Recaps

Kenpachi Zaraki went to the Second Division seeking a strong opponent and charged Sōgo Shihoin, but the people around Sōgo stopped him before Kuruyashiki Kenpachi took up the fight. Zaraki and Kuruyashiki became absorbed in their savage duel, while Tsunayashiro Tokinada noticed something unusual about Yachiru Kusajishi.

• Kenpachi Zaraki asked the 11th Division who was strongest after himself and Yamamoto, and the division's gossip king named Sōgo Shihoin as a leading contender.
• Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru Kusajishi went to the Second Division, where Zaraki cut through the Stealth Force members who tried to stop him.
• Kenpachi Zaraki burst into Sōgo Shihoin's office and attacked, but Tier Harribel, Lilynette, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, Hōshō Ryo, and Tsunayashiro Tokinada quickly restrained him.
• Kenpachi Zaraki broke free and struck Tier Harribel and Lilynette, but Kuruyashiki Kenpachi blocked his attack and began fighting him.
• Kenpachi Zaraki and Kuruyashiki Kenpachi reveled in their duel as Yachiru cheered, and Tsunayashiro Tokinada sensed something abnormal about her.

Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and Kenpachi Zaraki fought until both prepared to settle the battle with one final strike, but Sōgo stopped them and knocked Zaraki unconscious with a single punch. Sōgo then handed Yachiru Kusajishi the bill for renovating his wrecked palace, leaving her frightened by the debt.

• Kuruyashiki Kenpachi wounded Kenpachi Zaraki, but Zaraki’s Spiritual Pressure rose as he fought and regained some of his suppressed strength.
• Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and Kenpachi Zaraki agreed to decide the fight with one final strike as their battle damaged the palace.
• Sōgo caught both men’s lethal strikes with his bare hands and declared the fight over.
• When Kenpachi Zaraki insisted on fighting Sōgo, Sōgo punched him unconscious in a single blow.
• Sōgo gave Yachiru Kusajishi a booklet billing the 11th Division for the palace renovations, and she called him scary.

Tsunayashiro Tokinada sabotaged Muken’s barriers, then was assigned by Sōgo to investigate the explosion and began planning to frame a scapegoat. Meanwhile, Kenpachi Zaraki recovered and realized fighting made him stronger, but he attacked Yachiru before an unknown captain intervened; the two men faced off.

• Tsunayashiro Tokinada set off explosions at the Research and Development Institute to damage Muken’s barriers and wrote a report about his supposed effort to save the Tsunayashiro Clan and Lord Sōgo.
• Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Akon realized the attack had been intended to conceal breaches in Muken’s barriers, and Yamamoto assigned the investigation to the Second Division.
• Sōgo Shihoin dismissed the assignment as a nuisance and told Hōshō Ryo to leave the investigation to Tokinada.
• Tokinada learned that Sōgo had assigned him to investigate the explosion and decided he would find someone to blame.
• Yachiru Kusajishi told Kenpachi Zaraki that fighting Sōgo and another opponent had helped him regain strength, and Kenpachi resolved to keep fighting them.
• Kenpachi Zaraki failed to recognize Yachiru and swung his Zanpakuto at her, but an unknown captain blocked the attack and warned her to get behind him.

Kenpachi Zaraki returned to the Second Division seeking another fight, where he encountered Sōya Azashiro and Kuruyashiki Kenpachi. Retsu Unohana exposed the gathering of five generations of Kenpachi and stopped their confrontation before it began.

• Sōya Azashiro appeared before Kenpachi Zaraki, identified himself as the 11th Division captain from three generations ago, and vanished after warning Zaraki not to disgrace the Kenpachi title.
• Kenpachi Zaraki rushed to the Second Division, where Kuruyashiki Kenpachi met him and Sōya Azashiro appeared to prevent them from fighting near the barracks.
• Kenpachi Zaraki, Sōya Azashiro, and Kuruyashiki Kenpachi unleashed their Spiritual Pressure as they prepared to fight.
• Retsu Unohana arrived and revealed Gosuke Kenpachi, who had been spying nearby, identifying him alongside the other Kenpachi present.
• Retsu Unohana challenged the Kenpachi to settle their claim to the title of Soul Society's strongest, and all five fell silent as her bloodlust made a fight seem impossible.

