Chapter Summaries

Yamabuki Chidori exposed the Tsunayashiro Clan’s hidden experiments, destroyed the clan, and found a Soul King Fragment that increased his strength. After the executions, he burned a register of the clan’s associates, leaving the other nobles warned but spared for now.

• Yamabuki Chidori framed salt from the Tsunayashiro kitchen as a devastating weapon and ordered the clan members arrested.
• Yamabuki Chidori forced Tsunayashiro Fūka to reveal the experimental site in Rukongai’s 12th District, then had the Tsunayashiro Clan’s branches arrested and condemned.
• Yamabuki Chidori found a Soul King Fragment at the experimental site and swallowed it, increasing his strength.
• Yamabuki Chidori ordered the execution of the Tsunayashiro Clan, including Tsunayashiro Fūka, before the assembled nobles and Soul Reapers.
• Hachisato presented Yamabuki Chidori with a register of the clan’s associates, but Yamabuki Chidori ordered it burned and warned the gathered nobles not to test him again.

After burning the Tsunayashiro roster, Chidori discovered Kyōten'en could copy Zanpakuto abilities without harming his soul and welcomed Kirimaru Tsukishima into the Gotei 13. He attended Kuchiki Ginrei and Natsuki’s wedding, then returned to his ordinary life.

• Hachisato burned the roster, and Chidori warned the gathered nobles not to repeat the Tsunayashiro Clan’s crimes.
• Hachisato gave Chidori Kyōten'en, and Chidori copied Ryūjin Jakka, accidentally destroying his office before realizing the sword had not damaged his soul.
• Kirimaru Tsukishima accepted the Gotei 13’s invitation, and Chidori assigned her to the 12th Division under Zendouji Yuuhin.
• Saitō Fubōfu gave Chidori an invitation to Kuchiki Ginrei and Natsuki’s wedding.
• Chidori attended Ginrei and Natsuki’s wedding with Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake, then returned to his ordinary life.

Shunsui Kyōraku and his squad fought a Hollow before a Menos Grande appeared, only for the powerful stranger Maru to destroy it with a single punch. Shunsui persuaded Maru to meet his teacher, Yamabuki Chidori, while elsewhere a fleeing Shinigami hid from pursuers in Rukongai.

• Shunsui Kyōraku and his squad used Spirit Particle Muskets to weaken a Hollow before Shunsui finished it with his Zanpakuto.
• A Menos Grande emerged from a Garganta and fired a Cero, which Shunsui deflected after ordering his squad to retreat.
• Maru appeared, casually batted away the Menos Grande’s second Cero, and shattered its head with a punch.
• Maru mocked the Gotei 13 and attacked Shunsui, but released him after Shunsui promised to take him to the strongest people in Soul Society.
• Shunsui told Maru to challenge his teacher Yamabuki Chidori, and Maru agreed to go meet her.
• In East District Rukongai, a Shinigami evaded his pursuers by hiding in a dark alley.

Masao Tanaka escaped Jūshirō Ukitake after experimenting on Fullbringers in an attempt to recreate the Soul King, but a mysterious swordsman named Kamishirokawa killed him and claimed the bounty. Back in the Seireitei, Shunsui Kyōraku brought the boastful Maru to meet Yamabuki Chidori, while Ukitake worried about what would happen to him.

• Masao Tanaka fled the Seireitei after discovering forbidden secrets and killing Fullbringers in experiments to create the Soul King.
• Jūshirō Ukitake cornered Tanaka, but Tanaka used a Kidō Bullet and a concealed hiding technique to escape.
• Kamishirokawa appeared in the alley and killed Tanaka with a swift strike, then cut off his head.
• Ukitake returned and accepted Tanaka's head from Kamishirokawa, who agreed to accompany him to collect the bounty.
• Shunsui Kyōraku introduced Maru, who wanted to challenge the strongest Soul Reaper, and led him toward Yamabuki Chidori.
• Yamabuki Chidori practiced calligraphy, while Ukitake feared that Maru would suffer at his hands.

