Chapter Summaries

Jūshirō Ukitake investigated the disappearance of several Rukongai villages and learned that the damage resembled the effects of Quincy Reishi absorption. He suspected Yamabuki Chidori but was told to continue the assignment, leaving the possibility of the Quincy’s return unresolved.

• Shunsui Kyōraku told Ukitake that villagers and a squad of Shinigami had vanished without signs of a fight or traces of Reiatsu, and showed him their strangely fragile uniforms.
• Ukitake examined a village with Lieutenant Hachisato and found that buildings and people had disappeared most completely near its center, leaving foundations and incomplete structures behind.
• Hachisato told Ukitake that the Chief Strategist had once used the Quincy technique Perfect Sanctification, which devoured Reishi, and said the village damage reminded her of it.
• Ukitake rushed to Yamabuki Chidori and asked whether he had caused the disappearances, explaining that Hachisato suspected the Quincy had returned.
• Yamabuki Chidori denied offering a clear answer and told Ukitake to handle the assignment as he saw fit, saying that any returning Quincy would be defeated again.

Ukitake guarded a village and discovered Quincy hunters experimenting on a boy with concentrated Reishi. He stopped the boy’s uncontrolled Perfect Sanctification and confronted the three Quincy, who began fighting among themselves as they tried to escape.

• Ukitake found no clues in the downstream village and stayed with an elderly couple while waiting for the Quincy to strike.
• After Ukitake’s illness worsened, Hachisato sent him medicine, and Ukitake slept through the evening.
• A wounded Quincy boy ran toward the village while three white-clad Quincy pursued him and forced a concentrated Reishi sphere down his throat.
• The boy entered an uncontrolled Perfect Sanctification and began consuming the village’s Reishi.
• Ukitake cut off the boy’s wings of light, ended his transformation, and identified himself as a Soul Reaper of the Gotei 13.
• Ukitake countered a Quincy arrow with Sōgyo no Kotowari, and the three Quincy tried to flee before grabbing one another and starting to grapple.

Jūshirō Ukitake uncovered a Quincy experiment and learned that the former Captain Sakurane Saizo had faked his illness to pass the Thirteenth Division command to him. Later, Katoru Hatsunoya collapsed at work, and Unohana summoned Yamabuki Chidori after emergency treatment.

• Jūshirō Ukitake captured three Quincies involved in researching Perfect Sanctification while two others secretly suspended the experiments and fled.
• Jūshirō Ukitake found Sakurane Saizo healthy and learned that Yamabuki Chidori and the others had deceived him so he would become Captain of the Thirteenth Division.
• Sakurane Saizo retired successfully, while Captain Commander Yamamoto rejected Yamabuki Chidori’s retirement application.
• Katoru Hatsunoya collapsed after Shunsui Kyōraku dismissed her warning that she was seriously ill, and he rushed her to the Fourth Division.
• Unohana treated Katoru Hatsunoya and ordered Kamishirokawa to summon Yamabuki Chidori immediately.

Yamabuki Chidori prepared to operate on Katoru Hatsunoya’s brain tumor and took her to Hell at her request, where she could see what awaited her if the surgery failed. In Hell, Kuroto attacked Yamabuki, only to have his blade stopped by one finger.

• Unohana brought Yamabuki Chidori to the Fourth Division, where he diagnosed Katoru Hatsunoya with a brain tumor and briefly restored her blood flow so she could wake.
• Yamabuki Chidori reassured Katoru Hatsunoya, ordered Shunsui Kyōraku to act as the 8th Division’s lieutenant, and assigned Senbu work despite her wish to stay with her sister.
• Yamabuki Chidori told Katoru Hatsunoya he would operate in three days, and she asked to see Hell; he opened its gate and carried her inside.
• Yamabuki Chidori explained Hell to Katoru Hatsunoya as older souls rushed toward him, hoping he would free them, and he cut down one who confronted him.
• Kuroto charged Yamabuki Chidori after three centuries of training, but Yamabuki stopped his blade with one finger and claimed not to recognize him.