Kenpachi Zaraki challenged Retsu Unohana, while Gosuke Kenpachi attacked Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and Sōya Azashiro intervened. After the fight devastated the Second Division barracks, the survivors left Kuruyashiki to deal with the damage, and Sōgo returned to find a sign banning Kenpachi and dogs.

• Retsu Unohana questioned Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and Sōya Azashiro about their arrival, then asked Gosuke Kenpachi and Kenpachi Zaraki why they had come.
• Kenpachi Zaraki attacked Retsu Unohana, who overwhelmed him and said he had become weak.
• Gosuke Kenpachi cast Hadō #91 at Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, but Sōya Azashiro blocked it and countered with Hadō #96, destroying the artificial lake.
• Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, revealed to have mastered Hollowfication, shielded Gosuke from Azashiro’s attack, and Gosuke fled.
• Retsu Unohana took the wounded Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru Kusajishi away, while Sōya Azashiro departed and Kuruyashiki stayed behind to clear the wreckage.
• Sōgo returned to find the Second Division grounds devastated, and a sign reading “No Kenpachi or dogs allowed!” appeared at the barracks gate.

Tsunayashiro Tokinada decided to seek Fullbring power in the World of the Living to help Sōgo, while Sōgo suspected someone had engineered the recent Kenpachi conflict and blocked outside surveillance of the Second Division. Sōgo then accompanied Shaoling Fon to the Fon Clan for her title inheritance ceremony, where the journey ended just as she leaned close to him in the palanquin.

• Tsunayashiro Tokinada left his secret meeting without learning the mastermind’s identity and chose to seek Fullbring power in the World of the Living.
• Sōgo told Shaoling Fon he suspected someone had steered the Kenpachis into fighting at the Second Division barracks, then raised a barrier that cut off Aizen’s crows and the Big-Eyed Monk’s view.
• Aizen dismissed Gosuke’s apology and said he expected more from Gin Ichimaru.
• Sōgo offered to accompany Shaoling Fon to inherit her family title and arranged an extravagant palanquin journey to the Fon Clan.
• Shaoling Fon drew closer to Sōgo during the ride, but the palanquin touched down before their faces met.

Sōgo brought Hōshō Ryo to the Fon Clan estate, where her grandmother mistook their relationship for a romance and pressed them about producing a Shihoin heir. After Hōshō Ryo ended the teasing, she asked to inherit the clan’s title and accepted her grandmother’s warning that the trial could kill her.

• Sōgo and Hōshō Ryo arrived at the Fon Clan estate, where Sōgo introduced himself to her grandmother and presented her with lavish gifts.
• Hōshō Ryo’s grandmother assumed she and Sōgo were lovers, and Sōgo encouraged the misunderstanding while the two discussed Hōshō Ryo’s future.
• Hōshō Ryo overheard Sōgo and her grandmother joking about their intimacy and producing a Shihoin heir, then angrily told them to stop.
• Hōshō Ryo stated that she had come to inherit the Fon Clan’s title, and her grandmother warned that the trial could cost her life.
• Hōshō Ryo affirmed that she understood the danger and was ready to undergo the trial.

Shaoling Fon tried to catch a glimpse of Sōgo’s eyes after he removed his blindfold, but he had put it back on before she entered the bath. Sōgo teased her by undressing, and Shaoling stormed off to complain to her grandmother, who dismissed her objections and began a serious talk that left Shaoling regretting the visit.

• Grandmother arranged for Sōgo and Shaoling Fon to stay overnight at the Fon Clan estate before Shaoling’s trial.
• Shaoling overheard Sōgo remove his blindfold in the bath and entered with a towel, but he had already put the blindfold back on.
• Sōgo teased Shaoling about wanting to see him and then stripped down, prompting her to throw his underpants at him and leave in anger.
• Shaoling told Grandmother about Sōgo’s behavior and demanded that he be made to leave the estate.
• Grandmother refused, warned Shaoling to mature, and began explaining something that made Shaoling regret coming to her.

Hōshō Ryo tried to settle down for the night with Sōgo, but Lilynette secretly approached his bedding and provoked Hōshō Ryo into a contest over whose figure was better. Sōgo woke and heard their argument, then dodged choosing between them by telling them not to fight over him.

