Chapter Summaries

After a battle with Kenpachi Zaraki, Ichigo began training to learn Bankai and save Rukia. Aizen fused with the Hogyoku, abandoned his plan to approach Yamabuki Chidori, and was found apparently murdered the next morning, though Yamabuki saw a stranger instead of Aizen.

• Huo Ying challenged Kenpachi Zaraki, but he defeated her after releasing Nozarashi while she used Bankai.
• Yoruichi brought Ichigo to Yamabuki Chidori’s underground training ground and told him that learning Bankai could help him face a captain.
• Ichigo resolved to master Bankai within two days so he could save Rukia from her punishment.
• Aizen fused with the Hogyoku using the breakthrough he had gained from Ichigo’s combat data.
• Aizen hesitated to ask Yamabuki Chidori to join his plan, then left to speak with Gin and Tōsen.
• Hinamori found Aizen’s blood-soaked corpse pinned to a wall, but Yamabuki saw that the body was a stranger under Kyōka Suigetsu’s effect.

Yamabuki Chidori tried to keep order after Aizen’s apparent death while Ichigo trained to master Bankai and Hinamori followed Aizen’s forged accusation against him. With Unohana sensing something wrong about Aizen’s corpse and Rukia’s sentencing near, Chidori anticipated that Aizen would reveal his true objective the next day.

• Yamabuki Chidori sealed the Seireitei and warned Hinamori not to trust anyone after Aizen’s apparent death.
• Yamabuki Chidori told Yoruichi that Aizen was dead, and she agreed to help him if he ever stood against the world.
• Yoruichi brought Ichigo to Yamabuki Chidori’s home for dinner, and Chidori warned that something major would happen soon.
• Hinamori found Aizen’s letter accusing Yamabuki Chidori of killing him and went to confront him with her sword.
• Toshiro restrained Hinamori and took responsibility for imprisoning her after she tried to draw her sword against Yamabuki Chidori.
• Unohana told Yamabuki Chidori that Aizen’s corpse felt wrong, while Chidori anticipated Rukia’s sentencing and Aizen’s reveal the next day.

As Rukia’s punishment began, Renji, Shunsui Kyōraku, Jūshirō Ukitake, and Kurosaki Ichigo intervened, plunging Soul Society into open conflict. Rukia escaped with Renji while Ichigo stayed behind to face Kuchiki Byakuya, and the Captain Commander battled the two veteran captains.

• Yamabuki Chidori watched as Rukia was led to the execution ground, where Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake prepared to intervene if necessary.
• Renji challenged Kuchiki Byakuya, but Byakuya defeated him before Rukia’s punishment began.
• Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake shattered the sealing technique and asked the Captain Commander to postpone Rukia’s punishment.
• Kurosaki Ichigo arrived, knocked out the Kidō Corps members, and joined the rebellion as the Captain Commander confronted Shunsui and Ukitake with Ryūjin Jakka.
• Ichigo sent Rukia to Renji, who escaped with her, while Ichigo defeated the pursuing lieutenants.
• Kuchiki Byakuya entered the fight and faced Ichigo.

Aizen Sōsuke revealed himself as the mastermind behind the chaos and stabbed Momo Hinamori before leaving her alive but gravely wounded. At the execution grounds, he defeated several opponents while seeking Rukia, and Renji finally threw her to Yamabuki Chidori for protection.

• Soi Fon pursued Renji Abarai, but Shihōin Yoruichi intercepted her and carried her off the cliff.
• Gin Ichimaru led Momo Hinamori to Aizen, who stabbed her in the heart; Tōshirō Hitsugaya arrived and attacked Aizen with Bankai but was swiftly defeated.
• Unohana confronted Aizen, then treated Hinamori and Hitsugaya while Isane Kotetsu announced Aizen's role in the conspiracy to the Gotei 13.
• Kaname Tōsen brought Renji and Rukia back to the execution grounds, where Aizen stopped Ichigo's Bankai and shattered Renji's Bankai.
• Komamura attacked Aizen with Bankai, but Aizen blocked his strike and defeated him with Hadō #90, Black Coffin.
• Renji threw Rukia to Yamabuki Chidori, who caught her and confronted Aizen.

Aizen crushed Kisuke Urahara’s half of the Hogyoku, escaped to Hueco Mundo with the Menos Grande, and declared his intention to claim the Throne of Heaven. After the Soul Society incident was settled, Ichigo and his friends returned to the Human World, where Urahara apologized for using them and he and Yoruichi discussed Ichigo’s unusually complete Hollowfication.

