Chapter Summaries

Bai Yu told Kali that he and his companions had killed dozens of people on their mission, then returned to the Paths and found Ymir building Titans. He gave her his earphones, disrupted her work, and settled in to read while she rested.

• Bai Yu visited Kali at the Training Corps and told her that he, Ming, and Xiate had killed about forty or fifty people on their mission.
• Kali asked Bai Yu why he had done it, and he said they had stood in the people's way before leaving.
• Bai Yu woke in the Paths beside Ymir, who was carrying sand to build a Titan.
• Bai Yu took his Wireless Earphones from Ymir, placed them in a pouch, and tied it to her wrist as a gift.
• Bai Yu repeatedly scraped apart the Titan legs Ymir built until she stopped and watched him.
• Bai Yu picked Ymir up, set her down to rest, and conjured a set of books titled Detailed History of China: Five Thousand Years.

Ymir entered Bai Yu’s memories and glimpsed his ordinary former life, repeated deaths in the System Training Ground, and resolve to keep living. After the chains on Bai Yu’s hands vanished, he carried Ymir to the Titan-building steps and asked her to show him her past, so she began revealing her memories.

• Ymir touched Bai Yu’s forehead and saw memories bound to his soul, including his ordinary life before he arrived in this world.
• Ymir witnessed Bai Yu’s repeated training-ground deaths and his determination to keep fighting despite helplessness and fear.
• Ymir pulled away from Bai Yu’s memories, and the chains around his hands turned to sand.
• Bai Yu carried Ymir to the steps used to construct Titans and asked her to tell him about her past.
• Ymir began showing Bai Yu scenes from her own memories.

Bai Yu watched Ymir’s memories of her life and enslavement, then stayed with her in Paths, reading history books until he vanished. He woke an hour later beside Ming and Xiate, who guessed he had visited Paths again.

• Ymir showed Bai Yu memories of how she gained the Titan power, served King Fritz, and continued making Titans in Paths after her death.
• Bai Yu read Five Thousand Years of Chinese History to Ymir and patiently explained its stories as time passed.
• After Bai Yu fell asleep, Ymir accepted candy from him and pointed out where he had left off in the book.
• Bai Yu suddenly vanished from Paths, and Ymir picked up his book before returning to her empty bucket.
• Bai Yu woke beside Ming and Xiate, who said he had been asleep for about an hour and teased him about what he had done in Paths.

A year and a half after the revelations, the military reorganized and prepared to clear Titans from Wall Maria, while the Survey Corps gained new equipment and resources. The 104th Cadet Corps graduated, with Ishi Dovilis placing tenth and Mikasa Ackerman placing first.

• Bai Yu and Xiate discussed his visit to Great-Grandmother as reforms curtailed the local nobles' power and the leadership kept Christa's identity secret pending the Survey Corps' confirmation.
• Commander Pixis oversaw the Garrison Regiment's reorganization, while the General Council centralized authority and the Survey Corps received Little Fish, upgraded gear, and resources for expeditions and wall repairs.
• Kali graduated early and joined Bai Yu's Support Squad on expeditions beyond the walls.
• Keith announced the 104th Cadet Corps' top ten, including Ishi Dovilis in tenth place, Christa Lance in ninth, and Mikasa Ackerman in first.
• A senior officer led the graduating cadets in the salute, and Ming speculated that Ishi and Christa had received help with their rankings.

Bai Yu and his companions stayed behind while the cadets celebrated their graduation, following Erwin's plan to remain near Eren before the expected attack. As Annie left after saying she would join the Military Police Brigade, Bai Yu and his squad watched her go, prepared for what might happen the next day.

• Bai Yu recalled that Bertholdt was expected to break through the gate the next day and understood that Erwin had kept his squad near Eren to carry out the plan.
• The 104th Cadet Corps held a graduation party, but Bai Yu and his companions stayed outside and watched from the steps.
• Kali asked why they were sitting out the expedition, and Bai Yu hinted that she might soon fulfill her wish.
• Annie approached and asked whether Bai Yu's group would attend the party, then said she planned to join the Military Police Brigade rather than the Survey Corps.
• Bai Yu wished Annie luck in battle as she walked away, while Xiate and Ming watched her leave with guarded attention.

