Chapter Summaries

Ailin discovered that his Zanpakuto, Unlimited Blade Works, could forge replicas of swords and copy their owners’ combat experience, rapidly strengthening him. He kept its true ability secret, but an emergency mission summoned him and the other Punishment Corps members.

• Ailin awakened his Zanpakuto and learned its name and power, gaining Fifth Rank Reiatsu.
• Ailin entered his mental world and used Projection to create a Zanpakuto replica with the original’s might.
• Ailin decided to hide Unlimited Blade Works’ ability because Soul Society forbade identical Zanpakuto and its nobles might target him.
• Ailin secretly forged Zanpakuto in his mental world, absorbing their owners’ combat experience and steadily increasing his skills and reiatsu.
• Ailin heard the emergency mission signal, dressed in his uniform, and hurried with his fellow Punishment Corps members to the gathering point.

Ailin joined the Punishment Corps’ search for souls disappearing from Rukon District and wondered whether Urahara Kisuke might be involved. The mission ended without incident, and Ailin returned to training and strengthening himself.

• Ailin caught up with Furuta Aoki and concealed his presence so effectively that Furuta was surprised by his improved stealth.
• Shihoin Yoruichi assigned the Punishment Corps to investigate disappearances across Rukon District and the Seireitei, sending Ailin’s squad to North Rukon.
• Ailin recorded the spiritual pressures in Areas Sixty-One and Sixty-Two and speculated that Urahara Kisuke’s incomplete Hogyoku research could be connected to the disappearances.
• Ailin completed his search without encountering anything unusual and returned to copying Zanpakuto and forging them in his Mindscape.

Ailin trained by using projected Zanpakuto to absorb other Shinigami’s combat experience, then rushed to aid the Kasumiōji Clan after receiving an emergency order. He joined a smaller battlefield while suspecting the attacker at the main fight had not yet revealed his full strength.

• Ailin practiced the techniques of other Punishment Corps members by projecting their Zanpakuto and drawing on their experience.
• A Hell Butterfly summoned the Second Division to respond to an attack on the Kasumiōji Clan, and Ailin hurried to the noble district.
• Ailin recalled that the Kasumiōji Clan created Moyao Blades, weapons that granted great power but could consume their users when their spiritual pressure ran out.
• Ailin sensed several battles underway, with Moyao Blade-using Death Warriors fighting Shinigami and the attackers gaining the advantage on most fronts.
• Ailin joined three Shinigami at a smaller battlefield while judging that the fighter at the main battlefield was Vice-Captain level and might still unleash Bankai.

Ailin and the Second Division Punishment Corps fought a young Shinigami wielding a lightning spear while Kasumiōji Clan Death Warriors attacked him with Moyao Blades. After Ailin healed his wounded comrades and the battle wore on, a captain-level man carrying a Bankai broke through and blasted the group.

• Ailin and the other Punishment Corps members arrived and joined the Kasumiōji Clan Death Warriors in attacking the young Shinigami.
• The young Shinigami repelled their attacks and struck the battlefield with lightning, but Ailin blocked it with Kidō #8 and his Sword Shield.
• Ailin treated his injured comrades with Healing Art while the Death Warriors recovered through their Moyao Blades and continued fighting.
• As the young Shinigami neared collapse, Ailin sensed a powerful spiritual pressure and retreated with the wounded men.
• A captain-level man wielding a flaming giant sword emerged from an explosion, and Ailin recognized the weapon’s state as Bankai.

Ailin survived the Kasumiōji Clan attack after a powerful Shinigami overwhelmed the battlefield and later challenged Captain-Commander Yamamoto. Ailin recognized the attacker as Kisaragi Taiho and understood that he had raided the clan to expose its secret experiments on Rukon District souls.

• Ailin protected himself and the wounded Shinigami with Kidō #63: Sakan de Kekkai as the attacker’s Reiatsu battered the barrier.
• The attacker left to fight elsewhere, and Ailin treated the injured instead of risking another battle.
• After nearly an hour, the attacker’s Reiatsu surged and he charged toward the First Division barracks, where Captain-Commander Yamamoto defeated him.
• Ailin later learned that Central 46’s account claimed Kisaragi Taiho had stolen a Moyao Blade for power and that his corpse was found in the Rukon District.
• Ailin recognized Kisaragi Taiho as Yamamoto’s disciple and realized he had infiltrated the Kasumiōji Clan to gather evidence of its experiments on captured souls.

