Recaps

After Soi Fon covered up Duan Mu’s incident with Iwao, Duan Mu looked for a way to confirm whether Aizen was in Soul Society before traveling to Hueco Mundo. He seized on the upcoming Flower Arrangement Gathering as his chance to leave secretly, using special training as an alibi.

• Duan Mu told Soi Fon that Iwao had been sent away, and she agreed to conceal the incident from Central 46 while warning him not to cause trouble again.
• Soi Fon suspended Kiyohara Tsumugu without removing him from his role and confined Marechiyo Ōmaeda for dereliction of duty.
• Duan Mu considered how to determine whether Aizen was in Soul Society and concluded that he could not reliably observe or track him himself.
• At the Comprehensive First Aid Station, Konai told Duan Mu that captains would attend the Flower Arrangement Gathering and that Aizen’s presence was expected to be discussed.
• Duan Mu decided to use the gathering as an opportunity to travel to Hueco Mundo, claim he was undergoing special training at the Great Kūkaku Training Hall, and suspend his work at Yorozuya and the First Aid Station.

Duan Mu took Iwao through a Garganta to Hueco Mundo and concealed Iwao’s presence with a temporary Hollow Pattern. In Duan Mu’s cavern, they found a group of childlike Arrancar who seemed connected to former Espada No. 2, just as Tier’s voice called out.

• Duan Mu made Iwao promise to keep their trip to Hueco Mundo secret and to follow his orders there.
• Duan Mu activated his Hollow Pattern, opened a Garganta, and led Iwao through it into Hueco Mundo.
• Duan Mu covered Iwao in a temporary Hollow Pattern made from a Hollow’s spiritual pressure, then brought him to the cavern where Duan Mu had stayed before.
• Duan Mu and Iwao found the cavern filled with children’s belongings and hundreds of small Arrancar, each bearing the number 102.
• Duan Mu realized the Arrancar might collectively be former Espada No. 2, and a familiar voice told Picaro to stop fooling around.

Duan Mu met Tier’s secretly sheltered Pikaro, learned their origins and unusual shared nature, and won their affection by giving them candy and nicknames. He then asked Tier about Aaroniero and began planning how to lure him out of Las Noches without exposing Tier or himself; the chapter ended with Duan Mu eyeing his Zanpakuto as a possible way to hide their battle’s aura.

• Tier explained that she had hidden the Pikaro in the cave after freeing them, and described their shared spiritual-pressure ability and the danger they posed when united.
• Duan Mu handed out candy, earned the Pikaro’s favor, gave them nicknames, and learned how their innocent but unpredictable group had formed from a special Adjuchas and the children it befriended.
• The Pikaro identified Aaroniero as an enemy who tried to devour them, while Tier said he had stayed hidden in Las Noches since she nearly killed him and avoided its artificial daylight dome.
• Duan Mu told Iwao that Tier was the fifth-ranked Ten Blade and that Aaroniero was the ninth, then decided he needed to draw Aaroniero away from Las Noches without alerting Aizen or endangering Tier.
• Duan Mu considered using his Zanpakuto to conceal the aura of the fight, but still needed an opportunity to lure Aaroniero to the outer region.

Aaroniero left Las Noches to hunt powerful Hollows, while Tier watched him go and Duan Mu learned of his departure through their reconstructed Hollow Crest connection. Duan Mu and Iwao tracked Aaroniero down, where Duan Mu trapped him in a strange arena and revealed himself.

• Aaroniero reviewed Hollow reports, brooded over his fear of Duan Mu, and left Las Noches to hunt Hollows.
• Tier watched Aaroniero depart and felt fortunate that giving up her Espada position could help Duan Mu.
• Duan Mu learned through Tier that Aaroniero was speeding southeast and prepared to pursue him with Iwao.
• Duan Mu and Iwao left the Piccaros behind and tracked Aaroniero through the Outer Ring.
• After Aaroniero killed a Hollow, Duan Mu appeared and transported him into a strange arena.

Duan Mu fought Aaroniero in a sealed death-match arena, where Aaroniero tried to convince Ganju that he was Shiba Kaien but was ultimately killed. After Tier warned Duan Mu that Aaroniero’s death would share battle information with every Arrancar, Duan Mu fled with Iwao, only to find their escape blocked by a spatial lockdown.