Yamabuki Chidori refused Kuroto’s pleas to escape Hell, then developed a Spirit Particle Suture Technique to improve the odds of operating on Katoru Hatsunoya’s brain tumor. After three days of practice and rest, he arrived at the Fourth Division for the surgery, with the Captain Commander and Katoru Hatsunoya’s worried comrades waiting.

• Yamabuki Chidori crushed Kuroto’s sword, blasted him apart, and used Hell Chains to drag him back into Hell when he begged to leave.
• Yamabuki Chidori, Unohana, and Tenjirō Kirinji failed to find a safe surgical approach, leaving Yamabuki Chidori with an estimated thirty percent chance of success.
• Yamabuki Chidori recalled his Reishi control and tested invisible Spirit Particle Threads by stitching a fish’s wound, discovering a way to remove Katoru Hatsunoya’s tumor with extreme precision.
• Yamabuki Chidori spent three days mastering hundreds of Spirit Particle Threads, then slept to recover before the operation.
• The Captain Commander sent most of the gathered 8th Division members back to work, while Shunsui Kyōraku and Senbu waited for Yamabuki Chidori to wake.
• Yamabuki Chidori woke after fifteen more minutes of sleep, prepared himself, and arrived at the Fourth Division with Unohana, Shunsui Kyōraku, and Senbu.

Yamabuki Chidori successfully removed Katoru Hatsunoya’s brain tumor, and she recovered enough to leave her Captain’s duties. A week later, Shunsui Kyōraku learned that he had been chosen to succeed her as Captain of the 8th Division.

• Yamabuki Chidori performed an eighteen-hour operation that removed Katoru Hatsunoya’s tumor, then celebrated with the waiting Shinigami after announcing the surgery had succeeded.
• Katoru Hatsunoya woke the next morning feeling well, and she persuaded Yamabuki Chidori to approve Senbu’s resignation from the Staff Department.
• A week later, Shunsui Kyōraku visited Katoru Hatsunoya and found her sparring vigorously with Saitō Fubōfu during rehabilitation.
• When Shunsui Kyōraku asked whether Katoru Hatsunoya would return to work, she pretended her illness had flared up to avoid resuming her Captain’s duties.
• Yamabuki Chidori gave Shunsui Kyōraku a letter recommending him as the new Captain of the 8th Division.

At Shino Academy’s opening ceremony, Yamabuki Chidori recognized the young Aizen Sōsuke and became fascinated by his potential despite his last-place entrance scores. Shunsui Kyōraku followed Aizen to his classroom and began examining the boy for himself.

• Shunsui Kyōraku brought Lisa Yadōmaru to Shino Academy, claiming he wanted to recruit talented students for the 8th Division.
• Yamabuki Chidori heard Aizen Sōsuke’s name at the end of the student roster and urgently checked his entrance scores.
• Yamabuki Chidori found that Aizen had received exactly passing marks in every subject and told Shunsui Kyōraku that he had discovered an extraordinary genius.
• Aizen wondered who Yamabuki Chidori was, then returned to class without pursuing the matter.
• Shunsui Kyōraku arrived in Aizen’s classroom, asked the teacher to identify him, and studied the seemingly ordinary, last-ranked student.

Aizen Sōsuke drew the attention of Shunsui Kyōraku and Yamabuki Chidori at Shino Academy, then became Yamabuki Chidori’s disciple after his concealed strength was exposed. Yamabuki began teaching him privately, and Aizen declared that he would master all four Soul Reaper disciplines.

• Shunsui Kyōraku invited Aizen Sōsuke to join the 8th Division, but Aizen declined so he could focus on his studies.
• Yamabuki Chidori summoned Aizen from class and offered to take him as a disciple because he found him interesting.
• Aizen grabbed Yamabuki Chidori’s wrist when the man unleashed killing intent, revealing his full-fledged Soul Reaper Reiatsu and hidden strength.
• Aizen agreed to become Yamabuki Chidori’s disciple, and Yamabuki promised to protect him and teach him privately instead of sending him back to Shino Academy.
• Yamabuki Chidori asked which discipline Aizen would focus on, and Aizen said he would master Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hōhō, and Kidō.

