Chapter Summaries

Yoriichi uncovered the truth that the Three Realms had been created by sealing and mutilating the Soul King, then learned more about Unohana’s past and the cost of restoring Kenpachi Zaraki’s power. A record about deceased captains finally confirmed that Hell existed, though its other records had been erased.

• Yoriichi read that the Five Great Noble Clans had divided the original world into the Three Realms and sealed, dismembered, and deprived the Soul King of his freedom to keep them stable.
• Yoriichi searched the Great Spirit Book Gallery for Hell and related terms, but found that nearly all records had been erased from its catalog.
• Yoriichi read the Gotei 13’s history and learned that Unohana had fought a nameless boy who became Kenpachi Zaraki, causing him to gradually seal away his power.
• Yoriichi discovered that Unohana had to fight Zaraki repeatedly and heal him to undo his seals, and that his awakening would ultimately cost her life.
• Yoriichi found a record stating that deceased captain-level Soul Reapers were sent to Hell through a special ritual.

Yoriichi uncovered the history of the Quincy wars and learned that Yhwach’s return was approaching after nearly a thousand years in hiding. He accepted Soul Society’s past crimes but resolved to protect its people by destroying the Wandenreich if it attacked.

• Yoriichi found that the Great Spirit Book Gallery preserved almost no information about Hell and turned to records about the Quincy.
• Yoriichi learned that Yhwach had led an organized Quincy army in the first war, which ended when Yamamoto and the original thirteen captains defeated his forces, though Yhwach’s death was never confirmed.
• Yoriichi read the Quincy legend that foretold the sealed king’s return and concluded that the Wandenreich had hidden inside Seireitei for nearly a thousand years.
• Yoriichi discovered that Soul Society had later exterminated the Quincy, including women and children, and recognized the continuing weight of its past crimes.
• Yoriichi resolved to protect the people he cared about and declared that he would destroy the Wandenreich if Yhwach attacked.

After learning more about Soul Society’s buried history, Yoriichi resolved to defeat Yhwach and protect its people, then returned to the Third Division and helped with paperwork. The chapter ended with the Gotei 13 honoring Chōjirō Sasakibe and 116 other fallen Soul Reapers at their funeral.

• Yoriichi left the Great Spirit Book Gallery determined to defeat Yhwach and investigate Soul Society’s past after the war.
• Yoriichi returned to the Third Division, where Kira told him that all captains and vice-captains would attend the funeral at dawn.
• Yoriichi signed division documents alongside Kira as they prepared for the next day’s ceremony.
• The captains and vice-captains gathered at the crematorium before 117 bodies, including Chōjirō Sasakibe’s.
• Yamamoto knelt before Sasakibe, then rose and ordered the funeral pyres lit.

Yhwach invaded Hueco Mundo and crushed the defenders of Las Noches, capturing Tier Harribel and Starrk while the other Arrancar escaped. He declared Hueco Mundo a stepping stone for the Wandenreich’s advance into the Soul Society, while the opening scene showed Yoriichi preparing for the coming war after the funeral rites for the fallen.

• Yoriichi watched the fires for the dead and resolved not to let the enemy escape again as the story returned to several days earlier.
• Yhwach and Haschwalth arrived at Hueco Mundo with Quincy forces and ordered them to make the Arrancar submit or eliminate them.
• Tier Harribel ordered Apache, Mila Rose, Sun-Sun, and the other Arrancar to retreat while she and Starrk held off the Quincy.
• Tier Harribel and Starrk unleashed their Zanpakuto powers against Yhwach, but he absorbed their attacks and defeated them.
• Haschwalth bound Tier Harribel and Starrk, and Yhwach chose not to pursue the escaped Arrancar, calling Hueco Mundo a stepping stone toward the Soul Society.

A Quincy’s Lure Drug drew a swarm of Hollows into Karakura Town, where Shino Madarame, Xingmu Longzhijie, and Zenosuke Kurumadani were overwhelmed until Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends intervened. After the injured were taken to the Kurosaki house, Äs Nödt appeared and challenged Ichigo, who chased him into the air.

• A figure released Lure Drug over Karakura Town, opening Garganta and summoning Hollows that attacked Shino Madarame, Xingmu Longzhijie, and Zenosuke Kurumadani.
• Shino shielded the badly injured Xingmu as a Hollow prepared to strike, but Ichigo arrived with Uryū Ishida, Orihime Inoue, and Yasutora Sado.
• Orihime healed Xingmu while Ichigo used Bankai and Getsuga Tenshō to destroy the surrounding Hollows.
• At the Kurosaki house, Uryū identified the Lure Drug as a Quincy-made substance as the group discussed the attack.
• Äs Nödt entered Ichigo’s bedroom through the window and ordered Ichigo to come with him.
• Ichigo kicked Äs Nödt out of the house, then transformed into his Soul Reaper form and pursued him through the air.

