Recaps

Bai Zhu entered the harbor’s underwater passage and found imprisoned children and monsters, while the masked ceremonial ship officer revealed that Ella had heard the voice in her blood. Surrounded by monsters and Black Gold torpedoes, Bai Zhu began releasing Hozukimaru’s Bankai.

• Bai Zhu heard a voice invite him into the harbor and assigned Milluki to guide him, Hisoka to guard the shore, and Illumi to search for another entrance.
• Bai Zhu descended through the passage and found chambers holding children and mutated creatures.
• The masked ceremonial ship officer showed Bai Zhu that Ella was alive and said she had heard the voice in her blood.
• The ship officer triggered a welcoming ceremony, unleashing monsters whose sonic-pattern defenses deflected Bai Zhu’s spells.
• Bai Zhu fought the monsters with Hozukimaru as Black Gold patterns disrupted his Reiatsu and torpedoes targeted him.
• Bai Zhu awakened Hozukimaru’s power and declared Bankai as the monsters charged and the torpedoes ignited.

Bai Zhu used his Bankai, Ryūmon Hōzukimaru, to tear through the Mother Port’s monsters and protect the living children despite the Soundwave Array suppressing his ranged attacks. When the sacrificial ship officer awakened the Mother, a golden eye turned toward Bai Zhu and ordered him to stop.

• Bai Zhu activated Ryūmon Hōzukimaru, whose charging power raised his attributes and gave him overwhelming close-combat strength.
• Bai Zhu cut down waves of Modified Merfolk and torpedoes, while the sacrificial ship officer’s ability model failed to account for his new weapon.
• Bai Zhu fought the Black Gold exoskeleton units and asked Milluki to hack the pods holding living children.
• Bai Zhu disrupted the monsters’ attack on the children, destroyed a torpedo, and continued fighting as Ryūmon Hōzukimaru’s durability declined.
• The sacrificial ship officer awakened the Mother, causing the port’s patterns to converge on the deep well and the surviving monsters to bow.
• A golden eye turned toward Bai Zhu and told him to stop, and Bai Zhu challenged it over calling him a sample.

Bai Zhu rescued more than twenty children from King's Port by breaking open its dome and sending them to the surface. With the children safe and Kakin's long-running operation exposed, he headed deeper underwater to confront the king.

• Bai Zhu cut the pods' external lines, freed the children, and burned the pale golden powder controlling them from their bodies.
• Hisoka protected the Derelict Port while Illumi infiltrated King's Port and found records showing Kakin had operated the underwater port as a secret recycling station and testing ground for at least twenty years.
• Milluki found no safe exit, so Bai Zhu stood between the children and the cannon fire and used Ryūmon Hōzukimaru to smash open the dome.
• Bai Zhu sent the children up through the opening, and Milluki and Hisoka caught them at the Derelict Port.
• Bai Zhu stayed underwater, saw the submarines retreating, and walked toward the depths to settle accounts with the king.

Bai Zhu destroyed the Kakin Royal Family’s retreating submarines and killed the Seventh Sacrificial Fleet’s executor, then recovered evidence linking Ella to a royal bloodline ritual. A recording revealed that Ella was being sent to the First Queen for review, leaving Bai Zhu with a new lead on her fate.

• Bai Zhu pursued the retreating Kakin submarines underwater, cut through their torpedoes and escorts, and caught the main vessel before it could enter the old channel.
• Bai Zhu ignored the executor’s threats and offer of information about Ella, then split open the submarine and killed him as it collapsed under water pressure.
• Illumi disabled three more submarines, while Bai Zhu recovered a Kakin Ritual Ship Beacon, an encrypted procurement list, and a nameplate identifying a shipping group affiliated with the First Queen.
• Milluki found that the procurement list implicated black-market hunter organizations, medical companies, and Meteor City gangs, and Bai Zhu noticed a hidden clue about the Kakin Royal Blood Recovery Plan.
• Illumi brought back a damaged recorder showing Ella’s blood activating a Kakin Royal Crest; a ritual ship official said she had a Return to the Nest response and would be sent to the First Queen for review.

