Chapter Summaries

Hatake Tachibana fought Otsutsuki Shibai, whose Rinnegan trapped him in a white void that absorbed his power. Hatake escaped by opening all Eight Inner Gates and shattering the void, but his soul collapsed, and a golden light carried his body away.

• Hatake Tachibana confronted Otsutsuki Shibai, and Infinity Perception System could observe him but could not simulate or predict him.
• Hatake Tachibana attacked with a Star Power sword, but Otsutsuki Shibai repelled him before he crossed space and pierced Shibai’s forehead Rinnegan.
• Otsutsuki Shibai’s Rinnegan turned him into the Void Realm, where Hatake Tachibana’s power and hair were gradually absorbed.
• Hatake Tachibana opened all Eight Inner Gates, causing his Star Power to surge while his fused essence, energy, and spirit burned away.
• Hatake Tachibana punched the pale world and shattered it, destroying Otsutsuki Shibai, but his soul collapsed and he lost consciousness.
• A golden light illuminated Hatake Tachibana for three seconds and carried his body away.

Kujo Tachibana arrived in Rukongai with his spiritual body almost completely destroyed and learned the basics of the Soul Society from a local woman. He discovered that Infinity remained, but his perception and prediction abilities were severely weakened, leaving him to seek a way to repair his soul.

• A historical account described the Soul King's division of the world, Ikomikidomoe's sealing, and Yhwach's defeat by Yamamoto Genryusai.
• A golden light brought Tachibana's near-collapsing soul to an empty street in East District 11 of Rukongai.
• An old woman explained to Tachibana that he had died and taught him about life and rules in Rukongai.
• Tachibana gave his name as Kujo Tachibana and assessed his damaged spiritual body after the old woman left.
• Tachibana found that Infinity remained, but his perception and ability to simulate and predict had each declined by ninety-nine percent.

Kujo Tachibana discovered that Breathing Style 4.0 let him absorb Reishi and slowly repair his soul, then set his sights on enrolling at Shin'ō Academy. After learning that applications had closed for the year, he spent six years secluded in East District 11, waiting for the next intake.

• Kujo Tachibana moved into an empty house in East District 11 and found that ordinary human cultivation methods did not work on his spiritual body.
• Kujo Tachibana used Breathing Style 4.0 to absorb Reishi, which began slowly repairing his soul.
• Kujo Tachibana decided to learn the ways of the Reapers and applied to Shin'ō Academy, but the annual intake had already closed and the next class would not be accepted for six years.
• Kujo Tachibana spent six years at home absorbing Reishi and repairing his soul while waiting for Shin'ō Academy to accept a new class.

Kujo Tachibana passed Shino Academy’s entrance aptitude test and arrived with five other recruits from East District 11. While waiting for the academy’s second test, he considered joining the 4th Division and offered to protect his fellow recruits, who distrusted his confidence.

• Kujo Tachibana pushed through the crowd as Otake Geni and Yoshinaga Yoshitoki began testing East District 11 residents for Reaper aptitude.
• Otake Geni’s glove turned red when he tested Kujo Tachibana, confirming his aptitude, and the Reapers selected five others after testing the district’s residents.
• Otake Geni and Yoshinaga Yoshitoki brought the six recruits to Shino Academy, where they waited with other newcomers for a second test.
• Takita Tsunayoshi and Tsuda Yuji discussed sticking together and applying to the Gotei 13, and Kujo Tachibana considered the 4th Division as a way to heal his soul.
• Kujo Tachibana told the group he would prevent anyone from bullying East District 11’s recruits, but the others dismissed him as a braggart and moved away.
• A young man in a black robe entered the hall carrying a stack of name registers.

Kujo Tachibana entered the Shino Academy with Grade 4 Reiatsu, drawing attention from students and Soul Society alike. A week into classes, Byakuya Kuchiki grew curious about Tachibana’s strange behavior and inability to understand him.

• Kujo Tachibana’s Grade 4 Reiatsu cracked the testing crystal ball, and Instructor Hori Kunzan praised his potential for Class 1-A.
• Word of Kujo Tachibana’s talent spread through Seireitei, where he learned that Byakuya Kuchiki had also enrolled with Grade 4 Reiatsu.
• After a week at the academy, Kujo Tachibana settled into his private dormitory and used Infinity to study Kido while ignoring his classmates.
• Kujo Tachibana mastered Hado #1: Sho, Hado #4: Byakurai, and Bakudo #1: Sai, while deciding that the academy’s other subjects offered him little to learn.
• Byakuya Kuchiki watched Kujo Tachibana arrive in Class 1-A and grew increasingly curious about the quiet student from Rukongai.

