Chapter Summaries

Ichigo Kurosaki’s family discussed Karakura Town’s recent disasters, while Ichigo remained distracted after spotting the mysterious black-clad girl from his childhood. After escorting Orihime Inoue home, he found the wounded girl at the park where she had once saved him and rushed to help her.

• Masaki Kurosaki and Isshin Kurosaki discussed the recent thunderstorms and gas leaks and suggested picking the children up, but Ichigo Kurosaki declined.
• Karin Kurosaki heard a wandering spirit warn that monsters were coming, and her parents exchanged an uneasy glance.
• Ichigo Kurosaki saw the black-clad girl from his childhood race past him near a wrecked street and spent the school day staring out the window.
• Tatsuki Arisawa asked Ichigo Kurosaki to walk Orihime Inoue home, and he agreed before escorting her safely back.
• Ichigo Kurosaki returned to the park where the girl had saved him and found her bloodied, exhausted, and holding a cracked blade, so he went to help her.

Ichigo Kurosaki carried the badly injured Rukia Kuchiki toward home, then confronted the masked man in white who had pursued them. After the man transformed into a towering monster and shrugged off Ichigo’s strongest attacks, Rukia considered breaking Ichigo beyond human limits to give him a chance to win.

• Ichigo Kurosaki refused to abandon Rukia Kuchiki and ran toward the man in white, who blocked their escape.
• Ichigo set Rukia on a bench and struck the man in white with Iron Mountain Lean, sending him flying.
• The man in white revealed his Resurrección, transformed, and attacked Ichigo with greatly increased speed and strength.
• Ichigo dodged the monster’s attacks and landed powerful blows, but the monster grew larger and remained nearly unharmed.
• Rukia decided that Ichigo would need to break through human limits to have a chance against the enormous monster.

Ichigo Kurosaki became a Soul Reaper and effortlessly defeated a Hollow, while Sōsuke Aizen watched with interest and began setting his plan in motion. After Rukia Kuchiki transferred her powers to Ichigo and was ordered back to Soul Society, Sōgo Shihoin decided to investigate and stir up trouble.

• Rukia Kuchiki transferred her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo Kurosaki, and Ichigo transformed into a Soul Reaper.
• Ichigo Kurosaki severed the Hollow’s arm and then killed it with a single slash.
• A mysterious man observed Ichigo, opened a portal, and left, while Sōsuke Aizen watched Ichigo and prepared to start his plan.
• Inside Ichigo Kurosaki, a man in a black trench coat suppressed a threatening presence that urged him to let the king gain power.
• Rukia Kuchiki transferred into Ichigo’s school, and Ichigo met Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, Uryū Ishida, and other companions before a Gillian appeared.
• Shaoling Fon told Sōgo Shihoin that the Central 46 Chambers had ordered Rukia’s return and imprisonment, and Sōgo chose to investigate what had happened.

After Byakuya took Rukia back to the Soul Society, Ichigo woke in the hospital and vowed to grow strong enough to rescue her. Meanwhile, Sōgo placed Rukia under his protection in the Second Division and laughed at her mistake, leaving her furious but unable to challenge him.

• Byakuya let Rukia spend five minutes with the delirious Ichigo before she and Renji entered the Senkaimon.
• Ichigo woke beside Orihime, learned that Urahara had rescued him, and asked how he could save Rukia.
• Urahara challenged Ichigo to prove he was ready to risk his life for power, and Ichigo vowed to bring Rukia back even if it cost him his life.
• Urahara agreed to prepare a trial to help Ichigo grow stronger.
• Sōgo used the Second Division's authority to place Rukia under protection in its barracks, where he mocked her while she endured her anger.

After regaining his Soul Reaper powers through dangerous training, Ichigo Kurosaki prepared to enter Soul Society with his friends and rescue Rukia Kuchiki. Kisuke Urahara briefed the group on their mission and warned them about Sōgo Shihoin, leaving them with a baffling plan involving Yoruichi.

