Chapter Summaries

Ichigo Kurosaki repeatedly attacked Yhwach, only for Yhwach to regenerate and overpower him. As Yhwach advanced on the fallen Ichigo, Orihime Inoue tended to the gravely wounded Renji Abarai and Rukia Kuchiki.

• Ichigo Kurosaki's first Getsuga Tenshō tore through Yhwach's black defense, but the shadows immediately reformed.
• Ichigo fought Yhwach at close range and landed a point-blank Getsuga Tenshō that obliterated half of Yhwach's body.
• Yhwach regenerated completely and struck Ichigo with black blades of light, knocking his sword away and sending him tumbling through the rubble.
• Yhwach descended the steps toward Ichigo as Orihime Inoue healed Renji Abarai's broken arm and began tending to Rukia Kuchiki.

Ichigo Kurosaki and his wounded companions lay defeated as Yhwach moved to kill Ichigo, but a scorching Reiatsu suddenly filled the Soul King Palace and stopped his strike. Yhwach looked toward the distant void, leaving the source of the Reiatsu unknown.

• Orihime Inoue tried to heal Ichigo Kurosaki, but Yhwach shattered her Sōten Kisshun barrier and knocked her unconscious.
• Ichigo Kurosaki saw that Renji Abarai, Rukia Kuchiki, and Orihime Inoue had all fallen, then tried to rise and collapsed from his injuries.
• Yhwach entered the crater, raised his sword over Ichigo Kurosaki, and said Ichigo's power belonged to him.
• A scorching Reiatsu spread across the Soul King Palace, and Yhwach's sword stopped inches from Ichigo Kurosaki's nape.
• Yhwach looked through the collapsed dome toward the distant void.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto confronted Yhwach in the ruined palace while Mayuri Kurotsuchi rescued Ichigo Kurosaki and his wounded companions. Yamamoto released Ryūjin Jakka and prepared to fight Yhwach again, a thousand years after their first clash.

• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto confronted Yhwach and condemned him for abandoning his Quincy followers after taking their power.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi arrived and used life-support pods to remove Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue, Renji Abarai, and Rukia Kuchiki from the ruins.
• Yamamoto revealed Ryūjin Jakka and unleashed its golden flames throughout the hall.
• Yhwach raised his sword and declared that Yamamoto had rotted away as their thousand-year-old clash began again.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto unleashed his Bankai, Zanka no Tachi, against Yhwach after his Shikai flames failed to break through Yhwach’s power. The two clashed with world-destroying force as Yamamoto committed to killing the emotionless Quincy progenitor.

• Yhwach’s black mire stopped Yamamoto’s flames, and his broadsword repelled Yamamoto’s opening strike.
• Yamamoto recalled his flames into his blade and revealed his Bankai, Zanka no Tachi, whose heat began to dry and destroy Wahrwelt.
• With Zanka no Tachi, East: Kyokujitsujin, Yamamoto erased Yhwach’s black mire and cut away part of his sword.
• Yamamoto cloaked himself in the sunlike heat of Zanka no Tachi, West: Zanjitsu Gokui, causing Yhwach’s Heilig Pfeil to evaporate before reaching him.
• Yamamoto summoned the charred dead with Zanka no Tachi, South: Kaka Jūmanokushi Daisōjin, and saw Yhwach casually crush one of the skeletons.
• Yamamoto abandoned his doubts and launched a full-force assault, while Yhwach used his black mire to meet the Bankai’s extreme heat.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto used a thousand years of swordsmanship to overwhelm Yhwach in close combat, but Yhwach twisted the future to divert Yamamoto’s final thrust and impaled him. The battle ended with Yamamoto’s guard broken and Yhwach’s blade piercing his chest.

• Yamamoto used basic sword techniques and the heat of Zanka no Tachi to repel Yhwach’s attacks and land a series of close-range strikes.
• Yamamoto burned away Yhwach’s black spikes, then struck through his guard and forced him to abandon his Reishi broadsword.
• Yhwach acknowledged Yamamoto’s swordsmanship but claimed that his power could overcome techniques by rewriting the future.
• Yamamoto unleashed Kyokujitsujin at full strength, but Yhwach twisted its trajectory so it missed him.
• Yhwach pierced Yamamoto through the chest while the old man’s guard and Bankai weakened.

After killing Yamamoto, Yhwach invited Aizen to join him in remaking the Three Realms, but Aizen demanded a share of the Soul King's power and refused to become his subordinate. Yhwach answered by summoning a colossal Heilig Pfeil and launching it at Aizen.

• Yhwach killed Yamamoto and cast his body into the rubble.
• Yhwach called out Aizen, who appeared after his Complete Hypnosis concealment was exposed by The Almighty.
• Aizen agreed that the Three Realms should end but rejected Yhwach's offer to become his subordinate.
• Aizen demanded thirty percent of the law of causality Yhwach had extracted from the Soul King as a condition for an alliance.
• Yhwach summoned an enormous bow of Reishi and fired a colossal Heilig Pfeil at Aizen.

