Recaps

Central 46 ordered the Gotei 13 to prepare an expedition into Hueco Mundo within three months, naming Shuichi supreme commander. Shuichi began gathering personnel and support from the divisions as they prepared to plan the invasion.

• Central 46 concluded that Hueco Mundo’s organized attack pointed to a higher-level force and ordered an expedition to eliminate the vasto lordes and disrupt their command structure.
• Yamamoto agreed to prepare the expedition and told Central 46 the Gotei 13 needed at least three months to plan it.
• Yamamoto appointed Shuichi supreme commander, and Shuichi accepted the assignment.
• Shuichi asked the captains to report within three days how many personnel they could spare, and he began collecting their commitments and constraints.
• Qianri, Yanyuan Jinle, Saito, Obana, Katori, Shigyo, and Kumenoi offered personnel or support, while Unohana said the Eleventh Division could not participate and Ichisegawa kept the Tenth Division focused on Rukongai patrols.

After returning from treating battlefield casualties, Suzuko struggled with the pain and exhaustion she had witnessed and asked Shuichi why they had to fight. When Shuichi told her he would lead an expedition to Hueco Mundo in three months, she insisted on joining him, and later admitted to herself that she feared waiting behind more than facing Hollows.

• Suzuko returned to Shuichi's quarters after helping wounded Squad Members and questioned why the battlefield was so chaotic and painful.
• Shuichi told Suzuko that they fought to protect everyone, though he recognized his ability to protect them had limits.
• Shuichi revealed that Central 46 had ordered an Expeditionary Army to hunt Menos Grande in Hueco Mundo, and that he would lead it in three months.
• Suzuko asked to join the expedition so she could heal the injured, and Shuichi agreed on the condition that she keep herself safe.
• Alone in her room, Suzuko recalled the wounded returning to battle after she treated them and realized she also wanted to join because waiting for Shuichi to return frightened her.

Suzuko asked Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake to accompany her and her brother on the Expeditionary Army's trip to Hueco Mundo, and both agreed. That evening, she questioned Shuichi about his advanced Kidō and decided to train harder.

• Suzuko told Shunsui Kyōraku she and her brother would join the Expeditionary Army and asked him and Ukitake to go with them; Kyōraku agreed.
• Suzuko asked Jūshirō Ukitake to join the Expeditionary Army, and he agreed to set off with them.
• Suzuko asked Shuichi about the Kidō he had used in battle, and he explained Ōkasen and the advanced Shakkahō form, Red Fire Star Bullet.
• Suzuko asked Shuichi to teach her continuous Shakkahō, and he told her to master Ōkasen's range first.
• Suzuko decided to go to the training grounds for extra practice the next day.

As the expedition prepared to leave for Hueco Mundo, Furoufushi Saito joined Shuichi’s roster. The groups departed through the Senkaimon, with Shuichi and Suzuko among the last to enter.

• Shuichi and the Chief of Kidō finalized the supply checks and discussed how to ration Bakudo scrolls if supplies ran low.
• Furoufushi Saito asked to join the expedition, and Shuichi added her to the roster.
• The vanguard, supply team, and remaining officers passed through the Senkaimon in groups.
• Kujo Shūi waved to Shuichi as she followed her group through the gate.
• Shuichi handed the finalized roster to an Onmitsukidō member, then entered the Senkaimon with Suzuko.

Shuichi led the expedition through Hueco Mundo’s featureless white desert, where shifting sand and an unmoving sky made navigation difficult. After nearly two days of marching and fending off minor Hollows, the group continued onward with no clear landmarks or reliable way to locate the Menos Grande.

• Shuichi ordered the seated officers to map the area around the Senkaimon landing site, and Saito reported no nearby Hollow traces.
• Shuichi set the formation: the vanguard led, the supply unit stayed in the middle, and the rear guard kept watch.
• The expedition marched through Hueco Mundo for nearly two days, killing minor Hollows that burst from beneath the sand.
• Suzuko noticed the wind erased their tracks, while officers at the front began checking their direction and watching the sky.
• Saito asked Shuichi whether he could still tell their direction, and Shuichi explained that Hueco Mundo’s vast, featureless terrain made finding Menos Grande difficult.

