Chapter Summaries

Shiraishi rested with Nemu Kurotsuchi while continuing his Bankai training, and Aura Michibane was ordered by a disguised Aizen to retrieve her father’s body. Aizen stole the Tsunayashiro Clan’s collected Fullbringer corpses, and Aura pursued him.

• Shiraishi relaxed with his head on Nemu Kurotsuchi’s lap, then entered his Zanpakuto’s world to train for Bankai.
• Aura Michibane spent a quiet day until Tsunayashiro Tokinada appeared and ordered her to find her father’s corpse.
• After Aura left, Aizen revealed that he had impersonated Tsunayashiro Tokinada and planned to steal the Fullbringer corpse containing a Soul King Fragment.
• Aura slipped into the Tsunayashiro Clan’s secret chamber and found the collected Fullbringer corpses hanging there.
• Aizen burst into the chamber and made all the corpses vanish, and Aura took solid form and pursued him.

Shiraishi learned that Aizen and Yiluo had stolen the Tsunayashiro Clan’s Fullbringer corpses, while the Seireitei ordered him to pursue Silver Flash Tsukikage Yagyū. He sent Rangiku Matsumoto to investigate instead, and she confirmed Tsukikage Yagyū had escaped through Shuwamon as Soi Fon arrived to organize a pursuit.

• A Riteitai member delivered the Captain-Commander's order for Shiraishi to pursue Silver Flash Tsukikage Yagyū after the Tsunayashiro Clan was robbed.
• Sōya Azashiro told Shiraishi that Aizen and Yiluo had stolen the clan's Fullbringer corpses and hidden them in another dimension.
• Shiraishi sent Rangiku Matsumoto to find out which gate Tsukikage Yagyū had used, then returned to his training instead of searching.
• Rangiku Matsumoto questioned Higonyūdō at Shuwamon and learned that a silver-haired woman had left through the gate around two forty.
• Soi Fon arrived, and Rangiku Matsumoto told her Tsukikage Yagyū had escaped; Soi Fon ordered Shiraishi to meet her so they could pursue the fugitive in Rukongai.

Shiraishi left Seireitei with Soi Fon to pursue Tsukikage Yagyū, but his lateness and attempts to soothe her sparked an argument that stalled their mission. The chapter ended with Shiraishi searching for a way to reconcile with Soi Fon before they continued the hunt.

• Rangiku Matsumoto urged Shiraishi to take his captain duties seriously and said she and Hitsugaya would watch over the division while he pursued the escapee.
• Shiraishi reached Shuwamon late and found Soi Fon waiting by the side gate, where memories of Yoruichi Shihōin stirred her fears of being abandoned.
• Soi Fon rushed ahead through Rukongai, and Shiraishi grabbed her wrist before she could go farther.
• Soi Fon angrily rejected Shiraishi's apologies and accused him of mocking her chest after he tried to reassure her.
• Shiraishi decided they needed to settle their disagreement before pursuing Tsukikage Yagyū and recalled a song about a kiss easing loneliness.

Shiraishi kissed Soi Fon to snap her out of her troubled thoughts, then promised to investigate Tsunayashiro Tokinada as part of their agreement. They traveled to district four of South Rukongai to find its Eighth Division officer, but found his post empty and began searching the district together.

• Shiraishi kissed Soi Fon, and she punched at him after recovering from her surprise.
• Shiraishi promised to take responsibility for Soi Fon and said he would dig up information on Tsunayashiro Tokinada.
• Soi Fon led Shiraishi to the Eighth Division post in Stone Stele Town, but they found no officer there.
• Shiraishi and Soi Fon decided to search district four together in case Tsukikage Yagyū or another threat was nearby.
• Soi Fon ordered them to search the district from left to right, and Shiraishi agreed.

Shiraishi and Soi Fon searched South Rukongai for the missing Eighth Division member and concluded Tsukikage Yagyū had likely taken him. Tsukikage mutilated Tsuyoshi Tsuruno to add his eyes to her collection, then learned that Shiraishi was causing trouble at the Seven Stones Village outpost.

• Shiraishi and Soi Fon searched the last part of District Four but found no sign of the missing Eighth Division member.
• Soi Fon concluded that Tsukikage Yagyū had probably taken him, and she insisted they keep searching.
• Tsuyoshi Tsuruno woke trapped in darkness and learned that his captor was Tsukikage Yagyū.
• Tsukikage tore out Tsuyoshi's eyes and placed them in a container for her collection.
• Tsukikage ordered Jin to dispose of Tsuyoshi, then received news that Shiraishi was causing trouble at the Seven Stones Village outpost.

