Recaps

Yamamoto’s hair turned white and began falling out, so he shaved his head and grew a beard as he accepted the changes of old age. After seeing Yamamoto’s decline, Shuichi searched the Great Spirit Library and learned that powerful spiritual beings endured aging without the relief of death or the cycle of reincarnation.

• Chōjirō noticed silver strands in Yamamoto’s hair and kept quiet as Yamamoto tried ointments and other remedies to stop the whitening and hair loss.
• Yamamoto lost patience and used Ryujin Jakka’s flames to burn away the rest of his hair, then gradually grew a thick white beard.
• Shuichi saw Yamamoto’s changed appearance after a routine report, but Yamamoto dismissed his concern.
• Shuichi visited the Great Spirit Library, where Tsunayashiro Shiki received him without asking why he had come.
• Shuichi read records explaining that beings above Third-Class Spiritual Might did not enter the Reishi Cycle and had to bear the wear of age alone.

At Kashima Karasuma’s farewell party, Shuichi officially named Jūshirō Ukitake the Thirteenth Division’s new lieutenant. The celebration ended with Kashima watching his fellow Squad Members leave as he prepared to retire.

• Shuichi found Suzuko watching a frog by the pond and reminded her about Kashima Karasuma’s farewell party.
• Suzuko joined the crowded gathering, where the Thirteenth Division’s veterans shared old stories about Kashima.
• Kashima said he might open a teahouse in Rukongai after retiring, and Squad Members promised to visit.
• Shuichi announced that Jūshirō Ukitake would officially become the Thirteenth Division’s lieutenant, and the Squad Members applauded.
• As the party ended, Kashima lingered in the doorway watching the Squad Members depart while a frog croaked from the pond.

Kirio Hikifune became the Twelfth Division’s lieutenant and began settling into her new role alongside Fukaiya Raia. Meanwhile, Okuharano continued investigating Yushima Ouko, whose spotless personnel file concealed signs of secret experiments.

• Okuharano announced Kirio Hikifune’s appointment as lieutenant of the Twelfth Division.
• Kirio Hikifune met Fukaiya Raia outside the division office and invited her to walk in together.
• Okuharano visited the archives and retrieved Yushima Ouko’s personnel file.
• Okuharano reviewed Ouko’s ordinary records and recalled reports that he had moved funds and obtained unregistered experimental materials.
• Okuharano returned the file to the cabinet and kept Ouko under continued observation.

Ge Kuang pursued her goal of becoming a Soul Reaper while Kaname stayed behind on their hillside, listening to her accounts of academy life. After becoming an official Soul Reaper, she warned Kaname she would have less time to visit, and he told her the hillside would remain whenever she wanted to return.

• Ge Kuang told Kaname she planned to become a Soul Reaper and invited him to join her, but he declined because he could not see.
• Ge Kuang enrolled at Shin'ō Academy and shared stories about her classes and daily life with Kaname during their visits.
• Ge Kuang stopped coming to the hillside, while Kaname continued to wait for her at their appointed time.
• Ge Kuang returned wearing a Shihakushō with a Zanpakutō at her waist and told Kaname she had become an official Soul Reaper.
• Kaname accepted that Ge Kuang would have less time to visit and told her the hillside would always be there if she wanted to return.

Sōya Azashiro settled into his role as the Eleventh Division’s lieutenant, keeping the division’s administration and training steady while his Zanpakutō remained unable to achieve Shikai. The chapter ended with him returning to his office to review documents.

• Sōya Azashiro’s appointment as lieutenant was confirmed, and the Eleventh Division’s atmosphere gradually returned to normal.
• Sōya Azashiro maintained the division’s schedules and records while earning recognition for his strength and steady performance.
• Sōya Azashiro sparred with two squad members, redirecting an attack and advising one to stabilize his shoulders.
• Sōya Azashiro demonstrated precise Zanjutsu and Shunpo, while his Kidō remained a capable supplementary skill.
• After training, Sōya Azashiro returned to his office and prepared to review documents.

Sōya Azashiro visited his family and later adjusted his Eleventh Division training after noticing his body had slowed slightly. Meanwhile, a rumor that the Azashiro House was plotting rebellion with Soul Reapers spread through Rukongai, leaving residents uneasy while Seireitei dismissed it.