Aizen confronted Yhwach in the ruined great hall, but Yhwach used The Almighty to thwart his Kidō and anticipate his attacks. The fight left Aizen wounded as he retreated to the edge of the plaza.

• Yhwach revealed that The Almighty let him see Aizen's future and warned him to stop his tricks.
• Aizen attacked Yhwach with Black Coffin and then Dankū, but Yhwach erased the Kidō and shattered the barrier with his broadsword.
• Aizen unleashed Goryū Tenmetsu, but Yhwach made its five Reishi dragons disintegrate before they could reach him.
• Aizen used the dragons' collapse as cover to attack Yhwach at close range, but Yhwach blocked his strike and countered with a blade of causal shadow.
• Yhwach's counterattack cut Aizen across the chest, forcing him to retreat beside a stone pillar, where he examined the wound.

Sōsuke Aizen unleashed the fully chanted Hadō #99, Five Dragon Destruction, against Yhwach, flattening the top level of the Soul King Palace. The blast halted battles across Wahrwelt and left Sōya Azashiro questioning whether such power could still be called Kidō.

• Sōsuke Aizen invoked the full incantation of Hadō #99 and summoned five enormous golden Reishi dragons across the sky.
• Yhwach tried to rewrite the attack with his omniscient power, but the dragons' immense Reishi overwhelmed the throne hall and surrounding structures.
• The blast's shock wave interrupted Uryū Ishida and Haschwalth's fight in a distant corridor and nearly swept Uryū into the abyss.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi tried to evacuate the rescued Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai and the treatment pods as the explosion struck.
• Sōya Azashiro blocked the blast's aftermath with Dankū and wondered whether Aizen's overwhelming technique could still be called Kidō.

After surviving Aizen’s fully incanted Hadō #99, Yhwach confronted him and dismissed the attack as powerless against The Almighty. Aizen challenged Yhwach’s claim to godhood, and Yhwach raised his sword to show him the true gap between them.

• Aizen saw Yhwach emerge unscathed from the crater left by Five Dragon Destruction.
• Yhwach praised Aizen’s mastery of Kidō but claimed The Almighty made his destructive power irrelevant.
• Aizen argued that Yhwach’s new world was merely another system of control and declared that no being was qualified to stand above him.
• Yhwach accused Aizen of stalling, raised his broadsword, and prepared to demonstrate the difference in their power.

Aizen fought Yhwach but was disarmed and run through, then appeared to die after surrendering his defenses. In the suspended corridor, Uryū used The Antithesis to reverse the damage between himself and Haschwalth, leaving Haschwalth grievously wounded.

• Aizen attacked Yhwach with a Reishi blade and Raikōhō, but Yhwach altered the lightning’s path and severed Aizen’s right forearm.
• Yhwach pierced Aizen through the chest, and Aizen let his vitality fade before Yhwach pulled out the sword and flung him into rubble.
• Uryū Ishida vowed to keep Haschwalth occupied, but Haschwalth overwhelmed him and stabbed his right shoulder.
• Uryū admitted he could not win a head-on fight, then activated The Antithesis and reversed their injuries and depleted spiritual power.
• Uryū’s wounds vanished as deep wounds and shattered bones appeared across Haschwalth’s body, making him stagger forward.

Uryū Ishida explained how his Schrift, The Antithesis, had reversed their injuries and restored him while leaving Haschwalth gravely wounded. Haschwalth revealed his Schrift, Balance, and used it to make Uryū collapse in pain as his wounds returned to him twofold.

• Uryū explained that The Antithesis reversed what had happened between two targets, transferring his injuries to Haschwalth and restoring his own body.
• Haschwalth recognized The Antithesis as a potential counter to Yhwach’s The Almighty, then declared that he had reclaimed his own power.
• Haschwalth revealed his Schrift, Balance, and explained that it corrected excessive good fortune by imposing misfortune elsewhere.
• Haschwalth invoked the scales, and Uryū suddenly spat blood and collapsed as Haschwalth’s injuries returned to him twofold.

Uryū Ishida was defeated by Haschwalth, who explained his view of Yhwach’s plan and prepared to kill him. Meanwhile, Ichigo Kurosaki recovered in Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s camp, learned that Yhwach awaited him above the lava cavern, and charged toward him.

• Haschwalth’s Balance returned Uryū’s transferred injuries at twice their severity, leaving him unable to fight.
• Haschwalth argued that Yhwach sought to restore the Three Realms and criticized Uryū for choosing his friends over his Quincy inheritance.
• Uryū challenged Haschwalth over Bazz-B’s death, but Haschwalth declared that his blade would end Uryū’s wavering.
• Ichigo emerged fully healed from Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s pod and confirmed that Orihime Inoue, Renji Abarai, and Rukia Kuchiki were recovering safely.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi told Ichigo that Sōsuke Aizen had cut away the palace’s top level and that Yhwach was waiting above the lava cavern.
• Ichigo drew Zangetsu and charged toward Yhwach.

Ichigo returned to the top of Wahrwelt and attacked Yhwach with his Bankai, but Yhwach remained unharmed and wounded him with a surprise arrow. Yhwach stood over the injured Ichigo, insisting that his power could not change the future.

