Recaps

While searching for a reason Suzuko had not awakened, Shuichi found evidence that souls without Reiatsu deteriorated in the Seireitei’s heavy Reishi environment and recalled Qian Lida. At Shin'ō Academy, Shinji Hirako graduated and joined the Ninth Division by choice, while Kirio Hikifune headed toward the library with her Twelfth Division position already secured.

• Shuichi searched the Great Spirit Library’s records on soul states and found that souls without Reiatsu could be eroded by the Seireitei’s high Reishi concentration.
• Shuichi connected the record to Qian Lida’s deteriorating soul.
• Shinji checked the graduation assignments and told his classmates he had applied to the Ninth Division because it was laid-back.
• Kirio Hikifune walked toward the library as students discussed her standing and reserved place in the Twelfth Division.
• Shinji’s application to the Ninth Division was approved.

Suzuko woke in a dark inner world, where her Zanpakutō revealed that reversing the Vasto Lorde’s accelerated time had cost her the ability to use Shikai without permission. After slowly recovering in a hospital, she saw Shuichi, who imposed the same restriction when she awoke.

• Suzuko’s Zanpakutō told her that reversing the Vasto Lorde’s accelerated time had required a heavy price, which it had transferred elsewhere.
• Suzuko’s Zanpakutō said she could no longer use Shikai without its permission and sent her back to sleep.
• Suzuko woke in a hospital room, slowly regained movement, and fell asleep again as a doctor noticed she had turned over.
• Suzuko woke that evening and saw Shuichi sitting beside her.
• Shuichi told Suzuko she could not release her Zanpakutō without his permission.

Suzuko returned to the Thirteenth Division after her recovery and learned that Shigure Tsunayashiro had been working there for about ten years. The reminder unsettled Suzuko and stirred fragments of her past in her dreams.

• Suzuko returned to the Thirteenth Division, where Ukitake told her the unfamiliar woman in the records office was the new clerk.
• Shigure began regularly bringing tea and refreshments to Shuichi and Suzuko, while Suzuko cautiously watched her visits.
• Suzuko, now the Twentieth Seat, went to the dining hall and found Shigure sitting across from her.
• Shigure told Suzuko she had been handling logistics paperwork in the division for about ten years, leaving Suzuko startled by how much time had passed.
• Suzuko had a restless night filled with fragments of a white desert, Saito, white silk ribbons, darkness, and Time Silk's voice.

Qianri welcomed the birth of his granddaughter Yoruichi, while Zhu Sibo Zhengyuan demonstrated the unstable Bankai Reiatsu that qualified him for the Fifth Division captaincy. After Yamamoto confirmed his achievement, Obana entrusted him with handling captain’s duties.

• Qianri waited outside the Shihōin Estate as his granddaughter was born, and the twenty-first family head named her Yoruichi.
• Obana asked Zhu Sibo Zhengyuan whether he had learned Bankai and offered to entrust the Fifth Division to him.
• Shutara explained how Bankai Reiatsu fluctuations could be measured for registration in the wilderness of Rukongai.
• Zhu Sibo Zhengyuan released unstable Bankai Reiatsu, and Yamamoto dispersed it before he lost control.
• Yamamoto confirmed Zhu Sibo Zhengyuan had learned Bankai, and Obana told him to handle captain’s duties.

Okuharano meditated in the highlands and learned that his Bankai was Tamamo, a nine-tailed fox spirit with independent consciousness. He demonstrated the Bankai to the captains at Sōkyoku Hill, where Yamamoto declared him qualified to succeed to a captain’s position.

• Okuharano awakened Tamamo, his Bankai, while meditating in a wooded highland.
• Okuharano summoned Tamamo before the gathered captains at Sōkyoku Hill and demonstrated her independent consciousness.
• The captains discussed how Tamamo could fight and make tactical decisions alongside Okuharano.
• Yamamoto declared that Okuharano had officially qualified to succeed to a captain’s position.
• Tamamo dismissed her Bankai and returned to Okuharano’s Zanpakutō.
• Shihōin Qianri and Nobutsuna Shigyo discussed the unpredictability of Tamamo, while Chikiri Shijima defended Okuharano’s record.

Ichibē Hyōsube and Ōetsu Nimaiya arrived to bring Shutara to the Zero Division, and she appointed Okuharano as her successor as captain of the Twelfth Division. The captains sent the Tenchūren back to the Soul King Palace, while Yamamoto ended the night by asking Shutara to do all she could to help the Soul King.

