Chapter Summaries

Dragon handled the World Government’s growing logistical demands as the Navy expanded its invasion of The Empire. After the Navy crushed the Kandar Legion, the fractured Empire’s warlords and nobles were left unable to unite or halt their fighting.

• Koala brought Dragon urgent frontline paperwork, and Dragon complained that Sengoku had abandoned him after handing over the Chief Administrator position.
• Dragon approved supplies for the third World Military Draft, which would recruit at least six hundred thousand combat troops for the war in The Empire.
• The Navy occupied the Empire’s western region and Sodis’s homeland after the Kandar Legion attacked and was annihilated by the Navy’s powerhouses.
• The Navy’s victory convinced its leaders that the Empire’s S-rank experts could be defeated, and Sakazuki shifted to a full-scale invasion.
• News of the Kandar Legion’s destruction reached the Empire, where its warring factions remained trapped in a deadlock and unable to unite against the Navy.

Sakazuki imposed military control on Saint Loria City as protests spread across Marine-occupied Sodis Homeland. At Kantis Headquarters, the Navy's senior officers agreed to continue the war against the Empire while weighing how to secure their unstable rear.

• Sakazuki reprimanded Stainless for allowing protests in Saint Loria City, removed him as base commander, and appointed Onigumo in his place.
• Onigumo arrested and executed nearly a thousand protest leaders, and order returned to Saint Loria City under Marine regulations.
• Marine officers at Kantis Headquarters argued over whether to attack the Empire or secure the occupied territories first, while Borsalino, Zephyr, Sengoku, Garp, and Kuzan discussed the Navy's strategy.
• The Navy's senior officers agreed to continue the war, and Sengoku chose to observe Sakazuki's high-pressure policy while preparing for battle.
• Zephyr proposed relocating local residents to the Calm Belt and settling people from the Marines' world in their place if Sakazuki's policy provoked a severe backlash.

Bane returned from the Shinobi World to find that the World-Crossing Gate had opened on Whole Cake Island and the Navy had conquered Sodis's homeland. After learning that his Void Moon and Pure Land had followed him, he joined the Navy's leaders at Kantis Military Base, where he learned the Darkness Gate project would continue and planned to travel between worlds again.

• Bane returned to New Dar City with the Void Moon and companions from the Shinobi World, where they discovered Marines patrolling the streets.
• Bane contacted Zephyr, confirmed he had created the Void Moon, and learned about the World-Crossing Gate and the war against The Empire.
• Bane traveled to Kantis Military Base and discovered that the Pure Land had followed him, collecting souls from both worlds.
• Garp welcomed Bane, who learned the Navy had spent nearly two years occupying Sodis's homeland and preparing for war against The Empire.
• Bane agreed with Dr. Genus and Sengoku that the Darkness Gate project should continue despite the existing gate on Whole Cake Island.
• Bane planned to resume traveling between worlds after handling his immediate responsibilities, drawn by a newly activated light in his World-Crossing Gate.

Bane demonstrated his power over the Pure Land and explained how the Spirit Transformation Technique could let their group remain connected across worlds. Before preparing to leave Kantis Base alone, he gave Orochimaru a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit and shared knowledge from the Ninja World.

• Bane summoned the souls of recently executed criminals, then explained that he could guide the others to the Pure Land and help them attain spiritual immortality.
• Orochimaru discussed the time needed to achieve unity of spirit and flesh, then accepted the Yamata no Orochi Fruit rather than abandon his body.
• Bane showed the group a scroll containing Ninjutsu Sect and Sage Art knowledge, while Garp described Nami's strength after she used the Eight Gates.
• Kuzan realized Bane was making preparations to leave, and Bane confirmed he planned to depart alone and return if the others contacted him through the Pure Land.
• Bane said Ain, Orochimaru, Sasuke, and others would seek him after mastering the Spirit Transformation Technique, while Zoro and the others would first fight in the war against The Empire.

Bane arrived in the World of the Living and his uncontrolled spiritual pressure destroyed Kyoto, prompting the Gotei 13 to respond to what they believed was a Spirit King fragment. After the four great nobles stabilized the collapsing area, Yamamoto Genryūsai confronted Bane and asked who he was and where he came from.

