Recaps

After returning from Kagamino City, Ukitake and Suzuko went to find Shunsui but learned that he had left on a Quincy war mission. Shuichi explained the danger and Shunsui’s new Shikai, leaving Suzuko worried but determined to grow stronger.

• Ukitake and Suzuko visited the Eighth Division barracks and learned that Shunsui had departed on a long-term mission with the captain.
• The squad member on duty refused to share details about Shunsui’s mission, so Ukitake and Suzuko returned to the Thirteenth Division.
• Suzuko pressed Shuichi for information, and he revealed that the Seireitei was at war with the Quincy and the Eighth Division had gone as the vanguard.
• Shuichi told Suzuko that Shunsui had achieved Shikai and could protect himself with Katen Kyōkotsu’s unusual dual-blade abilities.
• Suzuko asked whether the Thirteenth Division would fight the Quincy too, and Shuichi said they would go if the time came.

Yi Liang asked Shuichi to help her attend Shin'ō Academy after her mother, Qian Lida, died and the Ise Clan rejected her. After enrolling, she was approached by Tsunayashiro Tokinada, whose unsettling knowledge of her past drove her to seek Shuichi's protection.

• Yi Liang told Shuichi that Qian Lida was gone and asked to attend Shin'ō Academy, and Shuichi promised to take responsibility if the Ise Clan objected.
• Shuichi introduced Yi Liang to Jūshirō Ukitake and Suzuko, who helped her feel welcome.
• At Shin'ō Academy, Tsunayashiro Tokinada approached Yi Liang, called them both outcasts rejected by their clans, and asked to be friends.
• Yi Liang rushed to the Thirteenth Division and recounted Tokinada's words to Shuichi, who warned her to keep her distance and promised to protect her.

Shin'ō Academy students noticed that six captains had suspended their classes and pieced together rumors of a major deployment toward western Rukongai. The chapter left them wondering whether a war or a Quincy threat was behind the movement of Soul Reapers and supplies.

• Students gathered at the academy bulletin board and saw that the Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth Division captains' classes had been canceled for the long term.
• Students shared reports of Tenth Division personnel moving to West Rukongai, urgent purchases of dry rations, and a surge in weapons orders.
• Students counted six captains who had suspended classes, including Captain Unohana, and heard that Soul Reaper patrols were traveling past West Eightieth District.
• Students speculated that the Quincy might be behind the deployments, while an instructor said ordinary teachers would cover the canceled classes.
• Dormitory rumors claimed the entire Eleventh Division had deployed under Captain Unohana, prompting students to question who was defending Seireitei.

Tokinada Tsunayashiro returned to the Tsunayashiro estate, where Shisei and three other clan members mocked him for his poor academy record and lack of a Zanpakutō. In the Great Spirit Library, Tokinada discovered that a Zanpakutō might already be bound to him and vowed to find it and make the world tremble.

• Tokinada entered the Tsunayashiro estate and passed Shisei and three other relatives, who ridiculed his failures at the Spiritual Arts Academy.
• Tokinada presented his application to the Great Spirit Library keeper and searched the catalog for records about the origins of Zanpakutō.
• Tokinada read records concluding that Zanpakutō were fragments of souls and that some souls could be bound to blades their owners had never possessed.
• Tokinada read about the principles preventing two Zanpakutō from coexisting in one soul and realized he would not awaken a second blade.
• Tokinada learned that a Zanpakutō might already be waiting for him, then vowed to find it and make those who scorned him regret it.

Shuichi visited the Spiritual Arts Academy, where he greeted students and checked on Yi Liang before beginning a Zanpakutō theory lesson. Tokinada Tsunayashiro assured Shuichi that Yi Liang would remain safe at the academy.

• Shuichi walked through Shin'ō Academy and greeted the students who called out to him.
• Shuichi found a first-year studying Hado and encouraged him to study hard.
• Tokinada Tsunayashiro met Shuichi in the corridor and promised that Yi Liang would remain safe at the academy.
• Shuichi visited Yi Liang in class, gave her a pouch of dried meat, and asked how she was doing.
• Shuichi went to the lectern and began explaining what a Zanpakutō was.