Ailin reflected on Kisaragi Taiho’s defeat by the Kasumiōji Clan’s Moyao Blade and forged Zanpakuto, which had raised his spiritual pressure to Vice-Captain level. He decided to create weapons from other worlds so he could wield them without exposing the copied Zanpakuto in Soul Society, and began forging weapons from his memories.

• Kisaragi Taiho was drained and controlled by the Kasumiōji Clan’s Moyao Blade, then attacked his teacher in the First Division.
• Ailin noted that he had forged Kisaragi Taiho’s Zanpakuto and the Young Shinigami’s Zanpakuto, raising his spiritual pressure to the third rank.
• Ailin tested his improved power in his Inner World, where hundreds of sword strikes rivaled Hado Number Thirty and fifteen Zanpakuto stood embedded in Sword Hill.
• Ailin considered how to approach the Gotei 13’s captains and conceal the many copied Zanpakuto in his Inner World.
• Ailin decided to define his Zanpakuto ability as Unlimited Sword Forging and began creating weapons from other worlds in his Inner World.

Ailin discovered that the swords he created from memories lacked their owners’ experiences and abilities, so he spent his time learning to forge them completely. He finally created a partial Tetsusaiga, whose Flame Form was strengthened by Kisaragi Taiho’s Zanpakuto, and realized existing weapons could help him forge others.

• Ailin found that the hundreds of swords he had created from memories possessed only their forms and basic frameworks, not their materials, techniques, experiences, or accumulated years.
• Ailin began studying how to gather the right elements and forge complete weapons from his memories, choosing Inuyasha’s Tetsusaiga as his first goal.
• After many attempts, Ailin successfully forged a Tetsusaiga that contained a half-demon’s memories but lacked most of its techniques.
• Kisaragi Taiho’s Zanpakuto sent flame power into the forging process, giving Tetsusaiga its Flame Form.
• Ailin realized that his replicated Zanpakuto could assist him in creating weapons from other worlds.

Ailin decided to reveal his sword-forging ability and sought to challenge Second Division Vice-Captain Marechiyo Ōmaeda for a Seat Officer position. He went to register the challenge with Sui-Feng, who recognized him for his remarkable healing during the Kasumiōji Clan attack.

• Ailin imagined forging more Zanpakuto and resolved not to hide his sword-forging ability as his strength grew.
• Ailin went to the Second Division captain's office to register a challenge against Vice-Captain Marechiyo Ōmaeda.
• Sui-Feng mistook Ailin for someone delivering files before realizing he was a stranger and asking who he was.
• Ailin introduced himself as Punishment Corps number 120358 and asked how to register his challenge.
• Sui-Feng recognized Ailin as the healer who had saved more than a dozen critically wounded Punishment Corps members during the Kasumiōji Clan attack.

Ailin challenged Second Division Vice-Captain Marechiyo Ōmaeda, prompting Sui-Feng to arrange the match and notify Yoruichi. As word spread, Furuta Aoki introduced Ailin to members of the division’s other squads, preparing a possible way out of the Punishment Corps if Ailin lost.

• Sui-Feng reminded Ailin that Ōmaeda had served as Vice-Captain for nearly two hundred years, but Ailin said he was confident and submitted to the challenge.
• Sui-Feng agreed to have Yoruichi arrange the challenge and was startled when Ailin called her by the name Soifon.
• Sui-Feng sent Yoruichi a Hell Butterfly with news of Ailin’s challenge.
• Ailin’s challenge drew frequent visitors to his dormitory, including his former squad leader Furuta Aoki.
• Furuta Aoki introduced Ailin to Fukugen Jō and other Inner Garden Squad members, hoping they would look after him if he lost and needed to leave the Punishment Corps.

Ailin reflected on Furuta Aoki’s efforts to protect him, while Yoruichi and Urahara Kisuke prepared a device that could speed up Bankai training. Urahara finished the invention and explained how it worked, but its use had not yet been shown.

• Furuta Aoki tried to protect Ailin by arranging to transfer him out of the Punishment Corps.
• Ailin remembered how Furuta Aoki had recruited and supported him, and felt grateful for his care.
• Yoruichi received information through a Hell Butterfly and told Urahara Kisuke they would return in three days.
• Urahara Kisuke presented Yoruichi with a wooden humanoid target he had built to help someone master Bankai in three days.
• Urahara Kisuke explained that Bankai training required a Shinigami to materialize and subdue the true form of their Zanpakuto.

