Chapter Summaries

Arima Shizuya brought Sleeping Number Seven to meet Kisuke Urahara, where she recoiled from Aizen disguised as a cleaner and Urahara eagerly examined her. The visit ended with Number Seven confirming that Mayuri had forbidden Shizuya from bringing her to Urahara’s office.

• Arima Shizuya and Sleeping Number Seven arrived early at Kisuke Urahara’s office and found Aizen disguised as the cleaner Sakakibana Otto.
• Aizen praised Mayuri’s artificial lifeform research, but Sleeping Number Seven backed away and hid behind Shizuya.
• Aizen teased Shizuya that Number Seven trusted him and asked him to look after her.
• Kisuke Urahara arrived late, apologized, and became absorbed in observing Sleeping Number Seven.
• Urahara asked whether Mayuri had told Shizuya not to bring Number Seven to his office, and she confirmed that he had.

Arima Shizuya and Kisuke Urahara entered a research facility after Akon distracted Sleeping Number Seven with snacks. As Urahara measured Arima for an artificial body, he explained his hope that the technology would gradually broaden Shinigami’s horizons, leaving Arima to reflect on why Aizen despised him.

• Aizen, Urahara, and Arima Shizuya struggled to keep Sleeping Number Seven from clinging to Arima, so Urahara called Akon to bring snacks.
• Akon arrived with bags of snacks, and Sleeping Number Seven happily ate Potato Chips while Arima and Urahara went inside.
• Arima parted ways with Sakakibana Otto, who went to clean his assigned area, then followed Urahara to a workshop for testing and producing artificial bodies.
• Urahara measured Arima and explained that he was developing artificial bodies for Thirteenth Division members who often visited the World of the Living.
• Urahara told Arima that he wanted artificial bodies to give Shinigami more opportunities to explore and learn, gradually changing Soul Society.
• Arima said Urahara’s research could change the world and considered how Aizen could respect Urahara’s abilities while despising his loyalty to the Soul King’s system.

After Kisuke Urahara left the Technology Development Bureau, Aizen explained to Arima Shizuya how Kyōka Suigetsu could shape a target’s perception and judgment. Aizen assured him that the hypnosis would conceal their presence as they moved through the laboratory.

• Kisuke Urahara ended his meeting with Arima Shizuya and hurried away after receiving an urgent message.
• Aizen passed Kisuke Urahara, exchanged a brief greeting with him, and called Arima Shizuya along.
• Arima Shizuya asked whether Kyōka Suigetsu could help Aizen bypass the Technology Development Bureau’s defenses, and Aizen challenged him to question whether he had ever seen Aizen’s true face.
• Aizen explained that Kyōka Suigetsu could make a rabbit seem like a tiger by controlling the target’s senses and influencing their judgment.
• Aizen used Kyōka Suigetsu to make a researcher ignore Arima Shizuya and said he could disguise their presence through distorted sights and sounds.

Arima Shizuya watched Aizen leave the Twelfth Division after the Prison Master examined Kisuke Urahara’s research and hinted at plans involving the Visored. Shizuya then returned Sleeping Number Seven to Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who suspected he had taken her into Urahara’s laboratory.

• Aizen told Arima Shizuya that he had seen something fascinating and gained new ideas from the research.
• Aizen said he would return to work in the Fifth Division and encouraged Shizuya to make use of Kisuke Urahara’s kindness to advance his training.
• Shizuya took Sleeping Number Seven for a walk and lunch, but her many snacks left her with little appetite.
• Shizuya brought Sleeping Number Seven back to Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who confronted him about taking her to Urahara’s laboratory.

Arima Shizuya learned that his spiritual pressure had reached roughly Fourth Level, while Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s eye-implanted measuring device malfunctioned during the test. After Hiyori Sarugaki clashed with Mayuri again, Arima asked why she stayed as Twelfth Division Vice-Captain if she disliked everyone there and suggested she resign.

• Mayuri Kurotsuchi used an eye-implanted machine to measure Arima Shizuya’s spiritual pressure and found it had reached roughly Fourth Level.
• Mayuri’s device reacted to Arima’s spiritual pressure, leaving half of Mayuri’s face paralyzed and his left eye damaged.
• Hiyori Sarugaki arrived and kicked at Arima, then argued with Mayuri over being treated as his assistant and ordered to move things.
• Mayuri kicked Hiyori and Arima out of the laboratory, and Hiyori continued grumbling about the Twelfth Division.
• Arima asked Hiyori why she stayed in the Twelfth Division when she disliked everyone there, then suggested she resign as Vice-Captain.