• Sōgo laid out one set of bedding and invited Hōshō Ryo to share it, but she put down her own bedding a meter away and went to sleep.
• Lilynette crept up behind Hōshō Ryo, blew on her neck, and teased her while she pretended to be asleep beside Sōgo.
• Hōshō Ryo caught Lilynette, and the two argued over their figures, with Hōshō Ryo defending shape and Lilynette insisting that size was better.
• Sōgo revealed that he had woken during their argument and had heard everything.
• Lilynette and Hōshō Ryo asked Sōgo to judge between them, but he told them there was no need to fight over him.

Hōshō Ryo began the Fon Clan trial against her grandmother and revealed that she had mastered Shunkō: Howling Gale Form. Her grandmother recognized Ryo’s overwhelming growth and accepted that the Fon Clan’s future was in her hands.

• Sōgo introduced Lilynette to Hōshō Ryo’s grandmother, then persuaded Lilynette to return to the Second Division and supervise its reconstruction.
• Sōgo and Hōshō Ryo followed Grandmother to the Fon Clan’s underground training ground for Ryo’s trial.
• Hōshō Ryo attacked at great speed, and Grandmother blocked her strike through instinct and experience.
• Grandmother urged Hōshō Ryo to use her full strength, so Ryo released her Spiritual Pressure and demonstrated her perfected Shunkō: Howling Gale.
• Grandmother watched Hōshō Ryo appear before her and accepted that the Fon Clan no longer needed her while Ryo stood ready to lead it.

After Shaoling Fon inherited the name Soi Fon, she and Sōgo returned to peaceful life in the Second Division, and ten years passed. They attended the Kuchiki Clan’s ceremony, where Sōgo heard nobles disparage the Shihoin and Fon families and tightened his grip on Shaoling Fon’s hand.

• Sōgo stopped Shaoling Fon from continuing her trial, and her grandmother declared that she had passed and deserved to inherit the name Soi Fon.
• Sōgo teased Shaoling Fon about still being Little Fon and handed her command of the Execution Force as they returned to the Second Division.
• Ten years later, Sōgo and Shaoling Fon hurried to the Kuchiki Clan for its ceremony and found a long line of visitors outside.
• A Kuchiki guide led Sōgo and Shaoling Fon past the queue, and Sōgo quietly followed after hearing the guide dismiss the minor nobles waiting outside.
• Inside the courtyard, several noble clan heads disparaged the Shihoin Family and mocked the Fon Clan, while Sōgo held Shaoling Fon’s hand more tightly.

At Byakuya Kuchiki’s coming-of-age ceremony, Sōgo Shihoin teased Byakuya, helped Shaoling Fon answer noble families who had mocked her, and witnessed Kuchiki Ginrei announce Kōga Kuchiki as the next Sixth Division captain. The chapter ended with Kōga stunned by his unexpected appointment.

• Sōgo gave Byakuya a scarlet wooden scabbard as a coming-of-age gift and learned that Kaien Shiba and Shiba Miyako planned to marry.
• Kuchiki Ginrei seated Sōgo, Kaien, and the other Great Clan representatives at the front of the hall for Byakuya’s ceremony.
• Sōgo mocked the Kasumioji Clan head and two other noble family heads, turning them into targets of the nobles’ laughter after they had ridiculed Shaoling Fon.
• After Byakuya’s ceremony, Ginrei announced that he would step down as Sixth Division captain and named his adopted son and son-in-law, Kōga Kuchiki, as his successor.
• Sōjun Kuchiki pushed the astonished Kōga forward to accept the appointment.

At Kuchiki Ginrei’s banquet, Kōga Kuchiki accepted the succession to captain of the Sixth Division after Sōjun Kuchiki reassured him that he supported the choice. Sōgo then pressed the Five Great Noble Clans to convene after centuries apart, and the chapter ended with the clans agreeing to meet and Sōgo urging them to remain united.

