Chapter Summaries

Three years earlier in Slope Town, Takeuchi Sosuke tried to buy ice cream for his sister Aya but was cornered and beaten by Kumakura Takashi and his group. A patrol officer intervened, but days later Kumakura approached Sosuke again after school, leaving him afraid the bullying had resumed.

• Takeuchi Sosuke went to buy ice cream for Takeuchi Aya and encountered Kumakura Takashi and his classmates, who pressured him to come with them.
• Takeuchi Sosuke tried to refuse Kumakura Takashi, but the group dragged him into an alley and beat him.
• Takeuchi Aya and a patrol officer found the group, and the officer took Kumakura Takashi and the others away.
• Takeuchi Sosuke later learned Kumakura Takashi had been punished by his family, but Kumakura stopped him after school and called him a good friend.

Takeuchi Sosuke relived the trauma of failing to protect his sister Aya and spent three years blaming himself while she remained comatose. When Wu Biao arrived to take Aya’s soul, Sosuke found the resolve to stand between them, and Wu Biao left him one day to prepare to stop him.

• Kumakura Takashi attacked Takeuchi Sosuke and Aya in an alley, badly injuring Aya and leaving her comatose.
• Takeuchi Sosuke concealed what he had seen and endured three years of guilt as Aya remained unconscious in the hospital.
• Takeuchi Sosuke found Wu Biao beside Aya’s bed and charged at him, but Wu Biao struck him down.
• Wu Biao revealed he was a Shinigami who had come to guide Aya’s soul to Soul Society.
• Takeuchi Sosuke stood between Wu Biao and Aya and begged him to take his own soul instead.
• Wu Biao vanished after warning Takeuchi Sosuke that he would return at noon the next day to take Aya’s soul.

Takeuchi Sosuke tried to protect Aya from the Shinigami who had come to take her, but Kumakura Takashi forced him to leave the hospital and then beat him for refusing to buy alcohol. Sosuke finally fought back, driven by his resolve to stay beside Aya, while a brief passage introduced Hatoyama Kirin’s ambition to reach the realm above gods.

• Wu Biao cursed the sun and complained about Hell’s demand that he clear Aya out before going to find food.
• Takeuchi Sosuke remembered the Shinigami’s visit and resolved not to let Aya die, but Kumakura Takashi arrived at the hospital and made him leave to retrieve money.
• Takeuchi Sosuke collected the remaining refund for the flowers and took the money to Kumakura Takashi’s gathering place in a rundown factory.
• Kumakura Takashi demanded that Takeuchi Sosuke use the money to buy alcohol, then kicked and beat him when Sosuke insisted he had to return to Aya.
• Takeuchi Sosuke clung to Kumakura Takashi’s leg, rose despite the beating, and shoved him to the ground.
• Hatoyama Kirin wrote that he would end the world, beginning a legend marked by bloodshed, battles, and his pursuit of the realm above gods.

Takeuchi Sosuke fought Kumakura Takashi to avenge Aya, while Wu Biao killed Takashi and brought Sosuke to Aya’s hospital room. Aya woke and called Sosuke her brother, and the chapter ended with Wu Biao reflecting on Sosuke’s guilt and a memory of the day he failed to help her.

• Takeuchi Sosuke bit Kumakura Takashi and fought back fiercely, driven by guilt over failing to protect Aya.
• Wu Biao lifted Kumakura Takashi, judged that he could not repent, and burned him away with Hellfire.
• Takeuchi Sosuke punched Wu Biao, who retaliated before carrying him to Takeuchi Aya’s hospital room.
• Wu Biao placed his hand on Aya’s forehead, and she woke as Takeuchi Sosuke struggled helplessly nearby.
• Takeuchi Aya called Takeuchi Sosuke her brother, and her remaining miasma dispersed.
• Wu Biao reflected that Hell’s Will still judged Takeuchi Sosuke guilty, while a memory showed Aya had once told him to run.