Shunsui Kyōraku brought Maru to challenge Yamabuki Chidori, who knocked him unconscious with a slap and left him hospitalized for forty-one days. Unable to pay his medical and office-repair bills, Maru was told he would have to work off his debt.

• Shunsui Kyōraku brought Maru to meet Yamabuki Chidori, and Maru insulted Yamabuki Chidori's calligraphy.
• Yamabuki Chidori slapped Maru, leaving him unconscious for forty-one days with life-threatening injuries.
• Unohana made Maru take his medicine and pay the bill for his treatment at the Fourth Division.
• Maru went to Yamabuki Chidori to demand compensation, but Yamabuki Chidori presented him with a bill for office repairs.
• Yamabuki Chidori warned Maru not to flee and offered him the chance to work off his debt.

Yamabuki Chidori recruited Maru into the 11th Division as an ordinary member and began assessing whether he could become his successor. He later visited Shijima Chiru’s massage shop with Saitō Fubōfu, discovered the massages were legitimate, and left relaxed after Shijima Chiru’s treatment.

• Yamabuki Chidori offered Maru a Gotei 13 contract and assigned him to the 11th Division as an ordinary member.
• Maru injured two division members after cutting the lunch line, and Yamabuki Chidori ordered that he be handled by the usual rules.
• Yamabuki Chidori and Saitō Fubōfu visited Shijima Chiru’s massage shop to investigate its popular new services.
• Yamabuki Chidori tried Akiko’s massage, then Shijima Chiru used his strength to relieve Yamabuki Chidori’s fatigue and put him to sleep.
• Yamabuki Chidori, Saitō Fubōfu, Shijima Chiru, and Unohana shared a meal, where Yamabuki Chidori discussed finding a successor for the 11th Division.

Saitō beat Maru in a midnight fight, then fled from Shunshun Shidō into Yamabuki Chidori and Unohana’s home and spent the night there. The next morning, Yamabuki considered Maru’s weakness as he prepared to assess whether Maru could pass Kuchiki Ginrei’s test.

• After cleaning the cafeteria, Maru was ambushed by Saitō, who quickly defeated him and left him unconscious.
• Shunshun Shidō found Maru, pursued Saitō, and lost her when she escaped with a Kidō Bullet.
• Saitō hid in Yamabuki Chidori and Unohana’s bedroom, and Yamabuki refused Shunshun’s request to search the house.
• Saitō admitted she had beaten Maru for fun, then asked to share Unohana’s bed; Unohana sent Yamabuki to sleep in the living room.
• The next morning, Yamabuki and Unohana stopped Saitō from leaving in Unohana’s nightgown, and Yamabuki wondered whether Maru could pass Kuchiki Ginrei’s test.

Yamabuki Chidori led Shinigami from the 11th Division to hunt a Hollow in Rukongai, where Maru’s greed for credit led him to betray his teammates and kill a civilian. The Seated Officer confronted Maru, but the hunt ended with the woman dead, her son grieving, and Maru proudly carrying off the Hollow’s head.

• Maru arrived at the 11th Division after his beating, endured mockery, and joined Yamabuki Chidori’s deployment to Rukongai.
• During the search, Maru refused to help his two teammates fight the Hollow and demanded they surrender the credit to him.
• Maru attacked one teammate from behind, then chased the fleeing Hollow when the others agreed to let him claim the kill.
• The Hollow took a woman and her child hostage, but Maru ignored the Seated Officer’s orders and stabbed through the woman to strike the Hollow.
• Maru killed the Hollow and celebrated his supposed promotion as the Seated Officer slapped and threatened to report him.
• The woman died in her son’s arms, the Seated Officer gave the boy money and ordered the squad back, and Maru showed off the Hollow’s head.

