Chapter Summaries

Dan endured Aizen’s test and concealed his resistance to Illusion while considering the risks of confronting him directly. He left Aizen wary and prepared for more schemes, while resolving to conserve World Origin and gather resources in Soul Society.

• Aizen tested Dan by approaching under Illusion and thrusting a finger toward his eye, but Dan sensed the attack and remained still.
• Aizen concluded that Dan’s instincts and Sixth Sense were exceptional, noticed faint Reishi fluctuations around him, and returned to the lectern.
• Dan recognized Illusion’s mark on his soul and used his True Spiritual Light, intuition, and Spiritual Power Self-Weight Armor to resist its effects and protect himself.
• Dan considered abandoning his body and bringing his original body to Soul Society, but decided that the World Origin cost and risk of opposing the Gaia God made it unwise.
• Dan reflected on his dwindling reserves and decided to keep a low profile, gather important resources, and see whether he could obtain World Origin from Soul Society.
• Dan watched Aizen leave and anticipated further tests, resolving to find out what Sōsuke Aizen would do next.

Nara Dan practiced with the Asauchi he had received from Shino Academy and decided to suppress its urge to form a Zanpakutō while pursuing a new path of Swordsmanship. He concluded that he needed repeated battles to temper his blade and planned to seek out Soul Society’s captains, then noticed Kira Izuru had arrived.

• Nara Dan practiced precise sword forms with his Asauchi and reflected on how souls could awaken powers by reflecting their hearts.
• Nara Dan suppressed his True Spiritual Light to prevent the Asauchi from forming a Zanpakutō, choosing instead to imbue it with his will and cultivate Sword Intent.
• Nara Dan unleashed a powerful slash that cut nearby trees into stumps and assessed himself as roughly comparable to a seated officer proficient with Shikai.
• Nara Dan decided that he needed constant battles to temper his Asauchi and improve his Swordsmanship, so he planned to spar with Soul Society’s captains.
• Nara Dan turned to Kira Izuru, who had appeared beside him, and asked what he wanted.

Kira Izuru thanked Nara Dan for helping him awaken his Zanpakutō and gained permission to watch Nara's sword training. During Swordsmanship Class, Nara swiftly defeated Rukia, and Kira challenged Renji Abarai before Renji could challenge Nara.

• Kira Izuru thanked Nara Dan for his advice, and Nara invited him to watch his swordsmanship practice in the future.
• Nara Dan defeated Rukia in a brief Swordsmanship Class match by disarming her defense and placing his Asauchi against her neck.
• Renji Abarai decided to challenge Nara Dan after seeing Rukia's defeat and wanting to test his own swordsmanship.
• Kira Izuru challenged Renji Abarai first, and the two took their places in the arena as Nara Dan watched with surprise.

Kira Izuru awakened his Zanpakutō during a fight and defeated Renji Abarai, then Nara Dan watched Rukia train before confronting her and Renji in the woods. Nara Dan’s overwhelming display of power left both students wary as he approached them.

• Kira Izuru and Renji Abarai fought until Kira awakened his Zanpakutō, used Shunpo, and knocked Renji unconscious.
• Rukia rushed to Renji after the fight, while Kira bowed to Nara Dan for approval.
• Nara Dan followed Rukia into the woods and watched her practice swordsmanship.
• Renji discovered Nara Dan hiding nearby and charged at him, but Nara Dan’s slash cut through the ground and trees beside him.
• Rukia stood between Nara Dan and Renji, who struggled to his feet, and demanded to know what Nara Dan was doing as he walked toward them.

Nara Dan offered Rukia and Renji Abarai swordsmanship training, then revealed that he was using the Hōgyoku inside Rukia to accelerate his evolution by integrating Hollow power. He considered the Spirit King's unusual influence over Soul Society and wondered whether the Spirit King had sought to escape his role as a Gaia God.

• Nara Dan corrected Rukia's sword form and taught Renji Abarai to focus his strength instead of relying on brute force.
• Rukia asked Nara Dan why he was helping them, and he said he liked her but not Renji Abarai before leaving.
• Nara Dan sensed the Hōgyoku inside Rukia and used its power to awaken and integrate Hollow power with his Shinigami strength.
• Nara Dan reasoned that Hollow power could speed his evolution without taking control of his consciousness, and considered how it might help him reach the Spirit King's level.
• Nara Dan reflected on the Spirit King's apparent plans and questioned how a Gaia God could develop the desire to escape his duties.

Nara Dan trained Rukia, Renji Abarai, and Kira Izuru before confronting Gin Ichimaru, who had come to test him at Aizen’s request. Their duel revealed Nara Dan’s exceptional combat instincts and blade technique, and it left Gin Ichimaru’s clothes slashed as the fight continued.