After rescuing a little girl from a collapsing sinkhole, Wu Biao heard a mysterious voice calling from below and found an invisible sphere protected by a golden barrier. His Hellfire shattered it, releasing a powerful ghostly figure that escaped before he could catch it.

• Wu Biao left a Western restaurant after eating an enormous meal and headed toward the station.
• When the ground collapsed beneath a crowd, Wu Biao leaped into the sinkhole and rescued a little girl named Yayoi.
• Wu Biao heard a voice calling for help from the sinkhole and descended to investigate despite the crowd's warnings.
• At the bottom, Wu Biao found an invisible sphere surrounded by a golden barrier, and his Hellfire engulfed it.
• The sphere shattered, releasing a ghostly figure that fled, and Wu Biao chased after it but could not find it.

Aizen Sosuke questioned whether his growing power marked the end as he demonstrated it by crushing the Hueco Mundo desert. Wu Biao rejected Hell's offer to abandon the Three Realms, accepted that Hell's Will had sealed Hell away, and resolved to protect the life and people he had found in Soul Society.

• Aizen Sosuke created a vast palm-shaped sinkhole in Hueco Mundo and wondered whether this was the end.
• Five powerful beings discussed an aura that had transcended their world and begun interfering with the Soul King's laws, then set out to confront it.
• Wu Biao recalled refusing to flee into Hell and abandon his friends, family, and home in Soul Society.
• Wu Biao sensed that Hell's Will had sealed Hell off from the Three Realms and bid it farewell with gratitude.
• Yuzu Kurosaki called Wu Biao to eat, and he answered cheerfully before accepting Kurosaki Isshin's plain rice.

Kurosaki Ichigo returned home, and Wu Biao spent the day reconnecting with familiar people around Karakura Town before bringing Master Kanonji to the Kurosaki residence. During a card game, Yuzu, Xia Li, and Kanonji suddenly fell asleep, and Wu Biao's vision briefly blurred as Ichigo asked if it had begun.

• Kurosaki Ichigo returned to the Kurosaki residence, where the family and Wu Biao shared a lively dinner.
• Wu Biao wandered around Karakura Town, visited familiar places, and beat everyone at Sado Yasutora's boxing club before leaving.
• Wu Biao met Master Kanonji, who said Urahara Kisuke had invited him to Karakura Town to exorcise spirits.
• Wu Biao brought Master Kanonji to the Kurosaki residence, where everyone played cards together.
• Yuzu, Xia Li, and Master Kanonji suddenly collapsed, Kurosaki Ichigo asked if it had begun, and Wu Biao briefly saw the house disappear before his vision cleared.

The Gotei 13 and the Royal Guard gathered in a Research and Development Department model of Karakura Town, where Kurosaki Ichigo learned his father was the former Captain Isshin Shiba. The Royal Guard announced that Aizen Sosuke’s decisive battle would begin in three days, leaving Wu Biao and the others facing the scale of Aizen’s power.

• Wu Biao sensed that the city’s inhabitants had vanished, and Kurosaki Isshin explained that they were inside a model created through Urahara Kisuke’s dimensional transfer gate.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni recognized Kurosaki Isshin as former Captain of the 10th Division and former head of the Shiba Clan, shocking Kurosaki Ichigo.
• The Gotei 13 captains assembled to welcome the Royal Guard, but Wu Biao demanded they be punished for smashing the model’s front door.
• A Royal Guard monk identified his group and told Wu Biao that Aizen Sosuke’s decisive battle would begin in three days.
• The Royal Guard described Aizen as a transcendent whose power surpassed their understanding.

Kurosaki Ichigo refused Oetsu Nimaiya’s offer to forge him a new Zanpakuto, choosing to keep the powers embodied by White Ichigo and Old Man Zangetsu. His inner world began to expand as the two powers accepted his choice, and Ichigo left determined to protect them as they had protected him.

