Chapter Summaries

Kisuke Urahara explained the plan to infiltrate Aizen’s Divine Realm and launch a joint attack with the Wandenreich. Shiraishi agreed to enter the Pantheon, where he would plant Spatial Transfer Stakes and search for its entrance-and-exit control room.

• Kisuke Urahara described how the Shinigami would plant Spatial Transfer Stakes and attack Aizen alongside the Wandenreich.
• Ichigo Kurosaki questioned the stakes, and Kisuke Urahara explained how Shiraishi would install them inside the Pantheon.
• Soi Fon offered to infiltrate the Pantheon, but Shiraishi volunteered instead, and Kisuke Urahara assigned her to bring Kūkaku, Ichigo Kurosaki, and the Ishida family.
• Kisuke Urahara revealed that Aizen’s Pantheon judged its inhabitants and killed those deemed unqualified at forty, rebuilding their Reishi into young people sent to the lower world.
• Shiraishi asked how the Shinigami outside the Pantheon would enter, and Kisuke Urahara tasked him with finding the concealed entrance-and-exit control room.
• Kisuke Urahara gave Shiraishi a Space Capsule containing the four stakes and a communicator, then sent him to meet Don Kanonji.

Shiraishi arrived in the Divine Realm to replace Luko Vladimir and, with Don Kanonji’s help, captured him and hid him in a basement. Shiraishi learned the next day’s strict work schedule and mocked the statue of Aizen.

• Don Kanonji explained to Shiraishi that his neighbor Luko Vladimir was quiet, socially isolated, and waiting for an opening to work at the Pantheon.
• Shiraishi said he would take Luko’s place and asked Don Kanonji to hide him rather than kill him.
• Shiraishi entered Luko’s home, knocked him unconscious, and carried him to Don Kanonji’s basement.
• Don Kanonji gave Shiraishi rope and cloth, and Shiraishi tied up Luko and gagged him.
• Don Kanonji told Shiraishi that the day began with breakfast at six, a church gathering at seven, and bedtime at nine; Shiraishi called Aizen a narcissist.

Shiraishi, disguised as Luko Vlamiguir, experienced the strict daily rituals and assigned work of Aizen’s Divine Realm. The chapter ended with Luko’s name called among those selected to serve the gods in the Pantheon, and Shiraishi stepping forward.

• Shiraishi woke, disguised himself as Luko, and joined Don Kanonji on the way to breakfast.
• At the cafeteria, Shiraishi forgot to pray before eating, then followed the residents’ silent meal ritual.
• Shiraishi and Don Kanonji entered Aizen’s enormous church with the crowd and joined the morning prayer.
• A priest displayed the day’s work assignments and named Luko Vlamiguir among those chosen to enter the Pantheon.
• Shiraishi stepped forward as Luko while the crowd watched him with envy.

Shiraishi arrived at the Great Spirit Book Library and met his supervisor, Emilou Apacci, who showed him his new workplace. After Emilou disposed of her timid former assistant Linda, she began teaching Shiraishi how to serve the library’s readers.

• Shiraishi was transported through a hundred barriers to the Great Spirit Book Library, where Emilou Apacci introduced herself as his direct superior.
• Emilou sent Linda to the garbage disposal room, where a hand pulled her inside and the door shut behind her.
• Emilou returned to the library and described its readers, including several Espada and Gin Ichimaru.
• Emilou found Shiraishi drinking her black tea and eating her glutinous rice dumplings, then warned him not to touch the refreshments again.
• Emilou began instructing Shiraishi to stay calm and treat readers well, even as she shouted at a reader who interrupted her.

Shiraishi worked at the Great Spirit Book library under Emilou while considering how to reach the switch controlling access to the Pantheon. After spending the morning watching Emilou lose online matches and blame her teammates, he followed her to the cafeteria, where she left to eat with Lady Harribel.

• Emilou explained the library’s procedures to Shiraishi, then sat at the desk to play an online game while he surveyed the library and spotted Aizen’s distant fortress.
• Shiraishi learned that Emilou was playing Shinigami Brawl and watched her attack a game character resembling him, only for Kenpachi Zaraki to gank her and claim first blood.
• Emilou lost match after match, blamed her teammates, and insisted the game’s matchmaking was the problem.
• Emilou led Shiraishi to the cafeteria, told him to eat and return to the front desk, and said she was having lunch with Lady Harribel.

Harribel reflected on Aizen’s rule and worried about his growing distance before spending lunch with Emilou, Rose, and Sun-Sun. Emilou took Shiraishi’s pentakill on her game account as proof of her good management, leaving Rose and Sun-Sun impressed and Shiraishi pleased that he was earning her trust.