• Nara Dan praised Rukia’s silent Kido casting and demonstrated a stronger silent White Lightning.
• Nara Dan left Rukia, Renji Abarai, and Kira Izuru practicing sword techniques in the woods.
• Nara Dan confronted Gin Ichimaru, who admitted he had been watching the students and attacked with Shinsō.
• Nara Dan blocked Gin Ichimaru’s strikes with his Asauchi and countered with a Flying Slash that cut Gin Ichimaru’s clothes.

Nara Dan fought Gin Ichimaru, escaped after Aizen revealed he had been watching, and later met Gin in secret to propose a deal. Gin agreed to hear what Nara wanted in exchange for a way to break Aizen’s Illusion.

• Gin Ichimaru attacked Nara Dan with Shinsō, but Nara defended himself with Flying Slash and Clear and Murky despite being outmatched in Spiritual Pressure.
• Nara Dan used the distraction to leave, and Aizen appeared to Gin Ichimaru, praised Nara’s hidden strength, and demonstrated that he could imitate Nara’s Flying Slash.
• Nara Dan studied spatial techniques and decided that Hueco Mundo offered the intense battles he needed to grow.
• Gin Ichimaru visited Nara Dan’s room and questioned how he knew about Aizen and Illusion.
• Nara Dan silently named Rangiku Matsumoto, provoking Gin, then offered to tell him how to break Illusion in exchange for his help.

Nara Dan told Gin Ichimaru how to counter Aizen’s Complete Hypnosis and arranged for Gin to plant a rune-marked stone in Hueco Mundo. Gin left considering an assassination, while Nara Dan planned to use the world’s secrets and resources to pursue transcendence and the World Origin.

• Nara Dan gave Gin Ichimaru a rune-marked stone and asked him to hide it in Hueco Mundo without Aizen finding out.
• Gin Ichimaru agreed after Nara Dan promised to explain how to counter Illusion, then asked for his payment first.
• Nara Dan explained that Illusion controlled the five senses and could be resisted through battle instinct or by avoiding Aizen’s Shikai.
• Nara Dan told Gin Ichimaru that touching Illusion’s blade completely negated Complete Hypnosis, and warned him to act before Aizen mastered the Hōgyoku.
• Gin Ichimaru left to consider how to verify the advice and carry out his assassination plan, while Nara Dan reflected on transcendence and the World Origin.

Nara Dan forged his Asauchi into a Dharma Blade and reached the Great Swordsman realm, while reflecting on the limits of his sealed power and his new path through swordsmanship. He then challenged Rukia, Kira Izuru, and Renji Abarai to spar.

• Nara Dan used his Spiritual Power and Sword Intent to transform his Asauchi into a Dharma Blade, which strengthened his flying slash.
• Nara Dan inspected his Talent Entries and found that his Transcendent True Lord entry remained sealed while a new Swordsmanship Master entry had appeared.
• Nara Dan concluded that he had reached the Great Swordsman realm, though his weak Spirit Body limited the force he could bring to bear.
• Nara Dan considered the damaged training ground and his need for a better place to test his growing power.
• Nara Dan leaped down and challenged Rukia, Kira Izuru, and Renji Abarai to spar, and Renji eagerly accepted.

Nara Dan used a crude Flying Thunder God Formation to travel from Soul Society to Hueco Mundo, while Aizen and Mayuri Kurotsuchi noticed the spatial disturbance. He arrived inside a cramped, dark space, wrapped in a substance that made it difficult to breathe.

• Nara Dan waited until midnight, then used his Flying Thunder God Formation to travel to Hueco Mundo using the mark Gin Ichimaru had placed there.
• Aizen sensed a spatial fluctuation in Soul Society and resolved to keep testing Gin Ichimaru, considering whether Rangiku Matsumoto was the source of his changed demeanor.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi ordered his subordinate to improve the Technology Development Bureau's equipment after it detected a brief spatial fluctuation and traces of Negación activity.
• Nara Dan emerged in Hueco Mundo inside a cramped, dark space, where a strange substance tightly wrapped his body and hindered his breathing.

After two years of training in Hueco Mundo, Nara Dan had become a Captain-level swordsman who had nearly halved the Menos population in the Forest of Menos. When Nnoitra Gilga and Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck arrived to investigate, Nara Dan challenged Nnoitra and their battle began.

• Gin Ichimaru had hidden the Flying Thunder God stone inside a Hollow, leaving Nara Dan trapped in a Gillian until he cut his way out.
• Nara Dan had spent two years secretly training in the Forest of Menos, strengthening his Spiritual Pressure and the Dharma Blade while killing Menos and failed Arrancar experiments.
• After sensing the damage to the forest, Nnoitra Gilga and Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck arrived to investigate and found Nara Dan beside a slain Adjuchas.
• Nnoitra ignored Nelliel's warning and attacked Nara Dan, who was driven back because his Spiritual Pressure was sealed beneath his Spiritual Power Self-Weight Armor.
• Nara Dan met Nnoitra's next charge with a Flying Slash.