• Yamabuki Chidori gave Aizen Kisuke Urahara’s half of the Hogyoku, which Aizen crushed as inferior to the one Yamabuki Chidori had made.
• Yoruichi and several captains confronted Aizen, but Menos Grande arrived and Aizen escaped through Negación, vowing to stand in the heavens.
• The captains dealt with the aftermath, while Unohana revealed that she had sold Uryu Ishida to Kurotsuchi Mayuri for experimentation.
• Jūshirō Ukitake prepared a Substitute Shinigami Badge for Ichigo, but Yamabuki Chidori took it and gave Ichigo a pill for Isshin Kurosaki.
• Ichigo and his companions returned to the Human World, where Kisuke Urahara apologized for concealing the truth and Yoruichi punched him on Yamabuki Chidori’s orders.
• Yoruichi told Kisuke Urahara that Ichigo’s Hollowfication was more complete than Hirako’s, and Kisuke questioned whether Aizen alone had orchestrated Ichigo’s creation.

Shinji Hirako began training Kurosaki Ichigo to control his Hollowfication, while Aizen sent Arrancar to the Human World and abducted Orihime Inoue. Ichigo set out for Hueco Mundo to rescue her, and Yamabuki Chidori and Kisuke Urahara suspected Aizen planned to use Orihime’s Power of Rejection against Yamabuki Chidori.

• Shinji Hirako introduced himself to Ichigo and offered to teach him Hollowfication, but Ichigo initially rejected him because he distrusted Yamabuki Chidori.
• After Ichigo’s Hollow Power grew harder to control, Rukia Kuchiki persuaded him to train with the Visored Army, and eight teachers drilled him until he could briefly Hollowfy.
• Aizen sent Grimmjow, then Ulquiorra and Yammy, to attack the Human World, and the Soul Reapers stopped the assaults without major casualties.
• Aizen abducted Orihime Inoue, and Ichigo insisted on going to Hueco Mundo to rescue her despite the Captain Commander’s objections.
• Yamabuki Chidori directed Ichigo to Kisuke Urahara for a way to reach Hueco Mundo, then discussed with Kisuke the possibility that Aizen wanted to weaponize Orihime’s Power of Rejection against him.

Aizen brought Orihime Inoue to Hueco Mundo and tested her ability, then assigned Nel Tu to care for her. Nel Tu’s shopping trip strained Gin Ichimaru’s finances, and the chapter ended when an alarm sounded in Las Noches.

• Aizen asked Orihime Inoue to restore Grimmjow’s missing arm, and she healed it with her Power of Rejection.
• Aizen welcomed Orihime Inoue as an honored guest and asked Nel Tu to look after her.
• Nel Tu asked Gin Ichimaru for money to buy Orihime Inoue food, then also requested Black Tea and purified water.
• Gin Ichimaru asked Aizen to reimburse him for expenses, and Aizen gave him money after realizing how costly it was to provide for a human in Hueco Mundo.
• Nel Tu returned with food, drinks, and clothes, and Orihime Inoue learned that Gin Ichimaru had paid for them.
• An alarm rang across Las Noches, and Nel Tu immediately took a fighting stance.

Orihime asked Nel Tu to warn her friends to leave Hueco Mundo, but Ichigo and his companions continued into Las Noches and were quickly defeated by the Espada. Aizen then brought Orihime to his laboratory and persuaded her to combine their powers to create a void that could reject time and space.

• Orihime asked Nel Tu to tell her friends to turn back, while Ichigo, Uryu, Chado, Rukia, and Renji entered Las Noches and split up to search for her.
• Aizen ordered the Espada to attack the intruders, while Yamabuki Chidori told Salkapolo to keep Ichigo alive and send powerful opponents against him.
• Nel Tu delivered Orihime's warning to Ichigo, but Ulquiorra arrived and pierced Ichigo's chest with one blow.
• The Espada defeated Ichigo's companions, while Nel Tu and Grimmjow brought the healed Ichigo to Orihime and Grimmjow challenged him to fight.
• Aizen summoned Orihime to his laboratory and asked her to use her Power of Rejection with his power to create a void that rejected time and space.
• Orihime agreed to help protect Ichigo, and their combined powers formed a small, lightless sphere.