• Harribel finished her work and thought about Aizen’s changed nature, her suspicions of Gin Ichimaru, and the peaceful life in the Divine Realm.
• Emilou, Rose, and Sun-Sun bickered over Emilou’s work and gaming record while Harribel tried to spare Emilou’s pride.
• Emilou led Rose and Sun-Sun to the Great Spirit Book Library to show them how well her new subordinate Luko was doing.
• Shiraishi used Emilou’s logged-in account to play Shinigami Brawl and earned a pentakill, prompting Emilou to boast that her teaching had made him skilled.
• Rose and Sun-Sun left after Emilou taunted them, while Shiraishi welcomed the chance to gain the trusting Emilou’s confidence.

Shiraishi worked at the Great Spirit Book Library and tried to draw closer to Emilou while concealing his plans to learn the Pantheon's control room location. His encounter with Ulquiorra ended just as Aizen summoned the Espada, leaving Ulquiorra's attempt to understand the heart unresolved.

• Shiraishi served tea to Emilou and kept his distance while she played a computer game.
• Shiraishi read a light novel in the stacks until Ulquiorra arrived and asked him to fetch Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
• Emilou told Shiraishi not to fetch the book, so he repeated her order to Ulquiorra before Emilou explained Ulquiorra's rank and sent him to get it.
• Ulquiorra questioned Shiraishi about loyalty and the heart, and Shiraishi suggested that he fall in love with a woman.
• Ulquiorra considered confessing to Emilou, but a messenger arrived and told him that Aizen wanted to see him.

Ulquiorra followed Aizen’s orders to investigate the Dark Forest, where he confronted Renji Abarai and sensed numerous powerful Reiatsu signatures emerging from a rift. At the training ground, Kūkaku Shiba reunited with Ichigo Kurosaki and learned Ulquiorra had arrived, while Unohana suspected the Espada was probing their defenses.

• Aizen ordered Ulquiorra to go to the lower realm and check on Urahara and the others in the Dark Forest.
• Unohana healed Ichigo after their training fight, and Kūkaku arrived with food and scolded him for leaving home without telling his family.
• Kūkaku sensed Ulquiorra’s Reiatsu, and Ichigo rushed outside while Unohana judged that the arrival was likely a probe.
• Ulquiorra emerged from a Garganta at the forest’s outskirts and pressed a button to draw his opponents to him.
• Renji attacked Ulquiorra with Shikai and then released Bankai, but Ulquiorra dismissed him as an opponent unworthy of his attention.
• Ulquiorra sensed more than a dozen powerful Reiatsu signatures emerging from a dark rift and accused his opponents of plotting against Aizen.

Ulquiorra lured the defenders into choosing between confronting him and saving the scattered strongholds, while Kūkaku Shiba defeated an Adjuchas and Ichigo Kurosaki found Ulquiorra. Ichigo gained the advantage with his Hollow mask, but Ulquiorra released Murciélago as Ichigo’s mask neared its limit.

• Ulquiorra opened eleven Garganta and forced Renji Abarai to face a massive Hollow instead of pursuing him.
• Kūkaku Shiba saved Rin Kunieda and the people in the cave by destroying an attacking Adjuchas with Fist Wave.
• Ulquiorra searched for his assigned target and identified Ichigo Kurosaki when Ichigo attacked him with Getsuga Tenshō.
• Ichigo used his Hollow mask to wound Ulquiorra, sever one of his arms, and drive him to release Murciélago.
• Ichigo realized the Hollow mask had only one second left as Ulquiorra’s dark green Reiatsu rain drenched him.

Ichigo Kurosaki was defeated by Ulquiorra, and Orihime Inoue saved his life before Ulquiorra abducted her. Ichigo resolved to grow stronger with Retsu Unohana’s training, while Orihime was carried toward the enemy stronghold, hoping to find Mr. Shiraishi.

• Ichigo Kurosaki attacked Ulquiorra, but Ulquiorra evaded his Getsuga Tenshō and pierced his chest, leaving him near death.
• Orihime Inoue treated Ichigo with Sōten Kesshun, erasing Ulquiorra’s Reiatsu from his wound and restoring his consciousness.
• Ulquiorra seized Orihime and defeated Ichigo’s attempt to intervene, then opened a Garganta and took her away despite Retsu Unohana’s presence.
• Retsu Unohana stopped Ichigo from pursuing Ulquiorra, and Ichigo asked her to train him so he could become strong enough to protect everyone.
• While traveling through the Dangai, Orihime thanked Ulquiorra for allowing her to save Ichigo, then prayed and hoped to find Mr. Shiraishi.

Aizen learned that Orihime's ability rejected phenomena and ordered Ulquiorra to care for and train her. He sent Harribel to investigate Hueco Mundo, where she intended to deal with Shiraishi.

