Chapter Summaries

Iori returned to Hueco Mundo after gaining a powerful new body and claimed he had mastered Bankai. He demonstrated his water-type Bankai to Tenkai Shūsuke, leaving him stunned by Iori’s strength and rapid progress.

• Esdeath avoided Iori and left the Imperial Capital to lead a campaign against bandits, while Ciel and Akame resumed their usual work.
• Iori reviewed the CG rewards he had gained and traveled back to Soul Society after leaving Chelsea to act as the Emperor’s double.
• Iori tested his materialized body in Hueco Mundo and found that it could adapt to spirit particles and spiritual pressure.
• Tenkai Shūsuke noticed Iori’s changed presence, and Iori told him he had comprehended Bankai.
• Iori unleashed eight lightning-wreathed water dragons that reshaped the desert, convincing Tenkai that his Bankai was real.
• Tenkai praised Iori’s unprecedented talent, while Iori cautioned that extraordinary abilities were possible.

Iori convinced Tenkai that he had achieved Bankai and asked him to keep it secret, while privately admitting that the display was a carefully staged imitation. After Tenkai left, Yuki revealed she had been watching and challenged Iori to a sword fight, which ended with them clashing at astonishing speed.

• Iori told Tenkai that his violent sword spirit had forced him to risk his life to master Bankai, and Tenkai congratulated him.
• Iori asked Tenkai to keep his Bankai secret, explaining that revealing it could bring trouble for Saito and draw jealousy; Tenkai agreed.
• Iori privately reflected that his supposed Bankai was an imitation made with a Noble Phantasm and planned to test whether Saito would believe it too.
• Tenkai called Iori his close friend, and Iori received a bond notification before sending him away.
• Yuki emerged from a hidden Kido barrier and questioned Iori about his Bankai, then drew her Zanpakuto and challenged him.
• Iori and Yuki exchanged rapid sword strikes, neither gaining an advantage.

Yuki and Iori sparred in Hueco Mundo before receiving Saitō Fuyōfushi’s order to return to Soul Society. They found the camp under attack by a Hollow army, where Saitō held off five Adjuchas despite a mysterious wound that would not heal.

• Yuki and Iori exchanged attacks, and Yuki recognized Iori’s strength and Captain-level Reiatsu.
• Yuki offered to show Iori her Shikai, but he refused and explained that he already knew its illusion-based ability from the festival.
• Saitō Fuyōfushi used Tenteikūra to order the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Army to abandon its missions and gather at the Senkaimon.
• Yuki and Iori raced back to camp and saw a powerful Cero rising above it, revealing that the camp was under attack.
• Saitō ordered the Shinigami to continue toward the Senkaimon while she faced the Hollow Tide and its five Adjuchas alone.
• After the Shinigami left, Saitō dropped to one knee and revealed a deep wound surrounded by spreading black mist that resisted healing.

Saito Fuyōfushi faced Barragan and his Hollow army after escaping Las Noches, fighting through the lesser Hollows and engaging the King of Hueco Mundo while badly injured. As she prepared to release Bankai, a bolt of lightning struck nearby and vast dark clouds covered the sky.

• Barragan arrived at the Expeditionary Army’s camp with his Hollow forces and confronted the injured Saito, demanding that she show him Bankai.
• Barragan sent Lesser Hollows and Gillians to exhaust Saito while keeping his Adjuchas in reserve.
• Saito released Shikai and cut through dozens of Hollows before rushing Barragan, but his weapon and aging power forced her to keep retreating.
• Saito’s worsening injuries left her trapped by the Adjuchas, and she began to release Bankai despite the danger.
• A thick lightning bolt struck nearby, and dark clouds soon covered the sky, plunging Hueco Mundo into darkness.

Iori and Yuki returned with reinforcements to help Saito’s Shinigami face Barragan’s Hollow army. As the battle worsened, the siblings revealed their Zanpakuto releases and charged the Adjuchas, giving the beleaguered Expeditionary Army renewed hope.

• Iori, Yuki, and the Four Heavenly Kings joined Saito’s stand, and Yuki carried Saito out of the Adjuchas’ encirclement.
• Saito’s reinforcements chose to stay and fight, while Barragan summoned his Hollow army and declared the execution begun.
• Tenkai led the Shinigami against the advancing Hollows, and Iori killed six Gillians with Hadō #78: Blade Dance.
• When the army began to buckle, Iori considered using Bankai and urged Tenkai to escape with Saito if the chance arose.
• Yuki and Iori released their Zanpakuto, then cut down a lizard Adjuchas that had attacked them with a Cero.

