Chapter Summaries

At a Captains' Meeting, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto announced a direct strike on Aizen in Hueco Mundo and assigned Shiraishi to accompany him. The other captains received defensive and interim leadership duties as Shiraishi agreed to the risky plan.

• Soi Fon went to the First Division after Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto summoned her to a Captains' Meeting.
• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto announced the Spearhead Tactic, a surprise attack on Aizen's Royal Palace using Kisuke Urahara's Garganta technology.
• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto assigned Shiraishi to accompany him to Hueco Mundo, relying on Shiraishi's Hollowfication to withstand his Bankai's flames.
• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto tasked Retsu Unohana with guarding the Kūkaku Cannon and appointed Shunsui Kyōraku temporary Captain-Commander during his absence.
• Shunsui Kyōraku warned that Aizen might use Kyōka Suigetsu, so Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto explained that they would wound Aizen with a wide-area attack and seal him using Kisuke Urahara's Kidō.
• Shiraishi agreed to accompany Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto and attempt the attack on Aizen.

Kisuke Urahara sent Shiraishi and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto through a Garganta to launch the Spearhead Tactic against Aizen, but a warning revealed their surveillance had been detected. The attack arrived in a prepared trap, where Shiraishi faced Szayelaporro and Aizen’s allies.

• Kisuke Urahara applied a sealing Kidō to Shiraishi’s Zanpakuto while Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto prepared his Bankai.
• Kisuke Urahara opened a Garganta, and Shiraishi and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto entered it on their way to the Royal Palace.
• Akon told Kisuke Urahara that an unknown spirit wave had been sent from Seireitei to Hueco Mundo, prompting Kisuke Urahara to order an emergency alert.
• Aizen crushed Kisuke Urahara’s Reishi Detection Rod and praised Szayelaporro for detecting the surveillance and warning him.
• Shiraishi and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto emerged into a prepared scene, where Szayelaporro and Aizen’s other allies awaited them.

Shiraishi revealed his new Bankai form, Western cowboy, and unleashed a massive machine-gun barrage against Szayelaporro and the others. The barrage killed every enemy, leaving the battlefield restored to Hueco Mundo.

• Szayelaporro explained how Aizen's power had evolved him and how the group had prepared to counter Shiraishi.
• Shiraishi transformed into his Western cowboy Bankai form and revealed Gun Storm, which controlled 99,999 machine guns.
• Shiraishi's spirit bullets overwhelmed Tsukishima, who was blasted apart while charging forward.
• Loly's Negación Threads failed to block the barrage, and she accepted that she would die.
• Szayelaporro fought the bullets until they overwhelmed him and destroyed his body.
• Shiraishi stopped firing after every enemy's Reiatsu vanished, and the space returned to Hueco Mundo.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto fought Aizen in Las Noches, where Aizen demonstrated mastery of both Cero and Quincy powers. Shiraishi joined Yamamoto’s assault and struck Aizen with karmic fire, but they were left unsure whether Aizen had been defeated or was still using Kyōka Suigetsu.

• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto challenged Aizen, and they clashed with Zanka no Tachi and Kyōka Suigetsu, destroying much of Las Noches.
• Aizen fired a Cero and a Heilig Pfeil at Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, who split the arrow with Zanka no Tachi, East: Kyokujitsujin.
• Aizen attacked Yamamoto from behind, but Yamamoto’s flames burned Kyōka Suigetsu to ash and left Aizen with cracked skin despite his Blut Vene.
• Shiraishi appeared above Aizen and fired a vast barrage of spirit bullets while Yamamoto pressed the attack.
• Yamamoto used Tenchi Kaijin to cut off Aizen’s lower body, and Shiraishi followed with Steel Tempest, cleaving Aizen and engulfing him in karmic fire.
• Shiraishi questioned whether Aizen was truly defeated, and Yamamoto called to him from a distance to ask if Aizen was dead.

Aizen completed his evolution by fusing Shinigami, Hollow, and Quincy powers, then trapped Shiraishi and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto in Hueco Mundo while he went to Seireitei. He arrived amid the invasion and met Aura Michibane as the fighting spread across the city.

• Aizen emerged from his burning body in a new form and explained that Shiraishi and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto had helped him temper and fuse his powers.
• Aizen used a prepared phantom to distract Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, then struck him with a fully incanted Kurohitsugi; Shiraishi escaped its attack by hiding in another dimension.
• Aizen vanished, and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto deduced that he had gone to Seireitei; Shiraishi discovered Aizen had sealed Hueco Mundo against Garganta travel.
• Shiraishi searched for Hollows to keep trying to open a Garganta while Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto anxiously attempted to contact Seireitei.
• Aizen reached the ruined Research and Development Institute, surveyed the battles between the Espada and captains, and met Aura Michibane.
• Aizen praised Aura Michibane, criticized Central 46, and cast Tenteikūra.