• Ichigo Kurosaki found his Zanpakuto’s power during Hollowfication and emerged from training with greatly increased spiritual pressure.
• Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryū Ishida prepared to rescue Rukia Kuchiki, and Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado joined them.
• Yoruichi arrived, and Kisuke Urahara explained that the group had to infiltrate Seireitei, where the Gotei 13 guarded Rukia.
• Kisuke Urahara warned Ichigo Kurosaki that Sōgo Shihoin could kill him with one punch and advised them not to resist if they encountered him.
• Kisuke Urahara told the group to use Yoruichi to deal with Sōgo Shihoin, leaving Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryū Ishida confused.

Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends hurried through the Dangai to rescue Rukia Kuchiki while Sōgo Shihoin attended her hearing in the Central 46 Chambers. Sōgo provoked a sage into collapsing, but Rukia’s sentence was changed to execution in five days, and Sōgo suspected the real Central 46 Chambers might already be gone.

• Ichigo Kurosaki urged his friends to hurry to Soul Society and save Rukia Kuchiki before her execution.
• Sōgo Shihoin went to the Central 46 Chambers in Rukia Kuchiki’s place, where the Stealth Force installed a sofa for him.
• Sōgo Shihoin insulted a sage during the hearing until the sage collapsed, forcing the proceedings to stop.
• Sōgo Shihoin hosted a farce at the Second Division barracks while Rukia Kuchiki reported that her sentence had become public execution in five days.
• Sōgo Shihoin told Hōshō Ryo that the real Central 46 Chambers might no longer exist.

Aizen massacred the Central 46 Chambers and framed Sōgo Shihoin, who was stripped of his captaincy and confined to the Shihoin estate. As Aizen prepared his next move, Ichigo Kurosaki and his companions arrived in the Soul Society to rescue Rukia.

• Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, Kaname Tōsen, and Gosuke killed the Central 46 sages and manipulated the sole surviving judge into blaming the Five Great Noble Clans.
• Aizen later killed the last surviving judge and began his scheme against Sōgo.
• A First Division special squad captain summoned Sōgo to a captains’ meeting, where Yamamoto accused him of killing the Central 46 and confined him to the Shihoin estate.
• Sōgo accepted the punishment without concern and left Shaoling Fon in charge of the Second Division.
• Aizen and Gin prepared for their next act as Ichigo Kurosaki and his companions arrived in the Soul Society to save Rukia.

After Sōgo Shihoin was confined, Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto discussed the suspicious captains’ meeting and Sōgo’s overwhelming strength. Yoruichi led Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends to the Shiba estate for help entering Seireitei, where Kaien Shiba welcomed Ichigo as his younger brother and asked him to take the Shiba surname.

• Tōshirō Hitsugaya told Rangiku Matsumoto that the captains’ meeting left him uncertain whom to trust, though he doubted Sōgo Shihoin had committed the alleged crimes.
• Tōshirō Hitsugaya described Sōgo Shihoin’s terrifying Spiritual Pressure, and Rangiku Matsumoto recalled that Isshin Shiba had avoided talking about him.
• Yoruichi led Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, and Uryū Ishida to the Shiba estate, explaining that its head could help them enter Seireitei unnoticed.
• Kaien Shiba greeted the group and treated Ichigo Kurosaki like a younger brother, claiming they had not seen each other for fifteen years.
• Kaien Shiba asked Ichigo Kurosaki to start using Shiba as his surname, and Ichigo warned him to think carefully before speaking.

Kaien Shiba welcomed Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends, then explained that Rukia Kuchiki had been sentenced to public execution in five days and was being held in the dangerous Second Division barracks. He revealed that Sōgo Shihoin had been confined after the apparent slaughter of the Central 46 Chambers, leaving Yoruichi worried about facing the Second Division without him.