Yamabuki Chidori trained Aizen in Kidō and swordsmanship, teaching him to anticipate opponents and exploit their weaknesses. At Kirimaru Tsukishima’s home, Yamabuki explained how to fight stronger enemies, then revealed he had made up the embarrassing swordsmanship advice he once gave Shinji Hirako.

• Aizen mastered Hadō #1: Shō and Hadō #4: White Lightning almost immediately, then Yamabuki accidentally destroyed the training grounds with Goryū Tenmetsu.
• Yamabuki warned Aizen that Quincies could use rule-based powers that ignored Reiatsu, and advised him to retreat from enemies whose abilities he could not overcome.
• Yamabuki gave Aizen a Zanpakuto and taught him to learn every sword technique, then forget them so he could fight without being trapped by predictable moves.
• Yamabuki brought Aizen to the 12th Division, where Kirimaru Tsukishima invited Shinji Hirako to dinner.
• Yamabuki taught Aizen to use timing, terrain, allies, ambushes, and any other advantage against stronger opponents, prompting Hirako to complain that Yamabuki had not taught him the same lessons.
• Yamabuki admitted he had invented the embarrassing swordsmanship advice he had once given Hirako, and Hirako prepared to fight him.

Yamabuki Chidori told Aizen about Zero Division and its members’ extraordinary abilities, while Aizen grew curious about the Soul King and Soul Society’s hidden history. At the library, Hane Hane Chiyo pointed him toward forbidden records and gave him an unpublished biography of Yamabuki Chidori.

• Yamabuki Chidori explained that Zero Division would descend in three days to recruit Tenjirō Kirinji and described the powers of Nimaiya Ōetsu and Ichibē Hyōsube.
• Aizen asked Yamabuki Chidori about the Soul King, but Yamabuki Chidori refused to discuss the secret and told Aizen not to cause trouble when they visited Zero Division.
• Yamabuki Chidori gave Aizen a day off, and Aizen went to the Seireitei library to search for information about Soul Society’s history.
• Aizen met Hane Hane Chiyo, who said the public histories concealed a dark past and revealed that the Tsunayashiro Clan had supposedly tried to replace the Soul King.
• Hane Hane Chiyo told Aizen that the Great Spirit Library Corridor held the true records and gave him an unpublished biography of Yamabuki Chidori.
• Aizen read that Yamabuki Chidori had once been lonely in a cave until the Captain Commander appeared and became his lifelong friend.

Aizen watched Zero Division take Tenjirō Kirinji to the Soul King Palace, then faced Lisa Yadōmaru in a sparring match arranged by Yamabuki Chidori. He defeated her with Kidō Bullets and clever tactics, leaving her crying as he looked to his teacher for help.

• Aizen read sensational gossip about Yamabuki Chidori and feared what would happen if his teacher saw it.
• Ichibē Hyōsube and Nimaiya Ōetsu arrived to take Tenjirō Kirinji to the Soul King Palace, and Kirinji agreed to compete with Yamabuki Chidori in medical skills five hundred years later.
• Yamabuki Chidori took Aizen to lunch, then arranged for Lisa Yadōmaru to spar with him in exchange for a break from work and shaved ice.
• Lisa Yadōmaru released Iron Slag Dragonfly, but Aizen used a Spirit Particle Musket, Sekienton, and Bakudo to defeat her.
• Lisa Yadōmaru burst into tears, and Yamabuki Chidori urged Aizen to comfort her.

Yamabuki Chidori discovered that Hane Hane Chiyo had published a popular erotic novel portraying him and Sasakibe, and he went to confront her. Hane Hane Chiyo surrendered, but Chidori announced a humiliating punishment.

• Aizen defeated Lisa Yadōmaru in a fair fight, then blamed his underhanded tactics on Yamabuki Chidori's lessons.
• Yamabuki Chidori repeatedly signed autographs for curious Soul Reaper girls and wondered why they were gossiping about him and Sasakibe.
• Yamabuki Chidori found an erotic novel featuring himself at home and learned from Unohana that it had already sold two thousand copies.
• Yamabuki Chidori identified Hane Hane Chiyo as the author and used Teleportation to confront her at the Hane Hane Family residence.
• Hane Hane Chiyo offered her royalties and apologized, but Yamabuki Chidori rejected the money and ordered her to take off her clothes.