• Ichibē Hyōsube and Ōetsu Nimaiya arrived on the Sōkyoku platform, and Ichibē told Shutara to join the Zero Division.
• Shutara wove a captain's haori for Okuharano and handed him command of the Twelfth Division.
• Ichibē asked the captains to channel their Reiatsu into the Tenchūren, and the twelve captains sent it back toward the Soul King Palace.
• Yamamoto formally confirmed Okuharano as captain of the Twelfth Division, and Shihōin Qianri, Shiba Ichisegawa, and Kuchiki Ginrei offered their support.
• Yamamoto looked toward the Soul King Palace and urged Shutara to do everything she could to help the Soul King.

Shuichi asked Yamamoto about the Zero Division and learned that it guarded the Soul King Palace and answered only to the Soul King. After Senjumaru Shutara’s promotion, Okuharano took over the Twelfth Division and prepared to continue her research.

• Shuichi asked Yamamoto what the Zero Division was, and Yamamoto explained its role and independence from the Gotei 13 and Central 46.
• Okuharano announced to the Twelfth Division that Senjumaru Shutara had joined the Zero Division and that he had succeeded her as captain.
• Okuharano reassured the Twelfth Division that Shutara had left instructions and that their work would continue.
• News of Shutara’s promotion and Okuharano’s succession spread throughout Seireitei, where Soul Reapers reacted with surprise and waited to see how the Twelfth Division would change.
• Okuharano met Tamamo-no-Mae in the research wing and said he was ready to take on Shutara’s unfinished research.

Yanyuan Jinle and Chikiri Shijima finalized plans to clarify the Third and Fourth Divisions’ overlapping duties, and the Commander-in-Chief approved the Fourth Division’s reorganization as the Medical Rescue Corps. The divisions began discussing how the change would affect their responsibilities and medical support procedures.

• Yanyuan Jinle agreed that Shijima’s proposal to reorganize the Fourth Division could resolve its overlap with the Third Division.
• Shijima planned to review the Fourth Division’s internal structure before submitting the reorganization proposal to the Commander-in-Chief.
• The Commander-in-Chief and Central 46 approved the Fourth Division’s new medical and rescue role, including a tiered treatment system and coordinated casualty transport.
• Captain Shijima told Fourth Division members that seated positions would remain unchanged, while Lieutenant Kuga Cheng distributed appointment sheets for new roles.
• Members of the Third, Sixth, and Tenth Divisions considered how the reorganization would clarify their duties and improve medical support during missions.

In Zaraki, Unohana encountered a wild, powerful swordsman named Zaraki and fought him after he wounded her. She defeated him after a prolonged battle, while rumors of their clash spread through the divisions.

• Unohana stopped her Eleventh Division column when Zaraki appeared and challenged her with his sword.
• Zaraki attacked instinctively, and Unohana blocked and studied his fighting style.
• Zaraki found an opening and pierced Unohana between the collarbones, but she healed the wound with Kaidō.
• Unohana began fighting in earnest as Zaraki adapted rapidly, and their battle scarred the wasteland around them.
• Unohana sent Zaraki crashing to the ground and left after confirming he could not rise soon.
• News of their battle spread through the divisions, though no one believed Unohana had been wounded.

Shin'ō Academy graduates learned that Kaidō specialists were being assigned to the reorganized Fourth Division. Meanwhile, the captains noticed that Unohana had grown more restrained and saw the scar she had chosen to keep, but no one asked about its origin.

• Students at Shin'ō Academy found many of the strongest Kaidō trainees assigned to the Fourth Division’s new medical rescue unit.
• A group of friends celebrated being assigned to the Fourth Division together, while a boy stared at the designation beside his name.
• Eleventh Division members sensed that Unohana's presence on the training grounds had become gentler, though her pressure remained.
• Bakuzan Katori and Shihōin Qianri noticed Unohana's changed demeanor, and Qianri recalled a similar shift in Captain-Commander Yamamoto.
• At a captains' meeting, Unohana's collar revealed a healed scar between her collarbones, and the captains silently left its story unasked.

In Silbern’s Throne Hall, Jugram Haschwalth bestowed a Schrift on Candice Catnipp on Yhwach’s behalf. After the ceremony, Candice awakened her power and named her Schrift Thunderbolt.