Yachiru Unohana tore through the Quincy defenses in the Light Empire, forcing Candice Catnipp to rally the Holy Soldiers before four Sternritter arrived to contain her. Unohana welcomed the harder fight, and the expedition continued with her still cutting through enemy forces.

• Yachiru Unohana advanced alone through the Light Empire, killing Quincy soldiers as the Eleventh Division followed behind under its vice-captain.
• Candice Catnipp confronted Unohana, blocked her attack, and temporarily steadied the fleeing Holy Soldiers.
• Frida Bergmann, Gerda Schwarz, Paula Edema, and Victor Brandt arrived and surrounded Unohana with Candice and the Holy Soldiers.
• The four Schrift holders used frost, shields, corrosive mist, and a virus to restrict Unohana's movement and slow her down.
• Unohana continued fighting without using Bankai and relished facing multiple powerful opponents.

Amakusa Shirō mistook the Shangbin Family's mineral exploration party for nobles he could ransom and ordered Eternal Silence to blockade the mine. The party remained trapped inside, though the Soul Reapers could defend themselves, and the people inside the mine complicated any escape.

• The Shangbin Family's attendants, technicians, and four Sixth Division Soul Reapers arrived at the settlement and entered the mine without confronting its people.
• Amakusa Shirō arrived as the settlement's private soldiers discussed seizing the visitors.
• Amakusa Shirō ordered someone to Rukongai District 1 to demand a ransom of one hundred thousand.
• Amakusa Shirō ordered the mine entrances blocked so the party could not leave without negotiating.
• The ordinary exploration team could protect itself but could not break through the blockade while also dealing with the wandering souls and miners inside the mine.

Amakusa Shirō used Sakuya Hyakki to repel four Soul Reapers attempting to break out of the mine, leaving Tanabe and his companions wounded and trapped. Chojiro Sasakibe received Tanabe’s report and headed to Yamamoto’s office.

• Tanabe led three Soul Reapers in a charge through the mine’s barricade, scattering Eternal Silence’s soldiers.
• Amakusa Shirō unleashed Sakuya Hyakki, filling the area with mist and phantom creatures that alternated between illusory and tangible.
• Amakusa Shirō wounded Tanabe and forced the four Soul Reapers to retreat into the mine.
• Amakusa Shirō ordered a messenger to notify the Seireitei that the nobles and Soul Reapers were hostages and demanded a hundred-thousand ransom.
• Chojiro Sasakibe received Tanabe’s Hell Butterfly report and went toward Yamamoto’s office.

Danjiro Obana received orders to rescue a noble party surrounded in North District 68, while Kōsei Uesugi demanded that everyone around the mine be killed. After negotiating with Uesugi, Obana went ahead to the location but could not find the mine.

• The Fifth Division lieutenant told Danjiro Obana that a noble party was surrounded in North District 68 and Sixth Division members needed rescue.
• Kōsei Uesugi demanded that Obana personally lead a mission to kill every rioter surrounding the mine.
• Obana asked what he would gain from helping Uesugi, and the two later finished negotiating.
• Obana instructed the Fifth Division team, then used Shunpo to travel ahead to North District 68.
• Obana checked the map and terrain but found no mine at the marked location.

Danjiro Obana confronted Amakusa at the mine, where four injured Sixth Division members remained trapped. After overcoming Amakusa’s men and releasing his Shikai, Obana faced a trembling Amakusa who was urged by his subordinates to fight.

• Danjiro Obana sensed five Zanpakutō signatures near the mine and found Amakusa waiting outside it.
• Obana confronted Amakusa and declared that only Amakusa’s life could quell the nobles’ anger.
• Amakusa attacked Obana, who dodged his slash and struck down a private soldier when two more men joined the fight.
• Obana warned Amakusa to run, but Amakusa insisted that he had spared the four Soul Reapers inside the mine.
• Obana released his Shikai, Pure Spring, and its Reiatsu frightened Amakusa’s soldiers into dropping their weapons or freezing.
• Amakusa’s veteran subordinates urged him to defeat Obana, and Amakusa resolved to swing his blade despite his fear.

Obana used Pure Spring to expose and defeat Amakusa’s illusions, then released his Bankai and overwhelmed the mine with his Reiatsu. With the private soldiers still gathered around Amakusa, Obana unleashed Thousand Water Needles across the area.

