Recaps

The Soul Reapers and Espada split into battles while Shinji Hirako attacked Aizen with Sakanade, but Aizen adapted and defeated him. Yoriichi stopped Tōshirō Hitsugaya from stabbing Momo Hinamori, revealing that the group had been deceived by Kyōka Suigetsu, and Aizen challenged them to explain why they thought he had not been using it.

• Starrk fought Shunsui Kyōraku, while Lilynette blocked Jūshirō Ukitake and Baraggan's Fracción charged the transfer pillars.
• Soi Fon and Marechiyo Ōmaeda confronted Ggio Vega and Nirgge Parduoc as the other Soul Reapers engaged the Arrancar.
• Rangiku Matsumoto and Momo Hinamori fought Tier Harribel's Fracción together.
• Shinji Hirako used Sakanade against Aizen, but Aizen adapted to its reversed perceptions, wounded Hirako, and knocked him into the rubble.
• Yoriichi stopped Tōshirō Hitsugaya from striking Momo Hinamori, exposing that Kyōka Suigetsu had made the Soul Reapers mistake her for Aizen.
• Aizen asked the group when they had begun imagining that he was not using Kyōka Suigetsu.

Yoriichi fought Aizen, countering his Kidō and repeatedly pressuring his Reiatsu shield, but could not break through it. Gin Ichimaru drew Yoriichi away, while Aizen revealed Wonderweiss, who absorbed Yamamoto’s flames and was prepared to counter Ryūjin Jakka.

• Yoriichi stopped Hitsugaya from killing Hinamori and faced Aizen alone, using Hekyō and the Sun Reiatsu to attack him.
• Yoriichi analyzed and countered Aizen’s Raikōhō and Black Coffin, but Aizen’s million-Reiatsu shield blocked his attacks.
• Aizen invited Yoriichi to join him and offered to share the throne, but Yoriichi rejected him and continued fighting.
• Yoriichi’s Lightning Sunrise battered Aizen’s shield, and he shattered Aizen’s Dankū, but neither combatant wounded the other.
• Gin Ichimaru attacked Yoriichi with Shinsō and drew him away from the battlefield as Yamamoto confronted Aizen.
• Wonderweiss emerged from a Garganta and absorbed Yamamoto’s flames, prompting Aizen to reveal that he had prepared Wonderweiss specifically to counter Ryūjin Jakka.

Yoriichi Tsugikuni battled Gin Ichimaru, who used his Bankai but repeatedly hesitated to kill him. Gin helped Nulviedo Vacio trap Yoriichi in Void Prison, leaving Yoriichi sealed in darkness and Gin wounded on a rooftop.

• Yoriichi countered Gin Ichimaru’s Shinsō attacks and wounded him with Hekyō.
• Gin Ichimaru released Kamishini no Yari and attacked at greater speed, but Yoriichi overcame his barrage and injured him.
• Yoriichi recognized that Gin did not intend to kill him and asked what he was trying to accomplish.
• Gin seized Yoriichi’s arm as Nulviedo Vacio emerged from a Garganta and opened Void Prison.
• Yoriichi struck Gin away, but Void Prison swallowed him before he could escape, and Nulviedo closed the Garganta.

The author provided a character profile explaining Yoriichi Tsugikuni’s Zanpakuto, Hekyō, and its Shikai, Bankai, and related abilities. The profile stated that Yoriichi had mastered Bankai during the Thousand-Year Blood War and described his combat capabilities.

• The author explained that Yoriichi’s power came mainly from overwhelming physical and spiritual abilities, with Reiatsu comparable in quality to the Soul King’s.
• The author described Hekyō as an innate symbiotic Zanpakuto and detailed its Shikai, Transparent World, passive effects, and twelve techniques.
• The author outlined the requirements, appearance, domain effects, and finishing techniques of Yoriichi’s Bankai, Heavenly Illumination Sun Wheel.
• The author described Bright Red Nichirin Sword, the Demon Slayer Mark, and Yoriichi’s Nisshun movement technique.
• The author explained that Yoriichi could analyze Reishi to use and enhance Kidō, including countering Kidō after learning its structure.

Trapped in the Void Prison, Yoriichi reunited the three parts of his identity and awakened a power rooted in his own soul. He released Bankai and cut open the sealed space, escaping toward the battle with Aizen.

