Chapter Summaries

Iori helped the elf maiden defeat the Magic Poison Dragon and guided her through presenting its head to the townspeople. Yosuke later recounted how Iori dealt with the greedy lord who tried to imprison them, while Fujimiya and Jingwen wondered about Iori’s relationship with the elf.

• Iori revealed that the elf maiden’s repeated strikes had weakened a scale beneath the dragon’s neck, then encouraged her to defeat the Magic Poison Dragon with a final blow.
• The elf maiden brought the dragon’s head to a crowded square, where Iori used Tenteikūra and spiritual pressure to calm the people and explain that she had slain it.
• Fujimiya and Jingwen speculated about the elf maiden’s feelings for Iori, and Yosuke described how she and Iori had competed and teased each other during their travels.
• Yosuke said the lord accused them of stealing the Sacred Serpent Cane and tried to imprison them after his transformation magic failed.
• Iori took ownership of the cane and publicly declared that it had chosen someone who protected the people, while the lord later lost his noble status and became a frontier village chief.

Iori gave the Snake Staff to Yosuke and decided they should explore separately to search for clues about returning home. Yosuke gratefully accepted the gift, while Iori hoped separation would spare him from Yosuke’s unbearable cluelessness.

• After taking the Snake Staff from the lord, Iori studied it and gave it to Yosuke so he could travel safely and help people.
• Iori explained that the pair should search independently for information about the transferred ones and share what they learned.
• Yosuke agreed to explore on his own with the Snake Staff and leave it behind for a new owner if he found a way home.
• Yosuke thanked Iori and promised to cherish their friendship, prompting Iori to reflect that he needed distance from Yosuke’s clueless behavior.
• Fujimiya and Jingwen watched a memory of Yosuke placing a valuable ring on Iori’s finger, while the Elf maiden and Appraiser Miss spied on the scene.

Iori parted ways with Yosuke so they could become more independent, then continued exploring Granbahamart and meeting the elf maiden. Months later, he reunited with Yosuke and Farrell at the Royal Capital’s National Library, where Farrell invited them to stay for the Earth God Festival.

• Iori and Yosuke agreed to meet every five days at the Royal Capital’s National Library, then Iori left Yosuke to travel alone.
• Iori told the elf maiden that Yosuke needed to learn to rely on himself, then joined her in exploring the Quicksand Labyrinth.
• Iori spent several months studying and adapting Granbahamart’s magic, while continuing to meet Yosuke every five days.
• Iori encountered the elf maiden at the National Library, where they teased each other before Yosuke and Farrell arrived.
• Farrell invited Iori and Yosuke to stay for the Earth God Festival, and Iori agreed.

After the festival, Iori returned to the Empire and chose Akame to accompany him to Soul Society, where she could help him and protect Grandma and Nemu. He brought her to Soul Society and explained how she would need to adapt to its spiritual rules, leaving her first assignment as a protector.

• Yosuke arrived at the festival and loudly declared that Iori belonged to him, interrupting Farrell and the elf maiden’s attempt to arrange time alone with Iori.
• Iori returned to the Empire, reviewed reports from Nadjeta, Chelsea, Ciel, and the Cabinet Minister, and learned that the Greater Holy Grail could provide enough magical power to activate Heaven's Feel and create another Soul Materialization slot.
• Iori asked Akame to accompany him to a more dangerous world, and she agreed to lend him her strength; they decided Kurome should remain behind rather than be sent to Soul Society.
• Iori explained that Akame would need to transform her body, clothes, and weapons into spiritual forms to function in Soul Society, and noted that Murasame would be less effective there.
• Iori brought Akame to Soul Society, where he was Captain of the Third Division and Yuki served as Vice-Captain of the Thirteenth Division.
• Iori assigned Akame to protect Grandma and Nemu, relying on her experience as an assassin to detect threats.

Iori brought Akame to live and work at Grandma’s shop, then a tremendous explosion rocked Seireitei while he was visiting. After protecting Grandma, Akame, and Otoyo, Iori went to investigate the blast, whose scale suggested a devastating Bankai-level attack.

• Iori introduced Akame to Grandma as a new shop assistant and asked her to let Akame stay with the family.
• Grandma welcomed Akame and urged Iori to tell Yuki about their new family member, while Akame promised to learn the shop’s work.
• A powerful blast shook Soul Society, and Iori caught Grandma before she fell as Akame readied her katana.
• Otoyo rushed in, and Iori left her and Grandma with Akame after enclosing the shop in a Mirror Gate barrier.
• Iori saw a huge smoke column rising from Seireitei and a shattered barrier, then wondered what could have caused such destruction.