Ichirō Yagyū fought off an assassin sent to kill him for a bounty, but Shiraishi and Soi Fon intervened and took control of the encounter. Shiraishi ordered the assassin detained for questioning while Ichirō objected to Soi Fon’s treatment of him.

• Ichirō left Seven Stones Village after failing to find Tsukikage Yagyū among the Nanaseki Gang.
• While camping for dinner, Ichirō noticed an assassin in a conical hat who had come to claim a three-hundred-thousand-kan bounty on him.
• Ichirō and the assassin fought, with Ichirō using dirt, a tree, and his Reiatsu to counter the assassin’s two-sword attacks.
• Soi Fon pinned Ichirō down and Shiraishi took the assassin’s swords, startling the assassin when he realized they were captains.
• Ichirō and Soi Fon traded insults until Shiraishi ordered the assassin taken into the grove for questioning.

Soi Fon interrogated an assassin and learned that an intermediary had hired him to kill Ichirō Yagyū, who seemed connected to Tsukikage Yagyū. She and Shiraishi captured Ichirō and confronted the intermediary, who named the client but denied knowing Tsukikage’s whereabouts.

• Soi Fon tortured the captured assassin and learned that an underground intermediary had paid him to kill Ichirō Yagyū.
• Soi Fon and Shiraishi suspected Ichirō knew something about Tsukikage Yagyū, so Soi Fon knocked him unconscious and kept him with them.
• Soi Fon identified the intermediary as Mitsutsune Sanjō, the elder of Sanjō Village, and went to question him.
• Mitsutsune Sanjō confessed that Akira Mayama, the Mayama Clan’s steward, had hired the assassin to kill Ichirō.
• Mitsutsune denied knowing where Tsukikage Yagyū was, and Soi Fon accused him of fearing Tsukikage more than her.

Soi Fon tortured two village elders for information about the plot against Ichirō Yagyū, then followed the leads to Mayama Manor, where Akira Mayama had been killed. The search for who arranged Ichirō’s murder continued as Soi Fon and Shiraishi investigated the manor.

• Soi Fon tortured Mitsutsune Sanjō until he revealed more information, then left him barely alive and headed with Shiraishi and Ichirō Yagyū toward Seven Stones Village.
• After Mitsutsune Sanjō died, his son Tarō secretly welcomed the chance to take his father’s place while pretending to mourn.
• Soi Fon broke into Daiki Shichiseki’s home and tortured him for information while Shiraishi kept watch and knocked Ichirō Yagyū unconscious again.
• Soi Fon learned that Akira Mayama had contacted Tsukikage Yagyū and wanted Ichirō Yagyū dead, and she suspected Tsukikage Yagyū had placed the bounty.
• Soi Fon and Shiraishi arrived at Mayama Manor and found Akira Mayama dead; Shiraishi sent the guards and servants away while Soi Fon prepared to investigate.

Soi Fon tracked Akira Mayama’s killer to a mountain temple while Shiraishi and Ichirō Yagyū waited nearby. Tsukikage Yagyū appeared, erased the surrounding landscape with darkness, and used her speed to escape Shiraishi, who secretly followed her to a South District 5 hideout.

• Soi Fon examined Akira Mayama and the woman’s bodies, traced the killer’s Reiatsu with Bakudō No. 58: Kakushitsuijaku, and set off after the moving target.
• Soi Fon and Shiraishi found the killer waiting outside a mountain temple, identified her as Tsukikage Yagyū, and took concealed positions nearby.
• Ichirō Yagyū woke and started toward the temple, but a wave of darkness swallowed the mountain and flattened the surrounding land.
• Shiraishi dodged the darkness, and Tsukikage Yagyū praised his speed before repeatedly using Shunpo to lose him.
• Tsukikage Yagyū circled back to her secret base in South District 5, while Shiraishi quietly followed her.

Shiraishi followed Tsukikage Yagyū to her mountain hideout, where Ichirō confronted his mother and tried to stop her. Tsukikage captured Soi Fon in the prison, prompting Shiraishi to unleash his Bankai outside.

• Shiraishi tracked Tsukikage Yagyū to her hideout and waited until he sensed Soi Fon's Reiatsu.
• Tsukikage Yagyū's servants welcomed her, and she expelled Ichirō Yagyū from the black liquid on her arm.
• Ichirō confronted Tsukikage over her crimes, but she sent Kin to fight him and left the hall.
• Tsukikage released Soi Fon in the prison and restrained her with a cuff that weakened her Reiatsu.
• Shiraishi sensed Soi Fon inside the hideout and activated his Bankai, Ignorance: Crimson Lotus Hellfire.