• Bane entered the World of the Living, transformed into a spirit body, and unleashed spiritual pressure that destroyed Kyoto and killed Go-Kashiwabara.
• Kirio Hikifune detected the unprecedented spirit disaster, and Yamamoto Genryūsai summoned the Gotei 13 commanders after receiving a message from the Royal Palace about a suspected Spirit King fragment.
• Yamamoto Genryūsai ordered several squads to the World of the Living, where Bane tried and failed to return to a physical state before deciding to head back to the Pure Land.
• Bane recognized Yamamoto Genryūsai and realized he had entered the world of Death Gods, while Yamamoto realized Bane was not a Spirit King fragment.
• Kuchiki Ginrei, Shihōin Ryōya, Tianjingyuan Qianhua, and Tsunayashiro Tokinada deployed the Four-Sided Spirit-Calming Barrier, stabilizing the area as Yamamoto asked Bane who he was.

Kantis Bane fought Unohana Yachiru and Yamamoto Genryūsai after they treated him as the source of a spiritual disaster. He sealed Unohana inside Chibaku Tensei, while Yamamoto and the noble captains struggled to keep the collapsing barrier from destroying the World of the Living.

• Unohana Yachiru attacked Bane, but he blocked her slash and blasted her away with a burst of spiritual pressure.
• Yamamoto Genryūsai released Ryūjin Jakka and trapped Bane inside Blazing Ramparts, but Bane swallowed the flames with Darkness Tide.
• Unohana Yachiru charged through the flames and struck Bane with Yachiru: Blood Sea Exhaustion, but Bane broke through her slash with Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist.
• Yamamoto Genryūsai restored the shattered barrier as Bane’s clash with Unohana threatened the World of the Living.
• Bane bound the wounded Unohana with Dark Abyss Binding and buried her inside Chibaku Tensei.
• The growing Chibaku Tensei pulled the barrier inward, and Yamamoto Genryūsai asked whether Bane intended to destroy the World of the Living.

Bane moved the battle with Yamamoto Genryūsai and the captains from the Human World to the Pure Land, where both sides agreed to stop fighting. He revealed that he governed the realms of death in three worlds and offered the undeveloped Pure Land as a place for the Soul Society's nobles to develop, leaving them eager to cooperate.

• Yamamoto Genryūsai apologized for Unohana Yachiru's actions and asked Bane to go to the Soul Society, but Bane opened a passage to the Pure Land instead and took Unohana with him.
• Yamamoto Genryūsai and the four noble captains followed Bane into the Pure Land, where they recognized that its landscape and resting souls made it different from Hueco Mundo.
• Kurama explained that it had chosen to follow Bane and had become the complete Nine-Tailed Demon Fox by merging with the Yin Nine-Tails.
• Bane released his spiritual pressure and invited Yamamoto Genryūsai and the captains to fight, but Yamamoto proposed a truce, which Bane accepted.
• Bane explained that he was the Spirit Venerable, governed the realms of death in three worlds, and considered the Pure Land similar to an undeveloped Soul Society.
• Tsunayashiro Tokinada and Shihōin Ryōya called the conflict a misunderstanding and argued for friendly talks with Bane.

Yamamoto Genryūsai recognized Bane and the Pure Land as a powerful potential ally and a refuge if the Soul King ever failed, while also seeing a chance to challenge the Four Great Noble Clans’ control over Soul Society’s resources. He invited Bane to visit Soul Society, leaving Yamamoto considering how the Pure Land could reshape the balance of power.

• Yamamoto Genryūsai assessed the Pure Land’s ability to shelter souls and provide a refuge for the Soul Society if the Soul King were lost.
• Yamamoto recognized Bane’s strength after he suppressed and sealed Unohana Yachiru without drawing his sword.
• Bane told Yamamoto that he had heard of Soul Society but had never visited it.
• Yamamoto invited Bane to visit Soul Society and proposed building a good relationship after resolving their misunderstanding.
• Yamamoto considered how cooperation with Bane could expand resources and weaken the Four Great Noble Clans’ monopolies.

After the spiritual disaster ended, Bane returned to Soul Society with Yamamoto Genryūsai and met the Gotei 13 captains. He accepted Yamamoto Genryūsai’s invitation to stay in his barracks, while agreeing to fight Unohana Yachiru outside the Seireitei.