• Sōya Azashiro reassured his family that his lieutenant duties were going well, shared dinner with them, and told his sister to find someone to marry.
• Sōya Azashiro noticed a slight slowdown during morning training and gradually adapted his exercises, attributing the change to a training plateau.
• A rumor spread through Rukongai that Sōya Azashiro had secretly met with his family to plot rebellion alongside Soul Reapers.
• Seireitei's Squad Members and the Eleventh Division dismissed the rumor as baseless gossip.
• Rukongai residents began avoiding the Azashiro House and grew uneasy as the rumor gained credibility with each retelling.

Sōya Azashiro was caught in a coordinated riot in Rukongai, where puppets and armed factions attacked as planted accusations blamed the Azashiro House. With two Tenth Division Squad Members, he defended fleeing residents and sent for reinforcements while the violence spread.

• Sōya Azashiro encountered puppet-like attackers in the street and fought back as voices accused the Azashiro House of starting the riot.
• Armed factions joined the chaos, attacking one another, Soul Reapers, and wandering souls as the riot spread through Rukongai.
• Two Tenth Division Squad Members arrived and formed a defensive line with Sōya Azashiro, prioritizing nearby residents and avoiding wide-area attacks.
• Sōya Azashiro ordered the three Soul Reapers to send Hell Butterflies to the First, Third, and Eleventh Divisions while they held their position.

Shihōin Qianri’s arrival marked the start of a forceful suppression, and the Soul Reapers defeated the rioters and contained the remaining threats. Afterward, Sosuke Aizen coordinated relief work, while his growing reputation as a future Fifth Division vice-captain remained unspoken.

• Shihōin Qianri drew his sword, signaling the Punishment Force to join the Tenth and Eleventh Divisions in suppressing the rioters.
• Tenth Division barriers sealed the streets as Punishment Force members intercepted escape attempts and the Eleventh Division destroyed the remaining puppets.
• Soul Reapers subdued the last armed faction members, and Tenth Division personnel bound and counted the prisoners.
• Sosuke Aizen treated an injured Tenth Division member and directed Fifth Division staff to prioritize severe injuries and arrange follow-up inspections.
• Aizen’s strong work and evaluations fueled expectations that he would soon become vice-captain, while the Fifth Division post remained vacant.

Sōya Azashiro rushed to his family’s residence after hearing that the Azashiro House had been condemned for rebellion, only to find it devastated by Hollows and his sister mortally wounded. After he killed a Gillian with Urozakuro, others arrived and found him sitting amid the dead.

• Rumors spread that the Azashiro House had been branded traitors and would be executed, and Sōya Azashiro hurried to the residence.
• Sōya Azashiro found the residence wrecked, purified nearby Hollows, and saw a Gillian pierce his sister.
• Sōya Azashiro released Urozakuro and killed the Gillian as people gathered in the courtyard.
• A man told Sōya Azashiro that he was too conspicuous, and Seireitei’s investigation squad arrived to find him bloodied beside the bodies.

After the attack on the Azashiro House, Central 46 suspended Sōya Azashiro from his lieutenant duties while the investigation continued. The Eleventh Division’s repeated appeals for an independent investigation were approved by Captain-Commander Yamamoto, leaving Central 46 to warn that he would bear responsibility for the team’s actions.

• Central 46 reviewed reports of the Azashiro House attack and ordered the Onmitsukidō to investigate discreetly while urging restraint against rumors.
• Central 46 suspended Sōya Azashiro from his lieutenant duties pending the investigation, and he accepted without appealing.
• Minamoto Yishou and the Eleventh Division submitted a third appeal requesting an Independent Investigation Team.
• Sōya Azashiro’s silence unsettled the Sages as they debated whether to approve the Eleventh Division’s request.
• Captain-Commander Yamamoto approved the Independent Investigation Team under his own authority, provoking an uproar among the Sages.
• The presiding Sage allowed the approval to stand and warned that Yamamoto would be held responsible for any errors, wrongful accusations, overreach, or leaks.

After the Twelfth Division judged Yushima Ouko’s First-Generation Puppets too weak to threaten ordinary Squad Members, he sought stronger designs and received more funding from the impoverished nobles backing the Puppet Corps. Central 46 watched the project in silence, hoping to claim its technology once it matured, while Yushima continued his research unaware.