Aizen trapped the Soul Reapers in Hueco Mundo and took his forces to Karakura Town, while Yamabuki Chidori stayed behind and sent Ichigo to rescue Orihime. As Ichigo fought Ulquiorra, Yammy confronted Yamabuki, who made Yammy’s hand vanish with ease.

• Aizen ordered the top Arrancar and Gin and Tōsen to attack Karakura Town after learning that Yamabuki Chidori and several captains had arrived in Hueco Mundo.
• Nnoitra defeated the wounded Grimmjow and Ichigo, but Kenpachi Zaraki arrived and cut Nnoitra in half with one swing.
• Unohana and Yamabuki met Ichigo, and Yamabuki restored Ichigo’s strength but refused to rescue Orihime himself, sending Ichigo toward Las Noches instead.
• Aizen led his fighters to the Human World and sealed the routes out of Hueco Mundo, leaving Ulquiorra to guard Las Noches.
• Yamabuki asked Mayuri to break Aizen’s spatial seal while Unohana and the others remained trapped; Ichigo soon clashed with Ulquiorra in the distance.
• Yammy appeared and attacked Yamabuki, who instantly made Yammy’s hand vanish.

Aizen’s forces confronted the Gotei 13 in a battle where most of the Espada and Captains tried to avoid fighting because they secretly worked for the same person. The uneasy standoff broke when Starrk unleashed his full strength against Shunsui Kyōraku, leaving the Captain in grave danger beneath a rain of Ceros.

• Yamabuki Chidori killed the enraged Yammy after he transformed, following Kurotsuchi Mayuri’s instruction to prioritize killing him.
• Aizen arrived at the substituted Karakura Town with his companions and found the Gotei 13 prepared to confront them.
• Baraggan, Starrk, Nel Tu, Harribel, and Salkapolo agreed to go easy on their opponents, while the Captains and Espada paired off in a series of reluctant standoffs and distractions.
• Soi Fon attacked Baraggan, but he easily neutralized her strikes without fighting seriously.
• Under the Captain Commander’s glare, Starrk stood to fight Shunsui Kyōraku, fired a devastating Cero, and then unleashed countless more toward him.

Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake struggled against Coyote Starrk while Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Tier Harribel turned the battlefield into a hazardous mess. Aizen escaped Scorching City Walls and faced Shinji Hirako, but Yamabuki Chidori arrived with Kurosaki Ichigo just as five Vastolordes transformed.

• Coyote Starrk evaded Shunsui Kyōraku’s attacks and nearly struck him with a redirected Cero, but Jūshirō Ukitake blocked it.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya warned Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake about Tier Harribel’s boiling-water attack as she flooded the battlefield.
• Aizen broke out of Scorching City Walls, Menos Grande poured through a crack in the sky, and Shinji Hirako arrived with the Visored Army to challenge him.
• Shinji Hirako attacked Aizen with Sakanade, but Aizen closed his eyes, countered him, and revealed that he had already used Kyōka Suigetsu.
• Kurosaki Ichigo returned from Hueco Mundo and attacked Aizen, but Aizen deflected his Bankai before Yamabuki Chidori arrived and announced that his plan had been laid over centuries.
• Yamabuki Chidori told everyone to make their move, and five Vastolordes simultaneously released their strongest forms.

Yamabuki Chidori’s long-running schemes were revealed when Kaname Tōsen and five Arrancars turned on Aizen, but Aizen trapped his teacher in a void and began defeating the assembled Soul Reapers. Aizen left Toshiro badly wounded after using Kyōka Suigetsu to make him injure allies, while declaring that he would spare the survivors to witness his new world.

• Kaname Tōsen and five Arrancars attacked Aizen, and Yamabuki Chidori revealed that Tōsen had been his undercover agent for centuries.
• Shinji Hirako told Aizen that the Visored Army’s Hollowfication had been independent of Aizen’s actions, and Yamabuki Chidori admitted to orchestrating events behind the scenes.
• Aizen healed his wound, revealed a black sphere made from Orihime Inoue’s ability, and sealed Yamabuki Chidori inside a void before the assembled Soul Reapers could stop him.
• Shunsui Kyōraku organized an attack on Aizen, but Aizen used Kyōka Suigetsu to make Hitsugaya Tōshirō stab Jūshirō Ukitake and then Momo Hinamori stab Toshiro.
• Aizen stabbed Hinamori and manipulated Toshiro into freezing Tier Harribel instead of him, then severed Toshiro’s left arm and defeated Tōsen.