Tsukikage Yagyū defeated Shiraishi and Soi Fon by trapping them in a dark space, then subdued her rebellious son Ichirō Yagyū at the hideout. Unable to escape or use Reiatsu against her Bankai, Shiraishi entered his Zanpakuto’s inner world and gave himself three days to find Infinity and learn the next Bankai form.

• Shiraishi transformed into Nightbringer and helped Soi Fon escape Tsukikage Yagyū’s pursuit to a bamboo forest.
• Tsukikage Yagyū swallowed Shiraishi and Soi Fon in black liquid, trapping them in darkness where they could not move.
• Tsukikage Yagyū returned to the hideout, defeated the injured Ichirō Yagyū, and ordered Kin taken for treatment.
• Shiraishi realized Tsukikage Yagyū’s Bankai nullified his attacks and confined him in a dark space.
• Shiraishi met Infinity in his Zanpakuto’s inner world and set a three-day deadline to find him and learn the next Bankai form.

Shiraishi repeatedly attempted to find Infinity by flying across the rocky terrain, while Soi Fon despaired in Tsukikage Yagyū’s darkness. After both captains went missing, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto assembled a rescue team and left Rangiku Matsumoto behind to keep the Tenth Division in order.

• Shiraishi repeatedly launched his wingsuit from the mountaintop, crashed, and returned to try again without finding Infinity.
• Trapped in Obstruction of Sight’s darkness, Soi Fon believed she and Shiraishi were doomed and regretted leading him into danger.
• Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto declared Soi Fon and Shiraishi missing and ordered an immediate rescue mission despite Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s objections.
• Aizen volunteered for the mission, and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto assigned him, Byakuya Kuchiki, and Retsu Unohana to rescue the captains and arrest Tsukikage Yagyū.
• Rangiku Matsumoto asked to join the support mission, but Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto told her to remain with the Tenth Division, and Retsu Unohana promised to help Shiraishi.

Unohana, Aizen, and Byakuya searched South District 5 for clues after arriving too late to find Shiraishi and Soi Fon. At her hidden base, Tsukikage tried to force Ichirō to reject morality in favor of power, then enjoyed breakfast while two captains remained trapped and hungry in the Obstruction of Sight Space.

• Unohana, Aizen, and Byakuya reached the bamboo forest and found that the battle's Reiatsu had dissipated.
• Aizen suggested searching South District 5 for clues, and Unohana agreed.
• Tsukikage woke to Ichirō's scream and argued that morality and justice were powerless before strength.
• Tsukikage restrained Ichirō and tried to persuade him to abandon his principles and become stronger under her guidance.
• Tsukikage ordered a maid to take food to Ichirō and help him with his instincts.
• Tsukikage ate breakfast and thought of the two captains still trapped and hungry in the Obstruction of Sight Space.

Hungry and weakened, Shiraishi kept trying to escape his crumbling inner world. Meanwhile, Retsu Unohana led Aizen and Byakuya Kuchiki back to South District 5, where they found a hidden barrier and attacked it as Tsukikage Yagyū prepared to fight.

• Shiraishi stood up after resting and leaped into another attempt to fly through his collapsing inner world.
• Retsu Unohana suggested Tsukikage Yagyū might still be hidden in South District 5 behind a powerful barrier, and Aizen and Byakuya agreed to return.
• Retsu Unohana, Aizen, and Byakuya returned to the battlefield and searched north by hand rather than using Shunpo.
• Retsu Unohana detected something unusual in a rock wall, and Aizen told her to step back while Byakuya released Bankai against the barrier.
• Tsukikage Yagyū complained that the captains were pursuing him and began to release his Bankai.

Aizen killed Tsukikage Yagyū and Ichirō Yagyū, erasing the stronghold and its witnesses before returning to the Seireitei with the injured Shiraishi. Shiraishi woke two days later in the infirmary, where Nemu and Soi Fon competed to care for him.

• Tsukikage Yagyū gave her Zanpakuto, Obstruction of Sight, to Ichirō and urged him to escape as Aizen arrived.
• Ichirō stood against Aizen to protect his mother, and Aizen destroyed them and the stronghold with one sword swing.
• Aizen returned to Retsu Unohana and the others, who reported that Shiraishi needed extended treatment and Soi Fon had fainted from hunger.
• Shiraishi woke in the infirmary after about two days and learned from Isane Kotetsu that he could not move normally yet.
• Nemu Kurotsuchi brought Shiraishi a meal, but Soi Fon arrived with a bento and demanded to speak with him alone.
• Nemu refused to leave, and Shiraishi watched the two women argue over who would stay with him.

