Chapter Summaries

Central 46 reconsidered Chizome Souya’s punishment after Yamabuki Chidori rejected their proposed confinement, stripping Souya of his captaincy while keeping him in the Gotei 13. Afterward, Kawakami joined other nobles in plotting a coup against Yamabuki Chidori and seeking an alliance with the Quincy.

• Central 46 debated Souya’s punishment, and most councilors approved stripping him of his power, confiscating his Zanpakuto, and confining him at home.
• Yamabuki Chidori arrived, dismissed the proposed sentence, and challenged Kawakami to fight Souya if he wanted to replace him as Captain of the 11th Division.
• After Kawakami backed down, Yamabuki Chidori tore up the document, and Katoru Hatsunoya announced that Souya would lose his captaincy but remain in the Gotei 13.
• Once Yamabuki Chidori left, Kawakami met four influential councilors, who proposed overthrowing him and restoring noble rule.
• Kawakami agreed to the coup, and the councilors proposed seeking help from the Quincy; meanwhile, a little black cat listened nearby.

Yamabuki Chidori punished Chizome Souya by expelling him from the 11th Division and assigning him to intern in the Fourth Division, then heard Yoruichi's warning about nobles plotting with the Quincy. He also postponed Gen'en Kinra's retirement and appointed Gosuke to temporarily lead the 11th Division.

• Yamabuki Chidori told Chizome Souya that Central 46 had stripped him of his Captain's position, and assigned him to the Fourth Division until he understood the value of life.
• Yoruichi told Yamabuki Chidori that she had overheard five nobles discussing using the Quincy to achieve their aims, but he told her to keep quiet and let them proceed.
• Gen'en Kinra asked Yamabuki Chidori to approve his retirement and appoint Kyōraku Tōshirō as Captain of the Third Division, and Yamabuki asked him to wait until the current crisis passed.
• Yamabuki Chidori informed the 11th Division that Chizome Souya could no longer serve as Captain and asked its members who should replace him.
• Gosuke nominated Yamabuki Chidori for the position, but Yamabuki refused and ordered Gosuke to temporarily assume the Captain's duties because he could use Bankai.

Gosuke became the ninth Kenpachi by inheritance and was immediately kidnapped by the previous Kenpachis for special training. Azashiro Souya returned to the Fourth Division, learned from Unohana that he needed to develop compassion, and was then dragged off to join Gosuke’s training.

• Gosuke reluctantly accepted the 11th Division Captain position after Yamabuki Chidori promised to rescue him if he lost a future challenge.
• At the succession ceremony, the Captain Commander encouraged Gosuke, who fled afterward and ran into Kuruyashiki and the other Kenpachis.
• Kuruyashiki and the other Kenpachis restrained Gosuke and carried him away to train him, while Yamabuki Chidori hoped they would not hurt him too badly.
• Azashiro Souya returned to the Fourth Division, where Unohana and the other members welcomed him and Unohana explained that he lacked compassion as a healer.
• Unohana told Azashiro Souya that protecting someone could make his blade unstoppable, but Kuruyashiki soon carried him away to help train Gosuke.
• Kuruyashiki brought Azashiro Souya to Yamabuki Chidori’s underground training ground and threw him down before the gathered Kenpachis.

Gosuke Kenpachi was forced into special training against Huo Ying, where his dark-type Zanpakutō revealed its ability to turn him into shadow and create a field of absolute darkness. The chapter ended as Gosuke attacked Huo Ying from within the darkness, believing he had gained the advantage.

• Kuruyashiki, the other Kenpachi, and Yamabuki Chidori gathered to train Gosuke Kenpachi, who pleaded to quit before accepting the challenge.
• Huo Ying cut Gosuke free and dominated their spar, stopping his sword with two fingers and effortlessly shattering his Kidō.
• Gosuke released Magei Maru, whose darkness let him turn his body into shadow and evade Huo Ying's punch.
• Huo Ying struck Gosuke with Shunkō, leaving him battered, while Yamabuki Chidori argued that they should see his Bankai.
• Gosuke invoked Magei Maru's Bankai, swallowing all light within twenty meters and engulfing Huo Ying in absolute darkness.
• Gosuke attacked Huo Ying from within the dark domain, convinced that the darkness gave him the advantage.