• Yoriichi found himself unable to breathe, use Reiatsu, or reach Hekyō inside the lightless Void Prison.
• Yoriichi calmed himself and entered his inner world, where Hekyō told him he had been dividing himself into three people.
• Yoriichi accepted the ordinary person, the boy who had lived in Karakura Town, and the swordsman as parts of himself, and all three lights merged into him.
• Yoriichi's sun Reiatsu endured the Void Prison's suppression as Hekyō transformed into a crimson, gold-inlaid ōdachi.
• Yoriichi released Bankai, Heavenly Illumination Sun Wheel, and burned through the darkness with a slash that split open the sealed space.

Yoriichi emerged from the fissure in Bankai, and he and Aizen argued over whether changing Soul Society meant helping its people or ruling them. Aizen began another evolution through the Hōgyoku as Yoriichi prepared to fight him.

• Yoriichi emerged from a fissure in Bankai, and the battlefield's fighters realized his power had surpassed theirs.
• Yoriichi thanked Aizen for trapping him, saying the experience had helped him understand Bankai.
• Aizen invited Yoriichi to join him in reshaping Soul Society and ruling from above.
• Yoriichi accused Aizen of seeking power for himself rather than improving the lives of people in Rukongai.
• Aizen lost his composure, declared that the Hōgyoku would let him transcend the world, and began transforming as Yoriichi raised Hekyō for battle.

Yoriichi battled Aizen, whose Hōgyoku repeatedly evolved and healed him from devastating attacks. Yoriichi shattered the Hōgyoku with a precise strike, leaving Aizen bleeding and collapsing as his Reiatsu spiraled out of control.

• Yoriichi broke through Aizen’s Black Coffin and struck him with Hekyō, cutting off his arm and burning him with Sun Reiatsu.
• The Hōgyoku restored Aizen and transformed him into a white chrysalis, but Yoriichi cut through its shell and wounded him repeatedly.
• Aizen emerged with the Hōgyoku fused into his chest and claimed he had transcended Soul Reapers and Hollows; the Hōgyoku continued healing his injuries.
• Yoriichi concentrated his Sun Reiatsu into a precise Illusory Sun Thrust and cracked the Hōgyoku.
• Yoriichi shattered the Hōgyoku, causing Aizen’s Reiatsu to destabilize and his wounds to reopen before he fell.

Aizen completed his fusion with the Hōgyoku and challenged Yoriichi, but Yoriichi overwhelmed him and suppressed his power. Kisuke Urahara then activated a sealing Kidō he had planted in Aizen, leaving Aizen bound and unable to evolve further.

• Aizen absorbed the Hōgyoku fragments, transformed, and offered Yoriichi a place at his side.
• Aizen attacked Yoriichi, who caught his blade with two fingers and then cut off his wings and arm before slashing him into the ground.
• Aizen cast Hadō #90, Black Coffin, but Yoriichi cleaved it apart and struck Aizen with Sun Breathing’s Thirteenth Form.
• Yoriichi’s Sun Reiatsu suppressed the Hōgyoku and forced Aizen back into his original appearance.
• Kisuke Urahara activated his hidden sealing Kidō and bound Aizen with Ninety-Six-Kyo Fire Rack Sealing Destruction.
• Aizen claimed Kisuke’s seal, rather than Yoriichi, had defeated him, then fell silent and allowed himself to be sealed.

After Aizen was sealed, the surviving Arrancar surrendered or stopped fighting, while Kaname Tōsen killed himself rather than return to Soul Society. Ichigo arrived after the battle and learned that Yoriichi had defeated Aizen with his Bankai; Gotei 13 reinforcements secured the prisoners and began treating the wounded.

• Gin Ichimaru surrendered to Yoruichi and offered to persuade the remaining Arrancar to surrender, and Yamamoto allowed him to try under guard.
• After learning Aizen had lost, Starrk stopped fighting and Tier Harribel surrendered to protect her injured subordinates.
• Komamura urged Kaname Tōsen to return with him, but Tōsen cut his own throat, leaving Komamura holding his body.
• Ichigo returned through a Garganta and learned from Yoriichi that Aizen had been sealed and that Yoriichi could now use Bankai.
• Gotei 13 reinforcements arrived, the Fourth Division treated the wounded, the Second Division guarded prisoners, and the Twelfth Division took over Aizen's seal.

After the divisions’ funding was slashed, Yoriichi and several other male Soul Reapers formed the Male Shinigami Association and prepared to protest. Their protest was interrupted when Yachiru and the armed Female Shinigami Association Cadres blocked the Third Division’s exit.