Kamishirokawa rescued a girl from a Hollow and accepted only a handful of rice as payment. After returning home, he found a freezing boy outside his door and warmed him with a bowl of porridge.

• Kamishirokawa killed the Hollow that had been sent to eat the girl and escorted her safely home.
• Kamishirokawa accepted only a handful of rice from the girl's impoverished parents as payment for the Hollow's head.
• Kamishirokawa found a nearly frozen boy lying outside his room and brought him inside.
• Kamishirokawa lit the stove and gave the boy hot porridge made from the rice he had just earned.

Kamishirokawa accepted a boy’s request to kill the Soul Reaper Maru, but postponed the assassination after being wounded by a hidden opponent. Later, Yamabuki Chidori resigned as 11th Division Captain and set a trial against three Adjuchas to choose his successor, giving Maru hope that he could claim the position.

• A grieving boy hired Kamishirokawa to kill Maru, whom the boy blamed for his mother’s death.
• Kamishirokawa left during the snowfall but returned wounded and promised to kill Maru in a month after an unknown person intervened.
• After his Water Prison punishment ended, Maru pretended to have changed while secretly plotting revenge and seeking greater status.
• Yamabuki Chidori submitted his resignation as 11th Division Captain, but Shunshun Shidō’s promise to keep it secret failed and the news spread throughout Soul Society.
• Yamabuki Chidori told the Captain Commander that challengers for the vacant position would have to kill three Adjuchas-class Menos Grande in a barrier.
• Maru saw the trial as his chance to become Captain, while the chapter explained that defeating three Adjuchas at once was a feat generally suited to Captains.

Maru entered the 11th Division Captain selection and defeated three Adjuchas, earning the title of Third Kenpachi. Just as he celebrated his new position, a man in white arrived and asked Yamabuki Chidori whether he could kill Maru without consequence.

• Maru registered as the sole candidate for the Captain selection and spent ten days resting before the examination.
• At the West District plaza, Maru entered the barrier and tricked the first Adjuchas into lowering its guard before beheading it.
• Maru fought the remaining two Adjuchas, killed one with a slash, and beat the last into a lump of flesh with his fists.
• Yamabuki Chidori declared Maru the new Captain of the 11th Division and bestowed the title of Kenpachi, while explaining that anyone could challenge him.
• A man in white appeared on the arena platform and asked Yamabuki Chidori whether he would face no responsibility for killing Maru; Hachisato realized the Captains had arranged his arrival.

Kamishirokawa defeated Maru in a public challenge and became the new Captain of the 11th Division. After learning Yamabuki Chidori had manipulated events to install him, Kamishirokawa confronted him, then took up his post.

• Kamishirokawa challenged Maru for the 11th Division captaincy and killed him after a fierce fight witnessed by the Gotei 13.
• Yamabuki Chidori declared Kamishirokawa the new Captain, and Kamishirokawa left to collect his payment from the boy who had hired him.
• At the orphanage, the boy revealed he was a Gotei 13 informant and that the supposed mother whose death prompted the job was an Artificial Soul.
• Kamishirokawa realized Yamabuki Chidori had arranged the challenge so he could kill Maru publicly and inherit the captaincy without being treated as an assassin.
• Kamishirokawa confronted Yamabuki Chidori but could not beat him, then returned to the 11th Division and officially took office as Captain.

Ōtōgawa Utsugi used extraordinary skill to win a casino’s money and killed a samurai who tried to rob him. He then visited Yamabuki Chidori and suggested that running a casino paid better than working for the Gotei 13.

• Ōtōgawa Utsugi repeatedly won at dice, making the dealer suspect he was cheating.
• The casino boss challenged Ōtōgawa Utsugi to dice games, lost one day’s revenue, and paid him.
• Two samurai tried to rob Ōtōgawa Utsugi, but he killed one with a single strike and walked away.
• Ōtōgawa Utsugi visited Yamabuki Chidori and said that running a casino earned more than working for the Gotei 13.