Saitō Fuyōfushi led the 7th Division against strange, regenerating monsters that had devastated the Seireitei and nearly destroyed the Tenth Division. She defeated and bound a powerful Zanpakuto-wielding monster with her Bankai, but her lingering injuries left her struggling to maintain it.

• Iori raced toward the Seireitei after learning of the crisis, while Saitō Fuyōfushi found the court in ruins and the Tenth Division nearly wiped out by white monsters.
• Saitō ordered the 7th Division to retreat from close combat where possible and use long-range Kido, then fought the regenerating monsters with her Zanpakuto and binding spells.
• A silver-gray monster wielding a Zanpakuto attacked Saitō, who wounded it but began coughing blood because of injuries she had suffered fighting Barragan in Las Noches.
• Saitō activated Bankai: Hienkou Reison and battered the monster with invisible wind blasts, preventing it from reaching her or recovering effectively.
• Saitō bound the defeated monster with Kido, then swayed and struggled to keep her vision clear after sustaining Bankai.

Saitō Fuyōfushi protected her squad from a devastating reiatsu blast, but Iori arrived in time to rescue her and shield the survivors. Iori unleashed Bankai to dispel the smoke and contain another explosion, revealing a gigantic tentacled monster that he attacked as the other Captains approached.

• Saitō Fuyōfushi used her Bankai to shield the 7th Division squad from the second shockwave, but the barrier broke and the flames sent her flying.
• Iori caught Saito and protected her and the surviving squad members with layered Kido barriers.
• Iori sensed another threat within the smoke and released Bankai, Mirror Water: Yamata no Arashi, summoning rain to weaken the flames and clear the smoke.
• A shockwave erupted from the smoke, revealing a huge white monster with dozens of tentacles, which fired red lasers at Iori and the others.
• Iori blocked the lasers with Splitting Void and struck the monster with an azure slash, opening a massive wound that the creature rapidly filled with white sludge.

Iori sealed the enormous monster with Four Beasts Sealing Gate and destroyed it with Five Dragon Annihilation, but it began regenerating. Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni arrived with the Soul Reapers and Kido Corps, then unleashed Ryujin Jakka to burn away the monster and the battlefield’s remaining traces.

• Iori blocked the monster’s Cero and trapped it inside Four Beasts Sealing Gate while Saito and the 7th Division watched.
• Iori cast Hadō #99: Five Dragon Annihilation through the sealed gates, reducing the monster to charred remains and blasting a hole through the rain clouds.
• The monster began to regenerate, and Saito prepared to support Iori until he sensed reinforcements arriving.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni thanked Saito and Iori, ordered the Kido Corps to contain the monster, and told Iori to rest.
• Yamamoto drew Ryujin Jakka and released flames that erased the remains of the gates and the lingering effects of Iori’s Kido.

After the disaster destroyed the Tenth Division, Iori proposed bringing Seireitei’s research under the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and restricting private research. Yamamoto backed an internal research department, while the Captains faced the difficult question of rebuilding the Tenth Division.

• Shunsui told Lisa that the explosion was a man-made disaster caused by a runaway project at the Seireitei Research Institute, though the institute’s destruction made responsibility hard to pursue.
• Lisa deduced that the Research Institute, not the Tenth Division base, had been the explosion’s center, and Shunsui withheld the culprit’s identity.
• At the Captains’ meeting, Iori proposed shutting down large private research facilities and requiring approval for research into Artificial Souls.
• Shūsui Seigen supported Iori’s proposal, and most Captains backed it despite the expected opposition from the nobles and Central 46.
• Yamamoto agreed to submit the restrictions to Central 46 and ordered preparations for an internal research department, assigning Hikifune Kirio to organize the 12th Division’s resources.
• The Shihoin Clan Head began proposing how to rebuild the Tenth Division, citing its depleted ranks and the weakened state of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

After the Tenth Division’s disappearance left Seireitei short-handed, Iori Aizen accepted a mission to recruit fighters from Soul Society’s lawless districts for an expedition to Hueco Mundo. He then traveled to the world of The Eminence in Shadow and met with Yuki-hime and the other members of his organization.

• Shihoin Hyakuchu proposed recruiting fighters from Soul Society to help restore the Three Realms’ balance and fill Seireitei’s ranks.
• Yamamoto considered the captains for the assignment, and Iori volunteered to recruit and organize local heroes instead of purging the lawless districts.
• Yamamoto assigned Iori the recruitment mission, and Iori asked Vice-Captain Kyoraku Juro to reduce the size of his escort.
• Iori privately planned to bring trusted allies, including Esdeath and Akame, into the Soul Reaper system through the recruitment effort.
• Iori entered Mugen and traveled to The Eminence in Shadow, where Yuki-hime, Alpha, and the organization members bowed before him.