Eren and the other cadets maintained the cannons in Trost District, where Connie, Thomas, and others revealed they planned to join the Survey Corps. As the cadets secretly shared Sasha’s stolen meat, a Colossal Titan appeared behind the wall.

• Eren was surprised when Connie said he planned to join the Survey Corps, and Connie credited Bai Yu’s strength and Eren’s speech.
• Thomas told Eren that Bai Yu’s training and Eren’s speech had helped him decide to join the Survey Corps.
• Sasha admitted she had stolen meat, and the cadets recalled the brutal week of training Bai Yu gave them after they ate his food.
• Sasha, Connie, Kana, and other cadets agreed to share the meat, while Eren hesitated and reflected on humanity’s recovery since the wall was breached.
• A bolt of golden lightning struck behind Eren, and the Colossal Titan appeared over the wall, staring at Trost District.

The Colossal Titan breached the wall, destroyed the fixed cannons, and vanished, leaving Eren and the Garrison Regiment to respond as Titans approached the opening. Hange waited for a signal while Bai Yu’s Support Squad remained in place, and Bai Yu received an update.

• The Colossal Titan’s blast threw Eren and the Cadets from the wall, and Sasha saved Samueru from falling.
• The Colossal Titan smashed the gate and several cannons before disappearing in a cloud of steam, while a figure escaped through the breach.
• A Garrison Regiment soldier ordered Eren and the other Cadets back to headquarters as residents began evacuating toward Wall Rose.
• The Garrison Regiment fired cannons and sent soldiers against the Titans approaching the breach.
• Hange waited with two armed soldiers for a signal flare, while Bai Yu received an update at headquarters and acknowledged it.

Bertholdt, Reiner, and Annie confirmed that the wall breach had gone unnoticed, while Hange and the Garrison Regiment organized the evacuation and defenses. As Titans entered Wall Rose, Bai Yu and his companions waited atop the wall for the civilians to escape and prepared to act.

• Bertholdt told Reiner and Annie that the breach was complete and that they hoped it would draw out the Coordinate.
• Hange fired a yellow flare, and hidden Garrison soldiers began organizing civilians to speed up the evacuation.
• A Garrison officer assigned the vanguard, middle guard, and rear guard, then ordered the soldiers to defend Wall Rose until the residents were evacuated.
• Yishi trembled with fear, while Eren urged Jean to survive the battle and Mikasa asked Eren not to die before joining the rear guard.
• Bai Yu and his companions watched the Titans from atop Wall Rose as the evacuation proceeded, and Bai Yu told Hange they would move once the residents were clear.

Bai Yu’s forces revealed that they had anticipated the Warriors’ attack and launched a counteroperation in Trost. The Survey Corps confronted the transformed Reiner and Annie, and Bai Yu blinded Annie as the Warriors tried to escape.

• After the civilians evacuated through the gate, Bai Yu’s signal flare marked the start of the operation.
• Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie were ambushed on a rooftop, but Reiner transformed into the Armored Titan and smoke flares alerted Bai Yu’s forces.
• Bai Yu and nearly a hundred Survey Corps soldiers revealed themselves and attacked the Titans in Trost.
• Reiner carried the untransformed Bertholdt toward the gate while Annie followed as the Female Titan.
• Bai Yu slashed Annie’s leg and then blinded her, but she covered her nape with a spreading crystal substance.

The Survey Corps took control of Trost District and helped the cadets retreat while Xiate rescued Eren and carried him to the wall. Bai Yu, Ming, and Kali then overwhelmed the Armored Titan and Female Titan, leaving Eren to fear his injury had ended his military future.

• A Survey Corps soldier ordered the cadets to leave the battlefield, and Nanaba led them toward Garrison headquarters to resupply.
• Xiate rescued Eren from a Titan’s mouth, treated his missing foot, and carried him toward the wall with Armin.
• Kali blasted one of the Armored Titan’s legs with a Little Fish round while Bai Yu and Ming attacked the two intelligent Titans.
• Bai Yu blinded and immobilized the Female Titan as Ming and Kali disabled the Armored Titan’s limbs.
• Eren and Armin watched the Survey Corps fight from the wall, and Eren feared his injury meant he would be discharged.

Bertholdt transformed into the Colossal Titan, and Bai Yu’s forces tried to stop the three Titans with explosives and repeated attacks. The Titans used the Colossal Titan’s steam to escape through the ruined gate, leaving Bai Yu outside the mist.