• Duan Mu created a sealed arena and explained that he and Aaroniero had to fight until one of them died.
• Aaroniero released his Zanpakuto and battled Duan Mu, then pleaded with Ganju to save him by claiming he was Shiba Kaien.
• Ganju rejected Aaroniero as his brother, and Duan Mu struck him down despite Tier’s warning about Aaroniero’s Synchronized Cognition.
• Aaroniero’s death triggered his synchronized ability, and Duan Mu and Iwao returned to Hueco Mundo as Tier offered to hold off their pursuers.
• Duan Mu tried to open a Garganta and flee with Iwao, but spatial lockdown sealed the passage and left them trapped.

In Seireitei, Aizen and Ichimaru Gin discussed Duan Mu’s unexpected arrival in Hueco Mundo and the threat he posed. Hunted after killing Aaroniero, Duan Mu called Urahara Kisuke for help and faced Nnoitra, who recognized the weakness of his Shikai; Duan Mu then began a new release whose purpose remained unclear.

• Aizen told Ichimaru Gin that Duan Mu’s presence in Hueco Mundo interested him, while Gin noted that Duan Mu had angered Aizen.
• Duan Mu fled Hueco Mundo’s outer circle as Espada pursued him, then called Urahara Kisuke using the phone he had brought along.
• Urahara Kisuke analyzed Duan Mu’s location and promised to open a temporary Garganta in five minutes, warning him not to let the phone be disturbed.
• Duan Mu headed toward his pursuers and confronted Nnoitra, who had become NO. 5 and used synchronized recognition to deduce the weakness of Duan Mu’s Shikai.
• Nnoitra prevented Duan Mu from explaining his Shikai’s rules and drove him out of the arena, forcing Duan Mu to release his blade and begin a new ability called “Same and Different Together in Darkness.”

Duan Mu trapped himself and Nnoitra in his complete Shikai’s hopscotch domain, where breaking the rules provoked a devastating punishment. After reaching a safe platform, Duan Mu revealed that Nnoitra’s own reiatsu strengthened the attacks and forced him to keep playing.

• Duan Mu explained that his complete Shikai created a time-limited hopscotch domain in which both men played by its rules and attacks drew on their combined reiatsu.
• Nnoitra grew impatient and charged Duan Mu, breaking the rules; the domain restrained him and struck him with Kurohitsugi while Duan Mu raced across the platforms.
• Duan Mu reached the sky, threw the pebble onto square eight, and landed there as the domain’s white stars dimmed.
• Nnoitra survived by releasing his Zanpakuto, and Duan Mu explained that the completed domain trapped its participants and grew stronger with their reiatsu.
• Duan Mu invited Nnoitra to begin the game, now that he had reached a safe zone and could switch players.

Duan Mu confronted Same and Different Together in Darkness, deciding that the blade belonged to his past self and that he would erase its true name rather than abandon his Zanpakuto. Meanwhile, Nnoitra’s attempt to follow the game’s rules unraveled when he realized both feet on the platform meant he was already out.

• Duan Mu concluded that Same and Different Together in Darkness wanted to change him back into his former self, so he resolved to erase its true name.
• Duan Mu recognized the rule-maker and god overseeing the game as another version of himself and welcomed the chance to fight that stronger, colder self.
• Nnoitra reviewed the game’s rules and endured relentless attacks while worrying that switching players would leave him exposed during Duan Mu’s safer return across the platforms.
• Duan Mu pointed out that Nnoitra had made a mistake, and Nnoitra realized both his feet were on the circular platform, meaning he was already out.
• Duan Mu leaped onto Platform No. 7 as the game’s time limit neared.

Duan Mu fought Szayelaporro after emerging from his Shikai space, then escaped into a Garganta while Tier attacked him. He left Tier with instructions to verify his identity through their internal communication whenever they met.