• Yhwach sat motionless on the throne, while his Reiatsu silenced the Sternritter’s doubts about his presence and power.
• Jugram Haschwalth called Candice Catnipp forward and announced that His Majesty granted her a Schrift.
• Jugram Haschwalth added his blood to wine and gave the bowl to Candice, who drank it.
• Green lightning surged around Candice as her Reiatsu transformed, then gradually faded.
• Jugram Haschwalth asked Candice to state her Schrift, and she told Yhwach it was Thunderbolt.

Red Riding Hood overwhelmed Wing Bind’s forces in Reverse London, prompting Seireitei’s Central 46 to order reinforcements after receiving a decree from the Soul King Palace. The chapter ended as the chairperson began deciding the force’s composition.

• A massive red-furred Dragon appeared in Reverse London and led Dark Dragons in a rampage through the city.
• Wing Bind’s squads failed to restrain Red Riding Hood, while TOP OF HORNS was occupied fighting other powerful Dark Dragons.
• The Development Squad classified the Dragon as a new threat and named her Red Riding Hood.
• Central 46 learned that Red Riding Hood was Vasto Lorde level and that Wing Bind’s defenses were near collapse.
• After the Soul King Palace decreed that Seireitei and West Tip Bureau shared responsibility for the balance of the Three Worlds, Central 46 ordered reinforcements to subdue and seal Red Riding Hood.

Yamamoto ordered Shuichi to lead reinforcements to Reverse London, where the Vasto Lorde-class Dragon Red Riding Hood threatened to overwhelm the local forces. The team planned to suppress the Dragon, clear the surrounding Lesser Dragons, and rebuild the defensive line before departing.

• Yamamoto announced that Red Riding Hood had appeared in Reverse London and asked Shuichi to go as part of the reinforcements.
• Yamamoto approved Okuharano's request to study the Dark Dragons and Obana's request for Third Seat Zhu Sibo to join the mission.
• Yanyuan Jinle, Shuichi, the Kidō Chief, Okuharano, and Obana reviewed the Dragon Management Organization's battle report in the Third Division meeting room.
• Shuichi summarized the three objectives: suppress Red Riding Hood, clear the Lesser Dragons, and help rebuild the defensive line.
• Yanyuan assigned Shuichi and himself to attack Red Riding Hood, Okuharano to analyze the battlefield, the Kidō Chief to handle logistics and evacuation, and Zhu Sibo to command seated officers at the perimeter.

The Gotei 13 urgently mobilized reinforcements after a Vasto Lorde-level threat appeared at the West Tip Bureau in Reverse London. Shuichi agreed to let Suzuko join the operation on the condition that she stay with the Fourth Division.

• Yanyuan Jinle relayed Captain-Commander Yamamoto's order and called for High-Ranking Seated Officers to volunteer for the West Tip Bureau mission.
• Kuga Cheng organized Fourth Division medical supplies and checked the roster for the Third Medical Rescue Group as the division prepared to leave.
• Shunsui Kyōraku initially refused the summons, but afterward lay awake and questioned his reaction.
• Suzuko learned that reinforcements were gathering and asked Shuichi if she could go with them.
• Shuichi allowed Suzuko to join the operation if she stayed with the Fourth Division.

Elite seated officers and Fourth Division members entered the burning ruins of Reverse London, where Dark Dragons still swarmed among the wreckage. The rescuers began clearing threats and tending to the wounded, while Suzuko saw the devastation and the bodies of those who had fought there.

• Elite seated officers crossed the Senkaimon and attacked nearby Dark Dragons while others spread out to establish a safe zone.
• Fourth Division members arrived and found the ruins filled with dead and gravely wounded people.
• The Fourth Seat ordered the Fourth Division to treat anyone who could be saved and mark the others with Reishi sealing markers.
• Young Fourth Division members began checking for survivors, marking bodies, and setting up a temporary medical station.
• Suzuko entered the ruined city and watched seated officers retrieve a Dragon Management Organization member whose broken wand remained in his hand.

Five Captain-Class combatants entered Reverse London, where Yanyuan Jinle confronted Red Riding Hood and used his Bankai to trap it in a Reishi bombardment. With the dragon suppressed, the surviving defenders regained hope and began rebuilding their defensive lines.