Kujo Tachibana achieved Shikai with his first Asauchi and defeated Byakuya Kuchiki, drawing the attention of Soul Society’s leaders. Six years later, as he finally prepared to graduate, he declined Byakuya’s offer to join the 6th Division and hinted that he wanted to join the 4th Division.

• Kujo Tachibana and Byakuya Kuchiki were paired to spar, and Kujo used unincanted Kido before Byakuya revealed his Shikai, Senbonzakura.
• Kujo awakened his own Shikai, Infinity, and used its heightened perception to evade Byakuya’s attacks and defeat him.
• Captain-Commander Yamamoto ordered Kujo to be watched, while Unohana Retsu, Sosuke Aizen, Yoruichi Shihouin, and Kisuke Urahara took an interest in him and his Zanpakuto.
• Over the next six years, Kujo turned down recruitment offers and stayed at Shino Academy, while Byakuya graduated early and joined the 6th Division.
• As Kujo neared graduation, Byakuya offered him a lieutenant’s position in the 6th Division, but Kujo refused and praised the 4th Division while Unohana listened nearby.

Kujo Tachibana demonstrated his self-invented Responded technique to Seinosuke Yamada and secured an offer to become the 4th Division’s Third Seat. At Shino Academy’s graduation ceremony, he delivered an intentionally endless speech while observing the captains, drawing Yamamoto’s ire and Aizen’s interest.

• Kujo Tachibana used the Mystical Palm Blade Technique to remove a grain of rice from his abdomen without injuring himself, impressing Seinosuke Yamada.
• Seinosuke Yamada offered Kujo Tachibana the 4th Division’s Third Seat and promised to recommend him to Unohana Retsu.
• A week later, Kujo Tachibana gave a lengthy graduation speech as Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni and other attendees grew impatient.
• Kujo Tachibana used the speech to observe the gathered captains with his Zanpakuto-enhanced Infinity, focusing on Sosuke Aizen.
• Sosuke Aizen considered recruiting Kujo Tachibana into the 5th Division.

Kujo Tachibana rejected the vice-captains’ attempts to recruit him and chose the 4th Division, drawing Aizen’s suspicion. Hiyori Sarugaki befriended him and promised to look out for him in the Gotei 13.

• Aizen asked Kujo Tachibana to join the 5th Division, while Hiyori Sarugaki claimed him for the 12th Division.
• Kujo Tachibana explained that he disliked fighting and wanted to focus on healing in the 4th Division, and Aizen accepted his choice while privately suspecting he had a secret.
• After Aizen left, Kujo Tachibana worried that Aizen might target him and resolved to defend himself if Aizen caused trouble.
• Hiyori Sarugaki asked Kujo Tachibana whether he disliked Aizen, and he agreed as they criticized Aizen’s false-seeming smile.
• Hiyori Sarugaki promised to look out for Kujo Tachibana, then angrily objected when he patted her head.

Kujo Tachibana joined the 4th Division and asked to live in its barracks so he could study healing techniques. Captain Unohana recognized his exceptional abilities and assigned Isane to find him a courtyard.

• Kujo Tachibana arrived at the Fourth Division Barracks with a cart full of belongings and met Kotetsu Isane, who offered to help him bring them inside.
• Kujo Tachibana told Isane he had nowhere to live in Seireitei and asked whether he could stay in the barracks; she helped him move his cart in.
• Isane brought Captain Unohana to the tea room, where Unohana recognized Kujo Tachibana from their earlier meeting and praised his newly created healing technique.
• Unohana questioned whether Kujo Tachibana had already mastered Bankai, and he said he had joined the 4th Division to study healing and wanted a courtyard with a kitchen.
• Unohana warned Kujo Tachibana to know his limits, then told Isane to find a good courtyard for the division's new Third Seat, leaving Isane astonished by his accomplishments.

Kujo Tachibana settled into the 4th Division, demonstrated his Mystical Palm Blade Technique, and spent decades becoming its trusted medical team leader. Though others regarded him as the strongest person below captain level, he had secretly reached the second tier of Captain-level Reiatsu and could suppress Unohana Retsu, leaving only Captain-Commander Yamamoto as someone who might defeat him.

• Kujo Tachibana moved into a courtyard provided by Unohana Retsu and visited her to learn about the 4th Division and his duties as Third Seat.
• Kujo Tachibana used his Mystical Palm Blade Technique to treat several patients without incisions, astonishing Unohana and the assembled 4th Division members.
• Kujo Tachibana taught the technique to the division, though most members struggled to understand it.
• Over several decades, Kujo Tachibana led medical teams on missions without losing a member and became known as Soul Society’s strongest person below captain level.
• Byakuya Kuchiki repeatedly challenged Kujo Tachibana, while Kujo secretly repaired more of his soul, advanced his Reiatsu and Bankai, and determined he could suppress Unohana Retsu.