• The Twelfth Division filed a report concluding that ordinary Squad Members could defeat the Reishi Puppets, and Yushima Ouko learned of the assessment through indirect channels.
• Yushima decided to build stronger puppets by expanding on the parts of his existing designs that had already proved effective.
• At a gathering in Rukongai, Yushima asked the impoverished nobles for more resources, and they approved his requested funding for a larger deployment of puppets.
• Onmitsukidō operatives reported the nobles’ increased activity to Central 46, which chose not to intervene.
• Central 46 decided to wait for the Puppet Corps technology to mature so it could claim the advanced designs and Yushima Ouko.
• Yushima worked on more complex Reishi Circuits in his workshop, unaware that Seireitei was monitoring his progress.

Sosuke Aizen found riot ringleaders whose testimony linked the unrest to a concealed network, and the Sages connected that network to Yushima Ouko’s group and its puppet research. The Sages chose to keep investigating and planned to reinstate Sōya Azashiro, while Aizen left the Central Underground Council Chamber thinking of the nobles as ugly.

• Sosuke Aizen joined the stalled riot investigation and used his Reiatsu sense to locate several ringleaders.
• The ringleaders admitted they had helped stir up the riot and said they had been directed by intermediaries, but they could not identify who had paid them.
• The investigation team detained the ringleaders and filed their records after learning the intermediaries had died and their trail had been deliberately severed.
• The Sages compared reports from the Onmitsukidō, the Eighth Division, and the investigation team, concluding that the riot and puppet research pointed toward Yushima Ouko and his backers.
• The Sages noted that the nobles killed at the Azashiro House were impostors and decided to give Sōya Azashiro time to calm down before reinstating him.
• Sosuke Aizen left the Central Underground Council Chamber, thinking, “What ugly nobles.”

Shuichi proposed expanding Seireitei's reliable information network in Rukongai through permanent notice boards and sales of Seireitei Communication. Central 46 approved the plan and increased the Ninth Division's funding to carry it out.

• Shuichi told Yamamoto that rumors in Rukongai had caused the Azashiro House incident and proposed notice boards and newspaper sales to improve access to reliable information.
• Yamamoto approved the proposal and brought it to Central 46.
• Central 46 agreed that permanent notice boards and newspaper distribution would address Rukongai's information problem.
• Central 46 increased the Ninth Division's budget and assigned it to plan notice board locations and newspaper distribution.
• A Sage had Shuichi's contribution entered into the record.

Shinji Hirako oversaw the expansion of Seireitei Communication sales and deliveries into more distant districts of Rukongai. In South 34th District, residents compared the publication with the rumors they had heard as Soul Reaper distributors carried the next issue farther into the district.

• A seated officer told Shinji Hirako that Captain Kento had assigned him to oversee Rukongai noticeboards and the selection of Seireitei Communication salespeople.
• Hirako reviewed the existing sales network and planned to expand its outlets and delivery schedules into more distant districts.
• Three weeks later, Hirako approved twelve salespeople, who were divided into six pairs and linked with local patrols for assistance.
• Residents outside a teahouse in South 34th District debated whether Seireitei Communication could be trusted because its account differed from circulating rumors.
• Two young Soul Reapers carried the next issue deeper into South 34th District while recording homes and road conditions.

Shuichi reached First-Class Spiritual Might and mastered a release without a release command, choosing to keep his Zanpakutō in its white state, Bloom, Flawless Flower. News of his advancement spread through the Seireitei, where the captains and noble clans quietly accepted it.

• Shuichi's Reiatsu crossed into First-Class Spiritual Might as his control and perception sharpened.
• In his inner world, Shuichi released his Zanpakutō without speaking and turned its blade white.
• Shuichi returned to the lounge and chose to keep his sheathed blade white as Bloom, Flawless Flower.
• Shigure Tsunayashiro noticed Shuichi's changed Reiatsu and sent an encrypted letter to the Tsunayashiro Clan estate.
• News of Shuichi's advancement spread through the Seireitei, drawing quiet reactions from the captains and noble clans.