• Oetsu Nimaiya explained that Ichigo’s Hollow, White, had become an Asauchi-like source for his Zanpakuto and urged him to replace it with a newly forged blade.
• Ichigo acknowledged that Old Man Zangetsu represented his Quincy powers but rejected the idea of abandoning either him or White Ichigo.
• Ichigo declared that the two powers were parts of himself and chose to keep his current Zanpakuto despite their instability and mutual suppression.
• White Ichigo and Old Man Zangetsu accepted Ichigo’s decision, and Ichigo’s inner world began to expand as they discussed rebuilding it.
• Oetsu warned that Ichigo’s blade would break if White Ichigo ever left him, but Ichigo vowed to protect White Ichigo in return.

After the Royal Guard rejected Kurosaki Ichigo, he chose to trust his own strength and train, while Wu Biao decided to risk entering the Kotsutotsu to grow strong enough to face Aizen. Urahara agreed to help despite the danger of temporal dislocation, and the others reluctantly accepted Wu Biao’s choice.

• Kurosaki Ichigo asked Wu Biao whether refusing the Royal Guard’s help had been the wrong choice, and Wu Biao encouraged him to trust his own strength.
• Kurosaki Isshin offered to train Ichigo in the Dangai, but Ichigo said he would instead practice combining his three powers as Old Man Zangetsu had taught him.
• Wu Biao recalled that someone in Hell had mentioned the Kotsutotsu as a way to strengthen his body, and Urahara Kisuke theorized that Wu Biao’s lack of spiritual pressure might let him enter it safely.
• Kurosaki Masaki, Isshin, and Urahara warned Wu Biao that the Kotsutotsu could cause fatal temporal dislocation, but Wu Biao insisted he needed the chance to become strong enough to face Aizen.
• Shihoin Yoruichi supported letting Wu Biao take the risk, and Urahara agreed to help him despite Masaki’s concern.

Kurosaki Ichigo and Kurosaki Isshin visited Urahara Shop as preparations were made for Wu Biao to enter the Kotsutotsu. Wu Biao promised Unohana Retsu he would return stronger, then provoked her by suggesting they have a child before he left.

• Kurosaki Ichigo noticed Urahara Shop's underground space had not been converted, while Urahara Kisuke told Jinta and Ururu to watch Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Nemu Kurotsuchi.
• Kurosaki Isshin and Kurosaki Ichigo reacted with disbelief to Wu Biao calling Unohana Retsu his wife.
• Unohana Retsu said Wu Biao did not need her consent to enter the Kotsutotsu, and threatened him when he called her a living widow.
• Wu Biao told Unohana Retsu he would return alive and become strong enough to defeat the four-eyes, and she wished him a safe return.
• Wu Biao warned that the Green Hat guy might throw him a hundred years into the past, then suggested having a child to keep Unohana Retsu company, prompting her to reach for her sword.

Wu Biao entered the Kotsutotsu, hoping its dangers would make him stronger enough to protect everyone. Inside, he was overwhelmed by violent spirit particles and the time storm, but Hellfire kept repairing his body as his unconscious form continued the Hundred-Fold Guanyin Fist.

• Urahara Kisuke warned Wu Biao that no one had ever returned from the Kotsutotsu, but Wu Biao insisted on entering and asked him to hold on until he came back.
• Urahara Kisuke opened the Senkaimon, and Wu Biao charged at the oncoming Kotsutotsu in the Dangai and vanished inside it.
• Wu Biao found himself hurtling through the Kotsutotsu, where the pressure and winds did not strengthen him, so he used the method Master Kanonji had devised.
• Wu Biao activated the Hundred-Fold Guanyin Fist and forced the violently amplified spirit particles into his body, causing repeated injuries that Hellfire repaired.
• The Kotsutotsu’s time storm began tearing at Wu Biao’s body and existence, and he passed out while his instincts continued the technique and Hellfire kept burning.

Wu Biao regained his identity after drifting through time inside Kotsutotsu, then endured painful training in the Hellfire Pool. Above Karakura Town, Yamamoto and the gathered Soul Reapers sensed an immense pressure descending from the sky.