Urahara Kisuke explained the Tenshintai’s dangerous three-day limit to Yoruichi before they went to watch Ailin challenge Second Division Vice-Captain Marechiyo Ōmaeda. Ōmaeda welcomed Ailin warmly, but privately recognized that the challenger was no ordinary opponent.

• Urahara Kisuke told Yoruichi that the Tenshintai could manifest a Soul Reaper’s Zanpakuto, but the user had to make it submit within three days or risk losing access to Shikai.
• Urahara Kisuke admitted that he had designed the Tenshintai’s dangerous flaw on purpose, and he and Yoruichi headed to the Second Division training grounds.
• Ailin prepared to challenge Marechiyo Ōmaeda, whose position had gone uncontested for nearly two hundred years.
• Marechiyo Ōmaeda greeted Ailin warmly, praised his courage, and promised to treat him to a drink after the battle.
• After walking past Ailin, Marechiyo Ōmaeda turned serious and realized that Ailin was not simple.

Ailin challenged Vice-Captain Marechiyo Ōmaeda, who decided to take the young Soul Reaper seriously after sensing something extraordinary in him. Their duel began with both fighters unleashing powerful spiritual pressure and moving too quickly for the spectators to follow.

• Marechiyo Ōmaeda recognized Ailin as someone worth investing in and suspected he carried a presence like Shihoin Sennen, Shihoin Yoruichi, and Urahara Kisuke.
• Shihoin Yoruichi confirmed that Ailin wanted to proceed with the challenge, then announced the duel between Ailin and Marechiyo Ōmaeda.
• Ailin and Marechiyo Ōmaeda drew their Zanpakuto, and Marechiyo Ōmaeda took a battered-looking blade seriously.
• Marechiyo Ōmaeda and Ailin released immense spiritual pressure, surprising the watching Soul Reapers with Ailin’s strength.
• Ailin and Marechiyo Ōmaeda vanished into a rapid exchange of blows that the spectators could track only by the clashes and sparks.

Ailin outmatched Marechiyo Ōmaeda in Shunpo and Zanjutsu but held back to avoid humiliating the Second Division Vice-Captain. Ōmaeda released Drunken Demon Maru, and Ailin answered by releasing his incomplete Tetsusaiga, leaving Ōmaeda with the greater Reiatsu advantage.

• Ailin dominated the exchange with Marechiyo Ōmaeda, while Yoruichi and Urahara recognized that his skill surpassed Ōmaeda's.
• Ailin deliberately kept the fight looking even to protect Ōmaeda's dignity and avoid alienating the Second Division.
• Marechiyo Ōmaeda released Drunken Demon Maru, a spiked club that raised his Reiatsu fivefold.
• Ailin released his incomplete Tetsusaiga, which became a broad fang-shaped sword and raised his Reiatsu threefold.

Ailin used Reiatsu Burst to fight Marechiyo Ōmaeda on even terms, then unleashed Tetsusaiga’s Wind Scar technique. The chapter ended as three enormous slashes flew toward Ōmaeda.

• Marechiyo Ōmaeda overpowered Ailin with his spiked club, driving him into a crater.
• Ailin activated Reiatsu Burst and used superior Zanjutsu to gain the advantage over Ōmaeda.
• Ailin’s rapid attacks wounded Ōmaeda but failed to cause serious damage, so Ailin withdrew.
• Sui-Feng predicted that Ōmaeda would win once Ailin’s reiatsu ran out, while Urahara Kisuke predicted Ailin’s victory.
• Ailin gathered wind around Tetsusaiga and launched three enormous slashes at Ōmaeda with Wind Scar.

Ailin unleashed Tetsusaiga’s Wind Scar and defeated Marechiyo Ōmaeda in their battle for the Second Division vice-captaincy. Shihoin Yoruichi and Urahara Kisuke intervened to save Ōmaeda, who admitted defeat as the onlookers accepted both fighters’ strength.

• Ailin warned Marechiyo Ōmaeda that he was about to use Tetsusaiga’s ultimate technique, and Ōmaeda raised his Reiatsu with Reiatsu Burst.
• Ailin unleashed Wind Scar, sending three powerful wind slashes toward Ōmaeda.
• Marechiyo Ōmaeda countered with Drunken Demon - Rampage, but the slashes overwhelmed him and swept him away.
• Shihoin Yoruichi stopped Wind Scar’s remaining force while Urahara Kisuke rescued the bloodied Ōmaeda.
• Marechiyo Ōmaeda admitted defeat, and the Second Division members accepted both Ailin and Ōmaeda as worthy candidates for vice-captain.

