bringing Inoue to Soul Society, while Ross gave Shunsui a final ultimatum.
• Byakuya Kuchiki cited Seireitei law and proposed sentencing Nanao to death and making Inoue an experimental subject of the 12th Division.
• Ross, Tōshirō, Nemu Kurotsuchi, Tosen Kaname, Ichimaru Gin, and Sajin Komamura agreed with Byakuya's proposal.

Kurosaki Ichigo waited in hiding for a chance to rescue Inoue Orihime as Byakuya Kuchiki confronted Shunsui Kyoraku over Nanao Ise. At the First Division barracks, Unohana blocked Captain-General Yamamoto and challenged him to fight, releasing her Bankai.

• Kurosaki Ichigo restrained himself from revealing his presence and decided to wait until the Captains dispersed before rescuing Inoue Orihime.
• Byakuya Kuchiki told Shunsui Kyoraku that most Captains supported taking Nanao Ise, while Shunsui refused to abandon her.
• Shunsui Kyoraku questioned why Captain-General Yamamoto had not arrived to resolve the confrontation.
• Unohana blocked Captain-General Yamamoto at the First Division barracks and challenged the order he had maintained in Soul Society.
• Captain-General Yamamoto prepared to draw Ryūjin Jakka, and Unohana released her Bankai: All-Ending.

Unohana and Captain-General Yamamoto unleashed their Bankai in a battle that could shift the Captains’ loyalties, while Byakuya Kuchiki took Nanao Ise into custody. As the others hurried to the First Division, Ross stayed behind to escort Inoue Orihime to the 12th Division.

• Yoruichi Shihoin and Kurosaki Ichigo sensed the immense Spiritual Pressure from the First Division as Unohana and Captain-General Yamamoto fought.
• Byakuya Kuchiki demanded Nanao Ise and agreed to keep her safe until Rukia’s formal punishment, then took her to the Ninth Division with Tosen Kaname and Tōshirō.
• Most of the gathered Captains dispersed toward the First Division to learn the battle’s outcome.
• Shunsui Kyoraku agreed to leave Inoue Orihime in Ross’s care while he hurried to the First Division.
• Ross stayed behind and said he would personally escort Inoue Orihime to the 12th Division.

Ross escorted Inoue Orihime toward the 12th Division and frightened her with the prospect of being experimented on. Kurosaki Ichigo emerged to confront Ross, who revealed that his Zanpakuto could manipulate the five senses and used the exchange to deepen Ichigo’s trust in Aizen.

• Ross told Inoue Orihime she had become an experimental subject of the 12th Division and described the dangers she faced.
• Ross pointed out Nemu Kurotsuchi’s modified body, causing Inoue Orihime to collapse and beg not to be experimented on.
• Kurosaki Ichigo emerged from hiding and confronted Ross while Inoue Orihime recognized him.
• Kurosaki Ichigo accused Ross of being a spy from the True King's Palace and suspected his Zanpakuto manipulated the five senses.
• Ross connected the ability to Aizen’s blade, Illusion, and encouraged Kurosaki Ichigo’s trust in Aizen.

Ross tried to recruit Ichigo to help him deal with Shunsui Kyoraku, using Orihime as leverage and claiming the conflict involved rival factions in Soul Society and True King's Palace. Ichigo remained wary but began to believe Ross’s account of Aizen’s plan for the Hōgyoku and the alliances opposing them.

• Ichigo confronted Ross over his control of the five senses, and Ross questioned whether Ichigo could trust what he saw or heard.
• Ichigo guessed Ross wanted to use Orihime as leverage, and Ross offered to cooperate against Shunsui Kyoraku.
• Ross claimed Aizen wanted the Hōgyoku and that Urahara had hidden it inside Rukia to draw Aizen into conflict with Ross and Soul Society.
• Ross said the Shihoin Clan had allied with him while Urahara, Captains in the Human World, and Ichigo’s father backed Shunsui Kyoraku.
• Ross claimed he was telling Ichigo the truth to prove his sincerity, while Ichigo struggled to make sense of the factions and alliances.

Kurosaki Ichigo refused Ross’s offer to cooperate unless Ross released his mother, Kurosaki Masaki. Yoruichi Shihoin took Ichigo away, leaving him enraged as Ross held Inoue Orihime.

• Kurosaki Ichigo demanded that Ross release Kurosaki Masaki, but Ross refused and said Ichigo had no leverage.
• Ross told Yoruichi Shihoin to take Ichigo away, revealing that his words had been meant for everyone present.
• Yoruichi Shihoin seized Kurosaki Ichigo and carried him away before he could reach Inoue Orihime.
• Kurosaki Ichigo realized Ross had controlled Inoue Orihime’s senses and watched Ross put an arm around her.
• Kurosaki Ichigo lost control and screamed in rage.

Minotaur Hollow Ichigo unleashed Captain-class power against Ross and fired a Cero that carved a devastating path through Seireitei into the Rukon District. Ross rescued Inoue Orihime and Nemu Kurotsuchi, then asked Yoruichi Shihoin to shelter Orihime as the other Captains approached.

• Minotaur Hollow Ichigo rushed Ross with a powerful slash, but Ross calmly blocked Zangetsu.
• Minotaur Hollow Ichigo gathered Spiritual Pressure at his horn and fired a destructive Cero.
• Ross knocked Zangetsu aside, grabbed Inoue Orihime and Nemu Kurotsuchi, and vanished with them as the Cero tore through Seireitei and into the Rukon District.
• Ross reappeared unharmed beside Yoruichi Shihoin, who was relieved to see him.
• Ross handed Inoue Orihime to Yoruichi Shihoin and told her to take Orihime to the Shiba Clan before the other Captains arrived.