Sajin Komamura and Yoruichi Shihōin fought to protect the Seireitei until Aizen announced that Genryūsai Yamamoto and Shiraishi had fallen. Kaname Tōsen then defeated Komamura and challenged Yoruichi, explaining that he had chosen a different path from Kakyō’s.

• Yoruichi Shihōin rescued Sajin Komamura from an elephant Arrancar and explained why she had come to support his battlefront.
• Aizen announced that Genryūsai Yamamoto and Shiraishi had fallen and said he would attack the Soul King Palace.
• Kaname Tōsen confronted Sajin Komamura and defeated him with Los Nueve Aspectos, leaving him unconscious.
• Yoruichi Shihōin fought Kaname Tōsen but was outmatched by his speed and sound-wave attacks.
• Kaname Tōsen told Yoruichi Shihōin that justice was not something he could explain with words and that he had chosen his own path.

Aizen broke through the barriers to the Soul King Palace and arrived with Gin Ichimaru, Aura Michibane, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi. After Aizen overpowered Tenjirō Kirinji, a voice from the palace challenged his claim to become the new king.

• Aizen learned that Gin Ichimaru had stabbed Rangiku Matsumoto and that Kaname Tōsen had chosen to remain behind.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi revealed he had installed a tracking device on Nemu to locate the Kūkaku Cannon, but Aizen shattered the barriers to the Soul King Palace without it.
• Aizen and his companions rode a disk of Reishi to the Soul King Palace and approached the Soul King’s residence.
• Tenjirō Kirinji confronted the group, but Aizen caught Kinpika with one finger and returned it to him.
• A voice from the palace challenged Aizen for entering uninvited and reminded him that Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was not the only one who could stop him.

Aizen revealed the true Soul King Palace and killed Senjumaru Shutara, Tenjirō Kirinji, Kirio Hikifune, and Ōetsu Nimaiya before confronting Ichibē Hyōsube. Ichibē used his strongest technique, but Aizen regenerated through it and killed him, wiping out Squad Zero.

• Senjumaru Shutara confronted Aizen and Mayuri Kurotsuchi, while Gin Ichimaru prepared to fight.
• Aizen revealed his Soul King-like eyes, dismissed Senjumaru's divine soldiers, and pulled away the illusion concealing the true Soul King Palace.
• Aizen revealed the bloody heads of Senjumaru Shutara, Tenjirō Kirinji, Kirio Hikifune, and Ōetsu Nimaiya, whom he had killed with Shunpo.
• Ichibē Hyōsube attacked Aizen with Ichimonji and Futen Taisatsuryō, but Aizen's regeneration outpaced the technique.
• Aizen shattered Ichibē's Thousand-Mile Heaven-Piercing Palm and severed his head, leaving Squad Zero wiped out.

Aizen used the Soul King's mutilated body to open a new world, while the Soul King's death threatened to collapse Soul Society, the World of the Living, and Hueco Mundo. Ichibē Hyōsube sought Kūgo Ginjō as a replacement, but Kisuke Urahara proposed making Ginjō and Jūshirō Ukitake the Soul King together and began preparing his method.

• Aizen engraved a spell on the Soul King, whose power surged into the Dangai and opened a new world.
• Ichibē Hyōsube restored his body, realized the Soul King was dying, and descended to the Seireitei to find Kūgo Ginjō.
• As the three worlds trembled, the fighting in the Seireitei stopped, and Ichibē demanded that Kisuke Urahara hand over Ginjō.
• Kisuke Urahara produced Ginjō's corpse, and Jūshirō Ukitake volunteered to give his life to become the Soul King.
• Kisuke Urahara proposed making Ginjō and Ukitake the Soul King together, then took out his Space Capsules and started preparing the process.

As the three realms began collapsing after the Soul King’s death, Shiraishi and Yamamoto watched from Hueco Mundo while Isshin and Masaki faced the disaster in Karakura Town. Kaname Tōsen died beside Kakyō’s grave, and Aizen began gathering chosen residents to carry into his new world.