Kujo Tachibana encouraged Byakuya Kuchiki to follow his heart and marry Hisana, and Ginrei Kuchiki approved the marriage. At their wedding, Tachibana reflected on someone from his past while Aizen quietly weighed the danger he posed.

• Kujo Tachibana defeated Byakuya during training and teased him, then Byakuya told him he planned to marry Hisana.
• Tachibana urged Byakuya to follow his heart, and Ginrei announced that Byakuya and Hisana should marry in fifteen days.
• Byakuya and Hisana married at the Kuchiki estate, where noble families and Gotei 13 members gathered to celebrate.
• Kujo Tachibana thought of a young woman as he watched the newlyweds, and Aizen questioned him about marriage in the Human World while privately considering his strength.

Byakuya Kuchiki revealed that he had mastered Bankai and challenged Kujo Tachibana to test it. Tachibana countered Byakuya’s Senbonzakura Kageyoshi with his Infinite World and ended the chapter by releasing a copy of Byakuya’s Bankai.

• Byakuya told Kujo Tachibana that he had recently glimpsed Senbonzakura’s true name and begun mastering Bankai.
• Tachibana explained that Infinity let him discern Byakuya’s secrets, prompting Byakuya to demand a demonstration of Tachibana’s Bankai.
• Byakuya activated Senbonzakura Kageyoshi and filled the battlefield with a vast swarm of cherry-blossom blades.
• Tachibana activated his Shikai, Infinity Domain, and assessed the difficulty of overcoming Byakuya’s widespread Bankai attack.
• Tachibana expanded Infinite World, replacing the battlefield with a starry realm and making the cherry-blossom blades disappear.
• Tachibana appeared to wield a second Senbonzakura Kageyoshi and released it while Byakuya watched in shock.

Kujo Tachibana defeated Byakuya Kuchiki by using his Bankai, Infinite World, to simulate and record Senbonzakura Kageyoshi. He diagnosed Hisana Kuchiki with a serious but treatable condition and said he would ask Shopkeeper Urahara to help repair her soul.

• Kujo Tachibana ended his Bankai and explained that Infinite World could simulate and record opponents’ Bankai.
• Byakuya Kuchiki asked about Kujo Tachibana’s Zanpakuto, and Kujo urged him to improve his use of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.
• Hisana Kuchiki brought tea and pastries to Byakuya and Kujo at the Kuchiki Clan mansion.
• Kujo diagnosed Hisana with a frail spirit body and rapidly leaking Reishi, warning that she might not survive more than five years without treatment.
• Kujo told Byakuya that easing Hisana’s emotional troubles and repairing her soul could restore her health and possibly let her become a Reaper.
• Kujo said he would ask Shopkeeper Urahara to help treat Hisana.

Kujo Tachibana and Kisuke Urahara created a Soul Orb that stabilized Hisana Kuchiki’s damaged soul, and years later Tachibana attended his first captains’ meeting. There, he confronted Aizen over his hypnosis and warned him not to harm Tachibana’s friends before Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni arrived.

• Kujo Tachibana asked Kisuke Urahara to help treat Hisana Kuchiki’s soul, and Urahara agreed to investigate with him and Yoruichi Shihouin.
• Kujo Tachibana told Byakuya Kuchiki that his younger sister Rukia was in South District 78 of Rukongai.
• Two months later, Kujo Tachibana and Kisuke Urahara placed their Soul Orb in Hisana Kuchiki, stabilizing her soul; six months after that, Urahara and Byakuya became captains, and Tachibana became lieutenant of the 4th Division.
• At the captains’ meeting, Kujo Tachibana resisted Aizen’s hypnosis, and Aizen revealed that he knew Tachibana was hiding his strength.
• Kujo Tachibana refused to tell Aizen about the Soul Orb and warned him not to hurt Tachibana’s friends; Aizen’s Zanpakuto, Illusion, trembled as the meeting began.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni entered the meeting hall with Chojiro Sasakibe.

At the captains’ meeting, Yamamoto appointed Zaraki as the new captain of the 11th Division after he killed Kiganjo Kenpachi. Inspired by her memories of fighting Zaraki, Unohana challenged Kujo Tachibana to a battle in Rukongai’s North District 80, where she unleashed her Yachiru Swordsmanship.

• Yamamoto announced that Zaraki had killed Kiganjo Kenpachi and appointed him captain of the 11th Division.
• Unohana told Kujo Tachibana that she had fought Zaraki when he was young and lost, then asked Tachibana to fight her.
• Unohana brought Tachibana to North District 80 in Rukongai and attacked him with Minazuki.
• Tachibana blocked Unohana’s strike, and their clash shattered buildings within a hundred meters.
• Unohana launched a relentless series of sword strikes and revealed her Yachiru Swordsmanship, Death Dance: Yachiru.

