Chapter Summaries

After recovering from his injuries, Aizen discovered his Reiatsu had risen and arranged to learn Kamishirokawa’s Swift Sword while continuing his studies with Yamabuki Chidori. He kept his strength and ambitions secret, and began planning how to win his teacher’s support for a future assault on the Soul King Palace.

• Yamabuki Chidori introduced Kamishirokawa as a former Kenpachi who became a doctor, then offered to teach Aizen Kido, poisons, and healing techniques.
• Hyakki-ji asked whether Aizen’s dangerous training should continue, and Yamabuki Chidori told him to assign Aizen the highest-risk missions.
• After half a month of recovery, Aizen found that his Reiatsu had grown to near Seated Officer level, and Kamishirokawa discharged him from the hospital.
• Aizen persuaded Kamishirokawa to teach him Swift Sword in secret, and Kamishirokawa arranged to meet him in seven days.
• Aizen told Yamabuki Chidori about the lessons, declined a promotion so he could hide his strength, and asked to begin learning poisons that evening.
• Aizen considered cultivating Yamabuki Chidori’s trust so his teacher might help him attack the Soul King Palace in the future.

Yamabuki Chidori began teaching Aizen poisoncraft and tested whether he could identify anesthetic in a drink. Aizen chose incorrectly, passed out, and woke the next day still dizzy.

• Yamabuki Chidori suspected Aizen wanted to recruit her, but she resolved not to be drawn into his schemes because she wanted to retire.
• Aizen left the 11th Division early and waited for Yamabuki Chidori and Unohana to return home.
• Yamabuki Chidori invited Aizen to dinner, then took him to her underground training ground and explained how to make a powerful combat anesthetic.
• Aizen prepared a dose of anesthetic, and Yamabuki Chidori challenged him to identify which of three cups of Wine contained it.
• Aizen mistook Yamabuki Chidori's faint smile for a clue, drank the poisoned cups, and collapsed into a deep sleep.
• Aizen woke at noon the next day, still dizzy, and remembered the test.

After recovering from his self-made anesthetic, Aizen learned from Yamabuki Chidori about poison detection and breaking an opponent’s rules, then was sent alone to patrol South 28th District. Meanwhile, Chiharu Reika’s squad searched the district for missing Shinigami and encountered a mysterious woman in the mountains.

• Aizen learned that Yamabuki Chidori had drugged all three wine glasses, heard her advice to break an enemy’s rules, and received a Kidō-treated silver needle that detected poisons.
• Hyakki-ji Kenpachi assigned Aizen to patrol South 28th District, then ordered a twelve-person squad to investigate after four Shinigami disappeared there.
• Yamabuki Chidori and Hyakki-ji Kenpachi discussed the disappearances and waited for the squad’s report, doubting that the Quincy were responsible.
• Chiharu Reika led eleven Shinigami into South 28th District to search for their missing comrades and stopped to camp near Dachuan Mountain as night approached.
• The squad frightened Chiharu Reika with ghost stories until a gaunt woman carrying an enormous double-edged sword appeared silently behind one of them.
• Chiharu Reika’s squad prepared to draw their swords, but the mysterious woman only asked them to move because they were blocking her way.

Chiharu Reika and her Soul Reapers encountered Akane Youka, a hungry, extraordinarily strong girl who carried a massive sword, and left her behind while they searched the mountains for missing Soul Reapers. During the search, an unknown enemy silently captured several team members, leaving Chiharu Reika stranded and seeking help as communications began to fail.

• Chiharu Reika let Akane Youka pass through the camp, then watched her uproot a tree and offered her food when she saw her walking toward the dangerous mountain.
• Akane Youka ate the Soul Reapers' rations, explained that her parents had abandoned her, and said she had become her village's warrior after pulling out its enormous sword.
• Chiharu Reika invited Akane Youka to stay with the team overnight, then left her with food and an armband before leading the Soul Reapers deeper into the mountains.
• Chiharu Reika split her team to search for clues, but during the night three Soul Reapers vanished from her camp without a sound.
• Chiharu Reika contacted Yamabuki Chidori, who told her to summon the other teams and await rescue, but one teammate's message about rescuing the captives abruptly cut off.