• Shiraishi and Yamamoto discussed Hueco Mundo’s collapse and the destruction awaiting all three realms after the Soul King’s death.
• Isshin and Masaki ran outside during an earthquake in Karakura Town, confessed their love, and embraced as the shaking continued.
• Tōsen returned to Kakyō’s grave, spoke of Hisagi and Komamura, and stabbed himself with Suzumushi as Soul Society broke apart.
• Aizen told Gin that Tōsen had killed himself, then used a pillar of light to lift the Espada and Arrancar away from the collapsing ground.
• Aizen sent beams of light to gather Kira, Hisagi, members of the Third, Ninth, and Fifth Divisions, and selected residents of the World of the Living and Hueco Mundo for his new world.

Szayelaporro escaped with Loly through a beam that disrupted the Dangai, leaving Shiraishi and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto stranded and cut off. In Seireitei, Kisuke Urahara and the surviving captains prepared to evacuate and search for survivors while Aizen remained a threat.

• Szayelaporro used the Hōgyoku to revive himself and escaped with Loly through a beam that Yamamoto's Bankai could not stop.
• The disturbance in the Dangai left Shiraishi and Yamamoto stranded, with no contact or clear way home, so they began considering how to find food.
• Kisuke Urahara failed to contact Shiraishi and Yamamoto because the Dangai's spirit waves were disrupted.
• Kirio Hikifune reunited with the surviving captains, and Urahara urged them to leave Seireitei before Aizen returned.
• Retsu Unohana and Byakuya Kuchiki chose to search for injured squad members and other survivors while the others prepared to leave.

Shiraishi encountered Fon at a remote teahouse and discovered she was Soi Fon, the captain of the Second Division, sent to kill him for murdering Hasegawa Taizo. After they argued over his claim that he had acted to protect a woman, Shiraishi and Soi Fon began to fight.

• Shiraishi stopped at a remote teahouse and flirted with Fon while ordering dango and tea.
• Shiraishi recognized Fon as Soi Fon, and she shed her disguise and revealed her combat uniform.
• Soi Fon accused Shiraishi of killing Hasegawa Taizo and said she had orders from the Central 46 Chambers to eliminate him.
• Shiraishi defended the killing as an act to protect a woman from Hasegawa, but Soi Fon rejected his explanation.
• Shiraishi attacked Soi Fon with Steel Tempest.

Shiraishi fought Soi Fon with his Zanpakuto's unusual abilities and Yasuo's skills, overpowering her before escaping. Soi Fon survived the battle and ordered the Stealth Force to hunt him down.

• Soi Fon challenged Shiraishi, but his Steel Tempest tracked her movements and forced her to draw Suzumebachi.
• Shiraishi passed through Soi Fon with an attack, then wounded her with a circular Steel Tempest slash.
• Shiraishi built two stacks of Gathering Storm and sent a tornado at Soi Fon, whose kick was caught in its wind.
• Shiraishi struck Soi Fon three times with Last Breath, then used Steel Tempest to slip away.
• Soi Fon failed to track Shiraishi's Reiatsu and ordered a portrait and wanted notice issued to the Stealth Force.

Shiraishi sought refuge in Ban Village after killing Hasegawa Taizo, the Stealth Force's Fifth Seat, and refused an offer to join the Jingi Group. He paid to be directed to Kūkaku Shiba's home in West District 4 and left with a map.

• Shiraishi used Steel Tempest to reach a hidden contact in Ban Village, identified by three bluestones outside his house.
• Shiraishi showed the contact Adachi's pendant and said he had killed Hasegawa Taizo, then refused to join the Jingi Group.
• The contact offered Shiraishi several escape options, and Shiraishi chose to seek help from Kūkaku Shiba rather than flee to the outer districts.
• Shiraishi paid five thousand kan for a map and left to find Kūkaku Shiba's home.

Shiraishi reached the Shiba Clan residence and asked Kūkaku Shiba to marry him before explaining that he needed shelter after killing the Stealth Force's Fifth Seat. Kūkaku agreed to let him stay, then sensed the Stealth Force arriving and went to confront them, where she faced an immense Captain-level Reiatsu.

• Shiraishi reached the Shiba Clan residence and persuaded its gatekeepers, Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko, to let him in.
• Kūkaku Shiba received Shiraishi, who knelt and asked her to marry him.
• Kūkaku rejected the proposal but agreed to let Shiraishi stay after he explained that he had killed the Stealth Force's Fifth Seat, Hasegawa Taizo.
• Kūkaku sensed the Stealth Force approaching and went upstairs to deal with them.
• At the entrance, Kūkaku witnessed a vast Captain-level Reiatsu erupt uncontrollably.

Kūkaku Shiba received Kaien’s body and restrained her grief rather than attacking the Shinigami who had killed him. As the Shiba family mourned, Shiraishi tried to comfort Kūkaku with special spicy senbei and left her beside Kaien’s coffin.