• Amakusa released Sakuya Hyakki and filled the battlefield with illusions, but Obana’s water mist weakened them and revealed their physical entities.
• Obana struck the real Amakusa with a water pellet, knocking him against a rock and dispersing his illusions.
• Obana activated Bankai, Compassionate Pure Water Guanyin, and its Reiatsu crushed Amakusa and the surrounding private soldiers.
• Tanabe and the trapped Soul Reapers and noble retainers sensed Obana’s Bankai from inside the mine tunnel and realized they were saved.
• Obana’s water-curtain barrier weakened the remaining illusions, and he fired Thousand Water Needles at the private soldiers who had not fled.

After learning that Amakusa and the Hundred-Man Squad had been massacred, Shen Du lost control and underwent Hollowfication. He broke free of Jueshu’s seals and raced toward Seireitei, while Wuran and Jueshu set out to stop him.

• Jueshu and Wuran told Shen Du that something had happened to Amakusa, and Shen Du insisted on going to the mining camp.
• Shen Du, Wuran, Jueshu, and several miners found the settlement deserted and covered in blood, with no bodies left behind.
• Shen Du demanded to know who had killed his people as his Reiatsu surged and a white, horned mask formed over his face.
• Shen Du shoved Wuran aside and resisted Jueshu’s Word-Spirit Seals until he broke free of them.
• Shen Du charged toward Seireitei, and Wuran and Jueshu resolved to pursue him and try to stop him.

Tenth Division Vice-Captain Tezuka Laiming and six seated officers confronted Shen Du, an Adjuchas-class Hollow with a Soul Reaper’s body, and formed a defensive line to delay him. As Shen Du’s attacks grew stronger, they continued fighting and waited for their captain to arrive.

• Tezuka Laiming led a Tenth Division patrol to check whether rioters remained near North District 68’s mines and detected an approaching Menos Grande.
• Tezuka and the six seated officers released their Zanpakutōs, sent Hell Butterflies for help, and formed the Seven-Star Formation.
• The patrol discovered Shen Du, whose Hollow mask and Reiatsu marked him as an Adjuchas despite his Soul Reaper appearance, and began fighting him.
• The officers used Stone Eye, Thorn Princess, Morning Mist, Water Ladle, and Wildfire to defend against Shen Du and counter his attacks, while Chirping Sparrow tracked his movements.
• Tezuka ordered a formation change as Shen Du’s Reiatsu rose, and Shen Du unleashed Blood Heaven Asura while the patrol fought on to hold him back.

Wuran and Jueshu watched seven Soul Reapers coordinate against Shen Du until Chikiri Shijima arrived and used Shinkirō to trap him in illusions drawn from his grief. Shijima decided to try to restore Shen Du’s sanity and recruit him, then launched a barrage of high-level Kidō as the battle continued.

• Jueshu shared the Observation Seal with Wuran, who saw seven Soul Reapers use coordinated Shikai, Kidō, and Shunpo to hold off Shen Du.
• Chikiri Shijima arrived, struck Shen Du with Raikōhō, and blocked his attack while Vice-Captain Tezuka led the exhausted officers away.
• Shijima released Shinkirō, filling the battlefield with mist and illusions of Shen Du’s loved ones and the destruction of Eternal Silence.
• Shen Du attacked the illusions in a growing frenzy as Jueshu recognized the pain and despair behind his roars.
• Shijima decided to knock Shen Du back to his senses and recruit him, then attacked with Sōren Sōkatsui, Hyapporankan, and Tenran.

Chikiri Shijima defeated Shen Du and trapped him in his Bankai, where Shen Du mistook Wuran for his target and stabbed him. After Wuran was dragged from the mist, Shen Du erupted with Reiatsu and began to unleash his own Bankai.

• Chikiri Shijima identified himself as a Fourth Division captain and offered Shen Du a Fifth Seat, but Shen Du refused to serve the nobles.
• Chikiri Shijima activated Bankai, trapping Shen Du in a fog that manifested his killing intent as an apparent opening to attack.
• Wuran rushed into the mist, and Shen Du mistook him for Chikiri Shijima and pierced his chest with Blood Heaven Asura.
• Jueshu used his Word-Spirit Seal to pull Wuran from the mist while Shen Du struggled to accept what he had done.
• Shen Du vowed to kill Chikiri Shijima, his Reiatsu surged, and he declared Bankai.