Arima Shizuya finished his internship in the Twelfth Division after improving his abilities and celebrating the Spring Festival with its members. Before leaving, he said goodbye to the others and learned that Sleeping Number Seven had been named Nemu Kurotsuchi.

• Arima Shizuya confronted Hiyori Sarugaki about remaining in the Twelfth Division, and she insisted she would stay because it was where Hikifune Kirio had served.
• Arima Shizuya reviewed his progress, assessed his Fourth Level Spiritual Pressure, and resolved to keep training toward Bankai.
• Arima Shizuya spent the Spring Festival with the Research and Development Department, whose members gathered in the cafeteria.
• As his internship ended, Arima Shizuya prepared to leave the Twelfth Division, and Kisuke Urahara and Akon expressed their regret that he could not stay longer.
• Arima Shizuya learned that Sleeping Number Seven had been named Nemu Kurotsuchi, gave her strands of his hair to keep, and promised to visit again.
• Arima Shizuya bowed to the gathered members of the Research and Development Department, thanked them, and waved goodbye.

Arima Shizuya caught up with Kotetsu Isane as she left the Academy to report for duty with the Fourth Division, then took her to a café and reassured her about his feelings. He confessed and asked her to go out with him, leaving her answer unstated.

• Arima Shizuya caught up with Kotetsu Isane before she reported to the Fourth Division and invited her to eat with him.
• Kotetsu Kiyone watched them leave and happily supported Arima Shizuya as her sister’s future partner.
• Arima Shizuya took Kotetsu Isane to Sasakibe’s café, where she nervously asked why he liked her.
• Arima Shizuya acknowledged Isane’s flaws and told her that liking someone needed no reason.
• Arima Shizuya confessed that he liked Kotetsu Isane and asked her to go out with him.

Arima Shizuya told Aizen and Tōsen Kaname that he and Isane had made their relationship official, then heard Aizen’s plans to recruit promising Shinigami and invite him and Tōsen to special training. The chapter ended with Shizuya asking Aizen what his Bankai was like.

• Arima Shizuya grinned as he told Aizen and Tōsen Kaname that he and Isane had become a couple.
• Aizen asked Shizuya and Tōsen to seek out promising Shinigami and earn their trust as potential recruits.
• Shizuya recalled Abarai Renji, Hinamori Momo, and Kira Izuru surviving a deadly Hollow training exercise connected to Aizen’s experiments.
• Aizen tested Shizuya’s reaction and concluded that he was approaching Third-Class Spiritual Pressure, while Tōsen remained at Fifth Level Spiritual Pressure.
• Aizen offered to give Shizuya and Tōsen special training before school began, and Shizuya eagerly accepted the prospect.
• Shizuya asked Aizen what his Bankai was like.

Aizen explained the requirements and principles of Bankai to Tōsen Kaname and Arima Shizuya during a training session in the wilderness. Arima discovered that although his Zanpakuto was willing to reveal its True Name, he could not hear it because the name had been dyed black.

• Aizen led Tōsen Kaname and Arima Shizuya to a remote wilderness and explained that Bankai greatly increased a Shinigami’s Spiritual Pressure and combat power.
• Aizen described the two requirements for Bankai: reaching Third-Class Spiritual Pressure and materializing the Zanpakuto’s true form and making it submit.
• Aizen explained that Bankai evolved from the concept behind Shikai, and Tōsen Kaname eagerly said he had remembered the lesson.
• Aizen asked Arima Shizuya whether he had understood, and Arima explained that he had been communicating with his Zanpakuto instead of listening closely.
• Arima recalled that the Sagara Dragon had tried to tell him its True Name, but he could not hear it because the name had been dyed black.

After Ichibei Hyōsube sealed the True Name of Sagara Dragon’s Bankai, Arima Shizuya feared he was being watched and could no longer release her power. He and Sagara Dragon found a possible workaround, and Arima asked her to abandon her True Name.