Yamabuki Chidori punished Aizen for helping Hane Hane Chiyo publish a risqué comic, then sent him on his first solo mission to hunt a Hollow in Rukongai. Aizen gathered clues at a pleasure house and agreed to stay with Ryuko as night fell, while Chidori secretly followed to watch over him.

• Hane Hane Chiyo revealed that Aizen had read Yamabuki Chidori's comic before publication, so Chidori ordered Aizen to complete one thousand Flash Steps and demanded half the royalties.
• Half a month later, Yamabuki Chidori gave Aizen a mission to hunt a Hollow that had eaten people in Rukongai, and secretly followed him in case he was endangered.
• Aizen questioned Ryuko at a pleasure house and learned that the Hollow imitated voices at night to lure its victims outside.
• Aizen agreed to stay with Ryuko for the night to protect her, surprising the hidden Yamabuki Chidori.
• Several drinkers plotted to steal Aizen's Zanpakuto, but his smile frightened them into abandoning the plan as he followed Ryuko upstairs.

Aizen used Ryuko as bait to lure out the Hollow that preyed on brothel workers, then persuaded it to tell him about its past. The Hollow recounted how war, loss, and Aoko’s rejection led him to become an assassin, leaving the reason for his transformation into a Hollow unresolved.

• Aizen asked Ryuko to help lure the Hollow by serving as bait, and she agreed before learning what he meant.
• Aizen tied Ryuko to a tree and waited with her through the night until the Hollow approached.
• The Hollow threatened Ryuko, but Aizen lit a lantern, revealed himself, and asked why it targeted brothel workers.
• Aizen put down his sword and convinced the Hollow that he wanted to listen and help.
• The Hollow described losing his family in wartime, finding Aoko at a brothel, and being rejected when he tried to bring her home.
• The Hollow explained that he became an assassin to earn enough money to buy Aoko’s freedom, killing many people along the way.

Aizen defeated a Hollow by tricking it, but his confidence made him careless, and the Hollow nearly killed him before Yamabuki Chidori intervened. Yamabuki Chidori healed Aizen and confronted him about his habit of getting cocky whenever he gained the advantage.

• Jiro returned to the brothel to take Aoko home, but she married a noble instead and rejected him; after dying in the attack, he became a Hollow and killed Aoko and the others.
• Aizen stabbed the Hollow after distracting it with its life story, then chased it into the darkness when it fled.
• Aizen tracked the wounded Hollow and pinned what he believed was its body, but it was a toad, and the Hollow struck him with its tongue.
• The Hollow restrained Aizen and prepared to eat him, but Yamabuki Chidori appeared and killed it before it could bite down.
• Yamabuki Chidori criticized Aizen for lowering his guard after gaining the upper hand and healed his broken ribs and arm.

After Yamabuki Chidori scolded Aizen for leaving an opponent alive, he gave Aizen a pass to the Great Spirit Library Corridor. Aizen learned that only the Captain Commander and Chief Strategist could enter its Forbidden Books Section, then met Shunsui Kyōraku while browsing the library.

• Yamabuki Chidori reprimanded Aizen for explaining his plan instead of finishing a fight, and Aizen stabbed his own hand to remember the lesson.
• Aizen asked Yamabuki Chidori about freedom, and Yamabuki gave him a pass to the Great Spirit Library Corridor.
• Aizen met the Book Slave, who revealed that Yamabuki had destroyed the Tsunayashiro Clan and directed Aizen to the Soul King records.
• Aizen tried to enter the Forbidden Books Section but guards told him that only the Captain Commander and Chief Strategist could enter.
• Aizen met Shunsui Kyōraku, who gave him a broad history of Soul Society to read.

Yamabuki Chidori trained Aizen in Hakuda by throwing him into a pit with a Hollow, then taught him how to assess and finish off Hollows. He also warned Aizen that Zanpakuto might let the Zero Division control Soul Reapers and left him with a new goal: achieving Man-Sword Unity.