Shendu Wuming unleashed a Bankai that fused Hollowfication with his Asura manifestation, forcing Chikiri Shijima to request help from the Seireitei. Yamamoto summoned the available captains, and Shuichi departed to confront the dangerous enemy.

• Shendu Wuming transformed into a three-headed, six-armed Asura and formed crimson Hannya masks as his Bankai and Hollow powers merged.
• Chikiri Shijima assessed Shendu’s strength as a High-Rank Adjuchas and requested several captains to help suppress him.
• A Hell Butterfly delivered Shijima’s report to Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, who recognized Bankai Hollowfication as an unprecedented threat.
• At Shin'ō Hall, Chojiro Sasakibe recommended that three captains join forces, while Senjumaru Shutara prepared to study the enemy.
• Shuichi volunteered to go despite the danger, and Yamamoto ordered him to depart with a Hell Butterfly as his guide.

Shuichi and Shijima struggled to contain Shen Du’s powerful Asura manifestation, whose abilities broke through their attacks and restraints. Senjumaru Shutara arrived and began binding Shen Du with her spirit particle fabrics, then released her Bankai as the cocoon started to fail.

• Shuichi joined the exhausted Shijima, and they evaded Shen Du’s Blood River and blood-blade attacks while Shijima analyzed its abilities.
• Shuichi and Shijima bound Shen Du with their Bankai and Kidō chains, but Shen Du shattered them with a spiritual-pressure shockwave.
• Shuichi’s Kurohitsugi was pierced and destroyed by Shen Du’s spear, while Shijima dodged a ghostly attack revealed by the mirror shield.
• Senjumaru Shutara appeared and wrapped Shen Du in layers of specially made spirit particle fabric.
• Shen Du tore apart Shutara’s fabric restraints, and Shutara announced her Bankai.

Senjumaru Shutara defeated Shen Du with her Bankai, and Shuichi and Shijima left the battlefield after the fight ended. Jueshu revived Wuran by sacrificing his life force, and Wuran followed him back toward Eternal Silence after learning Shen Du was gone.

• Senjumaru Shutara used her Bankai to release Shen Du’s Bankai, strip away his power, and bind him in fabric.
• Shutara took the bound Shen Du away, while Shuichi confiscated his Zanpakutō and left with Shijima.
• Jueshu watched the battle end without intervening, then Wuran awoke after Jueshu used the Unrepentant Seal to heal him.
• Wuran asked Jueshu why he had saved him, and Jueshu said Eternal Silence could not lose him too.
• Wuran looked toward where Shen Du had vanished, then followed Jueshu back toward Eternal Silence.

The Central 46 debated the danger and possible value of Shura, learning that his Hollowfication had been triggered by grief over his wife’s death in Yamamoto’s Bankai shock wave. They ordered him sent to Muken under strict limits on Twelfth Division research, while rumors spread through Seireitei and were recast as a story about an unusual Adjuchas.

• Tokifusa Tsunayashiro presented Senjumaru Shutara’s report confirming that Shura could combine Hollow and Soul Reaper powers and use tactical judgment while Hollowfied.
• The Sages argued over whether Shura should be destroyed and whether Shutara’s research should be halted.
• Tokifusa revealed that Shura’s real name was Shendu Wuming, that he had led the Eternal Silence settlement, and that his wife had died in a shock wave from Captain-Commander Yamamoto’s Bankai.
• Tokifusa ruled that Shura would be sent to Muken, where the Twelfth Division could conduct only noninvasive research and could not attempt to reproduce Hollowfication.
• The resolution passed unanimously, and news of the Hollowfied Soul Reaper spread through Seireitei before the Central 46’s preferred account described him as an unusual blade-wielding Adjuchas.

Shunsui Kyōraku grieved the Shinigami he had led into a Quincy ambush and unleashed his Bankai after the last of his unit fell. Bakuzan Katori found him after the battle, where he questioned whether war was a mistake and said he felt guilty.