Barragan annihilated the Expeditionary Army with his power over aging, believing he had killed every Bleach. Yuki’s Kyoka Suigetsu then revealed that he had been trapped in Complete Hypnosis, though Barragan recognized the deception and prepared to hunt her down.

• Barragan killed Saitō Fuyōfushi, Iori, and the remaining Bleach, leaving Aizen Souyuki as the last apparent survivor before she too was reduced to ash.
• Barragan returned to his throne and ordered his Hollow forces back to Las Noches, but he sensed that something was wrong.
• Barragan attacked and killed several of his own subordinates, then realized his perception had been manipulated by Illusionary Arts.
• Barragan inferred that a Bleach had used hypnosis to make him believe he had won and threatened to torture the caster.
• Yuki appeared in place of the disguised Adjuchas and calmly revealed that her Kyoka Suigetsu used Complete Hypnosis.

Yuki and Iori defeated Barragan after Yuki revealed that he had been trapped by Kyoka Suigetsu and Iori cut him down with Mirror Water. Barragan’s final attack failed to harm Iori, leaving the fallen king bewildered as Iori showed him that he had dispersed Barragan’s Aging power.

• Yuki used the combined effects of her and Iori’s Zanpakuto to observe Barragan and refine her illusion before Iori blocked his strike.
• Yuki dispelled Kyoka Suigetsu, revealing the mirror-like battlefield and Barragan’s slain subordinates, and explained that he had been under hypnosis from the beginning.
• Iori released Mirror Water and severed Barragan at the waist with an invisible strike.
• Barragan hurled his Aging-infused axe at Iori, but Iori caught it with his bare hand and tossed it aside unharmed.
• Barragan questioned how Iori had survived Aging, and Iori showed him the black smoke of Barragan’s power dispersing into dust.

After defeating Barragan, Iori spared him and declared that he would keep him as a research specimen. In Seireitei, the battered Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Army returned without Saitō Fuyōfushi, but she emerged from the Senkaimon just as everyone believed her dead.

• Iori explained that his body returned to its original state and could withstand Barragan’s Aging.
• Iori and Yuki walked away from Barragan, who protested that he wanted an honorable death.
• Iori told Barragan that he would remain King of Hueco Mundo and serve as a research specimen.
• The Expeditionary Army returned to Seireitei in disarray and reported that Saitō Fuyōfushi had stayed behind to cover their retreat from a Vastolorde and a Hollow Tide.
• The seated officer kept the Senkaimon open until Saitō Fuyōfushi emerged, alive and bloodied.

After returning from Hueco Mundo, Saitō Fuyōfushi reported the encounter with Barragan and urged Yamamoto to take Iori Aizen as his disciple. She explained that Iori had mastered Bankai in less than a year and warned that his and Yuki Aizen’s matching Water-type Zanpakuto could put them in danger; Yamamoto heard her account, but the reason for that danger remained unexplained.

• Saito returned to Seireitei with the surviving Expeditionary Army and met with Yamamoto to discuss the two Vastolorde they had encountered.
• Saito described her injuries and asked Yamamoto to personally prepare for a possible conflict with Barragan, after which Yamamoto suspended further Hueco Mundo exploration until the Quincy war ended.
• Saito urged Yamamoto to take Iori Aizen as his disciple, revealing that Iori had mastered Bankai and helped hold off Barragan during the retreat.
• Yamamoto asked for a full account, and Saito explained how Iori and Yuki used their Zanpakuto and other abilities to protect the Expeditionary Army until Barragan withdrew.
• Saito called Iori an aberrant and insisted that Yamamoto’s discipleship would protect him, warning that his Water-type Mirror Water and Yuki’s Water-type Kyoka Suigetsu were an ominous coincidence.

Saito persuaded Yamamoto to take Iori Aizen as a disciple to protect him and Yuki from political threats over their unusual Zanpakuto similarities. A front-line report then forced the Expeditionary Army to return to duty after devastating Quincy attacks, while Iori visited Kyōraku and found him apparently napping instead of working.

• Yamamoto agreed to accept Iori as his disciple, provided Iori consented, after Saito warned that Central 46 might exploit the siblings’ unusual similarities.
• Shubaku Jiro delivered Kuchiki Ginrei’s military report, and Yamamoto ordered the Expeditionary Army to end its rest and prepare for reorganization.
• Saito read that two Captains had died, Kuchiki Ginrei was seriously injured, and Kenpachi had been ambushed; she also questioned the Quincy’s reference to a Holy Son and the Son of Yhwach.
• Iori visited Kyōraku’s residence, where Yagyu Lisa greeted him and led him inside.
• Lisa and Iori found Kyōraku sprawled in the courtyard under a straw hat, and Lisa picked up the hat after hesitating to strike him.