Bai Zhu threw Milluki’s Hollow Rose into the fissure, and Milluki detonated it remotely, destroying Derelict Port as Illumi escaped. As Illumi approached, Ella appeared and begged Bai Zhu to save her.

• Bai Zhu dropped the Hollow Rose into the fissure, and Milluki warned Illumi to flee while everyone ran from the port.
• Bai Zhu carried the rescued children to safety with Bakudō #4, Hainawa as Milluki and Hisoka hurried after him.
• Milluki pressed the remote, triggering a huge blast that collapsed Derelict Port and stunned Hisoka and the arriving Phantom Troupe scouts.
• Illumi reported that he had escaped the maintenance passage and warned Milluki not to give Bai Zhu dangerous items without telling him.
• Ella emerged from a collapsed passage, saw Bai Zhu, and tearfully asked him to save her.

Bai Zhu and the others uncovered evidence linking the ruined port to the underground Church and decided to attack it. He exposed Fake Ella as the Golden Candle Envoy, who welcomed him home as her lord.

• Illumi confronted Bai Zhu over the explosion, demanded compensation, and joined the others at the port.
• Bai Zhu and Milluki caught Fake Ella in a lie about how she escaped, but Bai Zhu let her approach while watching her closely.
• Uvogin, Nobunaga, Chrollo, and the Phantom Troupe arrived, and Milluki showed them evidence connecting the port to Kakin and the Creation Society.
• Bai Zhu concluded that the Church was the source of the operation and ordered everyone to return there and attack.
• Bai Zhu seized Fake Ella and called her the Golden Candle Envoy, and she dropped her timid act and called him her lord.

Bai Zhu led the Phantom Troupe into the Church’s underground, where they uncovered evidence connecting the Creation Society to Sarasa’s kidnapping and confronted a trap that suppressed their abilities. With Ryūmon Hōzukimaru still recovering, Bai Zhu revealed he could fight with another sword and prepared to attack the Dark Gold Core.

• Fake Ella explained that an ancient ritual vessel beneath the Church reclaimed Kakin Royal Blood, and Bai Zhu exposed her as a Black Gold shell while keeping her alive to open the way.
• Chrollo assigned the Phantom Troupe roles for entering the Church, prioritizing rescuing captives and killing Creation Society believers.
• Pakunoda recovered memories from an old projector showing children, Candle Flame Badges, and transport routes that overlapped with Sarasa’s kidnapping route.
• The group opened the underground entrance with Fake Ella and discovered the inverted Black Gold Cathedral, its pulsing Dark Gold Core, and armed Holy Knights and Kakin guards.
• The Church’s soundwave array suppressed the group’s abilities, but Bai Zhu jammed it with his ordinary Zanpakuto and announced that he had another sword.

Bai Zhu broke through the Sanctuary’s tailored defenses, sent the others to handle the outer rescue, and entered the second layer alone. There, the Gray Crow Squad threatened a girl with the Kakin Royal Crest and used Ella’s sobs to stop him from advancing.

• The Sanctuary’s Black Gold patterns countered the group’s abilities, so Bai Zhu raised his Strength, Agility, and Stamina to break free of the suppression.
• Bai Zhu told Chrollo and the others to guard the exit, rescue children, dismantle equipment, and capture survivors while he went deeper.
• Bai Zhu killed Fake Ella with Ryujin Jakka and entered the second-layer passage as the others began working in the outer zone.
• Bai Zhu found a plaque marked for royal blood awaiting review and transfer to the heart zone, then tore it from the wall.
• The Gray Crow Squad confronted Bai Zhu and threatened to send a girl wearing a Kakin Royal Crest ring back to the nest if he took another step forward.

Bai Zhu fought the Gray Crow Squad while they threatened to make the captive girl Return to the Nest, and he used a disrupted formation to reach the Plague Doctor. The chapter left Bai Zhu holding the healer’s mask as he prepared to strike.

• Raven threatened to make the captive girl Return to the Nest if Bai Zhu moved, while Milluki and Shalnark warned him that her ring had a heartbeat-triggered explosive mechanism.
• Raven introduced the Gray Crow Squad and explained that they planned to take Bai Zhu to Mother and make Ella a sacrificial blood vessel.
• Bai Zhu attacked Raven, but the squad’s members repaired him and used their coordinated abilities to slow and restrain Bai Zhu.
• Milluki tried to hack the girl’s ring as the squad activated it, and Bai Zhu targeted the Plague Doctor with Raikōhō.
• Bai Zhu’s blast disrupted the squad’s formation, letting him reach the Plague Doctor, split his medical case, and seize his mask.

