Chapter Summaries

Kenma brought the injured Shisui and Toji to the Twelfth Division so Mayuri Kurotsuchi could treat them. There, Captain Kiryū Kirishiki welcomed them and invited Kenma to wait with her over tea and pastries.

• Kenma checked Shisui and Toji's injuries, and Toji described how he had fought Kaname Tosen and demanded extra pay for losing an arm.
• Kenma contacted Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who agreed to prepare an operation to replace Toji's arm.
• Toji recalled Mayuri Kurotsuchi's disturbing treatment methods and resolved to beat him once his arm was fixed.
• Kenma, Shisui, and Toji arrived at the Twelfth Division, where Kiryū Kirishiki was waiting to take them to the laboratory.
• Toji went straight to Mayuri Kurotsuchi's laboratory, while Kiryū Kirishiki sent Shisui in on a cart and invited Kenma to tea.
• Kenma followed Kiryū Kirishiki to the reception room and saw a cart piled with pastries.

Kenma visited the Twelfth Division, where Kiryū Kirishiki thanked him for introducing Kisuke Urahara and Mayuri Kurotsuchi, whose help advanced her Gikongan technology. After Shisui and Zhen'er recovered, Kenma returned home with carts full of pastries, which Yoruichi and Yushiro eagerly ate.

• Kiryū Kirishiki gave Kenma pastries made with her new technique, restoring his depleted Spiritual Pressure and easing his fatigue.
• Kiryū Kirishiki thanked Kenma for recommending Kisuke Urahara and Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who had helped her make a breakthrough in Gikongan technology.
• Shisui and Zhen'er arrived healed from their injuries, and Zhen'er complained about Mayuri Kurotsuchi's treatment before admitting the aftermath had felt refreshing.
• Kenma declined Kiryū Kirishiki's offer of more food and left the Twelfth Division with Shisui and Zhen'er, each pushing a cart piled with pastries.
• Kenma told Yoruichi how Kiryū Kirishiki had thanked him, then Yoruichi called Yushiro over to share the pastries.
• Yoruichi and Yushiro ate a third of the pastries before collapsing onto the tatami with full bellies.

After learning that Kuchiki Kyoka had killed Central 46, the Tsunayashiro Clan’s main family, and Kenpachi, Kenma explained to Yoruichi that he had failed to stop him and helped treat the injured. Kenma remained at the Shikokuin Family estate under martial law and followed the unfolding events in Soul Society.

• An Inner Court Corps messenger announced the Captain-General’s martial-law order and reported that Kuchiki Kyoka had killed Central 46, the Tsunayashiro Clan’s main family, and Kenpachi.
• Yoruichi questioned Kenma about what had happened, and Kenma said he had arrived too late to stop Kuchiki Kyoka and had returned from the Twelfth Division after Shisui was badly injured and Zhen'er lost an arm.
• Kenma argued that Soul Society would not descend into chaos while Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni remained, and Yoruichi left for the captains’ meeting.
• Kenma stayed inside the Shikokuin Family estate during the lockdown and learned about Soul Society’s major developments from reports, Uchiha Fugaku, and Yoruichi.

As Kuchiki Kyoka’s attacks ravaged Seireitei, Kenma was shocked that Kyoka wielded Zanpakuto powers despite Muramasa remaining in Kenma’s hands. Kenma used the upheaval to place the Shikokuin Family in control of the rebuilt Central 46, but Yoruichi confronted him over his role in her confinement.

• Kuchiki Kyoka killed Central 46 Sages and four captains over five days, escaped a captains’ ambush, and was finally sealed by Yamamoto Shigekuni and Kuchiki Ginrei.
• Kenma learned that Kyoka had repeatedly released Zanpakuto powers during his battles and wondered how he had done so without Muramasa.
• Kenma arranged for Shikokuin Family retainers to fill most of the new Central 46 seats and made a loyal retainer its Grand Judge.
• Kenma told the future Grand Judge to sentence Kyoka to Muken Hell and carry out other matters for the Shikokuin Family.
• Yoruichi sarcastically challenged Kenma about his growing influence and asked whether he still blamed her for informing her father and having him confined.

Yoruichi confronted Kenma about keeping her confined during Kyoka’s killing spree, insisting she had a duty to fight, while Kenma angrily rejected her faith in Shinigami and revealed his contempt for them. Yoruichi chose not to pry into the reason for his feelings, and Kenma asked her to give him time.

• Yoruichi reminded Kenma that she was a Shinigami and the Second Division Commander, and said she could not stay home while Kyoka attacked their comrades.
• Kenma challenged Yoruichi’s confidence, warning that Kyoka was too powerful for her to defeat.
• Kenma lost his temper and called Shinigami butchers who had no honor or dignity.
• Kenma apologized for his outburst, but Yoruichi sensed that his contempt was genuine and wondered what had caused it.
• Yoruichi promised not to question or pry until Kenma was ready to explain, and he asked her to give him time.