Ichigo defeated Ebern after the Quincy Medallion failed to steal his Bankai, but Ebern escaped into the shadows. Nel then arrived from Hueco Mundo with news that invaders had seized Las Noches and captured Starrk and Tier Harribel, prompting Ichigo to set out for Urahara and plan a rescue.

• Ebern attacked Ichigo in the sky above Karakura Town, but Ichigo overwhelmed him and demanded to know why he had lured Hollows into town.
• Ebern provoked Ichigo into activating Bankai and tried to steal Tensa Zangetsu with his Quincy Medallion, but the medallion could not overcome Ichigo's mixed powers.
• Ichigo shattered the medallion with Getsuga Tenshō and badly wounded Ebern, who escaped through shadows before Ichigo could finish him.
• Nel emerged from a Garganta and told Ichigo that invaders had taken over Las Noches and captured Starrk and Tier Harribel, while Pesche and Dondochakka remained hidden in Hueco Mundo.
• Ichigo picked up Nel and decided to find Urahara before going to Hueco Mundo to rescue the captives.

Ichigo gathered Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, and Nel to go to the Urahara Shop and find a way into Hueco Mundo to rescue the captured and missing. Uryū Ishida stayed behind, suspecting the attackers were Quincy, and went to seek answers from his father.

• Ichigo decided to go to the Urahara Shop after hearing Nel's account of Las Noches's fall, and Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, and Nel joined him.
• Ichigo told Shino Madarame and Xingmu Longzhijie to stay behind, while Uryū Ishida declined to accompany the group but warned them about enemies who controlled reishi and hid in shadows.
• Uryū Ishida remained at the Kurosaki home as Ichigo and the others set out, and Nel remarked that he did not seem to want to stay behind.
• Isshin Kurosaki told Ichigo to come back soon, then lunged to hug him and was kicked into the clinic.
• Uryū Ishida examined his Quincy Cross Emblem, concluded the attackers' reishi control was connected to the Quincy, and headed to his family's hospital to question his father.

After Nel reported that Yhwach’s forces had captured Starrk and Harribel in Hueco Mundo, Ichigo asked Urahara to open a Garganta so they could rescue them. Urahara joined Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, and Nel as they entered the fallen realm, where enemies might already be waiting.

• Nel told Ichigo and Urahara that Yhwach had controlled the Reishi and captured Starrk and Harribel at Las Noches.
• Ichigo showed Urahara the cracked Quincy Medallion that had failed to steal his Bankai, and Urahara concluded that Ichigo’s mixed powers had overloaded it.
• Ichigo asked Urahara to open a Garganta to Hueco Mundo, and Urahara agreed to go with them to investigate the enemy’s Reishi technology and the realm’s spatial conditions.
• Tessai opened a temporary passage, and Ichigo, Urahara, Chad, Orihime, and Nel entered it together to begin the rescue operation.

Ichigo Kurosaki and his companions arrived at the ruined Las Noches and convinced Apache, Mila Rose, and Sun-Sun that they had come to rescue the captives. As a massive Reishi arrow descended on them, the group faced a new attacker.

• Ichigo Kurosaki, Kisuke Urahara, Orihime Inoue, and Nel emerged into the ruins of Las Noches, where Apache attacked Ichigo and Mila Rose restrained Yasutora Sado.
• Orihime Inoue blocked Sun-Sun's acid with Santen Kesshun, and Nel identified Ichigo as their reinforcement.
• Apache and Mila Rose lowered their guard after recognizing Nel, then told Ichigo that Tier Harribel and Starrk had been captured and that Pesche and Dondochakka were missing.
• Kisuke Urahara sensed someone approaching as Reishi gathered overhead and a giant Reishi arrow thundered toward the group.

Ichigo fought Cang Du in Hueco Mundo while trying to reach the Soul Society, but Cang Du trapped him in a Sacred Jail Gate before Grimmjow killed him. Kisuke Urahara began analyzing the cage, leaving Ichigo imprisoned and anxious for Yoriichi.

• Ichigo attacked Cang Du, who absorbed Reishi to recover and keep fighting.
• Apache, Mila Rose, and Sun-Sun summoned Ayon, but Cang Du used Vollständig, Divine Justice, to absorb the creature and overpower the three women.
• Ichigo activated Tensa Zangetsu and fought Cang Du until Reishi Siphon weakened him, and Kisuke Urahara intervened to blast Cang Du away.
• Cang Du sealed Ichigo inside a Sacred Jail Gate, but Grimmjow appeared and killed Cang Du.
• Kisuke Urahara attached monitoring devices to the gate and began analyzing it, while Ichigo hoped Yoriichi could hold on.