• The captains discovered that Yamamoto Genryūsai and five others had vanished from monitoring before detecting their return alongside Bane, whose spiritual pressure exceeded the Head Captain’s.
• Yamamoto Genryūsai introduced Bane as the unintentional cause of the spiritual disaster and explained that he had invited him to Soul Society.
• Unohana Yachiru challenged Senjumaru Shutara, then told the captains she intended to cut down Bane, whom she considered far stronger than them.
• Unohana Yachiru demanded another battle with Bane, and Yamamoto Genryūsai stopped her from escalating before Bane agreed to fight her beyond the Seireitei.
• Yamamoto Genryūsai invited Bane to stay in his barracks, and Bane accepted so he could learn Soul Society’s combat arts.

Bane fought Unohana Yachiru for the thirteenth time and defeated her by revealing Susanoo and binding her with Adamantine Sealing Chains. The chapter ended with Unohana accepting his claim that Susanoo was his Shikai, while Bane concealed the full nature of his abilities.

• Shunsui Kyoraku and Lisa Yadomaru discussed Bane's twelve consecutive victories over Unohana Yachiru and Senjumaru Shutara's repeated refusal to join the Zero Division.
• Shunsui Kyoraku told Lisa Yadomaru that Bane was teaching a new school of Kidō arts at Shin'ō Academy, and she agreed to attend a class with him.
• Bane and Unohana Yachiru fought outside the Seireitei, where her Bankai, All Things' End, wounded him and covered him in corrosive blood.
• Bane countered Unohana Yachiru's attacks with Sage Art techniques, then revealed Susanoo to block her slash and overpower her.
• Bane bound Unohana Yachiru with Adamantine Sealing Chains and won their thirteenth battle.
• Bane called Susanoo his Shikai, and Unohana Yachiru pretended to accept the explanation while asking about his sword, Shindo.

After two months of sparring with Bane, Unohana Yachiru felt less stifled and found her strength improving, but she had also grown possessive of him. She decided to resign as captain of Squad Eleven and take charge of healing arts at Shin'ō Academy, and Yamamoto Genryūsai accepted her plan.

• Unohana Yachiru told Bane that their repeated fights had released her pent-up bloodlust, and she admitted her Sword Arts and strength were improving.
• Bane told Unohana Yachiru he was more inclined to cooperate with Yamamoto Genryūsai than the Four Great Noble Clans, and Unohana revealed she planned to leave her captaincy.
• Unohana Yachiru went to the First Division barracks and told Yamamoto Genryūsai she wanted to resign as captain of Squad Eleven.
• Unohana Yachiru demanded that the Healing Arts Department be placed under Shin'ō Academy's Kidō Academy so she could lead it, and Yamamoto agreed she was qualified.
• Yamamoto Genryūsai asked who should succeed Unohana Yachiru, but she said none of her subordinates were suitable, leaving him concerned that she had grown stronger.

Bane taught sealing techniques at Shin'ō Academy as Unohana Yachiru retired from the Eleventh Division and became head of the Restorative Spell Department. After Senjumaru Shutara warned Bane that his growing spiritual pressure could harm others, she took him to have a custom haori made.

• Bane explained his hand-seal-based Kidō and taught the students the Evil Sealing Method.
• Shunsui Kyoraku told Jushiro Ukitake that Unohana Yachiru had retired and that a new Eleventh Division captain would take office.
• Yamamoto Genryūsai announced that Unohana Yachiru had joined the academy, where she introduced herself as head of the Restorative Spell Department.
• Senjumaru Shutara reacted with suspicion to Unohana Yachiru's gentle new manner, and Bane and Senjumaru argued about whether she could truly change.
• Senjumaru Shutara noticed Bane's spiritual pressure had increased, warned him it could endanger others, and led him away to take his measurements for a custom haori.

Bane was measured for new clothes by Senjumaru Shutara, then discussed Kaidō with Unohana Yachiru after she took up her academy post. Their conversation ended with Unohana realizing that Shindo was not Bane’s Zanpakutō and questioning whether he could perform Shikai or Bankai.