• Ichigo Kurosaki became angry at Kaien Shiba's joke about changing his surname, then suspected that his father was hiding a family connection between them.
• Kaien Shiba led Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue to the reception room, where Yoruichi, Yasutora Sado, and Uryū Ishida were waiting.
• Kaien Shiba told the group that Rukia Kuchiki would be publicly executed at the Sōkyoku in five days and was likely imprisoned in the Second Division barracks.
• Ichigo Kurosaki vowed to defeat anyone who stood in the way of rescuing Rukia Kuchiki, while Kaien Shiba warned that confronting Sōgo Shihoin would be nearly impossible.
• Kaien Shiba revealed that Sōgo Shihoin had been confined to the Shihoin ancestral residence after allegedly killing all forty sages of the Central 46 Chambers and five judges.
• Yoruichi questioned the accusation and realized that entering the Second Division without Sōgo Shihoin could be especially dangerous.

Kaien Shiba agreed to help Ichigo Kurosaki and the others enter the Seireitei, but he refused to offer further aid unless Ichigo changed his surname to Shiba. After Ichigo refused, Kaien required Ganju Shiba to join the rescue mission, and the group prepared to depart in Shihakusho.

• Kaien offered to help the group enter the Seireitei in exchange for Ichigo changing his surname to Shiba, but Ichigo refused.
• Kaien agreed to get the group into the Seireitei anyway, while requiring Ichigo to take Ganju along and leaving the rescue itself to them.
• Kaien summoned Ganju, who objected to the mission but agreed after Kaien ordered him to go as head of the Shiba Clan.
• Ichigo urged the group to hurry and asked Kaien how they would sneak into the Seireitei.
• Kaien pulled out several sets of Shihakusho and told the group to change their clothes first.

Kaien Shiba led Ichigo Kurosaki and his companions into the Seireitei through its western gate by relying on his clan’s authority. He brought them to meet Kūkaku Shiba, who welcomed Ichigo back and mistakenly believed he had entered the Soul Society to save his lover, Rukia Kuchiki.

• Kaien Shiba explained the Seireitei’s gates and announced that the group would enter openly through the front gate.
• Kaien Shiba persuaded Jidanbō Ikkanzaka to open the White Way Gate, and Jidanbō recognized the group as Ryoka but let them pass.
• Kaien Shiba led the group through the Seireitei, where his presence kept patrols from challenging them.
• Kaien Shiba brought Ichigo Kurosaki and the others to meet Kūkaku Shiba, who excitedly welcomed Ichigo and urged him to return to the Shiba Clan.
• Kaien Shiba explained the group’s purpose to Kūkaku, who mistook Ichigo’s mission to rescue Rukia Kuchiki as a romantic quest and declared them lovers.

Ichigo Kurosaki and his companions reached the Second Division barracks to rescue Rukia, where they ran into Renji Abarai. Renji decided to join the rescue and pressured Ichigo into taking him along, despite Ichigo’s contempt for him.

• Kūkaku Shiba led Ichigo Kurosaki and the others toward the Second Division barracks while Yoruichi reunited with her as a cat.
• At the barracks entrance, Ichigo recognized Renji Abarai, who was pleading to visit Rukia, and tried to hide from him.
• Renji spotted Ichigo and confronted him about regaining his Soul Reaper powers and coming to rescue Rukia.
• Renji resolved to help save Rukia and demanded that Ichigo take him inside, threatening to shout and expose him if he refused.
• Ichigo agreed to take Renji along but warned him not to get in the way.

Ichigo Kurosaki, Renji Abarai, and their allies broke into the Second Division barracks to reach Rukia Kuchiki, with Kūkaku Shiba joining the fight after smashing through the gate. As Ichigo and Renji pushed ahead, lieutenant Shaoling Fon learned of the invasion and prepared to confront the intruders.