• Duan Mu emerged from his Shikai space after defeating Nnoitra and found Szayelaporro, Tier, Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio, and Gantenbain Mosqueda waiting for him.
• Szayelaporro introduced himself as the Espada ranked 8 and offered to enter Duan Mu's Shikai space, but Duan Mu charged him instead.
• Duan Mu let Szayelaporro's blade pierce the edge of his Sekketzu, used experience points to restore his ability to wield spiritual pressure, and kicked Szayelaporro away.
• Duan Mu used Shunpo to race toward a forming Garganta as Szayelaporro's Broken Wing blades struck his back.
• Tier attacked Duan Mu, who entered the Garganta and told her to confirm his identity through their internal communication whenever they met.

Duan Mu defended himself before Central 46 against footage showing someone who looked like him in Hueco Mundo and was released after Amanen Nayula vouched for his whereabouts. He returned to the Shiba Clan, where he recognized Nayula as an orphan he had once cared for, but Kūkaku stopped him from leaving to investigate.

• Soi Fon took Duan Mu from the Shiba Clan to Central 46, where he denied being the person shown fighting Szayelaporro in Hueco Mundo and warned that Hollows might be imitating Shinigami.
• Duan Mu proposed stricter surveillance, and Amanen persuaded Central 46 to release him after the Shihoin Clan's examination confirmed his Zanpakuto seal.
• Duan Mu learned that his Zanpakuto had been returned and resolved to erase its true name and grant it a new one under his control.
• Duan Mu returned to the Shiba Clan and told Kūkaku that Central 46 had released him, then asked about the sage Amanen and his daughter.
• Kūkaku explained that Amanen Nayula had worked among commoners and orphans, and Duan Mu recognized her as an orphan he had once cared for.
• Duan Mu tried to leave to visit the orphanages, but Kūkaku grabbed him and slammed his face into the training platform.

Duan Mu sought safety at the Comprehensive First Aid Station after worrying that someone from Hueco Mundo was targeting him. While helping Kotetsu Isane treat an injured Shinigami, he tried to raise her favorability for experience points but gave up on deliberate advances, and their conversation ended with her handing him wet wipes.

• Duan Mu went to the Comprehensive First Aid Station, where Miyaku told him that Kotetsu Isane was treating a critically injured Shinigami from the 10th Division.
• Duan Mu joined Isane in the operating room and helped stabilize the patient, allowing the emergency treatment to finish quickly.
• Duan Mu waited outside, hoping to raise Isane's favorability beyond sixty and gain experience points because he feared further attacks after his identity was exposed in Hueco Mundo.
• Duan Mu deliberately brushed the back of Isane's hand but saw no change in her favorability, so he abandoned the attempt and prepared to leave.
• Isane gave Duan Mu a packet of herbal-smelling wet wipes, and he offered to improve the product at the next meeting.

Duan Mu maintained the Maggot's Nest, using its prisoners as sparring partners and experimental subjects while pursuing research into tracking-type Kido and considering his growth. After deciding against challenging Unohana Retsu, he sought refuge at the Comprehensive First Aid Station, where he discovered Aizen had arrived.

• Duan Mu replaced the Maggot's Nest doors and forced the prisoners to spar with him under the pretense of inspecting their strength.
• Duan Mu reflected on his research, his system progress, and his goal of overcoming Kyoka Suigetsu, while noting that his improved physique had made his Kido-body research unnecessary.
• Duan Mu considered challenging Unohana Retsu but abandoned the idea after remembering how her presence made his soul tremble.
• Duan Mu entered the Comprehensive First Aid Station for safety and learned that Aizen had brought an injured squad member there.

Duan Mu met Aizen at the Comprehensive First Aid Station and accepted a commission to instruct the Fifth Division despite suspecting Aizen had hypnotized him with Kyoka Suigetsu. He decided that working near Aizen would let him observe the Zanpakuto and find a way to counter it.

• Aizen approached Duan Mu at the Comprehensive First Aid Station and discussed their similar qualities while Duan Mu stayed wary of him.
• Duan Mu suspected Aizen was interested in how he had escaped Hueco Mundo and wondered whether Urahara Kisuke had hidden something on him.
• Aizen invited Duan Mu to instruct the Fifth Division, and Duan Mu agreed to visit several days each month as a paid commission.
• Duan Mu realized he had been hypnotized by Kyoka Suigetsu after his anesthetic-induced fog cleared, though he could not tell when Aizen had released it.
• Kotetsu Isane told Aizen that his injured division member had passed the critical stage but needed at least half a month of treatment.
• After Aizen left, Duan Mu decided the Fifth Division could be a safe place to observe Aizen closely and develop an ability to counter Kyoka Suigetsu.