Ailin defeated Marechiyo Ōmaeda in the Second Division’s Vice-Captain challenge and was officially appointed Vice-Captain, while Ōmaeda and Urahara Kisuke became Third Seats. Ailin later forged Zanpakuto for Shihoin Yoruichi, Urahara Kisuke, and Ōmaeda in his Mindscape, greatly increasing his spiritual pressure.

• After Ōmaeda conceded, Ailin healed his injuries and received praise for his strength and Healing Art.
• Shihoin Yoruichi declared Ailin the winner of the challenge and appointed him Vice-Captain of the Second Division, with Ōmaeda and Urahara Kisuke becoming Third Seats.
• Ailin began learning the Second Division’s affairs with Ōmaeda’s help, while spending much of his time forging weapons in his Mindscape.
• Ailin forged Zanpakuto belonging to Yoruichi, Urahara Kisuke, and Ōmaeda, and his spiritual pressure increased substantially.

Ailin recognized that Sui-Feng had completed her Zanpakuto release and watched her choose Marechiyo Ōmaeda for a Seat Officer challenge. Later, Ailin forged Suzumebachi in his Inner World and discovered his version could already use Bankai, leaving him to consider how his memory-based Zanpakuto could differ from their current wielders’ weapons.

• Ailin gained Shunpo experience from Shihoin Yoruichi's Zanpakuto and Kido experience from Urahara Kisuke's, then improved Tetsusaiga by forging it a defensive sheath.
• Ailin recognized that Sui-Feng had completed her Zanpakuto's Shikai training and asked when she would challenge for a Seat Officer position.
• Sui-Feng decided to challenge Third Seat Marechiyo Ōmaeda, and Ailin remarked that her Nigeki Hissatsu gave her a strong advantage against him.
• Ailin returned to his quarters and forged Suzumebachi in Sword Hill, where he discovered that his version had already reached Bankai and could use Unlimited Shunko, Suzumebachi: Jera.

Ailin forged Murasame in his Inner World, combining its deadly curse with Suzumebachi’s ability, then learned from Sui-Feng that Second Division members could leave the barracks between emergency summons. He tested his safe travel range and planned to forge more Captain-level Zanpakuto to raise his spiritual pressure enough to fully use Unlimited Blade Works.

• Ailin forged One-Hit Kill: Murasame by combining its curse poison with Suzumebachi’s Nigeki Hissatsu ability, and placed it above Suzumebachi on Sword Hill.
• Sui-Feng told Ailin that Second Division members could leave freely, and Ailin realized he had spent more than thirty years in the division without knowing.
• Ailin left the Second Division for the first time outside of a mission and used Shunpo to test how far he could travel within the one-minute emergency summons.
• Ailin found that he could safely travel across nearly half of the Seireitei and planned to encounter four or five more Captain-level powerhouses to raise his spiritual pressure to Captain-level.

Ailin searched Seireitei for Captain-level opponents while gathering Zanpakuto and secretly protecting Haruko Kuchiki during her nightly visits to a tavern. After escorting her home for the last time, he encountered two hostile men in an alley and recognized them with alarm.

• Ailin expanded his roaming range across several divisions, gathered more Zanpakuto, and strengthened his spiritual pressure, but failed to encounter a Captain.
• Ailin recognized Haruko Kuchiki in disguise at the Moonlight Tavern and invited her to sit with him, then secretly escorted her home each night for a month.
• Haruko thanked Ailin and said she would stop coming to the tavern, and Ailin followed her home as usual.
• After Haruko entered the Kuchiki Clan gates, Ailin sensed powerful malice and confronted two men in the alley.
• Ailin recognized the white-haired, bearded man in a Captain's Haori and the furious man beside him, and feared he was finished.

Ailin was confronted by Ginrei Kuchiki and Hibiki Hoshino after being caught near Haruko Kuchiki, and Hibiki moved to attack him. The chapter ended with Ailin blocking Hibiki’s sword strike.

• Ginrei Kuchiki questioned Ailin about following Haruko and threatened to arrest him.
• Hibiki Hoshino offered to capture Ailin, hoping to protect his standing as Ginrei’s chosen future son-in-law.
• Ginrei agreed to let Hibiki handle Ailin, who planned to take the Kuchiki surname and become Kuchiki Hyōga if he married Haruko.
• Hibiki charged at Ailin and slashed with his Zanpakuto, but Ailin drew his blade and blocked the attack.