• Kūkaku Shiba refused to accompany Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai, then knocked out the Second Division guards after they denied them entry.
• When alarms rang, Kūkaku Shiba used a powerful punch to break through the reinforced iron gate and told the group to continue without her.
• Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai charged into the barracks, while Uryū Ishida, Yasutora Sado, Orihime Inoue, and Ganju Shiba fought off the growing number of Stealth Force members.
• As Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai became surrounded, Kūkaku Shiba returned and overwhelmed dozens of enemies, allowing them to press on toward Rukia Kuchiki.
• In the captain's office, Shaoling Fon crushed her teacup after hearing that intruders were causing trouble and prepared to face them.

Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai tried to break through the Second Division to rescue Rukia Kuchiki, but Hōshō Ryo stopped them and overwhelmed them with her speed and strength. Renji held her off so Ichigo could continue, while Hōshō Ryo dismissed their clash as a game of cat and mouse.

• Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai argued over who should hold off their pursuers while racing toward Rukia Kuchiki.
• They encountered Hōshō Ryo, and Renji recognized her as a dangerous opponent while the Stealth Force members halted behind them.
• Hōshō Ryo vanished from sight and threatened Ichigo, but Renji released Zabimaru, narrowly missing Ichigo as he attacked her.
• Hōshō Ryo caught Renji Abarai's Zanpakuto between two fingers, proving that neither of them could match her strength.
• Renji urged Ichigo to leave and entrusted Rukia's rescue to him, then faced Hōshō Ryo alone.
• Ichigo ran on toward Rukia as Hōshō Ryo mocked Renji's attempt to fight her as a game of cat and mouse.

Renji Abarai challenged Shaoling Fon to let Ichigo Kurosaki continue, but her overwhelming Bankai blasted him and the Second Division grounds. Yoruichi revealed the plan to use Rukia Kuchiki to draw out the hidden enemy, while Ichigo was shot down by Lilynette Starrk near the captain’s office.

• Renji Abarai sent Ichigo Kurosaki deeper into the Second Division and stood to face Shaoling Fon, then released his Bankai, Baboon King Zabimaru.
• Shaoling Fon praised Renji before unleashing her modified Bankai, Suzumebachi Raikōgō, and blasted him with a Hōjaku Raikōben, devastating the barracks.
• Kūkaku Shiba arrived, and Yoruichi appeared in black-cat form to tell Shaoling Fon that Ichigo and his allies were not enemies and should be allowed to rescue Rukia Kuchiki to draw out the mastermind.
• Shaoling Fon said she could not control the Second Division without Sōgo, while Yoruichi recognized that the division’s members were unusually dangerous.
• Ichigo Kurosaki reached the captain’s office, where Lilynette Starrk transformed and shot him through the chest with an azure beam.

Ichigo Kurosaki died fighting Lilynette and transformed into a berserk Menos Grande, while Uryū Ishida and the others were confronted by a mysterious green-haired Soul Reaper. Lilynette prepared a powerful attack to end Ichigo’s suffering as his friends realized the danger he was in.

• Uryū Ishida, Yasutora Sado, Orihime Inoue, and Ganju Shiba headed toward Ichigo after sensing an explosion and terrifying Spiritual Pressure, but a green-haired man appeared and accused them of being spies.
• The green-haired man struck Sado unconscious, then told Orihime that one of her companions had died; Uryū attacked him with Reishi arrows but was nearly killed.
• A savage roar interrupted the green-haired man, who called for Aura before vanishing, and Uryū recognized the new ominous Spiritual Pressure as Ichigo’s.
• Ichigo, who had died, transformed into a lizard-like Menos Grande and roared at Lilynette, who refused to use Resurrección against him.
• Lilynette’s blue attack overwhelmed Ichigo’s Cero, but his regeneration kept him alive through the blast, so she prepared a Menos Grande Flash to finish him.

Ichigo Kurosaki awakened in his inner world, learned that the Hollow inside him had saved him, and fought Zangetsu to master the power needed to reclaim his body. Outside, his Hollow form transformed into a horned, Bankai-wielding monster and faced Lilynette, while White exploited Zangetsu’s weakened seal to send Ichigo more power.