• Kuchiki Ginrei named Kōga Kuchiki as his successor as captain of the Sixth Division, but Kōga argued that Sōjun Kuchiki was more qualified.
• Sōjun Kuchiki told Kōga he had willingly yielded the captaincy, and Kōga accepted the role with a vow to serve the Kuchiki Clan and Soul Society.
• Sōgo Shihoin explained that rumors about the Shiba Clan were meant to divide the Five Great Noble Clans, then proposed a meeting of their heads.
• Central 46 tried to prevent the clan heads from gathering, and Sōgo confronted them with their fear of an ancient agreement before dismissing their objections as a joke.
• Representatives of the Tsunayashiro Clan and another clan, along with Kaien Shiba, agreed to attend Sōgo’s meeting; Kuchiki Ginrei also accepted after Sōgo teased Byakuya about the banquet.
• Sōgo described the Five Great Noble Clans as parts of a whole and urged them to endure together.

After discussing Sōgo’s provocation of the Central 46 Chambers with Kuchiki Ginrei, Sōgo attended Kaien Shiba and Shiba Miyako’s wedding at the Thirteenth Division barracks. The celebration ended with Jūshirō Ukitake tricking Kaien into accepting a captain’s haori as Ukitake announced his retirement and Kaien’s succession.

• Kuchiki Ginrei warned Sōgo to act with restraint, but Sōgo insisted that he had nothing to fear and left for a meeting.
• Sōgo and Hōshō Ryo arrived at the Thirteenth Division barracks for Kaien Shiba and Shiba Miyako’s wedding, where they met Shunsui Kyōraku and Nanao Ise.
• Kaien and Miyako exchanged vows amid the division’s cheers, and Jūshirō Ukitake gave a humorous speech about their long relationship.
• Ukitake presented Kaien with a captain’s haori, revealing that he intended to retire and leave the Thirteenth Division in Kaien’s hands.
• Kaien realized Ukitake had maneuvered him into becoming the next captain, while Sōgo sighed at how easily Kaien had been tricked.

Kōga Kuchiki and Kaien Shiba became captains, and Kaien repeatedly got drunk despite the trouble it caused him at home. Sōgo Shihoin gathered the Five Great Noble Clan heads for a drinking party, leaving the Central 46 Chambers suspicious and Aizen watching for his chance to catch up.

• Kōga Kuchiki and Kaien Shiba passed their captain examinations and took command of the Sixth and Thirteenth Divisions, respectively.
• Isshin Shiba congratulated Kaien, who complained that Jūshirō Ukitake had maneuvered him into becoming captain; Isshin explained that Ukitake trusted him.
• Kaien and Isshin got drunk together, after which Shiba Miyako made Kaien kneel on a washboard and Rangiku Matsumoto tied up Isshin and left him to handle paperwork.
• Sōgo Shihoin summoned the Five Great Noble Clan heads to the Second Division barracks for drinks, and Kaien eventually drank too much and was made to kneel on a washboard again.
• The Central 46 Chambers ordered an investigation into the gathering, while Sōsuke Aizen concluded that Sōgo’s drinking party was plausible and vowed to catch up to him.

Kenpachi Zaraki prepared to challenge Sōgo Shihoin, while Ikkaku Madarame awakened his Bankai after enduring Retsu Unohana’s overwhelming killing intent. Sōgo agreed to fight Kenpachi after Sister Hana reminded him that he owed her a favor.

• Sōgo reflected on how he had gradually eased the Central 46 Chambers into accepting his influence.
• Kenpachi trained before dawn, determined to become strong enough to face Sōgo, and Yachiru told Ikkaku that Kenpachi’s next opponent was his greatest prey yet.
• Kenpachi, Yachiru, and Ikkaku went to the Fourth Division’s hidden training ground, where Ikkaku was overwhelmed by Retsu Unohana’s killing intent and awakened Bankai: Ryūmon Hōzukimaru.
• Sister Hana revealed that she had summoned Sōgo to face Kenpachi and reminded him that he owed her a favor.
• Sōgo accepted the challenge and beckoned Kenpachi to begin their fight.

Sōgo Shihoin sparred with Kenpachi Zaraki, overwhelming him with powerful attacks and Kidō before Kenpachi broke free of his restraints. The chapter ended with Sōgo asking whether Kenpachi’s many bleeding wounds hurt.