• Senjumaru Shutara took Bane’s measurements and planned fourteen outfits to help regulate his spiritual pressure.
• Unohana Yachiru arrived at Bane’s office, displayed jealousy toward Senjumaru Shutara, and asked Bane to call her Yachiru.
• Unohana discussed Kaidō with Bane, taught him its fundamentals, and agreed to continue helping him study healing spells.
• Bane and Unohana arranged dinner and talked about why Yamamoto Genryūsai and Unohana had assumed Bane had once lived in Soul Society.
• Unohana concluded that Shindo was not Bane’s Zanpakutō and asked whether he could perform Shikai or Bankai.

Unohana Yachiru realized Bane had not mastered Shikai or Bankai because he had never sealed his spiritual pressure into a Zanpakutō, and she offered to teach him using Shindo. They agreed to trade lessons in Sword Arts and martial arts, leaving Bane set to begin training with Unohana the next day.

• Unohana Yachiru explained that Bane’s unsealed spiritual pressure revealed he had not mastered Shikai or Bankai, and Bane admitted it was true.
• Unohana offered to teach Bane Shikai and Bankai, and explained that he could use Shindo instead of an Asauchi because their souls were already connected.
• Bane said Shindo would follow his will, and Unohana agreed to begin teaching him Sword Arts and Zanpakutō techniques the next day.
• Bane offered to teach Unohana martial arts, and she accepted, deciding they would exchange Sword Arts lessons for boxing lessons.
• After their meal, Bane planned to return to Yamamoto Genryūsai while Unohana headed back to her courtyard at the academy.

Yamamoto Genryūsai received Kuchiki Ginrei and Kuchiki Sōjun, discussed Kuchiki Hanane’s upcoming marriage to Ise Kōga, and heard Ginrei’s concerns about the Tsunayashiro Clan’s ambitions. After the Kuchiki guests left, Yamamoto warned Sasakibe Chōjirō that the Tsunayashiro Clan might be plotting to gain power at the expense of the other great noble clans.

• Yamamoto Genryūsai asked Kuchiki Sōjun about his health and cautioned Kuchiki Ginrei not to put too much pressure on him.
• Kuchiki Ginrei invited Yamamoto to Hanane’s wedding to Ise Kōga, a talented Rukongai commoner whom Ginrei planned to welcome into the Kuchiki Clan as his son-in-law.
• Yamamoto and the Kuchiki family discussed Byakuya’s upcoming enrollment at Shin'ō Academy.
• Kuchiki Ginrei warned Yamamoto that the Tsunayashiro Clan might act rashly over the Spirit Venerable and the development of the Pure Land.
• After Ginrei and Sōjun departed, Yamamoto told Sasakibe Chōjirō that the Tsunayashiro Clan might seek to suppress the Kuchiki Clan and asked how many great noble clans it wanted to eliminate.
• Bane arrived and asked Yamamoto whether he had been waiting for him, and Yamamoto said he had only been enjoying the night breeze.

Bane moved from the First Division barracks to Shin'ō Academy and spent his days studying Sword Arts with Unohana Yachiru while teaching her hand-to-hand combat. As the academy welcomed a new class and graduated Ise Kōga, Senjumaru Shutara brought Bane clothes to try on, and he joked that he wanted to learn tailoring so he could measure her in return.

• Bane told Yamamoto Genryūsai that Unohana Yachiru would teach him Sword Arts and that he planned to move into the academy, and Yamamoto agreed to help prepare his new home.
• Yamamoto Genryūsai realized Bane's familiarity with Unohana and laughed that he had found someone who could tame her.
• Bane moved into the academy and spent the following weeks learning Sword Arts from Unohana while teaching her hand-to-hand combat.
• Ise Kōga graduated as the top student, joined the Sixth Division, and prepared to marry into the Kuchiki Clan as Kuchiki Kōga.
• Bane reviewed academy rosters, spotting Hirako Shinji and other future captains, as well as the name Hachisuka Aya, while finding no sign of Aizen Sōsuke.
• Senjumaru Shutara arrived with clothes for Bane to try on, and Bane said he wanted to learn tailoring so he could measure her.

Bane tried on the haori Senjumaru Shutara had personally woven for him and discovered that it gathered his spiritual pressure and repaired itself. After Unohana Yachiru and Senjumaru exchanged barbs, Bane looked out over Shin'ō Academy and spotted several familiar young figures arriving.