Aizen visited Captain Shuichi to ask for guidance in Hado #90, and Shuichi taught him how to cast Kurohitsugi. Aizen mastered a stable version of the spell during their training session and left after thanking Shuichi.

• Aizen asked Shuichi for guidance in Hado #90, and Shuichi invited him to the Kidō Corps training grounds the next day.
• Shuichi explained Kurohitsugi's reishi containment and compression, then asked Aizen to cast it.
• Aizen's first attempt formed a prism that collapsed, and he identified premature sealing and a rushed incantation as the problems.
• Shuichi explained that the structure had to form from the bottom up and advised Aizen to slow his rhythm and let the reishi stabilize.
• Aizen cast a stable Kurohitsugi that held for three seconds before dissolving evenly, and Shuichi praised him.
• Aizen thanked Shuichi for his guidance.

Bakuzan Katori told Shunsui Kyōraku she was retiring from the Eighth Division to become a librarian at the Shin'ō Library, leaving him to lead the division. After Katori departed, Kyōraku accepted his new responsibilities and began working as captain.

• Bakuzan Katori told Shunsui Kyōraku that her application to become a librarian at the Shin'ō Library had been approved and that she was leaving the Eighth Division to him.
• Katori asked Kyōraku what he thought of Lisa and urged him to nurture her as a lieutenant.
• Katori left the Eighth Division with a quiet farewell as Kyōraku watched from the office window.
• Kyōraku tucked away Katori's note reminding him to water the tree, then picked up the division's documents and began his work as captain.

Shunsui Kyōraku officially became captain of the Eighth Division and the first Shin'ō Academy graduate to claim a captain's seat, while the older generation quietly receded. After Sōya Azashiro was reinstated, his worsening condition and bleak state of mind unsettled Seireitei, leaving a sense that trouble was approaching.

• Shunsui Kyōraku's appointment as captain drew little debate, though his status as the first Spiritual Arts Academy graduate to become a captain raised the academy's reputation.
• Bakuzan Katori quietly retired as the remaining founders of the Gotei 13 gradually withdrew from public life.
• Central 46 reinstated Sōya Azashiro after finding insufficient evidence that he had taken part in the rebellion.
• Azashiro returned to the Eleventh Division but trained less, moved sluggishly, and seemed increasingly despondent.
• Minamoto Yishou visited Azashiro and tried to help him, but his effort achieved little.
• Seireitei's residents continued discussing Azashiro's decline as unease grew over what might come next.

As discussion of Sōya Azashiro faded, Sōjun Kuchiki became Sixth Division vice-captain and Kōga Kuchiki was appointed Third Seat and assistant officer, prompting debate over the Kuchiki Clan’s influence. In West 47th District, impoverished nobles bitterly dismissed Kōga’s achievements as dependent on Muramasa and the Kuchiki name.

• Seireitei residents gradually stopped discussing Sōya Azashiro as he remained withdrawn in the Eleventh Division.
• Sōjun Kuchiki was appointed vice-captain of the Sixth Division, and Kōga Kuchiki became its Third Seat and assistant officer.
• Noble circles questioned the Kuchiki Clan’s concentration of Sixth Division positions, while Yamamoto and Central 46 made no public comment.
• Reports cited Kōga Kuchiki’s military achievements and Muramasa’s illusion abilities, which had earned him recognition in the Gotei 13.
• Impoverished nobles in West 47th District accused Kōga Kuchiki of relying on his marriage, Muramasa, and the Kuchiki Clan’s protection.

Shinji Hirako and Kensei Muguruma were scouting a Rukongai district for bulletin sales and notice-board locations when white-clad Quincy attacked them with volleys of Holy Arrows. Hirako sent the wounded Squad Members to safety, leaving him and Kensei to face the attackers as they prepared another volley.

• Shinji Hirako and Kensei Muguruma surveyed the district while Squad Members mapped locations, road hazards, and signs of Hollows.
• Hirako chose a crossroads near several shops as a possible notice-board and bulletin sales point, and Kensei noted that it lacked shelter from rain.
• Hirako spotted white-clad figures and shouted for the group to spread out as they fired a volley of Holy Arrows.
• Hirako and Kensei deflected arrows, but the Squad Members were scattered and several were wounded.
• Hirako ordered the Squad Members to retreat to a back street, and they withdrew with one of them tucking a rolled map into his belt.
• Hirako and Kensei remained together as the attackers raised their Reishi Bows for another volley.