• Arima Shizuya ended his training with Aizen and Tōsen Kaname early because he was distracted, and Aizen advised him to stay calm.
• On his way back to the Academy, Arima realized Ichibei Hyōsube might be watching him and had sealed Sagara Dragon’s Bankai name because it could threaten the Soul King.
• Arima worried that without the sealed Bankai name, even reaching Third-Class Spiritual Pressure would not let him release more of Sagara Dragon’s power.
• In his Consciousness Space, Arima and Sagara Dragon discussed how to use her power without calling her name.
• Arima proposed that Sagara Dragon abandon her True Name, and she agreed to cooperate despite the possibility that it would hurt her.

Ichibei Hyōsube detected an unusual aberration, erased its name, and swore to protect the Spirit King’s slumber. Three days after his Zanpakuto’s name was sealed, Arima Shizuya gave a speech to the new students, ending with a warning about the Research and Development Department’s Insect Curry.

• Ichibei Hyōsube sensed a faint disturbance, found the aberration, and eliminated it by erasing its name.
• Ichibei Hyōsube prostrated himself before the Spirit King and vowed that no one would disturb his slumber.
• Arima Shizuya struggled with strange breakthroughs after his Zanpakuto’s name was sealed, while Aizen could only offer encouragement.
• Arima Shizuya was called to the podium at the academy’s new-term assembly to address the first-years.
• Arima Shizuya told the new students to treasure the cafeteria food because the Research and Development Department’s Insect Curry was about to reach the market.

Arima Shizuya returned to the Second Division, where Yoruichi Shihouin hosted a feast and he met Ōmaeda Marechiyo’s young son, Chikane. He later asked Yoruichi what changes might occur when Hakuda and Kido were combined.

• Arima Shizuya gave a farewell address to the new students and watched the academy ceremony conclude.
• Ōmaeda Marechiyo invited Arima Shizuya to revisit the Second Division, and Arima accepted so he could speak with Yoruichi Shihouin.
• Yushiro greeted Arima Shizuya emotionally at the Second Division, and Yoruichi welcomed him with a feast.
• Ōmaeda Marechiyo introduced his son Chikane, who insulted Arima Shizuya before Marechiyo chased and beat him.
• Arima Shizuya met Yoruichi Shihouin privately and asked her about combining Hakuda and Kido.

Arima Shizuya asked Yoruichi Shihouin to teach him Shunko so he could overcome his spiritual-pressure bottleneck and improve his combat skills. Yoruichi agreed, but made him drink with her first, and he passed out after three cups.

• Arima Shizuya decided to seek Yoruichi Shihouin's guidance in learning the Shihōin Clan's Shunko.
• Yoruichi questioned how Arima Shizuya had learned about the clan's secret technique, and he said he had found it through his own investigation.
• Yoruichi agreed to teach Arima Shizuya Shunko and told him to have a drink with her first.
• Arima Shizuya drank three cups with Yoruichi and passed out at the table.

Arima Shizuya endured Yoruichi Shihouin’s intense covert-operations training and began learning Shunko from Yushiro, but his first attempt at gathering the energy ended in a painful failure. As Yushiro offered to treat his burns, Hachi Shōaya arrived and rebuked Arima for his low status.

• Yoruichi put Arima through ten hours of daily training in stealth, vigilance, and controlled movement.
• Yushiro took over the evening lessons and explained how Shunko gathered Spiritual Power along the back and released it through attacks.
• Yushiro demonstrated his fire-based variation of Shunko, and Arima tried to form the technique himself.
• Arima’s gathered energy exploded and burned his back, so Yushiro ended the session and went to fetch ointment.
• Hachi Shōaya arrived, threw the ointment at Arima, and declared that his Academy-student status gave him no right to order her around.

Arima Shizuya sparred with Soi Fon at the Shihōin estate, teased her about her devotion to Yoruichi, and let her tend his wounds afterward. Soi Fon insisted she would surpass him, while her feelings for Yoruichi remained obvious to him.

• Soi Fon confronted Arima Shizuya after he called her by her former name, and she attacked him.
• Arima Shizuya caught Soi Fon's kicking leg and released her after Yushiro asked him to stop.
• Soi Fon accepted Yushiro's request to leave the fight there, and Arima Shizuya departed the estate.
• Soi Fon caught up with Arima Shizuya on the mountain path and applied medicine to his wounds.
• Arima Shizuya learned that Sister Tomomi had died in the line of duty and teased Soi Fon about liking Yoruichi.
• Soi Fon denied that her feelings were anything but admiration and told Arima Shizuya he was annoying.