Kenma told Yoruichi he would soon stop serving in the Second Division and revealed that he planned to reduce her Onmitsukidō workload. After the new Central 46 was formed under the Shikokuin Family’s influence, Kenma visited the imprisoned Kuchiki Kyoka before his trial and questioned whether Kyoka could already be considered guilty.

• Kenma told Yoruichi he would leave his Second Division post but reassured her that he had no intention of abandoning his power and position.
• Kenma said he intended to reduce part of Yoruichi’s workload, specifically her duties in the Onmitsukidō.
• The new Central 46 was formed, with Shikokuin Family allies taking more than half the seats and Kenma’s chosen retainer becoming Grand Judge.
• Central 46 prepared to judge Kuchiki Kyoka, and Kenma entered the chamber where Kyoka was bound.
• Kenma greeted Kuchiki Kyoka and argued that, despite his actions, Kyoka could not be declared guilty before the trial.

Kuchiki Kyoka refused Kenma’s offer to become his subordinate and explained how a Shinigami could use Zanpakuto abilities without the sword. He speculated that a Shinigami and Zanpakuto might eventually fuse, while Kenma left with renewed interest in reaching that state.

• Kuchiki Kyoka declared that his defeat made him guilty, though he said he had grown less hateful toward Kenma during his confinement.
• Kenma offered to free Kuchiki Kyoka if he would serve him, but Kuchiki Kyoka refused to submit to anyone.
• Kenma asked how Kuchiki Kyoka had used his Zanpakuto abilities after Muramasa was taken and sealed away.
• Kuchiki Kyoka explained that a Zanpakuto’s power came from the Shinigami and said he could use Shikai without his sword; he speculated that a higher realm would fuse the Shinigami and Zanpakuto souls.
• Kenma told Kuchiki Kyoka he would not disappoint him, then asked why he had challenged the captains in reverse order.
• Kuchiki Kyoka said he had sought to establish a new order by making the Shinigami and nobles recognize his strength, beginning with Kenpachi of the Eleventh Division.

Kenma questioned Kuchiki Kyoka about his battles with the captains and his intentions toward Shihōin Yoruichi before leaving him in his cell. Aizen Sosuke revealed that he had overheard their conversation, then Kenma met Tenjiro Kirinji in the waiting room as Central 46's summons loomed.

• Kuchiki Kyoka told Kenma that Yamamoto Shigekuni and several veteran captains were formidable, while he dismissed Ukitake Jūshirō and Kiryū Kirishiki.
• Kenma asked whether Kuchiki Kyoka had targeted Shihōin Yoruichi, and Kuchiki Kyoka said he had never intended to harm her.
• After Kenma left, Aizen Sosuke emerged from hiding and admitted he had listened to the entire conversation.
• Aizen asked Kuchiki Kyoka to explain the fusion of a Shinigami and Zanpakuto, and Kuchiki Kyoka agreed.
• Kenma entered the waiting room and greeted Tenjiro Kirinji, who asked why Central 46 had summoned them.

Central 46 sentenced Kuchiki Kyoka and punished Yamamoto Shigekuni for the Gotei 13’s failure to stop him. The chamber then summoned Tenjiro Kirinji and Shikashuin Kenma to address the consequences of cutting the Gotei 13’s funding and personnel in half.

• Central 46 sentenced Kuchiki Kyoka to 23,834 years in Muken, then increased his term to 25,000 years and sealed his senses and consciousness after he mocked the Sages.
• The Kido Corps carried Kuchiki Kyoka away, concluding his case.
• Central 46 summoned Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni and questioned him about the Gotei 13’s failure to protect the Seireitei.
• Yamamoto admitted the Gotei 13’s responsibility and accepted Central 46’s decision to halve its funding and personnel.
• After Yamamoto asked how the Seireitei would be guarded with fewer personnel, Tenjiro Kirinji and Shikashuin Kenma entered the chamber.

Central 46 halved the Gotei 13’s funding and personnel, approved strengthening the Kido Corps, and ordered the Onmitsukidō rebuilt as an independent institution. The sages then began discussing who would command the Stealth Force, focusing on members of the Shikokuin Family and Lady Shihōin Yoruichi.

• Central 46 decreed that the Gotei 13’s funding and personnel would be cut in half and reassigned to the Kido Corps and Onmitsukidō.
• A sage argued that the Onmitsukidō had lost its independence by merging with the Gotei 13’s Second Division, and Central 46 approved rebuilding it as an independent institution.
• Yamamoto Shigekuni accepted the decision, saying the Gotei 13 had no objections if it served the Seireitei’s peace.
• The Grand Judge ordered every Soul Society institution to support the Onmitsukidō’s swift reconstruction and threatened traitor status for anyone who obstructed it.
• Central 46 began considering candidates for Commander of the Stealth Force and discussed Lady Shihōin Yoruichi as a possible choice.