Ōtōgawa Utsugi tried to quit the Tenth Division and searched for a successor, eventually deciding that young Shiba Isshin was the one fate had sent him. Yamabuki Chidori resisted taking over, but reconsidered when he realized Isshin’s future son would be Kurosaki Ichigo, an important ally against Yhwach.

• Ōtōgawa Utsugi told Yamabuki Chidori he wanted to quit and open a casino, and Yamabuki agreed only if he found a capable successor.
• Ōtōgawa Utsugi asked his lieutenant to become captain, but the lieutenant refused and said his son Isshin was not suited for the position.
• Ōtōgawa Utsugi found Isshin in Rukongai, declared him his destined successor, and dragged him toward the Tenth Division despite his father’s objections.
• Ōtōgawa Utsugi begged Yamabuki Chidori to take over the Tenth Division until Isshin was ready, but Yamabuki initially refused.
• Ōtōgawa Utsugi revealed that Isshin was his chosen successor, and Yamabuki recognized the importance of Isshin’s future son, Kurosaki Ichigo, in the fight against Yhwach.

Yamabuki Chidori arranged for Shiba Isshin to enter a special training program after Ōtōgawa Utsugi resigned as Tenth Division Captain and recommended him as a potential successor. The chapter ended with Isshin meeting Jūshirō Ukitake and Shunsui Kyōraku, while Chidori suggested they eat lunch before beginning training.

• Ōtōgawa Utsugi persuaded Yamabuki Chidori to let him resign and open a casino by agreeing to recruit Shiba Isshin into the Tenth Division.
• Ōtōgawa Utsugi invited Shiba Lieutenant to send Isshin to Shino Academy, and Shiba Lieutenant forced his reluctant son to enroll.
• Yamabuki Chidori learned that Isshin had chosen the Fourth Division and summoned him to discuss Ōtōgawa Utsugi's resignation and his potential as a future Captain.
• Yamabuki Chidori placed Isshin in a special training program and promised to arrange his eventual transfer to the Fourth Division.
• Shiba Isshin arrived late to meet Yamabuki Chidori, then met the program's other trainees, Jūshirō Ukitake and Shunsui Kyōraku.
• Yamabuki Chidori proposed that the group eat lunch before setting out for training.

Yamabuki Chidori took Shiba Isshin, Shunsui Kyōraku, and Jūshirō Ukitake to Rukongai for a special training battle, testing their abilities and teamwork while overwhelming them with his strength. He knocked all three out or forced them aside, then assessed their potential and reflected on how rapidly protagonists gained power.

• Yamabuki Chidori delayed the group’s departure with an afternoon nap, then led Shiba Isshin, Shunsui Kyōraku, and Jūshirō Ukitake to a courtyard in Rukongai for special training.
• After dinner, Yamabuki Chidori challenged the three young men to attack him together, and they released their Zanpakuto.
• Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake coordinated their attacks, while Shiba Isshin tried to strike Yamabuki Chidori from behind and then helped bring him down from the air.
• Yamabuki Chidori repelled Shunsui Kyōraku’s blade, overwhelmed the three with his Reiatsu, and sent Shunsui Kyōraku crashing into a tree.
• Yamabuki Chidori knocked away Jūshirō Ukitake’s blades, flicked his forehead, and defeated Shiba Isshin with three punches after disarming him.
• Yamabuki Chidori judged Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake to be Lieutenant-level and saw great potential in Shiba Isshin.

Yamabuki Chidori trained Shiba Isshin, Shunsui Kyōraku, and Jūshirō Ukitake for a month, helping them grow stronger. Isshin split a massive boulder with one slash, and after they returned to the Seireitei, Chidori helped him join the Fourth Division.