Gosuke revealed that his Bankai gave armor to allies, drawing criticism from the former Kenpachis before Yamabuki Chidori reassured him. Meanwhile, Kawakami secretly allied with the Quincy to attack Soul Kon Society, unaware that Aizen had observed their meeting and reported their plot to Yamabuki Chidori.

• Gosuke released his Bankai, Black Demon God, and showed that it could armor everyone within his Reiatsu range, making it weak in duels but powerful in group battles.
• The former Kenpachis questioned Gosuke's fitness to be Kenpachi, but Yamabuki Chidori refused to return as Captain of the 11th Division, and the others avoided taking the position themselves.
• Yamabuki Chidori comforted Gosuke and then shared dessert with Huo Ying.
• Kawakami met with the Quincy and offered their help in breaching Seireitei in exchange for restoring noble power.
• The Quincy demanded the heads of Yamabuki Chidori and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto and showed Kawakami the Sanrei Glove, concealing its cost to its wearer.
• Aizen watched the factions leave and realized that Yamabuki Chidori had anticipated Kawakami's plot; he asked his teacher what to do next.

Aizen carried out Yamabuki Chidori’s secret plan by disguising himself as a Quincy and killing eleven rebellious nobles, leaving the Soul Society on alert and Kawakami terrified. After Aizen was assigned to investigate the murders, he targeted the surviving servant, but Shunshun Shidō arrived and attacked him.

• Aizen agreed to help Yamabuki Chidori, while Kawakami arranged an alliance between rebellious nobles and the Quincy to overthrow the Gotei 13.
• Kawakami gathered the nobles and made them sign a secret register, binding them to their conspiracy.
• Aizen disguised himself as a Quincy and killed eleven nobles and more than twenty servants, sparing one servant as a witness.
• Shunshun Shidō investigated the murders and sealed Seireitei, while Yamabuki Chidori publicly reprimanded Aizen and told him to investigate the killings.
• Kawakami panicked as the murders trapped him between the Quincy and the Gotei 13, and the Captain Commander ordered defenses strengthened on Yamabuki Chidori’s advice.
• Aizen entered the surviving servant’s room to kill him, but Shunshun Shidō arrived and attacked; Aizen dodged and drew his Spirit Bow.

Aizen fought Shunshun Shidō and Shikkōgai Musashi while disguised as a Quincy, using the battle as cover for Yamabuki Chidori’s assassination mission. After the nobles were killed, Aizen struggled to escape as the Captain Commander arrived.

• Shunshun Shidō attacked Aizen, but Aizen evaded him with Hirenkyaku and blasted the area with a powerful Holy Spirit Arrow.
• Shikkōgai Musashi joined Shunshun Shidō, broke Aizen’s Reishi Shield with his Bankai, and forced Aizen to fight with Soul-Cutting Weapons.
• Shunshun Shidō released Stray Cat, increasing his speed and injuring Aizen, while Aizen used exploding arrows to keep the two Captains at bay.
• At Yamabuki Chidori’s instruction, Aizen fired arrows into the sky as Wormholes redirected them onto the Kawakami Alliance’s nobles, killing more than thirty and completing the mission.
• Aizen wondered how he could escape the two Captains, then sensed the Captain Commander’s terrifying Reiatsu approaching.

Aizen revealed his Perfect Sanctification and overwhelmed two Captains before facing the Captain Commander, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni. Yamamoto nearly burned Aizen to death, but Aizen escaped through a Wormhole to Yamabuki Chidori’s training room and recognized how formidable the Captain Commander was.

• Shunshun Shidō and Shikkōgai Musashi activated their Bankai against Aizen, forcing him to reveal Perfect Sanctification.
• Aizen used Rain of Light and Light Sword to defeat the two Captains, destroying the 2nd Division Barracks after its members had evacuated.
• Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni arrived and fought Aizen with Ryūjin Jakka, overpowering his Reishi attacks and trapping him in flames.
• Aizen formed a Reishi shield inside the fire dragon and asked Yamabuki Chidori for help as the shield began to fail.
• Yamabuki Chidori opened a Wormhole, allowing Aizen to escape to his underground training room while Yamamoto believed he had burned the intruder away.
• Aizen admitted that his chances against Yamamoto were nearly zero if he fought without Kyōka Suigetsu.