Shuichi ordered the exhausted expedition to rest for ten hours after scouts detected a powerful reiatsu concentration four hours ahead. He and the other officers planned reconnaissance and possible battle responses, but the enemy’s numbers and types remained unknown.

• A scout reported no signs of Menos Grande nearby, then another detected a powerful reiatsu concentration to the northwest.
• Shuichi ordered the forces to camp and rest, using Tenteikūra to summon the senior officers and communicate the plan to the entire expedition.
• Shuichi explained that the forces needed rest before approaching the reiatsu concentration, and the Kidō Chief outlined battle plans for possible Menos Grande formations.
• Kujo offered to fight the Gillian, while Shuichi ordered the scouting team to map the enemy’s reiatsu distribution and report back with a Hell Butterfly.
• Shuichi directed the Kidō Corps to conserve high-level Bakudo supplies and told the officers to rest while maintaining sentries.

Shuichi met Higan Ten in the sea of flowers and began learning Blade Flourish as the first step toward mastering Turning Blade. Higan Ten explained that Shuichi needed to understand the long sword’s weight and balance before he could develop a sword style of his own.

• Higan Ten explained that Shuichi’s swordsmanship had focused on winning a single exchange and introduced Turning Blade.
• Higan Ten demonstrated Blade Flourish and told Shuichi to learn it before attempting Turning Blade.
• Shuichi practiced Blade Flourish and asked what use it had; Higan Ten initially said it looked good.
• Higan Ten explained that Higan Ten’s extra length changed the distance and timing of its swings, making ordinary sword techniques ill-suited to it.
• Higan Ten told Shuichi to master the blade’s weight, balance, and fulcrum through Blade Flourish so he could begin carving out his own path.

After waking from his vision, Shuichi led the group northwest through the white desert. He left the group facing a Gillian swarm after his Danku blocked their simultaneous Ceros.

• Shuichi woke as Suzuko told him the ten hours were nearly up, then ordered the group to break camp and inventory supplies.
• Shuichi led the group northwest for two hours through strong winds across the white desert.
• Shuichi spotted black figures on the horizon and began chanting as the officers recognized a Gillian swarm and spread out.
• The Gillians fired dozens of Ceros together, forming a broad crimson torrent aimed at the group.
• Shuichi cast Bakudo #81, Danku, and held the barrier against the volley until the Ceros dissipated.
• Suzuko watched Shuichi's Danku block the simultaneous attack and stared in shock.

Saito led the vanguard seated officers in destroying the Gillian horde while the Kidō Corps protected the advancing Supply Team and other Soul Reapers cleared the flanks. After the battle, Saito reported that an intelligent Adjuchas had fled, raising the possibility that a Vasto Lorde was controlling the attack.

• Saito charged through the Gillian formation, opening a path for the vanguard seated officers to attack the Menos Grande at close range.
• The Kidō Corps commander raised a golden barrier around the Supply Team and advanced with it while Kujo Shūi and the defensive line repelled lesser Hollows.
• Suzuko and Ukitake held the middle defensive line, while Shunsui Kyōraku stayed beside the Supply Team and Shuichi watched for hidden spiritual pressure.
• The vanguard defeated the Gillian, and Kujo and the seated officers cleared away the remaining lesser Hollows.
• Saito reported that an Adjuchas had fled before the fighting and warned that a Vasto Lorde might be directing the organized horde.

Shuichi chose to follow the Adjuchas’s obvious spiritual pressure trail despite suspecting a trap, and the force advanced toward it in formation. At Las Noches, Baraggan learned through a Lizard Hollow that the Soul Reapers were approaching and welcomed their arrival.

• Chang Huxiaoshan Gangwan warned that the Adjuchas was leading the force toward a possible trap, while the officers urged Shuichi to decide before its trail disappeared.
• Shuichi decided to pursue the Adjuchas, reasoning that the expedition could still fulfill its mission even if the trail led to a trap.
• Shuichi ordered the force to track the Adjuchas’s residual spiritual pressure while maintaining formation, with scouts moving ahead.
• A Lizard Hollow relayed the advancing Soul Reapers’ movements to Baraggan at Las Noches.
• Baraggan realized the Soul Reapers were coming toward him and said, “Good.”

The Expeditionary Army discovered that a Hollow ambush had been deliberately arranged beneath the sands of Hueco Mundo. After Gillians emerged from the exposed Forest of Menos, the officers held a defensive line while the Supply Team withdrew.