• Yamabuki Chidori assigned Ukitake Kidō training and focused Shunsui Kyōraku on physical and swordsmanship training, while Isshin was tasked with splitting a giant boulder.
• Chidori demonstrated his immense Sword Pressure by splitting a boulder and cleaving a hill, inspiring Isshin to train harder.
• Chidori cooked meals infused with Reiatsu that helped the three trainees recover and gradually grow stronger, while he stopped Isshin from overtraining.
• After a month, Shunsui Kyōraku and Ukitake reached Lieutenant level, and Isshin surpassed that level through daily rock-cutting practice.
• Isshin split the giant boulder with one slash, then joined Shunsui Kyōraku and Ukitake for a celebration in town.
• Back in the Seireitei, Yamabuki Chidori and Unohana helped Isshin complete the simple process of joining the Fourth Division.

Shiba Isshin tried to join the rescue of the Shinigami trapped in Hueco Mundo, where his father was among the endangered squad, but Unohana refused because he was too emotionally shaken to treat the wounded. Yamabuki Chidori transferred him to the 10th Division, and the rescue team entered Hueco Mundo and began following clues toward the missing squad.

• Shiba Isshin joined the 4th Division, studied medicine with Unohana, and practiced swordsmanship with her.
• The Shiba Lieutenant left on a routine Hollow expedition to Hueco Mundo, and Shiba Isshin felt increasingly restless after he departed.
• Unohana announced that the expedition squad had been surrounded by a Hollow Tide and refused Shiba Isshin's request to join the rescue.
• Shiba Isshin asked Yamabuki Chidori for help, and she transferred him to the 10th Division and ordered it to join the rescue.
• Unohana opened a Garganta, and the rescue team entered Hueco Mundo, where the 10th Division found Hollow corpses and followed sword marks toward the moonrise.

Shiba Isshin found his injured father, Shiba Lieutenant, hiding in the forest after the Hueco Mundo expedition was scattered by Hollows. When an Adjuchas confronted them, Isshin stepped forward to fight while the rescue Captains were still on their way.

• Unohana and Kamishirokawa Kenpachi organized a search for survivors, and a wounded Soul Reaper told them that Hollows had ambushed the expedition near a valley.
• Shiba Isshin found an injured Tenth Division Soul Reaper, learned Shiba Lieutenant had gone deeper into the forest to fight an Adjuchas, and hurried after him.
• Shiba Isshin found Shiba Lieutenant hiding in a tree hollow with a badly wounded leg and treated him, then told him he had joined the Tenth Division.
• Shiba Isshin fired a signal flare despite Shiba Lieutenant's warning that it might draw the Adjuchas to them before the Captains arrived.
• The six-armed Adjuchas found the father and son, and Shiba Isshin drew Getsuga Tensho and challenged it while Shiba Lieutenant urged him to flee.

Shiba Isshin defeated a Menos Grande with his newly mastered Moon Fang Sky Roar, but he and Kamishirokawa Kenpachi were confronted by Salkapolo as they covered the retreat. Kenpachi tried to help Isshin escape, then faced Salkapolo alone and unleashed a technique that severed the Hollow’s poisoned tentacles; a surge of Reiatsu erupted nearby.

• Shiba Isshin struck Shiba Lieutenant and used Moon Fang Sky Roar to erase half of the Menos Grande’s body.
• Unohana and Kamishirokawa Kenpachi arrived, treated the wounded, and organized the Soul Reapers’ retreat.
• Salkapolo appeared and revealed himself as a powerful Vasto Lorde who wanted to capture the Soul Reapers for experiments.
• Kamishirokawa Kenpachi ordered Shiba Isshin to flee while they attacked Salkapolo together, but Salkapolo caught Isshin’s slash and fired a pink Cero at him.
• Kamishirokawa Kenpachi wounded Salkapolo and held him off as Isshin ran, then used his sword to sever Salkapolo’s poison-secreting tentacles.
• A surge of Reiatsu erupted in the distance as poison filled the air around Kamishirokawa Kenpachi.