After Quincy attacks and the assassination of more than thirty nobles, Yamabuki Chidori and the Captain Commander put four divisions on combat readiness and prepared for war. Yamabuki refused Kuchiki Ginrei’s request to send Kuchiki Sōjun to the battlefield, warning that the inexperienced lieutenant was unlikely to survive.

• Yamabuki Chidori told the Captain Commander that the Quincy had used their attack on the 2nd Division to distract Soul Society while assassinating more than thirty nobles.
• The Captain Commander ordered the 2nd, Third, Fifth, and 11th Divisions to prepare for war under Yamabuki Chidori’s command.
• Gosuke Kenpachi panicked after Gen'en Kinra described the powerful Sternritter and went to write his will.
• Yamabuki Chidori postponed Gen'en Kinra’s retirement and said the war could help Kyōraku Tōshirō earn merit.
• Kuchiki Ginrei asked Yamabuki Chidori to let Kuchiki Sōjun join the war, but Yamabuki refused and warned Kuchiki Kyōka that Sōjun was unlikely to return alive.

Yamabuki Chidori assembled a large Soul Reaper force and brought it secretly to the Human World to ambush the Quincies. As Bensheng Wuzhong’s thousand elite troops prepared to enter Soul Society with Kawakami’s help, Kawakami turned on them and launched a Hadō attack.

• Yamabuki Chidori assigned Fourth Division doctors and Visored fighters to the war effort, while Unohana told her medics that killing every enemy was the highest form of medicine.
• Yamabuki Chidori led the Soul Reapers into the Human World and ordered them to spread out with Quincy-detecting devices for a surprise attack.
• Bensheng Wuzhong waited seven days before Kawakami arrived and claimed he had bribed the Soul Gate guards and could lead the Quincies into Seireitei.
• Bensheng Wuzhong sent a thousand elite Quincies toward the Soul Gate, believing Kawakami’s claims that the Soul Reapers were weak and corrupt.
• Kawakami drew a formation and warned the Quincies not to use their abilities, then suddenly cast Hadō #63: Roaring Cannon at Bensheng Wuzhong’s forces.

Aizen lured Bensheng Wuzhong and his Quincy army into a Shinigami ambush, where the 11th Division routed them and Huo Ying killed six death warriors who used Sanrei Gloves. The Shinigami planned to exploit the Quincy’s broken morale and eliminate their forces around the perimeter.

• Aizen revealed that he had impersonated Kawakami and led Bensheng Wuzhong into a trap, where Kidō killed more than two hundred Quincy.
• Gosuke Kenpachi led the armored 11th Division into battle, and its charge killed hundreds of Quincy and shattered their morale.
• Bensheng Wuzhong ordered six death warriors to remove their Sanrei Gloves and cover the main force’s retreat, but their arrows injured only three Shinigami before Huo Ying joined the fight.
• Huo Ying activated her Bankai and killed all six death warriors without being injured.
• Yamabuki Chidori reported the Shinigami’s three casualties against more than four hundred Quincy losses, and Shunshun Shidō volunteered to lead the Onmitsukidō against the demoralized Quincy.

Bensheng Wuzhong sought help from the Ishida Family while Yamabuki Chidori planned to use the Quincy reinforcements to draw in and eliminate Quincy forces. A thousand members of the Ishida Family marched into a Shinigami ambush, where the 11th Division began slaughtering them.

• Bensheng Wuzhong ordered his subordinate to recruit the Ishida Family and its branches after his forces suffered heavy losses.
• Ishida Jōka agreed to support Bensheng Wuzhong, deciding the Ishida Family would benefit from joining the conflict, and dismissed a warning that the Shinigami might have prepared an ambush.
• Yamabuki Chidori explained to Gosuke Kenpachi that he planned to let Quincy reinforcements gather before wiping them out, then discussed Aizen's sealing tools and the Hogyoku's limits.
• Aizen resolved to use the Hogyoku to develop a way to seal Ryūjin Jakka, while Yamabuki Chidori ordered the 2nd and 11th Divisions to attack the approaching Quincy.
• Shunshun Shidō and the Onmitsukidō ambushed Ishida Jōka's force; the Quincy failed to get messages past the encirclement, and Gosuke Kenpachi led the 11th Division's armored charge.