Central 46 appointed Shikashuin Kenma Commander of the Stealth Force and presented him and Tenjiro Kirinji with white haori. The judges then began discussing how to divide funds between the Onmitsukidō and the Kidō Corps.

• Central 46 debated candidates for Commander of the Stealth Force and appointed Shikashuin Kenma.
• Central 46 presented Kenma and Tenjiro Kirinji with white haori marked for the Stealth Force and Kidō.
• Kenma and Tenjiro Kirinji accepted the haori, and Kenma vowed to defend the Seireitei.
• Central 46 began discussing how to distribute funding between the Onmitsukidō and the Kidō Corps.
• One sage proposed giving eighty percent of the funds to the Onmitsukidō and offered to donate a century of salary.

Kenma helped Central 46 settle funding and personnel plans for the Seireitei’s three major organizations, including secret recruitment for the Stealth Force. After the meeting, Yamamoto Shigekuni warned Kenma not to threaten Soul Society’s peace, or Yamamoto would oppose him.

• Kenma persuaded Central 46’s sages to withdraw their offers to sacrifice their salaries for the Stealth Force.
• Central 46 discussed assigning Shino Academy graduates among the organizations, and Kenma said the Stealth Force would recruit suitable students secretly.
• Kenma, Tenjiro Kirinji, and Yamamoto Shigekuni left the assembly hall after the meeting concluded.
• Kenma explained that his wife had missed the operation against Kuchiki Kyoka because his father was gravely ill, and Yamamoto said he knew of the leave request.
• Yamamoto told Kenma he had seen through his political maneuvering and warned that he would become Kenma’s enemy if Kenma shattered Soul Society’s peace.

Kenma returned to the Shikokuin Family as the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō and told Yoruichi about the Tsunayashiro Clan’s new head, Tsunayashiro Tokinada. After warning her about Tokinada’s crimes, Kenma reassured Yoruichi that he would never harm her and declared that his goal was the entire world.

• Kenma showed Yoruichi the white haori and explained that Central 46 had appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō, leaving her as an ordinary Second Division captain.
• Yoruichi told Kenma that her father had been delighted by his actions against the Tsunayashiro Clan, then struggled to remember the name of its new head.
• Kenma identified Tsunayashiro Tokinada and warned Yoruichi that he had murdered his wife and colleague and might have helped massacre the clan’s main family heirs.
• Yoruichi asked Kenma whether he would ever kill her and her little brother to take the Shikokuin Family, and Kenma said his ambition reached beyond the family to the entire world.
• Yoruichi kissed Kenma, then made him carry her toward the bedroom.

Kenma used his consciousness to speak through Riko Amanai and summon the Uchiha elders, then ordered the clan to send most of its members to a new Seireitei department. He left the Uchiha ready to serve while keeping enough elites behind to guard their compound.

• Kenma contacted Riko Amanai through his Zanpakuto and asked her to summon the Uchiha Clan leaders.
• Riko Amanai and Misato Kuroi gathered Setsuna, Kahaku, and the Uchiha members in the Gate Hall.
• Kenma took control of Riko Amanai's body, revealed himself to the Uchiha, and dismissed their apologies for mistaking her disguise.
• Kenma reflected that Riko Amanai could serve as his new body if he died and treated her as his ultimate trump card.
• Kenma ordered the Uchiha to leave enough elites to guard their compound and send everyone else to his new Seireitei department.
• Setsuna and Kahaku accepted the order and promised the Uchiha would not disappoint him.

Kenma ordered the Uchiha to expand the Onmitsukidō and confirmed that a rebellion had occurred in the Seireitei. He refused Riko Amanai’s request to visit, but promised to take her once she completed training, then learned that no Uchiha could hear their Zanpakuto’s names or achieve Shikai.

• Kenma told the Uchiha to begin expanding the Onmitsukidō quickly, and confirmed the Seireitei rebellion after Setsuna and Kahaku asked about it.
• Riko Amanai asked to visit the Seireitei, but Kenma told her to stay behind for her safety and escape to the Other World if danger arose.
• Kenma softened his refusal and promised to take Riko to the Seireitei if she strengthened her Spiritual Pressure and mastered at least one of the four Shinigami arts.
• Riko eagerly agreed to Kenma’s training condition with a pinky promise.
• Setsuna and Kahaku told Kenma that no Uchiha could sense a will in their Zanpakuto or hear its name, including Whitebeard and other talented clansmen.
• Kenma withdrew from Riko’s body, and Setsuna and Kahaku recognized the change in her presence and realized that he had left.

