Recaps

Sōgo Shihoin slept through class, frustrating Yumiko Saeki and impressing the other noble students with his confident remarks. After lessons ended, he invited Shaoling Fon to begin special training with him, and she gratefully accepted.

• Sōgo Shihoin dismissed his classmates’ attention and returned to sleeping during the Kidō lesson.
• Yumiko Saeki returned to class with reddened eyes, but Sōgo ignored her until she woke him and complained about her eyes.
• Sōgo moved beside Shaoling Fon and told her to guard him from anyone who might disturb his sleep.
• After class, Sōgo left with Shaoling Fon while Yumiko envied her closeness to him.
• Sōgo offered to train Shaoling Fon personally, and she accepted before he asked her to call him Sōgo.

Sōgo Shihoin trained Shaoling Fon until her strength reached the point where she could release her Zanpakuto’s Shikai. Shaoling Fon awakened Suzumebachi, whose ability killed a target in two strikes, and Sōgo asked her to demonstrate it on him.

• Sōgo Shihoin praised Shaoling Fon’s spiritual strength and urged her to train enough to survive while following him.
• Over a month of daily training, Shaoling Fon raised her Hakuda and Zanjutsu to Sixth or Fifth Seat level and her Shunpo beyond many Third Seats.
• Sōgo Shihoin recognized that Shaoling Fon could release her Shikai and instructed her to ask her Asauchi for its name.
• Shaoling Fon released Suzumebachi, which became a golden stinger-shaped gauntlet, and explained that its ability was death in two strikes.
• When Shaoling Fon hesitated to demonstrate the ability on a living target, Sōgo Shihoin pointed to his chest and told her to aim there.

Sōgo Shihoin demonstrated that Shaoling Fon’s Zanpakuto ability could be overcome by superior Spiritual Pressure, then began teaching her to combine speed, Shunpo, and Kidō in combat. After four years of training, Shaoling Fon successfully used Shunkō for the first time.

• Sōgo Shihoin let Shaoling Fon strike him twice with Suzumebachi, then revealed that his superior Spiritual Pressure had nullified her Death in Two Steps ability.
• Sōgo Shihoin taught Shaoling Fon that Zanpakuto abilities could fail against opponents with vastly superior Spiritual Pressure.
• Sōgo Shihoin trained Shaoling Fon to rely on speed, Shunpo, and Byakurai to complement her short Zanpakuto.
• A raven recorded the lesson, while a brown-haired young man watching from a Shin'ō Academy rooftop remarked that Yamamoto was not the only obstacle in his way.
• After four years of training, Shaoling Fon wrapped herself in Hadō Shō and performed Shunkō at the Shihōin Clan training grounds.

Sōgo watched Shaoling Fon’s training and discussed their acquaintances with Yoruichi, who then told him that Senjumaru Shutara was going to Squad Zero. Sōgo accepted Senjumaru’s promotion as deserved but was surprised by its timing.

• Shaoling Fon attacked Sōgo with Kidō and her Shikai, but he easily dodged and disarmed her.
• Yoruichi praised Shaoling Fon’s rapid improvement, while Sōgo said that Chōjirō Sasakibe was stronger than most of the Gotei 13.
• Yoruichi recounted how the Captain-Commander had repeatedly returned Sōgo to his courtyard after he sneaked out of confinement.
• Yoruichi told Sōgo that Lilynette and Tier Harribel guarded the Second Division’s gardens, Szayelaporro worked with Urahara, and Hachi served as her Seated Officer.
• Yoruichi told Sōgo that Senjumaru Shutara was going to Squad Zero, and Sōgo judged her promotion deserved but its timing surprising.

Senjumaru Shutara prepared to leave for Squad Zero and offered Sōgo Shihoin a place beside her, but he declined and agreed to visit her yearly. After the others departed, Mayuri Kurotsuchi put on a mask and prepared to experiment freely in the laboratory.

• Senjumaru Shutara entrusted her laboratory to Kurotsuchi before leaving for Squad Zero.
• Sōgo Shihoin, Yoruichi, and Shaoling Fon visited Senjumaru, and she invited Sōgo to join Squad Zero.
• Senjumaru teased Sōgo and then asked him to see her off; Sōgo agreed to visit her every year instead of joining her.
• Shaoling Fon asked Yoruichi about Senjumaru and Sōgo's relationship, then hurried after them as they left.
• Kurotsuchi put on a black-and-white mask and prepared to begin his experiments without restraint.