• An officer used Hado #57: Earth Turning Dance to expose a swarm of Worm Hollows hidden beneath the sand, and the vanguard quickly cut them down.
• The Kidō Corps commander suspected the weak Hollows were part of a coordinated trap, and a Cero fired from behind a dune targeted the Supply Team.
• Ukitake intercepted the Cero with Sōgyo no Kotowari and returned it toward the dune, but the attacker had already fled.
• Kujo Shūi warned the team as the ground collapsed, revealing a network of tunnels and allowing Gillians to surge up from the Forest of Menos.
• The Kidō Corps extended the barrier and the Supply Team retreated with their supplies while the vanguard formed a defensive line and fought the emerging Gillians.

The vanguard and Supply Team fought off waves of Hollows as Gillian poured from the collapsed zone, while Kujo Shūi used Moon Haze to kill three and wound a fourth. When an Adjuchas threatened the exhausted Supply Team, Shunsui Kyōraku released Katen Kyōkotsu and confronted it.

• Furoufushi Saito and the seated officers held the vanguard line against the Gillian and their Hollow swarms.
• Kujo Shūi shot four energy arrows, killing three Gillian and heavily wounding the fourth, then switched to less costly attacks to conserve Reiatsu.
• The Supply Team's guards formed a shrinking defensive circle as Hollows attacked from every direction.
• An Adjuchas approached the Supply Team, alarming the guards who remembered the East District Three Hollow Disaster.
• Shunsui Kyōraku stopped slacking, released Katen Kyōkotsu, and appeared before the Adjuchas with his swords ready.

The Soul Reapers fought the Adjuchas breaking through their defensive line, with the Kidō Commander and Shuichi using powerful spells to restrain or wound them. As the battle continued, Suzuko supported Ukitake and Saito weakened multiple enemies to help the seated officers.

• The Kidō Commander blasted an attacking Adjuchas with Hado #88 and followed with Experimental Hado #91.
• Suzuko watched the Kidō Commander’s spells in awe until Ukitake warned her to stay focused, then resumed supporting him with Kidō.
• Chang Huxiaoshan Gangwan released Tiger Roar and fought an Adjuchas head-on.
• Shuichi used Higan Ten’s chains and Hado #90, Kurohitsugi, against several Adjuchas before preparing to activate Bankai.
• Saito wounded multiple Adjuchas at their joints and ribs to slow them and create openings for the seated officers.

Shuichi held off multiple Adjuchas while the Soul Reapers cleared the battlefield, but Baraggan Louisenbairn arrived and forced the expedition to retreat. After Baraggan's power began turning Saito's hand to bone, Suzuko restored it with her Zanpakutō's time-rewinding ability, then collapsed from exhaustion.

• Shuichi used his sword styles and Higan Ten's chains to contain multiple Adjuchas and protect the battle line.
• The Kidō Corps commander, Saito, Kujo Shūi, and Shunsui Kyōraku helped defeat the other Hollows while the Soul Reapers held back the Gillian horde.
• Baraggan Louisenbairn appeared, the Adjuchas gathered behind him, and Shunsui Kyōraku ordered the main force to retreat.
• Baraggan's purple mist began turning Saito's left hand to bone, and the Soul Reapers could only slow the damage.
• Suzuko revealed Dreamwoven Time: Time Silk and restored Saito's hand by reversing time, then collapsed from exhaustion.

After confirming that Baraggan and the Hollows of Hueco Mundo posed a serious, organized threat, Shuichi’s expedition decided to return to Soul Society with its intelligence. Ten hours later, the army began its carefully arranged retreat through the Senkaimon, with Shuichi and Saito guarding the rear.

• Kyōraku argued that the expedition had achieved its goal by confirming Hueco Mundo’s threat and should return before risking further losses.
• Saito and the Kidō Corps chief agreed, and Shuichi ordered the army to rest for ten hours before breaking camp.
• The expedition prepared its wounded and dead for transport while the Kidō Corps chief located the Senkaimon’s Reishi coordinates.
• Shuichi sent Kujo Shūi and Ukitake with the wounded in the first group, then assigned the Supply Team and the intelligence scrolls to the second group.
• Chang Huxiaoshan Gangwan led the vanguard to clear the route, while Shuichi and Saito guarded the rear against a possible counterattack.