• Kira told Yoriichi that the Third Division’s funding had been cut to nothing, including its toilet paper, for assorted fees and deductions.
• Renji, Ikkaku, Shūhei, and Marechiyo described funding cuts affecting their divisions and asked Yoriichi to support rebuilding the Male Shinigami Association.
• Tetsuzaemon stopped Marechiyo from retreating, and the men held an emergency meeting that set demands including restored funding and an association venue.
• Yoriichi and the others prepared a protest banner, but Yachiru crashed through the barracks doors in a cart as Female Shinigami Association Cadres blocked the entrance.

The Female Soul Reaper Association requisitioned the Male Shinigami Association’s funds to build an artificial beach in the Kuchiki Clan’s garden for a swimsuit appreciation party. By evening, preparations were nearly finished, but the pool was still low on water, and Rangiku approached Yoriichi for help.

• Yachiru, Soi Fon, and Nanao confronted the Male Shinigami Association and requisitioned its funds, including Ōmaeda’s money and the Third Division’s reserve funds.
• Nanao revealed that the funds would pay for a midsummer swimsuit appreciation party at the Kuchiki Clan’s newly built garden beach.
• Byakuya discovered that Rukia had signed a permit for the beach, allowed the event to proceed, and ordered Renji punished after he broke two ornamental rocks.
• Ikkaku and Shūhei’s tent collapsed on Ōmaeda while the male Soul Reapers continued setting up the beach under Nanao’s deadline and Soi Fon’s security rules.
• As sunset approached, Yachiru pointed out that the artificial pool was still not half full, and Rangiku asked Yoriichi for help.

Yoriichi used Hekyō to heat the pool for the Soul Reapers’ beach outing, while the male Soul Reapers were assigned to carry supplies and stay away from the changing room. The outing turned chaotic when Marechiyo Ōmaeda spied near the changing room, fled Soi Fon, and collided with Retsu Unohana, who calmly demanded an explanation.

• Rangiku and Nanao persuaded Yoriichi to use Hekyō to warm the pool, and he overheated it before bringing the water to a suitable temperature.
• Nanao redirected the money Marechiyo Ōmaeda had demanded back toward drinks, while the male Soul Reapers were made to carry supplies and clean the beach.
• Rangiku, Soi Fon, Isane Kotetsu, and other female Soul Reapers emerged in swimsuits, and Yachiru jumped into the warm pool.
• Yoriichi caught Marechiyo Ōmaeda hiding by the changing-room supplies and claiming he was checking for suspicious people.
• Soi Fon confronted Marechiyo Ōmaeda with Suzumebachi, and he fled across the beach as she chased him.
• Marechiyo Ōmaeda crashed into Retsu Unohana and spilled drinks on her, prompting her to ask why he had been running in the medical area.

Unohana dealt with Ōmaeda after he was chased by Soi Fon, and the appreciation party’s games turned into chaotic contests where the women used Zanpakuto and the men became targets. Yoriichi won blindfolded by using the Transparent World, but Nanao changed the rules to ban him from the watermelon-smashing contest.

• Unohana let Ōmaeda off after warning him not to disrupt the first-aid area again, and Hanatarō took him away after he fainted.
• Nanao started water volleyball, where Rangiku and Rukia used Haineko and Sode no Shirayuki while Renji, Ikkaku, and Shūhei were repeatedly struck or tossed into the pool.
• Nanao awarded the match to the Female Soul Reaper Association after the men landed out of bounds under a newly added temporary rule.
• Yachiru began blindfolded watermelon smashing, and Kira persuaded Yoriichi to represent the understaffed Third Division.
• Yoriichi used the Transparent World to split a watermelon perfectly, prompting Nanao to add a rule banning him from the contest.

Izuru Kira told Yoriichi Tsugikuni about a faceless white shadow that had drained his reiatsu, and Rangiku Matsumoto revealed that other Gotei 13 members had been attacked too. Yoriichi took Kira on patrol near the border between Rukongai and Seireitei, where they found the shadow charging out of the fog.

• Izuru Kira described how a faceless white shadow had appeared outside his window and drained some of his reiatsu.
• Rangiku Matsumoto told Yoriichi Tsugikuni and Kira that the shadow had attacked members of several divisions and stolen her limited-edition skincare products.
• Kira began writing his will, and Yoriichi decided to patrol with him that night to find the creature.
• Yoriichi led Kira toward the border between Rukongai and Seireitei, where earlier attacks had been reported.
• Yoriichi sensed the twisted white reiatsu through the Transparent World, and the faceless shadow charged at him and Kira from the fog.

Yoriichi Tsugikuni revealed that the terrifying white shadow was a broken Twelfth Division research device, not a Hollow or one of Aizen's experiments. After disabling it, he confronted Mayuri Kurotsuchi and asked him to pay for the stolen belongings and damage.