After seeing Senjumaru Shutara off, Sōgo annoyed Yamamoto and prepared for the Academy’s Hollow assessment. He avoided taking responsibility for Yumiko’s team, then told Shaoling Fon he had only wanted to give Yumiko and her admirers time together.

• Senjumaru Shutara departed for the Soul King Palace, and Sōgo taunted Yamamoto, who ignored him and reminded Yoruichi of the captains’ meeting.
• Sōgo left with Shaoling Fon and Yoruichi told him he could graduate in two years if he joined the Second Division.
• At the Hollow assessment, Sōgo agreed to team up with Yumiko Saeki and her three top-ranked companions, then left the Hollow hunt to them while he and Shaoling Fon went to town.
• Shaoling Fon scolded Sōgo for treating Yumiko badly, and he insisted he had meant to give her and the three boys more time together rather than act like a player.

Sōgo Shihoin and Shaoling Fon left their ramen break after sensing danger at Yumiko Saeki’s group. Ise tried to protect Yumiko from a Gillian’s Cero, but Sōgo arrived in time to defeat the Hollow and asked what had happened.

• Yumiko Saeki stopped her companions from insulting Sōgo and led them deeper into the forest to hunt Hollows.
• Sōgo and Shaoling Fon ate ramen in Rukongai until they sensed ominous Spiritual Pressure and rushed to investigate.
• Ise killed an ordinary Hollow, but a Gillian emerged and frightened Yumiko and the others into paralysis.
• Ise ordered the others to flee and endured the Gillian’s Cero when Yumiko fell and could not escape.
• Sōgo appeared, blocked the Cero, destroyed the Gillian with Byakurai, and asked the survivors what had happened.

Sōgo Shihoin rescued the students from a Gillian Menos Grande and sent Hideki Ise and Yumiko Saeki to report the attack to the Gotei 13. When the dispatched Soul Reapers arrived, Kisuke Urahara revealed that Soul Society had decided to eliminate the Quincy and identified strange Reishi as Quincy bait used to attract Hollows.

• Sōgo Shihoin treated Hideki Ise’s injuries and ordered him to take Yumiko Saeki to the Gotei 13 to report the Menos Grande attack.
• Sōgo Shihoin waited with Shaoling Fon for the dispatched Soul Reapers while sensing no other squads had encountered trouble.
• The Gotei 13 Soul Reapers arrived with Kisuke Urahara and Szayelaporro, who examined a strange sparkling substance at the attack site.
• Kisuke Urahara told Sōgo Shihoin that Central 46 had decided to erase the Quincy because they disrupted the balance of the three realms.
• Kisuke Urahara identified the substance as likely Quincy bait designed to attract Hollows.

After graduating from the Shin'ō Academy, Sōgo Shihoin discovered that he had been excluded because he lacked a Zanpakuto. When every Asauchi he tried shattered, he went to Squad Zero for Ōetsu Nimaiya’s help and arrived at the Phoenix Palace.

• Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai dispatched forces from four divisions to Hueco Mundo to attack the Quincies, and the desert was stained with blood.
• At the graduation ceremony, Yamamoto omitted Sōgo Shihoin from the list, and Shaoling Fon asked why he had failed to graduate.
• Sōgo grabbed Yamamoto’s beard and demanded an explanation; Yamamoto said Sōgo could not graduate without a Zanpakuto, so Sōgo vowed to awaken one.
• Sōgo tried communicating with several Asauchi at the Shihoin estate, but his Spiritual Pressure shattered them, so he decided to seek Ōetsu Nimaiya’s help.
• Sōgo traveled with the Big-Eyed Monk to the Soul King Palace and entered the Phoenix Palace, where Ōetsu was waiting with a Zanpakuto.

Sōgo Shihoin visited Ōetsu Nimaiya to obtain Zanpakuto and claimed Sayafushi and Ikomikidomoe, whose sealed spirit he renamed Xiao Jiba. He left planning to carry ten Zanpakuto so Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto could no longer use his lack of one to prevent his graduation.