• Yamabuki Chidori kicked Aizen into a pit with a Hollow and told him to fight it bare-handed.
• Aizen struck the Hollow with a Reiatsu-filled punch, then kicked, punched, and strangled it until it stopped moving.
• Aizen fired a Spirit Particle Musket at the Hollow, but Yamabuki Chidori revealed it was still alive and explained how to identify and defeat Hollows with Super Regeneration.
• Yamabuki Chidori told Aizen that Zanpakuto might be a means for the Zero Division to control Soul Reapers, then demonstrated Shunkō by blasting a crater into the pit floor.
• Yamabuki Chidori described Man-Sword Unity as a way to escape that control, and Aizen adopted it as his goal.

Aizen awakened Kyōka Suigetsu, discovered its Complete Hypnosis ability, and chose to trust Yamabuki Chidori with the secret. After testing its limits, Aizen went to the Great Spirit Library Corridor to investigate the Forbidden Books Section, where Yamabuki Chidori followed him.

• Aizen met Kyōka Suigetsu in a dreamlike encounter and learned his Zanpakuto’s name and power of Complete Hypnosis.
• Aizen tested Kyōka Suigetsu on Gangcun, making his roommate believe it created water clones.
• Aizen confessed Kyōka Suigetsu’s true ability to Yamabuki Chidori, who suggested he present it as a water-type illusion ability.
• Yamabuki Chidori helped Aizen test Kyōka Suigetsu, finding that it could control a Seated Officer, partly affect a Lieutenant, and fail against a Captain.
• Aizen released Kyōka Suigetsu in the Forbidden Books Section of the Great Spirit Library Corridor and read there before leaving.
• Yamabuki Chidori arrived at the Forbidden Books Section soon after Aizen left, and the Guards reported that the area was secure.

Aizen entered the Forbidden Books Section disguised as Yamabuki Chidori and uncovered the truth about the Soul King, his teacher’s past, and her research into breaking the Soul Reaper limit. He escaped detection by the Captain Commander and used Kyōka Suigetsu to slip away, determined to reach heaven’s summit.

• Aizen entered the Forbidden Books Section under Yamabuki Chidori’s disguise and found her handwritten records about the Soul King and the war against Yhwach.
• Aizen read that Yamabuki Chidori had refused the Soul King’s position, fought Yhwach in a hybrid form, and witnessed the Captain Commander’s devastating Bankai.
• Aizen discovered that the Tsunayashiro Clan had dismembered the original human Soul King and made him a Human Pillar to hold the Three Realms together.
• Aizen resolved to control his own fate, claim the empty throne in the heavens, and surpass the Soul Reaper limit using Hollow power.
• The Captain Commander entered the Forbidden Books Section, but Aizen hid against the ceiling and avoided being noticed.
• Aizen released Kyōka Suigetsu to hypnotize the Captain Commander and silently dropped behind him to escape.

After narrowly escaping the Forbidden Books Section through Kyōka Suigetsu, Aizen resolved to grow stronger and joined the 11th Division to seek dangerous combat missions. He survived his first mission but was badly injured, and after waking in the hospital he discussed Kyōka Suigetsu’s limits with Yamabuki Chidori while Kamishirokawa objected to him eating.

• Aizen escaped the Forbidden Books Section after mistaking Yamabuki Chidori’s Kyōten'en illusion for the Captain Commander, while Chidori watched and admired Aizen’s skill with Kyōka Suigetsu.
• Aizen asked Yamabuki Chidori to place him in the most dangerous division, and Chidori gave him a recommendation letter for the 11th Division.
• Hyakki-ji Kenpachi accepted Aizen and sent him on a mission, warning him that the work could be fatal.
• Aizen returned three days later after killing a powerful Hollow, but his severe injuries and blood loss left him unconscious.
• The Fourth Division treated Aizen, and he woke a day later in the hospital with Yamabuki Chidori beside him.
• Aizen identified Kyōka Suigetsu’s weakness in direct combat, and Kamishirokawa entered the ward to warn that Aizen should not eat yet.