• Zangetsu awakened Ichigo Kurosaki in his inner world and told him that the Hollow inside him had saved him from death.
• Zangetsu explained that Ichigo had to defeat him to master the power needed to tame the Hollow and reclaim his body, and the two clashed with Getsuga Tenshō.
• Lilynette repeatedly blasted the Hollowfied Ichigo’s head as it regenerated, but he rose again and blocked her Cero.
• Ichigo shouted Bankai, transformed into a horned monster, and released Spiritual Pressure that contended with Lilynette’s Resurrección.
• White took advantage of Zangetsu’s weakened seal to send more of his power to Ichigo.

Orihime and the others sheltered from Ichigo and Lilynette’s battle while Kūkaku revealed that Ichigo was her cousin and explained his connection to White. As Lilynette tricked Ichigo with a nonstop Cero barrage, his attack crashed into Kuruyashiki’s food and drink, prompting the former Kenpachi to reveal his Visored power and demand payment.

• Orihime, Uryū, Sado, Ganju, and the Second Division members took shelter from the battle raging above the barracks.
• Kūkaku confirmed that the bull-headed fighter was Ichigo and told Yoruichi and the others about Isshin, White, and Ichigo’s Shiba Clan ties.
• Orihime admitted that she feared losing the Ichigo she knew, and Kūkaku reassured her before asking everyone to keep the family secret from him.
• Lilynette unleashed a heavy-machine-gun barrage, then lured Ichigo into a powerful Cero blast by making him think she needed time between attacks.
• Ichigo crashed into Kuruyashiki’s table, destroying his peanuts and liquor, and the broke former Kenpachi revealed his Visored mask and demanded payment.

Ichigo Kurosaki regained control of his body, achieved Bankai, and tried to enlist Kuruyashiki Kenpachi to help rescue Rukia. He was knocked unconscious by Lilynette Starrk and later woke up chained beside his friends, who explained that Kisuke Urahara’s advice had led Orihime Inoue to throw Yoruichi at Sōgo Shihoin.

• Kuruyashiki Kenpachi fought bull-headed Ichigo with a point-blank Cero clash, and Ichigo eventually drove the Hollow form out and revealed his Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu.
• Ichigo accepted responsibility for the damage to the Second Division barracks and asked Kuruyashiki to help rescue Rukia, learning that Kuruyashiki was one of her teachers.
• Lilynette Starrk punched Ichigo unconscious after he declared he would rescue Rukia.
• Sōgo Shihoin confronted Ichigo and his friends, who were chained up, and asked why they had thrown his sister at him.
• Uryū Ishida explained that Kisuke Urahara’s advice about Yoruichi had been misunderstood, and Orihime had thrown the black cat at Sōgo when they met him.

Ichigo Kurosaki and the others learned that Yoruichi Shihōin was Sōgo Shihoin’s biological older sister, while Sōgo amused himself with Orihime Inoue by inventing absurd stories about their family. The siblings recalled how they had outmaneuvered the Central 46 Chambers, whose members were now all dead, leaving Sōgo lamenting that nobody remained to challenge him.

• Uryū Ishida explained that the group had used Yoruichi against her brother Sōgo, but Ichigo fixated on learning that Yoruichi was female.
• Sōgo confirmed that Yoruichi was his biological sister and teased Orihime with fabricated claims that their whole family were cats.
• Renji Abarai recognized Yoruichi as the former Second Division Captain and head of the Shihoin Family, whose defection was recorded in Shin'ō Academy textbooks.
• Yoruichi woke up and celebrated her place in the textbooks with Sōgo.
• Sōgo recalled defeating the Central 46 Chambers’ schemes after Yoruichi defected and said that everyone who had tried to rein them in was now dead.
• Uryū watched Sōgo and Yoruichi joke about the deaths and recognized their shared, reckless attitude.