• Sōgo asked Ōetsu for a Zanpakuto and pointed to the young Zanpakuto women behind him, prompting Ōetsu to protect them.
• Sōgo took Sayafushi and formed a Bakudō scabbard from his spiritual pressure, while Ōetsu protested that the sword was a failed creation he had not meant to give away.
• Sōgo entered the spirit inside the Zanpakuto Ōetsu had prepared, encountered a huge being who mistook him for the Soul King, and learned from Ichibē Hyōsube that the sword was called Ikomikidomoe.
• Sōgo returned to Ikomikidomoe’s inner world, learned that Ichibē had stolen its original name, and named it Xiao Jiba before the spirit expelled him again.
• Sōgo declared he would keep Ikomikidomoe as well as Sayafushi and carry ten Zanpakuto to stop Yamamoto from delaying his graduation; Ōetsu ordered him to leave.

After obtaining two Zanpakuto from Ōetsu, Sōgo secured his graduation from the Shin'ō Academy and arranged a comfortable post in the Second Division. He recruited Shaoling Fon into his Landscaping Brigade, leaving her convinced the work required highly refined Shunpo.

• Sōgo visited Senjumaru Shutara, shared tea with her, and then returned to the world below.
• Sōgo showed Yamamoto his two Zanpakuto, received permission to graduate, and rejected the idea of becoming a division captain.
• Sōgo asked Yoruichi for an easy position, and she appointed him captain of the Second Division's Landscaping Team.
• Sōgo told Yoruichi to assign Shaoling Fon to his team when she returned, then encountered Kisuke Urahara, who asked about his two Zanpakuto.
• Sōgo returned to the Shihoin estate and persuaded Shaoling Fon that their landscaping duties required refined Shunpo.

Sōgo reunited with Lilynette, Tier Harribel, and Kuruyashiki and formed the Second Division’s Greening and Forest Protection Squad, with Shaoling Fon as lieutenant. After the group shirked its first day of work, Sōgo arranged for Kuruyashiki to spar with Shaoling Fon, who revealed her Shunkō when his Spiritual Pressure stopped her attack.

• Sōgo arrived at the Second Division barracks and reunited with Lilynette, Tier Harribel, and Kuruyashiki after graduating from school.
• Sōgo named the five of them the Greening and Forest Protection Squad, appointed himself captain and Shaoling Fon lieutenant, then called off their landscaping work because of the heat.
• The group relaxed in Sōgo’s training dojo, where he asked Kuruyashiki to spar with Shaoling Fon while neither used a Zanpakuto.
• Kuruyashiki let Shaoling Fon’s kick strike his Spiritual Pressure, injuring her ankle and telling her she could not hurt him.
• With Sōgo’s approval, Shaoling Fon activated Shunkō, astonishing Kuruyashiki with her power.

Shaoling Fon trained with Sōgo’s Forest Protection Squad while Mayuri Kurotsuchi won Central 46’s approval to experiment on Quincy corpses. After thirty years of fighting in Hueco Mundo, Mayuri was arrested by the Second Division for dissecting 2,600 Quincy, as Sōya Azashiro watched from Muken.

• Shaoling Fon surprised Kuruyashiki Kenpachi with her speed and a neck lock, but his spiritual pressure broke her hold; Sōgo stopped them before they could fight seriously with their Zanpakuto.
• Lilynette fought Harribel, and Sōgo encouraged Shaoling Fon to keep training as part of the Forest Protection Squad.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi presented his zombie research to Central 46 and received permission to dissect Quincy corpses for his experiments.
• The Soul Reapers hunted Quincy in Hueco Mundo for thirty years, then returned to Soul Society after losing two captains to Menos Grande.
• After Mayuri spent a year experimenting on more than 2,600 Quincy corpses, two Second Division officers entered his laboratory and arrested him, while Sōya Azashiro watched from Muken.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi was imprisoned in the Nest of Maggots after the Central 46 Chambers sentenced him for unauthorized Quincy dissections, where Senjumaru Shutara taunted him. The Tsunayashiro Clan discussed Sōgo Shihoin as the mysterious “One Descended from Heaven,” then arranged for Tokinada to join Sōgo’s Greening Squad.