• Shunsui Kyōraku realized his tactical misjudgment had led to his unit's deaths, including Watanabe, Ono, and Yamada.
• As the surviving Quincy mocked him, Kyōraku remembered his fallen comrades and people from his past.
• Kyōraku activated his Bankai, darkening the sky and filling the battlefield with drumbeats and a shadowy woman's presence.
• Bakuzan Katori arrived after the fighting ended and found Kyōraku sitting among the dead.
• Kyōraku asked Katori whether war was a mistake and told her he thought he was guilty, but did not explain further.

Suzuko and Ukitake finished their paperwork and earned Kashima's approval as capable aides. Seated Officers debated which of them might become lieutenant, but Kashima remained in the post and the captain had yet to choose a successor.

• Suzuko and Ukitake finished their documents and compared how much work each had completed.
• Kashima reviewed their paperwork, praised them, and recalled how much Suzuko had improved.
• Seated Officers discussed whether Suzuko's bond with the captain or Ukitake's status as Yamamoto's student would give either an advantage in the lieutenant selection.
• A veteran Seated Officer reminded the others that Kashima was still lieutenant and had no reason to retire.
• Kashima listened outside the lounge, then returned to his office after the conversation ended.

Shuichi asked Yamamoto how many lieutenants a division could have, and Yamamoto said the limit was three. After noting that thirty years had passed, Yamamoto taught Shuichi the secret technique Caress Slash, a single instant draw and strike.

• Shuichi asked Yamamoto how many lieutenants a division could have, and Yamamoto answered that there could be no more than three.
• Yamamoto told Shuichi that thirty years had passed and decided to pass a secret technique on to him.
• Yamamoto demonstrated Caress Slash, drawing and striking in one swift motion that Shuichi could not follow.
• Yamamoto explained that Caress Slash allowed no buildup, preparation, or second strike, and Shuichi bowed to thank him.

The battered Expeditionary Army returned to Seireitei, and Yachiru Unohana’s bloodstained appearance silenced the crowd. Ukitake and Suzuko learned that Kyōraku had already left to rest, and they decided to look for him the next day.

• Yanyuan Jinle led the depleted Third Division back through the Hakudo Gate as crowds gathered to assess the Expeditionary Army’s losses.
• Bakuzan Katori and the wounded Eighth and Eleventh Division members returned behind the column, while Yachiru Unohana walked alone at its rear in a blood-soaked Haori.
• Ukitake and Suzuko hurried to the Eighth Division Barracks to find Kyōraku, but a Squad Member told them he had gone home to rest.
• Suzuko wondered whether Kyōraku would hide away by himself, and Ukitake said they would look for him tomorrow.

Shunsui Kyōraku drank heavily in the Kyoraku Residence courtyard while remembering Watanabe, Ono, and Yamada, the comrades who died on his mission. The next morning, Haruyama confronted him about the costly liquor, and Shunsui promised to be more careful without explaining his grief.

• Shunsui sat beneath the cherry tree drinking bottle after bottle and recalling his fallen comrades.
• Haruyama saw the scattered liquor bottles at the courtyard gate, then left without speaking further.
• Shunsui remembered Watanabe, Ono, and Yamada and questioned what use learning Bankai had been.
• The next morning, Haruyama asked Shunsui about the amount and cost of the liquor he had taken from the cellar.
• Shunsui remained silent rather than promise he would not drink or shoulder everything alone again, then told Haruyama he would be more careful.

Shunsui Kyōraku discovered how expensive Jiunaicang’s liquor was, then met Oda Tenza, who treated him to a bottle and shared a drink at a resting place in Rukongai. Shunsui agreed to meet Oda for drinks again, bringing his own liquor next time.

• Shunsui entered Jiunaicang and saw that its liquor cost hundreds of thousands or even millions.
• Oda Tenza mistook Shunsui’s interest in Wuying Bingwei for hesitation over its price and bought him a bottle.
• Oda introduced himself as a Third Division lieutenant, and Shunsui identified himself as a Fifth Seat of the Eighth Division.
• Oda took Shunsui to a small gathering place where Rukongai souls rested and shared the liquor with him.
• Shunsui enjoyed Wuying Bingwei, and Oda invited him to drink together again if he brought his own liquor.