• Izuru Kira tried and failed to strike the fast-moving white shadow while Yoriichi and Marechiyo Ōmaeda faced it in the mist.
• Yoriichi used the Transparent World to see that the shadow was a mechanical device containing stolen skincare products, jewelry, and photographs.
• Yoriichi stopped the device by striking a gear with Gray Blade's scabbard, and the Drive Core identified it as a Twelfth Division Research and Development Institute prototype.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi emerged and defended the device's thefts and attacks as experiments.
• Yoriichi told Mayuri to pay for the damages, freezing Mayuri's smile.

Yoriichi stopped Mayuri from destroying evidence of his contraption, which had stolen female Soul Reapers’ belongings and photographs. Mayuri fled from Rangiku and Soi Fon, and the next morning Kira returned to work without his farewell letter.

• Yoriichi demanded compensation from Mayuri for the damage and the losses caused by his contraption.
• When Mayuri tried to destroy evidence, Yoriichi sliced the pill in his hand and retrieved the Twelfth Division core.
• Yoriichi questioned Mayuri about collecting female Soul Reapers’ belongings and photographs, and Rangiku and Soi Fon arrived to confront him.
• Mayuri ran from Rangiku and Soi Fon, while Rangiku thanked Yoriichi for recovering her skincare products.
• Yoriichi told Kira to burn his farewell letter, and Kira resumed processing reports the next morning.

Retsu Unohana invited Yoriichi Tsugikuni to the Fourth Division dojo and revealed her past as Yachiru Unohana, the First Kenpachi. The two began a swordsmanship match, leaving their first clash to split the dojo floor.

• Isane Kotetsu delivered Unohana’s invitation to Yoriichi, who agreed to visit the Fourth Division dojo.
• Unohana asked Yoriichi what he wielded his sword for, and he said he used it to keep those who should die from living and those who should not die from dying.
• Unohana asked Yoriichi to spar and revealed the scar on her chest and her former identity as Yachiru Unohana, the First Kenpachi.
• Yoriichi drew Gray Blade, and Unohana drew her Zanpakuto before they launched their first attack.
• Yoriichi and Unohana crossed blades, and their clash split the dojo floor.

Unohana and Yoriichi fought a fierce sword duel, and Yoriichi recognized that she wanted to know whether her swordsmanship still remained. Unohana ended the spar and began to feel a desire to protect him, while asking him and Isane to keep the duel secret.

• Unohana and Yoriichi exchanged precise sword strikes, each capable of killing the other despite showing no killing intent.
• Unohana urged Yoriichi to fight for the pleasure of battle, but he refused because people would die.
• Unohana let Minazuki's sinister presence emerge, and Yoriichi told her that her blade held no malice and that she wanted to confirm her sword was still there.
• Unohana lowered her sword and stopped the spar, admitting that Yoriichi had stirred something in her beyond the desire to fight to the death.
• Unohana asked Yoriichi and Isane to keep the duel secret, and Isane agreed after finding the dojo damaged.

In Muken, Sōya Azashiro discussed his plan to eliminate Hollows with Sōsuke Aizen, who warned him about Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Azashiro then escaped Muken and announced his return to the Gotei 13.

• Urozakuro teased Sōya Azashiro for studying Sōsuke Aizen, whose seals Azashiro had partly removed.
• Aizen challenged Azashiro’s plan to alter human brains and eliminate the emotional roots of Hollowfication.
• Aizen warned Azashiro that Yoriichi Tsugikuni was an unexpected threat whose danger went beyond his Reiatsu.
• Azashiro merged with Muken and sent a duplicate into the First Division Barracks.
• Azashiro’s duplicate told the Soul Reapers to inform Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto that the Eighth Kenpachi had left Muken.

Yoriichi confronted Sōya Azashiro in East Rukongai and learned that he planned to remove emotions from human souls to eliminate Hollows. Yoriichi destroyed the Azashiro duplicate, but Azashiro revealed that more of him were in the Seireitei, while another version entered the Ōmaeda family's optical shop.

• The Seireitei issued an emergency alert after Sōya Azashiro escaped Muken, and Yoriichi went to investigate a Reishi fluctuation in East Rukongai.
• Azashiro told Yoriichi about his sister's death and explained his plan to alter human souls by removing emotions he considered useless.
• Yoriichi rejected Azashiro's right to decide how others should live, and Azashiro attacked him using the surrounding Reishi.
• Yoriichi used Hekyō to burn away nearby Reishi and cut down Azashiro's duplicate.
• Azashiro revealed that more versions of him were in the Seireitei, while another Azashiro entered the Ōmaeda family's optical shop.