• Shuichi, Yanyuan Jinle, Okuharano, the Kidō Chief, and Zhu Sibo Zhengyuan crossed the Senkaimon into a burning Reverse London filled with dragon packs.
• Yanyuan Jinle told the others to support the surrounding areas, then attacked Red Riding Hood with three rapid slashes.
• Yanyuan Jinle released his Bankai, Kumogiri Kakafūrō, and covered Red Riding Hood with explosive Reishi motes.
• The bombardment engulfed Red Riding Hood, and the Dragon Management Organization's survivors spread word that it had been suppressed.
• A Magic Formation Squad witch called for the defenders to reform their line, and witches, Tactical Squad members, and Flute Squad riders regrouped for battle.

Shuichi joined the captain of the Magic Formation Squad in fighting the Copper Axe Dragon and used a new blunt-force form of sword energy to knock it down. The Dragon continued struggling in Shuichi’s black flames as its captain warned him about its resistance to physical and Kidō attacks.

• Okuharano and the Great Kidō Chief led supporting officers against the Lesser Dragons to clear space for the medical stations and defensive lines.
• Shuichi found the Magic Formation Squad captain fighting a brass-scaled Dragon he had named Copper Axe while riding a Dark Dragon.
• The Magic Formation Squad captain deliberately steered Copper Axe into position for Shuichi’s attack.
• Shuichi struck Copper Axe with a broad, heavy wave of red sword energy and followed with Hado #54: Haien.
• The Magic Formation Squad captain warned Shuichi that Copper Axe’s scales resisted physical and Kidō attacks, and Shuichi introduced himself as captain of the Gotei 13’s Thirteenth Division.

Shuichi and the Magic Formation Squad captain worked together to restrain Copper Axe so Shuichi could unleash Hado 91, Senju Kōten Taihō. The attack left Copper Axe unable to fight, and Shuichi severed its head to ensure it was dead.

• The Magic Formation Squad captain harassed Copper Axe with precise spells while Shuichi prepared his attack.
• Shuichi bound Copper Axe with golden chains, and the Magic Formation Squad captain reinforced the bindings with magic arrays.
• Shuichi cast Hado 91, Senju Kōten Taihō, bombarding Copper Axe with rose-red fireballs and engulfing it in sustained flames.
• Copper Axe fell onto the ruins, badly burned and unable to fight.
• Shuichi severed Copper Axe's head to make sure the resilient Dark Dragon could not recover.

As Shuichi fought Copper Axe, Zhu Sibo Zhengyuan, the Grand Kidō Chief, and Okuharano with Tamamo-no-Mae held back Dark Dragons and supported the defenders. Their efforts restored the Dragon Management Organization's defensive rhythm, though the battle continued across Reverse London.

• Zhu Sibo Zhengyuan blasted a deep violet Dark Dragon to the ground with Purple Lightning Thunder Roar, and an elite Dragon Management Organization squad destroyed it before heading to reinforce another area.
• The Grand Kidō Chief bound a group of Dark Dragons with Bakudo, giving the Dragon Management Organization time to kill some and reorganize its defensive line.
• Okuharano released Bankai, and he and Tamamo-no-Mae used Kidō and foxfire to stop Dark Dragons, heal wounded defenders, and protect a temporary medical area.
• Shuichi cut off Copper Axe's head as the other Soul Reapers' actions helped contain the Dark Dragons and restore the Dragon Management Organization's defensive rhythm.

Shuichi and the captain of the Magic Formation Squad tried to save the wounded captain of the Spell Song Squad, but a Vasto Lorde named Momotaro appeared with two allies and attacked them. The captain of the Magic Formation Squad was pinned down in the air while Shuichi faced Momotaro, who launched its first attack.

• Shuichi blasted Copper Axe to pieces to ensure it could not recover.
• The captain of the Magic Formation Squad caught the falling captain of the Spell Song Squad, while Shuichi sensed a Hollow hiding above them.
• A Vasto Lorde calling itself Momotaro appeared and sent Monkey and the dog-headed Dragon to attack the riders and their mount Dragons.
• The captain of the Magic Formation Squad used binding formations and ice walls to protect the wounded captain and fend off the attackers, but they kept him trapped in the air.
• Momotaro taunted Shuichi, gathered its spiritual pressure, and lunged at him with its broad sword.