Bai Zhu killed the Plague Doctor, disrupted the Gray Crow Squad’s regeneration, and opened a path to an inverted Black Sea. He crossed a transparent bridge toward Ella, carrying a clue and a vial that might contain her blood, as a quest warned him not to trust the voice calling for help.

• Bai Zhu split the Plague Doctor in two, severing the threads sustaining Raven and Red-Thread Woman and disrupting the Gray Crow Squad.
• Bai Zhu burned the corridor’s sound-pattern nodes and used the resonance lines to expose and destroy a Black Gold wall.
• Bai Zhu revealed a bridge beneath an inverted Black Sea filled with wrecked ships bearing Kakin Royal Crests.
• Bai Zhu collected a Homing Feather Core and a vial labeled as a pre-adapted sample of displaced Royal Blood, which Milluki suspected might be Ella’s.
• Bai Zhu crossed the bridge as the Gray Crow Squad knelt, and Ella appeared ahead while a quest warned him not to trust the one calling for help.
• Ella pointed behind Bai Zhu and tearfully told him not to turn around.

Bai Zhu resisted the Merfolk’s illusions with help from the Silver-White Tail Feather and discovered the Gray Crow Squad worshipped it as their Mother. He then saw Sarasa among the children held by a Holy Mother Phantom, but Milluki warned that nothing was there and Bai Zhu was about to step off the bridge.

• Ella’s warning compelled Bai Zhu to turn around until the Silver-White Tail Feather broke the illusion, revealing a giant Merfolk connected to the ancient ships by Black Gold pipelines.
• The Gray Crow Squad knelt and repeatedly declared that their Mother had manifested, while Shalnark reported that their Nen waves seemed to have been taken over.
• The Merfolk filled the bridge with crying children and fake Ellas, but Bai Zhu used Ryujin Jakka to burn the pipelines and cut down the phantoms.
• A Holy Mother Phantom appeared beside the Merfolk, and Bai Zhu recognized Sarasa among the children as the system unlocked the mission The Truth from Three Years Ago.
• Bai Zhu approached Sarasa, but Milluki shouted that he could see nothing ahead and warned that Bai Zhu was about to fall.

Bai Zhu saw Sarasa among the children protected by the Holy Mother Phantom and learned how Kakin’s ancient fleet and the Creation Society were tied to Meteor City’s buried Sanctuary. He obtained a candlewick that could help the group cross the bridge, and Uvogin broke through the sealing wall and finally saw Sarasa.

• Bai Zhu stepped onto the Holy Mother Phantom’s palm and watched Sarasa reveal Meteor City’s past: Kakin priests buried the Sanctuary and established a ritual site connected to an ancient fleet.
• Bai Zhu learned that the Creation Society had taken children from Meteor City, and the Holy Mother Phantom had saved some of their spirits, including Sarasa.
• Bai Zhu told the Phantom Troupe that Sarasa was caring for the children and relayed her message that she had been doing a good job with the voice acting.
• Sarasa gave Bai Zhu an Old Cathedral Candlewick that could purify contamination and guide the dead, and Bai Zhu said it might help the others cross the bridge.
• Uvogin smashed through the sealing wall, saw Sarasa, and broke down in tears as she told him he was too loud.

Uvogin and the Phantom Troupe confronted the Gray Crow Squad after Sarasa appeared in the Holy Mother's palm, while Bai Zhu uncovered how the Merfolk’s ritual worked. The fight left the Gray Crow Squad defeated, but Bai Zhu stopped before severing the sacrificial ships when a cocoon revealed a woman from his past who begged him not to save her.