Yoruichi Shihoin took Inoue Orihime away while Ross wounded Minotaur Hollow Ichigo, whose rapid regeneration alarmed the arriving captains. Minotaur Hollow Ichigo charged again, and Sajin Komamura unleashed his Bankai to attack him.

• Yoruichi Shihoin left with Inoue Orihime as Ross sensed captain-class Spiritual Pressures approaching.
• Ross deflected Minotaur Hollow Ichigo's Zangetsu and slashed a deep wound across his chest.
• The captains arrived, and Shunsui Kyoraku identified Minotaur Hollow Ichigo's Super Regeneration while Ross and Nemu Kurotsuchi explained how he had transformed.
• Minotaur Hollow Ichigo charged Ross, and Sajin Komamura activated Bankai: Enma Kokō and swung its enormous cleaver at him.
• Minotaur Hollow Ichigo raised Zangetsu to meet Sajin Komamura's blow.

Minotaur Hollow Ichigo overwhelmed the Captains who tried to stop him and continued charging toward Ross. Byakuya Kuchiki unleashed his strongest Bankai technique and rushed to meet him, though the monster’s Iron Skin had resisted his blades.

• Minotaur Hollow Ichigo shattered Sajin Komamura’s armored warrior with one blow, leaving Komamura gravely injured.
• Tosen Kaname trapped Minotaur Hollow Ichigo in his Bankai domain, but the monster broke free with a destructive Cero blast.
• Shunsui Kyoraku, Ichimaru Gin, Byakuya Kuchiki, and Sosuke Aizen jointly used Dankū barriers to contain the blast and protect Seireitei.
• Minotaur Hollow Ichigo charged toward Ross, ignoring Byakuya Kuchiki’s Senbonzakura Kageyoshi as its blades failed to pierce his Iron Skin.
• Byakuya Kuchiki gathered his Bankai’s power into the White Emperor Sword and charged Minotaur Hollow Ichigo.

Minotaur Hollow Ichigo defeated Byakuya Kuchiki, then Ross overwhelmed him and severed his horns. Ichigo transformed again, healed his wounds, and rose to face Ross with overwhelming Spiritual Pressure as Shunsui Kyoraku prepared to use Bankai.

• Byakuya Kuchiki's White Emperor Sword failed against Minotaur Hollow Ichigo, and Byakuya fell incapacitated.
• Ross wounded Minotaur Hollow Ichigo and drove him to his knees with a powerful strike.
• Ross cut off Minotaur Hollow Ichigo's horns before he could complete a Cero.
• Minotaur Hollow Ichigo unleashed even greater Spiritual Pressure, healed his wounds, and grew new bone armor and a massive serrated Zanpakuto.
• Minotaur Hollow Ichigo slowly rose against Ross's pressure, and Shunsui Kyoraku prepared to use Bankai.

Ross revealed his Bankai, Sky Cleansing, and summoned a future version of Kurosaki Ichigo to fight Minotaur Hollow Ichigo. The enhanced replica overwhelmed Minotaur Hollow Ichigo while the watching Captains realized Ross’s Bankai could create extraordinarily powerful fighters from futures he knew.

• Tōshirō moved Byakuya Kuchiki and Sajin Komamura to safety, where Nemu Kurotsuchi treated them.
• Ross released Minotaur Hollow Ichigo and activated Bankai: Sky Cleansing, summoning a humanoid replica of Kurosaki Ichigo.
• Ross explained that his Bankai replicated enemies, while Tōshirō privately recalled that its replicas could come from stronger future forms.
• Minotaur Hollow Ichigo charged Ross, but the replica blocked him and wounded him with Crescent Cross Rush.
• Minotaur Hollow Ichigo fled, and the replica pursued and battered him as Shunsui Kyoraku recognized its power exceeded his own.
• Ross revealed that he could summon people from futures he knew, including Kurosaki Ichigo or Yhwach, as long as their strength did not exceed his own.

Ross’s Bankai-powered clone defeated Minotaur Hollow Ichigo, and the Captains watched as Kurosaki Ichigo fell back into human form. Ross then declared that Ichigo’s crimes deserved death and ordered the clone to strike him, while Shunsui wondered why Aizen and Ichimaru Gin had not tried to intervene.

• Ross’s clone overwhelmed Minotaur Hollow Ichigo, and Shunsui assessed Ross’s Bankai and worried about Aizen’s Illusion.
• Clone Ichigo defeated Minotaur Hollow Ichigo, who reverted to human form and collapsed.
• Aizen praised Ross’s strength but made no move to rescue Kurosaki Ichigo, leaving Shunsui puzzled.
• Ichimaru Gin suggested that Ross deliver Kurosaki Ichigo’s final blow.
• Ross declared that Kurosaki Ichigo deserved death, and the clone drove its twin Zangetsu blades toward his heart.

Kurosaki Masaki appeared as True King's Palace's Eighty-Eighth Espada and protected Kurosaki Ichigo, then struck down Shunsui Kyoraku with a single Holy Arrow. Her accusations and the attack made the other Captains suspect Shunsui was a spy for True King's Palace.

• Kurosaki Masaki emerged beside Kurosaki Ichigo, identified herself as True King's Palace's Eighty-Eighth Espada, and accused Shunsui Kyoraku of pretending to know nothing.
• Shunsui Kyoraku denied any connection to True King's Palace and charged at Kurosaki Masaki to prove his innocence.
• Kurosaki Masaki formed a bow with her fingers and shot Shunsui Kyoraku with a Holy Arrow, leaving him unable to fight.
• Ichimaru Gin mocked Shunsui Kyoraku for losing to one arrow, while Sajin Komamura and Byakuya Kuchiki doubted his apparent defeat was genuine.
• Tōshirō and the other Captains began to suspect Shunsui Kyoraku had been a True King's Palace spy and had framed Soi Fon.