• Bane changed into Senjumaru Shutara's haori and found that it fit perfectly and made him look more polished.
• Senjumaru Shutara adjusted Bane's clothes and explained that the haori restrained his spiritual pressure, strengthened its defense, and could restore itself by absorbing more of it.
• Senjumaru Shutara teased Bane, and Unohana Yachiru arrived and questioned why she had not accepted the Zero Division's invitation to the Royal Palace.
• Unohana Yachiru reminded Bane that new students would enroll the next day and asked about his speech; Bane said Sasakibe Chōjirō had written it for him.
• Bane left the two women to argue and saw Kuchiki Byakuya, Shihōin Yoruichi, Hachisuka Aya, and Urahara Kisuke entering Shin'ō Academy.

Shihōin Yoruichi invited Urahara Kisuke to join the Second Division and encouraged Hachisuka Aya, while Kuchiki Byakuya learned about Shin'ō Academy from Ise Kōga. At the Tsunayashiro estate, the clan discovered the Great Spiritual Book Hall had no records of Bane or Pure Land and decided to seize Bane to gain power.

• Shihōin Yoruichi offered Urahara Kisuke a research institute in the Second Division, and he agreed to join after finishing his research.
• Shihōin Yoruichi encouraged Hachisuka Aya to become her right-hand woman as Kuchiki Byakuya looked forward to making friends at the academy.
• Ise Kōga greeted Kuchiki Byakuya and shared information about the academy's instructors and classes.
• Tsunayashiro Ise told the clan elders that the Great Spiritual Book Hall contained no record of Pure Land, Bane, or Spirit Venerable.
• Tsunayashiro Tokinada and the clan elders resolved to seize Bane, hoping to gain his power and make the Tsunayashiro Clan a new royal clan.

The Tsunayashiro Clan planned to use Arturo Plateado, an ancient Arrancar imprisoned in Muken, to restrain Yamamoto Genryūsai and the Kuchiki Clan while they acted against the Spirit Venerable. They also named Saito Furofushi, the first captain of the Sixth Division and a former Kuchiki, as their other candidate, leaving Tsunayashiro Tokinada curious about her history.

• Tsunayashiro Ise outlined the obstacles to attacking the Spirit Venerable, including his strength and the risk of provoking Yamamoto Genryūsai, Unohana Yachiru, and the Kuchiki Clan.
• Tsunayashiro Ise proposed recruiting Arturo Plateado, a Vasto Lorde imprisoned in Muken, and explained that he had once nearly defeated Yamamoto Genryūsai.
• The bald Tsunayashiro elder rejected sending Arturo to Hueco Mundo and proposed releasing him to create trouble in Soul Society instead.
• Tsunayashiro Ise agreed to revise the plan and named Saito Furofushi as the candidate originally meant to restrain Yamamoto Genryūsai and the Kuchiki Clan.
• Tsunayashiro Ise and the bald elder told Tsunayashiro Tokinada that Saito Furofushi had been born into the Kuchiki Clan and was one of the powerful first-generation Gotei 13 captains.

Tsunayashiro Ise’s faction planned to recruit Saito Furofushi from Muken to help defeat the Spirit Venerable, while arranging to send Bane to Hueco Mundo. Bane agreed to join a Hollow-capture trip, and Tenbu Ross approached Saito, who rejected the Tsunayashiro Clan outright.

• Tsunayashiro Ise explained that Saito Furofushi had led a rebellion against Yamamoto Genryūsai and was imprisoned in Muken, then proposed recruiting her to take revenge on Yamamoto and the Kuchiki Clan.
• The Tsunayashiro elders revealed that Tenbu Ross would help release Saito and another prisoner, and Tsunayashiro Ise ordered Tokinada to arrange a reason to send the Spirit Venerable to Hueco Mundo.
• After the Hollows held at Shin'ō Academy died, a teacher invited Bane on a future trip to Hueco Mundo, and Bane agreed to go once the Central 46 approved it.
• Bane taught a class attended by Kuchiki Byakuya, Shihōin Yoruichi, and Urahara Kisuke, and Yoruichi considered asking the Spirit Venerable for hand-to-hand combat instruction.
• Tenbu Ross visited Saito Furofushi in Muken on behalf of the Tsunayashiro Clan, but Saito dismissed him and called the clan more rotten than the Kuchiki.