Aizen arrived in the South 28th District to support Chiharu Reika, who had been forced into a rigged gambling game with a Spider Hollow holding her squadmates hostage. After saving Chiharu from cutting off her own limb, Aizen sent her away with an injured Soul Reaper and faced the Hollow alone.

• Yamabuki Chidori ordered Aizen to investigate the missing Soul Reapers in the South 28th District, and Aizen hurried to the mountains.
• Chiharu Reika found her missing squadmates trapped in a Spider Hollow's web and agreed to wager for their lives.
• Chiharu won two rounds before losing a wager, then accepted an all-or-nothing game in which she risked a hand and foot.
• Aizen arrived in time to block Chiharu's sword and told her to take an injured comrade to safety while he rescued the others.
• Chiharu left to guide reinforcements, and Aizen faced the Spider Hollow, telling it that it was afraid.

Aizen defeated the Spider Hollow with Kyōka Suigetsu and confirmed the Soul Reapers were safe, while Chiharu Reika was badly injured facing a Menos Grande. Akane Youka arrived to confront the monster, but her first concern was whether it could be eaten.

• Aizen deduced the Spider Hollow's tricks and released Kyōka Suigetsu, causing it to attack an illusion of him.
• Chiharu Reika fought swarms of spider clones, followed her squad member's guidance, and released Kuryūmaru to attack their source.
• A Menos Grande emerged, knocked Chiharu Reika's sword away, and left her injured and unable to fight.
• Aizen stabbed the Hollow, revealed that he had saved the Soul Reapers, and killed it with Kidō Bullets and White Lightning.
• A huge sword fell between Chiharu Reika and the Menos Grande, and Akane Youka appeared, explaining that she had run out of biscuits and asking if the monster was edible.

Huo Ying and Chiharu Reika faced the Adjuchas Spider Lady until Kamishirokawa arrived and killed her, with Huo Ying delivering the final blow. After rescuing Aizen and the other Soul Reapers, Kamishirokawa decided to take Huo Ying with him to help overcome his swordsmanship limits.

• Huo Ying crushed a Menos Grande with her greatsword, but the strike turned it into mush she could not eat.
• Spider Lady appeared and overpowered Chiharu Reika, while Huo Ying prepared to fight her.
• Kamishirokawa arrived through Yamabuki Chidori's Wormhole and cut off Spider Lady's head as she tried to flee.
• Spider Lady revived and ran, but Huo Ying smashed her into mush, astonishing Kamishirokawa.
• Kamishirokawa went to Aizen, treated the anesthetized Soul Reapers, and learned Aizen had concealed his strength during the battle.
• Kamishirokawa resolved to bring Huo Ying with him, hoping her speed with a greatsword could help him surpass his limits.

After returning to Seireitei, Kamishirokawa tried to recruit Huo Ying as his disciple, but she refused because she sensed he was using her. Unohana took Huo Ying in, and the chapter ended with her settling into Unohana’s home and eyeing Yamabuki Chidori warily.

• The reapers returned to Seireitei, where Yamabuki Chidori confirmed that his Wormhole experiment had succeeded and Kamishirokawa sent the team for medical examinations.
• The examinations revealed spider eggs inside the abducted reapers, and Kamishirokawa helped treat their wounds and prescribe medicine.
• Kamishirokawa found Huo Ying at the restaurant, was shocked by her enormous bill, and tried to persuade her to join the Gotei 13, but she refused because she thought he was using her.
• Unohana invited Huo Ying to stay with her after examining her and finding her healthy despite her thin appearance.
• Huo Ying followed Unohana home, settled in, and whispered that Yamabuki Chidori seemed like a pervert when he arrived with Aizen.

Yamabuki Chidori tested Huo Ying’s strength, showed her the basics of Shinigami combat, and broke her sword while demonstrating his Zanpakuto. After arranging for her training and a replacement blade, he tormented Aizen with a drug lesson; the chapter ended with Ōetsu greeting Ichibē Hyōsube and Nimaiya Ōetsu at the Soul King Palace.

