Chapter Summaries

Orochimaru and Tobirama Senju considered the Otsutsuki threat while studying the Demonic Statue, then Hatake Sakumo reported that Konoha had found Nagato but was attacked while trying to bring him back. The chapter left Orochimaru questioning who knew about the Rinnegan and had targeted Nagato.

• Tobirama Senju reasoned that the Otsutsuki might compete to harvest planets, while Orochimaru noted that Hiruko had made progress analyzing the Otsutsuki genome.
• Tobirama Senju returned to studying the Demonic Statue and the Tailed Beasts, and Orochimaru left the underground chamber.
• Hatake Sakumo appeared before Orochimaru on Kage Rock and reported that Konoha's agents had found Nagato in a village on the Land of Rain's border.
• Hatake Sakumo told Orochimaru that the agents were attacked while trying to bring Nagato back, prompting Orochimaru to wonder who knew of the Rinnegan and its value.

After an attacker wiped out Hatake Sakumo’s squad investigating Nagato’s Rinnegan, Orochimaru ordered a continued investigation and compensation for the fallen. A mysterious newcomer appeared before Orochimaru, praised his work, and invited him to learn the truth of the world, identifying himself as Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.

• Orochimaru heard Hatake Sakumo report that an unknown attacker had killed nearly his entire Anbu squad without using ninjutsu or allowing them to send a distress signal.
• Orochimaru ordered the fallen shinobi’s families to receive triple compensation and assigned Jiraiya and the Third Hokage to help investigate.
• Orochimaru sensed something wrong at Kage Rock, entered Sage Mode, and used Inorganic Reincarnation to attack an unseen intruder.
• A man in a white feathered robe appeared and casually disintegrated Orochimaru’s stone and wooden attacks.
• The newcomer praised Orochimaru’s influence on the shinobi world, invited him to help uncover the truth, and gave his name as Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.

Orochimaru listened as Ōtsutsuki Isshiki explained the God Tree, Kaguya’s betrayal, and his offer to spare the planet in exchange for Orochimaru’s help and rule. Orochimaru rejected him and attacked, but after Isshiki absorbed his ninjutsu, two Anbu fighters appeared to confront Isshiki.

• Orochimaru dispelled Sage Mode and asked Isshiki what he could offer him.
• Isshiki explained the Ōtsutsuki clan’s God Tree harvest and how Kaguya had betrayed him, forcing him to survive as Jigen.
• Isshiki praised Orochimaru’s work advancing human knowledge and offered to spare the planet and make him its sole king.
• Orochimaru rejected Isshiki’s offer and attacked with a Rasengan, but Isshiki absorbed it and countered with a powerful kick.
• Orochimaru escaped with Flying Thunder God Technique and launched five elemental attacks with four Shadow Clones, but Isshiki absorbed them too.
• Orochimaru revealed that he had left Isshiki to two arriving Anbu fighters: the White Fang of the Leaf and a green-clad man surrounded by green vapor.

Might Duy and Hatake Sakumo attacked Ōtsutsuki Isshiki together, but he effortlessly countered them and survived Duy’s Seventh Gate Daytime Tiger without injury. As Duy prepared to open the Gate of Death, Orochimaru stopped him, and Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha appeared on the battlefield.

• Hatake Sakumo and Might Duy coordinated a taijutsu assault, but Isshiki blocked their attacks with a black rod and blasted them away.
• Might Duy opened the Seventh Gate and struck Isshiki with Daytime Tiger, yet Isshiki emerged from the blast unharmed.
• Might Duy prepared to open the Gate of Death, but Orochimaru ordered him to stop.
• Might Duy saw Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha standing behind Orochimaru.

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha joined forces against Ōtsutsuki Isshiki while Orochimaru prepared to act. Isshiki overwhelmed them, pinned them with black rods that suppressed their regeneration, and moved to kill Hashirama Senju.

• Orochimaru warned Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha about Isshiki’s abilities while Hatake Sakumo carried the exhausted Might Duy away.
• Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha attacked Isshiki with Wood Style, fire, genjutsu, and Susanoo, but Isshiki absorbed their attacks and broke free.
• Isshiki activated his Karma, shattered Hashirama Senju’s wooden dragon, and shrank Susanoo’s sword strikes away.
• Isshiki kicked through Susanoo and sent Madara Uchiha flying before Hashirama Senju caught him with a wooden hand.
• Isshiki pierced Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha with black rods that stopped their reanimated bodies from regenerating, then raised a rod to strike Hashirama Senju.