Yhwach visited Aizen in Muken and offered him an alliance to destroy the boundaries between the Three Realms, but Aizen refused because their goals differed. After Yhwach left, Aizen reflected on the threat to the Soul Society and wondered how Yoriichi Tsugikuni would face it.

• Yhwach appeared before Aizen in Muken and told him that Ichigo Kurosaki had gone to Hueco Mundo while Yoriichi Tsugikuni remained in the Soul Society.
• Yhwach revealed his plan to devour the Soul King, destroy the boundaries between the Three Realms, and return them to chaos.
• Aizen rejected Yhwach's offer, saying he sought to transcend the world rather than destroy it.
• Aizen told Yhwach that Yoriichi was an unforeseen variable, and Yhwach admitted that the swordsman had blurred the future he could see.
• Yhwach left Aizen in his cage, and Aizen considered the scale of the war before wondering how Yoriichi would fend off the coming threat.

Yoriichi fought Lloyd, who had copied his appearance, memories, and most of his power, while Quincy forces attacked Soul Society. After Yoriichi released Bankai and destroyed Lloyd’s medallion, Lloyd copied the Bankai too, but the Captain-Commander’s Bankai erupted in the distance and gathered all the flames.

• Lloyd confronted Yoriichi in the Seireitei as Quincy forces attacked the Gotei 13.
• Yoriichi outmatched Lloyd’s copied techniques and blasted him into the Division Barracks, then sensed several Captain-level Reiatsu signatures weakening and Izuru Kira’s Reiatsu vanish.
• Yoriichi released Bankai, Heavenly Illumination Sun Wheel, and his Sunlit Pure Realm disintegrated nearby Quincy Reishi constructs.
• Lloyd tried to steal Yoriichi’s Bankai with a Quincy Medallion, but the medallion cracked and melted.
• Lloyd copied Yoriichi’s Bankai, raising a second sun as the two realms collided over Soul Society.
• The Captain-Commander’s Bankai erupted in the distance, drawing all the flames and heat toward itself.

Yoriichi killed Loyd Lloyd and reached Kira too late to save him, then unleashed his fury across Seireitei. At the Third Division ruins, Bazz-B confronted Yoriichi and challenged him to withstand his flames.

• Yoriichi destroyed Loyd Lloyd's copied Bankai and burned his soul to ash.
• Yoriichi found Izuru Kira dying among the ruins of the Third Division Headquarters, and Kira died before he could report to his captain.
• Yoriichi's anger caused his golden-red Reiatsu to erupt across Seireitei, shattering Quincy weapons and disturbing the Wandenreich's Shadow Domain.
• Kyōraku and Ukitake sensed Yoriichi's outburst, while Unohana recognized that his anger had changed his demeanor.
• Yamamoto continued fighting Royd Lloyd despite sensing Yoriichi's Reiatsu, and Haschwalth identified Yoriichi as a major threat.
• Bazz-B taunted Yoriichi over Kira's death and challenged him to withstand his Blue Fire.

Yoriichi overwhelmed Bazz-B’s five Burner Finger attacks and disabled him with Sun Reiatsu. He dragged Bazz-B before Kira’s body and prepared to execute him after condemning his use of the dead lieutenant to flaunt his strength.

• Bazz-B fired his first three Burner Finger attacks, but the Sunlit Pure Realm erased the flames and Yoriichi walked through them unharmed.
• Yoriichi broke Bazz-B’s index finger and burned his arm with Sun Reiatsu, then endured Bazz-B’s third attack without a scratch.
• Bazz-B charged with his fourth Burner Finger, but Yoriichi disrupted his control of Reishi and struck him through the chest.
• Bazz-B unleashed Burner Finger, Five and Burner Full Open, but Yoriichi split the fireball and severed Bazz-B’s Reishi Circuits.
• Yoriichi dragged the crippled Bazz-B before Kira’s body, identified the dead lieutenant as Izuru Kira, and raised Hekyō to execute him.

Yoriichi defeated Bazz-B and prepared to execute him, but Jugram Haschwalth intervened to protect Bazz-B for the sake of the empire. Yoriichi refused to let Bazz-B live, and Haschwalth drew his sword to face him.

• Bazz-B activated his Vollständig and unleashed a barrage of blue flames, but Yoriichi’s Sunlit Pure Realm destroyed his attacks and stripped away his power.
• Yoriichi prepared to kill the helpless Bazz-B, but Haschwalth appeared and blocked his strike.
• Haschwalth said he was keeping Bazz-B alive only because the empire needed him, enraging and silencing Bazz-B.
• Yoriichi declared that Bazz-B had to die, and Haschwalth drew his sword and Round Shield to oppose him.