Aizen defeated the assembled Captains, Arrancar, and Visored before using Wonderweiss to seal Ryūjin Jakka and force the Captain Commander to sacrifice himself. As Aizen overwhelmed Kurosaki Ichigo, Isshin Kurosaki, Shihōin Yoruichi, and Kisuke Urahara arrived to challenge him.

• Aizen defeated Kensei Muguruma, Kyōraku Tōshirō, and Soi Fon, then drove back the allied forces with Hadō #99 and struck down most of the remaining fighters.
• Aizen used Wonderweiss to seal Ryūjin Jakka, and the Captain Commander killed Wonderweiss while shielding nearby towns from the stored flames’ explosion.
• The Captain Commander caught Aizen with Hadō #96, but Aizen revealed he had survived through Kyōka Suigetsu and left the old man unable to fight.
• Aizen blocked Kurosaki Ichigo’s attacks and revealed that Ichigo was the child of a Quincy and a Shinigami, then explained that Isshin Kurosaki belonged to the Shiba Clan.
• Isshin Kurosaki sent Ichigo to fight Wonderweiss and joined Shihōin Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara in attacking Aizen.
• Aizen repelled Yoruichi’s attacks and destroyed Kisuke Urahara’s Hadō #88 while mocking him.

Kisuke Urahara’s plan to seal Aizen failed when Aizen evolved through new forms and defeated the defenders. In Soul Society, Aizen pursued Ichigo’s friends, and Gin Ichimaru was forced to watch as Aizen attacked Rangiku Matsumoto.

• Kisuke Urahara fired a sealing Kidō at Aizen, but Aizen blocked it and revealed that he had anticipated the plan.
• Aizen evolved into his second form, defeated Kisuke Urahara, Shiba Isshin, and Shihōin Yoruichi, then evolved again and incapacitated Urahara.
• Aizen entered Soul Society with Gin Ichimaru, crushed the Kōtotsu, and pursued Tatsuki Arisawa and the other fleeing humans.
• Gin Ichimaru considered whether to betray Aizen but stayed by his side as they continued toward the Soul King Palace.
• Rangiku Matsumoto confronted Gin and Aizen, but Aizen struck her shoulder with Reiatsu and approached her with Kyōka Suigetsu.

Kurosaki Ichigo confronted Aizen after Gin Ichimaru’s failed assassination, revealing overwhelming power and repeatedly cutting Aizen down. Aizen kept evolving and recovered again, leaving Ichigo facing a stronger Form Aizen 5.5 as his temporary power began to fade.

• Aizen revealed that his poisoned Kyōka Suigetsu had paralyzed Gin and explained Gin had infiltrated his side to protect Rangiku Matsumoto.
• Kurosaki Ichigo appeared, seized Aizen, and carried him to a wasteland, where he killed Form Three Aizen with a single strike.
• Aizen resurrected and evolved into Form Four, but Ichigo blocked his attacks and shattered his Black Coffin before Aizen transformed into Form Five.
• Aizen’s Radiant Rift Blast burned Ichigo’s left arm, but Ichigo survived and used the Final Getsuga Tenshō to split Aizen in two.
• Aizen regenerated, returned to human form as Form Aizen 5.5, and told Ichigo that he would soon reach the same realm while Ichigo’s temporary power faded.

Yamabuki Chidori revealed that he had cultivated Aizen to become a candidate for the Soul King, then fought him in Hell to test his strength. Aizen broke through another limit and escaped Chidori’s Spacetime Corridor, but their battle continued as Aizen unleashed Radiant Rift Blast.

• Yamabuki Chidori rescued Ichigo, left him with Rangiku and Gin, and returned to face Aizen after Aizen reached Collapse Six.
• Yamabuki Chidori told Aizen that he had trained him as a potential Soul King and offered him the choice to fight or withdraw; Aizen chose to challenge his teacher.
• Yamabuki Chidori and Aizen entered Hell, where Chidori unleashed his Zanpakuto, Hollowfication, Quincy power, and Hell Power, then shattered Aizen with a single gesture.
• Aizen regenerated and attacked Chidori, who stopped time and trapped him in a Spacetime Corridor that would erase him when it collapsed.
• Aizen drew on his Quincy power to break free, and Chidori struck him with Asura Third Sword before Aizen regenerated and launched Radiant Rift Blast.