Hirako and Kensei Muguruma fought off white-clad archers who attacked their retreating Squad Members. After Hirako used Sakanade to disrupt the enemy formation, Kensei killed the remaining attackers, leaving the street strewn with bodies.

• Hirako raised a wall of earth to deflect the white-clad fighters’ arrows while Kensei Muguruma killed attackers striking from the flanks.
• Kensei Muguruma used Tachikaze to break apart arrows aimed at the retreating Squad Members.
• Hirako crossed the arrow-filled street and released Sakanade, confusing the white-clad fighters’ senses and aim.
• Kensei Muguruma used Azure Thread Strangulation to cut down the remaining attackers as Hirako watched.

After Quincy attacked Shinji Hirako’s patrol near Rukongai, the Sages ordered intelligence gathering and considered reinforcing the outskirts. Shunsui Kyōraku assigned Lisa Yadōmaru to lead the Eighth Division’s reconnaissance team and offered her the lieutenant’s position if she returned safely.

• Jūmonji Quando confirmed to Shinji Hirako that the attackers were Quincy and said he would investigate further.
• The Sages of Central 46 discussed the Quincy attack as possible reconnaissance and ordered the Onmitsukidō and Eighth Division to gather intelligence before deciding on defenses.
• Shunsui Kyōraku received orders for the Eighth Division to trace the Quincy’s origins and summoned Lisa Yadōmaru.
• Kyōraku appointed Lisa to lead the reconnaissance mission and promised her the lieutenant’s position if she returned safely.

The Gotei 13 vice-captains gathered in Shin'ō Hall’s waiting room while the captains met to discuss the Quincy. As they waited for orders, they discussed Aizen’s prospects and Shinji Hirako’s illusion-type Zanpakutō, until Kuga Cheng reminded them of the meeting’s purpose.

• Chojiro Sasakibe arrived first, and the other vice-captains gradually joined him in the waiting room.
• Shinji Hirako sensed that Aizen’s Zanpakutō was an illusion type, but kept his discovery to himself.
• Ōmaeda Xiquanzhi suggested Aizen might soon become the Fifth Division vice-captain, and Sōjun Kuchiki praised Aizen’s Kidō skills.
• Ōmaeda raised Shinji’s illusion-type Zanpakutō, and Shinji said the information had already been reported to the First Division and Central 46.
• Sōjun Kuchiki invited Shinji to visit the Kuchiki Clan, and Kuga Cheng redirected the group to the Quincy meeting.

Lisa Yadōmaru led Eighth Division seated officers into the forest near North Rukongai’s District 80 to investigate it, but Quincy ambushed them. Lisa released Iron Slurry Dragonfly and opened a path through the attackers, and the group struggled to escape under sustained arrow fire.

• Lisa led the Eighth Division officers into the forest to search and map it.
• A Holy Arrow wounded one seated officer, and the group scattered to confront the unseen attacker.
• At a clearing, white-clad Quincy emerged from the shadows and attacked the officers at close range.
• Lisa released Iron Slurry Dragonfly, killing a Quincy and piercing an archer to create a gap in the encirclement.
• The officers tried to break out while the Quincy fired alternating volleys, and Lisa blocked arrows as the group pressed on despite their injuries.

Minamoto Yishou reviewed intelligence showing the Quincy were escalating their movements and began preparing the Eleventh Division for deployment. As war preparations spread through Seireitei and northern Rukongai, the chapter left the conflict looming but not yet officially begun.

• Minamoto Yishou cross-checked reports from the Eighth and Tenth Divisions and the Onmitsukidō, then concluded that the Quincy were making larger moves than before.
• Minamoto Yishou ordered preparations for targeted operations and the Eleventh Division began equipment checks and intensive squad coordination drills.
• Sōya Azashiro joined the training grounds briefly despite his poor condition, reassuring Eleventh Division veterans that the division had not fallen apart.
• Shin'ō Academy students, squad members, and noble households noticed signs of mobilization, while noble families quietly checked their forces and supplies.
• Rukongai patrols and armed groups avoided unsettled areas as rumors spread that the white-clad Quincy had returned.