• Sarasa silently waved at Uvogin, Nobunaga, Machi, Pakunoda, and Chrollo before her spirit began retreating into the Old Cathedral.
• Raven insulted Sarasa, prompting Uvogin to punch him and Nobunaga to cut off his arm as the Phantom Troupe attacked the Gray Crow Squad.
• Uvogin, Nobunaga, Machi, Pakunoda, and Chrollo defeated the Gray Crow Squad members, while Pakunoda learned they had participated in many child transfers.
• Milluki and Shalnark told Bai Zhu that the ancient ships powered the Merfolk and warned him that Ella was likely trapped in its cocoon.
• Bai Zhu prepared to cut an anchor cable, but a face emerged from Ella’s cocoon and showed him a cosplayer he had met before crossing over.
• The woman addressed Bai Zhu and begged him not to save her.

Bai Zhu discovered that the Black Ships were using children and Merfolk Royal Blood to cultivate unfinished Nen Beasts, then heard a creature identify someone as the king’s elder brother. A voice from Ella’s cocoon ordered that Bai Zhu be brought before Mother.

• Bai Zhu realized the illusions showed each person different memories and ignored the suggested route to inspect a Black Ship below.
• Bai Zhu cut into the ship and found children pinned to its interior, their life force being siphoned through Black Gold tubes.
• Bai Zhu freed the children’s remaining spirits and followed the tubes to a Golden Blood Pool, where a human-faced, horse-bodied monster guarded unfinished Nen Beasts.
• The monster spoke in Old Kakin Language, and Milluki translated its words as “elder brother of the king.”
• A hand reached out from Ella’s cocoon and tapped the Black Gold pipeline before a male voice ordered that Bai Zhu be brought before Mother.

Bai Zhu uncovered records showing that Kakin and Creation Society had worked together to create Nen Beasts, and found evidence that Ella was Camilla Huikelo, Kakin’s Second Prince, transferred to the royal capital. As a gigantic Black Gold hand attacked the Main Sacrificial Ship, Ella’s recording asked Bai Zhu to be told what had happened.

• Bai Zhu killed the monster beside the Golden Blood Pool and cut the pipelines, then searched the neighboring ships for records.
• Milluki translated documents showing that Creation Society technology had helped Kakin raise the survival rate of its Nen Beast experiments.
• Bai Zhu and Milluki watched footage of Sankara’s pope escaping with a Kakin priest, who said the First Queen wanted Royal Blood recovered.
• Milluki opened a safe and found a list identifying Camilla Huikelo as a Second Prince suspected of living under the civilian alias Ella.
• Bai Zhu learned that Camilla had been transferred to the Kakin Royal Capital, while Ella’s recording asked him to be told about it.
• The Black Ships awakened, the Main Sacrificial Ship split open, and a gigantic Black Gold hand reached for the list in Milluki’s arms.

Bai Zhu rescued Milluki and Shalnark from the collapsing Black Ship and helped the Phantom Troupe subdue the Gray Crow Squad. As the Black Sea and Merfolk stirred, Bai Zhu prepared to test Ryujin Jakka at full strength, leaving the others bracing for his attack.

• Bai Zhu cut through the giant Black Gold hand and carried Milluki and Shalnark out of the collapsing Main Sacrificial Ship, recovering Milluki's document case on the way.
• Uvogin, Machi, and Pakunoda subdued the remaining Gray Crow Squad members, while Chrollo ordered them to leave Raven alive for his memories.
• Raven warned that the list was useless and that Mother would reclaim all evidence and souls as the Black Sea's sunken ships lit up and echoed with cries and prayers.
• The Merfolk's shell collapsed to reveal a pulsing Black Gold Core, and Milluki urged Bai Zhu to cut the anchor lines on the Main Sacrificial Ships.
• Bai Zhu decided to test the full reach of his power without cheating, despite Milluki's protests and Chrollo's warning that the collapsing site could cut off their escape.
• Bai Zhu pressed Ryujin Jakka to the bridge and drew its flames inward, causing the Black Sea's cries and prayers to fall silent.

Bai Zhu destroyed the Black Ship Ritual Grounds core with a massive fire attack, triggering the collapse of the underground complex. The group escaped with their data and a captured Raven, while Bai Zhu faced Illumi’s demand for compensation.

