Recaps

Shiraishi hunted Hollows alongside Sōya Azashiro, then helped stop Genjirō’s assault on Soul Society. Yamamoto appointed Shiraishi acting captain of the Tenth Division, where he settled into Seireitei and grew closer to Soi Fon and Nemu.

• Shiraishi and Sōya Azashiro hunted Adjuchas in Hueco Mundo, and Shiraishi killed several while gaining strength and unlocking Bankai.
• Nelliel confronted Azashiro in the Forest of Menos, but their battle left her badly injured until Shiraishi killed Ggio and rescued her.
• Shiraishi and Azashiro defeated Runuganga, but Picaro overwhelmed Azashiro and forced Shiraishi to escape through a Garganta.
• Genjirō emerged from a blood-red embryo, fused with Aaroniero, and attacked Soul Society, killing hundreds of thousands of souls.
• Shiraishi protected the Shinigami battling Genjirō and used Ignorance: Crimson Lotus Hellfire to burn him to ash.
• Ukitake offered Shiraishi a place in the Thirteenth Division, but Yamamoto appointed him acting captain of the Tenth Division, and Shiraishi accepted.
• Shiraishi visited the injured Soi Fon, then began his new post while leaving Hitsugaya to handle paperwork and drinking with Rangiku.
• Shiraishi sought sake and company around Seireitei, eventually resting on Nemu’s lap as she fed him and Mayuri grew furious.

Shiraishi and Soi Fon investigated the murders and thefts tied to Tsunayashiro Tokinada, while Aura Michibane joined the Gold Seal Unit and Aizen stole the Tsunayashiro Clan’s Fullbringer corpses. Their pursuit of Tsukikage Yagyū led them to her hideout, where Soi Fon was captured and Shiraishi activated his Bankai.

• Shiraishi and Tōshirō Hitsugaya investigated old Tenth Division cases, then joined Soi Fon at a pleasure quarter murder scene where Shiraishi traced the killer’s Reiatsu to Tsunayashiro Tokinada.
• Tokinada helped secure approval for the Gold Seal Unit, while Shiraishi watched him and Aizen began plotting to steal the Tsunayashiro Clan’s Soul King Fragment-bearing Fullbringer corpses.
• Aura Michibane won the Gold Seal Unit’s Third Seat and fought Aizen, who later impersonated Tokinada to steal the Fullbringer corpses from the clan’s secret chamber.
• After the theft, Shiraishi and Soi Fon pursued Silver Flash Tsukikage Yagyū through Rukongai and uncovered an assassination plot against Ichirō Yagyū tied to Akira Mayama.
• Soi Fon and Shiraishi found Akira Mayama dead, traced the killer’s Reiatsu to Tsukikage Yagyū, and followed her to a secret base in South District 5.
• Tsukikage Yagyū sent Kin to fight Ichirō Yagyū and imprisoned Soi Fon with a cuff that weakened her Reiatsu, while Shiraishi found her and activated his Bankai, Ignorance: Crimson Lotus Hellfire.

Shiraishi escaped Tsukikage Yagyū’s Bankai, recovered, and reunited with Kūkaku after securing her pardon. As Kaoru Tendō allied with Tsunayashiro Tokinada and Shiraishi began training for a new Bankai, Soi Fon developed a dangerous new Hakuda technique.

• Shiraishi awakened a new Bankai form, escaped Tsukikage Yagyū’s Obstruction of Sight Space, and helped defeat her, while Aizen destroyed Tsukikage and Ichirō’s stronghold.
• Shiraishi recovered in the infirmary, received care from Soi Fon, Nemu Kurotsuchi, and Retsu Unohana, and asked Yamamoto to pardon Kūkaku.
• Shiraishi left the Fourth Division, attended the Tenth Division’s welcome party, learned Kūkaku’s whereabouts from Nemu, and traveled to find her.
• Shiraishi reunited with Kūkaku, told her she had been pardoned, and agreed to show his feelings through his actions rather than resigning his captaincy.
• Kaoru Tendō attacked Shiraishi and Kūkaku, but Shiraishi fought her with his altered Bankai before Yamamoto arrived and warned him to stay near the Seireitei.
• Shiraishi persuaded Kūkaku to stay with him in Rukongai, while Kaoru joined Tsunayashiro Tokinada’s plan to challenge Yamamoto amid a coming noble rebellion.
• Kūkaku reunited with Ganju, Kin, and Gin, and Shiraishi began training with Infinity to find a sword capable of defeating her.
• Soi Fon developed a Hakuda technique that compressed wind Kidō into her limbs, but her repeated tests tore open her arm, and she insisted she needed to grow stronger.

Shiraishi fought Kenpachi Zaraki and continued training while the captains confronted Sōya Azashiro and uncovered a rebellion plot against Yamamoto. The arc ended with Isane begging Shiraishi to save Unohana, whose decision to teach Zaraki might cost her life.

• Rangiku Matsumoto summoned Shiraishi to a captains’ meeting where Yamamoto ordered a campaign against Oniyasha, Kaoru Tendō, and Sōya Azashiro, and Aizen and Tōsen volunteered to escort Turtle Gas.
• Aizen and Tōsen encountered Tokinada and Aura, then Aizen promised Tōsen that Tokinada would suffer before his death.
• Kenpachi Zaraki abandoned his mission to challenge Shiraishi, and Yamamoto stopped their Bankai battle and ordered them to accept punishment for the damage.
• Shiraishi trained with Infinity while Zaraki resolved to grow stronger, and Unohana considered teaching Zaraki kendo after recalling their past fight.
• Azashiro attacked Ōmaeda and other investigators, but Mayuri helped expose the Noble Revival Society’s plot to attack Yamamoto on September ninth.
• Soi Fon learned that Kaoru Tendō backed a wider rebellion, sent word for Shiraishi to return, and went to arrest Yūta Ishiyama.
• Shiraishi returned to Seireitei, where Isane arrived and begged him to save Unohana.