• Wu Biao drifted through Kotsutotsu as time eroded his memories, clinging to the promise that he would return home.
• Wu Biao saw visions of a bald man suffering in a sea of flames, and a ripple from the scene entered his body and reignited his flames.
• Wu Biao remembered who he was and complained to the old man about the painful Hellfire Pool training method.
• Yamamoto and the Royal Guard gathered with the Thirteenth Division captains above Karakura Town.
• Yamamoto sensed the approaching pressure, and the weaker vice-captains began to tremble as it descended.

Aizen Sosuke and his enhanced Arrancar attacked Soul Society, forcing the Shinigami, Royal Guard, Visored, and their allies into a sprawling battle. Kurosaki Ichigo and Ishida Ryuken arrived as the fighting continued, while Aizen asked whether one human was still missing.

• Aizen Sosuke emerged from a black passage with more than thirty captain-class Arrancar and struck the Shinigami with a massive spiritual-pressure palm, which Yamamoto and the five Royal Guard members barely held back.
• The Espada and other enhanced Arrancar overwhelmed several Shinigami, but the Visored, Urahara Kisuke, Kurosaki Isshin, and other reinforcements joined the battle and helped stabilize the fighting.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi distributed a Hell Miasma serum that drove weaker Arrancar berserk, while Kenpachi Zaraki defeated an Arrancar and fought Kaname Tōsen.
• Renji Abarai joined Kuchiki Rukia against Grimmjow, and Byakuya Kuchiki, Shunsui Kyoraku, and Ukitake Jushiro faced Coyote Starrk and Baraggan Louisenbairn.
• Kurosaki Ichigo arrived and forced Ulquiorra back in Shikai, surprising Oetsu Nimaiya; Aizen watched and said that only one human was still missing.
• Kurosaki Masaki brought Ishida Ryuken to the battlefield, where he used arrows to rescue Kurosaki Isshin from four Arrancar.

Matsumoto Rangiku and Izuru Kira confronted Ichimaru Gin, while Aizen overwhelmed the Royal Guard and Yamamoto as battles broke out across the battlefield. Barragan and Zommari were defeated, but Starrk remained to fight Byakuya, Shunsui, and Ukitake, and Aizen still faced Unohana and Kenpachi.

• Matsumoto Rangiku and Izuru Kira demanded that Ichimaru Gin surrender, but Gin refused for the moment.
• Aizen erased Ichibei Hyosube’s black domain and repelled the combined attacks of the five Royal Guard members.
• Unohana Retsu and Kenpachi Zaraki stepped forward to fight Aizen, while Tenjiro Kirinji and Oetsu Nimaiya were pushed aside.
• Shunsui Kyoraku, Ukitake Jushiro, and Byakuya Kuchiki trapped Barragan and used his Respira against him, destroying him.
• Byakuya enclosed Coyote Starrk and his partner in a sphere of blades, and Starrk released Los Lobos.
• Shihoin Yoruichi and Soi Fon used sealed bandages to disable Zommari Rureaux, then Soi Fon struck his chest mark and killed him.

Kurosaki Ichigo fought Ulquiorra as both revealed powerful new forms, while Urahara Kisuke ambushed Aizen with his Bankai and implanted a sealing Kidō. The battle remained unresolved as Aizen recognized Urahara’s trap.

• Hirako Shinji and adult Hitsugaya Tōshirō defeated Tier Harribel, while Soi Fon and Shihoin Yoruichi knocked out her three Fracción and Inoue Orihime treated them.
• Kurosaki Ichigo and Ulquiorra clashed in the sky, and Ulquiorra revealed his Segunda Etapa release.
• Kurosaki Ichigo entered a partial Hollowfication state, gained the upper hand over Ulquiorra, and matched his Cero Oscuras before injuring him with a Getsuga Tensho.
• Aizen sent six opponents flying, but Urahara Kisuke appeared and attacked him with his Bankai.
• Aizen identified Urahara Kisuke’s Bankai as the means by which he had altered Aizen’s body and implanted a sealing Kidō.