• Ulquiorra showed Aizen his memories of the Dark Forest, and Aizen recognized Orihime's power as the rejection of all phenomena.
• Aizen assigned Ulquiorra to look after Orihime and train her, then ordered him to summon Harribel.
• Ulquiorra took Orihime to the Great Spirit Book Library, where Shiraishi feared she would recognize him in disguise.
• Harribel went to meet Aizen while Rose, Sun-Sun, and Emilou waited outside; Aizen ordered her to investigate Hueco Mundo.
• Harribel said she would deal with Shiraishi, while Aizen withheld his suspicion that Shiraishi and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto were not there.

Harribel and her Fracción searched Hueco Mundo for Shiraishi and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, but found the realm devoid of Hollows and no sign of either man. Harribel suspected Mayuri Kurotsuchi had hidden their route to the lower realm, while Aizen quietly prepared to test his potentially disloyal Shinigami; Emilou returned to the library and encountered Shiraishi.

• Harribel led Sun-Sun, Rose, and Emilou to Hueco Mundo to kill Shiraishi and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, but they found no Hollows or traces of the two men.
• Harribel reported their findings to Aizen and suggested Mayuri Kurotsuchi might have tampered with Szayelaporro's surveillance, but Aizen demanded evidence.
• Aizen decided the coming battle would give him a chance to expose and kill any Shinigami who betrayed him.
• Harribel sent Emilou back to guard the Great Spirit Book Library while she and Sun-Sun pursued the investigation with Nelliel.
• Emilou complained about Sun-Sun outside the library, where Shiraishi appeared and asked why she was angry.

Tier Harribel, Rose, and Sun-Sun infiltrated the Scientific Research Palace but fell into Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s trap. Mayuri forced Tier Harribel to give blood in exchange for an antidote, and the group left after Rose and Sun-Sun recovered.

• Tier Harribel, Rose, and Sun-Sun entered the lower level of the Scientific Research Palace after finding the upper level too tightly compressed to infiltrate quietly.
• Rose picked up a doll and triggered a trap that engulfed Rose and Sun-Sun in green gas, while Tier Harribel avoided inhaling it and pretended to be affected.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi confronted them and refused to release the antidote unless Tier Harribel gave him blood; Tier Harribel agreed after he threatened lasting harm to Rose and Sun-Sun.
• Nemu Kurotsuchi drew blood from Tier Harribel and the others, then Mayuri directed Tier Harribel to collect the antidote and leave.
• Tier Harribel gave Rose and Sun-Sun the antidote, and the three returned to the Great Spirit Book Library after abandoning their investigation.
• Tier Harribel nearly collapsed from blood loss, reassured Sun-Sun, and slowly returned to her room.

Shiraishi tried to plant a suggestion in Harribel’s sleeping mind, but his whisper triggered a dream about him instead. Harribel woke late and mentioned the dream to her allies, while Shiraishi learned the drawer contained the barrier switch before returning to the Great Spirit Book Library when Ulquiorra and Inoue arrived.

• Shiraishi sneaked into Harribel’s bedroom and whispered “inside the drawer” while she slept.
• Harribel dreamed that she rescued a princess who turned out to be a masked, monstrous version of Shiraishi, then woke in a sweat with her shark plushie torn open.
• Harribel rushed to her office, where Emilou, Sun-Sun, and Rose had taken over her work while she recovered.
• Harribel asked Sun-Sun to check the drawer, and Shiraishi overheard that it held the Guiding Light, the barrier’s switch.
• Harribel told Sun-Sun and Rose that she had dreamed about Shiraishi, while Shiraishi left after sensing Ulquiorra and Inoue at the Great Spirit Book Library.

Harribel asked Nelliel about her recurring dreams of Shiraishi and struggled to deny that she might love him. After they discussed threats to the Divine Realm, Nelliel returned to the library and confronted Shiraishi about the meaning of “husband,” leaving him worried that she had recognized him.

• Harribel told Nelliel that she had dreamed about the same man for five nights, and Nelliel suggested she had fallen in love with him.
• Harribel denied having feelings for Shiraishi, then raised concerns that Shinigami might have freed the captains sealed in the lower world and planned to send Sun-Sun and the others to investigate.
• Nelliel criticized the Divine Realm as a distorted world and questioned whether Aizen’s vision was right, while Harribel warned her not to speak that way where others might hear.
• After Nelliel teased her into naming Shiraishi, Harribel confessed that her friend liked him, and Nelliel said she had a friend who did too.
• Nelliel returned to the Great Spirit Book Library, asked the acting director Luko Vladimir what “husband” meant, and made Shiraishi suspect that she had exposed his identity.