Arima Shizuya read letters from his friends, worried that Aizen’s Hollowfication research and growing tensions might soon lead to conflict, and resolved to reach captain-class strength. During Shunkō training with Yushiro, he mastered the technique and advanced to Third-Class Spiritual Pressure.

• Arima Shizuya read Tōsen Kaname’s letter about his Ninth Division internship and resolved to reply in braille.
• Arima Shizuya read Aizen’s account of stalled Hollowfication experiments, sensed his impatience, and decided to strengthen himself before tensions erupted.
• Arima Shizuya replied to letters from Sasakibe, Akon, Kyōraku Shunsui, and Kotetsu Isane, then dreamed of being trapped at a crossroads before Sagara Dragon pulled him free.
• Arima Shizuya resumed Shunkō training with Yushiro and successfully condensed Kido energy around his back before guiding it into his arm.
• Arima Shizuya learned Shunkō, gained Kido and Hakuda, briefly overwhelmed Yushiro with his Spiritual Pressure, and reached Third-Class Spiritual Pressure.

After completing his training in the Second Division, Arima Shizuya returned to the academy and met with Aizen in the Fifth Division Barracks. The chapter ended with him stepping into Aizen’s office and greeting his teacher.

• Arima Shizuya spent another week consolidating his training, and Yoruichi announced that he had completed it.
• Arima Shizuya said goodbye to Yoruichi, Yushiro, and the Second Division, while Soi Fon watched from a distance.
• Back at the academy, Arima Shizuya spoke with Kotetsu Kiyone, then headed to the Fifth Division Barracks.
• Arima Shizuya entered Aizen’s office, where Tōsen Kaname was waiting, and greeted Aizen.

At a meeting arranged by Prison Master, Tōsen Kaname reported reaching Vice-Captain-level strength, and Arima Shizuya recounted his recent experiences in several divisions. Aizen recognized Shizuya’s rapid progress and asked whether he was still trying to achieve Bankai.

• Tōsen Kaname said he had reached Vice-Captain-level strength and had killed the Ninth Division’s Sixth and Fourth Seats while testing it.
• Aizen praised Tōsen’s Shikai and spiritual pressure, and Tōsen identified Kuna Mashiro as the Ninth Division’s current Vice-Captain.
• Arima Shizuya recounted his experiences in the Eighth, First, and Second Divisions, including training with Captain-Commander Yamamoto.
• Aizen summarized Shizuya’s connections and training, and Tōsen Kaname admired his accomplishments.
• Aizen asked Arima Shizuya whether he was still attempting to achieve Bankai.

Arima Shizuya explained that he had developed Simulated Release as a temporary way to fight despite his Bankai being sealed, and Aizen praised his resilience. Aizen then proposed testing the Hōgyoku on captain-class targets from the Gotei Thirteen, making the experiment Shizuya’s debut battle.

• Aizen told Arima Shizuya that his investigation into the sealed Bankai had uncovered rumors about a Zero Division member with the power to name things, but no definite solution.
• Aizen suggested that researching the Hōgyoku might help Shizuya break through the binding power.
• Shizuya explained that his Zanpakuto, Sagara Dragon, had accepted his experiments and revealed his new technique, Simulated Release.
• Tōsen Kaname and Aizen reacted with surprise and admiration as Shizuya described the technique.
• Aizen proposed using captain-class members of the Gotei Thirteen as targets for the next stage of Hōgyoku experiments, which he called Shizuya’s debut battle.

Aizen planned an operation to gather Hollowfication data by targeting captain-class Soul Reapers, and encouraged Arima Shizuya to test his new power in a debut battle. After Aizen named several possible opponents, Arima chose one, but the chapter ended before revealing whom.

• Arima Shizuya hesitated to fight a captain-class opponent, but Aizen reassured him that the battle would test his strength and help him understand his power.
• Aizen explained that the group would treat the Gotei 13 as hypothetical enemies and consider targeting captains to obtain Hollowfication data.
• Aizen ruled out several especially dangerous captains, including Yamamoto, Unohana, Kyōraku, Ukitake, and Zaraki, as opponents for now.
• Aizen proposed Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō, Aikawa Rabu, and Kensei Muguruma as more accessible targets and asked Arima which one he wanted to face.
• Arima Shizuya chose an opponent, but the chapter did not disclose the person's identity.