• The Central 46 Chambers sentenced Mayuri Kurotsuchi to the Nest of Maggots for dissecting Quincy corpses without approval, then added fifty years to his sentence after he insulted them.
• Senjumaru Shutara visited Mayuri in solitary confinement, mocked him, and left after he refused her offer to release him.
• The Tsunayashiro Clan head and a young clan member reviewed records about Kisuke Urahara and Sōsuke Aizen in the Great Spirit Book Gallery.
• The Tsunayashiro Clan head saw the record “Sōgo Shihoin... Soul Descended from Heaven...” and ordered Tokinada released to serve as Sōgo’s retainer.
• Several months later, Tokinada joined Sōgo’s Greening Squad, and Sōgo joked about his green hair.

Sōgo Shihoin struggled to accept Tsunayashiro Tokinada, who joined his squad and showered its members with gifts while unsettling Sōgo with his intense devotion. Yoruichi Shihōin explained that the Tsunayashiro Clan knew about Sōgo’s secrets but promised to protect him, leaving Sōgo to face Tokinada’s unwanted support.

• Sōgo introduced Tsunayashiro Tokinada to his squad, and Tokinada pledged loyalty while Sōgo warned him to mind his own affairs.
• Tokinada gave Shaoling Fon a Kidō manual, Lilynette a bubble machine, Tier Harribel a gravity device, and Little Kuruyashiki a training Asauchi.
• Tokinada followed Sōgo into the bath and unnerved him with his declaration that he liked him, prompting Sōgo to leave and confront Yoruichi Shihōin.
• Yoruichi told Sōgo she had accepted Tokinada into the squad at the Tsunayashiro Clan head’s request and argued that Tokinada’s abilities could help him.
• Yoruichi revealed that the Tsunayashiro Clan already knew about Tier Harribel and Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, and Tokinada promised the clan would keep Sōgo’s secrets and back him.

Sōgo’s obedience to Tokinada’s devotion led Tokinada to conclude that Sōgo was destined to ascend the throne, and he and the Tsunayashiro Clan head planned to clear obstacles while leaving the choice to Sōgo. Later, a blind man demanded justice for Kakyō, and an unknown figure intervened, claiming to know the Tsunayashiro Clan better than anyone.

• Sōgo told Tokinada to call him Captain, while Tokinada questioned him about his origins and his views on the Five Great Noble Clans.
• Tokinada decided Sōgo was the chosen king and secretly met with the Tsunayashiro Clan head, who agreed to prepare the way for Sōgo’s ascension without forcing his choice.
• Tokinada stayed by Sōgo’s side, doing training-ground chores as time passed and a Tsunayashiro collateral relative’s abuse of his wife and a Soul Reaper caused only a small stir among the nobles.
• A blind man protested outside the Central 46 Chambers that Kakyō’s abuser had escaped trial, and guards threatened to kill him.
• An unknown figure stopped a guard’s attack, told the blind man about Kakyō and the Tsunayashiro Clan, and claimed that no one understood the clan better than he did.

Tsunayashiro Tokinada gave Kaname Tōsen Kakyō’s Zanpakuto and revealed that he had spared him despite his cousin’s orders. As Tōsen struggled with his grief, Sōsuke Aizen recruited him to help overthrow the false king, while Aizen planned to remove Sōgo Shihoin before making his move.

• Tsunayashiro Tokinada explained the Tsunayashiro Clan’s power and asked Kaname Tōsen whether he would seek revenge for Kakyō’s death.
• Kaname Tōsen refused to kill Kakyō’s husband, and Tokinada gave him Kakyō’s Asauchi before revealing his identity and leaving.
• As Tōsen considered ending his life, Sōsuke Aizen offered him a purpose and called on him to become the sword that would forge a new world.
• Kaname Tōsen pledged himself to Aizen and asked Aizen to kill him if his justice ever wavered; Aizen agreed.
• Aizen told Tōsen to graduate from Shin'ō Academy and join the Gotei 13 before they acted, while resolving to eliminate Sōgo Shihoin first.

Sōgo met Sōsuke Aizen at their favorite Rukongai ramen shop, where a dispute over fish cake and dried bamboo shoots turned into an eating contest and a promise to meet again. After Sōgo left, Aizen revealed that he had spent decades arranging the encounter to befriend him and planned to later use that friendship to get Sōgo out of Soul Society for his experiments.