Nelliel recognized Shiraishi despite his disguise, but let him avoid explaining himself and left after forgiving his old remark about wanting her to call him husband. Shiraishi then revealed himself to Emilou, Sun-Sun, and Rose, whom he had captured, and tried to secure their cooperation to protect Tier Harribel as he wondered when Kisuke Urahara would act.

• Nelliel chose not to expose Shiraishi and left after he defended his earlier remark about wanting her as his wife.
• Shiraishi left the Great Spirit Book Library after his shift, brought food back to his room, and woke the bound Emilou, Sun-Sun, and Rose.
• Shiraishi revealed that he was Ainz, prompting Emilou to rage while Sun-Sun calmly questioned him.
• Shiraishi warned the three women that he could defeat Tier Harribel and offered them a deal to cooperate in exchange for her safety.
• Emilou, Sun-Sun, and Rose fell silent, and Shiraishi freed them while warning them not to break their agreement or barrier.
• Shiraishi returned to his library duties and worried about when Kisuke Urahara would make his move.

Ichigo returned home to recover from training, where his family teased him about worrying over Orihime Inoue. As Kūkaku explained the preparations for the coming conflict, Ichigo remained concerned about Uryū Ishida and the mission that had taken him away.

• Ichigo soaked in a hot bath to ease his mental exhaustion, then rebuffed Yuzu and fought Isshin when his father attacked him.
• Yuzu told Isshin that Ichigo was worried about Orihime Inoue being in the Divine Realm, while the others revealed they already knew about her.
• Kūkaku brought Ichigo dinner and explained that the preparations would likely continue until September because Szayelaporro could detect unusual Reishi flow.
• Kūkaku said the captains' unsealing had to remain hidden and that it would take at least a month or two for them to arrive.
• Ichigo asked about Ryūken, Sōken, and Uryū, then admitted he was worried because he had failed to bring Uryū back or learn what mission Urahara had given him.

Bambietta announced that she planned to pursue Uryū Ishida, while Giselle secretly plotted to keep them apart and steer Candice toward him. Candice, feeling isolated, found Uryū and spoke with him before noticing a sinister figure watching her from the corridor.

• Bambietta told Candice, Liltotto, and Giselle she intended to pursue Uryū Ishida, and Candice promised to support her.
• Liltotto left to find Gremmy, and Giselle departed while privately planning to make Candice lonely enough to seek Uryū's emotional support.
• Alone in Bambietta's room, Candice felt adrift without her friends and went looking for somewhere quiet.
• Candice found Uryū Ishida eating alone and heard him complain about Bambietta's demands; he then praised Candice's personality and called her gentle.
• Candice felt her heart race, then spotted a half-hidden figure whose ominous Reiatsu was fixed on her.

Bambietta tried to win Uryū Ishida over with a homemade-looking lunch, then enlisted Candice to accompany her to the third training ground. Candice remained unsure whether Bambietta truly liked Ishida or valued his status as the Emperor’s successor.

• Bambietta saw Candice with Uryū Ishida and offered him lunch, but he quickly finished his own food and fled.
• Bambietta confronted Candice, then believed her explanation and shared the meal with her, revealing she had faked her bandaged hand and had someone else cook.
• Candice told Bambietta that Liltotto had gone to find Gremmy and Giselle had gone elsewhere, leaving her alone.
• Bambietta persuaded Candice to accompany her to see Ishida, reasoning that bringing Candice would make him harder to resist.
• Bambietta and Candice headed to the third training ground, where Ishida was practicing late into the night.

Orihime trained under Ulquiorra while Shiraishi secretly reassured her that he was preparing to help her escape. Gin Ichimaru arrived at the library and revealed that Grimmjow would lead a hundred thousand Arrancar to attack the surviving Shinigami, leaving Orihime desperate to warn them and Gin curious about the hidden person she had looked to for help.

• Orihime struggled to defend herself against Ulquiorra during their daily training, then accompanied him to the Great Spirit Book Library.
• Shiraishi privately told Orihime he had worked out how to open the barrier and was waiting to hear from Kisuke Urahara before rescuing her.
• Shiraishi gave Ulquiorra a book with a misleading cover, and Ulquiorra began reading it while Shiraishi returned to his game.
• Gin Ichimaru teased Ulquiorra and offered to take Orihime back to the Dark Forest, then announced that Grimmjow would lead a hundred thousand Arrancar to exterminate the surviving Shinigami.
• Ulquiorra refused to take Orihime to watch the attack, while Shiraishi's discreet reassurance calmed her and made Gin suspect someone hidden was helping her.
• Gin asked Harribel whether she would join the attack, and she replied that she only obeyed Aizen's orders and warned that invisible enemies were more dangerous.