Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• The D-04 experiment breaks free of the Main Box’s control. Its flesh and red-paper fragments surge toward Bai Zhu as Scavenger attacks from behind, leaving him trapped with the purge countdown still running.
• Hisoka saves Bai Zhu by attaching a Nen Thread to Scavenger’s energy pack and overloading it with nen and his own life energy. The mech shuts down for three seconds, but the blast throws Hisoka into wreckage, leaving him gravely injured.
• Bai Zhu uses the opening to activate Bankai and unleash Ryujin Jakka’s Zanka no Tachi, East: Kyokujitsujin. Its invisible, intensely hot blade vaporizes the flesh tide, Scavenger’s defenses, the Main Box, and the hidden Experimental Subject Core.
• The system confirms the objective—destroying D-04—is complete. The Overseer and others are left stunned by Bai Zhu’s power.
• Just as the battle seems over, the damaged Main Box activates an unknown emergency protocol and begins absorbing the energy released by D-04’s death. The Overseer reports to headquarters that a genuine S-class specimen has been secured and that its post-mortem nen has been extracted.

Character developments

• Bai Zhu remains focused and restrained under extreme pressure. He does not stop to react to Hisoka’s sacrifice, instead using the seconds Hisoka bought to end the threat decisively.
• Hisoka puts his own life at risk to protect Bai Zhu, whom he calls “Little Apple.” Though disappointed at losing the chance to further “train” Scavenger, he chooses Bai Zhu’s survival over his own interests.
• The Overseer shifts from confident hunter to horrified witness, then becomes feverishly elated when the Main Box begins extracting energy.
• Camilla and Milluki are left shocked by Bai Zhu’s power and the scale of the destruction.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and loyalty: Hisoka’s intervention shows an unexpected willingness to suffer for Bai Zhu.
• Power beyond comprehension: Bai Zhu’s Bankai makes the corporation’s systems and assumptions seem inadequate.
• Victory’s cost and uncertainty: D-04 is destroyed, but Hisoka is badly hurt, and the Main Box’s unexpected response suggests the danger is not over.
• Exploitation of the dead: The Overseer treats D-04’s death not as an ending but as an opportunity to harvest its remaining energy.

Character interactions

• Hisoka acts to save Bai Zhu without asking for acknowledgment; Bai Zhu silently accepts the time he is given and acts.
• The Overseer’s view of Bai Zhu changes from potential specimen to terrifying, unclassifiable force.
• Camilla watches helplessly, while Milluki observes remotely and reacts with disbelief. Their shock contrasts with the Overseer’s renewed obsession once the extraction begins.

Plot points and events

• Milluki reveals that Anvil’s apparent data upload is a fraud: he has redirected the real stream to his own cache and sent headquarters fabricated data rigged to degrade after 72 hours.
• Bai Zhu questions the Overseer about Anvil’s ties to Kakin. The Overseer explains that Anvil and the royal family exploit one another: Queen Unma received falsified technology, while Anvil operates seven protected laboratories in Kakin. He also reveals that Camilla’s Replica Box design was deliberately stripped down, and describes Illumi as a tool Anvil used.
• When the Overseer tries to flee, Bai Zhu traps him. Bai Zhu, Camilla, and Milluki attack together, each pursuing separate goals. Bai Zhu ultimately kills the Overseer and claims the Main Box.
• The trio divides the spoils: Milluki takes the data core and access key, Camilla gets the empty Main Box and its refinement device, and Bai Zhu takes an encrypted Anvil contact directory. Bai Zhu learns from the Pope that the Creation Society has an incomplete version of the extraction technology; its mature form came from a Dark Continent ruin.
• After the group prepares to leave, the Overseer’s severed head triggers the Purge Protocol early. An orbital kinetic strike is locked onto the base, and the chapter ends with only seconds remaining as Milluki tries to stop it.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Zhu remains composed and strategic, withholding action until he has learned what he can and letting the others reveal their priorities. He asserts control over the box and intimidates Camilla with a reminder of his overwhelming power.
• Milluki demonstrates technical skill and opportunism, sabotaging Anvil’s data recovery while aiming to secure the real research for himself. His response to the Overseer’s account of Illumi is more subdued and conflicted.
• Camilla shifts from fear to greed, tries to seize the box, and resents being forced to accept a lesser share. Bai Zhu’s threat makes clear how unequal their power is.
• The Overseer attempts to manipulate the group with revelations, then tries to escape; even after his death, his hidden failsafe turns him into a final threat.
• The trio cooperates tactically but remains distrustful, communicating their competing aims through their movements rather than words.