• Bai Zhu used Blazing Hell to destroy the Merfolk core, sever the Mother voiceprint trunk, and burn the ritual fleet and Black Gold pipelines.
• The Sanctuary dome and bridge began collapsing, so Bai Zhu led Milluki and the Phantom Troupe through the crumbling passages while they argued over the list and recovered Black Gold fragments.
• Illumi and Hisoka met the escaping group in the outer passage as falling rocks and collapsing floors forced everyone to keep moving.
• The Holy Mother Phantom appeared and held up the collapsing stratum long enough for the group to escape, while Sarasa urged Uvogin and the others to run.
• Uvogin smashed through the final door, and the group escaped before the underground site collapsed and buried the Black Gold Cathedral and ritual grounds.
• Milluki checked that his list survived, Chrollo noted Bai Zhu had nearly buried them all, and Illumi demanded compensation while Bai Zhu tried to change the subject.

After the Black Gold Cathedral collapsed, Bai Zhu and the Phantom Troupe recovered evidence and learned about another transfer point tied to the First Queen’s private soldiers. Bai Zhu avoided pursuing Camilla and agreed to return to Kukuroo Mountain with Milluki, but a call from the Hunter Association interrupted them.

• Milluki finished inventorying the recovered evidence while Bai Zhu and the others argued over loot, damage, and Bai Zhu’s growing debt to Illumi.
• Pakunoda read Raven’s memories and revealed a transfer point in the outer garbage belt, where Grey Raven transported people to First Queen’s private soldiers.
• Chrollo decided to take Raven with the Phantom Troupe, and Uvogin thanked Bai Zhu for explaining that Meteor City’s candlelight could return when faith was restored.
• Bai Zhu refused to look for Camilla and agreed to go to Kukuroo Mountain with Milluki to repair files and examine the Black Gold samples.
• Bai Zhu answered a call on his Hunter Association temporary contact channel, and an unidentified caller asked whether he was Bai Zhu.

Bai Zhu accepted a paid investigation for the Hunter Association after learning he had to report to its headquarters within a week. Before leaving Meteor City, he split off part of the Black Gold Horn for Milluki and saved the rest for Morel, while Illumi remained determined to collect his debt.

• A Hunter Association representative invited Bai Zhu to join an investigation, and Bai Zhu agreed after hearing the mission offered daily pay and reimbursed expenses.
• The representative told Bai Zhu to report to headquarters within a week and said anyone accompanying him had to be registered in advance.
• Milluki declined to join Bai Zhu, choosing to return to Kukuroo Mountain to upgrade his equipment, restore film, and analyze the documents he had gathered.
• Bai Zhu revealed a Black Gold Horn, cut off a refined section for Milluki, and kept the larger piece to give Morel a share.
• Hisoka expressed interest in visiting Association headquarters, while Illumi said he would follow Bai Zhu to collect his debt.

Bai Zhu drove to Hunter Association headquarters instead of Kukuroo Mountain, where he checked into a prepaid suite and explored the Association for achievements. He discovered three hidden commission boards and ended the day with seventy-five achievement points before Milluki contacted him.

• Bai Zhu left Meteor City in Milluki's modified car and arrived at Hunter Association headquarters five days later.
• Bai Zhu used his Hunter License to claim a premium suite and meals that his employer had prepaid.
• Bai Zhu explored the Association lobby, found three hidden commission boards, and avoided accepting dangerous commissions.
• Bai Zhu denied being the Hunter from Morel's report and credited Morel with handling the Sea Lord incident.
• Bai Zhu earned three achievement points for finding the boards, then gained seventy-five achievement points while wandering around the Association.
• Milluki contacted Bai Zhu that evening while surrounded by equipment and data screens.

Bai Zhu learned that Black Gold reacted to Nen and retained memories, then tried to avoid joining Ging Freecss on an expedition. Ging showed up at Bai Zhu’s hotel and forcibly took him along to look at ruins.

• Milluki reported that the Black Gold sample reacted to Nen, blood, and Bai Zhu’s strange power, and that Camilla’s recovery route led toward Kakin’s royal capital.
• Bai Zhu refused to go after Camilla and played online games with Milluki until he fell asleep.
• Ging Freecss called Bai Zhu and said the commission had already started, warning him that backing out would cost him an advance payment and a processing fee.
• Ging arrived at Bai Zhu’s hotel, smashed through the door, and dragged him out despite his protests about getting dressed, checking out, and eating breakfast.
• When Ging mentioned that they were heading to ruins, Bai Zhu realized the expedition was not merely a casual look and shouted for the Hunter Association to stop the forced labor.