• Yamabuki Chidori persuaded Huo Ying to join the Gotei 13 by promising that she could eventually retire and stay with Unohana.
• Huo Ying effortlessly wielded her massive sword and struck Yamabuki Chidori, who blocked her attack with his arm.
• Yamabuki Chidori taught Huo Ying about Flash Step, Kidō, Hakuda, and Zanpakuto, then used Space Severance to cut her sword in half.
• Yamabuki Chidori promised to have a swordsmith forge Huo Ying a replacement and offered to find her a teacher.
• Yamabuki Chidori gave Aizen a lesson involving Torture Drug, and Aizen tried to flee before his teacher caught him.
• At the Soul King Palace, Ichibē Hyōsube and Nimaiya Ōetsu stared strangely as Ōetsu greeted them.

Yamabuki Chidori visited the Soul King Palace through a wormhole and persuaded Nimaiya Ōetsu to repair Huo Ying’s greatsword. He then arranged for Kamishirokawa to train Huo Ying and Aizen in Swift Sword, and the chapter ended with Huo Ying receiving her repaired weapon.

• Yamabuki Chidori appeared in the Soul King Palace through a wormhole and asked Nimaiya Ōetsu to turn his severed greatsword into a Zanpakuto-like weapon.
• Yamabuki Chidori caught Huo Ying eating his breakfast, reviewed Shinji Hirako’s orphanage funding request, and took Huo Ying to Kamishirokawa.
• Yamabuki Chidori brought Aizen and Huo Ying to Kamishirokawa, who reluctantly agreed to teach them Swift Sword and trained their concentration through meditation.
• Kamishirokawa advised Aizen to focus his studies, then taught him and Huo Ying Swift Sword’s three basic movements.
• Yamabuki Chidori returned with the repaired greatsword, and Huo Ying found its weight suited her.

Yamabuki Chidori planned to strengthen Aizen by finding him a suitable Hollow opponent, then went to Hueco Mundo to capture Menos Grande. As he prepared to take several Hollows back, an unknown woman confronted him.

• Huo Ying tested her heavier greatsword by cleaving away half a hill, and Kamishirokawa agreed she should wait until she learned Bankai before challenging Hyakki-ji.
• Kamishirokawa challenged Yamabuki Chidori to a swordsmanship contest, but Yamabuki Chidori stopped his half-drawn sword and knocked him unconscious with one punch.
• Aizen questioned whether he should focus on only a few abilities, and Yamabuki Chidori told him his talent let him learn many skills before beginning to teach him Kido.
• Yamabuki Chidori searched Hollow reports for a suitable opponent for Aizen, found none, and decided to capture Menos Grande in Hueco Mundo.
• Yamabuki Chidori opened a Garganta, suppressed several Menos Grande, and was confronted by a woman who demanded to know why he had come to capture Hollows.

Yamabuki Chidori captured Tier Harribel in Hueco Mundo but let Coyote Starrk persuade him to release her, then took a blind Menos Grande back to Soul Society and prepared it as a challenge for Aizen. After the Gotei 13 discovered the creature, Yamabuki assigned Aizen to eliminate it alone, leaving Aizen wary of his teacher’s intentions.

• Yamabuki Chidori confronted Tier Harribel, defeated her, and bound her while demanding that Salkapolo prepare Menos Grande for him.
• Coyote Starrk intervened on Tier Harribel’s behalf, and Yamabuki released her before asking Salkapolo to select a blind Menos Grande with exceptional hearing.
• Yamabuki took the Menos Grande through a Garganta to Rukongai, named it Batman, and injected it with an antitoxin designed to block poison.
• Yamabuki sent a report of Batman’s presence to Aizen and assigned him to eliminate the Menos Grande alone despite Aizen’s objections.

Aizen hunted Batman in a forest, but Batman’s blindness made Kyōka Suigetsu useless and his tricks gradually turned Aizen’s heightened senses against him. As Batman waited for poison and an ultrasonic attack to finish Aizen, Yamabuki Chidori remained confident that her student would turn the fight around.