Nara Dan fought Nnoitra in the Forest of Menos, using his Dharma Blade and Spiritual Power Self-Weight Armor to withstand the Arrancar’s attacks. After revealing that his armor could rival Nnoitra’s Steel Skin, Nara Dan released it to intensify the battle.

• Nara Dan’s Dharma Blade damaged Nnoitra’s Zanpakutō, but Nnoitra repaired it with his Spiritual Power and launched a relentless assault.
• Nara Dan parried Nnoitra’s blows and repeatedly slashed at his Steel Skin, while Nelliel recognized that Nara Dan had the advantage despite seeming to retreat.
• Nnoitra knocked Nara Dan’s Dharma Blade aside and struck his skin, but the Spiritual Power Self-Weight Armor stopped the blow without drawing blood.
• Nara Dan kicked Nnoitra away and explained that he had worn the armor almost constantly for two years to accelerate his training.
• Nara Dan announced the release of his Spiritual Power Self-Weight Armor as Nnoitra prepared to continue fighting.

Nara Dan unsealed his Spiritual Power and used the Dharma Blade to defeat and kill Nnoitra, though his slash tore open the boundary above the Forest of Menos. After Aizen repaired the breach and identified Nara Dan as the attacker, he became eager to see how much stronger Nara Dan might become.

• Nara Dan deactivated his Spiritual Power Self-Weight Armor and unleashed a devastating Flying Slash that overwhelmed Nnoitra and split open the boundary between the Forest of Menos and the yellow sand above.
• Nelliel released her Resurrección and used her Spiritual Pressure to hold back the sand and repair the growing breach.
• Nnoitra tried to ambush Nara Dan with a Cero Oscuras, but Nara Dan blocked it with the Dharma Blade and killed him with a thrust through the forehead.
• Nara Dan left before Aizen arrived, and Aizen used his Spiritual Pressure to control Reishi and repair the boundary.
• Aizen examined Nnoitra's corpse, recognized the swordsmanship, and learned from Nelliel that Nara Dan had killed him.
• Aizen recalled Nara Dan's strength two years earlier and expressed excitement about his rapid growth.

Nara Dan returned from Hueco Mundo after fighting Aizen and began his intermediate year at Shin'ō Academy, where he continued concealing his strength. He watched Renji Abarai and Kira Izuru prepare to spar, and Kira turned his blade's sharp edge toward Renji.

• Gin Ichimaru considered whether joining forces with Nara Dan could help him kill Aizen, while Aizen wondered how Dan had entered Hueco Mundo and suspected Kisuke Urahara or a mole.
• Nara Dan returned to his dormitory using his refined spatial technique and decided to avoid Hueco Mundo until Aizen was dead.
• Nara Dan entered his intermediate year at Shin'ō Academy and resolved to remain a student rather than join a division, while classmates repeated rumors that he had become lazy.
• Nara Dan spotted Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Momo Hinamori in class and recognized them as childhood friends before Aizen had influenced Momo.
• Renji Abarai and Kira Izuru began their usual swordsmanship duel, and Kira switched to the sharp edge of his blade as he challenged Renji.

Kira Izuru defeated Renji Abarai by using an incomplete Flying Slash, then Tōshirō Hitsugaya challenged Nara Dan after mistaking his restraint for a struggle with overwhelming Spiritual Pressure. Nara Dan demonstrated the true Flying Slash, leaving Hitsugaya unharmed but revealing the gap in their abilities, while Kira grasped how the technique worked.

• Kira Izuru used Blade Qi to overwhelm Renji Abarai, who surrendered after realizing he could not withstand the attack.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya challenged Nara Dan, believing Nara Dan was hiding his power because his Spiritual Pressure troubled him.
• Hitsugaya mistook Nara Dan's unusual Dharma Blade for a Zanpakutō suppressed before awakening and urged him to communicate with it.
• Nara Dan told Kira to watch as he faced Hitsugaya and demonstrated the true Flying Slash, cutting a deep fissure through the Training Ground without harming Hitsugaya.
• Kira Izuru studied Nara Dan's swing and realized the Flying Slash required both intense concentration and the force of the swing.

Nara Dan ended his training arrangement with Rukia and Renji Abarai after deciding the Hōgyoku inside Rukia had reached its current limit. A Kuchiki Clan attendant then invited him to meet the clan head, leading Nara Dan to realize Byakuya Kuchiki wanted to bring Rukia into the family and might be seeking his help.