• The female Shinigami brought Kaien’s body to the Shiba home and said she had killed him, while Kūkaku ordered her to leave.
• Ganju cried over Kaien, and Kūkaku welcomed her brother home and asked Shiroganehiko to prepare water so she could clean his face.
• Kūkaku told Shiraishi to find a room, and he reflected on Kaien’s death and his determination to prevent Kūkaku from losing an arm in the future.
• Shiraishi wandered into the room where Kaien’s coffin rested and found Kūkaku sitting there with Ganju asleep on her lap.
• Shiraishi offered Kūkaku special spicy senbei, then left as she ate them and silently cried from their heat.

Shiraishi joined Kūkaku Shiba as she prepared the Kūkaku Cannon to send her eldest brother Kaien’s ashes into the sky during the Shiba Clan’s joyful funeral. As the preparations finished, Jūshirō Ukitake arrived late, and Kūkaku greeted him with barely restrained killing intent.

• Kūkaku Shiba woke Shiraishi for breakfast and invited him to attend her eldest brother’s funeral that night.
• Kūkaku explained that the Shiba Clan sent off its dead with smiles because grieving would insult those who had fought for their beliefs, and she warned Ganju not to cry.
• Kūkaku led Shiraishi to the Kūkaku Cannon and explained that she planned to fire Kaien’s ashes into the sky as part of a promise they had made.
• Shiraishi questioned whether Kaien had made that promise casually, and Kūkaku punched him before accepting his apology.
• Kūkaku prepared the cannon and painted the Shiba Clan crest on it, then Jūshirō Ukitake arrived late and Kūkaku angrily confronted him.

Jūshirō Ukitake explained how Kaien Shiba died after a Hollow fused with him, while Kūkaku Shiba struggled with her grief. Kaien’s spiritual body then rapidly dissipated, and Shiraishi sensed someone attacking him from behind.

• Jūshirō Ukitake apologized to Kūkaku Shiba and recounted how Kaien confronted the Hollow after Miyako and the division members were killed.
• Jūshirō Ukitake explained that the Hollow made Kaien’s Zanpakuto disappear, then fused with his spiritual body and began devouring him from within.
• Kūkaku Shiba understood why Jūshirō Ukitake had stopped Rukia from helping Kaien, recognizing that Kaien’s dignity mattered deeply to him.
• Shiraishi noticed Kaien’s spiritual body dissolving, and Kūkaku Shiba and Jūshirō Ukitake watched his remains vanish into blue motes of light.
• Kūkaku Shiba smashed the coffin in grief, and Shiraishi sensed an attacker behind him, drew his sword, and struck back.

Shiraishi discovered that an unseen, powerful attacker had approached him, while Jūshirō Ukitake tested his spiritual perception and then left for the Seireitei after coughing blood. Shiraishi suspected Sōsuke Aizen was responsible, but Kūkaku Shiba demanded he explain what he knew or leave her home.

• Shiraishi drew his Zanpakuto after sensing someone behind him, but the attacker vanished before he could identify them.
• Jūshirō Ukitake attacked Shiraishi to test his claim, and their blades clashed before Ukitake coughed up blood.
• Jūshirō Ukitake confirmed that someone had approached Shiraishi without either him or Kūkaku Shiba noticing, then returned to the Seireitei to recuperate.
• Kūkaku Shiba questioned Shiraishi about his enemies, and he recalled that Sōsuke Aizen possessed a cloak that could conceal Reiatsu.
• Shiraishi wondered whether Aizen's appearance was connected to Kaien Shiba, while Kūkaku Shiba warned him to tell her the truth or leave her home.

After Kūkaku Shiba sent him away for hiding the truth, Shiraishi left to seek work in Stone Village and resolved to avoid Aizen until he grew strong enough. While traveling through West District 4, he sensed a Hollow and hurried to defeat it before the Shinigami arrived.

• Kūkaku Shiba rejected Shiraishi's excuses and told him to leave, but softened and directed him to Ichirō Yagyū's odd-jobs business in Stone Village.
• Shiraishi set out alone, refusing Kūkaku Shiba's offer of his older brother's clothes because his own outfit improved his critical-hit chance.
• Shiraishi traveled through the mountains of West District 4, stopped to swim in a lake, and reflected on the scarcity of wildlife in Soul Society.
• Shiraishi sensed a Hollow's Reiatsu to the north, hurriedly dressed, and rushed toward it to claim the experience before the Shinigami could arrive.