Yoriichi defeated Haschwalth by disrupting the Reishi that powered Balance, then killed Bazz-B despite Haschwalth's attempt to stop him. Yhwach appeared and withdrew with the surviving Quincies after Yoriichi wounded him, leaving Seireitei in ruins as Ichigo Kurosaki arrived.

• Yoriichi used the Transparent World to understand Haschwalth's Balance and stopped the surrounding Reishi from flowing, disabling his shield.
• Yoriichi overpowered Haschwalth and killed Bazz-B, whose Reiatsu and damaged Schrift were consumed by golden-red flames.
• Yhwach emerged from the darkness and confronted Yoriichi, who cut him and burned him with golden-red Reiatsu.
• Yhwach withdrew with Haschwalth and the surviving Quincies as the shadows covering Seireitei dissipated.
• Yoriichi stood amid the ruined Third Division Headquarters, and Ichigo Kurosaki arrived through the Dangai and asked what had happened.

After the Wandenreich’s first invasion devastated the Seireitei, the Soul Reapers discovered that Yhwach had been impersonated by Royd Lloyd and assessed their losses. Yamamoto declared the Gotei 13 defeated and said he would notify the Zero Division as the war continued.

• Yoriichi told Ichigo that the Wandenreich had withdrawn after its first attack, then they learned Yamamoto had defeated the false Yhwach, Royd Lloyd.
• Mayuri explained that Royd could copy about seventy percent of a target’s power, while his twin Loyd had copied Yoriichi and died to a single slash.
• Rescue teams treated the wounded, including Kenpachi Zaraki, Byakuya Kuchiki, and Shunsui Kyōraku, while Mayuri agreed to try to reconstruct Izuru Kira’s soul.
• Yamamoto summoned the surviving captains and announced that the Gotei 13 had suffered defeat in the invasion.
• Yamamoto said he would notify the Zero Division and warned that the war was not over.

Zero Division arrived in Seireitei to assess whether the Gotei 13 could keep fighting after the Wandenreich invasion. Ichibē Hyōsube singled out Yoriichi Tsugikuni and invited him to the Soul King Palace, while Yoriichi asked to take care of something first.

• Ichibē Hyōsube, Tenjirō Kirinji, Kirio Hikifune, Senjumaru Shutara, and Ōetsu Nimaiya emerged before the captains from a black pillar.
• The Zero Division members commented on Seireitei’s destruction and the captains’ injuries, prompting sharp replies from Soi Fon and Shunsui Kyōraku.
• Ichibē examined Yoriichi and said his power did not belong to Soul Society; Yoriichi said it came from the sun.
• Yamamoto warned that the Wandenreich could enter Seireitei and that the Gotei 13 could not face another attack alone.
• Kirio said Zero Division had come to judge whether Seireitei remained fit to fight, and Ichibē invited Yoriichi and Ichigo to the Soul King Palace.
• Yoriichi agreed to go but said he needed to take care of something first, and Ichibē urged him to hurry.

Yoriichi told Unohana that restoring Kenpachi Zaraki’s full strength would normally cost her life, but proposed helping Zaraki unlock his restraints while she kept him healed. Unohana agreed, on the condition that Yoriichi follow her instructions about how much strength to use.

• Yoriichi visited Unohana in the Fourth Division barracks, and she treated the wound left by Haschwalth’s ability.
• Yoriichi told Unohana he knew about her past with Kenpachi Zaraki and that she alone could draw out his suppressed strength.
• Yoriichi warned that completing the process would cost Unohana her life, but rejected that fate as unavoidable.
• Yoriichi offered to help Zaraki unlock his strength while Unohana handled the healing, so she would not need to die.
• Unohana agreed to the plan but insisted that Yoriichi follow her directions about how much strength to use.

Yoriichi, Zaraki, and Unohana entered Muken to prepare for a fight to the death, with Unohana creating a healing Barrier so she could restore Zaraki before he died. The Barrier was complete, and Yoriichi and Zaraki were ready to begin their battle under the restriction that Yoriichi must not use his Sun Reiatsu.

• Yoriichi led Zaraki and Unohana down to Muken, where Zaraki immediately attacked Yoriichi with his Zanpakuto.
• Yoriichi blocked Zaraki's strike and pushed him back, then said they needed to prepare before fighting.
• Unohana set up a healing Barrier that would let her sense injuries and restore Zaraki if he was not killed instantly.
• Unohana warned Zaraki that he could still die, though she could bring him back before death was complete.
• Yoriichi drew Hekyō and took his stance while Unohana sealed the Barrier and told him not to burn Zaraki with his Reiatsu.