Significant themes

• Deception and exploitation: Anvil, Kakin’s royal family, and the trio all manipulate others for advantage.
• Competing self-interest: The temporary alliance holds only while each character pursues a separate claim to the loot.
• Control of information: Milluki’s data diversion and the fabricated upload show how information can be more valuable than appearances.
• The cost of unfinished business: The Overseer’s posthumous contingency transforms an apparent victory into an immediate survival crisis.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Milluki uses Illumi’s backdoor to override the satellite system, designating the target as a protected Anvil asset. This halts the countdown temporarily, giving Bai Zhu, Milluki, and Camilla time to escape.
• The satellite fires just after they reach safety, obliterating the Financial Center and its underground core facility. The three survive the blast, though Camilla’s Main Box is damaged.
• Bai Zhu receives a perfect completion rating for his mission: the experimental subject is destroyed, the enemy data upload is prevented, civilians are spared, the core facility is destroyed, and S-class intelligence is secured. His Reiatsu rises to 12,350.
• This milestone grants him a third Zanpakuto name: Katen Kyōkotsu. The blade’s appearance changes, but it remains sealed because Bai Zhu lacks the understanding needed to awaken it. The system warns that trying to use it prematurely could be dangerous and points to the Soul King’s Pen as a possible key.
• At the cordon, Zodiac Piyu identifies herself and orders Nen users to register. Bai Zhu disguises himself as an ordinary civilian and claims Milluki and Camilla forced him to guide them. Milluki backs up the story with his Zoldyck identification; Piyu lets Bai Zhu leave but keeps the other two for questioning.
• Bai Zhu returns to his safe house, where he finds Hisoka badly injured and being treated by a Nen healer sent by Machi. Hisoka makes a lewd, provocative remark before passing out.
• At another safe house, Bai Zhu decrypts an Anvil contact directory and discovers leads connecting Anvil to Kakin’s Unma, a V5 contact codenamed “Court,” and a Dark Continent guide organization.
• Milluki reports that Illumi has contacted him and may suspect what happened. Bai Zhu advises him to “Play dumb.” The chapter ends with the Soul King’s Pen faintly resonating as Bai Zhu considers Katen Kyōkotsu’s awakening.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Zhu shows quick thinking both during the escape and when deceiving Piyu. His new Zanpakuto name marks a major power milestone, but he recognizes that strength alone is not enough to awaken it.
• Milluki proves crucial to the group’s survival by exploiting Illumi’s backdoor. He is shaken by the destruction and later worried that Illumi has uncovered their activities; Bai Zhu reassures him with a simple plan.
• Camilla joins the escape despite her damaged Replica Box and resents Bai Zhu’s decision to portray her and Milluki as his captors. Still, she plays along when Piyu questions them.
• Piyu is wary of Bai Zhu, whose danger her instincts detect despite her inability to find any Nen aura. She allows him to leave but holds Milluki and Camilla for questioning.
• Hisoka remains flirtatious even while gravely wounded. His healer, acting at Machi’s request, treats him and takes him away.

Significant themes

• Power versus understanding: Bai Zhu gains access to a powerful new blade, but cannot use it until he grasps the deeper meaning of naming and creation.
• Improvisation and survival: Milluki’s system exploit and Bai Zhu’s convincing cover story show how quick thinking can matter as much as raw force.
• Hidden identities and suspicion: Bai Zhu passes as an ordinary civilian despite Piyu’s instincts, while Illumi’s call suggests their actions may soon be exposed.
• Unfolding mysteries: The Anvil contacts and the Soul King’s Pen hint at broader political and supernatural connections yet to be explored.

Bai Zhu tested the Soul King's Pen, then learned that the Zoldyck Family had entered the hunt for the Pope and the Kakin Empire’s post-mortem Nen technology. After finding a V5 confidential liaison in the Overseer’s files, he realized the conspiracy reached the highest levels of power and wished he could escape overseas.