• Ikkaku Madarame learned from Yachiru Kusajishi that Sōgo was the elusive Second Division captain and had previously defeated Kenpachi with one blow.
• Kenpachi attacked Sōgo, who dodged his strikes and countered with a powerful slash from Sayafushi.
• Sōgo restrained Kenpachi with Bakudō #1: Sai, but Kenpachi knocked him off balance with a kick.
• Sōgo cast Bakudō #99: Bankin, binding Kenpachi with cloth and spikes before dropping a huge stone monument on him.
• Sōgo assured Ikkaku that Kenpachi would recover, and Ikkaku thanked him before Sōgo prepared to leave.
• At Sister Hana’s urging, Sōgo stayed to watch as Kenpachi shattered the monument and emerged badly wounded; Sōgo asked if it hurt.

Sōgo Shihoin overwhelmed Kenpachi Zaraki and turned the fight into a humiliating spectacle, then invented a crude story about an 11th Division tradition. Years later, he attended Byakuya Kuchiki and Hisana’s wedding, while Kōga Kuchiki considered retiring to focus on his daughter Aisa.

• Sōgo Shihoin used his speed to evade Kenpachi Zaraki’s attacks, then froze the fight and left Kenpachi Zaraki sprawled with his Zanpakuto stuck in his rear.
• Sōgo Shihoin claimed he had started a tradition of stabbing Kenpachis in the rear, then punished Ikkaku Madarame for calling him a pretty boy.
• Sister Hana treated Kenpachi Zaraki and Ikkaku Madarame after Sōgo Shihoin left the training room.
• Several years later, Byakuya Kuchiki married Hisana in a small ceremony at the Kuchiki Clan residence, with Sōgo Shihoin in attendance.
• Sōgo Shihoin left the wedding after Byakuya Kuchiki teased him about marrying Sister Bee, and he passed Kōga Kuchiki holding his daughter Aisa.
• Kōga Kuchiki soothed Aisa and considered stepping down as captain so he could spend more time with her.

Hisana Kuchiki died after entrusting Byakuya Kuchiki with finding and caring for her younger sister, Rukia. Years later, Byakuya found Rukia at the Shin'ō Academy and introduced himself as her older brother, inviting her into the Kuchiki family.

• Kiyōnosuke Yamada told Byakuya Kuchiki that Hisana was not ill but had grown too weak and exhausted to endure life in the Kuchiki Clan.
• Hisana comforted Byakuya, asked him to find Rukia and care for her, and died after they shared their grief.
• Byakuya watched Hisana's burial, then began searching the Rukongai for Rukia while keeping his grief hidden.
• Byakuya spotted Rukia near the Shin'ō Academy registration office and quietly followed her progress toward enrollment.
• After Rukia passed the entrance examination, Byakuya summoned her and welcomed her as his younger sister.

Sōgo learned that Ikomikidomoe’s lost power had returned from Hueco Mundo and would need to be retrieved, while Rukia joined the Thirteenth Division and found comfort in Shiba Miyako’s kindness. Elsewhere, Rangiku confronted Tenth Division Captain Isshin Shiba over stolen underwear, and a white-clad boy intervened to help Isshin.

• Shaoling Fon told Sōgo that Byakuya had adopted a girl from Rukongai into the Kuchiki Clan, and Sōgo recognized her as Byakuya’s wife’s younger sister.
• Ikomikidomoe told Sōgo that a reserve portion of his power had returned from Hueco Mundo and urged him to bring it so he could consume it.
• Rukia reported to the Thirteenth Division, where Kaien Shiba welcomed her and Shiba Miyako comforted her as she wept over her late sister Hisana.
• Kaien privately resolved that Byakuya owed him a favor for sending Rukia to the Thirteenth Division, and considered bringing her into the Shiba Clan if Byakuya failed to repay it.
• Rangiku accused Isshin Shiba of stealing a female member’s underwear, but a white-clad boy kicked her away and helped Isshin to his feet.

Rukia was left in charge of the Thirteenth Division while Kaien Shiba and Shiba Miyako attended a meeting, but a Menos Grande trapped the division and slaughtered its members. After the creature swallowed Rukia, she struck back with Hadō #33: Sōkatsui, leaving her fate unclear as the main hall erupted in flames.