Kujo Tachibana defeated Unohana Retsu with a sword strike that revealed his unique way of the sword. Their immense Reiatsu drew the attention of powerful Reapers throughout Soul Society, and Kenpachi Zaraki headed toward them.

• Kujo Tachibana shattered Unohana Retsu's defenses with a single strike, despite displaying slightly less Reiatsu than she did.
• Kujo Tachibana explained that the images Unohana sensed in his strike were his way of the sword.
• Tateishi Takao detected two second-tier Reiatsu readings and rushed to inform Kisuke Urahara.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, Sosuke Aizen, Byakuya Kuchiki, Shunsui Kyoraku, and others reacted to the Reiatsu surges and wondered who was fighting Unohana Retsu.
• Jushiro Ukitake recognized the unfamiliar Reiatsu as possibly belonging to Kujo Tachibana, while Yoruichi Shihouin and Soi Fon also recognized it.
• Kenpachi Zaraki set off toward the northern district of Rukongai with Yachiru over his shoulder.

Kujo Tachibana left Soul Society for Hueco Mundo to train, using a newly formed Garganta, while Unohana Retsu returned to Seireitei. Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni punished Unohana and dispatched six Captains to capture Kujo and bring him back for judgment.

• Kujo Tachibana searched Rukongai with Unohana Retsu, told her he planned to leave Soul Society, and found a newly formed Garganta.
• Kujo Tachibana entered the Garganta for Hueco Mundo, and Unohana Retsu returned to Seireitei alone.
• Unohana Retsu told Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni that Kujo Tachibana had left Soul Society and recounted their battle.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni sentenced Unohana Retsu to two hundred years of confinement and expelled Kujo Tachibana from the Gotei 13.
• Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni ordered Chōjirō Sasakibe, Yoruichi Shihouin, Rojuro Otoribashi, Shunsui Kyoraku, Kisuke Urahara, and Jushiro Ukitake to find Kujo Tachibana in Hueco Mundo and bring him back within a month.

Kujo Tachibana explored Hueco Mundo and watched a Gillian begin evolving into an Adjuchas while considering whether he could gain Hollow powers through Hollowfication. He decided he had plenty of time to experiment in Hueco Mundo.

• Kujo Tachibana arrived in Hueco Mundo after defeating the Gillian that had opened a Garganta.
• Kujo Tachibana sensed that a nearby mountain had a high Reishi concentration and found a Gillian beginning to evolve there.
• Kujo Tachibana watched the Gillian transform and reviewed the ranks and abilities of Hollows, from Low-level Hollows to the mysterious Skrito.
• Kujo Tachibana considered whether he could wield both Reaper and Hollow powers through Hollowfication.
• Kujo Tachibana decided not to rush and planned to experiment in Hueco Mundo.

Kujo Tachibana watched Elsa Kaslana evolve into a wolf-shaped Adjuchas, helped her regain speech and memories, and invited her to travel with him. After absorbing Reishi for three days, they set off together for another area rich in Reishi, with Elsa carrying Tachibana on her back.

• Kujo Tachibana saw the Gillian transform into a giant wolf-shaped Adjuchas, while Elsa cautiously backed away from him.
• Kujo Tachibana used Reishi to introduce himself and spent a day helping Elsa learn to communicate.
• Elsa told Kujo Tachibana that her restored memories made her long for a world beyond Hueco Mundo's gray sands, then agreed to travel with him.
• Kujo Tachibana unleashed Breathing Style 4.0 and absorbed Reishi for three days before reducing its power.
• Elsa offered to carry Kujo Tachibana, explaining that being near him helped her absorb Reishi, and they headed toward another Reishi-rich area.

Kujo Tachibana learned that Elsa’s innate ability let her sense fortune and danger, then used Double Bankai: Infinity Overload Mode to discover that Yamamoto had sent Soul Reapers to arrest him in Hueco Mundo. He decided to meet his former colleagues and try to reason with them, preparing to fight if they refused.

• Kujo Tachibana learned that Elsa’s ability had helped her survive as a Gillian and evolve into an Adjuchas.
• Elsa carried Kujo Tachibana to another Reishi-rich area, where three peak-growth Gillians fled when they saw her, and Kujo absorbed the Reishi.
• Elsa sensed a faint danger on the way to their next destination, so Kujo Tachibana activated Double Bankai: Infinity Overload Mode to investigate.
• Kujo Tachibana sensed that Yamamoto had sent six Soul Reaper companions, including Kisuke Urahara, to arrest him in Hueco Mundo.
• Kujo Tachibana decided to meet his former colleagues and persuade them to leave, or fight them if he could not change their minds.