Iori learned that the Quincy had turned the campaign around with the sudden appearance of Yhwach’s son, leaving several Soul Reaper captains dead or gravely wounded. Seireitei reorganized its forces and assigned Iori to a special operations squad under Kyōraku Shunsui, where he found himself among several exceptional young Soul Reapers.

• Lisa brought Kyōraku Shunsui urgent intelligence from the front lines, reporting that the Third Division’s captain had died and Kuchiki Ginrei and the Sixth Division’s captain had been seriously wounded.
• Iori returned to the Aizen family clothing shop, where he and Yuki discussed the worsening news from the front.
• Reports revealed that Yhwach’s son had killed the Third Division’s captain and the Seventh Division’s captain, then overturned the Quincy campaign by attacking Kuchiki Ginrei.
• Seireitei disbanded the Expeditionary Army and reassigned its members across the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
• Iori received orders to join a special operations squad under Kyōraku Shunsui and found Yuki, Sengoku Kyōka, Tenkai Shūsuke, Shihōin Yoruichi, and Kensei Muguruma on its roster.
• Iori learned that Sengoku Kyōka had mastered Bankai before graduation because his unusually devoted Zanpakuto spirit had revealed its true name, though the authorities restricted his use of its dangerous ability.

Kyōraku Shunsui led the Soul Society reinforcements into the World of the Living and slowly tightened their blockade around the Quincy while Iori waited for a chance to fight. When a non-combat unit sent a distress signal, Iori and Yoruichi were dispatched to rescue it, while Mayuri Kurotsuchi faced a group of anxious Bleach in disguise.

• Kyōraku Shunsui took command of the expedition, reinforced Kuchiki Ginrei, and established a blockade without pursuing the Quincy's bait.
• Iori served at the main camp and waited for a chance to test his abilities against a powerful Quincy.
• Kyōraku Shunsui sent Iori and Yoruichi to rescue a non-combat unit that had come under attack.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi encountered several disguised Bleach who questioned whether their plan would work, and he ordered them to be quiet.

Kurotsuchi Mayuri and his squad were pursued after robbing Quincy graves, and their attempt to escape ended when a Quincy force surrounded and killed them. Mayuri’s fate was left among the wreckage of the battlefield.

• Kurotsuchi Mayuri found a moving Saint Silver beetle charm inside a corpse and led his squad out of the village to hide in the mountains.
• A middle-aged Quincy caught up with the Soul Reapers, but Kurotsuchi Mayuri killed him using an exploding corpse and poison.
• Scarecrow arrived with dozens of Quincy and recovered the dead man’s soul in a cross emblem.
• Kurotsuchi Mayuri used Sekienton to cover the squad’s escape, but the Quincy filled the smoke with arrows and killed the Soul Reapers.
• Scarecrow inspected the ruined battlefield and concluded that none of the grave robbers had escaped.

Iori arrived in the forest and rescued Kurotsuchi Mayuri from Scarecrow, then refused to withdraw when Scarecrow rejected a truce. Their forces clashed, and Iori learned that Scarecrow could switch between the Quincy abilities Blood Dress and Kekkou.

• Scarecrow exposed Kurotsuchi Mayuri hiding inside a tree and wounded him, but Mayuri used a drug to boost his Reiatsu and prepare to unleash Bankai.
• A lightning attack interrupted Mayuri, and Iori emerged from the storm to fight Scarecrow, wounding him and forcing the two sides to face off.
• Iori proposed taking Mayuri back and ending the fight for the day, but Scarecrow refused, so both sides began battling in the forest.
• Iori and Scarecrow continued their duel while Mayuri and the other Shinigami fought the Quincy; Iori identified Scarecrow's Kekkou as a defensive ability distinct from Blood Dress.

Iori fought the Scarecrow Quincy, who unleashed his Quincy Final Form and gathered enough Reishi to threaten a Captain-level opponent. Iori answered with Bankai and then used the true power of Mirror Water to strike Scarecrow before he could fire his lethal arrow, leaving his body overwhelmed by the Reishi he had absorbed.

• Iori tested Scarecrow’s Blood Dress, blocked his arrows, and countered his attacks with the Heavenly Cloud Sword.
• Scarecrow’s surprise sword strike was repelled by Iori’s released divine sword, and Scarecrow admitted he could not win through ordinary means.
• Scarecrow removed his Spirit Scattering Gloves and entered Quincy Final Form, drawing in Reishi until his power surpassed Captain level.
• Iori unleashed Bankai, Mirror Water: Yamata no Arashi, and flooded the battlefield with torrents that separated the two fighters from the others.
• Iori transformed the water curtains into mirrors, then used Clear to slash Scarecrow before he released his arrow, causing the gathered Reishi to erupt from his body.