• Ichigo arrived at Wahrwelt’s ruined summit and found Yhwach waiting beside a vast crater.
• Yhwach told Ichigo that Yamamoto and Aizen had also fallen, and that Ichigo’s recovery would only bring more despair.
• Ichigo activated Bankai and attacked Yhwach with Getsuga Tenshō, close-range sword strikes, and Gran Rey Cero.
• Yhwach blocked or deflected Ichigo’s attacks and emerged from the Gran Rey Cero without a scratch.
• Yhwach feinted during their exchange, and a black arrow of light erupted from the ground, cutting Ichigo’s ribs and thigh.
• Yhwach asked whether Ichigo understood that his strength and resilience were burdens against a power that governed every future.

Ichigo fought Yhwach on the scorched heights of Wahrwelt and landed a devastating Getsuga Tenshō after Yhwach’s vision of the future suddenly faltered. The attack left Yhwach badly wounded and exposed broken restraints and traces of Aizen’s presence, prompting Yhwach to roar Aizen’s name.

• Ichigo renewed his attack on Yhwach, but Yhwach used The Almighty to anticipate and counter his moves.
• Ichigo took a cut to his shoulder and unleashed a powerful Getsuga Tenshō at close range.
• Yhwach’s vision of the future twisted, preventing him from blocking the attack, and Getsuga Tenshō struck his chest.
• The attack tore apart Yhwach’s robe and left his chest and arm severely damaged.
• Ichigo spotted broken Muken restraints and traces of Aizen’s presence around Yhwach, who shouted Aizen’s name in rage.

Sōsuke Aizen appeared beside Ichigo and revealed how Kyōka Suigetsu had deceived Yhwach’s vision of the future. Yhwach recovered from his wounds and invoked Auswählen, leaving the confrontation poised to escalate.

• Sōsuke Aizen appeared beside Ichigo, who recognized him as the man Yoriichi had defeated and questioned how he had reached the Soul King Palace.
• Yhwach accused Aizen of using hypnosis to tamper with The Almighty and demanded to know when it had happened.
• Aizen explained that Kyōka Suigetsu had permeated Yhwach’s senses since their meeting in Muken, letting him distort the futures Yhwach expected to see.
• Yhwach attacked Aizen, but his sword beam passed through Aizen’s afterimage.
• Yhwach healed his grievous chest wound, declared he was done playing games, and invoked Auswählen.

Yhwach unleashed an indiscriminate Auswählen across Wahrwelt, draining the Sternritter and leaving Haschwalth to die. Uryū Ishida remained untouched, and Haschwalth urged him to use his ability on him as his life faded.

• Yhwach unleashed Auswählen, stripping the Quincy troops and Sternritter throughout Wahrwelt of their power and life force.
• Haschwalth collapsed beneath the light while Uryū Ishida stood unharmed, despite his injuries.
• Haschwalth realized that Auswählen and his Scales had no effect on Uryū and said Uryū might be able to change the world.
• Haschwalth confessed that he envied Uryū’s comrades and resolve, and regretted becoming a disposable vessel for Yhwach.
• Haschwalth reached toward Uryū and asked him to use his ability on him.

Uryū Ishida used the Antithesis to heal himself and urged Haschwalth to rest before Haschwalth dissolved after the Auswählen ended. In the Seireitei, Retsu Unohana watched Yoriichi Tsugikuni’s spirit body fade, while Yoriichi’s consciousness remained linked to the Three Realms and heard an ancient bell ringing more frequently.

• Uryū Ishida reversed the damage to his body with the Antithesis, transferring the cracks back onto Haschwalth.
• Haschwalth told Uryū to support his companions, then dissolved into Reishi as the Auswählen ended.
• Uryū headed toward the central plateau, where Ichigo Kurosaki and Sōsuke Aizen’s Reiatsu clashed.
• Retsu Unohana watched over Yoriichi Tsugikuni in a secret room and found his pulse, breathing, and spirit body fading.
• Yoriichi’s consciousness remained connected to the Three Realms through threads of light, while an ancient bell began tolling more frequently.

Yoriichi recovered memories of his past life as Eastern Emperor Taiyi, a Golden Crow who died saving his brother Di Jun during the ancient war between demons and witches. He learned that Di Jun guided Taiyi’s soul fragment to the Bleach world, where it fused with Yoriichi’s soul and began a new life.

• Yoriichi followed the bell’s call into the depths of his consciousness and uncovered memories of the Primordial World.
• Taiyi and his brother Di Jun ruled the demons and established the Ancient Heavenly Court.
• During the war between witches and demons, Taiyi sacrificed himself so Di Jun and the surviving demons could escape.
• Taiyi’s soul fragment wandered through worlds until Di Jun found it and guided it toward the world governed by the Soul King.
• Taiyi’s fragment fused with the dying Yoriichi Tsugikuni, whose pure soul and Sun Breathing allowed them to evade the world’s rules and be reborn together.
• Yoriichi understood that he was the union of his former self, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and Yoriichi Tsugikuni.