The Soul Reapers annihilated the Ishida Family’s Quincy forces and launched a full assault on the Quincy base after Bensheng Wuzhong fled with his deathsworn. Yamabuki Chidori caught up with Bensheng Wuzhong and demanded a roster of Quincy families, leaving him trapped after deleting his guards.

• Ishida Jōka ordered a retreat, but the 2nd Division’s gunfire surrounded and killed the surrendering Ishida Family Quincy.
• After learning the Ishida Family had been wiped out, Bensheng Wuzhong secretly gathered his deathsworn and fled, abandoning the Quincy at the base.
• Yamabuki Chidori used surveillance intelligence to order a coordinated assault, and the Soul Reapers overwhelmed the leaderless Quincy forces.
• Gosuke Kenpachi followed Yamabuki Chidori’s order to kill the captured Quincy while Yamabuki went after Bensheng Wuzhong.
• Yamabuki Chidori confronted Bensheng Wuzhong, demanded a roster of Quincy families, and deleted the deathsworn who tried to protect him.

Yamabuki Chidori defeated Bensheng Wuzhong and discovered that the Ishida Family was facing the Soul Reaper army’s attack. Kurosaki tried to save the child Longyin from the massacre, and Yamabuki Chidori intervened as two Onmitsukidō assassins cornered them.

• Yamabuki Chidori exposed Bensheng Wuzhong’s fake roster, erased his hands with Space Deletion, and had the Onmitsukidō kill him.
• Yamabuki Chidori gave Shunshun Shidō the roster for the 2nd Division to use against the listed Quincy families, then followed a bloodline trace to the Ishida Family.
• A letter revealed that Ishida Jōka and his forces had been wiped out, so Ishida Oboro sent her grandson Longyin away with Kurosaki while the remaining family prepared to resist.
• Yamabuki Chidori flipped a coin to decide Longyin’s fate, and Xizi accidentally made it stand upright, so he chose to spare the child.
• Kurosaki fought two Onmitsukidō assassins while carrying Longyin, but Yamabuki Chidori arrived and told Kurosaki to take the child and leave.

After the Quincy war ended, Yamabuki Chidori handled two Captains’ retirement requests and began planning assessments for their successors. The chapter left a frightened rookie Shinigami alone in a ruined temple in East 63rd District as its door creaked open.

• Yamabuki Chidori ordered Gosuke Kenpachi to hunt down the remaining Quincy families while the Shinigami returned to Seireitei in triumph.
• Gen'en Kinra met Yamabuki Chidori to arrange his retirement and bring Kyōraku Tōshirō forward as a possible successor.
• Kumen'i Entetsu asked to retire so he could collect pay without working, and Yamabuki Chidori agreed after Kensei Muguruma accepted a Captain assessment.
• Yamabuki Chidori told the Captain Commander that Kensei Muguruma and Kyōraku Tōshirō could become capable Captains, then promised to design their assessment.
• A rookie Shinigami patrolled East 63rd District alone, hid in a ruined temple, and heard its door creak open.

Kuna Shiro, a rookie Shinigami, was abducted to Hueco Mundo after fighting off a swarm of Hollows and being captured by a humanoid Menos Grande. Yamabuki Chidori turned her rescue into a Captain examination mission for Kensei Muguruma and Kyōraku Tōshirō, who set out to find her.

• Kuna Shiro pretended to beg for mercy before killing a Hollow with one kick, then told her senior that her patrol was safe.
• A humanoid Menos Grande attacked Kuna Shiro with dozens of Hollows, and she fought back while suspecting he was not a true Vasto Lorde.
• Kuna Shiro ambushed the humanoid Menos Grande, but he opened a Garganta and dragged her into Hueco Mundo.
• Kuna Shiro's senior found the Hollow corpses and reported her disappearance, prompting Yamabuki Chidori to investigate.
• After learning Kuna Shiro was alive but captured, Yamabuki Chidori made her rescue the Captain examination mission for Kensei Muguruma and Kyōraku Tōshirō.
• Kensei Muguruma and Kyōraku Tōshirō hurried to the 12th Division to collect equipment and begin the rescue.