• Aizen questioned the staff, prepared drugs and Kidō Bullets, then set out alone to hunt Batman on Yamabuki Chidori’s orders.
• Batman hid in the forest until dusk, avoiding Soul Reapers and planning to hunt people after nightfall.
• Aizen entered the forest and tried to lure Batman out, while Batman tracked him with Ultrasound and prepared a dark ambush.
• Batman attacked Aizen, but Aizen blocked the strike with his blade and used heightened hearing and a flare to fight back.
• Aizen discovered Batman had no eyes, making Kyōka Suigetsu ineffective, and Batman used distractions and poisoned claws to wound him.
• Batman struck Aizen with Ultrasound and waited for the poison to take effect, while Yamabuki Chidori refused to send help and bet that Aizen would win.

Aizen defeated Batman after seeing through his feigned deaths and traps, while Yamabuki Chidori secretly watched the fight. Back in Seireitei, Huo Ying overwhelmed Kamishirokawa in a spar and released her Zanpakuto, Mountain Splitter, whose blade transformed into an enormous single-edged weapon.

• Aizen survived Batman's poison with an antidote, countered his feigned unconsciousness, and killed him with his sword and Spirit Particle Musket.
• Yamabuki Chidori left after secretly observing Aizen's victory, and Aizen deduced that she had arranged the fight and watched him.
• Yamabuki Chidori sensed Kamishirokawa and Huo Ying's Reiatsu colliding and rushed to watch their fight alongside several Captains.
• Huo Ying matched Kamishirokawa's speed with her Swift Sword and sent him flying with a powerful strike, impressing Hyakki-ji.
• Kamishirokawa urged Huo Ying to release her Zanpakuto, and she called its name, Mountain Splitter, transforming it into an enormous single-edged heavy blade.

Huo Ying demonstrated the Mountain Splitting Saber’s overwhelming power, while Yamabuki Chidori prepared to watch Akane Youka challenge Hyakki-ji for the Kenpachi title. The succession battle began with Ōtōgawa Utsugi opening an illegal betting table, and Yamabuki Chidori’s private wager caught Unohana’s attention.

• Huo Ying used the Mountain Splitting Saber to defeat Kamishirokawa, who surrendered after his sword was knocked away, while Hyakki-ji fled to train.
• Yamabuki Chidori discussed the upcoming Kenpachi battle with Aizen, who had realized she arranged his difficult Hollow mission.
• Saitō Fubōfu dragged Yamabuki Chidori to the Rukongai venue, where she arrived through a Wormhole and left Aizen waiting outside her locked house.
• Unohana and Kamishirokawa spoke with Hyakki-ji before Akane Youka arrived at the arena and ate chicken legs ahead of the fight.
• Ōtōgawa Utsugi opened a betting table, and Yamabuki Chidori secretly bet a month’s salary on Huo Ying before Unohana confronted her about keeping private money.

Huo Ying and Hyakki-ji Kenpachi fought in the Kenpachi Succession Battle, testing her overwhelming power against his Iron Scale Armor and counterattack ability. Huo Ying broke through his doubled armor and wounded his shoulder, but Hyakki-ji remained standing after knocking her away, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Yamabuki Chidori beat Ōtōgawa Utsugi before the Captain Commander arrived and turned everyone's attention to the arena.
• Hyakki-ji Kenpachi released Iron Scale Armor, which absorbed and reflected part of Huo Ying's opening sword strike and injured her hands.
• Hyakki-ji struck Huo Ying with his Twin Bone technique and Flash Step, while her counterstrike hit his waist, leaving both fighters down briefly before they rose again.
• Huo Ying released Duan Shan, and Hyakki-ji doubled his armor to withstand her next attack.
• Huo Ying's Mountain Splitting Saber pierced Hyakki-ji's armor and cut into his shoulder bone, but Hyakki-ji forced the blade free and kicked her away.

Huo Ying unleashed her Bankai, Mountain Splitting Sea Cutting, against Hyakki-ji’s Steel Immovable Fortress in a brutal battle for the title of Strongest Shinigami. She began tearing apart the armored puppet despite catastrophic injuries, and the fight remained unresolved as the arena collapsed.