Orochimaru used his unfinished God Tree Bio-Armor to fight Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and protect Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. Isshiki withdrew after giving Orochimaru the unconscious Nagato, while Orochimaru secured a sample of Isshiki’s cells.

• A transformed Orochimaru struck Isshiki away just before he could kill Hashirama Senju, freeing Hashirama and Madara Uchiha from the black rods.
• Orochimaru revealed his God Tree Bio-Armor and fought Isshiki, whose attacks and black rods the armor survived and countered.
• Their battle destroyed Kage Rock, prompting Hatake Sakumo and the village security personnel to expand the civilian evacuation.
• Isshiki summoned the unconscious Nagato through a portal and gave him to Orochimaru as a reward for the fight.
• Isshiki disappeared, and Orochimaru’s Bio-Armor crumbled; Orochimaru kept a piece of Isshiki’s flesh as a cell sample.

After Isshiki left Nagato behind, Orochimaru and the others studied the Otsutsuki cells and concluded that Isshiki’s current vessel was breaking down and he would seek a stronger host. The chapter ended with Orochimaru, Tobirama Senju, and Hiruko resolving to use their research to challenge him.

• Madara Uchiha demanded that Orochimaru revive him so he could take revenge, while Hashirama Senju warned that their opponent had held back.
• Orochimaru handed Nagato to the Anbu, ordered Konoha’s reconstruction, and took the recovered crimson flesh to the secret research facility.
• Orochimaru, Tobirama Senju, and Hiruko found that chakra was rewriting human genes toward an Otsutsuki form, but the transformed cells were unstable and dying.
• Orochimaru reasoned that Isshiki had left because his vessel was failing and that he intended to find a more suitable host, possibly returning for Nagato.
• Tobirama Senju and Orochimaru decided to research the God Tree and the Rinnegan to bring Isshiki down.

Orochimaru united the nations of the Ninja World against Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, while Mayuri Kurotsuchi completed a perfect Hogyoku and handed it to Sosuke Aizen. Aizen prepared to return to Soul Society and begin changing it.

• Orochimaru reassured Konoha's villagers after Kage Rock collapsed and explained that he and the First had driven back the enemy.
• Orochimaru told the other nations' leaders that Ōtsutsuki Isshiki had defeated Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, and the Third Raikage, Ōnoki, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure agreed to unite under Konoha's command.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi completed a self-aware, wish-granting Hogyoku with help from information provided by [Infinite Worlds].
• Sosuke Aizen invited Mayuri to join his plan, but Mayuri refused and tossed him the Hogyoku.
• Aizen dismissed Kaname Tōsen's concern about Mayuri and said they would return to Soul Society to change everything.

Sosuke Aizen invaded the Seireitei with the Espada, and the Soul Reapers fought back as Genryusai Yamamoto confronted him. As the defenders began to falter, Ichigo Kurosaki and the Visored arrived, and Ichigo Hollowfied and attacked Aizen.

• Aizen led Gin Ichimaru, Kaname Tōsen, and the Espada through a Garganta into the Seireitei, where Arrancar forces clashed with the Soul Reapers.
• Yamamoto intercepted Aizen and struck him with overwhelming force, but the apparent victory proved to be an illusion created by Kyoka Suigetsu.
• The Espada released their Resurrección forms, giving them the advantage over the captains and pushing the Soul Reapers toward defeat.
• Aizen criticized Soul Society as he fought Yamamoto, who regretted tolerating the dark elements that had enabled the invasion.
• Ichigo Kurosaki and the Visored arrived through another Garganta, and Ichigo Hollowfied before charging Aizen with Getsuga Tensho.

Sosuke Aizen used Kyoka Suigetsu and the Hogyoku to overcome the Soul Reapers’ attacks and neutralize Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto’s Ryujin Jakka. The chapter ended with Yamamoto gravely wounded and Aizen revealing the Hogyoku fused into his chest.

• Ichigo Kurosaki and Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto appeared to pierce Aizen while Shinji Hirako’s Sakanade reversed Aizen’s sense of direction, but the figure was another Kyoka Suigetsu illusion.
• Aizen released Kyoka Suigetsu across the battlefield, causing Toshiro Hitsugaya and Byakuya Kuchiki to mistake their opponents for loved ones, then knocked Shinji Hirako and Ichigo Kurosaki away.
• Yamamoto drew Ryujin Jakka and unleashed Scorching Hell, but Aizen revealed an Arrancar created by the Hogyoku to counter the flames by absorbing them.
• Yamamoto destroyed the Fire-Extinguishing Prince with two punches, but Aizen revealed that the Arrancar had stored the flames and its scattered remains began to explode.
• Yamamoto contained the explosion with his body, preserving most of the Seireitei but leaving himself gravely wounded as Aizen stood unharmed with the Hogyoku fused into his chest.