Iori visited the Great Forest Alliance, rewarded its members, and gave Beta, Delta, and Gamma their names before Esdeath returned and kissed him in front of the organization. He then took Esdeath and Akame to Soul Society to teach them Shinigami cultivation, explaining how Akame could use Murasame to awaken her Zanpakuto.

• Iori healed the assembled members of the Great Forest Alliance with compressed magic, and Alpha introduced three demon possession victims as candidates for future leadership.
• Iori named the three girls Beta, Delta, and Gamma and told Alpha to train them as future captain candidates.
• Esdeath returned from hunting a Diablo Cult base, kissed Iori on the throne, and encouraged the girls to pursue him if they became strong enough.
• Iori invited Esdeath on a more challenging hunt and took her and Akame to Soul Society to begin their Shinigami training.
• Iori explained that Zanpakuto awakening depended on spiritual pressure and compatibility, and Akame realized Murasame could serve in place of an Asauchi.

Iori explained how Asauchi and Zanpakuto worked to Akame and Esdeath, then watched for reactions from Soul Society’s powerful figures and regretted that Yuki had left without questioning him. He later accepted a mission to recruit strong fighters from the lawless zones, led a team there, and arrived at the desolate frontier.

• Iori explained that Asauchi made awakening a Zanpakuto easier, while Akame could keep Murasame and Esdeath would need to discover what weapon suited her.
• Iori teased Esdeath about their relationship, prompting Akame to realize her feelings for him and wonder whether she had waited too long to act.
• After the training session, Iori reflected that the Great Monk and Nimaiya Ōetsu had not intervened, while Yuki had observed him without asking about Akame and Esdeath.
• Iori accepted the recruitment mission because it could help rebuild the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Army and give him a chance to study Hollows there.
• Iori selected eight Shinigami from the Third Division, left Kyoraku Juro in charge, and led the group toward the lawless zones.
• Iori and his team reached the lawless frontier, a vast, barren region of sand, dead trees, and scarce water.

Iori and his squad recruited fighters in the Lawless Zone while avoiding needless deaths, until Iori sensed an overwhelmingly powerful stranger. Iori summoned the man, clashed swords with him, and the chapter ended with the stranger asking if Iori had called him there.

• Tousen Kaname used Suzumushi to incapacitate drifters, and Tenkai offered the surviving swordsman a chance to join Seireitei.
• Iori received a Hell Butterfly message from Akame and learned that she and Esdeath were operating in the Lawless Zone.
• Iori sensed a Reiatsu stronger than ordinary Captain-level, and Tenkai considered avoiding its owner rather than risking a fight.
• Iori released his Reiatsu to summon the stranger, who raced across the wilderness toward the squad.
• Iori met the stranger's charge with his sword, and the man asked whether Iori had called him there.

Iori fought Zaraki for hours, then unleashed his Shunkō and defeated him with the Thunder God technique. When Zaraki rose again with overwhelming spiritual pressure, Iori activated Bankai and prepared to continue the duel, ending the chapter with a remark about two-handed sword swings.

• Iori and Zaraki clashed with swords while Tenkai Shūsuke and Tousen Kaname watched from a distance.
• As the fight dragged on until sunset, Iori used Flash Step Roar Second Stage to increase his speed and power.
• Iori pierced Zaraki with a lightning strike, but Zaraki's spiritual pressure surged and he knocked Iori to the ground.
• Iori summoned the Thunder God with his perfected Shunkō and blasted Zaraki across the battlefield.
• Zaraki got back up with immense spiritual pressure, so Iori drew Ama-no-Murakumo and activated Bankai: Mirror Water: Yamata no Arashi.
• Zaraki charged joyfully into the renewed duel, and Iori took a two-handed stance and remarked that a two-handed swing was stronger.

Iori introduced Esdeath, now using the name Hiyori, to his sister Yuki, who recognized her reputation and questioned Iori about his plans. Iori revealed that he was gathering allies to organize an expedition to Hueco Mundo, while Yuki remained determined to uncover the secrets behind his extraordinary growth.

• Iori introduced Hiyori to Yuki at Granny's shop, and Yuki recognized Hiyori as the famed Ice General.
• Yuki recounted the rumors about Iori's exploits, and Iori admitted that he had arranged for Hiyori to join the Thirteenth Division.
• Iori told Yuki that he had developed a private power and intended to strengthen the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, while joking about hanging Central 46 from streetlamps.
• Yuki deduced that Iori was recruiting for a Hueco Mundo expedition and warned that Seireitei might choose him to lead it.
• Yuki reflected on Iori's implausibly rapid growth and resolved to discover the truth through her own efforts.