Iori defeated Scarecrow’s Quincy Final Form, concealed his Mirror Water Shikai by cremating the corpse, and returned to camp with Kurotsuchi Mayuri. Mayuri challenged Iori over the corpse and his research priorities, then agreed to share Quincy research data after Iori offered his support, though he questioned Iori’s interest in information about Soul Society.

• Iori countered Scarecrow’s massive light arrow with Eight Forked Raging Waves and survived the attack while realizing the nature of Mirror Water: Calm.
• After Scarecrow fell, Iori gathered his troops, avoided pursuing the fleeing Quincy, and brought Kurotsuchi Mayuri back to camp.
• Iori told Mayuri that Scarecrow’s corpse had been cremated, denying Mayuri the research material and concealing clues to his Shikai.
• Mayuri accused Iori of seeking peace of mind by honoring an enemy, but Iori said he had acted without needing to justify himself.
• Iori confronted Mayuri about neglecting his commission to pursue Quincy research, then offered to support that work in exchange for copies of the data.
• Mayuri agreed to share the data but asked why Iori wanted it, recalling his earlier requests for information about Soul Society.

Iori failed to stabilize the spiritual pathways he was developing, then faced Yoruichi in a drinking contest where both used tricks to keep going. The contest continued as Yoruichi used Utsusemi to evade her predicament without leaving the table, leaving Iori confused about her move.

• Iori reflected that Kurotsuchi Mayuri could be rented as a collaborator but could not be controlled, then watched his attempt to strengthen his arm with Reishi pathways fail and vanish into scattered Reishi.
• Iori and Yoruichi began a drinking contest, challenging each other to keep drinking while a crowd cheered them on.
• After more than forty cups, Yoruichi accelerated her metabolism to endure the alcohol, while Iori used Ama-no-Murakumo’s water Divinity to remove water from his body.
• Iori realized Yoruichi urgently needed to leave the table and taunted her, but she refused to concede.
• Yoruichi used Utsusemi to shift her position without leaving the drinking table, and Iori wondered what she had accomplished.

Iori conceded a drinking game to Yoruichi after she pretended to remove her underwear, then realized her laughter had caused an embarrassing mishap. The next day, Yoruichi avoided his gaze while they reported to Kyōraku Shunsui, who urged them to get along as comrades.

• Yoruichi claimed she had taken off her underwear to show her resolve, and Iori conceded rather than let their game go further.
• Yoruichi revealed she had only pulled out a handkerchief to test Iori's nerve, then laughed so hard that Iori suspected she had an accident.
• Yoruichi hurriedly left the gathering, and Iori chose not to tell anyone what he suspected had happened.
• The next day, Yoruichi avoided Iori while they reported to Kyōraku Shunsui, who asked whether something had happened between them.
• Iori said their game had used up Yoruichi's stamina, and Yoruichi insisted that nothing had happened.

Iori asked Yoruichi to teach him Hakuda, but their spar revealed that his supposedly average skills were nearly equal to hers. Yoruichi identified his main weakness as a lack of personal style, leaving Iori with a new direction for improving his combat techniques.

• Yoruichi agreed to guide Iori in Hakuda after he asked for her help, though she still insisted that he write her mission reports for half a month.
• Yoruichi took Iori to a bamboo grove and challenged him to a barehanded spar to assess his abilities.
• Iori and Yoruichi fought with their physical abilities restrained, wrecking the clearing as their skills proved nearly equal.
• Yoruichi was stunned by Iori’s strength and technique, while Iori maintained that his Hakuda was underdeveloped.
• Yoruichi explained that Iori relied on polished, broadly applicable Academy techniques and needed to develop a distinctive personal style through real combat.

Shihōin Yoruichi demonstrated her developing Shunkō to Iori and explained how it combined Hakuda and Kido. After Iori analyzed its principles, he began experimenting with Reiatsu himself, ending on the brink of a breakthrough.

• Shihōin Yoruichi used Shunkō to unleash a powerful blast that carved a passage through the bamboo forest.
• Yoruichi explained Shunkō’s strengths and limitations, and Iori identified how its Reiatsu fluctuations amplified its destructive force.
• Yoruichi admitted she could not clearly explain how to combine Hakuda and Kido, while Iori realized her instincts had guided her development.
• Yoruichi left, hoping Iori would share any insights he gained, and Iori considered how to maintain and control Shunkō’s Reiatsu.
• Iori concentrated Reiatsu around his body and imagined it as gunpowder in a chamber before triggering an explosive release.