• Sōgo chatted with the Ippū owner when Aizen entered and sat beside him, introducing himself as a Third Seat of the Fifth Division.
• Sōgo introduced himself as Sōgo Shihoin, startling Aizen, who then addressed him respectfully until Sōgo asked him to use his given name.
• Sōgo objected to the dried bamboo shoots in Aizen’s ramen, and the two argued over whether fish cake or dried bamboo shoots belonged in a bowl.
• Sōgo and Aizen laughed off their food argument, ate bowl after bowl, and agreed to have a proper contest another time.
• After Sōgo left, Aizen revealed a Spiritual Pressure limiter beneath his sleeve and admitted he had staged the meeting to build a friendship with Sōgo.
• Aizen planned to eventually ask Sōgo to leave Soul Society so he could conduct experiments on Captain-level Soul Reapers.

Sōgo discovered that Shaoling Fon had secretly achieved Bankai but was dissatisfied with it because its immense, wild power did not suit her. He joined Kisuke Urahara and Szayelaporro in planning a challenge to make her accept it.

• Sōgo questioned Shaoling Fon about Bankai, and she denied having achieved it while revealing her secret through her awkward reaction.
• Sōgo asked Yoruichi about Shaoling Fon, and she directed him to Kisuke Urahara.
• Sōgo caught Kisuke Urahara trying to flee, and Urahara admitted that Shaoling Fon had borrowed a Tenshintai and asked him to conceal her Bankai.
• Urahara explained that Shaoling Fon disliked her Bankai despite its extraordinary power because its huge, violent form did not suit her image.
• Sōgo and Urahara agreed to help Shaoling Fon accept her Bankai, and Szayelaporro proposed using the regenerative Menos Grande Yamata no Orochi to force her to rely on it.

Shaoling Fon discovered that Sōgo Shihoin had vanished and tracked down Kisuke Urahara, who claimed Sōgo had gone to deal with an escaped experimental Menos Grande. Urahara persuaded her that only her Bankai could defeat it, and the chapter ended with him asking her to help rescue Sōgo.

• Shaoling Fon found Sōgo Shihoin's room empty and searched the estate, but the servants did not know where he was.
• The steward suggested that Shaoling Fon ask Yoruichi Shihōin, who told her Sōgo had visited Kisuke Urahara the day before.
• Shaoling Fon went to Urahara's laboratory, where he claimed an escaped specimen in the Kusajishi District had kept Sōgo from returning.
• Urahara discouraged Shaoling Fon from calling Yoruichi, the Second Division, or her squad, and insisted that the two of them go alone.
• Urahara claimed the specimen was a regenerating artificial Menos Grande that only Shaoling Fon's Bankai could destroy, and asked her to help rescue Sōgo.

Yamamoto considered the balance of power between the Central 46 Chambers and the Five Great Noble Clans after receiving a report about Sōgo Shihoin, Kisuke Urahara, and Shaoling Fon in Kusajishi District. Meanwhile, Shaoling Fon fought Szayelaporro’s Yamata no Orochi to rescue Sōgo, and she ended the chapter by firing her Bankai at the creature.

• Yamamoto compared the Central 46 Chambers to sparrows and the Five Great Noble Clans to a bird of prey, then ordered a Soul Reaper not to interfere with the activity in Kusajishi District.
• Szayelaporro sealed Sōgo inside a crystal and summoned Yamata no Orochi before leaving with a tablet.
• Shaoling Fon rushed toward Sōgo, but Kisuke Urahara pulled her away from Yamata no Orochi’s corrosive attack.
• Shaoling Fon used Suzumebachi and Shunkō to destroy three of Yamata no Orochi’s heads, but the creature regenerated and knocked her down.
• Kisuke Urahara explained that Yamata no Orochi could be defeated by overwhelming damage, and Shaoling Fon released her Bankai before his prepared speech was finished.
• Shaoling Fon fired Suzumebachi Raikōben at Yamata no Orochi while Sōgo watched from inside the crystal.