Yamamoto appointed Iori Aizen commander of the expeditionary army bound for Hueco Mundo, and Kuchiki Sōjun joined as his adjutant. As the Senkaimon opened, Iori rallied the assembled force and led them toward departure.

• Yuki enjoyed shaved ice with Granny, Oto-chan, and Miss Akame while she planned to use the Soul Society library to outpace Iori in research.
• Yamamoto convened a joint Captain and Vice-Captain meeting, where the assembled officers unanimously approved Iori as Expeditionary Army Commander and appointed Kyoraku Juro acting captain of the Third Division.
• Iori’s expeditionary force grew from 150 recruits he had gathered in the Soul Society to include about 50 noble-born Bleach.
• Kuchiki Sōjun joined the expedition as Iori’s first adjutant, while Kuchiki Ginrei explained to Yamamoto that sending his frail son to Hueco Mundo was necessary for the nobles to share responsibility for rebuilding the Tenth Division.
• Yamamoto and Ginrei watched as the Senkaimon opened, and Iori rallied the expeditionary army before leading them toward Hueco Mundo.

Iori led his expeditionary force into Hueco Mundo and confronted Barragan at Las Noches, where the King of Hueco Mundo challenged him to battle. Barragan launched an axe attack, but Iori stopped it with his bare hand.

• Iori arranged for Akame to serve in Saitō Fuyōfushi's 7th Division and help protect Grandmother Aizen and Nemu.
• Iori led Esdeath, Tousen Kaname, and the expeditionary force through the Senkaimon into Hueco Mundo, where Kuchiki Sōjun asked how they should proceed.
• Barragan, the King of Hueco Mundo, recalled his past defeat and grew excited when Iori arrived at Las Noches with Esdeath and Tousen.
• Iori taunted Barragan and declared that the old era was ending, provoking the king into a rage.
• Barragan ordered his subjects to stand down and attacked Iori with his great axe, but Iori caught it before it struck him.

Iori overwhelmed Barragan, stole control of his aging power, and demonstrated that he could use it to destroy Barragan’s body. He spared Barragan’s skull as a vessel for the power and again demanded his submission.

• Iori stopped Tousen and Esdeath from joining the fight, then easily repelled Barragan’s attacks and revealed his overwhelming Reiatsu.
• Barragan charged Iori again, but Iori blocked him and used Greedy Usurper to take his power of aging.
• Iori examined the stolen power and discovered that Barragan’s protective layer shielded him until Iori breached it with direct contact.
• Iori aged Barragan’s body into dust, leaving only his crowned skull, then returned the aging power to it as a vessel.
• Barragan regained his ability but was left numb as Iori again demanded that he submit or die.

Iori defeated Barragan, took control of Las Noches, and began planning how to develop his forces and study Hollows. As he settled into his new responsibilities, he transformed into Barragan before a startled blonde girl.

• Iori forced Barragan to swear loyalty, melted the Crown into a golden vessel around his skull, and claimed the throne of Las Noches.
• Kuchiki Sōjun wrote to his father about the successful Hueco Mundo campaign and praised Iori’s leadership and daring victory over Barragan.
• Iori took charge of Las Noches after Szayelaporro and most of its Adjuchas submitted to him, then struggled to manage the army and Hollow research.
• Iori stored his documents, outlined plans to develop his powers and study Hollows, and began reading Szayelaporro’s notes.
• Iori recited an incantation and transformed into Barragan, shocking the blonde girl who watched him.

Iori tested Hollowfication through transformation magic and found that his will and strength let him resist Barragan’s negative emotions. He then traveled to Chaldea for a supercomputer, but arrived in a dark, battle-damaged facility where its systems identified him as an unauthorized Heroic Spirit and Reinforcement Soldiers confronted him.

• Iori transformed into Barragan using transformation magic while the Elf maiden stood ready to restrain him if he lost control.
• Iori resisted Barragan’s despair and other negative emotions, then explained to the Elf maiden that he was exploring Hollow physiology rather than learning combat techniques.
• Iori decided to visit Chaldea and seek a supercomputer to support his projects across multiple worlds.
• Iori arrived in an unfamiliar summoning laboratory, where Chaldea’s alarm marked him as an unauthorized Heroic Spirit and initiated an elimination protocol.
• Iori found signs of recent battles throughout the dark facility and recognized the advancing figures as Reinforcement Soldiers from the Greek Lostbelt.