Ging recruited Bai Zhu to investigate a deadly anomaly in the Mingbo Republic’s desert, where photographs suggested a connection to Bai Zhu’s former Landlord. As birds gathered outside and repeated “Rent,” Bai Zhu asked whether he could quit the mission without paying a cancellation fee.

• Bai Zhu objected to Ging’s mission pitch, then learned that an Oasis had appeared in the Mingbo desert and two exploration teams had gone missing.
• Ging showed Bai Zhu photographs of feather carvings, a one-eyed bird crest, and a tower that seemed to trigger warmth from Bai Zhu’s Silver-White Tail Feather.
• Bai Zhu identified the creature in the final photograph as his former Landlord, though he doubted it was the same being or understood how it had reached the desert.
• Bai Zhu saw a warning not to wake the thing in the tree, while a system message flagged the Oasis as a high-risk unknown area and assigned him an exploration objective.
• Birds gathered around the hotel, turned toward Bai Zhu and Ging, and repeatedly said “Rent,” prompting Bai Zhu to ask if he could cancel the mission without a fee.

Bai Zhu and Ging Freecss dealt with the Landlord's demand for overdue rent before heading to an Association meeting about a black One-Eyed Bird. On the way, Bai Zhu considered applying as a logistics Hunter, but Ging dragged him to the meeting, where several people had already gathered.

• Birds surrounded Bai Zhu's hotel room and demanded rent, while Ging told him to face the debt instead of running from it.
• The birds dispersed after one repeated that Bai Zhu still owed payment, and Bai Zhu explained that the debt came from one night's stay in a tree hollow and use of the Landlord's feather.
• Ging showed Bai Zhu a photo of a black One-Eyed Bird and said they were going to the Association's temporary meeting room because everyone was there.
• Ging told Bai Zhu that the broken hotel door had been charged to the mission budget, then led him through the Association's underground passage.
• Bai Zhu admired the unattended emergency supplies and considered applying to be a logistics Hunter, but Ging pulled him toward the meeting room, where several people were seated.

Bai Zhu joined Ging’s team to investigate the Mingbo Oasis and discover the fate of a missing group, while trying to avoid being assigned rescue duties. The team learned the Oasis had sent a message demanding people who owed rent, and Bai Zhu asked to switch to a logistics role.

• Bai Zhu met Satotz, Razor, List, Dwun, and Piyu at the briefing and joked about Dwun’s hygiene before asking to use the shower room.
• Ging introduced the team’s roles, and List revealed that Bai Zhu’s temporary authorization had linked him to a contract requiring him to assist with the investigation and possible rescue.
• Piyu compared Bai Zhu’s glowing Tail Feather with the One-Eyed Bird Emblem and noticed that their feather patterns flickered in sync.
• Ging explained the route to the Mingbo Oasis and the seven-day deadline before the Mingbo military sealed the area.
• List played a recording of the monitoring stakes repeating, “Send in those who owe rent,” and Bai Zhu asked whether he could become a logistics hunter instead.

Bai Zhu joined Ging’s mission to investigate the anomalous oasis in the Mingbo Republic, where aircraft had mysteriously lost control. As the airship entered Mingbo airspace, a black bird with one eye appeared outside the window, visible only to Bai Zhu.

• Ging and the others forced Bai Zhu to join the mission after the monitoring post identified him by his unpaid rent and the feather on his head.
• Milluki matched the feather patterns on a Stone Gate to data connected to Black Gold and began preparing to come to Mingbo despite Bai Zhu’s warning.
• The team reviewed the failed aerial approaches to the oasis and chose to advance by ground after reaching the Mingbo capital.
• Piyu showed Bai Zhu ancient writing that triggered a warning about Naming properties, then revealed a note identifying him as the “Gatekeeper.”
• As the airship entered Mingbo airspace, a one-eyed black bird hovered outside the window and stared at Bai Zhu, while Piyu could not see it.