• Nara Dan concluded that the incomplete Hōgyoku inside Rukia could draw out Hollow Power but could not awaken Quincy or Fullbring abilities, and he speculated that the Hōgyoku might be made from the Spirit King's remains.
• Nara Dan told Rukia that their training arrangement was over, though she and the others could still use the Underground Space.
• Rukia and Renji Abarai reacted with surprise and regret, while Kira Izuru remained composed; Nara Dan left without addressing Rukia's unspoken concerns.
• A Kuchiki Clan attendant invited Nara Dan to meet the clan head, but Nara Dan told him the clan head should come in person.
• Nara Dan inferred that Byakuya Kuchiki had learned Rukia's identity and wanted to honor his wife's final wish by bringing her into the Kuchiki Clan, possibly using Nara Dan to persuade her.

Byakuya Kuchiki sought Nara Dan’s help in persuading Rukia to join the Kuchiki Family, and Nara demanded the family head’s favor in return. Their negotiation turned into a swordsmanship challenge, which ended with Byakuya shocked when Nara blocked his first strike.

• Byakuya Kuchiki learned that Nara Dan had been guiding Rukia’s training and ordered a retainer to approach Renji Abarai as another possible influence.
• In the Human World, Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihouin discussed hiding from Aizen and opening a shop, then learned someone had bypassed Urahara’s Kido seal at the Underground Space.
• Byakuya met Nara and explained that he wanted to honor Hisana’s dying wish by caring for her younger sister, Rukia, and giving her the Kuchiki name.
• Nara agreed to help persuade Rukia in exchange for the Kuchiki Family’s favor, and Byakuya accepted the condition.
• Byakuya challenged Nara to last ten moves against him, but Nara reversed the terms and drew his Dharma Blade.
• Byakuya attacked at nearly full strength, and Nara blocked his first strike while declaring that Byakuya would not last ten moves against him.

Nara Dan defeated Byakuya Kuchiki in a swordsmanship bout, then explained the unusual technique behind his powerful slashes. Byakuya honored their agreement and promised the Kuchiki Family would owe Nara Dan a favor, leaving Nara considering what to ask for.

• Nara Dan overwhelmed Byakuya Kuchiki with rapid sword strikes and unleashed a devastating Flying Slash within their ten-move limit.
• Byakuya Kuchiki released Senbonzakura at the last moment to block part of the slash, but was left injured and his Kenseikan was ruined.
• Byakuya Kuchiki asked about Nara Dan's slash, and Nara explained that it came from a technique and the power of the mind rather than an ability or Spiritual Pressure.
• Byakuya Kuchiki accepted Nara Dan's strength and promised that the Kuchiki Family would owe him a favor, regardless of whether Rukia joined the family.
• Nara Dan considered using the favor to obtain a fragment of the Spirit King's remains from one of the Four Great Noble Clans.

Nara Dan encountered Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi in Soul Society, while Aizen deduced that Urahara had returned to advance the Hōgyoku. Nara Dan then spoke with Rukia about Byakuya Kuchiki’s offer to bring her into the Kuchiki Family, leaving her to weigh its benefits and responsibilities.

• Nara Dan discovered Kisuke Urahara following him and confronted him, but stopped attacking after recognizing him.
• Urahara explained that he had come to meet the person who broke his Kido seal, while Nara Dan warned him that Aizen was watching.
• Yoruichi told Urahara that Nara Dan seemed as dangerous as Aizen, and Urahara judged that Nara Dan would not side with Aizen.
• Aizen found traces of the clash and concluded that Urahara had returned to Soul Society to let the Hōgyoku mature.
• Nara Dan met Rukia in the Underground Space and told her about Byakuya Kuchiki’s offer, explaining that joining the family would bring both advantages and responsibilities.

Rukia accepted Captain Kuchiki’s offer to join the Kuchiki Family, while Aizen secretly tried to awaken Nara Dan’s Hollow Power and Isshin Shiba intervened nearby. After finding Gin Ichimaru’s warning, Dan summoned the evolved Samehada and prepared to use its power against Aizen.

• Rukia told Nara Dan she had decided to join the Kuchiki Family, and Renji Abarai reacted with relief and concealed disappointment.
• Aizen took over a Shin'ō Academy lesson and used the Hōgyoku to stir Dan’s Hollow Power, but Dan suppressed it with his Sword Intent.
• Dan sensed Aizen following him through an illusion, but Isshin Shiba’s arrival drove Aizen away; Isshin then offered Dan a position in the 10th Division, which Dan refused.
• Isshin Shiba concluded that a real, deliberate force was obscuring Soul Society and suspected Dan was connected to it.
• Dan found a note from Gin Ichimaru warning him to beware of Aizen, then summoned the fully evolved Ten-Tails Samehada to use its power.