• Bai Zhu saw that invoking Katen Kyōkotsu with only 2% naming comprehension risked a reiatsu rampage or blade collapse, so he avoided it.
• Bai Zhu used the Soul King's Pen to write “Fire,” which burned the paper but cost him 300 reiatsu, and he put the brush away.
• Milluki told Bai Zhu that Illumi had warned him, Maha Zoldyck wanted the Pope alive, and Silva had joined the investigation into Kakin's post-mortem Nen technology.
• Milluki said he had left Bai Zhu an encrypted communicator and miniature demolition ants, and warned that the forged data would fool Anvil headquarters for only seventy-two hours before Mystery International might get involved.
• Bai Zhu decrypted the Overseer's card and found Kakin Unma listed as a Class A partner and a V5 confidential liaison with the code name Court.

Bai Zhu finished the Basha Islands handoff, learned that Silva Zoldyck viewed him as a long-term investment, and gained two binding Bakudō as he planned to flee. Just as he was about to board a freighter, Ging Freecss called and asked him to test a revamped Greed Island.

• Milluki handed Bai Zhu the cryogenic case containing the Pope's head and Anvil's data core, then warned that his brother had chosen Bai Zhu as a project to develop before eventually collecting on his investment.
• Hisoka appeared at the docks, sensed destructive power sleeping in Bai Zhu's sword, and left after saying he hoped Bai Zhu would be more appealing when they met again.
• Bai Zhu planned to escape the Kakin Empire and V5's reach, then received the regional achievement rewards of 300 achievement points and a targeted draw.
• Bai Zhu drew Bakudō #75: Gochūtekkan and the rare Bakudō #79: Kyūyō Baku, adding two binding techniques to his abilities.
• As Bai Zhu was about to board a freighter for the Sareta United States, Ging Freecss called and asked him to serve as a special tester for a revamped Greed Island.

Bai Zhu agreed to join Ging Freecss on Greed Island in exchange for pay and possible information about Anvil and Court. After Camilla revealed that Feng Xia and the others were safe and invited him to Kakin, Bai Zhu learned the first queen wanted another blood sample and decided to hurry his escape plan.

• Ging Freecss called Bai Zhu and offered him a paid role testing recovery mechanics for Greed Island, promising a special route and ticket.
• Bai Zhu accepted Ging's offer, hoping to learn more about Anvil and Court.
• Camilla approached Bai Zhu and told him Feng Xia and the others from Sankara Town were alive, safe, and living under new identities in the Ochima Federation.
• Camilla invited Bai Zhu to Kakin as an honored guest, but he refused because he feared the empire's chaos.
• Camilla revealed that the first queen had ordered her to obtain Bai Zhu's blood and gave him an encrypted address and her private contact details.
• Camilla departed by royal speedboat, and Bai Zhu decided to speed up his escape and head for Greed Island.

Bai Zhu traveled to Ging Freecss's coordinates while cautiously studying Katen Kyōkotsu, then reached a deserted island and was attacked by Razor. After Bai Zhu defended himself and confronted Razor, Razor warned him that the real “ship” was about to arrive.

• Bai Zhu used Kidō Analysis and the meaning of Katen Kyōkotsu's name to raise his comprehension from 2% to 3%, while the Soul King's Pen reacted to the name.
• Bai Zhu reached the unmapped island after traveling by cargo ship and then by skiff.
• Razor fired Nen Bullets at Bai Zhu, who blocked the second shot with Bakudō #81: Dankū.
• Bai Zhu struck Razor's cheek with Hado #4: Byakurai and angrily berated him for nearly killing him.
• Razor hugged Bai Zhu, said Ging had been right about his ability to surprise them, and announced that the real “ship” was about to arrive.

Bai Zhu followed Razor to Ging Freecss's hidden flying-island worksite and learned that Greed Island was a real island transformed into a physical game by Nen. Ging recruited him to help create a regeneration card, and Bai Zhu negotiated a deal before Ging asked why he had never seemed surprised by Greed Island's reality.

• Razor took Bai Zhu aboard a giant turtle and explained that it was only the bus to the dock.
• Bai Zhu followed Razor through a Nen barrier to a flying island, where Ging finished work on a clay tablet.
• Ging explained that Greed Island was a physical game built with Nen and recruited Bai Zhu to help create a healing card based on Angel's Glance.
• Bai Zhu agreed to help in exchange for payment, freedom to explore and use the island, and truthful answers to three future questions.
• Ging rejected the thirty billion Jenny demand but promised Bai Zhu a different reward, and Bai Zhu accepted the deal.
• As they headed into camp, Ging asked why Bai Zhu had never seemed surprised that Greed Island was a real island.