Duan Mu learned that the elderly Quincy Ishida Sōgen had died in the Human World and been brought to West District 3, where Iwao had rescued him from the 12th Division and put him to work harvesting tobacco. Duan Mu arrived as Saie and the Technical Development Bureau came to seize Ishida Sōgen, and the chapter ended with Duan Mu blocking Saie's strange whip attacks.

• Kiyohara Tsumugu told Duan Mu that Ishida Sōgen had died in the Human World and had been transferred to West District 3 by Natsuhiko Yuu.
• Duan Mu learned that Iwao had beaten the 12th Division squad members escorting Ishida Sōgen and had put the old Quincy to work in Granny Hidariha's tobacco field.
• Iwao sensed Saie and her Technical Development Bureau squad approaching, then stood in their way to protect Ishida Sōgen.
• Saie tried to persuade Iwao to hand Ishida Sōgen over, but Iwao refused after learning she represented the Technical Development Bureau.
• Saie attacked Iwao with a white whip, and Duan Mu appeared and blocked her strikes with a repulsion barrier.

Duan Mu refused Saie's attempt to take Ishida Sōgen and brought the Quincy to the Yorozuya, intending to use the dispute to draw Seireitei's attention. When Kurotsuchi Mayuri arrived with the 12th Division, Duan Mu confronted him as District 38's residents and tavern fighters surrounded them.

• Saie demanded Ishida Sōgen from Duan Mu, but Duan Mu refused and Saie withdrew while secretly reporting the failure.
• Duan Mu returned to the Yorozuya with Ishida Sōgen and told Uzuki to stay inside while he prepared to draw Seireitei's attention.
• Duan Mu introduced Ishida Sōgen to Man'ya Ori, then sensed the 12th Division approaching under Nemu Kurotsuchi.
• Kurotsuchi Mayuri emerged from the tavern wall and demanded that Duan Mu demonstrate how he traveled to Hueco Mundo.
• Duan Mu revealed that District 38 was surrounded by armed residents and warned Kurotsuchi Mayuri to release the button controlling the human bombs.

Duan Mu faced Kurotsuchi Mayuri as villains and Rukongai residents gathered to protect him, but Mayuri left after seeing Urahara Kisuke’s transfer pillar. Central 46 warned Duan Mu to preserve Rukongai’s stability and monitor Ishida Sōgen, while Duan Mu returned to the tavern convinced that Mayuri had spared him because he trusted Urahara.

• Villains and civilians from across Rukongai gathered outside Duan Mu’s tavern, surrounding Kurotsuchi Mayuri and the 12th Division soldiers.
• Duan Mu told Mayuri that the crowd could not stop the captains, but might restrain Mayuri from killing civilians; Mayuri then left with Nemu Kurotsuchi and abandoned his pursuit of Ishida Sōgen.
• Duan Mu sent the eager villains away and thanked the Rukongai residents who had come to help him.
• Omaeda delivered Central 46’s warnings to Duan Mu and ordered him to monitor Ishida Sōgen; Duan Mu agreed and recognized that Central 46 was assessing his attitude.
• Duan Mu told Diao Ao that Mayuri could have killed the gathered civilians and described him as a dutiful Soul Reaper who maintained balance.
• Duan Mu realized that Mayuri’s killing intent had disappeared after he saw the transfer pillar Urahara Kisuke had given him.

Duan Mu taught the Fifth Division and gained experience from Hinamori Momo before discovering that his spiritual pressure had hit an extreme barrier. He suspected that strengthening his physique might raise the limit and decided to pursue that path while continuing to develop his other abilities.