Shiraishi emerged in his Dragonmancer Nightbringer Dream Dragon form and defeated Tsukikage Yagyū by turning himself intangible and damaging her heart from within. Retsu Unohana rescued him as he collapsed, while Tsukikage escaped to her hideout.

• Tsukikage Yagyū swallowed Byakuya Kuchiki in her Obstruction of Sight Space after evading his and Retsu Unohana’s attacks.
• Shiraishi emerged from the space in his new form and explained that Dream Dragon’s Roar let him turn real things illusory.
• Tsukikage Yagyū tried to trap Shiraishi in a black cube, but he placed a pebble inside her heart, leaving her badly injured.
• Tsukikage Yagyū expelled everything inside the Obstruction of Sight Space and fled while Shiraishi dodged the falling objects.
• Retsu Unohana pulled Shiraishi to safety and told him Soi Fon was safe with Byakuya Kuchiki, but Shiraishi lost consciousness.
• Tsukikage Yagyū returned to her secret hideout as the black liquid reverted to a Zanpakuto.

Aizen killed Tsukikage Yagyū and Ichirō Yagyū, erasing the stronghold and its evidence before returning to the Seireitei with the injured Shiraishi. Two days later, Shiraishi woke in the General Infirmary, where Nemu and Soi Fon argued over who would stay with him.

• Tsukikage Yagyū gave Ichirō her Zanpakuto and urged him to escape, but Aizen confronted them.
• Ichirō attacked Aizen to protect his mother, and Aizen destroyed them and the mountain with a single strike.
• Aizen returned with Retsu Unohana and the unconscious Shiraishi, while Byakuya Kuchiki reported that Soi Fon had fainted from hunger.
• Shiraishi woke in the General Infirmary after about two days and learned that Soi Fon had recovered and returned to work.
• Nemu Kurotsuchi brought Shiraishi a meal, but Soi Fon arrived with a bento and asked Nemu to leave, prompting the two women to argue.

While Shiraishi recovered in the hospital, Soi Fon and Nemu Kurotsuchi competed to care for him until Retsu Unohana sent them away. He sampled both women’s food and ended the visit enjoying Nemu’s cooking while joking with Unohana.

• Shiraishi struggled to mediate as Soi Fon and Nemu Kurotsuchi clashed over who would care for him.
• Retsu Unohana ordered Soi Fon and Nemu to leave because Shiraishi needed quiet rest, and both left food for him.
• Unohana teased and treated Shiraishi, who quickly apologized when she caused pain in his injured arm.
• Shiraishi ate Soi Fon’s extremely sweet rice balls rather than waste the effort she had put into making them.
• Shiraishi then ate Nemu’s flavorful meal, while Unohana set aside its spicy dishes and fed him.

Tōshirō Hitsugaya asked Rangiku Matsumoto and then Momo Hinamori how to welcome Captain Shiraishi after he recovered. The chapter ended with Hinamori suggesting they hold a welcome party.

• Rangiku Matsumoto told Tōshirō Hitsugaya that Captain Shiraishi had woken up and joked that she could be his present.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya rejected Rangiku's suggestions and insisted that he and Momo Hinamori were only childhood friends.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya finished his paperwork and went to the Fifth Division to ask Hinamori for advice.
• Momo Hinamori left her fellow Seated Officers and suggested holding a welcome party for Captain Shiraishi.

Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Momo Hinamori planned a welcome party for Shiraishi, while Isane Kotetsu cared for him in the hospital. Their quiet conversation took an unexpected turn when Isane went outside to catch cicadas for him.

• Tōshirō Hitsugaya worried that the Tenth Division could not take time off for a welcome party, and Momo Hinamori suggested arranging it at noon with Isane’s help.
• Momo Hinamori teased Tōshirō Hitsugaya about his height and remembered their childhood game of hide-and-seek.
• Isane Kotetsu made Shiraishi drink a bowl of bitter herbal medicine and stayed to watch for side effects.
• Shiraishi remarked on the cicadas outside, and Isane Kotetsu imagined a tragic story before he asked her to catch cicadas for him to roast.
• Isane Kotetsu recalled catching cicadas for her sister Kiyone and leaped out the window toward a tree.