Yamabuki Chidori pushed Aizen through repeated defeats until Aizen reached his final form and could finally fight him evenly. Yamabuki then revealed powerful space-time abilities and showed how he could counter Kyōka Suigetsu, leaving Aizen facing yet another of his teacher’s tricks.

• Yamabuki Chidori repeatedly cut down Aizen, explaining that overwhelming Reiatsu could overpower Kyōka Suigetsu and urging him to reach his potential.
• Aizen realized Yamabuki had brought him to Hell to draw out the power within him, then transformed into his final form.
• Aizen blocked Yamabuki’s full-force strike, and the two fought evenly as their clashes shattered and remade Hell.
• Yamabuki used Time Stop to cut Aizen into eight pieces, then demonstrated a Space-Time Barrier that redirected Aizen’s attack.
• Aizen used Kyōka Suigetsu to hypnotize Yamabuki and stabbed what he thought was his teacher, but Yamabuki appeared behind him and explained that he had used a past duplicate and rewound himself to escape the hypnosis.

Yamabuki Chidori defeated Aizen with a space-time sealing technique and returned him to Soul Society, where he was sentenced to life in Mugen Jigoku. He then escorted Kurosaki Ichigo toward home as Ichigo prepared to lose his powers, while Shunsui Kyōraku raised a concern about Orihime Inoue.

• Yamabuki Chidori sealed Aizen’s limbs and senses, defeated him, and explained that Yhwach and the coming Quincy war were why Aizen might still be needed.
• Yamabuki Chidori brought Aizen back to the Gotei 13, where he sentenced him to life in Mugen Jigoku and knocked out the stubborn Captain Commander so Orihime Inoue could heal his missing hand.
• Yamabuki Chidori took Kurosaki Ichigo to Mugen Jigoku and asked what he planned to do after his Reiatsu faded from using Final Getsuga Tenshō.
• Aizen encouraged Kurosaki Ichigo to protect the people close to him, and Yamabuki Chidori sealed Aizen into a chair before secretly giving him the seal’s key.
• Yamabuki Chidori and the Gotei 13 saw Kurosaki Ichigo, Orihime Inoue, and their friends off, while Shunsui Kyōraku asked whether someone should watch Orihime Inoue.

Seventeen months after Aizen’s defeat, Kurosaki Ichigo struggled with his powerless ordinary life while Yamabuki Chidori arranged for Ginjo Kugo to help restore his abilities. Ginjo approached Ichigo indirectly, and Ichigo was left wondering whether Ginjo was another Substitute Shinigami.

• Yamabuki Chidori appointed Tier Harribel queen of Hueco Mundo and secured Baraggan’s agreement to the arrangement.
• Seventeen months later, Kurosaki Ichigo returned to an ordinary life and visited with Yamabuki Chidori at his family’s clinic.
• Yamabuki Chidori met Ginjo Kugo and asked him to help restore Ichigo’s powers, warning him that an unprecedented war was coming.
• Ginjo Kugo agreed to warn the Fullbringers and prepare Tsukishima, whose ability might be crucial in the coming war.
• Ginjo staged a theft on Ichigo’s way to school, then left a Substitute Shinigami Badge in view, prompting Ichigo to wonder who Ginjo was.

Kurosaki Ichigo agreed to train with Ginjo Kugo to awaken his hidden Fullbring, while Isshin Kurosaki and Yamabuki Chidori quietly watched over him. Yamabuki warned Orihime Inoue that a coming war with the Quincy would involve Ichigo, then persuaded Kurotsuchi Mayuri to build a device to restore Ichigo’s Shinigami power.

• Ichigo met Ginjo Kugo, who revealed that Ichigo had a hidden human power called Fullbring and invited him to train with a group of Fullbringers.
• Isshin learned Ichigo was pursuing Fullbring, asked Orihime to keep an eye on him, and mistakenly assumed she wanted his approval to marry Ichigo.
• Ichigo arrived at Ginjo’s meeting place and found several Fullbringers, including Tsukishima, who mentioned that their boss had asked about him.
• Orihime followed Ichigo and encountered Yamabuki Chidori, who was secretly helping him recover his strength and warned her about an impending war against Yhwach and the Quincy.
• Yamabuki asked Kurotsuchi Mayuri to create a device that could gather Shinigami Reiatsu to awaken Ichigo’s Shinigami power, and Mayuri accepted after Yamabuki challenged his pride.