• Duan Mu visited the Fifth Division, where Hinamori Momo welcomed him and accepted his loan of the rare book Suzubanehime, raising her favorability to 42.
• Duan Mu taught the Fifth Division members, whose trust in him had grown because of his comprehensive instruction in Zanpakuto, Kido, Hakuda, and Shunpo.
• Duan Mu reviewed his experience and spiritual-pressure growth, then tried to invest experience points into spiritual pressure.
• Duan Mu discovered that his spiritual pressure stopped at 399,999 and recognized the extreme barrier of his spiritual body.
• Duan Mu wondered whether strengthening his merged physical and spiritual body could raise the barrier, and decided to prioritize improving his physique while continuing his other training.

Duan Mu spent months subjecting himself to extreme training and experiments to transform the density of his Spiritual Pressure, drawing inspiration from Aizen’s Soul Combination Exchange. He developed the Spiritual Void Crest and a method to compress his power, but collapsed from exhaustion before completing his research.

• Duan Mu trained in Kūkaku’s pressure-enhanced ring, observing his body as he repeatedly pushed himself past his physical limits.
• Iwao visited the training hall and learned that Duan Mu had spent months obsessively studying spiritual bodies and neglecting his work and rest.
• Duan Mu’s experiments led him to compress and reorganize his Core of Spiritual Pressure, increasing its density without increasing the amount of Spiritual Power in his body.
• Duan Mu combined the Void Crest and Development Spirit Crest into the Spiritual Void Crest, which helped transform his Spiritual Pressure and raise its proficiency.
• Duan Mu resolved to keep developing the technique until he could break through the ultimate barrier, then collapsed face-first onto the arena.

After completing his yearlong cultivation, Duan Mu resumed his work at Yorozuya and the Maggot's Nest while learning that Rukia had been sent to Karakura Town. As he settled back into his busy routine, he sensed that the peace was nearing its end.

• Duan Mu finished perfecting the Spiritual Void Crest, exhausted his experience, and returned to Seireitei to resume his work.
• Duan Mu reopened Yorozuya and cleaned the Maggot's Nest, where the prisoners remembered his disturbing spiritual-body examinations.
• Omaeda told Duan Mu that Rukia had been sent to Karakura Town and that Renji Abarai was slated to become the Sixth Division's lieutenant captain.
• Duan Mu recognized that the events ahead would bring danger and rapid growth, then returned to work across Rukongai and Seireitei.
• Duan Mu monitored Rukia in the Human World and learned Renji planned to celebrate his appointment with friends after the ceremony.

Duan Mu learned that Rukia’s spiritual-power signal had vanished and hurried to investigate, while Aizen, Tōsen Kaname, and Ichimaru Gin discussed Duan Mu as a potential threat. In Karakura Town, Rukia encountered Ichigo, who could see her, and discovered he already knew what Hollows looked like.

• Aizen told Duan Mu that a Fifth Division member had died during a Hollow operation, and Duan Mu urged him to turn his grief into motivation to grow stronger.
• Kiyohara Tsumugu reported that Rukia’s spiritual-power fluctuations and Command Divine Machine signal had disappeared, so Duan Mu rushed toward the Supervision Team.
• Tōsen Kaname argued that Duan Mu’s power and rapid growth made him dangerous, while Ichimaru Gin and Aizen discussed whether Duan Mu was good or evil.
• Rukia searched for a Hollow in Karakura Town, lost contact with the Technical Development Bureau, and entered the room of an orange-haired high school student named Ichigo.
• Ichigo kicked Rukia, revealed that he could see her, and described creatures resembling Hollows before asking whether she knew a Shinigami matching someone he had seen.
• When Ichigo called Rukia shabby, she angrily cast Bakudo #1: Sentō.

Duan Mu learned that Rukia remained in the Human World beyond her deployment while Soul Society's surveillance failed to locate her, and he worried that someone was issuing orders in Central 46's name. In Karakura Town, Ichigo asked Rukia whether a Hollow could have caused his mother's mysterious illness and recalled a strange man he believed might know what happened.

• Duan Mu heard that Rukia was still purifying Hollows, drawing additional pay, and using equipment that suggested Urahara Kisuke was helping her evade surveillance.
• Kiyohara Tsumugu revealed that Central 46 had extended Rukia's deployment and blocked an investigation, while Soi Fon had ordered the Supervision Team to monitor Duan Mu.
• Duan Mu visited the Maggot's Nest and passed Soi Fon's office without going in, knowing that the Supervision Team was tracking his movements.
• Ichigo asked Rukia for a day off on June twentieth, the anniversary of his mother's death, and questioned whether a Hollow could have caused her illness.
• Ichigo remembered that his mother's symptoms began after a Hollow attack and resolved to find the strange man he had seen at the riverbank, believing the man might know the truth.