Aizen tried to keep Kuna Shiro alive while secretly testing the captain candidates sent to rescue her. Kyōraku Tōshirō defeated two Adjuchas with his Bankai, but Salkapolo quickly overwhelmed Kensei Muguruma, leaving the rescue in jeopardy.

• Yamabuki Chidori assigned Aizen Sōsuke to monitor Kyōraku Tōshirō and Kensei Muguruma as they went to rescue Kuna Shiro.
• Aizen learned that Salkapolo’s subordinate had captured Kuna Shiro and ordered Salkapolo to move her somewhere safe and keep her alive.
• Kuna Shiro fought Koga in Hueco Mundo, and Salkapolo ordered Koga not to kill her or take her to Las Noches.
• Kyōraku Tōshirō and Kensei Muguruma entered Hueco Mundo, where Aizen secretly followed and told Salkapolo to test them.
• Kensei Muguruma held Salkapolo off while Kyōraku Tōshirō faced two Adjuchas and used Bankai to defeat them.
• Kyōraku Tōshirō turned back to find Salkapolo holding a bloodied Kensei Muguruma by the throat.

Kensei Muguruma and Kyōraku Tōshirō fought Salkapolo but were overwhelmed until Aizen ordered him to retreat. Meanwhile, Kuna Shiro fled Koga across Hueco Mundo, and the chase ended with a giant lizard emerging from the sand.

• Kensei Muguruma used Bankai against Salkapolo, but his attack failed to break through Salkapolo's defenses.
• Kyōraku Tōshirō released Bankai, but Salkapolo countered it and injured both Soul Reapers before Aizen ordered him to withdraw.
• Kensei Muguruma and Kyōraku Tōshirō received remote treatment, then rode a giant lizard toward their destination while pursuing the radar target.
• Kuna Shiro kept fleeing Koga, who failed to trick her into stopping when he counted to three.
• Salkapolo ordered Koga to capture Kuna Shiro, and a giant lizard emerged from the desert in front of the exhausted pair.

Kensei Muguruma and Kyōraku Tōshirō rescued Kuna Shiro, returned to Soul Society, and learned that two new Captains had been selected. Yamabuki Chidori recruited Kuna Shiro into the Visored Army, where she displayed an unexpectedly powerful grasp of Hollowfication during her first training session.

• Koga withdrew his forces on Salkapolo’s orders, allowing Kensei Muguruma, Kyōraku Tōshirō, and Kuna Shiro to return to Soul Society for treatment.
• Yamabuki Chidori told Aizen that Kensei Muguruma and Kyōraku Tōshirō would become Captains of the 9th Division and Third Division, then invited Kuna Shiro to join his secret organization.
• Kuna Shiro accepted Yamabuki Chidori’s offer to avoid writing self-criticisms, ate a lemon-flavored Simplified Hogyoku, and gained the ability of Hollowfication.
• Kumen'i Entetsu visited Kensei Muguruma in the hospital, confirmed that he was the new Captain of the 9th Division, and encouraged him despite his doubts about his strength.
• At midnight, Kuna Shiro joined the Visored Army’s training session, immediately manifested a Hollow mask, and maintained Hollowfication for over an hour.
• Hiyori proposed grilling meat while the others marveled at Kuna Shiro’s prolonged Hollowfication, and Yamabuki Chidori agreed to start the meal.

Ten years after the earlier events, young Kuchiki Byakuya chased Shihōin Yoruichi from the Kuchiki estate into Rukongai, trying to catch her and learn her movement techniques. Yamabuki Chidori reunited with Yoruichi while Byakuya became lost in Rukongai, surrounded by curious women as Yoruichi fell asleep without remembering him.

• Kuchiki Byakuya practiced sword swings while Kuchiki Ginrei praised him and left him with Shihōin Yoruichi.
• Yoruichi teased Byakuya into chasing her, dodging his attacks and offering to teach him a movement technique if he caught her.
• Byakuya pursued Yoruichi beyond Seireitei into Rukongai, but she used Utsusemi to evade him and remained hidden nearby.
• Yamabuki Chidori appeared behind Yoruichi, invited her to hot pot, and gathered her scattered clothes while Byakuya searched for her.
• Byakuya realized he was lost in Rukongai and drew a crowd of admiring women, while Yoruichi curled up in Chidori's embrace and fell asleep.