• Bertholdt transformed into the Colossal Titan after Annie failed to signal for help, forcing Bai Yu and the Survey Corps to retreat.
• The Colossal Titan hurled houses at the wall, killing soldiers who could not get clear of the rubble and flames.
• Bai Yu detonated a bomb beneath the Colossal Titan, bringing him down, then ordered the Survey Corps to charge.
• Reiner and Annie killed several attacking Survey Corps soldiers, while Little Fish explosives damaged their legs.
• The Colossal Titan released a cloud of scalding steam, and Reiner and Annie used the cover to rush through the ruined gate with Bertholdt.

Erwin’s Survey Corps ambushed Reiner, Annie, and Bertholdt outside Trost and captured all three after a fierce battle. With the operation successful, the captives were taken into custody so the Corps could interrogate them and investigate whether more Titans remained among the Cadets.

• Erwin ordered the Survey Corps to charge and capture the Titans alive as Reiner, Annie, and Bertholdt emerged from the gate into the ambush.
• Bai Yu stopped Annie from summoning Titans, and Levi disabled the Female Titan before Bai Yu blasted open her hardened nape and pulled Annie out.
• Survey Corps soldiers restrained Bertholdt and moved him away from the others in case he recovered enough strength to explode.
• The Survey Corps blasted apart the Armored Titan, and Kali pulled Reiner from his nape before soldiers bound him.
• Bai Yu handed Annie to Levi Squad, and Erwin’s plan to trap and capture the three Titans in Trost succeeded.

After the battle at Trost, Bai Yu took the injured Eren away to discuss his future in the Survey Corps. He told Eren that he had a way to deal with his injury and was taking him to Commander Erwin.

• Commander Pixis questioned Erwin about his plan, and Erwin said the Survey Corps would clear nearby Titans while the Garrison Regiment repaired the gate.
• Bai Yu left Erwin to check on Eren, whose left lower leg had been lost, and found him with Mikasa and Armin.
• Armin told Bai Yu that Eren would probably have to be discharged, so Bai Yu carried Eren away to speak with him privately.
• Bai Yu asked Mikasa and Armin whether they still wanted to join the Survey Corps, then told them not to follow because the matter was confidential.
• Mikasa blamed herself for failing to protect Eren, while Armin began to believe that humans could defeat Titans and considered joining the Survey Corps.
• Eren asked whether he could still join the Survey Corps, and Bai Yu said he was taking him to Erwin and had a way to deal with his injury.

Bai Yu took the injured Eren to Survey Corps headquarters and told him his leg could be healed, while urging him to apologize to Mikasa. The carriage ride left Eren stunned to learn that Reiner and the others had been arrested for killing people, and Bai Yu noticed Eren’s wound was healing unusually quickly.

• Bai Yu left Ming and Kali to watch Reiner and the others, then carried Eren back and asked whether he would join the Survey Corps.
• Bai Yu promised Eren that his leg could be healed at Survey Corps headquarters and told him to apologize to Mikasa.
• Bai Yu told Mikasa that Eren had joined the Survey Corps, and Eren apologized for their earlier argument.
• Bai Yu joked that they planned to feed Eren to a Titan, then Xiate explained the joke and reassured Mikasa that they would treat his injury and keep him safe.
• As Bai Yu, Xiate, and Eren rode toward headquarters, Bai Yu told Eren that Reiner and the others had been arrested for killing people.
• Bai Yu tended Eren’s wound during the ride and noticed that it was healing unusually quickly.

Bai Yu brought Eren to Erwin, who began explaining the truth about the world, then joined the Survey Corps in honoring their fallen comrades at a cemetery he had established. The Scouts gathered to bury urns and memorialize the dead, with Bai Yu carving their names and likenesses into stone markers.

• Bai Yu brought Eren to Hange and Erwin, and Erwin began telling Eren the truth about the world.
• Bai Yu put away stones he had been comparing and led Xiate, Ming, and Kali to the cemetery he had created for fallen Scouts.
• Bai Yu arrived as Levi and the Survey Corps waited beside the graves and urns of their fallen comrades.
• Bai Yu dug a grave with a few of the fallen Scouts' friends and carved portraits into stone markers while the others watched in silence.