Duan Mu accepted Nayula’s request to infiltrate Central 46 and investigate why its members had vanished from public contact, despite the danger to them both. He knew her suspicions were correct and saw the commission as a chance to pursue a plan of his own.

• Duan Mu met Amanen Nayula at the Yorozuya after Ishida Sōgen told him a customer had specifically asked to see him.
• Nayula explained that Central 46’s Sages and judges had lived in the Pure Tower Forest Residence for over a month, rejected her requests to enter, and kept her from seeing her father.
• Duan Mu warned Nayula that investigating Central 46 could lead to imprisonment or death, whether her suspicions proved right or wrong.
• Duan Mu accepted the commission as Nayula’s friend, on the condition that she protect his life and tell no one what they discovered.
• Duan Mu privately recognized that Nayula’s suspicions were correct and saw the investigation as a chance to act on a plan he had previously abandoned.

Duan Mu brought Nayula to the Seventh Division Area and began a direct assault toward Central 46, hoping to force Aizen to defect before he could obtain the Hogyoku. He left his plan uncertain as he unleashed his spiritual pressure and charged through the Seventh Division Area.

• Duan Mu walked openly through the Seireitei and reached the outskirts of the Seventh Division Area, where he met Nayula.
• Duan Mu gave Nayula a protective carrier and called Captain Soi Fon to report that he was the ryoka planning to invade Central 46.
• Duan Mu crushed the Command Divine Machine, strapped Nayula onto his back, and released an overwhelming spiritual pressure that alerted the Seireitei.
• Duan Mu resolved to use the invasion as a catalyst to make the other captains investigate Aizen, while relying on Nayula's friendship as protection if events changed.
• Duan Mu charged forward, blasting apart the white-stone street and racing through nearly half of the Seventh Division Area.

Duan Mu raced through the Seventh Division Area toward Central 46 with Nayula, where Komamura Sajin intercepted him and fought him with Bankai. Duan Mu restrained Komamura with multiple Kidō spells and continued onward, leaving the reason for his attack on Central 46 unclear.

• Seireitei issued an emergency alert that Duan Mu had invaded the Seventh Division Area and was heading to attack Central 46, prompting Unohana Retsu, Soi Fon, and other forces to respond.
• Kenpachi Zaraki charged toward Duan Mu’s Spiritual Power, while Yachiru Kusajishi climbed onto his back and pointed him in the right direction.
• Komamura Sajin summoned his Bankai, Enma Kōriki, and struck Duan Mu, but Duan Mu’s counterforce staggered the giant and injured Komamura.
• Duan Mu used Kurohitsugi and several binding Kidō spells to restrain Komamura, then knocked Iba Tetsuzaemon aside when he intervened.
• Duan Mu continued toward Central 46 with Amanen Nayula, leaving Komamura and the Seventh Division members wondering what he intended to do there.

Duan Mu fought Tōsen Kaname outside Central 46, escaped his Bankai’s sensory prison, and began opening the barriers, but Tōsen stabbed him before he could enter. Yamamoto arrived as Nayula declared that Duan Mu’s fate belonged to the Golden Seal Noble Assembly, not the Gotei 13.

• Duan Mu reached Central 46 after narrowly escaping Komamura Sajin and confronted Tōsen Kaname, who attacked him with Suzumushi Nishiki: Benihōkō.
• Duan Mu used Jumei to restrain Tōsen inside his Bankai’s barrier, then escaped and rewrote the spiritual patterns on Central 46’s gates to open them.
• Tōsen appeared behind Duan Mu and stabbed him through the collarbone before he could open the final gate.
• Duan Mu spent Nayula’s experience points on his physique as Tōsen prepared to strike again, and Nayula called for him to stop.
• Yamamoto arrived, but Nayula presented a document stating that Duan Mu could only be judged by the Golden Seal Noble Assembly.