Shuichi struggled against Momotaro’s close-range swordsmanship until he used the Whirlwind Sword, a technique Momotaro could not predict or imitate. After sustaining several wounds, Momotaro retreated and studied Higan Ten, leaving their duel unresolved.

• Shuichi and Momotaro traded rapid sword strikes as Momotaro used precise footwork to control the close-range exchanges.
• Shuichi tried fire, sword energy, and Bakudo, but Momotaro anticipated and evaded each attack.
• Shuichi used the Whirlwind Sword to strike Momotaro’s left shoulder with an unexpected second slash.
• Momotaro tried to copy Shuichi’s technique, but its short, one-handed broadsword could not complete the rotation, and Shuichi wounded its side and lower back.
• Momotaro stopped imitating Shuichi and leaped back, staring at Higan Ten as the duel continued.

Shuichi struggled to keep up with Momotaro’s rapid Sonído attacks until a giant chicken Hollow struck him with a surprise Cero. As the smoke began to clear, Momotaro prepared a blood-infused Gran Rey Cero, leaving Shuichi’s fate uncertain.

• Momotaro used its song and rapid Sonído to keep Shuichi moving, preventing him from building up Whirlwind Sword.
• Momotaro fired a point-blank Cero at Shuichi, who dodged it, then lured his attention with a final lyric as a giant chicken Hollow attacked from behind.
• The chicken Hollow’s Cero blasted Shuichi to the ground and raised a cloud of dust and rubble.
• Suzuko paused while healing a soldier and looked toward the smoke-filled sky before resuming treatment.
• The chicken Hollow landed beside Momotaro as Momotaro smeared its blood on its broadsword and began forming a Gran Rey Cero.

Shuichi accepted that he had to face the danger alone, returned to the battlefield, and unleashed his Bankai to take Momotaro with him into an unknown space. The battlefield fighters sensed his altered spiritual pressure but could not locate him, leaving the battle between Shuichi and Momotaro beyond their reach.

• In his Inner World, Shuichi agreed to protect the people he cared about after the red-robed man asked if he was ready.
• Shuichi blocked Momotaro’s Gran Rey Cero with Danku, escaped its blast, and activated Bankai: Higan Ten, Eternal Dance.
• Shuichi and Momotaro vanished as his Bankai distorted space, leaving the Magic Formation Squad captain unable to determine where they had gone.
• Yanyuan Jinle’s distraction let Red Riding Hood break free of his binding spells and fly away.
• Zhu Sibo Zhengyuan, Okuharano, Tamamo-no-Mae, the Great Kidō Chief, and Suzuko sensed Shuichi’s strange spiritual pressure but could not locate him.

Shuichi and Momotaro fought inside a Four-Colored Spider Lily Sea created by Shuichi’s release. Shuichi used butterflies, sword attacks, frost, chains, and Yellow Dust to drain and disorient Momotaro, while Momotaro fired Ceros blindly into the flower sea.

• Shuichi and Momotaro vanished from the ruins and appeared in a Four-Colored Spider Lily Sea.
• Shuichi turned into blue butterflies to evade Momotaro’s strike, then reformed and attacked with red sword energy and blue doubles.
• Shuichi’s frost spread from Momotaro’s shoulder wound, suppressing its healing and draining its spiritual pressure.
• Red petals became chains that descended on Momotaro, and Shuichi moved through their gaps as butterflies.
• Shuichi’s butterflies surrounded Momotaro with Yellow Dust, interfering with its senses and spiritual pressure until it fired Ceros indiscriminately.

Shuichi used his butterfly-filled sea of Red Spider Lilies, decoys, and binding chains to disrupt Momotaro and wear it down. He trapped Momotaro inside Kurohitsugi, restraining its limbs and preventing it from using its sword or firing a Cero.

• Shuichi repeatedly transformed into butterflies to evade Momotaro’s Cero and strike it with Shakkahō and Haien.
• Momotaro adapted to the shifting swarm and began tracking Shuichi by instinct.
• Shuichi’s red-petal chains bound Momotaro’s legs as blue humanoid figures formed from butterflies and attacked it with waves of sword energy.
• Momotaro blocked the attacks, but the sword marks and spreading frost accumulated while its Reiatsu drained.
• Shuichi cast Kurohitsugi around Momotaro, and chains inside the spell pinned its body and sealed its mouth before it could escape.