• Kaien Shiba left Rukia in charge of the Thirteenth Division, and Miyako dragged him away to their meeting.
• Sōsuke Aizen watched a Gillian Menos Grande with the potential for unlimited evolution inside a container in the Fifth Division barracks.
• Rukia and the division members returned from patrol to find the barracks deserted and sealed off by a barrier as sinister Spiritual Pressure spread.
• Five division members entered the dark hall and were killed, so Rukia ordered the others to seek help while she went inside to save them.
• Rukia found the slain members’ remains and confronted Kizō, whose enormous mouth held the faces of those the Menos Grande had devoured.
• The Menos Grande swallowed Rukia, but its head exploded as she unleashed Hadō #33: Sōkatsui.

Rukia fought a Menos Grande that set the Thirteenth Division against her, but after she emerged to save her captured comrades, it crushed them all and tried to kill her. Kaien Shiba arrived in time to cut the Hollow apart, furious at what it had done to his division.

• Rukia escaped the burning hall after injuring the Menos Grande with a point-blank Sōkatsui, but her own body was badly burned.
• The Menos Grande captured the Thirteenth Division members and threatened to eat them to force Rukia out of hiding.
• Rukia emerged, and the Menos Grande claimed it would keep its promise not to eat the Soul Reapers before crushing them all with its tentacles.
• The Menos Grande taunted Rukia and tried to bite her, but an unseen attacker severed its tongue.
• Kaien Shiba appeared beside Rukia and cut the Menos Grande into countless pieces.

After Kaien Shiba saved Rukia from a Menos Grande, the Hollow regenerated from a severed tongue and took her hostage. Sōgo arrived, rescued Rukia, and swallowed the Menos Grande with his released Zanpakuto, leaving a vast pit in the Thirteenth Division barracks.

• Kaien Shiba comforted Rukia Kuchiki after the Menos Grande killed her division members, and she said she wanted the strength to protect others.
• Kaien Shiba released Nejibana and extinguished the fire at the Thirteenth Division barracks, but the Menos Grande reappeared behind Rukia and bound her with its tentacles.
• The Menos Grande explained that it had regenerated from the tongue Kaien had cut off, then threatened to kill Rukia if Kaien attacked.
• Sōgo appeared, instantly freed Rukia, and handed her to Kaien Shiba while provoking the Menos Grande with talk of comparing their manhood.
• Sōgo released his Zanpakuto, and its enormous mouth swallowed the Menos Grande and part of the barracks, leaving a bottomless pit.

Kaien Shiba resigned as captain of the Thirteenth Division after the Menos Grande disaster and named Kūkaku Shiba as his successor. At the Shin'ō Medicinal Relief Institute, Byakuya Kuchiki visited the injured Rukia as Renji Abarai forced his way toward her ward.

• Kaien visited Jūshirō Ukitake, returned his captain’s haori, and explained that he could not forgive himself for failing to protect his subordinates.
• Kaien revealed that Kūkaku Shiba would replace him as captain, while Ukitake worried that her and Yoruichi Shihōin’s rebellious personalities would bring trouble.
• Ukitake threw Kaien’s haori back to him and told him to keep it as a reminder that he had served as captain.
• Byakuya stayed beside the injured Rukia, whose affection for her brother grew as he peeled an apple for her.
• Renji arrived at the institute and struggled with the staff barring him from Rukia’s ward; Byakuya ordered them to let Renji go.

Renji Abarai visited Rukia Kuchiki in the hospital, where she resolved to become stronger and train in the Second Division. After learning from Ikkaku Madarame that its unit commanders were captain-level and its captain was terrifying, Renji vowed to grow strong enough to protect what he loved.

• Renji Abarai visited Rukia Kuchiki, and she rejected his suggestion that they leave Soul Society together.
• Renji encouraged Rukia to grow stronger, and she blamed herself for Kaien Shiba's resignation and decided to seek his forgiveness after gaining power.
• Rukia told Renji she planned to train in the Second Division, and he accepted her choice before leaving the hospital.
• Renji asked Ikkaku Madarame about the Second Division, and Ikkaku revealed that its unit commanders were as strong as Gotei 13 captains.
• Mentioning the Second Division Captain caused Ikkaku's old injury to bleed, and Renji took him to the infirmary before resolving to become stronger.