Sōya Azashiro repaid the Ōmaeda family for a debt from two hundred years earlier, revisited the former 11th Division grounds, and escaped to the World of the Living to pursue his plan to eliminate Hollows. The Seireitei failed to find him, and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto called an emergency captains' meeting.

• Sōya Azashiro repaid Kiyo the Ōmaeda family's principal and two hundred years of interest, then incapacitated Marechiyo Ōmaeda when he attacked.
• Sōya Azashiro recalled how he had killed Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and become the Eighth Kenpachi.
• Kenpachi Zaraki challenged Sōya Azashiro, but Sōya Azashiro refused to fight and escaped through the ground.
• Sōya Azashiro altered the Senkaimon's coordinates and entered the Dangai to reach the World of the Living, where he intended to eliminate Hollows and change human souls capable of giving rise to them.
• The Stealth Force and the Gotei 13 searched the Seireitei without finding Sōya Azashiro, and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto convened an emergency captains' meeting.

The Soul Society learned that Sōya Azashiro had entered the World of the Living to strip humans of emotions and prevent Hollows from arising. Yoriichi Tsugikuni went ahead to protect Karakura Town, while Kenpachi Zaraki and the 11th Division set out to hunt Azashiro.

• Yamamoto told the captains that Azashiro planned to alter human souls and had gone to Karakura Town.
• Yoriichi asked to go to the World of the Living to protect Karakura Town's residents and his friends.
• Zaraki challenged Yoriichi's involvement, but Yoriichi said he had no interest in fighting Azashiro and would focus on protecting people.
• Yamamoto ordered Yoriichi to protect the town and Zaraki to locate and kill Azashiro, allowing Yoriichi to intervene if their battle endangered the city.
• Zaraki told the 11th Division that they would head to the World of the Living for a Kenpachi duel, and his members eagerly joined him.
• The 11th Division marched through the Senkaimon the next morning, while Yoriichi had already arrived in the World of the Living the previous night.

Yoriichi returned to Urahara Shop and learned that Sōya Azashiro had asked Kisuke Urahara about research records while searching for someone who could help him modify human souls. The chapter then revealed how Luo Jia survived Yammy’s attack, lost contact with Szayelaporro Granz, and fled to the World of the Living after being left without orders.

• Yoriichi visited Kisuke Urahara and asked whether anything unusual had happened in Karakura Town.
• Kisuke Urahara told Yoriichi that Sōya Azashiro had asked about research records from Hueco Mundo and was seeking someone with a special ability to modify human souls.
• Yammy struck Luo Jia while she monitored Orihime Inoue, shattering her head and burying her in the ruins.
• Luo Jia used her Jorōgumo threads to rebuild her body while the fighting at Las Noches continued.
• After Aizen was defeated, Luo Jia found the research institute abandoned and discovered that Mayuri Kurotsuchi had severed her connection to Szayelaporro Granz.
• Luo Jia opened a Garganta and headed for the World of the Living, hoping someone would tell her what to do.

Luo Jia, a wounded Arrancar hiding in Karakura Town, found unexpected shelter with Don Kanonji and began to believe the weak could protect others. When Cien Granz tracked her down and attacked, Kanonji stood between them until Yoriichi arrived and cut down Cien’s tentacles.

• Luo Jia hid in an abandoned park until Don Kanonji found her and offered to help her.
• Kanonji brought Luo Jia to his warehouse, where she stayed as he visited daily and told her stories.
• On the seventh day, Cien Granz arrived through a Garganta and demanded that Luo Jia return as his data-storage tool.
• Kanonji shielded Luo Jia from Cien’s attack, and Luo Jia tried to defend him with her threads.
• Yoriichi arrived, severed Cien’s tentacles with a crimson blade, and confronted him.

Yoriichi defeated Cien and protected Luo Jia from being taken for Sōya Azashiro’s Modified Soul. He stayed with Kanonji and Luo Jia in the warehouse.

• Cien attacked Yoriichi with tentacles and a Gran Rey Cero, but Yoriichi burned away his attacks and destroyed his Reishi doubles.
• Cien completed his Resurrección and charged Yoriichi with a combined attack, but Yoriichi split him apart and Cien burned to ash.
• Kanonji defended Luo Jia, explaining that she had never hurt anyone, and Yoriichi said he would not attack her without considering the circumstances.
• Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika arrived with orders to take Luo Jia as Sōya Azashiro’s target for his Modified Soul, but Yoriichi offered to guard her instead.
• Ikkaku and Yumichika left to report back, and Yoriichi began living with Kanonji and Luo Jia in the warehouse.