The Expeditionary Army returned to Soul Society after encountering Baraggan Louisenbairn, a Vasto Lorde who claimed to be Hueco Mundo's king. Shuichi reported the expedition's findings to Yamamoto, confirming Baraggan's power and organized Hollow forces.

• The Expeditionary Army reached the Senkaimon after three days of quiet travel, and the guards learned that the column had encountered a Vasto Lorde.
• The returning Soul Reapers crossed into Soul Society, where camp members welcomed them and prepared to treat the wounded.
• The remaining guards dismantled the Hueco Mundo camp and passed through the Senkaimon; Shuichi and Saito followed, and the gate closed behind them.
• Shuichi reported to Yamamoto that the expedition had killed nine Adjuchas and at least a hundred Gillians, and wounded thirteen Adjuchas.
• Shuichi told Yamamoto that Baraggan Louisenbairn claimed to be Hueco Mundo's king and could wield corrosive Reishi mist and command Hollows in coordinated combat.

Shuichi sought answers about why Suzuko had not awakened after using her Zanpakutō, and Yamamoto suspected its ability had caused a side effect. Shuichi asked Tsunayashiro Shiki for access to the Great Spirit Library, but Shiki questioned whether the records he wanted might concern matters Soul Society had sealed away.

• Shuichi told Yamamoto that Suzuko remained unconscious despite her stable Reiatsu and normal bodily functions.
• Shuichi explained that Suzuko had used her Zanpakutō to restore Captain Saito's hand after Baraggan's purple mist had turned it to bone.
• Yamamoto suggested that Suzuko's Zanpakutō reversed the state of the hand and that its side effects, rather than Reiatsu loss, might explain her condition.
• Yamamoto directed Shuichi to the Great Spirit Library, and Shuichi visited Tsunayashiro Shiki to request access.
• Shiki said he needed to confirm that Shuichi's requested records would not touch on matters Soul Society should not disturb, while Shuichi insisted he only sought information about Suzuko's Zanpakutō.

Shuichi negotiated access to the Great Spirit Library by agreeing to make Shigure Tsunayashiro his sworn younger sister, while forbidding her from influencing the Thirteenth Division. In the library, he learned the costs of time-based abilities and found no record matching his Zanpakutō, leaving him puzzled about Higan Ten.

• Tsunayashiro Shiki offered Shuichi marriage to Shigure Tsunayashiro, then proposed making her his sworn younger sister in exchange for permanent access to the Great Spirit Library.
• Shuichi accepted the arrangement on the condition that Shigure could not interfere with the Thirteenth Division or his decisions.
• Shiki led Shuichi to the Great Spirit Library, where Shuichi descended through its tower in search of records.
• Shuichi studied forbidden time-based abilities and learned that their benefits demanded severe, irreversible prices.
• Shuichi searched records about flower-related Zanpakutō but found none that matched his, and wondered what Higan Ten truly was.

Furoufushi Saito handed over leadership of the Sixth Division to Kuchiki Ginrei and confirmed to Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto that she intended to step down. After the handover, she planned to wander through Rukongai, though she left open the possibility of returning.

• Saito introduced Kuchiki Ginrei to the Sixth Division’s Seated Officers as their next captain, and Ginrei promised to lead by example in handling noble affairs.
• Saito told a subordinate she would leave once the handover was complete and might return someday.
• Saito and Ginrei met with Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, who said Ginrei’s appointment would proceed after Central 46 confirmed it and instructed them to decide matters together during the handover.
• Saito told Yamamoto she planned to wander around Rukongai after stepping down, while leaving open the possibility of coming back.

Shinji Hirako began attending Shin'ō Academy and visited the cafeteria, where Kirio Hikifune impressed fellow students with her appetite and discerning palate. In the Eighth Division, Bakuzan Katori promoted Shunsui Kyōraku to Third Seat while leaving him with a mountain of paperwork.

• Shinji Hirako wandered around Shin'ō Academy with a fellow student whose name he pretended to have forgotten.
• Shinji Hirako agreed to visit the academy cafeteria with the student.
• Kirio Hikifune ate her way through a large meal and praised or critiqued the dishes while a fellow student watched in amazement.
• Shunsui Kyōraku struggled to finish the postwar paperwork Bakuzan Katori had assigned him.
• Bakuzan Katori told Shunsui Kyōraku that she had appointed him Third Seat, and he loudly protested.