Kenma entered his Zanpakuto’s inner world to question Kiritsugu about why his connected Contractors could not awaken their Zanpakuto. He forced the black-haired Kiritsugu, the source of his connection power, to appear, and the two Kiritsugus confirmed they knew his question.

• Kenma suspected his Zanpakuto imposed a restriction preventing his Contractors from awakening their Zanpakuto.
• Kenma began Jinzen to ask Kiritsugu directly about the restriction.
• Kenma met the brown-skinned Kiritsugu in his inner world and demanded to speak with the other Kiritsugu.
• The brown-skinned Kiritsugu pulled the reluctant black-haired Kiritsugu out of the lake.
• The two Kiritsugus confirmed they had witnessed Kenma’s experiences and knew he wanted to ask why his connected Lost Souls could not use Zanpakuto.

Kenma confronted his two Kiritsugu manifestations after learning they had secretly severed fragments of his companions’ souls to prevent them from awakening Zanpakuto. They explained that their actions came from an instinct to protect him, and Kenma realized they had also chosen his destination worlds to strengthen him without exposing him to danger.

• Black-haired Kiritsugu and white-haired Kiritsugu told Kenma that they had prevented Shisui, Fugaku, the Uchiha Clan, pirates, and Marines from awakening Zanpakuto by removing parts of their souls and returning those fragments to Kenma.
• Kenma challenged the Kiritsugus for acting without his consent, while they admitted they had hidden the permanent harm because they knew he would object.
• The Kiritsugus said they had acted on instinct to protect Kenma from unknown Zanpakuto abilities that might threaten him.
• Kenma acknowledged that the Kiritsugus were manifestations of his own power and demanded a reason for their actions, then heard them ask him not to break them.
• The Kiritsugus explained that they wanted Kenma to live safely and would support his ideals as long as his safety was not threatened.
• Kenma realized the Kiritsugus had carefully selected the worlds he visited to give him useful powers without exposing him to overwhelming danger.

Kenma questioned Kiritsugu about Shisui’s ability to see Curses and the pirates’ souls disintegrating in the Soul Society, leading Kiritsugu to reveal that he was the Soul King’s Joint. Kiritsugu explained that he had entered Kenma when he first arrived in the Soul Society, connecting him to the world and keeping him from dissipating.

• Kenma asked Kiritsugu how Shisui had gained the ability to see Curses even after Kenma withdrew his shared vision.
• Kiritsugu explained that he had connected Shisui more closely to Kenma and brought out Shisui’s potential so he could serve as a backup.
• Kenma recalled that the contracted pirates’ souls had begun to disintegrate in the Soul Society, unlike Whitebeard’s, and that contracting them halted the collapse.
• Kenma deduced that Kiritsugu’s power came from the Spirit King, and the two Kiritsugus confirmed that the black-haired Kiritsugu was the Soul King’s Joint.
• Kiritsugu told Kenma that he had entered his body when Kenma first arrived in the Soul Society, connecting him to the world and preventing him from dissipating.
• Kenma fell silent, then looked upward as if gazing toward the god seated in the heavens.

Kenma searched Seireitei for a concealed headquarters for the new Onmitsukidō until Yoruichi led him to her hidden underground cavern. Kenma chose the site and ordered Fugaku to arrange its conversion into a base.

• Kenma and Fugaku searched Seireitei for a suitable location for the Onmitsukidō headquarters.
• Yoruichi found Kenma after the lockdown was lifted and questioned him about taking the Second Division’s Fourth Seat, then realized she had not read his transfer paperwork.
• Kenma asked Yoruichi for help finding a concealed location, and she offered to show him a place.
• Yoruichi took Kenma, Fugaku, and Soifon to her secret cavern, which included a hot spring copied by Kisuke.
• Kenma approved the cavern as the headquarters site and told Fugaku to have the Kido Corps build the base.

Kenma inspected the newly completed Onmitsukidō headquarters and welcomed the Uchiha and Marines who had gathered to establish its framework. As he began organizing the group, a woman suddenly appeared behind him and called him a sanctimonious fraud.

• Tenjiro Kirinji told Kenma that the Onmitsukidō buildings and a barrier around the base were finished, and Kenma praised his work.
• Tenjiro Kirinji asked why Kenma was not wearing the haori bestowed by Central 46, and Kenma said he would wait until the Onmitsukidō had taken shape.
• Fugaku told Kenma that the Uchiha clansmen, seven Marines, and Shisui had arrived without being discovered entering the Seireitei.
• Uchiha Setsuna presented ninety-two Uchiha clansmen and seven Marines to Kenma, who welcomed them and had Fugaku distribute administrative plans for the Onmitsukidō.
• A woman suddenly spoke from behind Kenma, teasing him for gathering so many people so quickly.