Sōgo and Shaoling Fon reconciled after her Bankai destroyed Yamata no Orochi, then Sōgo encountered Aizen, who tested his curiosity about Sōgo’s hidden eyes. Aizen left to investigate the Dangai’s unstable Kōtotsu, while both men returned home suspicious of the other’s intentions.

• Shaoling Fon confronted Sōgo about the battle, and Urahara explained that Sōgo had arranged the situation because he worried about her Bankai.
• Shaoling Fon said her Bankai could be used once every five days ideally, or once every three days at most, and Sōgo took her to bathe.
• A naked woman entered the bath and teased Sōgo and Shaoling Fon, prompting Shaoling Fon to flee in embarrassment.
• Sōgo met Aizen at a ramen shop, where they competed to eat and Aizen questioned him about his blindfold.
• Sōgo accused Aizen of having a strange interest in him, and Aizen explained that he had been assigned to investigate signs of the Kōtotsu going berserk in the Dangai.
• Aizen privately abandoned his attempt to test Sōgo’s Zanpakuto and continued planning, while Sōgo returned home wondering whether Aizen had an ulterior motive.

Kenpachi Kiganjō defeated Gosuke Kenpachi to claim the title, but Kuruyashiki Kenpachi intervened before Kiganjō could kill him. Kuruyashiki told Gosuke to leave the Soul Reapers, while Aizen and Shinji Hirako discussed Aizen’s upcoming mission to the Dangai; Kuruyashiki later returned to the Greening Squad.

• Kenpachi Kiganjō challenged Gosuke Kenpachi and defeated him after a prolonged fight, becoming the Tenth Kenpachi.
• Kuruyashiki Kenpachi stopped Kiganjō’s final blow with one finger and ended the duel, forcing Kiganjō to spare Gosuke.
• Kuruyashiki revealed himself to Gosuke, then ordered him to stop being a Soul Reaper and left without looking back.
• Aizen and Shinji Hirako discussed Aizen’s preparations for a mission to the Dangai, and Aizen guessed that Hirako was going to visit Lieutenant Hiyori.
• Kuruyashiki returned to the Greening Squad barracks, learned that Sōgo and the others had already left, and went back to his quarters as Tsunayashiro Tokinada watched him.

Aizen joined the Tenth Division captain’s investigation into the Kōtotsu’s rampage, which uncovered Quincy hiding in the Dangai and led to a thirty-year war. After the campaign ended in disaster for the Soul Reapers, Sōgo asked Yamamoto to let him deal with the Quincy still hiding there.

• Before the expedition, Sōgo shared ramen with Aizen and told him they could compete again when he returned.
• The Tenth Division captain found Quincy experiments behind the Kōtotsu’s rampage and received approval to purge the Quincy hiding in the Valleys of Screams.
• The Quincy used Threads of Recollection to evade Soul Reaper forces and wage guerrilla warfare for thirty years.
• Aizen betrayed the Tenth Division captain, then let the Quincy wound him before Soul Reapers arrived and killed them; Aizen was brought back unconscious.
• In 1898, after the Tenth Division captain died and Aizen was gravely wounded, Sōgo asked Yamamoto to let him investigate and deal with the surviving Quincy.

Sōgo assembled a seven-member squad to enter the Dangai and confront the Quincy who had defeated Aizen’s team. The squad passed through a special Senkaimon under the pressure of their combined spiritual energy, leaving the Kidō Corps stunned by the dangerous outcasts among them.

• Retsu Unohana told Sōgo that Aizen was recovering in the Fourth Division barracks, and Sōgo visited him.
• Sōgo dismissed Aizen’s guilt over the previous defeat and said he would lead a team against the Quincy; Aizen privately revealed that he felt better prepared than Sōgo.
• Sōgo announced the Greening Squad’s first mission, and Lilynette, Tier Harribel, Shaoling Fon, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, Szayelaporro, and Tsunayashiro Tokinada prepared to join him.
• The squad members spent the night in different states of excitement and activity, while Tsunayashiro Tokinada met with the Tsunayashiro Clan head.
• The seven gathered at the Second Division barracks and approached the special Senkaimon, their unrepressed spiritual pressure overwhelming the assembled Kidō Corps.
• Sōgo led the squad through the Senkaimon toward the Dangai, followed by the three Arrancar, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, and Tsunayashiro Tokinada.