• Hyakki-ji activated Bankai and revealed Steel Immovable Fortress, a gigantic steel puppet that could use Flash Step and reflect some attacks.
• Hyakki-ji’s Bankai overwhelmed Huo Ying in their first clash, but she refused to surrender because she wanted to join Unohana in the Fourth Division.
• Huo Ying activated Mountain Splitting Sea Cutting and charged Hyakki-ji, suffering severe injuries while cleanly severing one of Immovable Fortress’s arms.
• Huo Ying kept fighting through broken muscles and bones, cutting off the puppet’s fingers and right hand before Hyakki-ji smashed her through the collapsing arena.
• Huo Ying charged back from beneath the arena and carved deep wounds into Immovable Fortress, then severed its shoulder as her own arms became mangled.

Huo Ying defeated Hyakki-ji in the Kenpachi succession battle, then collapsed from her grievous injuries as both fighters were taken for treatment. Hyakki-ji recovered in the Fourth Division while Huo Ying was stabilized at Yamabuki Chidori's home, where Kamishirokawa visited and found her recovering in bandages.

• Huo Ying shattered Hyakki-ji's Bankai and overwhelmed him with relentless attacks until he surrendered, and the Captain Commander stopped her final strike and named her the 11th Division's sixth Captain.
• Huo Ying collapsed after releasing her Bankai, and Yamabuki Chidori took her for emergency treatment while Unohana tended to Hyakki-ji.
• Kamishirokawa operated on Hyakki-ji, who joked with him and agreed to consider joining the Fourth Division after stepping down as captain.
• Hyakki-ji and Kamishirokawa discussed Huo Ying's unnatural resilience and worried about her severe injuries, while 11th Division members visited Hyakki-ji in the hospital.
• Kamishirokawa visited Yamabuki Chidori's home and found Huo Ying wrapped in bandages, shouting as Chidori treated her hands.

Yamabuki Chidori and the other doctors healed Huo Ying’s shattered hands and severe internal injuries, allowing her to take up the 11th Division captaincy. The chapter ended with Huo Ying facing her new division and the unruly members beginning to welcome their powerful, shy new Captain.

• Yamabuki Chidori used the underground hot spring and his Spirit Particle Suture Technique to repair Huo Ying’s internal injuries, bones, and hands over ten days.
• Aizen helped treat Huo Ying’s remaining minor wounds, and Yamabuki Chidori hinted that Aizen might someday learn the Spirit Particle Suture Technique if he could fuse Soul Reaper and Quincy powers.
• Huo Ying became the official Captain of the 11th Division, the Sixth Kenpachi, while Hyakki-ji and Kamishirokawa escorted her to the division.
• Kamishirokawa warned the 11th Division members not to bully Huo Ying, but they dismissed his warning and teased their new Captain.
• Huo Ying shyly greeted the division members, who soon began welcoming her into their unruly way of life.

Aizen received a mission to hunt down Kuro no Suke, a Fifth Division Soul Reaper who had killed his comrades and deserted, and investigated the target’s background. Meanwhile, Quincy families in the Human World argued over whether to prepare for the king’s return or continue living comfortably, and Aota was expelled from the meeting.

• Huo Ying gave Aizen Yamabuki Chidori’s mission scroll, which named the deserter Kuro no Suke as his target.
• Aizen visited the Fifth Division, where Shinji Hirako teased him and noticed that the mission seemed suspiciously dangerous.
• Shinji led Aizen to the archives, where Aizen learned about Kuro no Suke’s blindness-inducing Zanpakuto, his rise to Sixth Seat, and his family’s disappearance.
• Aizen returned to Yamabuki Chidori’s office, found his teacher absent, and prepared to begin the mission himself.
• Quincy leaders argued over whether to pursue Perfect Sanctification and prepare for Yhwach’s return or preserve their peaceful lives.
• Aota urged the Quincy to build their strength and seek out the Ishida Family’s northern branch, but an elder condemned him as a fanatic and ordered him to leave.