Tokinada found a sword in a side chamber of the Tsunayashiro main residence and claimed it as his Zanpakutō, Enrakyōten. After releasing it, he confronted Shuichi and left with the sword, while Shiki asked Shuichi to leave as the clan handled the matter.

• Tokinada learned that Shuichi and Shiki were at the Great Spirit Library and went to a side chamber in the main residence.
• Tokinada recognized the sword on the rack as his Zanpakutō, lifted it, and declared it his.
• Shiki arrived and ordered Tokinada to put the sword down, and Shuichi hurried to the chamber after hearing the commotion.
• Tokinada released the sword as Enrakyōten and asked Shuichi whether the Zanpakutō at his waist was his.
• Tokinada left with the sword, and Shiki apologized to Shuichi and asked him to leave while the family dealt with the matter.

Rumors spread among Seireitei’s nobles that Shuichi was forming a marriage alliance with the Tsunayashiro Clan through Shigure. Unsure whether accepting the arrangement was right, Shuichi sought Yamamoto’s counsel and left with the choice affirmed as his own to judge.

• Noble circles circulated rumors that Shuichi had been received by the Tsunayashiro Clan and might marry into it, while Shiki kept the news from spreading widely among Soul Reapers.
• The nobles interpreted Shuichi’s connection to the Tsunayashiro Clan as a political shift and began considering how their own families should respond.
• Shuichi went to the First Division and asked Yamamoto whether he had made the wrong choice regarding the Tsunayashiro residence.
• Yamamoto told Shuichi that, so long as the choice did not violate the law or constitute obvious wrongdoing, only Shuichi could judge its rightness and accept its consequences.
• Shuichi thanked Yamamoto and said he understood.

Shigure Tsunayashiro arrived at the Thirteenth Division barracks in a Shihakushō, and Shuichi introduced her as the new clerk. Elsewhere in Rukongai, Zhu Sibo Zhengyuan finished a meditation surrounded by purple lightning and wondered why his Bankai was like this.

• Shigure Tsunayashiro arrived at the Thirteenth Division barracks with attendants and waited for Captain Shuichi.
• Shuichi returned from the First Division, and Shigure Tsunayashiro bowed to him.
• Shuichi called Shigure Tsunayashiro the new clerk and continued into the barracks as she followed him.
• Zhu Sibo Zhengyuan meditated on a mountain as purple lightning struck around him and gradually faded.
• Zhu Sibo Zhengyuan opened his eyes and questioned why his Bankai was like this.

Shigure Tsunayashiro gradually became a valued presence in the Thirteenth Division by improving its records and mess hall meals, while Shuichi learned that Tsunayashiro Shiki had paid Suzuko’s hospital bills. Meanwhile, Senjumaru Shutara continued privately teaching Kirio Hikifune, prompting rumors that Kirio was being prepared as her successor.

• Shigure meticulously reorganized the Thirteenth Division’s logistics records, earning Lieutenant Kashima Karasuma’s respect.
• Shigure invited two Tsunayashiro Clan chefs to improve the mess hall food, and the squad members praised the results.
• Shuichi learned from the Medical Institute doctor that Lord Tsunayashiro had settled Suzuko’s room charges and suspected Shiki was monitoring her condition.
• Senjumaru Shutara reviewed Reishi Circuit concepts with Kirio Hikifune in the Twelfth Division’s underground laboratory.
• Students and instructors noticed Shutara’s frequent visits and spread rumors that she was grooming Kirio as her successor, but Kirio continued her studies.

Furoufushi Saito received a farewell from the Sixth Division and the gathered captains as she retired and left Seireitei for Rukongai. She flew toward Rukongai with a gift box and keys to an old house, while Yamamoto reminded her to return if Seireitei ever faced trouble.

• Furoufushi Saito accepted a wooden box from Fujiki Yihui and exchanged farewells with the Sixth Division's members.
• The captains arrived to see Saito off, and Shuichi gave her the keys to his old house in West District One.
• Yamamoto arrived and told Saito to return if Seireitei was in trouble; she replied by demanding her payment.
• Shutara called for Saito to return for maintenance, and Saito waved before using Shunpo to fly toward Rukongai.