Bai Zhu learned that Greed Island was a real island transformed and sustained by Nen, and Ging explained that making a card required the system to record a user's ability. Wary of exposing Angel's Glance, Bai Zhu followed Ging to see proof that the recorded abilities could not be used outside the game.

• Bai Zhu reasoned that Greed Island was an actual island remodeled with Nen, and Ging acknowledged his insight.
• Razor showed Bai Zhu Greed Island's impossible landscapes and explained the Nen field that sustained them.
• Ging introduced Bai Zhu to List, Dwun, Elena, and Ida, then explained how the island translated abilities into cards.
• Ging said the system needed a user's full cooperation to scan and record his ability, making Bai Zhu fear that Angel's Glance would be exposed.
• Piyu questioned Bai Zhu about his unfamiliar energy system until Ging interrupted and assured him recorded abilities worked only inside the game.
• Ging led Bai Zhu toward the center of the flying island to show him proof.

Bai Zhu followed Ging beneath Greed Island and learned that the game drew power from an ancient ruin containing the sealed Nightmare Lord. When Bai Zhu touched the core, the Soul King's Pen plunged into it and dragged his consciousness into a white space.

• Bai Zhu noticed that the glowing circuits beneath the camp converged inward, and Ging revealed that Greed Island was built on power leaking from a ruin below the island.
• Bai Zhu offered dried seafood to the One-Eyed Owl statue, which accepted it, leaving Ging and Razor stunned.
• Bai Zhu and Ging examined murals depicting Zhang Ye sealing the Nightmare Lord, and Ging explained that its leaking power enabled permanent Nen abilities and Greed Island's card system.
• Ging asked Bai Zhu to help stabilize the core as its energy leak worsened, and Bai Zhu felt his Soul King's Pen react to the sphere containing the sealed figure.
• Bai Zhu touched the sphere, and the Soul King's Pen plunged into it, triggering an alarm and pulling Bai Zhu's consciousness into an empty white space.

Bai Zhu discovered that the Ruins’ seal was failing and tried to use the Soul King’s Pen to shut its pressure vent, while the core manifested Ging and Razor’s fears and regrets. As Bai Zhu neared death, a colossal owl apparition emerged inside the sphere and looked toward him.

• Bai Zhu found himself trapped inside the Ruins’ core, where attacks twisted unpredictably and his Reiatsu was being drained.
• Ging and Razor failed to pull Bai Zhu away as the swelling sphere created manifestations of Ging’s dead teammate, a cold version of Gon, and Razor’s victims.
• Bai Zhu realized the sealed rule could turn imagination into reality and that its pressure vent was open too wide.
• Bai Zhu surrendered control of his Reiatsu to the Soul King’s Pen and tried to rewrite the seal’s rules to force the vent shut.
• Ging was thrown back when he tried to sever Bai Zhu’s connection, and Bai Zhu’s life signs weakened as silvery-white patterns appeared across his body.
• A platinum-white light revealed an enormous one-eyed owl apparition, which looked toward Bai Zhu.

Bai Zhu rewrote the ruins’ seal rules, stabilized the core, and claimed control of it. He left the ruins with Ging and Razor after arranging an intelligence exchange, while warning Ging that Court could be dangerous.

• Bai Zhu used the Soul King's Pen and his Reiatsu to rewrite the seal’s energy leakage rules, stopping the core’s instability.
• Zhang Ye’s phantom explained that the ruins held a backdoor for repairing the seal and warned Bai Zhu that changing rules could not change people, then cautioned him to watch out for Court.
• Bai Zhu returned to reality with the core reduced to fist-size, gained Dream Manifestation and Kidō Fusion, and stored the core in his inventory.
• Bai Zhu agreed to leave the ruins’ energy supply untouched in exchange for Ging’s help investigating Anvil Enterprises, Court, and other ruins.
• Ging promised to provide the first batch of intelligence within three days, and Bai Zhu warned him to investigate Court carefully without being exposed.