Kisuke Urahara found that Mayuri Kurotsuchi had stolen his contingency device for the Hogyoku and confronted him about his plans and the truth behind the Three Realms. As the Hogyoku awakened within Sosuke Aizen, its power tore open the sky above Seireitei and revealed the Royal Palace.

• Kisuke Urahara rushed to the laboratory's hidden chamber to retrieve his Hogyoku-sealing device, but found Mayuri Kurotsuchi holding it.
• Mayuri challenged Kisuke to face the truth about the Three Realms and questioned whether the Soul King had a will of his own.
• Kisuke attacked Mayuri with Benihime, but Mayuri created an identical technique and constructed a replica of Benihime from Reishi.
• Mayuri told Kisuke that he had once studied the essence of Reishi but had stopped short of pursuing the truth, and Kisuke could not deny it.
• The Hogyoku awakened inside Sosuke Aizen, absorbed Reishi and souls, and released a pillar of light that tore open the sky above Seireitei.
• The rift revealed the Royal Palace, the legendary residence of the Soul King.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi revealed that he had used the Hogyoku to draw the Royal Palace into Soul Society, then traveled to the shadow realm called the Invisible Empire. He called for Yhwach and was ordered brought before him.

• Kisuke Urahara deduced that Mayuri Kurotsuchi had used a fragment of the Soul King inside the Hogyoku to pull the Royal Palace from the dimensional rift.
• Sosuke Aizen flew toward the descending Royal Palace, but the five members of Zero Division stopped him in midair.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi told Kisuke Urahara that Aizen had reached only a false truth, then vanished into the shadows to pursue what lay beneath the stage.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi arrived in the Invisible Empire, where Sternritter surrounded him after he called out to Yhwach.
• Yhwach's will descended and ordered the Sternritter to bring Mayuri Kurotsuchi to him.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi entered Yhwach’s shadow empire and explained his theory about the Reishi-based nature of Yhwach’s power. After demonstrating that he could shape Reishi without relying on the Soul King, Mayuri proposed a deal: he wanted to observe and record the truth beneath the coming war.

• Yhwach’s will silenced the Invisible Empire’s subordinates, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi was escorted to his throne hall.
• Yhwach used The Almighty to examine Mayuri but could not decipher the information hidden beneath his past.
• Mayuri explained that Yhwach could read Reishi’s information and rewrite possible futures, making him the ultimate embodiment of Quincy power.
• Yhwach stopped the Sternritter from attacking Mayuri and asked why he had come to make a deal.
• Mayuri shaped Reishi into a frame showing Sosuke Aizen bound beneath a pillar of light, demonstrating his own ability to construct matter from Reishi.
• Mayuri told Yhwach he wanted to observe and record the truth beneath the Three Realms and the coming war.

Yhwach accepted Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s offer and ordered the Quincy holy war to begin in nine years. Two years after arriving in another universe, Masaki Keigo investigated the Space Beasts and sought a way back to his original world, ending with Komon Kazuki’s file open before him.

• Yhwach laughed at Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s proposal, accepted his transaction, and said he wanted to understand how Mayuri had obtained his power.
• Yhwach explained that Aizen’s actions had distracted the Zero Division and weakened the Gotei 13, then ordered the Invisible Empire to reclaim everything in nine years.
• Masaki Keigo used his modified PDI to uncover information about TLT, Lethe, the Visitors, and Space Beasts in his new universe.
• Masaki Keigo realized that Noa might have guided him to this world, but decided he needed to return to his original universe to eliminate the dangers posed by the research materials he had left behind.
• Masaki Keigo considered analyzing energy particles taken from Tartarus or contacting Noa, then opened a file about Komon Kazuki.

Masaki Keigo tracked Komon Kazuki to an Alien Beast battle and observed Nexus fight a regenerating monster. After Nexus transported the fight into an independent phase space, Masaki transformed into Ultraman Impat and entered it to witness the battle firsthand.

• Masaki Keigo used the tracking device he had given Komon Kazuki to confirm Komon had joined the Night Raid Team.
• Masaki followed Komon's signal to the western industrial district as an Alien Beast emerged and Nexus appeared to fight it.
• Masaki recorded the battle and observed the Alien Beast rapidly regenerate from Nexus's attacks.
• Nexus created an independent phase space and vanished with the Alien Beast.
• Masaki transformed into Ultraman Impat, matched the lingering energy frequency, and entered the phase space, where Nexus was still fighting.