Aizen overwhelmed the Shinigami and their allies despite Urahara’s seal and Gin’s poisoned strike, leaving them on the verge of defeat. Wu Biao arrived just as Aizen prepared to finish them and struck him down with a single Kannon Biraki slap.

• Urahara Kisuke’s seal failed, but Ichimaru Gin pierced Aizen’s heart with his Bankai and poisoned him with ash.
• Aizen regenerated completely and unleashed Radiant Blast Rupture, knocking down fighters across Karakura Town and turning the battle in his favor.
• Kurosaki Ichigo’s attack and Captain-Commander Yamamoto’s rallying order renewed the Shinigami’s resolve, but Aizen battered their combined defenses with repeated spiritual-pressure palms.
• As the wounded fighters charged Aizen, Wu Biao burst through a rift and hurled Kotsutotsu at him.
• Wu Biao used Kannon Biraki to slap Aizen out of the sky, sending him crashing into the ground.

Wu Biao defeated the Aizen before him and realized that he was an artificial double, while the real Aizen Sosuke appeared from a rift in the sky. The new Aizen revealed that he had transcended the world and confronted Wu Biao.

• Wu Biao overwhelmed Aizen with his strength, blocked the six blasts of Ultimate Fragor, and battered him with Tenfold Kannon Biraki.
• Wu Biao questioned whether the fallen opponent was really Aizen, and Ichibei Hyosube confirmed that the power which had reached the Soul King Realm belonged to someone else.
• A rift opened in the sky, and a white-clad figure emerged as his overwhelming presence forced weaker Shinigami to their knees.
• Aizen Sosuke explained that he had used the Wandenreich, Yhwach, a special Gigai, and the Hogyoku to create the fake Aizen, but Wu Biao's intuition had seen through the deception.
• Aizen Sosuke revealed his transcendent presence, and Wu Biao welcomed him as a new opponent.

Aizen revealed that Yhwach and the Wandenreich had been reduced to a special Gigai, leaving Ishida Ryuken shaken by the apparent futility of his years of sacrifice. Wu Biao fought Aizen and, after being overwhelmed, activated a modified Hundred-Fold Kannon Fist that transformed his body with hellfire.

• Ishida Ryuken realized that the being he had devoted years to opposing had been defeated with ease, and Kurosaki Isshin tried to console him.
• Aizen confronted Wu Biao, crushed the Hogyoku, and said Wu Biao was the only person who could let him experience his strength.
• Wu Biao launched a relentless series of attacks, but Aizen intercepted them and blasted him backward with invisible force.
• Wu Biao decided to use a technique beyond his usual limit and began Hundred-Fold Kannon Fist: Modified.
• Hellfire formed armor and crimson hair around Wu Biao as his aura rose to match Aizen's, and he declared, "Hell Transformation!!"

Wu Biao wagered his life in a fierce battle with Aizen, landing a devastating blow but falling near death as Aizen survived. Hell intervened to protect Wu Biao, and he accepted a chance to merge with it and become the Lord of Hell, emerging unharmed as its miasma joined with his karmic fire.

• Wu Biao poured his strength, vitality, and Hellfire into his attacks, breaking through Aizen’s defenses and injuring him.
• Aizen unleashed a massive divine palm, and Wu Biao shattered it with a final punch that sent Aizen crashing toward the ground.
• Wu Biao’s power and life force were exhausted, and he fell as his friends and companions rushed to catch him.
• Aizen recovered and prepared to kill Wu Biao, but Hell Butterflies, Hellfire, chains, and burial miasma appeared to shield him.
• Wu Biao spoke with the returning presence of Hell and agreed to merge with it and become the Lord of Hell.
• Aizen approached the protected area, but the chains parted to reveal Wu Biao unharmed as the miasma surged into him and merged with his karmic fire.