At a memorial for fallen Scouts, Bai Yu honored the dead while Erwin reflected on the next commander. The following day, Bai Yu’s analysis showed that Annie’s hardened material matched the walls, prompting him to propose repairing the breaches with Titan powers.

• Bai Yu planted the fallen soldiers’ blades by their gravestones and led the Scouts in a salute to those who had offered their hearts for humanity.
• Erwin watched the memorial from a distance, and he told Hange they had already decided on the next commander.
• Bai Yu went to Erwin’s office with a report comparing wall stone to fragments of Annie’s hardened skin, but found Erwin outside the room.
• Erwin gave Bai Yu samples of wall stone and Annie’s hardened material to analyze, and Bai Yu returned with the completed report almost immediately.
• Bai Yu’s report showed that Annie’s hardened material had essentially the same structure as the walls and proposed using Titan powers to repair the breaches in Wall Maria and Shiganshina District.

Bai Yu and Erwin discussed ways to restore Wall Maria, but the missing spinal fluid and uncertainty over inheriting Titan powers left the decision to Erwin. Bai Yu then told Xiate to help train the new Cadets, but Levi caught him at the old headquarters and made him join a cleaning session.

• Bai Yu told Erwin that they could persuade Annie to repair the wall or have someone inherit her Titan power, though a new inheritor might not learn hardening in time.
• Bai Yu asked about Rod Reiss and the missing spinal fluid, and Erwin said searches of the estate had found nothing and Rod remained imprisoned.
• Bai Yu left the repair decision to Erwin, who worried that Titan numbers were increasing and considered whether to take the risk.
• Bai Yu returned to the dormitory and asked Xiate to help train the new Cadets joining the Survey Corps.
• Bai Yu went to the old Survey Corps headquarters, where Levi spotted him and ordered him to help clean alongside Petra, Oluo, Eld, and Gunther.

Bai Yu encouraged Eren to accept his Titan power despite its thirteen-year lifespan, then discussed the threat posed by the Titans and possible countermeasures with Levi. When Eren transformed again, Levi rushed toward the golden light while Bai Yu ran after him on foot.

• Bai Yu found Eren cleaning unharmed and learned that Eren had felt his healing ability but had not transformed.
• Bai Yu encouraged Eren to focus on seeing the world beyond the walls, and Eren renewed his resolve to seek freedom.
• Hange told Bai Yu that Reiner and Annie healed with steam like Titans, then rushed off with Eren to study him.
• Bai Yu told Levi that allegiance, rather than right and wrong, required preventing their enemies from developing a weapon stronger than their own.
• A burst of golden light signaled Eren's Titan transformation, and Levi flew toward it while Bai Yu hurried after him on foot.

After Eren lost control during his first Titan transformation, Bai Yu and Hange prepared a safer second attempt inside a well. The Titan reacted when Bai Yu stabbed it, and Eren appeared to hear him, leaving Bai Yu urging him to undo the transformation.

• Levi pulled the unconscious Eren from his Titan, and Bai Yu calmed the wary veterans while Hange explained that Eren had lost control.
• Bai Yu fetched his Omni-Directional Mobility Gear and returned as the group prepared to help Eren transform again.
• Petra suggested using a deep well to contain Eren, and the group lowered him inside before he transformed.
• Eren's Titan became trapped in the well, and Levi prepared to attack, but Bai Yu stopped him and tried to wake Eren by stabbing the Titan.
• The Titan's roars changed after Bai Yu's stabs, and it turned toward him when he called to Eren, so Bai Yu urged him to undo the transformation and emerge through the nape.

Xiate explained to Mikasa and the others why she considered herself willful and Mikasa obedient, describing her absolute need to remain by Bai Yu’s side. After Xiate left, Kali comforted the shaken Mikasa and said her bond with Eren was fundamentally different from Xiate’s bond with Bai Yu.

• During a break from training, Armin and the others said that Xiate and Mikasa were alike.
• Xiate rejected the comparison, saying Mikasa would try to bring Eren back if he did something she opposed, while Xiate would stay beside Bai Yu no matter what he did.
• Xiate said she could not live without Bai Yu and left the group after calling Mikasa a good, obedient girl.
• Kali sent the others to find Nanaba and sat beside Mikasa, who had curled up with her knees hugged to her chest.
• Kali told Mikasa that Xiate’s relationship with Bai Yu was not like her relationship with Eren, and warned that Eren might run off if Mikasa acted the same way.