Masaki Keigo analyzed Nexus’s power and the Space Beast’s regenerative cells, then created a badge that let Ultraman Impat replicate Nexus’s Phase Reversal beam. When the Night Raid Team deployed again, Keigo followed Komon Kazuki’s signal to a forest park and discovered Nexus facing the dark giant Faust.

• Nexus defeated the Space Beast in the Meta Field with the Over Ray Schtrom, and Masaki Keigo collected and preserved a tissue sample before it dissolved.
• Masaki Keigo studied the Space Beast’s cells and discovered that Nexus’s light reversed their dark phase, dispersing them completely.
• Masaki Keigo made a badge that could amplify and convert Ultraman Impat’s energy to reproduce a beam with Phase Reversal properties.
• When Komon Kazuki’s signal moved toward a forest park, Masaki Keigo followed it and saw Nexus kneeling before the dark giant Faust.

Masaki Keigo transformed into Ultraman Impat and joined Nexus against Faust, then helped Himeya Jun break Dark Mephisto’s Dark Field. After the four giants’ finishing attacks destroyed the Meta Field and the dark giants fled, Jun asked the exhausted Masaki who he was.

• Masaki Keigo transformed into Ultraman Impat and intervened, swiftly overpowering Faust with precise attacks.
• Mitsuhiko Ishibori ordered Shinya Mizorogi to transform, and Dark Mephisto trapped the battlefield in a Dark Field.
• Masaki used Nexus’s light to weaken the Dark Field, enabling Himeya Jun to summon the Meta Field and restore the light giants’ advantage.
• Nexus fought Faust while Impat fought Mephisto, but Nexus’s remaining energy dwindled.
• The four giants unleashed their finishing attacks, destroying the Meta Field; Faust and Mephisto fled, and Nexus and Impat returned to human form.
• Himeya Jun asked the man beside him who he was, and Masaki Keigo gave him his name.

Masaki Keigo explained to Himeya Jun that Nexus came from an ancient conflict involving Zagi and the Space Beasts, and that extraterrestrial survivors founded TLT on Earth. The conversation ended when Matsunaga Yoichiro entered the ramen shop, apparently having overheard them.

• Masaki Keigo told Himeya Jun how Nexus saved an advanced civilization from the Space Beasts and how that civilization created Zagi, whose negative emotions revived the monsters.
• Masaki Keigo explained that the survivors destroyed their homeworld, but Zagi and the Space Beasts reached Earth, prompting the survivors to share technology and establish TLT.
• Himeya Jun realized that Faust and Mephisto were trying to prove themselves by defeating Nexus, making him their target.
• Masaki Keigo noticed someone listening at the entrance and called them inside.
• Matsunaga Yoichiro entered the shop, and Himeya Jun recognized him as the administrator of TLT's Japan branch.

Masaki Keigo revealed Yamaoka Hajime as the identity Mitsuhiko Ishibori had taken and negotiated with TLT and the Visitors. After communicating with the Visitors directly, he agreed to destroy Dark Zagi and the Space Beasts in exchange for their civilization’s technical data.

• Matsunaga Yoichiro took Masaki Keigo and Himeya Jun to meet Adviser Kira, who found no records of Masaki’s existence.
• Masaki told Adviser Kira to investigate Yamaoka Hajime, and the search revealed that the dead man’s face matched Mitsuhiko Ishibori.
• Masaki agreed to help TLT resolve the crisis in exchange for returning to where he belonged.
• Yu Kirasawa brought Masaki to the underground base, where Masaki directly connected with the Visitors through psychic power.
• Masaki and the Visitors agreed that he would eradicate Dark Zagi and the Space Beasts in exchange for access to their civilization’s technical data.

Masaki Keigo uncovered how the Visitors created Dark Zagi and explained that Saida Riko’s consciousness remained trapped within Dark Faust’s darkness. Komon Kazuki entered a device to reach Riko’s inner world and try to save her, as darkness swallowed him.

• Masaki Keigo studied the Visitors’ records and learned that their attempt to recreate Noa had produced Dark Zagi when Space Beast energy corrupted the empty vessel.
• Masaki Keigo told Komon Kazuki and Himeya Jun that Saida Riko’s body was biologically dead, though her consciousness was still being consumed by darkness.
• Masaki Keigo revealed a device that could connect Komon’s mind to Riko’s consciousness, warning that the darkness might devour them both.
• Komon Kazuki overcame his fear and asked Masaki Keigo to let him enter Riko’s mental world.
• Masaki Keigo activated the device, and endless darkness swallowed Komon.